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harryslittlefreakk · 9 months

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the pact

summary: you and harry made a childhood pact to marry if you were both still single when he reached 30. now that his big birthday is approaching, you find out whether your friendship (and your pact) have stood the test of time

warnings: mostly fluff, some smut :)

wordcount: 6k

a/n: i actually really like this one. it’s not proofread yet as i was so eager to get it up lol. hope you enjoy!

my masterlist can be found here! happy reading 🫶🏼

From the second you’d received the invitation, you were buzzing with a giddy nervousness. It had been years since you’d seen Harry, though Anne and Gemma were always so quick to share what he was up to. You’d followed his career silently for 13 years, still bumping into him every few years when Anne hosted Boxing Day, or he happened to be in town for your family’s annual summer barbecues. In your mind, he was still the cheeky, dimpled little lad you’d hide under the dining room table with, imagining you were explorers of far away lands.

But Harry wasn’t the young boy you’d chased after in your childhood anymore, the teenager you looked out for when you stuck your head over the garden fence to call your sister home. He wasn’t the handsome young man you’d spent countless hours swooning over with your friends in the bakery after school. Harry was a global sensation, the world’s sweetheart. You weren’t sure he’d even recognise you, a forgotten reminder of much simpler days.

Growing up next door to Harry hadn’t come without its challenges. You’d lost your childhood best friend seemingly overnight once One Direction formed, his life suddenly busy with meetings, tours and interviews. Anne still welcomed you with open arms, but her house felt a little too cold for you with his presence haunting the walls, memories etched into every surface of the house. You’d still hang out in his bedroom sometimes, his band posters and drawings left collecting dust in a lifeless room. When girls from school learned of your connection to him, they’d befriend you and treat you like the hottest new thing until you refused to give over any information. He was your Harry, your long-gone games and silly memories something you held close to your heart. It soon seemed easier to let him go altogether, move on to a new chapter, stop waiting for your best friend to appear again.

Still, you were glad to be able to support Gemma on one of her biggest days. She’d become such a regular feature in your household, she felt like family herself. Your parents had been more overjoyed at the news of her impending nuptials than any of yours or your sister’s recent achievements. They loved Gemma like their own, their ‘extra daughter’, as your dad called her. You knew this was as big a moment for them as it was for Anne, having watched Gemma grow from the tiny dark-haired girl your sister had raved about on her first day of school, to a woman about to become a wife.

Standing outside of the venue now, a beautiful old church overlooking the peaceful tides below, yours and Harry’s childhood pact suddenly hit you. You were laying on a blanket in your garden, tops of your heads pressed together as you made out shapes in the clouds above. “I will never get married,” you told Harry. Your parents had had their wedding album out that day, sharing stories with Anne and Robin. You squirmed and grimaced every time they spoke about it, never understanding how any girl would willingly share their life with a boy. “Yuck,” he squeaked from next to you. “Me either. I don’t ever want to live with a stinky girl!” You giggled together, the cool evening breeze washing over you. “Maybe, maybe I might one day though. When I’m really old and lonely.”

“Old like my parents?” you asked him. “Even olderer than that. Like 30.” You gasped, quickly trying to count on your fingers. “That’s really really old. Maybe we can be married when we’re 30.” Harry ran inside when you said this, leaving you chasing after him once again. He grabbed a napkin from the kitchen counter and scribbled on it in felt tip,

‘I ____ will marry Harry when we’re really super old’

“You have to put your name on that line or it’s not real,” Harry told you, handing the blue felt tip to you. You both signed your initials underneath, and proudly went to show your parents. They’d fallen about in laughter when you told them, promising to hold you to your pact. You hadn’t seen the napkin since that day, and you were sure it was long forgotten by everybody, especially Harry. You felt a small twinge in your chest at this, suddenly wishing you were anywhere but here.

“Hey Boo, you okay? Anne wants to get some pictures of us all together before the ceremony,” your dad told you, leading you through the crowd of guests. Boo was the only nickname that had ever stuck for you, starting when you and Harry decided to go as Boo and Sully from Monsters Inc. one Halloween. You’d originally wanted to be Mike, but with your big brown eyes shielded by little bangs and your signature pigtails, everyone persuaded you to be Boo. You’d outgrown almost everything else from childhood, but Boo was stuck with you for life.

“Oh Y/N, you look lovely darling,” Anne cooed as you came into her sight. She pulled you in for a hug, kissing your cheek as she pulled away. You had to admit, you did scrub up well. It was a long time since you’d really made the effort to look properly nice, still caught in the comfort of your pandemic wardrobe of leggings and sweatshirts. The olive-green maxi dress you’d settled on hugged your body in all the right places, a thick band of material draping over your chest and the tops of your arms, showcasing your toned shoulders. You’d always weirdly liked your shoulders and neck, an odd area to be proud of but it was by far your favourite part of your body. Your hair was scraped back in a sleek bun, tiny wisps framing your fresh face. “Gem and Sophia are still inside, they’ll be out in a minute. Gem’s so excited to see you, it’s been so long since we’ve all been together,” Anne gushed, running a hand up the outside of your arm.

She had such a delicate, warm presence, it was no wonder she’d raised two children as incredible as Harry and Gemma. Anne had been an extension of your own mum as you grew up, small traces of her as much as part of you as they were her own kids. She’d talked you through boys and heartbreaks, been there to wave you off to your school prom, one of the proudest faces in the crowd when you graduated university. She’d been stationed on the garden patio alongside your mum at every birthday party, the two women nattering away as they guarded the wine.

Gemma stepped out of the door, pulling you out of your daydream down memory lane. Your jaw went slack when you saw her, she was positively radiant. Her dress was a dainty satin, huge bishop sleeves adorning her arms and a beautiful full skirt, flowing around her petite frame in the gentle seaside breeze. Your mum rushed over to her first, smoothing a loving hand down the front of her skirt. “You look beautiful Gem,” she told her, tears glistening on her bottom eyelashes. Hugs and pleasantries were exchanged throughout the group, shoulders bumping gaily as you moved around. One thing was still missing though - Harry. You knew he’d never miss his sisters wedding, though he was absolutely nowhere to be seen. Just as you were about to ask, you saw him. With a deep brown suit jacket draped across his body, matching slacks hanging loose on his muscular thighs. A white vest hung low on his chest, his inked swallows sitting pretty on tanned skin.

You knew how good he looked these days, of course. Your tiktok had been full of videos of him performing, Anne’s house littered with framed photos. But seeing him in real life lit a fire in your belly. He’d always been pretty, green eyes and curls enough to charm any woman, but now he was hot. A great, big hunk of sexy man. He approached your parents first, laughing as your dad chose to forgo Harry’s outstretched hand, pulling him into a hug instead. “Here’s our not-so-little superstar,” he smiled, ruffling Harry’s messy curls. Harry pressed a kiss into your mums cheek, exchanging a quick but heartfelt hello. His eyes caught on yours as he glanced across the courtyard, your brown eyes still crinkled as you smiled, in exactly the same way they had when you were younger. “Little Boo!” he chuckled, striding towards you. His strong arms wrapped you into a firm cuddle, his musky scent spilling into your pores. “You look incredible,” he whispered into your ear, voice raspy and low. It wasn’t long before Anne was ushering you all into place to take some pictures, cutting yours and Harry’s catch up short. “Come and find me later,” he told you as you beamed for the camera.

—

With the ceremony long-finished, the party had spilled out of the church hall and onto the grounds outside. You’d danced, mingled and laughed for as long as you could before needing a minute of quiet. Brushing your hand across your mum’s back, you told her you were going for a little walk and would be back soon. You slipped out of the open doors, yanking your heels off in search of some quick relief. You spotted a little wooden bench overlooking the sea, a little way away from the other guests. A great oak tree shielded it from the warm evening sun, providing you just the right amount of peace.

“Thought you were gonna find me,” a voice suddenly came from behind you. You turned around to see Harry approaching your private spot, a sparkling glass in each hand. “Hey,” you smiled. “Just needed a little bit of quiet. Come sit,” you patted the bench beside you. Harry handed you one of the glasses as he sat down, murmuring, “saw you heading over here. Thought I’d bring you a little tipple.” You cheersed, the clinking of glasses cutting through a heavy silence. “How have you been?” he asked you, shifting his body slightly to face you.

“Been good, H. Thank you for asking. Work’s going well, was a bit slow with the pandemic and all but life’s been kind to me recently. I don’t really need to ask you, do I?” you laughed, suddenly shy in his presence. “No, I guess not,” he answered, smiling kindly at you. You settled back into an uncomfortable silence, not really sure how to talk to one another anymore.

“Mum told me you moved to London,” Harry said, seemingly desperate to pierce the awkwardness hanging over you both. “Yeah, I did,” you told him, explaining how Holmes Chapel had started to feel just a little too small, a little too cut off from the rest of the world. “I can understand that,” he told you, chuckling. You ran through the usual questions, telling him about your work as an illustrator, your little flat off of Finchley high road, the couple of girls from school you’d kept in touch with. “I can’t believe you live so close to me,” he gasped. “Mum could never remember what area you lived in, if I’d known you were only down the road we could have reconnected long before now,” Harry told you. You let out an involuntary scoff at this, telling him, “you know where to find me, H. You know your mum has my number, you know where I’ll be every Christmas and birthday. If you really wanted to reconnect it would have happened long before now.” Your words tumbled out, years of one-sided hurt and rejection suddenly pushing to the surface. Harry took a big sip of his drink, placing his hand over yours. “I’ve been shit, I know. Got caught up in everything and barely looked back. Wanted to reach out a long time before now but I couldn’t bring myself,” he told you. “Felt so bad for how I just disappeared and didn’t want to face it.”

You looked at him with sad eyes, searching his face for any sign of insincerity. “I get it, H. I’m really happy for you, I am. You had all your dreams come true, it’s amazing,” you set your glass down beside you and held your other hand over his. “Just feel sad that I lost my best friend overnight.” Your eyes welled up as you spoke, a combination of the free-flowing prosecco, the beautiful ceremony, and facing your hurt with the man who caused it. “Never had a friend who got me like you did,” you chuckled bitterly. Harry pulled his hands from yours and snaked an arm around your shoulder, pulling you close to his side. “I’m sorry, little Boo, I swear.”

The pair of you stayed that way for a while, soaking in each other’s words and the idyllic setting. Just being close to each other for the first time in almost a decade, having said what you both needed to, was bliss. “I thought about you a lot, y’know,” Harry told you suddenly, the words bursting out as if he’d been biting them back for a while. “Yeah?” you asked him, sitting up straighter to look at him again. He nodded, cheeks twinged slightly pink. You weren’t sure if it was the booze or his confession. “All my big moments, always wished you were there.”

“You know I would’ve been if I knew you wanted me to, Harry.”

“I know,” he mumbled, watching his own trainer-clad feet kicking little rocks around. “My mum and dad went to a few of your shows with Anne, watched the Brits and the Grammys every year you were nominated.” You swallowed thickly, before continuing, “I’m really proud of you, we all are.”

Harry turned his head slightly to the sound of music blaring from inside, before asking you, “dance with me?” He extended a hand to help you up, placing his glass down before wrapping an arm around your waist. You stepped together slowly, bodies moving in unison with your head rested softly against his chest. The skies had gotten gradually darker as you’d spoken, closing in around you until only a faint glow seeped out from the open church doors. Harry pushed you out, spinning you around before tugging you back into him. You smacked against his chest with a little ‘umph’, the wind knocked out of you. Your eyes met his, a little dazed, and all you could do was stare.

It felt like a betrayal of your childhood self to find him so attractive now. He was your best friend, your first friend, the only one to ever understand you fully. He’d guided you through your awkward pre-teen stage, the extra years he had on you put to good use when he showed you cool bands and songs to make boys like you. But now, you wanted him to be the boy that liked you. You were so flustered under his gaze, heat tearing through your body. “Let’s head back in,” you told Harry, words shaky. He kept an arm tight around your shoulder, shaking you about as you approached the church. ‘I’ve got my little Boo back’ he laughed in a sing-song tune. You could feel the happiness radiating off his body, knowing without even looking that his toothy grin would be firmly nestled between two deep dimples.

Your parents were sat around a table with Anne, Michal and Gemma still doing the rounds. You could tell they were drunk from a mile away - your dads cheeks stained red with merriment and Anne’s hands gesturing wildly as your mum roared with laughter. You’d missed this. You still went home as often as you could, never missing an opportunity to enjoy time with your loved ones, but before seeing Harry today it always felt different. Gemma, your sister, and Harry had all moved on, never fully present. But being the youngest, you were the one left behind. Harry pulled around two chairs for you both, plopping down between you and his mum. She draped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a sloppy kiss. “My special boy, where have you been?” she slurred.

“Been catching up,” Harry told her, a blush creeping up his cheeks as she looked between the two of you before winking at him. She was far from subtle before getting wine drunk, so now her entire head moved with her wink. She highlighted it with a loud “wink, wink” in Harry’s direction. “Anne!” you spluttered, choking out a laugh. Your dad reached over to snatch the two empty glasses from in front of you and Harry, promising to fill them to the brim so you could ‘get on their bloody level’.

The evening continued like that, the 5 of you drinking and laughing, reminiscing on your younger days. Your parents and Anne managing to bring up enough embarrassing stories about you both to put you off ever speaking to them again. “I think it’s time we all go to bed,” Harry started, holding his hands up. “Because we’re all fucking PISSED!”, he continued, yelling at the table. You banged on the table in hysterics, eyes screwed up tight as you and Anne fell into each other in laughter. Most of the venue had cleared out by now, guests dropping by your table to congratulate Anne on their way out. You’d barely seen Gemma all night, so content in her little love bubble that she’d spent the majority of the evening alone with Michal, feeding each other cake and slow-dancing.

“Come on, you big lump,” you tugged at your dad’s wrists who in turn pulled at your mum to stand up. Your dad swung his arms around you both, Harry and Anne joining onto the end, and you stumbled towards the exit in a fit of laughter. Harry tried to start a can-can line, kicking one big foot up into the air, but the 5 of you put together had far less coordination than even one sober person, so the idea was quickly abandoned.

The church had a converted barn outside, with rooms purpose-built for immediate family and friends to stay in. You hugged and kissed your goodnights to your parents and Anne, making sure they all got into bed without mischief. Now it was only you and Harry left, buzzed but significantly less drunk than your elders. “Care for one last round?” Harry asked you, slipping a little hip flask out from his blazer pocket. You knew this was a bad idea, a drunken evening alone with the man you’d been lusting after all day. But you certainly wouldn’t make the first move, and you were almost sure he didn’t think of you as anything other than the little girl who used to run around with him.

You followed him into his room, laughing to drown out the alarm bells ringing in your head. Once you saw the empty bed in front of you, you couldn’t help but just flop down on it, suddenly needing to be as comfortable as you could. The room was aged and rustic, but the bed was far more comfortable than it looked. Harry sat against the pillows beside you, long legs stretched out before him as he took a swig from the flask.

For the first time that day, the silence around you was peaceful. Just two old friends enjoying each others presence. Harry watched you as you took the flask from him, grimacing as the liquor went down with a burn. His green eyes were studying every little line on your face, every freckle dotted across your bare shoulders. There was so much new about you, so many little details and marks you’d gained as you grew older, all the little telltale signs of the years he’d missed. What he’d said to you earlier was true, he’d missed you with his whole heart from the second he’d left you behind, spent so many lonely nights wishing he had you by his side. He thought he’d outgrown you, his new-found fame taking precedence over the little girl he’d shared his dreams and aspirations with. But sitting here now with you, he knew you’d grown with him, no matter how far removed your life had become from his. “‘M nearly 30, you know,” he drawled, voice hoarse from the singing and the sting of alcohol in his throat.

“Huh?” you turned to him confused. “I’m 30 next year,” he told you. “Yeah I know, H. What does that have to do with anything?” you laughed, poking at the side of his head. “Means we have to get married next year,” he grinned. You gasped, remembering the pact you’d thought about earlier in the day, “you didn’t forget!” you laughed, sitting up against the soft pillows.

“Can’t do it next year though, two weddings in a year would send our parents insane,” you told him. “‘M finished with my tour now. Got nothing on next year,” Harry shrugged, a familiar cheeky smirk sitting pretty between his dimpled cheeks. You felt something shift in the air as he spoke, and he seemed to feel it too, edging closer to you until his face was only centimetres away from yours. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look today?” he cooed, one hand coming up to cup your cheek. His touch shot electricity through your core, a tingling sensation starting where his fingers touched you before washing over your whole body. You shook your head lightly, eyes fixed on him. He leaned in at this, his parted lips meeting yours. The beginnings of a moustache tickled your upper lip, his hot breath flowing into your mouth with every lick of his tongue. You shifted your body towards him as the kiss deepened, four legs and the now-crumpled duvet tangling together as you rushed to close the distance between your bodies. Harry licked into your mouth with the passion of a million years of unspoken longing, his movements saying more than he ever could with words. It was the kind of kiss you’d expect from someone who’d loved you for a lifetime, who wanted to love you for a lifetime, your tongues working alongside each other like this was routine, like you’d done it a thousand times before.

“Harry,” you whispered, hands pushing his blazer from his shoulders. He let you pull it off him, then stroked a hand up your thigh as you admired his upper body. One arm was littered in patchwork tattoos, though all you could focus on was his muscles, illuminated beautifully in the evening light. “Let me get you out of this,” he rasped, twisting your shoulders around to access the zip running down the back of your dress. He smoothed his fingers down your waist and to your hips before unzipping you, your body dwarfed by his strong hands. Harry pressed a kiss into the top of your back, then kissed up and down your spine, hungry for a taste of you as he unveiled more of your skin. You stood up to help him pull your dress down, resting one hand on his shoulder to steady yourself as you stepped out of it, leaving it discarded on the floor. “Matches my eyes,” he smiled. His gaze trailed from your toes, up to your knees, to where your panties wrapped around your hips, and higher still. Up your tanned abdomen to your bare breasts where your rosebud nipples sat perky, to your neck, and finally his gaze rested on your eyes. “Y’so beautiful,” he groaned, running a soft touch along the curve of your neck.

Harry pulled his tank top over his head, stepping out of his slacks as they collapsed at his feet. His body was unbelievable. So tanned and toned, firm in all the right places yet soft in the best ones. You could see the outline of his hard shaft through the thin fabric of his boxers, an almost silent moan slipping out as you took in the sight before you.

He stepped closer to you, backing you up until the side of the bed hit the back of your knees, then held a hand to your back to guide you down onto it. His hot, drunken breath washed over you as he climbed on top of you, one hand balancing his body as the other explored you. His fingers groped your breast firmly, mouth finding the opposite nipple, sucking it into his lips in one quick movement. Your back arched off the bed, pleasure so built up that it only took one touch to send you into a frenzy. Harry licked a circle around your areola, chuckling against your skin as you writhed under his touch. “Barely even started yet, little Boo,” he drawled, moving upwards to kiss along your clenched jaw.

His fingers danced down your body, smoothing over your mound as you gasped and groaned. They slipped under the soft material of your panties, blissfully cold against the heat of your entrance. You were already soaked through, much to his surprise, so he swiped a finger through your folds to collect your juices before landing straight on your clit. Harry rubbed you in circles, the friction leaving you a panting mess under him, head jutting out to press open-mouthed kisses on his throat.

He pulled your panties down your thighs tenderly, kissing every inch of skin they passed over. In the dim light of the room, mouth moving up and down your body, he’d never looked so handsome. His cock brushed against you as he moved back up your body to focus again on your folds, your juices spread across your mound in a mess. Two long fingers dived straight in, his rings leaving a harsh chill against your sensitive skin. The stretch of his fingers alone had you panting, a familiar burning starting in your core. Harry found your sweet spot insanely fast, fingers moving in a perfect beckoning motion just as you liked. He navigated your body like you’d done this before, like the muscle memory just guided him to what he knew made you feel good. “I want more, want you inside of me,” you whined, hips bucking towards Harry’s groin as he silenced you with a deep kiss. “Got to get you ready for me first, Boo”, he told you. You winced as he used your nickname, knowing you’d never be able to hear your dad call you that without thinking of this night.

Harry’s mouth found your breast again, sucking deep purple bruises onto the gentle skin as you whimpered beneath him. He smacked at your pussy as your moans got louder, causing your eyes to shoot up to meet his. “Gotta keep the noise down, sweet girl.” You nodded in response, teeth clamping down on your bottom lip to keep yourself as quiet as you could be. The second his tongue found your nipple, you felt your orgasm bubbling up in your core. Harry noticed the way your head lulled back, slipping a third finger inside of you and using his thumb to brush against your clit. It was like the holy trinity of foreplay, his skilled tongue and fingers hitting your three most pleasurable zones at once. Your climax hit quickly, walls tightening around his digits as you clamped your forearm across your mouth, desperately trying not to scream his name. He peppered kisses down your throat as his fingers rode you through your high, only pulling them away when you went limp under him. Harry held his fingers to his mouth, tongue darting out to lick off every trace of your creamy come.

He backed off you to kick his boxers down his legs, stroking his erection as it oozed precum. He found his wallet, pulling out a condom and rolling it down the length of his cock. “How do you want me, sweet girl?” he asked you, cock twitching in his hand. “Wanna go on top,” you told him, suddenly eager to impress. If his cock was anywhere near as good to you as his hands and mouth had been, you couldn’t only have him once. You needed to show him how good your pretty pussy could take him, make him want to come back for more.

Harry rolled onto the centre of the bed, hands guiding your hips down over his groin. His hand cupped the back of your head, pulling you towards him for a sloppy kiss. His mouth tasted of you, the familiar tingle of juices on his tongue. You stroked his member up and down quickly, before lining it up with your entrance and pushing yourself down onto his tip. “Fuck, H. You’re so big,” you whined, thighs burning as you hovered above him. He used his hands to move you up, then down, down, down, helping you to take him fully. The burn was like nothing you’d experienced before, his girthy cock crammed into every corner of your pussy. You stilled for a moment, hands resting against his butterfly tattoo, chest rising and falling quickly as you tried to push past the ache. He held a thumb under your chin, tilting your head to look at him. “You ok, pet?” he asked, needing to be sure before you continued. You nodded, moving one arm to pull his finger into your mouth. You licked circles around his fingertip, sucking it in down to his knuckle before releasing with it a pop.

Harry’s hands guided your hips to grind against him, helping you until you found your rhythm. He pulled them away, one landing with a loud smack on your ass cheek as the other crept up the front of your body, resting at your throat. He squeezed lightly, the sensation only spurring you on to bounce up and down on him, the combination of your juices squelching as your cheeks slapped against his groin. It was the kind of hot, dirty sex you’d only ever dreamed of, and it had you falling apart on top of him. You cried out a strangled moan, expletives falling out of both of your mouths. “Feel so good around me,” Harry groaned, “so fucking wet. S’that all for me?”

“All for you, H. M’all yours,” you whimpered. His hips bucked against you as you told him you were his, fingers pulling away from your supple ass. He spat on them before dancing them back across your asscheek and smoothing the spit around your second hole, eyes fixed on your pussy bouncing on his cock. “Can I?” he asked you. “Please, H.”

He pushed a finger into your tightness, filling you up so well. You felt so full you could burst. His eyes were clouded over with lust, tiny hairs slick to his forehead with sweat. He looked feral, and you loved it. He repositioned his feet to where they were flat against the bed, hips knocking into you as you moved up and down his cock, his thrusts sending him deeper and deeper inside of you. You were both panting now, barely able to contain your highs for a second longer. “Come with me, come with me please,” you begged him, your second orgasm of the night starting to rise through your core. His thrusts got faster and sloppier, obscene sounds echoing around the room, a clear sign of what you were doing to anyone who could hear you right now. Your orgasm crept up on you quickly, thanks to Harry tightening his grip around your neck and pushing his finger further into your tight hole. Your head was thrown back as you came, back arched making his cock feel as though it could burst through your belly button. Harry moaned loudly, hips jutting one last time as he flooded the condom with his come. You collapsed in a sweaty heap, totally unable to hold yourself up any longer.

“Took me so well, angel girl,” Harry drawled as he pulled out of you, padding across the room to toss the condom and rinse his hands. You lay there in total bliss, comfortable in the knowledge that your friendship was long gone.

—

“Let me go first and you can come after,” you told Harry, holding a finger up to shush him when he started to laugh. “We’re grown adults, Y/N, it doesn’t matter if anyone sees us come out together.”

“I don’t write songs about sex and drugs. My body is still untouched in my parents eyes,” you told him, hand slipping from the doorknob as he pulled you in for another kiss. “Just don’t come until you hear me leaving.”

You crept out of the room as silently as you could, heels and dress bundled under one arm. You’d heard Anne, your parents and Gemma head out to the courtyard already, so there was no danger of being caught by prying eyes - or so you thought. As you were padding across the hallway to your room, Anne appeared round the corner. “I was just coming to see if you were awake,” she told you, eyes sparkling with glee. “No wonder your mum said your bed was untouched.” She knocked on Harry’s door with a tight-lipped smile lighting up her face. He opened the door wide-eyed as Anne pulled him into a firm hug, pressing a sticky lipgloss kiss to his cheek. “I always hoped you two would get together.” She disappeared back down the hall as quickly as she appeared, leaving you and Harry blushing.

You decided to make your way outside together, knowing it wouldn’t be long before your parents put two and two together anyway. Plus, you knew Anne wouldn’t be able to resist telling your mum and Gemma what she saw.

—

You decided to spend the day on the beach, you and Harry with your parents and Anne, since Gemma and Michal had already left for their honeymoon. It was a perfect summers day, the sun warm enough to enjoy but not hot enough to irritate you, the gentle sea breeze cooling you down as it washed over you. Your mum and Anne were sprawled across a linen blanket, two bottles of wine stood in the sand next to their feet. They called you over, instant dread washing over you as Anne excitedly shouted your name. “Do you have anything to tell us?” she asked you, and you were sure there would be mischief glinting in her eyes under her big sunglasses. They sat up and scooted over on their blanket, leaving space for you to slot in between. “Nothing that I’m sure you don’t already know,” you smirked, a deep blush creeping up your cheeks. Your mum looked between Anne and you, gasping as she swatted at your leg. “So it’s true! You dirty little minx.”

You held your head in your hands, mortified that your parents knew you’d slept with Harry. “Oh relax,” your mum told you. “It’s nothing we haven’t done before,” she smirked, throwing herself towards Anne as they howled in laughter. Anne stopped suddenly, her hand tapping at your mum’s thigh incessantly. “If they get married, we’ll be real family!” she gasped, face pink with joy. “Well, the pact is what got us there in the first place,” Harry told them, sitting down next to you and snaking a hand around your waist.

“I forgot all about that,” your mum’s jaw went slack. “Do you still have it?” she asked Anne. “Of course I do. Kept it safe to show them when they found their way back to each other, always knew this day would come.”

part two

taglist: @sleutherclaw @harrysolaf @slutforcoffein

#harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry edward styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #Harry styles #harry styles fic #harryslittlefreakk #harry styles masterlist

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doppopoppo · 2 months

Text

LaD Men and their Kids

Warnings: just a minor suggestive part in Sylus's

Just a random HC of what their first child would be and be like :) for funsies

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

Xavier:

- a son, his precious twinkling star 🥹

- looks like Xavier, has UR personality

- either works with his baby boy to protect MC or competes with him to have UR attention, no in-between

- Jeremiah the babysitter

- Congrats, U have two golden retrievers now :)

- looks up to Xavier and trains young in fighting

- attempts to not spoil him, but ends up giving into his puppy dog eyes. Xavier now knows how you felt all those years he's given them to you lol

Zayne:

- Twin boys, his precious snowflakes. 🤗

- Both look like you, and he's very happy about that! Older son has your personality, while younger twin has Zaynes.

- Can see him encouraging them to dabble both in STEM and creative fields.

- Spoils them but to a healthy extent. Mainly through quality time. Gifts if he can't be there for a playdate.

- Ideal husband and definitely ideal father, the boys 100% loves him more 😭 .

- Tara usually babysits

Rafayel:

- fraternal twins!!! His precious pearls 🥺

- a good combination of you both! Has his hair color and eyes while everything else came from you

- loves both of them, but his younger daughter is definitely daddy's girl. While older son is mommy's boy

- dramatic af like him. Never a quiet household. I dun know if you're lucky or in a need of a vacation

- eager to find out if they're half human and half mermaid

- Thomas the babysitter

- has a whole art gallery show full of paintings of you and the babies

- spoiled brats just like the dad

Sylus:

- A GIRL! His new kitten 🥰 literally

- his white hair and your eyes

- spoiled spoiled spoiled spoiled

- DADDYS PRINCESS (you're his queen now dw, kitten) can't sing

- does whatever she wants to whoever she wants cuz her daddy can fight

- Mephisto, Luke and Kieran becomes her babysitters (the twins wish he had twins)

- you love how attentive of a dad he is, but lowkey get jealous cuz all that used to be just for you :( but daddy always makes it up :)

- made it clear she's marrying Sylus when she grows up

- into guns

- "sweetie what do you have there?"

- "a gun :D"

- "NO!"

#l&ds #lnd x reader #love and deepspace #love and deepspace sylus #love and deepspace x reader #love and deepspace rafayel #love and deepspace xavier #love and deepspace zayne #sylus #xavier #rafayel #zayne #sylus l&ds

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eustasskiddsprosthetic · 1 month

Text

Lads, it's been such a long time since I've returned to my roots—Lu/Law/Lu and I'm happy to say I have an idea! I've read a thread discussing dilf Luffy and it reminded me of my own Dilf!Lulaw fic I wrote some time ago. I'm OBSESSED with Dilf Luffy so follow me.

Law and Luffy are childhood friends. Law babysits Luffy when they were 13 and 6 respectively and they get along. Law would teach Luffy about the anatomy of various small animals, showing him how to dissect (or pretty much butcher) any type of animal they could find and Luffy would watch, quietly and thoroughly intrigued.

When Luffy was 10 years old, he thought the 17 year old Law was just the coolest guy ever, apart from Ace and Sabo. Law's tall, super smart and his deep voice (whenever it doesn't crack) is super nice.

Sure, he's stuffy and a nerd but if Luffy throws enough rocks at Law's window, Law's the best guy to prank people with! He has backup plans after backup plans to get them both out of trouble. He one-ups Luffy's ideas in a non-condescending way. He's also super pretty when he laughs...

When Law's 20, he tells Luffy that he's moving overseas on some sort of scholarship to Japan. Luffy had no idea what Japan was but Ace and Sabo tell him it's a pretty country with plenty of food. Luffy made Law promise to take him there some day, and Law agreed to, figuring why not.

Sabo also tells Luffy to get his contact information and Law agreed, giving Luffy his phone number and social media handles in case he wanted to text.

And text, Luffy did!

"HEY TRAFFY!! I MISS YOU!!!!! HOW'S ANIME JAPAN!!"

[insert image] "This is my new dorm."

"looks boring lul :P"

"Not allowed to decorate too much, unfortunately. However, I have a roommate soon."

"ROOMIE!! WHO WHO WHO"

"My partner. I'm seeing someone atm."

"atm? wots that Traffy 0_0"

"It means 'at the moment'."

"Oh."

For some reason Luffy felt kind of sad. Maybe it's one of those emo spurts as he's growing up but Traffy never dated when they hung out. Did Traffy not tell him anything? That's upsetting.

"Who is it!!! They btr be nice to u >:("

"Don't worry about that. They're very kind to me. I'm looking for a nice picture to show you."

And Traffy sent Luffy a picture of the guy. It's a tall, buff guy with reddish-brown hair and a scruffy chin. Luffy felt his chin and realised he had a little stubble.

Luffy said that the guy looked plain when Ace walked past and asked what's up. Deep down though, Luffy was annoyed that he's actually quite good looking and that he's way older.

"Is there something wrong, Luffy?"

"wot"

"I don't know. You're the first person I told this to... Sorry, I didn't know you're not supportive."

"Support what"

"I like men, Luffy. I'm gay."

"0-0" Luffy thought of how to respond. A couple friends told him something similar before but he seriously didn't care. "is fine lol"

"Really?"

"YUP !! NO WORRIES HAHAHAHAHA I DIDNGT KNOW YOU HAD A BOYFIE WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME!!"

"I didn't know how you'd react." And then Traffy was seen typing for a few minutes. "Thank you for not dismissing me."

"!!!!"

They text on and off more from there. Indeed, it felt like when they were kids where Luffy would share whatever's on his mind with Traffy and Traffy would reply politely. They talked about whatever, sometimes deep things, sometimes lighter things but it's usually always fun.

Sometimes, Traffy would talk about his relationship with Drake, as Luffy learned his name later and for some reason, that's Luffy's least favourite subject.

Traffy was neither happy nor unhappy. He talked about him the same way Traffy talked about the weather in anime, Japan. Heck, Law probably liked Ace and Sabo more and they don't even talk!

Luffy didn't have the words or courage to ask whether Traffy really loved Drake and so he never talked about it. As he got older, he couldn't accept that Law—the coolest, nicest, raddest guy ever—would marry some guy.

Law invited Luffy to the wedding ceremony but Luffy couldn't go, partly because he had exams and mostly because he just refused to. Ace and Sabo were surprised to hear that but they eventually understood why.

Whenever Luffy pulled up Law's wedding pictures on their social medias, he would only pinch his fingers on the screen to zoom in on Law's barely smiling, kind of sad face. He'd pout and ask what made Drake so special...

They talk on and off but life got in the way for them.

Law's busy with his hectic job as a surgeon. Law's trying to take more time off social media to be more offline. Law's going to therapy and journalling more. Of course there's his marriage.

Luffy's life's developing nicely too. Luffy's busy with all his friends and being present for them. He's his brother's biggest cheerleaders in their respective sports teams. He's also trying to study a little bit more to do well enough to make it in college.

And so they stop texting for a day. And then a month. And then a year. And then a decade rolls by easily. It's as if they never met.

...

And now, Luffy's 40 and he settled into a nice suburban area as a single-pringle. His house became less of a home and more of a gathering space.

Ace and Sabo drive over to have wild cookouts with their respective partners and kids. Zoro and Sanji come over to drink alcohol. Nami and Usopp for movie dates. Franky gave Luffy a sexy ice cream machine. Robin and Chopper would come over to bird watch in Luffy's backyard. Brook would host charity concerns in his front yard for the children and Luffy let Jimbe tutor kids in his living room.

Life hadn't felt so full in a while. Luffy smiled at his framed pictures and thought, "Wah... I've made it."

One day, he heard some people move into the vacant house next door. After all, how could he not hear them? They were arguing so fucking loudly.

"Shut up, nerd! I do what I want to do!"

"If you're as smart as you say you are you'd be more careful! Those drums are expensive! Be nice to them!"

"They ain't your drums, shit head!"

"But I'm responsible!"

And then Luffy heard something fall down and it made this horrible noise. Enough! He said. He put on a shirt and walked outside. There, he saw the culprit of all that noise.

It's some big man, a guy as big as Luffy with flaming red hair and a permanent scowl. He turned to Luffy and said, "What's your fucking problem? Can't a guy move into his fucking house?"

Luffy hated his attitude—what's his problem!

"I asked ya a fucking question, dipshit."

"I don't like you, you're a jerk!"

"Oh, is that-"

"Shut up, Eustass!" Both Luffy and the guy turned their heads to face the balcony.

And Luffy gasped.

On the balcony, stood a tall man who moved gracefully like an ice prince. He wore a loose Sora the Warrior tee shirt, tucked into light jeans. He had piercings on his ears. His jawline was sharp.

"You're annoying me, Eustass. Hurry up."

"Shut up!"

The not-Eustass-guy turned to face Luffy when he realised Luffy was staring. It started with an apologetic look and then he looked cold, annoyed. Why was Luffy staring so much and so intensely? The man squinted as if that would help him. He frowned and put his glasses on. The man blinked rapidly, in complete disbelief.

"I-" Luffy broke into a large grin when the other man's coldness morphed to surprise. Slowly, he warmed up and there's this warm look in his eye that took Luffy back to when he asked Traffy a question about the frog he was dissecting in the woods for Luffy's entertainment.

No way. Luffy shook his head. NO FUCKING WAY.

He made a little sign and Luffy knew what it meant even years later. It meant that he promised that he'd be back. He kept his promise. About twenty minutes later, Luffy heard a knock on the door. He never sprinted this fast in his life.

"Hi-" And Luffy enveloped the guy in the biggest bear hug he had ever given. He's just so fucking happy! And then Luffy pulled away to actually see him for himself. He was always handsome but since when was he smoking hot? Tall, thin-hipped and slightly muscular.

He looked up at Luffy and his sharp, annoyed eyes softened with tender affection. OH YES WAY!

"Hello, as I was saying. It's been a while."

"Hell yeah! How've you been, Traffy!" It's nice to even say his name again! He felt like a little kid again! Traffy smiled indulgently when Luffy slapped his back.

"I'm alright, thank you."

Luffy saw that Traffy was fiddling with his ring finger and said so. Traffy noticed it too and apologised for the habit.

"I'm going through a divorce now. Eustass, being nice for once, offered to let me stay with him and his partner while I figure out what I want to do with myself. It'll take time for my dad to get that carpet installed in his new house nearby so here I am now to kill time."

"D-divorce?"

"We fell out of love, let's put it bluntly," Law said, now distant. "I found out he's been cheating on me."

"Oh." Luffy suddenly felt like that dumb thirteen year old who didn't know how to handle Law coming out to him. "That sucks."

"Yes, it indeed 'sucks'. I was so shocked I didn't even cry about it for a week when I found out last year."

There was the awkwardness of feeling like one of them did something terribly wrong. Law smiled tersely.

"Enough about that, I'm keeping my hands full with idiots who claim that they want to 'help me out'." Law laughed gently. "Some classmates from Anime, Japan are coming to visit for a few days next week. I wonder how they're doing."

Luffy smiled. His heart ached.

"What do you want to do, Traffy?"`

"Me?" Law gave it thought. He glanced to the side. "Well, first things first, I have to help Eustass over there move in."

"After that?"

"After?" Law blinked. "I'm not sure. Probably brush up on my Japanese. Why?"

Bright-eyed and a little bit scared, Luffy said, "Let's go out!"

"Huh?"

"It'll be fun!" Luffy was totally winging it. "We can get beef bowl at Sanji's place! Do you like camping, Traffy? Ace and Sabo set up a really cool fire place out back—why don't we fire that up later! How about ice cream? Robin made cheese cake too! It's super yummy!"

Law started laughing so much tears came out. Luffy thought with some sadness that Law wasn't done crying about his divorce.

"You haven't changed at all!" Law said, smiling widely. Luffy felt proud of himself for that much. He didn't realise how much of a hole Traffy left behind in his heart when they stopped contacting each other.

Life doesn't give second chances but maybe, just maybe...

"It's really nice seeing you again, Luffy. I... I've missed you. It's been a bit lonely these few months, so let's catch up, i-if you want."

Maybe Luffy could finally show Traffy just how much he loved him...

#lulaw #lawlu #one piece lawlu #trafalgar water d law #trafalgar law #monkey d luffy #luffy #one piece

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jacesvelaryons · 2 months

Note

could you do a tom blyth social media ai where sadie sink is the faceclaim!?

hi my love, of course. i hope you like it! please continue to comment, like, subscribe send me requests or just hit my asks to let me know how i’m doing.

sorry this took so long 😭

auburn hair (tom blyth x actress!reader social media au)

masterlist

requests OPEN

yourusername

new do, who’s this?

liked by tomblyth, justinbieber, chloebailey and others

alexconsani what’s ya name B.O.B so they calling you BAWB

↩️ yourusername i hesitated on the bob until you talked me into it now you do this 😭😭u make me sick

ayoedibiri wifey in white

↩️ yourusername ilysmm

hallebailey so nice to see you again after so long girl!

↩️yourusername absolutely it’s been too long! let’s catch up for brunch

tomblyth you look angelic darling. wish i was there with you that night.

↩️yourusername wish you were there too babe! love you

tomholland2013 nice to see you mate xx

↩️ yourusername long time no see!

thehollywoodreporter

liked by person7264 and others

we report actor tom blyth @/tomblyth and actress y/n l/n @/yourusername being very cozy and intimate at last week’s annual hollywood gala dinner. the two have since quietly confirmed through their agencies that they have been in a committed relationship for over a year and ask for everyone to respect the privacy of their romance.

fans82 the joint net worth of this couple must be CRAZYY 💀💀

↩️username123 can they adopt me actually

user9711 so glad tom feels comfortable being so public with her when he used to be so scared showing anything from his private life

usernamehere I love them actually

random167 they deserve their happy ending

tomblyth

liked by mayahawke and others

let's go back.

rachelzegler looked like so much fun while I was recording all day 🙄

↩️ tomblyth next time for karaoke rach!

coreymylchreest best time with the lads

↩️ tomblyth time of our lives

horatio.james gotta do it again

yourusername from before my hair grew out

↩️ynfan111 your hair clips are so cute girlie!!

↩️ yourusername thank you 😅 tom put them up like that for me

yourusername

liked by markruffalo and others

going on a trip.

tomblyth my favourite ginger

liked by yourusername

↩️

jennaortega auburn locks with flaming hair>>>

↩️ yourusername love you my angel

troye my best girl

↩️ yourusername best boy>>

↩️ troye second to your man ofc 🙄

ashleyjliao the sweetest couple

↩️ yourusername thank you for introducing us to one another ❤️🫂

↩️ashleyjliao I better me maid of honour and godmom to your first child 😝

↩️ rachelzegler gotta fight me for that 😏

oliviarodrigo how does your hair grow that fast 😭😭

↩️ yourusername I don't know but it just does lol

tomblyth.fansite

liked by yourusername

croissainticles video posted today after the austin festival!

yourusername damn it’s like i’m not even here 😒

↩️tomblyth offered you one and you said you didn’t one until you took a bite out of mine

justins.croissants we glad he loved it! we'd like to sponsor you @/tomblyth for a sponsored post about our fresh croissants.

↩️ tomblyth this is the best time of my life actually

↩️tomblyth.fansite I'm crying I know he's so excited of like the free months of croissants or something

yourusername

don’t worry about me we got challengers at home 🤭🍽️

liked by sophiewildee and others

tomblyth.fansite I'm crying he looked so baby 😭

liked by yourusername

↩️ yourusername I know right 😂😂

tomblyth baby not this photo 😔

↩️ yourusername can't help you look so cute 🤭🤭

danielwebber good god who is this

nuriaavegaa oh my 😅😅

#tom blyth x you #tom blyth #tom blyth fanfiction #tom blyth x reader #coriolanus snow x reader #billy the kid imagines #tom blyth social media aus #my work #social media aus #tom blyth imagines #tom blyth soc med aus

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wispscribbles · 11 months

Text

Mw3 spoilers (just a long personal ramble)

Hiii. So

As soon as the pre-release came out on, I hunted down spoilers, because I know myself and knew that if someone died and I got that information out of the blue, I wouldn’t take it well. Jokes on me, because I still haven’t been taking it well lol

I won’t talk about how Soap’s death was handled or the quality of the game. Plenty of smarter people are doing so.

I try not to talk a lot about myself and irl stuff on here, but will just say: I am very unwell, mentally. (Cue silence because that’s not surprising at all) Something I am very aware that I do, is that I latch onto fiction with my whole being, usually one specific character. For some reason, I always latch onto the character that ends up dead, usually in a way that make them only exist to further the motivations of other characters. It sucks.

So my hope for Soap has never been great, but for some reason I was still so shocked?? I don’t know, I tricked myself into thinking this time was different. Such an iconic character with so much good setup for great character development. I knew someone would die, but ow. To me, he was the element that made 141 seem more like family than coworkers. Soap’s interactions with the rest just livened up the games so much and made them all shine. Especially Ghost. Their dynamic, man.

Soap was the character that intrigued me enough to jump into the cod rabbit hole. It feels very hollow without him.

I keep telling myself that it’s silly to be so hurt over something fictional, and that I can just treat it as a mcd fanfic and move on, but nope. Brain’s stuck in the bad stuff. It’s a bad habit of mine to let something like this affect me so much, but well. Logic vs feeling and all that.

I really did find so much comfort in Soap this last year, that I severely needed. It feels a little like losing someone I know, someone who helped me through a rough time. I related to something in him and felt inspired. I only started writing after getting into ghostsoap, I started working out and I got back into art after a very long burnout. It may be fiction, but the impact is not.

So that was pretty much the worst case scenario of what mw3 could be to me. I always knew the risk, but, once again, ow. But there also seems to be plenty of good stuff in the game that I enjoy. I’m happy with the Ghost and Soap dialogue, the whole team working together and seeing Laswell and Farah and Alex and Nik. I hope I can be inspired by some of the new content once I’m calmer.

And I was worried they would ignore Ghost and Soap’s relationship after their development in mw2, but they genuinely seem to have gotten real close. It’s nice. I thought the shipping might scare the game devs into never having them appear in a scene together again, so that’s a plus.

Bottom line to all this is: I probably need a little break to get my head sorted. The grief is surprisingly real, it’s triggered some old stuff for me (haven’t been sleeping or eating, been stuck in some old thoughts). I’ll need to calm down and become a bit more normal about this again. Part of the grief isn’t so much about Soap himself, but also just the safe space that this account has been. The very nature of how the fandom is going to interact with Soap and Ghostsoap is going to change now, and man… I liked how it was, y’know? Could’ve used a little longer in that bubble. There’s going to be plenty of new fics and art, lovely stuff as always, but many of them will be tinged with grief, and I’m not in a place where that won’t break me a little.

I will hopefully come back to posting and making stuff once my brain settles down. I have so many drafts for fics and ideas that I hope I can return to. I’ve gotten so used to drawing these lads that I doubt I can stop tbh

The version of Soap that we love is already evolved from the games due to all the time and care the community has put into the character. The games may have killed him, but luckily, he’s fictional. We can do what we want, same as before.

I’m not even saying that I wish they hadn’t killed him. The games are crafting a story that fits their audience. It makes sense.

But I will choose to live in one of the many universes we’ve created for Soap, where he is alive and cared for, with a found family and a spooky lieutenant with a soft spot for him. Good for him.

Hope you’re all taking care of yourselves. RIP canon Soap (again). Thanks to Neil for a wonderful portrayal. And no matter where we go from here, thanks for a wonderful year of creating with you lovely folks. Seriously, some of the kindest people I’ve met in fandom. <3

Lastly: fuck you Kevin O’Reilly, but more importantly, sincerely thank you. (CallMeKevin video about mw2 got me into this mess. Otherwise I was keeping cod at an arm’s length, but he’s my fav youtuber, so I watched it. And here we are!)

#if u don’t wanna read: I’ll be taking a small break for mental health reasons but expect to be back and creating for this fandom again <3 #mw3 #mw3 spoilers #cod mwiii #mwiii spoilers #call of duty mwiii #ghostsoap #wispy update #always feel anxious posting anything emotional but feel like this one deserved a proper update #you’re all wonderful ppl ily #hopefully see you soon !

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kindestofkings · 8 months

Text

tis the damn season

robert keating x reader (she/her)

heres the requested bobby fic! reader is bobbys neighbour in dublin and they've had a situationship thats always off again on again, which ryan is v fed up with lol <3

masterlist

enjoy and also happy new year ! forgot how much I love making these so please come with some more requests, I always love getting them xxx

yourusername posted to their story!

year FIVE of working as a waitress during silly season, people need to be KINDER

yourbestfriend not all heros wear capes yourneighbour1 god bless you ↳ its been TOUGH but neighbours christmas party next week !! ↳ yourneighbour1 UGH best part of the season alsooo did I see a certain curly haired bass player make his return to the road...? ↳ feck he's home earlier than usual 😀 ↳ yourneighbour1 time to rekindle the infamous situationship??

yourusername posted to their story!

the return of the loudest next door neighbour known to man, yay 👍👍

yourneighbour1 😏😏 bobbyskeetz get rid of that sarcastic yay ryanmcmahon_15 yay my fav idiots have been reunited ! ↳ idiots? plural? why am I an idiot ryan?? ↳ ryanmcmahon_15 hmmhmm when will yee learn

bobbyskeetz

liked by yourusername and others

bobbyskeetz home.

view all other comments

joshjenkinson_ lookin so mysterious and interesting xx

inhalerfan1 he is one of us

inhalerfan2 missed the intense staring since tour has ended, thanks mr skeetz !

inhalerfan3 christmas came early

yourusername smoking kills

bobbyskeetz excuse me?? I have NEVER and WOULD never yourusername big fat liar yourbestfriend y'all are the worst, every fecking christmas ryanmcmahon_15 what she said !

yourusername

liked by yourneighbour1 and others

yourusername the kids table at the neighbours christmas party is always the place to be <3

also slayed so hard with my kris kindle present he literally cried for hours 💅

view all other comments

bobbyskeetz I cried cause you threw it at me

yourneighbour1 weakling bobbyskeetz ugh thanks tho.... I guess

ryanmcmahon_15 bobby and yn being adults when

yourbestfriend but then what would happen to their beloved situationship? yourusername guys you know this is MY comment section right?

joshjenkson_ hahah the perfect gift for him

yourneighbour2 ugh BEST PARTY EVAAAA

yourusername

liked by ryanmcmahon_15 and others

yourusername and it always leads to you and my hometown

view all other comments

yourbestfriend ah ryanmcmahon_15 shes quoting tis the damn season by THE taylor swift, what does this mean?

ryanmcmahon_1 gasp not the sad tones..

bobbyskeetz confused we're from the same hometown...?

yourusername you uncultured swine its a lyric 😭

bobbyskeetzswife

liked by inhalerfan1 and others

bobbyskeetzswife OH MY GOD I JUST MET BOBBY, IM FREAKING OUT

view all other comments

inhalerfan1 no way what the hell !! where?

bobbyskeetzswife literally in Dingle, Kerry 😭😭 he said hes with the lads but they ran out of drink so he was forced to go to the shops 😭 😭 inhalerfan1 omg hahahah I can't believe they just played the 3Arena

inhalerfan2 no way wonder why they're in dingle, such a random Irish town...

inhalerfan3 that girl that they all follow is in Kerry aswell with grace (eli's girlfriend) bobbyskeetzswife is that yourusername? I wonder who she is, bobby is always interacting with her inhalerfan2 huh wonder has he got a girlfriend

graciebrns

liked by elijahhewson and others

graciebrns wholesome few days before what I've been told, will be the best party I'll ever attend

view all other comments

elijahhewson promise its not an oversell

joshjenkinson_ agreed yourusername throws a phenomenal party yourusername ah flattered lads thank you

bobbyskeetz the million hikes will be worth it

yourusername you said you loved going on hikes bobbyskeetz course I do love 😔 inhalerfan2 love ?? gathering evidence

inhalerfan1 wholesome band trip bless

yourneighbour1 woohoo almost time to partyyyy

ryanmcmahon_15 how did one row of houses produce so many party animals?

yourusername party animals okay old man bobbyskeetz just cause you can't ever keep up ryan yourneighbour1 its how we were raised 😤

yourusername

liked by bobbyskeetz and others

yourusername hot people have birthdays on nye 💅

view all other comments

bobbyskeetz so feckin hot

yourusername baby stapppppp that

yourbestfriend was the BEST time ever

elijahhewson class night it was, graciebrns whats the verdict?

graciebrns best. night. ever. yourusername I love you thanks for having me <33 yourusername you kidding me? thank you for coming !!

inhalerfan1 oh hello inhaler spotted ..

inhalerfan2 not bobby on the decks

bobbyskeetz

liked by yourusername and others

bobbyskeetz happy birthday gorgeous, love cleaning up bottles with you on new years day x

view all other comments

yourusername ahhhh the taylor reference 😭

yourusername my favourite nosey neighbour <3

ryanmcmahon_15 I have never been so invested in two idiots getting together properly

yourbestfriend so insufferable its taken like 13 years for them not to be idiots yourusername and what about you two being idiots.. bobbyskeetz whats your favourite book trope again love? yourusername FRIENDS TO LOVERS BABY, take notes ryanmcmahon_15 yourbestfriend

inhalerfan1 sad sad day for the bobby girlies 💔

bobbyskeetzswife noooooooooo

finished xx

#bobby skeetz #robert keating #robert keating x reader #robert keating imagine #inhaler dublin #inhaler band #inhaler fanfic #inhaler imagine #smau

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frieschan · 1 year

Text

QUERENCIA, chapter 2

(n.) where one feels home ; the place where you are your most authentic self

pairing - hybrid! ot7 x bunny hybrid! male! reader

genre - 18+, college au, hybrid au, fluff, eventual angst, eventual smut, humour

summary - you, a rabbit hybrid away from home to study, run into a group of surprisingly friendly and calm (also very attractive) predators who are a pack and live together suddenly run into your life like a bulldozer. the dull days of your life may turn into days of joy and laughter, or will the days turn into gloom and a sad everafter?

warnings (this chapter) - another one with mentions of some dark themes..

word count - 2.4k

prev // masterlist // next

Comfort. All you felt was comfort at this moment, you felt arms wrapped around you in a loving and caring way, a calming yet indistinguishable scent flowing to your nose.

You welcomed it, all this felt so right. You could see the kiss of the sun on your skin with a light beeze of the wind hitting you, you wished this could stay forever.

It felt as if you were complete at this moment. You felt so full and loved, so happy and like you were in heaven. This was how life is supposed to be, no worries, no doubt, just love and warmth all throughout.

Suddenly you felt a light brush of lips on your cheek and as you were about to turn around-

Everything had vanished.

You were now left empty, confused, even bamboozled as you open your eyes to the light colored walls of your room.

It was a dream? Damn it, of course it was a dream, you're a single prune with not a mate in sight. Since when did you get THIS touch starved? It's only been around.. 2-3 years since your last relationship?

You had never thought about it much before, you had your mind on other things like family, studies, ice-skating, ballet, and a couple of other things.

Never having an ounce of time to even just oogle and admire other guys on campus had finally taken a toll on you and you were starting to realize it. Maybe Jimin and Jungkook might just be your starvation.

The two are handsome hybrids that are torally your type, surely a small admiration wouldn't hurt anyone? As long as you have your boundaries set, it shouldn't go wrong.

You finally decided to check your alarm clock, it was 8:24 on a Sunday. Having a day-off to just relax and catch up on some shows shouldn’t be too bad, you already studied your butt off the night before yesterday just to be ahead for a few more lessons to remove some of the load. Yeah, you kinda do deserve this 'all about you day'.

Grabbing your phone from the nightstand, you turn it on to be greeted with a few messages from two new people. Opening up the first one, you are greeted with:

Kookie💭at 9:23pm: hey bun-hyung, just got home

Kookie💭at 9:24pm: already asleep? Ballet took a lot out of you lol, sleep well sweets

Kookie💭at 7:34 am: gm, just woke up for my jog, you down for some lunch in the new bistro at around 12? Jimin is gonna come and maybe another one of our guys.

You smiled at the way he remembered about texting you when they got home, the nicknames and invitation was what got a lot of your attention though. Finally deciding to reply to him:

Y/N🐰 at 8:29 am: good mornin' ♡ just woke up, yes I'd love to go out for lunch! Sounds like it'd be a date tbh hahah

Kookie💭 at 8:29 am: hmm? Would you like it to be only us?

Y/N🐰 at 8:29 am: so playful, wolfyboy!!!

Kookie💭 at 8:30 am: very cute sweets, but the lads are really lookin' forward to seein you

Y/N🐰 at 8:30 am: who might this other fellow be? 👀👀

Kookie💭 at 8:30 am: it's a surprise bun, dress smart casual or semi-formal by the way.

A guy that knows you might struggle with knowing what to wear and then telling you the theme on what to wear.. now that's just attractive. He'd sweep anyone off their feet.

In honesty, you were quite surprised at how comfortable Jungkook had gotten with you, not that you minded but you took him as someone who would only do the bare minimum to be polite and friendly to strangers.

You decided to check on what the feline boy could have texted you:

Jimin🐈‍⬛ at 9:26 pm: Kook and I got home safe! Hope the rest of your night is good.

Jimin🐈‍⬛ at 8:34 am: I heard I'll be seeing a bunny later in the afternoon? 😏

You laughed under your breath as you read the message, seems like news spreads fast in their house.

Y/N🐰 at 8:34 am: Indeed, a cute bunny boy will be spotted at the bistro!

Surely flirting here and there wouldn't be too bad? You really couldn't help it, the two were two of the most socially magnetic people you've met and you were honestly hoping a strong friendship would come out of this. Well, not like your heart slightly yearned for a little more than than the title as friends but you are getting a bit ahead of yourself. The love-starved part of your brain taking in the slightest bit.

Now that you had plans to go out in the afternoon, you decided getting out of bed right now would be the best option based on what time it already is. Already thinking about what could be a really good breakfast before you do your whole morning routine since everybody has to take care of themselves always.

11 pm was finally rolling around the corner so you decided it was time to shower, get changed, and get ready, the holy trio before going out.

Since Jungkook had mentioned that you could dress semi-formal or smart casual, you had opted for an outfit that perfectly suited the activity in mind. The outfit consist of an oversized gray sweater on top a white dress shirt, color out of course. You wore dar brown slacks with a black belt and your set of black men’s heeled dress shoes, you were dressing to impress with this outfit. Boosting your self confidence isn't gonna hurt anyone.

After putting everything on and very very very light makeup, mostly just to hide your eyebags, you were finally ready to go out to the bistro. The bistro in question not exactly suitable for a walk, since the distance between the bistro itself and your home was quite far, you decided to go through the metro and commute like a good citizen (and non-driving student)

After a few staircases underground and into the underground metro station, you were in the train on the same route to your bistro. The ride was going to be a bit long, being around 20-30 minutes so you decided to take a look at your surroundings as you leaned on a pole in the train.

Looking around, you found a few hybrids and non-hybrids conversing, them seemingly being in one big group but that wasn't what caught your attention, what caught your attention was a lone gray wolf hybrid sitting on one of the seats.

Noone had taken the seats next to him as if they were scared but what the wolf was currently doing was far from intimidating, same goes for the aura he was emitting. Looking at him, you judged him to be close to 6 feet, with nice and smooth looking black hair that reached his nape. He had rosy lips with sharp eyes as if they were of a dragons but all his attention was on the book in his hands. He was dressed in a comfortable yet smart casual attire, with the color scheme being browns and grays.

You could've looked at him for ages, he looked very peaceful yet gorgeous at the same time. Something in you felt like it wanted to gravitate towards him, want to talk to him maybe. So you did, being an impulsive person you are.

You took the seat next to him and took a small peek to what he could be reading. When you felt his eyes on you, you looked up from the book and to his face. His beauty upclose was completely unmatched comapred to your view earlier.

He greeted you with a soft and polite smile, not really minding the fact that you sat next to him but more so confused on the reason why.

"Ah, you just seemed like a very warm person to talk to, I hope I'm not disturbing you too much, I'm Y/N, a bunny hybrid" You start the conversation, sticking your hand towards him even while sitting down.

The wolf maneuvered his book to be stable enough to be held on one hand before taking your hand and shaking it.

"I'm Namjoon, a Gray wolf, and no you're not, I find your presence quite nice actually." He said while closing his book and setting it on his lap, setting all his attention on you.

"Where are you headed to, if you don't mind me asking?" You asked with a curious glint in your eyes, honestly you were confused where your social confidence came from but it was honestly welcomed.

"I'm just heading to the library to check out some books, potentially borrowing a few to take home if I spot a few interesting ones." Namjoon answered with a grin.

"That's really neat, what’s the title and plot of the book you were reading?"

"Oh, it was a philosophy novel by Osamu Dazai called 'No Longer Human', the main plot is about a guy caught in a crossfire between a breakup of Japanese aristocrats and western influence, it really shows you another outlook and perspective on what life is and what could be. It really depicts depression and anxiety really wel- Aishh, I'm rambling a bit, please forgive me." He said embarrassed, his eyes now looking at the floor with a hand scratching the back of his neck while a rose tint is on his cheeks.

You honestly found Namjoon adorable, though he is a predator, his personality and hobby seem far from it, if you didn't see his ears and tail, you would've honestly mistaken him for a full-human. Hybrids did seem to have a part of their animal somewhere in their personality, maybe this was just one of many sides from Namjoon. You couldn't wait to find out more from him.

"I'd love to check it out sometime, if you don't mind, how about we exchange numbers?" You suggested with a hopeful smile, a bit flustered with your request but you were going to shoot your shot nontheseless.

"Oh sure, here you go"

And that's how you ended up talking to Namjoon until you got to your stop, sadly bidding him farewell before getting off the train and making your way to the Bistro.

Now at the bistro, you waited outside the building to check your phone for messages from either of the two predators.

Jungkook 🐺 at 11:50 am: we're at a table at the corner sweets

Jungkook 🐺 at 11:51 am: i've got a black coat on and Jimin-shi has a turtleneck

Jungkook 🐺 at 11:51 am: if you can't find us, don't be scared to call me

After taking in the information, you finally walk into the restaurant and look around at the numerous tables of humans and hybrids alike, waiters and waitresses walked around with trays or taking orders. After a few minutes of scanning, you luckily found the predator duo with unfamiliar hybrid. Jimin was sat with his back towards the wall, in front of him were Jungkook and the other hybrid that were both faced away from you.

You walked towards the table, Jimin had seen you and you caught the way his eyes lit up with a grin breaking out on his lips. His bread cheeks showing and his eyes barely visible.

The other two hybrids saw his reaction and were quick to look beside them, seeing you standing next to the table with a soft smile.

While the hybrids were just taking in your presence, you took this as your chance to examine the apppearance of their friend.

He had dirty blonde hair with black roots, looking fluffy and messy, but it fit him very well. He also had cat-like eyes, probably a bi-product from his hybrid, part snow leopard. His lips were just as blushy red and soft-looking as the two other predators. His outfit seemed to reflect his laid-back and calm attitude, sporting a plain white shirt underneath a black bomber jacket, jeans and some plain sneakers.

The other two had noticed your oogling and looked at eachother with a questioning look.

"Come here bunny, Take a seat next to me before we introduce you to our friend." Jimin patting the empty seat next to him which you happily took.

"So, this is Yoongi, a snow leopard that lives with us." Jungkook introduced you to him, Yoongi being sat in front of you. "Then this cute bunny is Y/N, Jimin's fellow ballet classmate."

"It's nice to meet you Y/N. I hope we get along well, yeah?" Yoongi put his hand across the table for you to shake, him sporting a smirk.

His voice wasn't exactly what you'd expect from his soft and sugar-sweet like appearance. His voice was deep, a slight noticeable accent in the way he pronounced his words. It was pleasant to the ears, it could potentially put you to slee if it weren't for the current environment.

You finally took his hand, and shook it. Your foot lightly thumping on the ground in excitement. "Back at you, Yoongi."

Yoongi admired the way his name rolled off your tongue, your voice like a melody from one of his songs, your voice was soft and kind, he could tell you were a very sweet and kind hybrid.

Jimin wrapped his tail around your waist, you snapped your neck to him in exasperation, shocked at the action. "What would you like to order, cutie?" He asked with a smirk.

He didn't miss the way your foot thumping had quicked, same as your heartbeat. He could also see a rose red bloom on your cheeks. You quickly averted your gaze, hands fumbling on the menu that was on the table to look at the options, also to hide your embarrassed face from the panther.

"The veggie pasta would be good! With a lemonade! Thankyou!!!"

Jimin laughed at your adorable reaction, the other two were amused at you, with each word you say they could feel themselves falling more and more in love. As if there was a magnetic pull..

prev // masterlist // next

TAGLIST - @blehhhidk, @instantnarwhal, @singukieee, @weepyalex (just comment or dm to be added in masterlist !!, crossed out are people I couldn't tag)

notes - busted out this chapter in like 2 days.. I wrote this from my phone while chapter 1 was written on my computer, which do you guys prefer since I already have a chapter 1 rewrite brewing in my phone? I'd love to know which is better! this chapter was gonna be so much longer but I didn't want to delay it for another day so here ya go! would you also like shorter or longer chaps?

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ineffabildaddy · 9 months

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Hi sam! since the new year is approaching rapidly, i wanted to ask my favorite creators (that includes you! your fics and your posts delight me) how they look back on their 2023 tumblr year and which blogs made them happy to be here. i am very happy to follow you and hope you'll have a great 2024! 💘

hi!!! thank you so so much for this, a few months ago i couldn't even imagine being so active in the tumblr community again, let alone anyone's favourite anything!!!!

i've been very fortunate to receive the warmest of welcomes back to tumblr after a 7-year absence, and i've received so much support for my writing (and my shitposts lol) that this whole experience of finally joining the good omens fandom has genuinely given me a newfound confidence in my creative self, and in myself as a whole💙

in terms of the blogs that make me happy to be here... they are many!!! i shall put the rest of this post under the cut

@raining-stars-somewhere-else thank you for being my first go friend and now one of my closest buddies!!! i can't wait for us to finally write that fic together (lol) and for us to get up to some irl london shenanigans at some point✨ ur hilarious and kind and so correct about literally everything and i love u. literally everyone needs to read ur posts bc they're so well-thought out and unique. also your fics are really moving and human (even though they're about crowley and aziraphalekldfjgjl) and i adore them

@sad-chaos-goblin we literally just Get Each Other, same brain and all, and i absolutely love it!!! i couldn't ask for a better horny consultant bc after all it is Our Pornography™. you're also just an extremely understanding, open and lovely person, not to mention very fun and exciting to be friends with hehe. ur headcanons are so fucking interesting (and sometimes sad, how dare u do this to me) and i'm looking forward to hearing more when u eventually get round to writing all those fics you've got ideas for<3

@foolishlovers i'm really really happy we've got to know each other better over the past couple weeks!!!!! your xmas fic is one of my absolute favourite fics ever and i'm in awe with your skill and craft, i hope to write something as well-rounded and enjoyable as that someday<3 also you're one of my favourite posters, so fucking funny and u just make points left right and centre. i hope we can share our writing and our thoughts about life in general more in 2024!!!

@crowleyslvt i'm very happy i barged my way into your dms to be horny on main bc i definitely wouldn't've explored half the things i've explored in my writing if not for our discussions and your encouragement!!! i absolutely love talking writing and sexy headcanons with you, but above that i love that i'm now mates with such a talented, considerate, hilarious kiwi lad. i am honoured to be one of the little guys in ur phone who gets to hype up u as an exceedingly great porn writer but also as a legend in general

@voluptatiscausa no one understands my feralness for michael sheen like you do. i can go batshit insane in the dms over ms and dt with u and that space is important to me dlgkljdgldfjgl. i'm really glad i started reading ur writing this year bc it's very enjoyable, but it's also healing for me as a person who's [whispers] a traumatised and cripplingly shy person in terms of sex lmao. thank you for bestowing it upon ao3, and by extension, upon me!!!! also tho, you're a really nurturing and interesting friend to have, not to mention a Very Cool one so continue to be that pls and thanks

@bowtiepastabitch i've felt very honoured to hear about parts of your life as you share them with me - Knowing The Lore is so important to me and i'm humbled that you've trusted me with some of the stuff that's been happening in your world<3 on another note, your fanart may be quick but it's never shitty, it's always so expressive and fun and gets my brain Thinking Thoughts. i can't express how wonderful it was when you made a wee bit of fanart for one of my fics, and i hope i continue to see ur creativity shine✨

thank you to my favourite blogs for Existing Throughout 2023 (some of whom i know i can call friends, and the rest of whom i'd like to call friends in the future!!!) @sabotage-on-mercury @crowleys-bentley-and-plants @ineffableigh @celestialcrowley @queer-reader-07 @crowleyraejepsens @teddybearbutchh @crowleyholmes @ineffable-rohese @createserenity @quoththemaiden @procrastiel @sentientsky @genderqueer-hippie @beelzzzebub @lineffability @fellshish @greenthena @brainwormcity @opscuritas @tangerine-ginger @iammyownproblematicfave @crikey01 @crawley-fell @vroomvroomwee @bildads-shoes @shoemakerobstetrician @romansmartini @wraithee

i know i'll have forgotten people so i'll add em as i remember em hehehehe

#kinda good omens #personal #asks #ineffabildaddy

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sixteenthchapel · 2 years

Note

Hello! Just wanted to say that I'm in love with your art and ur one of the people that made me fall in love with jttw jdjdje Also ur characterization of Wukong and Tripitaka makes their dynamic so charming and amusing 😭 (They r so dumb god)

Random question! Do you have a favourite moment in the book?

First of all, thank you so much!! oh my gosh that is so kind TToTT I'm really happy you liked them!! The pilgrims all being dumb together is my favorite thing hhaha As to your question, oh man, absolutely. Its more a bunch of moments all from one chapter. My favorite chapter of the book goes something like this: And I've said this before but should say again, it has been several years since I read the novel cover to cover, so I may not remember all the details just right, but as I recall it, my favorite chapter is the one immediately following the story of the White Bone Devil, which is one of the most famous chapters. But to me, the story of the White Bone Devil is nothing compared to their ridiculous conflict with Lord Yellow Robe, Kui Mulang.

After Monkey is banished by Tripitaka, he goes back to Mt Huaguo, leaving Pigsy and Sandy to look after the priest. Which goes about as well as you'd think. Pigsy says he'll go find food, then just takes a nap, Sandy I think goes looking for him, and when they both don't come back for a while, Tripitaka goes looking for them and ends up walking DIRECTLY into this demon's lair.

When Sandy and Pigsy learn of the priest's capture, they attempt to stage a rescue. During the middle of the fight, Pigsy thinks they're going to lose so tells Sandy to cover him, he has to go take as shit IMMEDIATELY. Runs into the bushes, and escapes all the while Sandy is captured and yelling at him for being a fat, useless, coward (rude.. but in this case very true lol)

Pigsy, now alone and unsure what to do, flies to Mt Huaguo to find Monkey and ask him to come back and save everyone. He tells him everything that's happened, and that Trip has been captured and will surely die if he doesn't help. Even after hearing all that, Monkey refuses. He's still upset that Trip dismissed him and thinks dying and reincarnating ought to teach the brat a lesson! Pigsy gives up at first, skulking off and mumbling to himself about what a flea-ridden bastard Monkey is... this is overheard by some of Monkey's minions who deliver the news to the king himself. Monkey orders Pigsy to be brought back for execution LOL Thinking on his feet, Pigsy tries to redirect Monkey's ire, and thinks one of my favorite lines in the novel. "A warrior is more likely to answer a challenge than an invitation".

He tells Monkey that it wasn't him... This demon, Lord Yellow Robe, he's the one who called Monkey a weak, pathetic, cowardly fool.

And this makes Monkey ENRAGED

Monkey springs into action, flying to confront this demon. Screaming about all the nasty things this demon said about him while Lord Yellow Robe has no idea who the hell this monkey is or why he's so pissed off.

And boy, does Monkey go HARD on this guy. After he beats him up and along with a bunch of his soldiers, the demon retreats into his lair and Monkey is left out. He can't find a way to get to him, so instead takes out his anger on Kui Mulang's wounded but still living soldiers, killing them all. He meets back up with Pigsy and Sandy and tells them his brilliant idea to draw the demon back out.

By taking his half-human children and killing them outside the gates, hoping that will enrage their father enough to come back out. Even his companions think he's malding a little hard

This has gone on awhile so to cut the rest short, Monkey is eventually "victorious". I think I recall a subplot about Trip being turned into a tiger too, and there was this captured princess subplot too.

But this is my fave chapter lol. Basically "Monkey Accidentally Saves The Day By Avenging An Imagined Insult To Himself"

Peak Monkey behavior, absolute mad lad, everyone is an idiot. Its just a mess and I love it.

#ty for the ask <3 #sorry for the long post aslfdjf i really like this particular story #monkey is so emotionally stable and not an insecure bully at all guys #he does come back after this #and his reward for his uh... heroic tantrum is he gets to have the headband put back on #i just kinda winged a design for kui mulang but i like how he looks #sun wukong #zhu bajie #tripitaka #sha wujing #kui mulang #yellow robe demon #jttw #jttw tag #journey to the west

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mrszeoxin · 6 days

Text

It’s my birthday!

I finally get to experience the birthday event, I know a lot of people have posted about it before, but I’ve been avoiding spoilers, and I finally got to experience it for myself! It was super cute!so here are my thoughts!

First, Rafayel getting blushy singing happy birthday, is so freaking cute. He’s also the only one that says “my dear girl”, which could be because of my affection level, or he’s just the only one that says that, either way, I love it 💕💕💕

Secondly, Ayo?! 👀 I see you LADS dev team, I’ll gladly take some of that gold level up sand, thank you very much!

🥹💕

My beloved. There is a reason my LADS bio says “totally smitten for Rafayel”, this man has my whole heart 😭💕

Overall, it was so cute and fun! Sylas also says happy birthday, I thought it might only be the original three, but it’s cool to know new guys will be included in birthday festivities going forward. I think it’d be cute if the birthday event changes slightly year to year, but if not I’m still happy! It was very cute and sweet, and I definitely was fawning over Rafayel a lot lol.

#otome #otome game #english otome #dating sim #love and deepspace #love and deepspace rafayel #rafayel love and deepspace #love and deep space #birthday

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alovesreading · 1 year

Text

Constant Repeat | Part 10

Summary: Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.

Word Count: 27.4k

Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.

A/N: Okay, you better buckle up because I'm telling you this trip is wild and real ride starts here. I'm giggling like an idiot typing this right now and realizing how this chapter perfectly falls on the start of June, what a way to start Pride month (happy pride month btw, love y'all my fellow queer babes xx), you'll understand why I say this when you read. Anyway I wanted to thank imagine-that-100 again because in this one, she gave me the incredible honor of getting my lovely Alice in here so I can introduce you to her and you can grow excited about the fic she's gonna be the main character of which is called 'Nightmare'. Alice is based on Heather from Pale Waves by the way! All I'm gonna say is that Alice is a fucking legend and when N eventually puts that fic out, y'all will die cus it's really fucking hot. I cannot wait for you to read this lol, remember the story warnings that are in the description of this story! (I think you can make out why I'm saying this right now) Enjoy!!!!!!

Masterlist

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

After spending the day before walking, it was obvious to Ella that she'd be sleeping in, but she had made sure to set at least three alarms in order to not miss breakfast time at the hotel restaurant. That hadn't worked though because she managed to sleep through them and wake up only thirty minutes before breakfast was over.

She'd rushed through the hallways to get there in time, barely having gotten presentable enough to show up at the place next to the lobby, but she made it regardless.

The lady who showed her to a table had been very obviously forcing a smile at Ella, making her wince and nervously promising that she wouldn't take long. And keep her promise she did, for she was done and back upstairs in her room getting ready for the day only twenty minutes later.

That day would have to be done without Alex, due to the band having a meeting at Domino Records in anticipation of the album coming out soon.

Ella had gotten a full update on it all from Flo, who had designed the cover art and the merch, and also helped the guys come up with a better name for the record than 'The New Black'. So 'AM'would be coming out in September, and only two months away from release day, things were busy for the lads.

When Alex suggested rescheduling the meeting, claiming they still had all of August to handle everything, Ella had turned him down with a laugh.

"Alex I won't have your label getting angry at you because you're pushing things back to hang out with me. I can spend the day with Bre and we'll see each other later—plus, didn't Jamie say we were all going to that pub tonight?"

Jamie had been adamant of going to this pub, somewhere Ella had no clue it was but looked pretty, and everyone would be following him to the place that night.

Just because of the plans the guitarist had already made for everyone, Ella had been conscious to take it easy that day. That's why she and Bre had walked around London, being mindful of not tiring themselves too much for the early afternoon, to then go back to Ella's hotel room and just chill about the place until they had to get ready to leave and meet up with the rest of the group.

Alex and Matt had picked them up from the hotel and taken them to the pub where Jamie, Katie, Nick and Kelly were already waiting.

Thankfully, the ride to the place was only fifteen minutes long so their friends weren't waiting for too long and when they got there, they could see they had bumped into a friend and been stuck in a lovely conversation with him.

Ella smiled at the sight of her friends, waving eagerly at Katie and Kelly who waved back just as enthusiastically when they spotted her by the door.

She walked over to the girls with Bre in tow and hugged them hello. She wasn't short in showering them with compliments since they looked stunning and they had done just the same to her.

Ella blushed and thanked them shyly, taking off her trench coat and placing it over the back of a chair to greet Jamie and Nick.

She silently made her way around the table and went to hug them, excusing herself when she interrupted the man she didn't know who was speaking with Jamie.

"So sorry to interrupt. I'm Ella, nice to meet you." She would've waited for Jamie to introduce her but the truth was that the lad was gorgeous and she had promised herself this trip would be the one to let go of the insecurities she'd been left with from her latest relationship and maybe put herself out there, even if it was just for some fun.

The guy waved her apology off with a smirk, one that fit his face so well it had Ella biting the inside of her cheek lightly, "Oscar. Nice to meet you Ella." He shook her hand delicately and let it drop slowly back down.

Everyone saw the way Ella had blushed, the girls had wanted to shriek at her reaction and the lads had wanted to giggle but they held themselves back. Alex, on the other hand, had wanted to pull Ella from Oscar's side because he only wanted to see her react like that to him, just like she had done many times the day before.

They all settled at the big table after Alex greeted everyone, Oscar included, Katie sitting beside Jamie, Nick and Kelly next to each other as well, Matt had his arm wrapped around Bre's waist as she sat on his lap despite having a free seat next to them, and Alex had Ella sat close next to him.

Soon enough, Ella found out Oscar was in a band called 'Pale Waves' and they'd been friends with the Monkeys for a few years. He had lazily pointed at the two other band members that had come with him and said that the third, who was their drummer called Zara, had stayed at home because she was ill.

Ella had barely caught that, because when Oscar had pointed towards the pool tables where his two other bandmates were, she swore her heart had skipped a beat.

There stood a man, waiting for his turn at the game but the one who had Ella hypnotized was this woman bent over trying to make a shot at a striped ball. Ella watched the smirk growing on her face when she made the shot with ease and watched as she stood back up straight, only losing her breath a little more.

Her black hair cut in a bob with the long bangs framed her face perfectly, and Ella appreciated her beauty deeply but what she was wearing had the American gulping at the sight. Her legs were on full show due to her short plaid skirt but covered in fishnets, her white crop top clearly showed the lack of a bra, she stood tall in her red heeled platform boots and her neck was adorned with a black leather collar that tied together with a metal A.

Suddenly, Ella felt so insignificant in her square neck green dress that covered up to her knees and her simple black chelsea boots.

But that feeling of inferiority died when the girl caught her staring and she had to make it seem like she was talking to Katie. It hadn't worked at all, because the girl's smirk grew bigger at the sight of Ella's flustered expression as she spoke to Jamie's fiance.

Alex had noticed her pink cheeks but had been in conversation with Nick and Matt, therefore missing what had happened, so he brought his hand to Ella's face and cupped her jaw just to feel how warm she was.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a tinge of worry. He knew she didn't do well in the cold and the last thing he wanted was for her to become ill whilst on holiday.

Ella gulped at the feeling of his hand on her face, so delicate and warm. "Yes, uhm–, who's that?" She shyly asked, pointing towards the woman with a slight raise of her chin.

Alex's gaze quickly fell on the other two members of Pale Waves and with a soft frown, he repeated what Oscar had said a few minutes before. "Oscar's bandmates."

She let out a small sigh, "I know– but, who's she?"

Alex missed the way Ella looked at the girl then, because he just had to roll his eyes as he was completely overcome with annoyance and anger towards the woman playing pool. He shook his head, not really wanting Ella to meet such an appalling person. "You don't wanna know."

That answer had Ella frowning, his face had completely fallen just at the sight of the girl and if that was Alex's reaction to just being in the same establishment as that woman, then she was intrigued about who she was and what her personality was like. She was curious to know about what had happened to make him react like that but she and Alex were brought back into conversation meaning she couldn't get answers just yet.

Matt and Bre came from the bar with drinks for everyone, placing a tray in the middle of the table. Breana had bought a round of shots for everyone along with their drinks, so that was the first thing they did to start off their night.

Ella winced at the burn of the vodka, quickly grabbing her old-fashioned to soothe her throat. Alex wrapped his arm around her waist, softly rubbing circles over her dress as he softly smiled in amusement at her reaction to the alcohol. The need to close her eyes so she could catch her breath again made Ella miss Oscar's bandmate making way to their table.

She opened her eyes and saw the lad waving at everyone and introducing himself to Bre and Ella.

"Hi, I'm Connor. Y'alright?"

Both of them greeted him sweetly and introduced themselves to him, falling into a quick small talk that was then interrupted as the mystery woman now came from the bar with two drinks in hand.

Ella felt her gaze burning on the side of her head from all the way there, that was the only reason she had noticed where she had disappeared to, and she'd had to turn back around slowly as she felt the blush creep on her cheeks again.

But then her platform boots hitting the wooden floors had Ella turning back around to watch her approach them. The girl took a sip of one of the drinks, the glass leaving her lips just a few seconds later and they formed a grin as she got to them.

"Well hello," The girl said but it wasn't to everyone, her gaze was stuck on Ella who grew hot under it and almost shifted in her seat. Alex's hold grew tighter by the second, and that was making her head spin too.

Ella was beyond herself at the way she was feeling about the woman so she could only mutter a quiet, "Hi." as she raised her eyes to return her stare, trying to smile at her without blushing but it was becoming difficult.

"I'm Alice." She said and offered her hand out for Ella to shake, "What's your name beautiful?"

That fully made Ella's cheeks heat up again—her voice was so sweet and her accent only made Ella's knees go weak—but Alice had barely a chance to see her flustered because Alex was quick to say through his teeth, "Fuck off Alice.", making Ella whip her head around to glare at him.

She had never seen him be anything but kind to everyone, and Alice had only said hello and introduced herself so there was no need for the defensive reaction.

Alice seemed to be used to it though, because she only raised her eyebrows at him, gave him an unimpressed, "Rude." and then turned back to Ella with a soft smile and asked again, "What's your name darling?"

Ella didn't know if it was the way Alex squeezed her waist after hearing Alice call her that, or if it was hearing Alice call her 'darling' that had made her squirm in her seat.

Nothing compared to the feeling in her tummy whenever Alex called her by that nickname but what she had just felt from being called it by Alice was the closest she could imagine it would feel from anyone else that wasn't the singer.

It was embarrassing how much of an effect a gorgeous woman could have on her but she would blame it on the lack of sex for the past six months and the instant attraction she felt for Alice.

"I'm Ella." The American finally answered, placing her hand on Alice's and praying she didn't feel how they had started to sweat.

"Well Ella..." Instead of shaking her hand, Alice turned it so she could lean down and kiss the back of it, "Lovely to meet you."

Ella wanted to say that it was a pleasure to meet her as well but after that, her words were completely stuck in her throat. Ella barely registered Alex's exasperated sigh at Alice's antics because she watched Alice notice her 'Pure Desire' tattoo on the back of her hand and how she seemed entranced by it, even if it was only for a mere few seconds.

Ella wouldn't lie and say that it didn't feel nice to see Alice acting like that towards her, especially when she seemed to really not want to let go of her hand and leaving her with a faint squeeze to it.

It had been so long since Ella felt anyone actually showed some genuine interest in her—she knew any flirting from Miles was a joke, and that the flirting from Alex wasn't something he actually meant—, that it had her feeling giddy and smiley.

"Oscar, wanna play the winner?" Alice offered her bandmate with the whole group watching her. "Hello everyone by the way. Looking gorgeous as usual ladies and I've missed you three." She added, only giving a smile to Nick, Jamie and Matt, completely excluding Alex from the greeting and even though Ella was still confused by it, she knew Alex had started it.

"Sure," Oscar stood up and then turned to his other bandmate, "Come on Connor."

"I didn't win." Connor hung his head a little, making Matt laugh at the bassist's defeat.

Ella's gaze was drawn onto Alice, she truly couldn't stop looking at her and when she let her gaze drop to scan her look again, she noticed her nipple piercings peaking through the thin fabric of her top. Ella almost groaned at the sight, her legs clenching together and biting her bottom lip.

Alice caught her looking again but this time Ella only gave her a big smile. However this might finish, I should go for it tonight, Ella thought then, with her mind made about Alice and what could happen. The night was young and she felt it was reciprocal so she could try to let go and have fun that night.

About an hour later, and after two more shots and a third old-fashioned in hand, Ella was well on her way to getting drunk. She was very tipsy, only a couple glasses left for her to fall over the edge of drunkenness so she made herself the promise of having a glass of water after she was done with her current cocktail.

Her eyes had been magnetized to Alice's figure, just like Alice's to hers because they had both caught each other staring a fair few times and the last one had ended with Ella blushing after Alice winked at her.

Ella went to the bar once she had finished her drink, promising Alex she was fine and was only going for some water so she could last a bit longer without getting absolutely shit-faced. Alex reluctantly nodded and turned back around to talk to Jamie and Katie once he saw her almost at the bar.

Alice had been waiting for the perfect moment to approach Ella so she could get to know her without being stared at by the rest of their friends and without Alex being an absolute prick to her.

So seeing Ella sweetly smile at the bartender and ask for a glass of water, Alice walked up beside her and greeted her again.

"What is the pretty lady drinking tonight?" Alice asked with a sultry voice that made Ella brightly smile.

"Got some water for now 'cause I refuse to get wasted and go back to my hotel room before midnight." Ella explained swiftly, playing with her fingers.

Alice hummed with a smirk on her face, "Awh baby, are you a lightweight?"

Ella giggled shyly, her already pink cheeks heating up even more at the pet name, "I have that reputation, yeah."

The Brit smirked at her, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you."

"Thank you, Alice." Ella replied with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Alice found it so adorable how easily she blushed but she didn't want her to stay quiet so she started to test the waters to see her chances. "You're not from here from what I can hear."

"The gossip or the accent?"

"The accent," Alice chuckled at her banter, "Quite like it, always been a sucker for an American accent."

Ella hummed softly and decided to just push through her shyness to flirt back with the stunning girl. "It's a British accent in my case."

"Is it?" Alice smirked, she wanted to keep talking to her just to see how she was once out of her shell. "Shall we go sit over there?" She pointed at a booth by a window, not too close to the bar but not too close to their friends either.

Ella nodded, "Sure. Let me get you a drink first though."

Alice just couldn't hold her tongue so she smirked to reply, "Spoiling me already? Was hoping you'd save that for later."

And she was pleasantly surprised when Ella flirted right back, "I'll have more left in me, don't worry."

Completely satisfied with her reply, Alice hummed and gave in, "In that case, I'd love a gin and tonic."

Ella quickly ordered and paid for Alice's drink, handing it to her once the bartender pushed it towards her and after a sweet 'thank you' from Alice, they made their way to the booth.

"Whereabouts in the States are you from?" Alice asked right after they'd taken their seats, sipping on her drink slowly as she waited for her to answer.

"Tennessee, but I live in Los Angeles."

"Ohhh," Alice let out in realization, "Is that how you know them then?"

Ella nodded with a soft smile, "I'm a production assistant in this company that has been working with them since 2011."

"Fucking hell. Two years dealing with them? I applaud you." Alice exaggerated a bit, knowing that they could be annoying but when it came to work they were professionals.

The American girl chuckled, "They're great. I love them, the four idiots."

"Yeah, but you know..." Alice pushed further, playfully. "Men."

"Ugh, don't even get me started." Ella groaned and that was enough to spark some curiosity in Alice.

"Oh no. Bad experience?"

Ella took a few seconds to think before answering, but even then she stumbled, "It's... complicated."

"Do you mind if I'm nosy and ask about it?" Alice was gentle, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

Ella was feeling very at ease with her though so she didn't find it hard to say, "I actually feel like a drunk rant about the whole thing will be great right now but I apologize in advance for oversharing."

"Nothing to apologize for, baby." Alice quickly reassured, smirking when Ella pressed her lips after being called by the pet name.

After taking a sip of water, Ella started, "So, my last boyfriend cheated on me. And I would love to say that the whole relationship was shit and it was the worst experience of my life but that'd be a lie."

That didn't make Alice feel better about the situation though, her frown deep as she commented on it with a stern, "What a fucking twat."

"Yeah..." Ella agreed, "Now, when I think back to it, I just get annoyed at how he played me. We had agreed on starting a family and trying for a baby at the start of the year and I was over the moon about it so imagine how shattered I was when his parents found him on a date with someone else when he'd told them he'd be out with me."

"You're joking..." Alice's jaw dropped at the brief story, for it sounded utterly devastating.

"He hadn't even wanted to tell me himself to start with so his parents called me to tell me themselves. Apparently they'd been together for a whole month by then." Ella winced as she thought back to it, still not believing that had happened to her.

"I'm so sorry, that's the worst fucking thing." Alice apologized like she needed to but then tried to bring her spirits back up joking with, "You should've fucked his dad. Or his mum, I don't discriminate."

Ella cackled and nodded, "Yeah, that threesome would've made him hate me."

Alice smirked, slightly satisfied by the subtle confirmation of the girl's sexuality. "Definitely."

The alcohol was already impulsing Ella to word vomit though, that's why she continued saying, "Now I have this awful feeling that every relationship I have will end up with me getting cheated on because the first one did it too."

And the British girl didn't miss a beat to reply, "I will batter him after I batter the last one."

"Oh it was a she." Ella felt the need to clear up, looking straight into Alice's eyes just to watch her reaction to the confirmation of her sexuality. "My first relationship. She was my best friend since we started high school but I'd always liked her, so we became girlfriends with two years left until graduation and we were gonna go to college together. Well, that was until she met someone else and fell in love with her, and then left me to go to college with that other girl."

Softly gasping at how cruel things had been to Ella, Alice said, "What the fuck? That is so unfair."

Ella could only nod, "I was left scarred from that one so I just didn't do relationships. Julian was my second official partner, everyone else in between was just a casual thing or a one night stand."

And that was enough for Alice to know that she'd make the night memorable for Ella, "You know what? Fuck them both. Tonight we're gonna have fun and we're gonna forget all about them, so let me change this," She grabbed Ella's glass of water and stood up from her seat, "For an actual drink. Tonight you're getting the treatment you deserve, baby."

Alice winked before leaving to the bar, leaving Ella to stay at the booth, fiddling with her fingers from how nervous she seemed to have gotten. It had been so long since she'd done something casual and she was so scared of fucking up.

No more than two minutes later, Alice was back with two gin and tonics. She left Ella's in front of her and sat back down across from her in the booth.

"Thanks very much." Ella's voice was shy, making Alice feel the need to relax her some more.

"It's nothing, Ella." Alice promised with that sweet voice of hers that had Ella already feeling some type of way.

"You can call me Ellie." She offered her quickly, it was weird to hear someone who wasn't from work call her Ella now.

Alice smirked and stood back up from the booth, grabbing her drink with her left hand and extending her right out to Ella so she could stand up too. "Ellie, let's go dance then."

But that had Ella hiding into herself, "M'not a great dancer."

"I seriously doubt that." Alice insisted, wiggling her fingers which finally made Ella take her hand and let her pull her up from her seat.

"We can dance when I have more alcohol in me." Ella negotiated, knowing she was too sober to dance in the middle of the pub.

"Should we get some shots then?" The singer suggested with that mischievous smirk of hers.

A smirk that Ella matched as she thought, "I probably shouldn't, 'cause it gets me quick but I'm feeling some tequila shots right now."

Alice hummed, amused at the information. "You're looking for trouble."

"Maybe I am." Ella flirted this time, before taking a sip of her drink with her eyes still on Alice's face.

"I like that." Alice winked at her, "How about some shots and playing pool to warm up?"

That sounded like a solid plan to Ella so she eagerly nodded, "Sounds wonderful."

"Alright, go get a table and I'll get us some shots."

Just like Alice had told her, Ella stood by the chosen table after setting it all up. She was leaning on the table as she watched Alice and Matt talking by the bar while they waited for their drinks, but it soon seemed to have turned bitter as Alice's smile changed to a frown that made Ella want to go over and fix whatever had happened.

"Was Matthew annoying you?" Ella had been quick to inquire once Alice was back beside her.

Handing her a shot glass, Alice shrugged with an eye roll, "He's being a dickhead."

"Typical Helders." Ellajoked before raising her glass and clinking it with Alice's to take it.

Ella winced at the taste, going straight back to her still half full gin and tonic to make the tequila burn subside a little bit.

"Do you know how to play?" Alice asked, grabbing her cue and already itching to start playing.

Ella scoffed playfully, "'Course I do."

Alice laughed and said, "Alright." letting her go first.

But halfway through the game, when Ella was missing shots consecutively, Alice had noted her poor form. "You're doing it wrong."

"Why?" Ella asked, slightly defensive.

Alice went to stand behind her, pushing her back down so she was still bent over the table and she could fix her stance. Alice had smirked at the position though, her brain going places already. "If you keep leaning like that then you're gonna mess up your shot."

The Brit leaned her cue on the side of the table and used both her hands to grab at Ella's hips and reposition them. "Keep your hips here, and don't slump over the table like that." Her hands softly fixed her shoulders, making Ella smile at the touch. "There we go. I thought you knew how to play." Alice teased with a smirk.

But Ella took the chance to flirt a little bit, "Maybe I needed a little help." wiggling her ass a little bit before hitting the white ball to shoot at a striped ball.

"Well, I don't mind helping some more." Alice's hands were still resting on her hips as Ella stood back up straight.

With her back pressed to Alice's front, Ella leaned back to say, "Sure you don't."

And Alice didn't let up when she squeezed her hips and whispered in Ella's ear. "I truly don't, but I'm still gonna win."

Ella laughed once Alice had left her with the ghost of her touch on her skin, and turn after turn, she was growing fonder of the singer's company.

Between giggles the game ended and just like Alice predicted, she had won and left Ella to play the next game with Oscar, making her way to the bar to get a new drink for herself.

Alice only let her eyes leave Ella's figure when she had to order her drink, turning back around to look at her bent over the pool table as she giggled over the things Oscar was saying. She wanted to hear exactly what the guitarist was telling her but the music was louder than the chatter.

Ella stood back up and met Alice's gaze with rosy cheeks and a soft smirk, mouthing "I'm winning" proudly to her.

Smiling brightly, Alice winked at her and mouthed a "Good job." back to her, before turning around when the man behind the bar handed her drink.

Alice thought she'd let Ella have some fun by herself, only so she didn't feel suffocated by her flirting because she truly couldn't be fucking it up with her.

So she walked to the booths on the other side of the room, to the one that gave her the best view of the place where Ella stood with Oscar, and it wasn't a surprise that a certain someone had beat her to the best seats in the house.

She smirked at the thought of pushing Alex's buttons, especially knowing that Ella seemed to be very important to him and how she had completely gotten her attention the whole night. Alice could see the fact eating away at Alex's insides.

"Your friend is fit as fuck," Alice sighed as she dropped herself into the space beside Alex, "Thank you for bringing her... Here, and to my attention."

"Stop flirting with her." Alex immediately scorned, "You're making her uncomfortable."

"If I'm making her uncomfortable then you're fucking Einstein." Alice shook her head, sarcasm thick in her voice, "She's flirting back or are you blind as a bat and can't see that woman blush?"

He scoffed, his patience wearing thin already, "She doesn't deserve to be played about by the likes of you."

"Christ Red, I'm already sick of the sound of your voice." The feeling is mutual, Alex thought but before he could even say it out loud, Alice continued, "And it's rude that you think I'm trying to play her about. I'm genuinely interested."

Alex didn't care to believe her words, still pushing for her to stop her behavior. "She's just had her heart broken and she doesn't need you to-"

But Alice had had enough, "To what, Alex? To break it again? To use her? Why do you automatically assume I'm going to be a bitch?"

"Because you are a bitch."

Alice let out a dry laugh at his attempts, "You can do better with your insults, Turner."

"She's only just herself again and I don't want you fucking that up." And truly he didn't want Ella to get hurt, he'd do anything in his power to avoid that but he was biased and in denial, not wanting to see how Ella was reciprocal to Alice's intentions.

"Very noble of you Red I've gotta say. But I have absolutely no intention to hurt that stunning woman." It was one of the very unusual times that Alice didn't use sarcasm when speaking to Alex, her words screaming honesty but the singer was seething seeing it all unfold in front of him.

"Stop trying to fuck her too," was the only thing he could say, completely ignoring Alice's tries to make him understand she wasn't playing the American girl.

She was completely fed up then, so she just said, "I think she wants to fuck me too, so why would I stop?" to mess with him a bit more, have him more angry at the fact that the night was simply not going how he'd expected.

Alex groaned in response, his hands coming up to rub his face in frustration. He desperately needed a smoke but if he went outside after this talk, he knew Alice would take Ella back to hers in a second and there'd be nothing he could do about it.

"I've never seen you so defensive. Not even over Arielle when I used to flirt with her." Alice was taking the opportunity to continue annoying him, but at the same time she was trying to find some answers, just so she could use the information to her advantage in the future.

Alex didn't give her the pleasure though, only glaring at her with murderous thoughts running through his mind. Alice brought the worst in him every time.

"What's that look for?" She teased, knowing she'd break him in no time. "Ohhh, you like her don't you?"

"Fuck off Loveless." He cursed through his teeth, really grasping tightly the last bits of patience he had left.

Alice rolled her eyes, truly amused at the fact that he kept trying to tell her what to do. "Oh Red, you've already told me and I didn't listen to you the first time so I definitely won't be now. Save your breath."

"Do you ever just get fucking tired?" His question was hostile, his gaze matching the tone.

"Not really." She purposely answered knowing that it would make him want to scream in frustration, "Do tell, how long has it been since you've liked her?"

"Shut up Alice." She truly didn't need to know, because the true answer was gonna be enough for Alice to laugh until the end of time over his 'lack of game'.

But she wouldn't budge, now she was just purely curious to know the real answer because it seemed like it'd be an entertaining story. "C'mon, let's try and be civil once." She kicked his feet under the table, only getting him to grumpily shift his legs away from her.

She laughed as Alex gave her an ultimatum for her to stop trying to get an answer. "We're not going to sit here talking about my feelings Alice. We're not friends."

"No we're not. But Christ, I'm jealous you've been her friend for so long. Since 2011 she said, you fucking lucky bastard." She really couldn't believe he had seen a girl like that for two years and not tried to make her his girlfriend.

"Please stop." He begged, making Alice's eyes widen.

"Damn you beg for this woman. You're down so bad." 'Please' was a word she never heard coming from Alex, so this meant it was very serious for him.

"Loveless, I'm being serious." His eyes narrowed as he glared at her once more.

That only had her trying not to laugh, "Don't threaten me with a good time Alex."

"Kill me now." Alex sighed, looking up to the ceiling as if begging for lightning to strike him down.

"Don't tempt me." Alice pushed further, fully just jumping on everything he said because he put it so easy for her to get him angry.

Alex was done with it so he just said what he wanted to say, not caring about what Alice may think, because he was finding her cruel—not just to him but to Ella—and he hated it. "Don't, because I know exactly what you're doing and you know it's working so just please stop."

Alice frowned, not really understanding what he meant. "What is it that I'm doing?"

"You're trying to fuck her to get one up on me for our little vendetta we have against each other. You're trying to get with her to annoy me. And yes, it's working." He stated like it was obvious, a patronizing look on his face that made Alice want to punch it right off.

Alex watched as the singer visibly deflated then, her eyes got less hard and some emotion he'd not seen in her before seeped through the cracks. But before he could comment on it, Alice's hard expression came back, "It pisses me off how you think I'm such a stone cold bitch. I have fucking feelings too, I just don't when I talk to you because you're always a cunt to me."

Her glass landed with a loud thud on the table in front of them but it wasn't loud enough to hide her scoff, "I'm not a monster Alex. I'm not trying to use her. Especially in any way to get back at you."

Alice's playful smirk had long left her face, making Alex start to panic inside thinking about what he should say to make it better, maybe even try to apologize. If Alice had paid attention to him, then she'd seen the cogs turning around in his brain, smoke coming out of his ears with how hard he was trying to make it up to the singer but when Matt came over to check on them—knowing they had a reputation to ruin each other's nights from their arguments—, he took it as he'd been saved by the bell.

Thankfully, Matt had been a sort of mediator between them because about five minutes later, when they were back alone, they stayed there in a comfortable silence rather than the awkward one before.

So they continued watching Ella playing. Their eyes followed her every move, which were ever the slightest bit calculated since Ella had caught them and could feel them staring at her.

So, with a mischievous mind very much induced by the alcohol in her bloodstream, she slowly leaned down to pick her glass from the floor, making a show of her barely covered ass and swaying it to the sides slightly, just enough for them to notice but for everyone else to take it as a normal thing.

And if that wasn't enough, when she came back up, she made sure to stroke up and down the cue she was using to play. Her fingers flexing around it, her tattoo stealing the spotlight and drawing their eyes in.

"Fucking hell." Alice hissed quietly before biting her lip and taking her own drink to have a long sip of it as she looked away from the American. Her brain was racing with thoughts that had her eager to get the night moving.

As Alex was the only one who could hear it, he looked at the singer and breathlessly asked, "What?" as if he hadn't seen that too, as if he hadn't had to bite his tongue and clench his fists to not groan.

"I want that Pure Desire tattoo wrapped around my neck like a pretty necklace." Alice said truthfully, not really wanting to keep it to herself because it was Ella and she knew now that he'd agree. "Take this choker off me and give me her hand."

Alex hated so badly that it was Alice saying it, he didn't want to share Ella with anyone, much less with the woman he hated. "Oh my fucking god Alice."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Oh don't tell me you've not pictured exactly the same thing. Just because I'm the only one ballsy enough to say it out loud."

"Come on," Alice nudged his shoulder with hers, "Admit it."

"Loveless." He told her like a warning.

Alice leaned in a little closer, prompting him again, "Admit it, Red." And only to see his reaction is that she allowed herself to think of a dirty scenario, "You've definitely thought about that hand around your throat, probably around your dick too, but knowing your lyrics, the throat one probably has you finishing in seconds when you think about her."

"You're being loud." He warned once more.

"And there was no denial in sight. Kinky bastard." She raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him to admit to having done that. But he was quick to avert his eyes and look back to the pool tables. "Don't go all shy, she's hot. Why wouldn't you want her? I know I do."

He still gave her silence as an answer and that was enough for Alice to know it all. Alex was so easy to read, and having received nothing but hostility, indifference and defensive comments from him, it was easy to know when he felt the complete opposite towards someone.

They watched as she made her last shot, making it perfectly and she jumped in her spot in celebration. Oscar laughed at her actions, his smile staying on his face because Ella was just so adorable to him. So he took a step towards her and in one swift motion pulled her in by the waist, making her crash into his chest and fling her arms around his neck for stability.

Oscar had seen the two staring at Ella for a while, so he found his friends' eyes and smirked at them in an attempt to tease them.

Oscar's smirk only grew bigger when Alice and Alex flipped him off at the same time, the jaws locked and their stern looks on him as he swayed with Ella in his arms and squeezed her tight before letting go.

"How you nearly fucked him I don't know." Alex quickly reminded Alice, trying to see if that'd push her away from trying anything else tonight.

"We were very drunk and my standards were lower."

"You sure?" He back chatted, without missing a beat and the way her face fell in annoyance.

"You're a dick." She sighed, her 'Alex Turner tolerance' levels were running very low, "I'm sorry but out of me or Oscar, who would you rather take your friend home?"

"Can't believe I'm saying this but you." He felt sick just admitting that aloud.

She hummed in satisfaction, "Exactly."

Ella moved to hang the cue she'd been using, hearing Breana call her over from the table the group was still at. So she walked in a slow pace over to her best friend, smirking at the attention of Alice and Alex she could still feel.

Alice sighed in content, watching Ella's legs peeking out from the fabric of her dress, her ass so perfectly hugged by it. "She's so perfect from every point of view... Just one look from her is more than enough for me to believe god is real and she's just as gay as me." She backtracked on her statement and felt the need to clarify, "God, I mean, not Ella. I know Ella is just as gay as me."

Alex shook his head, trying not to give her the pleasure of hearing him actually laugh because he'd found that funny, focusing on the way Ella got to Bre and hugged her from the back and over her shoulders.

They could see Breana had ordered some sort of dessert, but they weren't quite sure what it was. It didn't matter though, because watching Ella take the spoonful that the model was offering her was far more important, and it had them completely entranced when the whipped cream that was over it fell out of the corner of Ella's mouth and down her bare neck.

Ella laughed, struggling to swallow between the chuckles and Breana, who was trying to wipe the sweet from her neck with her finger, couldn't do it correctly due to how she couldn't stay still from the laughter.

A few seconds later, Bre had managed to wipe most of it with her index finger and offered it to Ella as a joke to lick clean but that was exactly what Ella needed to have the two people who were gawking at her, completely lose it.

So Ella stuck her tongue out to lick Breana's finger from base to tip and then wrapped her lips around it to sink her mouth on it. It got even filthier when Ella's eyes met theirs and she let them roll back in satisfaction.

Both Alice and Alex were struggling to breathe. In the middle of that Alice's head had fallen on Alex's shoulder and she'd fully groaned into his neck. Alex was going into overdrive, and Alice felt herself getting worked up from the whole thing.

"That was thigh-clenching-ly hot. Fuck me..." And Alice wasn't lying because when Alex distractedly dropped his gaze down, he saw her thighs pressed together and he had to hold himself back not to groan in response.

But Ella wasn't done, not when she'd just seen them react that way. She had made it seem like she'd gotten distracted by Jamie and Nick laughing at Matt's comment on Ella trying to steal his girlfriend, but she'd been watching the two out of the corner of her eye.

That's why, to seemingly keep the joke going in front of the lads, she asked Breana to lick the rest off her neck and her best friend did just that.

Alice wanted to be Breana so badly in that moment, to have Ella sit on her lap as she licked her neck. Alex tried not to moan when he saw Bre purposely start sucking on Ella's neck and Ella's mouth opened slightly in pleasure.

"They're gonna start shagging on the table!" They heard Nick yell, Matt was separating the American girls as everyone laughed their asses off, especially when they pointed at the small bruise already showing faintly on Ella's neck

Alice had been sure she'd be shagging Ella later, but that just made her a thousand percent sure that it'd be one of the best decisions she'd make. "I won't fuck her against the shared wall, don't worry." She stated, even though she certainly knew that'd happen, because all she wanted to do now was fuck Ella in every corner of her damn flat.

Alex stood up then, completely done with her, still breathless from the whole situation and just wanting to go home so he could properly get off to the thought of Ella. "Time for another drink."

"I'll have a Negroni Sbag–"

"Wasn't asking if you wanted one Loveless." Alex leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Especially if you fuck my Ellie."

Alice smirked up at him and whispered back, "I'm going to make your Ellie cum on my tongue."

Alex pretended the image hadn't made him want to burst right there. He was sure he'd hate Alice even more after that night because of how much he'd be thinking about them both. And it was awful of him, he knew, but how could he not. That made him also want to kick himself in the head because it wasn't only Ella involved, it was Alice of all people. Fucking Alice.

Alice downed whatever was left of her drink, taking the empty glass with her until she reached Ella's side and wrapped her arm around her waist.

"You're a tease, aren't you?" Alice whispered into her ear, making Ella shiver in her hold.

Ella played innocent, "Me? What makes you say that?"

But Alice could see straight through her and if she was right about her suspicions then it would be a very fun night. Alice hummed, letting her hand drop slowly and then grabbing a handful of Ella's ass and squeezing it, making Ella whimper softly only for her to hear. "I'm very observant."

Ella had enough alcohol in her to fully be blunt and not care that she was in public and in front of all their friends so, with her eyes filled with lust, she said, "And are you liking the view?"

"Very much." Alice replied looking at her hungrily and not being able to hold back any longer.

Alice quickly placed her glass on the table and grabbed Ella by the neck to pull her in and kiss her. It was a hungry kiss, and neither of the girls cared to be seen, if anything Alice thought it'd be better for everyone in the place to know she was the one taking Ella home. Alice believed she was the only one in the place that could treat her the way she deserved.

Ella's arms wrapped around Alice's shoulders, making sure to tangle her fingers on the singer's hair and pulling her in impossibly closer. Alice had one of her arms around Ella's waist, holding her tightly to her chest, and her right hand was still wrapped around Ella's neck just like she'd wanted to do all night.

Now, Alice wanted to test her theories, so she put some more pressure around Ella's neck to see if she was truly into it and when the girl moaned into her mouth, allowing their tongues to taste each other, Alice felt like the luckiest woman alive.

Their kiss went on until they ran out of breath, pulling away as they panted, not even caring about how their friends had all gone silent. All the girls could focus on was the big smirks on each other's faces, certainly satisfied by the kiss.

Somewhere in the background they heard Matt saying "Fucking hell, they were eating each other." but they couldn't be arsed to say anything back because Alice was now rubbing circles on Ella's neck and she was enjoying the touch way too much.

Ella's gaze fell on Alice's swollen lips and that only made her want to taste them again so, letting one of her arms drop from around her shoulders to her waist, Ella pulled Alice back in for another kiss.

Alice moaned as she felt Ella's tongue instantly teasing her lips so that she could open them up for her, making Ella grip her waist tighter and pushing her hips against Alice's. That only made the British girl tighten her hold around Ella's neck, and that's when Ella knew that if she didn't live in a different continent, then she'd do anything to feel Alice's lips on hers all the time.

This time they didn't kiss for long, because now their friends were causing ruckus and they'd rather not have them ruin the night for them by being loud and forcing them to leave early. Not that it would be bad for them, as they could get down to it sooner but they both knew they wanted to stay and enjoy each other's presence a little more at the pub they were in.

So Ella left a bunch of pecks on Alice's lips, which made Alice truly melt at how fucking adorable she was.

When Alice let her hand drop from Ella's neck, she noticed once again the bareness of it, so she undid her own choker and wrapped it around Ella's neck instead.

Ella bit her lip, feeling Alice's fingers brushing the skin on the back of her neck—it was such a simple touch but she was suffocating in the tension between them, it had her tummy fluttering.

Alice finished locking the leather piece, and leaned backwards to see it in all its glory around Ella's pretty neck. "Definitely suits you better." She said, her mouth watering as she thought of marking her up all over. "That feel alright?" She asked, just to make sure Ella was comfortable.

But Ella made her breath hitch in her throat when she whispered, "Kinda wish it could be tighter."

And once again, Alice just couldn't help herself. She deeply groaned as she hooked her finger on the A that tied the choker together and pulled Ella in to attack her lips again. Thankfully, seeing that the two girls had been ignoring them all, their friends had gone back to what they were doing and left them to it.

They were also thankful for the music in the place, loud enough so it could drown the moans they were letting out into each other's mouths.

Alice brought one of her hands to tangle in Ella's hair and pulled on it ever so roughly to make her whimper. Ella had left the hand that was on Alice's waist drop to grope her ass, fingers roughly kneading the barely covered flesh, and the singer stopped the kiss to let out a breathy moan that had Ella smirking.

Alex had come back from the bar right after Alice had put her choker on Ella and he found it a miracle that the glass he had in his hand didn't shatter from how tight he was holding it.

He knew Alice was determined but how he wished she'd set her eyes on someone else because seeing all that was just making his chest twist in a knot. He had imagined tonight going so differently: getting to have a drink with Ella and chat to their heart's content, dancing around with her, sharing smokes and maybe taking her back to his just so they could cuddle.

The longer he thought about it, the more his anger towards Alice bubbled inside him.

He got to the table right when the girls let go of each other, not before Ella gave Alice's ass another cheeky squeeze, making Alice laugh and leave a kiss on her neck. Rolling his eyes, he started gulping down his drink, making a mental note to make it a double next time he went to the bar.

Ella went to sit with Breana again, leaving Alice to chat with Oscar and both conversations seemed to be about the same topic.

Bre kept teasing Ella, and she could only blush as she said how much she was looking forward to later in the night. The model had hugged her tightly and shaken her in her arms, making Ella giggle away.

And Alice watched all that with a loopy smile on her face, matching the one on Alex's face who was looking at Ella's happy state with pure adoration. Yes he despised seeing it be because of someone else but her happiness was contagious and he couldn't help feeling warm inside whenever she smiled.

It was about ten minutes later that someone from the staff had pulled the projector screen down in the corner of the room and set everything up for karaoke. A handful of people ran to the book to pick a song to perform.

They all suffered three very drunkenly performed songs and a decent rendition of one of the best ABBA songs. And as a man very passionately sang an Adele song, a tipsy Ella who had been peer pressured into participating stood up to grab the song book.

If it wasn't for the alcohol and Alice's gaze on her, she would've done anything to avoid it, but then she found a song she loved by one of her new favorite artists that had her brightly grinning and quickly telling the man in charge of the songs what it was that she'd be singing.

When the man singing Adele was done and stepped out of the small stage, Ella grabbed the microphone with shaky hands. Everyone at the table whooped and cheered, wolf whistled and clapped seeing her walk onto the stage, making her blush.

The song started, she was deeply regretting agreeing to it until her eyes landed on Alex's and he nodded at her encouragingly, giving her thumbs up and smiling wide at seeing her on stage for a change.

Ella smiled back at him, scrunching her nose and in no time she started singing along.

She had a sweet, hush voice that sounded amazing even when she was drunk. People at the pub started cheering for her as she'd been so far the best to perform. But it was when she got to the chorus that her eyes met Alice's and she just had to put on a little show for her.

Fuck yeah, give it to me, this is Heaven, what I truly want

Ella sang teasingly, making sure to get a little breathless to accentuate how she wanted to be chanting that line, Alice crossed her legs to aid the ache between them.

Alex had let out a groan, one that left his throat without him wanting to. If he closed his eyes every time she sang that line, he could paint a picture in his mind that was enough for him to cum in his pants at any second.

It was in the second verse that Ella leaned onto the railing that separated the stage and stared right into Alice's eyes as she sang.

In the land of gods and monsters

I was an angel looking to get fucked hard

Ella sent a wink Alice's way and the singer bit her lip, eyeing her up and down with a hungry look on her face.

And after that look, Ella just filled up with this confidence that had her hips swaying and really feeling every line of the song.

Alex was quite literally dying in his seat. His heart was going a thousand miles per hour, every movement of Ella's body getting branded to the forefront of his mind. But all of Ella's attention was on Alice, making him want to scream.

Alice had made a point to be the loudest once Ella got off stage and she was pleased to see Ella go straight to sit on her lap and give her a quick kiss.

"That was so embarrassing." She'd said in Alice's ear.

Alice shook her head, "You did amazing, baby. T'was fucking hot."

Ella gave her no time to react when she cupped her jaw and kissed her hard. Ella's hands cupped her jaw eagerly and Alice's arms pulled her impossibly close, and because of how she'd forcefully pushed her hips into hers, Ella had moaned at the friction.

"God– Please, sit on my face." Alice said under her breath, already obsessed with the noises Ella made.

Ella's thighs clenched together, "Thought you'd never ask." was what she said back and Alice would've taken her right there if she could've.

Another hungry kiss started, their tongues meeting straight away making them dizzy from want but it was cut short because of the person who was now on stage quite literally screaming 'Living On A Prayer'. Ella rested her forehead on Alice's and they both started laughing into each other, absolutely loving the way the night was turning out to be.

Alex was forcing himself to focus on the butchering of the Bon Jovi song, just so he could keep the little sanity he had left.

He was sure it'd be worse once he'd go home and had to try to find sleep whilst he knew that the girls' would be shagging next door. He would just have to try and stay way longer just to avoid arriving at his flat.

A few more people went—including Katie and Breana who had sung 'Head Over Heels' by Tears for Fears—, and after a fair fifteen minutes, Ella had stood up from Alice's lap so she could go sing.

When Alice got on stage, Ella wolf whistled at her, earning her a wink and a blown kiss. Alex felt himself dying a little bit when he watched Ella's massive smile on her face at that. Jealousy was such a weird feeling, his chest tightening at the sight of her happiness and knowing someone else was the reason for that, was killing him.

And it only became worse when Alice's chosen song started and the people around the place started cheering for her as she sang straight to Ella.

So one, two, three

Take my hand and come with me

Because you look so fine

That I really wanna make you mine

I said, you look so fine

That I really wanna make you mine

He wanted to be the one making Ella blush as she giggled by having a song basically serenaded to her.

Well, I could see you home with me

But you were with another man, yeah

I know we ain't got much to say

Before I let you get away, yeah

I said, are you gonna be my girl?

Alex drowned his thoughts in whiskey, staring at a giddy Ella hypnotized by Alice. It was painful to see not only their group of friends enjoying the performance but everyone in the establishment cheering and singing along, clapping and hyping Alice up. That only had the singer more confident to lay it on thick on Ella as she sang to her.

Once Alice was done and off stage, seeing Ella so eagerly kiss her had Alex standing up from his seat and going to the bar.

He ordered himself a double whiskey on the rocks, downing it faster than he should've and ordering another one right away. He sat at the bar until the karaoke stopped and even though his ears hurt, he wished the obnoxious noise was still there so he could distract himself from his thoughts.

Once he was finished with his second drink, he made sure to get a third one and when he got it, he went back to sit at the booth he and Alice had been sitting at earlier when watching Ella.

Time had moved quicker than he could process as he wallowed in self pity in a corner and, in a moment when her attention wasn't completely taken by Alice or the rest of the group, Ella made her way to him.

She was truly elated, the night had turned out better than she'd ever expected and to find someone she actually wanted to fuck, who she felt so comfortable with already, was a massive win to her.

So Ella let herself drop beside Alex with a happy sigh. He turned around quickly, knowing it was her from just her scent, and smiled softly.

"You okay sweets?" She asked with a soft frown on her face, the last time she'd seen him was when she was on stage during karaoke and he'd been smiling so she wondered what had happened for his mood to fall down completely.

"Yes darling, I'm fine." He gave her a tight lip smile that she instantly knew was forced.

She shook her head, "You don't look it, sweetness. Come here." She opened her arms for him and Alex sighed.

He stared at the A around her neck, held by the leather band of the choker and he wished with everything he had that it was A for Alex instead of Alice. Ignoring the growing jealousy inside him, he accepted her embrace and relaxed instantly by nuzzling in the crook of her neck.

She giggled at the tickling feeling from his hair, which made him only do it more in order to hear her laugh louder. His hand managed to go around her side to tickle her there and that's when she dropped her arms to cackle as she tried to push him away from her.

"Stop, stop, stop. I'm too drunk for tickling." She pleaded, really feeling like she'd fully pee herself from laughing with her state.

Alex stopped, opting for properly wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer into his side.

"Are you having fun?" He asked softly, only she was able to hear him from how close she was to him.

Ella showed a loopy grin, her eyes closing at how wide it was, "Lots."

"I'm glad, darling. You deserve it." He was being honest, because despite how he hated everything that had gone on—except for this very moment—, he was so damn happy she was happy.

She cooed, letting her head fall on his shoulder. "Gonna make me cry, sweets. Remember I'm an emotional drunk."

He chuckled and left a kiss on top of her head, making her skin erupt in goosebumps. "You're a clingy one as well. You'll be asking for cuddles in a bit."

And he was about to suggest taking her back to his so they could cuddle all night, a last attempt to stop anything from happening between her and Alice, when aforementioned suddenly appeared beside her and pounced on Ella's lips.

Ella leaned back into Alex due to the force and the lack of space, and since the singer had his arm around her waist, he was stuck between the seat and Ella's body.

He tried his best to avert his eyes, not wanting to watch the way Alice's tongue disappeared into Ella's mouth but what he couldn't do was mute the noise so he fully froze when Ella let out a loud moan at the taste of Alice.

A moan that earned her one from Alice and soon enough both of them were whimpering messes which had Alex completely going insane.

Alex tried pulling his arm out slowly but Ella kept leaning back, meaning he was more trapped by the second. He watched around him in search of any type of help, he needed a way out, but everyone was still at the table, so engrossed in the conversations that he couldn't even catch anyone's attention from where he was.

He cursed in his head, fully panicking as Ella continued to lean back into him and now resting on his chest, Alice starting to bend over on top of her. And then the girls' hands started to wander and Ella's right hand disappeared under Alice's top. He could see her fingers inching closer to Alice's nipple and he knew that if he didn't get out of there soon, then he'd be in serious trouble.

So Alex cleared his throat loudly and continuously, enough times to have them separating with their chests heaving and cheeks flushed. Not as flushed as his, but definitely giving him competition.

Alice held her hand out for Ella to grab, which she accepted instantly and watching Alice go over to the table to grab her coat, Ella turned around slightly to apologize.

"Sorry sweets. I'll see you tomorrow?" Ella tried meeting his eyes to see if their plans still stood, but it was a failure.

Alex could barely meet her eyes as he nodded his head. "Yep. See you tomorrow, darling."

Ella gave him a tight lip smile that he missed but he was left with the picture of Alice helping Ella put her coat on and then intertwining her fingers with Ella's as they waved everyone goodbye.

"Have fun Eleanor!" Oscar yelled suggestively as the couple of girls walked away.

Ella was gonna flip him off when Alice beat her to an answer, "Oh she most certainly will." She assured, to then make a V with her fingers and stuck her tongue out through it to flick up and down in a quick motion.

They heard their friends laugh behind them, Ella's cheeks bright red as they walked out but her heart leaped on her chest from anticipation.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

The walk back to Alice's was about fifteen minutes long which she'd find short in any other circumstance, but standing right there with the need to have Ella to herself had her deciding to just take a cab back to her place.

Only a few minutes later the girls were sitting inside a car, the red light on and the lights flashing as they drove the city's streets.

"So I hear you're in a band?" Ella started the conversation, feeling Alice rubbing her hand tattoo with her thumb.

She nodded, giving Ella her undivided attention, "I am."

"What do you do?" Ella asked, her words a little slurred, and she felt slightly bad for forgetting what Oscar had said she did earlier.

But Alice smiled amused, "I sing."

"Like Alex?" The American grinned, forgetting how both singers seemed to hate each other.

"Yes, but I'm better than him," Alice stated confidently and when Ella laughed a little she added, "I'm sexier too."

Ella hummed softly, not really knowing if she could fully agree on that because if she took a moment to think about it, then she'd greedily choose them both.

"Why does it seem like you two don't like each other?" She felt the need to ask.

"That's because we don't... At all." Alice didn't hesitate to tell her.

The information confused Ella because she truly couldn't understand why Alex couldn't stand such a sweet and funny girl like Alice.

"Can I ask why?" She asked curiously.

"I don't know why to be honest with you." Alice told her truthfully, "The first time I met him he was horrible to me for no reason. And then it progressed to what it is now... Always getting under each other's skin."

"He's not a bad person, I swear." Ella felt the sudden urge to defend her best friend, maybe even give Alice another view on him that could make her try to change her mind. "I've actually never met anyone nicer... He's the one who got me through all the shit my ex put me through, got me being myself again."

"I'm glad he's got a soft spot for someone. Nice to see some human qualities come through" Alice only smiled back, her eyes clearly wandering around Ella's face, which made her blush. "And it's really fine that it's not for me. We get under each other's skin, it's entertaining a lot of the time to be honest."

Ella got lost staring at Alice's features, half a minute going by before her brain caught up with what was said so she offered a solution, "Maybe if you spent time together then you both could-"

But Alice shook her head with a sad expression on her face. Only sad because of not being able to give Ella the outcome she wanted in the situation. "We're going on tour together the rest of the year and the next baby, and we've just done a festival run together. I can't see anything changing. And I've already tried with him and nothing's ever come of it. So I'll just have to learn to live with him."

"You're touring with them?" Ella asked with a sparkle of excitement in her eyes.

"Pale Waves supporting Arctic Monkeys across America and Europe and festivals in Australia. Can you believe it?" Alice smiled sweetly at her, really appreciating her obvious elation at the news.

"I feel bad that you're touring with them and I've never heard your music." Ella's voice sounded very apologetic then, as she played with Alice's fingers.

"Don't worry baby," Alice waved off, letting go of Ella's hand to let her own wander over her knee and slowly up her thigh. "You'll get the best seats to any and all shows. I'll be very pleased to see your pretty face there."

Ella blushed harder then, letting her head drop slightly. Feeling the urge to tease Alice back, she let her hand brush over her fishnet covered thigh, and let her fingertips ghost over the tattoo she had there. 'My Mind Makes Noises' it read, and if she focused enough, Ella could see the goosebumps breaking out on Alice's skin from the touch.

"It's the title of my first album." Alice told her with a small smile.

Ella's fingers kept tracing the words as she asked, "Your first?"

"Yes, I'm writing my second now." The singer nodded, trying not to react to the tingles that Ella's fingers were causing her to feel go up her thigh and reach her center.

"Nice." Ella smiled but she couldn't help but wonder, "Why 'My Mind Makes Noises'?"

"Mental illness, baby." Alice chuckled as a joke, but she went on to explain, "I'm okay now but I struggled with how I looked and what my body looked like when I was younger. Wrote the song Noises about it and 'my mind makes noises' is the first line of the song."

"Proud of you for getting through it." Ella smiled, fully resting her hand over her thigh then as she made a mental note to remind Alice as many times as she could just how fucking drop dead gorgeous she was.

"Thank you Ellie." Alice smiled back at her, her hand coming over Ella's and tracing her hand tattoo again.

For a brief second, Ella felt bad that she was flirting with the singer when she'd just told her about her personal trauma. So going a little shy, she withdrew her hand from the singer's thigh and put it back down on her own.

This however was written all across Ella's face and Alice could already read her like a book. So smirking a little, Alice picked Ella's hand up and placed it back on her thigh over her tattoo, then crossed her legs trapping the American's fingers so she could keep her there.

Ella's mouth opened up slightly, her breath shaky when she met Alice's gaze. The action made her lean back into the seat as she cursed under her breath. "Fucking hell."

Alice smirked at the effect and she was grateful to see they only had a few blocks left to get to their destination.

It was all a blur from the moment they got off the cab to when they made it upstairs and into her flat. Their minds were quickly shaken up by their lips clashing again as soon as the door to Alice's flat closed behind them.

"Fuck." Alice cursed on Ella's lips, "I can finally have you all to myself." She inhaled deeply through her nose, so glad to be in between four walls meaning that she could freely drop her hands to grab Ella by the ass and push her hips into hers.

Soon enough, after Ella's coat had been thrown onto the floor, they were on the settee. Ella's legs on each side of Alice's hips as she straddled her. They couldn't stop kissing each other, only when they were overcome by the friction of their hips meeting and they couldn't stop moaning into each others' mouths.

Ella was drenched already and Alice hadn't missed that, not when Ella's dress was bunched all the way up to her hips and she had a full view of her cute lacy thong already ruined. Alice let one of her hands in between their bodies to push Ella's underwear to the side and rub her clit with enough speed to have Ella whimper and stop kissing her.

"Alice–" Ella was barely able to say, breathless from the kiss and now her fingers.

And Alice had loved how she said her name so much that she went ahead and dipped two of her fingers into Ella, slipping so easily inside of her because of how wet she was.

"All this for me?" Alice asked teasingly as she slowly pumped her fingers in and out of her.

Ella could only softly moan at the stretch of Alice's fingers inside her, feeling so much better than her own after so long of having had to get herself off.

But since Alice didn't get an answer, she stopped her movements which made Ella whimper in despair. And in a desperate attempt to continue with what had been happening, Ella lifted her hips up and back down Alice's fingers, fucking herself on them.

Alice groaned as she watched her fingers disappearing inside Ella's cunt and when she looked back up, she noticed Ella's eyes rolling back in pleasure.

She didn't let her have fun for much long because she took her hand away and before Ella could even protest, Alice gave her left ass cheek a hard spank, leaving her to let out a gasp that turned into a moan.

"You need to answer." Alice scorned, a smirk on her face when she watched Ella's dilated pupils focus back on her.

Ella nodded desperately, missing the feeling of her fingers inside her, "Yes, baby, all for you." And in an attempt to get some mercy from Alice, she connected their lips again with need.

Alice knew exactly what she wanted Ella doing first, so without breaking the kiss, she guided Ella's right leg in between hers and forced her hips down onto her tattooed thigh. Alice's hands gripped at Ella's hips tightly, guiding her to move on her thigh, to ride it until she came.

Ella hummed in pleasure, biting Alice's bottom lip as she pulled back and letting it free after a few seconds. That had Alice squirming in her seat, her leg accidentally shifting in between Ella's legs, making the American girl cry out in pleasure.

Watching Ella ride her thigh was a picture Alice wouldn't forget in a while, her soft sounds echoing in her brain and making her want more from her. So when Ella fell forwards, caging Alice between her arms as she rested them on the back of the couch, Alice took advantage of the skin she had right there to bruise.

Her choker stood perfectly in place still and that only encouraged Alice more. She started kissing her way down her neck and started her attack on her chest. Alice sucked love bites on Ella's tits, biting her nipples softly over the fabric of her dress and that only made Ella move faster on her thigh.

Ella got increasingly louder with the more sucking Alice did, and it turned into desperate whimpers when Alice found that spot right over her collarbone at the base of her neck that made her go absolutely insane.

The rhythm of her hips grew erratic and messy, Ella's moans falling straight into Alice's ear and she couldn't do anything else other than encourage her to reach her climax.

"That's it, good girl." Alice said against her neck, leaving a trail of pecks as Ella got louder, "Come on, baby, I wanna hear how good you sound when you cum."

Alice's hands went to grab harshly at Ella's ass, helping her with her movements and it was her touch along with her words of encouragement that had Ella tipping over the edge and trembling as she orgasmed on top of Alice.

The singer watched her in awe, taking a mental picture of her pretty face scrunching up in pleasure, continuing to help her shaky hips as she came down from her high.

Ella let her forehead drop on Alice's shoulder, her shallow breaths loud as she tried to get oxygen back in her lungs, her legs still shaking slightly besides Alice's thigh.

"You look so fucking pretty when you cum, baby." Alice started, leaving open mouthed kisses on the side of Ella's neck which was on show to her.

When Alice licked a bold stripe up her neck and started sucking right under her ear, Ella's breath hitched on her throat and that had her coming out of her trance.

She sat back up straight, dipping her head to give Alice a brief messy kiss and then saying, "Let's go to your room, Allie." as she carefully stood back up on wobbly legs and offered her hand for Alice to take.

Alice wasted no time, intertwining their fingers and dragging Ella towards her room.

Once inside, Ella quickly pushed Alice onto bed and dropped to her knees right in front of her. Alice felt herself grow breathless in anticipation, her cunt dripping at the sight of Ella so innocently staring up at her through her lashes.

But Ella wanted to tease her, so she got a hold of one of her legs and slowly took one of her red boots off, making sure to kiss from her ankle up to a few inches above her knee, really making it feel like she was going to her inner thighs but leaving right when Alice got her hopes up.

She repeated the process with the other leg, this time teasing her a bit more and licking her inner thigh up until she was close to the edge of her underwear.

Alice watched as Ella's head disappeared under her skirt, but whined when all she got was a couple of open mouthed kisses over her clothed core.

Ella pulled back to take Alice's fishnets off, so painfully slow that almost had Alice wanting to complain—she only didn't because she was enjoying Ella's methods, it turned her on impossibly more.

The American got on the bed then, straddling Alice and slowly pushing her backwards so she was fully laying on the bed. Alice cupped her jaw and brought her in for a kiss, another steamy one that had their breaths shaky in no time.

Their hips met once again, over and over, the friction so good that it made them stop kissing just so they could moan into each others' mouths. But Ella wanted Alice to cum under her first, just so she could also fully see how she came undone without being distracted by chasing her own high.

Ella's lips trailed down Alice's neck, slowly starting her attack on the singer's neck, leaving open mouth kisses and softly sucking her skin which earned her soft moans from Alice.

It was when she got to her clothed chest that Alice got louder, as Ella licked over the fabric on her nipples and then blew on the wet spot, sending surprising shocks of pleasure down Alice's spine.

"Ella, fuck–" Alice could barely mutter.

Ella did that for a minute, Alice felt like she was agonizing already and she was surprised at the confidence Ella had to tease her like that.

Soon, she started lifting Alice's top until it was off her and forgotten somewhere on the floor of the room.

Seeing Alice's nipple piercings made Ella moan as she bit her lip, "So fucking stunning, baby." She complimented before leaning in to suck her tits, purposely leaving her nipples abandoned to her touch.

Alice squirmed under her, and when Ella's fingertips started to ghost over her inner thighs up until they got to her cunt but never touched her like she wanted, Alice started rolling her hips as if that'd help her.

Chuckling, Ella kept her teasing going, this time abandoning Alice's legs to softly touch all over her chest and abdomen as her mouth stayed busy marking her up. And Alice could feel herself going insane when Ella's fingertips faintly rubbed on her pebbled nipples, feeling all the heat going down in between her legs.

Her breaths grew shallow when Ella took it a step further and used her fingers to pinch her nipples. Alice was whining in a high pitch, feeling a new type of pleasure that had her head spinning. And it only got more intense when, after kissing up the side of her neck, Ella found Alice's sweet spot right under her ear.

Mixing the feeling she got as Ella intently sucked on that spot she loved so much and the way her fingers kept pinching and twisting her nipples, Alice felt herself fastly reaching her orgasm.

Ella knew it, from the way she sounded and how ragged her breath had gotten. The more obvious sign was Alice's hand dropping between her legs to help alleviate some of her frustration in that very spot.

But Ella was quick to stop her, letting her skin alone with a pop and taking the hand she'd been using to play with Alice's nipples under her skirt.

Her left hand went to pick up the work she'd been doing and her right one dipped right into her cunt, pushing Alice's underwear to the side.

"Needed me right here?" She teasingly asked her with a massive smirk on her face.

Alice's face contorted in pleasure at the feeling of Ella's fingers filling her up and curling inside her. "Yes– Ella, baby–"

She continued pumping her fingers in and out of her, her thumb rubbing her clit as well and her other hand still playing with her nipple.

"What is it Alice? What do you want, babe?" Ella's mouth opened slowly as she watched Alice quickly approaching her climax. So to help more, she changed her fingers for her mouth to suck on her nipple and that was enough to have Alice lose it.

"Oh fuck!" Alice cried in pleasure, "M'gonna cum, gonna cum!"

Ella hummed enthusiastically with her mouth still sucking Alice's tit, and the vibrations from that were the thing to push her to her orgasm.

Her fingers pumped in and out of her in a constant pace that she kept up until Alice couldn't take anymore and pushed her hand out and away from her cunt.

Ella let go of her tit with a pop, smiling down at a dazed Alice who was trying to get her breath back, and the little she had managed was taken away once more when Ella brought her hand up and licked her fingers clean.

Humming in pleasure, Ella felt herself clenching around nothing as the taste of Alice's arousal fell on her tongue, "You taste so damn good."

At that Alice wrapped her hand around Ella's neck and pulled her down to kiss her. She moaned, tasting herself on Ella's tongue, already thinking about the infinite ways she wanted to have her.

It was a brief kiss because of how breathless Alice was, but Ella took the chance to gather more of Alice's cum on her fingers and bring it up to her lips again. Once again she moaned as she wrapped her lips around her own fingers and tasted Alice on her tongue.

Alice watched it all in adoration, in complete awe of just how erotic it all was. Her mouth went dry when Ella dipped her fingers back down to gather more of her slick but this time telling her to, "Open up." so she could taste herself.

And how could she just not oblige when Ella was looking at her with those hungry eyes. So Alice wrapped her lips around her fingers and sucked them clean eagerly, moaning around them to then release them with a pop.

That made something in them unleash, desperately kissing again as they got rid of their other clothes. They both stood up from the bed and while Alice shed herself off her skirt and underwear, Ella took off her dress along with her bra and thong.

"Keep the collar on. I love seeing you branded as mine." Alice said, eye fucking Ella as she stood so perfectly naked in front of her.

The comment had gone straight in between Ella's legs so she basically threw herself at Alice, both of them falling back on the bed with shrieks that turned into giggles that they swallowed into a kiss.

Maybe if they hadn't laughed so loud, they could've caught the sound of the next door neighbor arriving home.

Alex had slammed his front door closed, dropped his keys on the little table he had by the entrance and toed his shoes off. He was drunk and knackered, already dreading the fact that he'd had to come home earlier than expected because his mind was too distracted to focus on the rest of the group, growing too bored of hearing their chatter and of mindlessly drinking so he felt the urge to leave.

In retrospect, he probably should've walked home just so he could waste more time and avoid hearing anything, but he had been truly just craving his bed and unfortunately his cab had taken way less than anticipated.

He was glad to hear absolute silence once he got to his room, wishfully thinking that Ella wasn't enjoying whatever Alice was doing and therefore it was all completely silent but, as he took his own clothes to get in bed, on the other side of the wall something completely different was happening.

"I meant it when I said I wanted you to ride my face." Alice reminded her, making Ella's ache between her legs grow.

The girls wasted no time going further up the bed and getting comfortable. Alice started a devastatingly slow trail of love bites on the insides of her thighs, making Ella breathe shallowly in a matter of half a minute.

Another excruciatingly long minute went by, Ella feeling every bruise that Alice was leaving in her wake, before she could finally ask her to go where she needed her. "Allie, baby, please– I need you."

The British woman smiled hearing her plead, "Come here then Ellie." She encouraged, and Ella didn't need to be told twice.

She slowly came down to have her cunt hover over Alice's mouth and a loud moan left her throat when Alice licked from her entrance to her clit and then sucked it harshly, making her see stars.

"Alice!"

That noise had made Alex freeze one foot away from his bed. He stayed there for a minute, trying to sharpen his hearing to see if it was real or he was imagining it but his questions were answered when he heard the unmistakable voice of the girl he fancied screaming the name of the girl he hated.

"Oh fuck! Alice!" Ella cried out, Alice fucking her with her tongue as she very quickly rubbed on her clit was making her go absolutely insane.

A minute later Alice changed her tongue for her fingers, seeing how Ella was practically dripping all over her face, being able to easily fit three inside Ella and then letting her mouth give her clit all the attention.

Ella's right hand quickly tangled in Alice's hair, pushing her closer to her center and tightly pulling at it encouragingly, her hips moving erratically on Alice's face and the whole thing had Alice humming in pleasure—Ella shaking over her as she got closer to her orgasm.

It only took Alice's fingers going faster and sucking harder on her clit for Ella to fall forward to grab a hold of the headboard as her legs trembled beside Alice's head.

Ella loudly moaned Alice's name like a chant, followed by profanities that were barely understandable as her orgasm left her completely breathless.

Alex's mouth and throat was dry, all he could feel was pure jealousy and himself growing hard in his boxers as he sat there on his bed with his back leant against his headboard.

He wished he could be the one hearing all that in his ear and not through the bloody walls. He wanted to be the one making Ella fall apart under him, yet he had to know it was Alice doing that.

His blood was boiling out of rage, his body extremely hot from how turned on he was thinking about the whole situation. But he'd have to be strong this time, so he let himself close his eyes and ignore the way he was dying for some release.

That didn't work though, not when his eyes stayed open as he stared at the darkness in his room and minutes later was startled by another round of moans from the girls.

Alice was already overly sensitive, only slowly recovering from her last orgasm, when Ella had cum all over her face. Watching Ella come undone on top of her had Alice clenching her thighs together, it had been such a pornographic view that had her wishing somehow she could replay it second by second, over and over in the future.

Not wanting to waste any of Ella's sweet taste, Alice had lapped at every bit of her arousal she could get, making an overstimulated Ella cry out as her tongue continued working on her cunt.

She only stopped when her whines got louder and Ella desperately shifted to go back down and straddle Alice again, "Jesus fucking Christ," She watched her slick all over Alice's chin and neck so she just couldn't help but lick it all up for her and then catch Alice's lips in a hot kiss.

It wasn't the long kiss Alice had wanted it to be, because Ella desperately wanted more of Alice and she just couldn't wait longer. So she kissed down Alice's body, making sure to suck more bruises on her skin and enjoying every sound the singer made under her.

But Ella just needed to have a taste of her again, so in no time she dove between Alice's legs and started eating her out.

Alice's back arched off the bed in pleasure. Her center had been aching from just watching Ella that the feeling of her tongue flicking at her clit and lapping at her entrance had Alice not able to control her whimpers.

"Ellie, oh my–" She shivered as she grabbed a hold of Ella's hair and pulled on it tightly as she fisted it to bring her closer to her cunt.

Feeling Alice so desperate already made Ella the more needy to make her cum hard so she went up to Alice's clit and wrapped her lips around it to suck on it as she moaned into her.

The sucking and the vibrations made Alice's legs shake and instinctively close around Ella's head.

That had Ella smirking to herself, changing her mouth to use two of her fingers to quickly rub at the singer's clit and making sure to lick all of the arousal that had wet the top of Alice's inner thighs.

Ella made sure to look up to see Alice's face, and that was just a portrait she wished she would have captured with her camera. Sweat was making her face shine and her makeup the slightest bit messy, her cheeks and chest were flushed, chest heaving and littered with bruises that were already darkening.

She was proud of her work so she went back to finish her task, but when she let her eyes drop again to Alice's cunt and saw how she was clenching around nothing, Ella groaned.

"Where are your toys Allie?" Ella asked, knowing there was no way she wouldn't have a wide variety of them.

Alice couldn't answer, not when Ella kept quickly rubbing on her clit so when Ella realized that and stopped, Alice whined in complaint before answering, "Second drawer, over there."

A satisfactory smirk appeared on Ella's face when she opened the drawer and she was met with being right about her suspicions. She tried making a quick decision but there were many toys to choose from and she was feeling indecisive.

That was until she heard Alice mewl in the background and when Ella turned to see her, she was playing with herself. Ella couldn't even find it in herself to warn Alice not to continue doing that because she just looked so fucking gorgeous desperately trying to reach her climax.

In a quick decision for a safe bet, Ella grabbed a dildo and made her way back to the bed.

Alice let her hand fall from her center and raised on her elbows to look at what Ella had chosen. Ella looked her right in the eye and brought the toy up to her lips, to spit on it and once it had dribbled down the length of it, she sank her mouth down on it.

Alice swore she died seeing her like that, as if she couldn't get any fucking hotter. And for a second a cursed thought ran through her mind, of how she'd love to watch her fuck someone else and if she was desperate enough for that show then she'd definitely choose her next door neighbor to be the third in the party.

Out of convenience, of course.

Ella broke her out of her trance when she kneeled on the bed between her legs and prompted them to open further. Bringing the toy to Alice's entrance and teasing the tip in and out of her.

"Baby, please–" Alice begged breathlessly, "Don't tease, Ellie, please."

Her wish was her command so Ella pushed it slowly inside Alice, letting her jaw drop as she watched it disappear inside her with ease. Alice moaned loudly at the stretch, which got easier when Ella's thumb came to rub soft circles on her clit.

"You always take it so well, don't you, gorgeous?" Ella started properly fucking her with the toy, slowly picking up the pace, "And here I thought you couldn't get more beautiful."

The 'thank you' Alice had wanted to say died down in her throat when Ella leaned back down and started sucking her clit again as she continued to use the dildo on her.

"Fuckkk– Ella!" Alice mewled as her back arched in pleasure. One of her hands went down to tangle on Ella's hair, while the other started playing with her own tits.

Alex tried his hardest to control himself but, at the end of the day, he was still human so his hand traveled down his boxers and he slowly started faintly touching himself.

He was well aware the one screaming was Alice but, as he closed his eyes, picturing what could be going on on the other side of the wall was driving him mad.

Alice bit her lip harshly, the pain feeling almost null compared to the heavy pleasure she was feeling, and the stronger the waves of pleasure came, the more she'd bite on her bottom lip.

Ella tutted when she noticed Alice going silent and stopped her sucking to scorn her, "Uh-uh, I want to hear you."

Alice was so focused on the tightening feeling in her belly that she barely heard her so Ella used her free hand to spank her clit, making her jump and drop her hand from Ella's head. Alice yelled from the sensation that pushed her closer to her orgasm and Ella smirked satisfied from it.

"You liked that? Yeah?" Teasingly asked Ella, rubbing slow circles on Alice's clit.

Alice hummed and it sounded almost like a purr, so Ella spanked her again and the gasp that Alice let out turned into such a sweet moan that had Ella needing to hear more of her like that.

Ella hoped the use of a choker meant more about Alice, so she brought up her right hand and wrapped it slowly around Alice's neck.

A massive smile broke on Ella's face when Alice made eye contact with her then only to let out a guttural moan and roll her eyes back in pleasure. So Ella tightened her hold, feeling Alice moan even more under her hand, and continued fucking her with the toy.

Wrapping his hand around his cock, Alex found himself already leaking precum and he groaned, applying a little more pressure around himself. Soft strokes was what he was relying on as he got harder in his hand to the sounds of the girls shagging. He was biting his lip, only letting out soft hums of satisfaction but when he heard Alice yell at Ella to go faster, he let himself moan out loud.

"I'm so close! Faster– faster, please!" Alice begged, feeling herself so close to reaching her high.

Ella listened to her straight away, letting her hand wrap even tighter around Alice's neck and picking up the pace with her left hand as she pounded into her with the dildo.

In no time, Alice's legs started shaking uncontrollably as she came with loud moans of Ella's name, 'baby' and pure gibberish. Ella had her seeing stars as she kept pumping the toy in and out of her with a slightly slower rhythm but kept her hand wrapped tight around her neck.

Alice was getting so overstimulated that she felt the tears pricking her eyes, her legs ached from how they wouldn't stop shaking and she felt like she was about to explode.

But that was exactly what Ella was looking for, so she took the dildo away to solely focus on her clit then, rubbing on it as fast as she could, wanting to see if she could do what Ella had in mind. Ella kept her relentless pace until Alice was cumming all over her again, squirting all over Ella and herself.

Alex died a little hearing how loud Alice had gotten, and thinking about what Ella could be doing for the singer to be almost screaming her name made him fail at trying to stay quiet. He picked up his pace, smearing the precum down to make it more comfortable for him and he fully just pictured them two in front of him, having fun as he watched.

He grew hotter hearing Alice's sounds continue until they ended in her choked up words asking Ella to stop.

"No more– Can't– Can't take more." Alice chanted over and over, making Ella loosen her hold on her neck and start rubbing Alice's thighs soothingly while leaving pecks on every inch of her skin.

Alice was gasping for air, absolutely mind blown by what had just happened and despite wanting to get rid of the mess as soon as possible, she had to show Ella the appreciation she deserved for all that.

"You..." She started, reaching out to get a hold of one of Ella's hands and pulling her up to her, "You are a fucking dream."

The singer attacked Ella's lips hungrily, and it was messy as she still was trying to catch her breath but that only made it better, because it was a clear sign that they were enjoying each other that much.

"That was so fucking hot, Allie." Ella said between kisses, having to hold herself back from going down on her again.

"You're skilled," Alice smirked, breaking the kiss and wrapping her hand around Ella's neck, "Only a few people have been able to make me do that."

Ella laughed, the noise vibrating under Alice's palm making her squeeze tighter and causing Ella to moan.

"As much as I love your hand around my neck, we need to clean this mess." Ella was quick to say, pecking Alice's lips in between words.

Alice agreed, trying to stand up along with Ella but she plopped back on bed when her legs were too weak to do it without help.

The American girl laughed as she offered her hand out for Alice to hold, which she appreciated and stood up slowly.

"I can take the duvet over to your washer while you clean up, if you want." Ella offered, pulling Alice in by the waist and rubbing circles on her lower back.

The singer leaned in to give her a soft kiss and nodded, "Okay. It's the last room at the end of the hallway." She pointed out the door and to the hallway on the other side of the flat.

With a kiss, Ella left Alice to get cleaned up in her ensuite whilst she balled up the duvet from the bed and walked to the laundry room.

It was good for Alex that they had left the room, because if they'd stayed then they would've definitely heard his grunts as he replayed all that he had heard like a broken record in his head as he continued to get himself off.

He was so close when he noticed the silence, and maybe it was that which had made him snap out of it. Realize what he was doing and just how wrong it was.

The next ten minutes were filled with an internal debate that had Alex wanting to pull his hair out of his head. One part of him told him that he'd done that before and why would it matter if he did now, so desperate for relief, and the other told him he should be a bigger person and learn to have better self control.

His inner monologue was rudely interrupted then, by a loud gasp and all Alex could do was let his head hang as the girls started back up again.

After going to the bathroom, Alice had made her way back into her room and seeing her drawer still open, she let herself choose what she was gonna use next on Ella.

The singer was tired but she needed one more from Ella, one more look at her face while she fell apart for her, one last taste of her sweetness.

So when Ella walked back into the bedroom, feeling so bare only wearing Alice's choker, and saw Alice standing there with a smirk and four things in her hand, she bit her lip already feeling herself getting flustered again.

"Thought we were going to bed." Ella blushed as she approached Alice, shy steps but eyes brave as they scanned her up and down with lust.

"I need you to cum for me one more time and then we can do whatever you want, baby." Alice raised her eyebrows, putting the things on the bed to turn around and pull Ella into her by her waist.

Ella hands came up to cup Alice's face, "How do you keep getting hotter by the fucking minute?"

Alice leaned in softly laughing, "I could ask you the same thing."

Kissing again, Alice walked Ella backwards until she was sitting on the edge of the bed and grabbed two of the items to start her plans.

Alice started making her way down, sucking down Ella's neck and chest—really enjoying her whines when she played harshly with her nipples—, leaving open mouthed kisses on her tummy and bruising more of her thighs.

By the time Alice came to where Ella wanted her most, she only got to feel the blow of her hot breath over her because Alice wanted to tease her this time, wanting to hear her truly desperate.

In her hands, the singer had two leather wrist to thigh cuffs, meaning that once they were on Ella, she'd have her legs up and wide open at Alice's mercy.

A few minutes later, that's how Ella ended up with her feet plated on the bed and her knees up, her wrists pressed on her thighs and her legs open to show her glistening cunt to Alice.

Her mouth watered at the sight, the need of having a taste of her before everything taking over and making her dip down to intently lick up and down her core.

The whole setting had Ella already whimpering, being so exposed to the singer made her shiver from lust and looking at the vibrator and the new dildo beside her was only making the ache between her legs grow.

The vibrator coming alive with its buzzing made Ella squirm in her place in anticipation, an action that Alice noticed, making her smirk.

"Are you ready, baby?" She crawled back to Ella with the white buzzing object in her hand.

"Mhm," Ella mewled, "Yes, Allie."

It was excruciatingly slow that Alice moved the vibrator down to Ella's cunt, so much so that when it finally came to meet her clit, Ella gasped loudly.

Like he'd come alive, Alex heard it and only was able to curse his poor luck for a few seconds, because when more moans that Ella was letting out came through the walls, he didn't have it in him to stop himself.

He fully spat on his hand this time, imagining Ella actually doing that to him and wrapped his hand around his length under his boxers.

He was getting harder the more he got to hear the sweet sounds Ella made and it was so much better than he could've ever pictured in his head all those times before. Nothing compared to the real thing. He couldn't imagine how fucking good they sounded falling in one's ear.

Alice had increased the intensity of the vibrator as she started sucking on the dildo she'd chosen for Ella. Getting it ready for her—not that she truly needed it though, because she was already dripping and messing the sheets.

When she pushed it inside her, Ella let out a chesty moan that was followed by the most earth delicious moans Alice had ever heard.

"Oh fuck! Al–!" She couldn't even finish Alice's name and that caused a reaction on the other side of the wall.

Alex would describe those moans as earth shattering. Hearing a clear moan of her saying his name had made him fully lose it. That 'Al' kept replaying in his head and in the background all the sounds she was letting out.

Without them knowing, the three of them were moaning almost in a harmony. If it wasn't for the loud buzz of the vibrator then they could've heard rather quietly Alex's low groans as he fucked his fist to the thought of Ella.

"Ella, darl– F–fuck–" He choked out, desperate to vividly picture her in bed with him.

But Ella's legs were trembling as Alice teased her by keeping the vibrator on her clit for a few seconds, taking the dildo away from her, and then taking the vibrator away to fuck her fast with the long toy.

It was agonizing, feeling so full one second with the ghost of the vibrations, to feeling empty and clenching around nothing as her clit got intensely stimulated.

"Baby I'm so fucking close!" Ella yelled desperately, a loud cry leaving her when Alice still took the dildo out and away from her.

Ella couldn't even touch herself to help, it was impossible for her to bring her hands up and tease her own nipples without pulling her legs all the way up—she was definitely not that flexible.

Alice was enjoying her desperation so much, it made her want to take it to another level. That's why she upped another level and dropped the dildo on the side to curl three fingers inside Ella, knowing that'd get her instantly.

"Fuck!" Ella screamed, feeling Alice hit that spot perfectly and her vision clouded because it was just too much along with the vibrator on its strongest level. "Right there! Right the– Al– Ah!"

And then it came crashing down on them.

Ella got whiplash from how strong her orgasm had reached her, her vision blinded as her legs shook and she squirted, feeling herself spasm around Alice's fingers.

Alex's quick motions pumped himself to an intense climax that had him cumming all over his chest. All he seemed to know was Ella's name, as that was the only thing that came out of his mouth as he came.

Alice was drenched in Ella's cum, as it had all splashed over her arm and chest and that was enough for her to match Ella's noises. She desperately reached for her face, to kiss her messily and feverishly.

After that, everyone disappeared into their bathrooms. Alice and Ella shared a shower while Alex stood alone under the waterfall.

Alex cleaned himself with the sounds replaying over and over in his mind. Alice and Ella got carried away and their shower ended with Alice cumming on Ella's fingers once more.

He had already been in bed for fifteen minutes trying to force himself to sleep when, on the other side, Ella and Alice came back into the room and discarded the dirty sheets for new ones to get some sleep.

The girls were giddy as they got under the fresh sheets and scooted closer until they were cuddled into each other. Alice's head nuzzled in Ella's neck with their legs tangled together and their arms wrapped around each other.

They were certainly aware of the next level of intimacy that meant but they couldn't be arsed, they were enjoying each other's company and they wouldn't keep themselves from it just because of how it may look like. Ella and Alice were both glad to be on the same page.

Alex, on the other hand, was dying inside just thinking about how he'd have to see Ella after all that and how he, no matter how hard he'd try, would never forget the night.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Alex thought he was dreaming when he heard Ella's soft moans reaching his ears. He squirmed in bed and continued to sleep when suddenly Alice's soft sounds came in to mix with Ella's.

He held his breath trying to gather his hazy mind, still attributing the noise to his imagination not having recovered yet from last night's events but then Alice loudly moaned Ella's name and Alex's eyes shot wide open.

Groaning in misery, Alex let his head fall back on the pillow and hid his face there begging in his head for it to be over soon.

His silent prayers weren't answered though, only a few minutes later—which had been painfully long, five minutes had felt like fifteen—the girls on the flat next door only seemed to be growing louder.

Alex stayed there sprawled over his bed with jealousy filling every cell of his body as he tried to focus on that awful poking in his chest to ignore how the noise was making his lower belly tingle and his dick to twitch in his boxers.

What had happened last night was a lapse of better judgment and he was trying now to hold onto every bit of self control he had left.

He had contemplated blasting music to drown it all but that'd give away the fact that he was in fact listening and he knew that if Ella found that out, she'd be mortified. So he suffered in silence for the next ten minutes, as they gasped for air and chanted each other's names accompanied by lots of profanities.

It was too painful, not only because his chest felt tight but he felt his body responding to it all subconsciously and he hated it, so once they got quiet he escaped to his ensuite.

The shower Alex took was freezing cold. He stood there, shivering under the waterfall for a while until he felt himself calm enough to be able to get out. His movements were slow as he got ready for the day, brushing his teeth and brushing his hair with his fingers, deciding to just let it air dry while he waited for Ella.

Choosing something from his wardrobe had been painfully slow because he was sure he could hear faint noises coming through the walls again and trying to find out if they weren't just the ghosts of what he'd heard earlier kept distracting him.

That was until the high pitch whines came loudly through the walls to knock all the air out of his lungs, like a punch to the gut.

Pulling up his trousers quickly, Alex almost ran out of his room and it seemed like the noise wanted to follow him as he heard all of it walking out of his bedroom.

The singer could breathe again when he got to the kitchen, the noises long lost in the hallway and it seemed like they had stopped because even if he'd left the door open, he couldn't listen to them anymore.

There was only so much Alex could take anymore so he decided to ignore it all despite one part of him begging to pay attention and give into his carnal desires.

This day was meant for him to accompany Ella to buy a dress for the wedding since she hadn't had the time for it back in LA, and not only that but she'd thought it'd be better to buy one in London rather than being worried about the gown being ruined from having to be cramped up inside her suitcase.

Alex had agreed with her when they videocalled a few days before her flight and he promised her that he'd be taking her to buy her dress. He was excited for it, the prospect of spending more time with her was always something that elated him but it being in a place he knew so well and she was so foreign to made it the more special.

Now, after last night, Alex wasn't sure when it would happen but like he had promised himself merely a minute ago, he would ignore it all and act like nothing had happened so with hope that she'd be coming over to his in a bit, he started making breakfast. For himself and for Ella.

He was softly singing under his breath as he cooked some sausage, serving two plates and then he moved onto making some scrambled eggs. The only thing that could be heard then was the sizzling of the eggs cooking on the pan, but after he finished them and served them, the silence that overcame him became dangerous for it gave way for the now loud again noises from the girls to creep up through the hall and softly reaching his ears.

Alex stopped as he turned with the two plates in hand, slowly bringing them down to place on the kitchen island, really unsure of how to feel anymore. He was just utterly confused at all the reactions his body was giving to the whole scenario.

Once again, he reminded himself to ignore it so he grabbed himself a fork and knife and started eating, his brain only trying to think about what was in front of him to not go absolutely insane.

But that only worked for so long because the girls, now getting closer to their climax, had started getting louder and more restless meaning their cries of pleasure were just filthy begs and it was making Alex's head short circuit.

Dropping the utensils on the countertop, Alex hunched over almost defeated. He was breathing heavily and in his mind praying for self control and patience. Since that wasn't working because the noises were making his breaths become more shallow, his hands came up to his head and his fingers tangled in his hair to pull on it with frustration.

He was going insane now, he really was.

And Alex thought it couldn't get worse than it already was, when he heard Ella clearly encourage Alice, "Cum for me, baby, c'mon." followed by a loud mewl.

He let his head drop on the cold surface of the kitchen island, fully defeated as his thoughts were spinning. A groan came from the deepest pit of his chest, one of pent up frustration that he knew he wouldn't pay attention to for his own sanity.

"Fuck my life." Alex muttered under his breath when he heard the girls clearly reaching her orgasms, hands holding onto the sides of the countertop like it was gonna ground him somehow.

He was almost scared to see Ella later, afraid that after all that he'd just ask to have her like he wanted to so badly. Every bit of his being was just aching to have her, and Alex didn't know if it would be the right time to play his chances.

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About an hour went by and it was surprisingly quiet after everything that had happened the night before and in the morning. That had been a relief to Alex who had gotten to finish his breakfast counting to a thousand multiple times to try and get his shit together again.

What he didn't know was that Ella and Alice had gone to make breakfast after that second round he had heard. They'd gotten decent first, going to the bathroom to freshen up and Alice lended Ella some clothes for her to leave with—Ella had shyly asked after seeing her chest and neck all marked up on show with the low neckline her dress had.

Ella walked through Alice's kitchen with gray joggers and a 'My Mind Makes Noises' jumper on. The singer watched her in awe through the corner of her eye as she grabbed some mugs to make some coffee for the both of them.

"You look amazing in that." Alice threw the compliment out as she focused on frying some eggs, pieces of bread toasting on the little oven by the stove.

Ella looked down at herself and her new outfit, "I'll give it a listen tonight."

Alice smirked at that promise, "Hope you enjoy it, baby."

Ella walked up behind the singer as the Keurig made their coffees, wrapping an arm around her waist and said into her ear, "It's you singing so I definitely will." Alice bit her lip at Ella's actions, a little harder when Ella left her with a squeeze of her ass and a kiss on her neck.

The British girl was fast making breakfast, almost done at the same time as Ella had placed the coffee on the counter and got utensils for them to use.

"Do you want me to drop you off at Alex's?" Alice asked Ella casually, placing a plate right in front of her as she sat on one of the tall chairs.

Ella was truly confused at the sudden question as she was completely unaware of Alice and Alex's housing situation. "Huh?"

"Are you going to Alex's?" Alice changed her inquiry slightly this time, walking over to sit next to her.

Ella watched as Alice took her seat and ripped a bit of her toast to dip on the runny yolk of the fried egg, "Not now... I'm going back to the hotel first."

"Oh well." The singer shrugged nonchalantly, "He lives next door, that's why I'm asking."

"What?" Ella's face went pale, looking at Alice with wide eyes like it was her worst nightmare come true.

Alice chuckled looking at her face, "He lives next door... I thought I told you."

And Ella shook her head with a frown to remark that Alice in fact hadn't told her, "Fucking hell." She cursed under her breath, flashbacks of the night before and this morning coming to the forefront of her mind and she felt herself burning up from head to toe.

"What's wrong baby? You've gone all red." Alice teased, one of her hands resting over Ella's thigh, where Alice now knew she had her 'Divine feminine' tattoo and squeezed slightly.

Ella squirmed a bit under her touch, her cheeks growing even hotter. "Do you think he heard us?" She genuinely felt like she'd die if he had, because it had already been embarrassing that he knew she'd gone home with someone but him hearing her was making her burn inside and out.

Will this ruin things? Will this make things awkward? She had no idea but now she was spiraling about it all and she just couldn't help but think about every little thing this situation would entail.

Alice being so calm about it was what brought her back from her thoughts, "I couldn't care less to be fair."

"Fuck..." Ella mumbled, staring at her plate with a shocked expression.

"I mean," Alice squeezed her thigh once more and when Ella turned to look at her, she brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "If he did, he's lucky 'cause I don't think I'll ever want to hear anybody else now."

Ella blushed under her gaze, still feeling so affected by the way the singer would smirk at her. "Stop." She brought one of her hands to cool down her cheeks, Alice's smirk getting bigger at that.

"I love it when you go all blushy on me." Alice remarked and then she leaned in to kiss Ella one more time, which the American girl welcomed with a smile.

After the brief soft kiss they shared, the girls went back to eating breakfast and they made small talk about what they were doing in their current jobs, getting to know each other a little bit better. Alice had heard all about Ella's aspirations and Ella had listened to everything Alice had been getting inspired from for her next record.

Without really noticing, an hour had gone by, and when Ella noticed it was about to be noon, she told Alice she had to leave.

They were both gutted to know this was the end of it but Alice a bit more, especially by knowing that Ella would be going to Alex and he'd be the one to spend time with her for the rest of her stay in the UK.

After having loaded everything in the dishwasher, Alice walked over to Ella and pulled her into her by her waist, "Remind me why you can't stay," The singer brushed a strand of hair behind Ella's ear and with her gaze taking in all of Ella's features, she bit her lip at the memories of all that had happened in the past twelve hours. "I wanna fuck you all day."

Ella grinned at Alice with her cheeks heating up, she could tell Alice was being completely honest and that was one of the things that she liked about her because it gave her the confidence to say "I would love that." back to her, which was exactly what she was feeling.

It was hard to compare how honest she could be with Alice than how cowardly she felt even admitting to herself anything to do with Alex, because with Alice it was something casual and it was always easy with girls, but Ella knew deep inside her that Alex wasn't meant to be a casual thing to her. It was either all in with Alex or nothing. But that would only happen in her dreams, she'd much rather keep him as her best friend than try to become more again and it ending poorly like it had before.

In another life, if Ella hadn't been hung up on Alex already, then she would've tried to pursue whatever had started with Alice, because Alice was lovely and funny, and she was the type of girl anyone would be lucky to have in their lives.

The American girl smiled, bringing one of her hands up to cup Alice's jaw softly, "But I need to get a dress for the wedding."

"Can't you do it some other day?" Alice pouted, it was playful as she tried to see if there was any chance Ella would change her plans.

But Ella didn't budge because she really needed to get the dress, "Wedding's in three days and today's the only day we've got no plans."

Seeing how Alice's pout stayed on her face, Ella brought her in for a kiss. A slow one that just felt like it settled it all, a silent thank you and a goodbye.

They savored every second of it, trying to enjoy the time they'd shared until the very last moment. Alice hummed against Ella's lips before pulling back. "Don't go back to the States without saying goodbye, alright?" Her thumb rubbed soft circles on Ella's cheek.

"Promise." Ella replied with a sweet smile and pecked Alice's lips one last time before stepping out of Alice's hold to get her things which were merely her phone and the dress she'd worn last night.

With the dress draped over her arm and her phone being pocketed in her coat she had just put on, she made her way to Alice's front door. Alice was already standing by the door, watching Ella's slow steps with a smirk. She was glad Ella also didn't want it all to end.

When Ella got beside her, Alice softly opened the door but stopped Ella with a hand on her wrist before she could go out to the hallway. "Don't forget I'm always a text or a phone call away." And this time now walking up to her and getting a look of the empty hallway that led to the rest of the flats, including Alex's, Alice added pointing at the door that was his, "A door away as well."

Ella blushed when Alice winked at her right after that and nodded, "Definitely noted."

"Bye Ella." Alice squeezed Ella's wrist softly and let go of her hold.

"Bye Allie." Ella said after one last look at Alice.

Ella walked into the hallway and walked over to what Alice had pointed to be Alex's door. She had expected Alice to close the door right after she left but, out of the corner of her eye, Ella could see Alice was there waiting to make sure she'd gotten inside Alex's flat.

Three knocks were left on the door and only a few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a smiley Alex.

"Hi, Al." Ella smiled brightly at him, hearing then the soft thud of Alice's door closing.

"Hi, darling." He greeted almost breathless, she looked stunning despite wearing Alice's merch and now it seemed like every time he'd look at her, the memories of the previous night and the early morning were going to haunt him. "How are you feeling?" He asked, letting her come in and closing the door behind him.

She sighed and very genuinely answered, "Tired and in a desperate need of another shower."

He tried biting his tongue about it all but his mouth played with him when he let out a "Reckon you enjoyed yourself then?" without meaning to.

Stopping in her tracks, she cursed through her teeth, "Oh, fuck–" And almost wincing, she turned to see him and ask, "Did you hear us?" She was begging he hadn't, because if he had then there was no way she could look him in the eye for at least a week.

"No, no." Alex shook his head and her soul came back to her body. He walked past her, and it was easier for him to lie when she wasn't seeing his face, "No– I, erm, I passed out right when I got home and only woke up a little ago."

"At what time did y'all leave?" Ella asked curiously, she didn't even know when it was that she had gotten to Alice's but the last time she'd seen the clock it had been a bit over three in the morning, and that had been before her and Alice got in the shower.

They got to the kitchen and she stood by the marble island, resting her belongings on one of his high chairs. Alex seemed entertained by what was on his kitchen stove, so she barely heard him recount very briefly the rest of the night, "Everyone left about fifteen minutes after you but I stayed for another hour or so."

She hummed trying to calculate at which point of the night that would've been and nodded once she gave up trying to come to a conclusion since all she was getting was flustered by the memories. "Right."

Wanting to change the subject as his brain was aggressively reminding him of the night before, he asked her, "Are you hungry?" turning to see her with a plate in his hand filled with the food he'd prepared.

Ella looked at him with her lips pressed together, hating having to turn him down by saying, "Alice made me some food actually..."

A small "Oh." fell from his lips, and he froze with the plate in hand before he could manage to form a proper sentence, "There's some more here if you want."

"That looks amazing," She admitted because it truly did and just because she felt bad for leaving him last night, she gave in and said, "Some more food is not gonna hurt anyone..."

Alex gave her a sweet smile when her words reached his ears and placed her plate right in front of her, quickly getting her utensils to eat with. As she had before, Ella enjoyed the meal he had prepared and wasn't shy to give him praise for it. It was really good so it wasn't long until she was done with it and she was calling Alex out for not letting her do the dishes.

"Stop it, I'll wash this quick and we can go to get the dress." were his last words on the matter and he took care of the task with a grin on his face seeing Ella let her arms fall by her sides in defeat.

"Okay but we need to go back to the hotel first though." She truly wanted to shower first, before she could even think of going out to try on clothes. "Can't go out shopping looking like this." Her hands waved briefly down her body to emphasize the state of her.

Drying the freshly washed dishes, he agreed, "Yeah, it screams 'walk of shame'." He quipped, snickering which earned him a roll of her eyes and an annoyed sigh.

Her response was a simple, "Idiot." as she shook her head. He laughed at her while he sorted his dishes back in the cabinets and once done, he dried his hands with a kitchen towel.

"Alright," He glanced around his kitchen to see where he'd left his phone, finding it and pocketing it, he looked back up at her and instructed, "Let's go then before the shops get too crowded and we don't find anything."

Alex had already been ready for the day so once Ella picked up her stuff from the high chair next to her, they left Alex's flat. And thankfully, his place wasn't far from her hotel so they got there in less than a fifteen minute walk.

Once inside her room, she left all that she was carrying sprawled over her bed, really not caring for the mess at the minute as she just wanted to freshen up. The singer found comfort in lying on the bed as well, his head resting on the pillows.

He watched her as she yawned behind her hands before letting him know she was "Gonna take a quick shower now." adding a "If you don't mind." just to check if he had any other plans he had to get to.

But Alex shook his head with a blissed expression at the soft pillows under his head and the silence in the room. "Absolutely not, go ahead." He replied with a soft smile on his face that she gave him back.

Before she left for the ensuite, she wanted his advice, "What should I wear?" Crouching down, she opened her suitcase and was met with multiple articles of clothing all rolled up, "Needs to be easy to put on and take off since I'm gonna be trying shit on all day."

His eyes were closing but his mind was still with her in conversation so trying to be helpful, he thought about it for a few seconds and came to the answer being, "A skirt?"

He hadn't sounded so sure but she nodded in agreement, "Oh, yes. And with a sweater so I'm not freezing to death." It had been quite cold as they walked back, and she was certainly grateful Alice's clothes were quite thick and cozy.

Alex only hummed in response and she took out the clothes from her case, trying to be the quickest she could be as it was already about to be eleven in the morning.

"Okay, I'll be right back." She informed and in his hazy mind, Alex managed to nod.

The water pattering on the floor of the shower lulled Alex to sleep, Ella took her time to shower and pamper herself after what certainly felt like a very long weekend, slowly putting her clothes on. And once she had dressed herself, despite the loud noise even with the door closed, the hair dryer she used didn't manage to wake him up.

When she left the wet room, she walked into the small hallway that connected it to the room which had a floor to ceiling mirror that showed her reflection back to her and the sight made her gasp.

That was enough to wake Alex up then, blinking multiple times he was able to get himself the slightest bit awake to ask, "What's wrong?"

The answer Ella gave flew straight past him as she let out a low whistle and said, "Fucking hell, it's gonna be really awkward trying on dresses today." and continued to watch herself in the mirror.

"What was that?" Alex inquired again, his brain not being able to process what she'd said just yet.

But when she walked back into the room and stood in front of him, she reiterated in a different sentence, "The skirt is not gonna do..." and that was what made him look down to her bottom half to see what she meant.

Her inner thighs were littered in purple marks and the view alone made his eyes shoot open, "Holy shit, Ella." He cursed loudly, his jaw dropping more the more she showed him the insides of her thighs a bit better.

She looked down at the lovebites and chuckled to herself, feeling her cheeks heating up, "Yeah, I know."

"What the fuck?!" He cursed out loud again, his brows furrowed.

"She's a little vampire." Ella joked trying to make the situation a bit less awkward, because he seemed really taken aback by it.

What she wasn't expecting was for him to start saying, "I'll have a chat with her when I get ho–"

She stopped him before he could continue with a firm, "No, you're not."

"But she–" The singer tried to fight, yet Ella wouldn't have it.

Shaking her head and with her cheeks tinting up redder, she admitted, "Alex, I loved it when she was marking me up so there's absolutely nothing to complain about here."

Ignoring the way that statement had felt like a knife to the chest, he gave another argument to back himself, "Well she needs to learn to control herself."

Sighing, she pursed her lips and added, "I'm pretty sure I left her looking the same or maybe worse." so he could stop with his need to cause a fight between himself and the girl.

"Fuck." He cursed through his teeth, hiding his closed eyes behind his hands like he was in pain.

Ella tried to get answers then, ones that she hadn't managed out of Alice, "I still don't get why you don't like her, she's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met." And she truly meant it. In her head if she got along well with Alice then there was no reason for Alex not to get along with her.

Alex wasn't help at all for Ella to try to solve the mystery because he only shrugged and meekly answered with, "Maybe you're biased because you've fucked her."

Without missing a beat, Ella replied in the same tone, "In that case, maybe you need to fuck her too." She had been guilty of picturing the scenario of the three of them in bed the night before, when the thought of him flashed in the forefront of her mind in a moment of pure ecstasy.

"Eleanor." Alex warned with a firm voice, his face stoic as he stared at her like he was begging her to be joking.

"Alexander." Ella copied with the same tone but a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as his anger was becoming amusing to her.

"Don't ever say that again." The singer warned, as if it had been the single worst most awful thing someone could've ever told him.

"What?" Ella threw her arms up defensively, "She's good." Her cheeks warmed again and the sight made Alex sigh exasperatedly.

"Just find something to wear and let's go already." He was growing impatient and he wanted the view of the love bites Alice had left gone for they made a bitter taste rise up his throat and coat his mouth with it.

She chuckled and playfully rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say boss."

He let out an involuntary snort at her remark, unable to not react to her, "Shush you dickhead."

Going back to her suitcase, Ella ended up picking up a long brown wool skirt that reached her ankles and went to the bathroom to change into it. Her white sweater stayed on and over it came her long brown trench coat.

After quickly tying her converse on, they left her hotel room and went straight to Harrods where Alex said he knew she would find something.

She had scolded him when they stepped out of the taxi and the first store she saw was Valentino with a couple stunning dresses she could wish to buy on a random afternoon. He only laughed and reminded her that it was a dress for the wedding and that she was allowed to spend her money on it if she ended up loving it—not that he was going to let her buy it but she didn't need to know that—so with that mindset they began to look for it.

It was a hit or miss in the many stores they had visited, the first few she had been far too wary of the cost of the pieces and by the time she had convinced herself it was okay, she hadn't found anything she was completely set on for her to spend an obnoxious amount of money on.

That was until they stumbled into a boutique that gathered many designer clothes into one place and the dresses she had caught through the window looked to die for.

When they went in, a lovely woman called Rose greeted them by the door and took them inside while asking a bunch of questions so that she knew what the pair were looking for. Once Ella told her she was looking for a dress to wear to a friend's wedding, Rose effortlessly guided them to the ones she knew would be wedding appropriate and that Ella might like.

From the looks of them, Ella chose a few to try on and Rose guided her and Alex into a private changing room. Thankfully, inside was a curtain that separated the actual changing room with the small lounge area in which Alex would be waiting.

Taking her time as she slowly put the different pieces on, Ella tried on the first three dresses she had chosen but none of them had her swooning. Alex on the other hand found himself at a loss of words and oxygen every time she drew back the curtain and stepped out in a different gown.

The first one had been a champagne off the shoulder dress with a slit on the side that showed her right leg perfectly, but it was exactly that which made her discard it. The second was a strapless plum dress which had a beautiful mermaid silhouette but it was just that which made her struggle to walk, plus the top kept falling down so she had to hold it up when she walked out to keep it in place. The third was a black one shoulder dress made of tulle which made it puffy and she truly felt like a princess with it but it was far too big for her to be comfortable in it all day at the wedding, she had been already sweating figuring out how to put it on.

The fourth one was a deep red low v neck dress which cinched at the waist and from there draped down a lovely flowy train. It looked amazing on her, it was light and the shape of it was beautiful and flattering but she found herself pursing her lips at her reflection which showed her fully exposed and very marked chest. Her tits looked great hugged perfectly by the fabric but the love bites littering her skin had her trying not to laugh at herself for caring so little about it the night before when she had a wedding to go to in a few days.

At least she was grateful it didn't have a leg slit for her bruised thighs to show and with amusement clear on her face she walked out, "Well this is not gonna do, is it?"

It was a rhetorical question, she already had seen the annoyance in Alex's eyes that he knew Alice had left those and a part of her was hoping it was the product of jealousy, but thinking of it like that would hurt her if she found out that wasn't the reality so she had been pushing the thought away.

Before Alex could compliment her on how stunning she looked, there was a knock on the door of their private room that snapped Ella out of her thoughts. She was well aware of her marks so she tried to escape back behind the curtain before anyone could walk in but Rose beat her clumsy steps as she came into the room right when Ella was only managing to turn around.

"How are you liking them?" The woman asked enthusiastically and when she saw Ella's figure being hugged by the red fabric, she just had to say, "Oh let me see that one!"

Ella winced at her tone because it was so sweet and genuinely excited to see her wearing the dress so she just couldn't say no. Bad time to be a people pleaser, she scorned herself before slowly turning back around so she could face Alex and Rose.

The loud gasp Rose let out was enough for Ella to hide her face behind her hands, feeling her cheeks burning under her fingers, and Alex to laugh out loud. The singer watched as Rose all but counted the bruises on her skin and then switched her surprised expression for a teasing grin, "You're gonna have a good time covering all those up."

Hearing the smirk on Rose's voice, Ella shook her head still hiding behind her hands so the, "Oh my god, this is so embarrassing." she said came out muffled against the palms of her hands.

The woman directed her gaze to Alex then, completely unaware of the actual story behind them, "You went hard on her didn't you?"

Ella dropped her hands, ready to correct her but she only managed a, "He d–" when Alex interrupted, being a bit louder than her as he said, "I did but I'll help her get rid of them later." He looked so smug with a hand on his chin and a smirk on his face, it made Ella lock her jaw because if she didn't it would've dropped.

Rose giggled at the pair, "That's gonna be lots of ice you'll use." But once again, Ella's real explanation was stuck in her throat as the woman beat her to it, but luckily changed the topic of the conversation, "How did you like the ones you've already tried on?"

"This one was too big." She pointed at the second one she'd tried after clearing her throat, and very truthfully admitted her opinion about the other three, "And the other ones I just don't feel like I love them."

Rose hummed completely understanding her, "This one looks stunning on you though. But I feel like–" She cut herself off to have a small think and after a few seconds of staring at Ella's silhouette, a spark lit up in her brain, "Okay wait, I know just the one to bring you. I'll be right back."

Ella barely managed to say, "Thank you!" to her when Rose walked out of the room, but when the door closed behind her, she instantly turned to Alex to scold him.

"Why would you say that?!" Her mind was in a mush, she was so embarrassed but seeing him so proudly admit to that was making her head spin.

Her thoughts were stopped abruptly when the singer shrugged and raised a brow to set his argument down, "Would you prefer to explain how someone else did all that whilst you're out with me buying a dress for a wedding that you told her we're going to together?"

Ella didn't know why she felt so defeated and recognising that reaction from herself made her feel pathetic. She tried to hide it as best as she could, turning around to go back behind the curtain and look at herself in the mirror again, "Well if you put it that way." She replied, brushing her hands down the smooth fabric of the gown she had on.

"Saved you the awkwardness." Alex added proudly, eyebrows raised as if telling her he had been the one to make the situation better.

But Ella poked her head out the changing room and with a frown, she whisper-shouted, "It's still awkward!"

He giggled at how mortified she looked, it was so funny to him that she'd react like that when she had no need to. "You are making it awkward, she was joking about it."

"My face is burning." Her hands came up to cup her red cheeks, sighing at the cold of her fingers against her face.

"Wouldn't be the first time today, darling." He retorted playfully, and that earned him a lovely middle finger peeking through the side of the curtain which had him laughing out loud.

A few minutes later, in which Alex had been lost in his phone and Ella had been lost in her thoughts, Rose knocked on the door again with a stunning blue gown hanging on her arms.

"I think you'll like this one, but I'll keep looking for some more." The woman said handing Ella the piece of clothing and once the American girl had thanked her for it, she left the room again.

The dress was heavy in her arms but it felt fresh and it had the prettiest floral detailing embroidered with the same color of the gown so it looked more like texture than a pattern. It had spaghetti straps and a delicate scoop neck, what she wasn't sure about was the excess fabric on the back of it so without wasting more time, she went back behind the curtain.

A minute went by, Alex impatiently waiting for her to come out because she had gasped a few seconds before. He was about to ask what it was that she was gasping about when she let out an excited, "Oh sweets I think this one's it."

With his knee bouncing up and down, he bit his bottom lip before saying, "Let me see."

Alex was met with silence for another half minute and when he called her name, she only answered with a quiet, "Wait a second."

But he wasn't feeling that patience anymore, so very eager to see her, he instructed her, "Come on out already, you can't say that and then leave me hanging."

Ella's voice came out struggling as she replied, "It's only been less than a minute and I'm trying to fix the back but I can't reach it."

Knowing that he only itched more for her to come out, so he offered, "Come out and I'll help." Not without adding a "Hurry." at the end.

"You're really impatient." She sighed defeated as she couldn't get the extra fabric out when it was stuck right on her lower back where the zipper was. Taking him up on his words, she came out from behind the curtain, mindful of her every step to not step on the bottom of the dress, "What do you think?"

Alex choked on his words seeing her in that dress, his mouth opening and closing only letting out a "Wow." before he could gather his thoughts and finally say, "Darling you look gorgeous and that doesn't even cut it."

"Shut up." Ella rolled her eyes not wanting to take the compliment herself so she complimented the look of the gown, "It's pretty, isn't it?"

"It's beautiful." He agreed, nodding enthusiastically like a little kid, "You look stunning."

Ignoring the way his words made her stomach flip, she turned around to show him the back of it for it was her favorite part of the dress, "I'm obsessed with the back of it." And he was too, it was a backless dress so her back was on full show, the fabric sitting tightly on her lower back and the extra fabric draping lusciously around the low cut.

"Help me with this bit, it's stuck on the inside." She said and he knew exactly what she meant so reaching to untuck the fabric that had gotten stuck on her lower back, his fingers grazed her skin and she shivered under his touch.

A low, breathless, "There we go." fell from his lips, entirely satisfied by her reaction to his touch.

She hated that she had so obviously reacted so her "Thanks." came out choked.

Walking a few steps back to the changing room, she fully opened the curtain so she could see herself in the mirror without having to go back in and she turned slightly to see how the dress looked from different angles. "So... this one?"

"You're the one who decides that darling, you looked stunning in all of them but this one's just... wow." Alex was truly at a loss for words, she was effortlessly stunning. Her hair had been put up in a quick bun so there were many strands sticking out of it but she looked beautiful with her messy hair and she was walking around in her long gray socks which she had laughed about how they looked when she lifted the bottom of the dresses up to walk.

Alex grew mesmerized by her everyday it seemed like and it was something that surprised him. He didn't want to think too much about it, scared of messing something up and hurting her like he had in the past. He just had to live only being friends with her. Best friends. He'd rather have that than absolutely nothing, he loved her too much to let go of her that easily.

Rose's knuckles thudding against the wooden door interrupted his thoughts and when she came in and saw Ella practically beaming in the dress, she smiled and nodded in approval.

"I love this one." Ella confessed, giddy about having found the perfect dress for the wedding.

Rose was proud of her vision, "I knew it. That was just the right one."

So the American girl walked up to her and gave her a tight hug, "Thank you, it's truly perfect." She said into the woman's ear, letting her go after a soft squeeze.

Alex was entranced by her beauty and her kindness, but he was brought back when Rose turned to him and tauntingly asked him, "What do we think, Mr Dracula?"

"Think she looks absolutely breathtaking." He answered genuinely, the biggest smile on his face as his gaze went up and down Ella again.

"At least you didn't attack her back." Rose chatted back, seeing Ella's fortunately love bite free bare back in the reflection of the mirror.

The singer was feeling very smug about Rose thinking it was all him so playing more into the situation, he cheekily replied, "We shall see about that."

Which earned him a firm "Alex!" from Ella, one accompanied by her wide eyes at his confidence to just say that in front of the woman.

But Rose laughed hard at that, patting Alex's shoulder as she got some air back into her lungs, "Oh I love you two," she stated before inhaling deeply to completely regain her posture. When she straightened back, the woman turned to Alex and kindly inquired, "Want me to ring you up while she changes?"

Ella was about to say no because she wasn't going to allow Alex to buy her the dress but he practically jumped to his feet as he said, "Yes, I'll go with you and she can change."

Rose nodded and exited the room, completely unaware of the hard glare she was giving Alex who was pretty much ignoring it as he got his phone from the coffee table beside the loveseat he had been sitting on.

"Alexander." Ella started with her voice firm to try and get him to look at her.

But when he turned, a mischievous grin was adorning his face, and when he replied, "Eleanor." in a playful tone, she knew whatever she'd say would fly right over his head.

"Don't." She warned with a serious face, her hands already frantically trying to undo the zipper of the dress so she could quickly change and beat him to it.

He played dumb first, asking a silly, "What?"

She wasn't having it so trying to remind him of what they had talked about before she came, she said, "What did I tell you?"

There had been many occasions in which he had suggested taking her to many places and when she had jokingly said 'well you'll let me pay this time right?', he had swiftly averted the question and continued with listing his plans. So she had made sure to remind him every other time that when she came to visit, he wouldn't be allowed to spend money on her. That had been broken already when he showed her around London and she had been determined to not let it happen again.

But her reminder didn't work because Alex continued playing dumb about it, this time taunting her by saying, "I don't really remember right now darling, head's scrambled by the view." Giving her a wink before he stepped closer to the door.

She took a step forward to reach out to him, getting a hold of his wrist, "Told you I would–"

Alex interrupted her before she could repeat what he clearly remembered she had said many times before. "I really have to follow her 'cause it'd be rude to make her wait." He wasn't gonna listen to her in this one, not when he had the means to make her happy gifting her the dress she'd loved.

The singer took another step with her hand still clasped around his wrist and she quickly caught up right behind him. "Alexander David Turner." She said through her teeth when he didn't stop and had a foot out the room.

Knowing he had won already by being out of the private room, he smirked and pointed out with a tut, "Eleanor Hayes you can't leave the fitting room with the dress on."

Ella pursed her lips, exhaling through her nose completely frustrated, "I'm gonna fight you."

He was enjoying seeing her like this way too much. "Would love to see you try." He dared, taking advantage of her hold to pull her in by her forearm and leaving a quick peck on her temple.

"Have fun!" He said with exaggerated enthusiasm, leaving her all flustered and annoyed, still wearing the dress.

She had been huffing around while changing back to her clothes and when she came out of the changing room with a frown and the chosen dress in hand, Alex had the opposite expression on his face.

Rose took the garment from her with the sweetest smile which made Ella feel guilty for her lack of one so trying to make herself look at the positive outcome of it all, she smiled back as the woman packed it up in a perfect box with a bow tied around it and placed it in a bag.

Ella had been trying to keep up her act with Alex, thanking him reluctantly at first and biting her tongue to give him the cold shoulder as they walked out of the shop and back onto the streets of London.

But that had only lasted so long when he pulled her in by the waist and pressed a bunch of kisses on her cheek.

"Oh c'mon darling, don't be angry. I wanted to buy it for you." Alex defended himself quickly, his eyes trying to look for hers but she was forcing herself not to look at him.

Her gaze stayed ahead as they walked a few more steps but he wasn't gonna have her silence any longer so he stopped in his tracks, forcing her to stop with him and turning her around so her front was pressed against his.

"Are you not gonna talk to me now?" He pouted and when her eyes flew up to the sky, he cupped her jaw to make her look at him.

There was nothing aggressive about his touch, it was how delicate his fingers were on her skin and his gentle gaze on her that made her slowly melt in his arms.

"You just don't listen." She started with a defeated sigh, "I didn't want you to spend money on me again."

He thought about it then, something to say to twist her arm, "Can't this be your very late birthday gift?"

"You gave me a ticket back home." Ella reminded him with an eyebrow raised.

"That was from all of us, this one is just mine." He negotiated, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips when he saw her face fall in slight amusement at the loophole he had managed to find.

"You're insufferable." She decided then, shaking her head at how proud he looked to have caught her with that.

"You love me." He fought back, the corner of his eyes crinkling the harder he smiled.

Humming, she gave in and agreed, "I unfortunately do." playfully trying to get that ego of his down.

He scoffed and it made her giggle, "I'm kidding." and throwing her arms around his shoulders, she added, "Thank you sweets, love you."

Leaning back, he looked down at her and left one last kiss on her cheek, squeezing her waist before letting go and once she was back beside him, they continued their walk back to the hotel.

A few minutes passed, people watching and talking about the upcoming big event. Their talk about Nick getting his tux with the lads brought him to pointing out a fact that made him warm inside.

"You know this is perfect." Alex vaguely started, trailing off long enough for Ella to ask what it was and with a tilt of his chin pointing to the bag which contained the dress she'd just gotten, he explained, "My suit is blue too."

Gasping, she turned to him, "Awh! We're gonna be matching!" Ella scrunched her nose at him, "How cringe, I love it."

Alex snorted at her response but agreed, "Matt's gonna take the piss out of us."

"Definitely, but I bet everyone will be matching with their plus one." She pointed out, wishfully thinking that it would be that easy to escape Matt's taunting.

He hoped that logic worked too and whilst they were on the subject of the wedding, he mentioned again the plans for that day, "I'm picking you up early that morning, by the way."

Ella groaned, already dreading having to wake up at an ungodly hour to start getting ready. "Yeah, don't remind me how early though."

"I know, weddings shouldn't be that early." Alex wholeheartedly agreed, almost every wedding he had attended would've been awful for him if he wasn't surrounded by his friends—only being in their presence made him able to look past how long they lasted and how unnecessarily stressful they were.

"It's an actual crime." And then she thought about how late the reception could be but found relief at the silver linings, "At least there's a free bar."

He chuckled and nodded, "I can already imagine the hangover."

She grimaced at the thought, "S'not gonna be pretty that's for sure."

"I'll take care of you, don't worry, darling." He promised, holding her closer by the arm she had hooked on his.

"I'll take you up on that, sweets." Ella replied with her eyebrows raised like challenging him to keep up to his words, which he definitely would.

But then the singer reminded her of the real trouble approaching them, "Tomorrow's what you gotta be worried about."

The next day would be the parties thrown for the bride and groom, she called them bachelor and bachelorette parties but she'd gotten cultured about them being called stag do and hen do over in that side of the pond.

"Matt and Bre being in charge of the parties is making me nervous." She admitted very honestly as she had tried many times to get something from Breana but miserably failed at it.

Alex hadn't been successful in getting information from the couple either so he felt the same way, "Haven't managed to get anything out of them so I share your worries."

Ella sighed, only being able to imagine the trouble the next night would bring but wishing aloud, "It better be fun."

He decided to tease her a bit and with a low voice said, "But at what cost?"

"Don't." She cut him off before he could set off more nerves in her and nudged his hip with hers, "That only makes me even more scared."

He giggled at her, noticing they were already close to the hotel she was staying at and wanting to spend the last few minutes they had together on a better note, he decided to settle her down a bit, "I know we won't be together but Florence will take care of you since I know Bre is gonna be too gone to do it herself."

"Awh I love Flo!" Ella almost jumped in her spot at the reminder of his childhood best friend's attendance, "I'm excited now, I can properly party with her."

They had been talking about properly going out at Glastonbury, trying to align their schedules so everyone could join and there had been a few dates thrown around but nothing confirmed, nothing that couldn't be solved when she would see her again then and the thought of making plans with her and the girls was making Ella excited.

She had been brainstorming more about that shoot she had in mind and she couldn't wait to properly set a day and a meeting place for them all to bring the vision to life. Ella was properly giddy about it for they were all stunning and the shoot was going to be in a style she had been waiting to try for a while.

Alex's memories came back to him of every time he'd partied with Flo since they were teenagers and he smiled at them, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that the girls would have the best night together. "She's amazing company, you're gonna have the best time."

Ella hummed, even more excitement bubbling up inside her and with hopes up to the ceiling, she replied, "I'm counting on it, Turner."

The girls all together and away from the lads, partying the night away in celebration of the bride sounded like a perfect night and, despite going into it blind, Ella just couldn't wait to see what that night would bring.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

A/N: I don't exactly remember how me and N came about the talk about how insane it would be if Alice and Ella bumped into each other and had Alex absolutely seething but it ended up in me writing this and all I can say is I blacked out, I was fully possessed lolllllll! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's a whiplash of emotions from now on tbf but it's gonna be really fun. Hen do is coming next and so is the wedding... heheheh. Thank you for reading and see you in two weeks!!!!!! xx

Taglist: @imagine-that-100 @red---moon @kennedy-brooke @faveficz @indierockgirrl @ladydraculasthings @moonvr @unwantedlovergirl @eaglestar31 @nikisfwn @funniestpersoninnyc @andrearroe @justacaliforniandreamer @alexturnersgf69 @yourorganiccigarette

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bisexualseraphim · 5 months

Text

15 questions

Tagged by the lovely @butmakeitgayblog cheers love ☺️

Were you named after anyone?

Nope! My mum just liked the meaning of my birth name and had an interest in name meanings. All my new names (yes I have several) have just been because I thought they sounded cool.

Do you have kids?

HA! No. And definitely never will. I’d be the worst dad 🥴

When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday lol, I started my first ever proper job and was shitting myself with anxiety. It went well though!

What sports have you played/do you play?

I was a dodgeball champion in primary school before I got chronically ill! Played a bit of football too (real football not that poundshop rugby Americans play 😒) and I do miss it a little but not much to be done about it I suppose. I had fun while it lasted!

Do you use sarcasm?

Nah I’ve been around over 2 decades and have never been sarcastic in my life

First thing you notice about people?

This sounds faggy as fuck but their smile 😅 Where I live people are so miserable that when someone has a lovely smile it’s so noticeable to me haha

Scary movies or happy endings?

Ooh cheeky question! I looove horror movies and they’ve been a huge special interest of mine since I was probably too young to be watching them 🤭 BUT I do love a happy ending IF it feels earned. So I guess it depends! But scary movies overall I think.

What are your hobbies?

Reading, writing, playing instruments, video games, watching movies, just chatting with friends.

What is your eye colour?

Fuck knows genuinely, I had a friend whom after years of knowing me one day suddenly screamed OH MY GOD YOUR EYES ARE BLUE WHAT THE FUCK on a sunny day so. Call me Alycia Debnam Carey cos my eye colour changes with the weather apparently 🧿🧿

Any talents?

Ummm I mean I guess I technically class as a multi-instrumentalist but I don’t think I’m that great at any of them 😅 The one thing I know for certain I’m good at is writing but I hardly bloody do it 🥴

Where were you born?

I have dual citizenship because I was born outside the EU and that’s all I’ll say 😌

Do you have any pets?

I did have a lovely sweet kitty whom I had since I was little and she was a kitten, meaning we literally grew up together, but she sadly passed away in January and it’s hit me harder than anything else in my life 😞 I think I’m finally ready to accept another baby into my life though so we’ll see if that works out!

How tall are you?

Just under 5’7 when the weight of being a trans disabled queer man in the UK isn’t compressing my spine

Favourite subject in school?

Definitely Film Studies and Media Studies! I also loved French (still do!) and Religious Studies was the highlight of my day because my teacher was a fuckin legend. Miss that fella every day honestly

Dream job?

I want to be a published author that has a semi-decent fanbase. I don’t need to be on Neil Gaiman levels of fame, I just want more than like 20 people to read and enjoy my stories 😊

I’ll go ahead and tag @lexa-griffins @dysphoria-things @northern-punk-lad @sadiewayne @reallygroovyninja @dreamsaremywords and anyone else who’d like to do it! Just make sure you tag me 😘

#personal #tag game #ask #questions #about me

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jgvfhl · 6 months

Text

The Number Lads Have Midnight Crises

And it's much tastier than the title would have you believe. Yes, folks, this is it! The final chapter. I hope this ties things up nicely enough for you, and thank you all so much who have read along with the lads and their adventures.

Words: ~5500 Warnings: None! Link to Master List of Chapters on Tumblr Link to full story on Ao3

Double Trouble: kinda wild that it’s almost been a year since everything almost went completely to shit

Loopy: has it??? Force…

RedBoiiiii: holy shIT you’re RIGHT

Leafs: I’m shocked it’s all held together as well as it has

CrispyDomino: me too tbh

CrispyDomino: suddenly adding almost two million citizens to the Republic’s census is a lot

Loopy: well it wasn’t that sudden

RedBoiiiii: yeah they’re still rolling it out right? Supposed to finish by the new year festivals

high fives: That was the plan I saw on the holonews

#1 Boy: oh!!! Who has their new ID yet???

CrispyDomino: I think Skywalker pulled strings to get ours to us so quickly

high fives: no i think Senator Amidala pulled strings FOR him

CrispyDomino: true

d0nut man: the 118th got ours!

RedBoiiiii: i think we’re getting ours in rancor next week??

Loopy: i’ve got mine

DressedtotheNines: 212th got ours a couple months back

Double Trouble: AND THE NEW IDS DON’T HAVE TO HAVE GENDER MARKINGS???

Leafs: That is how they work

Submarine: Nova Corps got ours just this week :)

Double Trouble: I CAN JUST BE AN ENTITY!!!!!

RedBoiiiii: YEAH BABYYYYY

high fives: NICE

#1 Boy: right??? so nice!!! and you can pick a last name??

d0nut man: you can use your designation as a second name!

Leafs: Oh, yes, that was one of the updates to Republic law meant to accommodate us.

Loopy: oh sweet. not doing it.

high fives: yeah i already got a first name for that

CrispyDomino: yeah we kinda had an easy choice for second names

high fives: Domino Brothers!

RedBoiiiii: awesome!!!

Loopy: i’m waiting for it…

Leafs: Waiting for…?

#1 Boy: yeah didn’t you say you got your ID card Loops?

RedBoiiiii: OHHHHHH WAIT COMMANDERRRRRR

Loopy: there it is

RedBoiiiii: WAHT IS YOUR SECOND NAAAAAME DO YOU HAVE YOUR NEW ID???

Leafs: ah

Double Trouble: lakdjlkglskd oh my gods you people XD

#1 Boy: oh :P

RedBoiiiii: WOW okay you idiots, i feel so seen

DEATH: Why is this any of your business?

RedBoiiiii: Because!!!!

d0nut man: Wait is it the same as your batchers?

RedBoiiiii: OH RIGHT YOU SERVE UNDER HIS BROTHER

Double Trouble: ELEVENSIES, WHAT IS CMDR THIRE’S SECOND NAME

DEATH: I’m not sure if I should be happy you’re finally using your brains

DEATH: or disappointed it took you all that long to remember I have batchmates.

CrispyDomino: lol

RedBoiiiii: okay in MY DEFENSE!!!! I still don’t even know where cmdr Havoc sleeps

Double Trouble: commanders don’t have lives outside of the command wym

RedBoiiiii: how am i supposed to remember about batchmates???

DEATH: Do-si-do, if I don’t have a life outside of command, what the hell am I doing here?

Leafs: I ask myself that all the time, more or less

Double Trouble: Numbers

RedBoiiiii: yeah you didn’t have a choice in us

DEATH: So I’ve discovered

high fives: he’s still dodging the question!!!!

#1 Boy: Commander Thire Nitta!

d0nut man: yeah same for Nero

Loopy: what…?

DressedtotheNines: That’s a very normal name for a batch called Chaos

RedBoiiiii: yeah… >_>

CrispyDomino: oh my gods

high fives: NO… really????

DEATH: Domino, think very carefully

RedBoiiiii: WHAT IS IT DOMINO

Double Trouble: WE MUST KNOW!!!!

CrispyDomino: Hey, who’s gonna be on Trip Zip soon? We can get together, hang out

high fives: there’s a fun pizza joint we found a few weeks ago

Double Trouble: NOW WHO’S DODGING THE QUESTION?????

DEATH: Good thinking, Domino.

~scene break~

Of the things Trees had experienced and/or discovered in his life—mainly including those things experienced and/or discovered after meeting Sevenset and Do-si-do—he had to admit, this was a new one. He opened his comms messages again, double-checking that he had the address and the meeting time correct for this informal Numbers meeting. It was in-person, which was always nice, but it was also being hosted at 22:30 hours, which, even for clones, was a bit late at night to be going out somewhere. They were diurnal, after all.

But no, that was when Domino had said this place was open. Trees looked up at the building in front of him. It was on a lower level, and the light coming through the storefront windows was warm and inviting. The sign blinking purple and green above the door read Pizza Crisis, with a portion of a pizza pie replacing part of the letter peth in the first word. Cute. He wasn’t sure he was really hungry for pizza, but he could probably get a drink or something small to share with the others.

The doors slid open when he approached, and it didn’t take him long to spot the others when he stepped inside. The Pizza Crisis restaurant’s interior was mostly round, with a flat wall that led to the kitchen behind a curved counter at the far end of the large room. Booths and tables filled the floor. The Numbers already gathered were seated around a circular table off to one side, probably meant for larger parties like theirs. Elevensies waved him over.

It was… really nice to see everyone out of their armor. Even those who hadn’t chosen to leave the service had changed into civvies for this. Do-si-do had discovered they simply adored long skirts, so it wasn’t a surprise to see them wearing one with a cropped hoodie that Trees thought looked chilly.

“Trees!” Sevenset smiled, just like always. “Glad you could make it.”

“I’m glad I don’t have to get up for early classes tomorrow,” he replied, taking the empty chair between Loops and Elevensies. “Is this everyone we’re expecting?”

He’d seen a few of the RSVPs on their group comms chain. Fours and Nines were off-world for the time being. Fours was at school too, but on Cerea, studying agriculture and botany. General Mundi had made it perfectly clear that any of his troopers who chose to would find a warm welcome on his home planet, and many had taken the offer. His school had a break coming up, so he might come back to Trip Zip then. The commander had only said something about having other plans, and not even Elevensies had been able to wheedle them out of him. Nines had sent a message that morning with the news that he wouldn’t be there, since he had the evening shift for the week where he worked at one of Coruscant’s many animal rescue shelters. Apparently, the 212th’s penchant for running into random wildlife on nearly every ground campaign was a marketable skill. Zero was on-world, but apparently too busy to stop by that night.

“Yeah, this is it,” Loops confirmed. He looked downright cozy in a grey knit sweater with a high collar. “How are classes?” he added, turning to look over at him.

Trees shrugged. “It’s fun, honestly.”

“That’s awesome,” Do-si-do said. “You’re gonna be planning buildings in no time!”

“Uh…” Trees said. He had just started his second semester studying architecture and material engineering on Coruscant—well, he was on Coruscant. The university was on Naboo, and eventually, he would be too. “There are a lot of in-between steps, but. Sure.”

“I suspect you’ll be in high demand with all the destruction the war caused,” Fives said, stirring his glass of soda with his straw. His twin nodded next to him.

“Maybe.” Trees looked around the restaurant, now noticing a few more tables occupied by recognizably nocturnal or at least more crepuscular species. Looking to the counter against the flat wall, he saw a pair of cathars speaking to each other while wiping down some glasses. “Have you all ordered anything at all?” he asked.

“Just drinks,” Sevenset said, pointing to the glass of pink-colored something in front of him. “Server said they’d be back soon, though.” He reached over to a black square inlaid in the table in front of Trees and pressed it. A holographic menu sprang up. “Have a look.”

“I’m not sure I want pizza this late at night,” Trees said, scrolling through the first few menu options. Why was this section labeled Crises for Every Occasion?

“Scroll to the side,” Elevensies urged. “They do dessert too! I’m getting the Sweet ‘n’ Salty Quandary.”

Whatever those words meant, Trees wasn’t going to question it. He flicked the menu over to the side, and a new section popped up. It was labeled Quandaries for Any Mood. A quick skim revealed Elevensies was right, and it was entirely desserts. Judging by the pictures, they were mainly cookie-based, with the occasional appearance of ice cream or milkshakes. Now this… this wasn’t so bad.

“Why are they called that?” he asked. “The… crisis and quandary thing.”

Loops shrugged. “Dunno.”

Fives spoke up. “It’s a joke, sorta. It’s so you can say ‘Oh, I’m having a crisis in the middle of the night,’ and you’re actually having a pizza.”

“Yeah, I think it was created during a sleep-deprived brainstorming session,” Echo said. “But the food’s amazing.”

After a few minutes of browsing the menu while the others chatted about their lives (Do-si-do always had some fun stories from cosmetology school to tell), one of the cathars made their way back over to their table with a datapad in hand. The thin coat of fur across their body was pale, with brown stripes and whorls along the arms. Their hair was dyed a gradient of midnight blue over the top to sky blue layers underneath, and the dim lights overhead caught glints of metal piercings all over their ears, nose, lips, and brows.

“You all ready to order?” Their voice was slightly raspy and had a darker quality about it that somehow matched the environment very well.

“Yep!” Sevenset said as they all nodded. “We’re all here now.”

The cathar—for the life of him, Trees couldn’t settle on any obvious outward gender presentation, and was silently begging this person to introduce themselves—nodded with a smile. “Cool. I’m Asterix, by the way. So.” They held up their datapad. “Are you having crises or quandaries tonight?”

“Both!” Do-si-do said with a smile.

“Alright, nice,” Asterix replied. “Crises first, if you don’t mind.”

Sevenset started, ordering a Naberrie Crisis with extra olives for him and Do-si-do to share. Fives and Echo ordered something called an Carnivore’s Omnivore Crisis to share, and Elevensies got a “personal crisis” with sausage and mushrooms. That was apparently the smallest sized pizza they served here. Cute. Then, Asterix went around for the Quandaries, again starting with Sevenset. One by one, they placed their dessert orders. Trees had settled on a True Midnight Quandary, since it had the most chocolate of anything on the menu. He really loved being able to have real food now. No more rations, no more tasteless nutrient bars… and he really loved chocolate. He also requested some water, since he hadn’t been present to order drinks earlier. Asterix finished with their orders and left them with the message that they would be ready shortly.

When they were on their own again, Loops spoke up. “So how’s the service lately?” he asked, looking towards the three ARC troopers.

“It’s good,” Fives said with confidence. “I think we’re mostly through the stage of dozens of troopers leaving daily, so the ranks have finally had some time to settle.”

His brother nodded in agreement. “Yeah, hopefully the numbers will stay where they are for the next year or so. They’re a good bunch, though.”

“And there are still thousands of kiddos on Kamino left to grow up,” Sevenset added. “Luckily, they have some options now.”

“That partnership with Naboo and Alderaan, right?” Echo said.

Trees recalled the headlines from a couple months ago. Kamino’s cloning facilities were obviously shut down, and many of the scientists had been slowly trickling out to other scientific facilities around the galaxy where their skills would be useful. That still left all the clones, from embryos to teenagers, who now had no war to fight. Naboo and Alderaan had opened their first of what would hopefully be many education centers on each planet, created with the intention of taking the strain off of Kamino’s dwindling staffing resources.

Sevenset went on. “Yeah, that’s the idea. The older ones are going first, usually around five to ten standard. The littlest ones we’re keeping on-world for the time being. There are still plenty of brothers left there to take care of them, and a few of the nattie trainers were kept on too.”

“I’ve heard a lot of medics are basically retiring there,” Loops said.

“Kind of, yeah,” Sevenset said. “I wouldn’t call it retirement, exactly, but it’s a hell of a break from field medicine.”

“And you get vacation days, now,” Do-si-do added with a smile.

“And we get vacation days now!” Sevenset beamed. “And something resembling a salary.”

“Resembling,” Fives repeated dryly.

“Yeah, they’re doing their best,” Echo said. “Two million new citizens is a lot to handle.”

“At least we get free education,” Trees pointed out. He hadn’t paid a credit to apply to or attend his university. “For now, I guess.” He held no illusions that the charity would last forever, but it was a good start.

“Yeah, for now,” Do-si-do said.

There was a moment of easy silence, then something occurred to Trees. He cast his mind back, trying to remember the most recent conversations from the group comm chain. With a small frown, he looked at Domino. “Did you ever tell us why the commander’s last name was odd?”

The two of them smiled knowingly.

“They didn’t!” Sevenset said, pointing at them accusingly.

Do-si-do jostled Fives’ shoulder. “C’mon… you can tell us off the record.”

Elevensies clasped his hands under his chin. “Please!”

“Alright, alright,” Fives said. He took a sip from his drink and leaned forward conspiratorially. “Echo had to do some digging to confirm it, but we figured it out. The Chaos Batch all chose the last name Nitta, right?”

They all nodded, all leaning in as well.

Echo picked up the story seamlessly. “Turns out, there’s only one family on Coruscant with that last name.” He paused for dramatic effect, and Trees had to admit, the effect was good. “Mira and Saleha Nitta.”

Sevenset and Do-si-do’s jaws fell open, and Elevensies gasped. “The noodle ladies?” Sevenset asked, his eyes already lit up with glee.

“Yeah, the noodle ladies,” Fives grinned.

“Did they adopt them, or what?” Loops asked.

“They can do that?” Elevensies wanted to know. He looked from Loops back to Domino.

Echo answered, “No. Well—technically, yes. But that’s not what happened.”

“Yeah, wait—” Sevenset cut in. “They’re already part of a Mandalorian clan, remember? Clan… Ves? Their trainer adopted them.”

“Mandalorian space is still outside the Republic’s jurisdiction,” Trees pointed out.

“Yeah, but clan ties are still recognized under Republic law,” Sevenset replied. “So why didn’t they choose Ves as a second name?”

Fives and Echo shrugged together. “Dunno,” Fives said. “Their choice, obviously.”

There was a pensive second of silence while they all processed the information. Trees supposed it made sense. That command batch had been living in the Noodle Bar for quite a while before the Numbers ever discovered it. Clearly, Saleha and Mira cared a great deal for the four of them as well, as evidenced by their willingness to help Elevensies and Ahsoka on Sixes’ word alone, not to mention the whole thing with the chips and Palpatine.

Do-si-do hmph-ed quietly, sipping at their drink through the straw. As their eyes drifted over the restaurant to Trees’ back, they paused. If Trees had noticed, he knew the others had as well. Do-si-do shook their head, letting the straw drop from their lips. “Dude, I’m telling you, he’s Force-sensitive,” they said, mainly to Sevenset next to them.

“What?” their friend answered.

Do-si-do just grinned. Then they sat up tall and stuck a hand up in the air, waving. “Hi, Commanders!”

The whole table of them turned to look. Sure enough, the four very recognizable figures of the Chaos Batchers had appeared near the front doors to the building. Two of them had left the service entirely. Nero was still commanding the 118th, but Sixes had mentioned that recently he’d been looking into expanding into other methods of earning a living. Trees had his suspicions those other methods might skirt dangerously close to illegality, but he wasn’t going to question it. Sixes, while not an active military member anymore, was still employed training the pilots coming off of Kamino or out of the civilian population. From what Trees could tell, he liked it well enough. Considering the man’s military file, he deserved the break. Bacara and Thire were out completely, though Trees didn’t know much else beyond that.

Sixes broke away from his brothers to walk over to their table. It was still weird seeing him in plainclothes instead of uniform, but at least his color palette hadn’t changed much. He still wore mainly black, greys, and dark blues, and had recently found a leather jacket somewhere that he’d been wearing frequently. He had it on tonight, anyway. “I had wondered which new pizza place Domino had discovered,” he said when he was close enough. “Good choice.”

“How long have you known about this place?” Do-si-do asked.

Sixes shrugged. “Couple years. It was one of the best places open after we were done with work during the war. That, and Nero’s got some personal vendetta against getting a full night of sleep, so coming here kept him off the streets.”

That seemed to make sense with the other information they had on Nero.

“How’s training?” Fives asked.

“Good,” the commander replied with a small smile. It seemed like he’d softened a bit since leaving active service. They saw more smiles and received fewer reminders of their own mortality, at any rate. “Feels better knowing I’m not sending them out to certain death. Just probable combat,” he added.

The three ARCs still in service all nodded. “Hear hear,” Echo said quietly.

“How are the little ones, Sevens?” he asked.

Sevenset smiled, though not with the full brilliance he sometimes gave. “Hopeful,” he said after a second to think.

That brought a smile to everyone’s face. The commander dipped his chin slightly. “Well, that’s about as good as it gets, right?” They all nodded in general concurrence. “How’s everyone else?” he went on. “How’s school going?” He looked around at Do-si-do, Trees, Loops, and Elevensies.

“I get to take a semester abroad in a few months!” Elevensies announced. “We’re going to Kashyyyk for our macrobiology class.”

“That would be the place to go for macrobiology,” Fives said.

“Yeah, they have giant spiders!” Elevensies said, sounding far too excited over something so horrible. But, to each their own. This was why Trees was studying things that weren’t alive.

“Why are you here?” Do-si-do asked instead of answering the question. “Having a midnight crisis on this fine Tuangsday?”

Sixes hummed, appearing to consider his options before answering. Curious. Finally, he turned around to find his batch. They’d been seated not too far away at a round table much smaller than the one the Numbers currently occupied. “Hey, Cara! Why are we here again?”

The former Marines Commander looked up. An uncharacteristically wide smile split his face, bending his tattoo slightly. “I got engaged!”

His other batchmates smiled with him, clearly happy for him. After a second for the announcement to sink in, the Numbers joined in.

“That’s awesome!” Sevenset said, looking between Sixes and Bacara.

“Who?” Do-si-do demanded, a little more insistent. “When? Do you need a stylist?”

Bacara blinked at them, slightly taken aback. “Uh… neither of us has hair?”

“I can do makeup!”

Sixes raised an open palm towards Do-si-do, a smile still hovering on his face. “Alright, take it easy. It just happened today.” When they sat back in their seat, momentarily quieted, he explained further. “It’s one of Saleha’s grandsons, Mubi.”

“Well, at least he won’t have to change his last name,” Sevenset said. The look he gave was an obvious provocation. His typical Look What I Can Do expression, waiting for a response.

The commander was silent for a second, never having lost the ability to make his expression entirely unshifting and unreadable when he so chose. Then he smirked. “Took you long enough to figure it out.”

“Hey, we did all the hard work,” Fives pointed out. “He just begged us for the intel.”

“Yeah, I think of you four as one unit of delinquency,” Sixes replied, gesturing with one hand to Domino, Do-si-do, and Sevenset where they all sat in a row around the table.

Loops snorted, bringing his hand up to muffle his giggles. Trees smiled, watching Elevensies dissolve into quiet laughter as well. That was quite a way to describe those four. Trees liked it.

Echo put his hand over his chest, a kind of mimicry of his armor paint. “What? Me?”

“Yes, even you. Delinquency only succeeds when people understand which rules to break and exactly how.”

Echo didn’t have a response to that. Fives supplied one. “I mean, that has been our M.O. in Torrent since we got there. He’s got a point.”

Trees felt a tap on the back of his chair, and looked up at the commander. Loops was doing the same. “Trees, Loops. How’s school?”

Trees nodded. “I like it. And it’s never tried to kill me, so that’s nice.”

Do-si-do grimaced. “The one thing I think entering customer service will change for me,” they muttered.

“Um, yeah. School’s good,” Loops said, his eyes on the tabletop. “I like the professors.” He fidgeted with the cuffs of his sweater. Something was up. “I uh… I started seeing someone from one of my classes.”

Sevenset and Do-si-do both leaned over to him, their expressions lighting up with curiosity. “Really?” Sevenset asked, nudging Loops with an elbow. “That’s really exciting!”

“Yeah!” Do-si-do seconded.

It was good news to hear. There was a ripple of positive comments around the table. After an entire existence being… whatever they had been in the eyes of the law, it was nice to hear about one of them having such normal experiences.

“Hope it’s okay, I guess,” the commander added with a shrug.

They all looked over to him with varying expressions of confusion.

“Thanks?” Loops said, his brows furrowed.

“You’re welcome,” he replied like nothing had happened. “I’m going to go enjoy my quandary with my brothers.” He reached out and ruffled Elevensies’ hair, then wandered back over to his batchmates.

There was silence for a moment, then Sevenset said, “I will never understand him. I really had hope sometimes, but I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”

“I think that’s as nice an endowment as you’re gonna get, Loops,” Echo said.

“He’s not my commander,” Loops pointed out. “I’m not begging for his approval to go out with someone.”

“Okay, but I’m begging to know more about this person,” Do-si-do said, leaning forward again. “Spill.”

So, for the next few minutes, Loops, only a little begrudging, answered a slew of questions about this new person in his life. He seemed to enjoy it, as much as he rolled his eyes and huffed at the questions Sevenset and Do-si-do asked. Together, they learned that this person was human, and she was from Alderaan, and her name was Meila. She was studying engineering, and Loops had met her in one of his mathematics courses. She sounded very nice, from what Trees could tell. The interview finally came to a close when the food arrived. Asterix was accompanied by the second cathar Trees had seen earlier. This person had a larger build, reddish brown fur, and darker hair.

“Three crises, coming in,” Asterix announced, setting down little metal stands on the table. As they named the orders, their companion would place the correct pizza down on the stand closest to its recipients. When all the pizzas were set out, Asterix said, “And Obelix and I will be right back with the Quandaries for the rest of you.” Looking around at those of them who had ordered pizzas, they added, “We’ll hold off on yours until you’ve finished your Crises.”

“Thank you!” Elevensies beamed.

The conversation thinned slightly with several of them now engaged in eating their pizzas. But, those several were among the most talkative of the group, so the table was never quiet for very long. After a couple minutes, Asterix and Obelix returned with quandaries for Trees and Loops, since the rest were still demolishing their pizzas.

“I didn’t know you all knew the Chaos Commanders over there,” Asterix commented, tilting their head towards the table of four nearby. They must have seen some part of the conversation with the commander. “Those four have been familiar faces here for a while, if you’ll forgive the expression.”

“Oh, yeah,” Echo said.

“Well, we know one of them better than the others,” Fives added.

“I used to serve under one of them,” Elevensies said.

The two cathar nodded. Asterix smiled. “Nice. Well, enjoy. We’ll be back with the other desserts later.”

Trees looked at the beautiful collection of chocolate on the plate in front of him. He was absolutely coming back here during finals week when he stayed up too late studying. The True Midnight Quandary was truly a wonderful thing. The base was a chocolate cookie about eight inches across, studded with gooey chocolate chunks. Atop that sat chocolate mousse in a slowly melting hemisphere about half the size of the cookie. The entire plate was sprinkled with chocolate shavings, and had a generous few stripes of chocolate sauce drizzled over everything.

“Do you think that’s enough chocolate, Trees?” Loops asked pointedly. “I think they missed a spot.”

“It looks like a black hole,” Fives remarked, flipping a string of cheese back on top of his pizza slice.

Trees lifted his chin. He grabbed the bundle of cutlery wrapped in a purple napkin and spread the napkin on his lap. “I didn’t make comments about Loops ordering a cookie that’s not even baked, so I think you guys should just leave me to my black hole over here.”

“My cookie is gonna be amazing,” Loops replied. His order was called something like A Stone-Cold, Half-Baked Quandary, and started with a circle—smaller than Trees’ cookie, thankfully—of raw chocolate chip cookie dough. On top of that were two scoops of ice cream, one chocolate, one vanilla, a dash of rainbow sprinkles, a flower of whipped cream on each scoop, and a drizzle of caramel sauce. Trees was sure that, if one actually liked raw cookie dough, it would be amazing.

Trees was not of such a mind, however, and instead cut off a chunk of his still-warm cookie with his fork and put it in his mouth. It was perfect. Now that everyone had something to eat, the conversation did die down a bit, but never too much. Elevensies started telling them about a holoseries one of his old squadmates was working on. Apparently, he’d gotten a job with one of the local film studios on Coruscant shortly after the war had ended officially, and this was the first project he was part of. It was still nice to hear about clones slowly integrating, even after all these months had passed.

Even the clones who had been imprisoned during the war—mostly for deserting or something of that kind—were slowly being put on parole as their cases were brought up for reexamination. The first few had made headlines. The next dozen or so, not as much, but the news had gotten around quickly among the troopers anyways. News often did.

“Oh, hey,” Sevenset said during a pause in conversation. “Domino, how is Skywalker doing? He hasn’t been on the holonet so much lately.”

Echo smirked. “Probably because Senator Amidala’s maternity leave ended last month, and he’s been busy picking up some of the slack.”

“I’m sure he’ll have a whole bunch of cute pictures once he gets the time to post them,” Fives added. “The twins already have half the galaxy wrapped around their little fingers.”

“They’re so cute!” Elevensies said. “Leia looks so much like Gener–-uh, Mast–uh… her dad!” There was still a constant problem among clones as far as what to call their former superior officers. Skywalker was doubly confusing since he had left the Order altogether only a few months after Palpatine’s death.

“Yeah, I’m sure the Jedi will be fighting over who gets to train the little tykes later on,” Echo remarked.

“Everyone except Kenobi,” Fives cut in quietly. He smirked as he took another bite of pizza.

Echo continued. “Rex and Cody fighting over who got to hold them first was bad enough.”

“Oh, really?” Do-si-do asked around a bite of pizza. “Who won?”

“There’s two of them and two twins,” Fives said. “No one ‘won,’ much to their disappointment.”

His brother added, “It did make for funny pictures, though—the two of them glaring at each other while holding these adorable little babies.”

Sevenset and Do-si-do laughed quietly. “I wanna see those pictures,” Sevenset said.

Echo nodded. “I’ll put ‘em in the group chat tomorrow.”

Honestly, finding out Skywalker had had a secret wife—a secret pregnant wife—had been one of the tamer revelations when it came out. For Trees, anyway. The whole thing with Palpatine and the chips and Dooku seemed far more important in his memory, but that was understandable, since he’d risked his life going after Dooku. The public had no such connection. The press had stopped running regular stories about Palpatine’s death only a couple months after it happened, but the rest of the clone troopers like Trees were stuck trying to get brain surgery or something as fast as possible. Only months later, after most of them had gone under the knife—or the laser, really—did a group of doctors come forward with a better idea.

Actually, he remembered one of those doctors being the strange Kaminoan Zero and Domino had mentioned coming to Umbara to pick up the commander. Tal Mu, wasn’t it? He and his team had figured out how to alter some kind of bacteria to consume the chip while it was still inside the body. After witnessing some of the troopers in the 41st go through what looked like the worst cold imaginable, Trees was grateful for the surgery. But, once it had been proven effective, the injection became standard for chip-removal. Sevenset had told them that the injection was standard practice on all clones of a certain age now, and that some of the younger clones had started looking at it as a new milestone, since they weren’t allowed off Kamino until the chip was gone.

A little later, when the pizzas on the table had been thoroughly devoured (they still maintained elevated metabolisms, even if they weren’t all fighting a war), Asterix and Obelix returned with the rest of the desserts. Do-si-do looked particularly pleased with their Fruitcake Quandary, which had far more colors in it than Trees had expected a dessert to have. When they had passed out all the dishes and collected the empty pizza trays, Asterix set down a cardboard box in the middle of the table. The box was labeled with the restaurant’s logo, and had a clear window at the top into its contents.

“These are from us, free of charge,” they explained. “We know who you are, and we know what you did for the Republic.”

“Oh, sweet!” Do-si-do smiled, leaning forward to get a better look at the box. “Thanks!”

“Or you’re welcome, I guess?” Sevenset added, also leaning to look.

“Enjoy,” Asterix answered simply. Then the two cathars retreated back to the counter against the far wall.

Fives frowned slightly. “They didn’t do that when Echo and I were here before.”

“They were really busy last time,” his brother said. “What kind of cookies are they?”

Loops reached out and pulled the box closer while the other five dug into their Quandaries. Trees looked on beside him. Through the clear window in the box’s lid, he could see about a dozen cookies. They were pale sugar cookies, much smaller than the one he had just finished. The cookies all had the Republic cog baked in the center in a chocolate dough. The clarity of the design was impressive for the medium.

“Sugar cookies,” Loops answered. “We can divide them up so everyone can take some home.”

“Ooh, yes!” The exclamation was a little muffled, since Do-si-do’s mouth was full of chopped fruit and “fun-fetti” cookie.

Later still, when the plates were scraped clean, and they were all sitting quite contentedly, Sevenset tapped his fork against the edge of his glass with no great purpose, it seemed. But then he set down his fork and picked his glass up, nearly empty though it was. “Well,” he said, holding the glass towards the center of the table. “Glad we could meet up for pizza and cookies. Here’s to life.”

Echo and Fives picked their glasses up. “To thriving, not surviving,” they smiled, perfectly in unison without even looking at each other.

Do-si-do raised their glass with a familiar sly grin. “To hopefully getting invited to Bacara’s wedding, because the food there will be amazing.”

“Oh, you’re so right,” Sevenset agreed, lowering his voice slightly.

“To cookies, baked and otherwise,” Loops said tiredly. He was still smiling, though.

Elevensies repeated that sentiment with more enthusiasm about the baked option.

Trees sighed and raised his own glass. “To the Numbers, whatever we call ourselves. I’m… I’m glad we’re still around. Could’ve ended pretty ugly, but it didn’t.” A little pessimistic, maybe, but it was true.

The others nodded, finding no fault in it that they would speak aloud.

“To pretty endings, everyone,” Sevenset said decisively, moving his glass farther into the middle.

They repeated the phrase. They put their glasses together with a discordant jingling sound at the center of the table, and then drank what little they each had left inside them.

To pretty endings, indeed.

And behold! That is the end! As much as I wanted to include all the Numbers for this chapter, I... just couldn't figure out how to make it work and not get bogged down in dialogue. I think this works nicely. I can't remember who I saw first use that "chip-eating-bacteria" concept, but it wasn't an Owlie original here! Not claiming it's my idea, cuz it was not. Anyway. Tags! @23-bears @theultimatesandwich @thechaoticfanartist @soclonely @rndmpeep

#number lads #numbers gang #i write things sometimes #tcw fanfic #clone trooper ocs #star wars ocs #star wars fanfiction #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #domino twins #the clone wars #star wars #commander bacara

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