#hey man lets both get cakes from the same place to celebrate our cup win

[ratatatastic]

CELLY CAKES HAVE BEEN DROPPED I REPEAT CELLY CAKES HAVE BEEN DROPPED

[bwbatta]

The one where you get together (1)

Abstract: Y/N and Sirius have been friends since they first met on the Hogwarts Express, so when they do get together, they decide not to tell their friends straight away. (Friends AU)

Pairing: Sirius Black x Lupin sister!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, talking about sexual content

Word Count: 3.5K

A/N: To celebrate reaching 500 followers, I'm dropping another mini series as a thank you to everyone who has shared and supported my work! Add yourself to my taglist here 

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You could still vividly remember the first time you met Sirius Black.

Boarding the train to Hogwarts the first time, you managed to find a compartment with your brother, Remus, before it was descended upon by two rowdy boys with large grins.

James Potter and Sirius Black had, with no hesitation, introduced themselves to you and you quickly became friends, especially when you pulled your money together and bought a various selection of chocolates from the trolley. When the sorting hat placed all of you in Gryffindor, it only reaffirmed your friendship.

It wasn't just the four of you in your little group though, the boys were placed in a dormitory with another boy, Peter, and you shared a dorm with two other girls who also became fierce friends of yours; Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon.

Of course, growing up together through Hogwarts had it's arguments and fall outs, though somehow you always seemed to remain friends.

It wasn't until your seventh, and final year of Hogwarts did the surprising pair of Lily and James get together which solidified your friendship group even further. Between Sirius and you, the bet you had made in your fourth year regarding when the pair would get together, finally came to an end where you had happily took your winnings with a smile and paid for a bottle of Firewhiskey to celebrate.

After graduating, you ended up moving in with Marlene, finding a perfect two bedroom flat for you to share, close to Diagon Alley. The boys had taken a page from your book with Sirius using some of his inheritance from his great uncle and buying a flat directly across the Leaky Cauldron.

Whilst he had invited Peter to also live with him and Remus, the boy politely refused with the intention to stay with his parents for a while.

James however, had asked Lily to move in with him almost the second they graduated and the pair had moved to a little cottage in Godric’s Hollow. It wasn’t long afterwards that James had proposed to Lily which led to the current series of events.

About an hour before, you and Marlene had walked down the aisle in the gardens of Potter Manor in your bridesmaids dresses, while Lily had donned a white dress and followed you. Standing opposite your brother and Sirius, the latter caught your eye when your friends said their wedding vows.

With a wink, Sirius had your attention and you weren't exactly sure what it was that felt different, but something definitely did.

As the reception started, you watched Lily and James take some of their wedding photos together. The smile on your face was something you couldn't help as Remus appeared at your side, a similar expression on his own face.

"Remember when Lily hexed James so hard he vomited out of his nose because he proposed to her?"

"I'm pretty sure it made him like her even more to be honest, James is weird like that." You snickered, accepting the drink from your brother. "Who would've thought we'd be here not even four years later?"

"Tell me about it. If you plan on getting married anytime soon though, please give me some warning." Remus joked, nudging his shoulder against yours.

"I think I need to actually date someone before I marry them, but thanks for being so optimistic about my dating life." You grinned at him before seeing Sirius making his way over to the two of you.

"Well well, if it isn't the Lupin twins." Sirius laid an arm over both your shoulders. "How long do you reckon it'll be before Lily's creepy uncle makes a move on Marlene?"

"At least after two more drinks." Remus chuckled. "Which reminds me, I promised I'd save her from any men tonight who wanted to dance with her that, and I quote, looked like they had to use a stamina charm in bed."

"Good luck with that." You snickered, waving your brother off as he disappeared in the direction of the blonde.

Sirius didn't say anything else as he took a seat at one of the tables and pulled you down into his lap. It wasn't uncommon for the two of you to hug or cuddle, having done so numerous times in the Gryffindor common room, much to Remus' annoyance. This only really resulted in Sirius being more affectionate.

Being twins, the two of you were naturally closer than normal siblings which resulted in Remus being protective over you since the only blood family you both had left was each other. Your parents, especially your father, had grown fearsome and disgusted at what Remus was, despite it not being his fault when Greyback bit him all those years ago. Your father began to resent you after you constantly took Remus' side and played his constant advocate.

"Hey, what're you thinking about?" Sirius nudged you, grabbing your attention. His expression was unreadable as he watched you watch Lily and James interact with each other.

"I don't know, it's nothing." Sirius nudged you again, looking for a proper answer. "I look at them and I just wonder if I'll ever have that, you know? Someone who looks at you like you're their whole world."

Sirius didn't say anything at first, but pulled you closer. He wouldn't admit it but he often had the same thought cross his mind.

"You'll find them."

"Are they fucking hiding from me?!"

"If they've already met you, then probably."

Smacking his chest, you couldn't help the contagious laughter that bubbled from you, echoing that from the wizard.

"Being serious though," Sirius grinned at the pun he just made, "who wouldn't want you?"

You smiled at him warmly, not knowing what to say. It wasn't often that Sirius was, well serious. The boy loved a joke, but he also loved his friends and knew exactly what to say to them to cheer them up, especially you.

"Thanks, Siri."

"Hey, James and Lily are about to head off for their honeymoon." Remus said, knocking on Sirius' bedroom door at Potter Manor, stepping inside to see Sirius rush back out from the ensuite bathroom only in his shirt and boxers. "What happened to you? You disappeared from the reception."

"Uh, dropped cake down myself, had to come and change." Sirius told him quickly.

"You do realise you're a wizard right? You could've just vanished the mess?"

"Ah yeah, of course, how stupid, sure could've. Anyway, I just need to put on some clean trousers and I'll be right down."

Remus frowned. Something was off but he couldn't work out what it was. Putting it down to Sirius drinking too much, he waved the man off, exiting the room.

"Alright well, hurry down, James was asking for you."

Remus exited the room and Sirius quickly closed the door behind him. Turning back to the bathroom, he watched as you opened the door with a tentative expression, trying to zip your dress back up but failing.

"Do you think he knew I was here?"

"Don't think so, here, turn around, I'll do it." Sirius turned you around, quickly zipping up your dress before resting his hands on your waist. "So, we haven't done that before."

"That is correct."

It was slightly awkward between the two of you, why was it awkward? Oh, maybe because you were both fucking like rabbits not even moments before your brother knocked on the door. It had never been awkward between you before though and you didn't like it.

"Why is it so awkward?" Sirius chuckled as you spun around before him.

"Right! It's like I don't know what to say!"

"We're just two friends who've had sex one time, there doesn't have to be anything awkward about that!"

"Exactly, it doesn't have to be a big deal, it was a one time thing, we can just go back to the party and no one will know!"

"Yes, good plan, lets go!" Turning towards the door, Sirius started towards it with a new determination, completely forgetting one issue.

"Sirius?" He paused, looking back at you, "maybe you should put on some trousers before we go down though."

"Good idea."

Waving James and Lily off, you stood alongside the rest of your friends as Marlene appeared, pulling you towards her by your waist.

"Ugh, please tell me we're going to get some good booze and continue to get fucked up at ours?"

"Is that an open invite?" Remus asked with a grin, "Think I spied an extra bottle of Firewhiskey knocking about near the top table."

"100%," Marlene grinned at him, "after all, it's the least I could do after you saved me from so many creeps tonight. I will thank you in the form of hosting a small afterparty with the inner circle. Right, Y/N?"

"I'm up for it, I'll go see if I can grab that extra bottle you mentioned."

Taking off towards the top table, your eyes scanned the tables one by one until you felt a presence behind you. Already knowing who it was, you didn't bother looking back at them.

"I've got a fresh bottle stashed under my bed upstairs if we wanna grab that one?" Sirius said lowly in your ear.

"That sounds like a plan," you said slowly, "though I thought we said it was only a one time thing?"

"Weddings don't count, right? I swear that's a rule somewhere."

"...How long do you think we can be before the others get suspicious?"

"10 minutes?"

"Sounds good, lets go."

The pair of you said nothing more the entire night on the matter and ended up just having a good time with your friends. The boys ended up sleeping on your sofas, not trusting themselves to apparate safely considering the amount they each had to drink.

It wasn't until mid morning when everyone started to rouse, that you offered to make everyone a cup of tea to help with the hangovers that had started to form.

"Hey, make mine extra strong, will you?"

You laughed, turning to face Sirius.

"You need the caffeine that much?"

"That answer is a strong yes."

Pouring the boiling water into the mugs, you passed Sirius' over to him as he smiled at you in thanks.

"So, yesterday was something." You smiled, taking a sip of your own drink.

"Yeah... something stupid, right?"

"Yeah, totally stupid." There was a brief silence between you as you weren't exactly sure what to say next. "Look as much as I enjoyed it, I don't want us to become awkward or ruin our friendship or anything because of it."

"Good, because I was going to say the same thing." Sirius nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter top. "As good as the sex was, and trust me it was good, it's not worth making our friendship awkward or anything not knowing where we stand with the other."

"Right, yes, that makes a lot of sense." You both took another sip of tea as you listened to Marlene and Remus in the living room laugh about something. "Unless... wait no, it's nothing."

"No, what it is?" Sirius asked.

"Unless... I don't know, we keep fucking in secret and just don't tell the others?"

You stared at the tea in your cup before raising your eyes to meet Sirius' grey ones which were wide, a grin on his face.

"I guess that would work too?"

"Yeah... anyway on a totally unrelated note, Marlene's visiting her family tomorrow night at like 7."

"Noted."

"Where's my bloody tea, Y/N!" The blonde in question strode into the kitchen sluggishly. "I swear you've been in here for 4 hours making it."

"If you were a little more patient, Mar, I was just about to bring it out for you." You rolled your eyes but handed the mug over to her anyway.

"Thanks, how're you two feeling this morning?"

"Rough." Sirius grunted out as the three of you headed back into the living room. "But what's new there, really?!"

"You should really try cut back on your drinking, Pads." Remus mentioned, taking the cup of tea from you with a smile.

"You should cut back on your chocolate."

"Chocolate doesn't give you hangovers." Remus countered with a smirk causing Sirius to just roll his eyes as he sunk down into an armchair.

"Either way, I hope Lils and James are having fun." Marlene stretched out on the other sofa, placing her legs over your own. "I know James will be with the things Y/N and I packed as a surprise in Lily's bags."

You snorted into your cup as you remembered the countless lacy items you'd snuck into Lily's normally conservative wardrobe.

"Well, James might be happy about what you packed, but he certainly won't be happy with what we packed." Sirius snickered as Remus held back a laugh.

"What did you do?!"

"We might've exchanged his entire bag of clothes for an entire bag of Cornish Pixies." Sirius grinned. "I'm already expecting a howler from Lily at some point in the near future."

Sirius didn’t have to wait long for Lily’s reaction as only moments later he heard an angry shout through his two way mirror he shared with James.

As planned, Marlene visited her family the next day and no later after she flooed away, Sirius appeared at the front door of your flat. The same happened after Marlene was picked by Dumbledore for an order mission and Sirius happily flooed into your flat only moments later. You were convinced he’d bugged your flat somehow.

James and Lily returned from their honeymoon a week later, effectively surprising you as they flooed into your flat with no warning, causing you to stuff a naked Sirius into your closet. It was safe to say he wasn’t impressed after Lily insisted she make a pot of tea to ‘catch up’, and ended up staying round for several hours. 

You barely managed to hide the snicker which escaped your lips when James asked if you knew where Sirius was.

With the newly married pair being back, the two of you decided to come up with a plan as how to sneak around without the others knowing.

Somehow, it didn’t really go to plan.

Sirius insisted that you should come over and take a bath with him one night, especially as Remus was due to be out. You couldn’t help but agree to the idea, mostly because you got to spend time with your very sexy male friend who looked very good in bubbles... and also the fact his bathtub was a lot better than your own.

The bathtub in question was a massive claw-foot tub which could fit the two of you and your two roommates if you so desired. Compared against the shitty little tub Marlene and you had in your flat, it was a no brainer.

Which is why as you sat in between Sirius’ legs, your back against his chest, you couldn’t help but feel more relaxed than you had done all week. 

Sirius was leant back against the tub, his arm around your waist with a glass of Firewhiskey in his other hand. The two of you had nicked this particular bottle from James’ ‘secret stash’ which everyone knew he hid under his cloak, under the stairs. It was all too easy for the two of you to sneak in and borrow it for the time being. 

“You know, Prongs must be real blind if he can’t see how many people actually know about his hiding spots.” You snickered as you took the glass from Sirius and took a sip.

“I think it might be all the brain damage after getting hit in the head so many times.” He grinned.

“How long do you think it’ll be until he notices the actual bottle being gone? A few days?”

“Give him some credit, it’ll be at least a week.”

The two of you chuckled before you heard the fireplace roar with flames. Footsteps quickly made their way towards Sirius’ room before heading towards the bathroom.

A panicked look between the two of you was exchanged as a knock was heard on the door. 

“Pads? It’s me, I’m coming in.”

Sirius quickly took the glass of Firewhiskey back from you as you dived underwater, praying the bubbles would cover up the fact you were there. 

The door opened and James stepped in about to say something, before he stopped and observed the scene before him. Sirius was sat covered in bubbles with candles lit around him. Despite the calm expression on his face, the fact you were lying between his legs in the water had his heart racing. 

“Did you need something, Prongs?”

“Uh, yeah, have you seen the bottle of Firewhiskey which I was given as a gift for my wedding?” James asked, very obviously looking at the opened bottle on the side of the bath. 

“Didn’t even know you got given one, mate. This was from Y/N.”

“And if I ask her, will she give me the same story?”

“Positively. Anything else?”

“Yeah, you want to order some Chinese?” 

“I mean I- NO!” 

His outburst was a surprise to both James and himself after you had pinched him underwater signalling you were running out of air.

“Really? Lily’s got me on this diet and-”

“James! Get out!”

“Fine! Okay! No need to shout at me, I’ve seen you in weirder scenarios.”

James left and shut the door behind him just as soon as you jolted up, gasping for breath. 

“I’m sorry, he wouldn’t leave! He wanted to ask me if I fancied some Chinese.”

“Chinese?” You asked, turning to look at him over your shoulder with a contemplative look on your face. “I could go for some chow mein.”

“Prongs!” Taking a deep breath, you disappeared underwater again just before James appeared once more. “I’ll have a large chow mein, sweet and sour chicken, some of those prawn cracker things and the spring rolls.”

“Spring rolls? I swear only Y/N likes them.”

“Thought I’d try them out since as she’s always yapping on about them.”

“Alright, back in a bit.”

James left and shut the door again. You emerged from the water, leaning back on Sirius again as he relayed off what he’d ordered. 

“You ordered me spring rolls?!”

“Yeah, I remembered you liked them.” Sirius shrugged, wrapping his arm around your waist again. “Even if they taste like arse.”

The group had gathered at Marlene and Y/N’s for an evening where despite Lily’s constant health kicks, she relented into ordering pizza for the group. 

“Hey, you guys will never guess what I found out today.” Marlene grinned.

“You’re secretly a guy?” Sirius snickered from the armchair, only to receive a cushion being thrown at his face by the blonde. 

“No,” Marlene scowled at him, “Alice and Frank got engaged!” 

“What?! How’d you find out?” Lily asked as she cuddled up to James in the other armchair. 

“I ran into Alice at Headquarters earlier and she showed me her ring.” Marlene leant back into the sofa as she brought her legs up to lay them over Remus’ lap. “We best be getting ready for another wedding soon.”

“I’m sure we’ll hear more at the meeting tomorrow.” James said grinning. “Who knew Longbottom had it in him?!”

“Alice certainly did.” You snickered, leaning onto Remus’ other shoulder. The comment got another round of chuckles from everyone present as Lily shot you a less than impressed look. 

“Alright, I say let’s call it a night if we have to be at the meeting early tomorrow morning.” The redhead rolled her eyes at you all before standing up and brushing her dress down. 

Everyone else seemed to follow her lead as Marlene and you stood to show everyone out. 

“Yeah, I need to sleep as much as I can with Moony’s snoring keeping me up all night.” Sirius grinned, stepping up beside you and Remus. 

What no one expected to happen was for Sirius to dip and find your lips in a kiss, his hand wrapping around the back of your neck to pull you closer, just as he had done for the last few weeks. 

The rest of the group stood with slack jaws as they took in the scene before them as they watched Sirius kiss you. Pulling away, you caught each other’s eyes as realisation set in and your own eyes went wide. 

“Marls,” Sirius shook off his slight hesitation before heading straight over to Marlene and pulling her in for a kiss of her own. “Lily.”

Stepping forward to give Lily a kiss goodbye, Sirius couldn’t help but notice the wide eyed look from both James at kissing his wife and Remus at kissing his sister. 

“Pleasure to spend time with you all.” Sirius grinned at everyone’s expressions before entering the fireplace to floo back to his own flat. 

“What the hell was that?!” Remus asked with wide eyes, securely on you. 

“Probably some leftover greeting from Lily and James’ wedding. Lils did have some french cousins, perhaps he picked it up from them?” You chuckled, trying to play down the laugh you so wanted to let out. 

“Yeah, it did feel french.” Marlene snickered. “I’m not sure if I feel happy about saying that I’ve kissed Sirius Black though.”

“Well, he can keep his lips to himself and not on my wife.” James scowled at the fireplace where Sirius had disappeared moments before. 

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[440mxs-wife]

Baker’s Dream, Part 1

Pairing: Sam x Reader

You sat by yourself in the hotel bar, swirling the contents of your drink with a straw. You had accompanied your friends to their corporate party, against your better judgment. They left your side in pursuit of their office crushes, but promised they would be back.

After about a half an hour by yourself, you scanned the room for your friends. You froze when you saw your ex-husband, Eric with his new wife. His new younger wife. That was enough for you to turn around and make a beeline out of the party and into the hotel bar.

"Another drink, miss?" asked the bartender. You nodded, "And a shot of tequila, please," you requested.

"Whoa, that's either a really bad day at work, or an unfortunate encounter with an ex," a deep voice to your left said.

You turned your barstool in the direction of the voice. You then found yourself face-to-chest with a crisp, white button down shirt, the top two buttons undone. You looked up to see the warmest hazel eyes and softest smile on the most gorgeous face you'd seen in your life. You ran your hand across the bottom of your chin in a subtle check to make sure your mouth wasn't hanging open.

"Both, actually," you replied, once you regained the power of speech. "I got talked into coming to this party by my friends, who promptly ditched me to chase after their office crushes. I don't even work with them. But then to top it all off, I ran into my ex-husband and his new, younger wife," you finished bitterly.

"Yikes, that has to hurt. I can't see why any man would want to leave you for someone else, let alone someone younger. She'd have to be what, a teenager?" he remarked, taking a seat next to you.

You burst out laughing at his remark, and he joined in. You noticed his dimples when he showed his perfect white teeth in a heart-stopping smile.

"Very smooth, Mr.?" you inquired.

"Winchester. Sam Winchester. I'm general counsel for Winchester Enterprises, my brother, Dean is the CEO. Or, will be when and/or if my father ever decides to retire," he answered.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Winchester," you returned as you introduced yourself. You signaled to the bartender. "Another shot of tequila, please?" you ordered, grinning at Sam. "Help me celebrate the end of a very long week by having a drink with me?" you asked.

"How can I refuse such a simple request from a beautiful woman? Bartender, bring on the limes!" he exclaimed. "So, who's your ex?"

"Eric Stewart. We were married for seven years, but I found out he'd been cheating on me with her for the past two. She's his paralegal assistant, for goodness sake, how cliché is that?? The late nights, the broken dates. I should've known," you remarked softly.

Sam reached over and took your hand in his, tracing imaginary circles with his thumb across the back. "I'm sorry he hurt you like that. You seem like the type of person who says what she means and means what she says. If you said 'till death do us part', you meant that, and have every right to expect that from your partner," he finished.

"Thank you, Sam. Maybe there's hope for the male species after all," you winked. "So what brings you in here? Bad week or unfortunate encounter with an ex?" you asked.

"Long week, and a run-in with my ex-girlfriend and ex-assistant Amelia. I told her it was over months ago, but she can't seem to take 'no' for an answer," he replied. "She's at the party right now, probably trying to find me."

He ran his hand through his long chestnut locks, then looked into your eyes as a plan formed in his mind. "Maybe we could help each other out. Would you like to accompany me back to my party? I could introduce you as my girlfriend, which would get Amelia to back off and make your ex jealous," he grinned.

"Sam, you don't know me. You and I don't run in the same circles. No one's ever going to believe that I'm your girlfriend," you remarked. I mean, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?" Oh god, stop talking! you admonished yourself.

"What? I see a strong, independent, gorgeous woman who deserves to get a little revenge on her ex-husband. I know who he is, and believe me, you're much better off without him," Sam remarked. "Besides, I wouldn't mind rubbing it in his face a little that you 'traded up' from him to me," he smirked.

"Hmm. That would be nice, and you are definitely a step up from Eric," you murmured. "Why not, Sam? Sounds intriguing," you grinned.

Sam offered his hand to help you down from the barstool. He gave you a minute to get your balance, then offered his arm. "Shall we?" he asked, looking down into your eyes.

You shot him your most dazzling smile and nodded. "We shall," you replied.

The two of you walked back into the office party, your arm tucked securely in Sam's side as he moved easily through the crowd. He shook hands with many people and introduced you as his girlfriend as if you'd been dating for some time.

Most of the people you met were congratulating Sam on winning his last case, a pretty big one from the sound of it. Eventually, you both wandered over to the bar for another drink.

"So, you never told me where you work," Sam started.

"You didn't really ask, but since you have, I'll tell you. I own that bakery down on 7th," you replied. "It's called Baked and Brewed, and we also sell flavored coffees. You know, the kind with all that whipped cream and flavorings?" you explained as you sipped your cocktail.

"Oh yeah, I know that place. I've stopped in a few times for coffee, and my mom loves your blueberry muffins," Sam remarked, then leaned in closer. "Now I have even more of a reason to stop in more often," he murmured, his breath hot and tingly in your ear.

You felt your cheeks grow hot at the proximity of such a gorgeous man. "We-we've only been open for about six years. It was slow going at first, then we started to grow once we set up the website. I can't believe I've never seen you in there," you remarked.

"What made you decide to open a place like that?" Sam asked.

"When my parents passed away about eight years ago, they left me a sizable inheritance. There was one condition though: I had to do something outrageous with it. They knew how practical I was, how every move I made was so planned, so structured. No room for taking a risk, following a dream," you explained.

"I thought about it for a long time, what I should do with the money they left me," you continued. "Then, after going through my mother's cookbooks, I came up with the idea for the bakery. I found loads of old recipes for muffins, cakes and pies that have stood the test of time. This way, I get to preserve my family's history and cash in on the 'pretentious coffee craze'," you chuckled.

Sam looked intently into your eyes. "I'm sorry to hear about your parents. I think they would be proud of you for taking that kind of a chance." He smiled broadly, his dimples showing more than ever now. "I can't imagine anything more perfect than your bakery and coffee house. I'll have to stop by and talk to you sometime. Would you like another drink?" he asked.

You checked your watch. "I probably should head home for the evening. I have to be at the bakery by 5:30 a.m. to get started on the day's baking," you replied. You didn't want the evening with Sam to end, but you needed your sleep.

"Let me take you home. I'll be just a few minutes so I can say goodbye to my parents and my brother, then I'll be back," he promised, before pressing a quick kiss to your temple.

You felt a slight tingle where Sam's soft lips touched your skin. Although you and Sam had just met, you already were intrigued and wanted to know more about him.

After he'd been gone for a while, you heard someone behind you clearing his throat. Believing it was Sam, you face broke out into a huge smile. "Ready to go?" you asked. Your smile evaporated at seeing your ex-husband standing before you.

"Well, well, seems like you've crashed our party. Or did you cater for it? Either way, you don't belong here as a guest, you know that," Eric snarled.

Eric's comments kicked open the door straight to where you kept your self-doubt, which then zoomed away with your imagination. However, before you could answer, you felt a large hand in the middle of your back. "Ready to go, honey?" Sam asked.

"More than ready, Sam, thank you," you mumbled. With his hand still on your back, you let him guide you out of the party and onto the sidewalk in front of the hotel.

Sam handed the claim ticket to the valet to retrieve his car. As he drove you home, you mostly stared out the window and told him where to turn. At a stoplight, Sam's eyes slid over to yours and noticed them glistening with unshed tears. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," you replied with a quick smile. Your hands fidgeted in your lap, so Sam reached over and took hold of your left hand.

"Now, why don't I quite believe that," he responded softly.

You chuckled lightly and sniffled. "It just....Eric. I shouldn't let his words get to me, but they did. For a little while, anyway. Thank you for getting me out of there, Sam," you said. With that, you rode the rest of the way home in silence.

Sam parked in front of your house, then got out and hurried over to your side of the car to open the door for you. He held out his hand to help you out of the car. After you got out, you adjusted your dress and started walking up the porch steps, Sam's hand spanning the small of your back.

You stopped at your front door and fumbled through your handbag for your keys. When your hands closed around them, you pulled them out of your purse. You looked up with a gasp of surprise to see Sam standing before you, smiling as he gazed into your eyes. He reached up with his large hand to cup your cheek, his thumb gently stroking it.

"I had a wonderful time tonight. I never thought such a rotten week would end with meeting a beautiful woman in a hotel bar and sharing a shot of tequila," Sam chuckled. "I'd like to take you out sometime, on a real date," he suggested.

"I had a great time too, Sam. It was wonderful to meet you," you replied.

"But....?" he asked.

"But....I don't think it's such a good idea for us to go out," you answered, dropping your gaze. "You're a high-powered, successful attorney. I'm the owner of a bakery who sometimes has to work 14 hour days just to have two nickels to rub together," you explained.

"I don't care about that stuff. The woman I met in the bar and ended up doing a shot of tequila with, that's who I want to get to know better," Sam huffed, running a hand through his hair.

"Please, Sam. I can't. You should find someone that belongs in your circle," you replied, finally unlocking your door and stepping inside. You stood with your back to the door, hand covering your mouth to muffle the sobs wracking your body.

Sam stared at your closed front door, not quite understanding what just happened. The one thing he did know, is that he wanted to spend more time with you. He was determined to get you out on a first date, despite whatever fears you may have. And anyone who knows Sam Winchester is well aware that he does not give up at the first sign of adversity. "One day, baby. I'm not letting go of you so easily," he said softly, then returned to his car and drove home.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next week at the bakery started out like any other. You went in to work early, got busy fulfilling the daily inventory of muffins, quick breads, cookies and pies. Sales were brisk, with take-out orders for office meetings and then your usual customers.

On Wednesday, one of your counter associates came in the back to let you know that a customer asked specifically to speak to you. You were in the middle of filling a tray of cookies to be baked, but as soon as it was in the oven, you went up front. "May I help...." you trailed off as you locked eyes with the one and only Sam Winchester.

"I believe you can. I would like a dozen of your peanut butter cookies, a half dozen blueberry muffins, and the pleasure of your company Saturday night," he grinned.

"I can certainly help you with the first two items. Sarah, will you please box up Mr. Winchester's order for him?" you asked. "However, as far as the third item, I believe you can find it in a higher quality elsewhere. Please excuse me," you murmured as you returned to the kitchen.

And so it went. Over the next six weeks, Sam stopped in around twice and sometimes three times a week to place an order and to ask you out on a date. Each time, you asked Sarah to box up his order, but referred him elsewhere for a date. You wanted to believe he was genuinely interested in you, but after Eric, you couldn't take the chance of getting hurt again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

One Friday, you were working the counter when a customer ordered a blueberry muffin. You took the payment and turned to fulfill the order. As you plated the muffin, you saw your tall and handsome lawyer walk up behind her and give her a peck on the cheek. "Hi, Mom. Sorry I'm late, I had a deposition meeting, then I lost track of time," Sam admitted. He gave you a quick smile before guiding his mother to a table.

"It's all right, this lovely young lady took my order, and we chatted a little," Mary replied, smiling at you over her shoulder. To her son, "She's really quite charming, Sam. You should ask her to go out on a date with you," she whispered when she and Sam were seated at the table.

"I've tried, Mom, okay? She keeps insisting that I'm somehow out of her league, which of course I'm not. She says that I should find someone else, but I don't want to," Sam explained.

"Let me try something," Mary answered. Before Sam could object, she had made her way back to the counter, where you had just finished helping another customer.

When it was her turn, Mary ordered a vanilla latte for herself, with a pineapple and green tea smoothie for Sam. While she waited for her drinks at the counter, she chatted with you about her first job, which was as a waitress in a diner.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mary said she first met John when he came in to her diner for a late-night slice of pie. He was working for his father at Winchester Enterprises. He'd had a particularly rotten day at work, and she thought he needed some cheering up. They got to know each other, dated awhile and eventually were married a little over a year after they first met.

She explained that while she and John were dating, John's mother tried to break them up. She thought that as a VP of the company, her son deserved better than someone who waited tables for a living.

"John and I know the virtue of a hard day's work, and we've made sure our sons know it as well. Our boys may live a comfortable lifestyle where money is not their primary concern, but they have good and generous hearts. Please give Sam a chance," she finished with a wink as she returned to her table with her drinks.

About a half an hour later, Sam and Mary got up from their table to leave the bakery. "Oh, Mr. Winchester?" you called as they passed by the counter. "If you're interested, I placed some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in the display case. The deal is, for each dozen you buy, you get an opportunity for a date with your favorite baker. If you're still interested," you hastily added.

Sam's grin lit up his face and stretched from ear to ear. "Hmm. That certainly is a tempting offer, one I would be insane to refuse. Very well, I would like to take five dozen of these undoubtedly delicious and freshly baked cookies. So that gets me, what? Five dates with my favorite baker?" he asked.

You matched his grin with a shy smile of your own. "Yes, sir, that was the deal," you replied.

"In that case, what would you say to dinner tomorrow night?" he inquired.

"I'll meet you here, at seven o'clock. Deal?" you asked, your hand stuck out to shake.

Sam grasped your hand, then without warning, pulled you towards him, your lips crashing together. "Deal. And it's legally binding, since we sealed it with a kiss," he winked. "See you tomorrow night, seven o'clock," he said over his shoulder. "Dress casual," he added.

After Sam and Mary exited the shop, you were left absolutely speechless by what had just happened. Your co-workers gathered around you as you had not moved an inch since Sam and his mom had departed. "Boss, you okay?" Emily asked, shaking you a little.

"Um, I think so?" your voice squeaked out an octave higher than usual. "What the hell just happened?" you asked.

"You have a date with Sam Freaking Winchester tomorrow night, that's what," Sarah chimed in.

"Oh. Huh," you remarked. "I'd better figure out what I'm going to wear, then," you reasoned.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Around five o'clock Saturday, you started getting ready for your date with Sam. You showered and towel-dried your hair. Makeup was pretty simple, some foundation, neutral colors for eye shadow and pink lipstick. Jewelry was gold hoop earrings on the bottom and crystal post earrings for the top. A gold chain with an oval-shaped locket on it was the last piece.

Your outfit consisted of faded blue jeans and a thin blue sweater with a star pattern and 3/4 length sleeves. You decided to wear your white tennis shoes instead of heels because one, Sam said to dress casual. And two, you were sure your feet wouldn't last very long wearing high heels. Since it was such a lovely evening, you decided to walk to the bakery, but brought a jacket just in case.

When you got there, Sam was leaning up against his car, a smile spreading across his face as you approached. He was wearing dark blue jeans, a charcoal gray v-neck T-shirt and a black blazer, with black ankle boots. "Wow," he whispered, followed by a wolf-whistle. "You look incredible," he grinned.

"Thank you, Sam," you giggled. You raked your eyes up and down over Sam's long, lean frame. "You certainly clean up nicely yourself, Sam," you replied. "So, where are you taking me?" you asked.

Dinner consisted of pizza and drinks at the local parlor, Leonardo's. You mentioned that you had always wanted to eat there, but for some reason hadn't taken the time to do so. After dinner, it was off to play mini-golf at Chapman's Fun World. Sam won, of course, but you teased him about how he had to have cheated at the Ferris Wheel hole.

Eventually, Sam drove you home and walked you to your front door. "I had a lovely time, Sam. Thank you," you remarked.

Sam hooked his finger under your chin and tilted it up for you to meet his eyes. "With such lovely company as yourself, I don't see how this date could get any better," he replied softly. He reached up to cradle the back of your head and pulled you closer to him. "Except maybe with this," he whispered and meshed his lips with yours.

The kiss started slow and sweet, full of promise. As your mouths moved together, Sam's hands roamed up and down your back. Your hands snaked their way up his forearms and over his massive biceps until they reached his shoulders. You could feel the muscles flex and release as his hands moved over your body. As you explored each other, the kiss deepened, almost taking on a mind of its own.

When the kiss was broken, you were both breathing heavily, your foreheads touching. "That was amazing, Sam. No one's ever kissed me like that before," you said softly.

"Good," he smiled as he pecked your nose. "I've never met anyone like you, and I doubt I ever will. I'd really like to see you again, and per our agreement, I have four more dates to take you on," he teased.

"How about I cook dinner for you on our next date? I make the best lasagna, and I'm told that my tiramisu is the stuff of legends," you offered.

"Is that so? That sounds like a great idea. My schedule's pretty full with this big case I have coming up, but I'm free next Saturday night," he replied.

"Works for me. No pressure, just a quiet evening at home, enjoying each other's company. And, you know, if there happens to be some kissing that goes on, I'd be cool with that," you teased.

"Oh, you think you're funny, hmm?" Sam grinned mischievously. He put his hands on your hips and pulled you flush against his body. "Maybe there'll be more than just kissing going on this time. Think you can handle that?" he murmured.

"Bring it, Winchester," you breathed. Without a moment's notice, Sam crashed his lips to yours in a hard and fast kiss that smoothed out in the end.

"Until next week, baby," he whispered with a grin.

"Yeah," you whispered back. Your lips were still tingling from so much raw passion packed into one kiss. "Hope I can wait that long," you said to yourself.

PART TWO IS NEXT!!

[duallygirl178]

Dearest O'Malley chapter 22

Chapter 22

Today was Robin’s birthday, I was talking to Gonzo and Robin about what we should do. Robin wanted a sleepover, with playing card games. Sweetie-Pie was still not back yet and I wondered why not pass the time by celebrating a dear friend's birthday. Natalie was making us some honey barbeque wings since that was Robin's favorite food. While she was making that, we played a card game and drank coffee. Gonzo taught us how to play poker since the two of us never played before. I started to get the hang of it and I planned my cards wisely with long thoughts. I was doing good and beating Gonzo and Robin but then, I decided this game was too advanced for my smarts so I let Robin win by placing the wrong cards down.

When the wings were ready, Natalie served us and told us that she and Nathan were going out to eat. So they drove Ol Reliable to Denny's. While they were gone, we played rummy for a while. We soon grew bored of the card game and decided to watch some NETFLIX and we searched for something good to watch when we found a bunch of our old favorites from many years ago to our favorite TV shows. We all took a vote on what we wanted to watch. I scrolled down the list with the remote and I hear Robin exclaim in joy when he saw the title SUPERNATURAL. He nearly hit the wall screaming out "Oh my chrome! I love this show!"

I laughed and picked that show.

"We're watching this." I said.

I clicked on the title and it played SUPERNATURAL. Robin had his eyes glued for one reason...because of that 1967 Chevy Impala. We ended up watching 6 episodes in a row. Robin was jumping for joy on the couch and teasing the characters on a few parts that appeared to come up at random times. Gonzo started to tease too about how he would like to rock her roads. Then I started to tease it too.

"She looks like a fun ride to take down the road." I said.

Than, Gonzo started to give me a hard time about having a thing for four door Impala cars.

"If only Sweetie-Pie was that attractive." Gonzo teased playfully.

"Yeah right." I chuckled "I wouldn't want her near those ghosts and monsters."

Robin and Gonzo chuckled and kept watching. It took 15 minutes before we started talking and joking until season 2 of SUPERNATURAL.

We watched a few more episodes until season 3 and went silent to follow the storylines. By the time we got bored, we played a that Gonzo brought over. When Nathan and Natalie got back from their date, Natalie got busy baking a cake for Robin for his birthday. The second card game didn't go so well but after 10 minutes, the game got good. By the time the cake was done and frosted, Natalie served us each a slice of cake while we watched a "Dukes Of Hazzard" movie that we found on NETFLIX. We ate our cake and wished Robin a happy birthday. After a while, Gonzo and I watched a 1980s TV show that I've never seen before .Robin was passed out and sleeping. We happened to come across it on the stream of movies and Tv shows. I looked at Gonzo and whispered to him about Robin. Gonzo gently shook him but Robin was sound asleep for a while and woke up.

"What I miss?" Robin asked almost alarmed.

"You missed Christmas." I said sarcastically

"I fell asleep, good gravy O'Malley. What shot down your alley?" Robin asked.

Gonzo and I started laughing. Gonzo perked up and decide to tell a story about what Impa used to do.

"Remember when Impa flashed himself in front of all those girls on tour?" I asked laughing.

"Oh brother, that guide got so upset he was trying to threaten us." Gonzo said.

I laughed, just remembering made me crack up.

"What now?" Robin asked us.

I was laughing so hard that I could barely talk, "You tell him Gonzo-bean."

Gonzo told Robin when Impa was hanging out with Gonzo and I there were these model women being taken to their cabin just across the lake, Impa looks at us and says "hey boys, watch this." so he bends over and flashed the women in the boat going by. And all those women were taking pictures and whooping at him and what not. And I could see the tour man hollering at us and shaking the ore in his hands like "you better stop that" Then Gonzo was scolding at us and saying "what are you stupid fools doing? Impa you better stop that now, that's embarrassing. O'Malley stop laughing that's not funny." Well, I tried but it was just too embarrassing and funny. There was nothing more dandy than seeing a pair of car balls being hung in the breeze like a pair of fuzzy dice. Finally afterwards, Gonzo took us back to the rest stop where we hide from the cops for moonshining.

After Gonzo finished telling the story, Robin was laughing hard.

"were the women upset?" He asked us.

"Upset? Bah, those women were so delighted they were taking pictures." Gonzo said.

"I remember one of them was wolf whistling and another was calling out 'nice fuzzies' to Impa." I said chuckling.

"A women in the front was clapping like 'yeee-ah yeee-ahh' also. I was watching her do it." Gonzo said.

"Impa was full of crazy ideas, if you dared him to do wear...well, he'd do it. He wasn't afraid to prove anything." Gonzo said, best for himself to leave out the graphic parts.

We laughed until we couldn't eat another bite of cake. Robin had a story to tell and so he told us all about it. He thought he was alone one day and he had an emergency. As he was lowering down to the ground to leak, two women were coming and they saw him. Robin was so humiliated that he never did it again. But it was good to be open to tell our embarrassing stories. Robin and Gonzo asked me what was my most embarrassing story. I licked the top of my lip and thought. Then, I smiled to tell it.

"I was heading out with my masters one day to get fuel. The road was freshly paved and the smell was so delightful that I lowered my face to smell it and I ended up scraping my chin on the pavement. Natalie gasped and asked me if I was okay. I was alright, it didn't hurt but I did feel pretty high. So I didn't feel it scraped." I said remembering the time I scraped my chin.

They chuckled.

"When did you start sniffing pavement?" Robin asked teasing me a little.

"I didn't start but I like the smell of a freshly paved street." I said.

After a while, we started to get sleepy and dozing off in a middle of a story about Impa from Gonzo and I noticed about a few minutes ago, Natalie and Nathan were off to bed. Robin shared a story where that reminded him of something he did that was stupid of him. I almost wanted to tell them another story of my life but then I stopped and thought how stupid it would be if I shared. So I decided not to say it.

Gonzo and Robin both looked at me and asked; "What was the dumbest thing you ever did, O'Malley?"

There has been so many dumb things I did that I couldn't think of one. I snickered and finally told one.

"I remember one year when I was young there was this one time, I put this cherry bomb on the men's toilet at a movie theater and flushed it down." I was saying and I had to start laughing and once I calmed down, I finished my story. "That bomb exploded like a roach in a microwave and that poor toilet survived it with water spraying all over the place until the janitor could turn off the water. We didn't get caught and it was at night so no one could see us. Secrurity cameras weren't in use at the time because the stupid business didn't want to chuck out the $60 dollars to have them running and they had bills toppling over." Gonzo had this look on his face like he remembered something.

"Oh wait...I remember that now, yeah! It was you, me, and Impa and your cousin." Gonzo laughed. "Best night ever."

I remembered it all from the "how come" and "why" parts that happened that same night.

"Remember when we had to camp out in that corn feild after we dashed away because the cops were there and they missed us completely when they pulled in." Gonzo added remembering some more of that night.

"Yeah because the cops were searching everyone that was there on who did it and we got off Scott-free. The corn wsn't too bad raw though and I liked it so it wasn't bad hiding there until the morning." I said.

Robin lost his mind laughing. It was the greatest story he ever heard. He sighed to calm down and said; "Wow O'Malley, that was the best one I've heard all night. That's a winner of all funny stories. Good job, man. I'm proud of you"

Robin high-treaded me and I said; "Thank you."

Once we got out all our giggles, we went to bed. I had a guess that it was passed 3 in the morning. I felt a heavy feeling in my eyes that they were suddenly glued down. I was so tired and it was starting to shine with a ray of sunshine over the hills. I didn't want to look at the clock to see so I let myself doze off.

By the time it was 11 AM, the three of us woke up realizing we were asleep on top of each other. We woke up alarm-clock screaming at each other.

"whoa, I know I have no problem with gays but I'm not gay, you goddit?" I said.

"nor am I and I have no idea how I ended up on you." Gonzo said.

When we calmed down, we had a late brunch and hung out for a while with a cup of coffee before the two of them went home. Robin and Gonzo tanked me for having Robin's birthday celebration and they had a great time. Nathan watched SUPERNATURAL while Natalie did her sewing. I watched it with Nathan because I was an Impala guy and watched the show for the Chevy Impala. I was enjoying the episode when a surprise came to the door. It was Sweetie-Pie came over and Natalie let her in to see me. She had returned safe and sound from her trip. I was surprised and I asked her sweetly; "So how was your trip?"

Sweetie-Pie gasps in excitement and said it was great.

"I did a lot of things in Boulder, Colorado. I went to some café places, the museum visited the university and ate out at fancy places in town." She was saying. Sounded like she had fun. then, she told me this long story of what else she did and about an hour later, she asked me what did I do while she was gone. I just shrugged and just said with a short pause; "Oh...nothing."

She chuckled, gave me a kiss on the fender and I made us some coffee. She asked me again on what did I do. Finally, I decided to give her the truth.

"I celebrated Robin's birthday, dressed up and did impressions of Elvis Presley, Did you know in Graceland, Memphis, they celebrate National Elvis Presley day on August 9th thru the 17th? There was an actual sandwich he made with peanut butter, banana and bacon. He called it the Elvis sandwich. Isn't that weird?" I said.

Impressed with my knowledge about Elvis, she said; "Wow, you really know your Elvis Presley facts. did you do a video on how you did your impression?" Sweetie-Pie asked.

I told her all about the video as we logged in to Nathan's laptop, we searched for it online and found it. By clicking on it, we watched it closely. Sweetie-Pie was amazed on how good I looked decorated like an Elvis Presley mobile. She giggled at the video and asked; "Who recorded all this?"

"Robin did with his camera. We did it for all those King of rock and roll fans out there." I said.

Sweetie-Pie smiled at me and said; "You are so thoughtful." She kept watching and would chuckle at it. how old did you say Robin was" Sweetie-Pie asked.

I thought a second and remembered in a hurry.

"He's 59 years old. He's 7 years older than I am." I said.

I had to admit that Robin was reaching his 60s. I had an idea that would delight my day with joy. I brought Sweetie-Pie close to me and said; "Say toots, we should go for a stroll at Berg park today while it's nice out."

Sweetie-Pie giggled and said. "Sounds like a good idea, O'Malley."

In 20 minutes, I left the house with Sweetie-Pie and we went to the Berg park. There were some people out jogging, riding bikes and feeding ducks.

First, we stopped to feed the ducks and geese. Sweetie-Pie brought corn from the feed store and happened to have it with her. We watched them crowd up tot the food as it laid scattered. There were 5 ducks that waddled up to grab a bite to eat. Geese were joining in and it looked like a congregation of birds. When they starting to leave, the feed bag was about empty.

When they left, we headed down the wildlife trail and while we did, we saw some more people jogging with their music in their ears as well deer walking about. It was a nice day to go for a stroll. There was a few deer in the bushes that were looking at us. Then about an hour later, Sweetie-Pie and I went to her house to hang out. Sweetie-Pie's house was just up Pinion Hills Road and she lived a few houses down from Robin. We had some tea and cheese Danishes which her owners made. She showed me pictures she took a while back on her trip. Sweetie-Pie had pictures of which she was in town at a restaurant and mountains. There were pictures of sunsets. She told me she had gone to visit her brother and got pictures with him at the kitchen table. She told me her brother's name was Roy and lived in a rich neighborhood, almost as fancy as Robin's house. There were pictures of the backyard and garden. When I flipped to the next picture, there was a sunset where flowers grew. Something caught my eye and I looked at it very carefully. There was something weird in the background. It was behind the rose bushes and stood about 4 feet tall which had goggled on it's face in. To make sure I wasn't seeing things, I blinked and looked at it again. Sweetie-Pie was staring at me.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

I studied that picture again and said; "Take a look see.at it. There is someone or something. in the background. I've never seen anything like it."

Sweetie-Pie looked at it hard and careful, but couldn't figure out.

What was that freaky thing? We looked up images on the computer to match the figure but couldn't find a match. We tried searching for ghosts...didn't find a single matching image. We tried scuba gear and still no matching image. Finally, we tried UFOs and aliens. We scrolled down and here was a black and white picture of a little girl in a white dress. There was that figure again. It was an extraterrestrial being. We looked at the details of when the picture was taken. It appeared to be president John F. Kennedy's daughter and the conspiracy which he was involved with. It was a little spooky but interesting.

I spent two hours over at Sweetie-Pie's house and when I got home, it was already 4 in the evening. I had a seat on the couch. Natalie was watching a TV show that interested her more than aquariums. She told me a lot about it while she was looking for something to watch on NETFLIX. She was hooked to this show on the History Channel called "Ancient Aliens" I suddenly began to get hooked too after a few short glances. It took me by surprise on how much there was. Like my grandfather used to say: "If you sink your teeth into a subject sandwich, you find some things will enlighten you"

The show explained what history books never tell like President Kennedy was part of many alien conspiracies and it talked about "Project Blue Books" that I didn't know before. I've read a lot about Project Blue Book and there was a book that got my attention that I needed to read. "Chariots of the Gods" So I listened to more detail about what the book talked about.

[whateverfloatsyourboatangie]

7 Times HIMYM Was Right About Life

1) Graduation Goggles.

In E6S20, the lot talks about Graduation Goggles, according to Robin, the phenomenon when you quit doing something or someone you hated, but as soon as you determined the finalisation, you get nostalgic and wish it back, like in high school, when everyone gets nostalgic after graduation.

During the past six months I worked at a publishing house as English editor and it was, plainly, pretty boring. I didn’t like the hours (far too many) and the work was primarily not challenging enough…

Anyway, when I could quit for good reasons, I suddenly felt sorry for leaving (it wasn’t long though, rather a Barney Goggle Moment). I also always get Graduation Goggles when I go to the hairdresser’s. Initially, I hate my hair and yearn for the moment a too stylish black-clad woman finally massages my temples before getting my hair cut, but then, as soon as I am comfortably seated in one of the chairs, the InTouch on my lap and  the black plastic cloak around my shoulders, I look into the mirror and think ‘Hey, it’s not too bad, is it?’ and wish I could have the indecency to walk out and keep my hair put - which I never do.

2) The Lobster Situation

This refers to when Robin is obsessed to get Barney back after she’s seeing him with another woman. Previously, she was told she couldn’t have lobster and then had a sudden urge to only eat lobster, making her face swell up.

I guess this is something everybody can associate with. The minute you are told you can’t do something, you just NEED to do it. I sometimes have that when I am somewhere really high and I have this sudden urge to drop my phone or camera (which is why I can never get out my phone somewhere high). Or when someone tells you not to scratch a spot, it starts itching so badly, you’d rather pull your face off than not scratch it.

3) Nothing good happens after 2 a.m.

This relates to Ted’s mother’s rule that you should make sure to be home after 2 a.m. because everything from there on is only crap. A long time ago, I wrote a post on the inner child where adults, when having the inner child switched on, react childishly and don’t want the evening to end, which, ultimately, ends in the evening being ruined. Example: Last NYE I made a bad mistake and agreed to celebrate NYE with my man and his friends, who have their inner child turned on permanently when going out (and mostly likely the rest of the time, too). Anyway, it was NYE and we were quite a bunch of people and still managed to secure a table to have everyone seated comfortably, which is close to winning a million Euros, if you ask me. Midnight had passed and so had 2 a.m. and people were starting to go home. The people who didn’t have their inner child on, did the sensible thing, saying “it’s late, let’s go home”. Anyway, not my man’s friends...no, even though everyone was seated and happy, we NEEDED to move to the next club because...reasons. From then on, it was only a drag. I, not wanting to be the sensible for once, accepted the stupidity and dragged along, knowing the evening had passed its peak and it was time to go home; however, the inner children didn’t know, nagging “no, mummy, just five more minutes” while the mummies could already see the children would be arguing and crying in five minutes’ time. Anyway, instead of going home and reminisce the evening with fond memories, we spent an hour not deciding which the next club would be and when we had finally decided, it was so crammed we couldn’t get in before I told them I would go home whereupon everyone agreed it was finally time to go home (apart from the ultimate inner child, but this would be getting too long if I started talking on inner child narcissist traits in people).  

So, heed Ted’s mum’s advice and just go home when the clock strikes 2 a.m..

4) Long Distance Relationships Rarely Work

In season one when Ted meets patissier Victoria, he is quickly falling in love with the sympathetic, warm-hearted cake maker (and part of me still mourns she didn’t end up being the mother, if I am honest with you).

However, their luck quickly gets challenged when Victoria receives a bakery fellowship in Germany, prompting the difficult question whether to stay with Ted or further her career. Both agree quickly that long distance wouldn’t work for them and that her accepting the fellowship would mean their relationship was over (honestly, a year is not that long of a time…).

Now, it is not that long distance cannot work, after all I have already had long distance for a year with my man and it worked out alright; however, I have to agree that long distance isn’t what you should be opting for - especially if it is not foreseeable how long the relationship will have to endure the additional burden. My man and I knew it would only be a year and even knowing that, we needed a little “re-entering phase” when I came back.

For Ted and Victoria  things do not end well in the show and Ted cheats on her with Robin (why, Ted, why? Robin’s really not all that special…). Lily and Marshall also drone on about Lily’s exchange in Paris in which they both suffered from the long distance.

In the end, I would say being together also means being together. Personally, when I choose to be with someone, I want to be with this person, in mind and body.

5) Things you didn’t like in the beginning, you may end up really liking after years

Upon reviewing a shirt he initially didn’t like, Ted realises it has grown on him and he revisits his ex-girlfriends to see if one of them would be a fit now, even if she wasn’t back then. I don’t know about ex-girl or boyfriends, but I can certify that you can actually grow to like things you didn’t previously.

For me, it has mostly been food which has transformed from eugh to yummy, such as carrots. I hated carrots as a child and told my mother only rabbits would eat them; however, now they have become one of my favourite vegetables. My man has always hated hot chocolate, but now I catch him nipping of my cup when I drink one and he has admitted he has grown to like the taste.

Another area in which I regularly flip my mind is fashion. I can perceive something as terribly horrible and wear it a couple of months later myself. Initially I thought the idea of ripped jeans was laughable because who would buy torn jeans? However, even though they’re still not my favourite, I have some pairs of them in my wardrobe now too. Same goes for sneakers. I still oppose the ridiculous sneaker culture creeping up upon us and people who, out of principle, only wear sneakers should be flogged in my opinion; yet, from downright declaring I would never ever wear one pair myself, my man actually bought my a pair of Nike’s last year and I have been seen wearing them on occasion.  

6) Clubs are terrible

There is no message I can endorse more than this one. I. Hate. Clubs. In HIMYM, Ted and Barney go to some fancy club while Lily and Marshall dedicate their time with more grown-up occupations, quickly yearning they were at the club too.

Inside the club, Ted can barely talk to a woman because of the loud music, two beers cost him thirty-something quid and it takes hours until he can get them. Ultimately, he concurs that clubs suck and I can fully understand that.

Personally, I have never been a party bunny myself and preferred reading in bed (I know it sounds so cliché, but it is actually the truth). However, once or twice I year I convinced myself that partying was fun, so I went out to some fancy club in which the music was drumming from the walls and I was elbowed all evening long, leading me to the conclusion that clubs actually suck, unless you enjoy being deaf for the three ensuing days, like to be butt-grabbed every five minutes and drunk men harassing you. And if you do, you should seek advice...

7) The Platinum Rule

Barney has a rule for everything, we know that, but this rule actually isn’t such a bad idea. Basically it states to not eat where you defecate, i.e. not date someone from work, befriend a neighbour or engage in relational contact with anybody whom you cannot simply avoid.

Obviously, it is difficult to stay out of any sort of relationship at the places you primarily exist; however, I would not seek a relationship at the workplace, for instance, because in the case it doesn’t work out (which usually is the case), everything gets really weird and the place you spent most of your time at suddenly becomes a haunted space for unwanted memories.

Additionally, neighbours can be tricky too. Obviously we all desire pleasant relationships with our neighbours, i.e. them letting us be without interfering too much. But friends? Hm, could work out the other way too. As we can see in HIMYM, Lily and Marshall get all cosy with their new neighbours who then constantly knock on their door, wanting to play charades. Obviously, this can become rather tiresome if one party is more involved into the relationship than another and, personally, I have never sought to be friends with my neighbours. An affirmative nod in their direction has so far sufficed.

Obviously HIMYM is set in a world of extremes and long distance can work, as can a relationship with a co-worker or neighbour, but the above given theories  explained in HIMYM make sense in many life situations and are well-valued to be kept in mind.