#i just had the screenshots of the articles in my camera roll so i had to dig through the internet archives to find the original sources 😭😭

[buster-keaton]

from the moving picture world magazine, november 1920

transcript under cut

transcript:

Buster Keaton Disregards Birthday to Finish Film

Buster Keaton spent his birthday working before the camera in the closing scenes of his fourth two-reel comedy, "Neighbors". Buster is serious in his occupation of making people laugh, and a long October day in California was coming to a close before the nimble comedian remembered that it was the occasion of his twenty-fifth anniversary, but he refused to doff his makeup and comedy clothes until the last scene was "shot".

That evening, however, Buster was the guest of honor at a birthday party given by his parents, Joseph and Myra Keaton, in their residence in the Hollywood picture colony. The elder Keatons and Buster made up the famous knockabout comedy team of the Three Keatons in vaudeville.

At Buster's birthday party the entire personnel of his studios, from Lou Anger, business manager for Joseph M. Schenck, down to the office boy, Luke McGluke, was present. Other guests were Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, the Metro stars, Viola Dana and Alice Lake; Shirley Mason, Miss Dana's sister; Lew Cody and Bernard Durning.

[explodingstar]

I miss you Simon.

Warnings: NSFW 18+

Pairings: Simon Riley x f!reader

It was a slow day for you back home all the household chores were done and dinner was already made for later tonight. Just some leftovers from the night before, reheated. Simon had only left a couple weeks ago to go back on deployment to another mission. You miss him already and damn do you miss him. You grab a book and lay down in bed with only the bedside lamp illuminating the darkness of the bedroom.

 Buzz buzz

A text? From Simon? You pick up your phone hoping to see his name in your notifications instead its just another alert from facebook. You roll your eyes and put down your phone again but you REALLY needed him to text you especially with the mood you were in at the moment. All of a sudden an idea comes to your mind and you put the book you were reading down on the bedside table alongside your glass of wine. Was this a drunken idea? Possibly. Did it still seem like a good idea? 

Definitely. 

You get up and walk over to your closet and grab Simons favorite article of clothing that he LOVES to see you in. A black lacy one piece that is just sheer enough to see everything, in the right lighting. You grab your tripod and set it up at the edge of the bed and change into the lingerie that Simon had essentially tried to rip off of you before. You set up your phone on the tripod and turn it on video mode to take screenshots of it later. At first you pose a couple different ways. One on your knees with your arms pushing your tits together and your hands on the bed in front of you. Another one with the top of the one piece down so your tits are fully out and your hands running through your long gorgeous hair. You get to thinking…‘What would Simon enjoy most?’ An idea hits you. You turn your back to the camera and seductively bend over to where your ass is in the air and your soaking wet pussy can be seen through the sheer lingerie that you decided to put on. You get up and grab your phone looking through the video to make sure everything is perfect. A couple screenshots here, a couple there and you make a little folder called “For Simon”. 

“This should get him to text me…” ‘attachment delivered’ you read. 

Simon’s POV 

DING “Simon! You got a message!” “Thanks Johnny I’m pretty sure I can hear” Simon says annoyingly. He picks up his phone and opens your message. He smirks to himself and stands up from his seat. “I’ll be right back mates” He goes into the bathroom off of the barracks just for a bit more privacy. 

Your POV

RING RING RING You look down at your phone blushing when you see Simon’s name and photo come across your screen. You slide over to answer “Hiiii Simon” You hear the sound of metal clinking together and you know exactly what it is, his belt coming undone with one hand. “Im going to assume you got my pictures love” 

“Ughh Fuck. I did..ya miss me don’t ‘cha?” He says through grunts. “I always do” you say rubbing yourself just to the sound of his voice. A small moan escaping your lips as you do so. “Wait till I get back…you wont be able to walk for teasing me like this…oh fuck” he says softly. He continues stroking his cock still looking at the pictures you sent. “I cant wait for you to come home.” You say with your middle finger slowly pumping in and out of you. “Fuck..well lucky for you I get home tomorrow…”

A/N: I plan on making this a part 1! Part 2 would be Simon coming home. 😈 (Sorry for any errors its almost 2AM.)

[mxchellesworld]

Attraction and Repulsion 

Harry Styles x Reader

Synopsis; Where Harry is too much of an asshole for a proper relationship but too good in bed for you to leave 

Warnings; mean!harry, arguments, name calling, smut, unprotected sex, creampies, degradation, impact play, choking, 

a/n; harry styles fans come get yall juice!! ok i wont lie this kinda seems all over the place but i like it anyways. hope yall enjoy and please send some feedback:)

***

You thought it was real funny. It was absolutely hilarious how the whole world saw Harry as a sweet lad who wears big trousers and has fun nails. But you saw him for who he really was. Harry Styles was mean. Plain and simple. 

But you loved it. 

And as much as you tried to deny it, you both knew it was true. You were like magnets. When you weren’t absolutely repulsed by one another, starting an argument, you were wrapped up in each others sheets feeling the strongest attraction you’d ever felt for another person. 

You were always stuck in a limbo of back and forth. Arguments and name calling over the phone leading to quick hang ups and the eventual knock on the door signaling he was there to deal with you the only way he knew how to put you in your place. 

You were drawn to him like a moth to flame. And just like you, he was also too stubborn to admit that he’d want anyone else but you. No matter how cocky he got flaunting the fact that he could get any person in the world with just a smile and wink, he knew he’d never actually do it. 

Under all the petty acts and insults there was the smallest bit of adoration he held for you and you only. 

_ 

You had been lounging around your apartment when your phone chimed. It was one of your girlfriends sending you a link to a newspaper article. You hadn’t bothered to look at the title on the message before clicking on it and seeing the large cover photo on your screen. 

Right there Harry and some model getting cozy after his last show. Big bold letters on the teen magazine reading ‘HARRY STYLES AND NEW BAE???’. You audibly scoffed. 

It wasn’t like he was your boyfriend so you couldn’t really do much about it, you thought ignoring the small sting in your chest. Shaking off the feeling you skimmed the rest of the article then replied to the message, “she is kinda hot, maybe he’ll give me her number lol” 

With that you threw your phone on the other side of the couch and started to get up. It was 3pm a little too early in your book to start drinking at home and especially too early to start letting him ruin your day. 

Maybe it was time to start looking at other people. You were hot and single, living in a big city with other hot singles, it shouldn’t be too hard for you to find someone to get in a stable relationship with or at the bare minimum a good fuck for the night. 

So you did what anyone else does and picked up your phone once again, going straight to the app store. Right on the front page was tinder and just for good measure you added bumble. Making the accounts were easy enough but selecting the pictures for your profile was tricky. You wanted a good amount of selfies and body shots. Cute pictures but also something risky enough to catch the eye. 

Soon enough you were already swiping and giggling to yourself about the future prospects you had lined up. Meanwhile in a city about a few hundred miles from you Harry was sitting with a frown on his scowl on his face in the same predicament you were in earlier that day. 

He was in his hotel room packing up and getting ready to head back home when his phone chimed. He looked over to see if it was his manager or someone from crew with any updates on departure times however it was one of his close friends. 

At first he was expecting a sports update or an invitation to go to a bar when he got back but instead it was a screenshot of your tinder profile. When had you gotten that? he thought to himself. 

It wasn’t like he could get mad since he knew he didn’t treat you the best. But that was just your dynamic, deep down you both cared for each other and even then it made for the best sex of his life. 

Looking back down at the glowing screen he swiped through the few screenshots he was sent. Various pictures of you out with friends. The one that got him was a picture of you in the bathtub, your body was covered by the porcelain yet just enough of your chest just was showing in the mirror as you gave the camera your best sultry look. 

Yet the real kicker was the bio where you included him in your top artists. He scoffed and shook his head, biting his lip as he clicked out from the messages app. Instead he called up his manager to get him on the fastest plane back home. If the blood wasn’t rushing to his face he knew he’d be hard as a rock but for now he’d save that frustration for when he saw you. 

_

You knew tinder hookups were easy to get but you didn’t know just how easy. After spending the day scrolling away, putting your phone down for food and subtle chores you landed a ‘date’, which you really knew was ‘lets get tacos before we fuck on my couch’. 

You had planned to meet at 8pm at some restaurant by your house. At 6:30 you started to get ready slowly, taking your time in the shower, shaving, the works. You had your music connected to a speaker getting yourself excited for the night. 

Who wouldn’t be? You needed this. This was your time to get all dolled up and get to cum from someone other than yourself or the man who makes the vein in your forehead pop when you think about him. 

You put on your sweet smelling lotion and head to your closet looking for an outfit. It was starting to get warm so you settled for a black t-shirt dress that fell to mid thigh with tan heeled booties. You pulled out a jean jacket to put on top in case it was windy.

After finishing your hair and makeup, it was nearing 7:30 and you were back on your couch fixing up the pillows and picking up any misplaced items in case the night led you back to your place. Suddenly you heard a knock on your door, the same hard 3 rasps which only meant one person. 

Your heels clicked on the hard wood as you made your way to the door, unlocking it and opening it halfway, “What do you want Harold,” you said unamused. 

“You look pretty,” he said pushing past you, ignoring the annoyance in your tone. 

“Wish I could say the same about you. Now what do you want? I’m busy and I have to leave soon,” you said rolling your eyes. 

He took a seat on your previously neat couch, spreading his legs and putting his arms up on the back. The way he looked you up and down sent chills up your spine, “What did you get a date that quick? The internet works wonders doesn’t it love”, he said rolling his neck. 

“How did you know abo- actually I don’t care. As a matter of fact I do have a date and I’m meeting him soon so if you don’t mind leaving,” you said picking up your jacket and purse, “Why don’t you call that one girl from your show? She probably misses you.” 

He let out a short laugh before pushed on his knees to stand back up, “Ah I see what this is. You’re jealous and you think going on a little date with some nobody would hurt me.” The cockiness was just seeping out of him. 

“Pull your head out of your a-,” you started before he cut you off. 

“No no you’re gonna listen to me angel. We may not be together but you belong to me. No one else can ever touch you or fuck you as well as I can,” he said leaning in to whisper in your ear. 

It was almost sad how easily he could have you crumbling. Just then your phone dinged. It was a message from the guy, Danny? You couldn’t remember at this point. 

“Answer it sweatpea, tell him you can’t make it.” 

You were really debating it. On one side this could be your chance to finally tell Harry to fuck off but on the other you knew it would be hard to replace him and you weren’t even sure you completely wanted to. That was a whole other layer of emotions to dig through. 

You looked back up at Harry, one of his curls falling into his eyes which were filled with lust. The way his tongue peeked out to slip over his pink lips gave you the answer you needed. 

“Fuck,” you whispered unlocking your phone. Quickly you typed out a half ass apology about your sister needing you to babysit, even though she lived out of state, he didn’t need to know. 

After you hit send your phone was quickly plucked from your grasp and pushed into Harry’s pocket. You didn’t think much about it when his lips pressing onto yours was acting as a great distraction. 

He pulled away lightly mumbling a “taste like strawberries”. If you weren’t so turned on you would’ve giggled. 

You moaned into his mouth pulling him by his loose button up shirt into your bedroom. It was a routine you had almost perfected at this point with little stumbling or need to grab onto the walls as a guide to make sure neither of you hit any corners. 

Your lips never left each others in the feverish mess of kisses. Each one making you grow needier and needier. Your fingers worked quickly in trying to get the buttons on his shirt undone. You felt his warm ones wrap around yours halting your movements. 

“Not so fast, you think I’m gonna let you off easy for what you did today?” 

You huffed out, “You did the same-”, again he cut you off. 

“I get to do whatever I want because you know who I am,” he finished trailing his thumb over your bottom lip, slowly tugging it down. All you could do was nod. 

“Say it then.” 

“Harry Styles,” you whispered out. 

You could see his pupils get bigger with each syllable. It was his favorite thing, the power, the dominance. He got off on his own name. But so did you, the thought alone made you clench your thighs as you were in the moment. 

His hand came up and tapped on your cheek, a small implication of what you knew he could do, “You’re gonna have to be louder than that lovie. Don’t worry though I’ll let you try again later.”

He backed you up until your legs hit the bed, pushing you down. You slowly crawled back, pulling your jacket and dress off as he worked on his belt and pants. You made quick work of kicking off your boots and settled into the plush sheets. 

“Hurry up Styles. I think Danny could’ve made me cum at least twice now,” you said sliding a hand down to your panties. That move would bite you in the ass but the risk was worth it. 

You let out gasps at the touch of your fingertips, moving your hips, doing anything to put on a show and hopefully have him give you what you wanted quicker. 

He eagerly got on the bed, trapping you under his knees. His hands quickly ripped yours away from where you needed them most, pinning them over your head. He leaned down, face inches from yours until you shared the same breathe. 

“You just want to be punished don’t you? Don’t worry I’ll help you get it through that stupid little slutty brain of yours,” he finished with a sadistic smile. 

You nodded frantically moaning out pleases. His hand came down on your cheek, the chill of his rings pressed against the now warm skin on your face. His nails raked down until his hand was snuggly hugging your neck. 

You tilted your head back giving him more room to squeeze and mark as he pleased, “Please Harry, want you to fuck me already.” 

He tutted his lips giving your neck one last squeeze before he pulled away. “I think we should work on your patience,” he said moving down to your spread legs. 

His warm hands pulled on the lace fabric on your hips, scoffing at the visible wet patch, “Don’t tell me this was all for old Danny-boy.” 

“No Harry its all for you,” you mewled as he let his fingers swipe through your folds. It was evil how he was leisurely propped up between your legs teasingly circling your aching bud, switching between blowing on it and nipping at it. 

You already felt the tears springing in the corners of your eyes. So little was doing so much. Just a little more and you could cum right then and there. And he knew it too. 

“Oh you better not cum. I’m not gonna be very forgiving if you do,” he trailed off almost laughing. He never let up, quick circles on your bud making your body tense up. 

“Ple- no.. oh god Harry,” you whined out. You felt your juices gushing out of you as you reached your peak. He never let up on his motions, going even faster on your overstimulated clit. 

“God you’re so pathetic. Such a whore you just had to cum,” he punctuated with a slap right on your pussy. 

At this point you were sobbing. Your head was swimming in the pleasure. You tried to apologize but the words weren’t coming together, just broken whimpers and mixes of sorry’s. 

His hand came down on your sensitive cunt two more times, each one had you trying to close your legs but he was quick to keep them open with a bruising grip. 

“Please.. Harry.”

“Please what?” he said taking in your shivering frame.

“Please fuck me! Want you to cum inside me, mark me so everyone knows i’m yours!” you spoke out breathlessly.

Quickly he flipped your over, pulling your hips up so that your pussy was on display for him. He groaned as he swiped the tip of his weeping pink cock over your already puffy folds.

With a long stroke he filled you completely. Your nerves were on fire and he hadn’t even started. His rough hands grabbed onto your hips for leverage on his thrusts.

“Fuck you’re so tight. Such a good little whore just for me to ruin,” he gritted out. He kept a steady pace, quick and deep making sure to hit your sweet spot each time.

Your nails were digging into the pillows for dear life. Eyes shut closed as your mouth fell in silent screams and jumbled phrases of pleasure. The only thing on your mind was HarryHarryHarry.

“Wanna cum again.. oh my god.. Plesse Harry fill me up! I need to feel it,” you said arching your back further. You felt each vein slide along your spongy walls making sure to clench around him and milk him for all he was worth.

His grip on your never let up. He let his hand come down on your ass cheek. Once again the rings contrasting the heat radiating off of you, “That’s it cum for me baby. I want you to scream my name when you do. Can you do that love? Shit , tell me who fucks you this good? Who’s cum do you want spilling inside you?”

You all but screamed a “Harry Styles” letting your neighbors know just who was with you that night, nights before, and nights to come.

The sweet noises and screams of his name had Harry’s cock pulsing inside you, ready to burst at any moment.

One look down at where you connected and he was sent right to heaven. Your cute little pussy creaming right on his cock had him shooting his load deep inside you.

You both gasped and groaned at the feeling of him filling you to the brim. He stilled his motions and you all but collapsed onto your bed.

You felt him lean down once again, pressing a kiss to the shell of your ear before whispering, “You think Danny could’ve done that?”

[novalunosiss]

Okay!! The post strangerthingstv just made on Instagram looks really interesting! The whole thing gives me fear street vibes (like the title sequence with the news paper articles and whatnot) but I digress… Seems like season 4 is going to have some kind of murder plot.. or this murder could potentially be one from the past (like how Hop was looking at old newspaper articles in season 1). Anyway the video goes really fast but I saved it to my camera roll and slowed it down to read. Most of the information is blacked out but I’ll write what is legible below. I’ll write everything in the newspaper in a different font, my own thoughts will be in the regular font. For simplicities sake and because I don’t know terminology I’ll be calling the pictures “frames”. I won’t be discussing the frames that are just pictures, only the ones that show the text. This means that when I say “second frame” or something, it might not actually be the second frame in the video, but it’s the second frame with text on it. Hope that’s not confusing. Not sure if anyone will find this useful but i thought it was interesting, so here goes. Just as a warning, it’s 3:00 am where I live rn so this will probably be a little scattered.

First frame:

THE WEEKLY WATCHER

Lana stalked by crazed fan page 3

BLANK CLAIMS: VENGEFUL DEMON KILLED FAMILY

The Murder That Shocked A Small Community - PAGE 10

The Star-studded ‘bonanza’ premiere - CENTER PAGES

Policeman shot 12 times survives - PAGE 3

Inside Jayne and Mickey’s ‘Palace’ - PAGE 24

Thousands seek gold in jungle - PAGE 7

Magic Pill helping people lose weight

Second frame: you can only see part of the newspaper in this bit, but I’ll still try my best

s are certain Creel is to blame, but he claims

BLANK: Killer or t

m of a vengeful sp

by Addie Ba-cock

Okay so after this there’s a blank block of text but I’ll use this to point out some stuff. In this frame the text starts with the end letter of a word, s. I’m gonna assume that the word in question was ‘Authorities’. That would make sense considering it’s about a murder case and it fits well into the rest of the sentence. Not sure what the T or the M could be for, but the Sp is definitely the beginning of Spirit. This is later confirmed by another slide. As for the dash in the surname of whoever wrote this article, I couldn’t quite make out a letter so I left it like that. Back onto the text.

Whoever you believe, the strange case of the Creel family has put the heretofore sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana, on the map. It is safe to say that the entire region will never be the same again. District attorney Phillip Bradley said of the ordeal.

Once again this is followed by a block of text. Now. Im fairly confident I’ve got most of this right, but it’s hard to be sure because the text is pretty small and blurry. The two lots of dashes are words I couldn’t quite figure out. Credit to @the-one-and-only-asha who figured out that the missing words were entire and region and let me know in the comments. For some reason it won’t allow me to link to their profile, as it says her blog is missing. But full credit goes to them :) To the right of this text is another bit that is featured in two slides. By piecing together both bits it is still incomplete but more together. It says the following.

‘I thought I was dying… so I w

flooded with relief… but there

a sense of terrible grief, too.’

The first time this bit of text appears it is in the second frame and has a block of blanked out text under it. However, the second time it appears, in the fourth frame, you can see some of the previously blanked out text. It says:

The discovery of a dead an-

the property. One evening,

ether Alice found a rotting

The third slide is also a closer up version of the second slide with a bit more information that was not previously seen.

Crime scene photos from inside the Creel Home obtained EXCLUSIVELY by TWW reveal a complete blood bath.

Underneath it is a picture of the scene but it’s blurry and you can’t see much. To the right there is more text, though most of it is cut off.

to the super

The Cre

home in Ha

Court docum

had recently

itance with

murder hou

Creel cl

in to their

a series of

paranormal

A lot of this you can use common sense to figure out. Cre is obviously Creed, Ha is most likely Hawkins, docum is documents, hou is house, cl is claimed, and after paranormal I’d assume it says events.

After this the video blurs through some more text but if you slow it down you can read one bit.

Didn’t know what I

told the court.

“I said I thought

teenagers set the gra

wouldn’t listen to me

dener tells our source

ly had enough

Not sure if i got all of this part right, it was lighter than the rest of the text so it was a little harder to read. For “gra” that could be grave, I’m thinking. Dener sounds like it could be a person, probably a surname, but im definitely not sure I got that right, it could be a completely different word/name. The ly in the final sentence is probably finally, as in “finally had enough.”

That’s it, I’ll include the video and the screenshots I took below but hopefully someone finds this as interesting as I did!

[itspufflehuff]

Spidey Part2 - Sebastian Stan X Holland!Reader

Summary: What will happen between you and your brothers co-star after sparks fly in your first meeting at comic-con?

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | 

MATERLIST // TAGLIST

I wasn't planing on making a part two but as requested by @star-gazing-game here it is! You can read part one here and part three here. If anyone ever has a request or suggestion my messages are always open! Thank you for choosing to read my story and I hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 4,935 (wow for a story I didn't plan on making I sure got lost in it. This is twice as long as the first story!)

~~~~

Once comic con ended you and Sebastian went your separate ways, making sure to exchange numbers first. The both of you still had to do some promoting for your movies and unfortunately, they were in different parts of the country. He would stay in California for a bit while you went back to New York. That didn't stop you from keeping up with each other. He would randomly message you throughout the day and it would always bring a smile to your face.

Sebastian: Another interview with the diva 🙄. I mean does he really need someone to carry all those juice boxes for him?

You were currently sitting in your apartment getting ready to have dinner. You were still appearing on talk shows promoting your movie and your career, now that people were noticing you more it was the perfect opportunity for you to talk more about your usual work and gain more of a following. Tonight you would be on SNL performing a parody skit of Wicked.

Laughing you responded back.

Y/N: Ugh I know right! He thinks he's so much better than anyone like 'oh look at me I'm Spider-Man' 🙄 go get your juice box and let the adults handle this

Less than a minute later your phone rang again.

Sebastian: I can't believe people think he's the better Holland when it's obvious you are.

Y/N: Thank you! Finally, someone who sees how much better I am than him

You set your phone down leaving it unlocked waiting for Sebastian's next reply. Instead, your phone read 'Tommy' as a video call came through. Confused as to why he would be calling you before an interview, you moved your food aside and swiped to answer the call.

Before you got to greet him Tom spoke, "Why are you texting Sebastian?"

Although his question caught you off guard that didn't stop you from thinking of a quick response.

Faking disappointment you shook your head, "Oh Tommy, have you been snooping on people's phones again? Hasn't mum talked to you about that already? Does she need to have another chat with you?"

His face turned a tint of red as everyone behind him laughed. You heard a voice call out, "Someone please tell me you got that on camera." It was Mackie.

Someone called back to him, "We got it!" Again everyone burst into laughter. Obviously embarrassed Tom cleared his throat, "I'll call you back later." Quickly he hung up the phone.

No new messages came from Sebastian after that. You assumed it was because his interview was starting. So for the next few hours, you busied yourself getting ready for your show later. This would be your first time performing for SNL, you were so excited but also nervous. You couldn't keep still all day you had to walk around, clean, jump, even sing. Anything to keep yourself busy.

They asked you to show up two hours early to rehearse one last time before the show began. You and your scene partner went over the opening scene that would lead into the song. Once you got it down you two warmed up your voices finding the perfect harmony. Your skit was second up and just like on opening night for all your other shows you were nervous. Sure you've performed live in front of people more times than you can count but each time was as nerve-wracking as the first time.

You had thirty minutes left before you had to go out when you got a text on your phone. Looking down you saw his name and a smile came onto your face.

Sebastian: Good luck tonight you're gonna be great xx

You felt a bit more at ease knowing you had Sebastian cheering you on from the other side of the country. You put your phone down and headed backstage where everyone else was talking as they waited for their turn to go up.

~~~~

"And now for our next guest, Tom Holland!" Your partner introduced. That was your cue to run out on stage. You stood to the right of her smiling and waving to the crowd. When the cheering died down you looked to her still smiling, "Actually it's Y/N Holland."

"We didn't book you today." She said faking confusion looking down at her cue cards, "Look it says right here Tom Holland. TOM. Not Y/N."

"You must've written the wrong name down because I was definitely asked to come down tonight."

She let out a nervous laugh looking at the audience, "No we called and asked for the Spidey twin. You know the new Spidey, not Toby or Andrew."

"I am the new Spidey. I don't know if you heard but I kinda did this new movie and I voiced Spider-Gwen."

"Ok, but we asked for the dancing twin?"

"I can dance too. Maybe even better than my brother." I wink to the audience who cheered.

"Wait, wait, wait," She said to the audience, "but we asked for the more successful twin. Surely that must be Tom. I mean he is Spider-Man. THE Spider-Man. He's gotten the Empire and BAFTA awards for best newcomer and rising star."

"Um tell that to my three Tony Awards for best newcomer and Best Actress." You held one finger up for best newcomer and two for Best Actress. The audience went wild cheering and clapping for you.

"Oh no." Your scene partner said, cuing the music to What is this Feeling begin.

"There's been some confusion over casting here at SNL" you both sang

"But of course I'll promote for Spidey," you sang then in a speaking voice you quickly said, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse out in theaters now."

Your partner looked at you rolling her eyes, "And of course I'll rise up above it"

"For I know that's how you'd want me to respond, yes. There's been some confusion for you see, my scene-mate is," you both sang.

"Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe," you sang.

"Y/N" She deadpanned to the audience.

The both of you continued the song just as rehearsed. By the end, everyone cheered as you two marched off stage pretending not to like each other.

You stood for the rest of this show to watch the other skits they had planned out. It was so much fun, you were getting so used to being in a small room filled with the camera crew as you and the interview sat there talking. Of course, those could be fun too but this was a nice change.

At the end of the show, Tom called to tell you how amazing you did. "Watch out because I'm coming for your Tony's with some Oscars next." He threatened before hanging up. You laughed to yourself at your dorky brother. You couldn't help but notice the noise going on behind Tom throughout your phone call. He sounded like he was at a party or something. Then your phone rang again.

Sebastian: Tom has nothing on your three Tony's the only other award he'll be getting from the Oscars is biggest diva

You smiled reading his text, you were about to respond when another came through.

Sebastian: You did great tonight, I can't wait to hear you sing in person again

You felt butterflies erupt in your stomach. Of course you liked him. He was so sweet, funny, talented, and super attractive. But you two hadn't hung out since comic con or even seen each other since then. You didn't want to think too much about your relationship with him other than being friends but deep down you wanted more.

Y/N: Once I'm back on the stage I'll get you front row tickets

~~~~

Weeks had passed when you finally finished doing interviews and promos for Spider-Verse. Sebastian was finally back in New York but you two hadn't had the chance to meet up just yet. If he wasn't busy you were. Now that you had free time you decided to take advantage and take some time off of doing shows as well. Just a few more weeks then you'd go back.

That was until they called you desperate for a replacement, both the lead actress and her understudy got food poisoning and couldn't go on stage.  They needed a new Eurydice and you knew the part. You played it once before and you did amazing. Not wanting to let anyone down you agreed to cover, you were also really excited to revisit Hadestown. You loved playing Eurydice the first time so when the chance came to play her again you took it.

You immediately texted your brother excited sharing the good news. You wanted to text Sebastian but you knew he was in the middle of an interview so instead you waited for him to let you know when it was over.

His interview went on longer than expected. By the time it was over you were already down at the theater for a mic check and to get your costume fitted. When Sebastian texted you back your phone was hidden in your purse which then happened to be buried under a pile of everyone else belongings. After an hour passed he wondered why you didn't respond. Usually, you'll respond within a few minutes or before the hours passed. He didn't want to bug and keep texting so he waited for you to respond. He walked around his apartment trying to keep himself busy until he heard his phone buzz. Quickly he ran to his phone only to see it was a text from Mackie. Disappointed but not wanting to be rude he opened it up. It was a screenshot of some news article followed by the words, "This your girl?"

He opened up the photo and read to himself in a low whisper, "Actress Y/N Holland to star in Hadestown for one night only" he read further then jumped to his feet running into his room.

She's performing tonight? Why didn't she tell me?

It was already 6:30 and the show is scheduled for 8:00. That night was the fastest he ever got ready for anything. He showered, got dressed, combed his hair, and jumped in his car all within twenty minutes but he didn't care. He was going to see you tonight.

~~~~

On his way to the theater, he passed a man and woman selling flowers on the side of the street. Quickly he pulled over running over to them. They had a variety of flowers ready to be made into bouquets, the only problem was he wasn't sure which ones to get. He had never asked before what your favorite flowers were and he was not about to ask your brother so he did the next best thing, he googled it.

~~~~

At the end of the show, you were full of adrenaline. The crowd cheered as they stood for you and the cast. You had worked with some of the ensemble cast before on other shows so they came up to give you hugs before you all bowed and the curtain dropped.

You almost forgot how amazing and fun it was to be on stage. You walked back to your dressing room ready to change back into your clothes and go home. Your bag was thrown in the corner forgotten about but the moment you sat down a thought came into your head.

I haven't texted Sebastian back all day.

You ran to your bag digging through it to find your phone. It seemed to be lost somewhere in there and you were losing patience so you flipped your purse over dropping everything onto the floor. Finally finding your phone you walked over to your chair, opened up your messages, and went to Sebastian's name.

Y/N: Hey I sorta got busy... I'll tell you more about it when you've got time

You sighed slouching down in your chair, closing your eyes, and throwing your head back. You knew he was very understanding and wouldn't be upset with you for leaving him without saying a word but still, you felt bad. A few minutes passed when you heard knocking on your door. You sat back up before calling out, "Come in."

"I have time now if you want to talk." You heard a husky voice say from your door. You turned in shock seeing Sebastian standing there in a casual blue suit with flowers in his hand. You got up from your seat and started walking over to him as he walked closer to you, "Sebastian what're you doing here?"

"Well, when I heard you would be performing tonight I couldn't miss this show. I also got you these so I couldn't let you leave without them."

"Thank you, they're beautiful. How did you know these were my favorite?" You asked jokingly. You honestly thought it was just a coincidence that the flowers he got were your favorites.

He rubbed the back of his neck as a blush rose onto his cheeks, "I may have googled what your favorite flowers are."

You couldn't help but laugh, "I'm sorry I didn't mean for that to come out. It's just- you googled me?"

"Yes, I googled you!" He was laughing now too.

"I can't believe you googled me." You were smiling at him now. He was so much taller without your heels on. You took a step back, crossing your arms feeling a bit insecure.

"Well, I was hoping I could take you out tonight. Finally, get to hang out again now that we're here together."

"Yeah, of course, let me get changed really quickly then we can do."

He nodded walking out of the room allowing you to dress in peace. You ran around grabbing your clothes and throwing everything back into your purse. It wasn't too long until you opened the door with your purse and flowers in hand, "So what did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking maybe we can go back to my apartment. I'm sure you're tired and well were not exactly dressed for the same event." He looked down at your sweatpants and t-shirt.

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

~~~~

You followed behind him in your car to his house. You were slightly nervous since this would be the first time you both properly hang out together, alone, and in his house.

When you both got there he met you at your car opening the door for you and offering his hand, "My lady." You giggled at his antics but still took his hand, "Thank you, kind sir." He walked you up to his apartment while your arm was wrapped around his.

Once you were both in his apartment he looked down at his attire, "I am going to change real quick. While I'm gone feel free to make yourself at home. If you need to use the bathroom it's just through that door right there." He walked off to his room leaving you there alone. You put your bag down on the couch taking your phone out to see a text from Tom.

Tommy: How was your show? I'm sure you did great as always! That's how we Hollands do like to do it anyway

Y/N: The show was amazing! I had so much fun I missed performing but I'm still taking a few weeks off before I jump back into it again

You got another text when Sebastian came out of his room now wearing sweatpants of his own and a band shirt. "I don't have anything w can really eat right now so we can order food if you're hungry?"

"That sounds great. I'm fine with eating anything, honestly."

"Awesome, I know this great Chinese restaurant not too far from here we can order from."

You two spent the rest of the night eating and talking. You started off just sitting on his couch but as the night went on you got more comfortable switching positions. You would lay with your back on the arm of the couch, your legs dangling over the arm of the couch, then you moved so your head was hanging over the edge of the couch until you both somehow ended up laying on the floor talking.

Sebastian's head was right next to yours but your bodies were going opposite of each other. He grabbed some pillows from the couch keeping one for himself and giving you the other.

"What happened to you giving me front row seats once you were back on stage, huh?" Sebastian joked.

You propped your arm up on the pillow and rested your head on your hand facing him, "I wasn't planning on going back so soon. They needed me and I couldn't let them down! Plus you were in the middle of something I couldn't interrupt."

He did the same as you resting his head on his arm turning to you, "Excuses, excuses. You could've left a message or something! I would've dropped whatever I was doing just to see you."

You blushed looking away from him but he put a hand on your cheek turning your head back to him. His hand lingered as his thumb drew circles on your cheek, "Have I told you I love hearing you sing?"

"Maybe once or twice." You answered nervously.

"Well, then I'll just keep telling you." You looked into each other's eyes while his hand was still resting on your cheek. You thought for sure he would lean in for a kiss but he didn't. Instead, he cleared his throat and moved his hand. He looked up at the time before letting out a whoa, "It's already two in the morning! You should really get home and get some rest."

You were a bit confused. It felt like you two were having a moment and now he's rushing you home? Sure he makes a good point it is getting late and you're tired but what the hell?

"I suppose you're right." You laid back down on the floor not wanting to get up but Sebastian was standing next to you holding his hand out for you to take. He lifted you off the floor, "Come on I'll walk you to your car."

The walk to your car was quiet, neither of you really knew what to say. When it was time to go he gave you a hug which lingered. You were grateful it did. You didn't want to let him go he smelled like old spice and his body felt warm pressed up against yours. His head rested on top of yours as he rubbed your back with one hand. "Let me know when you're home, ok?" He pulled away holding onto your shoulders until you nodded.

~~~~

Sebastian laid awake in bed waiting to know you were home safe. He could've kissed you tonight. He wanted to kiss you but the gentleman in him wouldn't allow it. From the moment you two met he knew he wanted to take you out but you being Tom's sister he didn't want to do it behind his back either.

In the morning he set his plan into motion. The first call he made was to Tom.

It didn't take long for him to answer, "Hey mate, what's up?"

Sebastian felt nervous. What if Tom said no? What if this ruined their friendship, but he had to try. "Hey, Tom I was just calling to ask something."

"Shot."

"Well, I was hoping it would be alright if I take Y/N out on a date tonight?" He let out slowly. His palms were sweating and his heart was beating fast.

"What?" Tom didn't know what to say. Of course he thought Sebastian was a really great guy but you were his little sister. Did he really want to let you go out with him?

"I would like to take Y/N out on a date, but with your permission of course. I know how close you two are and I don't want you to feel like we're sneaking around behind your back. If you say no I totally understand and I'll keep everything as just friends."

If he were being honest Tom was impressed with the way Sebastian came to him before asking you out. He thought it was nice of his friend to come clean to him instead of asking you out without letting him know, which was something that happened before. "You know what man? Go for it."

"Are you serious?" Sebastian was stunned.

"Yeah! I know we joke around a lot about you and Mackie not liking me but you really are a great friend. Plus I saw how well you two got along during Comic-Con. I know you'll do what's right and make her happy."

Sebastian was over the moon happy. As soon as he hung up the phone his second call was to you.

~~~~

"Tonight at 5:00? That sounds great!"

"Ok, I'll pick you up then." As soon as he hung up the phone you shouted into your pillow with excitement. You knew you had a moment together last night! You just thought maybe it was your crush clouding your judgment but now you two have a date for tonight!

You jumped off your bed and went straight into your closet.

What am I going to wear tonight?

You rummaged through your wardrobe for an hour trying everything on. He said you would be going out to dinner then he would take you out for a movie. Cliche but you didn't care, you were going out with Sebastian Stan! After another two hours retrying everything on and pairing them with shoes. He mentioned the restaurant you would be outdoors so with that information you settled on wearing a maroon corduroy dress with a white long sleeve underneath and some black tights underneath. As for the shoes you went with black boots that had a heel to them.

It felt like time slowed down as if it knew how excited you were for your date. At 3:30 you started getting ready, first taking a shower then quickly putting on your outfit and shoes. Seeing as how you always had to wear so much makeup on stage you hardly liked to wear any off. You only put on a bit of concealer to hide the bags under your eyes, some eye shadow, and lipstick. Once you were satisfied with your look you started on your hair. Not wanting to do too much to it you lightly curled it and pinned it to the sides. As soon as you finished getting ready you heard a buzz coming from your intercom, "Hi Miss. Holland there is a Mr. Sebastian Stan here for ya."

Excited you hurried across the room to buzz back, "Let him up. Thank you, Jerry!" Within minutes you heard a knock on your door. You had set your purse next to the door earlier so you wouldn't have to worry about grabbing it o your way out. When you opened the door you were met with a shy-looking Sebastian once again wearing a casual suit although this time it was a plaid grey. He had one single flower in his hand and a dopey grin on his face.

"Hi, you look beautiful. Well, you always look beautiful but I never mention it so I am now."

You laughed at his stammering, "Thank you, you don't look too bad yourself. I mean you never look bad but I never mention it so I am now." You said coolly mocking him.

He noticed this and laughed looking down, "Thank you. I- umm- I brought you this. Just another one to add to your bouquet." He handed you another flower, the same as the ones from last night. You took it from him happily, "You're so sweet. I'll add it to the bunch right now." You began walking back into your apartment until you realized you were leaving Sebastian standing outside of your apartment door. You turned back around opening the door up for him, "Please come in while I put this away." So he did. He stepped into your apartment but remained by the door. He looked around at the setup and decor. "Wow, you really weren't kidding about those three Tony awards were you?" He asked impressed. You turned back with a chuckle, "I don't have to lie to sound cooler than my brother." "You got that right." He mumbled to himself with a smile.

~~~~

The restaurant he chose was on a rooftop overlooking the city. The view was beautiful and even though there was a rough over your heads it was clear allowing you to see the sky above and the sides were left open so a breeze could pass through. There were strings of light running through the top to illuminate the tables as well as a small jar filled with fairy lights.

Dinner went by smoothly. As you ate you both talked about your lives and the places you've been.

"Greece is amazing! It's my favorite place to go when I need to get away for a while." Sebastian gushed.

"You've been to Greece?! Oh my, I've always wanted to visit but haven't had the chance to go yet."

"You haven't been to Greece?!" He looked at you like you just kicked his puppy. "Well, I will just have to take you someday then." He took a sip of his drink and wiggled his eyebrows at you.

"You said it so you have to take me now!"

"I will." He said with both seriousness and playfulness.

"Promise?" You raised an eyebrow as you held your pinky out.

He rolled his eyes but chuckled taking your pinky with his, "Promise."

~~~~

After dinner, he drove you across the river into Brooklyn. You looked to him confused, "I thought we were just watching a movie?"

He smiled keeping his eyes on the road, "We are."

"Then we do we have to go to Brooklyn?"

"You'll see."

Once you saw it your jaw dropped. The car made sense now. Instead of his Tesla from the other night, he was now driving an SUV. You were confused when you saw it at first but didn't think much into it. Now he was driving you into the Skyline Theater and you understood why he brought his SUV.

"It's a drive-in theater?"

"Yup, check the back seats."

Behind you were blankets, pillows, and snacks that you for some reason didn't see before. He pulled into a parking space with the back of the car facing the big screen, "Wait here." He got out of the car, opened up the back, and started putting the back seats down. Carefully he laid the blankets and pillows for you two. Once he finished he looked up to you, "Now for some popcorn, Ill be right back. Want anything to drink?"

"Just water and a bottle of soda."

"Got it." He flashed you a charming smile before closing the back and walking off.  You sat there smiling to yourself like an idiot. You haven't felt this happy in so long, it was a different type of happiness. He came back quicker than you expected with drinks and a big tub of popcorn. Seeing as he still had the keys he opened the back once again to lay out the snacks. "Come on." He nodded his head over motioning for you to join him.

You sat in the back letting your legs dangle over the side of the car, "So what movie are we seeing tonight?"

"Honestly I don't even know" He laughed looking at you.

"You don't know?" You laughed along.

"Uh-uh. It could be a kid's movie, an adult movie, or it could even be one of my movies. I don't know. I just thought it would be romantic to bring you out here for a movie."

"That is sweet but also unbelievable." You laughed but hoped the movie would be something appropriate. Luckily once the movie began it turned out to be Just Go With It.

Sebastian pushed himself back allowing him to lay down, before he did though he took his shoes off and tossed them to the front. You followed along. As the movie went on you two slowly inched closer to each other. First, it started out with him putting his hand on top of yours then he slowly put his arms around your shoulder. You leaned into him resting your head on his chest. Although neither of you could see each other's faces you both smiled at the close contact. You would feed each other snacks and when he tried tossing popcorn into his mouth and failed you both had a contest to see who could do it first, of course, you won.

By the end of the night, Sebastian took you back to your apartment walking you to your door. With your door open you leaned on the frame and looked over to him, "I had a great night Sebastian, thank you." You placed a soft kiss on his cheek before turning to walk into your apartment. He grabbed your hand before you could go. You turned to face him slightly tilting your head you scrunched your eyebrows. He walked closer to you grabbing both sides of your face, "Can I kiss you?" Unable to speak you nodded your head. You felt like your stomach was in your throat.

He leaned down closer to your face, slowly closed his eyes, and placed a soft kiss on your lips. You thought your legs would turn to jelly but luckily they stood strong. You kissed him back wishing it would never have to end.

[dearingbooks]

The Difference one Woman can make.

Late Friday night in June, we had stopped for a burger on the way to the cinema, we used to do family movie nights at the cinema when a new film came out that the majority of us wanted to watch, this time I was the one who was reluctant to go, sadly we do this significantly less now.  So, stubborn 2015 me, rolling her eyes and dragging her feet up the cinema steps to find our seats to watch the new Jurassic World movie. Pathetic! I thought, why pay money to watch a movie about a dinosaur theme park! My parents had completely lost it! Huffing and puffing I took my seat on the aisle and sipped my blue raspberry slushie and looked up at the big screen. Ugh! I wanted it to be over, quickly. I sat down and shut my mouth, despite not wanting to watch it, I wasn’t going to spoil it for the others; but I didn’t get why they would want to watch it, I watched the trailer before going, was not impressed, it looked dumb!

However, as much as my pre-Jurassic self would not like, I found who I was during that movie, I discovered a whole new admiration for actors and movies. I found that I related to the main female protagonist, Claire Dearing. She did not need a man, or children, she was so focused on her career and let no one boss her around. She was top dog, and I completely fell for this fictional character. I evolved through that movie with her character, I felt content with being a strong female who put career over family. I wanted to embody this fictional woman; I wanted to be her.

On the journey home I typed ‘Claire Dearing actress’ into google and saw this stunning redhead- Bryce Dallas Howard. I immediately recognised her from movies I had watched prior, and I was completely astounded at her range of characters she can portray and portray them well. After scrolling through her Wiki page and reading news articles about her, I learned that she is the daughter of Ron Howard, one of my parents’ favourite people in film.

“Dad, that woman in the movie is Ron Howard's daughter”, I needed to inform my family that my now favourite woman in film is the daughter of my parents’ favourite people in film. My parents were shocked that I enjoyed the movie despite my loud vocalisation of not wanting to watch it.

Googling ‘Bryce Dallas Howard’ became my new after school routine, learning that she applied to acting school as Bryce Dallas to avoid people knowing she is the daughter of an already famous actor and director, and she had met her true love at nineteen and is still happily married to him. Yet what most stuck out to the self-conscious, body hating 2015 me, was that Bryce wasn’t a skinny twig of a woman that you see in most movies, she had classy curves and promoted body positivity despite some backlash the media gave her. I made a connection with this woman I had never met because I too received negative comments about my figure, yet Bryce took that on the shoulder and learned to love herself. I wanted to feel that self-love about myself that she acquired.

After watching Jurassic World, I explored many more fandoms, and from there I became obsessed with movie franchises and TV shows, actors and directors. I could not give you a full list of all of the fandoms I am in, there are too many to count, and they have all played a role in helping me evolve to who I am today. All because I latched onto one character from one movie I did not even want to watch, one film got me hooked on this life: it’s like a drug. I cannot stop. I also went back and forth with my hairstyle due to this woman; in the movie Bryce has a stunning ginger graduated bob with a fringe, however I never had the guts to go ginger until now; shame the hairdressers are all shut.

Now, almost six years later Bryce Dallas Howard has had great success in directing two episodes of The Mandalorian. Over the Christmas break I watched the show with my dad, sat on the sofa, fire lit, the chocolate Labrador curled up between us, peach vodka and diet lemonade in my hand, hot cup of tea in my dad’s. We binge watched both seasons in a week (it’s amazing) and he was shocked to see ‘Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard’ at the end of one, let alone two episodes. “Shit, she’s come far in the past few years” he said putting another episode on.

Bryce allowed me to find my best friend, Iz, through Instagram; Bryce has brought so many people together it is so surreal. And when I found out that Iz was going to Southampton University in 2019, a 20-minute drive from my house, I was finally able to meet her, because of one woman we both adore. I was friends with Iz for three years before I was able to meet her, I asked my school friend to come along with me so she could film the moment Iz, and I met! We got pancakes and watched the second Maleficent movie at the cinema, it was one of the best days of my life. I was so thankful that I met a truly hilarious and loving girl through this one actress! Because of Bryce Dallas Howard, I have made so many other friends from all over the globe as they too idolise Bryce and together we have created the ‘BDH online family’. A small group of us do regular zoom calls to catch up and chat about the recent photos and updates that Bryce has posted on Instagram, talk about Covid-19 and the types of restrictions and lockdown rules each of our countries has. During one of our calls, we had the craziest idea- Invite Bryce to one of our zoom calls. Bryce said yes! And after a few months of organisation, we had the date. The date was-

My.

Birthday.

The day came around and I was so nervous, it was 11pm exactly. The Wi-Fi had cut out fifteen minutes before the call. I was in tears. Mascara down my face, puffy eyes, I joined the call with a few minutes to spare before Bryce joined it. My mum hung around off camera for the first 5 minutes to double check the Wi-Fi was stable, luckily it stabilised. The other girls had never been so glad to see me, everyone was panicked for me; I could not miss it for the world (despite telling my parents, in floods of tears, that I cannot join and that it’s the end of that).

“Kat! You’re here!” “Happy birthday!” “Are you okay? The Wi-Fi sorted?”

They all chimed, happy to see my little face in the bottom right corner of their computer screens. Luckily Iz was there, otherwise it would have been extremely awkward with only one of us since we are known as a duo in the online family, we have to do everything together, we come in a pair and there can’t just be one of us.

“Shit girls, that was stressful”

I hadn’t realised I was holding my breath until I exhaled the large breath when my    Wi-Fi settled, and I was on the call, I fixed my makeup and was ready to meet Bryce.

The few minutes we had before Bryce joined were intense, two of the girls left to get a drink and we weren’t sure if they would be back in time, luckily they did return.

“No way!” One of them, Anna who was hosting the call, gasped “Bryce is in the waiting room!”

We all freak for no more than 10 seconds, we compose ourselves then our faces are reshuffled, and we see this stunning glowing face that we all admire smiling at us. Omg, it's her.

“Hi girls!”

I have never smiled for so long in my entire life, my cheeks hurt afterwards. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining at all, it just hurt as I thought I would only be smiling for half an hour, since that is how long we were told Bryce had. However, we were speaking to Bryce for nearly an hour and a half, she just kept talking and asked us questions! She was so lovely to talk to, so relaxed; it was if I was talking to a friend that I had known for years!

“Before we go I want to all sing Kat a happy birthday!”

My idol wanted to sing me a happy birthday! The other girls were really ecstatic for me, I still can’t believe to this day that The Bryce Dallas Howard wanted to sing to me!

It was both the best and the worst happy birthday song that has be sung to me. It was the best because, well my idol was singing to me! And proposed the singing! It was the worst in terms of the actual song as they were all out of sync and lagging, it was bloody hilarious!

At 10:27pm the next evening, watching a rerun of Game of Thrones on Sky, I got a notification ‘Brycedhoward just posted’, I clicked the notification then see our smiling faces on her page, she posted a screenshot of our call on her social media! The call was supposed to be a secret so other fans weren’t upset. There’s a few snotty comments on the post, but they’re just jealous and to be frank, I don’t care! My smiley face is on her page forever! All ten of us have printed the screenshot of Bryce’s post off and put it in a frame, one day all ten of us hope to congregate somewhere, most likely in America, and sign the backs of all of our photos. I’m still in utter awe and shock-  How many celebrities have you seen that would do a free zoom call with some fans? Not a lot, and that amount is even slimmer when they talk for an extra hour than scheduled. Bryce truly is one of a kind and the best idol anyone could ever hope to have.

Compared to a zoom call with Bryce herself, the few times she has liked my comments on her posts feel like nothing in comparison! I remember being so excited, running downstairs to my parents.

“Mum! Dad! Bryce liked my comment! She knows I exist!”

“Was it actually her? Remember when you got a Facebook request from Robert Downey Jr and it turned out it was a fake account?”

I rolled my eyes at her, it was Bryce, it was her verified account. The comment was a book recommendation I had for her, she posted on her hashtag BDHbookshelf and I thought I’d take a chance and comment a book recommendation I had for her, and the chance paid off.

I cannot wait to see what the future holds with Bryce, she has been such an inspiration to me for the past few years, and she promotes such wonderful causes and body positivity! I hope to one day meet her and thank her in person for changing my life for the better, and I think I’ve come up with the perfect opportunity to meet her- Iz and I have decided to travel up to London for the Jurassic World Dominion premiere in 2022 (if Covid lets us!), we’d get a hotel and actually meet Bryce in person, as well as meeting other members of the online family!

Words cannot fully contain the admiration that I possess for Bryce, her soul is utterly and truly exquisite, she has been such a visionary while I’ve been transitioning from a girl who had no idea who she was with no dreams or aspirations, to a woman who has now found so many new friends and now knows who she wants to be.  

[mcwriting]

Starstruck (7)

I’m back again and so quickly! Ha! I’m getting soooo close to finishing this but now I’m distracted writing my other series lol. 

While writing this I thought a lot about how much Tom actually curses vs. how little I put in andddd it’s pretty disproportional. I mostly just don’t speak like that so it carries over into my writing, but whatever. I’ll stick with it.

Anyways pls enjoy

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

Fandom: Tom Holland

Ship: Tom x reader

Setting: Mostly LA, a little bit of South Korea in this one, but it doesn’t really talk about it

Word Count: 2146

Warnings: Mild language as per usual

Rating: K+

                            __________________________________

You tore apart your room looking for your favorite swimsuit, an olive green bikini top that accentuated your chest and a pair of black high cut bottoms that lengthened your legs nicely. 

It had been a few days since you went and stayed with b/f/n and she now wanted to go to the beach with you. You hadn’t gone out much since due to the paparazzi, who still hung around your house sometimes.

The suit was nowhere to be found, every drawer and cabinet searched high and low. 

And then you spotted something in the corner of your eye.

A beach bag slumped over the chair by your desk.

Could it be? 

No

Unless…?

You stepped carefully towards it, dreading opening up the bag and the subsequent memories attached to it. The hurt of what Tom did was still fresh, but better than before.

Neither of you had had contact since his final message to you, which was something you weren’t sure if you were happy, sad, or mad about. 

You’d thought about what Caroline had said in the past few nights, losing sleep over her words.

There’s no way I’ve caught feelings for the guy, right?

I mean, sure. He’s handsome, nice accent, great muscles, smells good, dancer, good sense of humor. The list could go on, I guess. 

Oh wait. Shit. 

Those thoughts flooded your mind as you dumped the contents of the bag onto the carpet, something landing with a heavy thud underneath the swimsuit you’d been searching for.

You peeled away the clothes and things to find a yellow glass bottle, Tom’s stupid unopened cologne now rested on the floor of your room. You stared at it for a few seconds, not knowing what to think.

You’d pretty much forgotten about it since the incident, pushed far from every other thought you’d had since that day.

A buzz suddenly sounded from your phone on the bed, revealing a text from b/f/n saying she was on her way. 

Not wanting to run late, you sat the bottle on the desk and ran to the bathroom to change before she arrived.

                             __________________________________

Photographers followed you and b/f/n at the beach, probably wanting to write a gossip piece about how you were “moving on.” Neither of you cared.

Instead, you both actively posed for the cameras for a little bit, laughing at the men’s persistence. Eventually, however, another of many celebrities in the area caught their eyes and they left, giving you much needed peace.

After a couple hours spent swimming, taking selfies, and tanning, the two of you gathered your things and headed for lunch at a nearby cafe. 

As you sat and ate under an umbrella, you found an article that had already been written containing photos from the beach earlier. It was titled “Moving on? Y/l/n spotted in spicy bikini with pal,” something that made you roll your eyes. 

“Wouldn’t it be funny if we reposted some of these pictures?” you joked to b/f/n. 

“Yes oh my gosh! That would be hilarious! Send me the article,” she agreed. 

You both screenshotted some pictures, picking your favorite to be the cover of your next Instagram post and intermixing some of the day’s selfies, too. Each of you hit post, tagging one another, and went back to your food.

                             __________________________________

The day had been long but perfect. 

B/f/n dropped you at your house late that afternoon, both of you tired from sitting in the sun most of the day. Since then, you’d spent the evening with your family and now prepared for bed.

You hadn’t checked your phone much since posting the photos, but you opened instagram to find that tons of Tom’s fangirls had liked and commented on your picture, most of them pretty supportive. 

Your caption had read “Apparently this is a spicy swimsuit and somehow it’s helping me move on from drama. Either way, today was a much needed beach day with my fav!” 

Other of your friends commented inside jokes, adding fire and pepper emojis, and called you spicy.

You spent a few minutes replying to comments when you decided to look at the likes. You searched “Holland” in the bar, wanting to see how many fans were liking it, but the first name caused your stomach to drop. 

Tomholland2013

There was a blue checkmark signifying it was him, too. 

There was no way he’d done it earlier, so you went back to the comments, where you found a new comment from only a minute before that read “OMG TOM LIKED!”

You were shocked to say the least. Was this some kind of a joke to him? Or was this his way of reaching out from a distance? Your thoughts became frequent and jumbled, and finally you decided to put up the phone and truly get ready for bed.

On the back of your desk chair was draped your favorite sleep shirt. As you went to grab it, the cologne bottle caught your eye once again.

You stared at it for a minute, then did something you’d probably regret later. 

You ripped off the plastic wrap off top and uncapped it. You took a heavy breath, and then spritzed the scent a few times over the sheets. 

It wafted up around you, filling your nose with the musky sweetness you were familiar with. 

After changing, you crawled into bed, the smell overcoming you, relaxing you. Surprisingly, butterflies filled your stomach as warm memories of yours and Tom’s night together came to mind once again. 

Ah shit. Caroline was right was the last thought to cross your mind as sleep overtook you.

                             __________________________________

Stan Twitter and Insta had blown up overnight as Tom’s fans speculated about him liking your post (and of course it just had to be one in a swimsuit). You tried not to think about it too much as you once again went to dance and tried to let off steam.

After class came and went, a parent came to let you know that once again there were dozens of people outside waiting for you with cameras and whatnot.

Your friends offered to help walk you to the car, but you were honestly angry. Enough was enough.

“I knew things would get crazy but this has gone on for too long. Celebrities might have to put up with this, but I don’t,” you spat, shouldering your dance bag and heading for the door. 

A few people tried to stop you but you just shrugged them off.

“Y/n, y/n!” the people began yelling, fighting to see who would get to your first. One woman beat out the rest and shoved a microphone in your face, the cameraman blocking your way.

“Tell us about your time with Tom Holland! We only want the truth!” she exclaimed with her feigned enthusiasm.

”You don’t want the truth, you want a story,” you began. Seeing the way people already looked uncomfortable with that statement, you continued.

“You take a good, normal person and turn him into your own little reality show. You build him up into a big celebrity just so you can tear him down in public.”

You were beginning to feel your face heat up and eyes threaten tears, but still you continued, looking out at the rest of the crowd.

“Just so you can sell magazines and TV shows? That’s really sick. And Tom Holland’s just one example. He’s talented and successful. He’s all the stuff lots of kids dream of having.”

Nothing you said had a hint of sarcasm or disdain, but rather it was a defendant tone. Now you took on an accusatory one directed at the reporters.

“But thanks to you, he’s had to give up some of the best things in life. Freedom. Privacy. Honesty. So congratulations, you’ve created a celebrity. But you have wrecked the human being inside. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

You finished the tirade, a tear slipping onto your cheek as you remembered the night he spent at your house telling you about how he often missed normal life. There was a heavy pause but cameras continued to flash. The reporter turned to her cameraman.

“Did you get that?” she asked. He nodded, so she turned back to you.

“Y/n, y/n just one more question. In your opinion, who is Tom Holland really?”

You looked at her, taken aback. Your blood boiled.

“Who is he? I don’t know. The Tom Holland you’re all so obsessed with…” you took a moment to collect your thoughts. “I promise you I never met him. And I wouldn’t want to.”

With that, you pushed through the crowd and to your car, hoping they were satisfied.

                             __________________________________

On the other side of the world, Tom was becoming stir crazy. By the time Tom had awoken, videos and transcripts of your speech were already circulating the internet and he was overwhelmed and frankly angry. 

He was supposed to be getting ready for another press day, but how could he do interviews when everyone would just want to hound on him about you?

“Tom, we need to talk,” Harrison said sternly as Tom paced his hotel living room. Harry and Sam stood behind him in the entryway..

“Alright what on?” he asked as though nothing was wrong.

“Tom. Tell us what’s got you acting like this, saying what you did, and her making that speech through tears. You obviously liked that girl and something happened with her,” Harry stated.

Tom paused and turned to the group.

“What are you talking about? There was nothing going on between us.”

They all looked at each other and then Tom like he was an idiot.

“Look mate, you have no reason to lie to us. We always have your back and we’ll probably understand,” Sam added. The group took a few steps forward.

Tom was becoming more agitated and avoided eye contact with all of them. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

“First off, I’m not lying. And secondly, if I were, you all wouldn’t understand anyways because you aren’t me! None of you get what it’s like living my life and you never will!” Tom exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

The group was taken aback at Tom’s explosive statement and now Harrison was mad too.

“You know what, man? We came here to talk because we care about you. You’ve been a real dick the past few days and it’s getting old. All we wanted to do was help you out but instead you decided to go all movie star on us,” Harrison blurted. He turned to the twins, “Let’s go guys. He’s obviously beyond us.”

The three boys turned to walk out the door and Tom felt a weight drop in his stomach. Harry was just starting to open the door when Tom stopped them.

“Wait!” he paused and took a deep breath, “I’ll tell you all what’s really going on, but you have to let me tell the whole story first.”

They reluctantly turned back, eventually making themselves comfortable around the living room and letting Tom vent out the whole story, including how his management had made him cut ties with you.

“She was so honest and kind and I blew it. The more distant from her I can make myself, the better. I couldn’t let myself bring you in on this secret and feel bad too. She deserves to just hate me.”

The boys were all shocked and angered at what was going on.

“Tom, I love you, you’re my brother. But you are such a div! And I mean that in the most extreme manner possible,” said Harry.

“Yeah, come on mate. Just fire them! Why are you letting them control your life?” asked Sam. 

“You guys don’t get it! Singleness sells! I can’t jeopardize my career just because I found y/n to be the most beautiful and incredible and real person I’ve ever met. I mean, right?”

Harrison piped up at that.

“You really are more stupid than you look. Tom I’m gonna tell you straight. They’re living in some figmented reality where your relationship status determines whether or not you get hired. I mean, you’re Spider-Man for God’s sake. That has to count for something, right?”

Tom bounced his head back and forth in contemplation. 

“I mean I guess-” he started when Harrison cut him off again.

“You guess!” he stood up in disbelief. “You guess? Come on! Directors don’t care who the hell you’re dating if you’re giving them Oscar worthy performances and box office hits! And even then, who cares about your career when you’re putting your heart on the cutting board for it. Just go after the damn girl, Tom. And fire those assholes while you’re at it.”

                            __________________________________

A/N: Still can’t believe I got this out so quickly. Anyways, thanks for reading and as always, send me a message or ask if you wanna talk since I can’t respond to comments! (And keep an eye out for “the best revenge,” my new series)

TAG LIST: @marvel-lously, @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @dreamyvans, @lisannehus, @honeymoonpeter, @shootingstarsaretearsofheaven, @chenellearose, @photoshopart15, @parkeret, @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch, @racewife2004 

[kelyon]

Nephila Chapter 5: Everglades

The fic where the Stiltskin men are all giant spiders (and some people are into that.)

In which Emma Swan is Florida Woman

Trigger warning: Killian Jones

Read on AO3

“Parks department is gonna shoot us with their tranquilizer guns if they catch us out here, Swan.”

Emma rolled her eyes at Killian and kept steering her fishing boat through the swamp. This section of the glades was tricky to navigate. She couldn’t let his whining distract her. 

 They were in a flat-bottomed aluminum jon boat, ten feet long. It didn’t have a built-in engine. Normally Emma used a paddle to get her where she needed to go on the water. Since her plans today were taking her further out than normal, she had “borrowed” a portable Evinrude motor from her friend Penny. It would be fine though; Penny’s boat just got impounded, so she wasn’t gonna miss the motor.

“I never said you had to come, Jones.” She shielded her eyes from the bright Florida sun. Her glasses were dirty and scratched. The reflection on the water doubled the light and made it impossible to see. She shoulda brought a visor. 

“No, you just said you were going to do something dangerous and stupid.” Killian lounged against the side of the boat and used both hands to swat at bugs. “You know I can’t resist a challenge.”

“Of course not. That’s why you keep hanging around me, even though I don’t wanna bang you.”

“You mean you don’t want to bang me yet!” He gave her the grin that had worked on every other girl in the tri-county area. “I remain hopeful.”

“You remain delusional.”

Every once in a while, Emma thought about sleeping with Killian just so he would get over it and stop bothering her. He was decent company when he wasn’t horny. He was the only person in their group who would go on crazy adventures with her, and he never minded letting her crash at his place. They’d gotten each other in and out of trouble at least a hundred times since she’d moved to Florida during her freshman year of high school.

That was part of the problem with Killian. She’d known him too long. When they’d met, he’d been zitty and awkward, tagging along after his older brother Liam. Killian hadn’t gotten hot until senior year when he started growing a beard. All that shaggy dark hair brought out his bright blue eyes and covered up his acne. He wasn’t bad looking. And he was almost smart. Growing up on a houseboat made him act like he knew everything about every kind of boat, so he was never afraid to act like a drunk pirate. A lot of girls were into that. 

For herself, Emma had heard his voice crack too many times to ever think about him as a sexual option. And yet, ever since graduation, she had found herself at the top of his “to-do list.” It was putting a real strain on their friendship.

 “Oh, come on, luv! You know I’ll do anything for you. But if I’m gonna get a hand bit off by a crocodile, I’d feel better about it if I knew there was gonna be some kind of reward for my trouble.”

“Sex isn’t a reward, dumbass.” Hand on the tiller of the motor, Emma steered them around a patch of sawgrass and into a free-flowing slough where the water could carry them. “And besides, there aren’t any crocodiles in Florida. It’s all gators. I only lived here five years and even I know that!”

“Ha!” Killian pointed a triumphant finger at her. “Well, I’ve lived on these waters all my life! And I know that the American Crocodile is the only crocodile that co-exists with alligators. It’s an endangered species and it only lives here in the Everglades!”  

She narrowed her eyes. “You just heard that on the Internet.”

Killian shrugged. “Doesn’t mean it’s not true.” 

Emma shook her head. Whether or not Killian should believe something he read on the Internet was an argument they had at least once a week. Going over it again wasn’t worth it. 

“Point is,” she said. “We’re going to the part of the glades where there aren’t any gators or crocodiles.”

Killian made a face. “There’s no such place.”

“There sure is!”

He still didn’t believe her.  “How do you know gators aren’t there?”

“Cuz there’s too much other stuff. There’s a billion more birds and bugs and lizards in this part of the swamp than there is anywhere else.”

“In the whole Everglades?”

“Yeah. I read an article about it. On the Internet.” 

If Killian wanted to give her crap about her news source, he was going to have one hell of an argument. But he had just enough brains not to, so Emma got to explain. 

“The article had all these science people talking about the ‘explosion of biodiversity’ in this one tiny section of the Glades. It’s probably been going on for a while, but they just noticed it a couple months ago. All the animals and things that you find one of in any other part of the Glades, you’ll find ten of ‘em in this part we’re going to now.”

“With all the animals there, why aren’t there any gators snapping them up?”

“That’s what the scientists wanted to know. They said it makes sense that there’s more little things crawling around when there aren’t any big things to eat ‘em. But it doesn’t make sense that all the gators, the ‘apex predators,’ just disappeared. They think something is killing the gators but letting everything else go. They’re real worried about it too. So I figure there might be some kinda reward for finding out what’s going on.”

“A reward?” Killian sat up so fast the boat rocked. “You didn’t say anything about a reward!”

“I just did,” Emma smirked. “But we gotta keep it secret. I don’t want anybody trying to edge in on our find.”

“Wait, what are you trying to find?”

“Didn’t you hear a word I said? I’m going to find whatever’s eating the gators!” 

Killian’s jaw dropped. “Are you crazy? You think there’s something big enough to eat gators and the first thing you wanna do is go after it?”

“Mm-hmm.” 

Emma turned back to the tiller. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and unlocked the screen. The article she’d read had a dinky little drawing of a map where all the strange activity was going on. Emma had compared it to the real map on Google and taken a screenshot of where she wanted to go. They should be close. 

Killian was still freaking out. At least he was smart enough not to move so much that it would tip the boat over. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Swan?”

“I told you I was gonna do something stupid and dangerous.”

“You know it’s probably just snakes, right? Them pythons people get as pets, then they get too big and people let ‘em loose in the swamp and they eat everything. My buddy Kaa had to do that once.”

“If it was just a bunch of snakes, the science people wouldn’t be so weirded out about it. It’s something they can’t explain.”

“For all you know it could be a giant fucking monster! Did you bring a gun or something? You know McLeach is good to hook us up.”

Emma shook her head. “This is just a fact-finding mission. I don’t need a gun, I’ve got this.” She held up a digital camera in a plastic zipper bag. “I told Hat Man the whole story and he let me use this to take pictures.”

Killian ran his hand over his face. “Of course he did. Hat Man is the only other person in all of Florida who’s as crazy as you!”

Emma threw up her hands. “There are lots of people who do dumber stuff than me or Hat Man ever tried!”

“Yeah, but none of them ever did something that’s gonna get me killed! I swear, Swan--”

“Would the two of you please shut up?” Some guy’s voice rang out over the water. “You’re bothering the monster!”

Emma cut the motor and stood up. The jon boat wobbled but steadied itself after a second. Pushing up her glasses, she scanned around the water. She couldn’t spot any other boats around all the sawgrass patches. 

“Who the hell are you?” she shouted. “And how the fuck do you know about the monster?”

The voice chuckled. “Lady, I know more about monsters than you know about your own parents.”

Emma clenched her jaw and muttered. “You don’t know shit about my parents, jackass.” 

Sitting on the bench seat closest to the front of the boat, Killian put his head in his hands. “Let’s get out of here, Swan. Whoever this asshole is, the gator-eater can go eat him.”

“The gator-eater can eat this guy, just so long as I get a picture.” She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. “Where are you? Can you see anything?”

“I’ve got so many eyes, I can see everything.” The voice wasn’t shouting anymore. It sounded close. Emma hadn’t heard a motor running. Was this guy in a canoe? This far out away from the shore?

Her head spun as she looked around, but she didn’t see anything besides sawgrass and dead tree limbs and a million birds and bugs. There was an extra glare on the water around here, some kinda gold light coming off the patches of land. 

“Where are you?” she asked again.

“Over here.”

A head popped out of the nearest patch of sawgrass. This patch had the most of the weird light, so much gold it barely looked green at all. Squinting, she tried to see who she was looking at.  

At first, Emma thought it was just a normal guy with a tan. Then she thought the guy had some killer tattoos, maybe jail tats. There were dark brown circles all over his face. Then, the circles blinked at her. Then the guy smiled--and his mouth was green. No, that was not a human mouth. He had fangs. He had pincers.

“Oh, Jesus,” Emma whispered. 

She couldn’t move. This was the thing she was looking for, but she couldn’t move. The camera was right by her feet. Her phone was in her back pocket. The boat tiller was less than a foot away from her hand. But she couldn’t move.

From up on his mound of sawgrass, the guy--the thing, the monster--was still smiling. He waved at her. 

Somehow, she could wave back.

Sitting down, Killian hadn’t seen what Emma was looking at. “Do you see him?” he asked as he stood up. “I wanna get a good look at our competit--holy shit!” 

Everything happened at once. Emma could only think of things in freeze-frame. She saw one second of Killian panicking. One second of him falling over backwards into the water. One second of him toppling the whole boat on his way down. One second of Hat Man’s camera in its ziploc bag flying into the air. 

One second of the water coming closer as she fell.

The water wasn’t deep--just deep enough that she didn’t hit her head on the ground. Her glasses almost flew up off her face, but she grabbed them just in time. Spitting and sputtering, Emma managed to get to her feet in the soft mud. This time of year was the dry season, so when she stood up, the water only came up to her chest. But that didn’t mean much for the phone in her pants pocket. By the time she thought to raise it up over her head, it was already soaked. 

“Shit,” she swore. “You owe me a new phone, monster-guy!”

At least Hat Man’s camera was in a waterproof bag. But from where she was, six inches above the water’s surface, there was no way she was going to find it.

“Shit!” Emma swore again. “And if I don’t get that fucking camera back, you are gonna be in huge trouble!”

Laughter rang out over the swamp. It wasn’t Killian. It had to be the guy. That monster jackass was laughing at her!

“This isn’t fucking funny!” she shouted.

The thing kept laughing. “Yes it is. I mean, come on, lady. You gotta admit this is classic comedy.”

She could not believe this. She’d gone out on the water to find a monster, found out it was a smart-ass jerk, and then lost any way to prove it to anybody! That wasn’t funny, it was…

Okay, it was pretty funny. But she still had every right to be mad about it!

“Killian, can you believe this sh--” Emma stopped when she realized she had no idea where Killian was. She couldn’t see him or the boat. He hadn’t said anything since he had seen the monster. There were a million sounds coming from a million animals, but none of them sounded like a grown man swimming. 

Or drowning.

“Shit!” The third time Emma said that word, it was with bone-deep dread. Her mouth went dry and for a second she panicked. God, Killian could not be dead. She would get in so much trouble!

“Hey, asshole!” she shouted as she began to wade towards the gold-covered island. “You with the eyes and the sense of humor!”

“Call me Neal!” the monster shouted back. He sounded like he was trying to be friendly. 

Emma’s mouth dropped open, but then she closed it before a bug could fly in. Where did a monster get off having a name like Neal? She shook her head. It didn’t matter. What mattered was Killian.

“Okay, Neal. Sure. Listen, Neal, I need your help. I know I talked a lot of shit to you, but this is serious. Can you see my friend?”

“You mean the wannabe bad boy? Yeah, he’s getting eaten by crocodiles.”

“WHAT?” Emma shrieked. 

“Nope. That was a joke. Bad taste, I guess. Actually, he looks fine. He was able to get the boat flipped over and he is motoring off to the horizon.” 

“WHAT?” Now Emma was in a full-on bellow. Over the sound of blood pounding in her ears, she could hear the faint whine of an Evinrude outboard motor. “That son of a bitch stole my boat!”

Now that she knew Killian wasn’t dead, she was fully prepared to kill him. She staggered to the island that was covered in a haze of gold--it looked like a bunch of fancy spider webs, but that was the least of her concerns. 

“Are you around here?” she yelled. “Neal?”

The same head and arms emerged from the grassy water. Up close, the face looked even weirder. There was a circle of brown eyes, all different sizes and all dark as buttons. She couldn’t tell if there was a nose or not. And the mouth was way too wide and way too fangy, especially when it looked like it was smiling. There were… things on either side of his smile, bright, shiny green things, a part of his mouth, she guessed.  

Weirdest of all, over the monster’s human-looking chest and arms, he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt. It was green, with yellow flowers.    

“My father always told me to help a human in need. What can I do for you?” 

Right now, Emma was too angry to be confused. “Can you swim?”

Neal raised himself up a little higher out of the sawgrass and Emma saw what the rest of him looked like. 

It was one of those half-man, half-horse things she’d seen in movies. Centaurs, that’s what they were called. Only it wasn’t a horse that Neal was half of. Too many legs for that. He was light brown and gray, so he blended in with all the mud and sticks. His legs looked kinda stubby, and they all came out of one place in front of… Emma didn’t have any other word for it but spider-butt.

Sweet Jesus’ birthday. The gator-eater was a goddamned spider-man!

Neal didn’t talk for a second. Emma figured he was letting her get used to him. But that was gonna take a while and Killian the rat bastard was getting further away by the second. Emma put her hands on her hips and looked this thing in its two biggest eyes. 

“Did you hear what I said? Can you swim?”

“I’ve got so many legs, I can swim anywhere. You want me to catch up with your boat and teach that guy a lesson?”

“Hell no. I want you to take me to my boat so I can give that son of a bitch a black eye myself.”

Neal snorted--or maybe it was a snort. He sounded like he thought it was funny. “I can do that.” He smiled and lowered his spider-legs so his whole body was near the ground. “You wanna climb aboard?”

Emma wasn’t afraid to ride on the back of a spider-thing through the Everglades. She’d been riding jet-skis since she was ten. This couldn’t be that different. It’d probably be easier, since Neal would be able to do all the steering himself.  

He was already mostly in the water, so she just kind of fell on top of him, with her legs on either side of his… Was it a waist? The lower part of his human half. 

Short, prickly hairs grew all over the spider half. They came out when she moved her legs against them. Emma was glad she had decided to wear full pants today instead of shorts. 

“Okay.” She grabbed the Hawaiian shirt with both hands and tugged. “Giddy-up.”

 Neal tensed up and for a minute he didn’t say anything. Then he turned his head to talk to her. “What’s your name?”

“Emma,” she said. Oh crap, was he mad?

“Okay, Emma, listen up. I’m going to help you get your boat, because I am a helpful kind of individual. But if you ever treat me like an animal again, you will be swimming home. Understand?” 

“Oh.” Emma let go of his shirt. “Crap, I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “No big deal. I’m sure you’re not used to people like me. Now, let’s go retrieve some stolen property!”

Neal had four legs on either side, but he only used the front three to swim. His back legs dragged through the water to balance him out like a dead man’s float. The other legs pushed past the water, all working together. It almost looked like a bird flapping its wings against the wind. Was that what a butterfly stroke looked like? Or was this just a spider stroke?

All that mattered was that Neal was fast. And he knew this area better than Killian did. They caught up to him when he was trying to push his way through an area too shallow for the jon boat.

“Hey!” Emma shouted. “Are you fucking running my boat aground?”

She was too far away to see the expression on Killian’s face. All Emma saw was him looking at the tiller, looking up at her shouting at him from the back of a swimming spider, then looking at the motor again, frantically pulling at the line to get it started.

“Stop doing that, you’re gonna flood it!” Emma shouted again. Killian stopped, and she leaned forward to talk to Neal. “You can take it easy if you want. He’s not going anywhere.”

Chuckling, Neal reduced his speed. The strokes through the water were slower now, but they felt more powerful.

Now that she knew she’d be getting her boat back, Emma breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned back on her hands against the spider-butt and rested in the sun.

Neal must have noticed. “You enjoying the ride?”

Emma nodded, but then realized that he couldn’t see her. “I figured I been on these glades every way you could be except over ‘em in a helicopter. Never thought I’d get to see ‘em on the back of a spider.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah.”

They were getting closer to Killian. His freaking out kept getting louder, probably because he could see Neal in better detail. Or maybe because he knew Emma was going to beat seven kinds of crap out of him for stealing her boat and running away without her.

“He is such a dingus,” she muttered. 

Neal chuckled again. “Listen,” he said. “If you ever wanna… find me again, I’ll try not to scare you next time.”

“Now that I know you, I don’t think you could scare me,” Emma said proudly. “But I might not be able to get out here again for a while. I’ll have to do a little hustle to get another phone. Plus, I gotta tell Hat Man I lost his camera. He might want me to pay for that too, so my weekends are probably gonna be booked.”

“Oh.” Was she crazy or did he sound disappointed? 

They were within spitting distance of Killian now. It was a weird thing, but Emma almost didn’t want to stop swimming with Neal.

“Here’s your boyfriend,” he said as he swam up to the boat.

Killian’s terror had gotten to the stage where he was huddled in the furthest corner of the boat, white faced and wide eyed. Over and over he whispered, “What the fuck?” 

Crawling off Neal’s back, Emma scrambled into her boat. Yep, Killian the pirate had run a ten-foot fishing boat into the only section of the Everglades that jutted up over the water. It was a miracle there wasn’t any damage  to the hull that would make them take on water. 

Neal was already swimming away, but Emma called out. “Don’t leave yet!”

He spun around. Was she crazy or had his eyes lit up?

“Can you do me another favor? Can you pull us away from this sandbar?”

Nodding, Neal grabbed the boat with his human hands. His hands and arms were the same weird color as his spider parts, kind of a muddy brown. The Hawaiian shirt covered his shoulders, but his chest was bare. Emma could see the muscles in his forearms. He looked… strong.

He swam out to a slough with the boat in tow. Killian looked like he was going to throw up. 

“Thanks,” Emma said when Neal let go. She wanted to say more, but she didn’t know what.

“No problem,” he answered. 

Treading water, all of Neal’s legs pumped like he was riding eight different unicycles. He bobbed up and down like a jellyfish. Emma got the feeling that he wanted to say more too.

“Jesus Christ,” Killian moaned. “Swan, can we please go home?”   

“Now you be nice to Emma, okay dingus?” Neal swam around to that side of the boat. With his human hand, he reached up and ruffled Killian’s hair. “I bet if she wasn’t such a nice person, she’d push you out of the boat and leave you here with me.”

“Jesus Christ!” Killian squealed. He crawled backwards away from Neal like a panicked rat.

Emma tried not to laugh at her friend. She needed to get him home before he started crying. She started the engine and began to motor away.

“Thanks again, Neal,” she waved. “I’ll see you around!”

He waved back. “I hope so.”  

****

Even when they got back to shore, Killian was still spooked. Emma had to talk him through every step of docking, even though they’d both done it a million times. At least they were able to sneak the Evinrude back into Penny's garage without getting caught. That was about the only thing that had gone right all day. 

 When they got back to the houseboat he lived in with his brother Liam, she plopped him down at his kitchen table. She put a cold beer in his hands and started to fry up some hot dogs for lunch. 

He just stared at the bottle. “What was that, Swan?” he asked. “What the fuck was that thing?”

Standing in front of the two-burner stove, Emma shrugged. “He says his name is Neal.”

“‘He’?” Killian repeated. His head fell into his hands. “‘He says.’ He talks? Swan, this is insane!”

“Sure is.” Secretly, Emma was glad Killian was freaking out. It meant she didn’t have to. She could be the reasonable one in the face of all this fucked up shit.

They ate lunch in silence. Emma hated the taste of beer, but there was a hard lemonade in the fridge and she helped herself. Once they were done eating, Emma threw away the bottles and the paper plates. Killian and Liam never asked her to clean up for them, but she knew that if she didn’t, the garbage would stay on the table for the better part of a month. 

“I gotta go see Hat Man,” she announced. “Better tell him now what happened to his camera.”

“I’m coming with you,” Killian said with more life than he had put into anything for the past hour. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Emma nodded, and they started walking. 

****

Geoffrey “Hat Man” Jefferson was the closest thing to an adult that either Emma or Killian trusted. He told them once that his family used to be rich, that a hundred years ago finding feathers for hats in the Everglades was a big business. His great-grandparents bought a lot of land and built a big fancy house on the water. Hat Man still owned the land, and he still wore fancy hats. But the big house had gotten flooded so many times no one could live there anymore. Now he lived in a trailer and spent most of his time getting high on magic mushrooms.

He was a pretty chill guy. Emma didn’t think he would get mad about the camera, but that just made her feel worse about losing it. Hat Man had done her a favor and she had fucked it up. 

Story of her life. 

When they got to the trailer, Emma and Killian found Hat Man and the usual group in the front yard by the road. It looked like they had taken the dining room table from the big house and set it up outside. All their friends were sitting in the dining room chairs, drinking from China teacups and saucers. Margot and Tilly were holding hands and singing to themselves. McLeach was drinking tea with his pinky up and his rifle slung over the back of his chair. 

The table was set with all kinds of pretty platters and bowls--though the menu seemed to be made up of whatever could be snuck out of a gas station convenience store. A red-headed kid named Oliver held out a crystal serving dish of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos to Dodger, who was using a pair of silver tongs to place them, one by one, on his plate. The lace tablecloth fluttered in the breeze and got tangled in the tall grass.

If these were Emma and Killian’s friends, maybe they weren’t actually good judges of what was or was not crazy.

Hat Man noticed them, and raised his teacup in greeting. “Salutations!” he called. “Far-flung comrades, come back to join us in the fold!”

Everyone at the table looked at them. Without anyone saying anything, they all moved around and adjusted their chairs so Emma and Killian could both have seats. Killian found refuge between McLeach and a girl named Vixie--though Vixie seemed a lot more interested in Todd. Todd was a new guy to the group, and had never lived away from his momma before getting dumped here. 

Emma sat down next to Hat Man, who handed her a three-level cookie tray loaded with Ding Dongs. 

“How mellifluous to see you on this fair day, Mademoiselle Swan! To what honor do I owe the occasion?”

Today Hat Man was wearing black tuxedo pants and a silk purple vest with no shirt underneath. The brim of his battered top hat shadowed his eyes, so Emma couldn’t see exactly how blasted out he was. It appeared to be a lot. 

 “Actually…” Nervously, Emma fiddled with her glasses until Hat Man, very gently, pulled them off her face and placed them into a glass pitcher of blue slurpee. 

“You see better when you don’t have stuff in front of your eyes,” he explained. 

“That’s true,” Tilly nodded from across the table. Unlike everyone else at the table, Tilly had drugs that she should be taking, but wasn’t.  

Emma actually saw much worse without her glasses, but that wasn’t anything worth caring about now. Even without them on, she still kept touching her face. 

“Hat Man, do you remember the digital camera you let me borrow?”

“I recall it with the utmost vividity!” he said. His mouth was full of a burrito that appeared to still be frozen.

“Well, I’m super sorry but, it’s gone.”

 He patted at his mouth with a cloth napkin. “Desiccation and decay is the way of all flesh, Emmy-wemmy. And all the goods we horde will crumble into dust or be swallowed by the somnambulatory sea.” He took off his hat and solemnly placed it over his heart. “Adieu, O photographic device of mine! May your memory be a blessing unto the next generation.” 

The only other person paying attention was Tilly. She had tears in her eyes as she nodded along with what Hat Man was saying. 

“So you’re not mad?” Emma said.

“Very mad, but not at all angry.” Jefferson took a burnt Pizza Roll off a silver platter, threw it into the air and caught it in his mouth. “What happened to it, anyway?”

“I…” she didn’t know how to start. “I wanna say you’re not gonna believe this, but I think you’re the only person who will.”

In hushed tones, she told him the whole story. The news article, the missing alligators, the island of gold thread--Neal. Hat Man listened politely, nodded and asked questions, but in the end he shook his head and said that the whole thing was poppycock.

“What?” Emma said. “But I saw the whole thing! And Killian was there, you can ask him!”

“Don’t be farcical,” Hat Man took a sip of… well, it was in a teacup, but it probably wasn’t tea. “How on earth could such a creature get here from Australia?”

Emma frowned. “I didn’t say anything about Australia.”

“Indubitably,” he said. Emma had no idea what he meant by that. “But Australia is the only place where I’ve ever witnessed such a creature before.” 

[greenbagjosh]

23 April 2001 - the Böögg burns slowly - James Joyce found in Fluntern

Grüezi Mitenand!  Bonjour!  Buongiorno!  Hi everyone!

Thank you for joining me on the fifth day of the April 2001 journey.  Today is Monday the 23rd April 2001.

As I was still under the influence of jetlag, I went to bed early the previous night after dinner.  I consequently woke up about 4:40 AM, it was still dark.  I did not have any roommates to disturb so I just went to the shower in the hall.  The hostel would not serve breakfast until 6 AM, so I left the hostel about 5 AM, walked to the Besenrainstrasse bus stop and took it to Morgental where I changed to the tram line 7 - note, I had my Swiss Pass with me, so I did not have to buy a separate ticket.  I picked up a copy of the 20 Minuten newspaper and it had an article about today's upcoming event at 6 PM, the Sechseläuten burning of the Böögg.

What is a Böögg?  Since the 19th Century, Sechseläuten has been celebrated every mid-April in Zürich.  According to zuerich.com, "Who or What is a Böögg? The word “Böögg” is probably related to the word “bogeyman” and similar names in other languages for this frightening imaginary figure, such as Bullebeiss, Buhmann or Boesman. In Zurich, the Böögg resembles a snowman and symbolizes the winter. The burning of the Böögg serves to drive out the winter and herald the spring."  Eventually the Bürkliplatz towards Lake Zürich was too small, so it was moved across the Limmat eastward to the Bellevueplatz, on the northern end of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung headquarters.  You might know the Bellevueplatz as the starting point for the Street Parade techno music festivals that start about 1 PM on the second Saturday in August, of which I have been to five in total so far.  

So what happens at the Sechseläuten festival?  Sechseläuten is a half-day holiday, in the Canton of Zürich, but nowhere specifically else in Switzerland.  The Böögg is a textile snowman filled with explosives and is meant to be set alight on a controlled flame, in other words, a bonfire.  The most explosives are put in the snowman's head.  Then there is a parade, for the guilds of Zürich from Paradeplatz to Bellevueplatz, to put the Böögg on top of the wood for the bonfire.  That is the plan for the afternoon.

I took the tram about 5:15 AM to Selnau station and walked from one end to the other.  I exited the station, and walked along Sihlstrasse to the intersection of Talstrasse and Löwenstrasse.  At the pedestrian crossing there was a crossing stripe with the phrase "rauf mit den o+löhnen" spraypainted, with o+ being the female symbol, I guess a demand for gender pay equality.  That was about 5:35 AM, according to the picture screenshot.  

About 5:38 AM I found a guild sign, namely the "Zunft Schwamendingen" while walking along Talackerstrasse that leads southeast to Paradeplatz.  At Paradeplatz was a big banner for the local tram company VBZ (Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich) "damit am Sechseläuten nur der Böögg den Kopf verliert" (so that on Sechseläuten, only the Böögg loses his head".  I remember from September 2000 a similar banner for Knabenschiessen, as I was in Zürich for that festival as well.  I took a tram to Bellevueplatz to have a look at the bonfire.  It must have been stacked about two stories high.  I took a tram line 6 to Bahnhof Enge and then tram 7 to the hostel.  It was about 6:55 AM and the hostel started serving breakfast, in the part where in 2004 onwards the checkin desk is located now.  With the renovations of December 2001 onwards, the checkin desk and hostel restaurant had swapped sides of the hostel ground floor.  I can explain at another time.  Breakfast included bread, cheese, cold cut meats, dry cereal, milk, tea, orange juice and coffee.  Coffee was from the espresso machine and you could order at least three different kinds of coffee drinks, all for free during breakfast.  For tea, you would pick out a bag, and with the espresso machine just select the hot water.  

As the Sechseläuten parade would not start until about 2 PM, I decided to make a couple of side trips.  One of which to Aarau in the canton of Aargau to the northwest, and to Üetliberg to compare a nice sunny and warm September visit would be to a chilly one in April.  I thus took my video camera, my Swiss Pass, and headed to the Besenrainstrasse bus stop, Morgental and on to Zürich HB.  I boarded a train to Bern that would stop at Lenzburg AG and Aarau.  There was not much in Aarau that I particularly wanted to see, other than the Altstadt and crossing the Aare at Flösserplatz.  Little did I know that Aarau is close to the cantonal border with Solothurn, and I did not take time to walk along route 5 to cross, but I made up for it a few days later when changing trains at Olten.  Before returning to Zürich, I remember passing by the Pickwick pub.  It was, and is still, at Graben 6 close to the Kasinopark.  It was not yet 11 AM and I was in no mood for any alcohol at that time, and I needed to return to Zürich.

I took the train back to Zürich via Lenzburg, and changed to the S-10.  I may have mentioned the S-10 many times in the past, and it is an anomaly in comparison to the other S-Bahn lines in Zürich.  Its rolling stock, instead of the standard 15 kV / 16 2/3 Hz voltage as used by SBB, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB of Austria, uses the 1,000 V DC, which is long since outdated and is due to be decommissioned by 2023, but is still used by the existing rolling stock.  To avoid a conflict of voltages, the pantographs of the S-10 rolling stock are moved from the center of the train but placed on the left side (assuming the direction of travel is towards Zürich HB) with its own catenary.  Parts of the tunnel between Zürich HB, Selnau and Binz/Giesshübel allow for opposite side and switchback use by both lines S-4 and S-10, but SBB and VBZ have seen an increase in ridership on S-10 and they are trying to invest in line expansion, so the 1,000 V DC power will need to be decommissioned and only one power source will be supported.  The S-18, aka Forchbahn, is another story, which I will not go into at this time.

About 11:25 AM I returned to Zürich HB.  The tracks to the S-10 are underground and close to the Bahnhofplatz and Löwenstrasse rail station platforms.  In 2001, the platforms were called platform 1 for the S-10 and platform 2 for the S-4.  After the opening of the four platform Löwenstrasse station, platforms were renumbered, so platform 1 and platform 2 are now platform 21 and 22, the Löwenstrasse station platforms 31 to 34, and the original S-Bahn station towards the National Museum, are called platforms 41 to 44, when they used to be 21 to 24 when first opened.  Sigh, you have to admire the progress that Switzerland went through during 20+ years......  I think I boarded a 11:35 AM S-10 train to Üetliberg that did not terminate at Triemli (had that happen to me in July 1998).  I remember passing by the Giesshübel station about 11:41 AM.  So far there was no sign of any significant snow, and the skies were mostly clear, though the air was chilly, maybe mid 40s or +4 to +6 Celsius.  After the train passed Uitikon, the snow was starting to show up.  

By the time I reached Üetliberg, there was about six inches of snow almost everywhere, tracks visible but sleepers covered.  It was 11:58 AM when I stepped out of the train, and some of the snow had started to melt, so I had to watch where I stepped.  At Üetiberg they still have an axle with a cog, but the Üetlibergbahn S-10 line does not use any cog rail at all, and is billed as one of Switzerland's steepest rail lines that does not use either a cog or traction cable.  Prior to 2016 I used to love to ride the fun roller slide where you use a hard V shaped coaster and the rollers have a ten foot decline with maybe three or four bends.  I rode it the last time in September 2000, and made a video of it.  I think it was dismantled in 2016 or earlier and replaced by a less entertaining set of stationary bicycles or similar.  

It was getting close to 1 PM so I headed back down to where I could catch the tram line 7 to the hostel, get a fresh camera battery, and find a good place to view the Sechseläuten Parade.  Somehow I walked to just outside the Münsterhof location of Leder Locher, and a band was practicing at 2:25 PM, about thirty people in total, and in Georgian / US Revolutionary period costume, though I could not tell you to what guild they belonged to.  I remember there was a little girl about 5 or 6 years old with a Pooh Bear balloon.  I walked to the Bahnhofstrasse, somewhere near the Bärengasse and watched the parade for an hour or so.  There were many musicians from various guilds, and even the wine barrel making guild had an excellent percussion session.  The baker guild threw bread rolls at the crowd.  

At 5 PM I walked towards Bürkliplatz to cross eastwards to Bellevueplatz so that I could have a good view of the Böögg.  I found some place where I could see the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" corporate sign.  I think I was about a hundred feet away, and could see about fifteen feet of firewood as well as the Böögg itself.  I had a nice view, and was getting very excited for 6 PM to ring.  By then, the cavalry was circled around the bonfire.

It eventually turned 6 PM.  The time had come to start the bonfire.  Unfortunately it was getting cloudy and colder, upper 30s, or maybe +3 to +5 C.  What is important to note about the bonfire, is how long it takes, from exactly 6 PM to when the Böögg's head explodes with the explosives.  If the fire takes less than ten minutes for the Böögg's head to explode, then it will be a good summer in Zürich.  Otherwise it may be a chilly one (e.g. 1997 and 2017 from what I remember, temperatures below normal and precipitation above normal).  On 23 April 2001, it took a while.  Even by 6:10 PM, the flames had not even made it halfway up to the Böögg.  Fuel had to be put on the fire as it was going out.  About 6:20 PM, the flames made it to the Böögg's feet and explosives started to pop.  The Böögg's textile skin started burning and more explosives went off.  It is not over until its head completely disappears.  The next five minutes would be suspenseful.  About 6:27 PM the Böögg was reduced to his head and a wooden frame where his "body" used to be.  And right as my video camera's clock said 6:28 PM, I caught an explosion that was about five times the size of the Böögg's head.  The crowd, of maybe 10,000 people at the time, cheered, and the head guild's band played a victory song.  At 6:29 PM, all that was left on the bonfire, was a wooden frame and where the head used to be, just a charred out 2 by 4.  According to the head guild, Sechseläuten 2001 was declared "mission accomplished".

After such excitement, I thought I should do the cable car rotation, namely the Polybahn and Rigiblickbahn, that I remember riding in 1997, 1998 and 2000.  Then I would come back by tram lines 5 or 6.  From Bellevueplatz, I walked to Central, the lower station of the Polybahn.  If you have heard of ETH Zürich, that is the upper station of the Polybahn.  My prior ride on it was on Friday the 24th July 1998 with my striped top hat, and I took a selfie about 3:30 PM that day.  The Polybahn was still operating at 6:55 PM so I took it up to ETH Zürich, and managed to watch the other car go down to Central.  I took the next tram from the ETH/Universitätsspital three stops to Seilbahn Rigiblick, and around 7:10 PM I took the cable car up to the upper station.  The Seilbahn Rigiblick is automated kind of like an inclinator at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas.  You pick your station, Goldauer Strasse, Hadlaubstrasse, Germaniastrasse and Rigiblick, then it makes the appropriate stop.  It was built so well, that if both cars stopped along the way, you would be at any one of the stops (Goldauer Strasse for one and Germania Strasse for the other).  I was at the top station, and there was a bus line 39 to Im Klösterli near the zoo.  Interestingly enough, for those who like James Joyce's literature, he is buried close by at the Fluntern cemetery.  I thought about eating at the Klösterli restaurant, but I took a pass after looking at the dinner prices so I went back to Niederdorferstrasse by tram line 6, where I know that prices are more reasonable.  By then it was about 7:45 PM and the sun was about to set.  The tram did pass Toblerplatz, for which there is a famous triangular chocolate bar named after it.  Also the trolleybus line 33 terminates there, still does after part of its route was cut back and replaced years later with line 72, also a trolleybus line.

I ended up back at the ETH/Universitätsspital tram stop, took the Polybahn down to Central, and looked for my favorite restaurant to eat supper at.  In April 2001 I did not know of Bierhalle Wolf, that I more frequently visit since 2011, so I did not go there then.  Instead I went to the Brasserie Johanniter on Niederdorferstrasse 70, had a seat inside, and started off with a liter of Hürlimann Lager.  The last time I ate at Johanniter, I had their Graubündner Spätzle with ham, cheese and onions, and luckily it was still on the menu.  It was priced 20 Francs.  I think 2002 it was withdrawn and the only Spätzle they serve anymore is in the vegetarian style.  I had someone share my table, and we had a conversation, not very deep.  After paying our respective tabs, we went on our ways.  I went back to Bellevueplatz to see what remained, if anything, of the Böögg, and there was still the skeleton that I remember from 6:29 PM.  So I went back to the hostel to sleep, as tomorrow would be a travel day to Bern.

Please join me as tomorrow I will see two new cantons, one of which has two half-cantons.  Then we will see a new astrological clock similar to the one in Prague, and not too far from the Bundeshaus.  See you then.

Auf wiederluege!  Au revoir!  Arrivederci!  Goodbye!

[lauras-collection]

More Than I Know [Part 2]

Tom Holland x female Reader

Masterlist

Summary: It’s time for your first official fake date.

Words: 2.4k

Warnings: swearing, nothing else I think (let me know if there is anything in there that I should add)

A/N: You guys, I am so excited for this part aaaah :D I originally wanted to wait a bit longer to post this but... I’m just too excited. I hope you like it as much as I do. My brain is already overflowing with ideas for the next parts and I really really hope it stays like that! (And I also hope this post is going to be visible to all of you unlike the previous part)

A little disclaimer, I have never met or seen or gotten in contact with any paparazzi ever so I have no idea how they do what they do. But again, this is fiction, so let’s roll with it :D

Prologue | Part 1

The thing was simple, you and Tom would be seen on a few dates, nothing special. You didn’t want to be too on the nose about the whole thing. 

Your sister’s wedding was still a few weeks away and you only planned until then, not sure what was going to happen after. Tom said he had to start promoting one of his movies in a couple months so you figured he probably won’t need the extra publicity anymore. You didn’t think the press would be interested in you for that long anyway so it was only fair that your arrangement would end then, at the latest.

Shortly after you and Tom had agreed on doing this fake dating thing, your phone blew up with messages from your friends. 

What the fuck Y/N?

your friend Marissa had sent in the group chat together with a screenshot of one of the numerous articles that featured the pictures of you and Tom. 

When were you gonna tell us about this?

It didn’t take long for your other friends to react.

Is this real?

I’m gone five seconds and this happens?

You move the phone over to Tom. “What am I supposed to tell them?” You scrunch your eyebrows together. You had dreaded this moment. 

“Maybe it’s time to think about ‘our story’, huh?” Tom asked and you nodded. You already knew that everybody at the wedding would want to know how you had met Tom and it’d be smart to think of something beforehand.

“Okay.” You moved your mug to the side so you could lean closer to Tom, afraid someone would overhear what you were talking about. “It’s probably easiest to stick to the truth as much as possible right? So we met here, by chance. And... I don’t know. You spilt coffee on me?” 

Tom raised his eyebrows, he was not convinced. “That just screams rom-com. How about...” He thought for a moment. “How about we stick even more to the truth. The place was packed and the only available seat was at my table.” He shrugged his shoulders. “We just say it happened a few weeks earlier, we’ve been seeing each other ever since and the rest is history.” 

You kind of wanted to tell your family this ultra-romantic story about how you met, but you figured Tom’s version, which was basically the truth with a few important details left out, would be more realistic.

“Yeah, that sounds reasonable.” You smiled and Tom returned it, raising his mug.

“Let’s do this.” You chuckled and raised your mug as well and bumped it against his. 

–  

The next obstacle to overcome was telling your mum. You knew she would be ecstatic but you were still nervous. You were going to lie to your mother –your whole family– big time. So when you stood on the doorstep of your parent’s house, you were nervous. You took a deep breath before opening the door, calling out that you were here. You heard rumbling from upstairs and not long after both your mum and Kate, your sister, who probably had been doing more wedding planning, came dashing down the stairs. You rolled your eyes at their eagerness. 

“Y/N! It’s so good to see you!” Your mum said as she engulfed you in a hug. “Now tell me everything about this boy.” As if this is a high school crush we’re talking about.

“Wow, will you let me sit down first?” 

You told them the story exactly how you and Tom had decided on it, sticking as close as possible to the truth.

“And why haven’t you told us sooner? Why did we have to read this in a magazine?” Your sister asked holding up a magazine that had been laying on the coffee table. You thought about it for a moment. 

“I just... I didn’t want to rush things, you know? No one knew about it except me and Tom. I guess we were still in that bubble.” You laughed awkwardly. “But then the media burst it, I guess. And now the whole world knows.” You shrugged your shoulders and hoped that your mum and sister believed you. 

“I understand.” Your mum nodded and with a smirk, she added “But now that we know about him we want to meet him. You should invite him over for dinner!”

“But you’ll meet him at the wedding.” You were starting to panic again. “I don’t even know if he’s going to have time...”

“I want to meet him before the wedding. Get to know him a little.” You nodded with a small smile. “I’ll ask him.” 

– 

A couple of days later you were waiting for Tom to pick you up. It was your first official fake date and you were nervous. You looked over your outfit once more. Usually, you were quite confident with your style, but this time you knew that your pictures were gonna be taken and spread over multiple online articles. This has got to do. You nodded at your reflection before leaving your flat. A black car was already waiting in front of the building and you saw Tom sitting in the driver seat his fingers lightly drumming on his steering wheel while scrolling through his phone with the other hand. You knocked against the window before walking to the passenger side, watching Tom lightly jump in his seat. He unlocked the door so you could enter, and looked at you with a jokingly scolding expression. You laughed as you closed the door and buckled your seat belt. 

“C’mon it was funny.” You nudged him lightly as he pulled onto the street. 

“Maybe a little bit.” His frown turned into a smile. “Okay, I thought I’d take you out for lunch, I hope you haven’t eaten yet?” 

“Honestly? I was so nervous I couldn’t even think about eating.” Your smile faded and a frown took over your face.

“No need to be nervous. It’s just me.” He smirked as he looked over at you. He could tell that you were uneasy. “Hey Y/N, it’s gonna be fine.” His voice was soft and you tried to convince yourself that he was right. It’s going to be fine. 

You arrived at a car park right by the Thames. After Tom parked the car he turned his body towards you. “Here’s the plan: the restaurant is right across the street so we won’t have to walk far. I doubt that there are any paps out there right now but just in case we should probably hold hands.” You nodded as he looked at you trying to figure out if you were still as nervous about this as you were before. “I’ll post an Instagram story when we’re there so there might be paps waiting outside when we get back. And maybe a few fans, too.” You nodded again and took a deep breath. 

“Let’s do this.” You looked at Tom with a determined expression before opening the door to get out of the car. Tom let out a laugh and got out as well. He waited until you had rounded the car and reached is hand out for you. You tried to discreetly wipe your hand on your jeans to get rid of the moisture and then took his hand. Tom had seen but just smiled and didn’t mention it, threading his fingers through yours. He squeezed your hand once so you’d look at him and send you a reassuring smile.

He led you out of the car park and towards the Thames. The restaurant was right at the riverbank and as you recognised it you got excited.

“Are we going to Coppa Club? I’ve always wanted to go here.” You smiled up at Tom and he returned it. The restaurant was known for the six igloo-like constructions right by the river. You had seen it on Instagram a few times and it looked really cool.

“We are. But sadly we will have to sit inside. I don’t want to risk us getting mobbed.” he pressed his lips together and then walked with you towards the entrance. Apparently, Tom had reserved a table for the two of you and even though you were a bit disappointed that you wouldn’t be eating in one of the igloos the interior of the restaurant was just as impressive. You were lead to a table in one of the corners of the restaurant, where you were still visible from the windows. 

“Do you think people will take pictures of us in here?” You asked Tom when the waitress had left. 

He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s possible.” He looked around the restaurant. “There are a few people here who might recognise me.” You nodded and picked the menu up from the table. Your nerves had settled a bit making you realise that you were actually pretty hungry.

You found something you want to order quickly, closed the menu and looked at Tom. His brows were drawn together in concentration, his eyes flickering over the menu. After a few moments, he closed it as well and his eyes locked on yours.

“You found something?” He asked and you nodded but before you could answer the waitress arrived with your drinks and took your orders.

“Are you still nervous?” Tom took a sip from his water.

“Not as much. That might change if there are really going to be paps when we leave here though.” You whispered the last part, looking around the place as if you were expecting someone with a big camera to pop out behind one of the plants.

“They usually don’t get too close. And I’m not that big of a deal.” You lifted an eyebrow. He’s freaking Spider-Man. “Hey, don’t look at me like that.” He laughed. “Really. I reckon it’s gonna be like last time and we won’t even notice them.”

“We don’t even know if it was a paparazzo last time. It might’ve been a fan. And earlier you said that you were afraid of us getting mobbed.” 

“Don’t think too much about it. Let’s just enjoy this lunch together, yeah?” His hand reached out for yours patting it in a comforting manner and then resting it on yours. He was looking at you with that soft expression again and without really thinking about it you thread your fingers through his, much like he had done it earlier, and you let out a breath. Tom’s thumb started to caress yours lightly and you got lost in the touch for a second. You tried not to think too much about the fact that just holding Tom’s hand calmed you down immensely while making your heart beat a little bit faster at the same time.

 You managed to get through lunch relatively calm even though you had to let go of Tom’s hand eventually. You had mentioned that your mum wanted to meet Tom before the wedding and he was immediately keen on meeting your family. He told you a few days where he was available at dinner time so you could run them by your family.

While you were waiting for your desserts, Tom posted to his Instagram story. You had both not been sure how much to show. Should you be in the picture? No, too much too soon. Maybe just your hand so that people knew you were there? Should he write something or would the picture suffice? You then both decided that he should comment on something on the menu or the table decoration and then have your hand in the picture as well. This way people knew that someone was with him, and it was easy to assume that this someone would be the girl he had last been seen with, you, but it wasn’t the main focus of the post. Tom also made sure that you could see part of the restaurant’s name. It was not a standalone restaurant there were several places you could be, the paps just had to guess.

After dessert, Tom insisted that he’s paying even though you told him that it wasn’t necessary. And then, sooner than you had liked, it was time to go back to the car. Tom took your hand in his, reassured you once again and then lead you outside. You had imagined a hoard of people and camera flashes, but it was like Tom had said earlier, it seemed like no one was around. While making your way towards the car park Tom pulled you closer and leaned down to you and for a second you thought he was going to kiss you. Instead, he moved his mouth close to your ear. “See it’s not that bad. You can’t even really notice them.” He murmured, making you look at him with wide eyes. You didn’t even have to ask the question. There are paparazzi here? He just nodded and put on a smile. You let out a sigh of relief before smiling, too. With your free hand, you grabbed Tom’s bicep, leaning your head against his arm for a moment. You were so relieved. When you rounded the corner you could see a girl stopping in her tracks with wide eyes. She was obviously a fan. She seemed to be about fifteen and what you presumed to be her mum was with her. 

“H-hi... T-tom?” She stuttered as she got closer. Tom then noticed her as well. He might have been too busy thinking about how you were holding on to him and how much he enjoyed it.

“Hi. How are you?” He smiled friendly at the girl and you could see that her hands were shaking. 

“I’m sorry to bother you.” She looked at you for a brief second. “But do you mind?” She held out her phone and Tom was quick to shake his head

“Of course not. D’you want me to take it?” He let go of your hand to step closer to the girl, who handed her phone over to him. You shared a smile with her mum while Tom took a picture with the teenager.

“Thank you so much!” The girl seemed out of breath, you couldn’t blame her. 

“No worries. Have a great day.” He smiled at her again and waved before taking your hand again. While you continued walking you could hear a muffled scream from behind you and you had to laugh a little.

“You just made that girl’s day, if not week.” 

“That tends to happen.” He shrugged his shoulders and smirked. 

“Calm down, movie star.” You chuckle and bump your shoulder against his. He looked at you for a moment and you couldn’t decipher the expression on his face. 

“What?” 

“Nothing.” His mouth curved into a soft smile before he leaned down pressing a kiss to your temple.

Okay what was that?

Part 3

Taglist: @jackiehollanderr // @alicethestral // @snowxbarryxendgame // @van-horn-dashner // @sltwins // @yeahimcrying // @ohhhotstan // @heathera101x // @xxnomercy 

Let me know if you want to be tagged (or taken of the list)

[inagetawaycarxo]

Peter Parker + Tom Holland Being Obsessed With You

—Maybe Peter Parker (or Tom if you want) beign obsessed with reader? Love your blog so much 💕 -@minetticatinwonderland

✧I decided to, put both these two smol beans in one post, make it easier.

✧WARNINGS: obsession, stalking.

✧A/N: Requests are open, for peter parker & marvel & Tom Holland. If you want to be tagged in any marvel/ Tom Holland fics & headcanons just message me

Peter Parker:

Peters obsession with you started when he first met you, which happened to be your first day at school.

He was too busy talking to Ned, to notice that you and he were about to collide.

He only realized it a little too late, when he crashed into you, making the books in your hand fall to the ground, with a loud thud.

MJ rolled her eyes at Peter, she was about to help you when Peter bet her to it.

“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault, here let me help you.” Peter stammered out, kneeling beside you, he started to pick up the books as well, stacking them up, he turned to face you and that’s when his guilty expression turned into a look of awe. He was memorized by you. To him, you were the most beautiful girl in Midtown.

“Thanks.” you responded, with a soft voice, motioning him to hand you the books he stacked up over, but he just kept staring at you like you were the most interesting thing in the world, and it slightly made you nervous.

You were about to say something, but MJ, quickly grabbed your books for you, making Peter snap out of his little daydream.

You quickly looked away, feeling flustered, as you got up, MJ handed you the books, while Peter was blushing, he quickly stood up as well, as he nervously stood next to his friend Ned, looking anywhere but at you, while awkwardly scratching his neck.

“And, these losers are-” MJ spoke, but Ned interrupted her.

“I’m Ned.” Ned spoke, way to excitedly, while you just smiled at him, your head turned to face the guy that you bumped into, waiting for him to introduce himself. He honestly looked like a deer caught in headlights when he looked at you.

“Hey, I’m-I’m-I’m par- Peter Parker.” Peter stuttered out, making you give him a reassuring smile, which made his heart melt.

“I’m y/n.” you greeted, looking at Peter then at Ned, then back to Peter.

Just as one of them was about to say something, MJ interrupted them.

“Let’s leave these losers, I still got to show you around the rest of the school.” MJ spoke, with a monotoned voice.

Peter staring dreamily at you all the time, with his elbow, propped up on the table, as he rested his cheek on the palm of his hand.

A couple of times you have caught him staring at you. which makes him quickly look away, and blush.

The more you hang out/sit with him, Ned and MJ at lunch the more his obsession with you grows.

MJ and Ned teasing him a lot, about his obsession with you. Especially when he stares at you.

Peter basically babbling to MJ and Ned about you. which annoys MJ, since you are all he talks about, she loves you dearly, but hearing Peter talk about you all the time was getting annoying.

“She’s so pretty.” Peter sighed dreamily.

“So, just cause she’s so pretty, that’s her only worth.” MJ snapped, looking up from her book.

“W-what, n-no, she has other qualities like the way she smiles, the way she-” Peter rambled, only for MJ to let out a huff and look back down at the page on the book.

MJ rolled her eyes, as Peter continued his rambling.

Ned encouraging Peter just to ask you out. But always gets the same response.

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” Ned asked, making Peters gaze from you snap towards his best friend, his eyes widening in fear.

“I can’t, she’s so out of my league.” Peter sighed, turning his head back towards you, as you put food on your tray, which made MJ roll her eyes.

“Of course, you’re out of her league, she prob thinks your creepy, staring at her all the time.” MJ grumbled.

“Don’t listen to her, you never know if you don’t ask her out, what’s the worst that could happen?” Ned encouraged him.

“She could reject you.” MJ spoke blankly, Ned and Peters heads snapped towards MJ, as she looked up from her book.

“Or she could share the feelings you feel for her back.” Ned stated.

“Why would she feel the same way, he is a loser.” MJ spoke, just as Ned was about to defend his best friend, Peter interrupted him.

“Sh, she’s coming over.” Peter stammered out, eyes wide, as he saw you approach the table, his heart thudding against his chest.

“Who feels the same way? And who is a loser?” you asked, as you sat down, on the bench in front of Peter and Ned.

“No one, its nothing.” Peter stuttered out, making you raise your eyebrow at him.

“Okay,” you looked over at MJ, she only shrugged her shoulders, looking disinterested in the conversation you just walked in on. You looked back at Ned and Peter suspiciously, which they both avoided your gaze. What the hell are they talking about? You thought to yourself.

Nearly everyone at school knew Peter had a huge crush on you, except for you.

Since you don’t know he is Spider-Man he would use that to his advantage to watch you, check if you were in any danger.

Most of his night patrols are seeing if you are in any danger or watching you.

You are basically all Peter thinks about, every second of the day and night, even before he goes to sleep and when he wakes up.

Peter mostly stutters a lot when he is talking to you or talks way to fast. Not that you mind.

Or he gets speechless and just stares at you.

Peter daydreaming of being your boyfriend a lot, what its like to kiss your lips, run his fingers through your hair, twirl your hair, hug you and so on.

Slightly getting jealous when another guy or girl flirts with you.

Whenever he sees you cry, it hurts him, so he does his best to comfort you and cheer you up.

Helping you out when you struggle with homework. Which means study dates.

Following all your social media accounts, and liking/watching all the things you post, he kind of stalks you on them.

Since he gets preoccupied with thinking of you, he often forgets about the other things he must do.

Peter would do anything for you.

He adores you so much.

Every time he works up the courage to ask you out or confess his feelings he chickens out.

Peter often forgets that MJ and Ned are there when all four of you are hanging out.

Or he just forgets to invite them or doesn’t even think of inviting them when he hangs out with you.

Peter gushing to his Aunt May about you, making her smile at him.

Peter taking pictures of you. either on his phone or his camera.

He has you as his home screen on his phone.

Tom Holland:

Tom basically is head over heels in love with you. (well that’s what he thinks)

You are basically all he thinks about, whether they are pure thoughts or dirty ones.

He follows you on every social media you have.

Texts you nearly every morning and night, and when he is on break from filming.

Tom liking all your Instagram posts, sometimes he leaves comments.

Watching your Instagram stories.

Liking all your tweets on twitter. And replying to them.

Let’s face it Tom probably screenshots the selfies you take to admire them some more. {or save them}

Half is camera roll, is just pictures of you, and he ain’t even embarrassed about it either.

Harrison, Harry, Sam, Jacob, Zendaya, Jake, even some other people tease him about his obsession with you.

Especially when you are around him.

Since your Zendaya’s best friend she tries to set you’s two up, but to no success. Tom just doesn’t seem to want to confess his feelings or he is too afraid, you won't feel the same way.

“Z, do you think y/n likes me?” Tom asked, making Zendaya look at him, before she could respond he spoke again.

“Because I might just ask her out.” Tom spoke, making Zendaya gives him a ‘are you serious’ look.

“I just hooked you two up not long ago, and you chickened out.” She grumbled.

“I know but I was really nervous, I thought she might not feel the same way and I panicked.” He rushed out.

“Fine, and yes she likes you more than a friend should.” Zendaya responded.

“Really, you sure, you ain’t lying to me?” he asked, clearly way too excited.

“Why would I lie about that, but if you break her heart, I’ll break your bones.” She responded.

“I would never dream about breaking her heart, she means everything to me.” Tom babbled.

“I know, we all know, your fans know, the whole world knows, heck y/n probably knows you are obsessed with her.” Zendaya spoke.

He daydreams about you constantly that he often loses touch of reality.

He has heart eyes whenever he talks about you or looks at you, or when you talk to him or he talks to you.

Whenever he is around you, he was heart eyes for you.

Basically, telling his friends random facts about you or news.

“I know she’s my best friend.” Zendaya replied.

“Oh, right, I forgot.” Tom spoke.

“How, could you forget, I thought you knew everything about her.” Zendaya teased him, making Tom’s eyes widen.

Tom gushing about you to anyone that listens, most of them get annoyed by it.

Tom reading every news article about you.

Watching the movies/tv-shows you appeared in, like repeatedly.

Tom getting jealous when you get pictured with your costar/ or another girl/boy or reported dating a costar.

Watching your interviews.

Whenever he hears you laugh, it makes his heart swell. Also, when you smile it makes his day/night.

Tom basically mentioning you in every interview he does, even if your name isn’t brought up in it.

Tom would do anything for you, you name it he will do it.

Every time he looks at you or thinks about you, he is in awe.

Tom has a selfie of you, as his lock screen.

Tom often talks fast when he is around you.

Sometimes you just take his breath away and leave him speechless.

He would also show off a lot when he is hanging around you.

[mitaesoroo]

pleaseeeeeeee all of them? maybe? yes? 30?

NAJSJZJZ YOU BITCH ok let's do this 🥴

ALSO SORRY IF ITS LATE MY INTERNET IS WACK

1: (truth) Who was your first major celebrity crush? (dare) Put your music player on shuffle and post the first five songs.

Dare :

• monsta truck - monsta x

• 3rd eye - stray kids

• til i die - ph1 ft jay park

• new rules - txt

• malamente - rosalía

2: (truth) What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you in the past week? (dare) Refresh your dashboard and send an anonymous compliment to the person who posted whatever’s at the top of your dash.

Dare : done 👀

3: (truth) What are your three favorite things about your appearance? (dare) List all nine of your tumblr crushes, and describe each blog/blogger in one word.

Truth : uhh my barely noticeable freckles, my moles, and my lip shape

4: (truth) What is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you? (dare) Post the oldest selfie on your camera roll.

Truth : when i receive something from friends because they thought of me 🥺

5: (truth) If your parents knew everything you’ve ever done, what would they think is the worst thing? (dare) Tag the three nonmutuals you admire most.

Dare : @soooldout @withyook @emotiadouche i reallyyy love their blogs and i always wish them the best in their life! wonderful beings they are 🥺💛

6: (truth) What is the last thing you purchased? (dare) Tag three people you’ve thirst followed.

Truth : food lol

7: (truth) How many hours did you sleep last night? (dare) Send an anonymous compliment to the last person who followed you.

Truth : uh 4?? i think lol

8: (truth) If you could go on a date with any of your mutuals, who would it be and what would you do? (dare) Send an anonymous compliment to one of your four “Biggest Fans” on tumblr.

Dare : ;0; done!!

9: (truth) How did you meet your best friend? (dare) Refresh your dashboard. Open the blog of the person who posted whatever’s at the top of your dash. Reblog their most recent selfie.

Truth : church 🥴

10: (truth) What was your favorite band five years ago? (dare) Tag a blog that posts very different content from yours, but that you couldn’t imagine not following.

Truth : Linkin Park (still is *^*)

11: (truth) Where did you get each article of clothing you’re wearing right now? (dare) Pick up the closest book to you. Turn to page 39 and copy down line 7.

Truth : shirt - thrift store, pants - target, and shoes - marshalls

12: (truth) What are your five favorite girls’ names and five favorite boys’ names? (dare) Copy and paste the 14th line of text from the last document you worked on in Word or Google Drive.

Truth : random but ima just go with 10 names i guess ;-;

• Xochitl

• Zera

• Zinny

• Briseyda

• Yaritza

• Dakota

• Ellis

• Elias

• Daniel

• Nayeli

13: (truth) What’s your most irrational fear? (dare) Tag five mutuals who take amazing selfies.

Dare : most moots don't really show faces but ill tag @kuromatoki @honey-piggy (😤 mei dont fite me on this) @kiseokris @ncttrashnoodle @dino-yeol 💛💙💜💛💙💜

14: (truth) If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life (consisting of clothes you already own), what would it be? (dare) Tag someone you follow who has amazing fashion sense.

Truth : black shirt or hoodie, jeans or dark green pants, and my black nikes :P

15: (truth) If you could rock any unusual article of clothing/makeup technique/hairstyle, what would it be? (dare) Go to the blog of the last person you reblogged a text post from. Reblog your favorite of their selfies.

Truth : alot of people like my short hair alot so i guess my short hair LOL :>

16: (truth) What is your dream job? (dare) Post the four most recent pictures in your camera roll.

Truth : getting one 😀

17: (truth) Where is the last place you went that took over two hours to get to? (dare) Post screenshots of your phone’s lock screen and home screen.

Truth : San Antonio 🤠

18: (truth) How old were you when you had your first kiss? If you haven’t had it yet, how old do you want to be? (dare) Go to the last app/tab you opened. Post a screenshot.

Dare : devastated.

19: (truth) What is the first thing you remember having to keep secret? (dare) Tag five bloggers who you associate with being obsessed with something particular, and list what each of them is obsessed with.

Truth : hmmm ;-; my birthright i guess

20: (truth) What does your bedroom look like? (dare) Take one selfie and post it. You only get one shot! (No old selfies or retrying, even if you think you look bad)

Truth : oof kinda messy rn

21: (truth) What three fictional characters would you most like to meet? (dare) Write your name down on a piece of paper and draw a quick picture of yourself. Take a photo of it and post it.

Dare : a mess is what you get ♥︎

22: (truth) What are three things you’re looking forward to? (dare) Tag the last three people you reblogged posts from, and estimate how many followers they have.

Truth : hoping to land a job, saving, and moving out 😔

23: (truth) What are your three biggest turn ons, and your three biggest turn offs? (dare) Put your music player on shuffle. Without actually listening to it, write the lyrics to the chorus of the first song.

Dare : "Pienso en tu mirá, tu mira clavá' es una bala en el pecho" (x3) "Pienso tu mirá" (x2) - rosalía

24: (truth) If you could only own five material objects (not counting life necessities like food/water/a house/etc) what would they be? (dare) Put your music player on shuffle. Post what the first three songs are, and for each one, tag a blog that the song reminds you of.

Dare :

• these nights by rich brian & chungha - @kiseokris

• win by ateez - @sagittariustigerfish

• juicy by doja cat - @honey-piggy

25: (truth) What is the last thing you lied about? (dare) Tag three people you want to know better and ask them each three questions about themselves.

Truth : where i was i going lol 🙂

26: (truth) What’s the last movie you watched? (dare) Reblog the most recent of your own selfies posted on tumblr, and in the tags say two things you like about your appearance in it?

Truth : the little mermaid

27: (truth) What are three things you like about yourself unrelated to your appearance? (dare) Post a picture from your camera roll that you’ve been meaning to post on tumblr.

Truth : music taste, open minded, and my patience

28: (truth) How do you take your coffee? (dare) Post the last picture you posted on a social media platform other than tumblr.

Dare : those last four pics on twitter (also tumblr is being wack rn)

29: (truth) What are your worst habits? (dare) Put your Top 25 Most Played songs on shuffle and list the first five.

Truth : overthinking aLOT

30: (truth) What is the last thing you did that you have to keep secret from someone? Who do you have to keep it secret from? (dare) Tag five blogs with great URLs.

Dare :

• @kuromatoki

• @yungluchini

• @kiseokris

• @jiminscaramel

• @dorkeyama

-honestly tho!! all my moots have wonderful urls 🥺💞-

[holdyourbreathuntilyouseelight]

The Bodyguard - Epilogue

Summary: Magnus is a dancing popstar sensation whose popularity continues to climb. Alec, an ex-Secret Service agent, is hired on as a professional bodyguard in charge of Mr. Bane’s personal security by insistence of Magnus’ manager. Despite their initial differences, Magnus finds himself falling for Alec the more time they spend getting to know each other and relies on him for more than physical security as his safety gets threatened. Loosely based on the 1992 film The Bodyguard.

Rating: M+

Genre: AU, Everyone is Human AU, Celebrity!Magnus, Bodyguard!Alec, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Fluff, Friendship, Romance, Eventual Smut, Mutual Pining

Author: holdyourbreathuntilyouseelight

A/N: This is the end, my loves! Thank you all so so so much for sticking with me over the long few months it took me to finish this fic in full. I appreciate each and every one of you for reading this far!

Click here to read on AO3.

Previous chapters on tumblr: Prologue // Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4 // Chapter 5 // Chapter 6 // Chapter 7 // Chapter 8 // Chapter 9 // Chapter 10

* * * * *

A few weeks later…

Magnus settled into his private jet, stretching out his legs and accepting a glass from the stewardess.

After the hassle of the last few months, he wasn't afraid to spend a little money to reduce the amount of exposure he had to unknown people. And having his own mode of flight transportation certainly came with its share of perks.

"Thank you. That'll be all. We'll buzz if we need you."

Magnus smiled as his bodyguard entered the cabin after locking the door and sat next to him. "You kicked the attendent out awful quick. Are you planning on using the privacy to our advantage?"

Alec rolled his eyes and gestured at his slung arm. "Still damaged goods, remember? And you know I'm not as much of an exhibitionist as you."

Magnus grinned wickedly. "I think I can change that. And I can think of plenty we can do that doesn't require the use of your arm…"

"Magnus."

"Oh quit your scolding. You love me."

"I do." Alec said easily, unable to help the besotted look on his face as he gazed over at him.

Magnus matched his expression. "I love you too."

Alec knew it too. He woke up in the hospital to Magnus seated in his private room, learning later that he hadn't left his side except when Alec had been in surgery to remove the bullet from his shoulder and repair the damage.

He still was enduring physical therapy, and, even with all the press Magnus had post-Grammy win and after the dramatic end to the night, Magnus still was next to him every step of the way.

He spoke to Magnus after he was free of anesthetic disorientation and found out that Sebastian hadn't survived their altercation (unsurprising, considering the bullet to his frontal lobe) and that Iris was officially admitted to a psychiatric facility to receive the overdue care she needed.

Alec was aware that the threat to Magnus' life was gone which meant his contract had ended. He had done what he agreed to do.

Of course, when he brought this up, Magnus looked more hurt than anything, and Alec quickly reminded him that they could still be together even if he wasn't his bodyguard. He had trained the others well and they'd be much more suited to keep him safe than they were when he first led the team.

In the end, Magnus convinced him that having him as his personal bodyguard was crucial, and, since Magnus would be bringing him as his date everywhere, he'd be unable to stop his natural instincts so he might as well have the title and paycheque too.

Alec had been more than happy to agree, prefering to be officially responsible for Magnus' safety and knowing it meant they'd be able to be as inseparable as ever instead of having Alec assigned somewhere far away.

"So, Alexander. Ready to check out honeymoon spots?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "We're not even married yet."

"Never too early to start planning!"

Alec picked up Magnus' left hand in his right, letting his thumb brush over the intricate band around his third finger. "If it makes you happy, I'm all for it."

"You being here makes me happy." Magnus confirmed, watching their hands and enjoying the glint of their matching bands in the sunlight streaming through the windows.

"And there is no place I'd rather be."

His eyes drifted to the city growing smaller as they climbed higher in the sky. It wasn't long after Alec's near death experience that he realized that he wasn't one to wait around to act anymore. He had been a nervous wreck, but Izzy and Jace's combined powers had talked him down and convinced him that Magnus was just as utterly infatuated as he was and wouldn't say no.

They were right, of course. It may have been far, far, far too soon in many people's eyes, but neither of them cared. Sometimes you could be sure on something and just knew when something was right.

Alec hadn't wanted this job when it was first offered. It took a lot of convincing and the lack of job opportunities to have him make the decision to accept. Now he knew it was the best decision he ever made. He never could've predicted the whirlwind that would follow, but now, sitting next to the love of his life on a flight to a faraway destination to explore the world together, well, he couldn't imagine a better life.

"You know, Sebastian may have been out to kill me, but he did take some great photos of us at that club. There are always dozens of new comments daily on that article with fans losing their minds about us." Magnus said, screenshotting the picture to save to his phone photos.

Alec rolled his eyes. "That's one way to view the hit-man hired to kill you. At least he was honest about being a photo journalist."

"Well it must be easier to claim reasons for stalking people when you have a job as a camera man."

"Thankfully, I caught on to his shifty character."

"Not at that club, you didn't. I had to drag you away so he would stop making eyes at you!"

Alec sent him a look. "You should know by now that I've only had eyes for you for too long for a British accent and nice bone structure to pull me away."

"Oh, so you think he's handsome?"

"Magnus! You're actually getting jealous of a man I literally shot in the head with a bullet?"

Magnus sighed. "Fine, fine. You're right. I'm being ridiculous."

"Plus, if I was going to talk about handsome men I've met—"

"Oh, Alexander, you flatterer—" Magnus started to say.

"—I'd talk about Underhill. Ever since he got that haircut? Damn."

"Alec!" Magnus exclaimed, hand to his chest in its usual dramatic fashion.

Alec laughed in response, squeezing his hand in apology for his jest, as Magnus searched for something to toss at him in retaliation.

No matter where they ended up, they had been right to predict their relationship would be interesting to say the least.

And neither of them would have it any other way.

* * * The End * * *

[ayuyikes]

Hunting a Cryptid pt. 7

pt. 1 is here

I did continue for a bit and I’m hoping to eventually turn up the heat (for myself) again but I just hope I can spark the littlest of interest in this since, well, I really like it and I could use the motivation

Thanks if you do read it!

--------

"Did you even sleep? You look like you got hit by a truck."

"I'm fine, thanks."

They had decided to meet at Ayuya's house since the location was close to her place. When he turned up at her door at 1 PM as if he was about to go on a biker's roadtrip to alaska, she didn't even comment on the attire but raised a brow at the depth of his bags.

She opened the door a little further to welcome him inside.

"No but seriously," she persisted while she led him down the hall to her living room, "Did you sleep? You didn't just power through after a late shift, right?"

He just wordlessly sat down at her dinner table and looked at her sleepily. "No. I'm good."

She faked the beginning of a yawn. He tried to stifle his own yawn, with not much luck.

"Go to bed," she growled exasperatedly, heading to her kitchen for the tea she had set up. He whined.

"I'm fine. My shift ended at 7 so I snuck in a nap before coming here, big deal."

He was a liar. He did no such thing.

"If you're tired you shouldn't have agreed to meet with me at this time in the first place," she argued from her place behind the stove, getting tea from the cabinets. She shot him a look. "It can wait."

"Hey, I'm not the one who's gonna pout if the clues are washed away by then," he muttered while laying his head on the table. For cold wood it was very, very comfortable. He closed his eyes for a second.

He was startled by her setting a mug of tea on the table only inches away from his face.

"Tiro," she said with a stern voice but gentle eyes. "I mean it. Get some sleep."

He hoisted himself up with a groan. "Fine. After this. I wanna see where the bat went with my own two eyes."

She sighed loudly and planted herself in the opposing chair, her own teal mug in hand. "I'm giving you a free pass on the supernatural stuff, how can you say no to that?"

He sipped his tea. "It's not like I mind, though."

She looked at him like he had grown another head. He raised an eyebrow.

"What? Someone has to be your common sense filter."

She stood up soundlessly, walked up to the counter, grabbed a cookbook and slapped him with it on his arm with a glare. He laughed.

"Alright alright. Let's get this over with then?"

After finishing their tea (Tiro made a face like he burnt his tongue at one point) they walked towards the industrial area where she said the footage came from. They walked for about five minutes making small talk (giving Tiro the opportunity to wake up for a bit) they arrived at the right street. She halted.

"Alright, so," she pointed towards the factory in question, to the closest corner where he could see the camera hang, "that camera saw the bat move from uhhh," she backtracked a little to show the animal's location, "here... to...." she moved forward, keeping eye on the camera to get the angle right, "somewhere around here, where another camera picked up footage and the last we see the bat..." she trailed, taking a little sprint forward, Tiro just watching her with an amused look. She stops in her tracks at a junction just past the building. "Is here. Right here it gets out of camera range." She turns to him again. "Wanna split up to look for clues?"

He doesn't say much but joins her side. She glances at the various directions they could take.

"You see, this one right here," she points to the south of them when she got his attention, "is also still within line of sight of the camera's, but Ghi checked them and there was no bat to be seen. Which leaves," she turned back to the north and the east street, "these two. We can each take one, then come back here to share what we've seen?"

Tiro just nodded in agreement. "I'll take the north, you take east?"

Ayuya grinned. "Alright. Let's meet back here within 10. Take pictures if needed."

"You got it."

---------------------

When Ayuya got back at the meeting point after about seven minutes, she was the first one there. She hadn't found anything interesting so far, but there was more to comb out further down the road. She also had found a little convenience store that was open at night, so she could come back there later and ask if they've seen anything.

She glanced at her phone, but not long after she heard Tiro coming running towards her. He seemed frantic. A good frantic.

"You gotta see this. I think I found something."

She followed him immediately, mostly straight ahead but after two left turns showed her an ally. She looked at him confused.

"No, look," he went, as he grasped her hand in his gloved one and lead her a little inside the ally. Then she saw it. And smelled it, actually.

"That's... blood isn't it."

"Yeah. It got smeared, I think he tried to get rid of it fast."

"But not fast enough," she said taking a closer look to the smearing on the floor. The scent of iron filled her nostrils. "It's not that much to suggest it being from an assault or anything."

"It's also not clotted," Tiro pointed out with a disgusted face. "That should've been happening in normal circumstances..."

"... But saliva helps prevent clotting!" She finished his thought with a shine in her eye. "This could be a solid lead!"

"Could be?" He coughed. "I mean, what else could it be?"

She looked at him sceptically. "It could also be a guy who got punched in the nose one unfortunate night. It's a solid follow up, but we need more info."

She straightened her back and stretched. "Maybe I should look up some forensic stuff to see what else this stain can tell me. It's really too bad it got mostly wiped."

Tiro was flexing his hands in what seemed to be anticipation. "So we ask around?"

Ayuya nodded. "It would be nice to know if people did see something around here that night. The bat, or maybe even his human form."

They left the ally behind them to look around for passerby. Ayuya seemed still in thought.

"It's weird the blood is still here, though. Did nobody notice?"

Tiro shrugged.

"I mean, you also didn't notice initially did you?"

She pondered. "True..." she admitted. Something still nagged at her but she couldn't place what. Tiro yawned.

"Okay," she finally said. "You're going home now, mister. I can ask around for a while, no sweat. But you," she prodded in his chest, "have work tomorrow, so you should sleep." He rolled his eyes.

"Alright, fine. I'll go already," he sighed in defeat. "Just keep me updated, will you?"

"Will do." She grinned reassuredly. She gave him one more playful shove. "Now get some rest, you hobo."

-----------------

When she got home after researching a bunch, she flopped onto her couch without even taking her shoes off. She felt even too lazy to roll on her back, sighing contently into her decorative pillows. She moved her head to the side to breathe.

After she had sent Tiro home to bed she’d asked around at stores, passing people, and some that were just leaving the house to see if they had seen anything lately. Sadly enough, even though they seemed to have a great lead here, nobody had anything to report. Disappointing, to say the least. At least she could try to pinpoint the vampire’s route now.

She grunted and rolled over to sit up straight, pulling her laptop from the coffee table onto her lap. Opening google maps, she made a screenshot of the area and opened it in photoshop to try and draw out the possible routes the bat could’ve taken, taking in consideration the timeline of course.

She grabbed the notebook she had laid on the coffee table beside her laptop, folding it open where she had stuck her pen between pages.

“Tiro saw it crossing about two blocks from my house at approximately 1.15 AM...” she read to herself while drawing the estimated radius in red on a new layer.

“Then there’s the footage, which shows the bat moving down Mulberry lane at 1.18...”

She drew that line in purple.

“And then the blood, which doesn’t have a distinct time set on it, right here...”

She marked the ally in yellow and just went over the grid in her head.

“It’d fit if Tiro saw the bat from here...” she moved her finger from her house to the southeast part of the red area, one street above Mulberry lane. “But if it was moving towards my house, it doesn’t make sense that he shows up only three minutes later on Mulberry lane going in the opposite direction...”

She rubbed her cheek with her knuckle. “If his target was to the south of my house, it would make some sort of sense... No, but that means the hit was done so quick he’d instantly have to turn around and head home...“

And she would’ve caught traces because that area was on her way to work.

“Of course I didn’t exactly look for it then...” she argued with herself. “If there were traces they’re probably gone by now. It’s been two weeks.”

The same nagging feeling hit her again. What about the blood on Granbury street? Where does that fit in?

She sighed and checked her phone. Tiro was last seen online around 1 PM. Good. That meant he was sleeping like she told him to.

She’s glad he wants to help but it’s not exactly getting her answers yet, though.

Her mind went back to the smears. Something is off about that. But what?

The place didn’t make sense. It’s more to the northeast, while the footage and the witness (sounds awfully fancy for the mess Tiro remembered) were to the south and southeast. If only she could estimate what speed the bat could achieve she could take better guesses at where he went.

Or, you know. More witnesses would also be nice.

She considered asking Ghi for a timeframe to estimate the bats speed but then wondered what the smears were pointing at. Maybe they weren’t related to the vampire at all. Sure, the absence of clotting is nice but maybe it could tell her a bit more. At least eliminate a inconsistency if necessary.

She searched a little about shapes and traits of blood pools when she came across an article. Published in a paper on forensic science, about two years ago.

It was on the morphology of drying blood pools.

She skimmed through the abstract and looked at the provided picture. The dark coloration of the pool, with as final state a brittle hardened dark red substance. One more look through the abstract and she found her questions not answered. The drying time of blood was related to the surface and conditions, but how much of a difference would it make?

After another search in the NCBI she hit the jackpot.

Theres no way the blood shouldn’t have been completely dried up by the time they discovered it if it was from the night in question.

It might’ve been smeared but it wasn’t completely dry.

It was actually pretty fresh.

She let out a disappointed sigh. So much for a good lead. It might still be vampire related, but without witnesses she’d have to let it go for now.

She got rid of the yellow layer with a sigh.

Now she had no idea where the bat was going. Damn confusing timeline.

She got up for a drink. She opened the dishwasher for a mug and poured herself hot water for tea. She shot a text to Ghi asking if he had a timeframe for her, then hesitated before typing a text to Tiro if he had work tonight.

She had grabbed red tea from the cupboard when she got a reply. She dipped a tea bag in her mug and took her phone with her to the couch, folded up her legs beside her (this time remembering to kick her shoes off) and opened her text. It was from Tiro.

[Sadly]

[i don’t get how assigning me a night shit and then an evening shift right after isa llowed]

She snorted at his typos, quickly sending a reply.

[A night shit?]

[tmi]

She waited for his answer, seeing him quickly start typing. She sipped her tea.

[you know damn well what I mean]

Immediately typing back, a small smile on her face.

[sorry sorry. Did you get some sleep?]

With bated breath she waited for him to start typing. She was surprised to get a picture instead.

He was in bed, lying on his side, sending a selfie. His hair tousled, eyes groggily looking towards her, shoulders bare while clutching a dark blue comforter. After a little search she could make out a hint of a black tank top strap.

He’d sent her a text immediately after.

[just woke up]

She quickly hit him back.

[I can see that]

[wanna grab coffee before I head out?]

She thought a little about his offer. She leant back against the couch, having just realized she had hunched over.

[sure!]

[what time do you start?]

She laid her phone back down to gather her things in the meantime. She set her mug in the sink, and looked for a snack in the fridge, settling on an energy bar.

She threw it in her bag, eyeing her phone for the time. 5.24 PM. Tiro had sent a text she’d check out later.

She was missing her keys, though. She did a quick scan of the room, then remembered having laid them on the headrest of her couch and she crouched next to it to see if she had accidentally dropped it then kicked it under.

She had.

She reached for her keys, at the same time noticing something else was next to it. She grabbed both, and sat upright to examine the mystery object.

It was a picture keychain that she was gifted years time ago going to an amusement park. It was a photo taken on a rollercoaster, a younger version of her obviously having the time of her life, the man sitting next to her... not so much.

Seeing him in the picture made a bit of hurt and nostalgia rise up in her chest. She had totally forgotten she had this. Had he kept it for her?

Angry buzzing from the coffee table pulled her out of her thoughts.

She quickly put the picture down and unlocked her phone.

[sorry, i was just asked to come in earlier]

[i start at 6]

[wanna grab breakfast/dinner instead?]

She knew he was gonna have to hurry if she agreed.

[you know what, sure]

[just don’t blame me when you get late]

[honeyrose-tea]

all the risky and really asks. -🌙

ok you asked for it, but be prepared, I'm hella boring lol

1. “@” people you want to be friends with

I know this is lame but I don't really have anyone? maybe on my old blog, but on this one I mostly just have old mutuals who I already consider myself friends with.

2. screenshot the tabs you have open

I won't do that to my camera roll bc there are at least 30 BUT I'll give you the highlights:

a hilarious music video by a boy from school, filmed in our dorm (and no, there's no context, he just made this for fun): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qaqk3PmQv20

this ring I want (which I can't afford lmao): https://www.dior.com/en_us/products/couture-JROC95024_0000-rose-dior-pre-catelan-ring-small-model-in-18k-pink-gold-and-amethyst

this wikipedia article: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_about_the_word_%22niggardly%22

multiple articles about sharks (I'm obsessed with sharks)

a lot of me searching for memes or vines which I just forgot to close lol

recipes for berry crisp (Dan's fav dessert), watermelon sorbet (one of dad's fav desserts), and creme brulee (something I wanna make)

reddit nosleeep

me trying (and failing) to find a free pdf of the DSM (manual for diagnosing mental disorders)

me trying to identify a bird from my backyard

the coca cola freestyle machine locator (I'm addicted to creme soda with peach flavoring)

this article: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theodysseyonline.com/10-chris-evans-movies-ranked-by-hotness.ampe

and finally, a tab of me searching for where to buy the unedited version of Anne Frank's diary (she was bi!!!)

3. the last text you sent to someone?

"lol" to my mom... srry I'm not more fun

4. do you have a nsfw blog?

I do not

5. i dare you to _____ 

can you give me a truth instead? lmao

6. screenshot the first page of your search history

I use an incognito browser...

7. tell an embarrassing memory or story

one time I walked into the mens room behind my dad bc I was so zoned out I forgot I couldn't follow him everywhere

8. how often do you take showers?

depends. if I've worked outside or something then I definitely take one right after. but on a daily basis? probably once a day or every other day, if I'm home. if I'm at school I try to take one at home on Sunday, one at school midweek (possibly two), and then one as soon as I get back on Friday. I hate showering at school bc we have community bathrooms and you have to wear flip flops. it's gross

9.  what was your first blog URL?

I honestly don't remember my first one but I know at one point toward the beginning I was called "frozenfloralpolaroids"

10. if you draw or write, show some of your really old work

I don't draw and I don't write recreationally, the only things I can think of are some pieces I wrote for school projects, which I probably don't have on hand. once again sorry I'm lame lol

1. if you had to hug anyone who would you hug

uhhhhh probably my sweet internet friend who we'll call M. he needs a hug and I feel like he would give good ones:)

2. whats your favorite flavor of ice cream?

depends on the mood! if I'm feeling fruity I'll go for like a cherry cordial or a strawberry milkshake or maybe even a fruit sorbet! but if it's like a rich desserty mood I like anything with peanut butter or caramel or chocolate (or all three!). tldr; if you give me ice cream I will eat it

3. whats your favorite color?

idk? being LGBTQ+ I feel like I have some license to just say "the rainbow" but. for the sake of answering, I guess purple. I like purple a lot.

4. if you have pets, what are their names?

my dog that passed a year or so ago was named Haley, after Haley's comet. we called her a beagle/hound mix but she was really just a mutt. I loved her a lot:(

my other dog (still living) is my best friend. her name is Izzy and she's a golden retriever, though I'm convinced she's actually an angel

I have 18 chickens! here are the five who are still remaining from our first flock:

Annalise/Anna, a buff orpington (golden colored) who's big and floofy. she's Loud and likes to let us know she's laid an egg by singing an "egg song", which basically means clucking loud enough that we can hear her inside our house

Rosie/Rosalinda/Rosa, a rhode island red (a dark auburn color) who is debatably the alpha. she's a people-lover, and the best one to let kids hold as she's very calm. she'll fall asleep in my arms. but don't let that trick you, she's still bossy with the other chickens and aggressive when it comes to food (but aren't we all?)

Marsha, a black chicken (can't think of the breed rn) who is hearty and medium-sized. she's calm and demure and she has pretty brown eyes:)

Elsie and Stella, easter egg chickens (smaller breed that lays pastel green eggs) who are named after my maternal grandmother and great-grandmother. their names fit the way their namesakes were- Elsie is a lighter brown color and quite shy and sweet, Stella is skinny and darker and mean. not mean, really, but she has taken to bullying our new chickens which we've been trying to get her to stop doing

now for the new babies! (who are almost adults now!)

Rory and Lorelai, barred rocks (black and white striped) who are named after the Gilmore Girls characters

Violet and Iris, lavender orpingtons (gray with a hint of purple) who are both very sweet and named after their color, of course

Molly and Edith, two more easter egg chickens who are named after two more of my ancestors!

Clarice and Clover, buff orpingtons (like Anna) who are both super shy and precious (unlike Anna)

Ora and Georgetta. Ora is a golden-laced wyandotte while Georgetta is silver-laced (basically, they're dark-colored except for the ends of their feathers, which have a colored detailing. also come in blue and red varieties). they're named after two of the old ladies at our former church

Josephine/Josie and Penelope/Penny, new hampshire reds (a little lighter than Rosie but same idea) who are both so cute. they have a bit of black in their tail feathers and are just so so pretty:)))

finally, our special girl Buttercup! Buttercup was an extra because we ordered our babies as hatchlings from an online store, and they said we could have an extra for free! Buttercup is pure white and she is such a chracter. she likes roosting up really high and has fun doing things she knows she's Not Supposed To Do. she's funny and I love her

5. do you like a warm bed or a cold bed?

cold! I lovvvve sleeping in the cold. I like having the room super cold and then cuddling up under my blankets bc........... I'm baby

6. whats a really good memory you have?

strangely, the first thing that popped into my head was sitting on a rooftop with T on a really nice night. I'm not sure why, as I don't think about him that often, but I guess that goes to show that you can still love the memories even if you don't love the person anymore

7. favorite song you cant stop listening to?

Sweet Life by Frank Ocean, and the entire EP "This Thing Called Living" by Eloise

8. do you drink water with or without ice in it?

with ice, unless it's a bottle from the fridge. I love cold water though, and will very rarely drink room temp

9. do you like to use correct grammar when you type or just type all lowercase?

both? I don't capitalize the beginnings of sentences, but I do capitalize proper nouns and use correct punctuation and all that. I just feel like it looks too stuffy when there's all those capital letters

10. whats something thats made you laugh recently?

I was at a restaurant tonight where the servers sing throughout the night (they're all trying to make it on Broadway) and one guy sang a love song directly to this girl and threw confetti on her, which was funny. other than that probably just like. memes

[hotpinklizard]

Hi! Do you take prompts? Maybe darcy/steve/bucky for something like "No one would suspect.."?

Thank you for the prompt! You can read it here on AO3.ExpectationsDarcy enjoys watching her boys shatter people’s expectations of them. People seem to expect Bucky and Steve to be angry old geezers, shaking their fists as they rant about the youth of America. So when a journalist asks in an interview if they just hate things like instant oatmeal and powdered hot chocolate, saying it’s not as good as how things used to be done, Steve says, “No! It saves a lot of time and it tastes good. I think it’s great.” Darcy saves a screenshot of the reporter’s dismayed face for a rainy day.

The current trend in media is the thirst for information about heroes’ private lives. Darcy, as part of the PR team for the Avengers, puts a moratorium on questions about their dating lives and families. Some of the reporters like to push boundaries, but most know that they aren’t going to get anywhere and stick to questions that only sometimes toe the line. Recently it’s been a surge in trying to get heroes’ political affiliations. Or get them to say something scandalous.

“Would you agree that modern TV and movies are boring because there’s too much emphasis on political correctness?” a reporter asks when Steve is just out trying to buy groceries.

“I love seeing different stories. Diversity isn’t a buzzword, it’s the reality of the world,” Steve says before going back to buying his tomatoes.

The reporter looks disappointed that Steve isn’t secretly a bigot. Darcy smirks when she sees the clip online. The only media coaching she had to give him for questions like that is to not call the person who asked any foul names.

That’s one of the reasons she’s with Steve in the first place. Steve is good. He doesn’t need to be told that people matter, he just knows. She’d dated a man in college who admitted that he didn’t know why he should care about others and she’d dipped out of there as fast as she could at 3:00 a.m. in floppy slippers.

Pepper reluctantly allows a Fox News reporter to attend a press conference at the tower, out of what Darcy has a suspicion is just morbid curiosity. The smarmy man asks Bucky if he likes how free speech and their politicians are being attacked. Bucky says, “Free speech is me not getting arrested for telling you you’re a goddamn asshole. Or calling the president a goddamn asshole.”

And that’s one of the reasons she’s with Bucky, too. He is all out of fucks to give and isn’t interested in searching for more. He’d spent so much time being forced to be someone else that now, now that he’s spent a lot of time in therapy and a lot of time figuring out what he wants, he’s unabashedly himself and refuses to change for anyone. She loves that.

Startled and irritated, the reporter changes tactics and asks Bucky and Steve their opinion about the conservative economic plans.

“You do know we were raised in the Great Depression, right?” Steve says, eyebrows raised. “Believe it or not, we don’t want to deal with that again.”

Emboldened by the other reporter, a local news reporter asks about LGBTQIA+ rights. Pepper steps in to put a stop to what she probably feels is an inquisition, but they’re way ahead of her.

“We’re all passionate about equality,” Tony says smoothly, but Bucky cuts off whatever he was going to say next.

“You know that being gay isn’t a new invention, right?” Bucky says, glaring hard. “Do you really think queer people weren’t around when we were growing up?”

“Is that how you identify?” the reporter asks quickly.

Darcy knows Bucky would easily say fuck yeah he is and fuck you, but he doesn’t. Steve isn’t ready for the three of them to be public, and there are enough rumors about his relationship with Bucky as it is. She doesn’t care if people know, Bucky doesn’t care if people know, but they care that Steve cares.

“No one’s sexuality is your damn business,” he says instead.

Pepper cuts in there, changing the topic to Tony, who happily takes the limelight off them. It’s not the best, Steve and Bucky aren’t fond of interviews or cameras in their faces, but it handle it well enough. More than that, the department that handles Avengers-related fan mail and threatening letters reports an uptick in letters from queer kids who feel more accepted knowing their heroes love them, so that’s good.

People also seem to expect Steve and Bucky to only enjoy old man activities, like golf and talking about the war, as if they’re just younger version of everyone’s grandparents, or serious shit like cleaning their knives and shield all day. They’d be shocked to know that they like watching snowboarding and eating shitty take out and playing video games. Steve is a wild man at any racing game and Bucky is an absolute wild man at Mario Party.

Not a damn person would believe her if she told them the former Winter Solider knitted her a sweater when she complained she couldn’t find one in the purple that she liked. They wouldn’t believe Steve is an avid Parks and Recreation fan. Not a soul would believe that when she took them to an adult store for the first time ever, it was Steve and Bucky that mostly filled the basket with all kinds of adventurous things they want to try, Darcy just adding a couple bottles of lube and condoms.

Darcy is lounging in bed, wearing leggings and the oversized purple sweater from Bucky and flipping through news articles on her phone. Bucky’s lying next to her on his stomach, face buried in his pillow, arm slung over her waist. There’s a soft beep letting them know someone (Steve) has entered the code to their apartment, and a few moments later, Steve is faceplanting into bed next to Bucky, groaning.

“Long morning?” Darcy asks, looking up from her phone. Steve just groans again, flipping off Bucky when he laughs.

“Why do you guys get a mid-day nap and I had to be Pepper’s show pony all morning?” Steve asks.

“You love when the kids visit,” Darcy says. It’s true, Steve always makes sure to be available when the schoolkids have their tours of Stark Tower.

“Yeah, but their parents…”

Yeah, okay, that’s fair. There’s always at least one chaperone that thinks she (or he) can make Captain America fall in love with them in a single afternoon. Darcy’d had to rescue him last year when a particularly forward husband and wife had tried to entice him to come home with them. Darcy had invented a fake emergency (Code Periwinkle for fake emergencies and quick getaways from social situations) and hustled him out, trying to look very serious and not at all amused.

“It’s your turn next time,” Steve says, turning his head to look at Bucky. “The kids love you.”

“They try to hang from my metal arm like a jungle gym,” Bucky grumbles, squinting an eye open to look at Steve.

“You love that,” Darcy says, nudging her toes against his thigh. He reaches behind him, grabbing at her ankle and tugging her toward him. She shrieks out a laugh, rolling with the movement until she’s lying on his back. Steve snorts at them, rolling to his side.

“Only when it’s you, doll,” he says.

“Liar,” she says, grinning. She presses a kiss to the back of his neck before Steve pulls her by the wrist until she’s squished between them.

“Nap now, jungle gym later,” he says, throwing an arm over her waist, his fingers resting on Bucky’s back.

“This is dumb,” she says, face pressed against his chest. “Why are we all squished on one half of the bed when there’s a whole empty side?”

“Because Bucky isn’t moving,” Bucky says, eyes closed again. Steve kicks at Bucky’s legs until he gives in with a grumble, rolling over until there’s enough room for them all to lie comfortably (it’s a California king mattress, really the only option when there are two sets of shoulders like Steve and Bucky’s).

The only expectations people have of the two of them that Darcy doesn’t want rocked are related to the battlefield. Everyone assumes Captain America and the former Winter Soldier will always be victorious. They’ll watch, follow the news with wide, fearful eyes, but they always believe the two of them will come out on top.

Darcy is good with everyone having that expectation. It’s probably unhealthy, but she clings to that when they’re out on some mission and she doesn’t know if they’ll be back. She holds onto the country’s collective belief that Steve and Bucky are invincible, her breath held as she watches them battle aliens or robots or other enhanced baddies in the street.

She knows they’re strong, she knows they know what they’re doing, but she worries. It’s in her nature, she’s a worrier. She hides it well most of the time, shielding herself with bravado and sarcastic quips, but something in her heart still clenches when she sees one of them take a hit, even if they stand back up almost immediately. She knows they’re doing what they believe in, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch. The only thing worse is not watching.

She never really considered their worry for her. They’re protective, but careful not to be overbearing so she honestly doesn’t think too much about it. But then she’s downtown, walking to get coffee when the ground shakes. She doesn’t know what’s going on, only that what looks like small robots are flying around above the city, dropping small bomb on the city.

“Shit!” she says, turning on her heel and running toward the closest alley, looking for any kind of cover. “Shit, shit, shit…”

An explosion in front of her knocks down part of a wall in the alley, and a second later there’s a pained yowl. Trapped with a pile of bricks on its back leg in a dirty black cat, eyes wide in pain and fear and damn it, she can’t just leave it.

It takes a few moments but she gets the cat’s leg out from under the bricks, scooping it up and holding it close to her chest as she runs. She’s not immediately clawed to death, which she’s grateful for, but also probably means the cat’s in shock.

There’s a small alcove farther down that used to be a loading zone for delivery trucks. She ducks behind the bricks right when one of the little robot bombs drops. She screams, can’t help it, as part of the balcony above her collapses, dropping in front of her and trapping her in the brick alcove with a mass of concrete and rubble in front of her.

“Okay, okay,” she mutters, trying to pull her phone out of her bag with one hand, the other cradling the cat that’s begun to shake in earnest. “It’s okay, kitty, we got this. Fuck, no service, we don’t got this.”

No, this is fine, this is totally fine. The explosions are already moving away, like they’re going for as much chaos as possible, not targeting anyone specific, so she doubts anything will be back to finish her off. Still, she’s trapped with an injured cat and no one has any idea where she is. If her phone doesn’t have service, they can’t track her, right? If they even realize she’s missing. It’s the middle of the work day, would anyone expect her to be here? Would they think to look?

She’s expecting a very long wait for rescue, if one comes at all. She’s sitting down with her back against the wall, the cat calmer now that Darcy’s wrapped it in her jacket. There’s no name tag, so Darcy’s decided it’s now Florence. She has no idea if it’s a boy or girl cat, but it’s Florence now, and she’s going to get Florence out of this, damn it.

It’s nearing hour two of being trapped and she’s starting to get antsy, when there’s shifting of the rubble. She scrambles to her feet, holding Florence tightly, and shrinks back into the corner, trying to avoid anything falling on her.

It’s not the building collapsing, though. The concrete blocking her in is ripped away and there’s Bucky, breathing heavily on the other side, his eyes wide and fearful.

“Oh thank fuck,” Darcy breathes.

She dashes out of the alcove and throws herself into his arms, Florence hissing indignantly between them. Bucky lifts her easily, moving her away from the rubble and a bit farther down the alley so they’re not next to a building that’s probably a stiff breeze away from collapsing.

“Bucky,” she says when he sets her back on her feet, taking her face in both his hands. He still looks panicked, eyes roving over her for any sign of injury, pausing at the bloody scrapes on her arm, the rips in the knees of her pants.

“You didn’t come back,” he says roughly.

“What?”

“You were out - coffee run - you didn’t come back. Then we saw…” He can’t seem to finish, words failing him. Then he’s kissing her roughly, like he never thought he’d be able to again. She wraps her free arm around him, kissing him back just as hard because she gets it, she really does. She does the exact same thing when they come back after a battle, dirty and exhausted and a little bloodier than she’d like.

There are loud footsteps and Bucky pulls away to look, ready to pull a gun, but it’s Steve. He’s in his Captain America uniform, covered in dirt, and he looks as frantic as Bucky.

“You found her,” he says, then he’s running toward them. Bucky carefully takes Florence from Darcy and just in time, because Steve isn’t slowing down. He grabs Darcy around the waist and yanks her to him, holding her tightly.

“I’m okay,” she says, hugging him back. “I’m fine, Steve.”

It’s true, even. Sure, she’s probably going to shake and have a mild meltdown as soon as she’s home and has a chance to change and clean up, but for right now she’s okay.

Then Steve’s kissing her, and that shocks the hell out of her more than anything else. Steve isn’t embarrassed of their relationship, not at all, but he’s very private and never kisses her or Bucky when they’re out. She kisses back, obviously, because he’s her boyfriend and she loves it, but her mind is racing.

She learns later that she was in the background of a shaky cell phone video that the news was playing while they waited for more information, and Steve and Bucky had flown into a frenzy.

“We thought we lost you,” Steve murmurs against her lips, bending down to rest his forehead against hers.

Bucky steps up behind her, crowding in and holding her as best he can with a cat in one arm. Darcy keeps one arm around Steve, her other hand coming up to rest on Bucky’s arm, letting them both know she’s here and safe. Then Steve is raising his head, kissing Bucky and yeah, that’s new, too. Not the kiss, but in public. Steve, who longs to keep his private life out of the public view, has just kissed both of them in broad daylight with lots of people around.

“Steve, there are people,” Bucky says softly. He doesn’t care one bit, proud as hell about his partners, but Steve cares.

“It doesn’t matter,” Steve says, gripping both of them tightly. “I don’t care. I needed you both here and okay.”

The sound of sirens is getting closer and Darcy expects to be handed off to a paramedic while they get back to rescue duty, but she’s surprised again when Steve easily lifts her into his arms, making her squeak at the sudden movement.

“Not still on duty?” she asks.

“No,” Steve says, kissing her cheek and starting down the alley away from the crowds of people and paramedics. “The others have it handled.”

Darcy looks over Steve’s shoulder to see Bucky following them, Florence looking happy as a clam to be in his arm. There’s a news crew behind them and Darcy turns back around, not wanting to deal with that right now.

Steve and Bucky are both clingy for the rest of the day, not letting her far out of their sight. The only time Bucky is away from her for longer than ten minutes is when he brings Florence to the emergency vet. He comes back with news that Florence is a boy, not microchipped, and is very high on pain pills, his leg in a little cast. Steve halfheartedly suggests bringing him to a shelter, but Bucky and Darcy glare and it isn’t brought up again.

The next day, when cleanup is well underway, Darcy and Bucky are sitting on the couch in the living room, Florence sprawled with his head on Darcy’s thigh, the rest of his body on Bucky’s. The press conference is about to start, but she’s taking a day off so she doesn’t have to be there, and if she doesn’t, Bucky sure isn’t going. Steve had rolled his eyes at both of them, but went anyway. Such a responsible adult.

The first few questions are standard. What attacked the city? Are there any new threats on the horizon? Who’s paying for cleanup? Are there any team injuries?

Then come the questions they’ve been waiting for. Yes, Steve tells them he’s dating the woman he was photographed kissing. Yes, also Bucky. Yes, they’re all together. No, he isn’t going to be giving any more details than that.

“I’m sure the world is shocked that Captain America has not only a girlfriend but a boyfriend as well!” a reporter says, nudging for him to spill more.

“Captain America is symbol. But I’m Steve Rogers, and I’m just a man,” Steve says. “And I love my partners.”(A/N If you come to my comments just to say “queer is a slur11!1!1!”, I’m cursing you with a thousand bee stings.)