#glee episode of little shop please

[lovecommajaime]

whenever i explain stuff thats happened i make it sound as much like a glee recap as possible and also end it with 'and thats what you missed on glee!' even though im normally not talking about what people missed on glee

me except i “and that’s how sue cs it” all over the place when i’m talking about random stuff

[selfship-spice]

Fandom Masterlist

If you don't see your fandom here, feel free to double-check if any of the mods are familiar with it!

Achievement Hunter The Adventure Zone (Balance/Amnesty) The Arcana Ambulance (2022 movie) Assassin's Creed Avatar: The Last Airbender Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia The Boys Castle Castlevania (Netflix, Seasons 1+2) Cats: The Musical (including 2019 movie) Check Please! Choices: Stories You Play Criminal Minds (Seasons 1-4) Critical Role (Campaign 2) Cyberpunk 2077 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Game 1) Dead By Daylight Death Note Detroit: Become Human Doctor Who (Doctors 3-4, 9-13) Doki Doki Literature Club Far Cry (3, 4, and 5) Five Nights At Freddy's Genshin Impact Glee Good Omens Gravity Falls Halloween Hannibal Harry Potter Hazbin Hotel Heathers Henry Danger (seasons 4-5) Homestuck Inception Jacksepticeye Egos Jake Gyllenhaal characters The Last of Us (TV) Little Shop of Horrors musical Lucifer (Vertigo Comics) The Magnus Archives Markiplier Egos Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Thor: Love and Thunder) The Matrix The Mechanisms Megamind Minecraft (not MCYT) Les Miserables NCIS (Original) Night at the Museum trilogy Night In The Woods Ouran High School Host Club Overwatch Phantom of the Opera The Quarry Resident Evil Rick and Morty Sandman (Vertigo Comics) Scream Sherlock (BBC/RDJ/Elementary) Slumber Party Massacre II Spies In Disguise Spongebob Squarepants Star Trek TOS Star Wars (episode I-IX) Stardew Valley Steven Universe Stranger Things Supernatural (seasons 1-9) Teen Titans (2003 Animated Series) Texas Chainsaw Massacre Twilight Undertale (horrortale, underfell, underswap, swapfell) The Untamed Until Dawn Vocaloid The Walking Dead (seasons 1-7) Welcome To Night Vale (episodes 1-100) Yandere Simulator Z-O-M-B-I-E-S Disney Musical

[selfshiprequests]

Fandom Masterlist

If you don't see your fandom here, feel free to double-check if any of the mods are familiar with it!

Achievement Hunter

The Addams Family

The Adventure Zone (Balance/Amnesty)

The Arcana

Ambulance (2022 movie)

Assassin's Creed

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Batman (Nolanverse)

Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

The Boys

Castle

Castlevania (Netflix, Seasons 1+2)

Cats: The Musical (including 2019 movie)

Check Please!

Choices: Stories You Play

Child's Play

Criminal Minds (Seasons 1-4)

Critical Role (Campaign 2)

Cyberpunk 2077

Danganronpa

Dead By Daylight

Death Note

Detroit: Become Human

Doctor Who (Doctors 9-13)

Doki Doki Literature Club

The Elder Scrolls

Euphoria

Far Cry (3, 4, and 5)

Five Nights At Freddy's

Genshin Impact

Glee

Good Omens

Gravity Falls

Halloween

Hannibal

Harry Potter

Hazbin Hotel

Heathers

Henry Danger (Seasons 4-5)

Homestuck

How To Train Your Dragon

Inception

Into The Spiderverse/Across The Spiderverse

Jacksepticeye Egos

Jake Gyllenhaal characters

The Last of Us (TV)

Life Is Strange (Original, Before the Storm, True Colours)

Little Shop of Horrors musical

Lucifer (Vertigo Comics)

The Magnus Archives

Markiplier Egos

Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Thor: Love and Thunder)

The Matrix (first movie)

The Mechanisms

Megamind

Minecraft (not MCYT)

Les Miserables

My Little Pony

NCIS (Original)

Night at the Museum trilogy

Night In The Woods

Ouran High School Host Club

Overwatch

The Owl House

Phantom of the Opera

Pokemon

The Quarry

Resident Evil (7 and 8)

Rick and Morty

The Rookie

Sandman (Vertigo Comics)

Scooby Doo

Scream

Sherlock (BBC/RDJ/Elementary/ACD)

Slumber Party Massacre II

Spies In Disguise

Spongebob Squarepants

Star Trek TOS

Star Wars (episode I-IX)

Stardew Valley

Steven Universe

Stranger Things

Supernatural (seasons 1-9)

Teen Titans (2003 Animated Series)

Titans

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Twilight

Undertale (horrortale, underfell, underswap, swapfell)

The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi

Until Dawn

Vocaloid

The Walking Dead (Seasons 1-7)

Wednesday

Welcome To Night Vale (episodes 1-100)

Yandere Simulator

Yellowjackets

Z-O-M-B-I-E-S Disney Musical

[adamgant]

7.26 Friday Faves

7.26 Friday Faves https://ift.tt/BNnY9lp Hi friends! Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend? Aloha from one of our favorite places ever! We’re here for a couple of weeks to enjoy some beach time, shopping, luaus, and all of the poke bowls. 🙂 I’ll share all the details in an upcoming post, but here are some pics from the adventures. (Recap of our last trip to Waikiki is here. If you have any recs, I’d love them! Especially if you know of a gluten-free malasada. Thank you, friends!) It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your favorites, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below. Before we get started, congrats to our giveaway winners! Amy D. and Julia! (I’ll be reaching out to our winners to get their goodie packages on the way!) Stay tuned for our August giveaway 🙂 7.26 Friday Faves Fashion + beauty + random: Got the kids their new lunchboxes. This is what I use for Liv and this is P’s. We’ve been fans of the Bentgo boxes for years and they last well and don’t leak. This is so random, but an exciting purchase from the week: I got a prescription snorkel mask on Amazon. I can actually see the fish when we snorkel! From my eye journey, I learned that was never supposed to swim with contacts on, which is fine because I have Rx sunnies, but I can never dive down and see anything. This completely changed the game! (I’ll spare you the ridiculous photo that the Pilot took of me wearing the mask and absolutely cracking up with glee) Olive Peeling. I’ve been using this as a gentle exfoliator. It doesn’t have a scent and works well but is still gentle enough for sensitive skin. Amazon faves. Here are the bestsellers from this year’s Prime Day! This camera – it makes an excellent gift for tweens. These are the Pilot’s everyday shoes. (They are SO light and I kinf of want some lol) This super cute vest outfit. This egg chair. This Free People dupe. I get compliments every time I wear this. This packable sun visor. Frownies! Read, watch, listen: Started this a couple of days ago and it’s everything I love in a book. It’s a historical novel inspired by a true story, with deep character development and beautiful writing. I feel like I can’t read it fast enough. Don’t forget to check out this week’s podcast episode here. Lots of summer book recs here. What do you love about your childhood home? Fitness, health, life, and good eats: Celebrating my nana’s birthday last week! We birthday lunch with her at Little Anthony’s and the next day, had an amazing 85th birthday celebration at Tanque Verde Ranch. The food was even better than usual (which says a lot because we love their food!) and we loved celebrating the birthday girl. HIIT workout with no repeats. Maybe a short workout before bed isn’t such a bad idea? Have a happy weekend and I’ll see ya soon. Have a wonderful weekend, friends! xoxo Gina The post 7.26 Friday Faves appeared first on The Fitnessista. via The Fitnessista https://ift.tt/TAzfYsN July 26, 2024 at 06:41AM

[korasonata]

Hermitcraft season 9 - favourite bits of episode ones!

—

Doc: *gives Scar unbreaking III, mending, silk touch, and efficiency V*

Scar: dude, this is amazing, I’m gonna be able to fully enchant my hoe.

SILENCE

Doc: …what

—

Gem: oh there’s beetroot seeds! I want those, thank you.

Impulse: I’ve never heard anyone get excited about beetroot seeds.

Gem: they’re so pretty! Have you seen em?

Pearl: they are. But that’s all they’re good for. Looking pretty.

Gem: yeah, well that’s all I’m good for too and nobody complains.

—

Beef: You want some balls?

XB: uh…no, go for it man.

Beef (completely innocently): you sure? I’ve got 2. I can give you one.

XB: all…your balls…are belong to you.

—

*Distant sounds of Impulse screaming*

Pearl: are you alright!

[Impulse was slain by Vex]

Cleo: …I don’t know if he’s alright. I think he’s not alright.

—

Pearl: ok, you know what he’s targeting Gem, so we can hit it.

*Vindicator turns around and kills her instantly.*

—

Gem: look, it’s huge!

Pearl: look at Gem finding all the big holes on the server.

Cleo: *lost it*

Gem (completely unaware at what she’s just done): I’m so good at this!

Cleo: *hyperventilating*

Impulse: oh jeez.

*intense wheezing sounds from Cleo*

Impulse: Oh sh— good job Gem, I think you killed Cleo.

Cleo: you can’t do this to me! I’ve got the plague!

—

Pearl (singing): I can show you the world! Weeeeeee! (Jumps off cliff)

Impulse (very concerned): oh she dead!

Pearl (distant): Hello!

Impulse: I will show you the world as weeeelllllllll!!! (Jumps off cliff)

Pearl: oh, hi!

Impulse: *dies*

—

Pearl: oh look! Gem found me more holes.

Cleo: *snickering*

Gem: No, Cleo found this one!!

Pearl: oh, ok.

Cleo: but you found my hole after I used it!

SILENCE…

Pearl: …alright.

Cleo: *cackling*

Pearl: I think Cleo…got that one a little further down the road than it should have been…

Impulse: *snickering*

Cleo: I’m a grown up.

—

Cleo: Hi..?

Doc: Hey!

Cleo: what are you up t— I mean I know what you’re up to but why are you up to it?

—

Ren: guys, I’ve forgotten how to play early game Minecraft. Can someone hold my hand please?

—

Stress: look what I picked up! (Places down green carpet) some decor.

False: ni— from where?!

Stress (laughing): I don’t kno—Oh, the village!

False: You been shopping?! Without me?! You bought a new carpet?!

—

Doc: I’m back.

Stress + False: Welcome back.

False: wait, I thought you were going to bed, it's passed your bedtime!

Doc: Yeah, I asked and I can stay up a bit longer.

Stress: *laughing*

False: Ok, well welcome back.

Stress: *completely lost it*

False: I think it's passed Stress's bedtime too, by the sounds of it.

Stress: What do you mean?!

False: What do you mean what do I mean?!

—

Ren: Excuse me Mrs. False Symmetry.

False: Yes. Hi.

Ren: Hi there. Umm, we—

False: The answer’s no.

—

(Doc and Ren squabbling in the background)

False: Oooooooo

Stress: False, False, False. False?

False: Wait wait wait. Wait wait wait—

Stress (insistent): False. False.

False: Wait, look look. Look look. There’s a fight happening.

(Ren and Doc in the background

-The horse face! I want it!

-No! No, I need it! I need it!)

Stress: What face?

False: There’s a fight.

Stress: What?

False (with glee): There’s a fight about to happen.

—

False (about Stress): She’s not even here yet. She’s probably screaming her head off somewhere.

*distant screaming from Stress*

—

Iskall (about his starter base): it could definitely use a few more flowers. *Places down Stress’s head* It’s flowers.

—

Pearl: Ooo! Sapling!

Impulse: I have one myself.

Pearl: ooo! Apple!

Impulse: ok, we still can’t make a full tree.

Pearl: what do you mean? We can make two trees now. Ooo! Sapling! Three trees! Four trees! Five trees!

Impulse: are we gonna— would you stop it!

Pearl: I’m excited ok!

Impulse: are we gonna just trust in what we’ve gathered so far? Or do we wanna stick around for a bit?

Pearl (whispering): six trees.

Impulse (whispering): Oh my gosh.

—

Ren: Beware. There’s a deep troll that lives underground and shouts at you when you walk by, it’s very disturbing.

Cub: It’s true.

Cleo: It’s probably Joe.

—

TFC: I love it! A floating axe! *picks up floating axe*

*dies to trident*

TFC: And now it’s floating again.

—

Grian (watching Mumbo and Scar boat through a cave on land): they have 8 million subscribers, these two.

Mumbo: Well deserved subscribers, I think you’ll find!

—

Bdubs: Doc, you’ve been out in the desert for days, what have you been doing out there?

Doc: I— well, got full diamond gear and—

Bdubs: Yeah.

Doc: Iron farm. Um…and a villager breeder set up and now—

Bdubs: Oh my goodness…

Doc: I need a donkey so I can build a giant gold farm.

Gem: Doc. I have a tree. And that’s all.

—

Bdubs: oh my love! Ok we’re naming this horse Mí Amoré! Gem, did you hear that?

Gem: That’s a good horse name.

Bdubs: Yeah? It’s Spanish!

Gem: Didn’t know you knew Spanish.

Bdubs: Ok, you were supposed to know that that was actually Italian.

—

Ren (to Keralis): ok, um…if you would please sir…um…would you just please remove my head from my body?

Isklall (with zero hesitation): Yes! *smack*

Ren: NOT YOU!!!

—

Ren: I want his face, is that a problem?

Stress + False in tandem: Uh…

False: ..no?

Stress: Can I have your face? Set your spawn Ren. Ren go over there— *pushing him* to the bed

Ren: Wait—!

Stress: Click it. Click the bed Ren. Click. The bed.

False (sitting back casually): This is a real face off.

Ren (now standing on the bed): But I have much things!

Stress: Click the bed!

Ren: Wait a minute—!!

Stress: CLICK THE BED!!

—

BONUS THINGS

•The entire “Matador” “Matress Store” “Master Door” bit

•The whole Stress with the wheat arch which eventually culminates in Doc banning her from going anywhere near wheat

•Joe’s entire episode solely because of the sheer comedic value of him just minding his business and planting his crops while all hell breaks loose around him

•How many Hermits does it take to trap one sheep in a hole going on in Beef’s episode (and apparently the answer is SEVEN)

•The smash cuts in Gems episode. Her saying that she went to the Nether with Impulse and going “It went really well!” Smash cut to her walking through the portal going “THIS IS THE WORST!” Her going “I’ve enlisted Jevin as an escort to the desert. Jevin was a great escort I swear!” Smash cut to Jevin plummeting to his death.

•That one very specific moment in Tango’s episode where you just hear Stress scream bloody murder before she suddenly just jumps off the side of a cliff with explosions going off behind her like the greatest action sequence ever.

•BEHIND YOU GEM

[skellebonez]

With the prompt list, how about someone seeing MK with Monkie King with number 15?

Picking prompts back up with a nice dose of Dad Wukong! I needed some fluff! This is set in *shrug* post-season 2 because despite us only having 2 episodes so far I’m going to pretend season 2 wraps up just enough to give us a hook for a possible 3rd season but everyone is doing ok. For now. I just want everyone in the show to be safe and happy dang it!

Oh god, you’re just like your dad.

"Where to next?" MK asked, looking around the shopping district in excitement. It had taken him so long to convince Sun Wukong to actually join him on a day of just hanging out, outside of a couple short trips to the Anti-Gravity Arcade, and he wanted to cram as much into the day as humanly possible. "Video game store? Cheese tea stall? The new bakery, th-!?"

"Whoa, Bud, slow down!" Wukong eased with a smile. "We have all day. We can go wherever."

"And you’re sure you’re doing good?" Despite the Monkey King's soft tone, MK couldn't help but practically vibrate in equal parts excitement and worry. "There aren't too many people or anything?"

His concerns weren't unwarranted. Sun Wukong had been nearly completely isolated for centuries, company kept only with the monkeys of his mountain home and the odd outing into the world outside. And, of course, online correspondence with his lawyer after a time. Typically he was transformed in some way, a butterfly or bird or cat or something easy to blend in, and though he had made a couple short stops in a human disguise in the past. A quick drink here, a bun or fruit cup there. Nothing that required more than a quick transaction, however.

Now he was in the city, Wàn Qiān Chéng, in that human disguise and staying around. In jeans and a t-shirt and jacket (that MK was genuinely shocked to know he owned, until he realized that they were all branded Monkey King merchandise... including his jeans). Surrounded by people and cars and all manner of things the Monkey King would typically avoid. Despite the gradual introduction to being out and about MK was trying to ease him into, he couldn't help but worry that it would be overwhelming.

"Like I told you before, I'm doing fine!" Wukong put a hand in MK's hair, ruffling it gently with a soft smile.The sudden contact was... well, not that unusual actually. Nor was it unwelcome. The Monkey King always seemed to be a tactile person after all. "But, uh, now that I think about it I am getting kind of hungry. There was a little food stall pretty close by that I’ve been to a few times..."

“Oh, yeah!” MK exclaimed in glee, any place that his mentor frequented (however rarely) must be somewhere nice and he absolutely wanted to experience that! “Lead the way!”

Wukong laughed at MK’s exuberant response, smile softening as he indeed lead the way. “It’s, uh... actually the only place I’ve gone to for food when I’m checking in on you. So don’t be surprised, they’re going to recognize me.”

Ah, that made sense in MK’s mind. Had this been a few weeks ago MK might have been surprised to know that he was being checked in on, Heck, if this was before the Lunar New Year festival he would called anyone who told him a liar. Sun Wukong was not protective of him and he always left MK on his own because he trusted him!

And that last statement was very correct. Wukong did trust MK, more than enough. He knew he could handle just about anything that he would have gotten thrown at him. But not protective was a lie. Maybe it was Macaque, or maybe it was the Spider Queen, but after a while something in his mentor changed. He went from being aloof but helpful to being nearly non-existent (and when MK learned exactly what he had actually been doing he was not happy) and then “I’m just checking in, Bud, my dude, my student who I am not at all protective of what are you talking about” upon his return from his “vacation”.

Wukong trusted his student to handle himself. But that didn’t mean he didn’t worry about him now that the full extent of the danger he had put him in was known. And while some parts of it had been frustrating at times (he had been way too eager to stay at the Noodle Shop at first for Pigsy’s liking) it was kind of nice to have him around in just a casual way. Like when they watched the fireworks.

But beside that point, they finally arrived at the food stall. It was a street vendor, the booth decked out in bright colors and rows of food on offer, mostly...

“Baozi, should have known,” MK chuckled. The Monkey King didn’t make a lot of food at his home, but he made more than enough. Baozi was one of his favorites. “Well, they have got to be good if you keep coming back!”

“They’re not the only reason!” Wukong replied as they stepped up, the lady vendor doing a double take before smiling wide at him. “Hey!”

“Mr. Cheung!” She smiled wide, turning her full attention to the customers. “Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise, you’re a day early! Would you like your usual vegetarian order again?”

“Yes, please!” Wukong’s smile was wide, and if his tail had not been wrapped around his waist MK was certain it would have been swishing wildly. He’d clearly gained some kind of rapport with the vendor of this stall if they were on a “human disguise name” basis. “And, uh, something for my bud here too. Doesn’t have to be vegetarian for him though.”

“I’ll take whatever you think is tasty!” MK stated excitedly, nearly bouncing on his heels in the spot.

"Oh god, you’re just like your dad," the vendor laughed out with a smile as she turned away from them, and Wukong froze beside MK in response.

MK froze in response.

The Monkie Kid was almost certain he had never seen his mentor go this still. Ever.

" Oh no, he's n-"

"He is, huh!? Peach doesn't fall far from the tree!" Wukong laughed almost giddily and almost excessively loud, suddenly wrapping an arm around MK's shoulder and reaching around with his other arm to ruffle his hair once again. “He’s kind of embarrassed anytime someone points that out.”

MK could hear the vendor chuckling and responding with something else, but he couldn’t really understand it as he mulled over what Sun Wukong had just said.

“He is, huh!?”

He didn’t deny the vendor’s assumption at all. He just... went with it. Sun Wukong... just went with someone assuming MK was his son...

He barely paid attention when they were handed their food, the vendor insisting that since he was such a loyal customer that it was free of charge for finally introducing his son to her. Wukong did not deny it again, making pleasant conversation for a short while before they headed off. Wukong’s free hand was firm on his back as he led him away.

“Bud?” Wukong said once they were out of earshot, his tone oddly soft and uncertain for someone of his status. “That uh... I mean... you see... I wasn’t expecting her to just...”

“Have you been bragging about me like I’m your kid to a street vendor every time to check up on me?” MK asked softly, unable to keep the hopeful tone out of his voice.

“... maybe?”

“... you adopted me and you didn’t tell me?” MK asked with half joking offense in his tone, pointing his baozi at his mentor. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he said it.

And it seemed that somehow the combination of the way he said that and his exuberant expression drove the Monkey King into a fit of laughter that drew the attention of many passersby.

(The baozi were, as expected of a place that Sun Wukong would frequent, some of the best that MK had ever tasted in his life. Though, perhaps, they were made all the tastier knowing that he was eating them with someone who he had long secretly considered a father figure to him who had seemingly adopted him without meaning to.)

[justaself-shipper]

Marcy x RichGirl!Reader- I Like Me Better

A/N: Request by @Jenny_RHTMT (from Wattpad). An alternate universe where Marcy, Anne and Sasha never went to Amphibia. Warning: This book has bullying and mentions of homophobia and very bad angst.

Marcy looked up at the music box inside the antique shop, then back to the picture of the same box on her phone. Scowling at the picture, she deleted it. “Yeah, right.” She muttered, gloomily walking away from the antique shop. “Stupid book.” “Promise us you’ll text everyday, ok?” Anne said, hugging Marcy one last time. Sasha stood to the side, her arms crossed as she watched Anne and Marcy’s goodbye with a hurt expression. “Of course, Anne. I’ll try my best.” She said, hugging her best friend close. Glancing over to Sasha, she smiled warmly. “C’mere Sash, we need one last photo together.” Anne said, taking out her phone. Walking over, Sasha wrapped her arm around Marcy’s shoulder. “Ok nerds. One last photo shoot!” She said, holding up her own prepared phone. Marcy chuckled. Hearing the beep of her parents horn, her smile faded. They were ready to leave. Pulling her besties in close one last time, she held in her tears. “We’ll try and meet up over the holidays, ok guys?” “Sure Mar-mar.” “Of course dude. Just be careful out there, ok?” “I’ll try my best Anna-banana.” (A few weeks later) Marcy looked up at the tall school building in front of her, gut twisting and turning with anxiety. “Ok…deep breaths Marcy….new school, new possibilities.” She whispered. She jumped when a car horn blared. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed a…very fancy looking car pull up. Stopping in front of the school, Marcy moved into a crowd of students so as not to be seen. The car door opened, revealing a girl with H/L, H/C hair, wearing the same school uniform as Marcy and the other students. The other students stared in wonder and fear. Marcy pursed her lips. “Ooooh boy.” She muttered to herself. “There are rich snobs here…”

Standing in front of her school locker, Marcy stared down in glee at her mobile game, oblivious to her surroundings. All of a sudden, her locker door flew into her face, causing her to stumble for a moment. Giggles erupted from the other side, and Marcy closed her locker properly. A bunch of girls stood on the other side, giggling away as they glanced back at Marcy. One of them was the girl that pulled up in the fancy car that morning. She wasn’t smiling, but she didn’t show any sympathy, either. Not wanting confrontation, Marcy just picked up her backpack, walking away from the still cackling teens on her way to her last two classes that day. (Y/N’s POV) Sienna pointed to the opened locker door in front of us. Mobile game noises sounded from the other side, and the person hadn’t noticed anyone approaching. “Hey, check out this weirdo.” She sneered. Before any of us could react, she swung the locker door full force toward the oblivious person. Hearing a small yelp, everyone started laughing. I just rolled my eyes. As the person closed the locker door, holding her cheek as she glanced toward us, my heart skipped a beat. It was a girl, with short, black hair held back by a green clip, with beautiful hazel eyes. She must be new here. I looked away before she could catch me staring. The girl eventually walked away, hunched over as my friend’s laughter sounded throughout the corridor. Sienna snickered. “Looks like we’ve just found our knew target. What do you say guys?” She smirked. Everyone nodded. I just watched the new girl disappear around the corner. Maybe I can talk to her later?

(End POV) In the cafeteria, Marcy sat by herself. Glancing around at the other tables, she pulled out her lunch, taking a bite as she started to play on her phone once again. “Hey you! What do you think you’re doing?” Marcy looked up. It was the same group of girls as before. The leader glared down at her. “This is our table. Move it.” Marcy stood up, collecting her things quickly. “Right, I’m sorry.” She gushed. She heard one of the other members, the one who didn’t laugh earlier, say something, but she didn’t quite pick up what it was. Was it “It’s not even our seat”? The leader smirked down at her. “Oh no, you’re not going to get away with it.” Without warning, she grabbed Marcy’s bag. “Hey-!” “What’s this?” She cooed, pulling out Marcy’s notebook. “A diary? Wonder what it says~” Tossing the bag to the other girls, Marcy could only watch in horror as the other girls rummaged through her bag and the gang leader went through her notebook. “Oooh! This is juicy! Maybe I should read it out to the rest of the cafeteria~” she grinned. Marcy panicked. “WAIT-NO! Give it back, please!” She begged, reaching over to grab it. One of the other girls noticed, tripping her as she stepped forward. Falling to the ground, tears pricked her eyes as her face turned red from embarrassment. Y/N watched all this go down. She felt anger boiling up inside her as she watched her so called “friends” bully this poor girl for no reason. When Sienna started reading from the diary, gaining attention from the other students in the cafeteria, Y/N finally snapped. “Check it out everyone! The new girl has a diary! And look at this-her sick little mind believes she’s bisex-“

Marcy covered her face, when loud gasps sounded throughout the room. Removing her hands, she realised the H/C-haired girl in the group had her notebook, holding it close to her as the leader stared at her in disbelief. “Y/N, what the heck is wrong with you-“ “No Sienna! What the heck is wrong with you?!” She snapped. The cafeteria went silent, watching the spectacle. Y/N’s face was red with anger as she stood face to face to Sienna. “Picking on an innocent person, going to read her diary, then calling her sick in the head! I’ve had it! The only one sick in the head is you! Picking on someone for what gender they prefer is the most disgusting thing you’ve ever done! Now-“ she pushed the diary back into Sienna’s hands, and pointed to Marcy still lying on the floor. “Say you're sorry, otherwise I’ll have my parents involved.” She growled. Sienna’s face went pale, so Marcy assumed her parents must be bosses of something big. The leader walked over to the now kneeling Marcy, dropping the book on the ground. “Fine. Sorry.” She muttered. Walking back out, Sienna glared at Y/N. “You’ve made an enemy today, Y/N.” She hissed, disappearing out the cafeteria doors with her gang. Everyone went back to their own business. Marcy collected her bag and belongings, clutching her notebook tightly against her chest. “Hey I’m…really sorry about everything.” A voice mumbled. Glancing up, Marcy realised it was Y/N. The H/C held out her hand. Marcy gladly took it, allowing the girl to help her to her feet. “Uhm…th-thanks for standing up for me.” Marcy said, holding the notebook over her face to hide her pink-tinted cheeks. “It was very brave of you, seeing she was your friend and all…” Y/N rubbed the back of her neck. “Y-yeah well, I couldn’t let her pick on you. People like us have to stick up for each other in a world like this.” She chuckled nervously. Marcy smiled behind her book. “Well, I’m Marcy. Marcy Wu.” She said, holding out her hand. Y/N smiled as well, shaking her hand. “Y/N L/N. You wanna have lunch with me?” “Of course!”

Bonus: Marcy: So…why was Sienna so terrified of you when you mentioned your parents? Y/N: Oh! Uh…my dad may or may not be a mafia boss… *starts sweating* Marcy: Ooh…has he killed people? Y/N: MARCY NO-

Fun fact: while writing this, I had another idea in mind! Let me know if I should do the other version! (Still kinda involves bullying, but no homophobia as far as I’d thought lol. Mostly just a snooty reader being mean toward marcy for a certain reason) note: i also was gonna continue with a prom scene and Sienna was being a beach, but i might leave that for a second part if anyone wants it (it's horrible btw)

AND HEY HAVE YA'LL SEEN THE LATEST OWL HOUSE EPISODE?? I'M BROKEN INSIDE, AND VEE IS AN ABSOLUTE SWEETHEART!

I ALSO HADN'T REALISED HOW MUCH GUILT I HAD AS I MADE THIS STORY SO YEAH....SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS GUYS

[blocksandbloops]

May I interest you in some fem!hermit!Tommy fluff for you in this trying time?

This is set in an alternative version of @redorich 's hermit!Tommy AU. Diverging from the Dream SMP's raid on Hermitcraft. All you need to know is that family trees are convoluted, Tommy's name is Clementine. She's trans, we love her, she has wings and has adopted Grian as her weird almost twin brother.

After the whole "Dreamon" and "invasion" mess the Dream SMP folk didn't expect to hear much from the hermits besides the ones who attended MCC. They thought that the two servers would just continue to exist, independent of one another. Just drifting through the void mere inches apart but never really touching.

Oh how wrong they were.

The hermits were friendly but they had absolutely underestimated just how friendly.

Apparently, the moment Clementine so much as breathed a word about how much she missed her biological family, Scar -ever the kind and helpful mayor that he was- decided to throw a beach party!

Since Clemmy's extended family was pretty large and they didn't want anyone to feel left out, it was an open invitation to everyone on the Dream SMP as long as they behaved.

That point was driven home when a few people, like Antfrost and his unhealed, dog bitten asscheek, mentioned how upsetting the Hermits was definitely not a good idea.

(Deep down they knew that the reason they were really doing this was because the hermits were worried about them. The Dream SMP was just a bunch of traumatized children according to them. They weren't wrong in that assumption but no one wanted to admit that.)

So, when the day of the beach party finally dawned, they all put on their least threatening outfits and packed up their supplies, (where Tubbo got the surf board nobody wanted to question) and entered the portal just like they had done a few months prior.

A few things were different though, the sun was bright and beaming in the sky, soft puffy white clouds rolled by, only promising gentle shade instead of the dreary air of yesteryear.

The shopping district had been rebuilt from it's smoky ruins and they finally all had time to appreciate the lovingly built shops and roads. It looked so beautiful and vibrant, you could practically feel the fact that summer was in full swing.

The smell of nectar and sea salt drifted through the air, sweetening even the sourest of moods. This is what peace was to the hermits. This was their everyday. They were so lucky and they didn't even realize it.

Some people were taking notes of all the different building styles with bright eyes, hoping to replicate some of it when they got home, others were suddenly hit with a feeling of bitter inadequacy of it compared to their homes. Is this what a world without war could look like?

But, no matter the gloomy musings of the few, they were all here to let go for a day! To celebrate the good times and to kick back for seemingly the first time in forever.

Their welcome party this time simply consisted of one person.

It was a strange sight, seeing the Hermits' admin Xisuma without a mask on, wearing a god awful hawaiian shirt that Keralis had thrown at him with glee the moment he mentioned that he didn't have something to wear, and again, were those, gods forbid crocks?

"'Ello everyone! Wow this is quite the turn up. Scar wished he could be here to greet you all personally, but he's still too busy helping the others preparing for the barbecue, so you're stuck with me for the time being.

Now, if you'll kindly follow me, we set everything up pretty close to here, so we'll be there in a minute."

The walk over to the beach was short, but just as scenic as the rest of the server.

Warm, golden sand, gently lapping waves and lush plant life. The sound of the hermits' laughter and soft music filled the air as the smell of the previously mentioned barbecue proved a welcome distraction from whatever the hell was happening on the far right side of the beach (the ZIT trio built a karaoke machine. It was Zedaph's idea. It was also a horrible idea but they didn't seem to realize that yet.)

As they began to debate a plan of attack, no wait. ... fun? enjoyment? eh whatever.

A tall man jogged up to the group. Some people recognized him as Mumbo Jumbo, that one british guy with the mustache. Others, however, as that semi-scary redstone wizard who managed to create extremely powerful potion launchers during the invasion.

He was dressed just as down to earth as the others, holding a tall glass of lemonade in his hand and wearing a (quite goofy) sunhat he borrowed from Ren.

He was explaining something to X in hushed tones (something or other about a minor fire at the barbecue table?) When he looked past the gathering of guests and out towards the path that they had come from, and screeched.

"GRIAN PLEASE I'M HOLDING LEMONADE DON'T!" X reached over and grabbed the glass from his hands just in time for a cackling, feathered ball of something to crash into Mumbo, knocking him into the water with an audible "oof".

There was wild thrashing as the two tried to orient themselves, Grian somehow climbing onto Mumbo's back.

"CLEMMY! COME HELP ME DROWN MUMBO!" Grian waved towards a cluster of trees to their left, underneath which a small gathering of hermits was enjoying a bit of a reprieve from the sun.

"NOT YOU TOO!" came the mustachioed man's scream of distress.

Clementine, the whole terrifying six feet and three inches of a woman that she was, took off running to the water at full tilt towards the struggling brits.

Mumbo, having already formed a strategy in his head, did a perfect T-pose and feel backwards into the water, bringing down a screaming Grian with him. Clementine did a graceful swan dive into the water (how she executed that shall be left for viewer interpretation) and happily joined the fray, even the distressed calls of Stress behind her because "Gods damn it Clemmy! I spent an hour on your hair! And now it's ruined!" couldn't persuade her to give up on her mission to cause as much friendly chaos as possible.

She climbed out of the water a few minutes later, her hair a mess and a bright smile on her face.

"Techie! Wilby! Tubbo! Thank you guys so much for coming! I'm really glad that you could make it." She hugged them each close, enjoying the comfort of having them all together again.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Techno relaxed his posture, trying not to fidget too much. He was getting better with crowds but it was still a lot.

"You may think he's joking but he literally dragged Quackity all the way to the portal because he was too busy doing his eyeliner and would've made us late." Wilbur snickered when she leaned in to hug him, earnings him one of her patented ear-splitting laughs.

"I got a recording of it!" Tubbo proudly announced, pulling out his video camera

while still holding an arm around her.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! LET ME HAVE SOME DIGNITY MAN!" The aforementioned Mr. Fattest Ass in the cabinet screamed indignantly as soon as he got within hearing range.

"Quackity you never had any dignity. It's too late for that." Techno flicked the duck shapeshifter on the head, earning him even more annoyed rambling which he just chose to ignore.

"Well, I'm glad that that's settled, now, I have some people I'd like for you to meet."

She directed them towards the group sitting in the shade, which consisted of False, (a now soaking wet) Grian, Stess, Mumbo (who also looked like a disgruntled cat that was just given a bath), Iskall and Ren.

Meanwhile Doc and Cleo had a little cornered off area they'd nicknamed the "cool kids club" (it was because around this time the sun got strong enough to actually burn her and Doc just felt slightly iffy about the water, since he was, ya know, half robot.)

Clemmy threw herself down on a blanket in front of a grumbling Stress who set about actually making her hair look presentable.

Niki sat down next to them and began discussing the merits of different styles to put Clemmy's hair into.

Ranboo sheepishly sat down next to Cleo's lawn chair folding all of his gangly limbs under himself.

Wilbur happily plopped himself down next to Ren on a blanket and began to hum along to the other's guitar.

Techno lay dow his cape, deciding that a nap was the best course of action in that moment.

Fundy hesitated for a second before going down to the shore to relax and just put his feet in the water for now.

Philza, the awkward dad that he was, chose to sit down close enough to the girls that he'd be able to hear what they were talking about without intruding.

Tubbo placed his stuff down by Clemmy's feet and ran out to the shore with his surf board in hand.

Going through so many conflicts in such a short amount of time really tires a person out, especially ones as young as the ones from the SMP so getting this afternoon of rest truly helped ease some of the stress given to them by recent events.

(Beach episode pog?)

Of course, this little get together wasn't without it's faults. About two hours in Doc accidentally trampled False's sand castle, who in retaliation teamed up with Cleo to dump water on him while he was relaxing.

This little conflict evolved into a battle to see who could build the biggest and grandest sand castle between "Team Himbo" and "Team Women" (one of those was coined by Clemmy). Puffy and Stress set up a good system of transporting sand from point A to point B, allowing them to move faster. False got placed on detailing duty while Niki brought refreshments for the rest of the team. Alyssa was mostly helping out wherever she could, as Cleo worked her armour stand magic to make their castle feel even more alive.

Clemmy just shouted encouragements and bullied the opposing team.

(The member list of Team Himbo has been redacted to avoid any drama about who might qualify as a himbo in the given circumstances)

Somehow the guys managed to convince Techno to join them, which immediately stacked odds in their favor to which Eret and Iskall, being the non-binary legends they are, decided to side with Team Women, now renamed to "Team Prettier Than You".

Their building contest laated for another hour before X decided to try to stop them (it wasn't because of the time. It was because TFC and Grian started shouting things about structural integrity and adding stone parts to the walls and the contestants actually listened when he decided that it was getting out of hand.)

Then it was time to actually enjoy the barbecue. Techno surprised everyone with how delicious his baked potatoes ended up. Beef also got to flex his skills a little with, as you guessed it, beef.

Tubbo and Tango sadly had to eat further away then everyone because the moment they got within ten feet of the fire something mysteriously combusted.

After that, the ZIT trio busted out the karaoke machine and the night went from good to great.

The old Team Star was dared to sing a rendition of Hermit Gang and everyone younger than 25 felt physical distress during some parts.

The sleepy bois (+Tubbo) sang a cover of "Your new boyfriend" (Techno got surprisingly into it) and then Wilbur swiped Ren's guitar to sing some Taylor Swift songs (accompanied by Tubbo on a synth he seemingly pulled out of nowhere) in that one weird accent he can do which had most people wheezing on the floor from laughter after the first song.

Niki threw down a german cover of Say So by Doja Cat. Grian, Phil and Tommy were unconsciously doing the parrot dancing thing. It was great.

Quackity sang something in spanish and Karl and Sapnap made over exaggerated swooning noises.

Skeppy and Bad did a duet. It was as adorable as it sounds.

Some other people also came on stage, belting out songs in such horridly broken voices that I'll spare you the details. Let's just say, nails scratching chalkboards would sound better.

And that was most of the festivities over with.

The last thing on the agenda? A meteor shower. How did they set it up? Clemmy's weird star child thing. The aforementioned girl was huddled close together with her family as they watched the comets streak across the clear sky (all electronics and artificial lights were shut off for the night) and Melohi played from a jukebox in the corner.

Fundy was laying his head in Dream's lap, the other boy was softly threading his fingers through his almost fiance's orange hair while leaning heavily on George and trying not to let sleep claim him as it had the fox (no one knew how this happened, all they were aware of is that the three had disappeared sometime during the sand castle contest only to reemerge having finally talked things through and come to an agreement that they all seemed happy with).

Ranboo, Niki, Puffy and Eret were collapsed in a happy pile just vibing.

The sleepy bois, who were for once actually sleepy, all wore matching flower crowns braided together by Stress's experienced fingers (and Wilbur's rather clumsy ones). Phil and her had managed to come to an agreement of unofficial joint custody after he witnessed Techno embarrassedly lean down to let her place a crown of golden flowers upon his head and saw his internal beam of pride when she called him "handsome".

The boys never really had a mother he mused, maybe she could teach them kindness where he couldn't.

Another surprise addition to the family was the owner of the third pair of wings in the cuddle pile. Phil didn't expect to end up with any more children at this point in his life, but Grain and Clemmy were practically attached at the hip and it felt wrong to even think about separating them.

He only hoped that those two wouldn't cause too much chaos especially when teamed up with Tubbo.

In the end, everyone drifted off to sleep, one by one they closed their eyes on their most perfect day. Praying for whatever might be out there, that they'll have many more moments just like this.

Well,

almost everyone.

Callahan chuckled as he walked back up to his spot with Alyssa farther away from the others. shutting off his camera after cycling through the pictures he took of everyone looking goofy while sleeping (His favorite is the one where Clemmy was very visibly munching on Techno's hair). He may not use those as blackmail but he sure ass hell was going to tease them about it later. He fell asleep there on that hill, drifting off to comforting rest like the others.

After that? Life moved on.

It was chaotic sure, and not perfect.

But it was theirs. They grew up slowly, learning to be kind to one another, how to grow with one another.

Life wasn't always perfect but hey, they had each other. And in the end? That's all that mattered.

[ontheoddoccasioniwritestuff]

Get a Hairband or Get a Haircut (Bi!Spencer Reid x Male!Reader)

Summary: Spencer’s boyfriend sees Spencer with his hair in a bun. He pulls some strings to make sure he’ll see that sight more often.

AN: Look, I just want to see this man with his hair up. Thank you to my pals on Discord for prompting me to write this!

Word count: 2.3k

Your name: submit What is this?

“Some of the worst mistakes in my life were haircuts” ― Jim Morrison

---> ---> ---> ---> --->

Spencer’s attention was drawn away from his stack of paperwork when he spied, out of the corner of his eye, his boyfriend approaching his desk. Y/N looked as handsome as ever in his work’s uniform, the FBI VISITOR badge pinned above his heart. Spencer sat up straight first, like a meerkat, then stood to attention with his cane in one hand.

“Hey, Y/N, what are you doing here?” He asked, fidgeting with a pen.

Y/N held up one of their Tupperware from home, “I took your lunch by accident.”

“Oh, I didn’t notice. Give me a second.”

Bringing it up onto his desk, Spencer began rifling through his bag. He managed to keep up the persona of a man who had definitely not swapped lunches so that he could see his boyfriend again during his work day.

When Spencer turned back to Y/N, Y/N was just beaming away at him. Yeah, this switch-a-roo was definitely worth it. He couldn’t help but smile back as they swapped lunch boxes.

“Thanks,” Y/N said then used it to gesture over his shoulder, “I gotta head back to work quick, so I’ll see you tonight.” Before leaving, he bit his lip and took a step back, “I dig the new ‘do by the way.”

It was then that Spencer remembered his hair was still up in a bun. He’d asked JJ to borrow a hair tie after his overgrown fringe had fallen in the way one too many times. His neck went a light shade of red as Y/N blew a kiss to him before turning around to leave the building. His hand went to the back of his head, fingers wrapping around the bun to confirm that yes, it was still there. Spencer watched until Y/N rounded the corner towards the exit. Then, and only then, did he sit back down and return to his files.

---> ---> ---> ---> --->

It had always been an easy target for the BAU team to playfully poke, Spencer’s hair. The boy band trim was a classic case of “let’s make quips at Doctor Reid”. Y/N wasn’t above joining in the teasing whenever it arose. One of his best jokes was that Spencer would often enter a raid with his hair bouncing around like an Afghan Hound trotting to first place at Crufts.

Y/N saved the praise for when they were alone.

That evening was no different to any other, plus the promise of a lie-in the following morning. Y/N made dinner for himself and Spencer – left warm in the oven for whenever he came home – and got out of his work clothes as soon as he could. He ate alone on the sofa, with his feet up and the dish on a cushioned lap tray.

The news was depressing, the game shows were dull, the documentaries were dismal. TV had really let itself go in terms of what it broadcast for the nine-to-fivers.

Pulling one of Spencer’s hairs out of the keyboard, Y/N pulled up a film on his laptop and linked it up to the TV. He retrieved one of his bags of candy from the coffee table’s drawer. The theme song skipped, he watched without extreme attention paid to the events unfolding. One episode blended into another, paused so that Y/N could change out of his work clothes before he got too lazy. He returned to his warm spot on the couch and snacked mindlessly until-

The front door clicked open and again when shut. Tilting his head back, Y/N was greeted by Spencer kissing his hairline whilst walking by. Y/N hummed, his eyes drifting shut at the gesture, and Spencer smiled – his hand squeezing on Y/N’s shoulder before letting go.

“How was work?” Y/N asked, watching Spencer head straight to the oven.

He pulled out the dish and spooned some of the lasagne into the bowl Y/N had set out for him, “Uh, just paperwork today mostly. How was your day?”

“Just the usual my end too,” Y/N joined him at the table, eating the rest of his snacks.

For a while, they exchanged a catch up on how things in their respective offices were going. Y/N had hidden an electronic whoopie cushion in one of the filing cabinets opposite his desk and activated when a person passed by. It took until an hour before the end of the day. Meanwhile Spencer had performed his new magic trick on Penelope, Prentiss, and JJ. Derek had ducked away into Hotch’s office before he could try anything.

Y/N could only keep his glee hidden for so long though.

“I got you something.”

And he pulled the present from under his legs and placed it beside Spencer’s plate. Brown paper – recyclable, naturally – and string neatly tied it together. It was straight from a story book.

Spencer put down his cutlery and lifted the gift gingerly, his eyes moving across the folds to try and determine what could be inside. It was light, a bit squishy. Then impatience took over and he became a kid at Christmas tearing away at the paper to free his present.

His chin in his palms, Y/N watched nervously as Spencer released his present, “Figured you should get some of your own, stop you stealing from JJ.”

It was technically a gag gift, but if Spencer was genuinely up for tying his hair back with one of these seven scrunchies, so was Y/N.

“You’re hilarious and you can cook,” Spencer spun the packet around his fingers, “When did I get so lucky?”

“Should be asking myself that, with the smartest and most gorgeous doctor in my apartment.”

A pair of scissors from the drawer snipped the plastic ties off and Spencer selected the purple one. He slipped it on his wrist, beginning to scoop his hair to the back of his head. Y/N watched, enraptured as Spencer pulled the scrunchie over the bun and twisted it around until it was secure.

“You are so pretty,” cooed Y/N, “The FBI’s Next Top Model.”

That bashful smile, the crinkles in the corners of Spencer’s eyes, they were all parts of why Y/N loved complimenting his boyfriend.

Spencer finished dinner with his hair still up and Y/N was delighted to see he kept the scrunchie in after he’d changed in his pyjamas. Footsteps plus a third beat were cushioned against the rug before vanishing when Spencer daintily placed himself into the sofa cushions. Y/N already had the blanket up for his boyfriend to tuck himself in, all ready for their Doctor Who rerun to continue.

It took about a minute for Y/N’s attention to be drawn from the TV and to Spencer. He wrapped his one arm around him, the old yawning in the movie theatre trick, and he didn’t miss the corner of Spencer’s mouth twitching at the gesture. Y/N’s arm bent to play with the strays that floated on the air above his head, stirring them around.

He tapped the scrunchie, “Take it out.”

Spencer squinted curiously, though he kept his eye on the TV, “Sick of it already?”

“Your hair’s too lovely to be trapped in a scrunchie all the time.”

With an affectionate eye roll, Spencer complied, teasing his hair a little until it was in its usual unkempt state.

“I should probably get a trim; it keeps falling in my face,” He said quietly.

“I reckon you could get a reverse Mohawk and I’d still love the bones of you.”

“A reverse Mohawk?”

Y/N nodded then mimed shaving a strip down the centre of his head, imitated the buzzing as he went. Spencer had to chuckle at the notion of rocking a cut like that at the FBI.

“I’m not quite ready for that.”

There was faux apology in his tone. Y/N kept up the ruse, wiping his brow with a relieved exhale, “Good, I was lying, don’t ever get a reverse Mohawk.”

Once Spencer had pinkie-promised on that, they got back to watching the TV. Y/N’s arms dropped to his sides. He kept one hand under the blanket though, rubbing his thumb back and forth over Spencer’s thigh. Spencer’s hand joined his shortly after the next episode of their show began, linking their fingers together for a moment before he let go again.

---> ---> ---> ---> --->

As much as Y/N supported Spencer in his job, he fucking wished he could wake up before Spencer more often. He looked so sweet, half his face hidden in a pillow and the other half completely free from stress. His lean frame was hidden beneath the blankets. His hair was more like a mane, all springy and knotted and standing at odd angles.

Of course, Y/N could always get extra early when Spencer was here, but that would involve setting an alarm and no one in that apartment would appreciate it when it would go off.

“Spencer?” Y/N said in a soft sing song voice, tucking himself up close to his boyfriend, “Spencer, baby?”

He wriggled a little closer and kissed Spencer’s lips gently. His giggles were held close in his chest as the corners of Spencer’s mouth pulled up, revealing those delicious dimples.

“Spencer,” whispered Y/N once more, bumping his nose against his.

Spencer frowned before he opened his eyes; the wrinkles on his brow cleared once he saw who was waking him. His head lifted slightly. It was just enough to bump his nose back against Y/N’s before it fell back down into his pillow.

“I’ve got a question for you.”

In that gravelly morning voice, Spencer answered, “Yeah?”

“Can I try something with your hair please?”

Already, Spencer was groaning and rolling his eyes into the back of his head, trying to turn over in the bed. But Y/N was sat on the blankets now and Spencer had no choice but to cuddle into himself.

“I’ll buy you something at the gift shop today! Anything you want,” He offered as he pinned Spencer onto his back - with a little room in his actions made to be careful with Spencer’s leg. But Spencer draped his forearm over his eyes and continued to pretend he was back to sleep.

Y/N would not relent, bending over close as he whined, “Babe, please, this would make me so happy.”

Those striking hazel eyes peeked out from underneath the arm. Y/N could see a hint of his dimples returning. He exploited that weakness to the full, taking Spencer’s arm away from his face as he clasped his hand between his own. His lips pressed delicate kisses across his curled fingers then pouted down at Spencer who’s resolve was visibly deteriorating.

When Y/N ceased his kissing, Spencer retrieved his hand and pushed himself to sit up, the blankets dropping from his body as he leant into his boyfriend. He cupped Y/N’s chin and in turn his cheek was traced by Y/N’s forefinger.  

With a sigh, Spencer nodded, “Go ahead.”

The biggest grin broke out on Y/N’s face. He practically leapt off Spencer’s lap to collect his tools.

Though he made the act of reading the book from his bedside table, Spencer wasn’t really paying attention to the words on the page. He already knew them. Instead he let Y/N’s gentle brush strokes distract him, detangling the knots the night had tied. A glance into the wardrobe’s mirror showed Y/N idly biting his lip. The back of Spencer’s head was his whole world now.

When the comb could travel without resistance, Y/N’s fingers dragged around his scalp, capturing all the hair that grew above the tips of his ears and separating it from the rest. The slight scratch of his nails caused Spencer’s book dropped onto the bed and his glasses began to slide off his nose.

Quick to push them back up, Spencer was greeted by Y/N’s reaction to twirling Spencer’s around before securing it all with the yellow scrunchie. And Spencer had never seen him smile so much in the morning.

Y/N knelt in front of him; his hands were in loose fists that shifted in restrained excitement in his lap. When they unclenched, those hands caressed the free hair at the back of Spencer’s head, only moving around to cup his face. Spencer’s own hands were drawn to Y/N’s sides like iron fillings to a magnet. He soaked in Y/N’s affections that were poured into the way he looked at him.

The words were fragile, tender, just above a whisper, “Oh you’re so beautiful, Spencer. Thank you.” As if tying his hair up meant more than the world. Spencer was invaluable to Y/N; he knew it and he felt it.

Y/N kissed Spencer’s nose and it wrinkled with pleasure at the gesture.

But as Spencer leant in to close the gap between them, Y/N moved back and pressed two fingers on his lips, “You can kiss me properly when we’ve brushed our teeth. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna make you wear this to the museum.” He tapped the bun on top before he got off the bed. 

As his gaze followed Y/N retreating into the bathroom, Spencer caught his reflection on the wardrobe’s mirror once more. Morgan would say he looked like a hairy pineapple, or a greasy hipster. Nevertheless, Spencer was chuffed to know that Y/N still looked at him like he had scattered the stars above their heads - just for him.

He heard the shower running. As he fell back into the bed, the top knot pressing against the headboard, Spencer hoped no new cases came in because he could really use a whole weekend of this.

[disneytva]

September 2020 Programming Highlights On Disney Networks

Saturday, Sept. 12

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Big City Greens “Present Tense/Hurt Bike”

(8:00-8:30 P.M. EDT)

“Present Tense” – Cricket struggles to get the best birthday present for his best friend, Remy.

*Lorraine Toussaint (“Orange Is the New Black) and Colton Dunn (“Superstore”) return as Russell and Rashida Remington; Danny Trejo (“Machete”) returns as Vasquez.

“Hurt Bike” – After almost getting in a dirt bike accident, Cricket decides to live his life in shelter.

TV-Y7

Original Series – Season Two Premiere on Disney Channel

Amphibia “Little Frogtown/Hopping Mall”

(8:30-9:00 P.M. EDT)

“Little Frogtown” – Hop Pop investigates the disappearance of an old friend and the shadowy crime syndicate he suspects are behind it.

“Hopping Mall” – Hop Pop takes the kids to a Newtopian shopping mall to buy souvenirs, and Anne will do anything to get the perfect gift for her mom back home.

*Misty Lee (“Lego City Adventures”) and Romi Dames (“Winx Club”) guest star as Priscilla the Killa and Pearl, respectively.

TV-Y7

Saturday, Sept. 19

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Big City Greens “Quiet Please/Chipwrecked”

(8:00-8:30 P.M. EDT)

“Quiet Please” – When the Green’s visit the library, the librarian threatens to throw them out if they make a sound.

*Linda Hamilton (“Terminator” franchise) guest stars as the librarian, alongside Chris Houghton as Cricket Green, Artemis Pebdani (ABC’s “Scandal”) as Gramma Alice, Marieve Herington (“How I Met Your Mother”) as Tilly Green and Bob Joles (“Puss in Boots”) as Bill Green.

“Chipwrecked” – Chip Whistler attempts to make Cricket lose his job by running Big Coffee out of business.

*Mary Holland (“Robbie”) guest stars as Chairwoman and Paul Scheer (“The League”) returns as Chip Whitstler

TV-Y7

Original Series – Season Two Premiere on Disney Channel

Amphibia “The Sleepover to End All Sleepovers/A Day at the Aquarium”

(8:30-9:00 P.M. EDT)

“The Sleepover to End All Sleepovers” – Anne and Marcy issue a Scare Dare Challenge that brings Sprig and Polly into forbidden areas of the castle.

“A Day at the Aquarium” – Anne and the Plantars look to spend what could be their last day together at the Newtopia Aquarium.

TV-Y7

Monday, Sept. 21

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney XD

DuckTales “The Phantom and the Sorceress!”

(7:00-7:30 P.M. EDT)

When a mysterious magic thief arrives in Duckburg, Lena must confront her past and team with her treacherous aunt, Magica.

*Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”) guest stars as Phantom Blot and Catherine Tate (“Doctor Who”) returns as Magica.

TV-Y7

Original Series – Season Three Premiere on Disney XD

Big Hero 6 The Series “The Hyper-potamus Pizza-Party-torium”

(7:30-8:00 P.M. EDT)

Hiro and a short-handed Big Hero 6 team attempt to stop Noodle Burger Boy and his new family.

TV-Y7 FV

Friday, Sept. 25

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Mira Royal Detective “A Mystery Fit for a Queen/The Case of Pinky and the Goat”

(8:30-9:00 A.M. EDT)

“A Mystery Fit for a Queen” – When Queen Shanti’s lost jewelry suddenly turns up, Mira enlists the Queen to join her on the case.

“The Case of Pinky and the Goat” – Mira asks her friend Pinky, the goat expert, to help find Dhruv’s pet goat.

*Hari Kondabolu (“Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell”) guest stars as vegetable cart vendor, Mr. Walia.

TV-Y

Monday, Sept. 28

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney XD

DuckTales “They Put a Moonlander on Earth!”

(7:00-7:30 P.M. EDT)

Webby sets out to prove to a homesick Penumbra that Earth can be a lot of fun by riding Glomgold’s newest gift to Duckburg, the suspicious Flintferris Glomwheel.

*Julie Bowen (ABC’s “Modern Family”) returns as Penumbra.

TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney XD

Big Hero 6 The Series “Mayor for a Day/The Dog Craze of Summer”

(7:30-8:00 P.M. EDT)

“Mayor for a Day” – Big Hero 6 responds to Richardson Mole’s every whim when he is made mayor for the day.

*Jane Lynch (“Glee”) and Sean Giambrone (ABC’s “The Goldbergs”) return as Supersonic Sue and Richardson Mole, respectively.

“The Dog Craze of Summer” – Hiro enlists the help of the team when Granville’s three dogs go missing while under his watch.

*Jenifer Lewis (ABC’s “black-ish”) returns as Professor Granville.

TV-Y7 FV

[akira-emberheart]

songs I'd like to assign to the glee kids (part I)

Note: I'm pretty well known for making playlists and more playlists, and ever since seeing this post by @cracktastic about assigning, for the 100th episode, the least expected song to the least expected character, I've found myself craving to hear specific characters sing specific songs.

(I've also started another separate list to add on to that post I mentioned, but that will be a post for another day)

So after going through my music library, I came up with a small list of songs for each character that I would love to hear them sing, for various reasons, which i'll do my best to explain.

This got really long really fast, because I like to get into meta and over analyze - I'm also just very passionate about music. For that reason, I'll do 5 songs at a time for a specific character, and I'll be putting a read more.

Also, please be gentle with me - I've watched Glee a year ago, and it's entirely possible I may be missing or confusing scenes and storylines in my head. If I do, let me know!

If you read this and find yourself thinking of songs and scenarios as well, do share them with me! I'm working on actual Spotify Playlists as well.

So let's get into it -

for Kurt Hummel

> Re: Stacks by Bon Iver

"This is not the sound of a new man

or crispy realization

It's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away

Your love will be

Safe with me"

This is probably one of my favorite songs ever, and I first thought about it for Kurt after realising how beautiful his voice would sound in it, because of its crystal clear and poised quality. (I liked it so much I included it in a scene on my fanfic too).

If you don't know Bon Iver, or the history of this song, it's the last track in an album full of more..."depressing" songs. It's also the one that has a throughout tone of hope, of recovery after a hard ordeal, of taking some first steps to a better place.

I imagine it would be a good song for him around the time he meets Blaine - when the Karovsky situation is nearly over, and he starts looking back on his school year - Burt's heart attack, the bullying - and, now with Blaine in his life, and a renewed self confidence, he's finally able to confidently step into a better phase of his life and heal from all he went through.

I see this one being sung in a quiet moment of reflection, when he's alone. Maybe in the choir room, or even outdoors in a nice garden. In my fanfic I wrote it in a different context, in Blaine's room at night, so I guess that works in my head too.

***

> Enchanted by Taylor Swift

"I'm wonderstruck

Blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you"

I'm very fascinated with Kurt's whole storyline in S2 - things start off so rough for him, but when Blaine comes along, and when Kurt is able to grow and shift more and assuming the person he really is, things start looking up. I chose this song for what it promises, and also because I can imagine it in Kurts lower singing register and it seems like a good one for him. Also, yes, I was a kid who owned Speak Now. Sue me.

This song is about first meeting someone very special, and that happens to be the beginning of Klaine. With the almost whispered lyrics, the slowly crescent ambiance and rhythm, it really encapsulates the feeling of everything stopping when you lay eyes in that one special person, and the flooding rush of emotions that happens right after.

Kurt had no idea how much an unsuspecting visit to a rival show coir school would change his life, even less in the midst of the situation he was in. It also seems fitting for Kurt and his early relationship with Blaine because of some specific lyrics ("This is me praying now / This was the very first page / Not where the storyline ends"). Enchanted tells the story of a special first meeting, and hints at something special to come, from the perspective of someone who is awestruck for someone.

Like the one above, this one would fit in early S2, possibly in EP6, after Kurt and Blaine's meeting at Dalton Academy. When he's back home, alone in his room, daydreaming, or when he's back at McKinley in that same afternoon.

***

> Gonna Get Over You by Sara Bareilles

"Oooh, how am I gonna get over you? I'll be alright, just not tonight But someday. Hey, I wish you'd want me to stay I'll be alright, just not tonight"

My main reason for choosing this one is because I think it fits very very well with Kurt's voice, and musical taste - its a very vibrant and poppy song, despite the more depressing theme - a post breakup promise of getting over it.

I first thought of it for S4, soon after the Breakup™, but paying close attention to the lyrics (I do tend to get stuck on just the melody sometimes), it makes more sense to place this on during the S6 Breakup - when Kurt finds out about Blaine dating Karovsky, after deciding he wants Blaine back.

So it's a hard situation for him, as we see from his breakdown in the bathroom (poor Kurt!), and he really has to come to terms with the mistakes he made (and the mistakes they both made as a couple), pick himself up, and move on.

I imagine this one being sung during an outing with Rachel, when she's trying to cheer him up and lift him up a little from his depression. My brain readily produces an image of a sunny street or a shopping mall that the two of them walk through, Kurt with some nice vivid colored clothes, finally being able to smile and ready to perhaps start moving on, or at least ready to start considering he will be okay.

***

> Killer Queen by Queen

"She keeps her Moet et Chandon

In her pretty cabinet

"Let them eat cake", she says

Just like Marie Antoinette"

This song just reminds me of Kurt. It's one of my all time favorites from Queen, and ever since watching Glee, these two are just connected in my mind. Voice wise, Kurt could definitely handle it.

It's apparently about a "high class prostitute"(? Freddie's word's, not mine), but still paints a pretty and dainty picture, and you can almost picture a porcelain faced lady in her best clothes, delicately smoking a cigarette. It also contains words that probably only Kurt can pronounce out of everyone in the glee club.

Many Queen songs were sung on Glee, but I don't think there was ever a Queen episode. For this one, I suggest a headcanon scenario, maybe during S3, when Mr. Shuester decides to have a Queen week - and Kurt isn't known for going with the obvious choices. He wants to be classy, edgy and impressive, and he sings in front of everyone, half in the choir room, half in the auditorium, perhaps with some fancy decoration and dancers behind him.

***

> The Answer by Kodaline

"You might think you found the one

Until your heart gets ripped and torn

Yeah, I used to feel bad, I used to feel like that

I still feel a bit like that"

This is another one that I picked immediately solely based on Kurt's voice - I really do like his voice with just a quiet, discrete instrumental. Looking into it further, I decided it could really work for Kurt's character.

I didn't go very deep into the intended meaning of the song, because it definitely has space for different interpretations. I choose to go with the breakup one. These lyrics here reminded me a little of the S4 breakup storyline - "We all fall down from the highest clouds / to the lowest ground" - makes me think how well Kurt's life was going once he arrived in New York, with the internship, his apartment situation with Rachel, a new and exciting place where he could freely be himself... and then he's completely blindsided by Blaine's cheating. He goes from being ecstatic and excited at Blaine's appearance, looking forward to share with him all the great things he just discovered, when Blaine's confession sends him to a well of despair, doubt and loneliness. The lyrics "You might think you found the one / until your heart gets ripped and torn" - reinforce the whole situation.

I can see him singing this not long after the breakup, on one more sleepless night, maybe walking alone through the streets of New York, or maybe in a montage of his busy daily routine, while he just gets through the day with a whole lot of emptiness weighing on his chest.

[fleckcmscott]

Awake

Summary: It's one of those rare mornings in which Y/N stirs before Arthur. She reflects on sharing life (and a bed) with him.

Warnings: Smut, Swearing

Words: 3,524

A/N: This is a request from @jokerownsmysoul​, who is very dear and extremely generous. Thank you for sending this to me! It was interesting and I enjoyed writing it!

If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment, feel free to message me, or send me an ask. Requests for Arthur and WWH are open!

The continuous battering of rain on the metal air conditioner resounded through the room. Arthur had put it in the window by the closet rather than the windows behind their bed, but it was loud enough to disrupt Y/N's sleep, anyway. She welcomed it, though. Summer in the city was often harder than it had been back home. The asphalt amplified the heat, and Gotham's mix of skyscrapers, office buildings, and apartment complexes prevented any cool breeze from blowing through at ground level.

Her clammy commutes had resulted in curled papers in her canvas bag, curled tips of her hair, and her polyester office wear making her sweat, sweat, sweat. She was sure that pattern would continue today - it was unlikely the ventilation on the H train had been repaired. Lying there, she wanted the sky to open. For a downpour to cut through the humidity. For a thunderstorm to sweep in, in the way that had scared and exhilarated her as a little girl.

Dim, silvery light spilled past the edges of the shades. It was early. She might be able to nab another hour of shuteye. She stretched and mewled. Rolled onto her right side. Tucked her folded hands beneath the blanket.

But the drawn-out, low rattle of Arthur's snoring prodded her whenever she was about to nod off.

Opening one eye, she peeked at him. Then she quietly reached and rolled up both shades to get a better look. Brown waves tumbled over his pillow, the same one he'd brought with him from 8J. His left arm lay on the mattress, his right resting across his stomach. While his torso was half-supine, his waist faced her. The cover had fallen to his thighs, and a foot stuck out from beneath the sheets, toes flexing along with his breathing. Nestling closer, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear.

It had been four months since they'd boarded the subway together, his few belongings in tow, to set out towards whatever may lie ahead. They'd only lived three stations apart, but her glee had climbed with each stop. Unable to contain herself, she'd pecked Arthur's apprehensive face whenever their eyes met. Until he'd snorted, pulled her tight against him, and murmured an unnecessary, "Thanks."

Sitting, she let her eyes roam the room. While they were still getting used to each other's habits and compromising when necessary, it struck her how easy it had been to allow him into her place. And now it was their place.

Unlike in his old apartment, there were hints of him everywhere. His blue house pants were draped on the chair in the corner. The watch she'd surprised him with - but he didn't wear - sat on the bureau, amongst her jewelry box, his wallet, and a prescription. With a muted chuckle, she recalled the bottle of lubricant she'd put in the drawer of her nightstand, used when her body wouldn't match the arousal of her brain or they were in a hurry.

She hadn't yet gotten over waking up to him every day, having him be a part of her routine. Coffee was always ready when she shuffled into the kitchen, their mugs side-by-side in front of the machine. Arthur would kiss her unhurriedly, and she usually didn't mind the smokiness of his breath.

When he was in good spirits (which, from what she could gather, was about seventy-three percent of the time), a shy smile would show off his chipped front tooth. He'd jut his hip against the counter while they discussed their day. Or current events. Or a favorite film or show. The little things. The big things. Everything in between. Now and then he'd whip out a joke and make her giggle or groan, in delight and in love.

Before Arthur and she had met, it had been ages since she'd last shared a bed with someone. And even longer since she'd enjoyed it. There had been her ex-husband, Jeff, for over nine years. It had been fun at the beginning. New. Exciting. Even with her lurking suspicion that marrying him had been a mistake, she'd thought she might have found a role that would make her happy. Allow her to fit into the small town she'd been raised in.

The dissolution of their marriage hadn't been all his fault. Sure, he'd been too serious, but he'd introduced her to the legal field and supported her decision to go to school. Had helped shape who she was. And he'd tried. But he wasn't a mind reader.

She'd been too young and insecure to tell him she didn't have the energy to make breakfast and dinner, not on top of a full class load and work. Yes, she did mind him talking to clients whenever they ate. No, she didn't just want to be Jeff Thompson's wife; she wanted to be Y/N Thompson. His but also herself. The last morning they'd spent together had been the first time they'd communicated in years.

Harry had been a nice guy, she'd believed. Nice enough to be involved with for twenty-two months. One day he'd told her he needed to find someone he could start a family with. Y/N had been hurt. And pissed. They hadn't discussed having children; she knew better than to out herself as a woman who had no interest in motherhood. It had made her wonder, though, what it was about her that was objectionable.

And then there was four years ago. Leonard had been a pipefitter who'd done some repairs at her office. She'd been working twenty hours a week, trying to stay sane when she wasn't housekeeping for, bathing, or attempting to ground her father. Leonard had been attractive. Polite. Had slipped her two copies of his business card, one for the boss and one for her. Desperation to have a conversation that wasn't comprised of confused sentences, episodic accusations, or mentions of bowels had compelled her to call him.

They'd been lying in bed when he'd said, "This isn't working."

Signs it wasn't going to last had emerged, but she'd tried to ignore them. After she'd disclosed her dreams of getting out of Boonville, after their first few dates, they'd rarely talked. Her drive to pursue her own hobbies had died as her responsibilities had increased, and she couldn't pretend to be interested in the sports he liked. Sex was the only thing they liked doing together. And it was just to feel something that wasn't awful, not to connect.

"I know," she'd replied. "I'm sorry. I'm not the best version of myself at the moment."

"Don't be too hard on yourself." He'd stood to pull on his jeans. "You're a nice woman, Y/N. I hope you make it to Metropolis or Gotham or wherever." She'd seen him to the front porch, where'd they'd shaken hands. When she'd finally left town, she'd given him some of her appliances for his shop's break room.

Arthur's mumbles broke her out of her reverie as he turned towards her. The tension he regularly carried was gone, his handsome features relaxed. She decided to believe he was at peace. Long eyelashes rested on his sculpted cheekbones. The temptation of his parted lips, mere inches away. The earthy hint of his perspiration wafted to her nostrils, and she smiled at the arousal blooming in her belly.

His lack of awareness of the power he had over her was amusing, though she expected him to figure it out eventually. They had sex a couple times a week, often more. He was an eager late bloomer, and she enjoyed being with him just as thoroughly. He valued the intimacy of the act as much as getting off.

Their lovemaking was simple, their explorations incremental - given his past, it was vital to respect his boundaries. But he was becoming more comfortable asking questions. Discovering what he preferred, as well as what he disliked. Telling her what he needed.

Or the things he longed to do to her.

A shaky exhale left her at the recollection, and she placed a kiss to the scar above his mouth. Her palm drifted down the column of his neck to his chest, and further still to his abdomen, her fingertips following the sparse strip of hair leading to his briefs. When she reached for his hip, her forearm bumped against his semi-hard "morning wood," a phrase that had always made her laugh.

Running her nails along his thigh, she admired the smattering of freckles and his firm muscles. For such a lanky man, his strength was impressive. It must have stemmed from running around Gotham all his life. And the dancing with which he so beautifully expressed himself, whether anxious, upset, or happy.

With a groan, he shifted onto his left side, dark brows pinched. Conscientiousness interrupted her desire and she halted. His insomnia had improved, he'd said. It was rare for him to go four or five days without sleep (though he intermittently did for one or two).

But he had had back-to-back jobs yesterday. He'd stayed in his writing nook until after she'd gone to bed, the mattress having dipped under his weight shortly past twelve. And he had an open-mic night coming up. Letting him rest would be the kind thing to do. It would also give her the chance to make breakfast and coffee for him for a change. Once she pressed a kiss to his cheek, she started to rise.

A loose grasp on her wrist. "Where are you going?" he asked, words husky with fatigue.

She twisted to meet his gaze but found his eyes were shut. "I was going to get you something to eat."

"That's sweet." Yawning, he stretched, then brought her closer until she was tucked into his side. "Stay." It was as much a request as a demand, Y/N knew, and she acquiesced with a grin. She buried her nose in his disheveled hair, breathed him in, relished the lazy drag of his fingers up her back.

The rain outside had reduced to a soothing patter, and she thought he would drift off. But his stroking continued. His grasp went to her leg, and she let him guide her to settle on top of him. "I dreamed something," he said. "It's hard to remember."

At the spark of their centers coming into contact she shivered. Not wanting him to think she wasn't listening, she forced herself to remain stationary. The feverishness of his smooth skin didn't make that easy. She caressed his sideburns. "Tell me what you can."

As he focused on the ceiling, eyelids heavy with sleep, he brought his hands to rest above his head on the pillow. "My ribs hurt - I must have been laughing. And it smelled like the bus." He glanced at her as he spoke. "But then I was here on our fire escape. Throwing my cards into the street. The ones that explain my condition. And then a woman was trying to get my jacket off." His lips curved, giving her a playful look. "I couldn't see or hear her, but she must have been you. She wouldn't stop touching me."

While he'd never disclosed the details, Y/N knew he suffered from nightmares. That hadn't been a shock. The child protective filings at her old job had described them as a common symptom of PTSD, which she assumed Arthur had. Every so often, he'd startle awake, hard enough to stir her. When that happened, he'd normally dismiss her attempts to draw him close, choosing to leave the room. Occasionally, he'd let her hold him until his breathing had steadied. Tell him she loved him. That he was safe.

A halfway enjoyable dream? That was a consolation. Propping her chin on the heel of her hand, she returned his pleased countenance. And the longer she gazed at him, the more acutely aware she became of the hard plains of his body pressed into her curves. "That sounds nice," she said. Amorousness buzzed in the air, despite her earlier effort to behave, and she played with the brown tuft under his arm, traced the hair circling the disc of his nipple.

The pad of his thumb swiped along her lips, and she opened her mouth around it for a kiss. "It was." The bob of his Adam's apple betrayed the fervor growing in him. As did the strain of his hard-on at her vulva. His eyes sparkled with mischief as she lightly rubbed herself against him. Slick pooled in her core at the friction, dampening her underwear. Pressure built quickly, with each groping kiss and graze of his fingers on her flank. The unrushed rolls of their hips continued until their breaths were ragged and she thought she would shatter.

She pushed herself to her knees, yanked at her panties while he reached to help. "You just woke up," he said in drowsy astonishment. "How are you this wet already?"

Continuing to straddle him, she sat and took hold of the hem of her short nightgown. "I'm in bed with you." The cotton going over her head muffled her words. "It's not a challenge." The offending piece of fabric was tossed to the floor. "Besides, doing that to me is an old habit of yours."

He cupped the dip of her waist. "Is it?" Even in the gray, morning light, his blush was prominent.

"Every time we talked on the phone. Your voice is such a turn-on." She folded down the elastic of his underwear, sighed at the slight bounce of his erection as he lifted his pelvis to permit the briefs' removal. "Everything about you is a turn on. It's a wonder I get anything done."

Arching into her labia, he groaned. "You're always so horny."

She appreciated his attempt at matching her forwardness and regarded him with a smirk. "You should fuck me, then," she teased, placing her hands on her hips to better display her breasts. Then she giggled at herself for trying to pretend she was seductive. When she'd done that in the past, success had never been more than middling. But with Arthur it was all right. No matter how ridiculous she felt, how silly the sentences spilling out of her were, he loved them. Especially when she made him laugh.

Like now. Though flustered, his hitched laughter was genuine and joyous. Different from the one he'd described in his dream, the one that still happened at inappropriate times (albeit less frequently). He appeared to like the role of object of desire. Of her significant other. Of her beloved. And though he'd told her he preferred being on top, claiming it was harder for him to "screw up," his hungry regard let her know he was fine with relinquishing some control today.

The repeated bumping of the ridge of his cock against her sensitive bud was bringing her nearer and nearer to her peak. Especially when his touch skimmed past her ribs to knead her swaying breasts, his thumbs swirling around her areolas. Her nipples puckered until they ached. Bending up, he took one into his mouth, and she writhed harder, whining and cradling his head while trying to support herself.

Her release was approaching, only a few seconds away. She scooted further back to kneel above him. Their hands collided when they both reached between their legs. Steadying herself on the mattress, she held herself open. The concentrated expression he wore revealed his impatience to enter her, but after two or three tries she had to take hold of him. Lowering herself, her pace careful, gentle, she let out a short moan at the delicious pressure of him breaching her.

"Ow, wait." His grip on her was sudden.

She braced herself on his chest. "Are you all right?"

Nodding sharply, he steered her a bit to the left. "That's better." He craned his neck, closing his eyes and smiling softly as he brought her down onto him, sheathing himself completely. "I love how you feel," he breathed.

She wriggled slightly, trying find the sweet spot that would result in rapture instead of discomfort. This was always trickier than she remembered. Grasping his shoulders, she propped herself on her forearms on either side of him and leaned forward. "I love how you fill me," she replied, clenching around his shaft.

Neither moved at first, choosing instead to bask in the sheer pleasure of the other. She ran her hands along his biceps, squeezed the toned sinews. Took in how the light played across his pale complexion and the hollows of his frame. "Arthur, you're beautiful."

He hiccuped on a chuckle, raising his hips, and she felt the blunt tip of him brush her cervix. "I think you're getting me mixed up with you."

His patch of coarse curls tickled her swollen nub, and she was consumed by the need to move. She wanted to find a good rhythm. One that wouldn't have him slip out of her. She gyrated her pelvis in a small circle, starting off leisurely, low grunts and groans escaping both of them.

Then her clit hit his pubic bone at just the right angle and she jolted.

Pulling her down to him, he melded their mouths as he rocked upwards. His supple lips were frantic, tongue twining with hers. One hand was gripping her shoulder, the fingers of the other digging her thigh as his movements quickened. Hooking his ankle around her calf, his other leg hit her ass as he bent it at the knee. "Fuck me," he rasped by her ear. "Fuck me. Please, Y/N, fuck..."

No man had ever begged her to fuck him before. It wasn't something they normally said, from her experience. But Arthur often took his cues from her. She had been his only partner, and she pleaded for him to fuck her - a lot. It wasn't the words that were surprising; it was the fire that shot through her in response.

She watched his brows draw together, the setting of his jaw as lust overcame his face. Lifting herself a few inches, she observed the rise and fall of Arthur's ribs with each shallow inhalation. How his lean abdominals bunched with every thrust.

Moaning, Y/N answered him by increasing her tempo. The smooth undulations of her hips fell away. Were replaced by a hurried up and down, up and down on the rigid heat of his cock. It was heady, as was the rising pitch of his whimpers.

With a harsh cry he surged into her, clutching her rear to keep her in place. She keened at the pulses of his erection within her walls. The splash of his release filling her. The racing of his heart, which she swore she could hear. His collarbones rose and fell with every gasp, his eyelids screwed shut.

Hurriedly, she slid her hand to her center and flicked her fingertip across her hood, feeling him soften inside her as she rutted against him and her own touch. His hand went to her back, encouraging her to continue. To take what she needed. To drive closer and closer to the precipice...

Her climax was swift. Not earth shattering but blissful all the same. It felt like relief instead of being winded. She smiled down at him, her eyes fluttering open to see the appealing flush on his neck and cheeks. Returning her amused look, he brought her down to him. Grinned against her mouth as she trembled, devouring her lips. Nuzzled at her and told her how happy she made him.

A tender warmth diffused from her center, flowing to her arms and legs. Feeling dreamy, she collapsed onto him, humming as she caught her breath. The muscles of her thighs were burning. And the ligaments in her knees were already sore. If this was going to become routine, she'd have to start doing squats or something. She pecked at his jaw. "You're the only man who's asked me to fuck him."

He gathered her hair, pushed it out of her face and kissed her forehead. "Was that weird?"

Giggling, she sighed contentedly and shrugged. "I liked it. And I'll do it anytime."

After a few moments, he smoothed his palm down her body and patted her bottom. She boosted herself on her elbow and kissed the bridge of his nose, then the wrinkles on his chin. "Are you still going to Amusement Mile? It wouldn't make sense with the rain. There likely won't be many people." She massaged his shoulder, caressed him with the back of her hand. "You should give yourself a break and relax."

After a thoughtful “hm,” he caught her fingers and kissed them. "I'll probably stay put. Can I call at lunch?"

How he managed to make her heart leap so easily, she'd never know. "I think I'd love that. Though you don’t have to ask." Cupping his cheeks, she bent to seal their lips, then began to extricate herself from his arms.

But he kept his hold on her. “One small thing,” he said, rubbing one eye. "I’d like raspberry toast with coffee."

~~~~~

Tag list (Let me know if you want to be added!): @harmonioussolve​ @howdylilflower​ @sweet-nothings04​ @stephieraptorr​ @rommies​ @fallenstarsabyss​ @gruffle1​ @octopus-plasma​ @tsukiakarinobara @arthur-flecks-lovely-smile​ @another-day-in-chuckletown​ @hhandley80​ @jokerownsmysoul​ @mrscarnival​

[atlafan]

Take it Slow - Part Eighty-Four

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: TW: mention of past abuse. Slight angst, little bit of smut, and a ton of fluff. 

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

You had the perfect last morning at the beach. None of you wanted to leave, but it had to be done. You all help to pack up the cars.

“Before we all leave, I just wanna say thanks again for everything. This was the perfect weekend.” You say to everyone. Everyone says how much a good time they had too.

“I’ll see yeh at home, I’m gonna drop Niall off and go pick up Buster.” Harry says to you.

“Alright, baby.” You kiss him and climb into Sarah’s car.

Rachel was driving this time, so Mariah takes the passenger seat. You didn’t mind at all. You were exhausted and ended up falling asleep for most of the drive. Luckily it didn’t take much time at all to get back to the city since a lot of the traffic was going the other way.

You hug the girls goodbye and get all your shit upstairs. You weren’t sure if you wanted to wait to shower with Harry or not…but you felt gross from being at the beach so you opt to take a quick one. You throw on a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt and sit on the sofa. You go through a ton of the pictures that were taken over the weekend and post a good chunk of them. You hear the pitter patter of feet and you stand up immediately.

“Buster! Come to mumma!”

He runs over to you and you get on your knees so you can properly hug your fluffy boy.

“Jesus, we need to take him for a hair cut soon, huh?”

“I’ll say.” Harry chuckles. “Isaac said he was an angel, as always.”

“Oh good.” You look back at Buster. “You were a good boy while mummy and daddy were away, hm?” He licks your cheek. “Oh, thank you, so sweet.” You stand up and hug Harry. He wraps his arms around you. “Can we just chill for the rest of the day. M’craving some alone time with my boys.”

“That sounds amazing. Let me just grab a shower. I can see you already took one.”

“I wanted to wait for you, but I felt so gross.”

“It’s alright.” He smiles and goes down the hall.

“Come on Buster, let’s get cozy while we wait for daddy.”

Harry comes out a few minutes later in just a pair of boxers, finally feeling free to do so. He sits down next to you and puts his feet up on the ottoman.

“Sometimes I forget how much I actually hate wearin’ clothes.”

“Look at you, you tanned so well babe.” He looks down at himself.

“Guess I did, huh. You did too. Your burn faded really fast.” He pokes your cheek. “And you’re freckly, so cute.”

“Oh stop it.” You giggle.

He grabs the remote and turns on Netflix to pick up where you left off on Glee.

“I’m sorry, I just need to take a moment to document this. Are you voluntarily watching Glee?”

“I need to know if they win sectionals or not.” He says without looking at you and you burst out laughing. “This show is fuckin’ stupid and unrealistic, I can’t believe they got away with half the shit they’re doin’.”

“Oh honey, and we’re not even done with the first season yet. You’ve got a long way to go.”

“Well I’m strapped in so let’s go.” He hits play and yanks you closer to him.

“Wanna spoon?”

“Duh.”

You laugh and lay on your side in front of him. He lays behind you, keeping a hand on your hip and a leg between yours.

“We have some frozen meals in the freezer we can have for dinner later, I do not have the energy to shop and cook.” You tell him.

“Me neither.” He holds you a little closer as the episode really gets going.

“Woah, woah, woah, Finn’s not goin’!”

“He just found out everyone knew Puck is the father, and that Quinn’s been lying to him. You’d be pissed too.”

“Yeah, but now they don’t have enough people to go! What the fuck?”

A few more minutes pass and you hear Harry suck his teeth.

“Are you kiddin’ me?! That other school stole their routine, and now they have to do a bunch of unrehearsed numbers? This is bullocks.”

“Harry.” You turn to look at him. “Imagine watching this week to week. At least we can watch the next episode right away. This one ends on a cliff hanger.”

“Jesus, no wonder this used to work you up in high school, my fuckin’ heart is racin’.”

You and Harry easily watch four episodes of Glee because he just needed to know what happened next. But you both needed to take a break, and Buster needed to be taken out. You take him for a walk while Harry makes a couple of the frozen meals. You both sit on the sofa as you eat.

“You wanna watch more, don’t you?”

“No.” He scoffs. “Okay, why can’t we just finish the first season? I need to know if they win regionals or not. And if Finn and Rachel are gonna happen, this is very important.”

You nod and turn the TV back to Glee so you can continue watching together. It was a lot of fun to share something you loved so much Harry. Your phone goes off about halfway through the episode and you pause it to answer. It was Seth.

“Hey.” You say brightly.

“Hey! How was your weekend away?”

“Oh it was amazing!”

“What did Harry get you?”

“He’s flying my Nannie in for the Jewish New Year next month.” You say smiling.

“Wow! That’s awesome…so now that you’re back…”

“When are you free?” You giggle.

“Saturday?”

“That’s soon! I’ll have to check with Isaac, and Harry.”

“I know it’s short notice, but you’re making me wait over here.”

“Very true…alright. Let me get back to you tomorrow, I should have an answer. I think we were thinking of going to that adult arcade.”

“Oh that place is fun! Yeah, I’d be up for that.”

“Cool, I’ll text you later.

“Alright, see ya.” You hang up and look at Harry.

“Do we have plans Saturday night?”

“Guess we do now.” He huffs. “Sorry, can we go back to what’s important please?” He presses play so you can continue watching the show. You can’t help but laugh. You love him more and more every day.

//

You and Harry enjoy some nice, soft cuddles, opting in to turn in early for bed. You’re both just laying there, naked and tangled up in each other. His hand lightly dances over your skin, tracing your tan lines.

“It really was the perfect weekend, huh?” You say to him.

“Mhm. I’m so glad you had a good birthday.”

“I had the best birthday, thanks to you.”

“Hey, your friends helped too.”

“Yeah…but you just being you also made it great.”

He leans in and kisses you softly. You give him an Eskimo kiss and giggle. He squishes his nose to yours again and he giggles too.

“Wanna make love to yeh.” He whispers against your lips.

You hum your response and he brings your leg up over his hip. He slowly inserts into your warmth. You moan when you feel him slowly stretch you out. He slowly moves so he’s on his back and you’re on top of him. You dip your head down to kiss him as you move your hips in slow circles on him.

“God, you’re so wet.” He groans and rolls his head back.

His hands slide up your body and cup your breasts. He was being so light and airy with you, it was nice. You roll your hips down on him, and grind back and forth. You put your hands over his and he squeezes your breasts. He thrusts up into you and you fall on him so you’re chest to chest. His hands slide to your back, holding you even tighter to him.

“Want you on top.” You say into his ear.

“Want me on top, baby?”

“Yeah.” You whine.

You both roll over and he smiles at you, caressing your cheek as he rocks in and out of you. He takes one of your hands in his and intertwines your fingers. He rests it next to your head. His other hand snakes between the two of you so he can rub your swollen clit. His thumb rubs slow, precise circles just where you need it. You moan out his name and stick your tongue out so he’ll kiss you. His forehead was sweaty against yours.

“Feel so good baby, I don’t think you’ve ever been this wet before.”

“Just feels so good, you’re so good Harry.”

You start clenching around him, he can tell you’re close. He rubs your clit faster as he thrusts deeper inside you. Your back arches as you release, and Harry’s isn’t too far behind. He kisses you deeply as he fills you up, and you swallow his moans. He pulls out of you and looks down, his eyes growing side.

“What is it?”

“Okay, don’t freak out…”

“Freak out about wh-“ You look down and see him covered in your period blood.

“Guess that’s why you felt so wet.” He smirks. “Did you know you were-“

“Please, I’m going to be sick.”

“Babe, it’s okay, I-“

“Harry, please.” Tears well up in your eyes. “I’m extremely embarrassed, and you’re covered, and oh my god.” You get off the bed and see splotches of blood. Your eyes grow wide. “Oh no.” You start breathing faster.

Your mind fills with flashes of that night, the remnants of your sheets afterwards.

“Oh no, what? Y/N?”

You screw your eyes shut, and see more, feel more. You feel a hand on your back and without thinking or even realizing where you are…

“Don’t touch me!” Smack. Your vision is hazy and you feel yourself lose your balance.

When you come to, you’re dressed in your comfiest pj’s and laying on the bed. It was stripped, you could feel your foam topper. You look over and see Harry sitting up against the headboard. He had an ice-pack pressed to his cheek and had his phone in his other hand, just scrolling.

“Harry?” He looks at you with concern, but a half smile. He sets his phone down on the night table.

“Hey baby…feelin’ alright?”

“What…happened?” You sit up and remember you got your period. You reach into your underwear and feel a bad and sigh.

“I, uh, hope I put it in there right…I read the directions on the box.”

“You put this on me?”

“Sort of had, to you wouldn’t wake up and I didn’t want you bleedin’ out. Sheets are in the wash. I would’ve put the others on, but I wanted you to lay down. You scared me…you wouldn’t wake up. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Why do you have an ice pack on your cheek?” He peels it away and you gasp when you see how red his cheek is, a bruise forming.

“You…well, I think you blacked out and you slapped me.”

“I slapped you?!” Tears prick at your eyes.

“Yeah.” He looks down, and back at you. “But it’s okay!” He grabs one of your hands to try to soothe you. “I know you didn’t do it on purpose. Your eyes glazed over, it was like you were somewhere else, like you thought I was someone else.”

“Harry, I am so sorry. You have to know I would never, I mean, I know I get in people’s faces, but I am not a violent person, I, I, I-“ Your breathing starts to quicken again but he cups your cheek.

“Please, stay with me. You’re okay.” He kisses your hand. “I’m not mad, I was a little shocked, but it’s okay, really.” He gives you a reassuring smile.

“But your poor cheek…”

“It’ll be fine.” He sighs and puts the ice-pack back on. “Can you try to tell me what happened? Although I have an idea.”

“I think when I looked down at the sheets and saw all the blood…” You take a deep breath and you feel tears burn your cheeks. “I haven’t had a flash in a really long time, months…” You look at him and frown. “I’m so sorry, Harry. I feel terrible. I…”

“You were just defending yourself. I put my hand on your back to try to calm you down when I saw you breathin’ heavy, but you were too far gone.”

“What if someone thinks I’m beating on you or something?! You can’t go to work like that.”

“Baby, no one’s gonna think that. I’m keepin’ the ice on it for good measure. I’ll put some makeup on it tomorrow, it’ll be fine.”

The washer goes off and Harry gets up to go flip the load.

“Can I get you anything? Some water? Water’s probably a good idea.” You nod and he goes out to take care of things.

He comes back in with a glass of water and some other sheets. Buster comes trotting in. You pet him while you sip on your water, and Harry makes up the bed.

“All done.” He smiles at you. “Let’s get some sleep, yeah?”

“How are you so calm about all this?”

“Not my first time bein’ slapped by a woman.” He rubs the back of his neck.

“Oh, Harry.” You can’t help but chuckle.

“There we go, gotcha to laugh.” He wraps his arms around you. “It’s okay. You’re okay, we’re okay. You didn’t purposefully try to hurt me.”

“Never.” You kiss him gently on the lips and sigh. “M’just gonna do my thing in the bathroom and then I’ll come to bed.”

You go in and sit down on the toilet. Harry actually did do a decent job of positioning the pad in your underwear. He was a saint, an absolute saint. You clean yourself up and stand to wash your face. You can’t help but cry again. For months you had been fine, more than fine. Now you can’t even see your own blood without freaking out? You take a deep breath and go back out to the bedroom.

“C’mere, angel. Let me holdja.”

You give him a small smile and get into bed. You go right into his arms and lay your head on his chest. He has one hand on your head, playing with your hair, and the other on your arm, rubbing up and down. He knew you were anything but calm.

“Listen, if you don’t wanna go to work tomorrow, you could always come with me…spend the day with Buster…”

“Harry, I’ll be just fine to go to work.”

“But if you’re still…you know…”

“I think after some sleep, I’ll be calmer. I’m more concerned about you.”

“I told you, I’ll just put some makeup on.”

//

You slept, but you felt like a zombie when your alarm went off. Suddenly going to work with Harry didn’t seem like such a bad idea, but you knew you couldn’t do that. You get up and shower. You blow dry your hair and throw a work-appropriate dress on. You put some makeup on and go to take Buster out. Back to your old routine. When you come back you go to the kitchen to make breakfast.

“Y/N?” You hear Harry call for your and go into the bedroom. You see the light on in the bathroom and go in there.

“What is it, doll?”

“Well, first, how are you feelin’?” He turns to look at you and you grimace when you see the bruise on his cheek. “It looks worse, I promise. It doesn’t hurt.”

“I’m okay…” He nods. You look to see he’s holding your liquid foundation. “Need some help?”

“A little…”

You sit up on the counter and he stands between his legs.

“I’ll have to put it all over so it blends more naturally. And then I’ll have to put some bronzer on. Your skin is so much darker than mine.”

“Do whatever you need.”

You can’t help but bite your inner cheek to keep from crying. How could you do this to him?

“I promise I’m alright, honey. Please don’t be upset.”

You nod and dab some of the makeup on him. Once you get it the way you like he looks in the mirror and gives you an approving look.

“Can’t even see it, well done.”

“You wear makeup well, Harry.”

“I do, don’t I?” He puckers his lips and looks away, trying to make a funny modeling face, making you laugh. You hop off the counter. He wraps his arms around you. “You call me if you feel weird at all today, alright?”

“Alright.”

“Bring Buster with yeh. You need him more than I do today.”

“Thanks Harry.”

//

It was one of those mornings where you and Niall weren’t able to carpool. You get up to your office and everyone is happy to see you. You were thankful it was Tuesday. You needed Dr. Mara today. When you get to your office you take a deep breath. You see Niall walk in with your coffee. Your bottom lip quivers and his smile fades immediately. He closes the door behind him.

“Y/N, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, Niall!” You go over to him and wrap your arms around his neck. You sob into his neck.

“Hey! What’s wrong? What happened? Did Harry do somethin’?” You mumble no into his neck. “Y/N, please, calm down, just tell me what happened.” He rubs your back and you step away from him. Your eye makeup was all smeared.

He walks over to your desk to grab you some tissues.

“Thanks.” You blot your eyes. You shouldn’t have even bothered with mascara today. “We were having such a nice night last night. God, he was being so soft with me, it was so sweet.” Niall nods. “But when he pulled out…” You look down. “We realized I had…well…Aunt Flow…”

“Right.”

“I got up, and I looked at the sheets. It had gotten everywhere…and….God, Niall, it was bad it was so bad. I was completely brought back to that night, and I blacked out…I slapped Harry.” You voice cracks.

“What do you mean you slapped him?” He asks softly.

“I slapped him across the cheek and when he tried to calm me down. It was like I didn’t know it was him. I think I passed out too. When I woke up, I was all cleaned up and dressed, laying on the bed. And there he was, cool as a cucumber, with an ice-pack pressed to his cheek.”

“Is he alright?”

“Yeah, he was perfectly fine. He didn’t even wince when I put some makeup on him earlier…I felt terrible. I don’t even really remember doing it.”

“You’re seein’ Dr. Mara tonight?”

“Mhm.”

He nods at you and takes you in for another hug. Buster yips at the two of you.

“Shit, I think he needs to pee again.”

“Let me take him. You go to the bathroom and clean up.” He smiles.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

//

“Morning, Harry.” Isaac smiles. “No Buster today?”

“No I sent him along with his mum.” Isaac hands him his coffee. “Thanks.” He squints at him. “What?”

“Your skin just looks…different today.”

“Oh, I’ve put some makeup on, I broke out from wearin’ so much sunscreen over the weekend. Way too much oil in that shit.” He takes a careful sip of the coffee. “So, uh, Seth called Y/N yesterday. We were thinkin’ of gettin’ together Saturday night. What do yeh think of that? Know it’s last minute.”

“I think I’m free actually!”

“Oh, great!”

“I’m really excited, thanks again for being such a good sport.”

Mariah walks in next and her and Isaac run to each other to hug.

“Neither of you should be allowed to leave at the same time again.” He kisses her on the cheek.

Harry and Mariah have back to back clients all day. Everyone was scrambling to get their senior photos in. And there were engagement shoots after engagement shoot. Harry couldn’t wait for it to be his fucking turn.

You text him letting him know you’re bringing Buster to therapy with you. Harry decides to make sure that when you walked through the door, you’d be overwhelmed with all things good. He knew it wasn’t going to be an easy session. He stops off at the drugstore and picks up your favorite kind of face-mask, and then he goes to one of your favorite restaurants to pick up one of your favorite meals.

When he gets home he grabs your nail kit and takes out your favorite colors. He sets everything on the coffee table. Next he fills a bin up with warm water and some soap. He sets that near the sofa on a towel. He was pretty proud of himself.

//

You were drained, spent really. Your session with Dr. Mara was good, but you cried more than you had in a long time. She let you get it all out. She wrote you a prescription that you weren’t sure you were going to fill. This was the first time you had even agreed to take something, but you never wanted to risk hurting the man you love most in the world ever again. You’d talk to Harry about it. Maybe he could go to the pharmacy with you so it wasn’t so scary.

You let Buster pee before getting him upstairs. You open the door and stop short when you see Harry walking out of the kitchen and lighting candles at the dining room table.

“You’re home!” He says brightly. “How’s my girl?”

“Um…okay.” He hugs you and pets Buster. “What’s going on?”

“Nothin’, just wanted to treat yeh.”

“You do enough of that.” You chuckle.

“Come on, I’m lovin’ on yeh, just humor me, hm?”

“Okay.”

He leads you to the table and you smile when you see a plate of raviolis from one of your favorite restaurants. Harry pulls your chair out and you sit down. You take a bite and close your eyes.

“So good, thank you.” You smile at him.

“You’re welcome. And after dinner I want you to go put your robe on and put your hair up.”

“Why, babe?”

“I’m gonna help yeh relax, so just do what I say.”

“Alright.” You giggle.

When you’re done eating you do as he says. You put your hair up into a messy bun and put your robe on. You come out to the living room and gasp when you see the set up.

“It’s like a little salon.” He says. “Sit down and put your feet in.”

“Harry…this is so sweet. I should be doing this for you though, I’m the one that-“

“You didn’t do anything.” He says a little too sternly. “Sit.”

You sit on the edge of the sofa and stick your feet into the warm water. Harry drags over the ottoman and sits in front of you. He takes all of the polish off your fingernails. He stands and grabs a warm cloth and dabs your face, getting all your makeup off, or what was left of it. He takes your small brush that you use for face-masks, and paints the clay on your face.

“You should do one too.” You say.

“Another time.” He smiles.

Once it’s on your face he sits back down and shows you the colors he picked.

“They’re perfect.”

“Want them on every other nail?”

“Mhm, just like yours please.”

He smiles and carefully paints the colors onto your nails. Harry’s never painted your nails before, you usually did his. He does a pretty good job, only has to redo one nail. He wipes the mask off your face when it’s time and dabs you softly to dry your face up. He gets behind you and rubs your face lotion in his hands. He massages it on and your lips part.

“Oh, wow.” You say softly. He smirks and continues rubbing it in.

“Feel nice, hun?”

“Mhm.”

“Good.”

When he sits back down he taps one of your knees to take your foot out of the bucket. He puts a towel on his leg and rests your foot on his thigh. He dries you off and takes the polish off your toes. He grabs some lotion and starts massaging your calf.

“Harry, you really don’t have to-“

“Y/N…” He says warningly, only glancing up at you for a moment. You sit back and let him continue. “Good girl.”

He paints your toes, and then does the exact same thing to your other leg and toes.

“Look at that, so pretty.”

He cleans everything up and plops down next to you when he’s done.

“Thank you, that was amazing. I thought I was going to melt into the couch.” You chuckle. He takes your hand in his and kisses your knuckles. “Harry…there’s something else I need from you.”

“Anything, angel.”

“Dr. Mara gave me a prescription for some medication. Something to help me…not get so freaked out.” You swallow. “I’m scared though. I’m not…strong enough to go to the pharmacy myself, and I’m terrified to see how some pills might change me. I could have mood swings, and who knows if they’ll even help.”

“Do you trust her?”

“Yeah, of course I do.”

“Then…maybe it’ll be good for you.”

“I’ve been fine for months and I’ve been trying to figure out why. She said having Buster around has probably been a greater help than I realized. But after last night…I don’t want to ever put you through something like that again. I wanna be the best I can be, for the both of us.”

“I can go with you before work tomorrow if you want, get it filled out. I’ll be with you when you take the first dose too.”

“I can’t drink alcohol while I take them…”

“Does that make you feel sad?”

“A little…more for the social aspect. But I’d rather be my best than drunk so.” You chuckle. Harry wraps an arm around you.

“We’ll get through this together. You don’t have to deal with any of this alone.” He kisses your hairline.

“Harry…I don’t know what I would do without you sometimes.” You look up at him doe eyed.

He cups your cheek and leans in to kiss you. You kiss him back and put your hand on his cheek, but he winces.

“Shit, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. Mind takin’ all this gunk offa me?”

“Not at all! In fact, I’ll put a face-mask on you too. And I’ll massage your face like you did mine.”

“Baby, I did all that-“

“It felt so good, I wanna do the same for you, please let me.”

He watches you walk off down the hall to your bedroom. He was nervous about you taking pills too, but if Dr. Mara thought it would help, who was he to tell you not to? You had done just about everything else you could do to help yourself. Now it was time to try another approach, and he’d be by your side every step of the fucking way.

[spaceorphan18]

99 Perspectives on a Single Love Story #13

A/N: The Story of Kurt and Blaine told through the eyes of everyone else but them. Each chapter is a different perspective in the ongoing tale of their love story.

I started something like this a while back - and now I’m taking the idea and really running with it. Each chapter is a ficlet of a different character at a different point in Kurt and Blaine’s life - documenting their love story. This starts in Audition, and each chapter will be paired with a different episode until reaching Dreams Come True.

[Ao3]

***

Matt Rutherford (Comeback) 

Matt Rutherford is shopping at the mall in Lima. He’s there for the weekend, visiting his grandparents, who are spoiling him like crazy. True, he still has a year to go before he graduates, but his grandma wants to make sure he’s set for college, and has taken him clothes and supply shopping so he’ll be all set. Normally, he isn't too fond of Grandma’s over-indulgence, but he’s getting a ton of free stuff, as well as a few new video games, so it’s worth it.

He hasn’t been back to Lima too much since he and his family moved away at the end of last year. He’s fine with that. His dad being in the military, he’s used to picking up and finding a new place, plus his new school has been incredibly welcoming. He loves it there. He doesn’t hate Lima at all - but he wouldn’t go back if asked.

He’s currently in The Gap, looking at pants near the front windows, when he sees someone he knows sitting out on one of the benches in the hallway. It’s Kurt Hummel -- dressed in an uncomfortable looking blue, prep-school jacket-thing. He’s sitting next to another guy with the same unfortunate jacket. Kurt’s got a shopping bag from Tattered Treasures on his lap and pulls out a very weird looking beige sweater that looks like the bottom half had been torn off. The other dude on the bench gives him a quizzical look - Matt’s glad he’s not the only one who finds Kurt Hummel’s wardrobe odd to say the least.

Matt contemplates, for a moment, going out and saying hi. It’s not like he and Kurt were ever close, or even had a conversation longer than a few sentences, but Kurt at least had been cordial. Matt thinks back to his time in McKinley High’s glee club. Most of his memories are of Puck doing stupid shit, or Rachel Berry being very loud, or staring at the back of Mercedes Jones’s head. He also has a very vivid memory of the things Brittany Pierce can do with her tongue. But it’s funny, he can’t remember much about Kurt except snarky one-liners, strange clothes, and the fact that he probably is gay.

The Kurt Hummel out in the hallway looks different somehow. Maybe it’s because he’s smiling, laughing, looking genuinely pleased. Matt doesn’t ever remember seeing Kurt that chill. And judging by the way the other guy keeps touching his arm and stares at him adoringly as they talk, Matt figures Kurt’s probably actually gay - and the dude is his boyfriend. Good for him.

Matt decides against not going out to say hi. He’s not sure what he’d say anyway. They’d exchange pleasantries -- Matt would talk about his possible football scholarships and Kurt would probably go on about Beyonce or something. Small talk just isn’t that interesting to him, and he’s fine leaving Kurt in his own little world as he’s sure Kurt is leaving Matt to his. He continues shopping without thinking much else about it.

Fifteen-ish minutes later, as Matt leaves with a few bags, he notices Kurt’s still on the bench, talking to the same guy. He hears a snippet of conversation.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go in?” Kurt is saying to the other guy. “Pretty sure there are a few cute guys still employed just waiting for you to get them fired through song. You know, you’ve stumbled on a fantastic new way to get back at exes who have burned you.”

“You are insane, you know that?” the other guy says fondly.

Kurt throws his head back with laughter, a hearty (and high-pitched) cackle of delight.

For a moment, Kurt turns his head, and sees Matt. Their eyes lock. Kurt’s still laughing, but takes a second to wave at him - maybe one of the friendliest actions Kurt’s ever shown to him. Matt waves back before Kurt re-engages in his conversation and Matt’s grandparents arrive taking his own attention away.

Grandpa wants to go look at fishing gear, and with that Matt moves on with his life, leaving any thoughts of Kurt Hummel long behind.

[sweetiepie08]

RebelZ Chapter 6

Invader Zim fanfic

While analyzing Zim’s PAK for weaknesses, Tak discovers strange coding that sends her on a search for answers. The clues lead her to uncover a conspiracy that governs all of Irken society. When the truth sends her on the run, she has no choice but to return to the one place the Tallest would never willingly go: Urth.

Meanwhile, Dib has noticed odd changes in Zim’s behavior. Has the invader simply grown bored of his mission over the last few years, or is there something more interesting going on?

People who asked to be tagged: @incorrect-invader-zim , @messinwitheddie, @reblogstupids, @cate-r-gunn, @agentpinerulesall​

If anyone else would like to be added to the tag list feel free to message me. Also, if you’re on the tag list and you changed your name, please just let me know.

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7.  Chapter 8.  Chapter 9. Chapter 10.

[-]

Dib flipped through the streaming services, looking for something to watch. The documentary had ended, pizza had been eaten, and Gaz had gone upstairs to fix some emergency with one of her online gaming groups. He knew he had surveillance tapes waiting for him on his desk, (or worse, college applications) but he wasn’t ready to check up on them just yet. He was actually enjoying some downtime for once, and he didn’t want it to end.

Then, he heard the all-too-familiar sounds of an alien spaceship landing outside.

Nope, he thought as he hit play on whatever show he landed on. Didn’t matter what, so long as he could pretend he couldn’t hear what was going on in his driveway.

Some muffled arguing came from the front door, followed by the bell ringing. Dib turned up the volume. Not getting out of this chair.

Loud pounding began, accompanied by cries of “Dib-human! Open this door!” Dib turned the volume up as loud as it would go as the pounding continued.

“Jesus Christ, Dib!” Gaz shouted from upstairs. “Just answer the door!”

“Fine!” Dib shut off the tv and stalked to the front door. When he opened it, he found two Irken idiots.

Zim and Tak hung off each other and drank from plastic bottles while their robot pets bolted right in and made themselves at home. “Hey, you grew into your head,” Tak said, lazily pointing her claw at him.

“You know, Dib, there’s a lot of reasons to hate your planet,” Zim slurred, letting himself in. “You keep chihuahuas as pets, some of you refuse to inoculate against deadly diseases, and that Game of Thrones finale was garbage! But at least you don’t need identification to buy gingzor, and that almost makes up for it.” Zim punctuated his short rant by taking a long swig from his bottle.

“And look,” Tak said, pulling a box of ginger snaps out of a plastic shopping bag, “they had edibles.”

“Are you guys drunk? What is this?” Dib grabbed the bottle out of Zim’s hands. He checked the label, gave it a sniff, and took a small taste. Yup, it was exactly what the label said it was. “This is just ginger ale.”

“Eee-yup,” Zim said, swiping his bottle back. “Your light brews aren’t as potent as the ones we’ve got on Irk, but it gets the job done.”

“Wait, are you guys seriously telling me your species gets drunk off ginger?”

“Why?” Tak asked, shoving a cookie in her mouth. “What do humans consume when they want to forget the futility of existence?”

“Uh, alcohol, usually.”

The two Irkens locked eyes, then burst into laughter. “Seriously?” Tak squealed, wiping a tear from her eye. “That’s an antiseptic.”

“Humans really are stupid,” Zim agreed.

“Not that kind,” Dib grumbled, knowing he would be ignored. Then he felt his temper boil. “What are you two doing in my house?!”

“Oh yeah,” the two brushed past him and hopped on the couch like they owned the place. “We need to crash here for a while,” Zim explained. He turned on the tv, got blasted by an old episode of The Office, then turned the volume down.

“Why?”

“We uncovered a conspiracy behind the Irken empire and our government tried to kill us.”

“I discovered,” Tak corrected. “They just caught you harboring me.”

“Eh, details.”

“The point is,” Tak went on, “we’re both marked as traitors and we need to lay low for a while.”

Dib could have sworn his ears perked like a dog’s. An intergalactic conspiracy? There was a story here so juicy he could almost taste it. Still, as he watched the earth’s total Irken population spill ginger ale on the couch and grind crumbs into the cushions, the only question on his mind was, “why here?”

“Need your lab,” Zim tossed off as if it should have been obvious.

“So? Why don’t you go back to your base and use your own lab?”

“Can’t.” Zim took a teal cube out of his pocket and tossed it in Dib’s direction.

Dib caught it and brought it up to his eye to inspect. “What’s this?”

“My base.”

“Your whole base is in this?” Dib strained his eyes, looking at the cube. “What’s going on? How did this even happen?”

“How far back in Irken history do you want to go?” Tak asked, popping open a bottle.

“Wait, you mean you’re actually going to tell me?”

She gave a non-committal shrug. “Eh…”

“Hold on, wait right there.” Dib zipped upstairs to his room, grabbed a notebook, pen, and recorder, then zipped back down. He grabbed a chair, hit record, and poised his pen. “Let’s start at the beginning.”

[-]

Dib scribbled furiously, trying to keep up with Tak’s slurred ramblings. Zim interjected occasionally to add something or explain an Irken concept, but it was clear exactly who the conspiracy hunter was.

“So, anyway, that’s when I realized this parasite has been controlling our entire society for generations and, you know, it’s just a real buzzkill to find out you’re basically living food.”

“I see,” Dib said, making a note to ask about this library planet later (maybe get coordinates?). “And this parasite has been masquerading as the Control Brains.”

“Not ‘masquerading’ exactly,” she explained. “They always were the Control Brains.”

“And, just to make sure I got this, the Control brains are what, again?”

Before they could answer, he heard a loud “eh-he-eh-hm.” He looked over to see Gaz standing in the kitchen doorway. When he met her eyes, she curled one finger, ominously beckoning him over. “Uh, one second, guys.” He put down his pen and followed Gaz into the kitchen.

“Make this quick, Gaz,” he said, peaking back into the living room. “These two are giving me everything.”

“Okay then,” she said, her voice displaying her irritation. “Just answer me this: why are there two destructive aliens drinking like civil war amputee patients on our couch?”

“Revealing their government’s secrets, that’s what,” he answered with unbridled glee. “Turns out, ginger gets them drunk and when they’re drunk, they have no filter. They’ve been rambling on and on about their creepy big-brother-like society for an hour now. Look at all these notes.” He shoved the notebook in Gaz’s face and flipped furiously through the pages. “As long as I keep them drunk and happy, they’ll keep talking. Which reminds me…” He took out his wallet, grabbed a bill, and handed it to Gaz. “Go to the store and buy them out of ginger ale. We can’t let them sober up.”

“Five bucks?” Gaz said, wrinkling her nose. “I assume you’re planning on reimbursing me for the grocery bill later.”

“This isn’t about money, Gaz.”

“Then dig a little deeper, Scrooge. I know your part-time at Dad’s lab pays more than this.”

“And you make plenty off of your twitch gaming streams,” Dib argued. “Come on, this is about furthering human knowledge.”

Gaz raised her eyebrow in her ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ way. “You’re offering me $5 to drop everything, go to the store, and buy out their entire supply of ginger ale without reimbursing me for the bill.”

“Uh…yes?”

She scoffed. “Get a pulse.”

Dib pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed the corners of his eyes. Was she seriously arguing with him about money at a time like this? “Look, what if I give you an acknowledgement when I publish this baby? Like, say, in the forward?”

“You mean the part no one reads?”

“Uh…”

Gaz let out an exasperated huff and looked into the living room at the two Irkens. “So, they’ll really ramble on and on if you stuff them full of ginger, huh? About anything?”

“Yeah, pretty much. We managed to stay on topic so far. I mean, Zim did go on a tangent about the Game of Thrones finale, but we got back on track.”

Gaz smiled. “Did he, now? About what?”

“Something about Westeros crumbling as soon as the credits rolled. I don’t know. You watched that show, not me.”

“Hmm…” Gaz murmured, looking pointedly at Zim. Oh no, she was thinking… Worse! She was plotting!

“Gaz? What are you doing?”

She threw him a wicked smirk and sauntered into the living room. “Hey, Zim!” she called, clear as a bell. “That Game of Thrones finale sucked, right?”

“Don’t even get me started, Dib-sister!” Zim called back, slapping his hand on the couch. “Zim has never seen such a staggering drop in quality!”

Dib dropped his face into his hands. Was it too late to offer a twenty?”

[-]

“I guarantee Dorne and the Iron Islands rebelled as soon as they stepped out of the Dragon Pit.” Zim said, splashing ginger ale on the couch with every gesture. “I’ll bet they only voted ‘yes’ on Bran because this would be the easiest reign to overthrow.”

“Exactly!” Gaz said, slapping the arm of her chair. “Dany promised Yara independence two seasons ago. There’s no way she’s just going to watch him hand his sister a kingdom and not demand what’s owed to her.”

Dib twisted the notebook in his hands as he listened to them rant. They’d been at this since Gaz brought up the subject.

“And what was with them acting like Dany was in the wrong for executing Varys?” Zim added. “He tried to assassinate her!”

“As if Jon didn’t execute a child a few seasons ago for the same thing. And it was obvious that kid was coerced into it by the higher-ranking Night’s Watch men.” Gaz said. “You’ll notice Dany didn’t execute the child Varys manipulated into poisoning her. And he only thought she was ‘mad’ because she stopped listening to his shitty advice.”

“Their ‘advice’ lost her the Dornish forces, the Iron Fleet, and Highgarden’s armies,” Zim agreed.

“Plus another dragon and her best friend. And when she goes into mourning, he’s all ‘Welp, she’s clearly gone mad. Time to put her down like Old Yeller.’ Oh! And what was with Tyrion’s ‘everywhere she goes, evil men die’ speech? Like that’s a bad thing? Yeah, I know. That’s why I liked her.”

“You know wat she should have done?” Zim said. “She should have flown her three dragons to the Red Keep like she wanted to do last season. She could have taken the city with fewer casualties.”

Gaz nodded in agreement. “Maybe even no casualties if King’s Landing surrenders immediately.”

“Then she’d have all three dragons and all the armies in the Seven Kingdoms to fight the White Walkers with!” Zim added.

“Yeah, then maybe there’d be enough time to make the army of the dead live up to the hype! Nice Long Night. Lasted about six hours.”

“What is this show?” Tak asked. “I want to watch.”

“Enough!” Dib burst, jumping out of his seat. “Enough Game of Thrones! If you want to keep complaining, go on the internet and do it! Now can we please get back to you two spilling the secrets of your evil intergalactic empire!”

“There are no more secrets, human,” Tak snapped. “We’ve told all. The only other information I could find is on this.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a square, plastic information drive. “But this technology is too outdated to decode. So, unless you have access to an ancient computer…”

Dib took the square and held it up to his eyes. “This just looks like a floppy disc.”

“Really, Dib-beast?” Zim scoffed. “Your planet’s technology is antiquated, but it’s not that archaic.”

“Actually, that’s pretty outdated for us too,” Gaz said, “but our dad’s got a computer graveyard in the attic. Maybe we can get one of those to work.”

Tak regarded the disc suspiciously. “You’re serious? You think you might be able to get it to work.”

“It could be possible,” Dib answered, eyeballing the disc. It looked about the right size and shape. It may at least fit into the disc drive. “It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve gotten Irken and Earth technology to work together. It’s worth a shot.”

[-]

After about an hour and a few trips to the attic, they found an old monitor and hard drive they managed to turn on. As the computer booted up, they compared the Irken disc drive to a standard floppy disc. Dib was right. They seemed to match up.

“You really think this has a shot?” Tak asked again. She looked skeptical they whole time the were getting set up, but as the computer whirred to life, Dib thought he could detect a hint of hope in her voice.

“It could,” Gaz answered. “If the magnetic polarity is the same as we use on earth, the computer might be able to read the disc.”

Dib nodded along. While he was good with technology, his area of expertise was more on the engineering side. Gaz was the one with an affinity for coding.

Once the computer was ready, they popped in the drive. They all gathered around the monitor and held their breath. A buffering window popped up on the screen and they let out a collective gasp.

After a few minutes, the picture went black and green Irken text scrolled up across the screen, accompanied by, what sounded to Dib, like a series of chirps, clicks, and hisses. “Um, is it supposed to be making that-”

Tak and Zim threw a sharp hiss in his direction, then went back to staring intently at the screen. When Dib quieted and listened harder, he realized the sounds came from an organic voice and had a deliberate pattern. Holy shit, it’s reading the text! This is their language!

The voice stopped and the screen froze on another set of Irken symbols.

“Oh, my…” Zim choked out, eyes still glued to the screen. “We’ve got to write that down!”

“MiMi,” Tak commanded, “my tablet.”

“Wait, what was that?” Dib asked as he watched the two aliens scramble to scribble down the symbols on the screen. “Was that guy speaking Irken? What did they say?”

“Yes,” Zim answered. “And those are coordinates to the next place we need to go.”

“You mean, I need to go,” Tak cut in. “I’m the one who uncovered the conspiracy, remember?”

Zim scowled and stomped up to her, getting in her face. “You made this my problem when you crashed at my house, drank all my gingzor, and got my base cubified.”

“Why would I ever team up with you?” she shot back.

“I’m every bit as Irken as you are,” Zim argued. “I deserve answers as much as you.”

“Will someone please tell me what that thing said?” Dib shouted. The two stopped their bickering long enough to cast him an icy stare.

“Well,” Dib growled impatiently. If these two thought they were going to force their way into his home, spill ginger ale on his couch, tell him about an intergalactic conspiracy, and not let him in on the details, they had another thing coming.

“This doesn’t concern you, human,” Zim snapped.

“You two waltzed in here expecting me to hide you form your creepy totalitarian government and let you use my lab. Unless you want me to throw you out on your ass…”

“Fine, fine,” Tak said, waving an arm dismissively. “That voice claimed to be Krislotch. He confirmed that he left the clues that lead me to discover the truth about the Control Brains. He also claims more information is waiting on a planet at those coordinates. I must go there next if I want to solve this mystery.”

“We must go there,” Zim but in.

“This is my conspiracy, Zim,” Tak growled, turning back to him. “If there are more answered waiting on that planet, I will be the one to find them.”

“Oh yeah?” he said with a smirk. “How you gonna get there? I’m the only one with a working ship.”

“Dib’s got a ship,” Gaz chimed in. She turned to Tak. “Actually, I think it’s your ship.”

“You!” Before Dib could say anything, Tak had already jumped on the coffee table and grabbed his collar. “You have my ship?!”

“Uhh…”

“Take me to her!”

[-]

“wha-wha…WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

They group stood in the garage and stared at the collection of barely-held-together parts, also known as Tak’s ship. Dib had to admit, his last few forays into space hadn’t exactly been smooth sailing.

“It doesn’t look like this all the time,” he tried explaining. “I’ve gotten it to work. But, you know, sometimes things happen… and when they happen, I have to convince the ship to let me fix it again.”

“And why is she blue?”

“Um… I like blue?”

“Stupid human!” Tak spat, rushing up to her ship. “You have no idea what you’ve been toying with!”

“Fine,” Dib grumbled under his breath. “Only repaired it multiple times of the last six years but whatever…”

“Ship,” Tak commanded, laying a hand on the ship’s windshield. “Respond.”

“Biosignature detected,” the ship said as it began to light up. “You are Tak.”

“Yes, yes, ship! It’s me!” she cried. Dib could almost swear there were tears in her eyes.

“Hmpf, what took you so long?”

Tak looked taken aback. “I was, uh, had a lot going on, you know? Schemes and such?”

“And you never once thought to check in on your ship?”

“When I have to eject, I thought I’d lost you forever,” Tak explained, pressing both hands on the windshield. “I never wanted to leave you behind, but I’m here now. I can take you back.”

“Hey, wait a minute…” Dib protested. He started forward, but Gaz pulled him back.

“It’s her ship, dummy.”

“And how exactly did you get here?” Ship went on.

Tak hesitated. “Well, I…”

“I knew it,” Ship huffed. “You have a new ship now, don’t you?”

“It’s not like that,” Tak insisted. “Yes, I needed a new ship to get around, but I swear, it was a simple matter of transport. That ship means nothing to me. I would trade every other ship in the universe for you.”

The ship went quiet, as if thinking it over. Dib found himself oddly captivated, like when he’d accidently get sucked into his grandmother’s soap operas. He quickly shook himself out of it. This is ridiculous. She’s talking to a ship.

“I don’t know what to believe,” Ship finally said.

“I promise, Ship, I will fix you myself and, after that, I will never even look at another ship again.” She gently caressed its side and the engines purred.

“I will allow you to repair me, for now. After that, perhaps I can allow you to pilot me again, in time.”

Tak smiled and continued to pet her ship while it continued to purr. The scene was almost sweet until Zim decided to break it up.

“Well, well, well,” Zim said, a smug smile on his face, “looks like I’m the only one here with an operational ship.”

Tak only hissed in response.

“So, I guess I’ll be taking those coordinates and be on my way,” he continued, “unless someone wants to grovel for the chance to accompany me.”

Tak stomped up to Zim and unleashed a cavalcade of Irken at him. Dib wasn’t sure what she said, but if cricket/bat/snake could cuss someone out, he imagined it’d sound something like that.

“Okay,” Zim squeaked out, looking up at Tak who now towered over him. “I suppose I could let you come, but only because you asked so nicely.”

“I’m coming too,” Dib declared.

Tak and Zim both turned to him with questioning looks on their faces. “Uh, what?” Zim said.

“I’m coming. I want to see what’s on that planet, too.”

“This doesn’t concern you, human,” Tak spat.

“Excuse me? Who’s house are you two crashing at? Who’s ancient computer did you use to get those coordinates? And who’s been keeping your ship running while you’ve been got?”

“We don’t need-” Zim started, but Dib cut him off.

“Yes you do,” he shot back. “You need my lab to get your base working again. You said so yourself. And Tak, you need my garage and my tools if you’re going to fix your ship. If you want to stay here and use my equipment, to fix your stuff, you need to let me in on the conspiracy.”

The two Irkens looked at each other intently, as if holding a telepathic conversation. Dib briefly wondered if they could communicate semi-telepathically, or at least through pheromones. They did have antenna after all.

Finally, they broke their stare down and turned back to Dib. “Fine, the Dib can come,” Zim conceded.

Dib felt a jolt of excitement jump through his body. “Yeah, Gaz and I-”

“Nope,” Gaz said, turning on her heals and heading back inside.

Okay, so no Gaz. Aw well, he could at least count on her to cover for him while he’s gone. “I will get my space travel equipment and be ready to leave within the hour.”

“Yeah, fine, whatever,” Zim said, and he and Tak headed back inside as well. Dib went further into the garage and began preparing the things he’s need for the trip.

“You’re seriously going to let him come along?” Tak asked as they walked away.

“Eh,” Zim said with a shrug. “If the Dib-worm wants to come to a dead planet where total species-wide genocide took place, let him.”

Dib let the helmet he’d been holding clang to the floor. “Wait, what?”

[looselucy]

Epilogue

August 22nd – Harry’s POV Thirteen years of living with her, and I still wasn’t quite accustomed to how it felt to wake beside Alfie every morning.

Each day was met with this quiet elation, especially when I was lucky enough to wake up first, watch her peacefully slumbering. I would simply lay on my side and embrace those few moments of harmony, playing with her hair and not taking my eyes off her for even a second. It was exactly how I’d wanted to spend my Monday morning. It had been how I’d spent most of my mornings for thirteen long years. I’d only been back in Rosebury for three months before I asked her to move in with me. She had been adamant that we take things slowly, go about things as though it was a brand-new relationship, but I wanted to live with her so badly. She was round at mine most of the time anyway, so to me it had made sense to just ask. And though she said no the first time I asked, after a few more months of practically begging her, she moved into the home I had initially bought for my mother, and we made it our own just in time for Christmas. Thirteen years and I was still in awe of how it felt to wake in our bed, to know I had a life with her. I leaned into her, placing the softest kiss I could upon her lips in the hope of not waking her, but as I pulled away, I noticed there was a smile on her face, proving that I hadn’t quite managed it. She opened her eyes, the morning light unforgiving as she blinked in the new day. “Morning.” Her voice was sweet, fractured. “Morning, Fee. Happy Birthday.” “Oh shit. It’s my birthday?” She whined, turning her head into the pillow. “Yep.” I chuckled. “Another year older, still as beautiful as you were the very first time I saw you.” “What, in my neck-brace?” She looked at me again and laughed. “Well it’s not hard to be, is it?” “Fair point.” I snickered. “You still looked good though.” “You talk shit.” “M’serious!” She didn’t have to believe me because I knew it was true. Even with her neck-brace and her gym-wear on, nothing could have covered how beautiful she was. She caught my eye so quickly, and I knew she’d always thought that was because I’d spotted her injury, but I wasn’t sure that was entirely to blame. She went all shy, rushing to give me a peck on the lips before she went back into hiding, burying her pink cheeks into the duvet. “You should’ve stayed asleep. M’gunna make you breakfast in bed.” I said. “Hm.” She didn’t seem too impressed by the gesture. “What?” I queried as she revealed herself to me again. “Y’know what’s better than breakfast in bed?” She smiled. “Cooking breakfast with you.” That’s what I loved about her and our relationship. There was always this sense of teamwork, solidarity, cooperation, support. There was no more give than there was take on either end, we simply worked together as a unit and that was what made us happy. She knew that she’d get more pleasure from spending her time making breakfast with me than she would simply receiving the breakfast. There was more to gain that way. “Alright, let’s make breakfast together then.” “Kiss me first.” She demanded sweetly. “You needy thing.” I hushed, leaping to lay my body on top of hers and kiss her the way she deserved to be kissed; with every ounce of strength and love I had in me. It felt incredible to see her so bright, so happy. I could feel the way she smiled as I kissed her, something I didn’t think I could ever tire of. Every day with her felt exciting. We were settled with one another and our lives together, that much was clear, but there was an exhilaration there that I was confident would never fade. Maybe it was partly to do with the fact we’d lost each other at one point, like there was an appreciation there, an awareness of what life was like without the other, how bland and meaningless. Or maybe that’s just what happens when you’re with the right person. Maybe real love never loses its light. I kissed her until she was breathless, then swiftly I clambered off her, smirking and watching her whilst I grabbed our dressing gowns from the back of the door, throwing hers over her happy little face before putting mine on and fastening it tight. “C’mon then!” “Okay, I’m up, I’m up!” She cried, throwing herself out of bed and putting her gown on before she started chasing me out of the room. She caught up to me and grabbed at my hand, rearranging my fingers so that she could slot her own between them, my stomach still leaping due to the contact. Thirteen years, and my body still burst with giddy glee at the most minor of touches, everything from hand holding to how she would sometimes search for me in her sleep, her mind trapped in dreams and her physical form finding me, as though I was the embodiment of her subconscious fantasies. I loved the life I’d built with her. After she’d moved into our home, we spent some time debating over what we should do with her old apartment above the shop, and we’d eventually realised that our best option was to turn it into a gallery. I kept my most precious pieces there, the few I didn’t want to sell, and people would travel to Rosebury to see them, wander up into that small space and immerse themselves in what I regarded as my favourite pieces. It was a wonderful space. I still painted and Alfie still worked in her shop when she could, and other than those times where I’d need to travel for work, we spent most of our time together. Whenever we were apart it physically stung. I always rushed home to her. “You make the brews.” I grinned as we walked into the kitchen, lightly smacking her arse as she headed towards the kettle, laughing at how she squealed delightedly over my touch. In my younger years, especially my darkest years – at university and my first time living in New York, I hadn’t ever really thought about my future, how it might look, what I wanted. I had been so lifeless and lost that considering how things might be down the line had never been something that entered my mind. The only time I ever started thinking about the future was when I’d met Alfie. I should have known instantly that was because she would be the centre of my life from that point forward. From the very first fucking time we’d met, she had eclipsed my life then and every day since. I knew that wasn’t ever going to fade. I knelt down and opened the cupboard door ahead of me to get out all the necessary equipment. “So what do you fancy?” I asked her, continuing when she didn’t answer. “Summat little or Full English? I feel like we should go all out. With it being your birthday. Fee?” I turned to her, noticing her blank expression, the way she just stared forward like she’d seen a ghost, zoned out and empty. I dropped everything that had been in my hands, the pans and cutlery clattering on the floor as I practically jumped to her, standing in front of her in an attempt to grab her attention, snap her out of it. “Fee?” I tried again, but there was nothing. I really didn’t want to panic. I really didn’t want to expect the worst, but I could feel her fading. I could see a haze clouding her mind and taking everything away from her. I could fucking see it. The mug she had been holding fell from her loosening grip, shattered across the kitchen floor, and that’s when I couldn’t hold in my fear any longer. “Fuck, Fee, stay with me.” I grabbed at the side of her neck, pressed my forehead against hers, holding her as steadily as I could when she stumbled due to my strong hold, but she was still completely blank. “Please stay with me. Listen to my voice, okay? Listen to my voice, I don’t wanna lose you.” It wasn’t working. Slowly, she was fading away again, right before my eyes. Everything I loved about her, all our memories, all of who we were, just disappearing into nothing. My bottom lip began to tremble, fighting tears. “Alfie, do you remember who I am? Can you tell me my name?” She didn’t have an answer for me. She didn’t have anything other than the drop of her brows, which was almost an answer in itself. It told me she was confused, desperately searching for the correct, or any, response to my question, but she was unable to find one. It told me she didn’t know my name. It told me that her Alzheimer’s was flaring up once again.

2 years earlier… “No. No, that can’t be right.” Harry blurted from beside me, keeping desperate hold of my hand. “Please tell me that’s not right. She’s only thirty-six! That can’t be right!” “I’m really sorry.” My doctor replied simply. “I know you were both hoping for better news.” It was the worst-case scenario. It was the exact news we’d been dreading. It had started with really small things that Harry had noticed before even I had, how I would misplace things, struggle to find the right words. Then my memory really started to fail me, and even things like my vision took a hit, and that’s when Harry forced me to book an appointment with the doctor. I think he’d done that in the hope that we could rule Alzheimer’s out for good. But the opposite had happened. “Well… What can we do? How can we stop it?” Harry wailed as I sat in silence, attempting to let it all sink in. “I’m afraid there’s no known cure at this moment in time. But what I need you to do is have a good routine,” He addressed me. “Keep your mind active, and for now that’s all we can do.” “But-” “I’m sorry, Harry. Maybe further down the line if she’s having depressive episodes or struggling to sleep, there are things we can do and medications we can prescribe. But other than that, the best you can do is take it day by day and keep her happy.” I had no idea what to say. All I could do was hold his hand as tightly as I could, prove to him I was still there with him even though I couldn’t say a word. Maybe I’d been expecting the diagnosis in some ways. I knew it could be hereditary in some cases, so it was something I’d worried about sparsely since my mother was diagnosed, but then I’d always pushed it to the back of my mind, told myself that it wouldn’t happen to me. It was terrifying to have to acknowledge that it was already happening. “H-how long do we have?” Harry asked next. “It varies. You could have many, many happy years together. Just because she’s been diagnosed, doesn’t mean that it’s the end. Best-case scenario, this is the extent of it. It might not get any worse.” “And worst-case scenario?” Harry hadn’t needed to ask that. It had been a matter of months between my mother’s diagnosis and her moving into that home for assisted living. That’s all it had taken. Harry knew that already; I don’t know why he needed to hear it from my doctor. I guess it was disbelief more than anything. A refusal to face what we both knew. As scared as I was, I couldn’t imagine how that felt for him. If and when my mind began to truly disappear, I wouldn’t even know about it. Harry was the one who would have to watch it happen, to witness my demise, to lose me in the most painful way. He would be the one handling the most agonising repercussions of my illness and that made it even worse. I didn’t want him to go through that, ever. I couldn’t imagine how he felt then, having to acknowledge the possibility that in just a few months’ time, I might not even be able to recognise him. “Maybe… a few months…” My doctor managed to say, before Harry broke completely, dropping his head into his free hand and sobbing. And still, I sat in silence, hoping I had more time than my mother had, hoping that this illness wouldn’t be something that ruined Harry’s life as well as mine. I hoped he could be more selfish than my father had managed to be, but I knew he wouldn’t be. It would be history repeating itself all over again. I kept tight hold of his hand as he wept, still unable to find any words to share. I was terrified.

I opened the door to Robert, saw the way his smile dropped as soon as he’d noted the exhausted look on my face. He had planned to come around and spend the day with his daughter on her birthday, but he could tell instantly that he wouldn’t be so lucky. The sun was no longer shining, dark clouds hanging so low I thought they might be touching the tops of the trees that surrounded our home. It sometimes felt as though the sun couldn’t shine without her. “How is she?” He asked before he could even greet me. “Not so good.” I answered, stepping aside to welcome him. “What’s happened?” He asked as he entered, taking off his coat. “I dunno, I just lost her.” I tried to stay calm, to hold in my tears. “She was fine and then she just… She just disappeared.” “Where is she now?” “She’s upstairs sleeping.” “Okay. We’ll leave her to it. Hopefully she’ll wake up feeling more like herself. Let’s have a cuppa, eh?” I liked having Robert around. He understood my situation better than anyone else, though I’d gotten much luckier than he had with Rita. It had been over two years since Alfie was first diagnosed, and most days she was okay. It wasn’t often she completely vanished like she had that morning, whereas Robert had all but lost his wife in a matter of weeks. Rob was never condescending, he never compared my situation to his, and as agonising as it was losing my Fee that way, I could never imagine how he felt. To have lost his wife to that disease and now his daughter, I couldn’t even comprehend it. To have had to witness them both slowly fading away. He always remained resilient, positive, trying to make the most of the horrific hand he had been dealt. No one had my respect in the way he did. “You sit yourself down, son.” He demanded once we were in the kitchen, heading towards the kettle. “Talk to me.” “I… I don’t even know what to say.” I sighed. “It’s good to talk. Not so easy, but good.” He knew I wasn’t much good at talking. Alfie had always been the person I wanted to talk to, the person who I was most comfortable expressing my feelings to. When it came to everyone else, it didn’t come quite as naturally, even after all the therapy I’d had over the years. Fee had helped me to see that just because I’d stopped seeing my therapist in New York didn’t necessarily mean I should stop altogether. So, after moving back to Rosebury, I did some research and travelled fortnightly to our closest city to see a therapist, to continue learning and growing. I’d done that for a few years, until I truly felt in my heart that I was ready to stop. I knew how beneficial talking was, even though it was difficult. I couldn’t talk to her, not about this. I had to confide in someone else. Robert was the best person for that. “I’m angry.” I admitted, ignoring his instructions to sit down and instead washing up the items I’d used that morning, still making breakfast in the hope of bringing her around, but I’d failed. “Okay. Angry about what?” “So many things. I’m angry on your behalf. Aren’t you pissed off?” I asked him. “Uh… I try not to be. But… sometimes. Yes, sometimes it makes me angry.” “You don’t fucking deserve this. No one does, but least of all you.” I rambled. “And doesn’t it piss you off the way that people try to… own things that are fucking traumatic?” “What do you mean?” “When something bad happens, somewhere or to someone… people really latch onto it. They use it like it’s their own. Talk about how well they knew them. Or how they’d been somewhere where something bad happened, y’know? You wanna see the way Chloe talks about Alfie. They haven’t been close for years and yet Chloe talks about her like she’s lost her best friend and it makes me so fucking angry. Like someone else’s pain is her opportunity to gain some sympathy, it’s fucking twisted.” “Mm.” “People try to own trauma for their own gain, and I keep seeing that happen with Alfie and it makes me so, so angry.” Tears began to fall, my voice began to quiver. “Bu-but when you encounter real fucking trauma, that’s when you know you don’t want anything to do with it. You want to stay as far away from it as fucking possible, you don’t wanna fucking claim it and draw yourself towards it. Why the fuck do people do that? I don’t fucking want this.” I lay my hand on my chest, crying heavily. “If people want that pain so much, take all of it. I don’t want an inch of this, it’s fucking awful.” “I know it is. I know.” I loved Alfie with everything I was, everything I ever could be. She meant everything to me, and I would stick by her through anything, but it didn’t make our situation any easier. It made it harder, if anything. Some days I’d look in her eyes and see her fucking soul, but when her Alzheimer’s sparked that way I would see nothing at all, no sign of recognition, no love, no evidence of the woman I had been with and built a life with for so many years. The agony of looking into her eyes and seeing nothing was beyond any pain I had ever experienced in my life. That sort of loss is something I had never been able to imagine and would never be able to describe. And I was so frustrated by the way people had started using her as a pawn for attention and cruel compassion. Only a few weeks earlier, myself and Libby had been having a quiet drink in The Tin Mouse when we’d overheard someone talking about her, some lad who barely knew her, talking about how they’d been friends, how sad it was, talking about her mum like he knew anything. I was glad Libby was there to calm me down, tell me not to listen, drag me away from him. She’d had to lure me away from a fight that evening, my first in years. I was so close to snapping. No one can speak openly about things like that if they really hurt them. You don’t just nip down the pub and express your darkest sufferings, talk to whoever’s around you about it like it’s nothing. If they really wanted that pain, they could take all of it as far as I was concerned. “Pay them no mind.” Robert simply said. “You’ve got enough to worry about here without concerning yourself with how everyone else is dealing with it. Just focus on how you’re dealing with it.” “I don’t think I’m dealing with it well. I know I’m lucky. I know it could be worse, but like… even now, I miss her. I miss her so fucking much. I miss her presence. I miss her knowing my name. Because it’s not just her memories that go, it’s all of her.” “I know it is, Harry. I know.” “How did you do this?” I wept. “How could I not?” He simply stammered through a heavy breath, and it made perfect sense. It wasn’t necessarily this feeling of responsibility, like I had to do it because I loved her and I’d told her I would spend my life with her. It wasn’t that. It wasn’t that I felt obligated to stand by her, or that Robert had felt obligated to stay with Rita even when she reached the stage where she really didn’t know who he was. It was because I loved her. That was why there was no other option than to just do it, to face it head on, to be there with her and for her through everything. She was the person I wanted to spend my life with, whether or not that was a life she recognised or remembered, it was the life I wanted. She was the person I wanted. I had to stand by her through everything. How could I not?

12 years earlier… We swayed one way as the room swayed the other, my arms hung around Harry’s neck as he lay his hands on my waist and we stepped side to side slowly. “Look at ‘em.” He grinned, nodding towards the newlyweds. I looked to my left, the way Libby lay her head on Louis’ shoulder, a new place she could call home for the rest of her life. He just held her, the two of them dancing close-by, central to all the couples who were on their feet slowly dancing to Across the Universe. “M’so happy for them.” I sighed softly, laying my head on his chest. “Mm. I know. Me too.” He kissed the top of my head, the two of us dancing in silence for a few moments before he spoke again. “Do you want this?” “Want what?” I lifted my head to look at him. “Y’know. Marriage.” He looked down. “All this stuff. Is it something you want?” I took a few minutes as I considered his question, looking around the room and taking in the sights, thinking over what we’d witnessed that day and what it all meant. As wonderful as it was, I knew my answer hadn’t shifted. As wonderful as Harry was, I knew I didn’t feel any differently about marriage than I always had. “Not really.” I answered honestly. “It’s a lot of fuss, innit?” “Yeah,” He sniggered. “If you look at it that way.” “I dunno. I guess it’s just another one of those things. I don’t have that desire in me. I don’t really want any of this. I mean… I want you.” I told him, noticed how he blushed like he wasn’t already well aware, gnawing his lip shyly. “But I don’t really need any of this additional stuff to prove anything, or confirm anything. M’happy just being with you, y’know?” “Mm.” “Unless… Unless you want this stuff?” “I don’t.” He grinned. “You don’t?” “No. If it was something you needed, then I’d have proposed in a heartbeat. Anything to be with you, anything to make you happy, you know that.” Now I was the one blushing. “But I feel the same way. I get why it means something to people, and I love that. But… maybe m’just one of those cynical people who thinks it’s just paperwork.” “I know exactly what you mean.” “I don’t need that to promise I’ll be with you through everything. I’ll just promise it. Out loud. I’ll… scribble on a piece of paper. I’ll paint it on every canvas I own.” He was making me laugh, in this weird way of endearment, somehow. “Because it’s definitely not through lack of commitment. That’s not why. I’m committed to you more than you’ll ever know. But… I don’t need this.” “I don’t either.” I loved that we felt the same way about it. It was like how we’d always felt the same way about not having children; it just made our lives so much easier. It’s topics and things like that which can ultimately tear couples apart, bring an end to good relationships. When there are fundamental differences in what each person wants and desires at their very core, it can break love down. We didn’t have to worry about that. We wanted the same things, felt the same way. Sometimes it truly felt like we were perfect for one another. “I promise I’m yours.” I whispered up to him. “And I promise I’m yours.” He whispered back. “Forever. Through everything.” It was so extraordinarily wonderful to hear that and not immediately question him or have any doubts. Since Harry had come back into my life, he had proven to me in every single way he could that the promise he’d made then was one he intended to keep. He had instilled this confidence in me that I might have thought was impossible during the earliest months of our relationship, taken away those doubts I’d had. I didn’t think he was going to disappear, I didn’t ever feel like I was trying to work him out or figure out who we were as a couple, I didn’t feel distant from him in any way. I had always thought the world of him, and he knew that, but there had been parts of our relationship that I really struggled with, things I wanted to change so we could be better and work better as a pairing. Those changes had been made. “I love you.” He told me quietly as we continued to dance. I closed my eyes, lay my head back on his chest, listened to the beat of his heart. I didn’t need any more of a promise from him than that.

By the early afternoon when Libby, Louis and Niall arrived, the rain outside was relentlessly unforgiving, meaning they’d driven the short distance to get to ours, but even the walk from the car to my front door seemed to have left them all drenched. “Uncle Harry!” Ronan squealed as he leapt up into my arms. Niall and Sean had adopted him only a few days after he was born, meaning the little lad had been brightening up my life for over three years. Me and Alfie had never wanted our own kids, but it was amazing to have Ronan there, a little one we could look after and love without that full, lifelong commitment that neither of us had ever desired. But there is something incredibly warming about children. Having him leap from Niall’s arms right into mine, to wrap himself around me like that, it was the first thing to make me smile for hours. We loved being Uncle Harry and Auntie Alfie. The three of them let themselves inside and took off their coats as I continued cuddling him, feeling comforted. “Y’alright?” I eventually asked them all. “Yeah, good.” Louis answered. “Where’s the birthday girl?” “Um… She… She’s not doing so good today.” “Shit.” He knew what I meant straight away, and unsurprisingly, his first concern was me. “You alright?” “Yeah, m’fine. Rob’s here, so… y’know. That helps.” “Is your mum coming?” “She’s here too. She’s upstairs trying to talk to Fee.” She’d arrived around an hour earlier and then gone upstairs to try and get some sense out of Fee about fifteen minutes before they’d arrived, but due to the fact I hadn’t heard a peep from either of them since, it didn’t seem like she was having much luck. My mum definitely saw Alfie as her own, the daughter she’d never had. They had this bond that I couldn’t describe, like they’d known each other their whole lives, like they connected on a level I couldn’t even see. I knew that had only deepened when Jack died. It had happened around four years earlier, when she’d received a call saying he was in a hospital not far from her. Despite everything, she called me and we had both rushed to him, forgetting all the suffering he’d put us through, all the bad things that had happened, the grief he’d caused. He was still her son and my brother. That was one of the few times I could clearly see just how strong love and forgiveness could be. It was the first time since I was a child that my family had felt strong in any way shape or form. We felt like a unit again, like people who wanted to help and heal one another rather than abandon and tear each other apart. But we’d lost him. He was only thirty-seven when he’d died. Jack’s lifestyle hadn’t changed much since we’d both seen him last, when he stole from me and my mum without either of us knowing, targeting the two of us in just matter of days. He’d still been in and out of prison, he was still on the dark path he’d chosen for himself and refused to step off, but that path had lead him into the belly of the beast. He’d crashed his car when fleeing a home he’d broken into, and though he’d put up a decent fight, two days after the accident his body had surrendered, and he’d passed away with me and our mum by his side. It had been so much more trying and upsetting than I could have ever anticipated. He’d brought me nothing but anguish for so many years, and he’d done nothing to change or better himself since before he’d even reached his teenage years, but we both still felt this inordinate guilt, similar to how we had when my dad Billy had taken his life. There was this unpleasant and unsettling sensation, that thought of what might have been different if we had done more for him, supported him more, helped him to help himself instead of wanting to run from him for our own sake. I wasn’t sure we would have ever been able to get through to him, but maybe there was more we could have done, but it was too late to ever know. Thankfully, this loss brought me and my mum closer together, unlike when my dad had died. I’d half expected us to shatter again, but we’d thankfully learnt from our mistakes and allowed the harm to bring us this new bond. We knew we couldn’t lose each other again, not after everything. We were the only part of our family left and we needed to cherish that in every way we could. “You lot get settled,” I sighed, handing Ronan back to his dad. “I’ll go check on them.” “Do you need anything?” Libby offered. “Nah, m’good.” “Tell her I’m here.” Niall forced a grin. “She’s bound to remember her favourite person.” Niall had always been soft, covering his insecurities and fears with humour, but he seemed to struggle that little bit more when it came to what was happening to Alfie. Even then, he’d tried to make some sort of joke, but I could tell how much it was actually breaking his heart. He didn’t cope well when she wasn’t herself. None of us did. They went through into the living room to join Robert as I headed upstairs to see how my mum was getting on, rushing up to our room to find Alfie sat on the edge of the bed and my mother crouched at her side. “Hey, look who it is!” My mum was overly cheery, trying to bring some life out of Fee, who sat despondently staring into the distance. “You know who this is, don’t ya?” I got down on one knee next to my mother, right in front of Alfie, catching her eye and her attention, smiling as brightly as I could and taking her hand in mine, acting like nothing was wrong even when I saw the way she looked over my face, trying so desperately to place a name to my face, trying to recall the millions of memories we shared, but it was as though they were no longer there. If death was the belly of the beast, that disease was the mouth, the enlarged jaw, the sharpened teeth, the thirst for blood and the saliva it drew. Losing her was like being devoured alive. I gave her the most encouraging smile I could, squeezing her hand. “C’mon, boss.” I tried. “I’m missing you. You wanna come downstairs? Everyone’s here to see you.” I wasn’t getting through to her. I could see it in her eyes that what I was saying did not make sense. She withdrew her hand so that it was no longer mine to hold, looking down to her lap. “M'sorry, I have such a bad headache.” She trembled. “Can I be on my own for a while?” “Fee-Fee-” I started to shake. “I’m sorry, I’m not feeling myself.” “I know.” I gripped her hand again, becoming frantic, even though I knew that wouldn’t help. “I know you’re not, b-but I think if you just came downstairs and saw everyone, you’d-” “When’s my mum getting here? I shouldn’t be here without my mum.” Tears poured over my eyes as rain crashed unremittingly against the windows in our bedroom, my heart breaking all over again. I just wanted her to go downstairs and talk to the people who had been in her life since she was a child, because maybe that would make sense to her. Maybe that would bring her back to me. I always thought back to the theoretical bookcases she had, what I’d learnt about Alzheimer’s when she’d first told me about her mum. It helped me to make sense of her mood changes, the things she said and the way she acted when she was going through a particularly bad spell. When things got bad, I would picture her bookcases in my mind. The bookcase on the left; old, feeble, holding her memories. And then the bookcase on the right; strong, secure, in charge of her emotions. Every time she vanished that way, I took it as though an earthquake had hit, rocked each case, and the books on the left had fallen from their place, leaving her with only the option to pick books from the lower shelves. She seemed to be talking as though she was young, like her mum was still alive and should have been there with her holding her hand through this. She was lost and confused and sad and it killed me to see her like that. That was why I wanted her to go downstairs, talk to her friends, talk to the people who had been in her life since she was so small. Her and Louis had known each other since they were babies, and if her mind could only pluck at her earliest memories, I knew that he would be there. And if he was there that might calm her and that might keep her happy, which was the most important thing. Nothing mattered more than keeping the bookcase that shelved her emotions filled with books of joy and content, even if she didn’t remember where they’d come from. I wanted to bring her back to me. I just wanted my Fee-Fee back.

13 years earlier… During his first few weeks back in Rosebury, Harry hadn’t really made himself known. We’d stayed sort of cooped up in his house, figuring things out, falling in love all over again, catching up with one another and deciding how our relationship should look moving forward. But over the past week or so, he’d started to reintroduce himself to our little village, make himself at home again. He’d been to the pub with everyone, told them he was planning on moving back, that he even wanted to start running his classes again. That night, the two of us were in The Tin Mouse, sat side by side, waiting for everyone to arrive so we could break what I felt was some of the most important news Harry had to share with everyone. “Lincoln’s gunna hate me.” He sighed, dropping his head into his hands. “He won’t. He’s not like that.” “Y’know… me and Lin proper got on when I first moved here. Proper got on. But then as soon as I clocked on that he liked you, I got all weird about him.” He turned his head and looked at me. “I dunno why I’m like that. I don’t wanna be like that. And I don’t want him to hate me.” “He kinda already knows, y’know. About us, I mean.” “He does?” “Yeah. He guessed before you came around to mine that morning, when he was there.” “When I told you I loved you?” “Mm.” I nodded. “And Louis knows. I mean, they don’t have a clue we’re back together now, but they know we were together when you lived here before.” “What about Niall and Libby?” “Clueless. I mean, both of them had little inklings back in the day, but nothing more than that.” “They had inklings too? Shit.” He huffed, picking up his pint and taking a sip. “We really mustn’t have been as sly as I thought we were. Like, I thought we hid it well.” “M’not too sure.” I chuckled. “Maybe it was too big to hide.” He acknowledged profoundly, then snapped. “Also, I go proper doe-eyed when I look at you, which is probably very noticeable.” “You should try and get that under control.” I smirked. “Trust me, I’ve tired.” He grinned. “It’s impossible.” I leaned towards him and kissed his cheek, which spurred him to turn his head and grab my jaw so he could pull me back to him and leave a luscious kiss upon my lips, lingering his love upon my pout. When he pulled away, he looked at me with those exact eyes he’d just been speaking about. I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about us. I couldn’t wait for everyone to know and to finally be in a relationship that wasn’t happening behind closed doors. What I had with Harry was the most magnificent thing I had ever experienced in my life, I was bursting to talk about it with the enthusiasm and joy it deserved. I didn’t want to admit it to Harry, but I was pretty apprehensive about Lin finding out too. I imagined he already had an idea since Harry was moving back, and the same could be said for Louis, but everything that had happened with Lincoln was still really fresh. He didn’t have a bad or bitter bone in his body, I knew that, but it was bound to be strange for him. He was the first to arrive, stepping into the pub only a few moments after mine and Harry’s kiss, but I was glad he’d caught us in a less compromising position. I’d asked him to get there a little earlier than the rest, just so we could tell him without the others being there. As soon as he saw us, his face dropped somewhat, before the door had even closed behind him. He knew. I shot an encouraging smile his way, noticing the way he took a deep breath in as though to prepare himself, before he came over to our table, sat himself down across from us. From the corner of my eye, I saw Harry drop his gaze, looking down to the table rather than at him. It seemed like this was in my hands. “You okay?” I asked Lin. “Yeah, I’m alright.” He sighed. “How’re you two?” “Yeah, we’re fine. We just kinda wanted to… chat to you.” “Yeah. I think I know what it’s about.” He sniggered dejectedly. Harry still couldn’t look at him. I should’ve known he’d be like that, all defensive and jealous and ridiculous until it got down to actually facing Lin, acknowledging his feelings. Harry wasn’t a bad person; in fact, he was incredibly caring when it came to others, incredibly conscious of other people’s feelings. He was good at picking up on things and going out of his way to make others feel better. It was why he’d always been so good with those self-defence classes. Beyond the jealousy, when it actually came down to Lin and how he was feeling, when it actually came to sitting down in front of him that way, Harry’s anger and arrogance was nowhere to be found. “M'sorry, I hate doing this, it feels so weird, but after everything’s that’s gone on recently, I feel like I should.” I got straight to it. “Me and Harry have been talking a lot since he came back and figuring stuff out and… we really wanna try and… make this work.” “As in… you’re getting back together?” “Yeah. We… We have a lot of history, and we-” “Yeah, I uh… I saw that coming.” He smiled. “As soon as Harry said he was moving back, I figured. It’s fine.” “I just-” “Alf, as long as you’re happy, that’s the main thing.” He interrupted, but I actually felt the main thing he wanted right then was to avoid the weird sympathy we were giving him. I imagined that didn’t make it any easier for him. “Look… I-I knew it was a risk when I asked you out and I wasn’t expecting it to work out, genuinely. It would have been a bloody miracle, to be honest. I just wanted to try, and we did, and it wasn’t meant to be. I’m not mad that you’ve found the person that’s gunna make you happy, Alf. I’ll find that too. It’s all good, I promise, you really don’t need to explain yourself to me or worry about me. As long as you’re both happy.” Harry lifted his head, scoped Lin out for a few seconds before he turned his head to me. “Are you seriously picking me over him?” He was somewhere between joking and being completely serious, forcing a laugh out of both me and Lin. “I feel like that’s a poor decision on your part. He’s a better man than I am.” They finally looked at each other, sharing a smile, this strange acknowledgement that I couldn’t quite understand, but it seemed like a positive thing. “I’m sorry.” Harry said to him. “Don’t be. It’s all good.” “And if I was ever off with you or anything-” “You were.” “Yeah, I know, shit.” Harry shook his head, smiled awkwardly. “I’m sorry. It’s just because… I just love her so much.” “Then don’t fucking leave again, alright?” Lin grinned, reaching his hand across the table. “You won’t find a better girl if you do.” “M'not going anywhere.” Harry reached back, the two of them shaking hands over the table. I imagined Lin wanted to forget the whole thing, frankly. I really hated the thought of him regretting asking me, but looking at how it had all unfolded, I couldn’t blame him for just wanting to forget that he’d ever proposed a date in the first place. As long as he was alright, that was all I could hope for, and he seemed to be. It seemed more than anything, he just wanted to move on. He and Harry got chatting, returning to normal, the atmosphere much nicer than I’d been anticipating, but I really shouldn’t have been surprised. They were both just incredible men, I was lucky to have them both in my life. Not too long later, the rest of them arrived. Louis and Libby hand in hand, with Niall close behind, shooting a wink to Sean behind the bar before they came over to the table. “Right, what does everyone want to drink?” Niall offered. “I’m going to the bar to flirt with Sean, so I might be a while getting the drinks back to you, but still. It’s the thought that counts.” “Mate, it’s barely the thought that counts when your thought is that you want to go to the bar to flirt with Sean. You don’t wanna get us drinks!” Lin laughed. “You make a fair point, Crosby. I barely wanna sit with you lot, to be honest. I just wanna sit at the bar and make eyes at him all night.” “Okay, before you do that then,” I yelped, wanting to keep him with us. “Can you sit down for a second? I’ve got some news.” Louis’ eyes lit up in a second. I hadn’t told him exactly what had been going on, but the last time I’d spoken to him about it properly I’d said I was going to go and talk to Harry, and since then I’d been very coy about the whole thing. He’d have been a damn fool not to figure it out, but he’d given me my space to let me announce it in my own time, and I could tell from the giddy look on his face that he knew that time had finally come. Libby didn’t look so excited. “What’s happened? Are you okay? Do I need to kill someone? Who hurt you?” “Lib, it’s fine, it’s nothing like that. Just… sit down a second, I’ll tell you.” They all pulled up a stool and sat themselves down, Harry tensing beside me. These were incredibly unfamiliar waters for him to be treading. Harry had lived his life in lonesome shadows he had created, hiding in the darkest corners he could as a way of protecting himself. He wasn’t used to being open about any section of his life, especially a part as intricate and evocative as love. Though it was clear the therapy he’d experienced since he’d left had helped him, there was a difference between him being open and honest with me, someone he’d been so close to and shared with before, compared to sharing such delicate truths with everyone else. This was new to him, it was bound to be scary. I reached for his hand beneath the table, squeezed it tightly. Eager little faces awaited the news I was about to break. “Okay… so… as you all know, Harry’s moving back.” “Woo!” Niall cheered. “Cheers, Niall.” Harry grinned and winked at him, laughing a little. “And uh…” I tried to continue. “I guess I’m kinda extra happy about it, because… Well, before he left, me and Harry-” “WERE YOU FUCKING?” Niall screamed, interrupting the entire pub as he did, cringing and then turning to address our fellow pub-goers. “Apologies! Excuse my French.” I had to drop my head onto the table, everyone else trying to hold in their laughter in an effort to show a little respect to the old blokes who were sat drinking and genuinely unhappy with Niall’s language. “For fuck sake, Niall!” Libby scalded. “Keep your voice down! If you wanna yell shit like that, we’ve gotta spend more time at The Royal Rose.” “I’m right though, aren’t I?” He pretty much ignored her, eyes darting between me and Harry. “Tell me I’m right?” “We were together.” Harry worded it much more eloquently. “SHUT THE FUCK UP, NO YOU WEREN’T!” Libby yelled. “Oh my god, Libby, shh!” I cried once I’d whipped my head back up. “Who needs to go down The Royal fucking Rose now, eh?” Niall huffed. “Sorry, everyone! Sorry!” Libby bellowed around the room before she turned back to us and whispered harshly. “Were you really?” “Yeah.” Harry smiled. “Were you in love?” “We were. We are.” “Alfie! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” “Sorry, we didn’t tell anyone.” I shrugged. “But that’s why we’ve kinda gathered you all, because… well, now Harry’s moving back… we’re getting back together. I mean… we’re already back together.” “Knew it.” Louis smirked. “What do you mean you knew it?” Libby turned to her fiancé and gave him death eyes. “Did you know about them being together last year?” “Sorta.” “Wow, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. The wedding’s off.” “What? I’m good at keeping secrets! If anything, that should make you want to marry me more! I’m very trustworthy.” The two of them started sweetly squabbling between themselves, Harry and I moving our attention across to Niall who still had questions. “So, wait… you two are serious about each other? It wasn’t just sex?” “Nah. It was never just sex.” Harry said, to my surprise. I didn’t know why he’d said that, but I wondered if he might have done it as a way for compensating for the things he’d said to me when I’d told him I loved him the first time and he’d told me he only saw us and our relationship as sexual, nothing more than that. But knowing what I knew then, being aware of how he actually felt about me, maybe he really hadn’t ever seen it as just sex. Maybe I hadn’t either. Maybe we’d always meant more to one another than we’d known. “That’s wild. Why’d do you leave? Did you break up?” “Uh… Sort of, I guess.” Harry choked. “But that’s not gunna happen again. This is it now. It’s me and her.” Niall was beyond excited, happily asking Harry every question he could think of, even the ones he must have known Harry would find awkward to answer, but he answered regardless. It was yet another way I could see Harry stepping up for me, doing things and removing himself from his comfort-zone because he knew it would make me happy. It was nice that I knew it would make him happy too, he merely needed to get used to the change. We both did. Being in an open relationship with Harry was going to be different, but I’d never been so excited about anything. Our future seemed, so, so bright.

“Harry!” Louis’ voice was loud, sending shockwaves through my body as I bolted upright, cursing, my heartbeat racing. I looked around, agitated and anxious, noticing we were in the reading room, noises coming from the distance proving I still had a good number of visitors. Thunder and lightning crashed outdoors, light splitting the dark skies whilst the thunder bellowed its dominance as I came back around, a little woozy and lost for a few moments but gradually, things came back to me. I could recall I’d gone in there to give myself a bit of space after me and my mum had tried to speak to Alfie, but I must have nodded off at some point. “You alright?” He was concerned. “Uh…” I was still half asleep, my hands resting firm on the chaise beneath me as I gathered myself, reintroduced myself to the literal world. “Yeah, sorry, m’fine. Sorry.” “Don’t apologise, mate. I can’t imagine how you feel.” I budged up and tucked my knees closer to my chest so he could sit himself down at the end of the chair. Louis had become for me what he was for Alfie. Since I’d moved back to Rosebury, we’d gotten much closer, and he possessed this aura that made him incredibly approachable. Sharing felt easy when it came to Louis. Alfie had always used him as the person she went to when she needed to talk about anything, and I felt a similar way. He could sense that I needed to talk. “Sorry our little ones aren’t here.” He started gently. “They’re getting harder to control now they’re older. They’d rather spend the day with their grandparents on the farm than with us.” “It’s alright. Kinda feel like… the less people the better.” “Mm, I bet.” It wasn’t long after their wedding that Libby told us she was pregnant with Ben, their eldest. A couple of years later, they’d welcomed Amelia to the world, two more kids who referred to me and Alfie and their auntie and uncle. They were good kids, but how could they not be with their parents? “You’re handling all of this really well, Harry.” Louis was kind, encouraging. “Better than most people would.” “The thing is, I’m lucky right now.” I rubbed over my eyes. “With Fee… this isn’t happening often. This is the second time this month, and that’s the most it’s been since she was diagnosed, y’know? She struggles with the little things, and small lapses, but this sort of thing is rare, and I’m so, so lucky that that’s the case two years after her being diagnosed. It could’a been so much worse.” “It could, you’re right.” “But when this does happen… I can literally feel myself falling apart. It fucking kills me. To know she looks at me and… she see’s nothing. It’s agonising. It’s a physical pain, I can’t describe it.” “She doesn’t see nothing, Harry.” He tried to comfort me. “She might be a little lost, but you’re there, deep down. She could never look at you and see nothing, I know how much you mean to her.” I hoped he was right. I knew I’d comforted Alfie with similar words when it came to her mother, and I’d meant it, but it was so much more difficult to see that as the truth when I was so directly involved, when it was me losing the love of my life. “It’s probably gunna get worse. How am I gunna cope when it gets worse?” I asked him rhetorically. “We’ll be here for ya, the whole time. Whatever you need from us, whenever you need it.” I knew he was telling the truth, and it was incredibly comforting. “And maybe your luck won’t run out. Maybe this is how it’s gunna be for her, maybe she won’t deteriorate more than this. Don’t write her off yet, you know how strong that girl is. She’s got a hell of a lot of fight in her.” I’d barely realised I was smiling over his words, nodding. He was so right. She had so much strength in her, I’d known that since the second we’d met. She’d never really been able to see it herself, but she had such a desirable sustainability, this power and fire in her gut that had seen her through some really difficult times. I loved every part of her, every inch of her body and every piece of her soul, but that strength was something really special, something that had always drawn me to her in ways I couldn’t fight. “You gave her some really incredible years, Harry.” “But I want to give her an incredible life.” I explained exhaustedly. Her Alzheimer’s had made it seem as though that was no longer an option, that any life I could provide or that we could build would be lost, either in the depths of her mind or quite literally, if she maybe had to go into care as her mother had. I’d struggled to understand Robert when I was younger, when I saw what he did for his wife, the way he upped and moved to be with her, altered his whole life to be at her side, but now it was happening to Alfie I completely understood it. It no longer seemed preposterous, it no longer seemed like something completely heroic that he’d done. It was the only option. If I had to, I’d do the same thing, I knew that without a shadow of a doubt. But I wanted to keep her at home for as long as I physically could. I wanted to give her a life full of love, a life worth fighting for. “You still can. You will.” Louis smiled. “Do not waste these years worrying about losing her completely when she’s still here. I know it’s easy for me to say that, and with how she is today… it’s fucking awful. She’s my oldest mate, it hurts me too. But right now, like you said, this is rare. So fucking cherish her whilst she’s here. Do whatever you can to keep her here. Think of ways to bring her back. If anyone can do it, you can. I have every fucking faith. Don’t start to let go when she’s still holding on.” He commanded. I nodded, absorbing his words in every way I could. There was something incredibly special about the love between me and Alfie. When I’d fallen in love with her all those years earlier, she’d made me realise that love could truly do some remarkable things. I had to hope that love could keep her with me for many years to come.

9 years earlier… I wrapped the towel tighter around my frame as I anxiously approached the red curtains, nervously hiding from Harry who sat in room ahead of me, canvas and colours all set up in preparation, sun setting between the trees, exactly how he’d wanted it to be, the light breaking into the room and projecting the most fascinating shadows. I peered through the small gap in the curtains, not moving any closer. “C’mon, Fee-Fee. I’ve seen you naked a million times.” He said without turning to look at me. “This is totally different!” I cried. “It’s not!” “It is! This is nude! Which I feel like is not the same as naked.” “It’s exactly the same.” He cackled. “It’s different! It’s a different sort of experience entirely. No one’s ever painted me nude before.” “Good, I should fucking hope not.” He laughed. “This is my privilege.” “I feel really nervous.” “How can I make it better?” “You can’t, it’s not you, Harry! You make me feel very comfortable in my own body, there’s nothing more you can do.” I explained truthfully, standing in silence for a few seconds before I spoke up once again. “What kinda painting is it gunna be? Is it gunna be abstract, or are you gunna be able to tell it’s me?” Harry had been painting everyone of recent, actually asking them to sit for him. He’d already painted me plenty of times since we’d gotten back together, but he’d branched out, painting Louis, Libby, Lincoln and Niall. He’d even done one of his brother, though that hadn’t been in person. He’d gone off memory alone, but I knew he was hoping to reach out to Jack at some point, try to help him and mend their relationship again. It was just a matter of plucking up the courage and tracking him down. He'd even painted Chloe a few weeks back. Her and Sam had recently split up, which meant for the first time in years, she’d attempted to spend time with us all, get herself back into the group, but things had changed. It almost felt as though it was too little too late. I had no bad feelings towards her, I’m not sure any of us did, the water had passed under the bridge years earlier, but it just hadn’t felt the same. It didn’t even feel genuine coming from her, like she’d only come back to us because she felt we were her only option. It was disappointing and it truly was a shame, but it just hadn’t worked. I think that was why Harry had wanted to paint her; not because of the friendship, but more the lack-thereof. But the thing with Harry’s recent work was that they had been varied in style. His older work was entirely abstract, pieces in which I’d barely been able to see myself even when he’d tried to point out exact features. His recent work wasn’t like that though, with some pictures being the most detailed portraits I’d ever seen, so lifelike it sometimes felt as though they could start talking. He kept them all in the gallery above the shop, a collection he continued to add to. “M’not sure yet.” He confessed. “Depends how I’m feeling once you’re in place. If you think it’s too detailed, I won’t put it anywhere. It’ll be your call when it’s done, alright?” With that confirmation, I finally felt comfortable enough to step into his most creative space, shuffling past him and heading over to the podium he’d set up, balancing my knee on it first so I could climb up and sit myself down as gracefully as possible, knees bent, legs to one side, body as upright and straight as I could make it, clutching at the top of the towel, holding it against my chest. I took a deep breath in, steadied myself, made one final request. “Will you make my nipples nicer?” “Your nipples are perfect as they are, idiot. I wanna paint you, not some idealised version of you. There’s nothing wrong with you right now, as you are. I promise.” Harry made sure his voice was warm, the sound alone making me feel at home, like I should be proud to just be myself. “Whenever you’re ready.” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath in, tore the towel apart and then dropped it to the ground. The first thing I could concentrate on was the way he took a deep breath in, his chest swelling with the intake of air, like he needed to calm himself down as his eyes ran all over my body with care, slowly moving over every inch of me. I felt so exposed and yet it was overwhelmingly intimate too, like my body belonged to his eyes, like I would be invisible to anyone else. I was infatuated with the way he looked at me, because it was all there in his eyes, every emotion and every memory and every loving feeling he had towards me. After figuring out how to remain somewhat calm, he spoke. “Okay. Could you… have one knee up? Just lift your right leg, have your foot pointing right at me.” He instructed and I altered my stance accordingly. “And just link your fingers together and hold around your knee. That alright?” “Mm.” “Are you comfortable?” “Yeah.” “Good.” With that acknowledgement, he began, mixing a few colours and studying me in silence for a few moments before he put his brush against the canvas, proceeded to paint me. From what I could tell, from his point and with my position, my body would be both hidden and revealed. I imagined the shadows that were casting on me only added to the affect, and maybe that was why he’d chosen that time of day, when the sun was going down, when the world was glowing and yet infiltrated with tenebrosity. He had a vision, and I was the centre of it. Strangely, I’d predicted that I would be totally conscious of the time, that the clocks in my mind would strain and my body would ache and tire with speed, but that didn’t happen. Though we didn’t speak whilst he worked, the time flew. Occasionally, he would purposefully catch me eye, smirk at me, bite his lip, probably as a way of easing me, because when he did that, I’d notice my body relax even though I hadn’t realised I had tensed. Harry knew me so well. He knew my mind and my body and my soul in ways that were way beyond my understanding. He saw things in me that I couldn’t, loved parts of me that I hated, understood conundrums within me that I could never comprehend. I loved him so much. “You look amazing.” He said after almost three hours. “I-I dunno. Sometimes it feels like you’re the inspiration I’ve always needed. Proper little muse, aren’t ya?” I tried to keep hold of my position, stay quiet, not blush too much, but it was a complete honour to be his muse, the perfect stimulant for him to be able to create some truly beautiful pieces, none of which involved blood. Wine had been his calling for years, finding its way into most of his paintings, especially the ones of me. But he often got creative too, not always because it worked effectively as a substitute for paint, but as interesting addition. He used fruit juices, my perfume, put petals within his paints or blades of grass. He took his surroundings, pieces of Rosebury, and he made art. More time passed, Harry concentrating intently on each stroke as I slowly began to rearrange my limbs, but he didn’t notice until my legs were both dangling off the front of the podium, still facing him. “Alf-” He began, but I managed to stop him talking when I slowly opened my legs. That was how much confidence he could bestow upon me. I’d gone from being nervous to even walk in the room, to spreading my legs for him, letting him decide what he wanted to do with the woman ahead of him, whether that was painting her or otherwise. Harry looked almost dizzy, eyes transfixed on my core and plump lips parted. He stepped to his side so that the easel and canvas didn’t block an inch of me from him or vice-versa, so I mirrored him, dropped my eyes down to his crotch and saw how much he appreciated the sight. He was rock hard. I bit at my bottom lip, hoping to lure him closer to me, hoping I’d inspired him beyond the canvas. “You’re something else.” He was breathless, a look of amazement clouding his eyes. And yet he remained still, purposefully building the heat. I didn’t realise us saying nothing and not even touching could do that, but I was sure I’d never wanted him more. I had never felt such intensity between us. My whole body quivered the moment he finally snapped, storming towards me. His hands went to his belt as soon as he started walking, the jingling of the metal he was fiddling with sending shockwaves through my body. He was still working on it when he reached me, taking one hand and pulling harshly on my hair to make my neck snap back, forcing me to look up to him. His other hand continued to loosen the leather from the slack trousers he was wearing, the two of us panting even though we’d barely done anything, looking into each other’s eyes. I could feel his hand moving, hear the pleasing titter of the buckle rattling. That alone got me worked up, those two senses sparking a million sensations. Then before I knew it he’d pushed into me, so much force behind his hips that I almost fell backward before he pulled me back to him, shot his head down so that he could bite my bottom lip. His touch was strict, severe, strong. Even with my lip still gripped between his teeth, he managed to smirk, aware of how much power he had in those moments, but it was my power that had brought him to me. He let my lip loose, his hand moving from my hair to my jaw as he began to kiss me, surprisingly gentle, his hips beginning to wind, gradually moving in and out of me. I loved how he could feel so tough and unforgiving whilst also moving with such a gentle ease. I didn’t understand how he could be both and yet he was, and he was with ease. He was the light and the dark. The night and the day. The sun and the thunderstorm. The fighter and the artist. My fingers clung frenziedly to his t-shirt, possibly puncturing holes through the thin material, closing my eyes and breathing him in, barely able to kiss him with how ethereal I felt just being with him. “You feel so good. Fuck, you’re amazing.” He wheezed. I wrapped my legs around his, my heels digging into his backside, pushing my chest up and putting my arms behind me so I could keep myself propped up, Harry slowly taking his kiss away from my mouth trailing it down my chin and then over my chest, causing pretty palpitations that skipped through my body, his hands lowering to my backside and yanking me closer to him. Ever since the day I had seen his paintings for the first time in person, there had been this magnetism between me and his captivating work. Being around his pieces, touching them, breathing them in; it was fascinating and overwhelming and it always brought out such powerful emotions from me. So when I actually became a part of his art, that intensified, took all those feelings to an entirely different realm. That was one of the reasons I felt we had gotten carried away in such a physical sense. We connected when he painted. He took hold of my legs, curving his fingers behind my knees and gripping tight as he picked up the pace, head lifting so he could gaze down between our bodies, watch the way he worked in and out of me as I watched him, the way he bit his lip, even scrunched his nose, concentrating all his strength on me. I moved one hand so I could touch myself, stealing his focus. He watched my fingers move over my clit, the sight bringing new groans from him, and I could tell I was leading him to his finish. I knew all the signs, his giveaways. Nothing turned me on more than seeing him unwind that way. My moans were getting louder and louder, my eyes closing just a few seconds after I noticed a grin spreading across his lips, smug over my pitch, like he always was. “Oh fuck.” He seethed piercingly as he came, and I was able to feel the way his whole body trembled, the ripples riding against my heels and the parts of my legs that came into contact with him, moving my hand until he gasped. “Please finish. I wanna you feel. I wanna watch you.” So I moved my hand back, touching myself for those final few moments before it happened, Harry watching me in awe the whole time. As soon as we were both calm enough, Harry took my neck in his hand once again so he could bring me closer to him, kiss me with enough passion to knock me out completely. I slung my arms around his neck, feeling his smile grow against my lips. “I love you.” He gasped as we kissed. “I love you so fucking much.” “I love you too.” “You’re fucking bliss, I’m so obsessed with you.” He was rambling, spewing his thoughts, and it only made me smile more, my cheeks genuinely hurting even though I was still trying to kiss him back, butterflies in my stomach and rose tinted glasses perching on my nose and altering my vision. When our kiss ended, he stayed close, rubbing his nose against mine, closing his eyes and breathing steadily as I just watched him, just as obsessed with him. I stroked the backs of my fingers over his cheek, transfixed. “You make me so, so happy,” I whispered to him. “I feel like my heart is gunna burst.” “Nah, fuck that.” He sneered. “I need you. No heart bursting, please.” “I’ll try.” I giggled. “I make no promises though.” “I’d be lost without you. I’d hate it. Stay with me, okay?” “Okay.” He kissed me again, lightly gliding his tongue into my mouth, so tender with me I thought I might cry. I never wanted him to feel lost. I would always stay with him.

Everyone had stayed with me for a good few hours, keeping me company on Alfie’s birthday seeing as she couldn’t quite do that herself. Lin and his wife Jessica had shown up eventually too, all of them being upbeat in their attempts to lift my mood, and temporarily, it had worked to the extent it could. But then as soon as I had closed the door on them, all my sorrow had come flooding back. My only aim then was to make sure that Alfie was happy. That was why I’d thought up a plan. “Just follow me, okay?” I encouraged her, finally having gotten her downstairs, though I could tell she was still confused and wary of me. “Where’re we going?” She asked, tracking my steps as the two of us tiptoed through the living room. I was walking backwards so I could keep my eyes on her, conscious that she might cower or run at any second. She glued her eyes to me, as though she was slowly teaching herself to trust me, a flicker of recognition darting through her eyes. I smiled. “Alfie, I just wanna show you something. It’s something you’ll like.” “Uh-” “You can trust me, I promise.” “Ca-can I hold your hand?” At first, I couldn’t even find it within me to reply to her, in a state of shock that she’d even asked that of me. But what it told me was rousing. It told me that I wasn’t entirely a stranger to her. It reminded me that even when she couldn’t quite place me, there was a sense of trust between us that remained. Even though it wasn’t immediate or obvious, it was still there. “Uh- Fuck, yeah, of course you can.” I held my hand out for her to shyly slot her fingers between mine, almost bashful when she did, like it was the first time we’d held hands, like we were giddy teenagers who were dating one another. And I wondered then if that was how I should start viewing it, when her Alzheimer’s attacked her that way. Maybe it would help if I started thinking of it as though I had to win her back and win her over, as though she was someone I needed to charm and woo, a girl I really fucking wanted but needed to earn. Slowly, I lead her through the kitchen and then into the conservatory at the back of the house. I took her to my paintings. Her pupils blew up in seconds, a new galaxy appearing in her eyes, looking around the room in wonder, gazing at all the art in there, the abundance of canvases that still sat in that room. There were paintings of her, paintings we’d done together, paintings of her friends and loved ones, paintings that had been in there the very first time she had been in there. It had the potential to be a really good space for her. She let go of my hand, unhurriedly exploring her surroundings. “Did you do these?” She enquired. “Mm.” “You’re talented.” “Thank you.” I nodded. Her fingers played over a painting I’d done of her, but she was clueless, unaware she was the inspiration behind almost everything she could see. Under the guise that she was a guest, she worked her way around the room like blood running through veins, oblivious to the fact that she was actually the beating heart. I didn’t want to tell her that she was a part of so many of the paintings she was looking at, because I didn’t want to obscure her reality and upset her. Sometimes it was just better to go along with however she was feeling, whatever she felt was real. She spent her time leisurely wandering and inspecting the work that grabbed her the most as I headed towards the prime piece, the painting I had wanted her to see most. Earlier, I’d propped it up against the back window, central, ready for her to inspect. I pulled the cloth that had been covering it away, hurling that tattered throw to the ground beside me. She was so engrossed she didn’t even notice. “Alfie?” I caught her attention, watching her spin on her spot. Her face dropped. I’d captured her attention entirely. It was the Blood Sun. Before my mum had left, I’d asked her to keep an eye on Alfie whilst I rushed to the gallery and grabbed the painting to bring back. Me and Louis had covered it to protect it from the rain before throwing it into the back of his car and getting it to mine and Alfie’s house as soon as we could, hoping for the best. That painting was hers. It belonged to her, and as its owner, I knew the emotional reaction she had to it and how that never tired. Every time I’d seen her around that painting, it had affected her in such severe ways, like it spoke to her, as though it could touch her both physically and mentally. My gut was telling me that connection would still be there. I watched her intently as she took steps towards the Sun, seeing the familiar look of awe that she always had when she was close to that painting, blinded and dazzled and struck with wonder. “It’s beautiful.” She whispered as she stopped ahead of it. “You… You should feel it.” I suggested. “What? Touch it? I can’t do that.” “Course you can.” I grinned. “It’s mine, and I say you can.” She stared at me like I’d gone mad, but I just nodded, willing her to do as I’d asked. She had this beautiful, dastardly look in her eye as she reached her hand outwards, the tips of her fingers only grazing the red for a moment before her hand retracted, like it had stung her. It was rather fascinating to watch her. Within seconds, she was touching it again, and I could see that her mind was whirring. I couldn’t even begin to guess what might be going on in her head, how she might be feeling, what she might be thinking. It might have been an entirely new experience for her, or it might have been shining a light to parts of her mind that had spent that day in darkness. I moved so I was standing right behind her, my body only an inch from hers, admiring the way she let her fingerprint distinguish the paint like brail. I reached out, lay my hand on top of hers, gently guiding her touch. She inhaled heavily, my touch affecting her, my stomach twisting. “Tell me how you feel.” I was quiet, hanging my head just over her shoulder, able to see the profile of her face. “I… I feel sad.” She explained. “There’s so much sadness here.” When she said that, I found my eyes looking at the hand that I had resting on top of hers, seeing the scars that were still so prominent, even after all those years. Looking back, I couldn’t even imagine feeling that way, being able to cut myself like I had. Seeing those scars reminded me of how lucky I was to have wound up with such a wonderful life, so full of happiness that harming myself that way was almost incomprehensible. Seeing those scars was a reminder of my current wellbeing. Alfie had helped me build that life, she had been the one that pointed out just how harmful my old technique had been, and that was why she’d always been able to sense the pain that would forever remain trapped in that painting. “But…” “But what?” I tried to spur her to say more. “There’s something else, I don’t know.” “Tell me. Just tell me how you feel.” “It’s like… home, and warmth. I… I don’t know.” “Like us.” I hushed. She closed her eyes, and I noticed a tear pool over, stream down her cheek. Something was happening. I was rapidly short of breath, keeping my eyes on her. “Fee? Please talk to me.” “I remember the first time I saw this in real life. I remember.” She trembled. “I remember the feeling. I remember crying.” “What else?” I begged, tears beginning to build in my eyes. I could hear my heart beating, observing her memory reform and construct in her mind, filling her drop by drop when all I wanted was for everything to flood into her consciousness again. I adjusted our hands so that I could squeeze hers, resting my forehead against her temple, whispering, pleading with her to search a little deeper. She took a shaky breath inward, overwhelmed. “Harry.” She whispered, and I thought I might collapse to the floor, simply hearing her speak my name. “Yes! Look at me.” I cupped her cheek, not pushing but trying to encourage her to turn her head. “Fee-Fee, please look at me.” She turned to her right, eyes sparking as soon as she looked into mine. She knew me. “Harry?” She questioned. “Holy fuck, Harry!” She scrambled so that she could wrap her arms around my neck, throw her body against mine and take me into her. I’d never held her so tight. Though there had been a few similar occurrences since her diagnosis, none had gone on for that long. I’d spent the entire day wondering if that was it, if she had reached her breaking point and her memory just wouldn’t come back. It was terrifying and excruciating. But she was with me. She was home. My body was frail, using all my might to hold her, but it was as though that meant strength was retracted from elsewhere, my legs giving way beneath me. I crumbled down to the floor, taking her with me, first landing on my knees and then falling back, Alfie straddling my legs, the two of us still gripping onto one another. I pulled my head back so I could look in her eyes, grabbing her cheeks. “Are you okay? Do you feel okay?” “Wh-what’s happened?” “I lost you. I lost you, I’ve missed you so fucking much. It’s been so hard without you. I hate it.” I sobbed, brushing some hair from her face. “How do you feel?” “I’m okay. I’m sorry.” She wept. “Don’t be sorry. You don’t have to be sorry, Fee-Fee. M’just so glad you’re back.” We kissed, another way of coaxing her back to me. I knew from previous experience just how disorienting it was for her, coming back around like that, I couldn’t even imagine how it felt. All I could do was talk her through it, be there for her, kiss her, remind her of her life in the kindest way I could. I kept the kiss brief then pulled away, eyes darting across her face and keeping her close. “Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked. “I’m fine!” She cried, clinging onto me. “Please don’t be upset, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Another horrific addition to her illness was the guilt she felt when she came back around. All she would focus on was my feelings, how it would have hurt me, as if it wasn’t fucking bad enough with everything else it did to her. She was strangely selfless about the whole thing. “Fee, you’ve gotta stop apologising to me, please. You’re here, that’s all that matters.” “I love you.” She wept. “I love you too. I love you so much.” I’d only recently realised the importance of being there for her when she found herself again. Every time, I was elated that she was back, and she was all I could focus on, but I had to be caring and present and not just break over how difficult I’d found it. I kissed her tenderly, breathlessly continuing to tell her I loved her at every opportunity, the words losing themselves upon her lips and swelling within in her mouth before hopefully finding their way to her heart. She was all that mattered. Doing everything I could so that she could find herself and fight that disease was all that mattered. I saw it as my responsibility to give to her and help her to sustain the best life I possibly could, and I wasn’t going to give up on that or give up on her. That disease was venturing to steal our happiness, and though it could gain temporary success, I refused to let it consume us entirely, to rob us of the sublime life we had created. Our love had more fight in it than any disease ever could. “I missed you.” I shuddered when our kiss soothed. “When I touched the Sun… It’s like I saw your face.” She enlightened me. “I saw your face and heard your voice and you were telling me you loved me and then everything started coming back to me. Everything.” Though I had been there physically, it was her mentality that had needed to alter, to shift and shake and align once more. When she had touched the Blood Sun, I had re-entered her mind and memories, my voice calling upon her soul and willing it back to the present. I could never underestimate the power of us. I could never underestimate the power of her mind and just how engrained I was within it. “You were there. You brought me back.” She whispered, laying a loving and gentle kiss upon my lips. “You brought yourself back.” I told her. “You’re so fucking strong, Fee-Fee. Keep fighting it.” “I will, I promise. As long as you’re here-” “M’always gunna be here, Fee. You know that.” She dropped her head. “Hey!” I placed my thumb beneath her chin, lifted her head back up so that she was forced to look into my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. Whatever happens, I’m yours. I’m here. We fight this together, okay?” “Promise?” Her bottom lip quivered. “I promise. It’ll always be us. Just me and you.” “Just me and you.” She repeated back to me. She needn’t fear that I might leave, that I may tire of the tumultuous routine of our lives, that her illness wouldn’t merely steal her memories but it would eventually take me from her too. She didn’t need to worry for even a second. I wanted to be her support system. I wanted to be her life, her lover, her confidant, her centre. No matter how difficult things got, even if one day she disappeared indefinitely. I would never love another person the way I loved her, no person would ever compare to her, no life would ever come close to the one we had. I was with her, skipping through fields during the days of sun or sailing with her through the eye of the storm. It was just me and her through everything, always. That was my promise.