#happy awesome machine monday

[1trillionbees]

outstretched,

[cattimeswithjellie]

Stream Recap, TangoTek, 6/10/24

((This is the funniest one yet, good lord. Things get wild starting around 2:08:00.))

8:30 Tango opens the stream hot, calling Chat jerks and telling them his shirt is red. Chat is skeptical. Tango wishes everyone a happy Monday and pushes out a video. He was waiting to put his video out until Pearl pushed hers out, and she pushed hers out just a few minutes ago. Tango tells everyone they can leave now and watch the video, which is “only” 51 minutes long. It’s a double video, stuff with him and Pearl, the copper farm, and hilarity with Tango and Zed. Today’s job is finishing the aquarium. He thanks the chat for subs and donos.

11:00 Tango makes some funny noises, explains that every time he messes up a take in the video, he just makes the cartoon noise and cuts it off. About 40% of his clips end with complete brain-farting. A chatter asks if he’s seen the League of Legends show. Tango doesn’t know much about it. Chat says it’s called Arcane, Tango says it sounds awesome.

12:00 Pearl appears and boops him, surprising him. He demands to know why he is being booped, Pearl tells him that she’s been standing around up above him but he didn’t notice her. He blames his powers of observation. Pearl offers him some apology redstone for the terrible timing of her video push. It seems like she was waiting for software that took a long time, but she dissolves into wailing before the full explanation is rendered. Tango assures her that it’s fine and tells her it’s a good video. He asks if she finished all the detailing and she tells him yes, it’s all done. Tango asks if he can take the chat over and play Wordle, and they make tentative plans for later. Pearl leaves.

13:40 A chatter asks Tango if he had fun in Zedaph’s hole, Tango says of course he did. Tango explains the water kitten aquarium he and Zed started. He is having a hard time making words happen today. Chat is alternately sympathetic and laughing at him. He goes to find more copper to put on the top of the aquarium. He says he has a new copper farm and it is working. A chatter asks about Wordle, Tango encourages them to go watch Pearl’s video, because Wordle is amazing. A chatter teases Tango about stream and video at the same time. Tango jokes that it’s always feast or famine with the Hermits. A chatter writes Tango a poem. Impulse is still sick after his vacation, but he had a great time.

17:20 Chat is still trying to figure out what color Tango’s shirt is. Suggestions include maroon and rust. Tango begins placing copper. Today’s challenge will be finding axolotls in the lush caves underground. Chat says Joel has some that can be bred, Tango says maybe, but an adventure might be more fun. He looks at the wheat farm and says he has 10 stacks of hay bales now. He consults with chat about details to add to the aquarium before putting axolotls in. Chat has lots of decorative ideas. A chatter suggests warped logs for the animation effect, Tango likes that idea. A chatter asks about Tango’s megabase this season, he says it is the steampunk factory. He also tells Chat that the copper farm will eventually have a steampunk airship built around it, something that the video audience doesn’t know yet.

21:50 Tango wants decorative and functional copper pipes in Minecraft. Chat suggests using lightning rods as pipes, but they are too thin. The Skizz scream noise goes off a a piglin dies to the extermination machine, Tango jokes that nobody even notices it anymore. He goes to get buckets. Chat reminds him to be very very careful not to waterlog the floor, which has farmers beneath it. He promises to be careful.

23:40 A chatter asks how he doesn’t take fall damage in his drop shaft, Tango explains the powdered-snow-under-carpet trick. In chat, Xisuma asks everyone to not go to the End Dimension. Tango begins placing water in the aquarium. Doc signs onto the server and X asks him specifically not to go to The End. Doc tells X he is already there, announces he is joking, and then asks why he needs to steer clear. Tango notices the exchange and says he doesn’t go to The End anyway, then suddenly realizes he kind of needs to get more shulkers and gear. X explains that he is currently moving mobs and Doc agrees to stay away.

26:30 Tango continues placing water and considers where to put the warped logs. Cub signs in, X asks him to not go to the end. Cub immediately makes the same joke about already being there. Xisuma yells “twice!” Doc laughs.

27:30 Tango places a patch of warped wood. He likes it. He heads on a quick nether adventure to get more. He asks chat about water kitten husbandry. Chat advises him that they can drown on land if given a place to get stuck. Tango finds a pillar someone made of warped logs all the way to the ceiling and decides to steal it. It’s a little terrifying. Someone mocks him for “being that guy” and leaving a single floating log. He says that nobody cares what the nether looks like anyway. He solicits fun ideas for a shroom shop from chat. Chat thinks it should be a mushroom or a warped tree. Someone suggests a shroom monster. Tango likes that, something like Treeza from S8. Pearl whispers that she would be willing to help, Tango says that would be great but he would just be watching slackjawed while she builds. She says if he teaches her redstone, she will teach him to build a monster. Tango thinks the monster needs to have a lot of puns involved, a pun name and a pun dispenser. Its name can be Fun Guy.

34:00 Chat suggests some more punny names, including Fun Gus and Mike the Myconid. Tango gets a bit lost on the way home, but makes it back to the nether hub. A chatter jokes about the monster having a warped sense of humor. Tango returns to the aquarium to place more warped logs while chat puns at him. He is now excited about building the shop. Next episode might not even take 16 days!

36:30 Tango checks the wheat farm, no flooding yet. He returns to placing water. Chat is upset that one piece of warped wood is out of alignment. Tango does not care. He finds a deep hole and wonders what is down there. He jumps down the hole and declares spoilers for the video that just came out. There is a hole in the bedrock going into the void. He leaves it open in case Zed comes over to visit.

40:00 More water placement. A chatter suggests hanging a fox with a torch in the void as a dynamic light source. . Tango likes that idea. The aquarium is starting to get very dark. A chatter asks what water kittens are. Tango explains they are axolotls, but calling them water kittens is more fun.

42:50 Tango needs sea pickles. He makes a graceless exit from the tank and looks for his sea pickles. He remembers he was going to add a few oxidized grates for steampunk style. Grates can be waterlogged without looking stupid. He puts away some water buckets. Mrs. T appears and asks what he’s doing. He says he is making a tank, she asks if it will have a pineapple in it. He says Gem makes the pineapples, not him. He begins placing sea pickles. She asks if there are other colors of sea pickles. He says no, but he could place coral. She wants pink coral. He is not shocked about this. He offers to put in a pink axolotl for her. She asks if that’s even a question. He shows her the copper grates and says it’s a grate idea.

45:15 Tango starts to tell Mrs. T about the shroomlight farm idea, but her lunch is ready and she leaves to get it. He places more grates into a sort of pipe structure and asks Chat if they like it. Mrs. T comes back and asks what the grates are for. He says for steampunk reasons. The vote goes against the grates. He tells Mrs. T about the shroomlight shop and all the puns. She is in favor of it, but in the “being supportive of my spouse” sort of way. She suggests “Shitake the Fun Guy” as a name. A chatter asks who Tango is talking to. He welcomes the chatter to the stream. Tango finishes “Watering up his hole.” Mrs. T sighs. Tango says if she wants more of that humor, watch the new video. She says ain’t nobody got time for a 51-minute video.

49:00 Tango waters the hole. He gets very close to finishing before flooding the outside of the tank. He decides not to waterlog the ceiling. Time for decorations. Mrs. T says to call her when it’s time to show off the kittens. Tango needs more pickles because the tank is still very dark. Chat suggests glow lichen. Tango goes to look for glow lichen. Chat cannot spell lichen for love or money. Tango does not have any glow lichen. He thinks about using froglights. Chat suggests robbing Skizz, but the problem with robbing Skizz is you can’t find anything.

53:00 Tango attempts to rob Skizz, going one chest at a time. He finds some moss , but the lichen may be out by the pyramid. Impulse signs onto the server. Tango finds some twisted vines, but they cannot be waterlogged. He finds a squid head and some vines. He goes to look in the pyramid chests and finds glow lichen. He steals all of it. He finds a Tango head. Chat suggests leaving one lichen behind so Skizz can bonemeal it. Tango agrees that would be considerate, but does not do so.

56:30 Tango returns to the aquarium and learns that you cannot waterlog heads. He adds lichen to the tank. Chat suggests a head on an armor stand, but Tango thinks that’s a lot of work. The lichen doesn’t seem to be adding much to the brightness. He tries a twisted vine, but it does not waterlog. He accuses the vines of hating fun. He places and bonemeals some kelp. Tango asks about who sells coral, Chat tells him Gem. He says he should buy Gem out because it will make her happy. He starts to drown. He finishes kelping and says he will snip the kelp down to size later. He also thinks about placing a wet sponge.

1:00:00 Tango’s phone rings with its boomer ringtone. He hands the phone to Mrs. T and tells her to change his ringtone. She agrees cheerfully. Tango thinks they may be done building the tank. Chat reminds him to get the coral. Mrs. T shames Tango for having two “Settings” buttons on the first page of his phone, one line apart. He says when one has his powers of observation, one must adapt to it. He heads for the coral shop.

1:02:00 Mrs T begins cycling through ringtones. Chat says each is more boomer than the last. Tango finds the coral shop. Chat suggests using the Skizzle Scream a a ringtone, Tango says that would be great in public. Tango decides he doesn’t want coral blocks, only coral fans. Chat starts making jokes about Onlyfans. He buys several colors of coral, including pink, and says since Gem doesn’t have an ender chest, he doesn’t have to pay. He pays.

1:05:00 More ringtones. Tango assures Mrs. T that chat is really enjoying this. Tango flies to Two Tek Delay and checks his stock. He doesn’t think he’s sold any pistons yet. He needs to do some restocking. He heads back to his factory, showing Mrs. T the giant firework along the way. He explains how much work it was, how many temporary blocks. Chat points out that Scar would do it too. Tango agrees, but says he wouldn’t do it. It’s almost water kitten time.

1:07:50 Tango puts pink coral in the tank to appease Mrs. T. She wants other kinds of pink coral, the kind that is not so flat. He asks how she knows more about coral than him. The tank is so full there is almost no room for more decorations. Chat says he needs yellow coral. He leaves the tank and looks in. The coral is invisible. Chat says the blue glass was a bad idea. Tango blames chat for choosing blue glass in the first place. He says they can swap it out, but for what color? Chat wants clear glass.

1:11:00 Tango puts his coral and other decorations away. He finds clear glass and says this is going to be an interesting swap. He also grabs shears for the kelp. Chat wants a sponge, he says he will go back for it later. He trims the kelp in the tank to stop it growing. Grian signs on, Chat is excited. Tango begins carefully and quickly replacing the glass piece-by-piece. He predicts that the next thing Chat will demand is the Connected Glass resource pack. Chat agrees that he definitely should get that. He steps back to look at the first few rows and admits that the unconnected glass does look pretty bad. HE says he may do that next. He says he doesn’t like using things that will make things look nice for him but bad for others who visit. Chat points out that everyone else is already using connected textures. Chat is not sure about what the best way is to get connected textures. Tango says Chat is always right and never right, and his job is to sort out the consensus. A chatter says the blue glass was better.

1:17:30 Tango continues discussing datapacks versus modpacks with chat. Tango pauses the game to go choose a datapack that will give him connected glass. Chat helps him navigate the menus. He finds Unobtrusive and selects several glass options. He downloads the pack and implements it. Chat is mildly concerned that clean borderless glass will be invisible. The world renders back in with little stripes on the glass but no borders. Chat says clean and borderless are not compatible. Tango can live with it. Chat likes it. He and chat continue discussing the possibilities of resource-pack altered glass.

1:22:50 It’s water kitten time! Chat reminds him again about the sponge. Tango finds some wet sponges in his ender chest and places two in the aquarium. He thanks the chat for donos and subs. Tango is excited about a new version of Clank coming out. He looks at the tank and is satisfied. Chat is full of suggestions for armor stand scuba divers, shipwrecks and treasure chests. Tango says he might get Cleo to do an armor stand. He asks for how to breed water kittens and tells chat that the plan is to try and find wild ones, give up after five half-hearted minutes, then go breed Joel’s.

1:28:30 The adventure begins. Tango flies around looking for azalea trees. He realizes he’s forgotten an ender chest and goes to steal one from Zed. Zed does not have one. Tango figures maybe he won’t need one. In chat, Pearl warns Tango that the lush caves nearby kinda suck. Chat is full of advice on finding lush caves. Tango admires Scar’s portal as he flies by. He finds Jevin’s head farm and is confused by it.

1:32:50 Tango realizes that the other thing he forgot is a bed. Impulse sleeps, averting a crisis. Tango finds a tall hill with cherry trees on top and calls it Magic Mountain 2.0. It is already hollow, meaning the Magic Mountain crew could’ve saved a lot of time if they started with this one. Chat says it’s time to relocate. Tango finds a pillager outpost and releases the iron golem just for chaos’ sake. More flying, more looking for azaleas, more getting lost-ish. Tango realizes that without his ender chest, running out of rockets could be a serious problem. Chat spots an azalea tree, but the stream delay makes things difficult.

1:38:20 Unable to find what Chat says they saw, Tango flies onward. He looks around in a spruce and ice biome for a little while, then decides that the rocket situation is too precarious and he should head home.

1:40:00 Tango spots an azalea, and a lush biome that starts on the surface. He notes down the coords and begins to dig, harvesting the rooted dirt. The hole opens into a lush cave canyon. Tango goes exploring.

1:43:20 Chat notes that this is not a very good lush cave. Tango agrees. He fails at some parkour and makes a joke about 39th place skills. He starts digging down further, following the rooted dirt. Tango really wishes he brought his ender chest. The hole opens into a much better cave, except it is full of hostile mobs. Tango flees. He also did not bring a bow.

1:46:30 Tango predicts that he will die down here and it will be horrible. He updates his coords. He remembers that he forgot a totem of undying. He is surprised he hasn’t seen any water kittens. Chat informs him that they have seen some. A chatter helpfully tells him they look like pink lizards. Tango begin clearing out the hostile mobs to help the mob cap and increase his chances of survival.

1:51:00 Tango catches his first water kitten, a color that is hard to pin down but is probably pink. There is great rejoicing. Pearl is stream-sniping and cheers along in game chat. He catches a second one, a brown one, and asks chat if they should go for more. Chat says he should get more colors if he can.

1:55:00 Tango searches fruitlessly for several more minutes. Chat contemplates how nice it would be to have a bow. They suggest that Tango should collect small dripleaf. Tango says he doesn’t even know what that is. Chat says it is dripleaf that is small.

1:56:40 Tango finally hits the axolotl jackpot and finds a whole family group. He is very excited because one of them is pink. He catches a pink one, gets jump scared by a spider, then catches two yellows and another pink. The last yellow baby gives him a run for his money, but eventually gets bucketed. He celebrates his 39th place skills.

1:57:30 Time to go home, but how? Tango begins working his way out of the cave with gravel, sparing use of rockets, and digging straight up.

1:59:40 Tango reaches the surface and rejoices. He is right on the edge of Joe’s build. He pokes around the build, looking for a portal. Chat directs him to one and he gets to take a shortcut home. Back at the factory, he puts away the rooted dirt and other goodies he collected. Chat wants him to name the water kittens, but confesses that they will not despawn if not named. Chat convinces him to name them for fun. Tango is disappointed that there is no way to know the color while they are in the buckets. Chat is full of name ideas. He names the water kittens Swim Shady, Pumpkin, Hockey Puck, 39th Place, Water Smitten, and Swimpulse.

2:06:30 Tango releases the water kittens into the tank. Swimpulse is pink. He asks if they will jump out, then covers the hole to prevent it. He looks at the tank and is pleased. The tank looks good. Chat is very happy.

2:08:20 Tango hears a fart noise. He checks to see if Skizzleman is on the server. He is not, but Chat confirms they heard the fart. Tango begins searching for the farter. Scar drops down the elevator and says hello. He claims he had nothing to do with any backend exhaustion. He is the burper, not the farter. Tango suggests he must’ve burped on the wrong end. Scar says again that it wasn’t him, and that he came out to compliment Tango on his ask-a-lottles. Tango proudly shows off the tank. Scar offers to thin the herd if needed, but Tango says he’s going to grow the herd instead. Scar asks if it is possible to breed axolotls, and Tango explains yes, they do it by ripping Nemo to shreds. Scar thinks that is cool.

2:10:20 Scar and Tango have a conversation about connected and clean glass textures Scar has the same pack that Tango does. They both think that the stripes are just too white. Scar says it’s better now than it used to be, when glass was really terrible. He made his own texture pack back in the day that smoothed wool and wood, cleaned glass, and made mushrooms bigger. Scar suggests that maybe the tank needs a turtle or a dolphin, and says that he could help with that. Tango likes the idea of a turtle. He asks if Scar can deliver one. Scar says he can deliver anything, with a 50% chance of it being alive on delivery.

2:12:45 Scar is distracted from the turtle conversation when he catches a glimpse of the factory’s object-moving infrastructure. He is fascinated by the way that the blocks bob up and down “Willy Wonka style”. Tango admits that it’s just lag, probably because Doc’s on. Scar asks if Doc is still on a rampage about his stolen diamonds. Tango says he doesn’t know, but they agree that it’s pretty funny Doc is mad about stolen diamonds when he literally uses diamond ore for building blocks. They both hope that whoever the diamond bandit is, they keep going and take more. Tango implies that maybe Scar was the culprit all along, but Scar insists it was not him. He has to stay on Doc’s good side now because of his many crimes against the guy in Season 9. He remembers the tunnel bore disaster, where Grian banged and then he banged and there was a whole lot of banging and in the end he had to hide in a toilet.

2:15:10 Tango asks if Scar wants to do something dangerous. Scar immediately says yes. “Like really dangerous?” Tango presses. Scar nods. Tango tells Scar to follow him. He leads Scar over to the hole. Scar asks if this is where Decked Out 3 is. Tango confirms it totally is Decked Out 3. Scar looks down the hole and asks where it goes. Tango encourages him to drop down and Scar does, using his elytra for a soft fall down the two-wide hole. Tango follows, expecting Scar to have fallen into the void, but find him two blocks away in a two-deep hole in the bedrock. Tango tells him he missed. Scar gets himself out of the hole and immediately falls into another one. He climbs out, says “Jeez, there’s holes everywhere!” and instantly falls into the void hole. Tango cackles madly.

2:16:10 Tango freecams into the void and finds Scar rocketing around under the bedrock, calling for him and looking for the hole. Tango encourages him to “follow the sheep!” Scar makes several passes by the hole before managing to find it and shoot through it. Tango cheers and pops back into his body just in time for Scar to die of experiencing kinetic energy. Tango tries to figure out where Scar’s bits went. He uses freecam to search up to farm level, where he finds Skizzleman wandering around the edge of the hole. Chat informs him that Skizz (who is also streaming) has collected Scar’s things.

2:18:20 Tango flies up the shaft and finds some of Scar’s things at the top of the hole. He also finds Scar, who bounds over yelling “THIS IS A HELL-HOLE MURDER CHAMBER!” Tango compliments Scar on doing a great job getting out of the void. Apparently falling into the void resurrected all sorts of traumatic Season 8 memories of being thrown down the Boatem Hole. Skizz is nowhere to be seen at this point. Scar asks where the rest of his stuff is. Tango says he doesn’t know, but that he suspects there is someone else around here. Scar threatens to shove an askalottle in their face. He jumps back down to the hole and asks if he flew all the way up here, even as Skizz makes an appearance. He is wearing Scar’s hat and giggling.

2:19:10 Scar greets Skizz as “Skizzie-lizzie!” then asked Tango if he really flew all the way up that hole. Skizz thanks Scar, telling him that he has been streaming for seven seconds and he already has what might be the best blooper reel moment ever. He explains that he was sneaking up on Tango and happened to turn around just in time to see Scar for a tenth of a second before he exploded. Skizz returns Scar’s things to him, telling him that he made himself into a chest to collect Scar’s stuff for him. Scar, who is digging in his ender chest, suddenly realizes that he has found “The Flatulenster” who was making the fart noise earlier. Tango laughs. Scar confronts Skizz, who tells Scar to put his ender chest back on the ground and open it, then look for the “thank you” he owes Skizz. Tango points out that Skizz was not online when the fart occurred.

2:20:30 Scar thanks Skizz for saving his things and apologizes for fart-accusing him. Skizz doesn’t even know what Scar is talking about. Scar proceeds to tell Skizz the tragic tale of his visit to Tango where he just wanted to compliment some asskalottles and was accused of a fart he did not commit. Skizz commiserates, saying that the same thing happened the last time he streamed with Tango, and that he suspects it is Tango’s fault and/or imagination. Tango insists that his chat heard the fart too. ((The fart noise is audible on VOD review.)) Scar says they need Mrs. T to confirm that Tango is a fart-denyer.

2:21:50 Skizz is still wondering why Scar exploded. Tango explains it’s because he jumped down the hole. Scar leads Skizz over to the hole and encourages him to jump down, saying it’s fun. He tells Skizz that it is cool, and the reason that he died was because he came up too fast and had an accident. Skizz leans over the edge for a better look and Scar, in the least surprising act of Betrayal-By-Scar since The Lion King, kicks him down the hole. Skizz yells and begins attempting to rocket out of the hole with limited success. Scar insists he needs to go _down_ the hole, it’s super fun! Skizz manages to escape the hole and says no, because he doesn’t want to die. Tango and Scar assure him he won’t die (if he’s competent, Tango adds parenthetically.)

2:22:40 Resigned, Skizz asks if there’s a side he needs to jump down, then flings himself into the hole. He does a perfect full-send fall, right into the void, and falls out of the world. Tango shrieks in horrified delight. Scar calls down the hole that he feels bad now. In chat, False says “oof.” Tango demands to know why Skizz didn’t deploy his wings. “He would never have survived Boatem,” Scar observes dolefully.

2:23:10 Tango sees that Skizz is not in a group for chatting and opens in-game chat. “dude. for real. wings.” he types. “YOU HAVE THEM” Scar adds. Tango does not understand why Skizz did not just press space bar. False pipes up in in-game chat: “It’s Skizz, this is on you guys. :p” Tango says he can’t even feel guilty because he just doesn’t understand. Scar highlights a comment from Skizz’s chat about “40th place skills.” Impulse says that False is right. Skizz leaves the game, to howls from Scar and Tango. They decide that they will have to assemble a care basket for Skizz to help him replace all his lost bits. Skizz rejoins the game.

2:24:15 Tango and Scar leave the hole. Scar can’t believe that Decked Out 3 is down there somewhere. The pair begin digging through their things to find stuff for Skizz. Scar says he will give Skizz a special pair of wings. Tango asks if they will auto-deploy. Skizz reappears, naked but for an elytra, and tells them to gather round and shut up. He tells them that he is going to give them a list of what they owe him, and that it’s coming back. Tango, barely able to talk from laughing, asks if he owes Skizz a space bar. Cause if that’s broken, he will definitely get Skizz a new one. Skizz stutters, then screeches “SHUT UPPP!” Tango loses it. Skizz tells them that he fell into the void and rocketed upwards “like a beast” but it wasn’t happening because he was falling AT TERMINAL VELOCITY, JERK. He demands to know why that hole is there, it makes no sense! (“That’s what she said,” mutters Scar.)

2:25:50 Scar asks why Skizz didn’t use his space bar to deploy his elytra. Skizz protests that he did, and that the first time he left the hole they gave him a bunch of static about how he was supposed to go down the hole. He thought that the little black square at the bottom of the hole was carpet. By the time he realized he was in the void, he was too deep to rocket out. Tango presents Skizz with an elytra named “Spacebar” and tells him that might help him next time. Skizz sighs. He tells Scar and Tango that the bow he had on him was a top-shelf bow, his only good bow of the season, and it was a gift from Grian. He also says his axe was amazing and it’s gone. Scar, who has been yawning through this, tells Skizz to stop complaining and they’ll work it out. Tango tells Skzz they’ll make him a care package. Skizz tells them he ALSO had a briefcase of five thousand dollars. Scar tries to give Skizz the HotGuy bow, but Skizz can’t accept that, so Scar tells him he’ll make him a “Hot-something” bow. Tango begins working up some enchanted diamond armor with the armor and books he has in his storage. Skizz claims that he’s not even complaining, he’s just stating something that happened, and it’s that his friends were JERKS. Offscreen, Scar opens a shulker box and tells Skizz to grab a pickaxe. Skizz sounds a little intimidated as he asks Scar why he has so much awesome stuff. Scar says it’s because he is awesome. Tango creates “Boots of Speed Falling.”

2:28:15 Tango gives the boots to Skizz, who gets a pair of pickaxes from Scar as well. Skizz is starting to feel like he’s making out pretty well. Scar tells the story of the time he lost his shovel in the mail system and Tango replaced it with a vastly inferior shovel. Tango disputes the veracity of the story. Skizz wants to know when he gets his bow. Scar tells him he’s going to make it, and that it will be a HotGuy bow with a different name. Skizz assumes it’s going to be Spacebar again. He demands to know why Tango didn’t tell him what was down the hole. Tango points out that if he had, Skizz wouldn’t have jumped. He just assumed that Skizz would have plenty of time to react during the eight full seconds it takes to fall into the void with wings.

2:29:20 Skizz says he’s gonna do it again. Tango tells him he won’t remiburse him this time. Skizz says he knows, he’s going to use his unenchanted wings and make Tango hold the good ones. Tango offers him rockets. Skizz waffles a little about doing it. Tango encourages him. ((Scar is mostly still and silent during this period because he is mocking Skizz on Twitter.)) Skizz approaches the elevator drop shaft and worries he’s going to lose his wings here. Tango tells him to take his boots off, at least. Skizz says he’s going to take it all off. “I bet you are,” says Tango, kicking him down the drop shaft. Skizz screams “STOP IT!” as he falls. Tango follows him. He attempts to prank the shaft and kill Scar, but is a second too slow. Scar plays the Inside Joke horn.

2:30:50 Skizz goes to unequip himself and tries to get Scar to put down an ender chest. Scar eventually puts one down. Tango tells Skizz that the real challenge is to fly to Zed’s base through the void. He tells Skizz that Zed has a big hole and he just needs to head west. There will be a pink sheep to light the way. Skizz doesn’t realize that it’s possible to survive in the void long enough to fly anywhere, drawing derision from Void Veteran Tango. Scar says he gets it, Zed and Tango are setting up a hole-to-hole network the way that there is a crack-to-crack network in Magic Mountain. Tango confirms this is exactly correct. Scar complains that the crack network is all hype and no substance, he wants to join the hole network. Skizz suggests that Tango should go with him on the trip, but Tango says he needs to go to Zed’s and make sure his hole is ready to accept. The recapper is very upset. Chat is beside themselves.

2:32:30 Tango heads for Zed’s base while giving Skizz travel advice. Skizz needs to turn on hitboxes so he will see the sheep better and fly due west. Scar doesn’t know what Due means and demands and explanation. Tango confirms that the hole is very much open. Skizz cackles, and Tango says he really needs to watch Tango’s new episode. Skizz reiterates that he can’t believe they let him die. Scar points out that Skizz kinda let himself die. Skizz disagreed, saying he got himself out of the hole and they told him to get back in there. Tango tells him to get in the hole. He and the Chat experience the radio play version of Scar leading Skizz back to the hole into the void. Skizz asks if Scar will do it too. Scar yawns and says no, he has all his stuff on him, then says fine. Skizz is pleased. Tango freecams into the void to watch while Scar and Skizz prep for the jump.

2:34:45 Skizz announces that he is going. “I’m going. I’m Going. I’M GOOIIIINNNG!” he yells. He immediately dies by falling from a high place. Tango puts his face in his hand. Skizz declares that the thing is stupid. Scar declares that he is going and yells his way down the hole, ending with a disappointed groan. He has popped his totem. He dives into the hole anyway and quickly becomes visible to Tango, who attempts to guide him in. Scar heads for Tango and the safety of Zedaph’s base while treating him and the Chat to a barrage of perhaps the most atrocious phrasing in the history of accidental dirty talk. He escapes the void and immediately dies of kinetic energy again.

2:36:00 Skizz demands another pair of wings so he can get back to the hole again. Tango demands to know how many wings Skizz could possibly need. Scar asks Tango to collect up his bits because he has suddenly realized he needs to go. Tango collects Scar’s possessions where they are scattered across the bedrock. Skizz interrupts and demands attention to say that he demands somebody do something. Scar tells him the adults are talking. He asks Tango to pack up his wings and rockets for him and Tango confirms he has them. Skizz says this base is dumb and he hates it. Scar leaves. Skizz tells Tango he needs to collect his wings from the edge of the hole before they despawn. Tango heads back to his base to get the wings, arguing with Skizz the whole time.

2:37:40 Tango jumps down the hole, successfully deploying his elytra for a soft fall. The wings are not there. Skizz tells him to look harder. Tango freecams and looks around, but there are no wings. They argue about the wings for a few minutes, and then about the deployment of Skizz’s spacebar and how he possibly could’ve died if he was flying correctly. Skizz wants his wings so he can try again. Tango asks rhetorically what Skizz wants him to do as he begins to ascend the hole. Skizz says he wants Tango to catch him and jumps in the hole. He falls past Tango and dies from a high-place fall. Tango arrives at the top of the hole and sings a bar of “Strangers in the Night.” Skizz says “Whatever” and starts talking about how he was throwing dice in the alley. Tango has no idea what’s going on and asks Skizz if he’s been drinking. Skizz says no, and Tango suggests that maybe he should. Skizz tries to explain that he was channeling the United States of Whatever. Impulse drops down the elevator shaft.

2:40:10 Tango informs Skizz they have a guest, then moon lands at Impulse until he joins the group and says hello. Tango cheers that Impulse is back from the dead, though still kind of dead. Impulse sounds pretty rough, but says he came over because he found something. He asks where Skizz is, but Tango doesn’t know. Skizz killed himself to get back to his base quicker, but is on his way back. He comes down the drop chute, and Tango doesn’t have the heart to sabotage him. Impulse presents Skizz with an enchanted elytra. It is also called Spacebar. Tango is confused and asks Impulse if he found them, and how. Impulse said he was in the void and caught them. He is clearly lying. Tango says now Skizz has two spacebars, and he is probably going to need them with the way he flies. Skizz agrees, because he is probably going to spend one now on another attempt.

2:42:00 Skizz begins quizzing Tango on what he does to successfully jump down the hole. Tango’s answers are not entirely helpful, probably because Tango is so used to elytra flying that some things are muscle memory. Skizz challenges him to jump down the hole and not deploy the wings until he is in the void. Tango tries to push Tango down the hole again and Skizz yells at him that he is naughty. Tango refuses to take the challenge. Impulse admits that the wings he gave Skizz were a pair of Scar’s wings he found one day and kept. Skizz is okay with that. Tango asks Impulse how he’s doing. Impulse is still not feeling good. Skizz tells him there’s something down this hole over here that will help with that. His attempt to fool Impulse rapidly derails into a retelling of his own story of hole-related woe, and Impulse is not convinced.

2:44:20 Tango tells Impulse he named a water kitten after him. He opens up the aquarium and lets Impulse jump in to meet Swimpulse. Impulse is charmed and admits he thought it was going to be something rude. Impulse decides he will try to get through the hole-to-hole connection. Skizz is offended that Tango cares about Impulse being set up properly, when he just kicked Skizz down the hole. Impulse points out that Skizz should’ve known he was in for something, being as how this is Hermitcraft. Skizz, mimicking Tango, asks Impulse if he wants some soup. Impulse actually would like some soup. Tango notices Scar’s tweet and dissolves into laughter. Skizz and Impulse both laugh too. Tango goes and finds Impulse a bed. Skizz continues complaining.

2:47:45 Impulse sets his spawn. Tango directs him to the hole, and then he and Skizz head for Zedaph’s base. Skizz nearly falls into Zed’s hole. Impulse falls from a high place. He loses his elytra. Tango apologizes for his defective hole. Impulse falls out of the world. It was tactical.

2:51:40 Impulse tries again. He makes it down into the void and heads for Zed’s hole. He flies cleanly up into it and survives, then immediately says “I’m going back” and dives into the void. Tango follows him and immediately gets lost. He figures out where he is and somehow smashes himself into the space one block above the void. Skizz, who is too afraid to jump into the hole, demands an ender chest so he can put his wings away. Tango invites both of them to join the hole network.

2:53:00 Tango and Impulse have a conversation about hole architectural improvements while Skizz goes on in the background about all the cool stuff he has and doesn’t want to lose by jumping into the void. He asks where they are. Tango says they are at his hole. Skizz says they can’t be at his hole, he is at Tango’s hole, then realizes he is at Zed’s hole. Impulse tells him to get his holes right. Impulse does a clean free-fall from the top of Tango’s hole into the void and catches himself with a rocket. Impulse calls it exhilarating. Skizz finds a box to put his stuff in and prepares to jump again. Chat says this is why women live longer than men. Tango agrees. Skizz jumps in the hole. He realizes he is using exploding fireworks moments before he dies of being exploded.

2:57:00 Skizz respawns at his own base. He tells Tango he owes him more wings. Tango just laughs at him. Skizz realizes he stashed his gear in Zed’s fireworks box and accidentally picked up a stack of Zed’s fireworks instead of his own rockets. He tells the others that he has a problem because now he has to keep trying until he succeeds. Tango points out that he’s going to run out of wings fairly quickly at this rate. Skizz tells him to shut up, he has to believe. Tango asks what they can do to help. Skizz asks Impulse to get his stuff from Zed’s place, because he needs wings and rockets. Tango starts laughing all over again about the exploding fireworks thing. Tango asks if this means Skizz also dumped a whole stack of Zed’s (very expensive) custom fireworks down the void too. Skizz says of course it does.

2:59:20 Skizz decides to make another attempt at the hole. Tango and chat are just listening to the drama unfold at this point. Impulse jumps down the hole and flies over to Zed’s place through the void. His casual flexing at this point cannot be overstated. A chatter posts a clip of Skizz’s firework-enabled demise from Skizz’s POV. Tango watches it with great delight, treating chat to a reprise of Skizz’s screaming. He compliments Skizz on his amazing death and they discuss the thought process that goes through one’s head when one is flying in the void with half a heart left and nothing but exploding fireworks. Impulse arrives at Zed’s and finds Skizz to help him ready up for another attempt, notably by making sure he has flight rockets. Tango’s chat is empathizing with Skizz’s chat in the clip, who clearly knew that Skizz had taken the wrong fireworks and were trying to warn him.

3:00:30 Another attempt is made. Skizz was not ready, but successfully dives into the void. Tango watches the Void from freecam and encourages him to follow the dangling sheep. Skizz and Impulse successfully make the flight from Zed’s hole to Tango’s. Tango congratulates him, then says it’s actually fairly low-risk. Skizz asks if he’s maybe considered making it a bigger hole. Tango says he thinks the hole network should be everyone’s normal means of traveling. Skizz asks about the sheep on the lead, Tango describes the process of dangling a sheep in the void. Skizz realizes he left his stuff at Zed’s house. Tango encourages him to go back to Zed’s house the cool way, but Skizz is extremely reluctant. Tango jumps into the hole and goes to Zed’s house. Skizz and Impulse go the uncool way.

3:05:15 Impulse, Skizz and Tango look at Zed’s contraptions, playing with the elevator and the enchanting table game. Skizz asks how the enchanting game works, Imp and Tango explain very badly. Skizz plays with the game for a few minutes and realizes that the only reward is the ability to enchant one’s items. Tango asks Skizz if he needs anything replaces from his adventures, but Skizz says Tango and Scar fixed him up. They agree that it was a very funny adventure and Tango leaves. Impulse says he will stay behind to fix the enchanting game, which is now mysteriously broken.

3:09:30 Tango returns to the factory. He agrees with Chat that his face hurts from laughing so much. He summarizes the accomplishments of the day and tells Chat that the VOD will be uploaded soon. He reminds Chat that his new video is also up now. He thanks Chat and raids into Skizzleman, then ends his stream.

[willkatfanfromasia]

Hey guys! This is my collab with the awesome @nspwriteups - modern, corporate AU! KunxVT

Sudden Sparks✨✨

It was just another day at the Chola corp. household.

They were a successful family run MNC with interests in a wide range of sectors like agriculture, industries, hospitality etc

Kriti's dad Sundar, the CEO, was feeling his age of late and really looked forward to that retirement mansion in the Seychelles-and she agrees. Her mom Vani was the perfect chaebol wife, keeping up social connections and coordinating the multiple companies.

Kriti and her dad’s best friend Anirudh – the chief legal advisor- have been running the show for the last few years.

She was truly appa’s pride, surpassing him in all aspects. It grieved him greatly that his great-grandfather, the founder, had willed the ownership only to sons in order of age.

Her hothead big bro Aditya made their dad age rapidly, as he was a mess through his teens and 20s- oscillating between therapy and overdrinking. His stubbornly insisted on marrying a regular girl Nandini- who oddly resembled his own ex. Huh! Like father like son

Girls like that just won’t fit in our circle, they all thought. Kriti and her great aunt Seema all disapproved and tried to bribe her away. But the young couple stood firm even through separation. Sundar gently explained his doubts to his son, who cockily returned with a DNA test proving his concern false.

Aditya became the chief of mergers and acquisitions, knowing a good takeover when he sees one. Nandini proved to be just as capable as herself (although she’d never say it aloud), smartly planning the legal aspects of her husband’s activities. Nothing gave the couple more joy than sleuthing and negotiating hard bargains, even with the most hostile businesspeople.

However, it is her darling boy Arun who is the all time favourite. Everyone from the janitor to the executive board loves him.

He started off as a cute intern, now he’s their PR face. Journalists flock to just see him smile. He’s been seeing Vinita, the junior at R&D in an office romance that’s the company’s worst kept secret. She rolled her eyes at her fastidious little brother. He was first very stiff with Vinita, the niece of their South zone president, because everyone wanted to get the two heirs together. He slowly fell for her, but tried very hard to hide it – much to kriti’s amusement. The longer than necessary waiting by the coffee machine, the abnormally frequent dropping of papers ( only for the other to come running for ‘help’) fooled no one, she chucked.

She laid back in the plush orange recliner in her living room. Her apartment was well decorated although she lived alone. Her brother and Anni lived in the floor above with their daughter, Kriti jr. Yes Kriti’s ego was greatly flattered by her namesake niece and she became nicer to her sister in law due to it.

Her brother lived in a cottage next door, with a large courtyard and her parents lived in a mansion next door to their company HQ

They had their usual Friday night entertainments. All except Kriti. She’d have occasional movie nights with Vinita and her other mates, poojas with seema paati and family birthday dinners.

She was happy to be the hustler for her family. She loved being swept by complex problems and solving them. She took pride in being their ‘brains’, not once regretting her cold demeanor or workaholic attitude.

Lately though, seeing her brothers' relationships left a pang in her stomach. Cousin Sandeep too was seeing Pooja, their coordinator for offshore branches.

Kriti blankly stared at the ceiling she’d seen a million times before. Smooth peach walls, a bronze ceiling fan and wall moulding on all sides. Her laptop glared, asking her to get back to work before the Monday noon deadline. Uncle Anirudh won’t like me slacking, she sighed and sat up. The IT girl of Chola corp can’t disappoint!

She began reading through the document sent by the budget team, noting where to edit or add comments. It was pretty linear, except this time some reps of their rival was out scouting start ups and releasing bad predictions for Chola’s next quarterly.

Enthusiastic footsteps and tinkling of metal made kriti exhale and go “gosh! Again?’.

Friday nights usually meant the same for her, her older brother and nandini would usual drop off her niece as they went off on their mandatory dates. There’s no way those 2 randy creatures have been together for 2 decades now, she groaned.

Kriti was soft, everyone knew most of her

evenings were spent working and she had a huge weakness for her niece.

She would often play sitter for Kriti jr. and Timmy (Arun and vinita's dog). She was just grateful Arun didn't make her babysit Airavat, the rescue elephant he adopted!

This time though, work was getting tight. She had to sort out Chola corp 's finances while also figuring who was spreading bad predictions for their stock.

Her train of thoughts was disrupted by the doorbell ringing. She knew who the visitors were and put on the best fake smile she could when she opened the door to see her brother and sister in law with a five year old girl in Nandini's arms. "I was hoping you forgot about your Friday routine" She said in mock annoyance. "Well actually I did ask my best friend to babysit Kriti jr here since I know how much of a busybody you are" Adithya told her, pinching his daughter's cheek as he spoke while Kriti frowned. A best friend of Adithya's that she hasn't met yet? Now that's odd. "We asked him to come here so you can have an extra hand to take care of her" Nandini joined in, kissing her daughter's forehead and handing her over to Kriti who was still wondering about this mysterious "friend" who is apparently a familiar face to everyone but one she hasn't heard about at all.

"He can be trusted Kriti. Why else would I entrust the safety of my beloved sister and daughter to him?" Adithya said after seeing a look of uncertainty on Kriti's face.

After Adithya and Nandini left them, Kriti turned to her niece sitting on the couch, "So my dear sugarplum, what will we do now?" Kriti jr ran to the showcase and took out board game from the drawer. They played the game for a while, watched Tom and Jerry on the tv. Kriti looked over at the clock. It's been half an hour since she started babysitting. Where was this so called trusted friend who was supposed to give them company? She contemplated on calling up Adithya and give him a piece of her mind but then she didn't wanted to interrupt theie date night. "Best friend…Trusted indeed" She muttered "He's going to ghost me for sure"

"Ugh! Why can't I stick to one decision? Now I'll have to host a stranger" she inwardly groaned

Kriti jr looked up at her aunt "Why are you angry Aunty?" She squeaked

"How do you know I am angry?" Kriti enquired

"Because Amma says you murmur when you are upset. So I know you are angry" the little girl said as a matter of fact. Kriti laughed, how well Nandini knows her.

"I am not angry Kanne, I'm just irritated" Kriti sighed, glancing at the clock again. He looked at her niece again when she felt a tug on her kurti. "I am hungry" Kriti jr said with puppy eyes.

"Okay, let's go have dinner" Both girls made their way to the kitchen and was deciding whether to make dinner or order out when the doorbell rang again. "Yay, Kamsa Mama is here!" Saying this Kriti jr sped out of the kitchen, leaving behind a perplexed Kriti behind.

Kamsa who?

The glee in the child's eyes made her irrationally jealous

She heard her niece calling out "It's open, Mama. Come, come" and went to investigate, stopping midway to see a young man twirling her niece, laughing with her. The guy was tall, looked the same age as her and was casually dressed in denim jeans and sweatshirt. She only had a few seconds to admire his curly hair and sparkling eyes before those same eyes met with hers. He set down Kriti jr, looking at her with curiosity and suddenly Kriti felt consious of how she was looking - Not expecting him to show up, she was dressed in an old kurti with three-fourth leggings and her hair in a bun, with a few strands already escaping here and there. My God! What a first impression I am giving this guy. She thought. But then again, why am I stressing on how I look? Not like he's here to flirt with me.

The newly arrived person, walked over to her and extended his hand, still smiling wholeheartedly "So you must be this little mischief queen's godmother. Adi and Nandu can't stop talking about you" He said "Hi, I'm Vaishakh "

"Hi, I'm Kriti"

"Do you know the word Kriti means creation, a work of art?" He asked suddenly

"Yes" Kriti replied, wondering where this was going

"Art is beauty. So I don't think I have to tell you how beautiful you are, Miss Kriti" He said with a grin .

Kriti is no stranger to compliments but she would be lying if she said that pickup line wasn't good. Either he was buttering her up for coming in late or he was a natural flirt.

"Thank you" She said, not letting him give the impression that he had won her over "And if I'm not wrong, people with the name Vaishakh has a good and nice disposition"

He grinned wider "So you like giving out compliments as well. Good for you. We are going to get along just fine" He winked at her and walked towards the kitchen, with a gleeful Kriti jr following him.

Kriti let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in "This is going to be a long night" She wondered as she shut the door.

Anni- sister in law

@nashibirne @nspwriteups @vibishalakshman @thelekhikawrites @dr-scribbler @kovaipaavai @budugu @dosai-maavu @matka-kulfi @curiousgalacticsoul @harinishivaa @chiyaanvikram @celestesinsight @inveter @deepti1011 @itszhunotz @babayagahunt @thegleamingmoon @maisadalawa @ragkee @inlovewithfictionalbeings @happysharkdragon @gowrimenonop-1 @ramcharanobsessed @nature-writes29 @voidsteffy @whippersnappersbookworm @hollogramhallucination @thereader-radhika @sowlspace @rang-lo @nirmohi-premika @love-ps1ff @canonless5

[seagreenzines]

Happy Mail Monday – Coffee-Fuelled Rambles Edition

Happy Mail Monday – Coffee-Fuelled Rambles Edition

Hello and welcome back to another Happy Mail Monday full of rambles, coffee, and – of course – awesome zine mail. Join me for a somewhat sleepy and yet full of sunshine start to your week. **Like what I do here? Please consider helping me to raise money for a much-needed CPAP machine: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-cpap-quest Paypal: seagreenzines@gmail.com Thank you so much for…

[ilostmyself0000]

Happy Birthday

June 30

Today is my husband's birthday and we didn't do anything special... he wasn't in the mood to celebrate as July and August is going to be tough months for us. Only thing the kids and I did was get him a funny birthday card so he could laugh. We actually don't do much on our birthdays.

Today, we were able to get off work early... by early I mean at around 2:30 instead of our normal hour which is at 3:20. Our Director was awesome enough to tell us that if we didn't had anything else to do that we can leave early. Happy I got home early but I got busy with my oldest son trying to navigate our insurance site since he needs to go to the dr (just for a physical) but when he was trying to make his appointment, my insurance didn't acknowledge him and he is in my insurance plan. Ugh, I hate recordings and not be able to talk to a real person and not a damn machine.

I am soo tired!! It's not even 10:30pm and I'm already exhausted. Getting up at 4:30/4:40 am is a bit too much because I usually go to bed at around 10 or even 11 pm... so I don't get too much sleep in the weekdays. BUT, I am glad today is Friday so tomorrow I can sleep-in. Monday, we go to work but our Boss told us if work is slow we might be able to leave early ...which I hope so. And of course, Tuesday (July 4th) we have the day off.

Tomorrow, might end up going for a ride with my oldest so he can put more practice on his driving... I told him we can go get some Boba (yuuuummmm) or maybe go somewhere for lunch.

[edelweiss-coffee]

Hello! I would love to request an Argyle x reader fic! Something along the lines of the reader is having a bad day. Little things are going wrong and it's upsetting them. They are avoiding Argyle because they don't want him to see them like that all the while Argyle is just worried about them. Thank you! 😊

this was supposed to be a drabble but i couldn't help myself, i love argyle so much

when you open your eyes, it's 10:31 am. you're an hour late for work.

fuck.

as you sit up in your bed, a headache kicks in at full force.

of course.

when you pull your blankets off of your legs, it feels like it's freezing in your room.

a fever too?

you rush to put your surfer boys' uniform and head out the door, despite your eyes burning, and forget to brush your hair. when you start your car, you radio's volume is still cranked to the max from your drive home from argyle's last night.

"god damn it," you startle at the music's volume as you quickly adjust the dial.

on your drive to work, your window won't crank down, as if something in the door is jammed.

perfect.

you're stuck in your car that reeks like stale pot smoke, with no way to air it out. you're gonna smell like bong water all day while you serve pizza, with a migraine and a fever.

to make matters even worse, when you pull into surfer boy, you veer into a parking spot and you can see your coworkers rushing around inside. they're short staffed becos of you. you didn't come in on time, and they're gonna be dicks about it all day.

fuck, is it monday? argyle has today off. now you're sure this shift isn't going to have an upside.

as you step out of your car, like a cherry on top of this wonderful morning, your belt loop catches on your door handle.

becos of fucking course it does.

after yanking yourself free from the door and slamming it shut, causing your head to throb even worse, you make your way into surfer boy pizza.

your boss, mitch, who usually sits in back of house doing crosswords, is working register. he doesn't look happy in the slightest. after ringing up a customer, he turns to you.

"y/n, how sweet of you to join us today!" he beams in irony. "and only... an hour and some change late."

he leans toward you and sniffs.

"you're... joking, y/n. you come in this late, you smell like woodstock took a shit and put a t shirt on it, eyes half open?"

you stare sheepishly up at him.

"my alarm clock, the batteries, they--"

"you're fired, y/n. sorry, this is just unacceptable."

"kay, i guess. want the shirt back?"

he scoffs.

"no, thanks. not smelling like bob marley."

"cool, awesome," you trail. "needed some more yellow in my wardrobe anyway."

before you even make it to your car, hot tears begin pouring from your eyes.

you pull your car door open and throw yourself into the driver's seat. you slam your door out of anger and it sends a shockwave of pain throughout your skull, beckoning more tears to flow down your cheeks. your eyes burn as you blink hard and buckle your seatbelt. you drive home in silence, with no music to mask the sound of your pathetic sniffles and sobs.

"fuck," you sigh to yourself, as you pull into your driveway.

with a few deep breaths, you manage to compose yourself enough to walk inside your house, up to your room without sobbing.

you can hear the phone ringing, but you're locked in your bed. your eyes still burn when you blink. the phone stops ringing and your answering machine picks up the call.

"hey, y/n, it's me dude, argyle. wonderin' what's goin' on, man. didn't hear from ya before your shift so i drove over to--"

the machine stops playback.

oh, ari. your very best friend. you catch yourself grinning at the sound of his voice. he's so goofy, in a way that is devastatingly charming.

god, he can't see me like this.

all sweaty, and crying, and sick, a ratsnest for hair. he wouldn't know how to handle it or react, you're sure of it.

he won't mind if i just call back tomorrow.

you reason with yourself.

i just can't let him see me like this.

you start "the karate kid" on the tv in your room. you begin braiding your hair in attempt to pull yourself together, but you're interrupted.

the phone rings again. you feel guilty, but you let it ring. the answering machine eventually picks up again.

"y/nnnnn," he sings into the phone. "as i was sayin', i drove by surfer boy and didn't see you on register, figured you're sick or somethin'. anyway, i'm--" the machine stops playback again.

he thinks you're sick, and you kind of are. but the guilt of not answering is eating you alive at this point. he just wants to hear from you. you decide you have to call back, at least to explain what's been going on. you change into your coziest pajamas and head downstairs to grab the phone.

as you round the corner of the stairs, you inhale a familiar smell. cologne, mixed with purple palm tree delight. a tapping ensues on your front screen door. you peek around the corner to be met by argyle, holding a pack of soda water cans in one hand and a can of campbells chicken noodle soup in the other, a freshly picked daisy between his lips.

"hey, man, open up!" he laughs through his pursed lips.

you open the door and start to empty his arms for him.

"ari, what're you doing here?" you ask, setting the soup and sodas on the floor inside.

"told you on the phone, man. on the answering thing. said i was stoppin' over with feel-better stuff." he offers you the daisy, beaming.

"i heard your calls, dude, i just felt--" you take the flower. "thank you-- i felt embarrassed 'cos i've been crying all day and feeling sorry for myself. you can come in."

he finally gets a good look at you when he comes inside.

"aw, y/n, what's gotcha all torn up? it's just a belly ache, isn't it? i know it sucks, but you'll feel better once you have some soda water and soup." he leans to hug you.

"it's not a stomach ache, ari. i got fired today. and i have a migraine the size of china right now, it's been all day. nothing went right for me today, since the second i woke up. from the second i opened my eyes," you start to well up.

his eyes grow more understanding and deeper with every word you speak.

"nothing was getting better no matter what. i didn't want you to see me like this. i know that sounds so cliche and stupid, but i was just embarrassed."

he looks down at your shaking hands and back up at your eyes.

"aw, y/n, sweetheart, c'mere." he pulls you into the warmest and most comforting hug he's ever offered to you.

"c'mere, angel. aw, man. i feel so stupid bringin' you stomach ache shit thinkin' you're sick."

you sniff into his chest.

"'s'okay, ari. you didn't know."

he walks into the kitchen and beckons for you to follow.

"we're makin' the soup anyway. got any headache pills, man? nothin' serious, just the regular stuff."

"cupboard above your head, doofus. you know i don't do real drugs."

he smiles and hands you a pill and pops open a can of soup.

"bowls? the eatin' kind."

you point above the microwave and wipe your nose with your sleeve.

"sorry i'm such a mess," you sigh.

"ah, who cares if ya wanna feel sorry for yourself for a day?" he puts the bowl of soup in the microwave. "was really worried about you though, dude. missed ya pickin' up the phone an' sayin' 'whaddaya want, ari?' and tellin' me to get my ass over here."

he smiles warmly and looks to be deep in thought before he's interrupted by the microwave's beeping.

"there we go, soup!" he pulls the microwave open and grabs ahold of the bowl. you giggle as he feigns pain from the heat.

"no laughin, y/n. coulda gotten third degree burns for you," he laughs.

"oh, i'm forever in your debt, chef argyle," you tease.

"better be, man. meltin' my fingers off so you can have some wet noodles and cubes of chicken. lucky i love you, man."

you laugh. he is so charming. he just made you a bowl of soup you didn't even need, and you could've done it yourself.

"let's get you upstairs, sweet girl, and we'll get you nice and high. we'll even put on 'the karate kid' like we do when you're sad."

"already got it cued up in my room," you smile.

the two of you walk up the stairs and make your way onto your bed. he hands you your bowl of soup carefully as you sit cross-legged atop your blankets.

"thank you, ari. for everything today."

he grabs at strands of your hair and begins a braid.

"anythin' for my y/n. this okay?" he tugs lightly at your hair.

"of course. nobody can braid my hair as well as you."

the two of you get lost in ralph macchio as his fingers twirl in and out of your hair. you happily eat your soup and soak in the feeling of having a best friend who would do anything he could to cheer you up.

[transias]

Hello!! I saw your taking requests and I was wondering if you could write a johnny x reader where the reader is related to kreese maybe he's their uncle or godfather anyways one day kreese has the reader there with him to show them off and johnny connect's dots that there related , Its okay if you dont wanna write it I love your writing btw💕

An Unexpected Surprise.

Pairings: Johnny Lawrence x Godchild Kreese!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of death

A/N: Thank you so much, y'all are so sweet oml! will always be more than happy to write for all of you, so don't even worry about it <3

〰️

My parents had died about two weeks ago. Everything happened so quickly, I barely had time to process it.

It wasn't like I could put my life on pause for a moment. If my parents were here I know they would probably say something like, "(Y/n), keep going. You got this, life goes on no matter what happens. What matters is that you're brave enough to fight back and continue."

And that's what I was planning to do.

"(Y/n)?" A voice called out, pulling me away from my thoughts.

I look up and smile softly, "Kreese, it's so nice to see you!"

"Hey kiddo." He greets, "I haven't seen you in forever, you've grown up so much!" Kreese ruffles my hair, "I'm so sorry about your parents, how are you feeling?"

I shrug, "I don't know. I'm still processing it but i'm fine, it'll all be okay. Right?"

He nods, a smile curling onto his lips, "It will. Now come on, we have a drive ahead of us." He places his hand on my back, guiding me out to the car.

Kreese and I talked about settling into California, what I liked to do, and his job as a Karate Sensei.

"You know, (y/n). We could use someone as strong and wise like you in Cobra kai." He says.

I furrow my eyebrows, "You really think so?"

Kreese nods, "Yes. My students are all brawn but no brain, well maybe except one of them." He chuckles, "He's my best student, I think you'll get along with him."

I think about it for a moment. Me? Karate? A minute of silence goes by before I sigh, "Alright, i'll join you."

Kreese smiles widely before ruffling my hair, "'Attakid."

〰️

The next morning we went out for breakfast, got enrolled at a nearby school, bought a couple of things I needed, and basically helping me settle into California.

It was not a little late in the afternoon and I sigh, looking out the window. "How would you describe the kids here?"

Kreese looks up from the television then back to me, "Annoying."

I scoff a little, "Well that's helpful."

"I don't know, (y/n). I'm old! It's not like I can roll up to the skate park and just say, "how do you do, fellow kids?"" Kreese replies.

I chuckle and shake my head, "Fair enough. Plus you're a Sensei so i'm sure being in charge of a bunch of kids and teenagers isn't so much fun."

He nods before looking at the time, "You know what? There's this place that all my students go to hang out in. Golf n' Stuff, I think it's called? Anyways, why don't you go over there and try and get acquainted with some of the kids?"

"Yeah! That'd be awesome!" I stand up, grabbing my jacket and a bit of money I had saved up.

"You need me to give you a ride there?" Kreese asks. I shake my head, "I'll take my bike so I can also try and get familiar with the streets." I smile at him.

"Alright, just make sure to be back home by 10:30!" He added. I nod, "Got it, see ya!"

〰️

I lock down my bicycle at the racks, taking a deep breath before walking into the place.

Loud noises from chattering and machines filled my ear, I was somewhat regretting this already but screw it, I had nothing to lose.

Grabbing some tokens for a few of the arcade machines, I step up to the Donkey Kong machine. I quickly start tapping on the controls and avoiding the barrels he'd throw at my character.

"Shit!" I mumble, losing the game. I turn around and see a boy with blonde hair, staring at me along with two of his friends.

I furrow my eyebrows before making my way off to another game, I can still feel their eyes staring at me and before I knew it, the blonde boy was next to me, a smirk on his lips.

"Hey i've never seen you around here before, are you new?" He asks, leaning on the wall. I nod, "Yeah, I just moved here yesterday to live with my Godfather." I reply, "The name's (y/n) (y/l/n). Nice to meet you...?"

"Oh, i'm Johnny Lawrence!" He replies, "(Y/n), that's a lovely name for a lovely person like you."

I chuckle and I can feel my cheeks warm up, "Is that something you say to all of the people you flirt with?"

Johnny shakes his head, "Nope, only with majestic people such as yourself."

"You flatter me, Lawrence."

"Well, I assume you're here alone. Would you like to hang out with me?" He offers. I nod, "Yes, please! That would be lovely."

The entire night is incredible, Johnny and I played on the arcade games, mini golf, and he even tried winning me a stuffed animal from the crane machine but unfortunately fails.

"Let me try!" I step up onto the machine.

"I don't know, babe. It's a little difficult."

I aim for a giraffe stuffed animal and successfully winning the animal, I lean down to reach for my prize and look over at Johnny who looks amazed.

"Here, a little prize as a thank you for being so kind to me, tonight." I hand it over to him.

He chuckles softly and shakes his head, "You're incredible."

I look over at the time and it's 10:21, my eyes widen and I quickly walk outside with Johnny.

I begin to unlock my bike, "I'm so sorry! I have to be home in nine minutes! But thank you for tonight, it was so lovely."

"Wait!" Johnny exclaims, placing a kiss on my cheek, "I hope to see you again, (y/n)."

There goes that not so familiar yet wonderful feeling fluttering in my stomach. "See you around, Lawrence!" I wave goodbye at him, quickly biking back home and making it a minute before my curfew.

〰️

Monday rolls around and so does school and my first lesson at Cobra Kai.

I'm grabbing my books out of the locker when all of a sudden I feel a pair of hands on my shoulder, "Nice to see you again, stranger." A familiar voice rings.

I turn around and see a smiley Johnny, "Johnny, hey! I didn't know you also went here." I smile at him.

"It's a small world, isn't it?" He raises his eyebrow, "So, I realized that I never got your number! This weekend was a little torturing since you were on my mind the entire time but I couldn't call and hear you sweet voice."

I chuckle, "Smooth, Lawrence. And fine, you can have my number." I pull out a piece of paper and write my number on it, handing it to him.

The bell rings and soon everyone is leaving, "I'll call you, see you later!" He waves, I wave goodbye before trying to find my first class.

〰️

Later on, I grab my bike and make my way to Cobra Kai earlier than most of the students.

I push the door and see Kreese, practicing a few moves before I clear my throat and catch his attention. "(Y/n), welcome to Cobra Kai! I have something for you."

I remove my shoes before walking onto the mat and closer to him, he pulls out something white and I gently take it from his hands, "This is my uniform, right?" I ask. "It's called a Gi. You will wear this during class so make sure you always bring it, got it?" He crosses his arms.

I nod, "Yes!"

"Yes what?"

"Sir?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"It's Sensei, not sir, not Kreese. Sensei."

"Yes Sensei!"

I change into the Gi and walk outside to see a group of teenagers gathered around the mat.

A familiar face catches my attention and I wave over at him, "Johnny, hey!" I smile.

He excuses himself from his friends and walks over to me, "Hey! What are you doing here?" He asks.

"Oh, my Godfather asked me to join Cobra Kai. I'm not looking forward to getting my ass kicked though." I chuckle.

Johnny nods, "Don't worry, i'll help you out."

"Lawrence! I see you've met my Godchild." Kreese exclaims, walking over to us.

Johnny furrows his eyebrows before finally realizing, "Oh- yes, Sensei, I did!"

A nervous look forms on Johnny's face and Kreese walks closer to us, "Everything okay?"

Johnny gulps, "Yeah! This is just an unexpected surprise. That's it."

"Everyone! This is my Godchild, (y/n). They will start training with us and I expect you to treat them as one of your own. Is that clear?" Kreese announces.

"Yes Sensei!" The class replies.

〰️

"So, that was quite unexpected." I hear Johnny state.

I nod, "Yeah, i'm guessing you're that 'best student' he mentioned to me."

"Oh jeez, this complicates things a little. Do you think Sensei will kill me if I ask you out on a date?"

I pause and look over at him, "You were gonna ask me out?"

Johnny nods, "I'm still planning on it." He smirks and walks closer to me, "I think you're worth the risk."

[oyapluto]

you know a haikyuu boy has a crush on you when he...

ᴋᴇɴᴍᴀ ᴋᴏᴢᴜᴍᴇ — lets you push his boundaries for the better. kenma’s known to be stubborn, and hates getting out of routine for anyone. but for some reason, you’re the exception to that. it starts with the little things, like braiding his hair while he games. anyone who has known kenma knows he hates when someone touches his head while gaming. next thing he knows he’s trying out new things with you just because it’ll make you smile, and that makes kenma smile, for whatever reason. ᴛᴏʙɪᴏ ᴋᴀɢᴇʏᴀᴍᴀ — asks questions about you. since when has kageyama ever gotten out of his way to learn about someone else if it wasn’t related to volleyball in any way? he’s curious about you, and sometimes you feel like you’re in an interrogation rather than having a conversation, but it’s endearing how fascinated he is about every aspect of you. maybe now would be a good time to start dropping hints that these questions would be great to answer over dinner or a cup of coffee. ᴏɪᴋᴀᴡᴀ ᴛᴏᴏʀᴜ — always has an eye on you. he’ll try to look away when you start to feel someone staring but he’s not very good at hiding it. when he’s not on the court, oikawa can get pretty egotistical, but when you’re around you’re all he can think about. if it gets too overbearing iwaizumi will call him out on it, but have the time he doesn’t even realize he’s looking at you, you’re just that captivating to him. even in a crowd of adoring fans, he’ll look for you and only you in the stands. ᴀᴋᴀᴀsʜɪ ᴋᴇɪᴊɪ — writes notes to you in class. he’s a teacher’s pet, there’s no doubt about it. studies are first and foremost for akaashi. but when you whisper “psst” and pass him a scrap of paper how can he resist? your conversations back and forth making jokes about the teacher is what gets him through class now. he can’t tell if his heart is racing because you two almost got caught or if because you drew a little heart next to name in the piece of paper in his hand. ᴛsᴜᴋɪsʜɪᴍᴀ ᴋᴇɪ — shares things with you. he’d never outwardly admit it when someone calls him out on it, but he definitely has a soft spot for you when it comes to letting you in on spaces he likes to keep for himself. people know better by now to ask tsukishima for something, so it would take you a bit to notice. whether that be one of his earbuds while he’s listening to music, or some of his food while he’s eating. though his words may seem harsh, his gestures tell you a whole different story about how he feels about you. ɴɪsʜɪɴᴏʏᴀ ʏᴜᴜ — is uncharacteristically quiet around you. nishinoya has always got something to say. it’s not that he’s at a loss of words, since given the right moment he could go on about you for hours, he just doesn’t want to miss anything about you. he’s extremely attentative, but usually has trouble making eye contact with you. at first you think he might hate you, but if you confront him about it and he turns into a bumbling mess about how awesome you are, hopefully you realize that he likes you a lot more than you knew ɪᴡᴀɪᴢᴜᴍɪ ʜᴀᴊɪᴍᴇ — always goes out of his way to walk with you. it’s difficult to spend quality time with someone you like, especially with school and volleyball. though, he’ll always accompany you to your classes, mentioning that it’s no problem at all despite overhearing that his classes are all the way across campus. he likes to make the most out of the few moments he spends with you, and he looks forward to the mondays he’s not at practice to walk you home and make sure you’re safe. ʙᴏᴋᴜᴛᴏ ᴋᴏᴛᴀʀᴏᴜ — wants to make you smile whenever he’s around. he will go through extreme lengths just to make you laugh. from praising you to cracking jokes, bokuto isn’t satisfied with himself until he could get a genuine smile out of you. when he does, he feels like he’s on top of the world, and it’s pretty painfully obvious how much he loves to see you happy. why would he want to hide that fact, after all? ᴋᴜʀᴏᴏ ᴛᴇᴛsᴜʀᴏᴜ — knows your favorite things like the back of his hand. he’ll leave a snack you mentioned once that you liked on your desk every morning. he’ll hand you a drink from the vending machine before you could even say you’re thirsty. he’ll always ask if he’s right, but the smirk on his face means he knows he is. it’s not entirely intentional, but he wants to let it be known that he’d make an amazing boyfriend should you feel the same about him.

sᴜɢᴀᴡᴀʀᴀ ᴋᴏsʜɪ  — stays up late for you. sugawara usually likes to get a full night’s sleep, but if you’re up at asscrack hours texting him to ask if he’s up, you’ll get a text back saying “of course! what’s up?” within 5 minutes and won’t bat an eye till he knows you’ve fallen asleep. you start to realize something is definitely up when the next school day comes around and the boy is BEATT. text him to ask if he’s okay and you may just put together that he has a special ringtone just for you.

a/n: i hope these are okay! i was definitely inspired by the format of haikyuu boys’ toxic traits (by haik-choo) and them falling in love by (by ahtsumu). i really enjoyed writing this, even if some of them might be ooc. i’m a new acc, so if you’d like to send requests my way thatd be amazing <3

[1trillionbees]

happy Mirage monday, or as i like to call it, Tuesday

[randomvarious]

Today’s compilation:

Manchester: So Much to Answer For 1991 Post-Punk / Madchester / Alternative Rock / New Wave / Indie Rock / Punk Rock / Funk / Hip Hop / Alternative Dance

England's third-most populous city, Manchester, may not have the same constantly churning music industry or resources that a place like London has, but goddamn, have they produced some excellent first-rate bands over the years. And a lot of their successes—from The Buzzcocks, to The Chameleons, to The Smiths, to A Certain Ratio, and to others—are owed to BBC Radio's legendarily eclectic tastemaker, John Peel (who, full disclosure, was also later revealed to have been a raging underage sex pest throughout much of his life  😞).

Peel's show was, in part, effectively, a nationally broadcasted demo tape for countless bands; one that labels would eagerly tune in to rather than having to cynically wade through a time-consuming, mailbox-stuffed deluge of mediocrity in order to find a sonic needle in a haystack. The program was simply a highly efficient, irreplaceable cog in the British music machine that helped unsigned talent gain massive and much-deserved exposure.

So here's an excellent collection of recordings that aired on Peel's broadcasts throughout the late 70s and 80s, by Mancunian bands that, for the most part, probably wouldn't have achieved the levels of notoriety that they did without Peel's initial invitation to appear on his program. This thing, like Peel's show, is varied: it leads with the sounds that helped make Manchester into an idyllic British haven of unique creativity, with punk, post-punk, new wave, Madchester, and indie rock, but it also leaves room for a little bit of acid house and a couple hip hop cuts as well.

And what's especially nifty about this particular slate of tunes is that most of these tracks happen to be recordings for songs that would go on to be officially released months, or in some cases, years, later, after these bands ended up signing somewhere and were then able to issue the songs either as a single or on debut albums. So with this release, what you're getting are somewhat rare recordings of songs from classic Manchester bands that had yet to break through to the mainstream on a significant level: The Buzzcocks' power-pop-punky "What Do I Get," before it ended up marking their UK chart debut; The Chameleons' astounding post-punk-goth rock epic, "Second Skin," a full two years before it appeared on their 1980 debut album, Script of the Bridge; The Smiths' "Handsome Devil," recorded just a few days after their May '83 debut single, Hand in Glove; a fantastic new wave-funk groove from A Certain Ratio that ended up kicking off their 1980 debut album, The Graveyard and the Ballroom; and a terrifically speedy and hypnotic, Krautrocky instrumental Madchester jam from the New Fast Automatic Daffodils that would later be released as the lead single from their 1990 debut album, Pigeonhole. It seems the only band that appears on this album that had been established before their Peel Session is The Happy Mondays, whose recording of "Mad Cyril" occurred after the release of their second album, Bummed, in 1989.

Plus, there's some great lesser-known acts on here too, like The Frantic Elevators, a punk band that featured Mick Hucknall before he'd go on to front pop-soul band Simply Red, and Dub Sex, a group that offers up a really cool slice of late 80s indie rock that has both a nice extended instrumental intro and splashes of noisy guitar jangling. And then there's some bands whose tunes sound just a bit too discordant and sloppy as well, but the greatness of the aforementioned then-largely undiscovered acts that appear throughout this release are more than enough to wash away those sour tastes.

An awesome document of some of the greatest bands to ever hail from one of the world's most musically inventive and diversely enmeshed cities, Manchester, before their respective contributions would come to define their own home in such a way.

Highlights:

Buzzcocks - "What Do I Get?" Frantic Elevators - "Hunchback of Notre Dame" The Chameleons - "Second Skin" The Smiths - "Handsome Devil" Happy Mondays - "Mad Cyril" Dub Sex - "Swerve" A Certain Ratio - "Do the Du" New Fast Automatic Daffodils - "Big"

[ladyblogger-margie]

Permit Pending - Part 1

Pairing: Will Miller (Triple Frontier) x F!Reader

Summary: All Will Miller wanted was a park permit for a VA fundraiser, what he got instead was an unscheduled afternoon exploring different parks with F!Reader.

Word Count:  3890

Rating: G (smut to come in chapter 2!)

Warnings: Course language. Eventual smut in future chapters. 

a/n: My first time writing reader insert and for Will Miller AND for Triple Frontier, so any feedback at all is appreciated. No Y/N. 

Series Master List

3-2-1, Will Miller counted down to the ring of his morning alarm clock. Just like every single day his phone blared a monotonous alarm sound at exactly 05:42 and Will shut it off. He spent the next three minutes practicing mindful breathing and preparing for the day ahead. At 05:45 he rose and changed into his gym clothes. 

He shook together a protein shake as he rode the elevator down to the surprisingly decent gym in his building where he did exactly 30 minutes of cardio followed by an hour of weight training. Today was back and chest day – his favorite – so of course he decided to listen to a podcast instead of a playlist of high tempo motivational music. It was easier to be motivated for something you already wanted to do after all. The podcast today was about finding a balance between order and relaxation, something his therapist had recommended he do before his insurance ran out on therapy sessions and he opted out of continuing the process.

After the gym he returned to his apartment and started the coffee maker. After a quick shower and some facial hair maintenance, he dressed in one of his branded polo shirts and drank his coffee with his breakfast. He had two talks scheduled for the day before lunch, then an errand to run after lunch. Later that evening he would meet up with Benny for fight training. Today could not be any more normal for him - exactly the same as the day before, and the day before that. 

Or so he thought. 

You woke up groaning when your alarm went off at 7:15am. You snoozed it. You also snoozed your 7:22am, 7:31am, and 7:40am alarms. You finally rolled yourself out of bed at 7:50am in time for your quick 30 minute yoga routine before you got ready for work. 

You breezed into the parks and recreation office at City Hall at exactly 8:57am. You grabbed a cup of coffee from the office machine knowing that if you got up at 7:15am as planned you would’ve had time to stop at Starbucks on your way into the office. 

You spent your morning as you usually did - catching up on your passion projects which were the youth sport organizations. You ensured all the public teams had access to the necessary fields and confirmed with the greens team that they were all in working order. You loved your mornings at work even though you weren’t necessarily a morning person. 

After lunch was another story. After a series of poorly timed budget cuts, your department was forced to cancel the internship program. That meant you were drafted into working the permit desks in the afternoons. You knew that it wasn’t actually the worst thing in the world, it was just so boring. The applications were longer than they had any right to be and filled with confusing language. This meant nearly every single application required a specific follow up that never fit one of the many form responses you’d been accumulating in the hopes of streamlining the process. 

Of course you wanted your community to take advantage of the awesome parks in your town, but apparently the legal department didn’t. It put you in a difficult spot where sometimes you were forced to give the park permits to corporations instead of individuals and it drove you crazy to do so. It also locked you to a desk unless a specific permit issue arose that required an in-person follow up which never happened. Which is why after lunch you went off campus to get yourself your favourite Starbucks order because the permit desk on a Monday required the heavy artillery to survive. 

Or so you thought. 

After a few hours of pouring over pages and pages of documents, the most handsome man you had ever seen walked into the office. He had blonde hair and soft eyes which you noticed right away but immediately after you were drawn to his strong chest tightly wrapped in a blue polo with some logo you didn’t recognize over one of his firm pecs. 

“My name is William Miller, and I’m hoping you can help me with a park permit,” the man said, holding out his hand to you. 

You composed yourself as quickly as you could and introduced yourself in return, shaking his hand. “I’d be happy to help you with that,” you said as you let go. His hands were firm and from the callouses you could tell he worked out, though his general physique already gave that away. 

He smiled at you and you felt something stir inside you that was not exactly professional, “Did you have a specific location in mind?”

“No, actually I was hoping to get your opinion. I’m helping to put together a community fundraiser, a BBQ actually, to help support the local VA, but I’m not exactly sure where would be the best place to set something like that up,” he replied. 

You knew exactly where to send him. There was a perfect location you often recommended for huge family reunions, outdoor wedding receptions, and concerts. But as you looked down at the desk for the correct application form you saw the huge pile of pages still left unread taunting you and you got an idea, “Why don’t I give you a tour of a few different locations to help you make your decision?” 

“That’s a service you offer here?”

“We aim to please” you said, desperate for an excuse to get out of the office. 

Will hesitated as he fiddled with his keys for a moment. 

“I could drive if you like,” he offered.

You smiled as professionally as you could, trying to contain your glee. 

“Thank you, let me just check out with my boss and I’ll be right back” you darted away before you could blow your composure. 

You stuck your head into your boss’ office. “Hey, I’m stepping away from the desk. Some guy is insisting I help him pick a park location for his permit request. I’m on my cell if there’s an emergency” you said, not stopping to hear their response before darting off. 

You grabbed your coffee off the desk and landed in front of Will. “Ready,” you said as he smiled warmly at you. He held the door open for you as you left the office, and your boring afternoon, behind.

He led you to his truck in the parking lot and held open the passenger door for you which made your heart flutter though you tried to control it and you reminded yourself that this was a professional outing, not a date. 

He climbed into the cab beside you and started the truck before he turned to you and asked, “Where to?”

You gave him directions to a park you know wouldn’t work, but it did have a couple of soccer fields, and you wanted to check the nets there for holes and figured you could push your luck a bit more today. 

He pulled into the park parking lot and looked around with a slight purse of his lips and a furrow in his brow. He cleared his throat before asking, “I did explain it was a BBQ, right? I don’t really see a place for that,”. 

You suddenly felt guilty, thinking he probably had somewhere else to be today and you derailed him for your own selfish reasons. “I’m sorry, I’m keeping you. I just had to get out of the office, and I took advantage of you. If you’ve got somewhere to be, leave me here with your information and I’ll get everything arranged for you at the perfect place,” you said, avoiding eye contact.

To your surprise he smiled at you, “You should’ve said, I’ve got nothing going on this afternoon, I can help you play hooky.” 

You smiled back at him, relieved that he was on board with your scheme. 

Will watched as you inspected the soccer nets for tears and he felt a warmth in his chest he hadn’t since his fiancee, who had left him after the incident at the Publix. You were really nice and he could tell you were passionate about your job, at least parts of it, especially hearing you explain exactly what your job was while he drove you both to this destination. Plus there was no denying that he found you incredibly attractive. 

You returned to his side at the edge of the field after completing your inspection. “Thanks for waiting, there’s a middle-school tournament here starting tomorrow and I wanted to make sure everything was set,” you said to him and he knew he was in trouble. 

“Ready for park number two?” you asked. 

He nodded and led you back to the truck. 

When you arrived at park number two, Will realized this had to be the place you intended for the permit and he was a bit disappointed. He had been hoping to stretch out his afternoon with you a little longer. Before he could ask if you needed a ride back to City Hall he heard you let go a soft, sad sigh. He looked at you but you were gazing out the front window at the park. 

“Is something wrong?” He asked. 

“I’m going to kill the guys in City Planning,” you muttered upset. 

Will tried to figure out what it was you were looking at, but he couldn’t see anything wrong with the park. It looked like the perfect place for a fundraising BBQ. 

You turned to Will hopeful, “Do you have tools in this truck, or is it just for show?”

He smiled at your joke, “I’ve got a box in the back. What’s the problem?”

You gestured to a park bench, “City Planning keeps installing anti-homeless architecture in my parks and I’m not going to let them get away with it,” you said with a sly smile. 

Will knows for sure now that he definitely has a crush on you. He gets out of the truck and grabs his modest tool box from the bed and follows you over to the bench. He sees a metal arm rest in the middle of the bench, obviously installed to ensure no one lays across it. He checks the back to see how it’s attached and scoffs at the simple way it’s been bolted in and opens his tool kit. 

“Am I going to get arrested for this?” He jokes as he gets to work. 

You laugh, “You’re with me, I’ll protect you”. 

You smile at this; you could get used to the idea of having his back. He gets the bar free and you take it from him. He gestures to another bench a few steps away and he gets to work on liberating that bench too. You happily follow him as you ask, “So, you work for the VA?”

“Yeah, I mostly just run my mouth though,” he grunted as he loosened the much tighter bolt on the second bench. 

“Were you military?”

“Yeah,” He rolls up his sleeve and shows you a tattoo on his forearm, “Delta Force”. 

“But you’re retired now?”

“Something like that,”.

“Aren’t you a bit young to be retired?”

He paused and handed you the second detached metal arm. 

You felt self conscious, maybe you were being rude? “Sorry, it’s none of my business,” You said nervously. 

He shook his head, “You’re fine. It’s just not something I’m necessarily proud of though”. 

“You don’t have to explain, it’s none of my business,” You said, as you led the way to the third bench. 

“I had some trouble, and I was told my services were no longer needed in the field,” he explained getting to work on the third arm, “But I found a way to be useful, stay involved”. 

You nodded, “That couldn’t have been easy,”.

He shook his head, “There are good days, and bad days,” and he handed you the third arm. 

He looked around and didn’t see any more pieces of hostile architecture so he turned to you, “Do you need a ride back to City Hall?”

You looked at him and felt bold. “This is obviously the best park for your event, but if you’ve got nowhere to be, did you want to make one more stop and see my favorite park?”

He smiled at you and nodded his head. You led the way back to his truck where he put his tools away and took the arms from you and dumped them in the bed. 

“I can’t wait to drop those off at the City Planning office tomorrow,” you giggled triumphantly. 

You and Will loaded up into the truck and you directed him out of the parking lot. 

Park number 3 was your favorite place in the entire world, though to be fair you hadn’t actually travelled much so you couldn’t really compare it to anywhere else, but still. To you the lakeside beach next to the tree covered green grass was a slice of heaven. You’d go there on the weekends with a podcast lined up or an old book and spend the whole afternoon on a bench with a coffee and some fresh air. 

When Will pulled into the parking lot, you suddenly got nervous. You had lost some of your earlier boldness that suggested you open yourself up like this to a man you just met. But there was something about him, a warmth and a vulnerability that made you want him to know you, and you to know him. 

You both got out of the truck and the sun was starting to get low in the sky as you walked him to a bench that bordered the beach and the grass. You took a seat and he sat next to you, your thighs gently brushing. The contact sent a shiver down your spine that had nothing to do with the cool breeze that brushed through the leaves above your head. 

Will looked out across the lake and around the park. He felt the warmth of your leg against his and the urge to lean over and brush your cheek with his thumb nearly overwhelmed him. You were so close, it would be so easily for him to just kiss you. But he wasn’t sure you’d want that. You wanted to play hooky from work, and share your love of the parks. He couldn’t let himself think that your enthusiasm for the day had anything to do with him. Instead of holding you under his arm and against his chest, he folded in on himself and looked at you.

He was about to ask what you were thinking about when his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and noticed Benny’s name on the caller ID and cursed under his breath. “I’m so sorry,” he said to you as he answered, “I’ve got to take this.”

He stands and walks a few paces away and you watch him leave, disappointed. You thought maybe he was about to ask you on a date, and tried not to let yourself be too upset that he didn’t. You watch as he rubbed his forehead and shook his head as he talked on the phone to someone you couldn’t hear and didn’t know. 

He hung up the phone and turned to look at you, and you turned away, a little embarrassed to have been caught staring at him. He walks back to you on the bench but doesn’t sit down again. 

“Thank you for showing me this place, it’s beautiful,” he said softly and his sweet voice drew your gaze to his lips as he spoke. You felt the electricity surge between you all the way through to the tips of your fingers and your toes. “I hadn’t realized how late it’s gotten, I’m supposed to be at the gym, training my brother,” he explained. 

You nodded and stood up next to him, so close you had to look up to meet his eyes. “That’s fine, I can call an Uber or something back to City Hall” and you pulled out your phone. 

He put his hand on your arm, “Don’t be silly, I’ll take you back. Plus gotta make sure those city planning guys get their gift.”

Your breath hitched when he touched you and you couldn’t contain your smile as you nodded. “Are you sure? I’ve already taken so much of your time” you said, unable to tear your eyes from his. 

“I want to”.

He walks you back to the truck and opens your door for you again and you hop in both flustered and excited. 

The drive back to City Hall is more quiet than you’ve been all day. Your previous trips were full of chit chat about sports and books and random small talk. Now all that existed in the truck was the electricity and tension between you. You wondered if he felt it too, or if the surprising infatuation was a one-sided affair. 

Will gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles went white. He had spent most the afternoon with you and he failed to buck up the courage to ask you out. You took him to your favorite place and basically hand wrapped a romantic moment, and he blew it. He didn’t know if you noticed the potential romance of the location, or if you intended to entice him so completely, but you had. And he blew his shot. 

Back at City Hall he handed you the metal arms from your adventure and you stayed by the truck. You were hoping he’d ask you out before he left. 

“Thanks for the ride, and the impromptu bench liberation, and the excuse to get out of the office,” you said with a smile, lingering longer than you needed to. 

He smiled back, maybe he could ask you now and he could still pull off the romantic gesture. “I had a great day, which I hadn’t actually expected when I went in earlier looking to fill out boring paperwork,” he said leaning unconsciously closer to you. 

He took a deep breath, ready to ask - when his cell phone rang again. He silenced it and tried again, “Hey-“ and the phone rang again and he answered it. “I’m on my way, asshole. Start with cardio,” he said, frustrated, “you don’t need me for that”.

He hung up and looked at you embarrassed by his outburst, absolutely believing that he had blown it for sure now. But you just looked at him amused, not annoyed. 

“Friend of yours?” you asked, stifling a laugh. 

“My baby brother. He’s a fighter and I’m his trainer, which I do for free by the way, but he loves to act like he’s my boss”, he explained. 

“Sounds like a character.”

“He is something that’s for sure. He’s also really special, really talented. He deserves a better lot than what he’s got”, Will's voice trailed off as he thought bitterly about how Benny left service when he did and the guilt he carried, unspoken, about that ever since. 

Will leaned back, “Do you need a walk to your car?”

“I’m alright, thank you. I better head back up to the office first anyway. Thanks again for today. Maybe I’ll see you around”, you forced a smile, abandoning all hope of a date and retreating into the building. 

Will kicked himself mentally all the way to the gym. When he got there he was in a bad mood. 

“Finally!” Benny shouted at him when he walked in.

“I have a life outside of you, you know that right?” Will spit towards Benny.

“Fuck’s wrong with you?” Benny asked.

“I told you I was on my way, what was so important that you had to call me again and nag me?” Will asked.

“You’re never late, I was worried,” Benny admitted. 

Will paused. He hasn’t thought of it like that. He was never late, it was so unlike him. It was actually kinda nice Benny worried, even if he was an ass about it.

“Well I’m here now, let’s get to it”, Will shrugged and he climbed into the ring opposite Benny. 

After training they grabbed some food together. After scarfing down most of his meal without breathing, Benny asked Will, “Why were you late? You didn’t say.”

Will cleared his throat, “I was trying to get a park permit for the VA BBQ”.

“I thought you did that right after lunch?”

“It took longer than expected,” Will said vaguely. 

Benny squinted his eyes at his older brother until the metaphorical lightbulb went off. “Oh shit!” he said, “You were with a girl! Fuck, I never would’ve called you away if I knew, you’ve been alone for so long!” 

Will threw his used napkin at his taunting brother, “Fuck off.”

“Seriously,” Benny said, not laughing anymore, “I hope I didn’t blow it for you, I want you to be happy.”

Will sighed, “I didn’t get her number, and I didn’t ask her out.”

Benny gave him a sympathetic smile, “At least you got the permit for the event.”

Will pinched the bridge of his nose, “Fuck, I completely forgot to actually get the permit.”

Benny smirked at him. “You know what that means, right?”

“No,” Will groaned. 

“You gotta go back and see her tomorrow.”

Will leaned back in his chair, his mood dramatically improved. 

The next morning you dragged yourself out of bed after your third alarm and skipped yoga, just not in the mood. You hoped stopping at Starbucks would get you out of your funk, but even your favorite coffee didn’t have its usual effect. You felt so stupid for feeling like this today. You literally knew Will Miller for all of one afternoon, it shouldn’t ruin your whole week that he didn’t ask you out. 

You walked into the office ready to be grumpy for the rest of the day when you noticed Will stand up from the chair in which he was sitting. 

Will had been waiting for you since the office opened. He was there long enough to wonder if what he was doing was creepy or sweet. The longer he waited, the worse he felt about his plan. Though once he saw you, his resolve formed and he stood to greet you. Any insecurity he had melted away when he saw how you smiled at him when you noticed him there. 

“Hey,” he started, finding his voice. 

“Hey,” you replied, breathless. 

“I never did fill out a permit yesterday, I got distracted by someone way more interesting than paperwork,” he said, unable to contain a grin. 

You felt something deep in your center as you too failed to contain a beaming smile. 

“I can help you with that,” you walked behind the permit desk and he met you on the other side. 

You handed him the paperwork and helped him fill everything out. The entire time neither of you could contain your ear splitting smiles. When he finished you stamped his form and returned his copy. 

“You’re all set, Mr. Miller,” you said, “Will there be anything else?”

He looked you the eye, “Are you free Friday night? I’d love to take you out.”

You nodded eagerly, “I’d like that.”

PART 2 

[for-fucks-sake-h]

As You Held Onto Me - One

*a/n: Hello and welcome to the first chapter of this little universe! I hope you enjoy it. Huge thank you to my babes @sleepyeyedficsnrecs​ @biteharrysthigh​ @bbletsdoitallovragain​ @imethiminthemorning​ for proofing and supporting me and being genuinely beautiful people. Happy reading! x 

CATCH UP ON PREVIOUS PARTS HERE    

Rated: M, mature // Word Count: 8.6k 

Sometimes, love can feel like it’s everything. And sometimes, we hope it can be.

***

- Monday, January 5, 2013 -    

The walk from your car to the back door of the old brick building felt exceedingly long for only being a few minutes. Probably due to the biting cold wind that whipped across your face and threatened to rip your scarf right off your neck.    

It also may have felt like a 5k marathon due to it being your first day at your new job. It wasn’t much, just a few nights a week, but you couldn’t shake the nerves settling in your belly as you clicked your key fob to hear your car lock for the second time.  You were excited for the change, and the new experience. And you thought it would be good for you to hopefully make some new friends while you did your online courses.  

The wind whistled obnoxiously as you pulled the heavy metal door open to stumble into the building, exhaling deeply as your cheeks immediately began to warm at the stark change of temperature.  

You started down a narrow hallway toward the office you knew was situated at the end as you unwrapped your scarf, desperately trying to steady your breathing. A quick glance past a tall cart full of pastry desserts showed a busy kitchen with servers dressed just like you in black dress pants, white button down shirts and bowties. 

A familiar voice spoke your name from behind you. Shannon, your middle aged manager, stood in the doorway of the office with a warm smile when you turned to greet her.  You were quick to walk towards her, extending your hand the way you were taught, gripping hers firmly as you smiled.  

“Perfect timing.”  

“Hi, Shannon. How are you?”  

“Great! Come on in here so we can get you set up,” she spoke with a hand extended towards her office as she welcomed you into the small, plainly decorated space. “Nervous?” She spoke once the door was closed behind you.  

“A little,” you smiled shyly.  

“Well, don’t be. Everyone’s nice. They’ll show you the way, help when you need it. Team effort and all that.”  She waved her hands nonchalantly as she turned her back to you, making her way over to her desk.  “I just have a couple things for you to sign, direct deposit slip and such. Then we’ll set up your clock and ID and go get your badge done with HR.”  

She waved you over to her side, lifting a pen in your direction with one hand as she pointed to the lined paper, indicating where you should sign each document.  You watched her quietly as she stapled the papers together before tucking them away in what you assumed to be your file.  

“You can put your jacket and things over there,” she nodded toward an open coat closet. 

You did as you were told, gingerly wrapping your scarf around the neck of a hanger before adding your coat. Your heart rate seemed to be easing a bit as you got accustomed to the new environment. When you turned back toward Shannon she was typing away on her computer, leaving you to silently wait for your next instruction.  

“Okay, I just let Cindy know we’d be up in a minute. Let’s set this thing up real quick.” She walked towards the door of the office again where a small machine was mounted on the wall. “So this is the clock in machine. You’ll just place your hand on it with the sensors between your fingers. You can clock in seven minutes before your shift. Try not to forget to do it,” she spoke as she pressed a few buttons on the machine. “It’s not a huge deal if you do forget once in a while, just try not to make a habit out of it. Messes with HR,” she giggled. “Here you go, just put your hand in and it’ll prompt you to lift it three times.”  

You did as you were told, watching the screen as it read your palm every time you placed your hand onto the sensor.  

“Don’t forget the sanitizer,” she spoke again once the machine beeped in completion.  “Here’s your apron and bowtie.  We have some extras if you’re in a pinch or forget it one day. Just be sure to put them back if you do borrow one.” She extended the neatly folded apron and bowtie towards you. “Chuck them on and we’ll go see Cindy for your badge and then I’ll introduce you to your trainer.”  

She headed towards the door as she spoke, leaving you to follow meekly as you tucked the apron under your arm to swiftly put your bow tie on. You followed her through the kitchen, taking in the quick atmosphere of the staff as they prepped for dinner. Pots banged as the cooks finished prepping the serving line. You noticed a girl changing inserts of what looked to be a juice machine. Someone else carried a large pot of soup to an opening in the counter that was the perfect width.  

She opened a side door for you once you crossed the busy room, noticing a dish washing station towards the back of the kitchen before going into a narrow stairwell. You threw the necktie of your apron over your head once you were in the elevator, tying the strings behind your back as the door dinged and began to open.  

Cindy was nice enough, seemingly ready to leave for the night and get done with your name badge as quickly as possible. She took a quick photo of your face in front of a blue backdrop and was quiet as she plugged the camera into her computer to print your badge.  

“Thank you,” you spoke as she handed you the laminated plastic once it was attached to a small silver butterfly clip.  

“Thanks Cind, have a good night,” Shannon spoke as she nodded for you to head out of the room first. You heard a mumbled reply of you too come from the office as Shannon followed you out.    

“Don’t mind her,” she spoke quietly with a small chuckle as she pushed the elevator button once more, “she’s like that with everyone. Just clip that badge to the top of your apron.”  

You followed Shannon into the elevator, smoothing down the front of your apron as you took the trip back down a few floors in silence. This time the front doors of the elevator opened, the dining room straight ahead and a lounge/waiting area towards your left.  

You followed Shannon the few steps towards a small oak desk and podium where a boy, maybe a few years older than you, stood smiling and greeting residents as they passed with their walkers and motorized scooters. 

“This is Joe, he’s the host and in charge tonight,” she introduced.  

“Hey,” he greeted you with a smile which you returned softly.  

“Joe!” A small woman with a walker stood behind the podium. “Are you going to make me wait forty-five minutes tonight?” She asked exasperated.   

“Hi Mrs. Kavinsky,” he spoke loud and clear towards the woman. “I already checked you and Mr. Kavinsky in to make up for last night,” he smiled forcefully as the woman shook her head with a roll of her eyes.  

“You’re really getting bad representation tonight,” Shannon laughed as Mrs. Kavinsky walked away. “I promise it’s not always like this. She just met Cindy,” she spoke to Joe, a knowing nod and smile coming from him in acknowledgement. “Who do you have training her tonight?”  

“Harry’s here.” 

“Awesome, call him out.”  

Joe grabbed the phone beside his podium and with a push of a button was talking to someone, telling whoever was on the other line to send your trainer out to the front.  

You stood with your fingers clasped together in front of you, taking in the expanse of the dining room.  For such a deceivingly plain office and kitchen, the dining room was elegantly decorated.  Vaulted ceilings, beautiful art hanging on the walls, expensive tables and chairs with polished table settings.  There was a large chandelier in the center of the room and a fire place situated on the far right wall. To say the least, it was a stark difference from the plain white walls in Shannon’s office.  

“Ah there he is!” Shannon spoke excitedly.  

You turned toward the direction of the kitchen to see a tall boy walking towards you. It was like your brain took in a different aspect of him every second. Dark, chestnut hair curled around his ears. Broad shoulders. Radiant skin despite the freezing temperatures. His apron tied around his narrow waist. 

He gave a small wave as he neared, light green eyes coming into focus as they washed over your features. Your cheeks burned immediately. He was beyond handsome as a sweet, dimpled smile spread across his face.    

“Hey, ya alright?” He spoke in general, but his eyes flicked back to you a few times. His voice was surprisingly deep, making the nerves in your belly erupt all over again.  

Shannon spoke up, introducing you both. You exchanged shy smiles with Harry as he tucked his hands into his pockets, seemingly nervous. “Harry’s our best trainer. He’ll take care of you,” Shannon praised. “I’ll leave you to it.” 

He smiled down to the floor as Shannon passed with a pat on his shoulder. You noticed the top of his ear that peeked through his hair was bright pink when he turned towards the oak desk, grabbing a clipboard and bringing it towards you. 

“So this is the section chart,” he got right to it, showing you the layout of the dining room and which section would be yours for the evening. His cologne lingered once he was close enough, hints of sweet melon and warm vanilla floating off his skin. A small cross tattoo caught your eye as he pointed to your section. Your eyebrow twitched minutely with intrigue.  

“Come on,” he spoke, pulling your attention back to his face, “I’ll show you around.”  

He led you into the kitchen, showing you a bulletin board where various announcements hung from tiny tacks. “Side work is here,” he pointed with the cross tattooed hand. “You do this before dinner and this one after,” referring to the two columned sheets of paper hanging on the bottom left corner of the board. You nodded, quickly following as he started walking again. 

He was thorough as he walked you around the kitchen, showing you where various things could be found and explaining how the service would operate.  

“Always greet the table with bread, it’ll make your life easier,” he explained, his words slow as they rolled off his tongue. After, you’d take drinks and then soup and salad. He showed you how you would call out your meals as you made your way down the serving line. “Always be polite, always check on your tables between courses, always have extra straws in your apron pocket.” He piled the information on in such a short period of time that you couldn’t help feeling a bit overwhelmed.  

“Hey,” he acknowledged the look on your face. “It sounds like a lot but I promise you’ll pick it up quick. Just a matter of doing it.” He was comforting; warm and sweet in the way he attempted to ease your mind.  “Tonight you’ll just kinda watch me, help with things. Tomorrow you can do more on your own. We’ll take it a day at a time. Promise by the end of the week you’ll be an expert.” 

“Thanks,” you smiled, silently admiring the way a tiny double chin formed as he looked down to the floor with a small grin.  

“Come on, Joe’s gonna go over the menu in a minute.” 

You followed him over to the corner of the kitchen where the rest of the staff stood waiting. He leaned his hip against the metal counter, crossing his arms casually. In the limited time you’d spent with Harry, he came across easily cool with minimum effort.  He was nice in a way that seemed natural and not just put on. And there was definitely no way to deny how attractive he was.  

“Alright guys,” Joe clapped as he came into the kitchen.  “First off, let’s welcome our newest server,” he stretched a hand out in your direction, all eyes on you as he introduced you. Your cheeks warmed but smiled as you greeted the group of seven servers you’d be working with alongside Harry. 

He went through the menu quickly, everyone jotting down the soup options and specials for the evening.  “I got it,” Harry leaned in and whispered when you started to pull your pad and pen from your apron. He smiled when you met his gaze before he looked back towards his own pad as he jotted the options down. 

You couldn’t pull your eyes from him for a moment, letting yourself take in the ridiculously straight line of his nose and sharp cut of his jaw.  His skin was smooth, clean shaven without a mark on it aside from a small mole just off the corner of his mouth. His lips seemed to get even more pink as he bit them repeatedly and his eyes flicked up to Joe and then to you. 

You flinched and looked away quickly, warmth spreading across your face at being caught.  

“That’s it! Have a good night guys.” Joe clapped again as everyone headed out into the dining room.  

“So I’ll introduce you to the tables and you can kinda just go through the motions with me,” Harry spoke over his shoulder as he led you towards the back station where drinks and bread were kept.  You watched as he bent over to pull a bread basket from the warmer and grabbed a pair of tongs from the counter. “Think you can handle giving them bread to start?”  

You took the bread basket with a roll of your eyes and a laugh. His smirk was lethal. Dimples etched into his cheeks with a slight smugness that was just shy of being annoying.  Truth was, it wasn’t annoying at all. If you were being really honest with yourself, you wouldn’t have minded seeing the smirk again. And you definitely wouldn’t have minded being the cause of it.  

The night went pretty smoothly. You didn’t drop any glasses and didn’t spill anything on anyone as you helped Harry serve your section. Your conversation was easy but limited as you worked. You did learn that he moved from the UK when he was seventeen when his dad got a promotion. He lived in the next town over and was only a year older than you with his nineteenth birthday in a few weeks. He went to school and worked at the retirement home as often as he could without interfering with school. 

You also learned that he was charming and funny, especially when talking to the residents.  They all seemed to love him; happy, excited banter when they realized he’d be their server. He was kind, checking on them often and making sure they had everything they needed.  

As the night slowed down, Harry showed you how to do your section’s sideworks and how to set the tables for the next day’s breakfast shift.  You were in the kitchen as he demonstrated the intricate way you needed to fold your assigned portion of 50 silverware sets into a neat napkin ring when another server came up to you.  

“Hey, how’d you like your first shift?” She smiled at you as she nudged Harry with her shoulder.  

You remembered her name was Emma, but you still glanced at her name tag to make sure. “It was good! Yeah, I liked it.”  

“Harry’s a great teacher,” she laughed with a wiggle of her eyebrows.  

“Oi get out of here,” he shook his head as he smiled, pushing Emma away from you. 

She barked a loud laugh as she slapped his forearms playfully. “Did you tell her about Three Monkey’s?” She directed her question to you.  

You watched the exchange between them, noticing the way Harry’s eyes fell to the ground as he spoke. “No, no. I - I didn’t have a chance to mention it yet,” he stumbled through his words for the first time since meeting him, the slightest flush rising on his cheeks.  

“We’re going to grab something to eat there once we’re done,” Emma turned back to you, “wanna come?”  

“Oh, um, yeah sure,” you smiled graciously. “Thanks.” 

“Course. You can ride over with me and Heather if you want? The parking is shit there,” she giggled.  

“That’d be great, thanks.”  

“Yeah, don’t mention it! We’ll exchange numbers before we leave.” 

“Em!” Joe called from across the kitchen, “is your side work done?!”  “Oh bite me, Joe!”  

You laughed with them as she stalked towards him and threw a rag in his face on her way.  Harry was quiet and already looking at you when you glanced at him, a small smile playing on his lips. You could feel his eyes still on you as you folded the rest of your silverware. It took everything in you not to look at him again and you hoped the flush you felt on your cheeks wasn’t too obvious.  You followed everyone out once you’d all clocked out, agreeing on meeting at the restaurant in an hour. Emma introduced you to Heather as you exchanged numbers and texted her your address.  

Once you were home, you gave your parents the quickest overview of your first night before going to quickly freshen up. You changed out of your uniform and into some jeans and a cozy sweater. You also let your hair down, brushed your teeth and sprayed a little perfume. Just as you swiped some mascara on, a text from Emma came that they were out front.  

Luckily, the drive was short and the girls were super sweet. Your conversation was steady as you all complained about your college courses.  Heather was taking online classes as well, so it was nice to bond with her over that. It was nice to be making some new friends in general.    

Emma was lucky enough to find a spot near the restaurant, but you still did a huddled power walk to the building to get out of the harsh cold as quickly as possible. They must have been there a lot because the host greeted Emma by name, telling her it’d only be a few minutes for them to get a table together.   The rest of the group joined in the small waiting area of the restaurant moments later, bringing the cold with them as they piled in. You tucked your chin down into your scarf as the cold air brushed your skin once more, looking up to see Harry as the culprit for letting the icy wind burn your face.  

“Fucking freezing,” he mumbled as he pulled the door closed. He brought himself right next to you, the sleeve of his jacket brushing yours as you looked up at him from where you were tucking the entire lower half of your face into the thick material of your scarf. He smiled down at you, small wisps of hair poking out of his red beanie and curling at his temples. When he noticed the way you curled into yourself as you waited for warmth to consume you, he leaned in barely enough to notice. But you noticed.   

“You okay?” 

“Fucking freezing,” you repeated back to him, the fabric muffling your voice.  He must have heard you clear enough because he smiled widely down to you, flicking his eyes in the direction of the back of the restaurant as he spoke. “They usually put us in the back by the fireplace. Follow my lead. I’ll make sure we’re closest to it.”  

You were happy that your scarf concealed the endeared smile that was pulled from your lips at his words. He was so serious, but had a playful glint in his eye that you couldn’t help but admire. His nose was wind burnt and his cheeks were flushed, and his eyes sparkled under the dim overhead lighting.  

Just then the host called Emma’s name, indicating that your table was ready. Harry pushed past you quickly, grabbing your wrist at the last second to pull you with him as he led you down the opposite aisle of tables lined up in the restaurant, effectively cutting off your group and getting the seats directly in front of the fireplace.   

“I’m impressed,” you chuckled as you shrugged your coat and scarf off, handing them to Harry when he opened his palm.  

He mocked offense with a drop of his jaw as he hung your jackets on the nearby rack. “You doubted me?” 

You giggled as you situated yourself in your seat. He was sitting next to you a second later, his cologne invading your senses all over again. It was like the heat of the fire intensified. That or you just recognized it more as it washed over you like it had when you first encountered him.    

He pulled the sleeves of his sweater down over his hands. “Have you been here?” He asked softly.  

“No,” you shook your head with a smile. “Looks good though.”  

You scanned over the menu. It was a step up from a typical bar/restaurant, with every burger concoction you could think of and a very enticing “try our crack fries!” in bold letters across the top of the page.  

“The Mighty Joe Young is the best. If you like pork roll.”    

“Brits eat pork roll?” You teased.  

He laughed with a nod of his head. “They do when they live here.” 

“Alright, I’ll try it.” You closed your menu before adding a cryptic, “hope I’m not disappointed.” 

“Have I steered you wrong yet?”  

You looked over at him, and even though there was a playful smile on his face, his eyes held yours in a way that made you hesitate. The fire cast shadows across the lines of his face, accentuating the deep cut of his cheekbone and jaw. And even though the place was dimly lit, the fire somehow made his eyes bright as he stared back at you.       

You were interrupted as the waitress came to take your orders, tucking some hair behind your ear as you turned away from him. The group quieted down enough for everyone to place their orders. You and Harry ordered identical Mighty Joe Young burgers and crack fries, and he wore the same smirk on his beautiful face as he had at work.  

You got to know your coworkers, engaging in conversation about school and what shows you all were into. It was nice to be included so easily and not feel like an outsider in a group of people who already knew each other so well. You were joking with Heather, who was quick enough to sit on the other side of you to absorb the warmth of the fire, just as your food arrived.  

It was like no one had seen food before, the table going relatively quiet as everyone dug into their first few bites. 

You glanced over to Harry as you took your first bite, finding his eyes already on you, watching you expectantly. You chewed slowly, keeping a straight face. You leaned back in your chair as you finished the bite, his eyes following you the entire time, waiting for your reaction. 

“Ugh, it’s good,” you whined.    

He smiled in victory, looking pleased and smug as he turned back towards his plate to take his own bite. His jaw ticked with every chew. You shouldn’t have found it as attractive as you did. His eyelashes were long, curled and extended away from his eyes as he blinked; like a delicate frame around a vast landscape painting. 

You blinked away before anyone became suspicious of your staring, especially Harry. 

You enjoyed the rest of your dinner, talking between bites and laughing at jokes as you tried to cover your burger filled mouth. 

Once your plates were cleared, you felt Harry turn towards you, casually placing his elbow on the back of your chair. You tilted your face in his direction as he spoke. 

Your lips kinked up in a smile, “I really did like it.” 

“Did ya?” His voice went up an octave. “You’re kinda hard to read. Mysterious and all that,” he joked softly. 

“I’m really not though,” you laughed. 

He leaned in a half an inch closer with a simply murmured, “I beg to differ.” 

You weren’t sure if it was his close proximity or the tone of his voice but he made your skin erupt in goosebumps and your heart unironically skip a beat. He smiled as he leaned away, that ever present twinkle in his eyes shining back at you. 

You were brought back by Joe calling both your names from the other end of the long table. 

“You guys wanna see a movie?”  

Harry answered immediately, “I’m alright man. Gonna head home, gotta be up early.”  

You turned towards Heather and Emma with a nod of your head. “What are you guys doing?” 

“Yeah I could go for a movie,” Emma agreed first, Heather following right behind. 

You hesitated for a moment as you nodded in acknowledgement, debating your options. “Um —” 

“I could drop you off if you don’t wanna go,” Harry interrupted. 

“You sure?” 

“Yeah no problem at all,” he sang happily, leaning his elbows on the table with a smile.   

“Yeah, okay. I’ll pass tonight guys,” you turned back to Joe and the girls, “thanks though.” 

“Next time,” Emma pointed her finger sternly at you. 

“Definitely,” you chuckled. 

Everyone got their things together once the bill was settled, bundling up for the inevitable icy temperature. You hugged Emma and Heather at the door, thanking them for bringing you and telling them to enjoy the movie.   

You started to follow everyone out of the restaurant but were caught by your elbow by Harry’s firm hand. 

“I’m this way,” he nodded in the opposite direction.  

You walked quickly, holding your jacket and scarf as close to you as possible as you followed Harry to his 1999 Mustang.   

“Fuck, I won’t ever get used to that.” He shuddered once you were inside, the heat blaring from his dash. 

“Isn’t it cold in England?” You giggled. 

“I don’t remember it being this bloody cold.”  

“Bloody cold,” you repeated in a faux English accent. 

He shook his head as he laughed, “Wow you’re so posh.”  

“Am I?” 

He turned the gear to pull out of his spot before chuckling with a pained wince, “Oh yeah.” He was quiet for a beat before softly adding, “It’s cute though.”  

And the butterflies ensued.    

“Thanks,” you blushed as you watched the street lights dance across his hood.  You both were quiet for the majority of the ride, stealing glances when you thought the other wasn’t paying attention. You didn’t know that neither of you were never not paying attention to the other.  

“This is a cool car,” you spoke up after a while.  

“Thanks,” he smiled. “I got it a couple months ago. Finally saved up enough.”   “That’s amazing, congrats.”  

He smiled at you before bringing his eyes back to the road. “So, what made you wanna get the job?”  

You thought about it for a moment, contemplating all the reasons you had and deciding what you wanted to share. “I thought it would be good to get my foot out there a bit. I’ve only babysat before.”  

“No I mean, what made you choose the retirement home specifically? Could have gone to McDonalds... think they pay more,” he chuckled.  

“Oh,” you laughed nervously. “Um, I don’t know.” You paused before deciding to continue. “I like the thought of helping people. Maybe being the reason someone might smile. I thought there would be some people there that… maybe didn’t have families nearby and I could be someone they looked forward to seeing.”  

You surprised yourself with how honest your answer was, blushing immediately. 

“I think that’s really cool,” he spoke earnestly. “Are you going to school for something like that? Helping people, I mean.”  

“Oh I don’t know. I don’t really know what I wanna do yet.”  You shook your head as you spoke, not having a clue what you really wanted to do career-wise.  

“Sounds like helping people might be something you should consider. If you feel strongly about it.”  His voice was soft and encouraging.  You could feel his eyes flicking over to you and you were thankful for the darkness that provided a shield to your blushing cheeks.  

“Maybe,” you hummed. “What about you?”  

“I’m going for photography.  Hope I can like, own my own company some day.” 

“That’s really cool,” you nodded. “Do you have a favorite kind or anything?”  

“People for sure, especially people in love.” He spoke surely as he eased the car to stop at a red light before looking over at you. “Like, I’d love to do engagement shoots or just, anything with couples. I like showing people in love through my lense.”  

You smiled at his answer and how open he was. “Sounds like something you’re good at.”  

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah, just, judging by how you speak of it. When people are passionate about something, it shows.” 

He nodded at your words as he held your eyes.  He didn’t add anything or deny what you were saying. He simply looked at you, with that twinkle in his eye and the smallest tug of a smile on his lips. You couldn’t look away from him, his eyes pulling you in and holding you there. You liked to think it was against your will but in reality, you would have sat there in his car and looked at him for as long as he would have let you.  

The car behind you on the other hand, not so much. Judging by their obnoxious horn at least.  

You both startled, pulled from the moment as you noticed the green light. You looked back over to Harry to catch him looking in his rearview mirror with a crease to his brow before he pulled into the intersection to turn down your street.  

It was achingly quiet as he paused at the three stop signs before pulling in front of your house.  

You unclicked your seatbelt as you spoke. “Well, thanks for the ride.” 

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” He paused, seemingly considering what he wanted to say. “It was… nice... talking to you.” His voice lowered minutely in what you could only assume was shyness.  

You smiled as your heart fluttered in your chest. “It was nice talking to you too. I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”  

He nodded.  “Yup, you’ve got me for the week.”  

“Great. Thanks again.” 

“Anytime,” he smiled.  

You returned the smile before climbing out of his car. You quickly walked to your front door, noticing that he didn’t pull away from your house as you fished out your key from your bag and unlocked your door.  

When you looked back, you could see the street lamp shining into his windshield, giving you just enough light to see him looking back at you.  

You gave him a small wave before closing your door, leaning your back against it as your heart banged in your chest.    

*** 

- Sunday, February 24, 2018 -   

You dropped your duffle bag dramatically as soon as you entered the suite.  Twelve hours of traveling sounded just as awful as it felt.  

Articles of clothing fell from you as you made your way further into the room. Cardigan, sneakers, leggings -- all stripped off and thrown haphazardly. It was warm, a stark change from the still freezing temps back home in New York. Your oversized t-shirt hung down to your thighs, opting for comfort over anything else for your day of traveling.  

It was late; the only light being a tall standing lamp tucked away in the corner of the room. It was so quiet you could hear the ocean. A slow, calming peace fell over you as your eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. 

The sliding glass door at the back of the suite was open, a slight breeze coming through the sheer white curtains that hung from the ceiling. A king sized bed was off to the right, tall posts with more sheer drapes hanging from the corners. The pillows looked gigantic and the deep navy duvet looked soft and smooth, even from where you were standing.  

You peeked into the ensuite, a bathroom unnecessarily large with a jetted soaker tub and rainfall shower stall, double sinks and two oversized mirrors.  There was a stash of candles organized on the counter with stemmed roses delicately placed on either end, a box of matches sitting on one of the candle’s lids.  

You stretched your arms up over your head as you heard a click of the key card lock opening, the heavy door of your room swinging open.  

Turning in the bathroom doorway, you saw your suitcase roll in first with a frowning Harry close behind. “That should not have been that difficult,” he spoke as he entered the room, letting the door fall closed behind him. “How did they only have you on the reservation? We have the same name for fuck’s sake.”   

You smiled as you leaned against the door frame, taking in his frustrated state.  

“Yeah we do.” Your tone was suggestive; an attempt to bring him back to the moment, to the real reason why you were even there to begin with.  

It caught his attention, his head snapping in your direction as his eyes took you in. You’d never tire of that. The way he looked at you, like he was trying to peer into your soul and see all the ways he was etched into it. Sometimes, you felt like he could see right through you. Like you were a wide open plain for him to settle his home on and live happily ever after.  

He didn’t move at first, standing perfectly still next to your too heavy, over packed suitcase as his eyes raked over your t-shirt clad body. The left side of his mouth lifted the tiniest bit for the smirk to start to form before he moved toward you. He reached for you once he was close enough, arms slithering around your waist to pull you in. His hands rested perfectly in the curve of your back, his front flush to yours as he looked down at you.  

“We do, Mrs. Styles.”  

His voice was lower both in volume and tone. The words rolled off his tongue as if he had been saying them for decades when in reality it had only been 22 hours.  

He pulled you with him as he took a step back, effectively moving you out of the doorway in favor of walking you back into the wall beside it. He completely invaded your senses. Warm breath cascading across your lips, cologne that had no business even still being on his skin infiltrating your head. 

You smiled slightly just before he pressed his mouth to yours. His lips were soft, yet still tugged your own into his waiting mouth. His tongue teased along your bottom lip in the smoothest way, warmth spreading to the pit of your stomach instantly. His warm tongue eased into your mouth, tasting you slowly before sucking your top lip.  

He pinned your foreheads together, his breath mingling with yours. “Are you tired?”  

You shook your head against his in response as your fingers dug into the pudge of his hips.     

“Good.” He barely got the word out before his mouth was back on yours; heavy and hot.    

One of his hands gripped the side of your neck as he pressed himself even closer to you, pinning you to the wall harshly. His hips pushed into yours, his cock already fattening up in his pants. You whimpered against his insistent mouth, his fingers threading into your hair as his other hand gripped your hip tighter.

“I want you so bad,” he moaned before kissing you again. 

His eager mouth traveled down your jaw and neck, sponging wet kisses to your tingling skin.  You reached up to thread your fingers through his hair, clasping tightly at the roots to elicit a small moan from the back of his throat.  His hips pressed into yours with such a minute roll that you nearly missed it. One of your hands traveled down the crease in the center of his back, the heat of him burning through his thin t-shirt. You squeezed one of his cheeks in the same moment that he bit into the skin of your collar bone, heat spreading throughout your body faster than ever, making your head cloudy and your eyelids heavy.  

“Please, H.” Your whine was breathy and exhaled up to the ceiling as he traveled back up to your mouth.  

He hovered his lips over yours for a moment, catching his breath as he pushed his hard length against you more. There was no denying just how hard he was. The way he begged for you, every move he made making it known.  

“You still want to?” His words were low and spoken directly into your mouth. 

Your eyes fluttered open to meet his, noses brushing softly before he pulled back half an inch. “Yeah,” you breathed. “Do you?”  

“So bad,” he whispered before kissing you again, his mouth slow and full. “Wanna give you a baby.”  

You moaned at his words as your hips involuntarily tipped towards his more.     He shifted his weight towards your side, his front still pressed as closely to you as he could get, his cock brushing against your hip. His hand released the grip it had on the back of your hair to journey down your neck, the center of your chest and across your hip before settling on the lowest part of your tummy.  

“I want your belly,” he spoke into the skin of your jaw as his hand splayed across the expanse of your stomach.  

You knew exactly what he meant; always wanting to be as deep inside you as possible. But he also wanted your belly in the way he never had before. With half of him forming with half of you to produce something so beautiful it would make you ache if you thought about it too much.  

But when you let yourself think about it -- really imagine it -- you knew. You wanted it with him, more than anything.  

His hand moved down and into your underwear, his palm cupping your heat as he kissed your shoulder.  You turned your face towards his in search of any piece of skin to get your lips on, settling on pressing a soft kiss to his temple. He lifted his head with an inhale, pressing his lips to yours once more. He kissed you slowly, savoring your mouth and the taste of your tongue.  His fingers teased between your folds so softly it almost tickled. Your core ached and spasmed every time he got closer to where you needed him. Until he finally gave up the teasing and circled his middle finger over your clit.  

You moaned at the contact, breaking your kiss as he sucked your bottom lip.  “Gonna make you come so hard,” he murmured as he added his first finger with his middle to glide over your swollen sex.  “Heard it helps,” he murmured with a small smile.  

“Oh yeah?” You cut yourself off with a moan as he eased his two middle fingers into you. You laughed softly as your head tilted back against the wall with a thud. “Where’d you hear that?” 

“I have sources,” he spoke lowly into hinge of your jaw before closing a sucking kiss to the spot below it. 

Under any other circumstances, you would have encouraged him to share the so-called sources he had, but your mind was fuzzy and his fingers pumped into you at the slowest, most enticing way that you couldn’t ask if you tried.   

He pumped his fingers at an even pace before introducing his thumb to the top of your clit. You reached up to wrap your arms around his shoulders, one hand pushing up into the back of his hair as the other gripped the shoulder of his t-shirt. He kissed you as he fucked you with his fingers, sucking your lips even when you were too overwhelmed to kiss him back. His teeth were sharp when they tugged, pulling kiss after kiss from your swollen mouth. 

His arms slithered around your waist suddenly, tugging you closer into him before he started walking. He kissed you as you walked blindly towards the bed, his arms tightly holding you to him. His palms spread across the expanse of your back as he guided you with his mouth on yours. You both laughed into the kiss when he stepped on one of your feet, making you stumble off balance and grip each other tighter. 

He cupped your face gently when the duvet brushed the sides of your legs, slipping his tongue over yours briefly. 

“Feel a little overdressed,” he murmured against your mouth, a smile tugging up the corners of his mouth. 

He barked a hard laugh up to the ceiling when you yanked his sweatpants down dramatically.  You pressed a soft kiss to his upturned chin as you pushed his t-shirt up his sides, your fingers dancing along his skin until he lifted his arms so you could pull it over his head.  

He was smiling when he tilted his head back down to look at you. His hair was sticking up messily and the skin around his eyes was indented beautifully. He licked his lips, his expression changing from silly to serious. He pulsed his fingers on the back of your neck as his eyes flicked over your face.  

“I love you so much,” he whispered.  

You smiled softly, “I love you too, baby.” 

“I want this so badly,” he pulled you in to close the small gap between you.

“I know. Me too,” you stroked the backs of your fingers across his soft cheek, smoothing your hand over the hair around his ear. You leaned closer, brushing your lips over his so lightly it tickled. “Give me a baby.” 

He moved quickly, turning to lay you out on the bed. He hovered over you as his restless mouth pressed desperate kisses to your lips. His moan was low as he let his weight encase you, his hips rolling over yours. His hands traveled down your sides, gripping to your hips momentarily before pushing back up the length of your body. His fingers caught the bottom of your shirt on their way, pushing the material up your skin as his mouth moved down your neck. Your moan was breathy when he took your pebbled nipple into his mouth, sucking fervently as his hand squeezed your other breast. 

You gripped your t-shirt from where it was bunched beneath your chin to pull it off, extending your arms above your head to grip to the duvet once you threw the shirt to the floor. Harry’s hands were commanding as they pushed your breasts together, his mouth moving from one to the other. He sucked small marks into your skin that made your hips tilt up to his more and more each time. 

He met every soft roll of your hips with his own, the lace between your thighs doing nothing to conceal how wet you were.  

“You smell good,” he hummed into your ribs, placing sucking kissed to your skin as he traveled down your body. 

“Don’t know how,” you twitched when he bit your hip. “Especially after that last plane ride.”   

He looked up at you with a deep crease between his brows, making you chuckle and push one of your hands through his hair. “Said we’d never speak of that again,” he dramatically reminded you of the conversation you had once you got off the “plane ride from hell” as he liked to call it.  

“Right, sorry,” you laughed before egging him on. “Continue.”

He bit into the top of your thigh in retaliation before kissing over the spot. “As I was saying...” he placed another kiss to the bottom of your belly, right above your mound, “It’s what you always smell like. Sweet... and warm,” he murmured the last part into your mound, making you moan softly.  

He tucked his fingers into the sides of your underwear and pulled them down your thighs, his fingernails gliding down your skin the entire way. Heat licked up your spine when his hot breath met your core, tingling over your clit teasingly.  

“Harry, please…” 

“Just one taste, love.” You could feel his words just as much as you heard them. His nose brushed over your mound as he placed a soft kiss to your lips. “One taste and then I’ll fuck you, okay?”  

He didn’t wait for a response, and you knew it wouldn’t just be a taste.  

His tongue licked over your clit so softly it had your eyes rolling closed and your hips flexing off the bed. His arms slid under your thighs as he rested on his stomach, his hands gripping tightly to your hips to hold you in place. When he licked you fully and his warm tongue glided from your entrance up to your clit, you couldn’t control your hips from bucking into his mouth. One of his hands splayed out over your tummy, pinning you in place as his tongue flicked over you. 

Your hands found their way into his hair, gripping harshly as you moaned for him. You knew his fingertips were leaving indents in your skin; that’s how tight he was holding you. When his tongue dipped inside you, his thick moan vibrated against your sensitive core, making your head snap back as you choked on your own moan.  

He knew exactly what to do to get you there, but every time you were close, he switched tactics. He brought you to the edge without letting you fall so many times that you were on the verge of tears. He’d get you right there, and then pull away to press burning hot kisses to your inner thigh, or crease of your thigh, or hip, or mound. It was torture.  

“Harry,” you moaned pathetically.  

“Can’t yet, love.” He pressed another kiss into your plush inner thigh. “Said I wanna make you come hard, so gotta wait a little longer.”   

You whined at his words, your stomach tingling as he kissed his way back up your body. He brushed your hair back once his face was hovering over yours before cupping your jaw. He kissed you slow, pressing his body down into yours as you tasted yourself on his tongue.  

“Pull me out,” he murmured softly.  

You pushed his boxers down as far as you could and immediately took his length in your hand. You watched his face contort in pleasure as his breath caught in his throat when you pumped him, his resolve crumbing quickly.   

He swallowed thickly.  “Feel how hard you make me?” 

You glided your thumb over his tip, his mouth falling open instantly. “Fuck me.” 

You sucked his plush bottom lip. “Fill me, Harry.”  

“Oh my god,” he moaned as he kicked his boxers off his legs.  

He took hold of himself to brush his tip over your clit repeatedly. Your core spasmed in anticipation. And when he finally eased into you, it was so slow that every inch of his length consumed you.  

He was still once he bottomed out, and your mouth hung open in a silent moan. No matter how many times you’d been with him over the years, his size still somehow surprised you. 

His lips were soft on yours, sucking lightly until you kissed him back. 

“This what you wanted?” He flexed his hips forward, effectively giving you that last half an inch that almost made it too much. “This full enough for you?” 

“Yes,” you moaned as you tried to keep your eyelids from fluttering closed.  

He withdrew slowly and eased back in with a little more power. He found his rhythm quickly, rolling his hips into yours as he attempted to kiss you. His moans were deep, escaping his lips against his will as he fucked into you. His hands were everywhere, traveling over your body and gripping to every plush piece of flesh he could find.  

Your nails dug into the skin of his shoulders, scraping down his back as you pulsed around him. His pelvis teased your clit, grazing the very tip every so often to spread the heat in the pit of your stomach throughout your limbs. Your fingers tingled with it, your core begging him to stay every time he pulled out.   He kissed you fully, his tongue tracing yours as his pace picked up.  “Fuck. It’s so good. You feel… so good.”

“Don’t stop,” you moaned.  

His hand pushed into the back of your hair; fingers tangling harshly as he tugged on your roots to snap your head back. His mouth was hot on your neck, his hips lethal as they sent blow after blow into yours.  

You trailed your hands up his clammy back, gripping his thick hair between your fingers. He moaned roughly when you squeezed your fingers, fisting his hair tightly. He pulled your face to his, meeting your mouth immediately as his strokes became sloppy.  

“You’re gonna make me come,” you murmured into his waiting mouth. Heat licked up your spine as your orgasm bubbled in the pit of your stomach.   He pinned his forehead to yours heavily. “Come on, come on.”  

The hand that wasn’t gripping your hair found its way between you so his fingers could stroke over your clit. His hips kept pace as he flicked his first two fingers until you were moaning roughly with every pump.  

“Fuck, oh my god.”  

“Yes, yes, yes.” His quiet chants accentuated every thrust until you were spasming around him and cursing through your orgasm. Your head rolled back further into the duvet as he fucked you through it, his own moans increasing at the feel.  

You were still on your high when you lifted your head to kiss him. He pushed into you so roughly that it made you pull back to watch his face. He kept his eyes on yours until the last second.  Until his mouth fell open and he stilled deep inside you. 

You watched him blink quickly before letting go. You could feel his cock spasm as rope after rope of cum filled you, and his face dropped to your neck with a moan. He collapsed onto you immediately, breathing harshly into your skin as he twitched in the aftermath.  

You stroked your nails along his back as you sunk further into the bed with him. Your eyelids heavy as sleep threatened to take you.

“Think that was it?” He mumbled into your neck after a while. 

You laughed softly, arching your back as you wrapped your arms around his neck. “Probably not, baby. May take a few times.”  

You smiled when he moaned and pressed a kiss to your jaw. “That’s alright. Got lots of time,” he spoke into your skin.  

He curled up behind you like he always did, pulling you closer with his arm wrapped around your waist and his face tucked into the back of your neck. You hummed contently, ready to start this journey with the love of your life. 

Blissfully unaware that time, would not be your ally. 

***

Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, please reblog it :)  And I would LOVE to hear your thoughts! 

- PART TWO - 

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 44 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter:  Sutan gave Violet a token of his affection.

This Chapter: Violet works her ass off, Pearl feels restless, Courtney takes action, and Bianca has a surprising encounter.

***

Trixie smiled to himself as he walked around the floor, watching his designers all work on their various bits. They were still only getting into gear, the prêt-à-porter part of the collection now in the hands of tailoring and Bendela. Jovan and Blu were the designers who oversaw that process, the rest of them now focused completely on the runway show.

Trixie had sent out an email to everyone that Monday, outlining the timeline for the couture concepts. Couture was a lot more difficult to plan, since those outfits were typically made in the design department by the same designer from start to finish. It wasn’t haute couture, which meant they still used machines, but it took time to make the elaborate gowns and high detailed pieces Trixie knew Raja and Fame expected them to deliver.

“Hey boss.” Trixie turned to look at Gia, the woman smiling at him. “Can you take a look at these?”

“Of course,” Trixie walked over to Gia’s station, the concepts for their custom-made jewelry all laid out on her desk. They had started to get the first samples from the jewelers they used, Fame insisting that Galactica didn’t use anyone else's designs unless they absolutely had to.

“I like this,” Trixie took the small dangling earrings Gia had handed him. “But I think this,” Trixie pointed at a necklace, “needs to be redone. The chain looks too flimsy.”

Gia nodded, noting it down. Trixie knew Bob was taking care of the shoes, their first samples of the heels Fame wanted arriving in the upcoming weeks.

“Good job,” Trixie smiled, squeezing Gia’s shoulder before he walked away and over towards Violet’s table.

He liked having Violet on his team, the woman clearly more than ready to do the work, but they were still finding each other. Trixie was actually a little sad that Violet’s wasn’t confiding in him yet, that it seemed like she believed that they weren’t on the same team and that he wasn’t there to help her, which Trixie believed to be the most crucial part of his job.

If his designers failed, he failed, and with them the company.

Violet had built what seemed like a little fort of fabric rolls, the sewing table that was attached to her desk piled high with shades of ivory and cream, boxes of golden beads stacked on top of each other.

Violet was leaning over her desk, gigantic headphones over her ears, a miniature embroidery frame placed on it. Trixie watched for a minute, Violet’s clever fingers sewing rectangle beads in long lines on what seemed to be the base structure of a bodice.

She didn’t acknowledge him, whatever music she was listening to drowning him out, and Trixie wasn’t going to interrupt her flow, excitement curling in his belly at whatever Violet was going to pull out.

***

Violet finished the row she was working on, her fingertips raw and red from the intricate work she was doing.

She realized that her back was aching, and as she stood up to stretch it out, her shoulder radiating a moment of pain, her eyes fell on the gigantic clock above the design floor door, time a little past 6.

Huh.

She hadn’t noticed that it had gotten so late, since none of her coworkers had left. Violet looked around, her headphones still over her ears. Normally, the floor would be deserted by now, but instead, she saw Max surrounded by parchment paper and rulers. Alexis was draping a gorgeous golden fabric, Kiara was elbow deep in a structured top, and when she looked over at Jovan, he was bent over a bucket of what had to be dye, the chemical scent reaching her nose now that she was paying attention.

Violet raised her hands above her head, her shoulder aching terribly as she popped her joints. She wasn’t anywhere near done, and didn’t have any reason to go home, but she still needed a break, so she grabbed the glass she had sitting on her desk, making her way towards the breakroom.

Violet kept her headphones on, not really in the mood to talk to anyone, but when she turned the corner, she saw Blu standing by the microwave, the ginger haired woman holding what looked like a cup of ramen, shoveling it into her mouth.

“... Blu?” Violet pulled her headphones off, resting them around her neck.

“Oh!” Blu turned around, her hand flying up to cover her mouth as she swallowed. “Hi.”

“What are you doing?”

“Eating this?” Blu titled her cup of noodles. “I know it isn’t the most glamorous meal-”

“No, I mean-” Violet didn’t know how to phrase it without sounding like a bitch. “You’re usually the first one to leave.”

“Ha!” Blu laughed, putting her food down and leaning against the break room counter. “I am, aren’t I?” Blu smiled. “When we’re not on crunch, we all rush out of here like rats trying to have a semblance of a normal life.”

“Ah…” Violet nodded her head. “That makes sense.”

Violet had thought her new coworkers were just a little lazy, that they didn’t want to work, but it seemed like they were simply sprinters, while she had always seen herself as more of a marathon runner.

“I’ll go back to happy hour as soon as I get the chance, but for now, I’m eating ramen for dinner. Like a champion.” She flashed a bright smile, drinking the rest of the broth and chucking the container into the trash can across the room, lifting up her hands in a victory motion. “Back to the grindstone!”

***

Pearl rested her chin in her hands, watching Adore dig into a pile of Buffalo wings in the hipster gastropub where they’d chosen to have dinner. The first time she watched Adore eat with all the grace and dignity of a 12 year old boy, she’d found it cute. Charming, even. But now, suddenly, it just seemed gross.

She pushed her own plate away, her food barely touched, sighing slightly as she twirled a piece of hair around her finger.

“You okay, baby?” Adore asked, wiping at her face with the back of her hand, which only spread the hot sauce around.

“Uh...yeah. I’m alright.” Pearl smiled, knowing that Katya would tear her a new one if she let her bad mood explode all over Adore. “Just not very hungry.”

“Aww, I’m sorry.” Adore reached out, plucking a steak fry from Pearl’s plate. “Wanna wrap this shit up and take it to go?”

“Nah, that’s okay. You enjoy,” said Pearl.

“Everything okay here?”

A delicate hand slid a stack of napkins onto the table. Pearl looked up to meet the eyes of their waitress, a petite girl with dark eyes, honey-blonde hair gathered in a ponytail, one strap of her tank top sliding tantalizingly down her tanned shoulder. The nametag resting above her perky tits read “Abby.”

“Thanks,” Pearl said, gesturing to the much-needed napkins, and Abby winked at her.

“Is there anything you need?” Abby asked, eyes raking over Pearl’s body in a way that made her shiver. “Another round, maybe?”

“Yeah...I could go for another round,” Pearl said slowly. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, making sure to show off the low cut top she had worn under her leather jacket, her wrist flexing.

“Coming right up…”

Pearl watched as she sauntered away, wondering how much of the swinging hips were for her benefit, when Abby tossed a glance back over her shoulder, giving Pearl a tiny, secret grin before turning to the bartender.

Adore cleared her throat, and Pearl snapped back to attention.

Right.

Date. Adore. Best behavior.

Got it.

“You know, I’m really psyched that you’re coming to Thanksgiving. I think it’ll be good for Bianca to get to know you better. So she can see what a great person you are for herself,” Adore flashed a hopeful smile that suddenly made Pearl feel sick with guilt.

Why couldn’t she just commit to this awesome girl and stop being such an asshole?

“Yeah, no, that’ll be cool.”

“Totally,” Adore smiled.

Pearl polished off the last of her beer, watching as Adore dipped one of her wings into the blue cheese dressing, nose wrinkling just slightly as the chunky white sauce dripped off the hot wing on the way to her mouth.

“Um, I need to go use the restroom,” Pearl said, sliding off her stool.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Adore asked, concerned.

“Yeah. I’ll be right back.”

Pearl steeled her nerves before heading to the bathrooms, just as Abby approached their table with a glass of beer on a tray.

“And where are you running off to?” she asked coyly, fluttering her lashes.

“Bathroom… Is that okay with you?”

Abby giggled. “I’ll try not to miss you too much.”

Pearl laughed, shaking her head as she continued on her way.

***

“Hey Pearl?” Adore asked, pulling her bomber jacket tighter around herself, the November chill an unhappy reminder that winter was around the corner. They were walking home from dinner, and Adore couldn’t stop thinking about that waitress.

It wasn’t like Pearl had done anything wrong--just a bit of light, harmless flirting. Two weeks ago, she’d probably barely even have noticed. But ever since that conversation they’d had about being open, Adore found herself on high alert, mind racing every time her girlfriend so much as glanced at someone else. Which was a lot.

“Yeah?”

“Are you sleeping with anyone else?”

“You mean like tonight?” Pearl joked, and Adore forced out a strained laugh.

“I’m serious.”

“Not at the moment, no.”

“Then why-” Adore paused, unsure of how this conversation should go. “Why not just…try being monogamous?” Adore felt horribly exposed, and even a little scared, but she wanted this to work, wanted them to work. “I mean I know I don’t want anyone else, so…”

“I like the idea of being able to be spontaneous. Without it being like, a big thing,” Pearl explained, shrugging her shoulders. “I mean, I think you’re great. But sometimes…It’s like no matter how great pizza is, sometimes you want a burger. You know?”

“Please.” Adore scoffed, adding an eye roll for good measure.

“Adore-”

“You mean burgers like the waitress tonight? Is she the thing you’re suddenly hungry for?” Adore demanded.

“Will you please chill?” Pearl looked genuinely uncomfortable, the expression one Adore had never seen on her girlfriend’s face before. “There are people around.”

“It’s New York, nobody gives a FUCK!” Adore yelled the last word for good measure, no one turning around, which proved her point. “Answer the question!”

“You’re acting like a child,” Pearl said calmly, and if Adore wasn’t mad before (she was), now she was absolutely fucking furious.

“I am asking a very simple question! Was our waitress tonight the type of girl you like to fuck? Or, I’m sorry, was she the burger you’re craving?”

“Yes! Yes, she was. Does that make you happy?” Pearl asked, stopping and turning to Adore, one hand on her hip.

“Yeah, I’m thrilled. Can’t you tell?” Adore sniffled, trying to hold back the tears pricking her eyes.

“I can’t talk to you when you’re acting like this,” Pearl said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone.

“Fine! Then maybe I’ll just go home by myself tonight!”

“Fine.”

“Fuck you, Pearl!” Adore turned and stomped down the street, back in the direction of the subway, hands stuffed into her pockets, finally letting the tears stream down her cheeks.

***

“Lovely eyes,”

Violet looked up, the expression on Sutan’s face telling her that this wasn’t the first time he had said her name. She was sitting in bed, back resting against the headboard, doing her very best to distract herself from the wrapped ice cubes she was holding in her right hand.

Not that her phone or the puzzle game Katya had suggested she tried ages ago actually helped.

Her fingers stung, but not as badly as her feet had in the ice baths she used to endure as a professional ballet dancer, those sometimes so painful she had cried and had to be held, Milk whispering into her hair that everything would be okay.

“Yes?”

She had stayed at work until past 8, actually expecting to go home and crash, dinner completely forgotten, when she had fished her phone out of her bag, a text from Sutan asking if she wanted to come over.

Violet had been exhausted, getting everything ready for her presentation in the morning leaving her completely drained, but she liked spending time with Sutan, and even if she was never going to spend the money herself, she loved the thread count of his sheets, his bed a guarantee of a good night’s sleep.

The fact that Sutan chest had quickly become her favorite place to dose off not something she’d be willing to admit unless she was being tortured.

“Do you need more ice?” Sutan smiled, looking out at her. He was hanging up his shirts, the dry cleaners bag on the door to his walk in closet. Violet knew Sutan had a housekeeper, but he apparently preferred to handle his closet himself, which Violet guessed she understood. “I still can’t believe you’d-”

“I’m fine.” Violet cut him off, moving off the bed so she could stand up. It was sweet that Sutan worried, actually, really sweet, but Violet knew her body, and most importantly, she knew her body's boundaries, and this, this wasn’t anywhere close. “I am.”

Violet had slaved away all day, Fame and Raja making their judgement calls on who got accepted for the couture line and who didn’t tomorrow, and if Violet’s fingers had to bleed for her gown to be accepted, that was a price she was more than willing to pay.

She walked over to Sutan, stepping into his space, the block of ice still in her hand as she got on her toes, pressing a kiss against his lips.

“I promise.”

***

Pearl closed the door to her room with her foot, her body warm and relaxed, her hands drying her hair with her towel.

She had taken a shower as soon as she had gotten home, the annoyance at how Adore acted crawling under her skin. Pearl threw herself down on her bed, picking her phone up from where she had left it earlier that evening.

“Huh…” Pearl bit her lip. She had expected to see several calls from Adore, or at least a text, but there was nothing, her phone devoid of any notifications from the other woman.

Pearl rolled over, lying on her back and looking up at the ceiling, her stomach uncomfortable with the sensation that she had probably hurt Adore, the expression on her face when they had broken apart painful to look at.

Pearl sighed, tapping her fingers against her stomach. It was a new sensation for her to be unsure, but if there was one thing she knew, it was that Pearl Liaison never texted first.

***

“And you better make it quick!”

Fame watched as Courtney left her office, the blonde closing the door behind her, leaving her and Raja alone. It had taken the majority of the afternoon, but they had finally finished the selection of the looks that entered the final running towards the opening and closing spots.

Fame loved the couture presentations, the designers really showcasing their enthusiasm and personalities since they only had half finished products to present. She liked being able to touch, to see the delicate dreams and the decadence that was a signature of couture.

“Tea?”

Fame already knew that Raja would say yes, the pot on her desk one Ivy had brought over when the redhead had found out that they would be staying at Fame’s.

“Hold the sugar please.”

Fame smiled, grabbing two of the jade green teacups Ivy had brought along too, quickly pouring them both a cup. It wasn’t often that she took the time to just relax at work, that she took time to simply sit with Raja.

“Mmh,” Raja inhaled, the orange blossoms creating the most delicious fragrance.

“Mmh indeed,” Fame chuckled, taking her first sip of the hot tea, allowing herself to sit back on the ivory couch.

“So, we sent the list off.” Raja looked at her. “How are you feeling about the direction right now? You’re not going to decide that you hate cream and ivory on February 2nd, are you?”

“Uh! How dare you,” Fame huffed, actually feeling a little offended. “That was one time.”

“One time too many.”

If anyone but Raja had said it, Fame would have punished them severely, but as it stood, Raja was one of the few people in her life who could get away with openly criticizing her.

“I’m an old woman, Famie.” Raja smirked. “My heart can’t take the pressure.”

“Please,” Fame rolled her eyes. “Don’t take that attitude with me.”

“Someone has to keep you in check, darling.”

“I don’t need to be kept in check.” Fame had to keep from rolling her eyes again, Raja toeing the line of what was acceptable. “If anything, I need support right now.”

“Hmm?” Raja raised an eyebrow, her cup at her lips.

“We’re celebrating Thanksgiving with Patrick’s family, and his mother always wreaks havoc on my skin,” Fame groaned. Patrick’s family was coming to New York, his two sisters and brother all showing up with brats and partners in tow. “I swear, every year it’s the same. If we wanted to have kids, we would have had them by now.”

***

It just wasn’t fair, Aiden thought, staring at his rejected prototypes. He had killed himself all week to come up with 4 different couture concepts for the opening and closing looks, and all of them had been shot down.

This morning, they’d presented their designs to Fame and Raja, each of the designers getting less than a minute to pitch based on sketches, samples, and preliminary construction and then the upstairs bosses had spent all afternoon discussing them, an email sent to the whole design team announcing the finalists a little before 5 pm.

Which was why Aiden was the only one still there at 7, the disappointment of not being included taking over an hour to really settle in. To transform into anger at the utter unfairness of it all. He rose from his desk, wandering over to Alexis’ desk, where 3 dress forms were standing, all of them in looks that made it through. He supposed, though, that was pretty standard, Alexis being one of the most experienced designers there who’d been at Galactica almost as long as Trixie, her specialty being draping the kind of elegant gowns that Fame went gaga over.

No, he wasn’t mad about Alexis.

But Violet...how could that girl catch every single break since the second she walked through the doors? He glared at her muslin prototype, the skirt flaring out, the muslin bodies structured and stuck to the mannequin. On Violet’s table, she had left behind the actual bodice, golden beads sparkling, a portion of the skirt laid out with the intricate pattern. It felt tired and overworked, something he refused to identify burning in his stomach.

Anyone could do beads, anyone could do what Violet did, but unfortunately, he wasn’t in charge, so she continued to get away with it.

Aiden let out a huge sigh, trudging back over to his desk to pack his things.

Another shit week down the drain.

***

After Miss Fame’s comments about her hair, Courtney needed to do something drastic. She knew that Fame’s own salon was a fancy place in SoHo called Jujubee’s, so she’d called to get an appointment. At first, the receptionist told her that there was a 2 month waiting list, but when Courtney name-dropped Miss Fame, sort of accidentally implying that her bossreally wanted to get her in as soon as possible, she’d put her on hold for less than a minute and then informed her that she had an appointment on Saturday with the owner of the salon herself.

Courtney was pretty proud of herself, if a bit intimidated, entering the salon. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting from the owner, but it certainly wasn’t the adorable, friendly woman with a cute little baby bump.

“Hi, you must be Courtney. I’m Juju. What are we doing today?” she said, shaking Courtney’s hand warmly and turning her chair to face the mirror.

“Oh, um...I work for Miss Fame at Galactica, and-”

“Yikes, sorry to hear that,” Jujubee quipped, and Courtney’s eyes widened. “That’s a joke, honey. She’s one of my best friends.”

“Oh. Right.” Courtney laughed nervously. “So, she um...she found out that I was doing my own color and uh-”

“Oy. Okay well…” Juju inspected Courtney’s hair closely. “It doesn’t look too damaged. I think we should fix up your roots, and maybe take down some of the brassy tones in your color, give you a cooler, brighter blonde? That’ll really suit your complexion. And this cut...I’d like to take off a couple of inches, just to make sure we get all of the split ends, maybe some layers in the front...and how do you feel about bangs?”

“I...like bangs.”

“I think they’ll really frame your face nicely.” Juju grinned, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Just relax, we’re gonna take good care of you.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much!”

Pretty soon, Courtney’s nerves disappeared entirely, and she was chatting with Jujubee like they were old friends. She found herself wondering what this down-to-earth, funny, warm person had in common with Fame, and then felt a little bad.

There was obviously a whole side to Fame that Courtney didn’t get to see--she already knew that from Adore. And besides, Bianca was warm and hilarious, and she was also close friends with Miss Fame.

A few hours later, Courtney looked and felt like a brand new person, bouncing from the seat excitedly. That is, until it was time to pay. She’d looked up the prices beforehand, of course. But the cost of an “owner cut” wasn’t listed on the website. She figured it would be a little more than their listed prices, so when the receptionist handed her the bill, she nearly shat out a brick.

Eight hundred and fifty dollars.

Courtney was already planning to split the bill on two cards, but this was insane. Her heart began to pound. What was she supposed to do? It’s not like she could say “oh, forget it”--she already had the whole damn service. She swallowed down the lump in her throat and asked the receptionist in a quiet voice, “Um...can I spread it out on 3 different credit cards?”

The girl rolled her eyes disdainfully, holding out her hand to accept the cards.

“You know,” she said, swiping Courtney’s cards through the reader. “There’s a Supercuts three blocks down. Maybe you should try them next time.”

Less than a minute ago, Courtney had felt like a million bucks, and now she felt like gum being scraped off the bottom of a shoe.

“Are you gonna add a tip?”

A tip? On top of that price? Oh well...she was gonna be paying off this trip to the salon for months anyway, might as well go all in. She took a deep breath, holding her head high.

“Yeah, add another $150 to that purple card,” she said, trying her best to keep her face impassive, put on a haughty air so that the receptionist wouldn’t see how much she was shaking inside. “And thanks for the advice.”

***

Bianca entered the book shop, large sunglasses obscuring most of her face, hair under a silk scarf, trying to be as incognito as possible. She beelined straight for her favorite section, avoiding the few other customers.

Most of the time, Bianca didn’t mind the fame or attention from the paparazzi. After all, it was a sign of her success, and she had nothing to hide--she never left the house with a hair out of place, and she could hold her liquor like a champ. Some days, though, like this one?

All she wanted was to enjoy a lazy Saturday. Pick up some books, treat herself to a nice, simple lunch at the café next door, just be a human instead of a minor celebrity.

She was paging through a Natalie Woods biography when someone interrupted, asking softly, “Bianca?”

Shit. Spotted. She turned around with a sigh, but when she saw the person who’d spoken, her aggravation was instantly replaced with a smile, dimples deep in her cheeks.

“Courtney! Hi!”

She looked like absolute perfection, in a fresh blow-out, hair falling in sexy, beachy waves over her shoulders. Her soft, fuzzy green sweater brought out her beautiful eyes. Bianca found herself amazed at how she managed to look better and better every time they saw each other.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, I know you were probably-”

“No, I’m glad you did.” Bianca offered another smile. “So um, what brings you here? Do you live in this neighborhood?”

“No, I live in the Bronx. But was just over at Jujubee’s getting my hair done-”

“Ahh...well she did a stellar job. She’s a true artist.”

“You think?” Courtney fingered a lock of blonde hair.

“I’d give her more credit, but...she had a pretty good canvas to work on, so…”

Courtney smiled, biting her lip, then asked, “Do you think Miss Fame will approve?”

“Definitely not.”

Courtney’s face fell, for just a moment, brow creasing with worry, until Bianca reached out to touch her arm.

“Fame likes to be the hottest blonde in the room,” Bianca clarified, adding, “So yeah. She’ll hate it.”

They exchanged a small, conspiratorial smile before a pink tinge began to creep into Courtney’s cheeks and she looked away.

“What’ve you got there?” Bianca asked, gesturing to a stack of paperbacks in Courtney’s hands.

“Oh, I’m just...I’m just browsing, really. Killing time for a few hours before I have to go to a class in midtown. But who wants to hang out in midtown?”

Bianca laughed. “And? What kind of books do you like to browse?”

“Um…” Courtney looked a little embarrassed before admitting, “I’m trying to make my way through Oprah’s book club.”

“A worthy intellectual goal,” Bianca chuckled.

“Yeah, well. I’m on a spending embargo after the salon, so I’m probably just gonna get them from the library instead.”

Bianca held out her basket. “Throw ‘em in.”

“No, no, really, that wasn’t, I mean you don’t have to-”

“Throw them in,” Bianca repeated. “You’ve been putting up with my sister’s shenanigans for years, you deserve a couple of paperbacks. I insist.”

“Thanks.” Courtney carefully placed the books into Bianca’s basket.

“You’re welcome,” Bianca winked, strolling towards the register and placing her basket on the counter.

“You know, Adore puts up with my shenanigans too,” Courtney said. “It’s a very symbiotic relationship.”

Bianca smiled to herself, thinking about how sweet it was that she felt the need to defend Adore from the mildest shade. She handed her card to the clerk and turned back to Courtney.

“I’m sure it is. So uh, listen...I was about to head next door for lunch-”

“Oh, sorry to have kept you-”

“No, um…” Bianca chuckled, feeling awkward as fuck. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s, um, a cute place. You know, if you’re into the whole healthy, organic, locally-sourced seasonal thing...which I take it you are.”

She gestured to the reusable canvas bag in Courtney’s hands, which she’d pulled from her purse to use rather than the bookstore’s plastic bags.

Realization began to dawn in Courtney’s eyes, a smile tugging at her lips as she said, “Guilty.”

“So, um, since you’re trying to kill time...maybe you want to join me?” Bianca signed the receipt and handed over the books, placing her own into her large shoulder bag, knowing that she’d probably not have refused the plastic bag if she were here on her own. Well, whatever--it was still a win for Mother Nature, right?

“Yeah!” Courtney exclaimed, then seemed to catch herself, adding, “I mean, if that’s what you want...”

“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”

“A straight shooter, eh?”

“So to speak,” Bianca smirked, and Courtney giggled.

“What a true role model,” she professed with a flutter of lashes.

“Always,” Bianca laughed, guiding her next door with a hand on her lower back.

***

[semicielo]

Hoi Hoi! I’m new to the blog and so far I love your writings! I hope it’s alright to send in a request for Haikyuu! Perhaps Hcs of Hinata, Kuroo And Oikawa (perhaps Bokuto If your more comfortable ;; ) finding out their S/O was actually a female in disguise, but she like still wants to be on the team because she loves the bois so much and doesn’t want anyone else to find out ;; But like during games she has to hit them upside the head to get them back into the game because they lowkey protective

This is going to be l o n g, but I enjoyed writing this, thank u.

I change some things since I feel that Oikawa and mostly Bokuto will be supportive with reader choices.

HCs OF HINATA, KUROO, OIKAWA AND BOKUTO

YOU ARE A GIRL??

Genre: Fluff

Guide: (n/n) = nickname.

Hinata Shōyō.

Hinata x Fem! Reader.

Hinata was happy to see another short boy joining the team, and specially someone as nice as (y/n).

While Kageyama didn’t even wanted to toss the ball to him (y/n) was on to practice every time.

(y/n) position was a libero, so he was usually with Noya-senpai learning everything that he has to teach.

—You were practicing a lot with Noya-senpai, (y/n) you are getting better!!

—thanks Sho-kun —“he” smiled.

In that moment Hinata though “how a boy can be that pretty?”

(y/n) face was delicate, “he” mostly wore baggy clothes at practice, and hasn’t see him in his school uniform.

What a mysterious “boy”

“Practice’s off” said couch Ukai, all the boys at the team were changing their clothes but Hinata notices that (y/n) wasn’t with them.

—Kageyama where is (y/n)?

—um? He was taking with Kiyoko-senpai

“Strange” the red hair though, so he decided to hide in the club room to find out what (y/n) was hiding

(y/n) was changing his clothes, he took his pants off and what Hinata saw was unbelievable.

he saw... panties... panties?? “Why is he wearing panties?” “Is his dear friend a pervert person?” “Or...”

—SO, YOU ARE A GIRL?!

(y/n) screamed while try to hide her low part, finally dressed in her school uniform she told her friend the truth.

—I saw you guys play against Seijoh the first time, and I wanted that! I wanted to be part to a team like yours, close and full of dreams, so I put on this disguise and pretend to be a boy to be part of the team! Please Sho, I want to play with you guys forever!

So he kept the secret, but something in Hinata change, I stated to be overprotective to (y/n), “please be careful” “Hey Kageyama don’t smack (y/n)” “I’m going to stay here to make sure no one enters”

But then, the day that Hinata feared the most came, a match, and not a normal match, it was against Seijoh, and Noya had an emergency so he wasn’t able to play, lucky Karasuno that they had another libero available to play.

—no and no (y/n)! You can’t play! We are against the grand king, something could happen to you!! Have you seen his servers??!!

—Hinata, I don’t care, I’m going to play and we are going to win this.

—you can’t risk yourself (y/n) you can get hurt! I’m sorry but I’m going to tell Daichi-San the truth.

“Oh no he is not going to do that” in a fast movement (y/n) threw the ball at him and hit Hinata’s head.

Everyone was looking at them, what is going on?, Kageyama and Tsukishima were laughing at Hinata’s, while (y/n) has her cheeks colored in pink, she was upset.

—I’m going to play, then I’m going to tell everyone the truth, but need to do this!

Karasuno won that match.

And Hinata kept (y/n) secret for a little bit longer.

Kuroo Tetsurō.

Kuroo x Fem! Reader

Fact: Kenma has been friends with the reader for a long time so he knows reader is a girl.

With Lev joining the team, not only did they have a new member in the volleyball team, but also another boy was encouraged to be part of the Nekoma’s volleyball club.

(y/n) was a valuable new member, a middle blocker with a lot of talent came to help the team to be winners.

Kenma and (y/n) “became” good friends actually they already were, they were actually classmates, and with Kuroo they were the holy trinity, but only while they were in the club.

so for Kuroo that was suspicious, why if kenma and (y/n) were classmate he hasn’t see him before?, and Kenma’s actitud was suspicious too.

—don’t come to my classroom Kuroo, you are too annoying —kenma said—

That made Kuroo suspicious, why Kenma said that? Also, (y/n) was at Kenma’s course, are they hiding something? Since he joined the team Kenma and (y/n) were to secretive.

Kuroo began to observe (y/n), “why was that boy so delicate” “why does he smells sweet? Like cherries or some fruit”, also (y/n) was shorter than Kenma, and almost as thin as him, but... “that waist, how can a men have that waist?”

When they were cleaning the gym, (y/n) was with Kuroo sweeping the floor, and he notice how nice were the boy’s hands.

—(l/n) I didn’t notice, your hands look really nice... and small... —his voice became lower to the point to be almost a whisper— and with a soft looking...

—uh? What did you said senpai?

—Oh! Nothing, it’s ok, let’s keep cleaning.

Kuroo is an intelligent boy, with his carisma he could get (y/n) files. He chilling in his house decided to read them, “So he was a she?” Let’s see how this turn on.

Since (y/n) was only a backup Kuroo was calm, she wasn’t going to get hurt, but one day...

—Let’s put (l/n) to play, he is ready to handle this —coach Nekomata said.

“Oh no, oh no, pretty girl (y/n) is not going to play against that snakes”

—excuse me —Kuroo raise his hand— i need to talk with (l/n) for a minute —he dragged “him” by “his” arm.

In front of the vending machine (y/n) bought herself an ice tea, while waiting for Kuroo to talk.

—I’m gonna be straight with you (y/n) I know your secret, little miss in a boy disguise.

Damn (y/n) was afraid about what was gonna happen —senpai I can explain!!

—no, (y/n) I don’t want you to play in this match, I’m going to inform the coaches that you feel ill.

He turned around to walk to the gym, that he feel something hit the back of his head.

—did you throw that can to me? —he was amused —you could have knocked me out with that thing!! (y/n) are you nuts?!

—senpai! We are like the blood in our veins, we most flow without stopping, keep the oxygen moving, and your mind working! —she bowed ninety degrees— please let me win this with you!!

Kuroo smiled flirtatiously —how can I say no to a pretty girl?

—oh! Senpai, Don’t tell anyone or I swear I’ll kick your ass

Oikawa Tooru

Oikawa x Fem! Reader

Oikawa was not only tormented by Iwaizumi, now he has (y/n) to supervise every move that he makes.

—(n/n)-chan! Iwa-Chan is already mean to me! Why you have to be mean to me too?!

He only looked at him and ignore him, (y/n) was a tall “boy” almost as Iwaizumi, and blessed with talent, they were constantly in a internal matchup since they both were setters.

—Iwa-Chan which toss are betters? Mine or (n/n)-Chan?

—(l/n) is not a pain in the ass like you shittyKawa, it’s obvious which toss I prefer.

(y/n) will only smirk at that statement.

One day Oikawa saw (y/n) facet, he was surrounded by his fans, and (y/n) appeared to drag him to practice, he was about to whine and tell the boy not to be boring, but one of his fans looked amused when he looked at (y/n).

“Uh? (l/n)-Chan? Why are you wearing the boys volleyball team uniform?”

(y/n) with no hesitation grabbed Oikawa by his wrist and drag him back to the gym.

—did you knew that girl?

—not at all, let’s practice, next Monday we will have a practice match with Shiratorizawa, we need to be ready.

Yeah, he knew that, their team was going to beat stupid Ushijima’s.

Next day was strange, Oikawa had a letter in his desk, well that wasn’t strange, but what was writing on the paper definitely was. “(y/n) (l/n) is girl, not a boy” and some photos were attached.

“Such a pretty girl wow” he thought.

Next days he decided to forget about the setter x setter rivalry and started teaching (y/n) every thing that he knew

“(n/n)-Chan do this like this” “(n/n)-Chan use your legs to impulse your body” “(n/n)-Chan Be careful!”

And he attended to practice with her without paying attention to his fans “(n/n)-Chan let’s go to practice!”

Monday finally came, the team was already in the bus to go to Shiratorizawa, Oikawa sat with (y/n) before anyone else’s.

—so, (n/n)-Chan, you are a girl, right?

There was silence, but (y/n) decided to speak.

But before that she smack his head.

—auch! Why you have to be mean to me? (n/n)-Chan! —he whines.

—I’m gonna play, lame ass trash can.

—of course you are playing, ace setter.

Bokuto Kōtarō

Bokuto x Fem! Reader

Fact: no one knows reader is a girl but Yukie had her suspicions.

(l/n) (y/n) a second year “boy” who recently joined the team.

He was... troublesome.

(y/n) needed to be trained, the first time that he attended to play was a mess, a mess that catch up Bokuto’s attention.

—Don’t worry (l/n)!! I will train you!!

Best senpai ever.

—Now come on! (l/n)! Hey! Hey! HEY!

—hey! Hey! HEY! —the boy repeat

—good job! Now let’s practice your receives! You suck at that! Hahahaha

They became really good friends, and for Akaashi’s bad luck, now he had to looked not only for their ace, but now he had to looked up for the new baby owl.

(y/n) was a nice member, ready to give all his energy and commitment with the club and always helpful, (y/n) was the most helpful “tool” when Bokuto turned into emo mode.

—Akaashi —Yukie called— Bokuto seems down, Should I ask for a pretty girl to tell him he is awesome?

Meanwhile baby owl wanted to help “his” senpai —BOKUTO-SAN YOU ARE AWESOME!

—Really(l/n)? YES I AM! HAHA HEY HEY HEY.

—HEY HEY HEY

“Well it’s not going to be necessary to call a girl anymore.

Now their relationship development was faster than (y/n) development in volleyball.

—(n/n)-kun let’s practice!

—I’m on my way! Kō-kun!

One day Bokuto left his backpack on the changing room, “wait for me Akaashee I’m going to find my things” but we he opened the door he saw his “bro” changing clothes.

(y/n) was only wearing joggers and has “his pectorals” were showing.

—wow bro nice pectorals!

(y/n) being a mess, pinky cheeks, teary eyes and squatting hiding her naked torso.

And then Bokuto realized.

—SO YOU ARE A GIRL?! WHAT?!

—Please don’t tell Akaashi!

—SINCE WHEN YOU ARE A GIRL?

—Since the beginning of my life! NOW PLEASE GO I’M NAKED.

Bokuto just left confused, then he went to Akaashi to go to the train station together “what happened with Bokuto-san backpack?”

But he wasn’t going to say anything, when (y/n) joined the team he remembered what he, or she said “I want to be the best player just like all of you, let me be a part of the team please!”

“You are going to be the best player baby owl” he thought while start crying.

Next days were like “(n/n)! Let me help you!” “(n/n) I’ll do that for you!” “(n/n) let’s go home together, it’s too late!” “(n/n) watch out! Be careful with those balls”

Then they have the training camp with the other schools, Bokuto name himself like (y/n)-bodyguard.

“Don’t get too close to (y/n)” “get away be careful” “Eh don’t bother s- HE”

Then Kuroo trying to bother Bokuto said that (y/n) should play, the boy drag her out the gym, he didn’t care that she has a ball in her hands.

—LISTEN (Y/N) YOU ARE GONNA PLAY AND DO AN AMAZING JOB, YOU’VE BECOME A GREAT PLAYER, LET’S KILL THEM HEY HEY HEY.

—you are not gonna tell anyone?

—No!

Bokuto went to the Gym first and feel the ball hit his head.

—YOU ARE SO STRONG (N/N) LET’S WIN.

—THANK YOU SO MUCH SENPAI

Sent me more request I love this.

[haikyuuscreaming]

Oh I’ve got requests! How about Nishinoya being slightly upset about the attention his crush receives vday week so he tries to outshine everyone giving them gifts and on vday he confesses and is like THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD PICK ME

I DEADASS NEVER GET ANY NOYA REQUESTS IM PUMPED

-

It doesn’t surprise anyone when Nishinoya Yuu turns out to be a not-patient person. In fact, he might be the opposite of patient.

He’s always been spontaneous and comes up with ideas on a whim, and admittedly carries through with said ideas without anyone stopping him. It also doesn’t come as a surprise that Nishinoya has the biggest crush on you.

Ever since his first year at Karasuno and you guys shared that PE class together and coincidentally landed on the same team for each sport, every time, he’s always had an eye for you. An adoring, loving eye. He’s done everything in his power to try and get close to you, and the two of you are actually great friends.

And of course, you guys aren’t really dating or anything, Noya knows. So why is he so mad that you’re getting so much attention from other people?

Every single Valentine’s Day– and week–, you’ve always been the receiver of gifts and chocolates. Guys and girls alike lined up every day of this Love Week to confess and give you flowers, sweets, cards, everything under the sun. Which means you racked up quite a bit of confessions.

(Noya never forgets, though, that you haven’t returned even one of the confessions.)

He brings it up one day during homeroom, when the two of you are snacking on your bentos.

“Hey, [Name],” he mentions casually, and his heart’s beating a lot faster than he intends. The rice in his mouth becomes like glue as he swallows it down. “Have you ever returned someone’s confession?”

(Of course, he already knows the answer. He just wants to hear the affirmative.)

You give him a side-eyed glance, chewing thoughtfully on your onigiri. “Nah. The right person didn’t come up, y’know?” And you smile, shrugging absent-mindedly.

(Nishinoya thinks your smile is absolutely dazzling, like it outshines every single star in the sky.)

“Don’t worry, [Name]!!” he bursts out with a grin, shoveling another omelette into his mouth. “With how awesome and pretty you are, you’ll find the right person soon. Valentine’s Day’s right around the corner!!”

You laugh, and the sound is heavenly to Noya’s ears. “You inflate my ego.”

“Well, you deserve it!”

(The right person’s gonna be me, he promises.)

Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday this year.

Nishinoya notes the amount of people each day who slip adoring notes into your locker, the amount of people who line up to confess their feelings for you.

And Noya’s never patient, but he’s willing to wait till Friday for his big moment.

Every day, since the Monday of Love Week, he’s been leaving gifts for you with a note, always signed with a thunderbolt. He knows you receive them, every day, because you talk about it to him so excitedly.

“Noya, someone left me my favorite chocolates today!”

“Hey, did you know someone gave me my favorite kind of flower? It was so sweet! Too bad they didn’t sign it…”

“Today, someone folded me some really cute origami pandas with hearts.”

“Noya! Someone brought me a teddy bear today!” It’s the Thursday before Valentine’s Day, and you proudly show him your fuzzy friend. “It’s like this person knows me so well.”

“Oh? That’s really cool!!” Noya can’t help the sunniness that pours from his voice, because he knows that teddy bear all too well. He won it at an arcade game just yesterday because he remembered you pointing out the bear so wistfully.

“Noya, look at that cute teddy bear!!” you point to the cashmere, fluffy bear that sits behind the glass pane of the arcade machine.

“You can’t point it out now,” Nishinoya complains and he bumps you lightly. “We just spent all our money on food! Are you tryna mock me?”

You shake your head furiously, laughing a little bit before sighing in contentment. “Nah. We can win it later, don’t worry.”

You smile wistfully at the bear, nuzzling it with your cheek. “This person’s really thoughtful. They’ve been writing notes, too, all signed with cute little thunderbolts.”

“Ya know, thunderbolts are pretty cool,” Noya grins.

“Says you, Rolling Thunder boy!”

Friday rolls around much too quick, and Noya wakes up a good thirty minutes early to make you bento. Just for today. He doesn’t bother with a note, because he’s got this whole speech planned out for you.

The bento he makes is a little lopsided and is shaped rather crudely, but he’s proud that he got the rice balls into a somewhat consistent sphere. He even asked Kiyoko for help a few days ago on how to make good omelette rolls.

Noya tucks the bento box into his backpack, and puffs out his chest for an extra boost of confidence.

He sets off for an anxious yet exciting day of school.

Eventually, he gets to school and he sees Tanaka, who slaps his back and says something meaningful like get the girl, Noya, and that gets Nishinoya’s heart pumping again. He swallows back the lump in his throat as the adrenaline races in his veins, and he waits not-so-patiently for lunch.

Homeroom comes like a crashing wave: way too unexpected for Noya and it feels too natural, like this isn’t what he considers one of the biggest things to happen in his life. In the homeroom classroom Noya’s always adored because he shared the class with you, you sit in your desk eating your bento just like a normal day before lunch even starts. You look up and smile at him, and Nishinoya’s entire body feels like it’s about to overflow with energy. He sidles next to you, after greeting you sunnily and his finger absentmindedly taps against his desk, waiting for the sensei to finish lecturing so he can finally showcase what he’s been so uncharacteristically thoughtful about.

His time comes and he knows you’re about to say something, most likely starting a conversation, but he stands up before you get a chance, His hand dives into his backpack and pulls out his bento box that he so “skillfully” crafted for you and stands up board-straight, his chest puffed out as he stares you straight in the eye.

“[Name], I just want you to know that I really really like you! And I have for a long time!” Noya cuts straight to the point and he watches your eyes widen for a fraction of a second before tilting your head, as if coaxing him to continue. “And, you know, you get a lot of valentines each year, right? But I made you all those thunderbolt notes and stuff, and I got you all those gifts!” With each word, Noya feels like his heart is pumping harder and harder and his chest puffs out too. “So what I’m saying is, I think I’m the best one for you!! I’m better than everyone else ‘cause I really like you, you’re probably one of my best friends, I think you’re really neat-”

“Noya!” you interrupt him, laughing, and he’s a little shell-shocked. What, did he do something bad?? No, he couldn’t, he’s been dreaming of this day for far too long for it to turn out badly. “You.. you’re so sweet, oh my god. I- I thought you knew??”

“K.. Knew what?” He’s a little nervous now, but it’s nothing he can’t handle!

“I like you too, you dork,” you lean in and boop his nose, and your face lights up so much that Noya’s sure you’re the sun. “Ah! You made bento for me?? I thought you couldn’t cook!! You’re so sweet what the heck-”

“I know, I’m a master chef,” Nishinoya puffs out his chest even more than it’s already been puffed out and grins. God, he’s soaring right now. He’s ecstatic and you lean in to kiss his forehead. “Well, happy Valentine’s Day.”

[knightofthecourt]

Love Bites - Chapter 8

Belatrice Gray was a TA at Belgrave University, working hard to stay on top of her marking and trying not to flunk her own studies, when a night out with her bff Randall and his roommates, changed everything.

Hamish Duke x OC fiction with fluff, romance and angst. OC description has been left out to allow for reader personalisation!

“Stupid, stupid, STUPID.” The vending machine shook as Bela whacked the side of it, earning her a dirty look from a young, blonde woman sitting at the table across from her in the student lounge. 

She gave the machine another thump and her packet of Cheetos fell forward a fraction of an inch, and then stopped. Bela didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or give the irritating box a good solid kick. 

“Wow, nothing gets a woman going like a faulty vending machine.” Randall joked as he joined his friend in front of the infernal device. “Don’t worry Bels, I’ve got you covered.”

He reached into his satchel and pulled out a Twix. As Bela took it with a small ‘thanks’, her eyes were suspiciously glassy. Randall grimaced, “Bad day?”

“Bad month.” Bela replied. 

“Still on for our epic film night?”  

Bela nodded. “When have I ever said no to The Princess Bride? We can grab snacks on the way to mine.”

As they walked Bela felt herself relax slightly, letting Randall’s easy chatter drown out the sounds of the students around them. 

“We thought we’d celebrate the end of finals but Jack was busy with Alyssa again, like always - must be a Tuesday, right? I wanted to go to B&C but Lil insisted on going to that new bar down the road, the one with all the bikers-” 

Bela nodded in sympathy, unwrapping her Twix. 

“And then we got SO drunk, Hamis-” Randall broke off suddenly.    

Bela looked at him. “You can say his name, Randall.” 

“I didn’t want to upset you.”

“Who’s upset?” Her eyes flashed. “It’s totally normal to sleep with someone who ditches you in their apartment and then ignores you for three weeks straight. The kids call it being ‘ghosted’ Randall, and it’s a normal part of the college experience.” 

Catching the look on her friend’s face she forced her expression into something she hoped resembled a smile. “Really,” she insisted, “I’m over it.” 

“Yes, of course you are - I’m totally convinced.” 

Bela had been trying her hardest to avoid drawing her friend into her little pity party over Hamish. She’d had her feelings hurt before by a guy - by a dozen guys, but this time it stung more than she wanted to admit. When Bela had woken alone in Hamish’s apartment with sore legs, a sore neck and, well, sore all over, she had been surprised. A few days and three unreturned texts later she’d been worried. After Randall had awkwardly confirmed over coffee, that Hamish was in fact, alive, she had been furious. 

Despite hitting all of the usual heartbreak remedies - romcom binges, a rather satisfying round of axe throwing at the hipster place round the corner, and just plain, wallowing - Bela’s feelings were as raw as they had been weeks ago. As much as she wanted to, she just wasn’t moving on. 

She’d quickly realised that talking to Randall was off the cards. He was her friend, but he was also Hamish’s friend. When she attempted to casually bring up the situation, his insistence that it was just a difficult and complicated situation (which he couldn’t explain to her), just made her feel worse. Besides, it wasn’t fair for her to put him in the middle of what was quickly turning into a bizarre and deeply depressing, failed romantic conquest.  

The final straw had been last Monday. She’d been walking home from class, distracted by the thought of another late night grading papers, when she rounded a corner and almost ran head-first into him. The countless nights spent imagining what she'd do if she saw Hamish did little to prepare her. There was no apology, no awkward exchange or attempt to excuse his abrupt absence from her life, Hamish had just turned on his heels and walked off in the opposite direction, leaving Bela, and a very confused Randall and Lilith in his wake. 

Once they’d all recovered from the moment, Lilith and Randall had offered to help carry the papers back to her apartment, but Bela politely and firmly refused. 

Instead she walked the 15 minute journey home, closed her front door on the outside world and then, after setting the papers neatly on her coffee table, burst into tears. 

“Bels,” said Randall, pulling her out of her thoughts. 

“Mmhm?” 

“I don’t think you’re fine.” He reached over and prised the mangled chocolate bar from her fist. “Blade and Chalice?” He suggested.    

“Yes, please,” Bela said with a weak smile. 

- - - - - 

“You’re gone and I gotta stay high, all the time, to keep you off my mind, ooOo-hoo, ooOoo-hoo.” Gabrielle warbled from a stage in the corner of the packed bar. 

“You didn’t tell me it was karaoke night.” Bela rolled her eyes as the brunette milked the spotlight for all she could. 

“She sounds like an angel.” Randall slurred, pouring himself another beer. 

Bela squinted at him. “Do you have a crush on Gabrielle?”

“Pffft,” Randall blinked a few times, trying to focus on the stage, “She does sing it well though…” 

“Right, I’m cutting you off.” 

“Nooooo, hells bells-ha! Bels. Get it?” 

“Yes,” Bela sighed, “I get it.”

Randall frowned. “But you’re not laughing.” 

“That’s because it wasn’t funny.” 

Randall grabbed his chest. “You wound me Bela. And to think I thought of you as my friend.” 

“A real friend would get us a refill from the bar.” Bela shook the empty pitcher. 

As Randall stumbled across the room she looked around. The Blade and Chalice was packed with students, regulars and - was that? Yep - even a few professors. They’d managed to snag a table by the door when they got there but as the hours ticked on the place had quickly filled up and was now almost uncomfortably busy. The promise of cheap beer and bad karaoke clearly drew a big crowd and though it wasn’t Bela’s usual idea of a good night, she couldn’t deny that sitting here with her friend, downing drinks and mocking the performances was actually proving to be a pretty decent distraction. 

“I have a surprise for you.”

“Is it more beer?” 

Randall placed the pitcher on the table between them. “No, well yes. But also I signed us up for a song.” 

“Oh great, so we can be the drunk idiots everyone’s making fun of?” 

“C’mon Bels, it’s just a bit of fun. Let’s do something funnnnnnn, for once in our lives! No one cares, they’re all at least five beers deep anyway.”  

Bela huffed. He had a point.

“Fine, but I’m not singing a ballad.” 

Randall did a happy dance and dragged Bella up to the stage. As the first chords of Now or Never by Halsey began, Bela grimaced. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Randall.” 

“Big smile doll, it’s showtime!” He launched into the first verse. “I don’t wanna fight right now. Know you always right. Know I need you round with me, but nobody waitin’ round with me.” 

Bela groaned as he smiled in encouragement. “Been through the ups, yeah the ups and the downs with me. Got a whole lot of love, but you don’t wanna spread it round with me.”

“Let’s take it to the chorus!” Randall shouted into the mic. Bela smiled at her friend, he was clearly having the time of his life.     

Randall’s voice joined hers as they sang together, “Baby gon’ love me now, now, now, now, now or never. I want you to hold me down, down, down, down, down forever.” Randall shook his hips, eliciting a chorus of cheers and whistles from the crowd. 

Bela giggled, for the first time in ages she was actually kind of enjoying herself. The beer gave her a fuzzy, comfortably numb feeling and as she watched Randall crooning into his mic, dancing provocatively in front of the crowd she couldn’t help but grin. When he noticed her smiling he grabbed her hand and twirled her round. They finished their song with a flourish and made their way off the stage. 

As they stepped down Gabrielle approached Randall. “Nice dance moves,” She said, leaning close to him and batting her long lashes. “Want to buy me a drink?”.   

He looked at her like a deer caught in headlights for a second and then remembered why he was in the bar in the first place. “Uh, I’m hanging with my bestie tonight.” 

Bela rolled her eyes and leaned over to him. “Are you crazy? Go have fun - I’m fine!” 

“No, I’m not leaving you alone”. 

“Don’t be an idiot. Tonight was awesome, consider me cheered up! Now go.” She gave him a gentle shove in Gabrielle’s direction. He flashed her a hasty thumbs up and mouthed wish me luck, before following her to the bar.

Bela smiled to herself, Gabrielle was going to eat that boy  alive. 

She was making her way back to the table to grab her bag when she bumped into someone coming from the direction of the bar. 

Lilith swore loudly as the glasses she was holding splashed over, catching the front of her jeans. “Seriously? I just got these, watch where you’re going, you drunk- oh. Shit. Hi”. Lilith looked up, her anger fizzling when she recognised Bela.  

Oh God, Bela thought, if Lilith was here did that mean…?

As if she could read her mind, Lilith raised the glasses. “Uh…I’m just here for a nightcap.” 

Bela eyed the drinks - a beer and a scotch. “Both of those for you?” 

“Yep. What? Now only men can be alcoholics?” 

Bela felt the effects of the beer evaporating quickly, along with her good mood. She didn’t really want to spoil her first good night in ages and the last thing she wanted right now was to start an argument with Hamish’s aggressively possessive bff. “Ok, sure. Have fun.” 

Bela grabbed her bag and coat and headed towards the door, just as the bell above it chimed. 

She noticed Hamish before he saw her. He was wrapped in a thick coat, buttoned up against the cold, distracted by the phone in his hand. Lilith shoved past her, approaching him quickly.

“Haim, sorry I didn’t realise - Randall said they were going to be at-”

He looked up to the sound of her voice, in confusion, before his eyes slid over past her shoulder and locked with Bela’s. 

Bela watched in shock as he snarled - actually snarled - at Lilith and then turned and walked straight out of the bar. 

Lilith huffed and slammed her drinks down on the closest table. “Really! Again?”