#i mean when doing a reread i notice how EASY it was to set him off

[paedeul]

for someone seemingly calm and collected ian has such a rage inside of him. it’s as simple as someone bumping into him or someone speaking in a way that he doesn’t like. he did used to be someone with a bit of power, a boss. it’s not like he expects respect but he earned it when still in the k35 and i think deep down it stuck with him. and, don’t even get me started on his jealous tendency which seem to only pop up in relation to taejoon

[wendichester]

ok you write some teen dean but I wanna see teen sam x reader please and thank you :3

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ assignments & study sess,

summary. you run into sam at the school's library

pairing. teen!sam winchester x reader

wordcount. 539

notes. honestly, whenever i think of sam is almost stanford and onwards, but this turned out cuter than expected ehe thank you for requesting bubs 😙🩷

Sam has noticed you before. It’s hard not to.

You’re in a couple of his classes, always sitting near the window, twirling your pencil between your fingers when you’re lost in thought. You don’t talk much, at least not like the loud kids who take up all the space in a room, but when you do—when you answer a question in English or crack a joke to your friend—Sam always finds himself listening a little too closely.

He’s never had the nerve to talk to you, though. His family moves too much for him to bother making friends, and besides, you probably don’t even know who he is.

At least, that’s what he thinks—until today.

The library is quiet, except for the occasional rustle of pages and the soft hum of the overhead lights. Sam’s hunched over his history textbook at one of the back tables, trying to focus, but his brain feels like it’s made of static. He’s got an essay due in two days, and all he’s managed to do so far is reread the same sentence ten times.

And then—

“Hey, is this seat taken?”

He freezes.

Because that’s your voice.

Sam looks up so fast he nearly knocks over his coffee. And there you are, standing right across from him, your bag slung over one shoulder, a hopeful tilt to your lips.

For a second, all he can do is stare.

“No,” he blurts, a little too quickly. He clears his throat, willing himself to not sound like a complete idiot. “Uh, yeah. I mean—go ahead.”

You smile, sliding into the seat across from him, and Sam swears his heart actually stumbles over itself.

“Thanks,” you say, pulling out your notebook. “It’s weirdly packed in here today.”

Sam glances around. There are maybe five other people in the entire library.

He looks back at you, and you’re watching him with a tiny, knowing smirk. Oh.

You did that on purpose.

Sam swallows, trying to fight the warmth creeping up his neck. “Yeah. Super crowded.”

You grin, setting your stuff down. “I’ve seen you around,” you say casually, flipping open your book. “You’re, like, crazy smart, right? You always get the highest scores in English.”

He blinks. “You—you’ve noticed that?”

You tilt your head, like the idea of not noticing him is absurd. “Of course. I sit right behind you.”

Sam has no idea how to respond to that. His brain is short-circuiting, stuck on the fact that you—this girl he’s been secretly stealing glances at all year—have been paying attention to him too.

“Uh, thanks,” he finally mutters, pushing his hair back. “I just… read a lot, I guess.”

You hum, resting your chin on your hand as you watch him. “You always look super focused in class,” you muse. “Like, intense focus. It’s kinda impressive.”

Sam lets out a breathy laugh, shaking his head. “Yeah, well. I try.”

You lean in slightly. “So, Mr. Genius, since we’re here—wanna help me with my essay?”

It’s an easy excuse to stay here longer, to keep talking to you, and Sam knows it.

But he’s definitely not going to say no.

“Yeah,” he says, a real smile tugging at his lips now. “Yeah, I can do that.”

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[supernovafics]

series masterlist | last part — next part

pairing: modern!college!steve harrington x fem!reader, bestfriend!eddie munson x fem!reader

word count: 5.4k words

warnings: explicit language, a bit of violence (kinda?) (only mentioned and barely even described), some angst

summary: you don’t know why you avoid telling everyone that you and steve are “broken up,”  but you do. and you don’t realize how much of a bad idea that is until way too late

CHAPTER FIFTEEN | ❝𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒕❞

Fall Semester 2016

“Who’s the guy again?” 

“I met him at the library. He asked to borrow my laptop charger and then when he was handing it back he asked for my number, and he texted asking to hang out,” You quickly explained as you slipped on your jacket and then turned to look at Eddie, who was sitting at your desk.

You weren’t particularly excited about the date, but you were excited to do something that you hadn’t done in a long time, and the smallest part of you could admit that you were doing this to try and be completely over Eddie. Your feelings being pushed and buried away were one thing, but if you were actually able to date someone else that had to mean that there definitely wasn’t anything else there. At least, that was what your mind told you, and it sounded somewhat logical.  

“If it sucks and you wanna get out of it, just call me,” Eddie told you.

“Robin already has that job,” You said. “We have a code word and everything.” 

He laughed a little. “What’s the code word?” 

“Dolphin.”

“That’s very random.” 

“Yes, and that makes it a more believable code word.” 

“Okay, makes sense,” He nodded. “Anyway, if she somehow ends up not answering, I will.” 

You doubted that would happen— you hadn’t known Robin for that long, but you already knew that she was very reliable. Still, though, you nodded at Eddie’s words because you liked how much he cared. It didn’t necessarily surprise you, but it still warmed your heart all the same. “Okay.” 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

Spring Semester 2018

It was the book that was making you cry right then. Nothing else. 

And maybe that wasn’t entirely true, but it felt like the easiest explanation. 

You reread the last page a few more times before finally closing the book and setting it on your desk. It was the same book that you’d been reading in Mexico with Steve a few days ago. 

He was right about the ending— the son died, and it happened right after he and the dad finally got in a good place. Of course, he’d been right.

A part of you wanted to text him and tell him that, but you didn’t. Instead, you kept silently crying— trying to remember the last time a book made you this emotional, but deep down knowing that it really wasn’t just the book. 

You didn’t get the chance to force yourself to face the exact reasoning behind your tears before there was a knock on your slightly cracked open door and Robin was walking in a second later. 

“Hey, I have two things I need to tell you. One is a question from Talia, who is too lazy to get out of bed right now, and the other is very fun news,” She stopped when she noticed you crying. “Woah, shit, you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry, I’m fine. I just finished reading this book and the ending was pretty sad,” You answered, haphazardly pushing your tears away with the sleeves of the sweater you were wearing. “What’s up, though?”

“Is Steve coming to game night on Monday? Talia wants to decide on teams now because she doesn’t want to get stuck with Eddie again.”

“Oh, um, me and him broke up…” The words felt so weird coming from your lips and you suddenly wondered if it had been stupid to not tell her and everyone else sooner. Instead, over the last few days, you simply didn’t talk about him because the timing never felt right enough to say what you should’ve said.

“Wait, what?” The confused look on Robin's face was easy to read. “Is that why you’re actually crying right now?”

You quickly shook your head. “No, no, it was just about the book. The Steve thing doesn’t even matter to me.”

“So, what happened? And when? Was it the trip? Did he hurt you? Do I need to kill him?”

You couldn’t help but laugh a little at how fast she was talking as she sat down at the foot of your bed. You turned to face her. “No, you don’t need to kill him, and yes, it happened right when we got back. We just realized that we want different things.” You shrugged halfheartedly. “Sorry, it took me so long to tell you; I know it’s only been a few days, but still. I just didn’t really wanna think about it, I guess.”

“It’s fine, that makes sense,” She assured you. “I know you and him weren’t dating for long but you two were really cute together.”

Hearing her say that, pulled at something in you for a second, but then you remembered that that just meant that you and Steve had been really good actors, pretenders, liars.

“Oh, what was the other thing you wanted to tell me?” You asked, shifting the subject. “You said fun news?”

Robin nodded. “Oh, yeah, I just found out about this party tonight at this girl’s lake house that’s an hour away. You wanna come?”

“I’m not really in a party mood,” You answered after the briefest moment of hesitation. It probably would’ve been good to get out of the apartment and actually do something that didn’t involve lounging on the couch in the living room, like you’d been doing since you got back from Mexico, but you couldn’t imagine leaving the confines of your room right then. “Sorry.”

“No, that’s understandable,” Robin told you. “I know you said that you’re fine about the breakup, but is there anything you want right now? We can watch a shitty movie, and Vickie will probably be okay with you having the last of her mint chocolate chip ice cream.”

You shook your head at her suggestions. “No, I’m okay, honestly. But, thanks, though.”

She smiled at you. “Of course, no problem. What are friends for if not someone to do cliche breakup stuff with? We could also burn any pictures you have of Steve, or throw eggs at his car, or key it?”

You laughed at that. “Great ideas, but hard no to all of them.”

“Okay, well, once you get to the anger stage of your grief, I’ll happily revisit any of those ideas with you.”

“There are no stages and there is no grief,” You told her as she got up from your bed. “I’m completely okay.”

“You’re voluntarily staying in on a Saturday night. I don’t know if I would call that “completely okay.””

“This is very normal behavior for me.”

She considered your words for a second. “Okay, yeah, maybe that’s true.” 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

It was the first time that the silence within the apartment felt okay. It actually wasn’t completely silent, you were watching a movie on the couch, but you were alone and felt entirely fine with that. 

You could feel yourself slowly falling asleep— head against one of the throw pillows and blanket pulled over you and it didn’t even really matter to you that it wasn’t even eleven o’clock yet— when there was a knock on the door. 

Weirdly enough, your immediate thought was that it was Steve, mainly because you knew that everyone else who could’ve been at the door right then was at a party an hour away.  

Instead, though, when you opened the door with your blanket still wrapped around you, it was Eddie standing there.

“Hey, I assumed you went with everyone to that lake house thing,” You said, pushing the door open further to let him in. 

“Robin mentioned it to me, but I had already planned on meeting up with a couple people from one of my classes at some bar,” He responded and you nodded as you closed the door behind him. 

You looked at him for a second. There was something weird about his demeanor right then. It seemed like something was wrong, and that quickly worried you because you couldn’t easily tell what that something was.

“Is everything okay?”

He shook his head, and for a few moments that was the only response you got, but then he was saying, “Not really.” 

“You’re being so–” You stopped mid-sentence when you finally noticed his right hand, how red and bruised it was. “Oh, shit, what the hell happened to your hand?”

“It looks worse than it feels,” He said, giving you a small smile. “Okay, actually, it feels pretty bad too.”

You dropped your blanket on the couch and then went over to the kitchen, grabbing one of the few small hand towels that sat next to the stove and then pulling some ice out of the freezer. 

“Come here,” You told him as you put the ice in the towel and made some sort of makeshift ice pack. Eddie joined you in the kitchen and you grabbed his bruised hand, softly placing the towel on top of it. You looked up at him. “What happened?”

He was quiet for way too long; things became almost unbearably quiet. You lightly nudged him with your foot. “Eddie.” 

He broke your gaze, looking down instead. “Fuck, it really sucks that I have to tell you this. I’m sorry.”

Hearing him say that only confused you further. “Tell me what?”

“I also saw Steve at the bar I was at…” Eddie started and then trailed off for a second. The look on his face made it seem as if the next thing he was about to say to you was going to be the most devastating thing ever. “And he was making out with some girl.”

“Oh,” Was all you said at first because you didn’t really understand why Eddie was telling you that right then and why he made it sound like the biggest deal in the world. And then, after the briefest of seconds, you were quickly realizing. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” Eddie told you, thinking that your “oh” was a sad one. “I wish I did a lot more than just punch him, but the security at that place is actually good so they immediately threw me out.”

Given what you two were currently doing in your kitchen, you should’ve expected Eddie to say that, but it still surprised you so much that you could feel your eyes widen. “What? You punched him?”

“Of course I did,” Eddie said, like it had been an obvious choice. “I saw him cheating on you.”

You dropped your hands from his and immediately covered your face. “Oh my god. I can’t believe you did that.”

“Please don’t try to defend him right now. I know you really like him, probably even love him, but what he did is so fucked up.”

You were shaking your head and kept your hands covering your face as you said, “He didn’t cheat on me.” 

“I’m sorry,” You heard Eddie say. “But, I promise you I know what I saw. I wouldn’t be telling you this if I wasn’t a thousand percent sure. I also wouldn’t have punched him if I wasn’t sure.”

You could’ve simply told him that you and Steve were broken up just like you told Robin earlier, but you suddenly felt tired of lying, and for once, telling the truth genuinely felt easier. 

You dropped your hands from your face and looked at Eddie. “He didn’t cheat on me because we're not together. We were never really together.” 

It surprisingly felt like so much of a relief to say it out loud, to finally be honest, so you kept going. “It was all fake; the entire relationship. And I’m so sorry for lying to you and to everyone. This entire thing ended up being so stupid and the worst idea ever. But, I don’t know, at first I thought it could be kinda good. And Steve thought so too; he was the one to suggest it actually, and he also had his own reasons for wanting to do this fake dating thing. I figured this could be the best way to do something about my feelings for you without outwardly admitting how I felt and potentially fucking up our friendship in the process, and I wouldn’t have to live in the unknown anymore like I’ve been since freshman year. And just for a second it seemed like it actually was working, and maybe you did feel something back. But then we had that conversation on your fire escape and I knew then that you’d never see me as anything more than as your best friend. It kinda hurt finally realizing that, but eventually it felt okay, though.” 

You let out a breath and inwardly felt as if the biggest weight had just been lifted off of your shoulders.

“You liked me?” That wasn’t exactly what you expected to hear Eddie say in response to your word vomit, but it made sense; it was the big “why” behind everything you did for the last month.  

“Yeah, sorry, I guess I kinda glossed over that part in my super long-winded explanation,” You said, a sudden shyness hit you and you looked away from him. “I did. I was stupidly in love for a really long time. I finally got over it after we had that conversation, though. But, I still had to fulfill my side of the deal I had with Steve, so I did that in Mexico and when we came back, that was it. Life was back to normal. But I was a fucking idiot and didn’t tell you that me and him were “broken up,” so here we are now.”

“I’m sorry,” Eddie said, a soft look on his face. “I’m sorry I didn’t know how you felt. I’m sorry I couldn’t see it.”

“No, please don’t be sorry. This is all on me. I did all of this complicated shit instead of simply talking to you about everything,” You said, leaning back against the counter. “Because you were so right that day, we are just meant to be best friends. That's the way that we’re supposed to be in each other’s lives. I get that now.”  

He got quiet again, probably still processing everything that you had just told him, which you had to admit was a lot. 

“Are we okay?” You asked when the silence started becoming too much to bear. “Did this fuck everything up like I thought it would?” 

Eddie shook his head at your questions. “Of course not. You could never fuck things up between us, and I feel really bad that you ever thought that you could, and I also wish that I had felt the same way about you… I do love you. It’s just…”

The smallest part of you expected to feel hurt finally hearing the rejection, but surprisingly you didn’t. “Just not in that way. I know. It’s okay. Please don’t feel bad. I know that we shouldn’t be together. I’ve accepted that,” You told him. “And I really wanna say that we should just forget this entire conversation ever happened because it would make things a lot easier and I’d also feel a lot less embarrassed if we did, but I don’t think we should do that. This may sound weird, but it actually feels kind of good having the truth out in the open.”

“Okay,” He said with a nod.

You looked back down at his hand and the towel covering it. 

“How’s it feeling?” You asked, slightly shifting the subject. 

“Better, kinda. The ice feels good,” He answered and then let out something that sounded like a breath of a laugh and a scoff in disbelief as he shook his head. “Jesus Christ, I can’t believe I punched him.”

“Me neither. But thank you for defending my honor, I guess?”

He smiled at you; a genuine smile that let you know that things were actually okay between you two. “Anytime.” 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

“So, everything with Steve was fake,” Eddie said when you two were settled on the couch, the movie you had put on earlier still playing. His words sounded slightly like a question, but also like he was still just trying to make sense of everything that you had previously told him.

“Yes, and let’s wait at least a month before we start joking about this. I need to let my poor bruised ego heal first,” You responded, dramatically pressing your hands to your heart, a small smile on your face. 

Eddie laughed a bit. “Deal.” 

And you expected that to be that. Everything was out in the open and everything was fine. You still had to tell everyone else the truth, but you knew that would end up being okay too. And once you did tell everyone, everything could all be put in the past and you could finally move on from it. There wouldn’t be anything lingering or festering; no “what ifs” or whatever else. 

“Can I ask something?” Eddie asked, voice getting soft again, and you nodded in response, unsure where he was going to go with his question. “Was it hard keeping how you felt a secret? I’m trying to think about if the roles were reversed, and I don’t think I would’ve been able to keep it from you.” 

“Honestly, sometimes it was hard, but also not really. And I know that’s kind of a contradictory answer, but it’s true,” You answered, somehow finding it so easy to be honest now. “For the most part, my feelings were shoved to the side and I pretended that they weren’t there. Like, when you were dating Chrissy, because I obviously didn’t wanna get between what you two had, and when you two broke up, because I knew that you weren’t ready for anything new. They still lingered deep down, though. And it was always random moments when I would get reminded that they were still there. But, keeping our friendship intact always felt more important than admitting anything because I love our friendship.”

He nodded understandingly. “I love it too.”

“Okay, this is kind of random, but do you remember that frat party we went to freshman year right before winter break?” You asked, and before he could say anything in response, you continued, forcing yourself to say what you had never said out loud before. “We were both stupidly drunk, and at one point— I think it was right before we were about to leave— you got, like, pushed into me by some random person, and we were standing really close, and then we, uh, kissed.”

The surprised look on his face was entirely expected. “I vaguely remember the party. But, I don’t remember the kiss, though. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. When we talked about the party the day after, you basically said that it was all kind of a blur to you, so that’s what I figured. I wasn't entirely sure if you didn’t remember it, so a part of me had wanted to ask back then, but in that moment I thought it was just easier to let it go.” 

It was almost startling how honest you were being with him right then— saying things that you didn’t think you’d ever admit out loud— and how perfectly okay it all felt. And weirdly enough, this also felt like the most honest you’d ever been with yourself too. 

“Thinking about it now,” You continued. “That probably should’ve been the moment that I let myself get over you. Because I could’ve told you about the kiss right then and there, but I didn’t want whatever your response would be— whether it be a rejection or whatever else— to change anything between us. And it was the same thing when we came back from break, and I was so close to admitting everything to you, but you told me that you and Chrissy were together first. I probably should’ve still told you then. And maybe I never did because deep down I always knew that nothing should change between us. I don’t know… A part of me is still trying to make it all make sense. But then, at the same time, I've been trying to avoid it all and not think about it.” You sighed. “The last couple of weeks have been pretty weird and confusing.”

“Maybe it’s not supposed to easily make sense, or make sense at all. And I know that’s probably a shit response, but…” Eddie trailed off and then shrugged after a moment. 

“No, I get what you mean,” You said, nodding at his words, and then you thought about something. “Honestly, the only thing that has ever really made sense with us is this. Watching movies together, listening to music, talking about unserious things, and also talking about the most serious things ever; stuff I never thought to tell anyone else.” You smiled at him. “Oh, and getting stuck in elevators together too.” 

He smiled back at you before saying, “The elevator thing sadly only happened once.” 

“We can try to recreate it one day.”

“Great idea,” Eddie responded with a nod. “The elevator in that building is still probably shitty.” 

“So true. And if not, we can just start jumping in it and that’ll probably do the job.”

“Or it will kill us.”   

You couldn’t help but laugh at that and Eddie laughed too and then winced as he readjusted the towel on his hand. 

That was what made you finally think about Steve. Was he even okay? 

And then you immediately felt like shit for not considering that question sooner. 

You abruptly got up from the couch and headed into your room before Eddie could question you. You grabbed the Advil bottle from your bathroom and then tossed it over to him when you walked back out into the living room. 

“For the pain. Take two of these and try to go to sleep. You can even take my bed if you wanna,” You told him and then headed to the fridge to grab a bag of frozen vegetables from the freezer. “I'm gonna go check on Steve. And yes, I’m stealing your van.”

Eddie pulled his keys out of his jacket pocket and handed them over to you. There was an amused look on his face. “When’s the last time you drove?”

“Don’t question my driving skills right now, Munson,” You said as you slipped the keys into the pocket of the sweatpants you were wearing and then grabbed the first zip-up hoodie you saw hanging on one of the hooks by the door. “Goodnight.” 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

It wasn’t until you were standing outside the door of Steve’s apartment that you realized that maybe he wasn’t even here. He’d been on a date, or at least, with someone when Eddie saw him, so there was a chance that he was still with her. 

Still, though, you knocked. And, surprisingly enough, he answered.

His face— more specifically, his left eye— looked bad; very bruised, and already settled into the dark red and purplish color that it would probably be for the next few days. 

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry,” You said, immediately handing over the frozen peas you had in your hand; they obviously weren’t as cold as they were before the twenty-minute drive to get here, but they still felt good enough. “All of this is my fault. It completely slipped my mind to tell Eddie that we “broke up.” I didn’t tell anyone, actually, except for Robin, but that was just today. I’m really sorry. The last few days have been weird.”

Steve gave you a small smile that felt entirely undeserved and he pushed the door open further so that you could walk into his apartment. “It’s okay.” 

You shook your head. “It’s really not. You have a black eye because of me being an idiot.”

“This would be the part where I’d say that you should see the other guy to prove that this isn’t as bad as it looks, but you’ve already seen him, so that doesn’t really work in this situation,” Steve told you jokingly and you shook your head, giving him a small smile back. You still felt like shit, but at least he didn’t seem to hate you for causing all of this. “How did you get here?” 

“I drove Eddie’s van. He came to my place after it happened,” You said and Steve nodded understandingly. “You’re right, though. His hand looks worse than your eye.” You weren’t entirely sure if that was even true— in all honesty, their injuries probably looked about the same on the bad scale— but it felt like the right thing to say at this moment. “I told him everything, by the way. About our whole relationship being fake and me doing it because I had feelings for him.”

Steve looked as if he didn’t expect to hear you say that. “How did that go?”

“Surprisingly good,” You answered honestly. He gave you an almost congratulatory-looking smile in response and you quickly shook your head. “No, not good in that way. He doesn’t feel that way about me. And I knew that. There was this conversation that I had with him before all of this that kind of solidified that for me. It wasn’t some huge moment where he outwardly said that he didn’t like me, but it gave me the push I needed to finally accept that me and him are only meant to be friends. I don’t even feel any other way about him now.” You let out a sigh before letting out a different part of the truth. “I kinda lied to you in Mexico and the days leading up to it. I knew the truth about everything then, but I felt too embarrassed to tell you and I also just really didn’t want to think about it.”

“Shit, I’m sorry this didn’t work for you,” He sounded so genuine about it and gave you a sad look that reminded you of exactly what you didn’t want to happen. 

You shook your head. “Don’t do that. Please don’t feel sorry for me.” 

“I was the one that kept telling you from the beginning that this was gonna work so now I feel kinda bad that it didn’t.” 

“Okay, yeah, that’s true but it doesn’t matter now,” You told him. “And just because this didn’t work for me doesn’t mean that I regret it— I honestly don’t regret it. It was dumb and a waste of time for me, but still, I don’t really regret it. Also, you got what you wanted out of this, right?”

Steve nodded after a second. “Yeah, I actually talked to my mom yesterday and she asked about you and I told her that we broke up.”

“Did you make me a cheater?” 

“Yeah, and I think she actually feels bad. But, we’ll see in a week or two if she brings up the Hamptons,” He answered. “I kind of doubt that she will, though. I tried to seem really upset about everything.” 

“I wish I could’ve been there for that phone call. I would’ve loved to see your acting skills.”

He smiled at your joking words. “They were fantastic.”

“Good,” You responded. “So, no finding your future wife this summer?” 

“Hopefully not.”  

“Congratulations,” You told him. “And you’re welcome for me being the greatest girlfriend during the Mexico trip.”

“I don’t know if I should thank you since I do have a black eye now because of you.”

You could tell he was joking, but you still decided to play into it. “Wow, so, you are mad at me for that!”

He playfully rolled his eyes at you. “I was kidding.”

“It’s okay to be mad at me. It would be deserved, honestly. And I’d completely understand if you hate me now. You should hate me.”

He gave you a serious look, but there was still the smallest smile on his face. “Stop.” 

You held up your hands in mock surrender. “Fine, fine. I did just give you a bag of sort of frozen peas to help with your eye, so I feel like you can’t be that mad at me, anyway.” 

“And I will cherish this bag of peas for the rest of my life,” He told you as he placed them over his bruised eye and you could only laugh at that. 

A comfortable silence lingered for a second, and it was what let you know that this should probably be it. It had barely been ten minutes, but you’d done everything that you felt as if you needed to do— you checked on him, made sure he was okay, and told him the truth— there was nothing else to do. 

But, instead of saying something equivalent to the simple “Goodbye” that should’ve left your lips right then, you said, “Can I stay for a bit?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Steve answered with a nod.

“You got throw pillows,” You pointed out as you sat on his couch. You grabbed one of the two gray pillows and placed it in your lap. 

“Yeah, somebody once told me that my couch looked sad and lonely,” He said and that made you smile.

“Still no curtains, though,” You responded, gesturing to the windows.

“One day I’ll get around to it.”

You gave him a quick nod. “Got it.” 

Steve put on a show that you both had seen before and things were quiet for a bit as you rewatched the familiar episode. 

“Oh, you were sadly right, by the way,” You abruptly said, turning to look at him. “I finished the book and the son did die.”

“Oh, yeah, I know. When we got back I wanted to find out what happened, so I finished reading it.”

Hearing that surprised you, and it also made you inwardly smile. “Really?”

“Mhm,” Steve nodded and then gave you a certain look. “You cried at the end, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did. I really didn’t think that he would die,” You answered. “And shut up, don’t judge me about it.” 

“I promise I wasn’t gonna.”

“I don’t know if I believe you.” 

“Scouts honor.”

“And now I’m supposed to believe you were a boy scout?” You joked. “You don’t seem outdoorsy enough for that.”

“Ouch, I feel offended.”

You laughed as you turned your attention back to the TV. You noticed that the show playing was the same one that you and him had been watching before the power outage; a night that felt like forever ago. 

This moment felt like the exact opposite of that one. You remembered how weird things initially felt then between you two, or maybe that awkwardness had been entirely in your head. Either way, the main thing that was different here was that in that previous moment, you’d been stuck with him because of the storm and power outage, and in this moment, you weren’t stuck.  

It was then that you were hit with the thought of, What the hell were you doing here right now?

You two weren’t even really friends, you remembered. You reminded yourself of what Steve said that night a few days ago and what you two both agreed on from the beginning— going your separate ways once all of this was done and over. 

Everything that had happened this past month was fake. And even though you’d been able to recognize that, you had still let a part of you miss it; let yourself miss something that you knew you’d never be able to get back. For the past few days, you thought it was okay to let the smallest part of you feel that way— miss the faking and the pretending and the brief friendship that developed because of all of that. But maybe it wasn’t okay. Maybe it was only making things worse and more complicated. 

“Actually, I should go,” You abruptly stood up from the couch, placing the pillow back in the spot you picked it up from. You turned to look at Steve and forced a small smile that you hoped didn’t look that way. “This isn’t following the ‘going our separate ways’  rule.” 

He gave you a confused look for a second, and then he was nodding in agreement. “Yeah, you’re right.” 

“I know I was kinda joking about it before, but I really am sorry about all of this,” You said as you walked over to his door, turning to look at him before pulling it open. 

He shook his head. “Don’t be.” 

You decided against saying anything else right then and instead smiled at him one final time before forcing yourself to leave.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

next part!

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[fanficapologist]

I don’t know if I’m right or not but this is how I interpreted the last few chapters of Aemond’s POV.

I think that Alys can’t see the future exactly as it is going to be because the future is not set in stone. What I believe is that she can see one version of the future (something like the Avenger’s Endgame when they asked Dr. Strange how many futures did he see and on how many did they win, and he says that they only win in one of them). The difference is that Alys doesn’t see multiple futures, just one possible future.

Now, the problem is that in order for the future that Alys sees to actually come true, some specific events have to take place because if they don’t then everything will change.

I think that Alys saw herself replacing Maera’s place by Aemond’s side in the future but in order for this to happen, she needed some things to happen first: Aemond not killing her along with the rest of house Strong, gaining Aemond’s trust and becoming an indispensable counselor for him, to get pregnant with his child, for Maera to marry Aemond, and now she needs to create a rift between them so that Aemond would put her above Maera and to do that she is taking advantage of Aemond’s power hungry nature and deep desire to win the war.

However, there is a huge flaw to this. She needs Aemond to think that the only way to get everything he wants is by doing everything she says. But if we take into consideration that the future has infinite possibilities and paths that can lead you to the same goal or a different one, I think that, even if she projects herself so sure of the control she possesses over him, Alys is afraid that Aemond will find out that he doesn’t need to follow the path that she showed him in order to achieve everything he wants. She is afraid that he will realize that she’s not truly indispensable, but more like a stone in his path that could destroy other things that he values more than an easy victory in the war. She is afraid of him seeing that there are more possibilities than the only one she showed him.

I don’t know why but I have a feeling that the mending relationship between Aemond and Maera will play an important role in Alys demise. I think that Alys will feel threatened and she will try to do something to Maera and her child (maybe try to use black magic to get them out of her way) and she will be discovered.

I reread chapter sixty four (cause your answer to another anon indicated that there is a profecy of Helaena’s in that chapter) and I noticed that one of the things she said was: “The hatchling will be scorched by dragon fire in the castle of the old Kings Curse”. This means that a baby will die. And then Maera asked her if her baby is in danger. I think this means that Alys’ bastard will die with her. Analyzing the situation, Aemond probably gave Alys more than just his hair and seed. He probably gave her other parts of him including his blood. Maybe Alys will use that to try to create a spell to hurt Maera’s child (cause the child has Aemond’s blood) and the only way to save Maera’s child would be to sacrifice another child of Aemond’s blood. I’m probably over analyzing the whole thing but it is possible, plus Aemond wouldn’t even hesitate to choose to sacrifice his bastard with Alys in order to save his child with Maera. After all, his entire family despises bastards, they will never put a bastard above a legitimate child, and that includes Aemond because that’s the way he was raised.

I’m probably wrong about everything but I can’t help it. I’m an overthinker.

I really really love this theory!!! You could write this fic better than I could! 👏

[freyafrida]

J & P for the writer ask meme? 👁️

hi there! thank you for asking 🫶

J: What’s your favorite fanfic trope? Have you written it?

already answered here but let's do it again! i'm trying to think of other tropes/story arcs i like…idk that it's a trope necessarily, but it's fairly common in fanfic, so: i like POV flips! i like them in romance (yes i will read a novel-length fic that is just retelling the story from the POV of the love interest) and i also like when they're used to humanize "bad" characters and are critical of a story's protagonist.

i mean, i don't love it if the villain actually does terrible things, but in slice-of-life stories (like AoGG) where the antagonist, as much as the story has one, is just someone who's kind of abrasive (josie pye) or is getting in the way of the protagonist's romance (christine stuart), i enjoy it. i like fic that plays with whether the antagonist is really as bad as they seem to be in the protagonist's eyes or why they might be that way!

somewhat weirdly, i don't think i've written this even though there are a lot of characters like this that i enjoy and i feel like it'd be pretty easy to find inspiration for a story? idk. haven't come up with anything, though!

P: Where did you find the most inspiration for your story < insert title >?

ooh okay let me pick a story…i'll talk about there's another, not a sister bc i feel like i don't talk about that one often!

so anyway the fic was solely inspired by its title, which u will notice is referenced in anne of green gables (Oh, Anne, how could you pretend not to listen to [Gilbert]? When he came to the line, 'There's Another, not a sister,' he looked right down at you."). everyone who is better at googling than me probably already knows that gilbert was reciting "bingen on the rhine" by caroline norton, which is about a soldier dying on a battlefield and thinking over his life back home, and his family, and specifically his sister and another girl who is very pointedly not his sister.

which, then, when rereading rilla of ingleside: "You and Ingleside seem strangely near me tonight. It's the first time I've felt this since I came…Tomorrow, when we go over the top—I'll think of you both—of your laughter, Rilla-my-Rilla, and the steadfastness in Una's blue eyes—somehow I see those eyes very plainly tonight, too."

so, walter: about to die in battle, thinking of his home and sister, and then a girl who is specifically not his sister. first book in the series: referencing a poem to which this is the plot. freyafrida:

so yeah that was where the overall setting and vibe of the fic was inspired from! the rest was just…idk, didn't have a big inspiration in particular. i guess also, for the dream sequence -- i feel like i write dreams quite a bit in walter/una fic, i think bc unless you set the story right at walter's death or have him live, he never returns una's feelings...so any shippy stuff had to be subconscious! but it also feels very right, i think, given walter's premonitions and tendency towards the supernatural. so that's where that came from, too.

[purplebass]

I agree that Holland is mega sus! Kosika's trust is instantaneous and though she comes off quite maturely - she is still a child and has this quite romanticised view of him. What will rekindling the fire do? Although part of me hopes they are successful - i'm rereading ADSOM and even that brings up the lack of balance between the worlds. I think Black London is such a cool concept and i'd love to see more of it. How can they prevent a repetition of Black London's fall once the gates are opened? What will that mean for Antari?

I also really like your idea of Kell and Lila's link, a more organic version of the sharing of power. Perhaps reflecting their relationship too, Schwab is setting up this need on Kell's part to be explicitly told that Lila loves him. A balancing of power and also expectations.

I do wonder about Tes though, it seems she'll reinforce the wards - and make the better, so will it be easy for someone to steal her? Although, she does give us a closer view into what Maris has going on. An opportunity to know her backstory. And i agree we're definitely seeing Serival.

Bex and Calin feel like they've been put on a bus, it'll be interesting to wonder where the portal to *nowhere* is. Last time someone got yeeted through a portal, they came back alive so!

Another reply under the cut because of spoilers lol (sorry again for the length but when I start to ramble about things I like no one can stop me... XD) I've divided it in paragraphs with titles so the navigation is easier lol

-> Kosika/Holland... and the parallels with Kell/Rhy

Yes, Kosika is a loose cannon imo. Quiet but powerful. While she seems to listen to what "Holland" says, she's in that phase of life when she is curious about the world. Maybe he pretends to act all "Kosika don't do this" but it is just his way to push her to do things because he sees that while she is loyal, she is also tempted.

I don't know why, but Kosika reminds me so much of how Kell behaved in ADSOM before he met Lila. A loyal dog until he met someone who made him realize that he could be/do whatever the heck he wanted. In fact Kell has his rebellion at the end of AGOS - maybe that's what will happen with Kosika in Threads #2? Funny that their name also starts with the letter "K": hint?

Going back to "Holland", I've also noticed how he's theoretically "acting" thanks to Kosika. And to keep the parallels with ADSOM and with Kell, don't you think he is behaving like the black stone? I mean the way the black stone influenced Kell. So it might reinforce the idea that "Holland" isn't the real Holland but a presence that comes from Black London, maybe. Because the stone was the reason the og Holland survived at the end of ADSOM. Maybe that's how the real "Holland" could survive and give his power to Kosika. Because it was something inside of him that corrupted the order (since Kosika shouldn't have been Antari, if magic could chose).

I've realized they have the same "bond" Rhy and Kell have: "Holland" (and his power) is "alive" only because Kosika is alive, just like Rhy is "alive" because Kell is alive. Maybe by killing Kosika, "Holland" and whatever is attached to him, will die... or even the opposite. By killing Kosika, "Holland" may be revived, but he needs to make White London powerful again. It would be a problem for "Holland" if Kosika loses her loyalty to him.

-> How can they prevent a repetition of Black London's fall once the gates are opened? What will that mean for Antari?

These are interesting questions and I think we may find the answer in the past. I believe that the only way to prevent the repetition is not to be tempted by the black magic. Resistance? Even if it seems silly, it's also a parallel to ADSOM (when Kell/Lila have the black stone and they are tempted but they try to resist) or ACOL (when Osaron tries to possess people and they fought the darkness). Maybe this darkness will be too strong and it may change Antari's existence for good. I wonder if Lila "losing" her powers when she was kidnapped and Kell "losing" his powers after (when they had to close the door) could be foreshadowing of a future where they might have to use all their power to fight the dark from Black London and all of this may change the world forever. Maybe everyone will lose their magic or maybe they will lose their Antari status? Because it's a blessing/curse. As if magic chose the people who became Antari and "knew" they could fight the duality of what that status entitles. Perhaps that's why the black eye? Antari have great power that, in the wrong hands, could be used to destroy (much like happened in TFTOP with Berras) instead of being positive/blessed people the people could "venerate" (pass me the term lmao) as examples on how to handle magic and use it ad an advantage and not a way to hurt others. Examples on how magic should be handled with care and again, not abused. The keyword is always balance. lmao. The whole "from great powers come great responsibilities" bla bla bla. Oh, and this reminds me that we will probably see Nero the bone magician again. He might be related to someone at court. He knew about Tes and her special power so he might've become her friend but maybe he wanted to betray her. I don't know.

-> The link between Kell and Lila and Kell wanting to know her feelings

Yeah. I've wanted this for so long. I remember the first time I read the trilogy I was a little sad that none of them says the three words even if it's clear they feel them (and Kell repeats it more than once). I told myself "it's more realistic this way," and I still think it is. Love is not just expressed with words but also with actions and we see that during those seven years of flashbacks. However... I see how a character who fears abandonment like Kell just wants to hear those words (and I do too lol) even though he KNOWS she loves him. He could've told her first, yes, but I think he is scared that would scare her and she might act impulsively or worse. She may run away. Kell has shit self esteem, he probably believes that Lila would survive without him, so he tries to protect himself by not confessing (even though Lila knows). So he wants her to confess first, maybe. It would be safer if she does, for him, too, to confess. She panicked when he wanted to give her the ring that was just a ring, so that's why he's having cold feet. However, the ring issue was solved. Now Lila is wearing the ring and that is a step ahead in their relationship. And Kell is whole and fixed, so it's another solved "issue". Lila has her own ways to show love, and it's not with words. She finds it difficult to open up and she does have an avoidant personality when it comes to emotions. I've noticed that Lila cries when she can't keep her feelings inside anymore. Crying is her emotional response to near death/death experiences, because death/being unresponsive is a point of no return. No way to express what she feels to those people. She cries when Barron died (her father figure). She cries when Calla died (her mother figure). She cries when she almost dies in ACOL. She cries when Kell's magic is severely damaged and he is in pain. So all of this to say that... there are the grounds to say that after the events of Threads, Kell and Lila are more connected emotionally, thus we are on the way to a confession. No idea if it will happen in Threads #2 (bc I think they'll have to face other things first) but surely in Threads #3.

-> Tes

I think Tes is just like Kosika. They are both promising characters, and Tes is surely good at what she does, but she is still a teenager. We see how she is easily manipulated sometimes (even though, to her credit, she is witty) but she's only 15 so it makes sense.

-> Bex and Calin

This is something I forgot to say in the previous ask. I'm so curious about them, because they might've ended up to Black London! Maybe that's where Tes opened the portal, but she was unaware. I liked their dynamic and they can become the kind of characters who are on the villain's side that decide to come to the heroes' side and still manage to be morally grey. One thing I liked about this book was that there were more female characters than ADSOM, so I'd love to see more dynamics between Bex and Lila. I believe they'd get along well lol

Also - so sorry for the length! But as you can see I love talking about this so you can send more questions if you want :)

[naoa-ao3]

My Generation

The years had not been bad. Oh, there had been hard ships but nothing they hadn't been able to handle.

For Giles, he didn't regret any of them. He had a family and an interesting life. A long one in fact but as always, the past never truly went away.

He had forgotten to check his letter box that morning and it didn't occur to him to do so until late that evening. When he did, there wasn't much. An add, a notice from the Slayers. They wanted his advice. He set that aside. Another add. And then. . . a personal letter. He turned it over curiously. He seldom received letters any more. The kids. . . well they weren't really kids anymore, but they never sent letters. They texted and called or simply dropped by unannounced.

Amused he set the others aside and opened the letter. A lost art, he thought. Structuring a letter, penmanship, addressing. No one kept address books any more. This one had a name he didn't recognize on the return address.

Sitting down he slit it open and unfolded it.

"Dear Rupert,

I assumed you wouldn't open this unless I used a pseudonym and rather than take the risk I chose to go ahead and do so. So here I give you the big reveal, this letter comes from your dear old friend Ethan.

Now before you put it down I assure you it's in no way cursed. Well, perhaps for the postman. His night should be very interesting but for you it's safe. I need you safe old friend because I need to speak with you. Nothing serious, just two old friends and a drink. The address is real enough and you should be able to find me. I'm sure you've already decided to throw this away and not come but I assure you I'll be on my best behavior and I ask this now as humbly as I know how to. I want to see you. No tricks, no chaos, no lies or silly pranks. I will behave. I'm too old for a row anyway and from what I hear your back couldn't take it. But jokes aside I will be good if only you'll come. I'm old now my friend and I'm doing what old men do best, calling upon their remaining friends to relive the glory days. Do me a favour and give me this one night. I don't plan to bother you again. If you're willing, meet me at a pub called the Green Goat. It's in the town I'm staying at. It should be easy to find. I'll be there the night of the 22nd. Please come old friend.

P.S.

If you come I will lift the curse on the postman."

Giles rubbed his eyes. the letter had been rather touching up until the postage stamp. No tricks. Well, leave it to Ethan to give that his own meaning. He reread the letter and considered the idea. Perhaps Ethan had changed in his old age. The idea was preposterous. Old age be damned, people only changed because they wanted to and no part of him believed Ethan had ever wanted to change. He read it again. For all of Ethan's niceties he wasn't really being given a choice. He would go. He wondered if he would have gone if the postman hadn't been involved but no answer came to him. Perhaps, perhaps not. It didn't really mater. He would go. Checking the letter, he made a mental count, the 22nd was in four days. He hoped whatever was happening to the postman wasn't so bad.

And so, on the 22nd Giles found himself outside of the Green Goat looking up at the sign. Not an authentic. Made to look it yes, but a 20th century creation. He glanced in the windows but did not see Ethan. A figure in the back might have been him but he was sitting with his back to the window. Giles griped his cane and sighed. Feeling there was nothing for it he stepped in.

The decor was quaint, warm even. He found it appropriate and not too cramped. Scanning the faces, an old man caught his eyes and he realized he had been searching for a much younger face. After looking for a moment he realized that this was indeed Ethan. A grey haired old man with wicked, laughing eyes. The eyes gave him away.

He sat down opposite and cleared his throat. "Lift the curse, Ethan."

Ethan laughed. "Hello to you too, Ripper."

"The postman. . ."

"Already done. I had a spell alert me when you stepped into town."

Feeling more comfortable Giles sat back. "What do you want Ethan?"

Ethan twitched slightly, seemingly annoyed by his directness. Giles figured he'd probably wanted to make a dramatic entrance. "Just calling up an old friend. I don't think that's so wrong."

"Black mailing your old friends isn't quite the same thing."

"I didn't trust you'd come."

Giles nodded, that was fair. Well, not fair to the postman but assuming he would have come was. "And why are you calling me?"

Ethan laughed and motioned for a waitress. "A pitcher dear, and two glasses. The beer here's rather good."

"You're not answering the question."

Ethan paused a moment, irritated again by Giles's directness. "You never had any tolerance for theatrics. It was always one of your more boring traits. Very well. . . I had a whole dialogue worked out you know, but there you go again ruining things for me-"

"Ethan!"

Another look of annoyance. "Very well. . . I've got cancer." Giles's eyes widened. He had not been expecting something so. . . well. . . mundane. "Pancreatic."

"Pan. . ." Really, he had no idea what to say. Problems with demons, a pact with the devil. . . anything but this. "Ethan. . ."

"Oh, don't look at me like that. I don't need pity and you're dying too, just a little slower."

"R-really I- I don't know what to say. . ."

Ethan waved a hand dramatically. "Pft. I didn't call you here to discuss that. Terribly boring really."

"Ethan, have you tried treatments?"

A look of amusement. "Really Rupert, how well do you know me? I'm not going to spend my last days in a hospital on the half chance that one of their blasted treatments will cure me. I've always hated hospitals and I'm not a young man. I've only got maybe ten years left. Without the cancer that is. Why waste them?"

"There would have been a chance. . ."

"A chance. I didn't feel particularly inclined to try on a chance."

Giles looked down at his hands. "How long?"

"Do I have left? A couple months. The doctors said six. That was two ago. I know I'm dying. I can feel it."

"Ethan. . ."

"But again, I didn't call you to have you pity me."

"I don't pity you, I feel sorry for you. It's not the same thing."

"Well don't. We haven't even seen each other in almost thirty years. As I recall you handed me off to the Hitler Youth rather easily the last time I saw you."

Giles felt his jaw tighten. "You had turned me into a demon."

"All in good fun."

"My Slayer nearly killed me."

But Ethan had moved his beer to the side and had leaned across the table, smiling. "We did have our fun though, didn't we Ripper?"

Giles met his eyes but couldn't muster the energy to be as cold as he had wanted. "I don't know if I'd say your trying to kill me was especially fun."

"Oh please, remember the costumes? You can't tell me you didn't enjoy beating me that night."

Giles looked away. "Ethan. . ."

"The old Ripper came out that night. But then he never really went away, did he? You enjoyed hurting me."

"I was young. You've clung to the mistakes of my youth for decades."

"The mistakes. . . I saw you at your most free. Wild, uncaring, cruel to the world. No refinement but you had a chaos in you I've never been able to rival. A hatred."

"There's no one even left to remember it." Giles said quietly.

"No, there's not. Only you and me and we're, alone aren't we? No families, no children. No real friends."

Giles looked at him coldly. "I have a family. I have children. I have three. A daughter who became the strongest woman I have ever known, a girl who is one of the most powerful witches in the world and a boy who never quite realized just how brilliant he actually was. I had three wonderful children and they're my family. You could have had that Ethan."

For a moment, Ethan looked sad and the old face before him was twisted. "Come on Giles. . . it wasn't for me."

"Then what was? Your chaos gods? Where are they now?"

Rather than anger, amusement flickered in Ethan's eyes. "They don't grant mercy. They don't have compassion and I never expected such from them. I'm not a fool, I knew what I was getting in to. You felt their power once."

"That was years ago."

"Yes, a time gone by I suppose. We're old men now, no matter how much we hate it."

"I've never hated growing old."

"Oh please. I know you Ripper. The Watchers wanted to be old. They wanted to be old as boys but you. . . you weren't like the rest of them. You had fire in you. Anger. They could never understand that, the pompous stuffed shirts. You were alive."

"I was young."

"Yes and you had fun, didn't you? Didn't we?"

"Ethan I was so young. . ." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Don't be like them old friend. Don't be boring. It's the worst thing a person can be. I'm dying and I've got more life in me than they ever had."

"Ethan, you hurt people."

"Yes, and you did too."

"I stopped. I was a child rebelling! I'm an old man now, why are you bringing this up? Why are you so fixated on who I was fifty years ago?!" "Because I know who you really are and if I die knowing you lived the rest of your life denying who you are then it was all pointless."

"Pointles. . .?"

"So much wasted. You spent so long pretending. Being one of them when you never really were. "

"I don't know what you think I was. I grew up. I stopped being selfish."

"Yes you put on a suit and patches on your elbows and you stopped being exciting. My blood used to rush when you'd come over. All attitude and anger. Your eyes would glint with it. It was wonderful. It was intoxicating. I never knew what you would do. I used to say to people, let's go find Ripper, he'll make this night exciting."

"I was a child. People grow up."

"But they don't need to lie to themselves. You could change the way you dressed and the magic you preformed, you could speak all posh and make your father happy but I knew the truth and I saw it when I visited you in Sunnydale. You hadn't really changed. The anger was still there."

"Ethan you're dying, I don't want to talk about this."

"Then what do you want to talk about? My illness? My health? Because I don't."

"I don't know what you want from me."

Ethan paused. "It's lonely dying. The children never visit."

Giles raised his eyebrows in pity. "Mine do, Ethan."

"Yes, yours do." He snorted. "You didn't do badly did you? That girl, that Slayer. . . I knew you loved her. I could tell. In the way only a father could."

"I do love her. She's grown into a more wonderful woman than I could have ever hoped. I doubt even half of that's because of me."

"Probably not." Ethan laughed. Giles let it slide as the man's own bad humor. "I liked playing with you Ripper. We had our fun."

Giles looked down and sighed. "We did." He looked up and saw a spark in Ethan's eyes. It meant nothing, he was simply giving an old man what he wanted. He could admit it to Ethan if not to himself. "Perhaps it's best it all dies with us. All of our friends are dead."

"Well, the sordid dealings of two old men are meant to be forgotten. Give it two generations and we'll be only a blip in history. Hardly worth mentioning if anyone remembers at all."

"I would have thought that would have bothered you."

Ethan shrugged and Giles realized just how old he looked. Somehow, he was still seeing the boy he had first known. He wondered if Ethan felt the same. "I always try not to be predictable."

"An annoying habit."

"You once found it not so."

"Yes, and I was young and stupid."

Ethan smiled slightly. "You don't give me much, Ripper but I'll take the bones I can get."

"That's all your getting. Let it die Ethan. Let the past die. All of your tricks and all of my mistakes. No one needs to remember them."

"We're on death's door, Rupert and you're still ashamed."

"Our friends died."

"Yes, and I've made peace with that."

"It's not about making peace. You continued to use black magic."

"I worship chaos. I always have."

"Ethan, why did you call me here? To tell me you're dying? To bring up the past? It's pointless. I'm not who I was when I was sixteen and neither are you. Just die with dignity."

Ethan scowled. "Die with dignity? There's no dignity in death. I mean I'm sure there will be for you but I don't want it."

"Then I can't help you."

Ethan nodded, looking almost serene and for a moment they sat drinking in silence. "What do you think they see when they look at us?" Ethan asked after a while, gesturing towards the younger people in the pub.

Giles was startled and he looked around to see if anyone was watching. "I-I don't. . ."

Ethan laughed. "Calm down, I'm not asking if they see a pair of old queens. What do the young people think when they see two old men drinking together? I know what I thought when I was their age. Useless old pensioners, forever whining that the world had gone and changed on them. I thought it was pointless, their sticking around. It was my time to be young. The world had passed to me. I wonder what these people see when they look at us. The girls think the old are cute and the boys think 'that'll never be me'. They don't think about who we were. If we're still those people. We're relics to them. They don't think about the lives we've lived or the horrible things we've done. Just sweet old men, waiting to die."

"How very gloomy. never really gave them much thought, so long as they weren't telling me what to do." Giles allowed a small smile.

"Your hatred for being told what to do was always magnificent I doubt the young people today have that fire."

"Yes well. . . the world's passed to them. It isn't ours anymore."

"I don't particularly feel inclined to let it go. . ." Ethan huffed.

"I don't think we get a choice."

"I hate being old. My back hurts, my fingers don't work as well as they used to. I'm always cold. What have you got the cane for?"

"My knees aren't what they used to be."

"Horrid. Do you remember the song? Roger Daltrey, Hope I die before I get old? What was it called? The Who sang it?"

"My Generation." Giles smiled faintly.

"Do you think any of these people know that song?"

Giles glanced around. "Perhaps one or two."

"You were always good with a guitar. I'm not saying you were Clapton but you were quite good."

"I was rather proud of it." Another moment passed and Giles sighed. "It's getting late Ethan and I've got a long drive back. My eye sight isn't as good and driving in the dark makes me nervous. I think we should say good night on a positive note."

Ethan made a slight face but nodded. "I suppose."

Neither one of them made a move to get up and they finished their last drinks in silence before Giles finally tore himself out of the moment. "I suppose this wasn't such a bad meeting. I haven't turned into a demon yet."

"Give it time."

He glanced at Ethan sharply but Ethan raised both hands. "Just a little joke. I promised to behave and as much as it disgusts me I have." The laughter in his eyes died as Giles stood to leave. Ethan grabbed his wrist suddenly, eyes looking panicked. "Visit me before the end. Please Rupert. I'm only human and I'm alone."

Giles gave him a considering look before nodding. "Alright. Until then, Ethan." He left his old friend sitting there, he wouldn't visit. He knew that. Ethan probably knew that but he had said he would and sometimes that was all people needed to hear. He hoped it was enough but he didn't think he could bare to see the man again. Too much between them, too much past, too much anger. He couldn't do it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He tried not to think about it as the months passed but when four had come and gone and then a fifth he began to make peace with it. Ethan was dead and he was the last of his old friends left. Well, it was as it should be.

Around a year later however he found himself in London and as he was catching a cab back to his flat he stopped. Across the street, amidst the crowd. . . it couldn't have been. . . but he was sure it was. It was Ethan and the man caught his eye and smiled wickedly, waving. Giles felt his jaw drop as the face twisted into a grotesque parody of its former self. A vampire's smile.

Ethan was a vampire. Had he been in the Green Goat? He doubted it. As the figure across the street disappeared he shut his mouth. Of course, Ethan had always been a coward and. . . well it was unexpected. He shook his head, stomach feeling sick.

"You getting' in or not?" The cabbie snapped, pulling him from his trance.

He coughed slightly and climbed in. Ethan had evaded death.

[shadowsong26fic]

Thumbprint AU (aka BSG Soulmate AU) additional ramblings

Last night, I was explaining some of the concepts behind this fic to my roommate. So, naturally, rather than working towards anything I actually am writing/planning to write, my brain was still on that track and fleshing out some of the other details/thinking about some of the Impacts moving forward XD

Brief background, for those who don't actually want to dive into the fic: it's one of the ones I wrote for Year of the OTP, it's a BSG Soulmate AU.

I'm...generally not actually super into soulmate AUs, unless they're baked into the worldbuilding of the story itself (i.e., some fairy-tale retellings trend in this direction; heavily prophecy-based settings; lifebonds in the Valdemar series; the Sun-blessed and shadow in Starless which I'm currently rereading...)

But in this particular universe, I think they're interesting. Not because of the way prophecy and destiny work--in fact, I'm not even really touching on that side of things. Mostly I was interested because of how that might impact any among the Significant Seven, given the culture they exist in. Specifically Caprica and Athena. (I'm writing Caprica/Baltar for the challenge; but there are other soulmate sets I'm interested in.)

Anyway, the rules I came up with:

Not everyone has a soulmate

It is possible to have multiple soulmates 2a. They do not necessarily have to be each other's soulmates

It is possible to have platonic soulmates

The mark is your soulmate's thumbprint; the location varies

The marks appear after both (or all) parties involved have reached an emotional point of no return, which is why it's so inconsistent.

I've picked out five soulmate relationships for this AU, though I'm not sure I'll actually write anything further about them, but just for reference:

Gaius and Caprica

Helo and Athena

Bill and Saul (platonic)

Bill and Laura

Saul and Ellen

Some further thoughts behind the cut

So, starting with Gaius and Caprica - His emotional point of no return is giving her the codes/granting access. - Hers is her confession - This means, as shown in the one-shot already written, their marks appear during/after the chaos of the attacks. - Hers is on her thigh - I did put some thought into the locations of these marks; sometimes there is a level of Meaning that I can articulate, sometimes it's just Vibes. In this case, it's...sort of both? In that it's something that you generally have to be already intimate with her to know. - She notices it as soon as she downloads. - His is on his collarbone - The placement here is that--it's something that's generally covered up, or easy to cover up without looking like you're Actively Hiding Something...but it's also fairly easy to uncover. Once it is, it's something he can explain away (or at least cut off any further questions). For once, by telling the actual truth--his soulmate isn't in the Fleet. (No one's really going to follow up on that.) - This might impact how things fall out between him and Kara. - I'm...actually not sure when he notices. Unless Head!Six points it out, for the first couple of days he might assume it's a random bruise...except it's a pretty specific shape, and then it doesn't fade... - Other potential threads/directions this could go: - Possibly Caprica's alliance with Boomer breaks down faster. Boomer does not have a thumbprint. - This might impact Gaius's relationship with Gina (at least once she's out of her cell/after the actual Pegasus/Resurrection Ship arc; I...don't think it'll necessarily cut through the tangle of Everything Else in the moment, but in the aftermath). - It doesn't really affect things with Head!Six or Head!Baltar, I don't think. They're already...A Lot.

Bill and Saul - So, 95% of the reason why I'm including them is to highlight some of the Rules of this AU (i.e., platonic soulmates are Also a thing; you can have multiple soulmates who aren't necessarily tied to each other as well as you) - Also, it's frankly hilarious to have a cluster where Several of the people involved despise several of the others XD - Bill's mark is on his shoulderblade; Saul's is on his bicep. - Saul's is entirely Vibes; Bill's is because Saul always has his back. - I don't know when the marks appeared, in part because parsing the timelines here is. Complicated. Also don't know the specifics behind their points of no return, but oh well. It doesn't...super matter by the time the series starts, I don't think? - (I am considering adding Felix and Dee to the list as another pair of platonic soulmates, because their relationship definitely could be written that way? But I haven't explored it much/don't have any real thoughts on it).

Bill and Laura - Their point of no return is actually a shared one! It's on Kobol. - They're also (probably) the only ones with a shared point of no return. Make of that what you will XD - Her mark is at the pulse point on her left wrist. - Mostly Vibes here. - His I keep changing my mind on where it should be...any suggestions? - (I love these two, I very much enjoy reading about them; but I don't actually write them myself very often hence not a lot of Fleshed Out Details here)

Saul and Ellen - I'm pretty sure they woke up in their new lives with their marks and it was built into their new personas as a result, but. uh. yeah, who the frak knows, anything to do with the personal timelines of the Final Five is. a Mess. - His is right over his sternum; hers is at the nape of her neck. - Pretty much entirely Vibes here. - They're included in part for some of the same reasons Bill and Saul are included, in part because my best beloved 2000-year-old dysfunctional robot drunks in love (every time I rewatch the series, I like them more and more; particularly Saul), in part because "you guys are horrifically toxic in a way that strangely works; you are perfect for each other; please never involve anyone else in your bullshit.) - (But, of course, other people are involved in their bullshit XD Bill, Sam/Chief/Tory...)

Helo and Athena - Okay, so here's where things could Really Go Places in terms of AU/canon divergence. - Athena's point of no return, obviously, is her decision to take Helo and run rather than sticking with the plan. - His is actually after that, during the confrontation with Kara when he stops Kara from killing Athena. - You'd think it would be earlier, that point where he turns back to rescue her rather than continuing on on his own. There's two reasons why I'm going here: - First, it actually genuinely makes sense to me. There's the complications with (as far as he knows) her prior relationship with Chief. Then there's the whole Reveal. It's not until Kara is threatening her that he has this moment of Clarity and realizes that--whatever else is going on, whatever other complications there are, he needs this Sharon in his life. One way or another. No matter the cost. - Second, it's for Storytelling Reasons, which I'll come back to in a second. - Both of their marks are actually visible unless they are Actively Covering Them Up. - Athena's is on the back of her hand. - Helo's is on his cheekbone. - Which brings me back to the second point for putting Helo's point of no return where it is. - Because the marks appear once both parties have crossed that line. - Which means Kara actually sees Helo's mark appear. - Obviously, this has a huge impact on everything when they get back to the Fleet. - The first instinct, of course, is that the marks are fake--tattooed on or something. - But Kara actually witnessed when Helo was marked. - Also, any infiltration attempts by Athena get. A little more complicated. - ...I don't actually have a plan or anything, lol, just. Hoo Boy That Changes Things.

...so, yeah, that's where I am. XD I don't know that I'm actually going to write any of this (I have other projects that interest me more), but I figured getting it down on paper, so to speak, and out of my head was a good place to start!

[tokiro07]

Cipher Academy ch.26 thoughts

[Does Among Us Count as a Puzzle Game?]

...I’m so god damn stupid...”the four of us”, “you don’t want Iroha to end up like Shutan”...it was staring me in the face and I missed it by a mile...I didn’t even have to get to Toshusai asking for Nutaba to be on the team, page one put the pieces into place instantly. Normally I like to go back and reread previous chapters when lines like that come up to try to get an idea of what they’re referring to, but since I’ve been so busy lately, I ended up skipping that step for the sake of finishing the review. I’ll try to be more diligent going forward!

I was right about the structure of the competition, though: Iroha will have a different five-person cell in each match, and the final match will be a three-way battle between the winners of the three matches of the first round. I’m sure Nisio will find some way to twist it around, but it’s going exactly as I expected so far

Also, WOW IS IT OBVIOUS NOW THAT I KNOW THE IROHA HERE IS FAKE! I didn’t notice on first read, but his hair-clips are on the wrong side! Very convenient for cluing eagle-eyed viewers in, but also really sloppy for an undercover agent. Hokiboshi establishes herself as someone you want to see get hers pretty much immediately, and Yugata delivers

I would like to know exactly what Yugata means by people like Hokiboshi being her specialty. I’ll conjecture that she means smug or overconfident people until we know a bit more

When Hokiboshi introduces the puzzle, Toshusai notes that there are 240 possible combinations, which is frankly the single funniest line that has been said in this entire series, at least to me. If you’re not familiar with the concept of Goroawase, 240 can be pronounced “ni-shi-oh,” which is also why Nisio Isin’s insignia is a clock set to 2:40. A cute detail, to say the least

The imagery of Yugata literally shattering Hokiboshi leaves such an impact, I feel like I could actually hear the glass breaking! I hope we continue to get fun visuals associated with the cast like that going forward, I think it’d be a fun artistic spin that could help get readers on board

It also feels a bit more believable that Hokiboshi was traumatized by Yugata solving the puzzle without touching it and only half of the pieces known to her, as that must seem like it’s completely impossible to anyone else. As it happens though, this puzzle lines up with the lipogram battle, as that established that Yugata is specifically skilled with omission-based word puzzles

Backing up a bit, Toshusai’s moment of humility in asking Iroha to let the Toshusai Faction face off against Class E speaks volumes of the gravity of the situation. Of course, it’s well within her established character to do that sort of thing for a friend, as I’ve been referring to her as a Friendship character for the past...ten chapters now? Perhaps we’ll get to see how she became a Friendship character in her backstory

This wasn’t a super dense chapter, so I don’t think I have much else to say here, but I won’t complain about a fast chapter if it’s this exciting! We got to see Class E’s underhanded methods (replacing Iroha, sending in agents to slow him down), we got a clear breakdown of Class A’s factions (very interesting that Iroha thinks Anonymity gets along with Mamushihishimeki, can’t wait to see why), and a hard-hitting moment from Yugata! Short, sweet, easy to understand, and character-rich. Those fools who can’t handle Cipher Academy for being “too wordy” don’t know what they’re missing!

I hope that we’re going to get more insight into Yugata going forward, but the point of this chapter wasn’t for that, it was to make her look cool as hell, and it accomplished that goal with flying colors. I figure Nisio is holding off on delving into her character for later, since she seems likely to be the best Cipher Soldier in Class A holding herself back for Toshusai’s sake, so hopefully CA gets to go long enough for us to get the payoff for her. I anticipate that we’re going to get some real characterization for the rest of the group, though, especially if Kubinashi is explicitly tied to Omomuro and Nutaba’s stories

Still hoping that this arc lights a flame in the fandom, and this chapter really gives me hope! It feels like a more traditional battle manga with Nisio’s characteristically snappy flow, which I think is what would show off the series’ strengths while appealing to a more general audience. Here’s hoping we see some notable improvement sales soon, cus I’d hate to see this series get snuffed out when it’s only getting better and better for me

See y’all next week!

[just-a-space-rabbit]

Letter from Codex

TW: Threat of Dismemberment, Bounty hunting, Trap, Arrow

‘The Kimduck Galaxy…’, thankfully a rather calmer place than the other once Archer has been to these past few weeks. It’s not the first time he or Yuki has been here, but it’s not one Archer wants to stay in for long, as bounty hunting is forbidden within the galaxy’s territory. ‘Not that that law ever stopped anyone’ he thought, parking his ship into the Space Station hangar and ended the call with the radio tower.

Kimduck is one of the smaller galaxies in the Galactic alliance. However small still means a total of 30 billion stars to search. An impossible task for most. For Archer? It’s an average Monday. He knew where to start looking.

Once his ship was fully connected into the Space Station’s systems, Archer could finally connect to the wider space-net. So he began making his way to his office. 

On his way there he reread the letter sent to him. He had heard of Codex before, but knew very little as she had never been a target of his. Still, he was impressed that she managed to get a physical letter to him, but wondered why she could not get it all the way to Yuki on her own and how important it had to be that she could not trust any digital systems.

Archer made a mental note of looking further into her when the job was done, especially if she was going to give him further missions. He had been burned by not doing enough research on his work clients before, and it was not a lesson he would want to repeat.

As the small office light turned on. He calibrated the holographic wall map to show the Kimduck Galaxy. Before quickly he sat down and opened up his burner laptop. “Where Yuki gose, people notice her. Dangerous people notice her.” he mumbled to himself.

Searching the darker part of the space-net, after a few hours he has gotten several hits though most of them do seem to be older and not all are credible. 

Angry reports of stolen goods getting stolen. Blurry photographs of what looks to be Yuki’s main ship ‘Vulcan’ fighting against space pirates. And… several bounties. Some of them were asking for Yuki alive, while others were requesting body parts. Archer grits his teeth in disgust at the messages. But he still copied them all over to the holomap. 

Walking up to the map he begins mapping the notes. From posts metadata, to analyzing the stars in the background, he soon has a VERY rough trail of posts showing when and where Yuki might have been. It could take days or weeks to find out the exact location, but that would not help. Time is the enemy. 

What Acher has done up to now is something that everyone can do. But finding out where she is going? Only Archer knows her well enough to figure out her patterns. And thankfully, this time he got some clearer clues than normal. 

“Seems she is heading further to the center of the galaxy. And by the unusually low amount of meanderings, she must have a set destination and time in mind” he said to himself, before he got back on the computer to look for clues in the area 

“Now we just need to find out where that is-” He stopped what he was doing with wide eyes. It was as if fate itself was teasing him. “of course…” he murmured, clicking on the ad that had just popped up “The intergalactic Artist-con… Why did I not get this ad SIX HOURS AGO!”

… 

As Yuki left the convention hall, she felt exhausted yet happy and already looking forward to the final day of the con. Both over and under her the city stretched far, vehicles flew past them, and the lights of the billboards were always shining. A quite typical mega-city in her eyes, but at least one that is walkable, smells nice and has lots of good food.

Despite her feet hurting from exhaustion she still decided to walk back to the hotel, just to get some fresh air and maybe some authentic Gelion food. ‘It’s only like 1 kilometer away. That’s easy numbers' she said right before getting startled by an arrow hitting the ground in front of her. Immediately her ears shot up, as she began to stumble and fall backwards.

She looks up in panic only to see Archer jump down from the railing above her. He misses her by a meter as she bolts up and starts running into the nearest sidestreet. ‘He looks pissed!’ Yuki thought as she jumped a fence not looking back.

Archer follows her into the streets, but stops and smirks to himself. Walking slowly and calmly jumping the fence. There he finds her already tangled up a few feet in the air by the energy-net trap he had set up moments earlier.

Yuki was still twisting around, trying to find a weak point in the net. Standing in the shadows Archer did not stop her as it was better to just let her work herself out.

After a minute she gave in with a sigh as she relaxed herself. 

“You done?” he smirked, finally getting into the light. “Or are you going to keep dancing all night?”

“Dancing?” Yuki repeated as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “What's going on here? Why are you acting all ‘strange and dramatic’ and doing all the ‘looming in the shadows’? Also, is this about that ‘stealing from the pirate thing?’ because the original owners did ask me to help-”

“No, it’s not that” Archer said as he began following her, rotating in the net “You see, I’m here because… I… can’t do this…” Archer said, sounding almost embarrassed. “Look, Codex hired me”

“CODEX HIRED YOU?!?!” Yuki suddenly yelled, sounding both sad and betrayed.

“TO DELIVER A LETTER!” Archer yelled trying to calm Yuki back down, showing her the paper envelope. “She hired me to deliver a letter. She just told me to be dramatic while doing it” he continued, and Yuki could swear he almost sounded nervous.

She did not know what to answer him, before he spoke again “Look I’m just going to let you go now and you can take the letter alright?” As he said so, the net disappeared and Yuki fell down landing on both feets.

It was a bit awkward between the two of them as he handed over the letter and a mysterious small package. Then he turned to leave “oh, and btw. Stealing from pirates is still illegal, even if you have permission from the owner. You need permission from the government to do that. But I’ll ignore it since bounty hunting is illegal here so capturing you is a waste of time”

And with that he jumped back over the fence and disappeared into the night.

All while leaving Yuki super confused...

...

Archer: The letter has been delivered.

TOP SECRET mission for Archer Confirm biometric signature to continue.

MISSION NAME: Messenger

Mr Archer. You have been selected for a top secret mission. You're goal is to deliver this envelope to the space rabbit known as Yuki. Our intel says they are in the Kimduck Galaxy. Considered armed and dangerous.

INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Locate the rabbit. 2. Deliver envelope — for Yuki's eyes only. 3. Be dramatic. Success guarantees future missions. Failure, interception, harm to the rabbit, or exposing their location guarantees a bounty on the bounty hunter. For assistance, you have been provided the book 1001 Overdramatic Theatrics for Beginner Villains by Codex the Charming. You may keep it after the mission.

To accept this mission, send code BANANA to @heroes-villains-side-blog

💌📓

Archer: I accepted the mission.

Archer: I mean...

Archer: BANANA?

[sentofight]

ooc. people take zack's bright and cheerful nature for granted and it is sad that when he is down it is often on his own or like with someone but their bond is not enough to 'cheer him up', or understand that even a guy like him can feel down. like think about how he left his house at 13, fricking young boy, a baby, to join shinra where his heroes are. imagine that you leave the comfort of your home to somewhere new and take all the challenges throw at him with a smile. you know training for SOLDIER is not easy one bit. the fact he spent three whole years until he became 2nd means he was excelling than other recruits. We didn't see him in his 3rd outfit but already on his 2nd outfit. and think about it, it took him less than a year to prove he is 1st. True that his promotion, in normal circumstances, could have taken another year had it not for Genesis' crisis, or more. idk where im going with this because i reread this tweet again and im just in pieces. to think he spend his life hustling and for it to end quickly. aaaaaaaaaaaaah.... people don't notice that literally zack managed to change hearts of some of the cast because he is honest and straightforward. please think about how the turks--THE TURKS, actually on good terms with him. tseng, who is supposed to be aerith's guard. like i cant think how he didn't get rid of zack when he saw him puppying around her. tseng soften, even if it is like ...0.0001% but you CAN FRICKING TELL HE IS TOLERARTING ZACK AND NOT ABOUT TO NUKE HIM TO THE LIFESTREAM FOR HIS MISSION. THEN... then we have cissnei ;;u;; i can't imagine a turk aborting a mission even for a friction of second. they have their beliefs to uphold and their reputation and all that shazam but to think she was willing to risk her career for him. tbh i would not have imagined she would have risked everything if the events were not 'after 4 years'. uuh how to explain it... zack (and cloud) were missing for 4 years. it was definitely sketching af after the whole nibblehomhom incident that he went poof--a guy who is stubborn and comes back like its nothing. then they get notified that there are runaways and then boom it was him. ok, let me add that it is strange that after 4 years they didnt bother to make it visible that he was experimented on. i will think about that deeply later but the guy was trapped in a fricking tube for 4 years and being experimented on. he may have the cells already but that does not mean whatever they set him through was easy. i feel like that showed in the end with his DMW getting whacky af until it got busted. idk what i wanna say but every time i see zack im like 'bruh ... u deserve the world sniffles' can We TALk AbOuT HIM aND sEPhY???? bruh. bruuuuh. people at sephy: wow look messiah. zack at sephy: eyyy!!! so you wont believe what kunsel sent me. bruh so real he does not give sephy the high pedestal treatment just admiration and respect for his work--he is his hero after all, but he respect his hustle which in returns fuels him to work even harder himself. u get me? idk if u do but listen zack is just 'you guys are so cool. so how can i be cool too?' he does not want to be copies of them--haha copy haha. shut up brain. usually when you see your heroes you want to be LIKE THEM but for zack i feel like he just wanted to be A HERO, not THE HERO HE LOOKS UP TO, HERO, u dig? he likes them. he respects them. but he does not want to be THEM, hence why i feel like the 1st class SOLDIERS are between surprised and confused and having that breath of fresh air when it comes to zack. yes he is bothering you but only to better himself. he is not trying to follow on someone's footsteps, he just want to be his own person. it kind of makes me go squint eyes when i remember him saying he wants wings like angeal's wings but u know it goes beyond just 'wings' in that case. angeal did everything to protect his pride and honor so zack in the end feels like, or hopes he did the same. like their sacrifice ...is worth it u know? the people who they left behind can carry on and do their own thing now.

true he said he left everything to c/loud; his legacy yadayadyada but that does not mean c/loud had to CARRY THEM AS THEY ARE. zack took from angeal and did what he thought was right to protect his pride and honor. c/loud should take this and add to it, perhaps change, erase but never settle with what zack had given him only. idk man ...i'll just shut up now. i never make sense when my hands just TIME FOR TYPING SESSION!!!!

[weskin-time]

Albert Wesker NSFW headcanons!

just a collection of a few of the NSFW hcs that have been stuck in my head for a while now. unlegal adults get out of here, go on get! go home!

i wrote this at midnight im sorry but im not rereading it at the moment so there might be errors

HC UNDER THE CUT!!

one kinky son of a bitch

everyone says it but he def has a size kink

something about you being smaller than him makes him feel more powerful

being able to cover you when hes on top of you, being able to see all of you before him it just.. sets him oFF

i mean the man is 6'2 he towers over you

his heart beats a little faster when hes next to you and notices how short you are compared to him

if youre standing next to him and see him straighten up to his full height,, yea hes totally supressing the urge to slam you againt the nearest flat surface and fuck you right then and there

into wrestling

not like wwe super star slam but more of he likes it when you put up some sort of fight in bed

having to fight for control is just hot to him, helps remind him how strong he is compared to you. loves to have you wiggle under him as he pins you down before grinding against you

seeing you stop trying to wiggle and slowly sucumb to him iS S E X Y

LOVES GIVING PRAISE!

seeing you get flustered and your eyes go wide like a deer in the headlights makes his cold dead heart flutter

gets off on praising you, telling you youre doing so well for him, that youre making him feel so good, saying how pretty your moans are and how he loves feeling you against him

hes got a thing for choking you too, i mean thats a given

his large hand around your throat as he pins you down on the bed, his fingers almost fitting over your entire neck as he pounds into you.

uroburos sliding its way to wrap around your throat a few times as he goes down on you, arms wrapped around your hips and hands on your thighs with his face burried inbetween them

seeing your eyes go unfocused as you start to pant as your visions starts to slowly go black and your head feels fuzzy makes him almost cum on the spot

bonus points if he makes you choke with his cock

your throat spasming as you cough, trying not to bite him, as he slides his dick all the way down your throat, hearing those little muffled coughing attacks and the way your hands hold onto his hips harder makes him moan and cum right then and there in your mouth

loves kissing. his lips are always attached to you in some way, on your neck, your chest, thighs, forhead, anywhere he can

is very vocal in bed

hes always making noises

he purrs

shush yes uroburos can make him purr and he does when hes about to cum

hes never quiet, hes either praising you, mumbling to himself, teasing you, or moaning and whining

TOPS WHO WHINE ARE HOTTTTT

he love LOVE LOVES to lean over and whisper in your ear, dropping his voice lower and spilling his warm breath on you

can never let you fully top, if hes on bottom its only when youre riding him or sitting on his face but even then he has his hands on your hips and is controlling your speed

WILL FUCK YOU WHEN YALL ARE HIGH

the man is stressed constantly so sometimes he smokes that green herb (hahaha im so funny)

UUFHAHHSAS- grabbing your chin and pulling you close to his face just to shotgun with him.

i literally cannot stop thinking of shotgunning with albert wesker

loves seeing your mind start to get fuzzy and laughing at the way his hair tickles your thighs

plus fucking while high always heightens pleasure

fucks you a little harder when your high than he normally does

its just so easy to loose himself more than normal in your tight walls, his body focusing on the feelings more than any other sense

i think this hc is mostly for me

isnt very good at aftercare, but he tries

doesnt say much after but will start a shower for the two of you and he will bathe with you

its cute and domestic kinda

lets you rest up against him and will hold you against him before drifing off to sleep

if you like this please let me know and ill make another one! i have so many headcanons for him that get wwaaayyy kinkier!! please reblog this if you like it as it helps me grow!

[louweasleymalfoy]

Masterlist

Summary : Park Solomon freaks out over an audition for his first big acting role

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Well I'm screwed" Lomon thought as he blankly stared at the papers in his hands as he rereads the script for the nth time tonight. He is overthinking.

You see the thing is, this audition isn't just ANY audition. Sure he's been to multiple auditions, but this was different.

He wasn't just going to be one of those movie or drama extras anymore, he'll finally have the chance to land a big role and become an actual lead actor for once, and the fact that it's being produced by one of the most well-known names in the industry wasn't helping his train of thoughts, he's VERY nervous.

His eyes skimmed over the words on the paper once more, ignoring the stabbing pain in his head from reading the same set of lines over and over again for the past couple hours.

There wasn't really supposed to be a problem — the script was FANTASTIC! — but there was a scene from the script that he just can't get right.

He audibly sighed in frustration — this scene was one of the important ones — and threw the script somewhere.

"Looks like someone's in a bad mood" Y/N, his roommate/childhood best friend, walked into the living room with a cup of coffee in hand as she bent to pick up the papers he threw.

"A penny for your thoughts?" He turned his head towards her direction and watched her sit beside him "Remember that audition that I told you about? That's what's stressing me out" She took a sip of coffee and set her mug on the coffee table in front of them before taking a quick glance at the papers in her hand. A look of realization flashes across her face before she handed Lomon the set of papers.

"Ooooohhhhhh, that audition you told me about last week?" He nodded "Well what's the problem? You've been to multiple auditions before, how does this one make any difference?" She shrugged and he sighed once again.

"It's not just ANY audition. This is a BIG one, I can finally have a chance to be a lead actor for once" Her eyes widened as he spoke "Really!? That's great!! I'm so proud of you Lomon" She beamed at him "But what about it? I mean you're probably nervous, which is normal, but you honestly seem like you're gonna die any moment now"

"It’s tomorrow, and there's this one scene that I'm having a hard time doing" he points over that part in the script for emphasis. "Ooooh let me see" She made grabby hands, 'cute' he thought, and he handed her the script.

"What’s your problem with it, exactly?" Y/N asks. The scene involved the 'first kiss' shared between the main characters. It should've been easy, right? Lomon thought but a loud voice in his head said NO.

"There are so many ways to do it and I'm so confused right now. Should I lean in slow? should I lean in fast? or should I—" Lomon cut himself off as he covered his face with his hands.

He peeked through his hands to see his friend's reaction just to see her innocently drinking her coffee, obviously unbothered. She raised a brow at him as if to say 'I know that's not your only reason' — Dammit, she knows him too well.

And so he gave in "Fine I'll admit it. It's been a while since I've kissed someone and the fact that this is the first audition I'm doing that has a kissing scene is not helping me. I'm afraid that I'll mess up tomorrow" He banged his head on the cofee table and groaned.

Y/N sighed and set her now empty cup of coffee aside before grabbing Lomon by the hair, gently raising his head from the table.

She took notice of the paper clip mark imprinted on his forehead from when he banged his head on the table full of papers and she internally laughed at him, she decided to ignore that for now.

"Lomon calm down, you're thinking about this too much" She spoke "And besides...who knows? maybe they won't even make you do this scene because there's no way you can do this without a partner" She tried to reassure him. He sat up straight and she let go of his hair. "Would they even ask you to do that scene without a partner?"

He shrugs. "They said they might bring in a couple of people at a time, to test chemistry" she hummed and it was quiet for a while when she decided to break the silence.

"Wanna rehearse your lines with me?" She asked, she figured that this would get his mind off his 'problem' for a while.

It wasn't anything new. They've done this a couple of times in the past whenever Lomon has a new audition or a new role to play. He was thankful of her.

They sat in front of each other as Y/N held the script in her hands to serve as a guide. She kept her head low, quietly reading the lines, as he stared. Her presence alone had him feeling mesmerized.

As she read the script, she suddenly felt a burning gaze on her. She lifted her head to look at him and found him staring at her with a foreign look that had her confused. "Sooooo, should we start?" she snapped him out of his daze and all he could do was nod. And so just like that, they started practicing the script.

Time passed and they (most especially Lomon) were doing quite well. He cleared his throat and recalled the next scene. It's set in an amusement park after he (the main character) and his classmate-slash-love interest decided to skip class after an uneventful morning in school.

After a while, they finally reach the last lines of the scene before the kiss.

"Have you ever done this before?" He spoke. The scene takes place in a ferris wheel as they looked at the marvelous view in front of them.

Y/N fills in for the other character, 'the love interest'. She shook her head and spoke "I’ve never done this with someone special"

They suddenly fall silent. Y/N looked at him with an expression that says 'what now?' until he finally broke the silence. "This is the scene that I was struggling with" He cleared his throat "It's the first kiss and I can't decide whether I should do a fierce and passionate kiss or if it's supposed to have this intense buildup that leads to a chaste and meaningful one" He rubbed his temple in frustration.

They fall silent once again until Y/N suddenly sat in a closer distance to him. She cleared her throat and a light tint of redness dusted across her cheeks. "I mean, we can try to do this scene if you want" She quietly said but it was loud enough for him to hear it as she avoided eye contact with him.

Lomon stared at her in shock and it was his turn to blush now. 'Does she mean what I think she means??' he thought. Y/N finally looked at him with wide eyes. "Or not! I-it was just a suggestion, we don't have to do it!" she quickly defended and was about to stand up when she felt his fingers wrap around her wrist.

"R-really? Do you mean it?" She looked at him with flushed cheeks and nodded "I mean, if you want to" she mumbled. "Let's do it" Her eyes widened at the three words that left his mouth as if she was expecting him to refuse her unexpected offer.

Y/N's face nearly panics again but then her face suddenly smooths over. "Okay! Ummm great! Do you wanna take it from the top?" She spoke loudly, trying to act cool and composed even though she was internally screaming at herself about stuff. What did she just get herself into?

He nodded at her previous question and they adjust their positions as if they were in the ferris wheel. They repeated the lines again until — "Have you ever done this before?"

Lomon took his time to look at her face and got lost in a trance once again. For some reason, she looks even more beautiful each time he looks at her. "I’ve never done this with someone special" she responded and both of them suddenly became aware of what's about to happen next.

He took in every inch of her face — from the way her hair looked, it was a bit messy and yet it still managed to look good on her...

'Relax, you've got this. He's your best friend. Besides, this is just acting — right?' Y/N thought as she tried to calm her nerves down, unaware of the fact that the boy in front of her was in a similar state.

And yet, as he leans forward, she sees something flicker in his eyes. They were a breath away from each other as Lomon's eyes flickered between her eyes and her lips. There was a foreign feeling in her chest as they sat so close to one another that it has ger wondering 'does he feel the same thing that I'm feeling right now?'

This was her idea, anyway, so she calms her mind and tried to remind herself that this is just acting and nothing else.

Lomon lifts his hands to cup her delicate face, searching for any hint of hesitation before letting their lips touch.

Her eyes went wide, despite the fact that she expected it, and yet she remembered the fact that this was just 'acting' so she closed her eyes. She placed a hand on his cheek, lightly tracing his cheekbone with her thumb as he deepened the kiss. He doesn’t pull away at once, he lets the tension linger.

He noticed that his heart rate has sped up. They were too immersed in the kiss, both of them completely forgetting the fact that this was supposed to be just acting. All they could think about was each other as their lips moved in sync.

After a while, they noticed the lack of breath and Y/N took it upon herself to pull away from each other's lips.

"Was that okay?"

"Did that feel alright?" — they both spoke at the same time and they dissolve into nervous giggles.

They fell quiet once again for the nth time today and they stare into each other's eyes as Lomon gently traced the side of her face with his fingers.

"Can I kiss you again?" Lomon felt a sudden rush of confidence as he asked. All she could do was nod and he took that as a sign to press his lips against hers once again.

It starts slow, with him purposefully catching her mouth a little clumsily as he changes the angle to fit their lips better. She pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

She is an incredibly good kisser, and Lomon loses himself in it. With Y/N and Lomon caught up in each other's embrace , everything just suddenly felt right.

They pulled away and stared at each other again with smiles plastered across their faces. Both of them knew that what just happened wasn't 'acting'. There were no words exchanged between the two and yet there was this mutual love radiating off of each other.

Both of them felt happy. They were aware of the fact that they'll have to talk about what just happened but for now, they'll just relish in each other's presence.

And so the two of them held each other, the script long forgotten as it sat on the coffee table. He'll just have to worry about the audition tomorrow.

[anordinarymuse]

ever since.

Regulus Black x Fem!Reader (slytherin)

Summary : Okay it's cliché and quite common but could you do a Regulus x Slytherin Reader where they are very good friends but Regulus has feelings for her /like in Little Women but with a happy ending for the couple/?

Warnings : unedited.

Word Count : ~2k(?) idk longer than usual haha

A/N : an anon requested this a bit ago and i messed up by posting the ask when i didn’t mean to so dear anon i hope you see this and i’m so sorry :(

also side note i’m trying to work my way into writing longer fics :3 (ps: you should reblog <3)

the masterlist.

request here.

“What did you get for number 8?” You asked Regulus, sneaking a look at his parchment.

“Stop cheating, I spent time on this,” Regulus frowned, but made no effort to stop your actions. “If you cheat you won’t pass the NEWTs.”

“I’ll do backside on my own, promise,” you muttered as you slid his parchment next to yours, loosely copying what was written on his.

“There’s a backside?” Regulus asked, raising a brow, still frowning.

“Nope,” you grinned, popping the p.

“You’re lucky you’re my friend,” Regulus grumbled as he sunk deeper into his wooden seat.

The two of you sat secluded in a sim corner of the library. Curfew was slowly arriving, however you didn’t worry about since Reg was a prefect. Stacked books littered the table you worked at, most of them yours. While you had been “studying” and “working” on your homework Regulus had been reading a book.

As you worked on your next assignment, you snuck a peek at Regulus, who was deeply enthralled in his carefully picked out literature. You had waited an excruciatingly long twenty minutes before he picked out the hardcover copy in Hogsmeade earlier that weekend. You teased and complained the whole time, he simply ignored you, but you knew he was smirking along.

“That’s wrong,” Regulus stated, not looking up from you book, as you scribbled an answer on the test review.

“How would you know? You didn’t even look, “you retorted, rereading the question.

Regulus sighed before setting his book face down and looked at the question himself. He then pointed at the end question, “You have to read the whole question. You have to put another row for twenty-four months.”

Begrudgingly you looked down, and to your regret he was right. As you admitted defeat, Regulus grinned in triumph.

“Thanks,” you muttered, rolling your eyes as Regulus leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Don’t look so smug, Reg.”

Regulus just shrugged while smiling and picked up his book. You huffed, looking at him once more before returning to your work.

-

As you started the second to last page of the NEWTs, from the corner of your eye you noticed Regulus’ work turning in and him leaving. You rolled your eyes as he was the first to finish, and from across the room Evan sent you a “for fucks sake he’s done?” look, which you returned with, “I know, right?”

After finally finishing the exam you left the Great Hall, happily aware you weren’t last to finish. Since you were finished you went out to find Reg, having a good idea on where he was.

You walked out of the castle, through the courtyard, and towards the black lake. As you approached closer, there sat Regulus against the big tree, the sun shining gently on his figure.

“Reg!” You shouted, before running towards him.

Once you were next to him, he just looked up smiling. In his hand he held a single flower, twirling it around in his fingers

“How do you think you did?” You asked, moving to sit across from him.

“I think I did ok, what about you?”

“I’m not too sure about the long answer, but the multiple choice went easy.”

“Was it worth all my tutoring?”

“You did not tutor me! You just read your bloody book!” You exclaimed, grinning as you rolled eyes. “I’m just glad to go home.”

“Really?”

“Well, I mean, yeah,” you said a little sheepishly, trying to word out what was in your mind. “I don’t love it, but I miss it.”

“Huh,” Regulus shrugged.

“I don’t know if that made sense, did it?”

“It does, I just don’t feel the same,” Regulus replied, giving you a full smile with empty eyes.

“Oh,” you let out, suddenly regretting what you’d said.

Then, Regulus stood up, brushing his pants before walking forward behind you. You turned around to face his back, he continued to face away from you, toward the lake with his hands in his pocket.

“Come home with me,” he said after a moment of silence.

“What?” You asked in surprised, lips parting in an “o”.

“Come home with me,” he repeated, turning sideways, unable to look you in the eye.

You pressed your lips together, looking up at his side profile with silence before managing out, “I don’t know what to say but-“

“It’s no use, Y/N, we’ve got to have it out,” he interrupted, suddenly distraught, brushing his fingers through his hair. “I’ve loved you, Y/N. I’ve loved you ever since I’ve known you.

“I couldn’t help it, you’re beautiful, you’re smart, and I- I- and you’ve been so good to me. You listen and understand and- and-

“I’ve tried to show it and you haven’t noticed but now. . .but now I’m going to make you hear this because I can’t go on any longer.

“Not with us leaving at the end of this month. Not with me moving on, not with you moving on, not with you moving on without me.”

By the end of his confession he was out of breath. His hair was mess from pulling on it as he threaded his fingers through his locks. His cheeks were flushed and he looked like he was on the verge of throwing himself in the lake from impatience.

The whole affair you’d been sitting, knees tucked in, arms wrapped tightly around your legs. You couldn’t help but bite the inside of your lip, in attempt to hide your smile.

Regulus stared at you at you as you cocked your head to side before standing up and advancing towards where he stood. Gently, you took his hands out from his pockets and held them loosely in yours.

“Regulus,” you smiled. “I was going to say yes.”

He paused, eyes growing a bit wider than they were before. He then breathed in disbelief, “You were?”

You nodded, giving Regulus’ a squeeze. He waited a moment before moving his hands from being held in yours to cupping your face, bringing you in for a deep kiss.

You let out a small gasp of shock before your lips connected with Reg’s. His lips were soft against yours, and your eyelids naturally closed on their own.

As the kiss parted, Regulus looked down at you with a grin, eyes gleaming and cheeks pink from admiration.

“I’ve loved you ever since I’ve known you,” you affirmed as Regulus snaked his arms around your waist, keeping you in tight and keeping you in close.

**********

taglist: @marimorena06 @missryerye @agirlwholovescoffee @nicole198205 @siriuspvdfoot @hufflepuffflowers-blog @thatguppienamedbae @peachykeen3502 @youngblood199456 @oranee @bobbyjohnsonbeat @jasgreen101 @will-to-live-who @bellatrixscurls @krishavania @thegirlwhocriedlupin @mrsaliciamalfoy @wwweasleystan @modernvellichor @westantheweasleys @lolaperezb @zaraskyla @v4l3nt1n44 @sirisuorionblack @rinbyo @xdancinggurlx @lupinsravenclaw @hogwarts-boys @inglourious-imagines @siriuslyslyslytherin @the-abyss-gazed-back @eunoia-kth @kaqua @erinruby003 @rudypankowisdaddy @story-scribbler @youreso-golden @natural-ikagai @auggie2000 @666cookies @i-love-scott-mccall @peter-parkers-cullen-nerd

[alwaysxlarrie]

fav fics of june/july 2022

recently, i read some fics that i enjoyed which is big for me! (however, there are a few fics that i read a while ago, recently found again & still enjoyed them, as well) i tend to reread the same fics over & over again, so i wanted to celebrate by putting together a lil fav fics of the month list lol. thank you to all the writers who created these fics & put them out there for the world to enjoy. i appreciate your efforts, talent & love for fic writing & the boys :’)

do you think the tides know by @loveislarryislove / livelaughlovelarry

“Zayn had known from the beginning that his summer fling with Louis was just that – a summer thing, and no more. He’d known that Louis’ heart was already taken, known that this was just a chance for Louis to learn more about himself and his sexuality. Louis had been upfront about it the whole time. Unfortunately, Zayn dramatically underestimated how easy it would be to fall in love with Louis.

~*~

“Um.” Louis swallowed hard. “Okay. I just, like – have you kissed guys?” Zayn nodded. “Guys, girls, a few non-binary people. I’ve met all sorts at the clubs near the university.” “Could you-” Another pause. “Like, I was wondering, would you… just to see what it’s like?” Zayn blinked. “Would I… kiss you?” Louis’ face was pale, but his gaze was steady on Zayn’s as he nodded. “If you want,” he said. “You don’t have to, if it’s too weird, or like… but I just… I wanted to try. I wanted to know.”

Or, a fic based on the folklore love triangle, but it’s nobody’s fault and no one means to hurt anyone.”

your head in your hands as you colour me blue by @hershelsue / docklands

“Harry moves to Paris. With no one to talk to, he makes friends with his neighbour from the window next to his, a painter named Louis with a burning passion for life. He sees Harry for who she really is.”

i think you’re already home by @jaerie / jaerie

“Seeing Louis Tomlinson today, it would be hard to guess that he was ever once a member of the world's most famous boyband. These days he doesn't even the leave his own house. The truth is he can't leave his own house. He can't even remember the last time just standing at an open door didn't send him into a debilitating panic attack. But, against his friend's advice, Louis is ready to add meaning to his life again. He's ready to start a family. So what if he doesn't have an omega? There are plenty of surrogacy services just waiting to help the rich and famous become parents. He just has to find the right one for the job.”

the first time i ever saw your face by sweetrevenge

““Hi, is this seat taken?” The stranger asks and Harry swears he short circuits for a moment. He’s been staring at him from across the bar all night and he still doesn’t feel prepared to see him this close up. He gazes at the stranger for what probably is an inappropriately long amount of time, eyes catching on things he hadn't noticed when he was sitting so far away. He opens his mouth to say “No, please sit” but then... “Did you know that center bit of citrus fruit is called a juice sac?” Harry is a little bit enamored with the gorgeous stranger sitting across from him at the bar.”

and i will steady your hand by @icanhazzalou / kiwikero

“All first year university students who had not yet presented were strongly advised to join the Fire Away meetings, a support group for so-called 'late bloomers.'

They were not, however, advised to fall in love with someone else at the meetings without knowing what they might eventually present as.”

second time’s the charm by @cherrystreet / cherrystreet

“Louis’ mother is convinced she met her son’s soulmate at the market. Louis is extremely hesitant to go on the blind date she’s set up, but she’s persistent, begging and pleading, pulling out all the stops. After all, mothers do know best.

(Or maybe they don’t.)”

i want to be just as close as the holy ghost is by @thedevilinmybrain / devilinmybrain (venomedveins) 

“It's like a compass – forced to spin and spin but always end north. Harry is singing Amazing Grace, hymnal placed delicately in his gloved hands, and then suddenly his mind will flash to Louis’ grinning face, sprawled out on the picnic blanket. The feeling of his warm hands on Harry’s waist, gently guiding him across the street just as the father instructs them all to bow their heads in prayer. Harry nearly bites through his tongue when he goes up to take communion and the moment the wafer is placed on his tongue, he thinks about the feeling of Louis’ mouth on his, his taste in his mouth, his stubble brushing against Harry’s smooth jaw.

Louis wants only three things in life - to pass his classes, to find a cure for hangovers after a night out with the lads, and to get church going, goodie two shoes omega Harry to go out with him.”

come on over, we’ve got something to share by @jaerie / jaerie

“Even as an unbonded omega with a four year old, Harry had everything he needed. His beautiful son, a nice apartment, money to pay the bills -- oh, and an alpha next door always willing to knot his brains out.“

may we all have a vision now and then by @gaycousinlarry / momentofclarity

“On a cold December night, Louis meets Harry for the first time.”

the only one (when it’s said and done) @londonderrytea / ladylondonderry

“Louis Tomlinson, alpha, twenty nine years old, is head of the Tomlinson pack.

He's unbonded, and happily so. A trip to the neighbouring Arthur pack certainly isn't going to change that.”

your touch is the only thing i feel by @2tiedships2 / 2tiedships2

“Liam. Liam was finally here. Louis kept his eyes closed and cuddled farther into Liam’s side, revelling in the pheromones Louis’ body desperately needed. He wasn’t sure how long Liam had been holding him, but Louis figured it had to have been at least an hour by the way his body had loosened. The need of an alpha’s touch seemed to have been temporarily lifted from his mind.

Louis listened to the sounds of the pub around him. It was louder than before he had fallen asleep and he briefly wondered why Liam hadn’t just woken him to go back to their flat.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Louis’ eyes flew open at the sound of Niall’s voice, and the arm that had been around Louis shoulders lifted in the same instant. He missed the warmth immediately.

Louis looked from Niall’s stormy face over to the person who was definitely not Liam. The alpha Liam impersonator, who smelled a lot better than the actual Liam now that Louis was alert, looked back at Louis with wide eyes and familiar furrowed brows.

Or the one where Louis refuses to settle for just any alpha despite intense touch deprivation. Fortunately Harry isn't just any alpha.”

erva venenosa by @hershelsue / docklands

“Harry goes to his first all-gender party. There, he meets Louis, an eccentric bartender who claims to know more than he does. He turns Harry's world upside down.”

delicate by @fallinglikethis / fallinglikethis

“They say opposites attract. Maybe that’s why nerdy, shy Harry Styles has such a huge crush on rough, brash Louis Tomlinson. And now, he's stuck in a lift with him.”

kiss me again, you fool by @wabadabadaba / wabadabadaba

““Louis, you’re cuter than a button. Will you be my valentine? Hm, no,” Marcel scowls. “It is true but no. ‘I love you a latte!’ But wait, does he drink coffee? Only sometimes so that doesn’t make sense.”

Marcel sticks his tongue out as he ices three more cookies.

“I go bananas for you,” Marcel giggles. “That’s cute, but not sophisticated enough. He’s the best designer on our floor, he deserves something better. ‘Right from the start, you stole my heart?’ No, I don’t want to scare him off. I should probably just speak from the heart, that’s always what mom says. But then Gemma says that’s lame, I don’t knooow,” Marcel groans.

or the one where Marcel has a huge crush on his coworker, Louis, and decides Valentine's Day is the day to put himself out there.”

buried like treasure by @becomeawendybird / quickedween

“Prince Harry Styles is very private. He chooses to keep himself out of the public eye but feels lonely and isolated while surrounded by people in his hectic royal life. When he finishes his dissertation, he decides to take a solo holiday to one of the royal family's properties in the Swiss Alps.

Semi-retired thief Louis Tomlinson has been pulled in for one last job: steal a painting from an uninhabited mansion. Neither one of them expects a natural disaster.”

i could be your new addiction by orphan_account

“"she hangs up, and harry hasn’t a clue what he just got himself into.

it’s mainly: nanny?"

harry works as a nanny, and louis is the girls' older brother.”

frankincense-ational by @londonderrytea / ladylondonderry

“Harry Styles works at the Hillsyde Library with his friend Zayn and best mate Niall. It’s December, which means Christmas, which should be the happiest month of the year…

Except Niall just broke up with his boyfriend, Zayn needs to let up on the rules a little, and the library is getting their fire alarm system replaced, which means that for the next few weeks there are going to be firemen patrolling the library ‘looking for fires’ while the system is down.

Harry almost hits one of them with his car right off the bat - and of course he’s the hot one.

Happy Christmas, here’s to many more.

A 2017 Advent Fic”

when tomorrow comes by @jacaranda-bloom / jacaranda_bloom

“When Louis and Niall are partnered up to complete a project on Omega scents and how they effect the nesting behaviours of Alphas, little does Louis know that the course of his life is about to be forever altered.

OR the one where Louis is an Omega who has been keeping himself pure for his Alpha, Harry is a traditional Alpha focusing on his studies while he waits to find his bondmate, and Niall is a sneaky bastard who keeps borrowing Louis’ clothes and never returning them.”

boy for sale by @ohpleaselarry / ohpleaselarry

“Three large cushioned chairs face him, each holding a suited man. Mr. Horan, Mr. Payne, and Mr. Malik respectively sit at these chairs, eyes on Harry as he steps up to the middle of the room, lowers fluidly to his knees, hands behind his back, and looks to each man one by one, neck prickling with the eyes all on him, on his nude body.

They’re all going to have him, and yet Harry only really wants one man here, and it’s the man who steps up behind him, sets a hand on the nape of his neck, right over his collar.

“Alright,” Louis says, voice raspy and authoritative, “Mr. Horan, you’re first. Would you like his mouth or his arse?””

smells like omega spirit by @lululawrence / lululawrence

“Louis is an omega doing a test run on neutralizers for a class project. Every time he talks to Harry he smells completely different.

Harry is an alpha who can't figure out if he's going crazy or his sense of smell is broken, but all he wants to figure out what Louis' real scent is.

Somehow they figure it out.”

scent partner by @roseanddagger / amomentoflove

“The name of the company was horrible: Scent Partner. Whoever was on the marketing team should be fired immediately for green-lighting that name. But the instructions were simple.

Alphas wear a shirt for three days and nights. The shirt gets sent to omegas nearing their heats to pick the alpha who smells the best to them. The company notifies the alpha and gives them the opportunity to say no. If both parties agree, they meet at a heat room for the omega’s heat. Everything is safe and consensual.”

you’re outta control (what is your mind) by @sadaveniren / sadaveniren

“Omega sub seeking Daddy Hiiiiiii, I (MO27) am seeking a daddy of any persuasion to help me take control of my life! I need someone responsible and able to put me in my place - especially when it comes to my spending habits. Doms who are promising to pay me £400 a week or something like that need not apply 🙅🏻 I’m just an omega with too much spending money that somehow manages to spend it all and it leaves me with no spending money.

DM me and we can talk

#NeedARealKingWhoCanHandle

aka Harry is looking for a daddy to help him budget. He finds Louis. They have a lot of sex.”

never been knotted by @allwaswell16 / allwaswell16

“Harry doesn't mind that he presented as a beta. It mostly just makes his life easier and more convenient. There's just one small problem: he'd really like to be knotted.”

dust to dust by @dinosaursmate / dinosaursmate

““There’s no way it’s true.” Harry shrugged, letting out a small laugh. “Louis can’t be… dead.” Dead. The force of the word hit Harry like a ton of bricks. There were actually rumours that his Louis was dead. His heart rate picked up. It wasn’t true. No way. --- Harry, an active participant in the One Direction Tumblr fandom, comes across a rumour that Louis died and has been replaced with a lookalike.”

a+ for effort by @harryventura / embro

“Harry is the music teacher and Louis is the P.E. teacher and there's a whole lot of crushing going on.”

like poison coursing through me by orphan_account

“Louis loves it when Harry's desperate.

Or, the one with copious dirty talk, Daddy Louis, and Harry wetting himself in the shower.”

you’ve been taking up my mind by @styleandsin / styleandsin

““Wish I had a popstar boyfriend who wrote me songs,” Harry mutters petulantly. He’s kind of kidding. He’s happy for Liam, and if who he falls in love with ends up being a famous singer who writes him songs, great. But he’s also a tad jealous because he remembers his phase—that he definitely grew out of a long time ago—where he was certain he’d marry Louis Tomlinson.

Harry's always been a fan of Louis Tomlinson, and when he gets a artist pass for a music festival (thanks to his best friend's new popstar boyfriend) he doesn't expect to actually meet Louis.”

my saddle’s waitiing by @realitybetterthanfiction / realitybetterthanfiction

“Harry smiled when the Chicago skyline came into view, its imposing cloud-scraping towers nestled into the edge of lake Michigan. The air was crisp and biting, as it was more often than not in the midwest in February, but that didn’t stop him from rolling his windows down to allow a bit of that infamous wind to fill his lungs. He put the pedal to the floor, cruising down Lake Shore Drive, weaving in and out of traffic as his pretty Shelby GT350 tore up the asphalt. Sometimes it felt like he spent all year waiting for this trip, the two weeks he got to play in the city of broad shoulders. The Chicago Auto Show.

----

When Harry finds himself in charge of Ford's installation at the Chicago Auto Show, there's already a lot on the line. Little does he know that a seemingly harmless bet on the fastest pony car might just up the stakes even more. With the help of a few familiar friends, Harry finds out that sometimes it's not about the destination, but who's along for the ride. And that Niall will not be denied his churros.”

turn any corner, there’s something new by @balanceds / balanceds

“AU. After graduating from uni with his degree in Costume Design, Harry Styles is finally ready to start as a dresser on his first real West End show. Nothing can get in his way.

Well, except for maybe dressing Olivier-winner Louis Tomlinson. Who Harry has not-so-secretly been wanking to for years. Even worse, although Louis has never commented publicly on his sexuality, he seems to be paying a worrying amount of attention to Harry's arse. Staying professional proves to be difficult.

(basically lots of fluff, backstage hijinks, and a dab of smut)”

why’d you come in here looking like that? by @homosociallyyours / homosociallyyours

“Marcel may have forgotten how to date, just a little. That's the reason his sister forces him onto Tinder.

Now that he's somehow mutually super-liked Louis he worries just a little about how everything is going to go. His worry leads him to a brand new look that feels like it might just be a misrepresentation of who he really is. Will Louis expect him to always have a little bit of rockstar swagger? Or are dark-rimmed glasses and sweater vests something he could be into?

Featuring intentional and accidental makeovers, mini-golf, and figuring it all out.”

last but not least, honorable mentions go to the two fics i posted this summer hehe:

it’s like i’m powerful with a little bit of tender

“Harry was looking to impress his crush of three years with a show stopping outfit for an anti fourth of July party. Enter appreciative and supportive sales associate Louis, who seemed to be a much better option for him in just about every way. Maybe this was Harry's sign to ditch his endless unrequited pining, take chances, and have new experiences.”

and i don’t care it’s obvious

“However, his issue was that no one had ever created a guide that one could follow in regards to what to do or how to feel when your crush was your sister's best friend. Harry would like someone to please come up with a book dedicated to said guidelines because as it was, he was absolutely winging it and hoping for the best.”

[pennyl4n3]

The Pool

*Taking a deep breath*

Well well well, this is my first fanfic (or should I say second or third? Btw, this one came to a conclusion) and I've never been much into writing, but Duskwood and all of you fantastic people in the fandom here brought me to this. I hope you like it, and of course I look forward to your comments and feedback.

Pairing: Jake x MC

Contents: Angst, Sadness, Fluff, Romance

It had been three months since his last contact with her. He'd had to disappear from the radar, the government breathing down his neck. Every day he fought the urge to write to her; he couldn't risk putting her in danger. He couldn't even risk reading her conversations at the moment, so he was as blind as she was.

He didn't know where she was, if she was okay, if she was mad at him, though after all this time he imagined she was. The last time they had written to each other she was in Duskwood and he had every intention of finally catching up with her. Things hadn't gone as planned unfortunately, and the deal he was trying to make with the government had fallen through, forcing him to become a fugitive again.

He was exhausted, he was free and yet he felt imprisoned in an endless loop. Ever since he had met her he had realized how heavy his condition was to bear, how much he missed talking to someone in person, how much he longed to get out without having to disguise himself. He wanted to move, to run, to be outside, and above all else he wanted to run to her, and hold her, look into her eyes, tell her in his voice how much he missed her.

While he was lost in these thoughts he scrolled through their last conversations, rereading every word and every comma. At one point he found the conversation in which they had talked about one of MC's great passions, swimming. He barely knew how to float, he had never had a chance to learn it as a child, and on that occasion he had promised himself he would try it someday. MC had told him about a public pool in her hometown that was easy to get into at night through a gate with a broken lock. She had gone there many times, when she needed to relieve her nerves and to be alone. Suddenly Jake felt the urge to see that pool, and set about finding it. Amazingly it was a couple of blocks from where he was hiding, the next step was to check the security cams near the building and along the way. He could do it without too much difficulty, and he really needed to get some air and some purpose, so he slipped on his sweatshirt, pulled on his hood and mask, and set off.

He arrived within minutes, constantly looking around. The streets were practically empty, but caution was never too much. The pool was a low building, all on one level. Mentally following MC's directions he managed to find the little gate, behind some bushes. It was still broken, unbelievable. Curiosity was stronger than him and he continued towards the entrance. His footsteps echoed in the hall, as he went down the few steps that led directly to the pool floor, the smell of chlorine filled his nostrils. Even though it was night he could see almost all of the interior well, thanks to the huge windows that almost reached the ceiling and let in the illumination of the street lamps, just as MC had told him.

He sat on the steps and stayed there for a while, lost in his imagination, even though he had never seen MC, enjoying that moment of peace, and trying to imagine her doing something that made her feel good...

A noise outside startled him, he ran off the steps and flattened himself against the wall. He waited in silence, his nerves on edge, his heart in his throat, his eye searching for possible alternatives escape routes. another metallic noise, and the angry meows of two cats fighting each other. Jake breathed a sigh of relief but waited vigilantly for a while longer before heading for the exit with shaking legs. When he returned to his shelter, he promised himself he would never try it again, but that was not to be. He returned there two more nights, until he decided to get a swimsuit and try swimming.

And so Jake found himself inside the pool, scared and unsure at first, but after a few minutes he began to feel the benefit of being in the water, the lightness provided by its support. He knew it wouldn't last long, but he continued to go there as many nights as he could. He would return to his hut tired but satisfied, and he could even get a decent night's sleep.

One evening he was trying to swim as usual when he heard a female voice saying jokingly, "well, I thought I was the only one who knew this place, but apparently not." Jake froze, almost having a heart attack. He was in the water, there was no way to escape. He drew a deep breath, thinking that it was anyway dark enough, and that his features weren't clearly visible, and decided to try not to look too suspicious. "Yeah, apparently not" he replied, trying to keep his voice from shaking. The girl smiled, or so it seemed to him, and continued, "I guess you like to be here alone, just like I usually do, but I could really use a swim tonight. I'll go in the back lane, I swear I won't bother you. Is that okay?" "O-oh yeah, yeah, go ahead," Jake mumbled, trying to hide his face as much as possible, and stood watching her as she made her way to the other side of the pool, still shocked that there was another human being in the same room as him. He realized that he was staring in her direction, and decided to start swimming again. After a while he stopped, out of breath and with tired arms, and saw that the girl instead was still swimming, at a brisk pace, and giving no sign of wanting to stop. He got out of the water and sat on the steps, wrapped in his towel, trying to catch his breath. Watching her was hypnotic, she moved with fluid movements, slow and steady. He wondered if MC swam like that too. How he wished he could have written to her to tell her he was swimming, or at least trying to, and to thank her for letting him discover this wonderful new experience as well. Since he had met her, his life had taken on a new light, where before only greyness and despair reigned.

His phone made a sound, bringing him back to reality. It was time to go home. He dressed quickly and headed for the exit, he didn't want to interrupt the girl's concentration, and he didn't intend to introduce himself, so better that way. Once back at the shelter he went back to work on his laptop, while eating a sandwich. Concentration continued to leave him that night, however, as the encounter with the stranger had brought him back to MC in a big way.

He returned to the pool the next evening, yearning to tire himself out and find some peace of mind. Once he got to the door he heard the sound of water coming from inside, he carefully pushed his way across the threshold, trying to figure out who was there and was relieved to see that it was again the girl he met the night before. He walked over to his side of the pool and removed his clothes as he cast furtive glances at her. He dove into the water and began to swim, trying to focus on his breathing, which was the part he struggled with the most. When he emerged with bated breath, he saw the girl standing at the edge of the pool and winced. "Hi, I didn't mean to scare you. I've been watching you swim and I thought I could give you a few tips, if you don't mind" Jake was so amazed and scared that for a few seconds he could only stare at her with his mouth open. "I-I...I don't.... " she giggled softly and shrugged her shoulders "Ok, look, I didn't mean to embarrass you...I'm going back to my lane. If you want it you know you can ask it okay?" And she turned to go back to her lane. "Wait. Yes, please I will gladly accept your help." Jake said. She retraced her steps and squatted down beside the edge of the pool with a smile on her face. "So, first let's start with your upper body, I've noticed that you move it a lot between strokes and that wastes your energy and breath. Try to stand up straighter, your arms and legs do most of the work. Then, every time you pull your arm forward, you can inhale if you feel the need to, and slowly you'll find yourself pulling two strokes, then three, and so on, but don't be in a hurry. If you take care of your technique well, managing your breath will already be easier." Jake was focused on her words and nodded, before turning around and trying again. Following her advice actually felt like he was already doing better. A wave of satisfaction ran through him when he managed to do his usual laps without getting breathless. He emerged smiling and sat on the edge of the pool. She was still there and looked at him approvingly, then asked "Better now, isn't it? "Yes, thank you very much." He answered. "Thanks to you, I'm just back in town but I'm not having much contact with the rest of the world, helping you was a pleasure" "I... I understand, I didn't have much contact lately either". A slightly embarrassed silence fell between them. It was Jake's phone that broke it, by emitting an alarm tone. Jake got up quickly and headed for his bagpack. "I, uh, have to go now, thanks again for your help." She looked at him briefly, nodded, and stepped back. "Oh, yeah, sure, no problem. Well, good night then" and walked back to the pool. "Good night" he replied, and as soon as she turned around, he changed his wet swimsuit with dry clothes and headed quickly to the exit.

As he walked down the street, he wondered if he wasn't risking too much by going to the pool regularly, and by confiding in that unknown girl. He then decided that it would be better to avoid it for a while, even if it was with great regret.

Jake avoided the pool for a few days, but eventually decided to go back. He couldn't wait to get there. As he walked the short distance between his hiding place and the pool, he mentally savored the feel of the water, the smell of the chlorine, the relaxation it gave him to swim until his muscles ached. As always, he sneaked up on the hidden entrance, his senses all out to catch any suspicious movements or noises. That evening, however, he heard no suspicious noises as he entered the large room with the tanks, but a soft sobbing. He listened for a while, trying to distinguish where the crying was coming from. When he spotted the silhouette of the mysterious girl on the steps he felt a tug at his heart, and could not help but go near her.

"Hey, is everything okay?" he said softly.

She looked up with a jolt, and when she recognized him she answered a little annoyed: "What do you think? No, everything is not okay." She immediately realized she had been abrupt, and added in a tone of apology, clutching her knees to her chest: "Sorry, I didn't think you would come, I haven't seen you here in a while and you caught me off guard..." "It's okay, no need to apologize. I guess I interrupted an intimate moment of yours. It's just that hearing you cry made me worried somehow." He replied to her as he blushed, realizing what he had just said. "I-I meant...well I mean, sorry if I m-maybe I embarrassed you, I should probably go and..." hinting back. "No, wait. Please stay. If it's not a problem for you of course. I don't really feel like being alone anymore." she said as she reached out a hand towards him and motioned for him to sit beside her. Jake was tense, the last thing he had expected that night was to find himself consoling the mysterious girl, but he certainly couldn't leave her there alone, she had always been very kind to him and he was sincerely sorry to see her sad. He exhaled a deep breath and went to sit next to her as he pulled a handkerchief from a pocket of his backpack and handed it to her. "Thank you," she said with a smile, "I really appreciate it." For a while an awkward silence descended, during which they both stared at their hands. Suddenly she blurted out "You know, I'm worried about someone, that's why I was crying. I haven't heard from him in a while and I don't know what to think. I'm trying to move on, I promised him, and really, I'm trying so hard, but some days the weight of his absence is so hard to bear that I can barely get out of bed. Whatever I do the thought of him is with me. This is the only place I can find some peace, because swimming empties my mind b-but t-tonight..." her eyes glazed over again as she swallowed, trying to push back the tears. He had listened to her in silence until that moment, respecting her moment of venting, but when he realized she was about to cry again he felt he had to do something, so he passed his left arm behind her back and pulled her to him, gently holding her in an embrace. "I-I can understand it, you know? I promised one person I would move on too. But it's so hard. I want to call her, I want to write her, I want to know how she is doing, where she is...but every day I forbid myself to do that. And I know I owe it to her, because she doesn't deserve to keep feeling bad because of me and my mistakes and..." his voice faded away, as he realized that he was risking to say things he shouldn't have said, he recovered quickly trying to cut it short and not to let the tremor in his voice be heard "...and I understand you, that's it. I miss her so much too."

As they stood in silence, his heart running fast in his chest and he desperately looking for something else to say, he felt her draw back into his embrace and sigh. It felt good to have her in his arms, and feeling her calming down warmed his heart. It had been so long since Jake had touched anyone, not really talked to anyone, hardly remembered what it was like. A little later she said softly, "Thank you. For sharing a little piece of you with me. You don't need to talk about it if you don't feel like it, I understand. It's... " she stopped thoughtfully, "Complicated" finished Jake. "Yes, yes exactly! It's damn complicated. But knowing that someone can understand me makes me feel better." then she turned to him and drew a deep breath, then added, "Well, how about a swim? After all, this is what we both came for." Jake nodded and removed his arm from her shoulders. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He got up from the steps and walked over to the usual little corner where he used to change his clothes, while she headed to her pool lane and dove in. Once he slipped into his swimsuit, Jake entered cautiously, still pensive from that brief but intense exchange of confessions.

He slowly dived down to the bottom and stayed there for a while, still immersed in his thoughts. He had to stop those nightly outings. They were already dangerous in themselves, and now this unknown girl had been added, making him talk too freely. All of his inner alarms were telling him it was time to stop, and it was also time to change hiding places again, even though being so close to a place in MC's heart made him feel closer to her.

A movement to the side of his field of vision brought him out of his thoughts, and out of the pool as well. When he got to his feet he ran a hand over his eyes and pulled his hair back so he could see better, turning to face the source of the movement. He saw her in the aisle next to where he stood, staring at him. "A-are you ok?" said him in an uncertain voice. She giggled and replied, "I was going to ask you the same thing, you weren't coming up out of the water anymore." "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I scared you, I was just... well, reflecting." he replied. She stared at him intently, looking at his black hair, stuck to the sides of his face, and said tilting her head "It's weird you know? You remind me so much of him, the way you behave somehow, I can't actually explain it". Jake blushed and swallowed hard. "I'll take it as a compliment" he replied, and stepped out of the water. "I have to get back. I hope you feel better now." continued, while heading to the bag of dry clothes. She stood staring at him, wondering if she had made him uncomfortable with that confession. When she realised he was about to undress she turned around, blushing. She waited for a while and then sat down on the edge of the bath and said with a smile, "Yes, I'm feeling better, thanks to you. Good night, stranger."

When he arrived to the hut, something alarmed him: some of the boards near the entrance were placed differently than he had left them. He quickly stepped into the shadows and took out his phone to check inside. Two men were sitting at his usual spot, peering at the screens. Jake was quick to slip back downstairs and to reach out his hiding place number two, three doors down. As soon as he was seated, he took his phone out of his jeans pocket and started the hidden cameras. The two men didn't seem to have any idea what they were looking at, and they didn't look like officers either, to be honest. Maybe two thieves? But what kind of thieves would break into an old warehouse with the windows covered by boards? What did they expect to find there? He carefully examined the video images from the cameras he had placed around the rest of the perimeter of the building and saw a couple of policemen in the back. "Fuck!" he whispered through his teeth. He prepared to format everything in the hiding place and stood vigilantly by, watching them alternately. The two intruders were probably hiding from the cops, and risked exposing him. He noticed that there was a car shop next door and decided to create a diversion. He quickly managed to hack into the shop's security system and set it to go off, so that the cops could be sent away. He then logged on to his workstation and simply brought up Nymos, some glitches and the words "intruders detected, defensive protocol activated" on the screens. It was more than enough to send the two of them running for the hills.

He sighed with relief, letting himself down on the makeshift mattress behind him. He stayed like that for a while as he listened to his heartbeat return to a normal rhythm, his adrenaline slowly subsiding, his breathing becoming regular. His stomach rumbled, so he reached into his bag and pulled out an energy bar. After an hour or so, he locked the entrance to the main hideout and went back the way he'd come: better stay there for the night. As he settled in for the night, streams of thoughts came over him. He realised that the idea of leaving MC hometown made him feel lost, even though she wasn't there, and it wasn't even certain that she would return. Still, he knew he had to leave, that evening's mishap was another proof of that. There wasn't much to think about really, he had to move again, maybe he'd come back later. He thought of the girl at the pool, of her pain, so familiar. How was it possible that love could always bring so much suffering? He drifted off to sleep with those thoughts in his head, and woke up restless.

The next morning Jake was almost done packing up all of his belongings and ready to go. He wondered if once he was settled into his new hiding place, he would find another pool where he could train undisturbed, so he set about identifying all the potential candidates. How he wished he could have told MC about this! As he scanned the pools and studied their surroundings it occurred to him that he could write her using a disposable phone before leaving. His hands began to shake at the mere thought of being able to write her again. Would she be happy to read it? Maybe she was angry with him. In their last conversation she had told him to at least let her know if he was alive as soon as he could. Before he could think about it too much longer, he stormed out of the room and headed for the first open store. Once he retrieved the disposable phone he went back to the spare hut and slipped into it with all his things. He turned on the phone and prepared it for use.

*??? is online*

Jake:Hello, MC.

Shortly after came the reply

*** MC is online ***

MC:Jake! Are you okay?

Jake:Yes MC, I'm fine. I apologize for not letting you hear from me again, it was too dangerous.

MC:That's okay, I'm so glad to read you now, I kept telling myself that you were definitely fine and that I shouldn't have written you, as promised

Jake felt his palms sweat.

Jake:You know, I've been going swimming lately. At night, on the sly. Your enthusiasm about it convinced me. You were so right MC, it can empty your mind. I wanted so hard to thank you for that.

MC:I went swimming recently too, at night, it kept me from going crazy. Maybe we swam at the same time

Jake: :)

Jake:And do you know where I was? The place you told me about. It was like I felt closer to you

MC squinted her eyes

MC:Jake... you don't mean that place with big windows almost to the ceiling,do you?

Jake:Yes, exactly that.

MC bursted in laugh and shaked her head in disbelief.

MC:And you didn't happen to meet someone? Like a really nice, kind girl who gave you lessons?

Jake felt his knees buckle and had to lean against the wall to keep from falling.

Jake:You...

Jake:Was that you?

Butterflies were spreading through his stomach.

MC:So you hugged me the other night! I was crying just for you, and you were there, this is crazy!

MC:Where are you now?

His eyes widened.

Jake:MC me, I was going to leave the town, last night I found intruders in my shelter, it's not safe for me to be here anymore.

For a time that seemed eternal to him there was no sign of life on the other end of the phone.

Jake:MC...

MC:Don't you dare

MC:Don't you dare leaving again. You've been staying here for days, and even allowed yourself to go out almost every night, and you never wrote me anything. Now that we might meet you're starting this again.

MC:We met by accident Jake! Does that seem normal to you???

MC:I'll be waiting there tonight, you better come

***MC is offline***

Jake stared at the phone bewildered. He was terrified. He couldn't believe he had hugged MC the night before. And she was crying, because of him. She was right, he couldn't leave again.

That night he went to the pool, almost running. He sneaked up on the hidden entrance, holding his breath, and went to sit on the steps where he usually rested his backpack. A short time later he saw her walk in and head towards him. It seemed to him that his heart was about to explode. He stood up and walked over to her. They both found themselves running to cover the final distance that separated them. They hugged each other tightly, and stayed that way, without speaking for who knows how long. Neither of them wanted to untie the embrace, as if to do so meant to lose themselves again.

At the end MC pulled back a little to look him in the eyes, and said, "I was beginning to think this moment would never come" "And instead we found each other without even knowing it" he replied chuckling. She blushed and rose on tiptoe to give him a light kiss on the lips.

"Shall we go for a swim?" she told him with a mischievous grin. "Sure. I've been taking lessons" he replied as he began to undress.