#i voice called w friend on saturday and by the end could barely get a sentence out before getting stuck. its so frustrating. im aware that

[steampoweredskeleton]

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Ignore

[becomingmina]

MAD. w/ CHANGBIN.

18+ ONLY! MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

pairing: changbin x female reader genre + warnings: established relationship, fluffy, a little steamy at the end but not too much wc: 1.2k

mad master list here ; other works here ; any comments and thoughts you can drop them here ; ty for reading.

“Princess!” Changbin brightly greets you as he hops out of his car to help you drag your drunk best friend who is also Han’s girlfriend inside his back seat.

“Hi Binnie. Hi Han,” you shoot them a small smile. “Sorry she drank so much. We couldn’t stop her,” you say timidly standing back now that the two boys got her.

“That’s okay Y/N, thanks for looking out for her,” Han smiles at you before he getting in the car with his girlfriend.

“Did you enjoy your night?” Changbin asked with a smile, pulling you by both your arms into a tight hug.

You hum in respond, hugging him back tightly, feeling guilty.

Changbin had told you at the start of the week that he was finishing up a song and needed some time to perfect it, so you decided it’ll be best to give him some space to do so.

Although you know how much he would miss you, you also know how bad he was at multitasking. A simple “how are you” text will instantly turn to him calling you up and asking you to come over. You have learnt from the past that that’s not the way to go. You rememeber him rushing the last 2 days to fix up his song and boy, was he a mess.

For the week you had sent him only good morning and night messages, with some little I love you thrown in during his winding down time. The lack of interaction with him made you confide in your friends for a little bit of comfort. So when Han’s girlfriend messaged you to go drinking and clubbing with other girlfriends you were quick to say yes.

The night started off great. You and all the girls probably had about 4 shots and a couple of drinks each making everyone tipsy. But you were nearly at the end of your limit though, you could barely steady yourself on the dance floor.

It was midnight when you feel your phone buzzing inside your bag. You pull out your phone and could barely read the caller ID with your blurred vision. When you finally saw it was your boyfriend calling your face instantly lights up.

“You coming over yet Princess?” Changbin cheerfully asks on the other line. The club music was way too loud that you had to excuse yourself from the circle to run to the secluded bathroom to talk.

“Sorry Binnie, what did you say?” You asked and you hear him softly chuckle back.

“I said are you coming over yet?” He repeats himself.

“For?” You slurred on your words, confused at what he was asking.

“It’s our date night, silly,” Changbin giggly replies and instantly you froze.

You had forgotten it was the last Friday of the month and which means it was your designated date night with Changbin. It doesn’t matter what time he gets off work on the last Friday, you would spend your afternoon at his house anyways so you were able to get ready for what ever he had planned. You gasp, putting him on speaker as you search through your phone to visually confirm the date. It was already 12:03 Saturday. You had forgotten. You couldn’t blame anyone but yourself for this mistake.

“Did you forget?” He asks when hears you struggle on the other side.

“YES!!” You say, a hand coming to hit your temple. “I FORGOT I’M SO SORRY,” you cried, squatting on the bathroom floor, trying you best to calm yourself down.

He must’ve been so confused patiently waiting at home for you to come over the whole day.

“I’ll come home now, I’m sorry.”

“No! That’s okay princess, are you out with the girls?” He asked, his voice was still so soft.

“Yeah.. I.. I—” you scrambled to apologise but he doesn’t let you.

“Dont worry Princess. Go and enjoy your night with the girls. Call me when you want to come home and I’ll get you,” he giggles.

That’s one thing you can never understands about Changbin, he never gets mad or show a little bit of annoyance with you, even when you’re in the wrong. He never lets you take the blame for anything.

“I feel bad.”

“Don’t, you silly girl. We’ll talk later.”

“Okay,” you puffed with a pout and he giggles.

“Love you!” He shouted before hanging up.

How could you forget such an important day. You glance at your phone and realised he had send you a couple of messages throughout the night asking when you’ll be over and you hadn’t reply.

“Oh shit!” You quietly beat yourself up again.

The rest of the night you didn’t take anymore drinks and sobered up quickly. Although you still enjoyed the rest of the night with your girlfriends, your boyfriend was on your mind alot of the times.

“Come on, let’s go before she throws up,” Changbin says pulling you both into the car.

The ride home was just Han’s girlfriend drunk whining that she wanted to throw up so you really couldn’t bring yourself to talk to Changbin as your attention was on your friend’s well being.

“You reckon you’ll be okay Ji? Me and Y/N want to go on a drive,” Changbin says looking in his rear view mirror at younger boy. You glance to your side where your boyfriend was sitting, confused, because you never stated you wanted to go for a drive.

“I’ll be okay hyung, she’s just all talk. She’s probably gonna sleep like a baby once she’s get home,” Han giggles, assuring you both.

After dropping them off, Changbin drove around for a bit, sitting with you in silence. He keeps glancing to your side but looks away the second you look up at him. Once he reached the secluded lookout you guys always go to, he parks the car and reaches for your hand.

“Why are you not mad, Bin?” You nervously ask, breaking the silence.

“Why would I be?” He replies back with a smile caressing your hand.

“Tonight was suppose to be our date night and I ditched it to go clubbing,” you say unable to look at him.

“Well, we are on a date right now aren’t we?” He replies, the smirk is still on his face.

“At 2am.”

“So?”

“Im sorry—”

“Don’t. Don’t feel bad, don’t apologise,”

“But you never get mad at me,” you voiced out your concern with him being so lenient.

“You forgot. You’ve been so cute all week giving me space to finish my song. We didn’t talk all week so you just forgot. It’s not like you planned to ditch me,” his hand comes to cup your cheeks as he looks deep into your eyes, waiting for your reply.

“Right?” He says sounding a bit more serious as you don’t answer him. You giggle in response shaking your head.

He’s right though. You just forgot due to the lack of conversation you guys had all week.

“You okay now?” He leans in to peck the corner of your lips.

“Yes,” you reply, smiling at his kiss.

“Also, you look very sexy though Princess,” he smirked eyeing you up and down. “I couldn’t stop staring at you when I was driving,” he says glancing at the hem of your dress that was riding up your thighs.

“Is the dress new?” You can tell he was still trying to get you to forget about what happened.

“I got it last week,” you reply to him, neatly smoothing over the material by your thighs.

“It’s very sexy. Can I see it up close?” He raises his eyebrow and you giggle knowing what he was referring to. So you climb over the car to straddle him, your dress instantly riding up.

You loved date night.

[spideystevie]

💘 hellooo, i’m so excited for your valentine’s house party! so here’s my prompt, hope you feel inspired w this one bc it’s giving me butterflies tbh “trying to hide a blush in the mornings because their morning/sleepy voice is a little too nice to listen to” from the fourth list with our guy rooster <3 idk why but roommate!rooster just hits real hard for me

this prompt was sooo cute and so real, i was so excited to write it. roommate!rooster hits hard for me too anon! and i hope i did him justice <3 - [0.7k] | join the party!

You weren’t too keen on the idea of a roommate initially. Especially when you had only just recently moved to a new city. But your friend knew a friend who had a spare room you could have and the rent was cheaper than anywhere else you’d looked. 

When you moved in, you hadn’t expected your roommate to be so, well, pretty. He was tall, his skin a golden sunkissed shade and his hair looked equally so. His eyes were warm and inviting like his smile and he had a neatly trimmed mustache sitting just above the curve of his upper lip. 

Your friend had also neglected to mention that he was a naval aviator. You weren’t sure why the fact that he flew around in giant, expensive hunks of metal for a living made him the slightest bit more attractive to you. 

Rooster, as your friend knew him, had come to prove himself to be arguably the best roommate you’d ever had. You hadn’t quite expected that. In fact, you had mentally prepared yourself that he’d be messy and gross and awful just to be pleasantly surprised in the end. 

The one downfall that came to living with Rooster was that goddamn voice of his in the morning. You could handle the low hanging sweats or plaid pajama pants and tight fitting black t-shirts he’d wear, just barely. But his voice in the morning almost felt like a deal breaker. 

Maybe you were just being dramatic. But hearing him say your name through a yawn and wish you a good morning with his voice shrouded in sleep was enough to have you falling to the floor.

Okay, you were definitely being dramatic. 

It’s a Saturday morning and you’ve woken up before him which is unusual. You use it as an opportunity to make the two of you breakfast, feeling ambitious when you find the pancake mix in the cupboards. The sun’s fully above the horizon, birds chirping outside the windows when you hear him come down the hall. 

He’s wearing plaid pajama pants this morning and an old navy t-shirt that seems to fit smaller than it once did. He yawns and tries to stifle it with one of his fists. A pinch forms between his eyebrows when he sees you cooking in the kitchen. 

“Morning, Rooster,” you greet, flipping a pancake on the griddle. There’s still traces of sleep on his face as he passes by to the coffee machine, the smallest smile on his face. 

“You know you can call me Bradley, right?” he asks and there it is. His voice is thick, still heavy from a good night’s sleep. It’s almost gravelly, rough around the edges and a notch deeper than usual. You chew on the inside of your cheek. As much as it drove you insane, it was almost too sweet to listen to. 

“Right. Bradley,” you say. You’re trying to fight off the rapidly arising butterflies in your stomach purely just from the sound of his morning voice. He comes to stand by you just as you’re sliding the pancakes off the griddle and onto a clean plate nearby. 

The proximity is making your heart race and you hope he can’t hear it. 

“These for me?” he asks. You glance at him briefly and then at the small stack of pancakes and nod, smiling at him. You can feel a heavy warmth rising in your face and up to your ears, down to your chest at the sound of his voice. God, you needed to get a grip. 

Bradley picks up the plate and in a split second decision, presses a chaste kiss against your cheek, his lips soft and his mustache brushing against your skin. It’s over as soon as it starts but it sets your heart and mind ablaze.

You freeze for a moment and your face feels scalding now. You hope he couldn’t tell just how warm your skin was when he kissed it. 

He sits at one of the kitchen barstools, facing where you stand pouring the rest of the pancake batter onto the griddle for your own breakfast. A pleased groan gets caught in his throat when he takes a bite. 

“This is so good,” he praises and you press your lips together to contain a grin. Your chin tucks against your chest only just, hoping it’ll hide whatever kind of blush or bashful look you’ve got right now.

His eyes twinkle as he looks at you, unbeknownst to you, a smile toying at his lips.

[melrosing]

If you don’t mind me asking what were the symptoms of your dad’s tumor? I hope you and he are doing okay, thinking of you. X

Thank you anon, he’s doing really well out of surgery (the site of incision on his head is a faint line just two weeks on) and has recovered so much of himself ❤️ I am still feeling shit lol but better than before 👍🏻

I don’t mind you asking about the symptoms and to be honest they were very difficult to call so maybe it’s useful info bc all our theories were wrong.

“Dizzy spells” - The earliest sign was August last year when he suddenly felt extremely nauseous, dizzy, and though he could talk and walk it made him feel worse to do so. He could name the prime minister (and if u recall, in UK politics that was a tricky thing to do in summer 2022) and lift his arms, so we ruled out things like strokes, and figured it was some kind of vertigo?? Then the episode concluded and he went back to normal. That one lasted maybe 2 hours, but subsequently it was a steadily increasing number of similar episodes that lasted much shorter periods, i.e. seconds. We suggested he get it checked out but didn’t worry too much bc lots of people get “vertigo”. Anyway turns out these episodes were minor seizures, just with none of the trademarks that we recognised

Posture & Gait: suddenly his posture was awful?? Starting 4 months ago maybe. He was hunched over like a man in his eighties, and even when we tried to get him to stand up straight he physically couldn’t do it. He started dragging his feet a bit and navigating whilst walking suddenly became a conscious effort for him 2-3 months ahead of diagnosis. A week before diagnosis he fell and couldn’t arrange his limbs to get up again

Stamina & Fatigue: his stamina got steadily worse. I went to visit my parents a couple of times this year and we went for walks in the countryside, and vaguely registered that dad was lagging behind a bit. That got more and more noticeable until around July where he would be trudging by the end of a walk, and then a week before we got the diagnosis he could hardly manage 200 steps without intense fatigue. Also for months he was yawning and napping within a few hours of waking up and then all through the day. All the housework he did was done extremely poorly and he often left things in a mess bc he couldn’t find the energy to complete tasks

Voice: dad usually has a very powerful voice, but it was gradually thinning for months till he could barely raise it. He also was less open to conversation, because talking was suddenly an effort

Memory: this was really hard to spot for a long time, but a month or so ago he would occasionally get the day of the week wrong, and start prepping food he’d planned for Sunday on a Saturday. He kept buying milk even though they already had bottles. He wasn’t able to follow the precise nuances of a TV show (though he’d normally have no trouble with this). But long-term memory was absolutely fine, working memory was the problem and then not always

Mood: he wasn’t low exactly, but just kind of absent - and he’s usually very emotive. He didn’t engage with things he enjoys like usual. His friends couldn’t get him to chat for more than five mins on the phone, nothing really made him laugh anymore. When he really started deteriorating we were like ‘can you not understand how worried we are’ and he was just like :\ very dismissive like

Right-sided weakness: a week or so after my parents came back to stay w me I suddenly noticed my dad smiling w one side of his mouth which is not normal for him at all. He retained full control over his face but at that point we clocked there was a distinct right-side weakness and took him to A&E

I’m describing things in this longwinded way because I think it was hard for us to name what we were seeing for a long time, especially when the changes happened so gradually. At some point or another whilst desperately googling his symptoms I did see ‘brain tumour’ pop up but I dismissed it bc:

He had no headaches or indeed any pain at all. He had nausea occasionally but apart from the first episode it was never protracted

His vision was fine

The seizures didn’t look like what I thought seizures were (no twitching or blackouts etc)

The memory issues were not obvious, he’d follow a recipe fine and not miss any steps etc

He wasn’t having any real speech/language difficulties

Mood/personality changes weren’t obvious, he was just more subdued

I think if there had been any fucking results on google telling me what these ‘dizzy spells’ actually were we might have got somewhere a little sooner (for whatever that would’ve been worth), and if I had known how variable the symptoms of a brain tumour can be depending on where the thing is…. etc etc. a lot of things feel painfully obvious in hindsight but they weren’t at the time: GPs and paramedics both were fixated on neuromuscular issues. But yeah tumours present in complex ways, I think (hope) that the reason we found dad’s so hard to define is because it’s actually in a pretty good spot (as these things go) where it wasn’t really affecting his functions till it was the size of a small satsuma. anyway there you go that’s what happened

[jaesqueso]

Only Human

pairing: single!xiaojun x escort female!reader

summary: xiaojun just wants to be free, but what if his plans to escape an arranged marriage take an unexpected turn?

for the Let’s Fake It collab by @127-mile ​ ❤

word count: 10,700

warnings: fake dating, mentions of alcohol, toxic parents, fluff

a/n: when i thought of this story I never imagined it will be this long, so apologies in advance! but I had fun, hope ya’ll enjoy it! ❤

☽ ・・・・・ ☾

“Yes, mother, everything is alright.”

Xiaojun says for the third time on his monthly call with his parents.

“Yes, I’ve been eating properly.”

Gulping he throws away the packs of instant noodles, chips and cans of green tea Monster.

“No, I haven’t been working too much, just…”

Glancing at his computer he bites his lip as he’s still writing reports at 9pm on a Saturday.

“The normal amount.”

He keeps typing on the keyboard.

“Mei? I think I remember.”

He recalls the daughter of his parents’ friends, around his age, that used to play with him when they were kids.

“What about her?”

He asks knowing how much his mother likes to gossip.

“Make up artist? Good for her.”

Barely listening to her story, Xiaojun continues working.

“I bet she is beautiful too.”

From experience he knows to just support anything she says.

“Of course, I-”

Suddenly his whole body freezes, he must have misheard.

“What was that? You want me to what?”

He puts the call on speaker to make sure he catches every word.

“You heard it, son.” His mother repeats. “We want you to marry Mei.”

“WHAT!?”

“Listen my son, you’re not getting any younger and all the boys your age are building a family, you should too while you’re still in your good years.” She keeps going, making him almost try to rip the hair off his head.

“Can’t I just do that in my own time and with someone I choose?” Xiaojun opts to ignore all the outrageous things he heard in respect of his parents.

“Your time is running out and if you can’t find someone we’ll have to.” Her deadpan voice just makes the whole situation sound so normal driving him crazy. “Mei is a very beautiful woman that also cannot find a husband because she’s too invested in her work, just like you. You have so much in common already, we’re just saving you the trouble.”

“But I-” He tries to refute but gets interrupted.

“Listen to your mother.” His father finally speaks. “We’re only doing what’s best for you.”

“How is this the best for me?” Xiaojun’s voice slightly raises, so he takes a deep breath to calm himself down before disrespecting his parents. “I will not marry Mei.”

“How dare you go against what we’re telling you to do!?” He can hear the shock through the phone. “I knew the moment you’d move across the country you’d become rebellious. We should’ve never let you go.”

“Mother, where I live has nothing to do with my decision, I’m still the same person.” That’s a lie because now he’s free from his parents’ pressure to be the perfect son, even though it doesn’t look like it with this insane conversation.

“Then give me a good reason why you won’t marry her.” His mother challenges.

“W-well because… I…” He stutters trying to come up with an excuse knowing perfectly well that ‘I don’t want to’ won’t be a valid reason.

“See? This is happening wether you like it or not.” His mother grins on the other side of the line, how could he possibly turn this around?

“I already have a girlfriend!”

Silence.

Deadpan silence on both ends.

“You do?” Xiaojun’s mother slowly asks.

“I…” With widen eyes he realizes this is actually brilliant, this can be his way out. “Yes… I do! Yes, that’s why I can’t marry Mei!”

“Why didn’t you tell us before?” She asks, still surprised by the new information.

“Well…” He didn’t think this would involve more questions, he needs to think fast. “We haven’t been dating for that long, I was going to tell you eventually.”

“Oh what a shame…” She sighs.

“Mother!” He pretends to be offended for his made up girlfriend.

“I mean,” she clears her throat, “poor Mei…”

“Right…” Xiaojun wants to feel sympathetic but in reality he just wants to jump in joy.

“Well then, we shall meet her.” And there goes the happiness.

“What? Why?” Panic starts growing back.

“If she’s going to be our new daughter in law we have to get to know her.” His parents casually explain.

“Daughter in law? Wait, we’re not getting married now.” He quickly says but maybe he needs to hint at a possible future. “One day, yes, but not right now.”

“Still, we must meet her.” Then his mother makes a gasping sound that has him worried. “Your father has to travel in a city near you this week, we can come by for dinner!”

“This week?” Sweat forms on his head. “Why rush things? We have time.”

“Your mother is right, Xiaojun.” His father speaks now. “It’s convenient for us, instead of going there on purpose.”

“Your father is right.” She agrees. “We’ll go there on Wednesday night before we head back, ok?”

“Wednesday!? That’s barely 4 days!” Hair is almost getting ripped off his scalp, he needs an excuse. “I don’t know if she’ll be available.”

“Oh c’mon Xiaojun, I bet your girlfriend can find some time to meet us.” His mother scoffs. “We have to go now. See you on Wednesday!”

“But-” His parents hang up before he can say anything else.

Xiaojun takes a deep breath trying to absorb everything that happened. He just got away from an arranged marriage but… HIS PARENTS ARE COMING TO MEET A GIRLFRIEND HE DOESN’T HAVE!?

Groaning he lets his head fall into his arms that rest on his desk. He has a little over 3 days to find someone to pretend to be his girlfriend for dinner with his parents and that’s it. Shouldn’t be that hard to find, right?

Maybe he should ask a friend. Grabbing his phone he scrolls down his contacts list. Man, man, man, woman but she’s one of his bosses, man, man, man, his favorite restaurant, man, woman he hasn’t talked to in years so this would be weird, man, man… And the list goes on.

How did his contacts become people from work and food delivery? Does he even have any female friends? Or friends in general that he can ask for help in times like this? Maybe he should really slow down at work and focus on his personal life a little bit.

But now is not the time to think about that, he needs to find someone to pretend to be his girlfriend asap or else he’ll find himself in an altar marrying someone he used to play with when he was a kid. If only you could search exactly what you want online and it’ll give you the answer you need.

“How to find a pretend girlfriend to meet the parents as you try to avoid an arranged marriage in less than three days?”

Scoffing he presses enter. Xiaojun lets his head fall on the back of his chair with closed eyes letting out a long sigh. If only it was this easy. Looking back into the screen, he’s about to close the web page when he notices the first search result.

The Girlfriend Experience

www.aftermidnight.com

Looking for a one time girlfriend to impress your parents or to make your high school reunion more interesting? We got you covered.

Maybe it is that easy. Slowly he clicks the link that takes him to… An escort website? Oh, maybe he shouldn’t do this, it feels weird to hire an escort for this. What if his parents figure it out straight away? He’ll make a fool of himself and will end up getting married anyway.

But at the same time he’s quite on the clock here, there’s no time to find another solution. He starts reading about this “Girlfriend Experience” that was advertised and it actually doesn’t sound that bad. Should he do this?

Xiaojun stares at the ‘request service’ button, bitting his lip, until he finally gains the courage to click on it. The instructions are pretty clear.

Step 1: Fill in the form

He downloads a form with some questions regarding what type of girl he wants, physically and any personality traits, what type of event they’ll be attending, including date, time and duration, his information and a free text box for any other notes he’d like to add.

Step 2: Submit the form

After it’s all filled in, he uploads the file on the website, converted to PDF as he usually does.

Step 3: Insert payment details

Smart enough not to give out his credit card details on a random website he just found, he creates a temporary card with enough money on it to validate the transaction, ain’t nobody trying to get scammed today.

Step 4: Submit

Clicking the final button, Xiaojun lets out a shaky breath as the next page loads.

“Your submission is being analyzed. You’ll be contacted via email in the next few hours with the final status. If approved, a fee will be taken from your chosen payment method and the remaining will be charged after the event (please note this may generate additional fees). For more information feel free to contact us via email or telephone. Thank you for choosing After Midnight.”

It’s done.

Instantly he checks his emails just to be disappointed with an empty box. He closes the webpage and re-opens his work reports he was finishing before all this. But looking at the documents now, he can’t seem to concentrate, checking his inbox at every minute.

Xiaojun rubs his eyes as a ray of sunshine flashes through the crack between his curtains lighting up his face. Is it morning already? When did he fell asleep? Then it hits him, the email! Looking up to the screen he almost chokes on his saliva rushing to click the new message.

“Dear Mr Xiao,

Thank you for your submission for ‘The Girlfriend Experience’. We hereby inform you we have the perfect candidate for your needs. The initial fee has been successfully taken from your account and your escort will meet you in the designated place at the requested time. The remaining payment will be taken at the end of the experience (please note this may include additional fees).

If you have any doubts or would like to add any further details do not hesitate to contact us. Please see attached the terms and conditions of the package.

Thank you for choosing After Midnight and enjoy the experience.”

So it’s really happening, there’s no going back. He carefully reads through the attachment to ensure he doesn’t break any rules but everything seems pretty easy to follow. Treat the person with respect, no kissing, any type of sexual interaction will not be allowed, for security purposes someone from the company will handle the escort transportation and will be keeping an eye on the event to ensure the contract is not broken.

The next few days he’s not able to concentrate in anything. Good thing he’s a workaholic and has gotten ahead with his paperwork so it won’t impact him that he nervously awaits for Wednesday night. What will the girl look like? Will his parents like her? Will they be able to keep up the act throughout the whole dinner?

3 days felt like 3 years but finally it’s the day. For the first time since he started his job, he leaves at 5pm sharp to go home and get ready. Should he dress up? Or should he keep it casual? Looking at his closet, Xiaojun doesn’t exactly have a lot of options, mostly suits that he wears for work and pairs of joggers and old t-shirts to hang around the house, he doesn’t do more than that anyway.

Well, a black suit should fit all occasions right? He pairs it with a white shirt, a dark green tie, black belt and shoes, and the watch his mother gifted to him on his birthday, a nice touch to help the evening he hopes.

Taking a last look in the mirror, he adjusts his glasses and arranges some strands of his hair that insists on falling out of place. Checking the time he takes a deep breath before grabbing his keys and heading to his car, he still has some time to spare but he wants to be there when the escort arrives.

It still feels weird to think about what he’s doing. Should he just call the whole thing off and tell his parents the truth? No, what is done is done. He can do this. Right?

Xiaojun parks the car in the restaurant’s parking lot and walks to the entrance. Glancing at his watch there are still a few minutes left so he takes the time to pat his clothes making sure he looks presentable. He doesn’t know what the person looks like but he did send a picture of himself so she can come to him.

At the exact time he wrote on the form, a shiny black Bentley stops in front of the restaurant and the passenger door opens. A gorgeous elegant woman in a silk emerald green dress comes out making his jaw drop. Sexy yet classy, the red lip and the up do tie the whole look together.

“Good Evening, Xiaojun.” You greet as you approach him.

“A-Are you…” He stutters, failing to keep himself together.

“Rose? Your girlfriend? Yes, I am.” Giving him a quick wink you step closer. “Have your parents arrived yet?”

“N-no-” He clears his throat. “Not yet.”

“Good. Should we wait out here or should we head inside?” You gesture to the door.

“We can go in.” Noticing your exposed shoulders gently brushed by the light breeze, he opens the door for you.

With a nod, you signal the vehicle that brought you here and it drives away as you enter the place he chose for the evening. A very exquisite location, dim lights and fancy chandeliers that you silently admire as a waiter walks you to the bar after Xiaojun explains you’re still waiting for two people.

When you sit on a high stool you notice his hands shaking and small sweat drops tracing the side of his face as he looks everywhere but you.

“Are you nervous?” You ask in a calm voice hoping to soothe him.

“Is it noticeable?” A shaky chuckle escapes his lips.

“Just a little.” You smile. “Don’t worry, it’s going to be alright.”

He finally looks at you but he doesn’t really know what to say.

“Good evening, what can I get you?” The bartender approaches.

Xiaojun nods for you to go first.

“Will you join me in a glass of wine?” You suggest. “I feel like you could use a drink.”

“Sure.”

The bartender grabs two glasses and fills them up in front of you before sliding them over.

“I must tell you I have a three drink rule when I’m working.” You grab your glass. “I was going to save them for dinner but you look like you could really use-”

Turning to him you gasp as the settles his empty glass on the counter.

“Guess I was right.” With a soft giggle you take a sip. “But maybe you should slow it down, we still need to sell a lie tonight.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m just nervous…” He sighs, staring at the empty glass. “I really need this to work.”

“I know, I read the form.” Keeping a smooth tone you keep trying to calm him down. “Is there anything else I should know that you haven’t written in there?”

“Honestly… I don’t know. I don’t usually do these things…” Scratching the back of his neck he turns to you. “I wasn’t even sure of what to write on the form.”

“That’s ok.” You give him a reassuring smile. “However you really did mostly write about your job, maybe I should know a few personal details.”

“Like what?” He raises a brow.

“For example… What’s your favorite color?”

“Actually… Green.” You both look at your dress.

“Guess I got one thing right.” You two chuckle. “If we keep it up like this you’re going to be just fine.”

“I hope so.” He sighs.

Taking a napkin from the counter you gently tap the sweat drops on his forehead before adjusting his bangs into place. You can see his Adam’s apple move up and down, eyes slightly widen. From an outside perspective you must look like a cute couple having a moment and you smile at the thought of a job well done.

But the moment is soon interrupted by an older couple approaching.

“Son.”

“Mother, father.” Xiaojun quickly stands up, bowing to them. “This is… Hm… Rose. My g-girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you.” With a polite smile you get up and bow too. “I heard great things about you.”

“I wish we could say the same dear, but our son has kept you a secret until a few days ago.” His mother shoots him a glare before looking back your way with a smile. “We apologise for being late, hopefully you didn’t wait too long.”

“Not at all.” You rest her assure before turning to Xiaojun who seems even more nervous than before. “Should we find our table, my love?”

“Y-yes.” He wasn’t sure if it was the way you gently held his arm or the sudden nickname that has him stuttering, but he soon rushes to find a waiter that leads you to your seats.

Taking the chair next to him, his mother sits in front of you as his father takes the seat right next to her. Xiaojun looks your way with uncertainty in his eyes but the way your eyes turn into crescent moons give him some kind of peace and hope that this will go well.

“So, how did you two meet?” His mother goes straight to the point as he almost chokes on nothing.

“We actually work together.” You’re quick to reply as he was mentally slapping himself for not thinking about this, of course they would ask. “I don’t usually like to mix work with my personal life but when I met Xiaojun I just couldn’t help falling for his charms.”

“Isn’t it too distracting to do your job as your partner sits next to you?” His mother raises her brow, making the boy rub his sweaty hands on his pants.

“Not at all.” It’s like you don’t even have to think about an answer. “You see, I work in the marketing department so it’s rare the time we actually have to work directly with each other. I would never pursue anything that could harm mine or Xiaojun’s position in the company.”

“I see.” His mother seems impressed. “So tell me, Rose, are you a workaholic like our son?”

“Oh, far from it.” His parents make a strange look but you’re quick to clarify. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m very dedicated to my job, but I don’t think anyone could ever be as much of a workaholic as him.”

“I’m surprised he even found the time to get a girlfriend, but it makes sense you met in that environment.” His father comments with a chuckle.

“Everything just happened suddenly. One day I was getting transferred to his office, next thing I know he was trying to clear his schedule so we could go on our first date.” You giggle. “But I adore how much he dedicates himself to work, I know one day he’ll be a great family provider.”

Xiaojun widens his eyes as you look at him after such statement. Your serene expression leaves him wondering how you can talk about that subject so naturally.

“Would you like to have a family in the future, Rose?” His mother asks, testing your commitment to the relationship.

“Of course.” You turn your gaze back to her with a nod. “I know our relationship is fresh and our feelings are still blossoming, but I would love nothing more than one day marrying your son and become part of the family. If you’ll have me of course.”

His mother hums, seemingly pleased with your answer as she proceeds to check the menu. You look at Xiaojun and watch him sigh in relief, maybe there is really a possibility this will work out.

The conversation keeps flowing throughout dinner and you seem prepared for every question his parents threw your way. Everything sounded so natural that even he almost believed all the beautiful things you were saying about your relationship, it wasn’t even noticeable how he kept quiet pretty much the whole time.

“Well, we should get going, we have an early flight tomorrow.” Xiaojun’s father announces after you finish up.

“That’s right.” His wife agrees as you walk out of the restaurant. “It’s a shame we have to go so early. It was lovely to meet you, Rose.”

“The pleasure was all mine Mr and Mrs Xiao.” You bow as you reach the street.

“My son,” his mother turns to him, “I see you’ve done well on your own. We will talk with Mei’s parents when we arrive.”

“Thank you.” Xiaojun bows for a second too long, trying to contain the broad smile that threatens to take over his face. “Please send them my regards.”

“Will do.” His parents bow back. “Oh, our taxi is here, we must go.”

“Have a safe flight back.” You stand next to Xiaojun, holding his arm once again, as they get on the car.

Side by side you watch them disappear in the corner before he lets out a deep sigh.

“I can’t believe it’s over.” Xiaojun pants like he just ran a marathon.

“Hey, it wasn’t that bad was it?” You nudge his arm with a grin.

“How did you do that?” He looks at you in admiration.

“Do what?” You tilt your head.

“Come up with all those things? Even I almost believed we were together!” He chuckles.

“That means a job well done for me!” You say proudly.

“In all honesty,” Xiaojun speaks once the laughter dies off, “I can’t thank you enough for this. You literally saved me from a miserable life.”

“That’s what we do.” You shrug with a smile.

“D-do you need me to take you somewhere?” He scratches the back of his neck, suddenly feeling his nerves kick in again.

“That’s ok, my ride is here.” You nod to the same vehicle that he watched you arrive before as it comes to a stop in front of you.

“O-Oh, right.” Clearing his throat he stands up straight. “Well, again, thank you so much for tonight.”

“Enjoy your single life, Xiaojun.”

The smile on your face before you enter the car is the last thing he thinks of before he falls asleep that night.

For the first time in a while he’s able to get a well rested night. He wakes up humming some song he heard on the radio and even decides to go for a light grey suit for work opposed to the dark ones he usually wears.

He feels as free as he ever felt in his whole life and it seemed like nothing could go wrong now, even people in the office commented at how relaxed and care-free he looked suddenly.

But of course, all good things come to an end. Around a week and a half after the most successful dinner of his life, his parents call.

“What do you mean you’re coming here again?” Xiaojun paces around his room as his phone rests on his desk, call on speaker.

“Oh son, it sounds like you don’t want us to come visit you!” That wasn’t that much of a lie, but he’d never admit to it. “We just felt like we didn’t get enough time to meet Rose, so we’ll be coming over this weekend so we can get to know her better.”

“B-but-” How he wished he had your fast thinking.

“No buts, I’m sure you and your girlfriend can find some time to spend with us.” She insists.

“Well, I’ll have to talk to her about it, this is really sudden.” He shoots his shot.

“I’m sure you’d be spending time together on the weekend anyway, it wouldn’t be a bother for her future in-laws to join would it?”

“I guess…” He frowns, disappointed he wasn’t able to fight it.

“Perfect, see you on Friday night, son!”

As the call ends, silence fills the room before a heartfelt groan breaks through as he throws himself onto his bed.

What should he do now? He was planning on waiting a few months before his parents asked to meet his girlfriend again and by then he would just make up a story about how you too decided to break up and he was too heartbroken to get into a marriage with Mei so fast if that was still the plan. But this came faster than he was expecting, you were too good at your job and now it’s too soon to play this card.

Tossing and turning on his bed, an idea comes to mind: maybe he could try to find you and beg you to help him out again. Would that be too much to ask for? Of course it would, you’d most likely say no. And even if he wanted to try it’s not like he could, he knew nothing about you, not even your name, Rose was the name he wrote when submitting the form to the website.

And just like that, the sleepless nights and stress come back. Xiaojun has less than a week to find a solution and nothing comes to mind.

Three days after the dreadful call, he gets tired of laying in bed with his eyes closed but not asleep, so he gets up and ready to head out. He decides to go grab a coffee before going into the office and at least put these extra hours to some use.

As he exits the coffee shop with his drink he walks without really paying attention to the almost empty streets. And that’s why, when he turns the corner he ends up bumping into someone making a bag fall on the floor.

“I’m so sorry!” He quickly apologizes, picking it up to hand it back to its owner.

Xiaojun can’t help observe this person. From the worn out sneakers that he believes were once pure white, careless but fitted sweatpants, a loose t-shirt with a goofy design on the front, hair in a ponytail and bare face.

He’s mesmerized by the simple beauty until it hits him.

“It’s you…” He murmurs. “Rose!”

“I… I think you’ve got the wrong person…” Snatching your bag from his hands you try to pass by him but he grabs your arm.

“Wait!” He suddenly lets go as he sees your widen eyes, almost scared at his actions. “I’m sorry, I just… I need to talk to you.”

“If you need another experience please contact the website.” You try to brush him off and leave but he moves to stand your way.

“Please, just hear me out. I know this may seem kind of creepy but please, I mean no harm.” He says with his hands up in defeat.

“What is it?” You glance around to see if there’s more people in the street, feeling some sort of relief to see the coffee shop that was close enough for you to run off to in case he tries something funny.

“I… I need to ask you for a favour.” Your head snaps his way at the audacity. “I know I’m in no place to ask you anything and you’re totally in your right to refuse but please let me explain!”

“Ok…” You sigh taking a safety step away from him.

“Look, last time I went to the website because I needed someone to pretend to be my girlfriend for dinner with my parents so they wouldn’t force me to marry someone I haven’t seen in years, and you did a wonderful job on it. However, it was too good and now they want to come over to get to know you better. It’s too risky to tell them we broke up, they might still force me on the marriage so…” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I kinda needed you to play the part for a few more days…”

“What!?” You incredulously ask, this cannot be real.

“I know, I know. It sounds crazy and maybe I am crazy, but I don’t know what else to do.” Xiaojun drops to his knees rubbing his hands together. “Please, I’m as desperate as I sound…”

“Oh c’mon get up…” You rush to pull him before someone sees this scene.

“I’m sorry. I just…” He groans. ”I thought this was over but I just keep digging my grave deeper and deeper…”

“I bet it’s not that bad…” You kind of feel bad seeing him like this.

“You have no idea…” Looking down he sighs.

“What…” You bite your lip before continuing. “What would this involve? I mean, if I was to accept.”

Gasping he looks up at you, eyes filled with hope.

“I didn’t say I’ll do it!”

“Right, right!” Taking a deep breath he explains. “Well we’d probably have to go out for some meals and make some conversation… But I’ll try to get us out of as much as I can!”

“And when would this be?”

“About that…” Scratching the back of his head, Xiaojun doesn’t know how to break it down to you. “It would be… Hm… This weekend…”

“What!?” You gasp.

“I know, I know, but they only called the other day and I didn’t even think I’d have the chance to talk to you!” Groaning he feels defeated once again.

“I don’t know. This is too sudden…” You murmur.

“I’ll pay you. More than next time.” He throws in his last card.

“How much more?” You raise your eyebrow, you could really use some extra cash to be honest.

“As much as you want. Give me a number and I’ll give that to you. Money is not a problem to me.” For some reason, the way he says it leaves you a bit weak on the knees.

“I don’t know…” You still ponder.

“You don’t have to answer right now. But please, can you at least think about it?” He begs handing you a piece of paper he removed from his pocket. “Here’s my card. Call me or text me at any time.”

“I’ll…” Taking the paper you sigh. “Think about it.”

“Oh my god, thank you so much!” He was about to step your way but he doesn’t want to push his luck so he remains in place. “I should go now. Again, thank you for considering this, you have no idea how much this means to me.”

With a small smile you turn around and continue your path as he does the same.

All day Xiaojun kept his phone right by his side patiently awaiting your contact, every time he got a call he made sure to make it end as soon as possible in case you tried to reach him. When he gets home he pretty much lays on his bed as he stares at his screen.

Eventually sleep gets to him as hope fades away, tomorrow would be a new day for him to try and find another solution if there was even any. But that’s when his phone buzzes with a new text. He quickly sits up on the mattress, suddenly fully awake.

Unknown number: I’ll do it

Rapidly blinking his eyes he wonders if he’s dreaming.

Unknown number: should we meet tomorrow?

Xiaojun: yes!

Xiaojun: whenever you’re available

Unknown number: I’ll text you the details then, see you tomorrow

Xiaojun: thank you so much!

His heart is beating so fast that it knocks him right back to sleep with a relieved smile on his face. 

“Thank you so much for doing this,” Xiaojun says as he approaches the table where you were waiting for him already, “it really means the world to me.”

“Well, hello to you too.” You playfully comment as he sits down.

“Oh my, where are my manners? I’m sorry.” He bows. “How are you? Did you wait a long time?”

“No, i just arrived.” Smiling you admire the stressed look on his face. “I’m doing alright, how are you? Like, for real.”

“I…” Hesitating he doesn’t really know how to answer. “I’m kinda relieved you accepted to do this but at the same time i’m nervous it won’t work… I just… I don’t really know what I’m doing here…”

“It’s still not too late for you to come clean.” Xiaojun widens his eyes like you told him there would be no more green tea in the world, so you continue. “But! That’s not the option we’re going with. Look, we made it work once, we can do it again.”

“Are you sure?” He furrows his brows. “I barely even talked last time. And now it won’t be just a dinner, it will be a whole weekend, there’s much more room to mess up.”

“That’s exactly why I thought we should meet before hand. I need to know more about you. Well, more than your job.” You let out a little giggle and he’s unable to hide a smile. “Let’s take advantage of the little time we still have and tell me all about you.”

“And what about you?” His voice comes out small but you hear it clearly.

“You can make up anything you want about me and I’ll roll with it. Remember, I’m supposed to be your ideal girlfriend, so make me however you like.” Winking at him, you call the waiter so you can order some food and drinks.

Just like that you spend the next days getting to know Xiaojun. You have lunch and dinner everyday, you ask him about all the things you believe a girl should know about her boyfriend, and even recall some of the things you talked about with his parents before so you can build a consistent story.

The more you know about Xiaojun, the more you understand he’s just a guy trying to escape his parents pressure and live his life. Yes, at first you may have thought he was a little bit of a creep, but you soon realise he’s just a nice guy who isn’t very experienced in the dating world.

So you teach him everything you know, not that you have a big dating history yourself. You had a few partners before but unfortunately they turned out to be jerks. And after you started to work as an escort, guys wouldn’t go past the first date. But you tell Xiaojun how a relationship should be, how you think it should be, how you’d like to have one.

Every time you speak he’s mesmerised, like you’re telling him the most amazing tales. The way he looks at you starts to send shivers down your spine, but that’s a line you shouldn’t cross. Getting involved with someone on the job is not an option, even if you’re doing this pro bono. After all this isn’t real and you just need to keep that in mind.

Xiaojun: Are you sleeping?

He texts you late at night the day before his parents arrive.

Rose: Yes

Xiaojun: Oh sorry!

You giggle at his reply, it’s cute how respectful and clueless he is.

Rose: Would i really reply if i was?

He facepalms himself, he can’t even think straight anymore.

Rose: Can’t sleep?

Xiaojun: No…

Rose: Want to go for a walk?

Rubbing his eyes he makes sure he’s not dreaming before he agrees to your suggestion.

Wearing a puffy jacket to protect him from the coldness of the night, he walks to the 24h shop you told him to meet you since it’s just a few blocks away. As he arrives he sees a familiar face turn the corner.

“Hey you!” He can tell you’re smiling even if half your face is hidden in your sweater.

“Hi.” He shyly greets you before following you inside the store. “I’m sorry to drag you out this late.”

“That’s alright. I have insomnia so i’m not usually asleep at this time.” You reach the ice cream freezer, opening it to grab a box. “Green tea right?”

“Y-yeah.” He stutters impressed you already know he likes to eat ice cream when he can’t sleep and even his favorite flavour.

Silently he keeps following you around as you get some drinks too and head to the register. He quickly reaches his wallet to pay but you stop him.

“My treat this time, ok?” You offer considering he’s being paying for every ‘get to know him’ meal of the past few days.

Even if he wanted to he had no time to protest as you already paid for everything and were waiting for him by the exit. When he reaches you, you hand him his things and start walking down the street.

“Are you so nervous that you couldn’t sleep?” You ask after some silence as you walk without a destination eating your food.

“Yeah… It’s stupid I know…” Xiaojun lowers his head.

“Hey, it’s not stupid.” You gently nudge his arm. “But what are you really nervous about? Me forgetting all the things you told me about you? Go ahead, quiz me!”

“I’m not gonna quiz you about that.” He chuckles.

“Do it!” You jump in front of him making him stop. “Let me show you how we’re going to nail this!”

“We don’t have to that, I trust you.” He keeps laughing at your excited face.

“Oh c’mon, you’ll quiz me and I’ll quiz you, how about that?” You try to pull off your most adorable expression to convince him.

“You’re not going to stop until i say yes, right?” He sighs as you cutely shake your head. “Ok, you win.”

“He said yes!” You cheer in the middle of the street, making him chuckle at how you don’t mind being silly like this. “Alright, shoot me.”

“Ok, hm…” He thinks for a while. “What’s my favorite color?”

“Really?” Pouting you drop your arms to the side like a kid, your ice cream almost falling. “I know that since before i met your parents. Give me something harder!”

“Ok, ok! Well…” He looks around as if trying to look for inspiration. “When did I move here?”

“Do you mean the city or your apartment?” He’s about to clarify but you continue talking. “To the city you moved right after college when you got an internship that led you to the job you have today. To your apartment you moved in 2 years ago after your roommate bailed on you to go live with his 2 week’s girlfriend and you decided it was time to get your own place. A few weeks after you settled in he begged you to go back because they had broken up but by then you just didn’t want to deal with it anymore so you remained in your man cave alone.”

“Wow…” He’s genuinely impressed. “That’s so accurate, except… Did you call my apartment a man cave?”

“Well, I’ve never been there so i can only assume that’s what it is.” You shrug before describing how you envision it. “Empty energy drink cans all over the place, nothing but instant ramen on your cabinets and food delivery flyers on the door of your fridge. I bet the nicest things you have there are your bed, so you can rest properly, and your computer.” 

“H-How…” He gasps at your accuracy once again. “Have you been spying on me?”

“I didn’t have to, Xiaojun. You told me all that between the lines.” You wink. “My turn now, ready?”

“I’m not sure I can be at your level.” He scratches the back of his neck.

“Don’t worry, I’ll start with something easy.” You tell him with a smile. “Where did we go on our first date?”

“We… Hm…” You can see panic behind his eyes.

“Don’t overthink it.” You take a deep breath with him. “Just say what comes to mind, remember everything is up to your standards.”

“We went to see a movie… And then dinner? At that restaurant with live music?” Xiaojun bites his lip waiting for your reaction.

“See? You can do it!” Jumping as you cheer for him you can see the happiness on his face.

“Ask me something else!” Quickly trowing the wrapping paper of the finished ice cream in the trash he rubs his hands together excited to do it again.

“Alright, now we’re talking!” You join the excitement. “What did you give me when you asked me to be your girlfriend?”

“Hm…” Biting his lip he thinks but when he looks at you he knows the exact answer. “A rose. Like your name. I was afraid you’d be expecting something fancier but you loved the simple gesture. It just felt natural, like our love.”

“Xiaojun…” You sigh. “I almost believed you right now, that was amazing! You remembered tall the details!”

“How am i doing this?” He’s gagging, impressed with himself.

“You’re doing it because we made everything simple and easy to follow through.” Smiling you rub his arm, just like you did on the night you met. “See? You have nothing to be worried about.”

“Thank you.” His smile is genuine and you can feel him relax before you. “But I like this, ask me more!”

Like two kids you keep walking around the streets asking each other questions about your made-up relationship, jumping and cheering as you both answer correctly. Neither of you notice the time passing or where you’re going until you reach a familiar street.

“Oh, this is me.” Xiaojun stops in front of a tall building.

“Let me guess, 8th floor?” As his jaw drops you know you’re right. “Lucky you scored your favorite number.”

“You’re incredible…” He shakes his head still impressed with everything you remember. “Should i drive you home? My car is right there.”

“That’s ok, I don’t live very far.” You smile, politely rejecting the offer.

“Are you sure?” He insists.

“Yes.” You hesitate to answer but ultimately stick to your first answer, it’s best if your clients don’t know where you live and you need to remember who he is.

“Ok…” He’s finding it hard to let you go like that, alone in the streets at night, but he wants to respect your choices. “Can I keep you company on the phone at least?”

“How about i call you when i get home?” You offer instead and with some resistance he finally agrees. “Goodnight, Xiaojun.”

“Goodnight.” He stays outside until you turn the corner away from his sight.

He gets ready for bed once again and awaits your call, smiling when his phone rings. You talk for only a couple minutes before you both feel the sleep finally kicking in. As he closes his eyes the smile lingers on his face. Always drown in work, sometimes it feels like he has forgotten how to have fun, but tonight you sure reminded him of it.

Friday goes by fast but after these few days with you, Xiaojun feels more relaxed and with high hopes everything will work out. The evening feels like a replay of last time, but better. You meet in front of the restaurant and wait by the bar, but this time he smiles as you share some drinks. His parents still throw in some difficult questions but this time Xiaojun jumps in to help sell the story as you sit side by side.

The next day you go for a boat ride on the river, after living in the city for so many years you’re surprised he never did it before so you ensure he has a good time. You take pictures together and laugh at the most random and silly things. His parents enjoy the ride while they carefully observe you two, analysing how you behave around each other. But whoever looked at you would say you simply look like a happy couple having a good time.

After that you have lunch at a restaurant by the water. You start to notice the little hints his parents keep throwing his way, almost to pull him down and it makes your blood boil but instead of calling them out you keep changing the subject to point out all the amazing things Xiaojun has accomplished.

In the afternoon you walk around the city and his parents do some shopping. You try not to gasp at the ridiculous price tags as you enter the most expensive brand stores, you could never afford any of these things. But now it was time for Xiaojun to distract you as he treats you to some ice cream to get a breather from the day.

The evening comes and you go to a fancy restaurant that overviews the whole city. After spending the whole day with his parents you feel like they’re really accepting what you present as a relationship and will definitely drop the wedding idea. They let you know their flight back is around lunch time the next day and you can see Xiaojun sigh in relief.

You two drive his parents back to the hotel wishing them a goodnight and agreeing to drop by before they head to the airport in the morning.

“Do you want to have a drink before going home?” You ask as you get back into his car, not really wanting the day to end yet.

“Are you sure? I thought you had a three drink rule.” Turning to face you, Xiaojun winks with a smile, reminding you of what you had at dinner.

“Well…” You chuckle as you’d forgot it since being with him stopped feeling like work a long time ago. “I feel like making some exceptions tonight.”

“Alright, let’s do it then. Where should we go?”

Starting the car, you end up stopping by a 24h shop and buying some drinks before heading to a viewpoint where you have a great view of the city and the river. Getting out you two sit in the hood admiring the beautiful scenario.

“I can’t believe we made it.” Xiaojun lets out a happy sigh.

“Hey, don’t jinx it, we still have to drop by to say goodbye tomorrow.” Nudging his arm you giggle.

“True.” He chuckles. “I know I’ve said it a million times but seriously, thank you so much for helping me out.”

“Don’t worry about it. It was actually quite fun doing this with you.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” He agrees, “But I have to admit, it does feel weird that you know so much about me and I know so little about you.”

“What do you mean? You know everything about me, you made me!” You joke.

“I’m not talking about Rose, I’m talking about you.” Xiaojun keeps his gaze on the city as you turn to face him. “Yes, I may have made up some things about you but I didn’t make up the way you close your eyes when you’re savouring your favorite ice cream, how you always enter places with the right foot for good luck, the little glance to the side you do when you’re thinking of something, the way you lick your lips when you’re trying to stop a smile and what all of that does to me…”

His voice slowly fades as he reaches the end of the sentence, but you heard everything. Has he been paying attention to all these details about you? And why does him noticing all of this is making your heart beat faster?

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” He drops his head. “You’re just doing your job and I’m making things complicated.”

“Maybe we should go…” You look away biting your lip, maybe it’s better to just call it a night.

Silently you two get back into the car, but as he drives off Xiaojun realises he doesn’t really know where to take you.

“You can drop me off at my place.” You suddenly said making him widen his eyes.

Surely you said you wanted to make exceptions tonight but he never thought you’d let him take you home, specially after pretty much confessing his feelings for you just seconds ago. He didn’t plan on doing it, he isn’t even sure how he really feels about you but maybe seeing the end of your journey arrive forced those words out of his mouth.

As he follows your directions, neither of you says a word, both lost in your thoughts. You’ve had clients confess to you before and you always casually brushed it off, reminding them of the rules and how this is not real. But this time it felt different. Maybe because it felt really honest. Or maybe because you’ve been fighting yourself to confess too.

“I-Is it here?” Xiaojun slows down next to a block of apartments.

“Yeah.”

Parking the car, he shuts the engine down and you stay there in silence, until you whisper something he cannot understand.

“What?” He questions turning to you.

“Y/N.” You repeat. “That’s my real name.”

“Oh.” He wants to ask why are you revealing this but chooses not to. “That’s a pretty name. More than Rose.”

“Thanks.” You both chuckle. “And thank you for dropping me off. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

You remove your seatbelt and grab the door handle but suddenly something comes over you and next thing you know your lips are on his. It’s a sweet innocent kiss like you’re afraid to overwhelm him or scare him away. Just a few seconds later you lean back to your seat, his eyes wide open as he’s frozen in place.

“Goodnight, Xiaojun.” You say before finally hoping off the car and going up to your apartment.

When you close the door, you lean back against it, silly smile plastered on your face. Did you really just kiss him? Not that you never thought about doing it before but you didn’t think you’d actually go through with it.

You just have to meet him and his parents one more time and then you don’t have to see him again and you can forget all about this foolish crush. But maybe the thought of not having his presence in your life any longer scared you more than breaking your own rules.

With a sigh you detach yourself from the door and walk inside your place taking off your shoes and your jacket. But as you pass by your front window something catches your eye.

Xiaojun’s car is still parked outside, just where you left him. Through the dim lights of the street you can see him sitting in the driver’s seat, eyes still widen and body frozen. You chuckle to yourself and grab your cellphone.

“H-Hello?” Still by the window you watch him finally break out of his trance and quickly pick up his phone.

“If you’re just going to sit there, you might as well come in.” He’s startled by your voice, probably didn’t even check the caller before answering.

“W-What?” Still confused with this call he looks around him to see if you’re anywhere.

“5th floor.” He looks up easily finding your window, being the only one with the lights on, where you slowly wave. “So? The offer is expiring.”

“I’m coming!” You giggle seeing him rush out of the car and into your building.

Buzzing him in, you swear he just raced up the stairs with how fast he got to your floor, panting with his hands on his knees when you open the door. Stepping to the side you let him in, quickly offering him some water as you lead him to your couch.

Taking a seat next to him, none of you knows what to say but the silly smile on your faces cannot hide the happiness you’re both feeling. You decide to turn on the TV, watching whatever show was on before your eyelids get heavy.

Xiaojun gulps when he feels the weight of your head on his shoulder. He doesn’t dare move, unable to reach the remote or even to turn off the light. He simply watches you sleep peacefully until he too falls into dreamland.

A weird noise wakes you up and as you open your eyes you see the room lit with the morning sunshine and the TV still on. Looking to the side you see the uncomfortable position Xiaojun is in so he didn’t move you.

You try to get up quietly but he still wakes up, stretching out his arms with a groan.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” You quickly say.

“That’s ok.” He sleepily smiles. “But for someone who has insomnia you sure fell asleep quickly.”

“You know what they say: be happy, sleep better.” You smile back feeling your cheeks burning up.

“Are you?” He asks, tentatively scooting closer on the couch. “Happy?”

“I am.” You brush a strand of hair away from his face leaning closer for a kiss.

This time he responds to it, letting you know he wants it too. You can tell he’s a bit unsure of what he’s doing but your lips move together so naturally that his insecurities flow out the window.

“We should go get ready.” You advise once your part. “We don’t want to keep your parents waiting.”

“Right, right.” He frantically nods, getting up. “I need to go home. Should I pick up after? I’ll be quick.”

Accepting his offer, you walk him to the door but before opening it he turns to you.

“C-Can I have one more k-kiss?” It’s cute how he stutters like a teenage boy.

Instead of replying you pull him by his shirt bringing your mouths back together. You can feel the corner of his lips move up, before you break the kiss once more.

“C’mon, you have to go before we’re late!” Giggling you rush him out the door.

Once he’s out you move to the window to watch him go. You don’t really know what this is or where this is going but one thing is for sure, you really like this boy and you want to give whatever this is a try.

Around an hour later Xiaojun picks you up and drives to the hotel his parents are staying. When you get out the car you lock arms with him, smiling as you walk inside. All this time pretending to date and putting on an act, it feels more relaxing to just do it naturally, knowing he feels the same.

Quickly spotting his parents and their luggage in the lobby you walk on that direction. But they’re not alone, there’s a beautiful elegant woman standing next to them. The three of them turn to you quickly halting whatever conversation they were having.

“Good morning, mother and father.” Xiaojun greets them, happier than you’ve ever seen him do before.

“Good morning son.” His mother says, but her expression is not very happy. “Look who decided to drop by to visit. Are you not gonna greet Mei?”

Both your jaws drop to the floor. For a second you had forgotten the real reason why you were pretending to be Xiaojun’s girlfriend but there it is, right in front of you.

“M-Mei?” He asks and you can see the smirk on her face grow. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, son, Mei came to tell us a little something you forgot to mention about Rose.” His mother steps forward looking straight in your eyes. “Or should I say Y/N?”

For the first time he sees you choking to reply, suddenly you have no quick answer and you don’t know how to save the situation.

“What are you talking about?” Xiaojun steps in front of you facing his mother.

“Don’t even bother lying. We know she’s not your real girlfriend, she’s an escort.” She shakes her head. “Mei felt something was off when we told her the wedding was off, so she did some investigating and decided to warn us.”

“Why would you hire an escort and say she’s your girlfriend, son?” His father adds.

“I…” Xiaojun breathing speeds up and he felt like he was suffocating, his worst nightmare became real but things are not even like that anymore.

“We should’ve known this was too good to be true.” His mother scoffs. “We should’ve known you wouldn’t be able to find a woman on your own. Ah, you should be more like your brother. He has a successful career and still managed to find a good wife and build a family. But no, you’re just a disappointment. You always have been-”

“Stop!” You suddenly yell making everyone turn to you. “I’m sorry but I cannot stand you talking to him like that anymore. He’s your son and you should treat him with the same respect as you expect him to show you. Why do you keep comparing him to his brother? I bet he’s amazing and all that but Xiaojun is too. He’s one of the sweetest nicest people I’ve ever met. But you’re ruining him with all this pressure to be perfect. He’s only human you know? You can’t mold him to fit your standards. And if you only took the time to know the incredible person he is you too would be amazed, just like I am.”

His parents don’t even say a word, outraged with the way you spoke to them and maybe realising you’re probably right. And that seems to be the perfect time for you to take off, but before you go you turn to Xiaojun.

“I��m sorry things went like this and I’m sorry I had to say these things but I couldn’t stay silent anymore.” You take a deep breath. ”Xiaojun, you need to stand up for yourself or you’ll never be happy.”

And just like that you’re out the door. He calls your name but you don’t turn back so he prepares to chase after you but a voice stops him.

“You’re really going after the escort when you have a real woman right here?” Mei asks, hand on her hip and brow raised.

Xiaojun sighs, maybe it is time to stand up for himself.

“Look Mei,” he looks straight into her eyes, “I don’t know why you did this or why you want to get into this arranged marriage but I am not marrying you. Not now nor ever. When I get married it will be with someone I love and when I want to, not because I’m being forced into it. I don’t wish you any harm, I just hope you can find your happiness, but it’s not going to be with me.”

Rolling her eyes she scoffs, shocked he would just turn her down like that.

“Mother, father.” He faces them now. “All my life I just wanted to impress you, but it was never enough. And honestly, I don’t think it will ever be enough. So instead of trying to chase your standards I’m gonna live for myself. So what I want to work all the time? So what I don’t find a girlfriend and get married any time soon? It’s not up to you to decide how I live my life. I can make my own choices and if you want to accept them I would be very happy, but if not that’s your choice.”

“How dare you talk to us like that?” His mother gasps. “You should be thankful for everything we’ve done for you!”

“And I am. But it’s time for me to spread my wings and fly solo.” A relieved smile crawls up his face. “It was good seeing you, have a nice flight back.”

“Xiaojun, come back here!” His father orders after his son bows and walks out the building.

The wind hits his face like brushing all the worries away. He’s finally free, for real this time. It’s still unbelievable how he finally had the guts to stand up to his parents. He’s done a lot of growth this week, he re discovered what it’s like to have fun and be happy. And there’s one person he needs to thank for that.

When you get home, your cheeks are drenched in tears. Not that you’re balling crying, tears are just rolling down. All this work and in the end everything got ruined. And the worst part is that you actually thought you two could have a future, but that is probably also ruined.

A lot of thoughts are going through your head as you curl yourself up in your couch, but the one that stands out the most is: what did Xiaojun feel when he saw Mei? They haven’t seen each other in years and he didn’t even recognise her at first, could it be that now that he saw her he changed his mind and wants to go ahead with the marriage?

Before you start debating on why you’re so affected by this you hear a knock on your door. You don’t really want to deal with anyone right now so you stay in place pretending you’re not here.

“Y/N, it’s me.” You hear through the knocking making you jump in surprise.

Quickly you wipe your cheeks with your sleeves and take a deep breath to compose yourself before opening the door.

“Xiaojun…” You didn’t think he would come to see you after what happened. “How did you come up?”

“Someone was leaving so I held the door.” He quickly explains. “I’m sorry. I have to talk to you, I don’t want to leave things like that.”

“It’s ok Xiaojun, you don’t owe me anything.” You lower your head with a sigh. “I’m sorry things ended up not working out.”

“They actually did.” You lift your head back up with eyes wide open. “I followed your advice and I stood up to my parents for once. I’m… Finally free. And I owe it all to you.”

“I didn’t do anything, it was all you.” You give him a small smile.

“Yes you did.” He steps closer. “You pushed me to stop running away from what I’ve been trying to avoid for years. You made me remember what it’s like to have fun and be truly happy. You bring out the better in me.”

“But I shouldn’t have talked to your parents like that, it wasn’t my place.” You shake your head.

“Maybe they needed to hear those things from an outside perspective.” Tentatively he grabs your hand. “Y/N, these past few days were some of the best of all my life. Being with you makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. And I’m scared and confused because I don’t exactly know what this is. But what I do know is that I want to keep seeing you because I’m better when we’re together.”

Your eyes water again and you can feel your heart wanting to jump off your chest. Could there still be hope for you?

“I’m gonna kiss you now, ok?” You barely have time to register his words before his lips land on yours.

Instantly you melt in his embrace, your arms wrapping around his neck as his own tighten around your waist. The kiss is intense and passionate, unlike the quick innocent ones from before.

“Can we give us a try?” Xiaojun asks as you part your mouths. “Whatever ‘us’ may be.”

“Yes.” You chuckle pulling him inside the house and closing the front door, ending the show for your nosy neighbours.

“Oh by the way,” he moves to sit on the couch, “how much do I owe you for these days?”

“Hm… I didn’t really think about it…” You sit next to him with a smirk. “But how about instead of money, you pay me with kisses? When I feel like you’re no longer in debt I’ll let you know.”

“Then maybe I should start working on it.” Holding your cheek he moves only inches away from your face. “And don’t worry, I don’t mind paying extra fees.”

☽ ・・・・・ ☾

taglist: @yokshi-unbeliebubble​​ @nc-teen  @yutahoes​​ @dimplehyunn​​ @iknowyuno​​ @bebskyy​​ @ne0cultur3technology​​ @nurenciye​​​ @luvjeongjaehyun​​​ @chenleyang @booyouwhore17​​​ @jenoxygen​​​ @star1117-archives​​​

unable to tag: @doahflix @criminalmindsz @jaehyunsprincess

[atsumuahh]

“ SECRET LOVER ” dreamwastaken

characters !

dreamwastaken, wilbur’s twin!reader, technoblade, philza, tommyinnit, wilbur soot, karl, sapnap, georgenotfound, drista, tubbo.

summary !

when reader chooses the dsmp high everything seems to be great, but things gets complicated when her brand new crush turns out to be her oldest brother’s rival. it gets even more complicated when he asks her out.

warnings !

swear words, usage of dream’s real name

notes !

dream as a football team captain rent free in my head... and i’m also sorry that it took me so long to write… its almost 3k words and not proofread!

taglist !

@wilczachannn

it was easy to assume that you had been in your brothers’ shadows. techno, wilbur and tommy were talented, football players with great, great achievements. the only thing you wanted was a big change in your life, so when you graduated from the middle school and it came up to making a big decision on choosing high school, you chose the dsmp high – school located an hour away from your house.

you remember your first day at school. the day started awfully. tommy woke you up with a loud yell at – as you rightly guessed – wilbur, who stole his phone and texted to his crush. it turned out that you had twenty minutes left to get ready and leave for bus and not be late. well... you were late on the bus, but thankfully your dad promised he’ll drop you off at school.

phil couldn’t be more proud of you. for real, he knew how hard it was for you to choose different school from techno, wilbur and tommy (everyone know he’ll go after his brothers). you were miserable through your whole middle school, because no one ever noticed you as your own person, only as wilbur’s twin sister, techno’s younger sibling or the only sister of tommy. it cause you to slowly losing yourself and becoming a female version of your brothers. so when you spoke to him about the idea of the dsmp high, he couldn’t get happier.

fortunately, dad dropped you off fifteen minutes before your first period started. wandering around the new school, looking for people you had classes with. you looked at your phone and accidentally bumped into a tall, dirty blonde guy with painted nails and purple sweater.

“oh no- i’m so sorry!” he spoke kind of afraid he might hurt you. “you alright?” a worried ask left his mouth as he put a hand on your shoulder.

it turned out that his name is karl and you took same classes as him. well in fact the boy seemed to be pretty nice, chill and funny. you two were on your way to the biology class and jokes were in the air. you felt so delightful that you messaged wilbur and techno a small text saying you just made your first friend. as no one responded you hid your phone.

“don’t worry, bestie.” he beamed at you. “i’ll meet you with my other friends, if that’s okay. they’ll love you and you won’t have to worry about making ones!” karl whispered into your ear and you couldn’t hide a soft smile that formed on your face.

as he said, he did. it was your lunch pause so he led you to the cafeteria. the idea of sitting at the table with people you didn’t know was.. terrifying but at the same time, so exiting. you felt like your heart skipped a beat when a guy called dream showed up with his best friends george and sapnp.

he was so handsome that you couldn’t take your eyes off him. looking at him was just so pleasing that you were kinda mad that he was karl’s friend so you couldn’t really sigh over him. surprisingly, he turned out to be a nice guy as well. you expected dream to be a completely jerk and an arsehole, but well you started to feel like you’d fall for him.

well… you were right. you fell for clay so deeply that just being around him was… stressing you out. he always cared about you, through your whole freshman year he was so cute and it was hard not to fall.

sophomore year started in a very… unexpected way. you hadn’t seen your friends in weeks, because you have lived so far away, but it didn’t make your brand new friends group to fall apart. you wouldn’t be so surprised if they organized a meet after classes but… well it was a meet, but only with clay. in a shortcut – he took you on a date.

“i missed you so much, y/n/n” he smiled as he shyly took your hand and intertwined your fingers with his. a small, timid smile formed on your blushed face. “fuck… i like you, i have a huge ass crush on you, okay? i-i just don’t wanna mess up our friendship… so please tell me if you don’t feel same” clay spoke with shaking voice, not giving you a sight.

maybe it was the adrenaline that boosted you up, or your inner self just wanted to do it, but as his confession ended, your lips gentlt pressed his. clay was… well shocked is a good word, clay was shocked, but he pulled you in even closer and that’s how you ended up making out in the park.

you were thrilled to the gills and you almost told your brothers about clay. almost, because you heard techno’s talking about a match against the dsmp high. well it wouldn’t be such a big thing if you hadn’t heard dream, and well oh well. words weren’t too nice.

“hi… are you free?” you said softly, sitting on your bed. you were frightened – what if they don’t like each other? what if… wilbur and tommy also don’t like him? “you know techno, right? technoblade minecraft?” a quiet ask left your mouth as you sat under the tree in your yard.

“yes, unfortunately.” his response made you thought that you had annoyed him. “wait, why you’re asking? did he hurt you or something?” dream didn’t let you answer as he added i’m gon’ kill him under his breathe.

“noo, don’t worry” you clutched your head and sighed. “he’s… my brother, older brother, actually”. silence between you two were clearly killing you, but you couldn’t be one to break it. he had to say something.

“oh my fuck” you heard his shocked voice and chuckled in response. “it doesn’t matter. you’re the one i fell in love with, not he. i know you’re worried, but everything will be alright.”.

“i hope so” his laughter calmed you. “i’ll call you later so we can fall asleep on call okay? dinner’s ready”.

”it’s kinda forbidden love, isn’t it?” george laughed as he wrapped his arm around you with a cute smile. brown haired boy was waiting along with you at your whole friends�� group. “y’know… techno is your brother and also a rival of your boyfriend… it’s exciting”.

you almost gasped at his words. it felt so silly and people would probably find it meaningless, but you couldn’t hide a smile that appeared on your face. he didn’t say techno’s sister like everyone from the middle school would say, george said that he’s your brother.

“as long as i love her, nothing else really matters to me” clay’s voice was so sweet that you almost melted under it. he was right, there’s no reason to overthink – you love him and it’s the only thing that matters.

“yeah, you should definitely tell him that at the match on saturday.” oh my fucking god, a match. the elimination match between the dsmp high and the lmanburg high. you were completely between a rock and a hard place.

“fuck, i forgot about it.” wrapping his arms around your body, dream felt how stressed you began to get. he also felt when your body unwittingly started to shake. “he’ll hate me, so will wilbur and tommy.”

“aren’t they already hating you? like- you barely talk to them at home, so… what’s the problem?” sapnap asked shrugging. well, he was right – techno lost his interest in talking to you and unfortunately wilbur and tommy took their cue from him, and the only person you had talked to was your dad.

“you’re coming to our match, right?” karl asked with a nervous smile forming on his face. it was his first match ever on the team – you couldn’t not be there. “it doesn’t who will you cheer for, just be there, okay?”

“karl, of course i will be there” you smiled at him, trying to hide your increasing stress that almost made you pass out. “please win this, okay? it’d be too hard to look at your miserable faces.”

tommy had always been your favorite of them all. as a child he wouldn’t let you go and sometimes it was obviously burdensome, but you loved it. you loved how he cared and now you missed it. he wanted, but he couldn’t talk to you, techno and wilbur would be pissed if he did.

he wondered about telling you how well he made friends in high school along with tubbo. about all of the funny jokes he made. he just wanted to be a teenager that shares cool memories with his older sister, but for now his brothers were too proud to apologize.

“wil, are you sure we should do that?” he asked, uneasiness appearing on his pale face. he genuinely missed his big sister that always helped him with his homework, with choosing cool outfits to impress girls, helped him, when he argued with tubbo. “she looks so miserable. even dad is worried!”

“we have nothing to do with her miserableness. she left us first. now, she can go and fuck herself” wilbur had never acted lke that before, so surprised tommy just frowned at him and shook his head in hopelessness. something was off and he would like to know what. to repair it.

his stomach rambled and it was time for a snack. tommy was about to came in, but he heard a bit of a conversation between philza and his only daughter.

“yeah, they do kinda hate me” she shrugged, not letting her tears fall. “uhm… clay proposed that i could stay at his. you know, dad. until… they start talking to me again.” long sigh left her mouth as she clutched her head in hands, right before he noticed tears. tommy couldn’t do more, so he got back to his room not letting anyone in later that evening.

it’d be a lie if someone said that tommy wasn’t stressed out. his first game was in a few minutes and his sister was nowhere to be found. “she has better things to do, i disappointed her - i shouldn’t be so shocked.”

when he saw her, he felt relieved. she was there to support him in his first game in high school ever, but as he watched her, slowly drifting away, looking for someone different in the crowd of people, he was hurt.

“i can’t believe you really choose to avoid the affection from dream for today, because your brothers are here. you should fuck them three” sapnap laughed, looking over your shoulder at tommy. “two. he looks hurt as well as you.” you know he was, but he didn’t do anything because the pressure techno and wilbur put on him, was killing him inside.

“y/n you came!” karl cried out, running towards you and sapnap. he hugged you tight and smiled softly, giggling noiselessly. “did y/n’s brothers saw it? i was literally her ride.”

“excuse me, you did that on purpose?” george laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. you joined him, but you stopped when you saw tommy’s upset, frightened face. it wasn’t only karl’s first game – it was tommy’s as well.

“i gotta talk to him” you sighed exhausted of the whole drama around you and your brothers. or just around you, wilbur and techno. your little brother had nothing to do with it. “tommy, hi” you started a bit nervous, feeling the tension betweet you two. and firstly, you thought he will just go away, but you gasped as he hugged you tight.

“i missed you so much” he whispered so anyone could hear but you. soft smile showed up on his face, making it way more brighter. “thanks for coming here, i know it’s rought between you and wil. he’s kinda mad but everything will be fine, i know that.” you wrapped arms around his torso and smiled widely.

“you’ve got this, okay tommy?” you brushed his hair. in response you got a growl and loud laugh after. “if you win or if you lose, it doesn’t matter, because i will still love you, but i’ve gotta go back to my friends.” you beamed and left tommy as soon as you saw wilbur storming towards you.

me: can’t wait to see you on the field :)

you felt like melting, when dream looked at you with his happy, excited face. you were so proud of him – he was the captain of the school football team and it was known that he has a sport scholarship. despite your brothers’ presence, you planned to show clay some support and you painted a medium #21 on your black, denim jacket.

clay: can’t wait to see you on my bed, right next to the trophy i’ll get as a captain.

he hadn’t lie. you sat on his messy bed, in his messy bedroom, talking to his younger sister drista. she was adorably bewitching. she was a bit younger than tommy, but thankfully she wasn’t as loud as him. you laughed after hearing her awful joke.

“so… you’re living here by now?” she asked curiously, frowning. her eyes scanning your, now, blushed face, waiting on the answer. “please, i cannot stand his my-girlfriend-lives-so-far-and-i-can’t-sneak-into-her-room-and-kiss.” she rolled her eyes, but smile widely.

“oh, yeah.” you blushed even harder as she laughed at your already blushed face. “i’m just worried if he’s okay with us hiding, you know? i mean– he could be with someone else, someone… someone better.”

drista didn’t know what to say and you knew she didn’t have to. you were scared – because of your situation that had place in middle school – he will just leave your for someone better, someone prettier, smarter, cuter.

unfortunately for you, clay had heard your every single word. he coughed, letting drista know that she should go. girl smiled at you before leaving you two alone. him, standing in front of you with only his sweatpants on. “y/n” he started as he got closer.

“i- i- can not tell i know how you feel or how you should feel. and-and i genuinely do not care about anyone else but you. i love you, okay dumbass?” he sat as close as possible and beamed softly.

“you won’t replace me?” the whole thing between you and clay was terrifying you so much. is he lying about his feelings? is he really in love with you? or maybe you’re just a bet? you almost shook your head as the thoughts began to overwhelm you.

he wouldn’t do that. and if he would, some of his friends (yours as well) would kill him. you couldn’t be more happier at the moment. your boyfriend had just told you that he loves you for the very first time, you made amazing friends that would kill for you and vice versa, but there was one thing you had to fix. the relationship with techno and wilbur.

“i could never replace you, love”.

“you sure you wanna do it?” clay asked, gently rubbing your thigh with his thumb, sitting in the front seat of his car. you were about to tell your whole family that clay dream is your boyfriend. the guy your older brother claimed to hate. lots of fun, right?

you nodded unsure, getting out of the car. it was your first time seeing your brothers in over a month and – boy, oh boy – you were terrified. did they miss you? did they even notice you were gone? you wished they did. you weren’t even able to ring the doorbell, because tommy opened the door with a huge grin.

“i’ve been waiting for you.” he confessed, closing you in a tight hug. he let you off as soon as he noticed smiled dream standing right behind you. “and who are you, mister?” suspicious question left tommy’s mouth.

“i’m y/n’s boyfriend, clay” dream beamed at tommy as he let you in. shock finding their way onto his face was… quite hilarious. he mumbled something under his breathe, but you couldn’t catch it.

as soon as you got onto the dining room, you saw wilbur, techno and dad setting the table. tommy coughed, couldn’t hide his happiness. his sister is back and he can’t let her go ever again.

“hi…” you started, your voice getting shaky. “i wanted to explain some things and it’d be a pleasure if you would accept my new boyfriend, especially technoblade.” dream took your sweaty with nervousness hand to calm you. he knew it was tough for you, knowing that him and techno are rivals. “this is clay and i know you know him, and you’re not on the good terms, but please just… finally talk to me, because i miss both of you and i’d love to have either my brothers and boyfriend close as possible.” you finished glancing at techno and wilbur.

“y/n, i’m just sad you didn’t want to go to same school with me. you had never told me why, we were inseparable and everything changed within days.” wilbur was first to answer you. his dejected voice made you crying. you missed him, his voice, his advices, his presence around you. “everytime i woke up, you were already running on the bus and we didn’t have a chance to talk.”

“i- you- you’re right. i should’ve told you why did i choose the dsmp high. i did, because i began to lose myself, everyone saw me only as your sister and i started to think that i do not matter anymore. i had to change it and i had to show everyone that i’m not just yours and techno’s sister, but i’m my own persona.” wil stood up and got closer to you. your tears convinced him that you weren’t lying and he felt bad that he didn’t realize it sooner. “i’m so sorry”.

“no- no, i’m also sorry. i’m the one that should apologizing. you were just choosing your own path and i was mad at you, because of that. ‘m sorry y/n/n.” you smiled through tears and hugged him as tight as you only could.

“there’s no much drama between us” techno chuckled quietly, watching you and wilbur cuddling. “i already knew what’s going on between you two at the match. i just took wil’s side.” he shrugged and you laughed, shaking your head in disbelief. “well, it doesn’t mean i like you” he claimed glaring at your boyfriend. “i can tolerate you as long as you’ll treat y/n the best you can, otherwise i’ll kill you”.

“i agree and so does tommy” your twin added, looking dream dead in the eyes.

“maybe we’ll stop the death threats here and start eating?” your dad proposed with a cheerful smile. his kids were finally getting along again, he couldn’t be more proud or happier than at the moment.

“it went so well” you whispered delighted. you were snuggling with dream on your bed, some time after the dinner ended. phil suggested that he could stay for the night, so they can get to know him better.

tommy was thrilled to the bones about the fact that now, he has a new friend, older than him, and also a captain of the football team, so he could teach him how to play better. wil was… well wil. he made sure that dream didn’t have any wrong intentions and techno just couldn’t care less if you were happy with him. he even suggested that they should bury the hatchet and move on.

“i haven’t said that to anyone yet, but i love you” you said, almost skipping a bit when he held your head and gently kissed you.

“well, you already know that i’m head over heels in love with you. and it won’t ever change” he said and kissed you one more time.

[missdawnandherdusk]

Slytherin!Muggleborn X Draco Extensive Dating Headcanons

requested by the ever lovely @mimsyisgianna​

A/n: Hi, this is super long and I’m in love with it.

oh this is going to be fun

As a muggle born you have absolutely no idea what’s going on 

But you guess magic is cool? And your parents said that you don’t have to stay at Hogwarts if you’d rather a muggle school and forget all of the magic stuff

Which quells your anxiety a bit

Then there’s this asshole

Draco Lucius Malfoy: arrogant asshole extraordinaire, even as an eleven year old

You’re over his entire personality in about 0.2 seconds and you haven’t even talked to him yet

So maybe this magic thing wasn’t for you, because good god these purebloods are awful

Then you’re in the same House as Draco and you really just want to go home, but you decide you can try it for a semester and you shouldn’t let some prissy rich boy ruin your fun

Because, well magic is a lot of fun--and you’re pretty good at it

There are a few other half-bloods and muggle born in Slytherin, not many, but enough that you don’t feel alone

And maybe you become best friends with a muggle born hufflepuff who lives up the road from you back home

Draco, on the other hand, has made it his personal mission to make sure that you know you don’t belong at Hogwarts and you definitely don’t belong in Slytherin

he tells you as much. in so many words. in front of the entire great hall

You’re not hurt, you’re livid

“You know what you’re right!” You snap back, “I’d rather be anywhere but here with your vain racist arrogant ass!”  

The entire Hall goes quiet and Snape breaks the two of you up

Now you both have detention together on Saturday 

Draco yells something about his father hearing about this and you roll your eyes and go back to your dorm, dinner forgotten

Detention with Snape could be worse. All you’re doing it organizing potions ingredients onto the shelves 

“That doesn’t go there,” You point to the misplaced vial of newt. “Yes it does,” Draco snaps, “Don’t tell me what to do little mudblood,” 

“Don’t call me mudblood, asshole. Newt goes over there,” You point to a different shelf. “With the rest of the reptile related ingredients,” 

You and Draco stare each other down, both convinced you’re right. You scoff and go back to your own ingredients letting him be wrong. It didn’t matter to you. 

Draco would never admit that you were right. But you were. 

You smirk at him when Snape points out the mistake

Since you’re Slytherin, it’s unavoidable that sometimes Draco is your partner in class

You mostly ignore him and try to focus on the professor, but sometimes he gets under your skin and you just want to deck him in his perfect face

“That’s not how...” “Good lord Draco how are you still alive...” Draco that’s not what the professor said...” “What in the world are you doing?” “I don’t think that’s how...” “He said 1354CE not 1435CE,” 

“I don’t need a mudblood telling me what to do,” He always snaps. 

“What about a Slytherin?” You fire back. He never has an answer to that. 

It’s the end of first year and late one night after exams and you’re alone in the Common Room, staring at the murky lake water outside the stained glass, well almost alone. 

You’re so lost in thought that you don’t hear him the first time he speaks to you

“Oi, Y/n,” He calls. It was the first time he ever used your name. It caught your attention. 

“I’m not really in the mood,” You hug your knees barely glancing at him. “I’m sure Hermione is somewhere in a library if you want a mudblood to taunt.” 

“I’m here as a Slytherin actually,” He leans against the wall adjacent to the window seat. “How were exams?” 

You shrug. “Fine. I guess.” Sighing you rest your head against the wall, closing your eyes. “Mom thinks I should go back home... go to a normal--muggle,” You mend, “school, and give up all this magic stuff,” 

“What?” He demands. “Why would you do something so... so stupid?” 

This time you do look at him, confused. Sure, he had called you a lot of things and mocked you more times than you could count but they had always been about your blood status, never about you inkling to leave this magical world. 

“It’s not stupid!” You argue back. “How--all year you’ve given me hell for not belonging and now that I might actually want to go, you’re telling me no!?” 

You don’t let him say a word, instead you rush down the hall and to your room, slamming the door shut and locking the door, confusing your roommate, but she sees the tears in your eyes and decides not to question it. 

Draco sort of hates himself for making you cry, but he can’t quite figure out why. He can’t figure out why the thought of you leaving for good bothered him so much. His friends couldn’t figure out why he cared so much. And neither could he. 

You’re not at the End Of Year feast, nor on the train back to King’s Cross, and Draco gets really worried that you have left for good. 

The more he thinks about it over the summer, the more he thinks that you weren’t so bad for a mudblood. And maybe sometimes you were actually brilliant. And maybe you’re the only one who can see right through him and yet you still help him when you can even though he’s stubborn about it. And maybe you did belong in the Wizarding world with him.

But he had to go and screw all of that up. 

He does a double take when he sees you September 1st with a few other Slytherins on the Hogwarts Express. 

“You came back,” He blurts out. “You can’t get rid of me that easy Malfoy,” You grin at him. 

You still snap at each other but now it’s more of an inside joke rather than malicious. It’s a game that you both like playing. 

“Happy now Y/l/n,” Draco grumbles after you correct him in front of the entire class. “Ever so more, now that you’re put off Malfoy,” You laugh. 

Boy does Draco freak out when he hears that mudb-muggle borns are the target when the chamber of secrets is opened

Now he’s constantly worried about you and still doesn’t know why. He chalks it up to “you’re a slytherin and slytherins take care of their own,” 

Not that he cares about any other slytherin muggle born, just you

Not that he admits that to himself either

So maybe he stalks you a bit in second year. You notice but shrug it off. Draco’s weird, that wasn’t new info to you. 

This year you go to Quidditch games, one because Draco mentioned he was the new Seeker, and two... well, why not? 

You go to one, then swear them off. Good lord they’re dangerous and give you unnecessary anxiety. Especially the amount of times people get hurt. Magic or not, you didn’t want to watch that. 

After the first match that Draco sees you there, he always looks for you in the crowd again, but never sees you. It throws off his focus more than he cared to admit

he liked showing off to you okay?

He finds you in the common room after one victory, enjoying the party with your friends. You wave at him and after a while congratulate him on catching the snitch. It’s blushing and awkward but then Pansy comes and draws Draco’s attention and you can barely get out goodbye

The fact that you’re a muggleborn hardly bothers him anymore. You’re just... you. 

After one particularly aggravating quidditch match you find him afterwards, sulking in the library. 

“Draco?” You ask, confusion in your voice. 

“Go away,” He grumbles, more or less hiding behind his book. 

“I heard about what happened today...” 

“And you’ve come to mock me, brilliant,” 

“No,” you offer a smile. “Though the thought is appealing... I was wondering if you were okay,” 

“I’m fine,” He snaps, taken aback that you came to check on him. No one did that. Ever. 

The summer still gives him anxiety because there’s always the possibility that you won’t come back to Hogwarts the next year. And Draco can’t have that

But his fears are put to rest when your in his train compartment that next year (you have the same friends after all--and Slytherins stick together)

You notice that Draco’s wearing his hair a bit different this year and maybe he’s a bit taller...

and you have no idea what feeling is in your chest because of it. was it nervousness? No... was different... but what was it?

You shrug mentally and the game is on again with Draco. 

“I was going to insult you but it seems like you’re doing just fine on your own,” You grin and Draco is livid. And it makes you laugh. He’s just so cute when he’s mad.

“I can see that you’re failing at attempting to mock me Y/l/n,” Draco smirks. “Oh you’re completely right,” You smile innocently, and Draco’s eyes widen because did you just say he was right?. “I’m not attempting, I’m succeeding at mocking you.” You giggle and make a face at him before heading down the hall with your friends. 

and maybe Draco’s heart skips a beat

Animosity between the Gryffindors and Slytherin is real and even though you’re a muggle born the self righteous golden children don’t seem to care

Hi Dracos protective of you

“You don’t have to defend me. I’m just fine on my own,” you huff one day after class. “Slytherin take care of their own,” Draco shrugs and walks off.

Did Draco just call you a Slytherin genuinely? Did he just call you one of his own?? What the f—

Okay but Buckbeak terrifies you?? Like sure horses you could do but this??

Draco laughs at your apprehension before he realizes what you really are terrified and ducking behind him and the other Slytherin.

Hagrid picks you to come forward and greet Buckbeak and you can’t seem to get out the words “no thank you”

Draco, being over dramatic and now protective goes forward instead (you know the scene) and despite your fear of Buckbeak you’re scolding Draco that he’s going to get hurt if he doesn’t do it properly

Then he does get hurt

“It’s killed me!” He cries and you have to laugh, crouching down beside him.

“You’re fine drama queen,” you help him up and take him to Pomfrey. “Thanks,” you whisper as his arm is getting wrapped.

“Sure, I save you from a bloody chicken and all I get is a thanks?” He grumbles.

You rest your hand on his and your eyes meet.

“Thank you,” you say softly and boy does Draco melt on the spot

He still scoffs and plays it off. “Whatever,”

The same thing happens again with the boggarts but this time the roles are switched. Draco is terrified to go up but you’re pretty brave and reckless for a Slytherin

But holy heck does this backfire

Because your Boggart is Draco...

“You don’t belong here and you never will! You filthy little mudblood! Just go home and don’t come back! No one wants you here!”

You can’t manage the spell—because honestly you didn’t expect it to be that—and Lupin has to rescue you and you rush out of the room, tears in your eyes and everyone is just staring at Draco.

As you can imagine, things get pretty bad. Draco avoids and ignores you to the best of his ability because he had no idea how scared you were of him... sure maybe a little bit... but to be your greatest fear? It didn’t sit well with him. 

And you figure out pretty quick why that was your boggart but you don’t know if you can admit it to anyone. 

Until Lupin pulls you aside after class one day to ask if you’re okay and if Malfoy is giving you any trouble about being a muggleborn. 

“I can give him detention,” Lupin offers. “Maybe it’ll straighten him out.” 

“Stars, no!” You gasp. “Professor, please, Draco’s never...” You can’t exactly say he’s never said that, because he did, in first year. “It’s not for the reason you think, but Draco really... it’s not...” You don’t know how to explain without telling Lupin the entire thing. 

“Alright,” Lupin appeases. “But if you have any trouble with anyone, you come to me you understand?” 

You nod and leave, accidentally running into Draco in the hall. He barely looks at you before rushing off again. 

“Draco, wait!” You call. “Please,” 

Apprehensively he pauses and turns to face you. He waits for there to be fear in your eyes, but all he can see is desperation and sadness. 

“I thought you were afraid of me,” He meant it as a snarky reply, but it comes out broken. 

“No,” You shake your head. Biting your lip you decide to tell him why he’s your boggart. “You’re... you’re the only one I... I trust enough to believe... if you told me I didn’t belong... It only scares me if it comes from you,” 

“What the bloody hell am I supposed to do with that!?” He demands. 

You shrug, sighing thinking about the same. “I don’t know... I’m sorry Draco,” You turn and walk down the hall. 

It’s gone from bad to worse because not the awkward tension between you two is tangible and about every Slytherin is over it. So are most of the other students but they don’t have to live with you two. 

Draco barely sleeps at night. He’s just thinking about how he actually said that to you in first year and how you still held onto his words. He never meant for them to hurt you that badly. At least now he didn’t mean it. 

Then there was the matter of what you had explained to him. That he was the only one who could hurt you with those words. Because you trust him? Why the hell would you trust him? Why was it him of all people? 

Maybe his thoughts shifted to the panic in your eyes the day with Buckbeak, or the smile when you helped him off the ground, or the gentle kindness in your eyes when you thanked him in the infirmary. 

Or maybe it was the determination in your eyes when you volunteered yourself to face the boggart so he didn’t have to. 

Or maybe it was every taunt and tease that had you both smiling and laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Every name calling, every insult. 

Maybe it was the day he saw you at King’s Cross, telling him that he couldn’t get rid of you that easily and grinning at him like it was some sort of inside joke. 

Or maybe it was the soft apology you gave him for the mess you were in.

You didn’t really talk for the rest of the year, but the tension seemed to ease after Draco’s epiphany that night. You smile at him and he waves to you in the halls... it’s nice. It’s friends. 

Draco still thinks that this is finally the year that you don’t come back to Hogwarts and it really does crush him over the summer not being able to ask you or contact you at all. The disconnect between wizard and muggle was very irritating because he just wanted to talk to you. 

His fears are again quelled when you’re on the Hogwarts Express. He sits with you this year. 

Fourth year means the Durmstrang students are being hosted by the Slytherins and more than one has their eye on you and you just feel creeped out

Hi, Draco is jealous

Now he was your partner in every class, and constantly beside you in the halls, glaring down whichever guy dares to come near you. 

Not that you notice. Again, Draco was weird. It wasn’t news to you. Besides he’s cute when he’s grumpy

Until one day you’re irritable and Draco just happens to be the person closest to you when you’re pushed over the limit. 

“I don’t need you to protect me okay! I can handle guys just fine on my own thank you! God what is with you Draco!?” You scream at him during study hall and storm off. Against his better judgement, he gets up and follows you. 

He finds you in the library leaning against a bookshelf in the back, your eyes closed. 

“Go away Malfoy,” You sigh. 

“How did you know it was me?” 

“Because I know you,” You look over at him. “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” 

“I’m sorry if I made you feel...” He looks down. “I... You’re...” He turns a slight shade of pink and trails off. 

“It’s alright,” You offer a smile. “It’s actually kinda sweet,” 

Now you’re both blushing. 

You go to the first task together with the rest of the slytherins and Draco can barely watch the task because he’s watching your face light up at the sight of dragons, because your little muggle self has never seen a dragon before and it’s amusing and cute

Then Draco asks you to the Yule Ball for before any of the imbeciles from Durmstrang can in front of the entire Great Hall.

“Malfoy’s got himself a muggleborn girlfriend!” It’s some Gryffindor mocking you

You turn bright red and run off, finding yourself in the Forbidden Forest hiding behind a tree. You’re crying because you’re embarrassed and you’re mad that you’ve even crying, which makes you cry more.

You hear his voice calling your name and you pray to whatever god existed that Draco wouldn’t find you or see you cry. 

He does find you. 

“Go away Draco,” You beg, hiding your face in your hands. 

“Now where have I heard that before?” He teases softly. A silence falls again. 

“You never answered me,” His voice is soft and gentle. “Do you want to go to the Ball with me?” 

You dare to look at him, confused as hell. He sitting beside you, staring at the grass and tree roots beneath you. 

“Do you really mean that? Don’t give me that look. I know you don’t exactly hate my existence, and things are different... but asking me to the ball? I...” Shaking your head you rub your face. 

“I can’t blame you for questioning my motives, though a part of me thought... maybe hoped you wouldn’t, but I really do mean it. I know I was an ass to you in the beginning, and sometimes I still am, and I’m sorry for that. I really am trying.” He nervous and rambling and you know it. “But I really do want to take you to the ball, because you’re kind, and sweet, and a brilliant slytherin and an amazing witch-” 

He’s cut off because you pulled his tie and pressed your lips to his. 

of course it’s awkward and weird because you’re kissing him and... he’s kissing you back? 

You pull away, thoroughly confused, and you start to apologize, but he’s not having that, so with a bit more elegance, he pulls you in for another kiss. 

This one is softer and slower and it gives you both time to figure out what kissing is now that it’s a thing you’re actually doing. 

“Will you please go to the Ball with me?” He asks again, when the perfect kiss is ended. You nod and smiling giving him a “yes,” 

“And maybe go out with me?” 

You grin. “Whatever you want Malfoy,” 

maybe he kisses you again

You to eventually head back inside, hand in hand and all of the Slytherins sigh in relief because finally

You’re a nervous wreck because all you can hear is “Malfoy’s got himself a muggleborn girlfriend,” on repeat and you can’t help but feel wrong

“You’re thinking about it again,” Draco raises an eyebrow at you. 

“And you’re not?” You challenge. “It feels... wrong. How could a pureblood, a Malfoy no less, choose a muggleborn, a mudblood,” 

“Don’t you ever,” Draco gets dangerous with cold fury. “Don’t you ever call yourself that. You hear me?” He’s towering over you, his grey eyes trained on yours. “You are a Slytherin,” He cups your face, his demeanor softening, “You are a brilliant witch. Pureblood or not, you’re mine. You hear me?” 

You nod, and he wraps you into a hug, sighing. “I’m so sorry,” He whispers. 

Your dress for the Ball is a bit more muggle than wizard, and you’re nervous about what the others in your house will say, but all of the worry goes away when Draco stares at you, turning pink and stumbling over his words

Not that you’re faring much better, because good lord is he gorgeous

It’s awkward and weird to be officially dating, but soon you fall back into your familiar game but now it’s harmless banter and lowkey flirting

Because Draco is protective and jealous of the Durmstrang blokes gaping at you maybe he’s okay with holding you closer than strictly necessary, or kissing you in a way that not completely polite in the company of others. 

You roll your eyes at his antics, but allow it because you don’t like the way a few girls are staring at Draco. 

Boy is Draco a goner when you get jealous and just as protective. He’s a stammering blushing mess if he can even make a word out at all

At the moment, Draco’s parents don’t know about you--partly for your safety partly because neither you nor Draco are ready for that battle

Draco and you spend free nights acclimating each other with wizard or muggle culture. Some nights are fun and carefree, some not so much... 

Draco gives you a very strict rundown of the looming war and the threat of the Dark Lord and how very serious it is and how easily you can (and will) be killed for simply existing under Voldemort’s regime

Maybe once Draco agreed with his father that muggles shouldn’t exist and muggle born wizards were preposterous, but now? How could he look at you, your family, who welcomed him with open arms, and say that? How could anyone believe that? 

He says “I love you” first. It’s an accident but you’re studying kne night and your eyes light up—like they always do when you learn something magic related—and it just slips out.

You gawk at him for a bit. Draco turns bright red and stares down at the books in front of you trying to play it off.

“I... I love you too,” you finally get out.

His eyes flash back to yours and your homework is forgotten and you’re in your own little bubble of a world in the epiphany that you love each other

“Of course I love you Draco,” there are tears in your eyes as he pulls you into his arms and now you’re both crying and kissing and mumbling “I love you”s

This summer, now that Voldemort is back, Draco goes about insane thinking about you, sending you owls almost daily to make sure that you were alright as well as hiding you from his parents

Except his mother finds out. Well, more like she knows her son and can see that he’s changed and casually asks “who is she?”

It’s a quiet conversation held behind closed doors and silencing charms. Draco explains who you are to him, and what you mean to him and now Narcissa is on your side, to be your protector from his father and the Dark Lord 

I can throw Snape in there too right? Cuz he’s your head house as well as being close to the Malfoy’s and sees how much you mean to Draco. Yeah, sure, why not?

It’s harder for you as a Slytherin because no one outside of your house sees what kind of danger you’re truly in because they don’t want to take the time.

But you’re still fericely protective of the younger Slytherins who still get berated despite being eleven with no choice of a house

You and Draco as prefects?? Hello?? The CUTEST thing because you’re now the honorary parents of Slytherin younger years. And Draco seeing you take care of the first years does something weird and paternal to him. It’s the same for you.

Which means you might go toe to toe with Harry a few times because once after a quitting match when you’re waiting for Draco he says “how can you be with someone like him? You’re a muggle born. He’s a Malfoy, you don’t exactly belong,”

Cue you hexing Harry for saying that. Then Draco coming between you two. You explaining what Harry said and then Draco turns on Harry and then it becomes a muggle brawl and you have to drag Draco away from it before you get in trouble. By the end Harry has clearly got the message that yes you do belong, and no it’s never up for debate again

You both have detention again. But that’s fine, it’s just uninterrupted time you can spend with Draco and get some homework done

You are 100% over Umbridge and her rules. Especially when she gets between you and Draco with her eight inch rule but then again you’re slytherin and she seems to favor your house so she’s not as strict, especially with Draco as her golden boy

You don’t join the Inquisitional Squad, but you still look after your own house as a unofficial prefect as Draco works as part of the squad.

With the news of Draco’s father in jail, you comfort him that night, not leaving his side. He feels so conflicted because on the one hand it’s his father but on the other hand you’re safer with him locked away

Draco loathes that you leave him in the summer to go back home but he agrees it’s safer for you to be back in the muggle world. Until Voldemort starts to attack your muggle world and dementors hover over your town.

Draco writes to you, begging you to come and stay with him where it’s safer and you can use magic to defend yourself but you refuse because you won’t abandon your family

Draco takes the Dark Mark to keep you safe and to keep his facade up.

But he doesn’t tell you. Not for a long while. You know something is up because Draco looks like the embodiment of death but he won’t tell you why.

“Draco,” you confront him one night as you sit and watch the stars. “Please?” You don’t even have to ask the explicit question. There are tears in your eyes as you plead with him silently.

“I can’t,” he whispers hugging his knees, not daring to meet your eyes.

“Draco it’s me,” you lay a hand on his shoulder. “It’s just me. Whatever it is... I’ll always love you,”

“How can you... how can you love me when I became the one thing who’s truly meant to hate you?”

Your eyebrows furrow as you cup his face softly, his eyes meeting yours. “Do you love me?” Then mend. “Forget what you are... or what I am... or what should be. Look me in the eyes and tell me you love me,”

“I... I love you,” he gasps out, pulling you close. “Merlin of course I love you,” he’s sobbing into your arms and you hold him, letting him cry in peace and comfort.

You two sit in the quiet for a while, both lost in aimless thought.

“I’m sorry,” he finally says pulling away from you. “I’m so sorry,” he tugs up his shirt sleeve and you see the Dark Mark etched into his skin

“Draco,” your eyebrows furrow, your hand running over the mark. “Are you okay?”

“Why is that your first thought?” He laughs hopelessly, cupping your face delicately. “You never cease to amaze me,”

“Now what?” You ask softly after some time in silence. “What does it mean?”

“I don’t think anyone knows,” he admits. “It all became so complicated,”

You chuckle. “Oh the days when our biggest problem was my blood status,” you rest your head on his shoulder, tucked into his arms.

“I mean that’s still a relevant problem,” Draco points out, pulling you in tighter. “I don’t want to lose you. Not because of some stupid notion that pure bloods are better than muggle born,”

You smile at that and close your eyes, relaxing in his arms. “Did it hurt?” You asked after a while. “Like you wouldn’t believe,” there’s still pain in his voice.

You’ve become more protective of Draco now and he of you. It might go back to the core that Slytherins look out for their own, or maybe it was because your to loved another. All of the Slytherins seem to stick together lately.

In an attempt to protect Draco, Harry’s sectumsempra hits you instead

And stars above Draco would have killed Harry if he wasn’t so focused on keeping you alive until Snape arrived

Draco has the dark mark and you had dark magic scars all over your skin. That was a hard one to explain to your parents

If anything your scars make you more confident and self assured because they show the true nature of the precious “chosen one” and you’re not keen on letting Harry forget it from tank tops to shorts and skirts, you boldly show off your scars

Of course Draco takes his sweet and gentle time praising and adoring all of your scars. It leaves the ghost of his lips on your skin for days on end until he does it again

In all honesty you and Draco are a force to be reckoned with, both scarred by a war that hasn’t truly begun.

You’re beside Draco when he’s face to face with a dying Dumbledore. You’re gripping his other hand, a snarled look on your face because you saw his manipulative nature for what it was

Though you couldn’t bare to think of killing another, you didn’t stop Snape from doing the final action

You and Draco fled with the rest of the Death Eaters, both running into the Forbidden Forest before apparating away.

You share a desperate kiss at the Manor behind his locked bedroom door before you have to apparate back home, safe from Voldemort and his other Death Eaters

Now that both you and Draco can apparate legally, you have rendezvous points that you meet during the summer for a few hours a week. Sometimes it’s sunny afternoons in the countryside, sometimes it’s desperate nights in lavish hotels, sometimes it’s lazy mornings in comfortable beds

Seventh Year is hellish. On the one hand it’s great for the Slytherins, on the other hand it’s terrible for muggle borns. You escape a lot of the torture because of being with Draco but you can barely stomach watching it happen to others... especially first years.

“This is wrong Dray,” you whisper one night. “I... I can’t keep pretending like it’s okay. They’re just kids,” there are tears in your eyes.

It’s the first night that the room of requirement opens its doors to you letting you in on the renegade camp. Almost everyone is baffled to see you there.

“So...” Neville starts. “Yeah,” you nod looking around at all of the battered and bruised faces. Your heart breaks a little more.

You use whatever magic and muggle skills you have to help the younger years get patched up and feel safe again, soon becoming a co-leader along side Neville and Ginny.

The fact that you’re a Slytherin gets left at the door.

In fact after a while the room itself gets rid of all of the house banners and just becomes a communal space

You tell Draco where you are and what’s going on but despite how hard he tries, he can’t get into the room

Until one night, the night after Luna is kidnapped and he’s made to torture her, does he become desperate enough that the room opens for him and offers him a safe haven from the war as well

Boy was everyone shocked to see Draco stumble through the doors on the verge of tears.

Wordlessly you stand and go to him, wrapping him into a hug and pulling him to your cot, again letting him break down in peace and comfort

Soon more and more Slytherins start to trickle into the renegade room.

You move your parents far away from England and London while the war is happening with help from Narcissa and Draco

The day comes and the battle of Hogwarts arrives and the Slytherins stand with Hogwarts, knowing that family doesn’t start or end with blood.

You and Draco lead the Slytherins into battle against the Death Eaters with a furious vengeance

No one budged when Voldemort offered to reconcile after Harry was pronounced dead. You and Draco shared one last loving look and prepared to face death together

But then Voldemort is gone

You almost collapse in relief into Draco’s arms and he sinks to the floor unsure of the world himself.

Many lives are lost and many are wounded. You both go around healing and helping where you can, never far from the other

You break down crying when you see Lupin dead before you and Draco holds you tightly shedding a few tears of his own

You and Draco are both acquitted in the trials because most of Hogwarts comes to your defense in testamonies.

Your story makes headlines a few years later....

“Pureblood Ex-Death Eater Malfoy Proposes to Rebel Muggleborn Sweetheart”

It’s not happily ever after just yet, but maybe it’s a step in the right direction

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masterlist

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ko-fi

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[extasiswings]

“I felt it shelter to speak to you.” for Buddie

This was...not supposed to be this long but all the recent promo content has been...inspiring. Anyway...on ao3 here.

The first attack happens on a Saturday afternoon.

There’s nothing special about the day, nothing strange. Christopher is at a friend’s birthday party, Buck is off somewhere with Taylor, and Eddie is grocery shopping before he’s meant to meet Ana for an early dinner.

His shoulder aches a little—that’s what he notices first—but that’s not too unusual. It happens sometimes. Even as physical therapy has helped him regain strength and mobility in his arm and shoulder, a high caliber sniper round ripping through his upper chest is no minor injury. Plus, while he’s hardly ancient, he’s not even as young as he was when he was shot the first time, and those bullets left behind their own patches of scar tissue and occasional twinges.

So. His shoulder aches. It’s fine. He ignores it and moves on. Goes through the store, checks out, put his bags in the backseat—

There’s a glare off a window in the apartment building across the street.

Eddie reaches for the handle of his door.

Suddenly, his fingers start tingling, uncomfortable pricks of icy numbness traveling up his hands like they’ve fallen asleep, but shaking them out doesn’t help. And then, without warning, pain lances through his chest, sharp and acute, and he can’t breathe properly, as if his torso has been trapped in a vise that’s slowly tightening more and more.

His vision swims. He sways on his feet, grasping at the door handle with clumsy, numb fingers to keep himself upright.

He feels like—he feels—

He feels like he’s dying. It strikes him with sudden clarity. He’s dying. Dying in a random parking lot—he always assumed he was too young to have a heart attack but the symptoms fit and he’s just—

He can’t. He can’t die. Not when he’s survived everything else. This can’t be—

“Sir?” There’s a woman with a station wagon parked in the space next to his truck and she’s looking at him with no small amount of concern. “Are you okay?”

Eddie’s mouth is so dry and his breathing so irregular that it takes him a moment to respond.

“I—I think I need to go to the hospital,” he grits out as another wave of dizziness threatens to send him to his knees.

She calls 911. Eddie spares a moment to be grateful that the paramedics who show up a few minutes later aren’t from the 118.

As it turns out, he’s not dying. And he didn’t have a heart attack.

“A panic attack?” Eddie’s voice is distant to his own ears as he stares at the ER doctor in disbelief, his stomach flipping with a new kind of dread. “Are you sure?”

“Your symptoms resolved on their own and your EKG is normal, Mr. Diaz,” she replies as she flicks through the screens of his chart on her tablet. “And nothing in your prior history or other recent tests indicates that there’s anything physically wrong with you—you were healthy before you were shot and your recovery has progressed smoothly up to this point.”

She pauses and looks back at him. “Have you...spoken to a therapist? I noticed that your treating physician made a referral for counseling when you were originally discharged, but…”

Eddie clears his throat roughly. “Yeah, no, I, uh...with the PT schedule and everything else going on, I never followed up with that. But I’ve been fine. It never seemed necessary.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Diaz,” the doctor says, “you’re in the emergency room because of an acute stress response in which your brain tricked your body into believing you were in danger to such an extent that you thought you were dying. I’m not sure you’re as fine as you think.”

There’s probably some truth to that. Eddie can admit that much. But that doesn’t mean he needs—he’s been shot before. He’s been in a warzone. He didn’t need therapy to move forward from it then and he shouldn’t now. He can—he can handle this. He can make himself get over it.

He’s already spent months leaning heavily on everyone around him. The thought of not being okay, of asking for more help when he’s finally easing back into working, when things are finally getting back to normal, when they all have their own issues to focus on—

God, it makes him want to throw up.

So...no. He’s okay. Because not being okay isn’t an option.

He’s fine. The panic attack was...a fluke.

“I appreciate the advice,” Eddie says finally. “I’ll think about it.”

He can tell the doctor doesn’t believe him when her lips thin.

“You know, more likely than not, the panic attacks will keep happening if you do nothing,” she points out. “Ignoring this won’t make it go away.”

“I understand,” Eddie replies. “If that’s all, does that mean I can get out of here?”

The doctor sighs. “Sure.”

Eddie’s phone rings while he’s in an Uber on the way back to his truck. It’s Ana.

He swears under his breath as he sees the time—he hadn’t called anyone, hadn’t wanted the hospital to call anyone either, but that means he’s now late for a date that he doesn’t really want to keep after everything and further doesn’t leave him with any good excuses for his absence except the truth which...he doesn’t really want to admit.

Before the shooting, Carla told him to make sure he was following his heart. And he’s been too exhausted and focused on his recovery to really think too hard about that. But now—

For a moment, Eddie considers it. Telling Ana the truth. Showing her some of the dark, messy, ugly pieces of himself. Being vulnerable.

The very idea makes him recoil. Not because he thinks she would run away necessarily, but because he just...can’t.

He can’t. Not with her.

And if he’s that uncomfortable with the idea of letting in someone he’s been dating for over half a year, if he can’t imagine himself ever actually being comfortable with that...then what the hell is he doing?

He calls her back when he gets to his truck.

“Hey—I’m so sorry, I had a little emergency—yeah, everything’s fine now, but I’m not sure I’m up for going out. Can I meet you at your place? ...okay, great. See you soon.”

He may know even less about ending a relationship than he does about dating in general, but he figures he at least owes it to her to end things in person.

*

Eddie goes to work on Monday feeling fine. Great, even. He sleeps well the night before, he gets Christopher off to school on time, traffic is light enough that he gets to the station early—

Everything is fine. By all accounts it should be a good day.

At least, that’s what he thinks right up until all of them get different emergency alerts sent to their phones and they find out the city’s systems have been hacked. From that point forward, everything is chaos. Damage control. Twenty-car pile-ups because stoplights are being messed with, an outbreak of animals from the zoo when the electric locks on their enclosures released—

Eddie’s fine though. He’s fine. It’s nothing he can’t handle—in fact, he’s usually great with chaos. He’s focused and sure and capable. Nothing else matters but the work, certainly not himself. When he’s busy, he has no time to think about anything else.

The gradually worsening tension in his shoulders can be ignored. The way he has to clench his hands into fists to keep them from shaking in a way he hasn’t had to do since his earliest days in Afghanistan can be brushed off. He doesn’t have time to think about anything but the jobs in front of him, which means he doesn’t have time to think about his own state.

Brush it off, pick yourself up, keep moving forward. That’s what he knows, that’s what he can do.

Except, then they end up at the hospital and—

A medevac helicopter falls off the roof. Bobby nearly joins it. Buck and Eddie barely manage to get him back.

A cold sweat breaks out on Eddie’s brow as Bobby leans heavily against the wall next to the roof access door to catch his breath. His stomach roils. He doesn’t feel fully connected to his own body, caught somehow between present and past, a rooftop in Los Angeles and a desert in Afghanistan.

He breathes in. He tamps down on the rising panic.

Bobby is fine. The helicopter pilots and their patient are fine.

He’s fine. He’s fine.

“Are you okay?”

Eddie jumps at the question, his head whipping around to find the source. Buck’s brow furrows as he holds up his hands.

“Sorry,” Buck says quietly. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

Eddie swallows hard and shakes his head. “You’re fine, don’t worry about it.”

He glances toward the door. “You know, I think I’m going to head back down,” he says, hoping Buck won’t notice the fact that he hasn’t answered the original question. “I want to make sure the pilots are holding up alright.”

“I can come—” Buck starts to offer, only for Eddie to cut him off.

“Someone should stay with Bobby,” he replies. He forces a smile as Buck’s eyes search his face. “I’ll be fine.”

Buck glances at Bobby, then back to Eddie before he finally nods.

“Okay,” he says. “But here, take the radio. If anything happens—”

“I’ll let you know.”

Eddie makes it down one flight of stairs before he decides to take the elevator the rest of the way down. The numbers on the top of the doors tick down, down, down—

And then, abruptly, the elevator lurches to a halt, throwing Eddie off balance and into the wall as the lights go out, plunging him into total darkness.

His ears ring from the impact.

He’s trapped. Trapped in a metal box in the dark. A box that could easily become a coffin if the emergency stop failed and sent it careening down to crash at the bottom of the elevator shaft.

Eddie’s breathing speeds up against his will. His chest starts to hurt.

Not again, he thinks vaguely. Not here, not now, not again.

But. He can’t move. He can’t breathe. Some distant part of his mind recognizes that what he’s feeling isn’t real, that he just needs to calm down, but he can’t—

He’s going to die. He’s going to—

The radio crackles in his belt.

“Eddie? Eddie! Can you hear me?”

Eddie’s mind latches onto the sound of Buck’s voice like a lifeline in an ocean of distress. It takes him a moment to make his trembling hands work through their numbness, to remind his fingers how to work the buttons, but eventually, he lifts the radio to his mouth.

“I’m here,” he says. His voice shakes. “I’m in the elevator. It’s—I don’t know which floor. Or if I’m between floors. I don’t—”

He shudders. His eyes close, not that it really matters given how dark the space is already.

“It’s okay,” Buck replies. “It’s okay, Eddie, we’ll find you. We’ll get you out, don’t worry.”

“I don’t want to die here.” It slips out of him before he can pull it back. Buck takes a sharp breath on the other end of the line.

“That’s not going to happen,” Buck says firmly, although his own voice seems less steady than usual. “I would never let that happen. I’ve got your back, remember? Always.”

A shudder rips down Eddie’s spine and he slides against the wall to sit on the floor. The walls still feel too restricting, like they’re closing in on him more each moment that he looks away.

The radio crackles again.

“Eddie. What can I do? What do you need?” Buck asks.

I don’t know. I don’t—I can’t—

“Eddie.” The fear and desperation in Buck’s voice cuts through the fog in Eddie’s mind.

He never wants Buck to sound like that.

“Keep talking?” Eddie replies. “I—just keep talking to me. Please?”

Don’t go, is what he really means. Stay with me.

He’s never allowed himself to say those things though. Not during the early days of the pandemic when they were sharing a bed in Buck’s loft. Not after he moved back home with Christopher and the other side of his bed felt too empty for sleep to come easily. And certainly not after he started dating Ana.

During his recovery, he never had to ask Buck for anything really. Buck was always just...there. Even though he was with Taylor, he was still there with Eddie and with Christopher whenever Eddie needed him. Like he knew somehow. Or maybe as if he needed to be there as much as Eddie needed him there.

Eddie hasn’t looked too closely at any of that. He’s not ready to. It’s too much, too complicated, too—too—

Dangerous.

“What do you want to talk about?”

Eddie swallows hard as his head rests against the wall. As he allows the sound of Buck’s voice to wrap around him like armor. Like home. Insulating him against the panic and isolation.

“Anything,” he says quietly. “Just keep talking.”

And Buck does. He talks about everything and nothing, random facts and stories from his past that Eddie hasn’t heard before, he talks and talks and talks until his voice grows hoarse in Eddie’s ear and the pressure on Eddie’s lungs eases.

Eddie exhales shakily and takes a few deep breaths as he continues to listen, as his body shifts from hyper-awareness and panic to wrung out exhaustion. When Buck finally cuts off, it’s because there’s an ugly screech of metal as the elevator doors are pried open, as light filters back in.

Eddie’s legs are unsteady as he gets to his feet. He trips on the edge of the elevator door when he exits—

Buck catches him before he can fall. Because of course he does.

“Thank you,” Eddie breathes into Buck’s shoulder as he finds his balance.

Buck shakes his head. “I promised we’d get you out, didn’t I? Besides, I—I shouldn’t have let you go alone.”

“I decided—”

“I shouldn’t have let you,” Buck repeats, low but insistent. His eyes meet Eddie’s and Eddie swallows hard.

“You weren’t okay. Were you?” Buck asks. And Eddie—

He wants to lie. Part of him does at least.

But he can’t lie to Buck.

Not to Buck.

“No,” he confesses. It’s half a whisper. “No, I wasn’t.”

Buck bites his lip and nods once.

“Okay,” he says. “We’ll figure it out.”

And somehow, Eddie believes him.

[ptergwen]

warmer than cuddles

w/c: 2.4k

warnings: may plays matchmaker and makes some suggestive jokes

prompt: you and peter get caught in the rain and have to share an umbrella

a/n: thank youuu to the angel who requested <3 swear this is my favorite trope to write hehe ☔️

-

one of the many things you and peter have in common is being lazy. it’s sort of the basis of your friendship. you’re not the kids who drink or party or get in trouble. you play board games and eat pizza on his ripped up couch. the riskiest thing you’ve ever done is sneak into a movie.

peter was so paranoid you’d get caught, he couldn’t even pay attention. he kept whispering to you about paying the whole time. you had to drag him out by his hand after the movie ended. the next time you went to that theater, he bought an extra ticket to “make it even.”

that about put an end to your trying new things phase. you went right back to your comfy nights in pajamas. tackling each other for the remote, baking terrible cookies that you just throw out, sharing a blanket to stay warm. what also helps is that you cuddle under it.

all the fun you need is you, peter, and your love for doing nothing. may disagrees.

she’s always trying to get you two out of the apartment. in her words, it’s “unhealthy for developing teens to spend so much time cooped up inside.” peter once asked which mother’s facebook group she joined. you snickered at that. may gave you a warning look.

well, you don’t have a choice to stay in today. she’s kicking you and peter out because she has guests coming over.

“it’s girl’s night,” may tells the two of you with a satisfied smirk. she hangs her raincoat on the rack and comes into the living room. peter squints his eyes at her. “you have friends?” he sounds too surprised for your liking. you flick his arm hard enough to make him go “ouch!”

“peter, we only have, like, four friends. that’s counting ourselves,” you inform him with a laugh. peter drops his head onto your shoulder. “and i don’t need any of them but you,” he says sarcastically, rubbing his cheek on your sweatshirt. “aw, i know,” you coo and rest your head on his. may crosses her arms and shrugs.

“you should do a group play date with everyone! i haven’t heard from ned in a while,” she suggests, your eyes flicking over to peter. he’s biting back a grin. “play date?” you try to stifle a laugh when you ask. “you know what i mean. a hang out,” may nods at her better word choice. peter winces in protest.

“eh, ned will probably wanna go out somewhere. we don’t do that,” he tells may, like that’s a completely normal thing for a teenager to say. you raise a finger in agreement. she laughs in disbelief at you and peter. you’re splayed out on the couch, on a saturday, complaining about doing anything else.

“you two make me feel young.” may’s words are a joke, but her tone isn’t. “you are young, may,” you reassure her and smile a little. peter says nothing. his eyes become hooded as he settles into you more. “look at you two, like some old married couple,” may gestures to you from where she’s standing. she smiles this time.

peter’s face gets hot from the mention of you being a couple. your heart skips a couple of beats. you’re pretty sure he can tell from how close he is.

“do whatever you want, just not here,” she gets back to the real conversation. peter hides his entire face in your shoulder as a form of protest. you pat his back. “and not each other. unless you’re safe,” may adds. “may, please. no,” he groans out, positive he’s all red now. you blink at her in horror.

may knows what she’s doing. peter isn’t the most subtle person, especially not about liking someone. she’s learned all the signs that her nephew is falling. he’s falling for you. she sees it in you, too. the way your eyes soften when they meet peter’s, how fast you are to hug him back or beam at the silly things he says.

you two spend so much time apart from your other friends, you basically are a couple. you’re just not old or married. the only thing you need is a push to realize that.

“ok, we’re gonna go now,” peter decides and pulls away from you. “god bless,” you say only so he can hear. he chuckles at that, you getting up from the couch. giving him a knowing smile, you grab one of his hands. he lets you pull him to his feet while exhaling. he’s already exhausted. may watches and shakes her head.

peter walks up to give her a quick hug. “enjoy girl’s night. love you,” he murmurs as she squeezes him tight. even though they tease each other a lot, their relationship is really sweet. it’s very telling how a guy treats his mother. well, aunt in this case. that thought has always been in the back of your mind.

“have fun!” you grin at may when her and peter pull apart. he comes back over to you and tugs on your sleeve. “thanks, kids. we’ll be done around eleven,” she lets you know. you’re already getting your shoes on and ready to leave. eleven is a while from now.

“don’t forget an umbrella! it’s drizzling!” may calls after you two. peter grabs hers that’s leaning against the front door. it’s pink with purple polka dots. you giggle at that. “hey, i like pink,” he defends himself and opens the door, letting you out first. you raise your hands in defense, leaving the apartment.

peter waves at may one last time. “good luck, peter,” she tells him once you reach the stairs. he furrows both eyebrows. “good luck with what?” “you’ll see,” may raises her own eyebrows in a way that’s all too familiar to peter. he calls it her face of wisdom.

still confused, peter heads out. he finds you at the bottom of the stairs. you shove your hands in your pockets and push against the door to open it. peter meets you outside, twirling the umbrella between his fingers.

“is there anywhere you wanna go?” he asks as you start to walk. you’re just going down the block for now. “back upstairs,” you sigh out. “i wish. not an option, though,” peter puffs some air out of his cheeks. you fumble to pull up your hood. he easily reaches over and does it for you.

“thanks,” you say quietly. “you’re welcome,” peter pats the top of your head for emphasis. “we could just walk around.” “until eleven o’clock? that’s five hours from now,” you laugh out, adjusting your hoodie to block your face. disappointment crosses over his features.

“should’ve brought my suit,” he mutters mostly to himself. linking your arm with his, your eyes widen. “i’m not trusting you to swing me around in this weather.” his bicep flexes when your arm wraps around his own. “what? i’ve done it before, y/n/n. on patrol.” you turn your head towards him.

“didn’t you get hurt last time?” you already know the answer. “sprained wrist and a few cuts,” he grumbles, you humming because you’re right. he’d called you in tears when he got home, scared he broke something. you reminded him he would heal soon and stayed on the phone until he calmed down.

that ended up being the whole night. you’re probably the most supportive of peter being spider-man. you of course worry about the toll it takes, but you understand why he does it. the least you can do is be there for him while he navigates the superhero world. not talk him out of it or scold him for making mistakes, be there.

that’s why he loves his lazy days with you so much. they’re his break, his escape from what he lies awake worrying about most nights. you’ve seen what he has to go through, so you respect that. whatever he needs to do to unwind is fine by you. as long as you get to do it with him.

“then you couldn’t patrol for weeks. you could barely hold a pencil.” your other arm sneaks around his. they’re both hugging him now. “you had to be my note taker,” peter reminisces, a smile making its way onto his face. “that sucked, man. you’re such a perfectionist about them,” you breathe out.

peter flips the umbrella around in a show-off kind of way. “you don’t complain when i send them to you.” he sounds so cocky you can’t help but roll your eyes. he isn’t wrong, though. “whatever. seriously, where should we go?” “uh,” peter’s eyes scan the block for inspiration. they land on a man carrying takeout.

“dinner? not at a restaurant since we’re in sweats,” he adds the last part so you don’t have to. “ooh, let’s go to panera,” you happily squeeze his arm. peter quirks an eyebrow at you. “you’re always hungry after.” “so? we can get dessert, too. we have a while.” that makes his heart flutter. a while with you.

“cool, cool, cool,” he sings to you, leaning into your side as you walk. you giggle and push at his shoulder. “i think we can make it there before the rain picks up.” there’s a clap of thunder right after he says that, like something out of a movie. it’s followed by a heavier rain coming down on you two. you pull at the strings of your hoodie to keep it tighter on your head.

“jinxed it,” you remark, both of you stopping so peter can open the umbrella. “ugh,” he grunts out. his lower lip is between his teeth while he undoes the velcro. he pushes down and watches as the umbrella springs open for you two. “here, c’mere,” peter welcomes you under as he holds it above your heads.

it doesn’t quite fit you both since it’s only meant for one person. you forgot he took may’s. the two of you have to squish together so you can avoid the rain, which is pitter pattering down hard on the sidewalk.

you’re comfortable under here with him. the freezing cold weather outside of the umbrella is hardly an issue anymore.

peter turns to face you, letting out a breathless laugh. “you can take off your hood now.” your arms slip from around his. you remove it from your head and give him a toothy grin. it’s one that’s meant to be over exaggerated. “there’s that pretty face,” peter’s voice gets quieter. unlike what you did, that wasn’t a joke.

your pretty face loses its smile. you’re suddenly very aware of how close peter is to you.

you can see the faint scar on his chin from when he banged it into a wall in your living room. he’d ran straight into it during your two person game of hide and seek. yes, you still play that. it was gushing blood for half an hour.

there are also the thousands of freckles dotting his face, the ones you only notice by looking at him super hard. you try to count them whenever you get bored. peter stares back at you while you fall in love with every tiny detail about him.

he takes the time to admire your lips, not just because they look really kissable right now. because of every curious expression they press into when he does something you can’t believe. your eyes, that he feels a sense of safety and honesty and familiarity every time he looks into. he finds them and feels like he’s home.

“peter?” you speak up after a few moments. your tone is hesitant, as if whatever you’re going to ask will change what you have forever. that’s because it might. it’s silent except for the sound of the rain hitting his umbrella. peter finally answers, almost in a whisper. “yeah?”

“i... i think,” you clear your throat before going on. his eyes trail down to your lips again, then back up to your twinkling ones. even on a gloomy day like this, they could light up the whole sky. “i think i love you,” you get out, a hand over your racing heart. peter gives you a small but sure nod. “i think i love you, too.”

he takes a step closer to you, if that’s even possible. his hand without the umbrella comes up to hold your cheek. you watch as he uses his thumb to wipe away a few stray rain droplets. your head tilts to the side, lips parted on instinct. peter leans in until his lips just brush yours, letting you decide what comes next.

you choose to close the space between you two. his eyes squeeze shut, whole face scrunched up when he kisses back. this is a release of all the emotions he’s been holding in that he didn’t even realize he had. you slip into a rhythm, using the angle to move your lips against peter’s.

his hand drops from your cheek to your jaw to support you while you kiss. your own hands grab his biceps, fingers pressing into him, depesrate to have him in your arms. peter lets out a content sigh against your lips before detaching them. it’s not for long. he comes right back in after taking a breath.

you get one long peck from him, then another that’s softer than the last. you give him a short kiss back, lips curving into a smile when this one ends. peter’s thumb smooths over your jawline while he searches for your eyes. he grins at you and tightens his grip on the umbrella handle. he’s surprised it didn’t blow away in the midst of your mini makeout.

“i definitely love you, peter,” you state so genuinely, hands on his shoulders now. that has to be peter’s favorite sentence he’s ever heard. the most beautiful combination of words, said by you to him. “i definitely love you, y/n,” peter agrees, punctuating his statement with one last kiss. you haven’t stopped smiling when his lips meet the corner of yours.

may was right about two things that night. you needed the umbrella for that huge storm, but it did more than protect your from the rain. it also brought you and peter together in a way. the second thing she was right about was that peter loves you, and every feeling he has mirror yours for him.

actually, she was right about three things. you two have to get out of the apartment more often.

[etherealeeknow]

touchy-feely

• rated m for mature

• pairing: best friend!minho x fem!reader

• wc: 1.523

• tw: groping, slight nipple play & edging, explicit language, fingering & oral (f receiving), - i think that’s all, please do tell me if you find more c:

• note: I FINALLY POSTED HELLO. this isn’t proofread so i’m sorry for any mistakes! i’ll get to it tomorrow (hopefully 😂) and i hope you’ll enjoy it! also, please kindly note that english isn’t my first language. therefore, i apologize for any mistakes.

—

“minho despises skinship, but with you it’s an exception.”

it was supposed to be the typical saturday afternoon for you and minho, but thanks to what jisung said earlier, you were now left on the couch, laying there with what if’s relentlessly running on your mind. you didn’t even hear when he called you from his kitchen that he had to come and poke your side, making you jump. “chill, y/n. do you want extra caramel or nah?” minho shrugged when you shook your head and put the bowl of popcorn on the table so he could lift your legs up, sit down, and place them on his lap. “uh, what are you doing?” you asked when the guy took back the bowl and rested it on top of your tummy as support. “uh, making myself comfy for the movie? duh?” he answered and pressed play.

when you asked him to sit on the other couch, he shot you the most questioning look ever. “you nuts, y/n? you want me to sit alone through this horror torture? of course you don’t. now shush. it’s starting. aaa~” minho didn’t even wait for you to open your mouth properly; he shoved the popcorn into your mouth and continued feeding himself in peace, eyes now glued to the screen despite his claim that horror movies weren’t his cup of tea. you shifted awkwardly on the couch, trying to immerse yourself in the movie, which you eventually managed to.

things went by as usual—since both of you preferred discussing over movies after they ended, the living room was filled with nothing but the eerie and daunting sound from the TV. your body was no longer tensed and you didn’t even realize minho had been feeding you popcorn from time to time. it was until the jump scare popped out that you became self conscious once more upon minho’s touch. though his eyes never left the screen, his free hand was gripping tightly on yours.

“don’t be silly, ji. he has always been like that.”

“he has always been like that, yes, but only to you.”

rethinking over your conversation with jisung made you shake your head and because of that, minho loosened his grip to caress your hand softly, and it only made your eyes grow bigger. “w- what are you doing?” you asked for the second time that day, voice barely audible. “protecting you from the ghosts,” he replied as he put the empty bowl on the table and laid beside you on the cramped couch with his chin resting on top of your head, hands wrapped around your shoulders. before you got to call him out again, another jump scare came and the sound made you flinch, but minho was quick to run his hand along your arm, rubbing it soothingly and his soft touch sent shivers down your spine. “y/n, are you co-” you cut him off by standing up. the sudden movement made you lightheaded, but minho’s hand found its way on yours once again as concern was written across his furrowed eyebrows.

“have you always been this... touchy-feely?” you asked; confidence level so low but you managed to maintain eye contact as you waited for his answer. it had always been difficult to read what was going on in minho’s head, but it never bothered you, at least not until this second. after what felt like a year, minho let go of your hand and faced the ground while running his fingers through his hair. “did jisung say something?” he asked, finally looking back at you and you could only nod, scared of what might happen next. “what did he say?” he asked again, this time while running the back of his hand through your bare thigh and you swore you could feel your liquid gushing out just from the faint touch. “t- that you’re only touchy when you’re with me.”

“and do you agree?” you had so many thoughts, so many questions, but you could only nod. everything felt hazy just from the way his thumb caressing your inner thigh. “and do you like it? if not, i can stop.” when minho retreated his hand, you were faster than lightning, holding onto it as if your life depended on it, and your own action made you blush. “b- but we’re best friends,” you said and he chuckled, poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “that’s not the question, love.” before minho got the chance to pull away again, you straddled his lap and could directly feel his growing bulge underneath you that made you even redder. 

shaking your head, you told him, “please don’t stop.” although your voice came out in a whisper, minho could hear it loud and clear and he shot you a cocky smirk before leaning forward to meet your lips. your hands automatically found their way around his neck as he pulled you even closer by your waist and the two of you moaned in unison—both over the small amount of friction. the kiss deepened as no one wanted to give in, but minho was growing impatient, so he sneaked his hand into your hoodie, hiking your bra up to fondle your breast, pinching your nipple so he could hear you choking out your pretty little moans.

“off,” he commanded, breaking the kiss to take off his own sweater and sweatpants, dark eyes never leaving you. he quickly pull you towards him, hovering over you and began kissing you from your neck to your bare chest, then down to your belly, halting right above your undies. you shot him a pleading look, so desperate, yet your words wouldn’t come out. “i won’t stop if you don’t stop me,” he warned and you nodded almost right away. snorting, he added, “and i certainly won’t go further if you don’t say anything either. come on, what happened to the chatty y/n?” he teased, biting your undies to pull it down slowly until it reached your knees; the view made you roll your eyes back, shyness and eagerness all in one.

“minho, please,” you begged while facing the ceiling. “so i’m now a ceiling?” he mocked, a finger drawing circles on your outer labia and this time you sighed out loud in frustration. “for fuck sake, minho, ple-” you were cut off by your own moan when he rub your clitoris, spreading the wetness all over the place. the sensation of being pleasured by another person after months being untouched turned you on for the better, and for that person to be minho made everything far more exciting. you had lost count of how many times you had daydreamed for this to happen whenever he dropped by your apartment wearing nothing but a black sleeveless top after practicing or the way he came out of the shower, water dripping down his neck and veins popping out of his arm when he dried his hair with a towel.

just by having those flashbacks sent you over the edge and you managed to tell him you’re gonna reach your climax soon, which caused him to retreat his finger away and you grunted. “already? god, i barely touched you, y/n. are you that needy for me?” he chortled and you whined, no longer feeling embarrassed. the only thing in your mind was him. “i want you. i want you so bad, please,” you plead through your half lidded eyes, staring at him who was still below you. smirking, he shook his head in amusement and inserted one finger in you without warning, pulling it in and out of you right away before adding another; his lips came in contact with your aching core, his tongue playing its part, licking and sucking it.

you whimpered and spread your legs as wide as you could while bucking your hips, desperate for more. “fucking yes, just like that,” you said, followed with endless ah’s while your hand was squeezing your tits, the other gripping tightly on his hair; nothing turned him better than the way you pull them while he was eating you out, making you produce all of those juices for him to take while his own member was throbbing. your breaths were going shorter as the knot on your stomach began forming again. “minho, minho, minho, fuck!” you screamed as you pushed his face deeper into your pussy and the man did nothing but fastening his pace. “i’m cum-” it only took a few seconds for you to cry out, eyes closing blissfully while you shake and came all over his digits and his pretty face.

once you came back to your senses and the room was filled with only your raspy breathing, minho sit back and eyed you with the most heartwarming smile. “did you like it, love? did i make you feel good?” he asked and you nodded in response, throat too dry to utter a word. “i can’t hear you,” he said and you tried your best to mouth a “yes, minho.”

“such a good girl. now, on your knees. plus, it’s daddy for you from now on.”

[drawlfoy]

detention, retention, and draco malfoy being a little shit

masterlist request guidelines

pairing: draco x reader

request: no not really

summary: golden trio friend y/n y/l/n tries to extract information out of draco malfoy after being placed in detention together.

warnings: swearing, panic attack kinda stuff, just the dark war things that would come w having the task that draco does

a/n: ayo so i started this as a fic i was originally planning on writing in a week. i discontinued it bc i didn’t think anyone was that interested, but i’ve written for it on and off. it’s about 16k words right now standing, but i’m reposting this as a 2 part series. here are the first ~12k words....enjoy :) IMPORTANT: if you’re like “hey i started reading this in october why tf are you reposting the first two parts” just keep reading ok lmao i promise there’s more there’s about through part 6 in here hehe. i just wanted new readers to be able to pick up on it without being turned off by the fact that it was part 3. this will b e 2 parts and at least 20k words

word count: 11.6k

taglist: @gruffle1 @missmultifandommess @cleopatera @hahaboop @accio-rogers @geeksareunique @eltanin-malfoy @war-sword @cams-lynn @itsivyberry @ayo-cowbelly @nerd-domland @yesnerdsblog @shizarianathania @evanstanfanatic @strawberriesonsummer @hariosborn @night-ving @straightzoinked @imintoodeeptostop @naiomimoonshard @jejegu @ophelia-enthusiast @alwaysbeanunknownfan @nearly-memories @litty-dumb @callieclearwater @malfoy-wife15 @charlenasaxen @belladaises @fiantomartell

happy reading y’all

For legal purposes, the york pudding she lobbed at Pansy Parkinson’s head on Monday evening was simply meant to be a joke. She didn’t know that her aim was bad enough that it was going to get in Snape’s hair instead--honestly, it wasn’t even supposed to get past the Ravenclaw table, much less veer to the left to make a beeline for the professors--but no matter how much she tried to explain this to McGonagall, her sentence remained the same: detention every Friday. For two months.

Her life was ending for sure.

“I honestly don’t know what you were expecting,” Hermione told her as she gently wiped off the nib of her quill later that night in the common room. “Even if you had hit your mark, that’s still technically assault.”

“Did you even hear what she said to me? She told me that I looked like the type of kid that bit people in primary school,” complained Y/N. “I didn’t even think she knew what primary school was!”

Hermione snorted. “How long ago?”

“Two days. I’ve been waiting until there was something throwable on the dinner table.”

“How very analytic of you.”

“I’m going to hit you.”

“And you wonder why you’ve got detention.” Hermione tsk-ed at her, her face stone serious but her tone light hearted. “Maybe take this as an opportunity to, I don’t know, do your homework for once? So you won’t have to have a breakdown over the next Potion’s essay and beg me to write it for you?”

“I’m going to go to sleep and think terribly mean thoughts about you.”

“Have fun.”

~ 

Detention.

Something that Y/N wasn’t completely unfamiliar with--she’d done her time organizing Snape’s cabinets, just like every other Gryffindor--but it was different when it came to McGonagall. An impressive old lady, she thought that McGonagall saw something in her. She was always the first to chuckle at Y/N’s jokes and hesitated to reprimand her stupid behavior. And she never gave Y/N detention.

Until now, she supposed. 6th year was changing a lot of things--even their Potions professor--so McGonagall turning a new stone shouldn’t have been anything shocking.

At least, not as shocking as the first thing Y/N saw as she walked into her house head’s office.

“Malfoy?” she spat.

The platinum blonde didn’t even bother to look up from his desk.

“Miss Y/L/N,” Professor McGonagall chided. “I think we would all prefer if you restrained yourself from getting into any more physical altercations with Slytherins.”

She huffed, plopping down in the chair furthest away from that foul git and reaching for her satchel.

“I’ll be back in two hours,” said the elderly professor. “If I hear anything, and I mean anything, other than the sound of studying, consider your sentence doubled.”

With a swish of her robes, McGonagall was gone, leaving her with Malfoy. 

“So what’d you do to get in here, huh? Did the administration finally get a hold of that video of you licking Voldemort’s toes?”

“What the fuck does that mean?!” he snapped, whipping around to glare at her.

“‘s just a joke,” said Y/N. “Like--how everyone says your family houses him and everything--but whatever. I can tell it’s a sore spot.”

His gaze, never withering in intensity, remained trained on her face. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Apparently so. What’re you here for?”

He exhaled sharply. “If I tell you, will you shut up and let me think?”

“No promises, but maybe.”

“Late work. I forgot to turn in the Transfiguration exam last week.”

She made a tutting sound as she lazily shuffled through the crumpled parchment in her satchel. “I expected more from you. Aren’t you gonna ask me how I wound up here?”

“No. I am going to ask you to stop talking now, though.”

~

“That’s terribly unfortunate,” Hermione said over breakfast the next morning. Ron and Harry were nervously chit chatting at the other side of the table over the Saturday Quidditch game against Hufflepuff--supposedly it was supposed to be quite a high stakes match. Not like Y/N cared much, though.

“Yeah! And the worst part was that he won’t even tease anymore. Like, he just sits there all broody and woe is me. We’re all witnessing our nation’s descent into war--he’s not special!”

“Who are you talking about?” asked Harry.

“Oh, just Malfoy,” said Y/N. “We have detention together with McGonagall. He’s such a nasty little greaseball, don’t you think? I mean, look at him right now, glowering over his cereal.”

“Wait! That’s it!”

“What’s it, Harry?” Hermione asked.

“It’s genius, really,” he said. “Y/N has to spend time with him alone every week, and we know that something is up with him. Malfoy is absolutely a Death Eater and has connections to You-Know-Who, but I just need to find a way to prove it.”

“I vaguely forecast where this is going, and I hate it already.”

“Listen, Y/N. It’s not for that long, and it’s for the health of the wizarding world. If you just get to know him--”

“Ick!”

“If you just get to know him, maybe get him to trust you and find out his secrets...we’d finally have enough to turn him in and throw him out of Hogwarts for good.”

“Is that really necessary, Harry?” Ginny butted in from her seat further down next to Dean. “Malfoy’s probably just exhausted like the rest of you. 6th year is difficult, and we have no solid evidence that he’s a Death Eater. I’m sure being stuck in a room with him for 2 hours is hard enough without pretending to be nice to him.”

“But what if Harry’s right?” said Y/N. “What if he is actually a Death Eater? What if he’s an active danger to the student body?”

“Exactly!” The joy written across Harry’s face at the prospect of someone else finally agreeing was infectious. “So will you?”

“Er…” She dragged her spoon across the top layer of her porridge. “In theory, sure. In actuality, I’m not sure how I could do it. Malfoy doesn’t want anything to do with me, either.”

“Love potion?” offered Ron.

“I don’t care how much of a prat he is, I’m not roofying him.”

“I rarely agree with you, Y/N, but I think you’re right. If you want to do this, you need to get him to trust you for real.”

“Your back-handed compliment skills never disappoint, Hermione. Do you think you could help me out with a plan?”

A slow smile spread across the girl’s face as she nodded. “That’s my strong suit.”

The plan they laid out over the remainder of the day was ambitious but at least do-able. Each week was split into different subtasks, the end goal being a somewhat tentative friendship between the two. 

“If you can flirt with him and get him to have a crush on you without scaring him off, you’d be in the best possible position,” Hermione told her as they walked back from the Quidditch pitch among the screaming Gryffindor fans. They’d won--yet again. “Obviously I don’t foresee that being likely, but if you pull it off somehow he’d probably be willing to tell you anything. The fact that you’re a pureblood is going to carry you through this whole ordeal. He’ll at least be accepting of your existence in the wizarding community.”

The bitter edge in Hermione’s tone made Y/N’s blood boil. There was no reason for Malfoy to be as prejudiced as he was--he’d spent his adolescence in Hermione’s academic dust. She was obviously smarter than him. 

“You got it, ‘Mione,” she said. Her voice barely carried over the cheers of her peers as they ascended the steps to the common room. “We’ll take this little ferret down. I can’t wait.”

“Don’t get too cocky, now.”

The Gryffindor after-party was crazy...per usual. The charmed self-filling goblets, the blasted playlist of Wizpop pumping through the air, and the buzzing energy of the room was giving Y/N a giant headache. She stood with Hermione and Harry by the edge of the crowd, watching Ron get hoisted up on the shoulders of the chasers. 

“No wonder the Slytherins think we’re Neanderthals,” Y/N mused. For once, Hermione didn’t respond. “Hermione? Is everything okay?”

The second she turned away to look at her best friend, gasps and whistles filled the room. She whipped back just in time to see Lavender Brown, a sweet but slightly ditzy girl in their year, pull away from a kiss with Ron.

“Oh shi--Hermione!”

Harry and Y/N shared a glance before darting after the witch--who had impressively already made it to the door. 

“Hermione, wait!” Y/N called as they jogged after her, throwing open the common room entrance and finding her sat by the tapestry on the other side of the hall, knees to her chest.

“‘Mione, what’s wrong?” asked Harry.

“Don’t be daft, Harry,” said Y/N. “You saw exactly what the rest of us did.”

“I don’t understa--”

“Harry.” Her voice was taut. “I know you’re just trying to help, but I think that it might be best if you let us be. Go back and enjoy the party.”

He gave her a tight, grateful smile before darting back through the door. Y/N wasted no more time in walking over to Hermione and throwing her arms around her shoulders.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, hugging her tight. Hermione made no move to detach them, so she continued. “Ron is an idiot. You deserve so much better--your first kiss was Viktor fucking Krum, after all. You’re hot stuff and this place is just unfortunately running dry of men who are impressive enough for you. Once you’re out of here and working in the Ministry, you’re gonna have the time of your life with men actually in your league.”

Hermione managed a sniffly laugh as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “It’s just so fucking embarrassing, you know. Like, I have a crush on him because I think he understands me and I smelled him in my Amortentia and I thought he’d like me back, but…” She hiccuped. “Then he goes off and kisses Lavender Brown, of all people. There’s nothing particularly wrong with her or anything, but she’s so different...I’m so bookish, and she’s so girly and everything I’m not…”

Y/N took the opportunity to tuck a lock of Hermione’s hair behind her ear as she listened.

“And it can’t help but make me think--was I ever anything to him but a friend? If the girl he ends up choosing is the opposite of me?”

“Girly, don’t think like that,” murmured Y/N. “He’s a teenage boy. They don’t think of love the way that we do--to them it’s a game of availability, not of choice. At least for Ronald. You intimidate him, and by extension, you’re not available.”

“That shouldn’t matter!”

“You’re right. It shouldn’t.” Y/N drew a long breath. “So you should find someone who always has you as their first choice--someone who isn’t intimidated by your intellect. They’re out there. I promise.”

Hermione managed a shaky smile. “Thanks, Y/N. I mean it. Do you mind if I have some alone time? I don’t think I’m ready to go back to the party but I just want some quiet.”

“Of course. Let me know if you need me,” she said, brushing herself off and making to walk down the hall.

“You’re not going back to the party?”

“Nah. It hurts my head and I want fresh air. If I’m not back here in a half hour, assume that I’ve been kidnapped.”

With that, she started her walk. She wasn’t planning on going on a long stroll--there was a small balcony that she often went to when she needed to clear her head. It was beautiful, especially on a snowy night like this.

But the walk was creepy.

There was only one way in and out--a narrow, damp hallway that had absolutely no light fixtures. If Y/N really wanted to, she could cast a quick lumos, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see what lived on the walls. The stairs were steep, too, but she managed to bound up all 40 of them in record time. 

“Who’s there?”

The sudden voice ripped a scream out of Y/N’s throat as she reached the top, catching a glimpse of the shadowy figure at the edge of the balcony that spoke. She clasped her hand over her mouth and she crept forward to the opening, getting a better look at the person that was in her secret spot.

The clouds shifted in the sky to allow more moonlight to cast a soft glow on Malfoy’s face, hardened with irritation.

“Malfoy?” Y/N asked, rather dumbly.

“What stellar observational skills,” he drawled. 

She felt her cheeks grow hot. “What are you doing here? This is part of the Gryffindor tower. Shouldn’t you be...I don’t know...playing hide and seek with the sewer rats in the dungeons?”

“Very funny.” His flat tone exposed the fact that he did not, in fact, find it very funny. “There’s no rule barring me from coming up here.”

“But why? This is my spot!”

“Because I wanted to get out. Now, I was here first, so unless you want your detention extended, I suggest you leave.”

Y/N bit the fiery comebacks on the tip of her tongue as the memories of her plan with Hermione began floating back to her. 

Week 1 -- Hold one neutral, civil conversation with Malfoy.

“I’ll be quiet. You won’t even know I’m here,” Y/N decided upon. leaning up against the balcony. The rogue snowflakes that made it past the overhanging roof melted on her cheeks. 

“That isn’t a suggestion,” said Malfoy. “I’m demanding you leave.”

“Beautiful night, isn’t it?” Y/N asked, pointedly ignoring his words. “I’ve always loved the snow. It’s so quiet.”

“And it would be even quieter if you left.”

“Aren’t you the conversationalist?” said Y/N.

“If you don’t leave, I will hex you,” Malfoy told her through gritted teeth. 

“I just love how the moonlight reflects off of the snow,” continued Y/N. “It’s so...pure.”

“Please leave.”

On her walk back down the dank stairwell, she allowed herself a little smile. 

Task 1? Technically done.

~ 

The first week went largely as planned. Malfoy was cold and certainly suspicious of her, but he wasn’t completely venomous when Y/N asked where he got his quill from in Potions. It was silver, charmed to shimmer with flecks of forest green. He told her Barnaby’s in France, and that was that. She walked away from his table with all of her limbs attached. Perhaps that was all the progress she was going to make in the next few weeks, but the task at hand certainly made the prospect of her lost Friday afternoons more bearable. 

Harry was going completely batty, rambling on about how Malfoy was behind the mysterious cursed objects that had been floating about the castle without explanation. 

“And why would Malfoy bring cursed objects to Hogwarts if he has aspirations other than being expelled?” Hermione would ask over their books.

“You don’t understand, Hermione! You girls need to be careful walking around at night--especially you, Y/N. I don’t want you going missing after detention because of that slimeball.”

Y/N always gave him a laugh, berating him for his slight misogynistic commentary and turning back to whatever her task was, but the truth was that she was worried for him. The mental weight of the impending war and the fact that he couldn’t do anything about it was certainly getting too difficult for him to bear. It was heartbreaking to see the vivacious boy she’d grown up with crumble under the responsibilities of something he should never have to worry about in the first place.

Friday came much sooner than expected, and Y/N reluctantly left her friends in the common room to trek to McGonagall’s office. The walk was frigid and the wind bit at her cheeks as she rounded the last outdoor hall.

Why was this castle so dark?

A thump behind her made her jump, and Harry’s words came floating back to her. 

Remember all those cursed objects? What if there’s someone just...stalking the school grounds, waiting for someone like me to snatch?

She shivered, throwing herself at the office door and slamming it behind her.

“Miss Y/L/N,” Professor McGonagall greeted, her eyebrows raised in amusement. “Something giving you trouble?”

“No, Professor,” she answered, setting her bag down on the desk next to Malfoy. He sent her a curious look as well. “It’s just cold outside.”

She chuckled. “I need to go speak to Headmaster Dumbledore. I expect that, upon my return, you both are in one piece and alive.”

“I’m not sure if I’m the one who needs to be given that speech,” said Y/N, bored and testing the waters.

“She’s right, Professor,” added Malfoy. “There’s no projectiles here.”

McGonagall exhaled a long, shaky breath before brushing herself off. “Please. Behave yourselves.”

“You got it, boss,” she said as she watched her Professor walk out the door. “So, Malfoy. How was your week?”

“I don’t know what you’re up to, but I’d way prefer if you didn’t speak to me,” he said, refusing to make eye contact.

“I’m not up to anything! We’re in detention together and, I dunno, since I see you sometimes at balls, I thought it’d be nice to be on good terms.”

“Good terms?” He scoffed. “You’re a Gryffindor. I’d rather you be a bloody Hufflepuff.”

“How about neutral terms?”

Even though he wasn’t looking at her, she could catch a glimpse of him rolling his eyes. “If neutral terms mean you being quiet, then, yes. Please.”

“I’ll be plenty quiet. After I hear about your opinion on what happened in Potions today with Brown and Weasley. When Snape yelled at them for holding hands.”

He let out a sharp sigh. “Believe it or not, I actually have better things to do than keep up with whatever stuff your house does.”

“But…?” Y/N pressed. She may not’ve spent her time at Hogwarts as Malfoy’s best friend, but she had grown up with the boy, and she could tell when he was holding back.

He stared blankly at her.

“Come on. I’m literally the only person in my house who’ll openly admit that they’re disgusted by that dynamic. I’m begging you.”

She wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but she thought she saw a flicker of amusement dance across his face for a moment. “Your house sounds more like a cult than a student group.”

“Oh, says the one from Slytherin,” said Y/N. 

“We only act like that because our families are close. What’s your excuse? Hormones and Quidditch culture?”

“Touché.” As much as she wanted to fight back, she bit her tongue. Whatever she was doing was making progress, and quicker progress than she was expecting. Her next task was to make him laugh, and she was emboldened by the fact that she could potentially be able to kill two birds with one stone. 

They sat in silence for a little bit, but this time, it was a comfortable silence. Malfoy wasn’t staring at the clock on the wall or rolling his eyes at her every move, so she had time to plot.

On one hand, she could make a fool of herself--drop her inkwell, say something stupid in class, fall down the stairs--but she had a sneaking suspicion that her sorry attempts at slapstick humor wouldn’t land well with Draco anymore. He’d become so serious lately, so solemn. This was the most light hearted she’d seen him, even compared with how he acted with the rest of his Slytherin lackeys. 

On the other, she could try to sell out her friends. She could confide in him how “big” Hermione’s teeth were (they weren’t even big) or tell him that Ron smelled of eggs (true, but that was a low blow). Something told her that this would be much more successful, but she wasn’t willing to turn to that so quickly--she was already a week ahead as it was. 

“What is it?” 

Malfoy’s bored drawl cut through her flurried thoughts. Her cheeks turned pink as she blinked, noticing that she’d been staring at him for far too long. “Nothing. Sorry. I just spaced out.”

“Sure,” he mumbled, giving her another suspicious look before turning back to his work. “Can you maybe space out somewhere other than my face?”

“Where’s your vanity, Malfoy?” she pressed as she leaned back in her chair, hair swinging over the back. 

“Shut up,” he snapped. She could tell that whatever connection they’d had in the fleeting moments beforehand was being burnt by the second, but her embarrassment and pride drove her forward.

“Merlin, what’s got you so wound up?” she prompted, noting how deliciously unraveled he looked at this. “Where’s my cool, collected Slytherin?”

He slammed hands on his desk at this, whipping around to glare at her. “What’s your angle, Y/L/N?”

“What?”

“Why are you bothering me?”

“Because I want to.” She beamed.

Malfoy ran his fingers through his hair, mussing up the usual neat manner in which it normally laid on his head. “Compelling. What do you want from me?”

“What do I want…?” She tilted her head at him, narrowing her eyes. “What?”

“You never talk to me,” he explained. “Obviously, I prefer it like that. I can’t help but wonder why suddenly you want to be making small talk. So, what is it you want from me?”

“Malfoy,” she said. “I think you’re a spoiled prick who thinks far too highly of himself and drives me insane. But I also think that you’re funnier than what my friends give you credit for. Granted, you’ve always been annoying, but I don’t want anything from you. I just want to, I dunno, make these next few months less insufferable.” Somehow the lie slipped through her teeth easier than any of her previous bluffs. 

He frowned, his mouth opening once before firmly screwing shut into a scowl. “Oh.”

“No offense, Malfoy, but what else can you offer me other than your dazzling personality?” she teased. “You know my family. I don’t need to blackmail you to pay for jewelry I’ve had my eye on or anything.”

He scoffed. “As if I’d say yes.”

“Exactly my point. It’d be fucking weird. Merlin, I’m not trying to butter you up to buy out Borgin & Burkes for me. Do I give off gold-digger vibes? Is that what this is about?”

“Fucking hell.” Malfoy turned to her in disbelief. “Do you ever shut up?”

“Answer my question. Or better yet, pull out your wallet. Wait, did I say that out loud?” She mimed surprise and covered her mouth. “Oh no! What will my mother say now that I’ve squandered my last chance of hitching you? There’s no way I can go home for Christmas break now.”

He rolled his eyes so hard she found herself worried for a moment that they were going to just permanently get stuck in the back of his head. “Hate to break it to you, but you didn’t really have a shot to begin with.”

Ouch.

She huffed and dramatically flopped over the back of her chair, hoping he couldn’t see that she’d flinched. “So you don’t think I’m pretty??” 

“Y/L/N,” he snapped, his voice a low warning. “Can I please just work? What is with you today?”

Y/N sent him a sour look before giving her Charms work another look. Malfoy was awfully quiet, and when she snuck any glances at him later on, he was angled to face away from her. 

Why did she feel like such shit all of a sudden? She cataloged the past events, trying to pinpoint the exact moment that her stomach dropped. It all made sense when the words “You didn’t really have a shot to begin with” echoed around her head once again. She’d failed Harry. She’d failed Hermione. There was no way that she was going to be able to get him to reveal his secrets now--it’s not like he was confiding in even his closest friends as Harry made apparent when he explained how vague his statements were to his fellow Slytherins on the train. Her only chance would’ve been to somehow get him to fall for her, and that wasn’t going...great. And it had been a pipedream to begin with.

When McGonagall swished back into the classroom to dismiss them, Y/N shot out of there without even looking at Malfoy again. It felt like something was lodged in her throat and she was not going to cry in front of him. No, no. She had to make it to Hermione to tell her what was going on. 

“Y/L/N?” 

Malfoy’s voice made her pause in her flee as she nearly rounded the corner in front of her, but she refused to look back. It was far enough away that it was possible she didn’t hear him.

“Wait!”

She was up the stairs and speed walking as fast as her legs could carry her to the Gryffindor tower before he even saw which way she went.

~

“I don’t think you understand,” Y/N wailed by the fire as Hermione rubbed her shoulders and Harry sat awkwardly perched on the couch. “I can’t do this. The only way this was going to work was if he had a crush on me, and I don’t think he ever will. I fucked it up! The one time you guys need me, I fuck it up! I let you down!”

Hermione’s left hand stopped its rubbing to rest firmly on her shoulder. “Please don’t be upset. You didn’t let us down. Plus, you’re only, what...two weeks in? You don’t need him to like you to make it work. Just getting him to trust you will be enough, and you’re good at that.”

“I don’t think so,” continued Y/N. “Harry said that he wasn’t even that open on the train when he overheard him talking to all of his friends. And those are purebloods that he likes! That he’s trusted and known for years and years! I’m a friend of you guys, and he knows it. I think he’d figure it out quick.”

“We should take every chance we can get,” said Harry from his spot a few feet away, his eyes lazy and unfocused on the fire crackling in front of them. “You won’t let us down if you can’t get anything, Y/N, you know that! But if you got anything from him, it’d be incredible. It’s a win-win. I don’t understand why you’re so upset.”

“I’m not upset,” she said, her tone becoming defensive. “I just...don’t want to mess this up. I know how much it’d mean if I succeeded.”

“So just try!” Hermione said. “There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m sorry he was kind of mean to you today, but I don’t think that should bother you too much. He should be more afraid of what you’d say if you didn’t care about being a good person.”

“Fucking right on there,” she said, wiping away the frustrated tears. “If I was honest with him, he’d leave crying. He should be grateful that I’m taking this bet so I actually have to be nice to him.”

“That’s the spirit.” Harry leaned over to smack her back like he did his Quidditch teammates after a winning match. 

After they’d parted their ways with Harry, Hermione and Y/N made their way slowly up the stairwell to the girls’ dorms. 

“Y/N?” Hermione asked, breaking the silence. 

“Yeah?”

“Do you think, er…” She paused. “Do you think you were really upset about failing us today? Or was it something else?”

“What do you mean?” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows. “I don’t see what else it would be.”

“I’m sorry,” responded the bright witch. “Forget I ever asked. It was a stupid thing to wonder about.”

“Weirdo,” she teased as she waved her a goodnight and made her way to her dorm.

The next morning, Y/N busied herself with revising her Charms essay over her breakfast--a cup of tea and a half-buttered piece of toast--while Hermione leaned over her shoulder, nodding or grimacing at the corrections she made. 

“Did you work during detention? Like, at all?”

“‘Mione,” moaned Y/N. “It’s too early for this. I don’t want a lecture. I just couldn’t focus.”

Her warm brown eyes narrowed as they bore into Y/N’s face. “Why were you distracted?”

“Oh, I, uh…” She stumbled over her words as Hermione drew closer. “Merlin, Hermione. I told you last night. I just felt like I was letting you all down.”

“Mhm,” was all she got in response before her best friend tilted her head back down to the parchment in front of her. 

Y/N sat, completely puzzled. What was Hermione on about? She’d been straightforward with what was hurting her--she didn’t want to mess up the only task the Golden Trio had ever given her--and, even if she hadn’t been, Hermione was smart enough to deduce things for herself. So what was she thinking about?

Her eyes drifted over to the Slytherin table where the usual 6th year pureblood gang loitered about, drinking black coffee and sulking--but Malfoy was not to be seen. She jumped when her eyes met Parkinson, her dark eyes burning into her soul as a deep scowl was written across her face.

“Malfoy, what the fuck do you want?” Ron’s voice pulled her back to reality to see him glaring somewhere behind her.

“I wasn’t here to talk to you,” a familiar voice drawled. 

She turned to see Malfoy standing behind her, a sneer written all across his stupidly pretty face.

“Miss me already?” asked Y/N as she raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. 

“For fuck’s sake, stop doing that,” he mumbled, reaching into his pocket and throwing a box at her. “You forgot your quill. I took the liberty of properly storing it, because it seems like you lot like to just throw them in your bag. Makes me physically ill to watch.”

“Oh.” Y/N studied the intricate box in her hands before tucking it away in her knapsack. “Thanks? I guess?”

He nodded curtly, contorting his face into one last scowl to send to Ron before turning and leaving,

“So,” Hermione began, cutting her omelet at a much brisker pace, “I think we need to have a little chat. About...all of this.” 

“Why?” 

“Not right now,” she said, her voice low and her eyes flicking at Ron and Harry sitting across from them. “I don’t think it’d benefit us for them to hear.” 

“Ok?” She cautiously took a bite out of her toast and continued staring Hermione down. “You’re scaring me.”

“It’s...I don’t know. I thought I was crazy for thinking this, but it seems like we need to talk about it anyways. For this little mission of yours to work, we need to be totally open and honest with each other.”

“Sure.” Y/N took another bite. “I honestly have no clue what’s got you so on edge, though.”

“Who’s on edge?” Harry asked, leaning over the table and stealing the croissant on Y/N’s plate. 

“Hey!” she exclaimed. “Do you not see the entire plate of them over there?”

He laughed, sending her an easy grin and dunking a piece into the hot chocolate in his mug. “Finders keepers. Say, Y/N, are you busy next weekend? Ron and Lavender are going to Madame Puddingfoot’s together, and I know Hermione isn’t going to want to take a weekend off studying to go to Hogsmeade, so I thought that maybe we could go cause some trouble at the Cauldron.”

“If you stop stealing my food we can talk about it,” replied Y/N, the corners of her lips tugging up into a grin. 

“Deal.”

Hermione tugged at her arm. “I just realized I need to get something out of my room before we watch the Quidditch game. Will you come with me, Y/N?”

“Sure!” said Y/N. “Gee, I’m rolling in invitations today.”

Once they exited the dining hall, though, it immediately became evident that they were not actually heading up to the dorms. Hermione dragged her into the nearest bathroom before casting a quick silencing charm.

“Myrtle! Are you in here?” Only when she was sure silence was the only response to her question, she seemed satisfied to turn to Y/N and begin talking. “When were you going to tell me that you have a thing for Malfoy?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Y/N felt the heat that had risen to her cheeks from the last quill-encounter re-emerge.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” said Hermione. “Are you seriously going to expect me to believe that you nearly sobbed over some random pureblood git telling you you never had a chance with him because it might slow down your progress with helping us? Actually? I’ve seen you look more ecstatic about hearing that your dear granny passed away.”

“To be fair, she had really good life insurance,” Y/N cut in. “And she was an old hag. Never had a nice thing to say to me.”

“Life insurance or no life insurance...you can’t seriously expect me to believe that you were just upset about not being able to help us as much. That was ridiculous. I don’t buy it. And the way you blushed like crazy when he came over to talk to you--the way you try and pretend like you can flirt...please. Y/N, it’s clear as day. I know you, and I know you have a crush on him.”

“Hermione!” hissed Y/N. “You have no clue what you’re talking about!”

“Yes, I think I do,” she pushed. “And you need to be honest with me if you want to be of any help right now.”

Her bossiness lit a fire of rage in Y/N’s chest, but she sucked in a deep breath, shutting her eyes before releasing it. “Believe me when I say I haven’t ever acknowledged any feelings I may or may not have towards him.”

“Ok.” Her face softened. “I know it might take time, but I honestly do think I’m right. Please just...be careful. This is a really odd situation to get caught up in if you actually have feelings for the other person. You’re trying to manipulate him, for Merlin’s sake.”

“And if I have these feelings for him, I’ve done a pretty damn good job of suppressing them for however long they’ve been here.” 

Hermione sighed. “That’s true. I’m just saying that spending this much time with him is probably only going to make things worse. Will you please tell me if anything changes between the two of you?”

“Anything changes?” Y/N’s voice was dripping in disbelief. “You’re joking. Even if I was obsessed with him I don’t think there’s ever a chance of hell in anything ‘changing’ between us. He said it himself.”

“You know what I mean, Y/N,” responded Hermione. “Just promise me, ok?”

“Ok,” said Y/N. “I promise.”

That seemed to satiate Hermione as she nodded approvingly at her friend. “I think it goes without saying that Ron and Harry shouldn’t hear about this.”

“There’s nothing to hear about, but yes.” She shuffled her feet before meeting Hermione’s eyes again. “Er, I’m sorry for this being a weird question, but would you mind coming along with me and Harry to Hogsmeade? I don’t really see him like...that...and I don’t want to read into it too much and reject him if he is doing it just platonically, but just in case. Y’know.”

“Sure,” said Hermione, even though her face took on that curious expression yet again. “Anyways, you actually did forget something--you’re not wearing a single piece of Gryffindor colors for our game today. You should probably run back to your dorm before Harry and Ron notice.”

After they said their goodbyes, Y/N found herself turning over the things Hermione had said to her in her head. Did she like Malfoy? No, no fucking way. But a part of her really did think he was funny. And of course it was natural to feel rejected when anyone insinuates that they’d never consider you as a romantic interest without jest. 

Once she’d made it up to her room and grabbed a few scarves, Y/N made to put her red cloak into her satchel. Her fingers ghosted over the box that Malfoy had given her and scoffed once she saw the Malfoy crest engraved into the rich wood. 

Narcissistic snot.

Her curiosity got the better of her as she reached over to open up the elaborately decorated box. What met her was not just one quill but two--one of which was most certainly not her own. 

She took them both out, tossing the old one in a pile with her other trusty familiar white feather quills and picked up the other one. It looked familiar--identical to the quill that she’d complimented Malfoy on in Potions about a week ago. Butterflies began to flutter like crazy in her stomach as she turned it over in her hand, watching the gray and green glitter together and the magic sparkles cast a gentle light over her bed. She generally avoided dipping into her family’s pockets to get school supplies any more than she had to--it’s not like it made her friends feel good about themselves when they were reminded how rich her family was--but this might be what she could consider to be an exception. She hadn’t even liked his quill all that much when she first saw it in Potions--but it was one of those things that was so noticeable that it made sense to compliment him. 

She gave it one last look before tucking it back away into the elaborately decorated box. Perhaps she had spoken too soon when she’d told Hermione all hope was lost. 

~ 

When Monday morning Potions class with the Slytherins rolled around, Y/N wasted no time. Malfoy was alone--even his Slytherin lackeys seemed to know not to bother him. Just what she needed.

“Malfoy,” she greeted, setting her bag down on his table and looking him dead on. He raised to meet her eyes, his eyebrow raised.

“Can I help you?”

“I just wanted you to know that I also really like your immense fortune,” she said. “And your manor.”

“Well, a lot of people do,” he mumbled as he looked away to dig through something in his bag. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought he was blushing.

“I’m just letting you know,” she continued. “In case you were wanting to give them away. It worked for the quill, so I thought, well, why not?”

He exhaled, a deep and annoyed sound escaping his lips as he rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. “I knew I shouldn’t have done that.”

“You really didn’t have to.”

“I was getting sick of it,” he told her. “I never can stick with one quill for too long, and I thought it’d be a shame to toss it. I thought it’d be better to be charitable--it’s not like your family could get an appointment at Barnaby’s if they tried.”

“Hey!” Y/N said indignantly. “You don’t know that!”

“I’ve heard your parents try to speak French,” he said. “If you’re anything like them, you'll be barred from ever entering the country.”

“Malfoy!” 

His lips turned up into a smile, a soft laugh escaping his lips. Y/N suppressed the urge to grin in return. Task 3? Done. “What?”

“I can’t even argue with you,” she said. “It’s tragic.”

She stared at the empty stool next to him, wondering if she should just take the leap and sit with him. Malfoy seemed unbothered by her presence as he opened up his Potions book and set it next to his cauldron. “Do you want a partner?” The words left her lips before she could stop them.

He cast her a curious look before glancing at the empty stool. “It depends. Are you going to be annoying?”

She gasped in faux-offense. “What makes you think I could ever be annoying?”

“On that note, I think you better get back to Potter.” He motioned with his head towards the side of the room where most of her Gryffindor friends were chatting. Harry was staring at her, his fists clenched by his side.

Y/N smirked and sent him a wink. 

“On that note,” she said, careful to imitate Malfoy’s drawl and sending him a smug grin, “Maybe I better sit here.”

“Hm.” He awarded her one more uninterested look before rolling up his sleeves and setting out the ingredients for the potion they were brewing--Amortentia. 

She tried not to make it too obvious that she was staring at his left arm, but there was nothing on it like Harry had told her. It was just pure, unblemished pale skin that shimmered under the light. Before he could catch her looking, she quickly sat down and started pulling out her own things. After a short pause, she decided to take out the silver quill. She’d left his box back in her room--she wouldn’t be caught dead with something that had the Malfoy crest on it--but she’d wrapped it in a pouch with her own family’s emblem on the front, shimmering in gold and red.

“Why don’t you just buy your own charmed quills?” asked Malfoy after they had chopped all of the gillweed. 

“You already know. We’re an abomination to the French. We aren’t allowed entry.”

“That’s not what I mean.” His tone was meant to read as exasperated, but his words still seemed good-natured.

“I...well.” She frowned. She’d never confessed this to anyone, but she supposed that Malfoy wasn’t going to find a way to use it against her. “I don’t like to flaunt my family wealth. I think it makes people, at least in Gryffindor, like me less. I learned that pretty early on.”

He hummed something in response before sliding all the gillweed into the cauldron, turning the clear liquid into a bubbling forest green. 

“Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?” she asked. 

He took his time finishing the note he was jotting down before he answered. “I’m not being nice. It’s just called being civil. You said it yourself, we see each other at balls sometimes.”

“We probably won’t anymore, though,” she mused. 

Malfoy’s eyebrows shot up, but his voice remained low and steady. “No. I suppose that we probably won’t. Is your family part of the Order?”

“Hm. Are you a Death Eater?” she asked brazenly. He had no business asking her something like that, and he knew it. Especially not with his family connections.

“What do you think?” he drawled, waving his bared left arm in front of her face.

“Bullshit. That doesn’t mean anything after we learned Glamour spells last year.”

“Guess you’ll just have to trust me, then,” he responded, focusing intently on the bubbling liquid in front of him instead of her face. 

“I guess so,” she replied. The weight of her Glamour comment began to sink in--she was right, after all. How had she not thought of it before? 

But he was right when he told her she just had to trust him. Could she? Y/N rested her chin in the palm of her propped hand as she watched him work. A piece of disobedient moonbeam blonde hair dangled over his forehead as he diced up the unicorn tail, his eyebrows furrowed in focus.

“Is this why you want to be my partner?” he finally asked after a few moments of silence. “So you can just stare at me while I do all the work?”

“There’s the vain Draco I know,” she said, grinning as she leaned over to punch his shoulder. 

He rolled his eyes again, scooting out of arm's reach before flipping back to Amortentia in his book. “You’re insufferable. And it’s Malfoy to you.”

“Fine, fine, Malfoy,” said Y/N. “What do you want me to do, then?”

He shoved his cutting board towards her, the half-diced unicorn tail staring up at her. “Finish dicing this and then stir it in. 9 times clockwise. I did almost all of the work, but it should be finished after that.”

Y/N sent him another glare before doing as he said. The glittering quill kept catching her attention from the corner of her eye, and she couldn’t help but notice that Malfoy was writing with just a plain white quill for the time being. HE really did just give it to me. 

After the final ingredients were diced, she began to stir, each rotation around the cauldron turning the potion to a different color. It began as the bubbling green, then a deep sea blue, then a royal purple, a crimson blood red, a glimmering gold--before settling into a pale silver.

“Wow. It’s beautiful,” she breathed. “It’s like...liquid starlight.”

“All thanks to me,” said Malfoy. “You didn’t even have to crush the Mandrake root.”

“You’re such a gentleman, Malfoy.” Her voice dripped in fake sincerity. “So, what do you smell?”

Y/N was expecting him to scowl at her and tell her that it wasn’t any of her business, but he actually leaned over the cauldron and shut his eyes. 

“I’ve never been good at explaining what things smell like.” 

“Fair.”

Once he leaned back, she took his place, shutting her eyes and breathing in a tendril of the beautiful potion. “Whoa.”

“What’s it for you?”

“I don’t...know,” she admitted. “It’s not something I can describe note by note. It kind of reminds me of something, though.”

“Something with Potter, I presume?” he said, casually twirling his generic white quill around his fingers.

“No,” she answered, surprised at how honest she was being. “It’s…I’m trying to think. Er, it’s very lavish. It reminds me of when I was younger and my parents would drag me to galas and balls and whatnot.” 

He stared at her in silence.

“What about you? Does it remind you of anything?”

“Yeah.” Malfoy reached forward to put a lid on the cauldron, effectively shutting out the steam from reaching either of them.

“Ooh, have you figured it out yet?” she teased, crossing her legs and turning to face him head on. “Let me guess. Is it someone like…”

She paused, a wicked smile stretching across her face. “Oh my god, is it Hermione? Or Luna? Or...help me out here!”

“No.” His voice was sour. 

“Ah, it’s Parkinson then, isn’t it? Tell her I’m sorry for throwing food at her if you ever have the chance. Make sure to add the part where I’m more sorry that I missed.” 

“Y/L/N!”

“It’s okay. I’d be a little let down, too.”

“Can you please just…” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Please just stop. I haven’t figured it out. Okay? Happy now?”

“I’ll leave you alone,” said Y/N. “Under one condition. You give me a hint. I’ve given you everything I know! This isn’t fair.”

“This doesn’t have to be fair,” he hissed.

Y/N kept the easy smile plastered on her face while she waited, her eyebrows raised in anticipation.

“You’re not going to let up until I tell you, are you?”

“You’d be right on that,” she said, sugary sweet.

“Fine. It’s something kind of floral.” 

“How descriptive,” she snorted as she slumped back in her stool, thinking hard. Where had she smelled it before? Y/N shut her eyes, leaning her head back and trying to immerse herself into the memory that had surfaced. It smelled like grandeur, like an open ballroom full of guests wearing expensive perfumes. She could feel spinning, spinning like she was with a dance partner. Who was it? She couldn’t quite remember--the last ball she’d been to had been years ago--but after she leaned forward and smelled the Amortentia once more time, she came to a conclusion.

“I had to have danced with him at a gala before,” she announced to Malfoy, who was looking quite unimpressed. “So I know it’s no one from Gryffindor.”

“Interesting,” was all he said before turning to his parchment and jotting something down.

Late that night, while Y/N was settling into bed, a strange idea struck her. Sure that the thought that was nagging her was completely fruitless, she had no trouble with reaching into her desk and pulling out the Malfoy box. She just had to check if she wanted to sleep well.

Here goes.

She closed her eyes, imagining the expensive scent of her Amortentia. Then she opened it, stuck her nose into the fabric, and breathed in.

Well, fuck. 

~

The internal debate going through Y/N the next day at the breakfast table was intense. On one hand, she really, really wanted to just tell Hermione that Malfoy had been in her Amortentia and she was completely fucked, but on the other…

She glanced at the witch next to her as she methodically sliced her toast into perfect, equivalent squares before dunking them in jam. Y/N liking Malfoy was not going to fit into her toast cubes. If she said anything, she would lose her excuse to talk to her about him. And her excuse to try and get close with him. 

Perhaps I can figure it out tomorrow. 

When tomorrow came, she still hadn’t made progress. Y/N was beginning to think that her so called “revelation” after they brewed Amortentia was truly just complete and utter bullshit. So what that his quill box smelled like it--all rich people kind of smelled the same at some points, and so did their houses. There was a reason why she couldn’t immediately pin the scent to anything--it wasn’t like she even knew what Malfoy smelled like.

But the truth remained that she was still attracted to someone who happened to be a rich Slytherin--so naturally, her mind began to wander. There’s no way it was Zabini--his mother owned a fragrance line, and she would’ve instantly recognized the cologne that she knew Mrs. Zabini made him wear--and there was absolutely no way that it was Crabbe or Goyle, so the only other Slytherin it left was...Nott? But that didn’t make sense either--she’d never spoken to him before in her life, even less than Malfoy. So perhaps it would be better if she didn’t think on it.

The next day of potion brewing came on a stormy Wednesday. Malfoy and Y/N worked silently together to brew a Draught of Dreamless Sleep. She was surprised to see how practiced his movements were--he didn’t even have to reference the book to recite the exact measurements and directions.

“Do you have bad dreams or something?” she asked, mostly as a joke. He didn’t seem to pick up on the light-heartedness and stiffened up.

“No?”

“Gee, you’re talkative today,” Y/N said, trying to ignore how her hand brushed his by accident when she added the scoop of anjelica. 

“Excuse me for not entertaining you,” he drawled. “I wasn’t expecting to have such a needy potions partner today.”

“I am not needy!” she gasped, smacking his arm. “I’ve sat in silence for a full hour!”

He rolled his eyes (he was always rolling his eyes) and gave the potion one more final stir before setting the lid on the cauldron. “Think you can do that again? It needs to simmer for that long.”

“Just because you’re so sweet to me,” crooned Y/N before pulling out a heavy book from her satchel. Her Charms exam was tomorrow, and, naturally, she had decided to save all of her revising work until the night before. The textbook stared back at her as she jotted a few notes onto a previously blank sheet of parchment. The quill in her hands was light and glided across the paper like the tears of Merlin, something that she had forgotten quills could do. All of her familiar basic quills were okay, but they were prone to skidding and breaking. This nib hadn’t worn down in the slightest, still at a smooth and defined peak.

Y/N couldn’t believe that, out of all people, the person to give her such a thoughtful gift was Draco Malfoy. She tried to sneak a glance at him then, moving her curtain of hair away from her face. It took all she had in her to not be startled at the fact that he was already looking back, a slightly concerned expression etched into his face.

“Is something wrong?” 

He snapped out of it the moment the words left her lips, his face hardening. “No.”

“Forget I ever asked,” she responded, turning away from him for good and focusing on her textbook. No, there was no way he could be what she smelled in her Amortentia. She liked to think that her subconscious wasn’t secretly a masochist.

~

Friday evening swung around again, much to Y/N’s dismay. She’d had a talk with Hermione later on in the week, confirming that no, she did not smell Malfoy in her Amortentia, and that yes, she was still abiding by the plan that Hermione had so carefully laid out for her. It did bother her a bit that she could be lying to her on both fronts--but at the end of the day, she was going to get the answers that Harry wanted, no matter what. 

She just had to get through the scary ass castle first. She’d forgotten how spooky Hogwarts was after her previous sprint to the door, and this time she was positively trembling by the time she turned another dark corner on her way to McGonagall’s office. Yet another cursed item had been found in the girl’s lavatory on the 3rd floor, right by some of the classes that she had taken earlier in the week. The fact that whoever was out there was capable of dark magic and actively wanted to hurt people terrified her, all that Gryffindor bravery be damned. 

So when she heard footsteps suddenly right beside her, it was no wonder that she jumped feet in the air.

“Fuck!” she sputtered, turning to see a very familiar blonde in Slytherin robes. He was frozen in place, curiously looking her up and down.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“Malfoy,” Y/N said, resisting the urge to melt into a puddle of relief at the sight. This wasn’t right--wasn’t he a suspected Death Eater? “You scared me.”

He scoffed, digging his hands into his pockets. “You’re supposed to be the brave ones, right?”

“Huh?”

Malfoy motioned to her Gryffindor jumper. 

“Oh.” Heat rushed to her cheeks as she realized what he meant. “I dunno. I just get jumpy around the castle at night.”

“No shit.” They’d begun to walk now, side by side. Y/N couldn’t remember ever walking with him before--she’d always been late. “Do you think I forgot the way you screamed when you saw me at the tower?”

“Shut up,” she grumbled, reaching over and giving him a healthy shove. 

They walked in silence together. Malfoy moved noticeably slower than he normally did so he wouldn’t leave Y/N’s shorter legs in tow. McGonagall seemed pleasantly surprised to see Malfoy hold the door open for her.

“I’m glad to see you two getting along,” she said, giving Y/N a hesitant nod before grabbing the stack of papers on her desk. “I’ll be back momentarily.”

After she exited the room with a swish of her deep maroon robes, Malfoy turned to her. “Are you scared of the dark or something?”

She turned, ready to send a biting retort his way, before she noticed how gray his pallor looked...and how big the circles under his eyes were. “You look like shit, Malfoy. Is everything okay?”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t change the subject.”

“Oh. Um…” Y/N pause before deciding that the little tidbit of information she was about to reveal wasn’t that important anyways. “I’m just on edge at night at Hogwarts is all. Especially with all that weird shit going on with all the cursed objects. So I kind of hate walking to and from detention.”

Malfoy let out something that sounded like a strained laugh.

“You didn’t answer my question. Is everything okay?”

“None of your business,” he snipped. “I just had a bad night.”

“Do you have trouble sleeping?” she asked, unable to keep herself from prying.

“Something like that.”

“Have you tried lavender?”

“I’m sorry?” He frowned.

“Lavender. Like the essential oil. It’s nothing magical,” she explained. “I just like to spray it in my bed sometimes before I sleep. Or I’ll use a few drops in a diffuser. I have trouble sleeping too, all the time, actually.” She shut her mouth before she had any chance to ramble further.

“It sounds a bit too floral for my taste.”

“Here.” Y/N dug around in her satchel, searching for the tiny spray bottle she kept with her at all times. “Borrow this and spritz your pillow with it before you sleep, and then tell me it’s too floral. I promise it helps.”

He glared at her. She extended her hand with the white bottle that was covered in purple decor, raising her eyebrows expectantly. “I won’t tell anyone that you have it if that’s what you’re worried about or whatever.”

“Fine,” he snapped, snatching it from her hand and dragging his fingers over her palm for just a second. “Don’t expect me to actually try it, though.”

“Just give it a sniff.” 

He huffed, but to her surprise, he actually uncapped the top and held the spray hole up to his nose, inhaling in once.

The effect was immediate. Malfoy’s face completely drained of color, becoming even grayer than he’d been when she first saw him under the light. The briefest expression of surprise fleeted over his face before he wiped it off, replacing it with something unreadable and tossing it back at her. “I’m not using this.”

“Why not?”

“Not quite my taste,” he spat.

Y/N was shocked by the sudden outburst, watching as he continued to glower at his desk. “I don’t understand. It really does help you sleep. I know it seems stupid, but I...really think you should try it. Just once, if anything.”

“Why does it matter so much to you?”

“Because I--” Y/N stopped herself before she let her mouth run without check. “I know what it’s like is all. I feel like shit if I don’t sleep. Plus, I have to spend time with you every Friday. I imagine that you’ll be slightly more tolerable if you sleep more.”

“Hm.” He sent her a particularly venomous glare. “Thanks for your concern. Consider me uninterested, though.”

“You break my heart,” she teased, pulling back her hand and placing the bottle on the corner of her desk. An idea struck her.

“And just what are you smiling about?” Draco said. His lips were turned into a sour frown. 

“Nothing, nothing,” she responded, her voice adopting a sing-song quality. All she had to do now was wait. 

He exhaled, a deep and exasperated sound. Then he turned back to whatever was in front of him.

McGonagall entered the room a few minutes later, nodding cordially at the comfortable silence the two students were in. What she didn’t know was that Y/N was waiting, just waiting for Malfoy to dig through his satchel and stop paying attention to his quill.

She got her opportunity a few minutes later, when McGonagall called him up to look over his latest Transfiguration homework.

“Mr. Malfoy, I’m happy to see that you’re taking more initiative in getting your assignments done...I have to say that you had me a bit concerned…”

While her professor kept Malfoy occupied, Y/N darted over and grabbed his quill. 

Ha.

Malfoy frowned down at his desk when he returned, giving Y/N a suspicious look.

“What is it, Malfoy?” she said, hoping her voice conveyed nothing that might hint that she took something of his.

“Nothing.”

“Hm.”

The rest of detention passed without any more discussion. Y/N was eager to run up to her dorm and set up her plan to be carried out the next morning, but she calmed her bouncing leg and forced herself to keep a straight face when McGonagall dismissed them.

“Got somewhere to be, Y/L/N?” Malfoy’s voice called after her as she sped down the hall towards the Gryffindor tower. 

“What’s it to you?” she fired back.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he picked up his pace until he was walking next to her.

“Aren’t the Slytherin dorms the other direction?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Are they?” 

She allowed herself to be amused by the way words flowed out of his mouth when he was slightly out of breath. “Why are you walking with me?”

“You said it yourself.” He kept his eyes cast on the cobblestones below them. “You don’t like walking alone at night.”

“Uh...oh.” Against her will, her feet froze and she was glued to the ground. “You’re joking, right?”

If the lighting wasn’t so dim, Y/N would have good reason to believe he was blushing with how intently he was studying his fingernails. “By all means, I can be.”

“No! No, I didn’t mean it like that,” she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth. “Er...I’d like you to. If you want to, that is.”

He shrugged, an elfish expression spreading across his face as he took in how nervous she was. “Well, come to think of it, you didn’t ask me to. I suppose I better get back to the Slytherin dorms anyways. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near the Gryffindor Tower right now.”

“Why?” she squeaked.

“Oh, you know, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that most of the cursed things showed up on your side of the castle, yeah?”

She gulped.

“I gotta get going. Don’t want to stand around here too long. This place gives me the creeps.” With that, he turned and began walking away.

“Malfoy?” She hated how timid her voice sounded. “Consider this me asking you to walk with me.”

He slowly faced her, a sly grin plastered all over his face. “Oh? Did I hear that correctly? Do you want me to?”

“I’m only going to say this once,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and trying her best to look intimidating. “Walk with me. Please.”

“I guess I’ll take it.” Malfoy glided down the hallway to her in just a couple steps, sending her yet another smug look.

“You made up that whole ordeal about Gryffindor Tower being targeted, didn’t you?” asked Y/N as they rounded the corner to reach the staircase leading up to the common room.

“You bought it, didn’t you?” 

“Who says I didn’t just want you to walk with me?” pushed Y/N. This was as close to flirting as it would ever get for her--but it looked like, somehow, things were falling into place. The heat in her cheeks must’ve been from the excitement of making progress. 

Malfoy’s toe caught on the first stair and, if it weren’t for Y/N’s steady grip on his arm, would’ve made him go sprawling across the stone steps. 

“Merlin, Malfoy,” she said, immediately dropping her grip from his shoulder. “What’s gotten into you?”

He responded with an unceremonial snort and a withering glare. The rest of the walk was done in silence, and Y/N noted how careful his footwork became around the Gryffindor steps.

“This is me,” she finally said once they reached the tapestry for the Gryffindor dorms. He seemed surprised, and only then did it strike her that he’d probably never seen the entrance himself before. “Thanks for being such a gentleman.”

“I live to serve,” he drawled.

And just like that, he was gone.

~

Her plan was simple. She had located an extra monogrammed pouch in her cabinet, a rich mahogany color with her family crest in a vivid gold, and placed both his quill and the lavender bottle. She would corner him after breakfast or follow him out of the Great Hall and show him then.

However, it was becoming increasingly obvious that Malfoy was not coming to Saturday morning breakfast. Many people didn’t, but Y/N had never known him to miss it. His normal spot was vacant, and it certainly wasn’t a house-made decision as all of his Slytherin friends were present and accounted for. Y/N couldn’t say for sure, but she could see Parkinson turning her head to the entrance every time the doors thudded open before glancing back to Malfoy’s empty seat when it turned out to be someone else.

Where was that loser?

“Excuse me,” she said to the trio as she stood up and brushed off her skirt. “I think I’m going to go get some fresh air. I have a bitch of a headache.”

Hermione and Harry expressed their sympathies while Ron gave her a characteristic mumble through his mouthful of bread, and she was off with the pouch secured in her cloak pocket.

It was a clear November morning, clearly Mother Nature’s attempt to slowly move the world from the crisp autumn to a cold winter. The sky was clear and the sun’s rays warmed her skin at a slanted angle, casting weak shadows across the courtyard.

If I were Malfoy, where would I go to sulk?

The obvious answer was either the Slytherin common room or his own dorm, but that was without a doubt out of question for her. She wasn’t even sure if she possessed the knowledge to guess which corridor the entrance was in, much less work out the password herself. Beyond that, just getting into the common room and waiting would be...She shivered. It would be a terrible idea while she was clearly wearing a cloak in Gryffindor red and gold trim. 

As she continued her aimless wander around the castle, she heard the slightest sound from the girl’s bathroom on the second floor. It wasn’t ever really in use--no one came in there to actually use the loo unless they wanted Myrtle to materialize and tell them her supernatural troubles while they were in the middle of their personal business--but it was often the source of strange happenings. 

Like the cursed objects she thought to herself, her nails digging into her palms. But did she care about that right now? Surely cursed objects seemed somewhat...suspicious. Dark magic was difficult to hide, and to a pureblood eye that grew up around magical objects, cursed things shouldn’t be impossible to spot. 

And, plus, it was Malfoy she was looking for. None of the students had died from the curses so far, and if she was able to break through and learn something, or at the very least gain his trust, the reward to the Order would be more than worth it.

She stepped in, expecting to see an entirely empty bathroom with perhaps a ghost rattling around at the sink. Instead, a different sight awaited her.

Draco Malfoy was clutching the edge of the cracked sink basin in front of him, rocking himself back and forth and shaking. From her vantage point, she could see that he was dressed in his normal garb--a black ensemble--but his hair was unruly and messy, sticking up in the back like he’d hurriedly tugged something over his head.

A strangled gasp grounded her and halted her curious observations. Malfoy began to make these awful sobbing sounds, like he could barely manage to breathe. 

Y/N was frozen in place as she surveyed her options. If she stayed and tried to talk to him, he might react in anger or hurt her. But if she just left him, like this, all alone...She swallowed once before stepping forward.

“Malfoy? Are you okay?” Obviously he’s not, you bint said a voice deep in her brain. She pushed it aside as he swung around, his wand raised and his eyes blazing. “Whoa! I’m not going to...Put your wand down!”

He stared at her, his eyes wide with horror as he continued to shake, so much so that his wand slipped out of his hand and clattered to the floor. Without thinking, Y/N reached into her pocket and flung her wand away, holding her hands up.

“I’m not going to try anything. I promise.”

As she drew closer, she could see the remnants of tears on his wet cheeks and the way that his silver eyes were rimmed with a bloodshot red. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” he hissed, his voice weak and cracking. 

“Neither should you. This is the girl’s bathroom.”

final a/n: ok so lmk if you guys wants me to continue. i really did not edit the last half fjkdsal;f also kinda made this an au where malfoy tried to assassinate dumbledore. with more than one cursed object but dw it’ll all make sense ill clear that up 😭

[toiletwipes]

and i'd give up forever to touch you

chapter three. eyes on fire.

Summary: Will goes over to your dorm, and ends up meeting Rosie, the girl of his dreams. And somehow, he finds comfort in the shared space with both of y'all.

ao3 link. ~2k words. masterlist.

---

pulling into the campus, he calls your number, not wanting to take any more time than he has to. not that his heart didn't give him any grief because what would be the purpose of having a heart if he didn't need a reminder that he could fuck up at a moment's notice?

your voice rang out, calling out directions before he settles in a guest parking spot as he waits for you to come out of the dorm building, and when he sees you, he's pleasantly surprised.

your sweater and sweatpants wasn't what he expected but hey, it was saturday and he wasn't going to tell you to change. in your own dorm? a dick move, even he had standards not to do such a thing.

but if you were dressed comfortably, then rosie surely would be.

you skipped to his car, looking far too comfortable in holding his car door open and holding a hand out. and he can't tell if he's supposed to put his hand or his backpack in there. (he really didn't want to hold hands with you.)

he ends up holding out his wrist hesitantly and you didn't waste time, fingers latching onto his thin wrist and dragging him up two flights of stairs.

breathing in on a pattern of four beats, he manages to hide his ragged breathing to a minimum and watches as you didn't even unlock the door, pushes it open with a nudge of your elbow, and finds himself in a sweet smelling dorm room. it wasn't huge, but it wasn't that closet-esque typical dorm he saw in movies.

"rosie isn't here at the moment but when she does get here, she's supposedly bringing dinner with her, so, be on the lookout for that." you ramble absentmindedly as you continue your way through the dorm, picking up idle items that didn't make it past your judgemental stare.

he's standing. in the middle of the living room before you're there to usher him to take a seat on one of the couches. "i've been listening to this song on a nonstop loop for days, weeks now! and I'm just starting to realize that maybe bigger isn't better?"

"w-what? what do you mean by that?" he stumbles over his words several times, hoping that you didn't bring him here just to tell him he's out. but that wouldn't make any sense, you practically begged him to do this for you, let him have first dibs!

"i was going to ask a whole string of orchestra students to do this but after talking with my friend who's in orchestra, he said that barely anybody has time to do anything extra, except for him. and you know, that sucks but hey! he's a literal prodigy when it comes to strings so he'll be a big help." he blinks. you did this a lot, rambling, words spilling out as if you just spoke your thoughts as they came.

he listens to you talk more about the strings in the song before your phone rings and you don't seem to notice until the third ring.

when you picked it up, your face went slack and nodded. "coming then." hanging up and sliding your phone into your pocket, you hum as you stand. he goes to move with you but you just explain that rosie needs help with the food and that he just stays there and makes himself at home.

he waits until you close the door behind you before launching himself out the seat. he wouldn't have much time.

~~~

holding onto the brown bags of food, you glance around the dorm parking lot, as your roommate I digging through the back of her camry.

"so you invited your crush over?" she calls out from inside the car, and you're half tempted to kick her knees in from behind.

"he's not my crush."

"oh yeah? then why did you spend the past few days talking about him and your project, which to me, sounds like a way to baby trap him."

you gasp, choosing to kick at her shins.

"you-! it's just music, not a fuckin' baby."

"uh huh, sure. but if you ever need me to leave for like an hour, just text me," she teased as she finally slides out with a few plastic bags hanging on her arms. "come on, i'm sweating out here."

you huff as you let her pass you by, making her way up the stairs quietly before asking her what she thought of him.

"of wilbur? i don't know yet, never met the guy before and he sounds familiar but i can't say just yet." she shrugs, leaning against the wall for a second to catch her breath before moving to go up the stairs.

well for you, he was just..

amazing.

posted his own music, not even caring if anybody saw. he just wrote and played and sent it out because he couldn't just keep it to himself.

it made you want to do the same.

but that's why you're doing this, to get into the groove of writing, or more like transcribing really, and adjusting and recording, and just enjoying the music that comes out in the end. you wanted that with wilbur.

and as you approach your door, heart racing from the stairs and maybe from something else entirely. you wouldn't admit that someone has you like this. rosie wouldnt let you live it down.

she wouldn't let you forget for five minutes about your 'obsession' with him.

~~~

the door opens and he's standing in the kitchen with a glass of water and has to remind himself to swallow the mouthful he had when rosie walks in.

her hair settling on her shoulders like clouds, her face peaceful and flushed, from the stairs probably. and her sundress with a sweater over it, with her shoes- his heart almost couldn't take it.

and then you followed right up behind her with a big sigh heaving out of you. "remind me to sign petition for an elevator," you huff, placing the bags on the table and brushed past will to get to the living room again.

"put a movie on," rosie calls out to you as she empties out the bags of dinner. turning to him, she nudges him with a burger and chips in a bag, all for himself. "go make sure they actually put a movie on," she gives him a soft smile before turning back to the food at hand.

he nods, forgot what she said entirely as he shuffles to sit on one side of the couch with you dealing with the tv.

"what do you like to watch, will?" you asked, giving up on choosing a movie you liked already. it hadn't even passed a minute, will thinks to himself.

"i uhh, i don't really know." he answers weakly, but you shrug, clicked your tongue and moved on.

"put on twilight!" rosie calls out with a mouthful of chips.

"oooh, yeah, that's always good to watch," you mumble to yourself, scrolling through netflix as you searched for the title. finding it, you clicked on the play option, watching as the beginning plays out.

will eats his burger rather slow, watching rosie out of the corner of his eyes, watching as her face relaxed and munching on the food she got, and how she snorted with every line bella speaks.

"this soundtrack is so good," you moan out, listening to eyes on fire play through the speakers, and he brings himself to look at you. your knees pulled to your chest and your food sitting on the arm of the couch. "i hate how this is actually in my playlist, like all of the songs," you turn to will, smiling as you talked and he couldn't help but smile back at you, even if it was a small one.

he finishes his food by the time bella is hit with a car and panic spreads throughout the teenagers. "ah yes, that can be explained away, totally, edward," rosie nods her head, before snickering to herself, her nose crinkling upwards as she smiles to herself.

will sinks back into the couch, letting himself enjoy the movie, even for a little while, as you got up and headed towards a small door.

he watched you with half lidded eyes, as you dropped a blanket into his lap and wrapped your own grey, knitted blanket around your shoulders. when he tilts his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows, you shrug. "you looked cold."

he nods but he doesn't understand. he has a jacket on and he wasn't actively shivering. unfolding it and covering his lap, his head leans back and sinks into the incredibly comfy couch.

and he doesn't notice that he dozes off until he starts to wake up again, only at the prom scene.

you're not beside him anymore and he notices that you and rosie are talking to each other in the kitchen, washing dishes. "so is he spending the night or are you going to send him home without, you know, boning him?" you shove her shoulder, he watches and feels his own face flush.

"are you kidding me? we met two days ago!"

"you didn't know the guy from kirk's party either, but you still had him over," rosie sticks her tongue at you swiping bubbles on her shoulder.

"that was last year! and you know damn well that we only smoked and watched the entire twilight saga," you defended yourself.

smoked?

"yeah, after y'all fucked- ow that one hurt!" rosie rubs her shoulder after you punched it soundly.

"you're making me look bad!" you whined.

"he's dead asleep, he can't see or hear anything, here, watch this," Rosie stalks over and he makes sure his eyes are closed as she grabs his head, turning it over so she can talk in his ear. "y/n has a-" you tackled her to the ground and he acts like he was startled awake, jolting upwards as the two roommates hit the floorboards. as if his heart wasn't already in his throat when she touched him-

"is everything alright?" he peers over the couch and finds you sitting on rosie's back with a strained face.

"yeah, everything is okay, anyways, did you want to head home or stay the night, because i know it's getting late and all." you posed the option for him and as much as he wanted to spend time with rosie, and surprisingly, you, he had to go into his office in the morning and work on some files.

not to mention his last classes for the week are tomorrow.

"that's- that's very nice of you, but i have work and school tomorrow, and i really should be getting home." he admits, almost disappointed in himself as he starts to pack his things together.

"okay, let me walk you out," you offered and didn't wait for a no as you held the door open for him.

he thanks you and waves bye to the streamer still on the floor, only she's now wiggling her eyebrows.

his face burns as he remembers rosie teasing you, the conversation he was clearly not to meant to hear.

"well, i'm glad we did this, even if we got nothing done," you say as you dug your hands into your armpits. he nods, listening to the echoing footsteps as you two walked down the stairwell, fumbling as he pulls his keys out and unlocking the car.

"yeah, it was… fun. i- i really appreciated this, y/n." he says this to you, and he means it. he wants to thank you for introducing him to rosie and for being… for being so- so nice.

you beam at him from his side, and he appreciates how bright it is despite the sun already settling beyond the horizon. "it was fun! we should do this again, well i mean if you really want to do this project together that's bound to happen but- hanging out, without the project is fun too," you let the word vomit happen, before saying a soft apology. "anyways, drive home safe, and don't be a stranger!" you say, leaning in and hugging his side before heading back up some stairs, watching as he pulls out of the parking spot before heading all the way up.

will doesn't know how you didn't hear his heart pounding, his right hand shifting from the steering wheel to his jacket pocket, fiddling with the underwear stuffed in there.

now to get back home.

...

tag list: @fxnxtical @ghostburlovebot

[migilini]

Could you please write one of those Tiktok "I tried to kiss my bestfriend / crush" challenge for either Charlie or Owen. Thanks!

Crushtok - Owen Patrick Joyner

A/N: Yes ofc I can! I never wrote for Owen so let me know what you think! I hope you like it :)

Words: 1.9k

Warnings: tiktok and noise (so none really)

Requests are open!

MASTERLIST

--------‐--------------

The sun poked through curtains and you swore that you had heard birds the day before but it was loud, uncomfortably so. All you heard was the clacking of metal and the rattling of the machinery that the construction in front of Owens Appartement made. All the unpleasant noises woke you up in the early morning. Grumbling, you tried to block out the noise with a pillow pressed against your face.

"That's not gonna work sleepy beauty" a lower voice croaked, catching you completely off guard so you let out a quiet shriek. "Oweenn why do you have to scare me badly in the morning?" You whined and took the pillow away from your face.

He sat on the other side of the couch, just underneath your feet and looked absolutely tired. His blonde hair was standing up in every possible direction, his normally piercing blue eyes trying their best to stay open. By the way, he was looking at you with a little smirk on his lips, you figured that you didn't look any better.

"Because it's 6 am on a Saturday morning and I didn't want to suffer alone. So lucky you for visiting me this week!" Owen exclaimed and hit your leg in a joking manner.

"I've got thrown out by my landlord. I'm not here on my own terms..." this earned you a shocked gasp from the boy sitting in front of you. "And there I was, thinking this friendship meant something to you." You just rolled your eyes with a smirk.

"Do you want to come back to my bedroom? With some music playing it's much quieter than out here." Nodding tiredly, he held out a hand to help you stand up; you only noticed when you nuzzled into his bed that he didn't let go of your hand.

You woke up a couple of hours later, quiet pop music filled the darkroom and it was hot, your bare legs sticking to the duvet covers. You turned around and faced a back with broad shoulders that were just moments ago pressed against your back. Groaning, you stuck your legs out of the bed, the cold air cooling you down immediately. Owen stirred next to you and sat up slowly.

"Morning part 2." you chuckled and automatically pushed some of his hair out of his face.

"Mornin" he mumbled back.

"You were right it's much quieter in your room."

You stood up, stretching your limbs, before heading back into the living room where all your stuff was stored, quite impractically but it was stored.

You heard a shower running, that gave you the perfect time to change from your big shirt and little pants sleep attire to a more comfortable day outfit. After rummaging through your boxes, that you packed in a freezy, you choose some brown cotton pants with a white body and to top it off your favourite purple cardigan that Owen gifted you one Christmas. With some extra time, you put on your glasses and started to search for a new place to stay.

"So what do you wanna do today? I have nothing going on so..." you stopped listening as Owen walked into the living room shirtless. He wore some blue sweatpants that hung quite low on his hips, his chest still sparkling from the water.

You would have probably started to drool if he wouldn't have worn his hair in a towel bun.

You let out a laugh that made him stop in his tracks.

"What?" he stared at you intensely.

"Oh, nothing princess... nothing. We uh... could look at some apartments for me and just go for a drive?"

"Am I that bad of a roommate?" he said and plopped down next to you on the couch his arm resting on the top comfortably.

"No but I would really appreciate a place to store my stuff properly." you continued to scroll through places to stay.

"This one looks good." he pointed out and put his finger on the screen, you hadn't realised that he rested his arm just above your shoulders so it took you off guard when you suddenly felt his arm on your neck.

"Mhmm, but you cant look at it today... This one though has a viewing in the late afternoon."

"Then that's our plan for today."

++

"Y/N! Y/N!" Owen screamed loudly from the kitchen "Come here real quick."

With your phone still in one hand, you waddled over to your best friend. "What's the emergency?" you looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Do this TikTok with me." he pleaded and looked at you with a slight pout, shoving his phone in your face. Your eyes scanned the screen and then you scoffed, "First of all since when are you on lesbian TikTok? And secondly, that's a bit... explicit... don't you think?"

"W- Our lips don't have to touch! I don't have anybody else to do it with! Y/N Come On!" he yelled after your figure who left the kitchen with a shaking head and hot cheeks.

Your thought didn't stop racing for the rest of the day. Did Owen want to kiss you? Or was he just so comfortable with your friendship that he really didn't care? You hated that you were a cliche, falling in love with your childhood best friend. Growing up you were always the one rolling your eyes at your parents who thought that you and Owen would make just such a cute couple but here you were, sitting on his couch, your heart beating in your chest and extremely conscious of his presence.

Little did you know that Owen felt the exact same. Over the years and especially puberty, he started to develop feelings for you. At first, he tried to deny them, telling himself that it's just that he's used to you being around but then he left to pursue his acting career and he missed you more than everything in the world. Not a single day went by when he didn't think of you or tried to call you. Ever since then, he tried to be close to you in one way or the other, he didn't care if it was just his leg touching yours or your body heat warming him up.

Due to the fact that you were both anxious people, neither of you ever made a move. He missed your longing stares and you missed the way he was checking you out every time he looked at you.

His friends finally talked some confidence into him and so he took little steps into what should eventually lead to him confessing his love for you. He started to flirt more with you, give you loads of compliments and asked you if you wanted to do some TikTok or lives with him.

Tapping on your shoulder made you look up from your phone, the TikTok you've been watching looping on your screen. Owen stood next to you, his phone pointed to you, a mischievous smirk prominent on his face and whipped cream can in his other hand.

"No." you tried to be serious but a chuckle escaped your lips. Owen turned the camera to him and sprayed some cream into his mouth then stared at you with squinted eyes, the whipped cream flowing out of his mouth.

You stared at him for a couple of seconds, your brain in overdrive, hands sweaty and heart beating rapidly. An idea washed over you and you tilted your head before leaning in close. Owen's eyes went wide and he nearly choked on the cream. But you weren't gonna kiss him seconds before your lips would have met, you halted. Then you slowly took the can of whipped cream out of his hand and sprayed it all over his head.

"You didn't!" he gasped with a full mouth while you laid on the floor, holding your stomach in laughter. Something wet hit your face that stopped you from laughing further. Owen had a massive grin on his face, one hand dripping slightly and his hair, less creamy.

"Be cautious Joyner" you warned standing up on your tiptoes to be as close to him as possible, your pointer finger pressing into his chest "I know where your bed sleeps."

You tried to back out of the situation, knowing damn well that it can easily get out of hand with you two and a whipped cream match would make a lot of mess. But Owen being the child he is, didn't back out, instead, he ripped the can out of your hand and sprayed it down your back.

The war ended peacefully. The cans of whipped cream, yes you found more cans, laying somewhere in the living room both of you covered from head to toe, breathing heavily. Owen held his hands up in surrender and looked up to your position on the coffee table.

"Ha! I win! Told you I didn't want to do the TikTok." you smiled triumphantly. "I say loser cleans this up." before Owen could protest you sprinted to the shower. Lucky for you he actually started to clean up when you walked out of the bathroom, dressed in comfortable sweats and one of Owens hoodie, your damp hair falling over your shoulders.

"Hey Y/N?" Owen asked somehow nervously. "Yes darling?" you answered with a bad British accent.

"Can you come here for a second?"

"Owen I'm not doing that TikTok with you, you just saw how that ended," you argued but made your way over to him. He stood in the middle of the room, his phone propped up on a shelf.

"You have something on your face." you chuckled and whipped away some dried leftovers from your previous war.

"Can you react to this song? I don't remember where I know it from" he asked, his voice shaking slightly. You furrowed your eyebrows at his odd behaviour just moments ago he was normal and now he acted very strangely.

"Sure." he pulled you in front of him, his hands resting on your shoulders.

'Baby, you're like lightning in a bottle

I can't let you go now that I got it'

“Sounds like BORNS…” you whispered more to yourself than to him and continued to listen to the song “Are you sure you just haven't…” you turned around to face him.

Owen took this as his opportunity to cup your face with both of his hands, softly pressing his lips to yours.

Your breath hitched and it took you a second to realise what was happening. The confidence Owen had just moments ago vanished when you didn't kiss him back immediately. Why should you? You never gave a hint that you liked him like that as well.

Just as he was about to pull away and apologize profusely, you overcame your state of shock. Your arms grabbed his hips to pull him closer, deepening the kiss. You felt him smile against your lips. Your stomach erupted with butterflies, your whole body tingled and your cheeks felt hot.

He was the first one to pull away, resting his forehead on yours. Both breathing heavily, the filming camera was completely forgotten, you looked in each other's eyes.

“I wanted to do that for so long,” you admitted and unconsciously bit your lip. Owen gulped heavily, “Me too but, what the hell! I mean how crazy is that?!”

[heeberry]

She’s Not With You

(Loona) Ha Sooyoung x Gender Neutral!Reader

Requested: yes!

Berry: hey! i luv ur blog<3 could you please do yves x reader where she gets super jealous/possessive bc reader has been spending more time w lip?

A laugh suddenly escaped your lips, your eyes closed as you couldn’t control yourself at the very moment. Jungeun soon cracked a laugh with you, clapping her hands when the video the two of you watched together had ended.

You leaned onto her, wiping the tears from your eyes when you calmed down and spoke, “we should watch another one” making Jungeun quickly nod, jumping to the next video.

It was currently Saturday in the afternoon, you had visited Loona’s dorm like you always did since you were a well known visitor. As soon as Jungeun opened the door for you, you couldn’t help but to jump into her arms, engulfing her into a big hug after not seeing her for days. She had been busy with a packed schedule, so when today was her day off you were quick to see her.

Of course you were there for your girlfriend, Sooyoung. But you couldn’t find said girl anywhere. Before sitting with Jungeun you greeted everyone as you looked corner after corner and seeing no sign of your girlfriend, you took this as a assumption that she probably had to be called in for schedule, forgetting to text you about it.

Sending her a quick message, you jumped onto the couch with Jungeun, which led you to this very moment.

Jungeun suddenly laughed out loud, making you look at her with a smile that was about to burst into pure laughter with her. You didn’t how you ended up here, going into a deep hole of videos that were reccomanded for you on youtube. Being too engrossed with what you were watching, you hadn’t noticed someone step into the dorm with a frown.

It was none other than Ha Sooyoung. Coming back from a hectic schedule all she wanted was to rest with you, leaning by your side and falling asleep. Though, when she opened the door with the spare keys she had she frowned at the first thing she saw.

You leaned onto Jungeun, the two of you breaking into laugher every second like you’ve inhaled some laughing gas. Sooyoung couldn’t help but to feel her heart drop, her body filled with different emotions that she couldn’t describe. She knew that the two of you had a close bond, never bothered whenever you spent time with her. You are your own person, so why would she stop you from being with your friends?

It got to a point where Sooyoung felt a burn in her heart. Everytime you came over you immediately went to Jungeuns side, making her slowly turn jealous. The way you hung out with her made Sooyoung think that you’ve developed some sort of a crush on your best friend. Thoughts soon spinned in her head, making a frustrated sigh leave her lips before walking toward the two of you.

Sensing a presence next to you, you smiled “Sooyoung!” You happily cheered, engulfing her into a hug. Jungeun greeted the girl causally but her eyes were glued to the screen.

You pulled away after not feeling her arms wrap around you. “Are you okay?” You whispered, making Sooyoung only scoff in response. Raising an eyebrow at her actions you turned back to the screen, thinking about what had happened to your girlfriend. Maybe she had a hard day? You thought.

Jungeun soon wrapped her arm around you, trying to maintain her laughes as she squeezed you everytime she was about to. You didn’t mind, knowing how much the two of you had your stomach twist whenever you chuckled too much for your own liking.

As much as you didn’t mind there was someone who definitely did. Sooyoung was surprised, she was only right next to you how come you acted like she wasn’t? And the fact that you accepted Jungeun’s affection, leaning onto her slowly made her frustrated once again.

It hurt her more than it frustrated her. That’s why she didn’t talk as her body already seemed to do it for her. Sooyoung unwrapped Jungeun’s arm around you with force, making her turn with confusion. You slowly got off of her, concern written on your face. Sooyoung looked at you while also giving Jungeun the side eye.

Jungeun soon sighed at the older, knowing what was coming next, she quickly got up and left. Plus she didn’t wanna get involved with whatever argument that’s about surface but she knew her name was gonna get thrown in there anyway. Mind as well not witness the moment, she thought.

“Do you like her or something?” Sooyoung asked with a harsh tone, making you widen your eyes.

Never have you seen your girlfriend this mad over something, it almost looked like smoke was coming out of her ears. Surely it made you scared, freezing up at her question because of the harsh tone she said it by.

Instead of talking you shook your head in response, of course in denial. “Then how come you never hang out with me anymore y/n?” Sooyoung frowned, “I don’t mind that you spend time with lip but you’ve been doing it too much that you barely noticed your own girlfriend, who may I add, LIVES in this dorm too”

“You aren’t with her, your with me. But it doesn’t seem like it when the two of you cling onto each other like a newly married couple!”

Speechless, oh how your lips were sealed like glue. She was right and you didn’t notice until now. How oblivious could I be? You thought, now realizing how much time you’ve spent with Jungeun.

You spent so much time with your best friend that you felt like you neglected your girlfriend for the past few days.

You watched as Sooyoung rambled on and on, fustrated but you heard the sense of hurt in her voice. It made you frown, stopping her rambling by giving her nothing but a hug.

It wasn’t the best thing to do, since she was angry with you. But it sure did do something.

Inhaling her scent made you feel less overwhelmed by the words she kept hitting you with. Sooyoung shut her mouth when she suddenly felt warmth engulf her, immediately wrapped her arms around you.

It was silent, the sound of the two of you breathing was the only thing you heard. You saw her members peak their head out the door, hearing the commotion go as quiet as a library.

Jungeun mouthed if the two of you made up, making you slightly shake your head, you had to make it up to her.

You felt hot tears stain your sweater, making you let go of her in a instant. “Sooyoung” you whispered, “Listen I’m sorry”

Wiping the tears away from her cheek with your hands you gave her a warm smile. “I didn’t mean to hang out with lippie more, I thought you were always busy whenever I came over. Seeing how focused you were whenever you were using your phone and such, I thought you’d want some space since you had lots of schedules”

“I hadn’t realized you felt this way, and I’m sorry. I don’t like Jungeun at all by the way, I’m sorry it came out that way” you lowly mumbled, but it was audible for the girl to hear.

You grabbed her hand and led her to her room, where the two of you easily fell on the bed. Her arms wrapped around you, stained tears on her cheek and the imaginary smoke that came out her ears disappearing into thin air.

“It’s okay, I didn’t mean to snap at you earlier either.” She deeply sighed, “it’s just, I miss being able to hang with you and seeing you and Jungeun-”

You shushed her by placing a finger on her lips, shaking your head. “It’s all in the past, I’m with you now and always will be”

Sooyoung smiled at you, your heart just about to jump out your chest. She giggled at the light tint of blush that covered your cheeks, pulling you closer to kiss you.

You were glad, resolving the problem quickly and being able to calm her down. You didn’t blame her, realizing your actions and putting yourself into her shoes. Of course you’d feel neglected if Sooyoung hung out with her best friend more than you.

The two of you pulled away moments later, you rested your head on her chest. “I love you” you suddenly said, “I love you so much.”

“And I’ll never make you feel like your being neglected again, never ever again”

[voiceless-terror]

In which Martin and Gerry help Jon acquire a cat, among other things. 

“Martin, look!”

A phone is shoved in his face; on the screen is a tiny black kitten sprawled on a carpet with the headline “Free to a Good Home!!” Martin knows where this is going.

“Finally time to bite the bullet, eh?”

“We could surprise him!” Gerry’s voice is animated as he waves his phone in the air. Martin loves when he gets like this, unguarded and sweet. “You know how stressed he’s been. Honestly, I’m shocked we haven’t gotten one already.”

“Well, he’s certainly been hinting at it.” Martin gestures broadly at the walls of the bookstore, decorated with various cozy knick knacks and art they’ve picked up at charity shops. There’s no less than three oddly majestic cat paintings along with a shelf of tiny porcelain felines, not to mention the gaudy clock that has cat breeds instead of numbers. Jon has...particular taste. “Not very subtle, is he?”

“Should I message them, then?” Gerry squints at the screen. “We met them at trivia a few months ago - Mara, the one with the-”

“Green hair, yeah.” Martin remembers the night rather fondly. Gerry usually spent most trivia nights scowling in the corner and making snarky commentary with Jon, but on that particular occasion he had a few drinks and was considerably more relaxed. He managed to charm half of the bar with his stories and wit while Jon stared on, adoration clear on his face.  “But you know Jon would kill us if we didn’t let him have a say. You know how he gets, he needs to prepare-”

“-buy ninety toys-”

“-think up a ridiculous name.” They both laugh at that- Jon’s got a penchant for renaming their friend’s pets when he doesn’t think their moniker “suits them.” He’s gotten into more than one fight about it. “Text him so he doesn’t stay late, though. I’m not staying up until midnight again.”

“On it.”

_______

They hear Jon before they see him. 

The door creaks open, alerting them to his presence as Jon lets out his usual long-suffering sigh (Gerry fondly calls this mood ‘The Bouchard Blues.’) His clothes are wrinkled and his eyes are barely open; from the slight indent on his face, Martin reckons he fell asleep at his desk again. Gerry meets him at the door, grabbing his bag and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Rough day, love?”

Another sigh, this one a bit more huffy. “Elias came in at half past four with a box of ninety random documents and wanted them all organized by tomorrow. Impossible, of course, unless I stay the night-”

“But you came home!” Gerry says it with a sort of wonder in his voice; Jon very rarely stands up to his boss, no matter how ridiculous the ask. 

“W-Well, you said it was important,” Jon looks between them with large, worried eyes. Always assuming the worst. “It’s nothing bad, is it?”

“Jon, I thought the twelve reassuring texts and afternoon phone call put that to rest,” Gerry replies as he steers them towards the couch. “Suppose I should’ve just told you. I wanted it to be a surprise.” He unlocks his phone and scrolls until he finds the ad, handing it over to Jon.

His eyes immediately light up, alert and awake. “Cat!”

“Cat,” Martin agrees, settling down beside them. “We were thinking of getting one for the bookstore-”

“Of course,” Jon’s smiling that rare, bright grin and Martin melts just a little. “It’s only logical. And I do like black cats-”

“Damn it!” Gerry groans, startling them both. He throws his phone down on the couch, crossing his arms in a sulk. “Someone just claimed her. I knew I should’ve said something-”

But Jon’s already fishing his phone out, his smile not dimming in the slightest. “There’s a shelter not too far from here- I’ll see if we have to make an appointment. Martin, can you call Georgie? She’s got an excellent carrier for the Admiral, and she can probably recommend other necessities-”

They end up going to bed at midnight anyway.

________

“I still don’t see why we had to order so much,” Martin complains after another confirmation email lights up his phone. The credit card bill’s going to be astronomical this month. “Surely we’re overpreparing. We don’t have room for the deluxe cat tower in the shop, and we certainly don’t need one for the flat as well.”

“I assure you these are all necessities, Martin.” Gerry and Martin are both fairly tall, but even they have trouble keeping up with Jon’s brisk pace, sharing a fond look over his head. Jon managed to find them a Saturday appointment with a rather impressive combination of wheedling and charm. When it came to cats, Jon didn’t pull his punches. They made it to the shelter in record time and Jon burst through the doors, his next words full of self-importance. “We’re expected. Jonathan Sims.”

They’re led back to a large room by an amused assistant, Jon at the front of their little line. Martin watches as his eyes light up upon seeing the many cages that lined the wall; even Gerry seems a bit excited, though he tries to hide it by hanging back. Gerry’s never been much of an animal person; he shares Jon’s distaste of loud and jumpy dogs too unpredictable in their behavior. He only just started getting used to the Admiral, and that was through much prodding on Jon’s part. Jon’s love is surprisingly infectious. 

Jon peers into each cage intently, answering every inquisitive noise with a prim “Pleased to meet you.” One of the first cages contains a fluffy brown cat with curious eyes and Martin stops to poke a finger through the door. “Walnut” (as provided by a helpful nameplate) does not respond, though she seems interested. 

Jon’s already halfway down the row before he stops in his tracks, eyes trained on a large, grumpy ball of gray fur sitting right at the bars of the cage. He’s missing an eye, and he begins to growl as soon as Jon nears him.

“This one.” He declares, staring as if entranced. He hasn’t even touched it or attempted to pet it- they’re locked in some sort of silent standoff. Martin’s reminded of those romantic comedies Jon and Gerry hate, where couples lock eyes across the room and it's love at first sight. He surreptitiously takes a picture. Adorable. 

“Jimmy?” The assistant inquires. Jon scoffs at the plainness of the name. “He’s been here awhile. Not very friendly, I’m afraid.”

“No, not Jimmy.” Jon offers up a hand, and the cat comes closer, sniffing at it with suspicion. After a few moments, he butts his head against Jon’s hand, earning a smile. “Lance Corporal.”

“No.”

Jon swivels around, eyes narrowing at Gerry’s words. It’s the first time he’s spoken and he’s got one eyebrow quirked up in amusement. It’s a good look on him. Jon, however, is having none of it and he puts a hand to his hip. “And why not?”

“It’s such a mouthful.” Martin has to agree; it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. “I’m not going to call him that. What about Lance?”

Jon wrinkles his nose. “Ew.”

Martin sighs; Gerry and Jon get along like a house on fire but when they bicker, they bicker. He eyes the cat that’s now rubbing against Jon’s hand and purring; he hopes the its sudden geniality will extend to Martin and Gerry. Jon would pick a cat that’s just as prickly as he can be.

Martin gives it a good look, coming up beside Jon at ‘Jimmy’s’ cage. The cat immediately stops its gravely purr, it’s eye now trained on Martin. It’s unnerving, Martin never thought a cat could radiate authority but this one surely managed to. If any animal deserves a title, it’s this one.  “What about the Captain?” he asks in a fit of inspiration.

They both turn to look at him; Gerry amused, Jon thoughtful. “Go on.”

“It’s a title, you always liked the naval ones.” Jon nods in agreement, the beginnings of a smile on his face. “He looks like an old sailor, very distinguished. I dunno, I think it’s cute.”

“The Captain,” Jon whispers in awe as the cat resumes rubbing against his hand. “Martin, that’s perfect. Inspired, even.”

He can’t help preening a bit. “Thank you.” Gerry rolls his eyes.

And then there’s the moment of truth- the assistant opens the cage door and Jon steps forward with all the solemnity of a man about to be knighted. He reaches out his arms and the cat lets itself be picked up, going limp as Jon brings it to his chest. He sighs in contentment, giving himself one more moment of bliss before he perks up and opens his eyes.

“Now pick yours.”

_________

Three. They’ve got three fucking cats.

Martin and Gerry immediately began to refuse, but Jon was insistent. “The Captain is obviously very partial to me, and I think you should have some say in who we adopt. If we each get one it eliminates any favoritism. It’s only logical.”

There was nothing logical about it. Three cats and three people in their tiny flat, or worse, destroying their bookstore. They didn’t have the space, the cats might not get along, it would be too expensive. But Jon wouldn’t hear of it, countering every point in a calmness that was borderline unnerving. Martin shot Gerry a pleading look; he’d gone silent after the initial refusal, content to let Martin do most of the arguing, but he just shook his head in amusement- he knew how this would end, and Martin did too. As the final nail in the coffin, Jon deployed the eyes and that’s how he found himself in the front of a taxi with a lapful of Walnut. She’s a friendly thing, instantly purring on contact and meowing whenever he turned away. Martin hadn’t the heart to turn it away.

Gerry took more time. He slunk around the cages and the cats seemed to sense his reluctance. But soon he came upon a small, sleek black cat, not unlike the one from the Facebook post. It was a tentative thing, barely coming to the edge of its cage to sniff at his fingers, but Gerry was determined, patiently waiting the fifteen minutes it took to get him to warm up. Martin didn’t point out the similarities between it and a certain goth, though he shared a knowing look with Jon.

“I’ve got it - the Unfathomable Void.”

“Dear God,” Martin muttered, rolling his eyes. So dramatic, the both of them.

Jon snorted. “That’s a bit much.”

“Okay, Lance Corporal.”

“Excuse me-!”

“Settle down, boys,” Martin put a hand on Jon’s shoulder, he looked liable to pounce. “If that’s what you want, go for it. But we’ll call him Void for short.” Gerry nodded, seemingly satisfied. Jon continued to scowl, though without any heat.

The cabbie was definitely not pleased at having to cart around three men and three cats. He muttered the entire drive while Jon bounced in the backseat, cooing at his companion. Gerry sat much more stoically, though Martin didn’t miss the tiny smile as the cat nipped at his fingers. Jon’s insistence on multiple supplies was starting to make sense now. He definitely planned this from the beginning, sneaky thing.

“Oh no,” Jon suddenly said upon entering their flat, struggling with the carrier in his hand.  Martin’s starting to think he shouldn’t have picked such a massive cat. “I forgot this was for the bookstore!” 

“Well, yeah.” Gerry sat his cage on the ground, kneeling down beside it. “I figured mine or Martin’s would do. The Captain’s not very friendly, Jon.”

“But what if they get lonely? We can’t split them up.” Jon’s eyes dart around the room, growing more conflicted by the second. “Perhaps we should keep them all at home.”

“There’s no room, Jon! And no one’s here during the day.” Martin surveys the room- the three carriers already seem to take up an enormous amount of space, not to mention the living creatures inside of them.  And all of those packages, that damn tower…

“You can take them back and forth. Commute.”

“Christ, we did not think this through.” Gerry’s smiling even as he says it, watching as the Unfathomable Void slowly makes his way out, sniffing tentatively at the air. Walnut’s content to stay in her cage, and Martin tucks her in a corner away from the other two. Jon’s already got the Captain out, holding him in his arms and refusing to let him go.

“You’re right, we didn’t.” Jon agrees, tucking his face in the Captain’s fur. “We should’ve gotten four-”

“Fuck’s sake, Jon!”

“Let’s talk about this later, alright?” Gerry takes Martin’s place as the voice of reason, a rare occurrence. “We’ll keep them at home, let them get used to us, and then we’ll figure out the bookstore situation. No sense getting worked up about it now.” Jon sighs, cradling the mass of fur to his chest and plopping down on the couch. Martin’s sure they’ll be at it again tomorrow; Jon sniping as Martin tries and fails to put together a massive cat tower, Gerry groaning about whatever surprises the cats left for them in the morning. The next few weeks were going to be stressful, to say the least.

For now, though, he sits with his partners once again until midnight, watching their new additions roam about the flat and ignore each other. Jon frets, Gerry sighs, and Martin unsuccessfully attempts to steer the conversation towards anything but cats. By the end of the night, only Void manages to feel at home, curling up in Martin’s favorite armchair (much to his chagrin). Could’ve gone worse, Martin cheers himself with. They’ll get used to the flat. And the bookstore. Probably.

Later that night, once their partner’s asleep and snoring softly between the two of them, Martin turns to Gerry, borrowing Jon’s patented sigh. 

“We’re gonna get a fourth cat, aren’t we?”

Gerry’s voice is just as resigned. “Yeah, reckon so.”

“Christ.”

-------

Others in the JGM series:

What We’re Given and What We Make

At the End of the Day

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28945809

[bakugousbussy]

Nightmare

BakuDeku w/ Lee! Deku & Ler! Bakugou

Summary: Bakugou has a dream where Deku was better than him, and he takes his anger out on real Deku.

-

It was an early Saturday morning, most of Class 1A still in bed, still tired of yesterdays training, all except two of them.

Bakugou and Midoriya were outside sparring. Why? Well…

It was 430AM, Bakugou looked at the clock. He woke up because he was having a nightmare. Or what he thought was a nightmare anyway. He dreamt that Deku was the number one hero and he was falling behind. And what made it even worse is that dream Deku kept calling Bakugou an angry pomeranian!

“That nerd.” He mumbled to himself, sitting up, replaying the dream over and over in his head, getting angrier and angrier. “He thinks he can beat me? Tch.” He clicked his tongue. “I will be the number one hero. I will be the one who surpasses All Might.” Bakugou, fueled with rage, gets up and changes from his sleeping clothes to his training clothes.

Bakugou marched over to the elevator and pressed the button to Midoriya’s floor. Not even thinking twice, he barges into the green haired boys’ room.

He was met with silence as Izuku slept peacefully on his bed.

If it wasn’t for this rivalry they had with each other, Bakugou would consider Midoriya a friend. The green hair boy looked so peaceful. He was sleeping in his All Might pajamas and he was covered with an All Might blanket. Bakugou cooed at the sight. He almost left him alone, but then Bakugou remembered his dream and the fuel to his fire came back.

“Nerd!” Bakugou spoke, loudly and sternly, but not enough to wake up everyone on the floor.

“Get up.” His voice laced with impatience, as he shook the sleeping green haired boy.

“Wha-Kacchan?” Midoriya blinked his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them to focus on the boy leaning in front of him.

“K-Kacchan w-what’s going on?” Midoriya asked, sitting up, flustered that the blonde was so close to him.

“Change. We’re sparring outside. Now.” Is all Bakugou said to him, as he walked out of Midoriya’s room, leaving Midoriya confused. But he did as he was told, because he was scared of Bakugou and the consequences that would follow if he didn’t.

Midoriya groggily made his way outside looking around for Bakugou.

“Over here, nerd.”

Midoriya looked up to see Bakugou under a tree. He made his way over to the waiting blonde.

“W-why?” Is all Midoriya could produce as he let out a big yawn.

“Because you think you’re better than me. You think that I can’t be the number one hero. You think I look like an angry pomeranian.” Bakugou rambled.

Midoriya stood there, dumbfounded. “Kacchan I-I never said any of that.” Midoriya whined. Did he just wake me up to fight me for something I didn’t say, Midoriya thought, slightly face palming himself in his head.

“No quirks.” Bakugou said, and Midoriya nodded in agreement.

Bakugou aimed a kick at Midoriya’s head, but Midoriya dodged. Midoriya retaliated with a punch, but Bakugou dodged that. They both went at it. They both really were the perfect match for each other. Their hand to hand combat was around the same level. Bakugou’s swift movements balanced Midoriya’s quick thinking, and Midoriya’s speed balanced out Bakugou’s strength.

After a few long moments, they both were exhausted. The pair laid on the floor, panting and sweating.

“So you wanted to fight because you made up some things I said about you?” Midoriya asked through gasps of air.

“No.” Bakugou replied sheepishly with a hint of embarrassment. Did I really do that, he thought. In his defense the dream felt real, and nobody was going to talk to him like that, especially Midoriya, even if it was fake because it was all in Bakugou’s dream. He was just about to let it go too, but then the angry pomeranian comment filled his mind and he just…reacted.

Bakugou jumped up from where he was laying and sprung over to the unsuspecting Izuku.

“W-what?! Ah! Kacchan?!” The broccoli headed boy yelped out in surprise.

Bakugou straddled the smaller boys waist and with one strong move he pinned both of Midoriya’s hands under his knees. Midoriya too shocked to fight back, stunned at the explosive blondes sudden attack.

“K-Kacchan I-I w-what?” Midoriya stuttered out.

But the blonde was in his own world. He gave Midoriya a devious smile. Which Midoriya could only respond in more stutters.

“I think…” Bakugou paused to raise his hands into a bogus thinking pose. “You need to say sorry,” Bakugou said, ask he looked down at his confused prey.

“F-for w-what K-Kacchan?” Midoriya, flustered at the situation of being held down by his childhood friend.

“For dream Deku calling me an angry pomeranian! Duh!” Bakugou said like it was so obvious.

“W-what?” Midoriya replied, confused face and all.

“Fine. I guess I’ll just make you.” Bakugou half screamed as he started wiggling his fingers towards the trapped boy.

“W-wahahait K-Kahahacchan! Nohoho.” Midoriya’s body let out anticipation giggles as he knew what was about to happen next.

“Heh. Deku, I’m not even tickling you yet. You never grew out of your ticklishness did you?” Bakugou laughed evilly, his smile looking wicked. “More fun for me.”

“Nohohoho dohohohon’t!” Midoriya could feel his cheeks getting pink as he watched the wiggling fingers above him.

Bakugou’s fingers finally made it to Midoriya’s stomach and the green haired boy let out a small scream.

“NAHAHAhahaha Kahahahacchan stahahahahap ihihihit!” Midoriya shook his head back and forth. Midoriya hadn’t been tickled for a while so the boy forgot just how ticklish he was.

“Maybe you should have thought about the punishment before dream you decided he could insult me!” Bakugou teased. He knew it wasn’t Midoriya’s fault, but he wanted to bully the broccoli head.

Bakugou raked his fingers up and down Midoriya’s stomach and couldn’t help but laugh a little when Midoriya would let out a small squeak when Bakugou hit a particularly sensitive spot on the laughing boys’ tummy.

“GahahhaAHAH buhuhuhuhut I dihihihihidn’t eveheheheen sahahaHAHAay ahahahahany of thahahahahat!” Midoriya tried to pull at his arms to escape the ticklish torture but Bakugou’s grip was too strong, plus it wasn’t helping that Midoriya was laughing his head off.

Bakugou moved his hands up to Midoriya’s ribs. Gently vibrating his fingers, resulting in a higher pitched laugh from Midoriya.

“KAHAHAHACCHAN! NAHAHAHAAHA!”

“Nope. You deserve this.” Bakugou said as he continued his attack on the freckled boys’ ribs.

The two would have a lot of tickle fights when they were younger, so Bakugou was an expert at tickling little Izuku. The explosive blonde had skilled fingers that were pros at getting the right spots, and putting the right amount of pressure that wouldn’t just tickle like hell, but also drive someone insane.

“STAHAHAHAHAAP I DIHIHIHIHIDN’T SAHAHAHAY GAHHHAHAH!” Midoriya begged through his laughter, clamping his eyes shut and trying to minimize the ticklish feeling.

“Then apologize for your dream selfs’ behavior.” Bakugou replied dryly as he moved his hands up to Midoriya’s armpits, kneading the flesh in circular motions that he knew would drive Deku crazy.

“GAHAHAHAA NAHAHAHAA BUHUHUHUHUT KAHAHAHAHACCHAN NOHOHOHOHOHO HAHAHHAHAAHA!” Midoriya tried to bring his arms to his side to protect his sensitive armpits from being abused with tickles. This just made Bakugou laugh, putting a little more pressure into the tickles and made Izuku laugh uncontrollably.

“STAHAHAHAHAHAP KAHAAHHAHACCHAN! WEHEHEHE’RE GOHOHOHONNA WAHAHAHAHAKE EHEHEHEHEVERY OHOHOHONE UHUHUHUHUP! Midoriya protested as happy tears started to form in his eyes.

“No, you’re gonna wake everyone up with your loud screaming, so quiet down.” Katsuki teased. Which made Midoriya’s cheeks turn red. “This could all stop if you just do what I said.” Bakugou’s smile as wide as it could be, looking down at his rival in hysterics.

“NGAHAHA BUHUHUHUT HAHAHAHHAA!” Midoriya could barely get any words out. His eyes filled with mirthful tears, and his legs kicked helplessly behind his attacker. He tried to buck Bakugou off but his efforts were to no avail.

Bakugou moved his fingers and rested them on top of Midoriya’s hips. Midoriya’s eyes widened in fear.

“Nohoho! Dohohon’t! Kahahacch-”

His pleas interrupted when Bakugou dug his fingers into his hipbones.

“GAHHAHAHAA NOHOHOHO! NOHOHOHOT THAHAHAHAT SPHOHOHOHOT! BAHAHAHAA!” Midoriya screamed. His worst spot being attacked and he couldn’t even fight his way out. This was it for him. Is this how I’ll leave this world, he thought.

“Ha ha yes this spot!” Bakugou couldn’t hold back his smile when he saw the giggly mess beneath him. He mentally cooed at how cute the squirming boy beneath him looked. “Two words and this torture can end.” Bakugou teased, not letting up on the tickling.

“OHOHOHOKAY! HAHAHAHHAA KAHAHAHACCHAN IHIHIHIHI’M SOHOHOHOHOHORRY!” Midoriya finally gave in, happy tears finally leaving his eyes and streaming down his freckled face. He couldn’t take the tickling anymore.

“Hmmm…I don’t know Deku. Doesn’t seem very genuine.” The blonde said playfully, lightening up on the tickling slightly.

“NOHOHOHO! IHIHIHIHIHI MEHEHEHEEHEAN IHIHIHIHIHIT AHAHAHAHAH!” The green haired boy used all of his efforts to get out that last sentence, before falling into silent laughter.

The blonde, thinking the laughing boy had just about enough tickles, tickled the smaller hero for just a bit longer as a last hurrah, then he started to slow his fingers, until they finally came to a stop, just resting on the boys hips.

“Remember this the next time dream you wants to insult me!” Bakugou said while faking an angry voice.

The explosive blonde hopped off of Izuku and the green haired boy sat up, inhaling deeply.

Midoriya spoke through a smile and pants of breaths, “Dream me won’t ever do that again.”

“He better not.” Bakugou replied with a smirk on his face. Oh Bakugou was so going to have to tickle the green haired boy into oblivion again, he planned on it.

The two boys then sat together under the tree, watching the sunrise, just like they used to do as little kids.