#i know i posted this last year or something with the caption: miles ‘i didn’t kick in the womb bc i’d never hit a woman’ morales

[milimeters-morales]

more proof that miles is team #supportwomenswrongs

[zairene]

earth 42! miles morales as a streamer headcanons

warnings: none but fluff

a/n: aight had to whip this out of the drafts since my LAST miles post got a community label. + i wasn’t too proud of it anyways so i just took it down. </3 i’ll probably put it back up once i try to figure out what’s wrong w it though.

miles would most definitely be a gaming and music reaction streamer. he would always be up to date with the newest games but let brent faiyaz drop a new album or something, and he gets RIGHT on it!

you would expect majority of his audience to be girls because of his good looks and nice personality, however he seems to be more appealing to guys since he rages on the games he plays quite a lot. (he is not very fond of mercy players on overwatch and hates winston mains with a passion.)

he has a pretty big fanbase, ranging from around 800k-1M followers on twitch and 500k subscribers on his twitch highlights channel. and the only reason why his following got this huge in only a year’s span is because he went viral on tiktok because of him raging at a game and then his sound became a trend. now most audios on tiktok are from his streams, and honestly he finds it hilarious.

now miles is really private about his life outside of streaming. he’ll answer the basic questions about his age, his race/ethnicity, how many siblings he has and etc. but anything about his relationship status or anything was kept strictly confidential.

that was until one day you walked in his room while streaming. it was a normal stream, he was just talking to chat and answering questions per usual. you had brought him some food since he had since you some money via cash app to do so. you didn’t know he was streaming so you just came and hugged him, even giving him a kiss, and then handed him his food. you didn’t even pay attention to the stream and kept going with your business. he had got so caught up in the moment he hadn’t realized that he was still streaming and his chat was going crazy.

he was shocked to say at the least but he wasn’t mad at you or anything. he was more mad at his chat for trying to spit game at you even though they had saw the whole ordeal. once you were informed that you were dating the miles morales, your social medias, that were once very private, started blowing up with notifications asking you about your relationship with miles.

miles took this opportunity to properly introduce you on his instagram story. about two weeks after the situation happened, he posted a picture with you and him for your 6th month anniversary. the caption saying, “happy 6th month anniversary to my beautiful girlfriend. te amo tanto. <3 @[yourusername]”

and so the news was out. from this point forward, you started to pop up in the streams a little more often and you started to grow this special little friendship with his fanbase. you once just came into his room because you wanted a hug and the entire chat was filled with “AWWW!!! YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE!!” and “mbn.. 😔💔”s. now not EVERYONE was happy with this situation and some people spread hate comments here and there but because of the overwhelming support of your relationship, miles barely noticed it. the only thing he had on his mind was you and his career.

TAGLIST :: @kisamekiss @kazuminari @planetlunaa @mypimpademia @megurulvr @dreampurpledreams @chinieh @naijagrl @looking4chanel @pixieplush17 @jogeto @laylasbunbunny @jamies-cumslut @sapphicshav @banqnaz @edgyficuselastica

TAGLIST FORM

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Blast from the past: Royal Ascot 2018 when Meghan once again showed that she has no manners by u/Mickleborough

Blast from the past: Royal Ascot 2018, when Meghan once again showed that she has no manners As Ascot week has begun, let’s look back at Meghan’s last, and only appearance, at Royal Ascot in 2018.(Ascot is a racecourse in Berkshire, about 25 miles / 40 kilometres from London. For 5 days of the year, it becomes Royal Ascot, when - you got it - Royalty appears, in horse-drawn carriages. During Royal Ascot, Royalty hangs out in the Royal Enclosure, which has a strict dress code - plebs are permitted entry on application. The late Queen was very fond of Ascot and raced her horses there.)About a month after her spectacle, I mean wedding, Meghan attended Royal Ascot in June 2018.https://ift.tt/1vKQSu2 on, I thought M3GAN came out in 2022?The Daily Mail laid it on with a trowel.https://ift.tt/wyOAGsl the by-line - Rebecca English is now, rightly, quite outspoken against Meghan. (Interestingly comments on the article even so soon after the spectacle, I mean wedding, weren’t flattering. A selection.)https://ift.tt/hmRHi9q dress was inoffensive, but something about it bothered me even then.https://ift.tt/8nuHkqb it’s hit me: Royal Ascot is quite formal - men are required to wear morning suits in the Royal Enclosure. And although Meghan met the dress code (skirt just above or below knee, no bare shoulders, hat), her shirt dress (with its inappropriate handkerchief hem) looks quite informal when contrasted with Harry’s traditional striped trousers, waistcoat, tailcoat, and top hat.This is how you dress for Royal Ascot:https://ift.tt/hF7f6mz above caption of course should have referred to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - jumped the gun by 3 years.)However, I didn’t know about this until I looked up Meghan and Ascot before this post:https://ift.tt/dquG45h from the other person being a reigning monarch, doesn’t Meghan have some basic notion of politeness, like eldest (and, in the late Queen’s case, betters) first, and not turning your back onto someone speaking to you?It’s interesting that a sycophantic magazine such as Hello! picked up on this - I don’t think other publications did (but I haven’t checked).One does wonder whether Meghan was brought up, or dragged up. post link: https://ift.tt/fWYx13Z author: Mickleborough submitted: June 18, 2024 at 11:47PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[misskattylashes]

Okay, so…..to add to my theory that all is not well in the state of Alex and Louise and their ‘cute’ TM relationship.

This is a collation of her posts from this year’s leg of The Car Tour (I hasten to add there were none at all last year for the South American leg, or the Australian leg this year.)

So we start with Tokyo (top left). Louise, subtle as a brick as usual, poses in Alex’s blue Lacoste top and a pair of oversized sunglasses with a caption saying she is going somewhere she has always wanted to go and the poster behind is a clue. It is a Japanese poster. Then once she was there, we had stories of her trip there, asking for recommendations of places to go.

Next comes Paris. On both days she posted her outfits of the day on her stories, along with photos of her and her dad, and the band performing on stage with the obligatory ‘Mon amour’. Then of course we get the post of her adventures at the Paris gig, along with the polaroid of her and Alex (conveniently posted on the day the internet went cray cray at the leaked picture of Milex at the Scott Walker gig)

London….well she really went to town with London. On the day after Miles posts himself on the Eurostar saying he was ‘coming home to you London’, and two turtle emojis, Pauline posts a picture of a hand hanging out of a car, saying she was getting the Eurostar treatment. We then get endless stories, one of which is her in the bath watching the film ‘Ice Cold in Alex’ (I shit you not), then her outfit of the day blah blah blah. Then of course we get the infamous post with the bed and her holding Alex’s jacket (one he stopped wearing a year ago – hardly the brown Celine Milex jacket)

But something weird happens with Glastonbury. She posted stories about going there. But she only posted one of her outfit, then…radio silence. Then we have Alex’s weird behaviour on stage with the Frank Sinatra song Don’t Worry About Me (about dumping someone) and the mystery of why Rosie, Miles’ manager was backstage with the Monkeys, and yet Miles never appeared.

Then Pauline posts her Glastonbury stories. No mention of Alex. All mentions of Alex restricted in the comments. The photos are all of her having fun with everyone except her ‘boyfriend’

Rome... We had no outfit of the day, just a photo of her at the gig taken by a fan. Then the next day she posts a professionally shot video of her running to side stage to watch the band. Shortly after that, we have a post about Rome with one minor mention of Alex in her caption. But no photo taken with him.

Then we have the ‘holiday’ snaps, when the world finally got to see that the ‘cute’ couple look awkward around each other, and that the whole shoot was prearranged with a paparazzi agency. Then of course, there is a picture of Alex coming home to London two days afterwards - even though Louise was still in Italy - and even more interesting, two days before the release of his buddy’s fifth album!!

So, we finally come to the US. Since the Monkeys went to the US, she went to stay with Amanda in LA. Then the week they were due to play New York, she flew to NY, making sure she takes pictures of herself doing stuff. Even though the Monkeys were in Canada. Then we get to the gigs last weekend. No stories from her. No outfit of the day. I didn’t even know she had gone to the gig until someone pointed out to me that one of her friends had posted a video of her there with Amanda (of course). She is dressed down, looking like a regular concert goer. Not a rock star’s girlfriend. She went to the infamous pool party but never posted about it. But the girl who did post it made it seem she spent most of the evening with her, chatting – despite her ‘boyfriend’ being there chatting to various ‘ladieeess’. Added to that the ‘distant’ pictures of them walking along, which claim to have been taken by every person in New York on that day.

I think we are being prepared for the breakup. If the theory is to be believed that she is a beard with a five year contract, well they were officially announced as a couple in mid September 2018, so the time is probably almost up.

I mean in all fairness it could just be that she has been told to stop making such a big deal of it because it looks like a publicity stunt (ahem) but there is also the fact that she is pretty much absent from social media. Except the other week when Miles was doing his gigs and posting a lot, we had a few posts from her with pretty pointless things.

So, I don’t know. Are they heading for a breakup and this is the publicity people’s way of preparing the fangirls for the worst? Or do they just have a really weird and distant relationship? One that involves interacting as little as possible?

[arcanadreams]

That time you and your demon boyfriend went viral

hi yes hello obey me fandom!! my name is Gabbi and i have never played a single second of the actual game but i have read enough fanon content for the past year to have this idea swimming around in my head and now i am finally letting this accursed thing out of my brain and putting it in yours

also i’m only doing the brothers because any more than that and i’d have an aneurysm probably. oh and shoutout to @obeythebutler and @beels-burger-babe for inspiring me with their works to feel brave enough to write for this fandom

Lucifer:

You and Lucifer go viral on Asmo’s Devilgram story!

You’re in the kitchen helping Asmo with dinner duty and singing along to one of your playlists of human realm music that you like to show him.

Asmo starts filming your cute little dance while you stir the pot on the stove because you are just adorable!

About ten seconds into him filming, Lucifer appears in the doorway with quite the stern look on his face. You know, the one that comes right before a “MAMMOOOOOON” and strikes fear into the heart of all those with functioning eardrums. That one.

He opens his mouth, presumably to tell y’all to shut the fuck up, but then there’s a lull in the music and the eldest can hear your voice ever so slightly above the song’s vocalist and he freezes.

Man stops in his tracks like someone just smacked him in the face with a midair volleyball.

Asmo can be heard stifling a laugh behind his phone.

Lucifer’s face gets so soft and he almost, almost, loosens his metal-rod-through-the-ass posture before you notice him and give a little wave and ask if you and Asmo were being too loud like the considerate darling you are.

Lucifer clears and his throat and says something like, “No, you aren’t. I was just coming to check on how dinner is coming along,” and leaves, after which Asmo immediately presses the post button.

Screenshots of Lucifer’s heart eyes for you go absolutely viral because every demon on Devilgram goes absolutely feral for seeing the eldest demon brother lose his dignified composure. It becomes a meme template. “Get you someone who looks at you like Lucifer looks at MC” and “me at the delivery demon when he shows up with my spicy bat wings” posts become commonplace. (Asmo thinks the memes are totally worth getting strung up with Mammon for laughing at them.)

Mammon:

Much like Lucifer, you and Mammon end up going viral off Asmo’s Devilgram. (Noticing a pattern here?) 

He pulls a silly prank on your asses and honestly I don’t know how you fell for it. But hey, they say “idiots in love” for a reason, so...

You and Asmo are sitting in the common room of the House of Lamentation just chillin. Well, he’s chillin, you’re on the floor studying for an upcoming exam.

The video starts in the middle of a conversation you and the avatar of lust were having.

“No, Asmo,” you say. “Mammon and I don’t use pet names for each other.” Now that’s just a darn lie, and every demon and crow within ten miles of Mammon and you together knows it.

“Really? I find that very hard to believe, MC.~” 

You sigh in response to Asmo’s teasing. “Okay, he has a lot for me but I’m just not much of a pet name person, y’know?” The rest of the exchange goes like this:

“Oh, I totally get it.” *pause* “Hey MC, what do human world bees make again?”

“Honey.”

Cue a sheepish Mammon sticking his head in the doorway at the bluntness of your tone when you answered Asmo.

“Yeah, babe?” he looks like a puppy left on the side of a highway oh my god hUG HIM-

Asmo turns the camera back to his smug ass face and in the background you can be heard tripping on the damn carpet trying to get up and hug your mans. (”MAMMON GET OVER HERE SO I CAN HUG YOU” “W-WHAT? I THOUGHT YA WERE MAD AT ME?!?!?!?!”)

Leviathan:

Streamer Levi? Streamer Levi.

You guys go viral the first time you make an appearance on one of Levi’s weekly (insert cool Devildom streaming service name here) streams. 

It’s completely unintentional. You had been asking him for weeks to play with him on there, but he’s the avatar of envy after all. He doesn’t like sharing his partner, even if it’s with random strangers who have no real access to you.

However, he has his stream on a Thursday instead of a Friday one week, and you come into his room carrying dinner because 1) You didn’t realize he was streaming and 2) No matter what he was doing, the boy needed to eat. It wasn’t unusual for you to bring him dinner, so you had no idea why he was blushing and stammering even more than usual this time in particular. Boy was speaking in beached whale trying to tell you what was wrong.

Then you notice his screen. Oh! “Hi chat!” You wave, setting Levi’s food down on his desk in front of his keyboard. “M-MC!” He full-on whines, slamming a hand over his mouth afterwards when he remembers his viewers could hear that.

Honestly, they’d meme the fuck out of him if it weren’t for the fact that they are FINALLY SEEING HIS HENRY!!! THE MYSTERIOUS MC!!!

Chat is bombarding you with questions while you make Levi eat dinner. And by make him eat dinner, I mean literally feeding this man forkfuls/spoonfuls while he games because you love how flustered he gets when you do that. 

Does it impact his score? Absolutely. Does he care? Not really when you’re pampering him like that.

You start answering chat’s questions about you while he’s chewing so he can’t tell you to stop LMAO-

You’re a natural on stream. The VOD becomes the most popular on Levi’s account in a matter of hours and soon cute highlights compilations of you and him on that stream start making the rounds on Devildom Twitter.

Satan:

There was buildup to Satan going viral, similar to Levi in a way. 

Satan does have a Devilgram, but it’s basically a white woman’s Instagram with added book reviews for variety. Unless you’re a reader his account is pretty boring: candles, books, fireplaces, and cats.

However, after you two started reading together fairly often he began posting pictures of your legs draped over his while you sat together. They’d always be captioned with vague ass pretentious literary criticism. 

This goes on for months, and he gains a lot of (horny) followers after the leg pics start up. He doesn’t really get why but you both joke that it’s because you have some damn nice legs and I mean neither of you are complaining about the new following.

You two go viral when he finally shows your face, entirely by accident.

The post is a video, which is already strange for him and grabs attention. In it, you’re scoffing and reading an excerpt of a book, mocking its understanding of female anatomy.

“I’m quoting here, Satan: ‘her breasts bouncing around like giant pacmen.’ I’M SORRY?? THAT ISN’T HOW BOOBS WORK SIR. WHY ARE MEN ALLOWED TO WRITE?” 

(fun fact that is a very real quote from a very real book I really read last month pls save me)

Originally the camera is focused on your body, with your head out of frame to protect your privacy, but your righteous anger made Satan laugh. Like, a real laugh. The one that makes you and everyone in earshot wonder if he truly was never an angel cause he sure as hell laughs like one but anyway-

When he threw his head back, his DDD angled up just a tad without him noticing, and your face was in view for like .2 seconds. Screenshots of it are making the rounds on Devilgram almost immediately: FINALLY THE LEGS’ OWNER HAS BEEN FOUND.

Satan apologizes profusely but you honestly find it funny and you two opt to just start taking selfies while reading with both of your faces in them from now on. 

Asmodeus:

I’m gonna be real with you: you and Asmo go viral all the time. Pretty much everything Asmo posts can be considered viral because of his social media following and his status as one of the seven avatars of sin.

However, there are some fairly cute highlights to be pointed out among the times you were both featured in a post that blew up.

Your favorite is probably that time Asmo livestreamed on of you guys’ ‘Nail Nites,’ as you call them.

You’re both on the floor, doing your nails and kicking your feet back and forth while talking to chat. A lot of the questions are about your relationship, and there’s a lot of flirting back and forth between the two of you.

A particular clip of the stream does blow the fuck up on Devilgram, though, when someone screen records it and posts it with a bunch of heart emojis edited over it.

“’What colors do you think best describe each other?’ Ooo, that’s a good one, chat!” Asmo claps his hands together excitedly, making sure to be  careful of his nails.

Pretty much everyone expected you to say pink, but you surprised both your boyfriend and your viewers when, after a pensive few moments, you replied with “Hmm...probably yellow or orange.”

“Can I ask why, darling?” Asmo tilts his head in confusion. I mean, yeah, those colors look good on him, but he doesn’t wear them often so he’s wondering about your thought process. 

“Well, in the human world those colors often represent happiness, optimism, and positivity. You’re always the cheerful presence I need in my life when things get hard, so you have the vibe of those colors.”

Asmo proceeds to burst into tears and hug you, messing up both of your nails and prolonging the stream since you both have to start over. But neither of you particularly care. 

Fun fact: Asmo has the clip that demon made of that portion of the stream saved on his DDD and watches it whenever he feels sad.

Beelzebub:

Beel and you probably go the most viral out of everybody. Like this moment is an entire phenomenon across the Devildom internet. 

It’s a video, or well, multiple videos, taken at the end of a Fangol game that Beel’s team had just won. Everyone is cheering and going crazy, yourself included, and you just really wanted to congratulate your boyfriend.

So, like the rational person you are, you elect to climb up onto the railing of the bleachers and wave to get his attention. 

You were absolutely fine up there, and sat all comfortably motioning Beel over to you. He notices, of course, and jogs over, standing right beneath you and looking up. (Back where you were sitting, Mammon is screeching like a hyena in heat and Belphie, who is laying down, has one eye open to glare at him. The youngest knows Beel would never let you hurt yourself; you’re fine.)

A bunch of assorted demons at the game has started filming while you were sat atop the railing since you were rather noticeable. Therefore, there’s a shit ton of different angles of the adorable events that follow:

You slide off the railing, landing right in Beel’s waiting arms bridal style. You’ve got this brilliant smile on your face as you pull his helmet off. None of the DDDs filming can hear it over the crowd noise, but Beel asks you why you just went through all that trouble and you tell him it’s because you wanted to tell him how proud you are.

Soft boy’s chest puffs up and he smiles this big cheesy smile at you reach up to run a hand through his hair. You feel him practically purr at the contact, and with a laugh you pull him in and plant a big ole smooch on him.

The crowd, at least those of them that can see, scream. Everyone is running high on adrenaline and happy emotions; something that cute causes a ruckus!! When you pull away Beel proceeds to put you on his shoulders and you celebrate with him and the rest of his team.

The videos of you two being adorable go completely viral and there are some threads dedicated to stockpiling every single angle taken of the event. Beel is completely oblivious to the attention but you have a lot of them saved on your DDD.

Belphegor:

If you think Belphegor has any sort of social media presence whatsoever then you are sorely mistaken. (Well okay he actually does run some anonymous troll accounts to meme on Lucifer’s posts but that’s neither here nor there-)

Therefore, naturally, you two go viral off of Asmo’s Devilgram. 

Okay so someone in the obey me tag the other say headcanoned that Belphie will go out of his way to nap in ridiculous places and my brain really took that and RAN WITH IT.

So what happens is that Belphie will fall asleep in the fucking weirdest places. I’m talking on top of the fridge, underneath the dinner table, on top of bookshelves...you name it, he has slept there, no matter the effort it takes to get there in the first place. 

And, ever since you two started dating, you would join him. Sometimes it involved putting yourself at risk of great bodily harm, but the little smile he gave when you he saw you fucking scaling the countertop to reach him made it worth it.

So anyway, since Beel adores the both of you to no end, he takes pictures whenever he sees you two napping together, whether or not it is in a crazy place. He sends these to the family group chat because he thinks they’re adorable.

Over a span of weeks to months, Asmo has built up a stock of images of you and Belphie cuddles up in seemingly impossible places. Once he has about ten or so, he posts a compilation of them to his Devilgram with some cheesy ass caption like “The things we do for love <3″.

They become a meme SO QUICKLY. Like UNBELIEVABLY quickly. 

The picture of you and Belphie sleeping on top of a bookshelf, in particular, is a big hit. Memes abound.

“If my girl doesn’t climb up a bookshelf to cuddle my ass, she don’t love me.” “Get yourself a partner who scales bookshelves just to be with your ass.” Etc etc...Belphie doesn’t give a shit but you laugh at a lot of them so he sees that as a good outcome.

[daydreamingleclerc]

pictures of mick schumacher that give off ✨intense✨ boyfriend energy

first up we have this bad boy <3 it just gives me major domestic boyfriend!mick vibes, taking the dogs out at 6am for dog walks in the autumn, days out in the winter. soft bf energy is so intense, i love it 🤍

second is this one <3 it just looks like the kinda photo he’d send you when you’ve said you’ve had a really bad day. i looooooove it

next up - this motherfucker <3 prema mick is the ultimate boyfriend. this seems like the kinda photo that would be taken after he’d just won a race and would come straight up to you and i love it

i have multiple pictures to fill out a mick and angie saga and this one is the first <3 he’s just such a boyfriend when he’s around angie the vibes are just immaculate she brings out the softest part of him i love it

wet. mick. he’s in an oodie. he’s just fetched angie from the river (lake? i don’t know what it is) this is the ultimate soft picture. i love it. i love him. i hope the excessive amount of full stops expresses said love

BOYFRIEND MICK IN A HOODIE. waaaaaaaaaaaaa. i legit just love men in hoodies it’s so slutty. looks like the kinda hoodie he’d let you borrow when you’re watching a drive in movie in the late summer in his convertible (does he have a convertible? he does now) & you get cold and he’ll let you wear it and it’s forever yours now he’s never getting it back

this gives cheeky boyfriend mick vibes. the kinda bf who purposely does stupid & silly things for your insta story or tiktok’s because he knows it makes you smile & your smile is the most important thing in his life. i love it and i want it forever imprinted on my brain

this gives “the member of your family who was getting married let you bring mick to the wedding last minute and he didn’t have time to buy a suit” vibes (or something along those lines, idk). he comes to the wedding and ur whole family are so in love with him and the added detail of his suit matching the colour of ur dress is just so perfect and he’s just so happy and it makes everyone swoon

last up in the mick x angie saga we have this pic. it’s giving christmas afternoon walk. it’s giving new year’s day hungover gf / right as rain bf “i need to cleanse you of your hangover so let’s go on a long, six mile walk” it’s the kinda post you’d put on your insta story with some soppy cute little caption that makes everyone go “awwwwww”

last but not lease we have this pic <3 just gives me intense jet lagged bf!mick vibes. like he’s just got off the plane to whichever country the next race is in and he’s so tired but he sends you a selfie to let you know he’s okay and he got there safe and he loves you and he’ll speak to you when you wake up in the morning 🤍

[puppypeter]

✨ All fics are complete! ✨

He Loves Me Cause I’m Cute, He Thinks I’m Pretty Funny | 2588 words 📱

He watches it back one more time after it posts, checking for typos in his subtitles and captions, and has to laugh again.

Steve fucking Rogers? His brain thought he could pull Captain America, literal superhero and America’s favorite sweetheart?

“Hello I’m a 35 year old amputee living in New York and I think that I could get Steve Rogers.”

OR

the one where bucky posts a tiktok and steve is utterly smitten.

Summer Slipped Us Underneath Her Tongue | 10712 words 🧳

Bucky is a tour guide who enjoys sharing the rich history and culture of each city they pass through with a bunch of early-20's college students who just want to know the cheapest place to get drunk.

Except for Steve, who asks Bucky for a personal tour around his hometown.

The rest is, as they say, history.

You Make My Heart Skip A Beet | 3853 words 🧑🏼‍🍳

“I made soda bread.” Steve lets out the 6’2” supersoldier equivalent of a squeak. “Oh, I love soda bread,” he says eagerly, rolling forward on the balls of his feet like he does when he gets excited. “My mom used to make it all the time when I was growing up.” The tips of Barnes’s ears turn red, and he mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, “I know.”

Ollie Meets Bagel | 5517 words 🥯

He was a skater boy, Steve said let's get bagels, boy.

Steve wants to start doing this twenty-first century thing properly. He gets help in the form of skateboarding, skateboarders, bagels, and Sam Wilson.

Taxi | 5113 words 🚕

Bucky Barnes was, he hoped, a good taxi driver.

He's so good, he actually tries to return lost property that ends up left in his car and... well. It has some unexpected consequences involving a National Icon.

Enough said.

Leg Day | 12157 words 🏋️‍♂️

“So talk to him,” Sam says.

“I can’t,” Bucky groans. “I can’t, Sam, I. He just.” He fluffs his hair up and stares at Sam, distraught. “I want him to bench press me.”

“Okay, so it’s serious,” Sam interprets. “Got it."

(Or: The one where Sam is Bucky's long-suffering roommate, Bucky is a hot mess of a millennial, and Hot Steve spends far too much time on the Lat Pull-Down machine.)

Love In Aisle Four | 2127 words 🛍️

When Bucky needs to swing by the supermarket after a long, hard day of work, the last thing he expects is to meet a cute grocery clerk named Steve…

Coming Up Easy | 45515 words ✍🏻

“Listen, I was just thinking,” Steve says, his face open, eyebrows raised in a tentatively hopeful expression. “Why don’t you come stay at my place for a while? I’ve got an office that I barely use, and a change of scenery might do you good, right? Help you beat that writer’s block?” With a crooked smile, he adds, “I promise I’m not a serial killer.”

While Bucky would normally crack a joke about how that’s exactly what a serial killer would say, right now, all he can do is blink at Steve in surprise, heart tripping over itself in his chest. Steve wants him to come and stay at his place. In Massachusetts. Just the two of them.

"Oh," Bucky croaks. "I- Wow."

“I mean, no pressure,” Steve says hastily. “Totally fine if you don’t wanna. I just thought I’d offer, in case it might help, y’know?”

“Yeah.” Bucky ignores the little voice in his head that sounds an awful lot Nat and Becca, telling him he’s setting himself up for heartbreak. “I mean, if you’re sure, that would be amazing.”

Anywhere The Wind Blows | 8845 words 👨‍🚒🎖️

After a catastrophic fire that shakes him to his core, Steve Rogers quits his job as a Brooklyn firefighter and relocates to a cabin in the remote Canadian wilderness, wanting quiet and solitude and to maybe never have to speak to another human being ever again. He gets his wish, more or less, until a recently injured Bucky Barnes is discharged from the Army and rents the cabin next door.

The Safer Course | 7918 words | Part 1 of Won’t You Be My Neighbor 🏡

When Steve moves to the suburbs in 2033, he intends to retire from superhero life.

He does not intend to fall in love with his pain-in-the-ass neighbor.

Every Year I Have You | 7064 words | Part 2 of Won’t You Be My Neighbor 🏡

Steve set the bar pretty high, as birthday presents go.

Bucky is determined to outdo him when July 4th comes around.

Beneath The Mistletoe | 21203 words 🎄

Bucky had a bet with his sister that if he didn’t have a boyfriend to bring home for Christmas by the time he was 25, he had to give her $200 and go blonde for a year. But now he's 25, it’s nearing December, and not only is Bucky as single as ever, but he’s also running low on cash. He doesn’t exactly want to bleach his hair, either.

At least Steve is willing to upgrade their relationship from best friends to fake boyfriends.

The Settler | 52203 words 🍞

“What do you want to do?”

Steve pauses and looks at them.

What he wants is to stay with them. He doesn't have any family left, they all died before he even joined the war and became... this. Captain America turned whatever he is now. But Natasha and Sam have become his family over the years. Not just because they're on the run together, fugitives and vigilantes, but way before that too.

He doesn't want to leave that.

But he knows that, realistically, he can't stay with them and they can't stay with him.

So he looks at them with a smile and lies. “I don't know.”

OR; In which Steve retires and finally finds a place to call home.

You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory | 1148 words 🐈

"Alright, Bucky," Steve slows his steps, watches his neighbour stop at the bottom of the next flight of stairs. There's a canvas bag in his hand that Steve didn't notice earlier, cream coloured with the figure of a sleeping, black cat painted on it. "Have a good day."

He thinks Bucky's cheeks pink up a bit right then and there, but Steve can't tell. He's too distracted by his pounding, foolish heart, by the way Bucky smiles bashfully, and ducks his head. The way he seems like he wants to stay.

To Believe In Tomorrow | 3959 words 👨🏻‍🌾

Bucky's mornings at the community garden get a little more interesting when the new guy shows up.

Maybe This Christmas | 24873 words | Part 1 of Maybe ❄️

Bucky’s not going home for Christmas. But it’s fine. He’s spending Christmas alone in his apartment, but it’s cool. He’s not feeling up to seeing his family after his accident anyway, plus he has to work. He’s totally fine with it. But then he runs into Steve, literally, and suddenly his Christmas isn’t looking so empty after all.

-----

Hurrying was a bad idea. Bucky’s foot hits a patch of ice and slides out from under him in what would have been a comical cartoon banana-peel-like trip, if it wasn’t happening to him, and he braces himself to hit the ground. This is going to hurt.

“Fuck,” Bucky screeches, but as he lands on his back, it’s not the cold hard concrete he expected, but a solid mass beneath him. Oh god, Bucky thinks as he realises he smacked into the person behind him and took them down with him.

Maybe This Year (Will Be Better Than Last) | 133868 words | Part 2 of Maybe ❄️

Last year, Bucky Barnes met Steve Rogers. Well actually, he slipped and fell on him. What followed was the best Christmas either of them had ever had. But what happens when Christmas is over and life returns to normal? What happens after the Christmas miracle?

-----

Bucky should have known. He did know. When things seem too good to be true, they usually are. And Steve is the best thing that has happened to him in a long time, possibly ever, so of course it couldn’t last.

Maybe This Time (I Hope I Get The Chance To Say Goodbye) | 34561 words | Part 3 of Maybe ❄️

Steve and Bucky Barnes are happily married. They've made it through some hard times and come out stronger and happier, together. Then Steve gets called on to come out of retirement for the most important mission of his life and everything changes. Everything.

-----

“Have yourself a merry little Christmas…” Steve starts singing along softly, and Bucky chuckles, before leaning his head onto Steve’s shoulder, always happy when he’s in Steve’s arms.

“From now on, our troubles will be miles away…” Bucky joins in.

Dancing round their living room, just as in love as ever, their troubles seem light-years away, if not non-existent.

Sadly, they’re closer than they think.

The Unexpected Gift | 9504 words | Part 1 of When Winter Comes 🐕

Steve Rogers is fine.

After ending a long-term relationship with Sam Wilson, Steve moves back to New York. He's tired and lonely but depressed? No. At least, that's what he thinks.

From the window of his apartment, he watches a dark-haired man and his service dog sitting in the park, wondering what his story is.

The Winter Storm | 2218 words | Part 2 of When Winter Comes 🐕

"If I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the ability you see yourself through my eyes, only then would you realize how special you are to me."

After Bucky and Steve confessed their feelings for each other, life has its own twisted way to challenge the most profound love.

One January Night | 4213 words | Part 3 of When Winter Comes 🐕

Before going back to work, Steve Rogers still has things to learn: 1- Depression is a bitch and the battle against it isn't an easy one. 2- Dating a person with disabilities comes with its share of challenges.

Bucky Barnes Has His Shit Together (And Other Lies He Tells Himself) | 14159 words 🔒

You’d think a guy who owns one of the most successful bakeries in Brooklyn, has a million-dollar smile and that antiquated good ol’ boy charm, blond hair and blue eyes and biceps for days, would know what’s what.

But don’t let that fool you: Steve Rogers is a mess.

Obvious | 917 words ☕

"Oh, I have a prompt! So, it makes me laugh how painfully obvious Steve and Bucky's feelings are to everyone when they're in that pining, slowburn, does-he-doesn't-he phase. But imagine Steve and Bucky working in a coffee shop together and constantly bickering, nudging and playfully flirting with each other. And all the employees and patrons are so invested in their relationship and just want them to kiss already but no one realizes that Steve and Bucky have been married since they got out of HS."

[lovesanmotion]

yandere!ateez joining his s/o’s fan call event

💌 This is: requested

Hongjoong: 

Oh to purchase a hundred copies of your new album just to get into your fan call event was his ultimate goal. And to see that a handful of his serial numbers got in to your spot? Hongjoong felt like he was over the moon, it only meant that he was not only gonna meet you, or twice, or thrice. But five times! 

“Y/N~ can we date?” He would ask during his first fan call event, it was tragic that he was only meeting you on the screen of his phone. But that was already better than not meeting you at all. 

“Of course! You’re my boyfriend now so don’t cheat on me!” You said in a small tone, pouting at him through the screen. Oh boy what you said means something to him already. 

Seonghwa: 

He had a lot of thoughts running inside his head on what to ask you, his heart beat kept racing that he almost forgot that today was his fan call event with you. He immediately started to look presentable to you before answering the call, and when he did, he felt like his heart was ready to jump out of his chest when he saw how you look today. 

“Are you nervous?” You’d ask him, peering closer to the screen. Seonghwa would slightly turn red and lean closer to the camera too, as if he was testing you, shaking his head slightly. “No. What about you?” He’d ask, it was your turn to blush and shake your head. 

“Y/N, do you want to meet my girlfriend?” Seonghwa asks, you made a face as you looked at him in the screen. 

“Why do you have a girlfriend? Am I not good enough for you? Am I not pretty anymore?” You’d act along with him, casually throwing in your fan service. 

“I’m talking to my girlfriend right now and she’s getting mad at me because she thinks I have someone else.” Seonghwa tried to control his laughter, maintaining a straight face. It took you a whole minute to realize that he was talking about you, making you a blushing mess once again. 

Yunho: 

His only intention was to win an album that’s signed by you, however, luck seemed to be on his side that day that he not only won a signed album but also received an email from the company that he had won a fan call event with you. It had been weeks since Yunho last saw you due to the increasing cases caused by the pandemic. And he dearly missed you. So hitting two birds with one stone with you made him feel like he’s the only one worthy for you. 

“I missed you! How are you?” Yunho asks as if you two were close friends. You’d only chuckle. “I’m doing well. Have you eaten?” 

Yunho shook his head before responding “ramen and chill sometime?”* 

(a/n: to those who don’t know, ramen and chill is Korean for netflix and chill) 

Yeosang: 

He felt like he was losing his sanity just because he couldn’t be near you and see you as often as before. Who knew what you could be up to right now, and it drives Yeosang insane not knowing what you’re doing, where you are and how you are right now. So when the news broke out that you were coming back with a new album, he did not hesitate to purchase eight thousand copies all by himself. 

And so during the fan call event, he’d continously shift around in his position and discreetly take screenshots before posting them on his personal accounts and adding a caption of “I miss you, I want to see you again normally” 

San: 

He didn’t know the percentage of his chance winning a spot in your upcoming fan call event and that’s why he impulsively bought hundreds of copies from different stores in order to secure himself. To his surprise, he had won twice and was therefore eligible to meet you via fan call. 

“Y/N, will you be my girlfriend for five minutes?” He asks, tilting his head to the other side, slightly jutting his lower lip out. 

“Why not hours?” You’d ask him back. San’s heart raced, it felt like you were already saying yes to being his. 

Mingi: 

Towards the end of the year only meant one thing for Mingi: another year with you. And what better way to start his new year with you by purchasing your group’s season greetings? He didn’t know if he was going enter the fan call ring since the company strictly mentioned only entering ten fans inside, but to his surprise, his name popped up on the lucky ten winners. And Mingi felt extremely lucky, not only did he won in the fan call event, but he was also to receive a limited polaroid of a member of his choice and a signed album by the member of his choice too. 

But he only has one minute to spend with you. Before you could ring his LINE account, he was already recording his screen, picking up your call. 

“Y/N, I love you” he says, seconds after he picked up the call. 

“I love you too” you tell him, gazing at him through the screen. 

Wooyoung: 

A minute and thirty seconds feels extremely short, especially to Wooyoung. He wanted to spend more time with you. However, the pandemic caused a lot of hindrances with his chances of being able to see you outside. But this time, he thought of something that would make him memorable to you. Someone that you would never forget. 

“Y/N~ I have something for you!” He’d say proudly, showing you a small box through the screen. 

“You got me something? What is it?” You asked him, eager to find out the content of the box. Your eyes widened in surprise as you watched Wooyoung literally get down in one knee and opened the box to reveal a diamond ring. “Will you marry me?” 

Jongho: 

During these trying times, Jongho made himself occupied by learning the english language for you. He wanted to be able to communicate properly and effectively with you. Day and night, he would watch shows to improve his pronounciation and read book and articles to expand his knowledge about the language, all the while he purchased a hundred copies of your solo debut album. 

“Hi Y/N!” Jongho says, finally using what he learned over the past few months with you. 

“Hello! You speak perfect english, you’re so good!” The compliment coming from you made his heart race a mile. 

“Sweetheart, you’re better than me.” He chuckles, grinning to himself as he watches you turn your head down slight to hide a blush creeping into your cheeks. 

[littlemessyjessi]

“Tae and Jae” from the BTS 8th Member Series “Untamed”: Mae Jae: Fake Social Media Post Collection:  The Gucci Twins Have A Day: Part One:  Fake Social Media + Imagine

Companion Imagine:  “Tae and Jae” from the BTS 8th Member Series “Untamed”: Mae Jae: Fake Social Media Post Collection:  The Gucci Twins Have A Day

Jae and Tae spend some much needed quality time together.   They go shopping, get food, visits a few places and end up with a cuddle.  It features fake social media posts from Jae and Tae, along with a particularly sweet one from someone who acts like he’s not actually a marshmallow on the inside. Hmm, wonder who that could be? Platonic pairings: #VX aka #guccitwins aka #taeandjae

Two bare feet padded down the hallway.

Green hair, still a little wet from the shower, clinging to a freckled face.

Jae cracked the door open and quietly creeped into the sleeping lump in the middle of the bed.

Pillow clutched to his chest and dark hair tousled everywhere.

She smiled gently as she pulled her phone up to snap a quick picture of a seemingly peaceful Taehyung.

She tucked the phone back into her hoodie before she climbed on the bed with him and began to lightly scratch his back.

He whined in his sleep, turning and trying to get her into his arms like he usually did.

"Wake up, Tae Tae." she said.

"No.." he whispered. "I'm sleeping.  Let me hold you."

"I can't." she laughed. "Because then we couldn't go on an adventure today."

Taehyung's eyes slowly opened to reveal the dark orbs.

"Adventure?" he said, voice deeper than usual with sleep.

She nodded and patted his head, "Yup.  It's all about you and me today.  Quality time.  So get up and get a shower.  I'm gonna finish getting ready."

A slow smile crawled across Taehyung's face until he was fully grinning at her.

"Really?" he asked.

She nodded, "Of course.   We haven't been out together, just us, in a while.  So get your butt in gear and let's go.  I got plans, baby bear."

His grin was massive as she slapped him on the butt and bounded from the bed.  

"Be ready in an hour." she said before returning to her room.

Less that five minutes later and her phone pinged with a notification.

She looked down to see that Taehyung had posted a blurry but clearly excited photo of himself.

She grinned before plugging in the blow dryer and beginning to fix her hair.  

She decided to be kind and sent him a text.

Jae: What car do you want to take today?

Tae:  I get to pick?!  The green lambo! The green lambo!

Jae: Ok, I'll meet you in the garage in at seven.

He responded with a series of excited emoji's that had her wheezing.

She's barely pulled on her shoes when her phone dinged again.

Apparently, not only was he ready but he'd already been to the garage and pulled the lambo out.

He'd posted a picture of the lime green car with the doors up and the caption.

' She let me pick the car today.  Now let's see if I can get her to let me drive it.  #VXBFF'

She shook her head at his usage of their hashtag.

She tucked her phone into the pocket of her black jeans and headed out into the main part of the dorms.

She placed a kiss to the top of Hobi's head as she passed him on the way to the door.

"Be back later, angel." she said, recieving a sleepy nod from him in response.

Jae made quick work of getting outside to see Taehyung's lean figure basically bouncing around in excitement.

She popped the trunk and tossed him the keys before he could ask the inevitable question and he looked as if he'd kill over right there.  

"Really?!" he chirped.

She nodded, "Yeah, knock yourself out."

He let out a sound that was inhuman and immediately dove into the car.

She grabbed her 'secret ingredients' from the garage that she'd craftily hidden the night before and almost lost it when she could see him taking a selfie in the driver's seat.

She knew it would make him happy.

Jae loved her cars and she didn't often let anyone else drive them.

So it was a rare occasion but that usually made it all the more special.

She slid into the passenger seat beside him and typing in an address on the GPS.

"Ready?" she asked and he nodded excitedly.

"Yep, where are we going?" he asked, positively glowing with happiness.

It did her good to see him like that.

Taehyung had one of those personalities full of evervescence.  

She hoped he never lost that.

"Here." she said nodding to the GPS. "Breakfast is first on our list for today."

Taehyung threw the car into gear and they sped off.

She couldn't help but laugh a little and snap a picture of his excited little smile and post it.

She knew how much Army liked when she they posted on social media and she'd long since responsible for sharing behind the scenes, domestic things over the years.

As the official 'pack mom' it was no shocker for her to take their picture at any given moment.

He was talking a mile a minute the whole ride and didn't let up when they finally came to a stop in front of the resteraunt.

She'd called the night before to get a reservation up on the balcony and to see about a special dish so they were whisked away immediately upon entering.

She smiled as she watched her young friend.

Taehyung had this childlook wonder about him at times that made her melt.

Ever the social butterfly, he chatted away with the staff while the young waiter nervously took their orders.

"When did you do this?" he asked, eyes as big as saucers when they brought the big breakfast dessert full of fresh strawberries, soft cake and whipped buttercream.  "You didn't even come home until after midnight."

"I made a few calls." Jae shrugged.   "I've been thinking we needed some time together for a bit.  I know we've both been busy and I know you've been sulking because I have been there to cuddle you at night."

"I know you've been working alot.  It's ok." he said seriously before popping a strawberry into his mouth.  "And when did you order this?"

"Last night.  It's a special item." she said. "You have to call ahead. But I know how you are and I figured you'd like it.  Do you?"

"I love it." he said, nearly inhaling three more at once.

"Good." she smiled.  "Eat up.  You'll need your energy.  I have a big day planned."

Taehyung melted in affection for the woman that was dubbed as his 'twin' by fans but had always been like an older sister to him.

They were extremely close now, even if at one point they were anything but.

Soon enough, the waiter was back with their other food and they spent a good deal of time laughing and enjoying their meal and the world began to wake up a little more.

Taehyung reached for his wallet and she smacked his hand.

He gasped, "Hey!"

"Today is my treat, Tae." she said pointing her finger at him seriously.

"No, I-" he tried to argue but she narrowed her eyes.

"Kim Taehyung you listen to your noona or I'll spank you." she teased and he couldn't help but grin.

"Jiminie, will be jealous when I tell him that." he smirked.

"Yeah, well, Jiminie probably needs a spanking.  The little brat." she laughed as they stood and she pressed a generous tip into the servers hand along with the money for the bill.  

They waved to the owner's who had been kind enough to let them in early that morning before clambering into the car and speeding away again.

"Where to now?" Taehyung asked.

The smirk that donned Jae's face told him everything he needed to know.

"Gucci Twins strike again?" she asked and he squealed in happiness.

He revved the lambo and took off to their favorite store.

They spent forever in the store, taking pictures with staff and a few Army that they ran into.

Jae found her a nice snakeskin purse before sneaking off to buy a couple of things for him while he was busy in the changing room.

She sat on the couch, offering her opinion every time he came out.

She smirked when she noticed the pair of boots and the shirt he was sporting, as she knew duplicates of them both were sitting in the store packaging beside her.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Handsome as always." she said.

"About the clothes." he laughed.

"Very nice." she said.  "Maybe try it in a different color though."

"Really?" he asked looking at himself in the mirror.

He thought the black and gold print shirt looked nice on him.

"Maybe that blue one." she said gesturing to the same shirt in a different color not far from them.

Tae pursed his lips for a second before going back into the changing room.

He continued his fashion show for a while longer before eventually deciding on something different all together and checking out.

The two of them stopped for pictures with a few more people before they settled in the car again.

"What did you get?  You were done before I ever got out."  he asked.

She pulled the snakeskin bag out of the box and he cooed.

"Oooh, nice." he said.  "You'll wear that alot."

"I thought so." she said.

"What else did you get?" he said eyeing the other bags.

She grinned before pulling out the boots she'd seen him eyeing earlier and as well as the black and gold shirt.

"You told me to try another color and now you get it!" he accused.

"Check the size, genuis." she said and he peeked in before the cutest look came over his face.

"Awww, Jae." he said, a pout covering his features. "You didn't need to do that."

"I wanted to." she said. "Beside, I knew you were gonna look at them.  I saw you save it on your phone last week."

"But-"

"But nothing, respect your noona and accept the gift."

Taehyung clambered over the seat to smother her in wet kisses.

"Yah!" she laughed. "You're gonna ruin my makeup!"

"I don't care! I love you!" he said, all but pulling her into his lap.

"Kim Taehyung the both of us are too long legged for this." she giggled. "Now, calm yourself before I take the keys back."

It wasn't uncommon for the two of them to share clothes or even for Jae to buy him something- but it never failed to make him emotional when she did.

He sniffed a little and she carded a hand through his dark hair before fixing his hat again.

"Tae?" she asked. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"You just remind me of my grandma." he admitted, eyes prickling with tears.

Jae's head tilted and she pulled him back into her arms.

"That is the highest praise I've ever recieved." she said, placing a kiss to his temple.

He sniffled into her neck and she pulled him back so she could look into his eyes and run her thumbs over his cheeks to erase the tears.

"I wish I could've met her." she said. "We talked on the phone a couple of times when you'd call her.  And you've told me so much about her.  She sounded like a wonderful woman, Tae.  A comparision to her is the highest praise. I mean it. Thank you, honey."

Taehyung's lip quivered again and she pulled him back to her.

"Alright, let's get it together, babe.  We got lots more to do and I plan to feed you a lot today too.  In the name of your grandma who liked you chubby, prepare your belly."

He was laughing then, eyes sparkling and spirit lifted.

She patted his leg once more before he threw the car in gear and they sped off down the road towards a small rooftop jazz show and a local fried chicken joint. ---- Part Two - The Adventure Continues! ------

–

Hey loves! I hope you enjoy this! I’m trying out something new with writing for a while since I hit a major road block while I’m here in the hospital.  I hope you enjoy these!  If you’re interested in reading Jae’s full profile and the masterlist for this series you can find it HERE

I would love to know your thoughts and if you have any suggestions for other things to happen with Jae and the boys, just let me know!

I love you and I hope you have a good day, my loves.

Love,

Kenny

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dreadwolfxoxo   pottahishotasf

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——- Also, just a reminder that I am open for commissions! Additionally, the only tag list I have is my permanent tag list but if you ever want to be added all you have to do is just go to the ask box and request to be added! It’s that simple and you’re in!I love you all!

[girlgrouptrash101]

MinYul (IZ*ONE) - He’ll Never Be You

Request: naur i just got some minyul feeels and had to get this out of my system yike

Word Count: 4,058

Warnings: there is none all is safe my friends 

A/N: anything randomly in bold is their thoughts cuz,, idk minyul be having inner monologue moments ig

“It was so romantic, Yul! He held my hand and gave me his jacket! I swear I think I might be in love with him!” Minju squealed, kicking her legs up from where she lay on Yuri’s bed. The younger girl sat beside her, deep in thought. What was the difference between her and Hwang Hyunjin? She always held Minju’s hand and gave Minju her jacket when she was cold. Why was it such a special thing when he did it? Yuri huffed.

“Yuri, you good?” Minju asked, turning her head to look at her best friend. 

“Yeah, I’m fine dumbo. Just sick of hearing you sound like a lovesick puppy, that’s all.” Yuri joked, resorting to teasing in order to mask the pain in her chest; jealousy and sadness mixing together to leave harsh thoughts in the younger girl’s mind.  

“Don’t worry Yul, no need to be jealous. I’m sure someone will ask you out soon.” 

Yuri sighed. She sure was jealous, but it certainly wasn’t because she didn’t have anyone like Minju did. It was because Minju had someone that wasn’t her. 

“Cheer up buttercup. Wanna watch a movie?” Minju asked cheerily, unable to detect any of the inner turmoil currently spiralling in Yuri’s mind. The older didn’t even wait for Yuri to reply, grabbing the younger girl’s laptop and opening netflix. Yuri could only sit and watch as Minju picked a cheesy rom-com before snuggling into Yuri’s side. An action that had happened thousands of times before was now making Yuri stiffen like a statue, afraid Minju would hear the thumping of her heart as she nestled into her neck.

‘Friendship gets a lot harder when feelings are involved’, Yuri thinks to herself. 

-

Drip.

Drop.

Drip.

Drop.

Yuri’s eyes flitted over to the kitchen sink, taking a breath as the splashes of water could be heard falling from the spout, the only other noise in the room apart from the steady breathing and occasional page turn from the girl in front of her. She tried her best to let the water distract her, tried to get her mind to focus on anything other than her best friend in front of her.

But they just wouldn’t.

They just couldn’t.

Unfortunately for Yuri, some part of her just couldn’t bear to keep her eyes off Minju for more than a minute. Maybe it was the way her dark locks framed her face as she focused on her homework; maybe it was the way she chewed her lip in concentration; or maybe it was just everything about her that drove Yuri crazy. The younger girl sighed softly as her eyes raked over her friend once more, her unfinished homework a mere memory of the past as her mind became overwhelmed with the same thing it a;ways did these days - Kim Minju.

“You’re going to burn a hole through me soon if you don’t stop staring, Yul.”

Yuri jumped as her best friend finally broke the comfortable silence that had settled between the two of them. She cleared her throat abruptly, muttering out a small apology before looking back down at her half-written essay in an attempt to hide her now flushed cheeks behind her hair. 

“I’m kidding, you dummy. What’s up? Are you stuck on your work or something?” Minju asked, leaning over the table to poke her friend on top of her head.

“U- Um no, I’m okay Min, don’t worry-”

“Yul it’s okay! Let me help.” The older girl said, moving around the kitchen table to sit right next to Yuri. The younger girl’s breath hitched at Minju’s closeness, doing her best to keep composed as Minju read over her page, leaning into her side to get a better look.

“Yuri, this is really good! I don’t understand what’s wrong.” Minju said, turning to look at her friend who was looking everywhere but back at her. Minju sighed before leaning onto the table, propping her head up on her hand as she tried to catch Yuri’s eye.

“Jo Yuri.”

“Uh, yeah?” 

“What’s up with you lately? You’re not acting like the Yul I know, and it’s weirding me out. Is there anything you wanna talk about?” She said, her voice a bit softer now as she brushed a strand of hair behind Yuri’s ear. The smaller girl finally looked up at her, a sad look in her eye as she tried to speak to Minju, but the words just wouldn’t come. 

Minju was right, and Yuri couldn’t deny it. She had stopped teasing the girl, stopped the skinship, just stopped being cuddly old Yuri around Minju. Yuri could tell that the older girl hated these changes and knew something was up, but she just couldn’t tell her. She would never be able to tell her that lately, her every thought, her every worry, her every concern.. It was all about Minju. While she had always loved Minju since they’d become best friends in primary school, it was a different kind of love these days.

Those brown eyes she used to look in were now galaxies that pulled Yuri in and the younger girl never wanted to look away.

Her vanilla scent that had always seemed just too sweet to Yuri was now a flavour she wanted to drown herself in. 

The lips she used to smear ice cream on playfully to annoy the younger girl were now ones she wanted to kiss, over and over, and over again.

But, the fear.

The fear of losing years of friendship, memories, laughter, love… Yuri was way too afraid to say anything for fear she’d lose everything. Though it was hard being around the girl you love every day without being able to have her the way she really wanted, Yuri still kept quiet. She kept quiet around the only girl she was truly ever able to be her loud, bashful self around, and it was so obvious to the both of them that the balance in their friendship was majorly askew. 

'Fear is truly a powerful thing when it wants to be', Yuri thinks to herself as she repeats the same excuse she’s given to Minju for the last few weeks. 

“I can’t talk to you about this one, Min. But I’m alright, I promise.”

Minju nodded softly, a disheartened look on her face. Yuri's heart clenched in pain to see those eyes tinged with sadness, especially knowing it was because of her, but she just couldn't tell her. Not now, not when there was so much at stake.

The older girl sighed out once again, feeling dejected as she moved back to her own seat. Her mind was racing at a mile a minute, wondering what could be bothering Yuri so bad that she couldn't even tell Minju anything about it. The two had never kept secrets from one another before, so it truly hurt Minju to be iced out this way.

The girls worked in a now deeply uncomfortable silence, both of them stuck between an atmosphere of wanting to talk but also wanting to run away from the issue completely. It was clear to anyone that Yuri was the one who wanted to do most of the running.

Once the sun began to set, Yuri used an excuse of her mom calling her home, quickly packing her bag and darting out of the older girl's kitchen. This left Minju alone with her thoughts, which quickly began to spiral.

‘This isn't my Yul, something is seriously wrong here.

She's been iffy for a while now, but today was something more.

There had never been a second of awkwardness between us before, ever, but today...

It was almost hard to breathe, sitting in that horrible silence.

She can't tell me, but why?

The only reason Yuri would keep something from me is if it was about me...?

Is it about me?

Did I hurt Yul?

God. What did I do to make her so uneasy around me...?’

Minju shut her eyes tight in an attempt to block out her inner monologue, her head falling into her palms as she sat at the kitchen table. Yuri was her rock, her partner in crime, her... whatever! Yuri was someone she couldn't live without. The girl she relied so heavily upon was building a wall between them, one she had to break down before the last brick could be placed.

Minju could never last a day without Yuri, her Yul, by her side.

-

While Minju wallowed in her sorrows at home, Yuri fared no better. She said a quick hello to her parents, blurting out some excuse as to why she was skipping dinner and making a beeline for her room.

The young girl threw herself into her bed, letting her covers swallow her up, just as her emotions had been doing to her lately. She closed her eyes and desperately searched for sleep, but it never came.

Just as it had been for every night for the last few months, the same thing ran through her mind.

‘Minju,

Minju,

Minju.’

While she thought keeping her feelings to herself would keep their friendship afloat, it seemed that things were going downhill whether she spoke to Minju about it or not. Just why did these things have to be so complicated?

'Stupid Minju for being so stupidly irressistible', she thought. 

Yuri huffed. Just why did Kim Minju think she could have so much power over her thoughts and emotions anyway? Stupid frog. Stupid Minju and her stupid charming smile, her stupid kissable lips, the stupid way she held Yuri's hand as they walked, the stupid way she cuddled closer to Yuri during sleepovers because she wasn't fond of the dark.

‘Stupid. It's all stupid’, Yuri thinks.

After going through a few more mental battles of anger and sadness, she finally found the sleep she had been chasing. So with one loud yawn and a flutter of her eyes closed, Yuri fell into dream land with only one thought remaining in her mind.

‘God, I'm so fucking in love.’

-

The next day went by, and both girls were left in radio silence. Minju felt the younger needed space, and Yuri didn't know what she was doing at all.

She spent her time mindlessly scrolling through Instagram on her bed, trying to keep her thoughts away from Minju. However, it truly was just her luck when the girl in question popped up on her feed. It was a picture posted by Hwang Hyunjin, and it was a selfie with Minju. She was pressed into his side, a wide smile on her face as he held her close to him. Yuri let her eyes drift down to the caption, her breath hitching as she saw the simple heart emoji on her screen. Her heart dwindled even further when she saw Minju's response; a matching heart emoji.

It was nothing out of the ordinary for the two, no sudden confession of love, but to Yuri, it just shattered her already torn heart once again.

A tear rolled down Yuri's cheek.

A bitter laugh fell from her lips as she pictured herself. 'Jo Yuri, crying over a fucking emoji?' What had become of her?.

She told herself that over and over again, but she knew it was more. It wasn't just an emoji, it was the fact that Hyunjin had a chance with Minju that Yuri could never even dream of having.

Hyunjin was just Minju's type. Tall, athletic, handsome - everything Yuri just about wasn't. She scoffed, cursing the boy in her head, wishing she hadn't seen it. Wishing these overbearing feelings would go away. Wishing Minju was by her side, holding her close and keeping her safe.

But wishing does nothing but remind people of what they don't have.

-

The weekend dragged by for both girls.

Minju spent most of it with Hyunjin, cuddling up and watching movies for hours on end. However, as happy as she thought she should be, it just didn’t feel that way for her. Hyunjin was lovely, he truly was, and he cared for her, he really did. But for Minju, it just didn’t feel right. 

He just wasn’t Yuri.

He didn’t make her feel warm inside like Yuri did. He didn’t make her laugh by making fun of all the characters in the movies they watched like Yuri did. But Minju said nothing. Falling for anyone is scary, but falling deep for your best friend is even scarier. She never felt like Yuri would ever love her back so she did her best to move on and find comfort in others. 

Hyunjin wasn’t Yuri. But if she couldn’t be with Yuri, then he was enough.

Just as it had for Minju, time also ticked despairingly slowly for Yuri who had spent the weekend without Minju for the first time in years.

By the time Monday rolled around, Yuri could barely drag herself out of bed for school. She haphazardly threw on her uniform while mentally preparing a plan for the day that would allow her to avoid Minju. She decided that if she can't be with her, she would have to distance herself. The pain of loving someone so close to you was more suffocating than anything Yuri had ever experienced before, she just couldn't take it.

However, Yuri's plan immediately went awry when she opened her front door and saw her best friend there waiting for her. Minju gave her a small smile, the gesture fading as Yuri didn't reciprocate it.

"Yul-"

"Come on, Min, we'll be late." Yuri said abruptly, speeding last the older girl. Yuri didn't want her to speak, hearing the soft tone in her voice only made her heart clench more for the brunette.

It took only a minute for Minju to catch up, the older girl stopping Yuri by grabbing her by the wrist.

"Yuri, we won't be late. Now will you cut the bullshit and just talk to me?" Minju said, her brows furrowing. Yuri looked away again, trying to find an escape from the situation. Minju grabbed the younger's cheeks, forcing her to look her in the eyes.

For a moment, Yuri's world stops. She almost forgets her predicament when Minju looks at her, her eyes holding a mixture of worry and sadness as she looks down at the younger of the two. In an ideal world, Yuri would have already kissed the pout off her face, pulling her back inside her home to skip school and spend the day wrapped in one another's arms.

But this isn't an ideal world.

"Yul, whatever's going on with you, we need to talk it out. You're my best friend! Who's gonna be there with me every step of the way if it isn't you?" She asked earnestly.

For some reason, the sadness in the pit of Yuri's stomach began to turn to anger at Minju’s words. She just couldn’t help it. 

"I don't know. Hyunjin, maybe?" She asked, a coldness to her voice. Minju's hands dropped back down to her sides. Yuri already missed her warmth.

"What does Hyunjin have to do with anything Yuri? Why are you always like this when it comes to him..." Minju muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

"He has everything to do with this Minju. I'm like this because... because I don't like him. One fucking bit." Yuri continued, the anger bubbling up now. She knew she had no reason to get so pissed at Minju, or even Hyunjin, but sometimes, with love comes jealousy. Once that green monster rises up within her, Yuri finds it almost impossible to suppress it. 

"Yul, he's really nice! He brought me on a lovely date this weekend, I'm sure you'd get along with him just fine! He-"

"Minju, don't you get it? Don't you get it at all?" Yuri's fists clenched with how hard she was trying to keep her tears in right now. Minju shook her head, fear gracing her features as she watched her best friend, the small girl now overcome with anger.

"I- I won't like your stupid boyfriend and I won't ever like him because-"

A hiccuped breath interrupted Yuri's words as a cause of the hot tears that were now streaming down her face, her balled fists not bothering to wipe them away.

"Because?" Minju pressed, needing answers.

But Yuri stayed silent.

"Yuri, jesus fucking christ will you just talk? Whatever you have to say can't be that bad-"

"Because I'm in love with you."

Minju froze. 

‘She was what?’

"I'm in love with you Minju. I know you don't feel the same but I have to tell you because this weight, the fucking weight of being around you, being scared to touch you for fear I might fall even further, being scared to say too much in case I scare you away... it's too much for me Minju."

Yuri inhaled. She said it.

Minju was silent.

Yuri took it as a sign.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let this come between us. I hope he treats you right." Yuri said finally, her tears falling even harder than before. She took one last look up at her best friend's face and wished desperately that she hadn't, because the look of shock there seemed to tell her everything she needed to know. 

So she turned back to her house, trudging slowly as the consequences of her actions began to dawn on her.

With every step, she hoped, prayed, wished, for Minju to call her back, to hold her tight, to tell her everything would be okay. But she didn't.

So Yuri continued walking away.

Alone.

-

Two weeks had passed.

Yuri was lucky, with midterm rolling around she didn't have to make excuses to stay away from Minju or from school, locking herself up inside her bedroom for the two weeks.

As the days ticked by, Yuri tried to convince herself that this was right, and this was how life was going to be now. She didn't need Minju, she didn't need the pain or the heartbreak in her life.

‘But lying to yourself doesn't always work does it?’

It doesn't, Yuri thinks, as she spends another night staring at her phone. She waits and waits, willing for it to ring. She wants to hear her voice and her laugh, and talk to her about her worries. Minju had always been her safe place to go after something had gone wrong in life.

Where does Yuri go when Minju is the problem that went wrong?

(The phone never rings. Yuri doesn't get to hear her voice.)

-

There were two days of midterm left, and Yuri was dreading going back to school. She'd be obviously alone there, with no comfort of being able to pretend life doesn't exist inside the safe confines of her bedroom walls.

Yuri felt herself about to drift off into another countless nap, until her serenity was broken by a knock at her door. Her mom was there, a look of pity on her features.

"There's someone here for you."

Yuri nodded, heading down to the door. She stepped outside, looking down at her feet until she heard the sound of the other person clearing her throat.

"Yul,"

Followed by a sigh.

"Can you look at me, please?"

Yuri looked up, meeting eyes with the one girl she wanted to run a mile away from right now. Yuri couldn’t help but notice that she looked tired, and more worn out than she'd ever seen her before.

"We need to talk, huh?"

Yuri nodded, following Minju as she moved to sit on the steps of Yuri's porch. They sat in silence for a little while, until finally, Yuri spoke.

"Hi."

It was quiet, said in a voice small enough that would've been missed if Minju wasn't listening to the younger so intently.

"Hi, Yuri." She said with a soft chuckle, taking in the appearance of the younger girl. She had her hair in a messy bun, dressed in sweatpants and a baggy hoodie. Yuri looked straight ahead, feeling nervous as Minju surveyed her.

"You never let me speak, you know." Minju started, puzzling the younger girl.

"Huh?" She asked, turning to meet Minju who had a small smile on her features.

"Well, I know my Yul is dramatic but I didn't think it was this bad." She continued, chucking a small bit. Yuri wasn't impressed.

"Minju, if you've come here just to make fun of me, then you can go right back home." She said sternly, her brows only knitting further as Minju's chuckle turned into a laugh.

"Seriously, Yuri. You might be the stupidest person I've ever met. What kind of person confesses their love to someone then runs away from them before they can even reply?" She says, letting out a disbelieving laugh before scooting closer to Yuri.

"I... I don't know. You just looked shocked and I didn't want to be rejected by you so I just.. left."

"Yuri, what did I tell you about assuming things before they happen?" Minju said, her voice still teasing.

"What do you mean?" Yuri questioned, her eyes locking with Minju’s. She searched the other girl’s dark orbs for answers, but they revealed nothing, her features untelling of what the older girl was about to say next. 

"I love you too, Yuri. You fucking idiot." Minju confessed, the end of her sentence turning to a whisper as she got lost in Yuri’s eyes. Just as the younger girl was about to speak up, Minju silenced her. 

Closing the small gap between her face and Yuri’s, Minju couldn’t help but smile into the kiss as she heard her friend’s gasp of surprise before she began to kiss her back. 

Minju’s stomach filled with butterflies. This was it, the feeling she was looking for. She never felt like this when she kissed Hyunjin, or anyone else. It was always Yuri.

It’ll always be Yuri, she thinks as she pulls away, admiring her best friend’s blushing features. They both stared at one another, neither wanting to be the one to break the serene silence that had enveloped them. It was Yuri who eventually spoke up, her eyes turning to crescents that made Minju’s heart race as she smiled.

"If being called a fucking idiot means I get to kiss you like that again, then don't ever call me anything else." Yuri said, half joking, half deadly serious. Minju couldn't help but start laughing at Yuri's dorkiness, the younger soon joining her. While they had spent so much time together over the years, not a single moment had ever made them feel as complete as they did now. 

-

The two sat on Yuri’s front porch for the next few hours, watching the sunset as their hands were intertwined, Yuri's head resting softly on Minju's shoulder.

"I can't believe you were going to date Hwang Hyunjin instead of me." Yuri said, poking fun at Minju.

"Hey! How the hell was I ever supposed to know you liked me back? You have the emotional capacity of a pebble, there's no way I could've guessed!" Minju said, making the two of them break down into laughter.

"A pebble? That's so rude!"

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sure pebbles express their emotions much better than you do." Minju replied, a teasing lilt to her voice.

You're so annoying. You frog." Yuri said, her actions betraying her words as she nestled closer into Minju's side.

"A frog, maybe. But your frog at least." The older girl replied, pressing a small kiss to the crown of her head, smiling.

"Mm. My frog. My stupid, annoying, beautiful, frog." Yuri said finally, pressing a soft kiss to Minju's neck before closing her eyes and letting herself fall asleep against Minju, the fading sun still keeping her warm as the evening passed by.

Minju took a deep breath as she appreciated her surroundings. She had the girl of her dreams cuddled into her, a beautiful sunset in front of her, and a powerful feeling of warmth and love in her chest that she had never felt before. Her thoughts returned to the girl tucked into her side as she too began to close her eyes, letting her mind wander as she allowed herself to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

‘Jo Yuri.

Stupid Jo Yuri.

My Jo Yuri.’

[rinasparker]

5x08 meta

Riverdale Meta:

So I feel like trying to predict season long arcs for Riverdale is honestly kind of pointless considering how little they seem to prepare in advance, HOWEVER, I do feel like I could have honestly figured out at least what the overall theme for the season is.

It wasn’t until I was watching 5x08 today and took extra notice of Jughead’s opening monologue that the theme became highly apparent to me:

“A lot can change in seven years, but the more things change the more they stay the same”, which is coincidentally (or not so) the caption that RAS put in one of the first b*rchie stills - pointed out to me by @andsmile.

And I really think that this quote applies to most of the characters this season and how although most of the characters will end up in the same positions/ relationships/ places by the end of the season they have changed as *people* which allows their scenarios to be more viable now- because honestly most weren’t by the end of the s4 they had some sort of obstacle blocking them from completely thriving.

I also think that this quote about things changing yet staying the same could be about how certain characters (particularly Archie, Veronica and Jughead) have found themselves in similar situations to their parents.) But for this meta I really want to focus on the b/a/v triangle as that was also the focus of the episode.

So when we look at how Archie’s story has stayed the same yet his character has grown throughout this season I think you really have to look at his treatment/ relationships with both Veronica and Betty and how his relationship with them has both evolved but also stayed the same.

With Betty, obviously Archie’s relationship with her had evolved this season because there was the added sexual nature to it, but also (and more importantly) it’s now changed because they've finally set the boundaries that they needed when they were teens and even kids. For years they’ve been living in this limbo of ‘what could have been’ and never really exploring if there was any romance between them mostly because they were in relationships and didn’t think there was anything there- but now as adults who have a less sentimental view on sex they’ve finally been able to communicate and set the boundaries with one another to keep their relationship platonic once and for all. Thus showing that their relationship has stayed the same as they've agreed to be best friends and be there for one another at times of need, but also that it’s changed and developed as they finally had the conversation they’ve been waiting two decades to have.

Whereas with Veronica, after 5x08 Archie’s relationship with her hasn’t changed at all as they are pursuing a relationship with one another (to what extent we don’t know yet) but it’s also changed as their communication has improved. Whilst I personally think that va have always had good communication I do also think it’s fair to admit that this communication majorly faltered during season four. For the majority of the season Archie was consumed by grief and PTSD that it was obviously difficult for him to be an active participant in a relationship (probably why we had multiple episodes in a row where they wouldn’t interact, compared to the fact that they’ve interacted every episode so far post time jump) and when the cheating plotline occurred we received very little of Archie’s perspective and headspace regarding the matter and was more focused on Betty’s (something @andsmile has also talked about multiple times). This is such a juxtaposition to his headspace in season five where he has been openly honest about his feelings and intentions to Jackson, Betty and Veronica, something that is miles different to his silence from the previous season.

I think that a lot of this has to do with Archie’s maturing from a PTSD ridden teen to a grown man, and whilst he obviously still has PTSD this season from the war I think has a character he has developed and *changed* in order to be better equipped to deal with it.

My personal favorite parallel of this season has been the similar themes in music from the bus scene in 5x03 to the music that plays in the background of 5x08 when he and Veronica kiss:

5x03 lyrics= “will you follow me into the dark”

5x08 lyrics= “carry me over, carry me through the night”

Whilst both lyrics centre around the idea of darkness, teenage Archie wishes to stay in the darkness (proven by the fact he wanted to join the army, which causes destruction) whereas adult Archie wants someone to guide him out of the darkness (and the scene takes place in a fire department which intends on saving lives)

So basically I think his change in relationship with Veronica lies in the fact that he is a lot more open with her and more intent on communicating.

And I know a lot of people have been a bit upset at how quick Veronica and Archie have reconciled, but I think that this quote or theme or mantra or whatever you want to call it really does help explain this too.

Did Archie and Veronica get back together relatively quickly? Yes.

Is this necessarily a bad thing? No.

Most importantly was this out of character for either of them? No.

If we’re going to listen to Jughead’s opening lines (which is what I intend on doing) whilst the characters might have grown and changed their dynamics with other characters haven’t. Archie and Veronica at their cores are head strong, passionate and honestly a little brash. Time after time we’ve been shown if they want something or want to do something they will go for it 9Archie literally ran into a burning building in the last episode and in this episode Veronica wanted to redecorate her apartment and the day after already had the plans in motion and wanted them done ‘yesterday’) why would their approach to romance be any different?

Archie made his intentions very clear this episode, he wouldn’t try anything with Veronica if she was married- and by the end of this episode she was not.

Veronica and Archie were never going to get the slowburn whole season build up because at their core that’s not who they are, they don’t overthink and analyse their lives in the same way that Betty and Jughead do because at the end of the day their lives might have changed drastically in the past seven years but they have not, and their feelings for one another certainly haven’t either...

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

When We Went From Friends to This - a. beauvillier

One day late, but here it is! I’ve been studying for the LSAT, but finally took it today, so I’ll have some more time to be writing more regularly now. Title is from Taylor Swift’s Paper Rings. I loved getting to write this, so please please let me know what you think, my inbox is always open! Reading the tags is one of my favorite things to do, and reblogs help me know people are liking my work.

word count: 7.7k+

September 18 (sat)

Astride Leclair was the kind of person you always wanted on your side. She’d drop anything for a friend, always be the first to reach out, and would never give up on something — or someone — without a fight. She was also incredibly stubborn. Astride had also always had a penchant for adventure, which is how she found herself in a new job 600 miles and one international border from her hometown. And she hated asking for help, it really didn’t matter the circumstance. Which is how she found herself alone, trying to heft an armchair up the stairs of her new apartment building after being very rudely informed by the width of the elevator door that it wasn’t going to fit. 

The lump sum her firm gave her for relocation was enough to cover a fair amount of the furniture for her new place and she tried to bring as much as she could on the drive down, but it wasn’t like she was about to rent a U-Haul and there was only so much a Honda Civic could hold. And Astride was still her father’s daughter, still would rather step on a rusty nail than pay Ikea for assembly, so by God she was going to do it herself. And “doing it herself” apparently meant dragging an 80 pound box up three flights of stairs in 90º heat in September, when New York City seemed to have not quite yet gotten the memo that the rest of the Northern Hemisphere was now in fall. 

Astride finally managed to get the chair in the door, propping the door open with one of her moving boxes, unceremoniously pulling the box through the entryway as she scooted backwards into the living room. The 600 square foot expanse of her apartment was covered in boxes, more boxes, and for good measure, extra boxes. There were moving boxes, furniture boxes, shoeboxes filled with anything except for actual shoes. There was her guitar leaning against the microwave, three suitcases worth of clothes in the barely-assembled bedroom, and her dog in a crate in the corner, who had started to whine. 

“I know, baby, I’ll get you out soon,” Astride said, shooting a sympathetic glance towards the beagle mix. She had adopted Poutine a little over a year ago, soon after starting her first job out of university. It was never a question whether or not she would make the trip with Astride, and thankfully it was much easier than she anticipated to find a dog-friendly apartment in Brooklyn. It wasn’t too long a walk to Prospect Park, a little under a mile, and she was looking forward to getting out with Poutine later in the day. If, that was, she actually finished unpacking enough boxes to function like a normal human being. She had picked up her mattress-in-a-box earlier in the day, but it was still sitting in the corner of her bedroom and she wasn’t particularly looking forward to a night on the hardwood floor. 

---

Three hours later, Astride had finally gotten all of the boxes out of her car and began to make decent headway on assembling the chair, finally having let Poutine out of her crate. The beagle trotted around the apartment, sniffing the baseboards, boxes, and single bag of groceries Astride had picked up from Whole Foods earlier in the day. The rest of her Ikea order was coming the next day, the actual bedframe and couch along with a couple of other larger furniture pieces that she had had to leave in Montréal. Whatever she couldn’t order online she’d find at a thrift store. 

Astride looked tiredly over at the kitchen. She really wasn’t in the mood to cook, and was in even less of a mood to dig through all the boxes until she finally found her set of pots and pans. She really should have taken her mom’s advice and labeled everything, but Astride was stubborn as a mule, and once she was stuck in her ways, there was precious little anyone could do to convince her otherwise. Pulling out her phone, she navigated to her Uber Eats, feeling a tiny pang in her heart as she switched her location to New York. Not the language, though. Astride was so hungry that she literally clicked on whatever place could get there the fastest, which ended up being a Chinese place a mile or so away. After placing her order — she got an extra box of chow mein so she wouldn’t have to deal with breakfast the next day — she settled back into the hair, the only fully-assembled piece of furniture in the whole apartment. Her finger hovered over her Instagram for a moment before she clicked on it, liking a few photos before going to post one of her own. It was a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge as she crossed it that morning, Poutine’s head lolling out the front window. One tap and one caption later, it was posted. 

---

Anthony flopped onto his bed, his duffel landing with a satisfying thump on the floor beside him. Training camp had just ended, and while he’d certainly been keeping up on his workouts over the summer, the hours upon hours of skating had nevertheless made him more than a little sore. He grabbed his phone, opening up Instagram and scrolling through the new posts, only half paying attention. Astride’s new photo caught his eye.

Sometimes, needing a change means a new haircut. Sometimes, it means a new country. Very excited to start this next chapter in my life. Salut, New York! Anthony quickly clicked onto her profile page and read her bio. International economics analyst. Eating my way through the world one pancake at a time. BCom McGill. MTL-NYC. He read the last line over and over again. MTL-NYC. He swiped back to the photo; she had tagged herself in Brooklyn. Brooklyn. She was less than an hour away, not even thirty if the traffic wasn’t bad. But she hadn’t told him, she hadn’t said anything. Anthony felt a pang in his heart. Astride knew who he played for — obviously — and she knew that of course he’d want to see her any time they were even remotely in the same place. She knew that. Right? 

He spent the next twenty minutes typing out a message to her. Then deleting it. Then retyping it. Then continuing the type-delete-retype cycle until his head was spinning. This was his best friend. Why was he so nervous to talk to her? Because she was his best friend, and as much as he hated to admit it, he really wasn’t sure where they stood. He hadn’t been sure for a long time. Hey Asty! He internally cringed at himself at the use of her old nickname. I saw you moved to New York, that’s amazing! I’m over on Long Island, so I’d love to catch up with you for coffee or something when you get a chance. It’s been too long :) 

It might have been a little petty — scratch that, it definitely was petty — but Astride didn’t respond to his text that night. She didn’t have read receipts on, thank God, but it sat in her messages, without response, like something she was too scared to confront. And she didn’t even know why. Okay, fine, she knew exactly why. She had moved and suddenly they were in the same city for the first time since they were kids and he was, had been, her best friend, but why now of all times? It’s not like he was never in Montréal during the year, or like they couldn’t have committed to a weekly FaceTime or something, or at least texted more than once a month. He could have done something. And that something, that lack of a something, was what kept her from responding until the next morning, tapping out a text as she halfheartedly made her way through a bowl of oatmeal. Hi, Tito, just saw your text! Lie. I did, an opportunity for a transfer came up and I decided to take it. I figured you were pretty close by, so it would be great to catch up. I don’t start at the office for a week, if you’re free any time between now and then. That much was true. She wasn’t stupid, she knew the Islanders played on, well, Long Island, and as much as she wanted to still hold a grudge against him, her heart ached at the prospect of finally being able to see him again. 

Anthony responded almost instantly, Astride having just closed the door to the dishwasher — a luxury in New York, she was told — before seeing her phone light up with the telltale bubble. I’d love to, we just finished up training camp so I’m more or less free aside from practices. A second later. Is brunch still your favorite meal?

Astride laughed. It didn’t surprise her that he remembered, but it was still touching to see him say something about it. It is.

How about Tuesday? I’ll send you the directions. It’s this little café in Flatbush, I think you’ll love it. 

I’m counting on it. 

September 26 (sun)

Brunch had turned into dinner, which had turned into going to a Broadway show — Anthony had insisted the moment she told him she’d never been — which had turned into him coming over for Saturday night movies, an old habit of the pair’s from their days back in Québec. Which had turned into two movies and two bottles of wine, which had turned into Tito sleeping over on the couch instead of driving the thirty-odd minutes back to his apartment. Poutine sniffed him curiously, nudging one hand with her head. Astride stifled a giggle, opening the door to the balcony. “He’s very sleepy, Poutine. It’s not good manners to wake up your guests.”

“Even when they fall asleep on your couch and steal all your blankets?” Anthony said sleepily from behind. 

Astride wheeled around, greeted by a half-awake Anthony Beauvillier, who was indeed bundled in all of the blankets she owned that weren’t actively on her bed. “Tito! Oh my God, you scared me. How’d you sleep?”

He shrugged. “Not bad, about as well as can be expected.” He tapped his phone, cursing when he realized it was dead. “Do you know what time it is?”

She glanced down at her watch. “8:52, why?”

Anthony jumped up, throwing his shirt back on and grabbing his still-dead phone. “I’m supposed to meet Mat for breakfast at 9:30, and the place is,” he paused for a moment, running through the grid system in his head, “probably half an hour away? I’m never the late one, can’t break that streak now.” 

“Gotcha.”

He grabbed his keys, looking back at her. “Why don’t you come? You’re already dressed, and you remember Mat, right?”

She wiggled her hand. “Kind of?” She crossed the room, letting Poutine back in. “You only want me for my charged phone and navigation system.”

“You got me,” he said, laughing. 

---

“You named your dog Poutine?” Mat snickered, taking a bite of his eggs. 

“Would you rather I named him Tim Horton?” Astride deadpanned. “He’s a good Canadian boy with a good Canadian mom. He needed a good Canadian name.” 

Mat raised his coffee mug, tilting it over towards her. “Touché.”

Anthony waved his hand in front of Mat’s face, trying to catch his attention from where he was utterly preoccupied with destroying his sourdough toast. “Hey, Mat.”

“Mmm?” He glanced up. 

“Did you know that Astride lives right by Barclays? Like, right by Barclays?” 

His eyebrows rose. “No way?” Astride nodded. “That’s a great area, would have been awesome if you were here a couple of years ago. Short walk to the games.”

“That’s what I told her yesterday,” Tito responded. 

---

“You’re kidding,” Anthony said, looking up at her building, then across the street to Barclays, then back to Astride, one hand tangling through his hair. “We used to play right across from here.” 

Astride laughed. “I thought about that,” she said. “You know I still watched your games, right? Even after we fell out of touch?” Anthony shook his head. “You were still someone I cared about, are still someone I care about, even when we only talked a few times a year.” 

Beau stood there, unable to formulate a complete sentence. As far as he knew, the last Islanders game she watched had been the 2016 opener, his NHL debut and her first year at McGill. Why did he assume that? Why did he assume the worst? You can care about people even when they’re not in your life anymore. And sometimes, if you get really, really lucky, they come back. 

October 9 (sat) 

“Ebs is having a barbeque thing over at his house this weekend, just stuff to celebrate the beginning of the season if you wanted to come. No pressure if you’ve got plans already, though,” Anthony said over the FaceTime. 

Astride nodded enthusiastically. “That sounds great, I’d love to come! Just let me know when to show up and what to bring, and I’ll be there.”

 It was almost a fifty-minute drive for Astride from her apartment in Prospect Heights to the house in Garden City, but there wasn’t too much traffic and besides, she had always liked driving. So she set off in her Civic, plugged her music in, and headed down 495. Anthony met her outside of the house, greeting her with a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek as he cocked his head towards the backyard. “Party’s this way. Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” 

Astride dutifully followed, trying not to let her nerves take hold of her. Everyone might have already been Beau’s friends, but she didn’t know them, or the dynamic of everyone’s relationships, or really, what to expect at all. 

He noticed her apprehension, stopping her with a feather-light touch on her arm just before walking through the back gate. “Hey, Asty. What is it?” 

She let out a little huff, still upset that he could read her like a book even after all this time. “I’m just worried that I’ll feel like I’m intruding on everything, like everyone already has their friends and a group and everything, and here comes some random Québécoise who’s a friend of Tito’s—” 

He laughed, turning her around to face him. “Astride, they’re going to love you. As long as you’re the hilarious, witty, caring person I know you are, they’re going to love you as much as I do, and you’re going to fit in just fine. Do you trust me?” 

She gave a tiny nod. “Yeah.” 

He smiled, squeezing her hand. “Good, now come back, everyone’s waiting.” 

They walked through the gate, greeted by a crowd of smiling faces as Anthony brought her around to everyone to make their rounds. There was Anders, he was the captain, and his wife. There was Jordan and Lauren, and she already knew Mat, and JGP — who was excited to have another person to speak French to — and a dozen or so others, along with their respective partners and children. Anthony had gone over to talk to Mat and some of the other players, while Astride had wandered over to the drinks table. Some of the other women were chatting nearby; one of them caught Astride’s eye and waved her over to join them. 

“Beau didn’t tell us he was bringing anyone!” one of the women said, pulling her over to the group with a bright smile and handing her a glass of sangria. 

“Mhm,” she replied, taking a sip of the drink. “I’m new to the city, obviously, so I think he wanted me to have some people I know outside of just work.” 

They all nodded. “How long have you two been together, though?” another asked. “I didn’t even know he was seeing anyone, did you?” She looked around at the others, who shook their heads as Astride’s eyes bulged. 

“Together? No, no, we’re not together. We’ve been best friends for ages, but,” she shook her head. 

“Could have fooled me,” Lauren said with the smallest of winks. 

Astride suddenly became very interested in the floating berries in her sangria. She looked over at Anthony, who was throwing his head back, laughing at something one of the rookies had said, and smiled. But Lauren’s words kept lingering in the back of her mind. Could have fooled me. Okay, it wasn’t like it was the first time they had been mistaken for a couple; whenever she’d make the trip up to Shawingan to visit him when he was in the QMJHL, more than once she’d have to explain to his teammates that no, she wasn’t Beau’s girlfriend, they were just best friends who had known each other forever. Just best friends. 

Astride had always equated her lingering feelings for Anthony to the nostalgia of a childhood crush, the safety and security that came with remembering something from a time that seemed so simple and so easy. But childhood crushes didn’t last for ten years. And that wasn’t something she hadn’t wanted to come to terms with, something she’d been putting off for years if she was being honest with herself. 

“You didn’t tell me Astride was coming,” Mat commented, seeing her mid-laugh in conversation with the other girls. 

Anthony nodded. “Yeah. She didn’t have any plans for the weekend and I thought it would be nice to introduce her to everyone. I remember how shitty it felt to be in a new city away from your family, don’t want her to be lonely. Plus, I genuinely think she’ll fit in great with everyone.” 

Mat hummed his agreement. “She’s changed since Switzerland, don’t you think?” he asked appreciatively, referring to over five years ago, the last time he had seen her in person.

“Don’t even think about it,” Beau mumbled to Mat, seeing his eyebrows go so far up they were hidden in his hairline. 

“I see a hot girl, I appreciate a hot girl,” Mat shrugged. “But don’t worry, I won’t try anything. I know she’s off-limits.” 

The rest of the afternoon passed quicker than she would have thought, and after a few hours and more good conversations, it was time for Astride to leave. “Have a safe drive back,” Anthony said, giving her a hug. 

“I will,” she responded. 

He opened the driver’s side door for her. “I’m really glad you came, you know. Everyone liked you, you fit in great.” 

“It wasn’t all me,” she said, sliding into the seat, turning her head to Anthony to continue the conversation. “Everyone really did seem to go out of their way to make me feel included, I think they understood the feeling of moving to a whole new place without a big support system and wanted to do what they could to help mitigate that for me.” Astride consciously left out Lauren’s little comment, four words that had been bouncing around in her head for hours since they had been said. He didn’t need to know. She didn’t need him to know, it could confuse him and complicate things when they were just getting back into the rhythm of friendship, of being each other’s person. 

Anthony tapped his fingers on the car door. “I’m glad.” 

“Me too.”

Beau went to sleep that night, Mat’s words bouncing around in his head. “I know she’s off-limits.” It’s not like Cass was his sister or something, someone who would inherently be barred from his best friend’s dating pool. But Mat seemed to know right away, without having ever been told, that she wasn’t someone he could ever even consider pursuing. Why? And what did Mat seem to know that he didn’t?

November 12 (fri)

It was early November, and Anthony and Astride had just settled down at a table in Prospect Park, coffee cups warming their hands through the late fall chill. “How do you feel about last night?” Astride asked teasingly. He had a three point game, two goals and an assist in a 4-1 win over the Canes, so there really wasn’t any question that he was still riding on the high. 

Beau rolled his eyes. “Good, obviously. It would have been nice to get a hat trick, but I know that’s asking for a lot and I didn’t want to tempt fate too much. They made a really good push late in the second.”

“But you won,” she said, poking his shoulder with the hand that wasn’t wrapped around her mocha. 

“But we won,” he agreed. He suddenly got quiet, the kind of quiet where, if you know the person well enough, you can tell that something’s up. That they’re thinking of something. And Astride was right. “Do you ever think about Switzerland?” he asked. 

Astride looked at him from the side, knowing right away that he wasn’t asking about the country. “All the time,” she admitted. 

---

It was the spring of 2015, and they were in Lucerne. By they, Astride meant her, Tito, and the rest of the 2015 Canadian U18 World Cup team. And by in Lucerne, she meant crowded into someone’s hotel room with no adult supervision. Anthony wasn’t sure where any of the coaching staff had gone, but if he was being honest, he was riding on way too big of a high to even care. They had clinched the bronze medal earlier that day, celebrating with the family and friends who had made the trip out, gotten dinner, and then packed into the first team room they came to. Well, technically, Astride, Tito, and Mat had made a stop at the grocery store before meeting everyone else back in the room. The drinking age in Switzerland was 16 for everything but spirits, and everyone was planning on taking full advantage of that. The cashier gave them a look as she took her and Anthony’s French licenses and Mat’s English one, but the charge went through just fine, and fifteen minutes later they were walking back through the doorway with three cases of beer and a few bottles of sparkling wine for good measure. Astride had never been so grateful to have her own checking account. 

“You ever drink before?” Mat asked her as they opened the cases. 

Astride shrugged. “Not really. A glass of wine every now and again back home with my parents, but nothing too crazy.” 

He held out a bottle for her, fishing around in his pocket for the bottle opener they had picked up at the store. “Have fun.” 

And have fun Astride did. She had finished off two of the beers, and one of the younger teammates — she didn’t remember who — had popped open the wine. In his slightly inebriated state, it took longer than it should have to twist off the muselet, which then led to foam all over the floor and fifteen sixteen and seventeen-year-olds running to the bathroom to grab towels to try and mop it up with. And then running back to the bathroom to get the water glasses because they needed something to drink it out of, right? And then to everyone else’s rooms because they quickly realized that two cups definitely wasn’t enough to go around, and then everyone was back in the room, on the beds and around the beds, finally letting themselves celebrate. Astride was just finishing her glass when Mat spoke. “Anyone up for never have I ever?” Nobody said otherwise, so two minutes later, they were all arranged in what could very generously be called a circle, fresh drinks in hand. After a solid five minutes of repeating the rules — there was always at least one person who seemed to genuinely struggle with the idea that you drank if you had done the thing, not if you hadn’t — they were slowly but surely making their way around the circle. 

Questions ranged from the mundane — “Never have I ever gotten detention” — to the raunchy — “Never have I ever had my parents walk in on me” — neither of which Astride or Tito drank to. 

By the time it was Mat’s turn, he had had plenty of time to think, looking around the group with a conspiratorial grin. “What is it?” Tito asked skeptically. 

He shrugged. “Never have I ever...kissed anyone in the circle.” As expected, nobody drank, but apparently that wasn’t expected, not for Mat, at least. He looked between Anthony and Astride incredulously. “Seriously? You two have never kissed?”

Anthony shook his head. “Nope.”

“How? You’ve been friends for, like, a million years, not even when you were little or anything?” he asked. 

“Never,” Astride said. “Kind of hard to kiss your best friend when you haven’t kissed anyone before.” She barely even realized that everyone was still listening in. 

“You’ve never kissed anyone?” Anthony asked, surprised. 

Astride looked down at her hands, sipping her beer. “Nope.” She gave him a brief smile. “I know it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but no. Just hasn’t happened yet.”

Maybe it was the alcohol talking, or maybe it was feelings buried so deeply in Anthony’s mind that he didn’t think would ever see the light of day, let alone have to be confronted, that made him say what he did next. “I could—if you wanted—you don’t have to, but—” he stammered.

Astride laughed, looking at him curiously. “What is it, Tito? You’re not normally one to stumble over your words like that.”

He picked at his fingernails, an old nervous tick from his childhood that his mother was never quite able to get him to break, keenly aware that the whole room had decided to listen into their conversation. “I was just trying to say...I could do it, if you want. Kiss you, I mean. If you just wanted to get it over with, or whatever. I just figured. You know me, you trust me, you’re comfortable with me. Better that than some idiot at school who doesn’t care about you.”

Her cheeks burned as she looked over at him, but even though it took her nearly a minute to respond, she had her answer after five seconds. “Why not?” Astride flashed him the purest, gentlest smile, the kind that let him know just how much she cared about him and how deeply she trusted him. And the look on her face meant the world to him. 

Anthony leaned in, his hand coming up to rest on her shoulder, his fingertips just barely touching her cheek as their foreheads leant together. “You sure about this?” He needed her to be sure. 

She nodded. “I’ve had a couple of drinks, and I never imagined my first kiss would be in front of an audience,” she paused to giggle at the rest of the team, who were giving the scene their full attention in a way that somehow wasn’t uncomfortable at all, just wholesome and supportive, “but yeah. I’m sure.”

That was all the permission Anthony needed to lean forward, pressing his lips against hers, in a kiss that was soft and sweet and somehow everything Astride needed all in one. He pulled back after a moment, a goofy smile on his face. “How was it?”

Astride couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Good, it was really good, Tito. Thank you for that.”

“What are friends for?”

---

“Friends are for kissing each other, apparently,” Astride giggled, leaning into Anthony on his couch. 

He laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over her arm. “Did you ever think something was going to happen between us?” Anthony asked curiously. 

Astride shrugged. “At some point, yeah. I think it was kind of hard not to, with our parents and literally everyone we spent time with saying we were destined to fall in love.” She looked down at her hands, trying not to give away the fact that at one point, she had believed them. 

November 30 (tues)

“Do you want to come over Friday?” Anthony asked, sprawled out across her couch on one of his rare nights off. He had made the drive over to Astride’s apartment, cooking salmon and roasting vegetables while she took the much more daunting task of picking what to watch on Netflix. She settled on Back to the Future. “I can order in Thai, I know we’re trying to work our way through the Mission Impossibles.” 

Astride grimaced. “I actually...kind of have a date Friday night,” she admitted. 

Anthony made a hum of surprise. “You do?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t act so shocked, Tito. There are men in this city of nine million who want to take me out.” 

He sputtered. “It’s not that that shocks me, Asty. You’d have men lining up around the block for you if you’d give any of them a second glance. It’s just that. You never seem to bother actually going after any of them. What made this one different?” 

“I mean, honestly hour?” Astride said, shrugging. 

“Honestly hour.” 

“I haven’t been on a date since I left Montréal, you know that. It had been a few months there too. And I’ve loved hanging out with you more, getting to know Mat and the team and everyone’s partners, but...I needed something different, too. Something that felt like a part of my life that wasn’t directly connected to the team. Which, don’t get me wrong,” she added hastily, “I love them, and it’s been so nice to be a part of that group, I just…” Astride trailed off. 

“You can’t let that be the only part of your life. I get it,” Anthony added helpfully.  

“Yeah,” Astride agreed. “So enter Cole. He works in a different division of the IE department, I’m obviously Europe and he’s Asia, mostly does work with Taiwan and Singapore. Um,” she said, her eyes turning towards the ceiling, “he seems really nice, did international business at UPenn, which is a great program. Speaks fluent Mandarin, uh, I think he mentioned he’s got a few fish at home.” 

Anthony snorted. “What’s wrong with fish?” Astride asked defensively. 

“Nothing, nothing’s wrong with fish,” he said. “Just seems like an odd choice. Maybe his building doesn’t allow pets or something.” 

“Maybe,” Astride responded. “I wouldn’t know, he lives in Manhattan, over in Tribeca. Bikes to work.” 

Tito laughed again. “I don’t trust people who bike to work in New York City, Asty. They have zero regard for their own lives or safety.” 

She giggled. “That might be true. But I’m looking forward to it, the date, I mean. I really am. It’s been a while since I’ve really put myself back out there, and I’m ready for something good. Something real.” 

He gave a half-smile from his side of the couch. “I’m happy for you, Astride. I hope you have a great time, and I hope he treats you right. If he doesn’t, just let him know that you can sic an entire professional hockey team on him with a single phone call.” 

“I will,” she said. “I’ll call you when it’s over, tell you how it went.” “

I’ll be waiting,” he said. 

Anthony thought back on the conversation as he sat on the corner of his bed that night, about to go to sleep. He turned his phone over and over in his hands, his eyes fixating on the chip in the crown molding that he hadn’t gotten around to fixing yet. He wasn’t lying to Astride when he said he was happy for her. He was, of course he was, who wouldn’t want their best friend to be happy? But while he wanted nothing more, nothing more, than to be able to give his full-throated support for her date, and the potential the future held for her and this Cole guy, he couldn’t do it. There was something stopping him. And the worst part of it all was that Anthony was starting to realize what it was. 

---

Astride had said that their dinner reservation was at 7, some brasserie in the West Village. “That’s a French thing, right?” Cole had asked. 

“It is,” Astride responded, gearing up for her translation skills to be used for the first time in months. She spoke almost exclusively French around Tito, and with JGP and Brassard, but the majority of her day was spent in English. Cole said that the restaurant had come highly recommended from one of his Wall Street friends, something that should have been the first red flag. 

“Never trust the finance bros,” Reese, a German specialist and one of her friends at the office, had said. “They all think they’re God’s gift to mankind when I can guarantee you they ain’t shit.”  

She had said it was at 7, so Anthony wasn’t expecting to hear from her until much later; honestly, he would have been surprised if she had called before 10. He tried not to think about what it could mean if she didn’t call at all that night. She had said it was at 7, so when he heard a knock at his door at half past nine, he practically jumped out of his skin before scrambling to open the door. His eyebrows rose when he saw Astride on the other side of the door, then his face contorted into a look of sympathy as he saw the sad smile on her lips, her jacket slung over one arm. 

“Can I come in?” she asked. He nodded without question, holding the door while stepping out of the way. He padded to the kitchen, bringing out a bottle of Moscato and two glasses. Astride smiled gratefully at him as he uncorked the bottle and poured. He knew that she couldn’t do red wine when she was upset, and she was upset. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked tentatively. 

Astride shrugged, sipping the wine. “Not much to tell other than it was probably the worst first date I’ve ever been on.” 

That piqued Anthony’s interest. He’d never be happy that she was upset, but something told him the story wasn’t quite that simple. “What about it was so bad?” 

“Where do I begin?” she sighed. “He was on time, but that’s pretty much the only thing Cole did right the entire night. He was rude to the waitress when we had to wait all of ten minutes until our reservation was ready, because the couple ahead had gone long. Then he ordered the most expensive bottle of red wine they had, without even asking me to see what I wanted. He really just was trying to show off that he could afford it. And it was a Sangiovese, and you know I hate dry wines, so I was just trying to choke the whole thing down. And then he insisted on ordering for me, which is probably the most chauvinistic thing I could think of, I mean, who does that anymore?” she asked incredulously. 

Tito shrugged. It was disrespectful, absolutely, but more than that, it was just weird. If women have mouths that work, then they’re more than capable of doing something as simple as ordering their own food. 

“And he kept trying to pour me more wine after the first glass, even when I told him a million times I was good.” Anthony’s grip on his glass tightened. Astride rubbed her temples with her free hand. “He just kept going on and on about work, and this big promotion he’s insisting he’s going to get even though I know for a fact that they want Maria for it. I could barely get a word in edgewise. That’s when I just decided I couldn’t take it anymore. I faked that Jean-Claude was calling, grabbed my jacket, and caught a cab over here.” She looked up at him, the same disappointed expression she had worn when he opened the door. “I was really hoping this one would pan out, Tito.” 

He felt an ache in his heart. He may have been less than thrilled about the prospect of Astride going out on a date, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less to see her so despondent. He leaned over, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen loose. “I know, Asty. And I’m sorry it didn’t.”

December 13 (mon)

Anthony and Mat were the last ones in the locker room after a morning practice. “I found this new place nearby last week that’s got great smoothie bowls, want to get one after you finish packing your stuff?” Anthony asked, looking over at Mat. 

“Yeah, yeah. Sure, Sounds good,” Mat nodded, half-listening. 

Anthony glanced over at him, a weird look on his face. “You good, dude? You sound distracted.”

Mat spoke abruptly, looking over at Tito with a laser-focused expression. “How long have you been in love with Astride?” 

Anthony’s eyebrows jumped a foot. “In love with Astride? Why would you think that?”

Mat gave him a look, the kind of look that let Anthony know he was dead serious about what he was saying, and more than that, that he believed it. “Tito, I’m dumb, but I’m not stupid.”

Anthony leaned forward, elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. “It’s that obvious?” 

“Yep,” Mat said, popping the p. 

“Do you think she knows?” His voice had dropped to barely above a whisper. 

“I don’t know,” Mat said, shrugging. “I don’t think so, she doesn’t seem like the type of person to really be able to know about something as big as that and not address it. Doesn’t like to keep things bottled up, it’s not really her style.”

Anthony nodded. “It’s not.” He raked one hand through his haid, his head still leaning on the other one. “God. How do you tell your best friend you’re in love with her?”

Mat put one hand on Beau’s back, comforting him as best he could. “I don’t know, Tito. I wish I could help. What I do know,” he said, “is that you’re going to have to eventually. Because it’s going to tear you up if you don’t.”

December 18 (sat)

Astride tossed one final empty can into the garbage bag. “I think that’s it,” she said, giving his living room a cursory look. What had looked like a warzone only less than an hour before now more closely resembled the somewhat-messy but perfectly respectable bachelor pad of a man in his 20s, like it should have. With the holidays approaching, Anthony had decided to take it into his own hands to host a party — alongside Astride, who he had practically begged for help — intent on showcasing his newly-acquired skills by playing bartender the whole night. He was surprisingly capable, Astride had thought, if her Sazerac was anything to go by. 

He smiled at her. “Thanks, Asty. And thanks for staying and helping clean everything up, you really didn’t have to.” 

She tied the bag off and set it by the door with the other one. “I wanted to. And besides, I’m staying over,” she said, looking over at Anthony, “so what did you think I was going to do? Lock myself in the guest room while you cleaned up the whole apartment by yourself? What kind of a woman do you take me for?” she asked in mock offense. 

Anthony laughed, sitting down on the couch with a satisfying thump, pulling Astride into his side when she settled next to him. 

“I’m so glad we got back in contact,” she said, muffled against the fabric of his hoodie. “I’m so glad we’re friends again.” 

He felt guilty; more than that, he knew that the guilt, at least some of it, was deserved. “I should have done more,” he lamented. “I should have done more to keep in contact, more to show you I cared, more so you’d know that your friendship is one of the things I value most in my life.” 

Astride gave a small smile. “It’s a two-way street, Tito. Sure, I won’t lie and say that you really put all that much effort into keeping in contact. You didn’t.” He winced, she shot him a sympathetic look. “I love you, but you know me. I don’t mince my words. But I definitely could have done more than text you congratulations or leave a thirty-second voicemail on your birthday. We both could have done more. We both should have done more,” she said, correcting herself. “What do you think happened, though? Where did we go wrong?” As much as she might have hated it, Astride was that kind of person. She went through every bad decision in her life with a fine-toothed comb, needing to know what went wrong, needing to know what she could have done differently. 

“I think,” he began, “that it was just so easy to get distracted from ‘back home’ things. From our friendship, from my relationships with my family. From the important things, the things that I should have made an effort to prioritize even when the season got hectic and games got hard. And I’m not trying to make excuses,” he added quickly, “but there was just something about where I was, physically and mentally. I was 19, a rookie in one of the biggest cities in the world, and I think I just lost sight of things. Between the practices and games and going out and community events and trying to get in more than five hours of sleep a night, it was a lot,” he admitted. “It was stressful, probably weighed on me more than I wanted to admit. And I don’t want to sound ungrateful, because I’m well aware I was — and am — living a life thousands of kids would kill for, but there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that you don’t really understand unless you’ve been through it. I don’t have many regrets from my rookie season, or really many in my career so far. Don’t regret moving for minors, don’t regret going to the Isles, don’t regret any of the contracts I’ve signed or plays I’ve made. Well,” he smirked, “maybe a few. But the one big one? The only real regret I’ve had? Letting you go.” 

Astride swallowed hard, choosing her next words carefully. “What do you mean, letting me go?”

Anthony let out a hard sigh. He’d put it off for long enough. He couldn’t do it any longer. “Never telling you how I feel.”

“How you feel?” Her voice had dropped to a whisper, her fingers tangling in the fringe of the fleece blanket that was slung over the couch cushions. 

“Like I love you so much my heart could burst.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “How long have you known?”

He looked at her with a soft smile. “Ever since Switzerland.”

“Six years?”

“Six years.” He reached out slowly, so slowly, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear when she didn’t move back. They sat in silence for a moment, and when Anthony spoke again, his voice wavered. “Asty? Say something.”

Astride’s lifted her head, finally meeting his eyes. “I knew since I was 15.”

His face split into a grin, wider and wider until she was sure she’d never seen a bigger smile. “You did? You do?”

She nodded, leaning forward so their foreheads were touching. She put her hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat fluttering butterfly-fast underneath her fingertips. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you since I knew what love was, Tito.”

He pushed forward, pressing his lips against hers for the first time since 2015, the first time since Switzerland. It was gentle and meaningful and somehow communicated all of the love and emotion that had been built up between the two of them in the past six years. Anthony pulled back after a minute, his lips pink and slightly puffy. “Tell me where your head’s at, Astride.”

“Is it too cliché to just say that this might be the happiest I’ve been in years?”

He shook his head, smiling. “Not at all.” But there was something that she wasn’t quite letting go of. “What is it, Astride?”

Astride sniffed. “I want this. You and I, I want it so mad it hurts. I just hate the idea that we’d turn into some sort of cliché. Childhood friends who grow up and fall in love, but something goes wrong and they split up and suddenly the dynamic of everything is messed up and I don’t want that, Tito. I don’t know if I could deal with you hating me because of how things ended.” 

“But things don’t have to end, Asty. Every broken heart, every date where some asshole has stood you up has led you to know that you deserve more. You deserve so much more, Astride, you deserve the sun and the moon and someone who would hang them in the sky for you. It doesn’t have to end in heartbreak. It doesn’t have to end at all.” 

Astride had always been someone who was cautious, someone who thought before she acted and never spoke without thinking through every possible outcome. But this was one of the times that she couldn’t do that, one of the times when, as much as she may have hated it, she needed to take a leap of faith. And so she did. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Anthony asked, his voice lifting. 

She nodded, the happiness on her face unmistakable. “Okay.”

And as Astride and Anthony FaceTimed her parents to break the news, her mom slapping her dad’s shoulder, claiming that she had “called it” back in 2014, Astride was filled with a sense of undeniable, irreplaceable joy. The kind of joy that the poets write about and artists put brush to canvas trying to depict, the kind that most people go their whole lives only hoping to get a glimpse of. The kind that made Astride more certain of one thing than she had perhaps been in her entire life. It didn’t have to end in heartbreak. And this one didn’t have to end at all. 

And as they stood two years later in a little church in their hometown, promising in front of their family and friends and the entire New York Islanders to love each other for the rest of their lives, Astride finally believed it.

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Cosmic {1}

Lewis Tan x OFC Jupiter Azari

Warning: Plot, Cursing, Flirting, POV Changes, Fake Social Media Inserts

Words: 4k

Summary: Lewis has been single for three years after a stifling relationship that ended because of his reluctance to make a strong enough commitment. In that time, he’s focused on his career and living his life to the fullest. His goal was to have worthwhile experiences and make lasting connections. He’s got the experiences part down, but he’s never felt any sort of lasting connection until he’d seen your posts. After months of stalking your Instagram, he can’t stop thinking about you and decides to take a chance. Maybe it was time for him to take a chance on something new. 

Note: *Sigh* Another one, I know. *Deeper Sigh*. I apologize for the blurriness in some of the FAKE IG DMs. I’ve been working on this for so long, and finally, I can post a little something for it. Please tell me what you think. I am so excited to hear your thoughts.

Thank you guys so much for reading!!!! If you enjoyed this please LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG. 😊❤️❤️

***Loosely Edited/ Proofread***

***Interactive***

***Fake IG Post Creations***

-Lewis-

 He’d been single for a long time now. Three years. He’d been in a serious relationship for twice as long, so the math was right to him. There was no lying that he missed some of the advantages of relationships and having someone to journey through life’s ups and downs with. He missed things such as intimate dinner dates, entwining his fingers with someone else’s and relishing the feel of skin against skin, getting to know someone almost as well as he knew himself, and deep, fulfilling conversations. One of the most significant things he missed was companionship.

He knew he was not an unattractive guy. He also knew that being who he was, he could meet people effortlessly have a series of no strings attached romances where his physical needs were minimally satisfied for a short time. That was not a problem, but he’d long realized that was never enough for him. He needed more—a lot more. His busy schedule didn’t help matters at all, either. He was either on a flight every week or going between fight practice, meetings, filming, and a lot more. It took time to nourish a relationship and mold it so it could blossom into something strong and beautiful, time he just didn’t have. It was a simple fact—or so he thought.

 More and more, he’d been feeling as if maybe he could make that time; maybe he could find a way to have the highly sought after satisfying professional life but also that deeply fulfilling personal life. Maybe it was possible without having something or someone fall to the side. He began to think maybe he was ready to address his other needs.

 Groaning, he looked at the clock beside him. Two o’clock. Rolling out of bed, he walked into his bathroom. The day before was a long one; he hadn’t gotten in until nearly three in the morning. This was the first day in several that he’d been able to get more than seven hours of sleep. His body was telling him something. After tackling his hygiene routine, he pulled on a pair of his athletic quick-dry leggings and shorts then made his way to the back of his beach house.

It was another beautiful day in Spain, and he was ready to carpe diem the hell out of it—after he got his jog in. As he ran his standard four miles, his mind wandered to a variety of topics. He ran down his schedule for the next few days, went over his goals for the month, and made mental notes of things he needed to get done for the week. He believed in discipline, and the utmost show of discipline was having some over one’s life. Perhaps it was something he learned from his father as he trained in martial arts, or maybe it was a life lesson he’d picked up after so many years in the industry, both working and associating.

 By the time he plopped down onto the cool sand, almost two hours had passed, and he was sweaty and out of breath. He panted while gaping at the softy rolling waves and the faint sounds of the seagulls. It was a sight to be seen, one he was appreciative of. As he was getting lost in the view, a reminder popped up on his phone.

 *Social Media update*

 Sighing, he opened up his Instagram account and scrolled through his feed. If he didn’t set reminders for himself about social media, he would forget it entirely. He was one of those people who preferred to live life unfiltered and didn’t see a need to blog or vlog every little thing. He liked to share meaningful things. On the other hand, his team made it a priority for him to do more than share meaningful things. Their motto is if you’re not being seen or talked about, your brand and existence are inconsequential.

 So, four times a day, he had reminders set up. The plan was to engage with his fans while showing his personality. His agent’s exact words were; “Show the world what a swoon-worthy guy Lewis Tan is.”

 Just as he clicked over to his drafts, he registered her face. Quickly he tapped back onto his feed and on her recent post. It was an incredibly artistic photo of what could have been the universe, or even the mind’s third eye, or possibly a woman giving birth. It was just that subjective, but it was done in a way that made it seem as if you were looking through a kaleidoscope. He sat there marveling at the first photo, not even realizing there were three more that accompanied it.

 As he swiped through them, his mind was further blown. Each one gave off a psychedelic vibe. When he got to the last one, he found himself sighing out at the sight of her. The caption was,  “Art is subjective; who do you see?” Her face was one that easily held someone captive. Her eyes were impossibly deep and inviting. They drew him in, in a haunting and mysterious way. Even her username was creative as fuck. JupiterFallingToEarth.

 He’d spent weeks following her activity. She posted every day about once a day, sometimes two, and her posts ranged from artistic shots of landscapes, items, herself, and then she also posted products and fashion. It was clear she was a lifestyle blogger, and according to some of her posts, she was probably an influencer of some sort. There was something about her that drew him in from the first post he accidentally came across. That was four months ago.

 Since then, he’d practically stalked her page. The second he got a notification that she’d posted something, he was looking at it soon after. When he saw her stories, they always put a smile on his face. She was effortlessly adorable and sexy at the same time. It was a contradiction but one that you wore well. He didn’t know if he’d turned into one of those guys he’d seen countless times on Instagram. The ones who stalked a woman’s page and liked every single one of her posts and left vague comments under her pictures that could come off as creepy. He feared he had turned into that man.

 His interactions with her hadn’t gone to creepy lengths. He’d liked most of your posts, never commented because gossip was a real thing in his world, but liked other people’s comments under your posts. Sometimes he’d even tune in if you were on lives, and every time he watched, he was always filled with an urge to know you—really. He wondered if you’d even noticed he’d liked your pictures or if you’d gone to his page from curiosity to get lost in his content. One thing was sure; you’d never liked any of his posts. He’d noticed.

 “Get a fucking grip, man.”

 To help him on his way, he dropped his phone in the sand and ran to the waves hoping the water would do the trick. The coldness of the water shocked him, but it was a welcomed shock. Swimming further out to sea, he fought against the tide. Though he was exhausted, and his limbs were damn near numb, he pushed himself for just a little longer.  

 Ten minutes later, he dropped back onto the sand by his belongings while trying to catch his breath. That swim had his adrenaline surging competing with his exhaustion. Grabbing his phone, he went back to his drafts. Rather than posting one of them, he took a few shots of himself as he was dripping wet and all. Deciding on a relaxed-looking one, he prepped it to post. Before he did, though, he added a caption.

With it posted, he hopped to it. After a quick shower, he was off to tackle the day. On the agenda were three meetings for some brands that wanted him to work with them. The first up was a local Spanish sunglass brand, Vosotros. Throughout the meeting, he could tell that the campaign that they wanted to do was centered around bodies. Since the brand translated to the word “you,” their pitch was why not focus on everyone’s best selling feature—their body. It was a bit shallow for him, but the product was nice, and the pay was equally as appealing.

 After signing the contract, he moved to the second meeting. This one was for a couture men’s wear brand, Alma. This one he was familiar with. He’d worn many of their suits. They were comfortable but stylish and made from the best fabrics. He always felt like a million bucks when he wore them. This one was a no-brainer for him, and the compensation was the icing on the cake.

 Right before the third meeting began, he found he was running a little bit empty. The last time he’d had a meal was the night before. Before the meeting started, he pulled out his phone with the intent to figure out what was nearby so he could refuel once the meeting was finished. Once he saw the notifications, he opened up Instagram just to glance at them, but after scrolling through the eight thousand, among them, he found her name. Thinking he’d seen things, he scrolled all the way back to the top to refresh it, then scrolled back down, and sure enough, there it was.

 She’d liked six of his posts back to back. He couldn’t stop the wide grin that spread across his face. It was so broad that anyone would have thought he’d never gotten a like in his life. He spent the next few minutes going through which posts she’d liked. Each one made him smile wider and wider. By the time the prospective employers walked in, he was refueled enough to carry him through the rest of the day.

 ~~~~~~~~~~ 

-Y/N-

You’d finally bit the bullet. After four months of seeing the notifications on every one of your posts that he’d liked it or liked a comment under; it was about time. Right? The truth was you noticed each of them. The first time you got the notification, you almost fell out of your seat. You knew who he was because you’d seen one or two things that he’d been in and always thought he was hot, but of course, it was in passing. After the second notification of his like, you rushed to his page to go through each of his posts and found yourself salivating over every picture.

 After about half an hour, you got snapped back to your senses. The odds of it being him were slim to none. While you knew many celebrities liked to troll social media for their next piece of ass or entertainment, you never got that vibe from him. You deduced it must have been either a fan page or catfish at its best. So what did you do? Ignored it.

 You ignored every notification and did your best to shrug off the basal instinct that had your belly fluttering. In total, you had nearly two hundred posts, and he’d liked each and every one of them. It was a lot of ignoring. Today though, something came over you, and that something had you going to his page to see his new post. You couldn’t do anything else but stare. The truth was your finger slipped to tap the heart, and once you did, you tapped it again to unlike, but you knew once a like went through, you couldn’t take it back. Your only option was to deal with it. You dealt with it by liking five more of his pictures. Go big or go home, right.

 After ten minutes, you were still lamenting over if you should have or shouldn’t have. The internal conflict in you was high, especially when you began to kick yourself for overthinking it. There was no way it was really him. It was impossible. With that in mind, you calmed yourself enough to meet up with your friends. After pressing mute on your notifications, you proceeded to get yourself ready. It had been a good week since you and your friends had gotten the opportunity to hang out due to your busy schedules.

 When you were more than halfway there, your excitement began bubbling. When the four of you got together, it was always a good time. As soon as the Lyft dropped you off at the restaurant, a new construction that all four of you were dying to try, you were more than ready to eat, drink, and laugh. You stood outside for a few moments to admire the chosen exterior décor. It was an intricate mix of modern and seaside charm. It definitely was something different for the neighborhood.

 Walking inside past a line of about twelve or so people, you marveled at the entrance of the restaurant. Whoever designed it truly did a fabulous job. It was featured in the papers as one of the best new restaurants to try out in the downtown area. The way they’d incorporated indoor plants seriously captivated your attention.

“Welcome to Creator, my name is Kenji,” began the host who towered over you by like eight inches and bore green-hazel eyes. He was cute. “Do you have a reservation?” His smile was wide, and it showed off that his two front teeth were bigger than all the others. He made it work, though.

 “Yes. I believe my party is already here. I’m not sure who it’s under, though.”

 Kenji scanned the list of names on the iPad before her. As he did that, you scrolled through your texts to find the details that Zoë sent you. After a few short moments, he glanced back at you. After you found the reservation name, you rolled your eyes. Your friends thought they were funny.

 “Found it?”

 “Yes, and I apologize in advance,” you began. Kenji, the host, wrinkled his brow, not getting it. He would, though.

 Clearing your throat, held your head high, then spoke. “Punani Dasani.”

 Kenji’s eyes widened, then he pinched his lips tightly before he nodded and tapped a few keys on the iPad.

 “Wow. Eh-em. Yep, they’re here.”

 Nodding, you dropped your phone back into your clutch. When you looked back up, you caught Kenji’s eyes glued to your cleavage. When his eyes met yours, the embarrassment in them was obvious. Dipping his head, he signaled for you to follow him.

 The two of you walked through the restaurant under low hung plants, vines, and flowers. It was like walking through the garden of Adam and Eve. That must be what the owner had in mind when naming it Creation. It was clever, you thought. Just then, Kenji approached the table with your three friends. Once they saw you, they made a loud “Skeee” sound bringing the attention to those nearby. You couldn’t take them anywhere.

 “You guys think you’re funny with the reservation name?”

 They all laughed at you as you dipped down and greeted each of them with cheek kisses.

 “How did he look at you? From the way he keeps looking back, I can bet he wanted to sample that punani Dasani,” Tati joked to each of their delight.

 They were a trip, always had been. You, Tati, Monaè, and Zoë had been friends since high school and somehow managed to remain tight even though you each went your separate ways to different colleges. You each had spent two years apart until you came back together to finish your final two years of university together.

 “Don’t be mad. He wasn’t that cute anyway,” Monaè said, opening the menu before her.

 Cold-hearted, you thought as you did the same. Dinner progressed with laughs and stories of your days and recent happenings in your lives. As you ate, you decided to forget everything else and just enjoy yourself. You were in desperate need of a girl’s night, so you vowed to enjoy it fully.

 The food was delicious. Somehow they’d managed to make it taste healthy but also savory and completely indulgent. You felt as if every bite you took added thirty pounds, but you knew it wasn’t possible. The flavors all melded together so well that you wanted to send a message to the chef, letting them know they’d done well.

After a deeply fulfilling meal, the four of you piled into a Lyft and made it to your favorite club, Surge.  The music in the club was so loud that you could feel it bouncing inside of you. After getting your first round of drinks, the dancing began, and when the four of you got together with drinks and music, it was always an event.  You jumped into the middle of your circle and busted out your wine. Tati grabbed your phone from your hands and began recording you. Ignoring the camera and the gathering crowd, you allowed the alcohol to do its job and take you away.

 When you heard your friends cheering you on, you decided to really bust out your moves. Dropping to the floor, you did your best twerk. Holding your drink in the air, you began to wine your hips as you stood. It was one of your favorite moves. When you turned around, you saw Tati up close and personal. Slapping your hand in front of the lens, you giggled as you took your phone back to end the recording.

 “Jesus girl, those hips definitely don’t lie,” Monaè teased, making all your friends laugh.

 From behind, you felt someone approach you and place their hand on your waist. Turning, you gave him the rays of death with your stare telling him to back off. As quickly as he’d had the audacity to put his hand on you, he took it off just as quickly and backed away.

 “And don’t come back,” Zoë shouted.

 By the time you made it back home, it was three in the morning, and your feet hurt almost as much as your ass did. After leaving the club, the four of you had an impromptu photo shoot that lasted almost forty-five minutes and ended with you on your ass at the bottom of the pile once you’d tried some ridiculous cheerleading pose trying to relive your high school days. Big mistake.

 After a quick shower that had you almost falling asleep a few times, you dove into your bed, ready for some well-deserved rest. Just as you’d gotten comfortable, your phone’s alarm went off. Groaning, you reached over the edge of the bed, grabbing your bag to rifle through it. With your phone in hand, you blearily stared at the harsh light making your eyes feel as if they hadn’t closed in days rather than hours. You went to your alarm to turn it off, deciding that your routine dawn photo expedition would have to be rescheduled. You were too exhausted.

 Just as you were going to toss it away, you saw the notification of messages on Instagram. Your curiosity got the better of you, and you slid it down to get a preview. Through the blur in your eyes, you saw an icon that looked familiar. Tapping it, you nearly swallowed your tongue when you saw Lewis Tan’s image. Bolting upright, you coughed and slid to brace your back on your headboard.

 “What the--!”

The minute you saw it, you couldn’t believe your eyes. He’d send you a message. Chewing your bottom lip, you studied the time he’d sent it—over four hours ago. You then realized he’d see that you saw it, and you debated in your head if you should reply.

 “Jesus, get it together. Just say something simple,” you coached.

It was weak, but it was the best you had. You wondered if he would think it was weak too. As you obsessed about that, you also realized just how late it was. You’d responded to a DM at booty call hours. Rolling your eyes, you slouched back on your headboard. Your eyelids were heavy, and they drooped, trying to tell you something. Once they closed, your phone chimed that elaborate tone for your notifications.

Why had you responded? It was clear this was some fan page who either was using his image to catfish or gain followers. You never responded to questionable DMs, and this was as questionable as they got.

Even though you were still fighting your sleep, part of you was intrigued.

Flipping your smart TV on, and you turned to the Netflix app and found something for background noise.

Nibbling your bottom lip, you thought for a few moments. You didn’t know if it was the alcohol that had you thinking this deeply or if it was something else.

You snorted and shook your head. “He’s really going down with the ship, huh.”

This was always the reaction when anyone found out your name. They were always shocked and speechless. Usually, you got a few corny jokes or mentions about your favorite planet must be Jupiter or bring up some astronomy fact that was always wrong. It was annoying. You braced yourself for some equally corny mention from him.

The corny mention never came.

Your heart fluttered, and you couldn’t help but cheese from his compliment. You hadn’t expected it. Though you tried to stop smiling, you couldn’t. There was something about his words. It wasn’t like you’d never heard sweet words before. You had. This shouldn’t have been any different.

The exhaustion began to take a more significant hold, and you slid lower, tucking your comforter underneath your chin.

Filming? What the heck was he talking about, you wondered. He was really taking this shit a little too far.

You bolted upright again. Was he seriously going to take this that far?

He was insane, absolutely mental. You were so damn ready to end this. One thing you hated was dishonesty. You especially hated being toyed with.

There was no way that he could prove it. What was he going to do?

He thought you were an idiot. He must have. Your anger was rising.

Rolling your eyes, you tossed your phone beside you. You knew the chances of him passing this test were slim to none. You couldn’t believe that you’d given up the last thirty minutes of sleep for this. Groaning, you dropped back down, determined to drift away to sleep. Almost two minutes passed before you heard your chime again. Fighting the urge, you turned to your side, trying your best to ignore the fact that you knew he’d sent something.

After two minutes of curiosity killing you, you flung your hand back, grabbed your phone while flipping onto your back. You held your phone above your face, opened the app, and there he was.

Your jaw dropped, and your eyes drank in every inch and rippling ab. Jesus, you thought. As you were bringing your phone closer, you didn’t register that a video call was coming in. without even realizing it, you answered, and the same image you’d been looking at moments ago was now live. The only difference was the frame wasn’t as low to show his incredible abs. It cut right at his chest, giving you a peek at his dark, dusty rose nipples. You were utterly frozen. He smiled and raked his hand through his hair before he bit onto his bottom lip. It was Lewis fucking Tan.

 “Enough proof for you?” He smiled, and that was when your phone slipped and fell right in your face.

 “Fuck, owww!”

 The pain was so strong you were tearing up. Rolling to the side, you rubbed your face, then searched for your phone. When you got to it, the video call had ended, showing you your home screen.

 You began to freak out. “Oh my god, oh my god! What the fuck! What the fuck! What the fuck!”

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

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[artiesjam]

Silent Captions

Chapter (1/?) *

———

Willie stood up straighter and proposed the idea of communicating secretly through Tiktok captions. Alex had to hold back a laugh at how ridiculous the idea was. However, the other man was completely serious about it. He didn’t know if it was the look Willie was giving him or if he truly meant it but he went along with the idea. Nothing could’ve gone wrong. Right?

———

Carrie knew about everything before Alex. It was just a natural trait of hers. That was why he wasn’t surprised when one very bubbly Carrie texted him early in the morning about an influencer party. He would’ve responded with a witty comment on how she should be sleeping but he was too tired to do anything except utter a low groan and tuck himself back under the covers.

That decision caused him more harm than good because his much-needed sleep was soon interrupted by loud knocking. “Hello? Alex? Alexander?!” The voice was far too familiar for Alex’s liking. “Five more minutes, C’?” He grumbled, praying for her to get the hint and leave. The only response he ended up getting though was the sound of a key in his door. Damn it. Curse him for giving Carrie a key to his condo.

He was sure that she was going to be the death of him. Yet, she also was kind of what saved him. They met when Alex was a small creator, a big contrast from Carrie’s account with a whopping twenty million. He couldn’t remember who posted the comment but someone suggested that he covered one of Dirty Candy’s songs. He did and it was his first-ever video to go viral. It was also the video that made Carrie contact him. Their conversation started with occasional praises and compliments. It wasn't until he called her to come over to his place to talk and they connected, getting him out of the rut of his parents not accepting him. They both bonded over dancing, pop music, and being gay. It was no question that they’d be friends.

“Alex, are you going or not?” Carrie persisted in asking questions about the party, clearly not noticing Alex’s sleepy and grumpy mood. “Fine. I'll go as long as you leave. Please, I need my sleep.” Even though he was squinting his eyes, he was sure he could catch Carrie’s grin from a mile away. It was criminal how easy she could persuade people.

“Good! I'll see you at nine. Make sure to wear pink so we're matching, ‘lex.” She clapped her hands excitedly and was gone quicker than she came. Despite always talking about how obnoxious she was, her presence was always missed when she left. Now all Alex was left with was a disheveled bedhead, an event that he had to be at in a couple of hours, and some green tea that Carrie had bought for him. At least he had the green tea.

———

It was 8:30 and the man still couldn't decide whether or not to wear the fanny pack or not. He didn't truly need it considering that the only thing in there were bandaids but he felt strangely off without it on. That's why he decided to keep it.

Carrie glanced at him up and down before doing a good rundown of herself. “What are you looking at?” Alex teased. “I’m making sure that we fully match. Last time, you wore a rainbow bracelet without telling me!” She retorted, showcasing her entire bedazzled outfit from head to toe. “Babe, it was just a bracelet. People weren't going to even notice.” A pout emerged from her bottom lip. “I noticed. Now can we go?” Alex nodded his head at that and started moving to his car.

The ride wasn't long but it felt like it was. Driving always made Alex anxious. It was just something about the constant rush of cars and the noises and the lights that just made him ache. However, Carrie was here to calm him down. Whether if it was sharing a small quick tip on the street that they were on or playing his favorite music. It helped. More than he would admit.

It was exactly nine whenever they arrived. Carrie immediately ran off to chase after Flynn, her girlfriend. They had made it official a year and a half ago after Alex called her out on her pining (which she said was not pining but was most definitely pining). To be honest, he found their relationship kind of adorable. Carrie would attempt to hold hands or cuddle at every moment and Flynn would have to kiss the bridge of her nose and coddle her tightly to get her satisfied.

He couldn't help but envy what they had. Then all of a sudden, almost as if the gods themselves were listening to his request, Willie had appeared from around the corner sporting a cheeky smile. He was gorgeous and faintly familiar. His gaze slid from his hair down to his ankles and then back up again. He didn't even realize the action could've been interpreted as flirting until the other had winked and oH my god, extremely hot stranger just winked at him.

He was a goner.

[petersasteria]

Someday We’ll Know - Haz Osterfield

Pairing: Haz x Singer!Reader

Part 1:  Still Into You || Haz Osterfield Masterlist

* * * *

Hurt. When love is present, hurt would be just around the corner; lurking around to find the perfect time to strike. It's the storm after the calm. No one ever talks about what we should do after we get hurt. You see, hurt is inevitable. No one knows when or how we'll get hurt, but it's inevitable and it just happens. Everyone wishes they could have known beforehand, so that they could be prepared. Well, no one's ever prepared.

Love is a battlefield; it's war. Love is a war and we are love's soldiers. Before we go into war, we tell ourselves what we should and what we should not do. But when we're at war itself, we lose all control and we're clueless. We tell ourselves to prepare, but when it's actually happening, we forget all the things we prepared for; we forget why we prepared in the first place.

Maybe that's why we get hurt. We forget to secure ourselves. Unlike love, hurt only has a few questions. They say love is the most complicated thing, but let's not forget that hurt is complicated too. Sometimes, we hurt first before we love. An example of this would be if you get hurt that your friend started dating. Only to realize that you were hurt, because you actually love them and it was kind of late to realize it.

Is hurt a good thing? Or is hurt a bad thing? Are pain and hurt one and the same? Why do we get hurt? Do we hurt when we hurt other people? Is hurt a form of love?

There are a lot more questions. Like love, answers about hurt may vary depending on who you ask. Everyone's hurt levels are different and everyone hurts differently.

Hurt is both a good thing and a bad thing. It feels bad, but because it feels bad, it becomes a good thing. You're probably asking, 'how come it becomes a good thing?'. It becomes a good thing, because now, you're fully aware that whatever environment you're in is bad. It's a warning.

Hurt is a form of warning before a heartbreak. The moment you feel hurt, spare yourself from heartbreak and just leave. Or you could fix it with love. But not all problems should be solved with love. See? It's complicated. There are so many should's and shouldn't's.

Love and hurt get along, because they're both complicated. And because they're both complicated and they get along, it's the perfect concoction for what makes us human. Loving is not wrong. Hurting is not wrong, either. Love and hurt makes us wiser and stronger that's why it's the perfect concoction for making us human.

Like love, hurt is inevitable. They go together, after all. If they go together, was love supposed to hurt? Was love all about hurting? Was it possible to love someone who hurt you? Was it possible to hurt someone you love? If all the answers are 'yes', then we've finally answered one question about love. We partly figured out what love is. Last time, we learned that:

Love is complicated. Some people say that love wasn't supposed to hurt. If we get hurt, it wasn't love.

If love was all about hurting, let's debunk that and answer the questions instead.

Was it possible to love someone who hurt you? Yes, because at some point in life, we loved them with our whole being before they hurt us.

Was it possible to hurt someone you love? Absolutely. Whether you intended it or not, it's still possible to hurt someone you love.

It's been two years since Y/N and Harrison broke up. The two twenty-five year olds would have been dating for twelve years. They would've been engaged. Harrison had a ring prepared, after all. He bought it after Y/N's visit all those years ago. He didn't propose because he wanted to wait.

Waiting. True love waits until you regret not shooting your shot in the first place. If Harrison knew that they'd break up years later, he would have proposed then and there. If he did that, Y/N would've said yes and they would've been happily married. They would've started a family.

But if he did that, Y/N wouldn't have been a singer. He knew that she'd decide to settle with him rather than focus on a singing career. He didn't want that. So he guessed that he made the right decision to not propose.

Both Harrison and Y/N didn't know what to do. They've literally been in a committed and serious relationship for ten years and now they didn't know what it was like to be single. The last time they were both single was when they were twelve and they couldn't exactly do what their single twelve year old selves did.

As each day passed by, both of them were unknowingly thinking of each other. Y/N would write songs about him, she'd record it, but she'd never release it. It would remain in her vault of songs dedicated for Harrison. She was updated with everything he was doing and Harrison was updated about her too. The fans were hurt that their power couple wasn't together anymore. But from time to time, they'd fit the other on the other's post.

Like when Y/N posted a picture of her reflection on the glass window. It was just a simple picture and the caption was: baby, not a day goes by that i'm not into you.

The fans freaked out and saw. They knew it was for Harrison. They shamelessly mentioned him in their comments and Harrison saw it. He would've seen it anyway without all the mentions. He asked himself why she'd put a lyric from their theme song as a caption. He wanted to ask her the same thing, but he knew that Y/N would answer, "why not?"

Harrison didn't know why she did that. Y/N didn't know either. Maybe, subconsciously, she knew that Harrison would see her post and maybe her subconscious was sending a message to Harrison that she was still in love with him and that she still thought of him as the love of her life and that she thought of him in general. If that were the case, Harrison felt it too. Because he, too, posted a picture with the caption: some things just, some things just makes sense and one of those is you and I.

The fans noticed and they practically begged for them to get back together. Y/N saw the picture and she finally did something she's never done in two years: she liked the picture. Again, the fans saw and they freaked out. In return, Harrison liked her picture too.

Rumors started circulating as fans speculated that they're getting back together soon. They prayed and hoped that they would.

Harrison's mother knew that everything will turn out in the end. She said that when he was twenty; when he broke down, because he was miles away from Y/N. She also said that when he called her to tell her that he and Y/N called it quits. She said it again when the rumors started. She was a wise woman. In fact, all mothers are wise women.

Y/N and Harrison thought differently about the break up. Y/N thought that maybe they actually weren't meant to be; they weren't soulmates. Harrison thought that they were meant for each other, no matter what. He thought of that thanks to his mother.

Y/N was utterly confused.

Does love always play like that? After being with someone for years, it suddenly wasn't meant? What the fuck was that? All those years were wasted. After being together with someone for a long time, it suddenly didn't work out? That's bullshit, but it happens. It unfortunately and sadly happens. Sometimes, we were just destined to meet someone. Just because we were destined to meet someone, doesn't mean that we were meant to be with that person. Someday, we'll all know an answer as to why that happens. But for now, we'll just have to accept that, that's life and that's love.

Y/N decided it would be nice to do an Instagram live stream at home, because she had a day off. She thought it would be nice to just have a chill day and maybe do some karaoke. Her tv had a YouTube feature anyway; she could search up some instrumentals of songs she wanted to sing.

An hour into her live stream, Harrison decided to watch. He didn't want people to cause a stir if he used his account, so he asked Tom if they could watch on his phone instead. Tom agreed with no hesitation. The fans saw that Tom was watching and pointed out that if Tom was there, Harrison was there somewhere. Y/N didn't notice it, because she just kept singing and randomly dancing.

It was entertaining.

After singing and dancing to "We're All In This Together", she decided to take a breather and talk to some fans. She saw that Tom left a comment here and there and she smiled and said, "Hi Tom! I hope I see you soon."

Tom smiled and commented, "See you soon!"

The fans went wild.

"Soon?? Are haz and y/n back together??"

"is she dating tom? sksks"

"lol no she isn't dating tom wtf tom wouldn't do that to harrison"

"lowkey kinda ship"

"haz and y/n are endgame PERIODT"

She chose to ignore the comments, because she didn't want to stir something up especially when they were all not true.

"This next song is called 'Someday We'll Know' and it's one of my favorite songs at the moment." She smiled and she played the song.

Ninety miles outside Chicago

Can't stop driving, I don't know why

So many questions, I need an answer

Two years later you're still on my mind

Upon hearing that line, Tom nudged Harrison and smiled at him. It was Tom's subtle way of telling him that Y/N dedicated that song for him. Tom knew that and he felt that. In some way, he felt that Y/N knew that Harrison was watching with him.

And Tom was right.

Y/N knew that Harrison was watching that's why she chose that song. If she were to sing 'Still Into You', it would be obvious. So, she did a smart move and picked the song she thought was perfect for them at the moment. Y/N didn't give Harrison closure. After all, she was the reason for the break up as much as she hated to admit it. This was Y/N's way of expressing her hurt and pain and heartbreak and sadness. Y/N thought that if she and Harrison were really meant for each other, he would feel how sorry she was.

And he did feel it. He just didn't know how to express it. He was still hurt, though. He was scared too. He was scared to be with her again. He was scared to love her too much again. He feared that if he loved her too much again, history would repeat itself and they'd let go of each other once more. Harrison was too fragile go to through that again.

Letting go. Two words that are easy to say, but hard to do. Part of letting go is moving on. The first step is to let go, because we can't move on if we're still holding on to the past. The past will always be our past as much as we hate it. But if we learn to let go of all of our past woes, we would be able to move on and live free from the past that used to cage us.

Letting go is a part of love. You see, love is a journey. It's like a life within a life. Notice how our love lives are different from our normal lives. When we're with the person we love, everything feels like a scene from a movie. But when we aren't with them, everything's so mundane.

Y/N loved Harrison enough to let him go. That was part of the journey. After all, we all have to let go at some point, right?

But Y/N was responsible for hurting Harrison. How come she had to let him go and not the other way around? Just because Harrison got hurt, doesn't mean that he's the one who should let go. Y/N had a reason: she let go of him, because she didn't want to hurt him anymore. She set him free and sometimes that's how you can show your love for someone.

Neither of them wanted it to happen, but they knew one of them had to do something. Y/N settled on letting him go instead, because he would be free from hurt.

"I'll ask Tom to get my stuff. You should stay here."

"But we bought it together after I graduated." Y/N frowned.

"Yeah, but your studio is here and if you moved out, it'll be hard to move those too. I'll stay with Tom, it's alright." Harrison gave her a small smile before leaving.

Even when they said goodbye, Harrison still cared. He never really stopped.

Caring is another form of love. When someone once had meaning in your life, you still end up caring for them. It's just the way it is. However, that only happens when you truly loved them, though. It only happens when it only ended on good terms.

"Mate, you still care about her, don't you?" Tom asked one night. Harrison glanced at him before looking back at his hands, "I never said I stopped caring. I still do."

"So, you still love her?" Tom added.

"I never stopped loving her either." Harrison replied.

"I don't get it." Tom said. "I know both of you still love and care for each other. So why aren't you together?"

"Love is complicated, Tom. I want to get back together, but I'm not sure if I should; I'm not sure if she wants to. I want to get back together, but I'm scared to get hurt again. Is that okay for me to feel that way?" Harrison looked at his best friend in worry.

Tom gave him a small smile and nodded, "That's totally valid."

Love is scary. Love is scary, because we don't know what will happen if we fall in love. Falling in love is a leap of faith. If you trust the person you love to catch you, falling for that person would be easy. If you don't, immediately let go and work on yourself first. Don't have second thoughts asking yourself if loving this person is right, because love shouldn't have second thoughts. Love should be built with trust.

Jasmine trusted Aladdin from the first time they met when they were running away from the palace guards. Before they went on a carpet ride Aladdin, or Prince Ali, asked her if she trusted him. She hesitantly said yes. She could've said no, but she didn't. But maybe she said yes, because Prince Ali was familiar to her. Sure, she was hesitant, but she still said yes. She had a feeling that Aladdin and Prince Ali were one and the same and she was right. That's why it worked out in the end. Jasmine and Aladdin were each other's soulmate.

What comes in your mind when you hear or see the word 'soulmate'?

People are divided into two when it comes to soulmates. People who believe in them and people who don't. Like hurt and love, most people have different answers regarding the question on whether they believe in soulmates and if soulmates are real.

Some people don't believe in soulmates. They believe that if a person was compatible with another person, those are because of their goals and personalities.

According to some people who said that soulmates are people who were meant to be with us. Some people also say that soulmates aren't necessarily people who we're romantically involved with, because soulmates can be friends.

From those, we can conclude that soulmates are people who we're meant to be with. Soulmates are people who are perfect for us. If so, how can we know if a person is our soulmate? Well, that's the thing. You'll just know. If you're still confused, you probably haven't found yours. It'll only make sense when you have a soulmate. One cannot simply explain on how to know if a person was written in the stars for you, because you'll know. It's a feeling and it's hard to explain.

Soulmates usually come after the storm. That's based from observation. No one talks about it, though. They only mention the calm before the storm, but they don't mention the storm itself and what comes after it. You see, after the storm, there's the sun. Calm is the love that makes us live in pure bliss and content, the storm is the hurt that unknowingly strikes and the impact of it is the inevitable heartbreak, and the sun is the peace that comes and swoops in to save us from the ruins of heartbreak's impact. That's what a soulmate is. Because after all the mistakes we've made and after everything we've been through, the sun will always be there to shine at the end of it.

One of Y/N's friends threw a party and Y/N took a day off just to go. It was her friend's birthday, after all. She wouldn't miss it for the world. What she didn't know was that Harrison would be there. Harrison didn't know Y/N was coming either. So it came as a surprise to them when they saw each other at the party.

"Fancy seeing you here." Y/N said with a smile.

"Likewise." Harrison smiled back.

"So, um how've you been?" Y/N asked. "It's been two years."

"I'm, I'm good. You?"

"Same here."

Silence fell upon them. It felt like they were thirteen again when they met up at the mall for their first date. Y/N chuckled at the thought and Harrison did the same. They looked at each other and asked at the same time, "Did you think about our first date at the mall?"

Harrison laughed, "Oh god, you did!"

"How could I not? We were so awkward!" Y/N laughed.

Once both of them calmed down, Harrison gave her a smile, "This feels nice. I really missed you."

"I really missed you too." Y/N said lovingly. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened two years ago. I was really busy and-"

"Don't worry about it, Y/N."

"I just want to say so-"

"I said don't worry about it." Harrison pushed.

"Why? I hurt you. I hurt the person I love and I want to apologize for it." Y/N frowned. Harrison held both of her hands and said, "You shouldn't worry about it, because I forgive you. I forgave you a long time ago. I forgave you before I left the house."

It now makes sense on why we care about who hurt us. We only care about them if we forgive them. If caring is another form of love, forgiveness is the same thing. An example of this would be Eliza forgiving Alexander Hamilton. But if we love the person who hurt us greatly, sometimes, we still care about them during the in between.

From that moment, Y/N and Harrison knew that they'd be okay. This moment was their sun. Harrison's mother was right once more.

Someday we'll know

Why Samson loved Delilah

One day I'll go

Dancing on the moon

Someday you'll know

That I was the one for you

The song played loudly through the speakers. Harrison and Y/N lightly chuckled. He asked, "Is this our new song?"

"I guess so, but not quite. It's complicated." Y/N replied.

"Then let's not complicate ourselves." Harrison smiled sweetly. "I love you and I haven't stopped. I'd love for us to be together again, if you'll allow it?"

"Haz, of course I want to be with you again." Y/N smiled.

Just like that, they were together again. They trusted each other enough to try again and they loved each other enough to fall back into love.

What is love? Love is a lot of things. Love is complicated. Love is nothing without trust. Love is the calm before the storm. Love is a soothing and cool feeling. Love is about balance; the give and takes. Love has a shit ton of meanings and a shit ton of perceptions. Love is real. Love is fickle. Love is everywhere.

There are no rules in love, because no one wrote such rules. We love who we want to love. We love when we want to love. Love knows no limits or boundaries. Love is different, because we write our own love stories, we create our own love stories, we have our own love stories, and we are our own love stories.  Love is a journey that everyone takes whether we like it or not. We keep loving despite knowing the storm will come, because love is natural.

Love is not rehearsed.

Love is a battlefield; it's war. Love is scary. Love is beautifully terrifying.

Is hurt a good thing? Yes.

Is hurt a bad thing? Yes.

Are pain and hurt one and the same? No. Hurt is a feeling when we're in pain.

Does love always play like that? After being with someone for years, it suddenly wasn't meant? Yes, because no one ever said that love was fair.

Love is a leap of faith.

Love is forgiveness.

The calm can happen for years. The storm can come multiple times. But the sun; the sun can only come once. We may never know what stage we're in right now. We can be at the state of calmness or we could be in the middle of a storm, but one day all the skies, our woes, will clear up and the sun will come to save us.

"There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same love twice." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

* * * *

Sorry if it’s shit lmao

𝐇𝐀𝐙 𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @abrielleholland @silencetheslaves @peachmaybnx @imeanlifesabitshit @joyleenl @marshxx​ @hjoficrecs

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @marvelousell @justasmisunderstoodasloki @rubberducky-jrr @petersholland @osterfieldnholland @miraclesoflove

𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐳 𝐎𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟

[bisexualsforprompto]

Miraculous: Reborn Chapter Five

Omg it’s been so fricking long I’m sorry

AO3

First Previous Next

~~~~~~~~~

What their history teacher neglected to tell them was that the assignment assigned the day prior was going to be unbelievably difficult. They only had one day to work on it, and they had barely made any headway in study hall.

Damian huffed to himself as he watched Mari stare intently at a book.

I could’ve done this much quicker without her. He brooded to himself, although deep down he knew that was probably a lie. Mari had worked much faster than he expected.

“Aha!” She smiled, pointing victoriously to a passage in her book. Her eyes lit up, and if possible her smile made her eyes look more blue. Damian finally noticed her freckles too.

He felt a smirk tug at his lips by how excited she got a small triumph. Not unlike Jon, he noted. Ugh another Jon.

But maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, he decided when he saw her tongue stick out slightly from her focus as she wrote into her notebook.

“Okay!” She exclaimed, snapping her notebook shut, “Done with the research! Now off to the project part.” She let out a small groan, “Any ideas?”

Damian held his sketchbook closely to his chest, not ready to let her see it. “Perhaps we can devise a poem and be done with it all.”

Mari pouted, then she smiled smugly, “Wanna take the easy way out, huh Damian?” She jibed.

“W-what?! No!” Damian spluttered, how insulting how dare she-

Oh...Damian realized as she saw her hold back a chuckle. She was joking.

Well two could play at that game.

“Very well, what do you suppose we do oh great Dupain?”

“Well...if you’re not opposed...maybe we could meet up later to work? We don’t have a lot of time now, but I can probably explain my idea.”

Damian hesitated, he didn’t want to bring this girl back to the manor. Solely because he wasn’t sure he could trust her, certainly not because he didn’t want her to judge him for being a Wayne.

“We can meet up at a nearby coffee shop once school is over. I’ll inform father. What’s your idea?” Damian asked as he pulled out his phone.

“Well...I’m an amateur designer.” Mari said, looking slightly flustered, “And I thought since the project is an extension of what we’ve learned maybe I could design some period appropriate clothes? Just a sketch of course, I doubt I’d have time to actually make something seeing as its due tomorrow but-“

“May I see what you have?” Damian interrupted.

Mari nodded slightly before pulling out a black book, not unlike his own sketchbook. She handed it to him and immediately looked away, embarrassed by her own work.

Damian flipped through the pages, “These are more than adequate Dupain.”

Mari blushed at the praise. Damian considered showing her his own drawings, but...considering he would seldom show his family or even Jon his sketches he was not inclined to show his to a girl he’d known for not even a full day. He handed the book back to her just as the bell rang.

“I’ll meet you outside of the main entrance when school ends. Goodbye Dupain.” Damian said hiking up his book bag and heading off to his next class.

Of course she was in his next class.

And the one after that too. She was even in his last period, which meant Mari Dupain was in All. Of. His. Classes.

He understood, she was gifted academically and so was he, so they would share classes. Plus, the private school was relatively small in the number of students who attended, but still there was no other person Damian shared all his classes with.

Suffice to say, if he hadn’t tolerated Mari before he’d need to now considering the new circumstances. Just as the final bell rang, instead of meeting Marinette outside he walked to her desk and silently waited for her to gather her things.

“I’m ready!” She beamed, zipping up her backpack.

Damian eyed her, small and frail at first analysis. Her backpack had accumulated lots of books because she had transferred so late in the year.

“Would you like me to carry something?”

“No! I’ll manage! Thanks for asking though-“

“Ice Prince Charming.” A girl snickered on her way out to her friend. Damian glared at them both. Then without another word he walked with Mari out of the building.

“Why do they call you that?” Mari asked as she walked with Damian through the halls to the exit.

“Not that it’s any of your business,” Damian stated harshly before seeing her deflated expression and softening, “But it’s because I’m a black sheep here I suppose. I don’t play by their rules— that is, date, socialize, be on the football team, etcetera.”

“Huh, you seem normal to me.” Mari said, of course, unbeknownst to Damian she was leaving out the part where she hadn’t been with another human that wasn’t her parents, a villain, or Chat Noir for six years.

Damian side-eyed her, not sure how to respond. He realized quickly that she expected no response. It seemed her conversations were organic and raw, rather than ones in which the other person already knew what the next was going to say and planned for it. She wasn’t bothered by the silence that they walked in, which was odd, considering that she was a teenager most of which talked just to hear themselves talk.

Reaching the school’s exit, Damian pushed open the door for her.

“Thanks!” She chirped.

“Damian!” Jon called from across the courtyard, slowly registering Mari’s presence, “Oh, hi Mari!”

“Hi Jon!” Mari waved while Jon dashed over.

“So...what are you two doing now?” Jon asked, a glint in his eye as he smirked at Damian.

“If you must know, we’re heading to the local coffee shop to finish a project.”

“Ooooh!” Jon exclaimed. Damian knew what he was going to ask next before the boy even asked it.

“And no, you cannot come with us.”

“Bummer. Oh well, I have to go back to my parents’ house anyway, but I’ll still see you later for...ya know?”

Damian sighed, great cover Kent, “Yes.” He gritted his teeth and led Mari away.

“Here.” He said, pulling out a spare helmet from his bag. “I’m assuming you’re not afraid of riding a motorcycle.”

Mari brightened, “Yeah! My Nonna and I rode all the time before I di- before she died.” Marinette sighed internally for her quick recovery, even if she kind of had to lie about her grandmother being dead.

“My condolences.” Damian said as he cleared his throat. Marinette could tell it was sincere which made her feel a lot worse…

Damian got onto the motorcycle and made sure to get close enough to the handlebars so that Mari would have enough space. He was really hoping she wasn’t stupid enough to hang her arms around his shoulders.

As she got on, he realized she was very proficient at being a passenger. She got on quickly and placed her hands on the tank to stabilize herself. Mari’s helmet was already on, so Damian started off.

He started driving slightly slower than normal, just because he wasn’t sure how comfortable she was riding a quick pace. That could mess both of them up if she wasn’t ready.

It wasn’t a big deal anyway, as it turned out, the coffee shop was less than a mile away from campus and they arrived quickly.

Damian hopped off the motorcycle and extended his hand. Mari took it daintily as he pulled her off the vehicle. She dismounted easily as well. She handed his helmet back to him and they walked inside.

“Alfred, I found something interesting.” Bruce said as he pulled up a document on his computer.

Alfred looked over the document once and sighed, nothing really new, “You can deal with that later Master Bruce. There’s another matter that requires your attention.”

“Oh?” Bruce asked, raising and eyebrow, but not taking his eyes off the screen.

“Remember when Master Damian said earlier that he was going to work on a project? Well, it seems it was a partner project and pictures of him and his school partner are all over social media.” Alfred typed into the Batcave’s computer and pulled up Twitter, the most trending post was a picture of Damian helping a girl his age off his motorcycle in front of the coffee shop and the caption read, “Does the youngest Wayne have a date?!?!?!”

Bruce sighed, “Just tabloid gossip, nothing new.” He eyed the picture again, “Though maybe I should look into this girl…”

He scanned the picture in quickly and had the results he was looking for within minutes, “Mari Dupain. Moved from Paris, France to Gotham not too long ago.”

Alfred rubbed his temples, “Dupain...as in-“

“Yes.”

“How will you tell the young master?”

“He’ll...understand.” Bruce sighed, “Maybe not right away, but he will eventually.”

Alfred looked at him disapprovingly.

“Okay, you’re right.” Bruce muttered, “I'll talk to him about it when he gets home...I hope he’s not too attached to that girl...he’s not going to be happy.”

~~~~~~~

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