#i was improving my french and english at the same time hell yeah

[qalrey]

just two teenage girls who are crushing on each other fighting over some guy

it's been years since i've drawn furries with human-like features

[jackhues]

bee absolutely loving her uncle geno and him loving his tiny canadian child too

when bee is really young and geno is still learning english in his early seasons bee really helps him become more comfortable speaking english - this tiny baby can't just him for conjugating a sentence wrong, there's 0 judgement - and his english improves so much as he spends more time with her

if geno's over at sid's house you'll most likely find him with bee watching so kids show or him holding her talking a stream of russian or slightly disjointed english

bee definitely loves her uncle geno too he always has time for her and will pick her up as soon as he sees her and will swing her over his head as she just laughs - sid's always so worried at first because it's his baby and he only just got her he's like omg geno don't drop her

i bet as bee grows up geno teaches her russian and she becomes near fluent - sid will find them gossiping way in a corner of the arena or someone's house at a team party and they'll never tell him what they're talking abt and it infuriates sid no end

bee'll greet anna fully in russian when geno introduces them for the first time and geno's standing there with the biggest smile like yes this is my tiny canadian honorary child isn't she amazing look at what i taught her

(also sid and uncle tanger teaching her french but she can't get away with nearly as much as she can in russian coz sid understands french so uncle tanger isn't nearly as cool as uncle geno)

imagine bee sipping up as a 13/14 year old with some horrific russian swear word and sid recognises it from the ice and turns to geno like what the hell did you teach my child

Sorry that was very long - once I got going more thoughts kept coming

anything bee and geno would be so cute omg i love this au

stop i love every little bit of this!

geno sees bee and immediately adopts her as his honorary canadian baby. the two learn english together, and there are words where bee used to be confused if they were russian or english bcz geno talks in like a mix of them around her. she never makes fun of any of his mistakes and if she notices him having a bad day and his english isn't as good as it usually is, she starts making mistakes around him so that he knows it's okay to mess up sometimes. him and bee are huge gossips or at least pretend to be, always saying random stuff in russian when sid's around. a lot of them they're not even saying anything they're just bored. geno is so proud whenever bee says something in russian, he's always got the proudest grin on his face like yeah i taught her that suckers.

she slips up with a russian swear once and geno is dying while sid is like what'd you teach my kid??!!

bee knows a good amount of french bcz of her dad, tanger and school. she loves tanger but like she can't gossip with him the same way she does with geno. to her, geno's the best person ever and they are each other's favourites!

[teddy06writes]

A Day In The Life

requesred by this genius anon: “Aight imma hit you with a good one: Literally everything as platonic, but a day in the life of reader in high school with the minor gang (too my, tubbo, ranboo) and all the faculty at the school are dreamsmp members”

Platonic! Minors gang (tommy, tubbo, ranboo and purpled) x reader

trigger warnings: none

premise: a day in the life of a student at the DSMP public high school 

{with all the shit that goes on the smp there's no way it could be anything but a public school}

{also if I do things slightly off or something its cause my high school is weird, we only have four blocks a day, but I think most have seven, so we’re going with that}

{also the dream/george thing, is based on two of the sciences teachers at my school being suspected of having an affiar}

{Full teacher list:

English: Mr. NotFound

Drama: Mr. Soot

Spanish: Mr. Dream (its mexican dream lol)

Gym: Coach Sapnap and Coach Punz

Home ec: Miss Nihachu

Music: Mr. Quackity

Chemistry: Mr. Halo}

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

Home room: Mr. Callahan

You sighed, trudging toward the school entrance, god it was way to early for this. 

The halls were already crowded with people heading to there home rooms, and Mr. Minecraft, the principal, was standing outside the admin offices, greeting everyone with a smile. 

“Good morning, (y/n).” 

“Good morning Mr. Minecraft.” You grumbled as you passed. 

You hurried through the foyer and up the stairs, toward Mr. Callahan’s room. 

“Hey!” Tubbo called, hurrying down the hallway, “(y/n)!”

“Hey Tubbo.” you yawned.

He fell into step with you, “You think Callahan will actually show today?” 

The one good thing about your home room teacher is that none of the kids ever seemed to have seen him. It meant that some days, while other home rooms had lectures of bullying or something, your class got to hang out for 30 minutes. 

“I don’t think he even exists.” Purpled said, falling in on your other side. 

“He definitely doesn’t.” You agreed. 

~~

History: Mr. Blade

“Hey (y/n)!” Ranboo called from his seat at the front of the room as you came in. 

He was lucky enough to have moved homerooms and ended up getting the same room as his first block. 

“Hello Ranboo.” you sighed, sitting down in your seat next to him. 

Tommy came in and plopped down behind you, “Well you sound like shit.”

“No swearing in my classroom, Tommy.” Mr. Blade chided, hardly looking up from the book on his desk. 

You turned to look at Tommy, “It’s too early for this.” 

“You say that everyday!” He laughed. 

“Yeah! Cause this class starts at 7:45 in the god damn morning!” You half exclaimed. 

“Bloody hell you’d think you’d get used to it-” 

“Tommy, what did I say about swearing?” Mr. Blade cut Tommy off. 

“But you didn’t yell at (y/n)!” Tommy yelled, “That’s not fair Tech!” 

Me. Blade glared at his brother, “Do you want me to send you down to Phil’s office Tommy?” 

“I didn’t even do anything!”

After a moment under Mr. Blades glare, Tommy sighed, “Please don’t send me down to Phil.” 

The teacher didn’t respond, instead standing up and moving to stand in front of the board, queuing up the intro slides for the day, “All right everyone, settle down. Today in our ‘tour of the ancient world’ or whatever, we’re going to start our mini unit on Greece.”

~~

Statistics/Math: Mr. Was Taken

After a class that ended mostly in a rant about the myth of Heracles, you said goodbye to Ranboo and Tommy and met up with Purpled to head to math. 

Mr. Wastaken was already passing out the notes when you two got there, sliding into your seats at the back of the classroom just as the bell rang. 

“You’re late.” He chided, dropping the papers onto your desk, then Purpleds. 

“Purp needed to refill his water bottle.” You explained. 

“Seriously?” Mr. Wastaken questioned, “Dude, it’s second block, why the hell was your water already empty?” 

Purpled shrugged, “P.E?” 

“Ehh, wrong, Sapnap doesn’t have you till sixth period.” 

“Stairs... are murder man.” He fumbled. 

You nodded, “First floor to the fourth floor is tough Mr. Wastaken.” 

Rolling his eyes, the teacher moved back to the front of the room, “Alright, last nights homework was a bit of a flop so we’ll be more review for the quiz tomorrow.” 

You groaned internally, pulling out your pencil. 

Purpled nodded, “I fuckin hate review days.” 

“I can hear you, you know!” Mr. WasTaken half yelled. 

~~

Chemistry: Mr. Halo

After Math you and Purpled headed down to the science hall to meet back up with Tubbo to head to Chem. 

“Welcome back everybody!” Mr. Halo greeted cheerily, “Good to see smiling faces for chemistry!” 

How he managed to stay so upbeat, no one would ever know.

You sat down at your lab table with Tubbo, “You think we actually make it to doing the lab today before he starts talking about Mr. Skeppy again?” 

“Oh no chance.” 

You chuckled, pulling out your notebook as Mr. Halo pulled up the opening review before the lab. 

Twenty minutes later found you elbow deep in the lab, quite literally. 

“It was supposed to just be a small scale elephants toothpaste!” Mr. Halo cried. 

Purpled grinned, “You should’ve taken my wildcard factor into account sir.” 

You laughed, wiping the foam off your apron (thank god for lab aprons), “That was brilliant!” 

A few minutes earlier, Tubbo had helped him do out the math to scale up the experiment by 20%, and you had willingly given up your own materials to help.

Now most of the classroom was covered in the foam, and Purpled and the girl who had been unfortunate enough to be partnered with him were knee deep in it. 

“I sent the video to the groupchat.” Tubbo whispered.

“Good.” You chuckled again. 

Mr. Halo groaned, “You three start cleaning this up, Elizabeth, dear, why don’t you join a different group.”

“I volunteer to switch with her!” Drista yelled, “they look like fun!” 

Mr. Halo sighed, “No- no absolutely not- I can’t deal with you added to the mix.” 

Drista pouted, the rest of the class went back to there work, and you, Tubbo and Purpled began to clean up the foam. 

~~

Drama: Mr. Soot

As Purpled left for his history class, you and tubbo headed twoard the music/performing arts suit, where you met up with Ranboo. 

“Tommy said he wished he could’ve been there to see the foam.” Ranboo reported as Tubbo peeled off into the band room, and you both continued on to the green room. 

“Hello, Hello, Hello!” Mr. Soot greeted in an aussie accent (you know the one). 

“Oh god please say were not doing accents today.” Ranboo muttered. 

Mr. Soot laughed, “Nah, we’re going to do some more rounds of improv.” 

“Oh thank god.” You said as you moved to take a seat at one of the side tables. 

“That would have been hell.” Ranboo agreed. 

More people poured into the room, take seats all around as Mr. Soot began to dig through on of the closets. 

As the bell rang he let out a triumphant cheer, turning around and brandishing a very large bowl of paper slips, “I found the prompts!” 

“Oh dear lord.” Ranboo muttered.

“Mr. Soot can we please do like, anything else?” You asked, “Like scenes, or hell I’d even take monologues, you know we’re all shit at improv!” 

The teacher sighed, “I suppose we could do something else. I guess we can begin our next topic, you’re all going to be assigned scenes and given time to practice them, we’ll present on Friday!” 

The entire class breathed a sigh of relief that you had managed to change his mind. 

~~ English: Mr. NotFound 

After a very chaotic lunch full of Tubbo retelling a bunch of jokes Mr. Quackity had told during music,  you trudged off to the one class that didn’t have any of your main group of friends in. 

The one good thing about having Mr. NotFound as a teacher was that he had no clue what he was doing. 

More often then not you would be left to do essays or read the required books, and then watch the movies that went along with them.

And, just your luck, your English block happened to take place during Mr. Wastaken’s prep period. 

“Right, everyone, today’s a work day, finish up anything you need to for this class, or another, and I’ll put on a movie.” Mr. NotFound said as soon as everyone was seated. 

Ten minutes into the movie the teacher had left, and you pulled up the group chat.

(y/n): Mr. NotFound has yet again suspiciously left during class. 

Purp: sus

Purp: just went by WasTaken’s room

Purp: he’s not there

BooBoy: I saw him down in the science hall ten minutes ago

BeEs: Science hall is oposite to English isn’t it

(y/n): yeah it is

BooBoy: very sus

Purp: I swear their having an affair

BeEs: defintly a lesbian

BeEs: *leassion

BeEs: lesion

BeEs: le-a-zon

BeEs: you know what I mean!

BooBoy: take your time Tubbo

You chuckled quietly, putting your phone down to look back up at the movie on the screen. 

~~

Spanish: Mr. Dream (its mexican dream lol)

“AYYYY kids!”

You groaned as your Spanish teacher burst into the room.

“What is with this guy?” Tommy muttered. 

“ayy man not cool.” Mr. Dream said. 

“Mr. Dream your ten minutes late!” Someone pointed out. 

“SHut up man. And I told you just call me Mexican Dream!” The teacher said. 

You frowned, “That doesn’t make sense, theres no way your first name is ‘mexican’.” 

“Well its not,” He explained, “But its cause I’m the Mexican version of that math teacher!” 

“Why couldn’t I have taken French like Boo and Purp?” Tommy asked the ceiling quietly.

~~ Home ec: Miss Nihachu

The last block of the day was always the best, but not just because school would be over soon. 

There were three main reasons why everyone agreed it was the best. 

1. Miss Nihachu was the nicest teacher in school

2. baking was done often, and everyone always got to take some home

3. it was the one class you, Tommy, Tubbo, Ranboo and Purpled all had together. 

Soon your found yourself crowded into one of the tiny kitchen areas with all your friends, as Miss Nihachu gave instructions. 

“Now, if you make a mess you will be cleaning it up! I’m looking at your kitchen a!” She said, half threateningly.

Ranboo pushed away from the group, “I’m not with them I swear!” 

Miss Nihachu rolled her eyes playfully, “Sure your not.” 

Surprisingly, a mess was not fully made. 

Somehow between Tommy wanting to taste the cookie dough at every step from butter to flour, Tubbo trying to add as many chocolate chips as he could, and Purpled all but refusing to move from where he was sitting on the counter, you and Ranboo managed to get the cookies into the oven with no real disasters. 

As you wiped down the empty counter space you sighed, “That wasn’t too bad.” 

“Yeah.” Tubbo agreed. 

Tommy only nodded, still eating the large glob of cookie dough he’d stolen. 

Ten minutes before the bell rang and when everyone was supposed to be finishing cleaning up you sniffed the air suspiciously, “Why do I smell burning?” 

Tubbo took a deep breath, “I smell it too.”

“Oh yeah, something is definitly burning.” Ranboo agreed. 

You whirled to face Purpled, who was absently scrolling through his phone, “Purp you did set a timer right?” 

[cluelesspigeons]

The second prompt for the hp pride fest by the lovely @girlwithacrown on Instagram! You can find the post here.

The song’s ‘Make Me Feel’ by Janelle Monae

It’s a little late (almost a week) but sshhtt, you know nothing.

Also, an enormous thank you to the amazing @nv-md for beta-reading this!!! :))

Little cw: cursing and mentions of cigarettes and alcohol

The Way You Make Me Feel

People were dancing and singing on the streets below, the orange-yellow hue of the streetlights making everything look ethereal. It was Harry’s favourite time of the day. He had just eaten a delicious home-cooked meal and was now relaxing with a glass of wine on the balcony, enjoying the slightly off-key French songs filtering up from the crowds below. The iron railing of the balcony was adorned with wisteria, the sweet smell filling his nose.

Yes, moving to France was definitely one of the best decisions he had made. Well, he and Draco had made the decision together.

Draco had come up with the idea, one day. They had been standing on their balcony back in London, quite the same way as Harry was doing now, with expensive glasses of wine in their hands and lit cigarettes between their fingers.

Draco had blurted it out, apropos of nothing, just at the moment Harry had taken a sip from his wine. “I think we should move to France.”

Harry had choked, Draco actually having to pat him on the back as he was gasping for air. “Moving?” he had managed to squeak between coughs. “To France?”

Still patting Harry’s back, Draco nodded. “Yeah,” he said, “I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time, you know.”

“Then what…” Harry had coughed again “What brought this up now?”

“I don’t know… I just—I just imagined us standing on a balcony like this, in a small village in the south of France. It would be so much better than living in this disgustingly busy city.”

Harry had straightened again, taking a small sip of his wine to clear his throat. “Well…”

“You don’t have to decide right now”, Draco had said quickly, taking a drag from a freshly lit cigarette, “I know it’s not an easy decision…”

Smiling softly, Harry had shaken his head, entwining his fingers with Draco’s. “I’ll think about it.” He had brought Draco’s knuckles up to his mouth and placed a loving kiss on top of them.

It had taken Harry 3 months to think it over, eventually deciding that, yes, moving to France wasn’t that bad of an idea.

Draco had been delighted when Harry told him, rambling on and on about a cosy apartment he had found in a small village. He had wanted to move as soon as possible.

And so they had.

Taking a deep breath, Harry took another sip of his wine, swirling the liquid in his mouth before swallowing. It had been two years now. Two years of them living in that cosy apartment Draco had talked to about. And two years of Harry very slowly learning how to communicate with the locals. Though he would never be as fluent as Draco, his French had improved immensely. At least now, he could ask for the right bread at the bakery.

“Je voudrais un pain complet, s’il vous plaît.”

Draco had taught him the little phrase. And it was only after rehearsing for what felt like a thousand times, that Harry could finally pronounce it the correct way.

“Honestly, Draco,” he had complained, one day, after he had repeated the phrase for the tenth time, “whose idea was it to just throw every weird sound you can make with your mouth together and call it a language?”

Draco had only laughed, shaking his head as he muttered something under his breath Harry couldn’t quite catch. They practiced almost every day after that. Seeing as almost no one in the village spoke English, Draco had deemed it absolutely necessary for Harry to learn French. Even if Draco had concluded Harry was a completely useless student.

How Harry had survived seven years in Hogwarts, Draco didn’t know.

“What are you thinking about, darling?” Arms wound themselves around Harry’s waist, a pointy chin resting on his shoulder.

Harry leaned back against a sturdy chest. “Hmmm… just thinking about our French lessons.”

Draco snorted next to Harry’s ear. “I don’t understand how you’re so bad at learning the language.”

“Well, not everyone had the privilege of speaking more than one language while growing up.”

Another group of people passed on the street below, their drunken giggles filling the warm evening air. Harry closed his eyes, letting his head fall back on Draco’s shoulder. “I could go for a little walk, right now.”

“Of course you could,” Draco’s lips brushed the side of Harry’s neck, “you and your strange midnight walks.”

Harry rolled his eyes, turning around in Draco’s embrace. “You love going on midnight walks with me.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he leaned closer. “It’s romantic.”

Grimacing, Draco shook his head. “You’re an absolute sap.” He ignored Harry’s lips curling into one of those far too smug smiles. “It’s disgusting.”

“Mhm”, Harry turned to place his empty glass on the small table, “let’s go for that walk then.”

He stepped out of Draco’s embrace. But before he could go inside Draco stopped him. “Wait! Harry, I…”

Harry turned back, a frown crossing his face. “Draco…?”

Draco was still standing on the balcony, his silvery blond hair gleaming in the light of the street below. He was staring at Harry, a look in his eyes that hadn’t been there in months. His hands were clasped in front of him, though Harry thought he could see them shaking slightly.

“Draco, what’s going on?” Harry took a step closer, one of his hands reaching out to Draco.

But Draco shook his head. “Nothing is going on”, he said softly, “I just…I need to tell you something.”

Harry’s frown deepened as he watched Draco run a shaking hand through his hair. This wasn’t about what he thought, right? Not after the lovely evening they had had so far? Harry had cooked them a delicious meal and Draco had brought home a fine French wine. They had had a comfortable candle-lit dinner, talking about their days, making plans for the weekend.

Surely, this couldn’t be the moment Draco decided he had enough of their relationship…

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while”, Draco began. He wasn’t looking at Harry now. “I— oh, I don’t know how to say this.”

“Draco,” Harry closed the distance between them, ignoring the slight tremble in his hands as he cupped Draco’s face between them, “you know you can tell me everything. We’re a team, remember?”

Draco nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” He smiled softly when Harry’s thumb started stroking his cheekbone. “I just… I repeated this so many times in my head. I don’t want to mess this up.”

“You won’t.”

“You don’t know that!”

Harry raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, okay.” Taking a deep breath, Draco met Harry’s gaze. “There’s something about the way you make me feel”, he took another deep breath.

“All of those feelings I’ve got, I can’t explain it. I know I sometimes second guess your intentions, even after all these years we’ve been together. But we’ve come so far and I sometimes find myself wondering if this…” Draco gestured around him, “if this whole life isn’t some kind of joke, some kind of dream. I’m scared I’ll wake up one day and everything will be gone.”

Shaking his head, Harry opened his mouth to protest but Draco put a finger against his lips, silencing him.

“I’m not done quite yet”, he smiled. “As I was saying, you make me feel powerful, Harry. Whenever you’re by my side, I feel like I can take on the whole world. So that’s why…”, Draco fumbled for something in one of his trouser pockets, “that’s why… hold on a moment, I can’t find what I’m looking for.”

A frown had appeared between his eyebrows as he frantically patted his pockets. “Oh Merlin, where the hell is it?”

“What are you looking for?” Harry asked. He had taken a few steps backwards to give Draco some space whilst he searched for whatever it was he was looking for.

“The whole point of what I’m trying to say!” Draco exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “I think I’ve lost it… oh Merlin, I’ve actually lost it!” He ran his hands through his hair, tugging at the blond locks. “I can’t believe I managed to fuck things up—”

“You didn’t fuck anything up, Draco.”

“—Normally, you’re the one to lose things or screw everything up—”

“Hey!”

“—What am I going to do now?”

Harry stepped forward again, taking Draco's hands out of his hair and entwining their fingers together. “Calm down, love”, he said gently, “everything’s fine. You didn’t mess anything up.”

“Yes, I did!” Draco exclaimed. “I messed up the perfect opportunity to bloody propose to you! And it’s all my fault! How could I be so stupid?”

“Wait”, Harry put up a hand to stop Draco from talking, his eyes as wide as saucers, “you were going to propose?”

Draco stared at Harry, a muscle in his jaw twitching and then…

“Bloody, fucking hell!” Draco exclaimed loudly, throwing his hands in the air before letting his head fall into his hands. “I can’t actually believe myself! Could this get any worse?!”

Still slightly baffled, Harry answered, “I could always say no.”

Draco peeked out from between his fingers. “Not helping, Potter.”

Harry chuckled then, peeling Draco’s hands away from his face and leaning in to place a soft kiss on his lips. “If it helps you at all,” he whispered, “I would gladly marry you.”

“But I didn’t give you a ring…”

“I don’t care about the ring, Draco. All I care about is that you actually want to marry me.”

“You do?”

“Yes, of course!” Harry placed a kiss on the palm of Draco’s hand. “The most important thing is that I love my sappy boyfriend enough to marry him, don’t you think?”

“Don’t call me that”, Draco said, rolling his eyes, though Harry could see a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I can’t believe this actually didn’t go the way I intended.”

Harry shrugged, pulling Draco closer so they were standing chest to chest. “You got what you wanted, right?”

The smile now fully spread across Draco’s face. “Well, yes. Yes, I did.”

“Good”, Harry said, and closed the small distance between them, his lips lovingly caressing Draco’s.

Draco wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck, making a satisfied noise in the back of his throat.

When Harry pulled back eventually, he was smiling broadly. “How about that walk now?” he asked. “A little midnight walk with your fiancé.”

Read it on ao3

[hooniee]

 — ꒰‧⁺paris run away  *ೃ༄

↷ heeseung x reader ⋯ ♡ᵎ

↷genre: fluff | comdey ⋯ ♡ᵎ

↷ warnings: not proofread | none! ⋯ ♡ᵎ

↷ synopsis: (y/n) just graduates from high school and feel incomplete but doesn’t know what’s missing. a trip to paris might be able to fix that ⋯ ♡ᵎ 

↷ author note: this is @enhypenwriters​ event of the month! strangers to lovers <3 i think this was my favorite to write out of the three pieces but i feel like it’s lacking some flare :( i think it still turned out okay though. i hope you enjoy <3 ⋯ ♡ᵎ

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*

you should have listened to sunoo when he said that it wasn't a good plan to travel to a foreign country on impulse.

you wouldn’t say you’ve ever been the most courageous person in your life. determined to break that trend, you planned this super out of the blue trip without much thought.

yeah. maybe this was a bit TOO courageous.

you didn't comprehend what compelled you yet here you were, arriving at paris charles de gaulle airport.

you stared at the large windows of the airport, viewing the plane that you had just left.

the gate for the concluding passengers had been locked by the flight stewardesses.

one of the stewardesses obtained eye contact with you, before shooting a smile and lightly bowing her head.

you absentmindedly returned the gesture, mind elsewhere.

bustling throughout the airport were people hurrying to their connecting flight or slumping into their lover's arms

people carried two or more suitcases with various bags strapped on their bodies, nothing on you besides a petite sling purse and one small carry on suitcase.

as weaved your way through the mass of stressed travelers, you briefly thought to yourself

how the hell did you get here?

2 days earlier

clusters of kids outfitted in blue gowns and caps could be recognized a mile away.

the graduation from high school to university.

your friend minji encloses her arm around your shoulder, your arm resting on her waist.

minji’s mom was stood in front of the both of you, gesturing wildly as she tried to take the ‘perfect graduation photo’ as she had put it

"okay pose! get a little closer, perfect. 1, 2, 3"  your friend's mom counts.

the camera shudders which creates a beaming light to flash, eyes faintly twitching.

shrieks could be heard throughout the campus as girls queued up to take their final photographs with the popular guys.

minji's mom draws back the camera and we check the picture.

"it's cute," minji exclaims, peering at it a bit more closer. you nod your head in approval.

you would miss minji, one of the friends you could constantly count on in math class when you neglected to do your homework from binging korean dramas.

"i'll send you the picture later (y/n)! don't forget about me alright? you have my socials and you can always talk to me," minji grasps your hands

you smile, feeling sad at the departure of your best friend, "of course minji, don't forget me either"

"i could never," she brings you into a secure hug.

"sweet pea perfume," you say and she chuckles. sweat pea was minji's preferred perfume and you would miss that aroma.

"i have to go now, but i'll see you around okay?" minji says.

you could notice tears well up in her eyes and she fans her eyes to prevent the tears.

"don't cry ji, i'll start crying," you joked. "i live near here and you can always visit me! my door will always be open."

she smiled, "the same goes for you." her mother shouts her name before she has to go.

"alright, see you around," you wave to her as she leaves.

on the opposite side of the garden, your mom signals to you with your bouquet of red roses in hand.

"are you ready honey?" she asks you and you smile, nodding your head.

the car ride was in pleasant quietness, light radio music fluttering in. you had taken off your cap and laid it in the car seat next to you accompanying with your bouquet. 

you had glimpsed outside to see your campus still arranged with your classmates, beaming and posing for additional pictures.

you bitterly smiled. 

for the first time, graduation didn't appear like one of those liberating scenes of a movie,

1 day ago

you sprawled on his bed, staring straight up. a fan in your hand, fanning the perspiration that threatened to come.

your eyes match the fan's speed directly above your neighbor and best friend, sunoo's, bed.

his air conditioner was broken. with the avail of those elementary paper fans and the only fan stationed in the house, you were able to find comfort

you questioned if he ever got frightened of it dropping on him when he slept.

sunoo occupies the bathroom that's joined to his room, applying some light powder.

your mind strays, more thoughts simmering in the back of your brain. you sigh for the 10th time and sunoo being exasperated, allows out a loud groan. 

it draws you out of your daze and you snap your head towards him."

"what is with you? what is on your mind sunshine?" he shuts his cushion, flinging himself on the bed.

"are you ever scared of the fan falling on you?" you felt the bed dip

"no, it's been like that for years, and don't change the subject. what's wrong?" sunoo retorted 

"what makes you say that? i'm fine, " you answer

"uh-huh," sunoo rolls his eyes

it's the blatant eye-roll rather than the hushed one, he implied business

"you've been sighing for the past ten minutes, spill," sunoo says

of course, sunoo could recognize your distress. what sort of best friend would he be if he couldn't distinguish your emotions?

you huff, " okay then"

"i don't know why but i just feel stuck? i just graduated high school and nothing feels different, i mean it doesn't have to, but what do i do now? maybe i just watched too many movies"

sunoo tsked, " (y/n). sweetie, i graduated last year and i'm still stuck here. i do nothing besides go out or stay in my room. no in-between."

"but you have something sunoo. you have a bunch of your friends, you're an instagram star and i don't know, it's just different, "

it was accurate, sunoo was extremely popular. he had a bunch of friends and acquaintances from being the vice president. 

sunoo inflated up on social media for his content from makeup to dance practices, a versatile instagram star.

you conceal your face with your hands before emitting a loud groan.

sunoo remarks, "i don't know how i can help you (y/n)? maybe you should try to rest a bit"

"easy for you to say, you, who isn’t dealing with a mid-life crisis, " you whine.

"this isn't a mid-life crisis, this is a post-graduation crisis which is totally normal. how about going out of town? obviously not to paris or whatever but maybe, what was her name again? minjoo's town!" sunoo suggested.

"obviously not to paris"

"not to paris"

"to paris"

"paris"

what about paris? paris was considerably away from your town and had a ring on the tip of your tongue. 

you had sprung up, grasping sunoo by the shoulder and shaking him, "you're a genius sunoo! paris is a genius idea."

sunoo's eyes widen and he shakes his head while attempting to pry your hands off of him.

"no, you have to think rationally-"

you released sunoo from your hold which let him stabilize his spinning head.

"and i am! i need something new. being in this town for my whole life makes me realize, maybe i just need a spontaneous trip. "

your words scarcely blur together, adrenaline rushing through your blood as you understood this could jolt you out of your post-graduation slump.

"but-"

"no buts! pass me my laptop,"

present-day

you are currently disliking your choice, anxiety rushing through your veins, but it's too overdue to have other opinions.

you had landed in france and this was a life-altering moment; a chance of a lifetime.

peering nearby, you squint at the tiny english translations of the signs. you pull out your phone.

you open up the camera to see if zooming in would improve it for your eyes. as if on cue, your stomach rumbles vaguely making you startled.

you panicked as the pocket that was previously supplied with snacks became loaded with empty wrappers.

maybe if you would be lost in this wonderful city, you might as well try some of their famous pastries.

your muscles had retracted, the result of finally getting some movement after being restrained in a metal machine that was adjacent to the fiery sun.

you stumbled across this petite bakery and enter, sparingly bowing your head. 

the owner was an older lady with her greying hair that designed it to resemble ashy highlights, pulled into a loose bun.

"que puis-je vous offrir?" she smiles.

"i'm sorry, i don't speak french?" you admit, embarrassed

as much as you assumed duolingo and rosetta stone could benefit you on a flight to paris, the only thing you could accomplish to say without messing up is "bonjour"

"that's fine mademoiselle! what can i offer you?" the lady shifts to englsih

you let out a sigh of relief, appreciative for blundering into this bakery.

"may i have your most popular pastry to go and a water bottle?" you smile, fishing out some euros.

you had looked down to the currency that you had exchanged before embarking on the plane.

"of course mademoiselle!" she says, reaching behind the counter and with her gloved hand, seizing a chocolate croissant.

"that will be 4.12 euros!" she rings you up in the cashier.

"is this the right amount? i'm not very good at counting euros," you revealed your hand where the money was.

she nodded her head and took the money, printing your receipt out. before giving you your receipt, she interviews you with a question that you weren't confident in answering"

"if you don't mind me asking, why are you here in france? not to sound rude! but i'm just curious"

you softly smile, sensing the kindness illuminating from her tone of voice. she wasn't rude at all and she was asking a simple question, but your brain struggled to obtain an answer.

"well, i would say i'm here to explore?  i just finished high school and life felt incomplete. my best friend jokingly said "go to paris" and so I booked a ticket."

you look back up at her to see her delicate gaze. the rustling of the paper bag stopped the moment of silence

"that's amazing mademoiselle! france is the city for that. you must visit the notre-dam cathedral while you're here, it's beautiful. and maybe even find some love?"

she winks at you and you engage with a small giggle.

just like the show "emily in paris," you could merely fantasize about living a life like hers but it was an altered universe. she was an employed woman and you; a fresh graduate from high school.

"maybe! but i'm not looking forward to dating right now"

it wasn't a lie nor the truth. you would love to date someone right now but dating someone from a foreign country with a language barrier? not the most desirable idea. the owner laughs, handing you your pastry and water bottle.

"thank you for dropping by here mademoiselle! please enjoy your time in france,"

"merci beaucoup" you stumbled out, providing a small wave out.

the airport seemed to be more crowded than before. slowly opening the wrapping, you take a bite of the chocolate croissant and let out an audible gasp.

unquestionably, one of the greatest pastries you have tried in your life.

you promptly pull out your phone, snapping a picture for your instagram story. it was an adorable picture with the bakery in the background with the chocolate croissant in hand.

with "just landed" as your caption, you posted it to your close friends story. almost a second later, sunoo request to video call you.

you were welcomed by a piercing shriek into the phone.

"YAH I WAS JUST GREETED BY YOUR PARENTS WHO SAID YOU WERE AT A SLEEPOVER FOR A COUPLE DAYS? SLEEPOVER MY FOOT? YOU'RE IN PARIS-" 

sunoo screeches over the phone and you timidly grimace, turning down the volume as people begin to stare.

"sunoo, i'm currently in a public airport with no earbuds plugged in, can you please STOP screaming?" you whispered audibly to him.

"OH, I FORG- sorry," sunoo sheepishly responds.

"my parents would never let me go this far so i just had to lie that i was going to a sleepover at minji's house which is out of town. plus i'm only going to be here for two days," you consult him.

"you saw me buy the tickets sunoo. why are you scolding me now? shouldn't you have tried to stop me while i was in the middle of buying the tickets?" you added.

"well now i want you to come back, who am i supposed to hang out with for the next 2 days?" 

though it was dark in the setting sunoo was in, you could practically see his pouting face.

"you could hang out with jake? or sunghoon? aren't they both your friends?"

jake and sunghoon went to the same school as sunoo and you're buddies with them. you've known each other since middle school but jake and sunghoon were always closer to each other just like you and sunoo.

"jake and sunghoon hyung are busy on a vacation together in the bahamas"

you stifled a laugh in, "good luck being alone for the next two days."

"not funny (y/n)! besides that point, what if you get caught?"

"don't worry, i won't get caught because you're the only one who knows about this .as long as you don't rat me out sunoo," you scowl at him.

"i won't, i won't, i promise but you have to buy me something? deal?”

you roll your eyes, "deal mr. sunoo-shi, i have to go now. i need to try to find my hotel"

"be safe, love you!"

"i will! love you too"

you sulk after the call ends. without your best friend on your side, you felt a little feeble and lost but it's not time to be pondering like that. 

paris awaits and you couldn't linger at the airport the whole day.

first challenge 

getting to your hotel was a struggling. wandering around a city with no basis of the language besides "hello" and "thank you so much", didn't do enough for you.

first, you had to find a taxi that could converse in english. most people had turned you down as you couldn't speak french.

thankfully, it was a fortunate day and you met this kind lady who had coffee-colored curly locks, gentle chocolate eyes, and light freckles scattered around her face.

"do you speak english?" you crisscrossed your fingers, your legs close to giving out after scrambling for taxi drivers

"yeah, i do mademoiselle! would you like to hop in?" she extended a friendly smile and you had never felt bricks lift off your chest faster.

she opened the back of the taxi and you scouted in, permitting your purse to lay on your lap.

the women examined both directions of the road, looking out for passing cars and entered the driver's seat.

"where are you heading mademoiselle?"

you swiftly pull out your phone to your notes, "hotel le walt paris?"

you corked your eyebrow, making sure it was the right name before she nodded her head. 

"a very famous hotel huh? right near the eiffel tower. i recommend that you wait till it gets dark and sit on the balcony to see the eiffel tower with lights. it's beautiful"

you smiled at the kind words of the lady, "i will surely try that! thank you miss..?"

"elena! elena is fine and you mademoiselle?"

"i'm (y/n)"

"it's nice to meet you"

"likewise"

the entire ride, you felt at some peace finally conversing with someone who understood english,

 after a 30 minute drive, you had arrived at your destination.

feeling a sad departure from this mellow woman, who turned out to be 19 seeking to make some pocket money in the summer, she was one of the first people that you had grown connected with throughout this ride.

"elena, though it was a short time, thank you for keeping company"

you present her with a warm smile as she unlocks the door for you. you exit the taxi, clasping at your phone.

"here, give me your phone."

you softly planted it in elena's hand. you were perplexed about why she showed you your home screen until you realized you had a password.

you enter your password, giving it back to her. she did a bit of clicking and you could see her hands typing something in before returning the phone back to you.

"that's my instagram, stay in contact with me alright?"

you felt the sides of your lips curve into a slight smile. you dragged her into a soft hug.

"thank you elena"

she visibly hesitant before easing into the hug. she softly rubbed your back.

"i have to go, i might get fired if i stay here too long"

you bided her a fare-well. thirty minutes was an extended time to get a know a person.

and that was the first friend you met in france.

second challenge

checking into your hotel wasn't as difficult. most people could speak english and besides the uncanny looks that you received from the clerk, check-in was pretty smooth.

"here you are mademoiselle" the bellman lowers your suitcase in front of your hotel door.

"merci beaucoup,"  you smile and he returns the gesture before leaving you.

you look down in your hand where you are grasping the card tightly. you scan the card against the door meter and it flickers twice. 

red, green

the door clicks before you push on it and reveal your hotel room.

at first glance, your mouth dropped.

the hotel room seemed better than it did on the online photographs which was a rare possibility.

though it was a small room, it was renovated beautifully.

overhead the king-sized bed, there was an extensive painting of the eiffel tower. a blue chair that held a place directly by the bed along with a little wooden table.

the hotel was fine but you definitely weren't

"(y/n) shut down in,"

"3"

"2"

"1"

before thinking, you throw yourself on the bed having the jet-lag kicking in. the bag offers a 'thump' sound as it connects with the ground.

'ouch that hurt'

you fish through your pocket, pulling out your phone. it was hardly twelve pm and you were already fatigued.

what was your strategy? you were in france for two days and you don't have a plan to do anything.

first things first, you needed to sort out this jet-lag.

 1) taking a shower

showers are always a great way to awaken and could shake you from this daze. you endured a scream as your water turned to be ice cold. someone must be utilizing the hot water. that shower unmistakably woke you up

2) skincare

after getting out of the shower, skincare was the secondary way to wake up. cleansing with toner, dropping essence into the skin, and implementing a nice coat of moisturizer to lock-in.

3) fueling with food

food can beat anybody out of slumber if they're fueled with enthusiasm but you didn't have any food on you? that indicates it's time to go out and explore france.

unfastening up your suitcase, you drabble on what you can wear.

reconciling with a simple pair of denim shorts and a light pink tank top, you catch a fast mirror selfie.

being content with the ultimate product, you smile to yourself.

"phone, key, wallet," you whispered, securing the thoughts of having everything. 

everything was arranged to go and it was time to tour paris.

third challenge 

cruising through paris would be by notably the toughest challenge while you were here.

you had your phone to navigate solely with wifi and you couldn't be that favorable to be able to meet people who could speak english all the time. 

you had entered a small restaurant, where you worked to communicate with people in defective french but they moderately understood what you wanted.

after that fiasco trying to order a chicken frricassee, you were able to appreciate your time there along with sending a picture to sunoo who reacted with,

"can that be the souvenir you bring back to me TT?"

you chuckled at the message, knowing typical sunoo, and finished up eating.

eating wasn't the one exclusive thing available in france. there were various activities but you were too afraid to venture any future for the hotel. getting lost too was easy.

that being said, eating after eating all you could do was roam around the city. it was around 2pm and you could spot a diverse crowd of people.

you could see kids. in uniforms that just got out of school or a cute couple that was experiencing their date.

you slightly squint and cover your eyes as the sun is at its highest point.

yes, paris was lovely and you would prefer to travel more but but you didn’ toriginally have a plan

for a couple of hours, you completed wandering around the area where your hotel is. you wished at moments like this that you would have jungwon, sunoo's friend, with you to help navigate you.

 jungwon was also a friend you guys met in middle school but he went to your school. very mature for his age and great at preparation.

before you knew it, the sun had died down and it was time to retreat to the hotel.

'ah right! elena told me to look out at the eiffel tower as it gets darker'

you softly tread back to your hotel, observing the blisters at the back of your foot.

you could clearly sense the entire day of walking take a toll on your body.

you scan your key card and fling your bag to the floor as soon as you get inside. you open up your suitcase to change into suitable sleeping clothes.

you briskly cleansed your face and tied your hair back.

you had approached the balcony, guessing how to cautiously open the glass door.

you gradually shift the handle to the right and the door made a scanty creek. you gingerly put more stress on it, opening the balcony wide.

a distinct gasp could be heard from you.

subsequently taking a step onto your balcony, the frail breeze made you quiver in the long black tee that adorned your top half and the sweatpants that settled on your waist.

the balcony was small, barely able to move besides staying still.

you had peered to your right, glancing at the eiffel tower.

elena was correct. the eiffel tower was breath-taking at night. for the first time when landing in france, you could feel in harmony. below you was a crowded street.

it was only 8 pm yet you could feel your eyes droop as opposed to the bouncy pair of kids that ran through the moobs of people.

the radiant yellowish glow of the eiffel tower was able to save you from dozing off. you softly hum 'fly me to the moon,'

'fly me to the moon,' didn't have significance, it felt appropriate in the second.

you hadn't regarded it but a figure had gently peeked out of the other balcony, attentively listening to the silky melody that you were humming.

"nice song"

a voice interrupts and your humming had come to a halt, eyes widened.

you had turned to the origin of the voice and discovered the culprit

the balcony alongside you.

"thank you"

you glanced over, granting him a slight smile before he returns it.

"new to paris?"

he questioned, now you guys facing each other.

"yeah, just arrived this morning, and you?"

you asked before he softly smiles.

"not really, i've been here multiple times but the feeling is something i'll get used too."

you hum as a response

"how did you know to speak english to me? do i really act like a foriegner?"

you were growing more drowsy but this stranger was fascinating. who else could say they met someone and talked to them from a balcony romance?

"english song, random guess"

you nodded your head, not certain if he could see you but that was all you could muster up.

there grows stillness beside the bustling street below until the stranger breaks it.

"i know this sounds weird but since you're new here, would you like to go out with me tomorrow to travel the city?"

that question felt like ice water was just splashed onto your face. the proposal startled you. 

the stranger didn't appear like a bad person. been to paris varied times, can acknowledge good music and good at conversation.

as much as this stranger flatter you, how could you trust him?

"as much as i would love to, how do i know that you're not trying to kidnap me, even worse, kill me?"

he stifles a laugh.

"hey knock it off, this is a very serious question, balcony boy"

you snicker, desiring to know the answer than anticipated.

"i promise you that i won't try to kidnap OR kill you. i'm just offering and you can even pat me down before we go out together."

this was by far one of the most peculiar offers you had received but this was THE stranger offer you came to france seeking.

you know sunoo would not advocate for numerous reasons and you can hear his voice already 

"number one, dangerous"

"number two, dangerous!"

"number three, DANGEROUS!"

but sunoo isn't here right now. you chose to grab the opportunity. france had provided you luck today.

"alright then"

a moment of silence goes by before you hear him clearing his throat.

"you're serious right?"

he glances at you and your eyes lock. though you can't see that well due to the absence of light, you nod.

the eiffel tower gave you enough light that you could make our curious eyes, tall nose, fair skin that radiated in the soft lighting, and full lips that were curved into a smile

"i'll see you at the lobby at eight,"

next morning

to say you were nervous was an understatement, you were terrified. you agreed to a stranger who claimed to know paris like the back of his palm. you met him off your balcony and now you were agreeing to go a date with him? 

"you must be out of your mind!" sunoo exclaimed through the phone.

"well yes i must have been at 8 pm last night when fatigue was hitting the hardest but how can i say no now?"

"i don't know maybe, I DON'T KNOW YOU STRANGER DANGER?" sunoo shouts

and like you foretold last night, sunoo was not a big supporter of this idea. over the course of fifteen minutes, you had been continuously scolded by him.

you cringe, " sunoo, i promise that i'll be fine. i just need you to help me pick out an outfit"

sunoo rolls his eyes, "what are your options?"

though sunoo wasn't supportive of this, he couldn't let you go on a date without style.

you held up two choices; a blue floral dress that settled to your mid-thigh and a pink tennis skirt with a white cami shirt.

"well do we like this guy or do we like LIKE this guy?" sunoo questioned.

"what- well i literally met him last night? so i don't even like him, we're just going out for this one day since he offered"

"uh-huh, then the blue floral dress, it's hot there right?" sunoo says

"super hot," you groan.

you glance at the time, 7:00 am.

"i have to start getting ready sunoo, i'll update you later alright?" you smile

"alright, try not to get killed but have fun too! love you"

"love you too," you say back before hanging up.

you quickly hop in the shower and make sure to not take too long.

doing skincare, putting on the outfit, and spraying a little bit of perfume, you are ready to head out the door.

one last check to make sure you have all the things.

7:58 am

you quickly head down to see several people in the lobby.

a bellman, a pair of teenage girls who seemed like they were dragged here, a couple around the mid-40s trying to check-in, and a teenage boy that rested on one of the lobby seats.

it was evident who the balcony boy was but you just called out to be safe.

"balcony boy," you say.

the teenage boy that was seated turns around before flashing you a smile. 

"miss singer,"

you airly chuckle at the nickname.

observing him in person was a lot different. you could see his long body proportion, bright eyes, sharp jawline, with fair skin that complimented his rich brown hair.

a distinct experience from seeing him on the balcony.

"i'm (y/n)! and you?" you ask

"i'm lee heeseung"

[peakywitch]

Jane - John Shelby

Warnings: none

Word count: 1.5k

Author’s Note: NOT proof read. If you see any mistakes, please let me know! <3 This will have quite a few parts. Maybe 4. <3

masterlist

Jane woke Y/N with a loud crying. Instantly, she knew: the baby was hungry. She sighed frustrated; the poor woman could not rest more than five hours. She sat on the bed, trying not to suffer from the cold, and took care of feeding her daughter.

“Jane… I know you are cold. Me too, but tomorrow I will improve our life. I promise, love. "

When the clock struck six in the morning, Jane was asleep while Y/N changed. She was putting on her ocean blue dress, the same as always. While it did fit a little tight, it was the only one that fit: Her other three dresses had been transformed into various pieces of clothing for Jane.

Y/N looked at herself in the mirror while combing her hair. Her tiredness was strongly evident on her face and her body was heavy. She looked at the pressed powder and the single red lipstick, now nearly empty, on her dresser. The small amount of makeup she had, she had saved it for a day like today. Then it was decided: it was a matter of life or death, literally. She used a little bit of powder and with, her ring finger, she painted her lips red and then stained her cheeks pink. She tied her hair as best as she could and smiled. Today everything would change.

"Good morning, Stella" greeted Y/N, sitting at the table in the private room, where the prostitutes had breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"Good morning, Y/N." she greeted, while lifting Jane And good morning to you, beautiful princess." Jane started to laugh when Stella filled her with kisses "Did you sleep well?"

Y/N sighed, pouring herself some coffee in an old mug.

“She slept and then woke me up before the sun did. So yes and no." Y/N sat at the table with her cup, handing Jane a bottle of water.

"Anna told me you have a job interview, Y/N, is that true?" Stella asked, as she made her tea.

"Yes, Lizzie Stark left her job and ..."

"Lizzie Stark quitted the Shelby Company?" Stella yelled, interrupting Y/N.

"Yeah, Tommy Shelby problems Anna told me. And I…"

“Y/N” Stella began, as she sat across from the young woman “Don't go near the Shelbys. You... Jane…"

“Stella, I know who the Shelbys are. I know they kill, Stella. But either I join a gang or my daughter and I will die on the street."

Stella pursed her lips, Y/N was determined to death that it would work, whatever the circumstance. She helped with the cleaning in that hellhole, but it was not enough. It wasn't that Stella didn't want to give her more money, it was that she couldn't. Many of the prostitutes had left work, leaving the brothel with only five women: Stella, Y/N, Anna, Sarah, and little Jane.

They finished their breakfast in silence, Stella was not angry, she was worried to death. What if the Shelbys hurt Y/N? What about Jane? What if she didn't get the job?

"Well" said Y/N, bundling up to leave "Wish me luck." Y/N yelled at Stella from the doorway, having already greeted Jane and Stella in the kitchen.

"Y/N! Wait!" Stella warned, approaching her with Jane in her arms "I..." she sighed "Don't leave without Thomas fucking Shelby giving you a job, eh?" Stella smiled and Y/N hugged her.

"Okay." She smiled

.

The drive to the Shelby Limited Company office was cold. The weather and her nerves made her nauseous. With what excuse would she explain to Tommy Shelby the rumor she had heard? The path seemed longer than it really was, the little snow on the ground scared her. She didn't want to fall.

After about five minutes, she arrived at the company. The tall black door intimidated her. Was it a good idea to come? She wasn't sure, but she would find out. She knocked on the door with a nervous hand, she was freezing without gloves.

"Yes?" asked a woman with a serious look on her face.

“Hello ma'am, my name is Y/N. I would need to speak to Thomas Shelby, is he available? "

Y/N's delicate smile only hardened the woman's gaze.

"Come with me."

The woman let Y/N through, closing the door behind her.

“You will refer to Thomas as Mr. Shelby. If he offers you a whiskey, you accept. If he invites you for a cigarette, you accept. If he asks you to leave, you leave." She stopped in front of a glass door, turning to look Y/N in the eye "Got it?" Y/N nodded nervously.

The lady knocked on the door and walked in, leaving Y/N alone, outside Thomas Shelby's office. She stared curiously at the gold letter on the door that bore his name. The lady came out again and spoke to her.

"Mr. Shelby will see you now."

The woman did not open the door for him, leaving it closed and walking away. With a knot in her stomach, Y/N knocked on the door.

"Come in!" was heard. Y/N's shaking hands turned the doorknob, revealing Tommy Shelby standing with his back to her, then watching him turn with two drinks in hand.

"Excuse me, Mr..." Tommy sighed in frustration.

"If I hear you say Mr. Shelby, I’ll throw you out with Ophelia, Miss Y/N." his tone of voice was so monotonous that it surprised the girl, everything that was said d e he was true "You can call me Tommy."

"Okay, Tommy..." Y/N smiled softly, as Tommy handed her the Whiskey "Excuse me, I know what Ophelia said about not denying you a Whiskey, but I can't drink. I have a baby…” Y/N braced herself for Tommy's contemptuous look and some comment. But it never arrived.

"Oh, don't worry. Water?" he asked, Y/N denied. Nerves were consuming her.

"What brings you here, Miss Y/N?" Tommy asked, sitting down in her chair.

“Tommy, I’m sorry for being so… direct. I am friends with Anna Preston. As you well know, Anna is a friend of Lizzie and… I think you already know what I'm here for. Lizzie quit, and I have a daughter who is just three months old. I am living in the room in which a woman used to prostitute herself, dressing my daughter in my clothes. I am very afraid of staying with my daughter, Jane, on the street. So Anna told me that I could ask you if I could fill Lizzie's position…” Y/N spoke quickly, anxiety growing exponentially in her body.

"Miss Y/N..." Tommy started. Y/N interrupted him.

“Before you say no, you should know that I went to one of the best schools. I do not have the best body, I know it, but I am very skilled with mathematics, I can read and write fluently in English and French. Speaking with the accent is a bit difficult for me, but I'm willing to improve it. Also, I will never be a minute late, I am extremely punctual. I am very neat and…"

"Y/N..." Tommy spoke again, Y/N's nerves continued to interrupt him.

“And I will not pay attention to any of your workers, I will not be distracted by men. I just…” Y/N's body froze, begging for air. Y/N breathed "I just need to keep my daughter alive."

Tommy watched her. He saw the weariness on her face, her despair, and her dress pressing against her body.

"What is your daughter's name, Miss Y/N?" asked Tommy, pulling out a cigarette. “Do you mind if I smoke? She asked again, placing her cigarette on her lips.

"Jane. Please, it doesn't bother me…” Y/N sighed nervously.

Tommy lit her cigarette. After patiently inhaling and exhaling, Y/N was sure: Thomas Shelby would send her to hell.

"You are single, right?" he asked, the lump in Y/N's throat prevented her from speaking. She could only nod while looking at her hands. "Your accent isn't from around here, you're from London, right?"

“King’s College, London. The bastard abandoned me and spread lies all over bloody London. My parents kicked me out of my house, with only three dresses and a hundred pounds I came to Birmingham. I already owe Stella money. I don't want any more debt. I also don't want to die on the street and for Jane to have to... I want to give my daughter a good life, Tommy. And I am willing to do anything.”

“You ever been to Camden town, Y/N?” Tommy asked, drinking a little bite of his alcohol glass.

“Yes, Tommy. Quite a few times, actually.”

“Do you know who Mr Solomons is?”

Y/N thought about that last names for a few seconds.

“What’s his first name?” Y/N asked.

“Alfie.”

“Yes, I do know him. He owns a bakery, makes amazing sourdough bread.” Y/N smiled at the memories that where flashing through her head.

“Wait. Alfie, the Jewish baker… has business with a Birmingham gang?” the look on Y/N’s face made Tommy chuckle.

“Bring Jane, Y/N. We are going on a trip with my boys.”

[angelisverba]

no need to be sorry

in which y/n realizes she loves Jason, and he can’t touch himself to the thought of her because it makes him feel guilty

word count: 12.8k

pairing: y/n and her brother’s best friend, jason

warning: strong mentions of sexual trauma and abuse. please read at your own caution if you are not comfortable with that .

author’s note: originally this was supposed to be a super long piece (and the last one) but i wanted to put something else to make the last part even longer :) THIS IS NOT EDITED, sorry not sorry hehe

March is a very confusing month. 

For y/n, it meant SAT cramming and intensive camps for the retake in may. A maxed out speed on her brain as to keep up her grades (and even improve them because God knows her math grade needs urgent care) and constantly keep her nose in her books because finals were approaching soon. 

For Jason, and the entire senior class for that matter, it meant renting out tuxedos and making appointments at the beauty salon in preparation for prom, buying tickets for prom, finding a prom date, asking out said date in a cutesy way that was memorable for both parties.

It meant asking y/n to be his prom date, but not drag her away from her studies because that just wouldn’t be fair.

Hell, Jason still hadn’t taken his girl out on a second date because she was such a busy bee, and had to settle for ‘study dates’. Really it was just him watching her chew on her bottom lip as she transferred notes from her chemistry textbook to her notebook, his own work splayed out in front of him, meaning to be completed but his attention diverted elsewhere. She’d glance up with burning cheeks to tell him that his glasses were sliding down his nose, and Jason— quite nearly in a hypnotic daze— would smile dopily at her and say ‘you’re so pretty’. She would shush him and tell him to get to work, or sometime ask for his help, and Jason would use that as an excuse to wrap his arm around her waist telling her ‘gotta whisper love, come close’ and proceed to explain how the law of gas, ideal gas, and Dalton’s Law of partial pressure differentiated from each other. 

He didn’t mind this. Any time he got with her he treasured, but god did he want to keep her tucked at his side at all times to show him off. It was selfish of him to be jealous that she wasn’t spending time with him when all she wanted to do was study for her future; for college. Selfish because Jason already had everything worked out. He’d gotten a scholarship to his dream school via football and his good-ish grades. Dorming and transportation was all set-up; he was 100% ready to go. 

But y/n? She’d confessed to Jason that she had no idea what she was doing with her life. That she was studying and doing all these things to look good for her college application, but her biggest fear was that they still wouldn’t accept her and she’d wind up going to community college. There were times where her bouncing leg would violently shake their table in the library so much, Jason would drag her out of the chair and take her on a short walk around the library (if her eyes were teary he’d sneak her into a corner and peck at her eyelids softly until she giggled). An effective strategy that resulted in a noticeable tent at his crotch, and a dreamy-eyed y/n that peeked up at him through her lashes with heated cheeks. 

He’d say, “Are you relaxed now? Or should we go home?” 

Home was his house. Y/n had her home, and Jason had his- respectively- but he referred to his place as ‘home’ and she never bothered to correct him.  More often than not (once it got to this point) y/n would nod and they’d head over to his place. 

And, well, who was she to pass up that opportunity? 

Y/n enjoyed reading her dog-eared SAT book on Jason’s bed and falling asleep on her crossed arms. Only because she would wake up an hour or so later, glued next to his side, with him also napping, lips puffy and hair extra fluffy. His hair, how a complete chocolate brown color, closely cropped since he’d cut off all the blond, fanned on the pillow and curled around the frames of his tortoise-shell glasses that he never remembered to take off. 

She’d always take them off for him, and the movement would startle him awake, his green eyes fluttering awake, eyebrows furrowed in a confusion that disappeared when he realized that it was just her. His sweet y/n with sleepy eyes who took his glasses off ever so gently, and reached over him to place them on his bedside.

They were wrapped up in their own little personal heaven when they were together, alone, and it was only disrupted when it was time for Jason to take y/n home. Grabby hands and kissy faces consumed them when she received a questioning text from her parents or brother, and the whole ‘do you really have to go’ ordeal took its course. And maybe- just maybe- Jason enjoyed the goodbyes because y/n always put extra effort into her goodbye kiss, leaning and pressing up against his mouth so their noses were squished against each other, her hand at the collar of his shirt to pull him even closer, communicating to him how much… how much she would miss him. 

She knew that Jason understood, and when they broke apart with a wet suction noise, and her eyes fluttered open to meet his, Jason knew that she knew that he knew what she was trying to say. It was a slight moment of vulnerability on her part, because it was the closest they’d get to admitting/discussing the sexual parts of their relationship. Or rather, the lack of.

But never mind that, it didn’t matter to any of them. They could be intimate without having sex. 

Right?

*                                                      *                                  *

Jason was confused. 

As silly as it was, prom was a big deal. It signified the closing of an era in a teenager’s life; the end of high school. A party to honor their struggles and begin a transition to a period of more struggles. 

Traditionally, you attend a dance with a date. A girlfriend, a crush, a last resort. One could go with friends but, Jason has a girlfriend now and he’d be damned if he didn’t take his pretty girl and show off that he was the one that got her in the end.  

The only issue was: the prom-posal.

He knew that y/n and him didn’t hang in the same crowd, and while they were both mellow, y/n held a little more reserve to public announcements.

She was shy. 

Needless to say, Jason had a very big quest on his shoulders; to find a way to ask y/n out to prom in a way that was memorable and attune to her likings. He thinks he doesn’t think he'd be able to get over it if he messed this up. 

“Jason? Bro are you even listening?” Andrew asked from across the lunch table. Kent stuffed french fries into his mouth, and glanced from both his friends. 

“Sorry, man. What was that?” Jason presses the lock button on his phone, and places it down on the table. 

“I was talking about the rager at Greg’s, is everything alright? You’ve been distant for a few days now, not having issues with y/n are you?” Andrew’s facial features darkened slightly, the deep concerns for his sister shining through his demeanor. Kent picked on the change of atmosphere, and his chewing stops. 

Jason sighed, his shoulders slanting downwards and the fabric of his letter-man jacket coming to a close at his chest. His heart-shaped lips come to a pensive pucker, debating if he should tell his best friend what was on his mind. 

At the troubled look on his face, Kent smiles encouragingly, and says, “You know you can tell us anything, J.” Andrew turns to look at his Kent while he’s speaking, and when he turns back to Jason, he nods, a knowing glimmer in his eyes. 

“What’s up?” His girlfriend’s brother leans forward, prepared to listen.

“I don’t know how to ask y/n to go to prom with me.” 

Andrew and Kent’s facial expression drop to a deadpan, and Jason’s eyebrows furrow in response, confused at their reaction. 

“What?” He looked back and forth between his two unimpressed friends, who suddenly burst into laughter; snickering and pointing fingers at him through wheezed words. 

“You’re fucking whipped,” Kent said, slapping a hand on Andrew’s shoulder and doubling forward.

“My sister,” their laughter calms down momentarily, “has you this upset?” And at his comment, the boys start laughing again, loud enough that it drags the attention of nearby tables. 

“Guys,” the corner of Jason’s lips struggle to stay down. “It’s not funny.” 

“Yeah, it is. Your panties are in a twist because of y/n,” Kent said, “Where is she?” He stands up from the bench and glances around the cafeteria, looking for her. 

Jason’s eyes widen, and his jaw drops, amazed at his friend’s response. “Dicks,” he mutters. “She’s with her English teacher, preparing for an exam.” 

Andrew’s chuckles die down again, and he shakes his head while rubbing his fingers on his forehead, grinning. “Deadass?”

“Yes!” Jason juts his head forward, nodding wildly. “Help me!”

Kent sits again, and places his chin on his palm. “Just go with what she likes, man.”

“Gee, thanks so much.” The stressed boy looks away, defeated.

Perhaps, it was a mistake bringing it up. Instead of receiving help, they were taking the piss out of him. He thought that maybe, because Andrew was related to the girl he was dating, he’d be a bit of hel-

“She keeps bugging me to take her to the aquarium.” 

Jason whips his head around to look at his friend, crossing his arms on the table and leaning with interest. 

“The aquarium?” He asks, eyebrows raising.

“Yeah, they remodeled a few exhibits and she’s been wanting to see them. Sent me a text about it a few days ago,” Andrew reached back to pull out his phone from his back pocket, unlocking it and pulling up a thread of texts from his sister. “Look.” 

The boy takes the phone from his friend’s hand. Y/n had sent her brother a link to the aquarium’s announcement of a reopening that occurred a few weeks before, along with ‘pleeease can we go? pleeease?’ and a puppy-eyed emoji. Andrew had only sent a curt ‘we’ll see’ to which the girl responded with screenshots of seals and penguins. 

A pang hit him straight in the heart, and he was saddened that she hadn’t asked him, given that he had refrained from taking her out in fear of distracting her from her studies. Yet, here she was asking to be taken to the aquarium, and Andrew showed no interest.  

“Take her. Ask her there. The only reason why I haven’t taken her is because she’ll ask for something from the gift shop and they’re expensive as fuck.” Andrew shrugged.

Bingo. 

With a composed look, he clicked off the phone and slid it back. On the inside, he was hopping up and down, pumping his arms with joy because everything had clicked, and he knew exactly what to do.

*                                                      *                                  *

Y/n still felt butterflies every time Jason looked at her.

Every girl wanted to be looked at by someone the way he looked at her.

A soft, dreamy daze that took over his face, eyes shining with an enamored gleam. Lashes fluttering adoringly, and lips coming together in a smirk, like he held all kinds of secrets and wanted to share them with her. His look alone said it all. I want you and only you.

It was overwhelmingly passionate. So intimate; an open admission with no shame. 

“You’re not even paying attention to me,” she whined, flopping over onto her back and throwing an arm over her head. 

They were- as usual- laying on Jason’s bed, with one of y/n’s textbooks spread open in front of them. 

“Can’t help myself,” he pushed up his glasses and raked his hair back. “You’re so pretty it’s distracting.” 

At that, y/n turned herself over so she laid next to Jason again, but her face was still nestled in the crook of her arm where her cheeks flamed. “Stop it,” she said, words muffled. 

“I’m serious.” She felt his weight dip on the bed, his hand coming to brush away hair that blocked the side of her face, and then puffs of air on her arm. Tilting her head so her eye peeked out, she saw that Jason’s mouth was hovering millimeters away from her skin, and when her eyes glanced up, an intense emerald gaze fixed on hers. “Like an angel, you are.”

Fire, heat, tingles littered the areas where his lips pressed against a trail into his skin. A blossoming feeling of affection imprinted onto her arm, and up to her cheek, where his lips lingered right underneath her lashes.

It became too much for her to handle, her heart and mind becoming muddled and confused through the overwhelming sensations that traveled throughout her nerves. Her cognitive senses seemed to refuse to acknowledge the difference between welcomed attention and… unwanted but forced attention. And, in efforts to prevent a hysteric scene or breakdown, she sprung up from her position, pressing a quick kiss into Jason’s cheek so he wouldn’t suspect anything, and sitting so she was almost completely off the bed. 

Jason watched her with… rejection. But, she wouldn’t know that because she refused to meet his eyes. Instead she said, “Have you got marshmallows in the cupboard?” 

“Uhh,” Jason cleared his throat, standing up and heading out of his room. “Yeah, I think so.”

She followed after him, shoulders hunched; ashamed. Mentally, she was pushing away repressed trauma from what seemed like yesterday. A haunting memory that refused to leave like paranoia. 

“Tiny ones or…?” He heads straight for the silver door knob next to the fridge, stepping in to squat at the lower shelves. Y/n stands in the doorway, hands awkwardly at her sides. 

“The big ones, please.” She doesn’t look up when he extends his hand to give her the fluffy white bag, and he doesn’t ask what's wrong.

Silently, y/n walks over to the kitchen island to pluck a skewer out of the drawer, and pops her hip to shut it. Jason lifts himself to sit on the countertop, his white shirt lifting to expose the pale sliver of skin that escaped from his grey sweatpants. Out the corner of her eye, she could see the enticing movement, and it caused her hands to shake, but she hid it in the twisting wrist movement of turning on the stove. 

A tearing noise comes from behind her, blending in with the clicking noises of the stove turning on. Jumping at the startling disruption, she turns to see Jason with an Oreo midway to his mouth. He gives her an open lipped smile, eyes wide as if shocked, and it makes her burst into a chuckle. 

“Can I get one?” She asked.

Wordlessly, he passed her a cookie. She took it, and it seemed that he purposely grazed his fingers over her palm. 

Y/n yanked her hand away like he’d burned her. 

Alarmed, Jason hops off the counter and moves to stand next to her.

“Y/n, is everything al-”

“Do you want a marshmallow?” She interrupted him, her breaths tense. 

“Uh, no.” He said, his head slightly shaking in disbelief at her actions. Had he done something wrong?

The girl stabbed the skewer through the white candy, and twirled it over the flames, the edges quickly turning a golden color. 

“Baby, what’s wr-” 

It catches fire, and her lips blow them off before it turns completely black, the fuh noise that escapes overpowering Jason’s gentle words. She was scared of breaking in front of him. She was scared to show him how much she was holding in.

“Can you hold this?” Voice small and squeaky.

He took the skewer out of her hands, holding it while she opened the oreo cookie. Knowing what she was gonna do, he gingerly placed the melted marshmallow on top of the frosting covered cookie, and pulled away when she sandwiched the top cookie on top.

Y/n takes a bite out of the treat, and relishes in the slightly burnt, woodsy taste of the white taffy and how it melts on her tongue and slides with ease down her throat. So much so, that a small noise of appreciation comes from the depths of her chest.

“S’good?” Jason asked, a breathy-uneasy- laugh whooshing through his nose.

She’s nodding before she looks up at him, and her head stills when she locks eyes with him. 

It’s the same, intense, focused look from before.

The one that promised so much. And it just- god she was so confused. 

So confused that she leaned forward to kiss him, disregarding the fact that- in that moment- she didn’t want affection. She needed a bit of distance and time to process her emotions.

 And instead of doing so, she lunged and connected herself to him in a smoldering embrace of their mouths. A sudden flood of inexplicable physical impressions, claiming, pleading.

Jason didn’t hesitate to respond, his hands appearing to cup at her cheeks, thumbs gingerly rubbing on the apples of her cheeks. He breathes deeply; a sharp inhale into her mouth that pulled his frame taught against hers. The forgotten treat pressed up against the divot of his pectoral muscles. 

The instant his tongue snaked into her mouth, he was bombarded with the warm and sweet taste of her mouth. Marshmallows and just her essence crowding over his taste buds; his nose also breathing in the fruity scent of her hair and woodsy burnt candy. Urgently, his lips suckled on her lower lip, y/n gasping at the sudden, ardent actions. 

Had she been any other girl, that would have been the night she finally let herself have sex with Jason. 

The mood was right; they were both bleeding mad for each other. 

But, y/n was y/n and that’s not how she was wired to go. Her mind began again with the confusion, her heart rate picking up double the rates from both the proximity of the boy and what was going to happen if the kiss continued. Did she want this? Fuck, of course she wanted this! Why was she…

“She’s not gonna do it because she’s a prude!” said one of the girls in the room. 

“No, I’m n-”

“Yeah, you are y/n. You’re a virgin. Probably wouldn’t even know what to do,” said the same girl.

Y/n had been invited to a party that the cheerleaders in her class were throwing, and boys from rival school had been invited to. They were all sitting in a circle- enough people to fill up the living room of a rich man’s house- playing a game of truth or dare, and they’d just gotten to y/n. 

She’d gotten dared to give one of the football players of the opposing school a blowjob… in the middle of the living room, with everyone watching. When they all saw her face fall, redden, and then pale,  no one wasted time to verbally pounce on her hesitance.

“Look at her! She’d pathetic Marcy, she’s not gonna do it.” The girl who invited her, Marcy, looked at her with a smirk. 

Embarrassed, and just numb to everything that was going on around her as well as what may come depending on her decisions. All she knew is that she needed to do this because she’d look bad if she didn’t. She didn’t want to be known as a prude. Even if she was a virgin. She didn’t want to be thought of badly. 

“Yes, I will.” Her meek reply had silenced the whole room.

“Come over here, and blow me.” Chris was a sophomore that was known for his promiscuous ways, and the fact that he had a big… that was evident when y/n came to kneel in front of him. 

Shaking, she sat in front of him with wide eyes, her back burning with stares and her heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her hands. 

Throughout it all, she felt disgusting. Ashamed. And unable to breathe because the guy wasn’t letting her come off, holding her down with a strong grip in her hair. Tears burned on her lashes and down her cheeks, partly from being unable to breathe, and the other because she was scared. 

God, she was so scared. What would happen to her when this got out? What then? When everyone knew what she’d done? There were more than enough witnesses present to attest that she’d given head to a guy she didn’t even know.

She’d felt a hand on her breast, and her eyes snapped open from their painful clench; alarmed. The guy sitting next to Chris had leaned over to touch her, and at her scared look he only laughed and continued to do it. His hand trailed lower and lower, and eventually she felt something hot spill down her aching throat. Her ears were ringing, her eyes bleary. 

Much of how she escaped had been... blurred through her panic.

But the feeling… that dreadful, terrorized feeling. It was what deer felt moments before being impacted by a car. 

She’d never forget it.

It was the same feeling creeping up on her then. The niggling, freezing, ambushed fear. It’s the reason why she pulled away from him, and said in a wet whisper, “I can’t.”

She hugs her arms across her chest, oreo still in hand, and turns away with her eyes dropped to the floor.  Y/n’s mind is reeling, utterly confused and just so scared scared scared.

“Did I do something wrong?” Jason asked, trailing after her to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. His lips are a dark shade of pink, the skin of his cheeks a flushed color; if one were to look down, they’d see the heather grey color of his sweatpants was slightly lifted. But his arousal was pushed aside by his concern towards the small girl, who shivered when his fingers grazed her shoulder. He could see her eyes were shut closed, but a tear escaped to roll down her cheeks, and at that the thick hairs of his brows dipped to crinkle on his forehead. “Y/n?”

“I’m sorry.” She sighed, her words hitching and cracking. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry-”

Jason pulled her into his chest, his head shaking no no no to her apologies. “There’s no need to be sorry, dovie. It’s okay. You’re alright.” 

“But I am! I so sorry, Jason. I-” Her words died on her tongue, collapsed by a series of sobs that ruptured out of her lips. She was guilty. So so guilty. She felt like she was lying to him by not telling him of what had… occurred. 

“Baby, baby, hey. Y/n,” He pulled back to cup her face with his hands again, forcing her to gaze into his calm, forest eyes. “Listen to me. Deep breaths,” he began to inhale, his chest expanding with the intake of air. “You’re okay. I’m not mad at you for anything, dove.” 

“You don’t know what I’ve done,” Y/n sets the cookie on the counter, and goes to wipe at her eyes roughly, Jason tugging at her wrists and doing it himself, shushing her as he does. 

“Well I can’t be mad if I don’t know, yeah?” He gives her a small smile. “Do you wanna talk about it?” 

“N-no,” she shakes her head. “No, I don’t.”

“Okay.” He nods, still smiling. “That’s okay. I’m here to listen whenever you’re ready.”

Y/n just nodded and gave him a sad attempt to seem happy, but her chin began to tremble, crinkles appearing underneath her lip, and she rushed to dig her nose in the crook of Jason’s neck. 

“Oh, sweetheart, I wish you’d tell me what’s got you so upset.” He murmured into her hair, his arms wrapping around her. 

“Please, Jason. I don’t wanna,” She sniffled. “Don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Alright. I’ll stop asking. Don’t wanna stress you out anymore, dovie. You need a break as it is.” Jason rubs a warm hand up and down her back soothingly when he feels her nose dip into his collarbone. 

She sniffles some more, a slight hiccup in her breaths, and Jason continues, “speaking of breaks,” this catches her attention, and y/n tilts her head so she’s able to rest it in his shoulder and look up at his side profile. “Would you like to go to the aquarium with me next week?” 

At this, her head springs up so she’s eye level with Jason, her wet eyes gleaming as a surprised smile plays on her mouth. “The aquarium?” 

“Yes, the aquarium.” Jason laughed at her response, his eyes flitting between hers. The skin of his chin crinkled because he was looking down at her, and y/n wondered how he still managed to look so good with a double chin. “A little birdy told me you’ve been wanting to go.” 

Squealing, she said, “Oh my gosh, Jason please! Can we?!” 

Jason pressed a small kiss to her nose, “Of course, silly. It’s why I asked.”

“I’ve been asking Andrew but he….” she trails off, and her eyes become squinty, “heeey, did he tell you?” 

“Mayb-” She jumped suddenly at the feeling of her phone vibrating in her back pocket. The Simpsons theme song blaring through the quiet kitchen, and letting her know her brother was calling. Most likely to tell her it was time to come home. 

“I’ll go get your stuff,” Jason mumbled, separating himself with a wistful look in his eye. 

Y/n mumbled a ‘thank you’ and fished her phone out of her back pocket, pressing the green call button and holding it up to her ear.

“Hey, lover girl. Mom says it’s time to come home. See ya,” and he hangs up before y/n can even respond. 

Rolling her eyes, y/n heads upstairs to help Jason pack her stuff with all her troubles plaguing her heart like weeds.

*                                                      *                                  *

Y/n had eased up a little on her avid studying habits because the SAT had passed, and she studied hard enough that she wasn’t planning on re-taking the exam-- no matter the score. In addition to that, there was enough to place on her shelf to make her look… well, better than good. Years worth of community service work, volunteering, participating in and starting clubs, all about to finally pay off. It was surreal. Kinda stressful, too, but now that she had time off she wanted to decompress. Enjoy herself some. 

To begin with, much of it was taking time off with herself. Meaning, no Jason, or Andrew, or her parents. Just her. She didn’t even have to explain to Jason that she wanted to be alone because after her initial comment of taking time off alone, he’d kissed her palm and murmured about how proud he was against her skin. No bitterness or spite attached. He’d even made a joke about ‘bro time with Andrew’. 

The gym nearest to her house was offering a free month trial-- which just so happened to be the amount of time she was planning on taking to relax before starting to study for finals again-- and she took it up instantly when she found out that they offered yoga and guided meditation classes. It was most likely the best thing she’d ever done.

Apart from getting an hour of physical exercise a day (because yoga is harder than it looks) she was the most relaxed ever. Her sleep was the best it’s been in so long, and her body felt so light. Time to reflect, she’d decided, was very important.

 Plus, her self-esteem had gone up knowing she was doing something to better herself for* herself. 

For the most part, that was how most of her days went.

Go to school, sometimes she’d eat lunch with Jason, get a ride home from him (the goodbye kisses ignited her), head to the gym, come back home and fall right asleep. She took advantage of the first three periods to finish any work that she had to turn in.

It’s only logical that she’d be nervous the day of her date with Jason, since it hadn’t been on her mind at all, and she hadn’t been spending time with the boy so his presence has not consoled her. An anxious fervor had plotted itself in the depths of her belly, goading her like a devil on her shoulder. Better watch how you act, it said, or you’ll fuck this all up.

Jason was the same way. 

The poor boy had also taken to working out to release his...stress. Sleepless nights were spent with the weight-rack in his father’s home gym- arms aching from the strain of bench pressing. Shirtless torso draped in a sheen of sweat, flushed a pink color and littered with prominent veins as he pulled his body upwards, jaw clenched and mind focused, having already reached the point where he listens to his body’s begs for mercy. Rhythmic release of tense breaths escaped through the hard line of his lips, muscles defined under a glint of perspiration beneath the lights of the room, shorts low on his hips. His curls dripped salty beads down the line of his nose, and matted on his forehead. 

He lost himself in the repetitive movements, body going numb until his brain turned off. 

It was almost better than sex. Hell he did it to forget about sex.  

He swears his body chose to betray him every time he was getting ready to fall asleep, projecting filthy images of a girl so sweet, he felt guilty just humoring them. Swollen red lips, hot mouths, soft hands, perky breasts blotchy with his marks. These pictures were so explicit and vivid in his brain about y/n, who was nothing but sweet and kind, and had never come close to even insinuating the things he imagined. 

Hell on earth-- torture is what it felt like, having to ignore sticking a hand down his pants and pulling at himself until he found relief with such an innocent girl on his mind. It made him feel icky and gross because she was so pure. Jason preferred to turn to exhaustion of his body rather than pleasure. And, more often that not he greeted his father’s gym with a scowl and determination to distract himself, pushing himself until he was nothing but a breathless, strained heap laying all tired-out on the bench, salty beads running a path down his forehead and dripping down his neck where his shoulders drooped-- defeated.  

Waking up the next day was a burning adventure; muscles feeling as if they’d been shot through and pricked with needles over and over again.  

But, his dignity was still intact and he was able to look y/n in the eyes with no remorse. The one time he’d jerked off to her, he was a sweating, burning mess as he made his way up to her in the halls.

He’d learned his lesson then.

His nerves didn’t run as deep as y/n’s, but he did second guess himself the more intricate his plan got. Take a certain route, be there at a certain time so there wouldn’t be so full, alert the personnel of his presence. 

Jason had approached his mother, Anne, the night that she had come home, and questioned her about her friend’s sister that worked as a zookeeper, to see if she had connections to the aquarium. Turns out, she did and-and, 

“Honey, what’s the sudden interest in Penny’s sister?” She looked up at her son while chopping green onions. 

Stammering, he rubbed his neck and said, “I was kinda… wondering- maybe, uhm… you could call in a favor for-for me…”

“What for?” 

“I wanted to ask… y/n to prom at the uhm.. The aquarium,” his cheeks go pink and he can’t keep steady eye-contact with his mother. She’s smiling at him knowingly, smiling at him from underneath the lip of the wine-glass she holds up to her mouth. 

She smacks her lip, “Y/n? The prom? When did this happen?” Anne smirked at him, scraping the onions off the cutting board with a knife onto the pan. 

This would be the moment where the distraught teenage boy goes off on his mom for being absent and not knowing a single thing about him. Slam his firsts against the counter-top while sneering. 

But Jason loved his mother and they maintained good communication, so there would be none of that. “Start of February…” He bites his thumb.

The sound of sizzling onions is what fills in the silence of their gazes. His mother slowly nodded her head, and Jason blushing. 

“I knew it.” 

Jason furrowed his eyebrows at his mother’s statement. “What?” 

“I knew this would happen. I knew it the day she first came in with Andrew. The instant you said her name, I knew.” 

Jason furrowed his eyebrows at his mother’s statement. “What?” 

“I knew this would happen. I knew it the day she first came in with Andrew. The instant you said her name, and that look in your eye…” She gleamed at her son. “You love her, don’t you?” 

The boy gaped at his mother. Had he really been that transparent from the beginning? So much so that not even he had noticed his feelings? “You knew?” 

“Course I did. Pushed you out of me didn’t I? Know you like the back of my hand.” His mother set the glass down and continued cutting vegetables. “It’s a mother’s instinct to know when her boy has been swept off his feet.” A soft pat on the cheek meets a dazed Jason. “Now, what’s this favor you wanted?” 

*                                                      *                                  *

Y/n was scared to admit how deep her feelings were for Jason.

Scared to admit that the usual fluttering gnaw at her ribs had developed into an inferno that took over her entire body, centering at her heart and spreading through her nervous system, leaving her skin a tingling network of her emotions.

Basically, take puppy love, and remove ‘puppy’. She loved him. With her entire being and more she loved him. She could see her life with him more secure than anything in her life, which was a big admission because the poor girl was all about security. And Jason made her feel more comfortable than anything in her life at that moment; he made her forget about anything that wasn’t them together in that moment. 

The morning of their date was like one of those scenes in movies where the character just has that really big realization, and all her feelings hit her at once. Y/n pieced it all together in a few seconds. How much he meant to her, how she loved him* and how scary it would be if she were to admit her feelings and receive nothing in return. 

It was at cause of these thoughts that her nerves revved up to their max, mind overthinking different ways that her feelings might cause this date to go wrong. Like something might slip from her lips; a rushed, urgent proclamation of her devotion full of jumbled stutters and met with a stunned look and a freshly single boyfriend.

“Honey, Jason’s here!” Called her mother at the base of the stairs. 

Y/n watched herself grow pale in her reflection, teeth sinking in her bottom lip. No turning back now. 

“Coming!” She took one last look at herself, pulling on the sleeves of the cardigan she layered over the long, white-eyelet dress she was saving for an occasion like this. It was a light, summer material with white embroidered flowers and a nice frilly detain around the waist. The creme cardigan served no purpose other than the fact that she was nervous, and covering up calmed her down. There wasn’t much to cover, but bare shoulders made her heart want to start a riot, screaming at her that people were looking and it was time to get anxious about whether she looked good or not. 

She forced herself to tear her eyes away from the dewy makeup on her face, drawing her mind away from picking at it until it was perfect because it would never be that and it’s okay. Instead, she focused on what lay ahead of her for the day— and maybe that was a tad bit worse but that didn’t matter because she was already in the witch’s pot and the brew was boiling— her date with Jason looming with possibility. Not to mention, she’d finally be getting to see the newly added exhibits she was longing to see. 

Cute baby sea lions, penguins and jellyfish that quickly outweighed all the disastrous scenarios filling her mind. 

Skipping down the steps with an eager smile on her lips, y/n struggled to hold in all her happy squeaks because downstairs Jason was waiting for her and-

“There she is!” Her mother greeted her at the base of the stairs, and winked at her daughter with a smile, a cheeky expression displayed upon the fact that what was happening was a surprising event. Her little y/n going out on a date with none other than her favorite out of Andrew’s friends, Jason.

This would have been the moment in the movies where everything freezes and everyone else disappears. The camera comes to a zoom in on Jason and y/n’s faces, the screen split in half but it the same, dreamy, loved-up expression on both their faces. Y/n’s cheeks warmed with a soft flush and a cheek splitting grin on her mouth, lips that shined with the gloss she had put on them, and eyes that shined under the kitchen lights with an extra sparkle that had floated up from her chest that had become the cavern where she shoved all her emotions.

Jason is equally stunned, unsure of how his girlfriend could get any more beautiful. Bunny teeth on full display, hands in the pockets of his blue jeans. He wore a satin bomber jacket with a tiger on the lower right side of his abdomen that was perched on snow-capped mountains that stretched up to his chest, a swooping eagle on his left breast. Two buttons were left unclasped, the collar of a white under-shirt peeking out, and the dip of his breast-bone on display, highlighted by the glint of the golden cross necklace his grandmother had given him when he was eight.

Meanwhile he took in the sight of her, y/n did the same as well, eyes roaming all over his figure and settling on the eyes that were already set on hers. He loved how she turned a pretty bothered color when they locked dreamy gazes. How her demeanor changes to shy glances when he smiles at her all toothy- his dimples prominent on his cheeks. The boy straightened, looking proud to be able to take her on a date. 

“Well are you guys gonna stare at each other all day, or go to the aquarium?” Andrew asked. He was standing at the kitchen entrance, a bag of Cheetos in his arm, and one cheek bulging with chips. 

“Andrew!” His mother playfully swatted his bicep. “Be nice! You’ll be the same, just wait.”

“Ready to go?” Jason asked, giving a sluggish nod towards the door, his being still transfixed in y/n, who nodded equally as slow even though her heart raced a mile a minute. “Alright, let’s go then. I’ll bring her home before 10, Mrs. Y/L/N.” Y/n walked towards the hand that Jason stretched out for her to grab, her hand swimming in his. It suddenly made sense why he was able to launch a football 400 meters. His hands were big, with a wide palm and nimble fingers that wrapped around hers, the top of it striped with the pleasing ridged of his veins. 

“Bye, hunnies! Have fun…. But not too much fun!” The mother clutched at her chest, her eyes soft at the sight of Jason opening the door for her daughter. 

“Ew, mom!” Andrew said, crumbling the bag to a close and retreating up the stairs, presumably to his room. He stopped at the base, and turned to say, “And I’ll be here, the brother forgotten by this best friend, woe is me!” 

His friend twisted around with a hand on the doorknob, “You know I love you, babe!” 

Andrew said something stupid along the lines of ‘show me, ya stud!’ before his mother shushed him up and waved at the couple that it was okay to leave, approaching the doorway to lock up.

Y/n peeked sideways at Jason, finding him already looking at her with a cheeky smirk. 

“Caughtcha looking,” He said, taking hold of her hand again and giving it a mall squeeze, leaning over to peck her cheek. “Missed you, y/n.”

She wanted to stop and pull him in by both sides of his face to smash their lips together, but she knew that her mom was probably watching through the window. “Wanna kiss you good so bad, but my mom’s probably watching through the window and I don’t wanna hear about it later.” 

“It’s okay, baby, I know. Wanted to ravish you when I saw you coming down the stairs, but that’s not the most appropriate thing to do when my girlfriend’s mom is present, is it?” They reached his car, and he sped up slightly to open the door for her, placing a hand on the small of her back. The grip on her phone increased at the sudden warmth on her body, her mind jumping to dirty assumptions on where this could lead to. 

She got in the car with a quiver in her belly, and it jolted away when Jason shut the door behind her. What was she thinking? Their relationship was built upon glances and sly touches, and how she was flustered in a non-sexual way over him? Strongly?

“Did you wanna get food anywhere before?” He said when he opened the door to his side, leg hiking up and to the side to take a seat. “Dunno ‘bout you, but I’m really really craving those chicken-avocado paninis from that one little coffee shop, and I know you really like their milk tea, what do you say?”

“I say that’s a really good idea.” Y/n said, nodding with a pinch on one side of her face, her true feeling hidden. Eyes trained at the way he held the steering wheel; one hand at 12 while he turned the key into the ignition. Maybe he would hold her neck while the other rubbed at her…

What the fuck? She needs to cut it out. 

Clearing her throat and looking out the window she said, “I could definitely go for a milk tea right now…”

“Yeah? Are you excited for today?” He twists to check behind him before pulling out of his parallel position to the curb, and y/n uses that moment to glance at the smooth skin of his neck, imagining how it would feel underneath her fingertips… her mouth…

“Yes,” She chokes, saliva collecting at the back of her tongue and slipping through. There’s a small pause where she coughs, and Jason plucks a bottle of water from the glove compartment, the back of his hand grazing her knees and the tops of her thighs, which only makes her cough harder. 

“Are you okay, my love? Here,” using the flat of his wrist to take hold on the steering wheel while he opened the bottle, “drink some. I don’t want you to die before you’ve seen the jellyfish.” 

A feeble ‘thank you*’ left her lips before the water bottle occupied it. The liquid washed out anything that had agitated her, and she drank extra to fill the time for at least a few more seconds. She was terrified of doing something wrong. 

The car was pulling up the parking lot of their local cafe when she placed the bottle in the cup holder between them. Jason didn’t have a clue what was going through her head, or the fact that he should be concerned because her thoughts had traveled to him fingering her while she made a mess of his seat. He was simply so grateful to be spending time with the girl who he loved. 

Who he loved.

The boy had realized the extremities of his regards after his mother had spoken them aloud. 

You love her don’t you?

Yes, yes he did. He had known that it was there. The guzzling, spritzy feeling he felt over his chest- like when a sip of a freshly opened can of Sprite goes down your throat- when he saw her, felt her touch, thought about her, had always been there. Always. It was there the day he bumped into her outside of the locker room, her tiny frame going unnoticed when he rounded the corner of the locker room where she was waiting for her brother because he was busy texting some girl, but the moment he heard a squeaky ‘oh, I’m so sorry!’, it was there. 

In some aspects, Jason was a bit dense, and this was one of them. He didn’t act when he should’ve. Or at least recognized what was going on in that broad chest of his-- he doesn’t think he would’ve acted because Andrew wouldn’t have held back. They hadn’t developed such a strong bond to come to the understanding that they did (Jason had made a really bold statement about life long partners and Andrew had been too blown away to stay mad). 

Jason loved y/n, and he always would; that was just facts.

“Wanna stay in here or go inside with me?” He asked her, taking the key out and placing a hand on the door. 

She was lightning quick to say “With you!” a bashful look overcoming her when he looked at her all knowingly, like he could see right through her. “I’ll go with you so you don’t have to carry everything,”  y/n blubbered in efforts to reclaim her dignity, and stepped out of the car. 

He feigned being hurt, “Owie, that stung. Are you saying I’m not strong?” Jason followed after her, a playful pout in his lips, “Tell you what,” he placed an arm around her neck, tugging her close to him and putting his lips by her ear, “I can carry you and the food, at the same time.”

Tables with umbrellas were located at the front of the cafe, people sitting with their computers open or having a chat with friends. Some looked up, some didn’t, but the stares of those who did made y/n feel thousands of times shyer than what she felt. 

The girl couldn’t help but squeeze the fabric of her sweater around herself, her thoughts getting the best of her, the feeling of his lips an enticing action that drove her mad…

He knew it too, chuckling to himself as he opened the door. 

Inside, only a single person made up the line for ordering, and she was already in the process of giving the man her card to pay. Jason and y/n stood side by side, looking up at the menus as if they were thinking over their choices, but really just thinking about each other. 

“Nex- Well, well, well.”

Y/n doesn’t think she had ever forgotten that voice. And hearing it ten, with Jason at her side, brought back the fear she hadn’t even begun to overcome. Her face went white, her lungs freezing, and her feet glued to the ground. 

Shock, was the medical term for it. 

When your body is submerged into temperatures it can’t handle, it goes through a series of procedures to attempt survival. It begins to slow down to conserve energy, shutting down to keep in heat, or await help. Hearts slow, lungs slow, and in extreme, abrupt situations, a person can faint. 

At the appearance of Chris after nearly an entire year, y/n wanted to faint. She wished she had, that way she wouldn’t have to endure Jason’s confused glances, and Chris’s malicious, salacious smirk. 

“Y/n, long time no see, baby.” He said, a piece of gum that he had hidden in his cheek appearing as he started to chew, leaning forward on the counter and giving Jason a once over. “Who’s that?” 

Jason’s eyebrows furrowed at the audacity this guy had, calling his girl ‘baby’. Y/n wasn’t looking at him, she couldn’t- she wasn’t aware of what was happening anymore, retreated into deep parts of her brain- but had she, she would’ve seen a bone-chilling, intimidating look of dominance in his usually kind green eyes. “I’m her boyfriend, who are you?” He said, stepping forward so his thighs were flush with the edge of the counter. His body was pulled tight like the strings on a violin, one pluck away from releasing a disastrous melody. 

Y/n’s eyes began to tear from not blinking them, her heart going from beating normal to beating so hard she could feel it in her fingertips, her stomach dropping like it had been ripped to her feet. 

“Who am I?” Chris licked the inside of his cheek, and y/n gagged. Repulsed, her feet tripped over themselves in attempts to get to the trashcan by the pickup site. “There wasn't even anything in your mouth, babe! Guess that thing they say about muscle memory is true, huh?”

Jason didn’t pay attention to the last thing that he said because he ran over to hold his girlfriend’s hair, rubbing her back and whispering that ‘it’s okay, my love, take deep breaths’. Her body started to tremble when nothing came out, her eyes emitting actual tears now, feeling undeserving of Jason’s affection because of what she’d done.

“I’m so-rry,” she whispered, her face a splotchy, red color that made him panic on the inside at what could plague her. “Can we go?” 

“Yeah,” He nodded quickly, no questions asked.”Yeah, let’s go.” 

Y/n shot up then, practically running out of the store while Chris laughed a belly-clenching laugh that pushed her out further. Jason looked back at him once, anger on clear display because whatever the guy had done, it was bad if it made her this upset.

When he turned around, y/n’s figure was disappearing  through the view of the store’s window, arms clutching herself as she ran to the parking lot. There were more stares than when they first arrived when he ran out after her with a call of her name. 

“Y/n!” He turned the corner to see her yanking violently at his door handle, tears streaming continuously down her cheeks now. Her shoulder jerked back and pushed forward until her knuckles collided on the material of the car. She was hurting herself. “Hey!” He yelled, yanking her back and wrapping his arms around her torso to restrict her movements. 

She thrashed for a few seconds, sobs leaving her until she went limp, which was when he let her go. His eyes were wide with concern, not being able to believe what had just happened. 

“Dovie? Look at me, dovie,” With a curled finger, he gently encouraged her to look at him. Irritated, doe eyes blinked with...  fear. 

“Do you want me?” Were the words that left her mouth in a breathy tremble. 

“I always want you,” Jason said, not hesitating to respond to her abrupt inquiry. His thick brown eyebrows were still knitted, however, and she knew that she owed him answers. As much as she couldn’t bring herself to give them up, y/n said,

“Would you want me even if I was used?” She shut her eyes tight, not being able to bear looking at him. It felt as if she were the one using him then, comforted by his presence, but lying to him as well. 

He scoffed, head shaking. “Yes. Even then I’d still love you.” Jason’s composure remains the same,neither alarmed or shocked that he had let it ‘slip’ past his lips because he hadn’t. He loved her and he told her. 

Y/n, on the other hand, burst into tears and dropped her head, her forehead on his chest, chanting a pathetic, “I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve you.”

“Y/n, I need you to tell me what just happened,” He crooned into her ear, his lips kissing her head in attempts to show his affection to comfort her, “Let me help you.” 

She shook her head, and the gold zipper of his sweater scratched her forehead when she did. “No. No, I’m sorry.” She looked up at him, her voice pleading, “I don’t want to ruin our date. Can I tell you after?” Jason looked at her with lips pressed into a firm line. “Please.” She begged.

“Not gonna ruin our date, dovie,” He kissed her right cheek, and her eyelid, the bridge of her nose, and nudged his forehead against hers, “Spent so much time waiting for you, that I’m not gonna let a silly thing break us apart. I’m willing to fight, y/n. I already have.” He fumbled behind her, unlocking the door and propping it open before he pressed a kiss to her lips. A deep press that conveyed everything he just said. I love you.

A shaky, relieved breath left her when they parted, her eyes still shut when he said, “Get in the car, my love,” with another, plushy kiss to her lips before he stepped back to see her get in the car. Her eyes opened slowly to see him smiling at her, no trace of anything strange in his eyes- like he had forgotten everything that happened in the past 10 minutes. 

Y/n mumbled an ‘okay’ and got inside, putting on his seat belt as he closed the door and walked over to his side. She wondered if this was it, if this was her messing up and at the end of the day she would be crying into her pillow because he’d broken up with her. If e was just playing nice because that was just Jason, his MO.

Lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t notice that he had turned on the radio until he started singing along to it. An oldies station that he always had on if there wasn’t any music coming from his phone. It was in the middle of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U to which Jason didn’t hesitate to start singing. 

“I went to the doctor’s and guess what he told me, guess what he told me,” he looked over at her while he was singing, a playful look in his eyes, and he shimmied his shoulders. It was a classic ‘sing to your girlfriend so she’ll never forget this song and always associate this song with you’ moment. 

“I went to the doctor’s and guess what he told me, guess what he told me,” he looked over at her while he was singing, a playful look in his eyes, and he shimmied his shoulders. It was a classic ‘sing to your girlfriend so she’ll never forget this song and always associate this song with you’ moment. 

“He said girl you better try to have fun no matter what you do,” his singing voice was a direct reflection on his character, smooth like honey, but deep and slightly scratchy like the comfort of burning wood, “but he’s a fool.” 

Just then, his voice gets a little louder, “Cause nothing compares to you.” He placed a hand on her knee, his lips forming an exaggerated ‘o’ shape on the ‘you’. Jason was clearly singing to her, his eyes flickering from the road to her as a sweet gesture to direct his words to her. 

Y/n sniffled and laughed, using her finger to trace the veins on the back of Jason’s hands, looking up at him while he sang to her. She had the sudden urge to reiterate what he had confessed in the parking lot. How it swelled in her chest, and consumed her. 

But she couldn’t. It was hard and she didn’t know why. Maybe it was because he didn’t know the whole truth about her. Instead she wrote it on his hand. Her caresses going from random to spelling out letters on his knuckles. He noticed this. How the movements were calculated now, and the singing stopped. Green eyes went from the road to her eyes, to the road to their hands.

I love you, too.

She wiped her hand over his when she finished, and didn’t dare look up at him, so she looked out the window but left her hand in his hold. He brought it up to his lips, and kissed her knuckles, rubbing his lips over them repeatedly.

*                                                      *                                  * 

Jason stepped out of the car, and took long, quick strides over to her door, y/n admiring how long and muscular his legs looked in his jeans. He pulled the door open, leaning back so the door could swing past his torso, but staying relatively close to the car, giving her just enough space to get out. Y/n didn’t think anything of it, until she stood, and was face to face with his face, her nose swamped with the toned down scent of fresh, spring scented body wash merged with the soft smell of his skin. 

Given how close she was, she could see the lines on his cupid's bow where his skin color changed from a golden tint to the strawberry of his lips. 

“Can you kiss me properly now, baby?” He said, voice low and raspy. Hands came to flatten on the hood of his Prius, caging her in so she was close to his torso. A blush formed from the way he stared at her mouth like he was starved. 

“P-properly?” She muttered, her hands taking purchase on his hips, and smoothing up his sides, the material cool under her hands. 

“Yeah,” He licked the inside of his cheek, his head tilting, “Like this.”

Jason pushed forward until her back hit the car, and their hips were flush, y/n’s hands stuck between them, but she maneuvered them to she could palm at his chest, her nails digging in like cat’s claws when his lips found their way together, pillowed between each other in a passionate embrace that warmed her to her toes. 

“Mmph, baby ‘ya marking me with your fingers,” He spoke in a sotto voice, heavy breaths and wet noises of their smacking lips resonating through their ears.

It took everything in her not to moan, and she knew that if they kept going it would be inevitable, so she unclenched her hands with a reluctant squeak, and ducked her head into his neck. Breath hot on his neck, “I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no, no. I… uhm, I liked it, my love. You didn’t do anything wrong, don’t be shy.” He flexed his jaw, his eyes rolling at the back of his head at recalling the feeling of her hands- dainty and small, and sweet,, and god* it was just her*- clawing at his chest. Jason dipped forward, and kissed her neck. His lips staining her skin with scorching heat, the soft skin creating a magnetic force between them. 

She moaned at that, her teeth scratching at his neck tentatively.  “Stop it,” Her head felt floaty, her limbs soft, “Wanna see the fishies and the way that you’re…” “The way that I’m what, dovie?” He’s stunned by her moan, his brain haywire. “Tell me.”

“The way you’re talking is gonna me make me wanna stay here, and I really wanna see the fishies. Please?” She’s whining; voice an embarrassingly high pitched tone. Her hands gripped the collar of his sweater for stability because her knees were shaking. 

“Alright. Alright, let’s go see the fishies, baby.” Jason pecks her one last time at the juncture of her neck, and takes a step back to grab her hand. “Come on.”

*                                                      *                                  * 

 “So, they’ve got McDonald’s, Tam’s Burgers, Ruby’s Diner, and Sushi.” Jason holds a tri-fold directory of the aquarium in one hand, and y/n’s hand in the other. 

“Sushi? At an aquarium?” She skews half her face to the side like she tasted something sour. 

“I know right?” He copies her face, “The irony. Up for burgers? It’s all they’ve got.” 

Y/n’s stomach grumbled at the mention of food, and she giggled when Jason noticed and laughed at her. “Burgers sound good,” she said, rubbing her stomach comically.  Although she was still heated by their earlier interaction, both were pretending like nothing happened, and like they didn’t have a big thing waiting for them at the end of the day.

Like she wasn’t going to reveal how sh-

“Anything for you, baby.” Jason Jason held up the tri-fold again and blew out of his lips as he made out the route to Tam’s burgers. 

When they both got there, they ordered the same thing: one cheeseburger with a vanilla milkshake. Oh, and they were sharing chili cheese fries.

It was the epitome of a perfect date for a young couple in love. They chose to sit on the same side of the booth because they were greedy to get everything they could from each other. Unnecessary touches were made more than the amount of things they said to each other. Him brushing hair behind her each, hand on her thigh, rubbing her cheeks, feeding her, wiping her mouth, her arm hooked through his, pecking his cheek after a sip of her milkshake, nudging his feet with hers, caressing his thigh. It was on the rubbing his thigh part where things would get slightly heated, and Jason would stop to kiss her, licking into her mouth to taste the vanilla that was also on his tongue.

Jason paid for their meal, much to y/n’s begging, and then walked her over to the penguin exhibit.

“Heard one of their eggs just hatched, and I want you to see it.” He said, swinging their hands between them.

“Really?” She asked, her features lifted with excitement. “Well then let’s go!” Y/n ran ahead of him, looking back at him and pulling at his arm. Laughing, they swerved around people and ran past the large tank that represented the reef ecosystem, blue light from the sun that streamed through the top of the tank dancing on their skin like shadows. It was a magical moment, even though they looked like weirdos. In their head they were in their own movie, their own world.

 “Jason, honey? Is that you?” A woman in green cargo shorts and the customary blue shirts with the aquarium’s logo on the left breast called from the inside of the penguin expedition. She had raven black hair in a low bun, and red lipstick paired with a bright smile. She was feeding the animals from  two buckets on the edge of the pool where they were jumping in. 

“Hey, Janet!” Jason called out, waving from behind the glass barrier. “Long time no see, have you gotten younger?” 

She laughed and turned around, walking through an archway and disappearing from view. A male walked out, and smiled towards the couple, nodding once and turned his attention towards the penguins. He whistled once, and they all came to him, huddling around him expectantly.

Then he bent downwards and placed the back of his hand on the penguins tummy, pressing back and they waddled backwards. He did the same to four others, pressing them so they were in a straight line, and they stayed where he placed them. Janet came out then, with black objects in her arms. 

“What are they….” Y/n asked, confused as to what was going on because she had been to this aquarium several times and had never seen such things. “... doing?” 

Janet removed one of the items from her chest, and y/n could see that they were large letters. A ‘P’ which she placed at the feet of the first penguin. ‘R’ on the one following. They rested against their bellies, and after an initial peck at it, they left it alone and watched their keepers expectantly, presumably for food. ‘O’ followed, then ‘M’. And as the question mark was being laid on the last penguin, Jason turned to watch his girlfriend’s face, waiting for the realization to hit. It didn’t take very long.

“Oh my gosh, Jason, look! Look it spells prom!” She pointed at it excitedly, a smile from ear to ear as she looked on at the animals, amused by their antics. She looked over at him to share her glee, and found him watching her with a dreamy smirk. “Look at the animals! Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Will you go to prom with me?” 

Y/n’s jaw dropped, the full realization hitting her. This had been planned, more specifically, Jason had planned this. “You did this?” She asked. Looking back and then at him again as he nodded slowly, still waiting for an answer. She stood there for a moment, stunned, and after a blink she jumped into his arms. “Yes! Yes! Yes, I want to go to prom with you!” 

He didn’t waste any time in wrapping his hands around her waist and twirling her around, laughing. Kissing her cheek, he set her to her feet and she was watching him with bleary eyes, a pout on her lips. “You did this for me?” 

“Technically, my mom did, but yes. Had her call in for me. Did you like it?” He put his hands in the pocket of his bomber jacket, his lips puckered as he tried to conceal a proud smile. 

“I love it, so much, Jason I-” She’s left speechless, and she glances up at the animals again, where Janet and the other keep were throwing fish at them. “Thank you.” The tips of her fingers came to cover her mouth, tears of joy threatening to slip. 

“Don’t cry, dovie. You weren’t supposed to cry,” he cooed, slipping his hands out again to wipe at the tears that fell down her cheeks.

“Shut up and kiss me,” Leaning up on her tip-toes, y/n abruptly yanked at his jacket, and crushed their lips together. 

“There we go! Your mother would love this!” Janet whooped, and her cheers caused the couple to split from each other with red faces, laughs covering their embarrassment. 

“Hush up, and let me kiss my girl will ya?” Jason pointed a finger at her and pretended to scowl. “We’re leaving to somewhere where we can smooch in peace!” Nearby people laughed at his jokes.

“Bye, sweetie! Tell your mother I said hello!” She waved goodbye, and returned her attention to the penguins at her feet. 

Y/n waved a goodbye along with Jason, yelling a ‘thank you’ as she walked away. Her brain was still trying to process what had happened when they turned the corner and walked into the new exhibit of the darker layers of the ocean. A long, winding hallway where the only light was the glow coming from the bio-luminescence animals in the water. 

An influx of serotonin swimming through her veins, squeals leaving her where she noticed where they were. 

“The jellyfish!” She left Jason’s side to stand in front of the large glass. An abundant amount of jellyfish bobbed up and around each other at slow, hypnotizing speeds. Glowing, long tentacles swaying in their trail; networks of veiny light streams present in each of them. The blue hue reflecting off of her skin, and onto the pane where it showed her amazed reflection.

“They’re beautiful,” she mumbled. Jason caught up, and stood besides her, his figure also appearing on the glass pane that held the jellyfish. “I could watch them all day.” 

His eyes drifted from the jellyfish to her side profile, admiring how ethereal she looked in that moment. Her face was soft with curiosity and wonder. “Me too.”

“You’re not even looking at them.” She gives him a side-eye glance. 

“I know.” He turned so his feet pointed to her, and combed his hair back because a few curls were tickling his forehead. “Can’t believe I’m gonna have the prettiest girl as my prom date.” 

Y/n’s nostrils flared and she sucked in her lips to suppress a smile. “Stop it.”

“S’true. Everyone’s gonna be so jealous of me.” He sucked in a breath, “Gonna have to hold on to you so no one steals you from me.” 

She knows he means every word that leaves his lips. And that the words are meant to tickle her heart with their honesty. While they do so, they also break it. Y/n thinks she’s living a lie. Not her relationship with him, but the way she acts and portrays herself. So much of herself, she kept hidden. It hurt knowing that he was being so genuine, and she wasn’t. It hurt more than knowing he could break up with her if he knew the truth. 

So, she decided to come clean. Even though they decided on the end of the day, her conscience wasn’t letting her live. 

“Jason, I have something to tell you.” She said, her throat closing up on the second syllable of his name, and crying by the end of her sentence. 

The boy brings his palm to her lower back, and moves his thumb up and down comfortingly. “Deep breaths, y/n. I’m listening.” 

“That boy?” She tilts her chin so she’s looking at him, and he nods when they make eye contact. “From the cafe? I knew him from a party.” Deep breath. “We were playing truth or-” a sob leaves her, shoulders sagging as her composure breaks. 

Jason raises his hand from her back to her shoulder, and steps closer so she’s pressed against his chest. “It’s okay. I’m right here, baby. I’m not leaving you. Take your time.” 

It would’ve been a lot more embarrassing if people were passing, but they were the only ones there. Had there been someone, they would’ve seen a terribly emotional y/n and a very concerned Jason. 

A creeping feel of panic like the one from that night teased her toes, anxiety of her confession crawling up her spine. But she had to push through. She needed to get this off her chest. 

“We were playing truth or dare, and… and I got dared t-to suck him off in front of everyone else,” another hiccup interrupts her words, and she had to stop to take a deep breath like Jason said, giving him an ashamed, fleeting glance.  Not long enough to see that his eyes were wide with astonishment, eyebrows furrowed with bubbling rage.

“What?” He said, more on the rhetorical side to encourage her to keep talking. His mind kept jumping back to the guy at the cafe and the way he said ‘there wasn’t anything in your mouth, babe’ with a knowing look in his eyes. How he practically violated her with his eyes. Rage filled him; all he wanted to do was punch the guy in the face. 

Anger made itself present in his stunned comment, and y/n took it as a disgusted comment. She jumped to explain herself, “I didn’t want to do it! I swear I didn’t put they started calling me names, a-and I didn’t want them to be upset with me so I-” another collapse of her words, chest rising and falling with desperate breaths. The panis increased, rising up to her chest and gripping like a boa. 

Jason knew that she needed reassurance on that moment and said, “Sh, sh Dovie, deep breaths. It’s alright, I know you didn’t, my dove. That’s called peer pressure.” 

It was clear that this was something she struggled with for a long time, and it hurt him so much inside that he had so blindly lived in the presence of her pain. Held her, touched her, and never noticed that she was so deeply in pain. The anger in him became a mix of bitter remorse at the fact that he had done nothing to push at her, or present himself in a way that showed she could trust him. He was unaware he was crying too until his own vision became blurry with moisture. 

“I left right after he… after he…. Because the other boys started touching me, too. That was when you found me under that tree. Remember?” Shiny doe eyes glimmered with the light that came off the jellyfish at him. They seemed to beg him for forgiveness, for understanding that she was sorry.

“Yes, sweetheart I remember.” Soft fingers crawl up her cheek, caressing like silk at the tears that still fell. Kisses were littered in her temple with strong pressure, a display of his comfort. “Oh, I’m so sorry that you had to go through that, baby. It’s not your fault.” 

“I should have said no. I should’ve l-left or something…”

“No. No, y/n this wasn’t your fault. This wasn’t on you. You were under pressure, and they were bullying you as well… Oh my god, baby, this- You don’t want to tell authorities?” 

“No! No, no, Jason I can’t l-let anyone find out I did…” Her eyes shut with distaste, “That. Please, don’t tell anyone.” 

“Yeah, yeah, okay.” He nods.

“Do you still want me?” Her cross, and her nails dig into her arms. Y/n bowed her head and sniffled. Jason took note of this, and pried her hands off so she wouldn’t bleed. His heart clenched at the tone of desperation in her voice. It hurt him to even think that he’d leave her so easily, and his words came out more emotionally tainted than he would’ve wanted.

“Y/n look at me.” His hand cupped her cheek, and the other held both of her wrists. She wrapped her hands around his wrists and squeezed him tightly. “I’m not leaving you. Can’t you understand that I love you, baby? I’m not leaving you, not now.”

“God, Jason. I don’t deserve you.” Y/n leans into his touch, sniffling.

“No, dovie. You’ve got that all twisted. It’s me who doesn’t deserve you.  You’re so good to me, so kind, and sweet,and I’m so so sorry thing happened to you. But it’s gonna be okay, yeah? We can work through this, I’ll be there by our side. I won’t leave.” The boy followed after her eyes, wanting to maintain eye contact with her, but she was shifty with her gaze. He wanted to be able for her to see-- in his eyes-- that he meant every word.

“I love you.” Y/n jumped into his chest and wrapped her hands around his neck, happy to be free of guilt, and blissfully happy that she had Jason. That he loved her, and she was able to tell him that she loved him.

After a moment of just standing in each other’s arms, head’s buried in each other’s neck with Jason muttering into her ear just how much she meant to him, they stepped back  to look at the other, and y/n laughed halfheartedly, wiping at her eyes and underneath her nose. Quiet ‘thank you’s were exchanged and they took one last good look at the jellyfish in silence. Y/n suggested they go home, and Jason said he wanted to stop by the gift shop first. Something about how how he needed a polar bear to hold onto at night.

In reality, he bought her the sea otter she wouldn’t stop petting, and a key chain with the date engraved on it. He didn’t give these to her until they were in front of her house, and he reached into the bag behind her seat.

“These are for you.” He said, placing the stuffy on her lap, and the key chain on her open palm. “A memoir. The first time we said I love you... among other things.” 

His tone was serious, mouth set in a grim line, but y/n was smiling.

“I knew something was up when you told me to wait outside. Thank you.” Leaning over the console, they both met each other halfway, and kissed each other goodbye. At the first taste of her lips, he removed his hands from the steering wheel in favor of having them on her face, holding her too him a few seconds longer than she usually would have let herself stay kissing.

“You’re welcome, dovie. I love you.” He said, pecking her lips once more, and then her nose, making her laugh through her nose. “I’ll see you tomorrow, but I’ll call you tonight. Yeah?”

“Yeah. I love you, too.” She opened the door, and waved once more at her boyfriend who smiled at her from inside the car.

Y/n was slightly upset over he fact that he hadn’t gotten out to walk her up the steps, and in any other situation, he would’ve. But out of his eagerness, Jason waited until she was inside, and lifted his hips to get his phone out of his pocket, calling the one person he knew would have his back if he wanted to set things straight.

It rang three times before he picked up.

“Andrew. It’s an emergency. Come over to my house tonight. Don’t let anyone see you leave.”

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #480

“the doomsday clock was made by mankind”

Do you support PETA? No, because they are WAY too extreme. Have you ever lied about your gender? No. Have you ever had escargot? NOOOOOOOO. You couldn't pay me to try that shit. Have you played Breath of the Wild? No; Zelda games aren't my thing. I've watched Game Grumps play it, though. At what venue was the last concert you attended? Idr, somewhere in Raleigh. Who was playing at the last concert you attended? Alice Cooper. Maybe one day I'll have a new answer, lol. Do you have any anniversaries coming up? No. Would you try grapes on a pizza? Holy fuck, ew. Have you ever tried an oyster? How would you describe the experience? Oysters look fucking disgusting. Never. Has anyone ever specifically painted you a painting? Not a painting, no, but I've had drawings made for me. Would you ever want to try pole dancing? Nah. Have you ever had any sort of paranormal experience? Yes. Have you ever gotten something stuck in your skin? (ie: glass shard, gravel) Yeah, like splinters. And graphite. Do any of your grandparents live a nursing home? They're all deceased, but none did. Do you have a USB drive that is shaped like anything unique? No; mine is just a solid hot pink. What country would you like to visit most? South Africa. Whose birthday is closest to today’s date? (someone you know) Girt's birthday is the 10th! Do you know anyone in another country? I have Australian and European friends, yes. Have you ever wanted to be on a game show? Not seriously. Do you believe taking a picture of someone is taking a piece of their soul? Ha, this question makes me think of the quote from SOMA. Anyway, no. Do you have any friends with the same first name as you? No. How many states have you lived in? One. Pancakes or waffles? Waffles, so I can spread peanut butter on them. :') What is the saddest book you’ve ever read? Johnny Got His Gun. ZERO competition. What political cause are you most passionate about? Probably LGBTQ+ rights. Really just equality in general. Have you ever considered having children? The only time I've ever in my life thought I wanted kids was when I was with Jason. Hell, I wanted two or three. Now I'm just like... nah man no thank you. Have you ever considered acting? No. Who was the last person you slept next to? Sara. Do you think you can be in love and still cheat on your S.O.? Ha, no. What is the most embarrassing thing anyone has on video of you? I dunno. Did you ever get lost as a child? Once at the grocery store. A sweet old lady helped me find Mom. Do you know how to play any card games? The very basic ones, and Magic: The Gathering. What are you currently most looking forward to? Mom to feel better so Girt can come over. What is the best television show you’ve ever watched? Hm... Fullmetal Alchemist has a pretty bangin' story. What color are your parents’ eyes? Brown. Are you more dependent or independent? I've very dependent, honestly. Are there any stuffed animals in the room you’re in? Yeah, loads. I have a shelf full of my meerkat collection. Do you love animals? I adore them. I quite frankly don't like anyone who doesn't, because... how. How many people have you kissed in a car? One or two? Who made you mad last? My mom. She said something that just really hurt my feelings. How long was your last shower? It was longer than usual because standing, taking steps to turn, propping my legs up, etc. was fucking excruciating because my feet, ankles, and calves were so swollen. It's so fucking infuriating; in a previous survey I mentioned "oh it's because my body isn't used to getting up and down so much! it's improvement! :D", but no. The swelling was from sitting too long at the desk. My legs are so used to being propped up from being in bed that it caused edema when I was finally sitting. I went back to my fucking bed now because Mom mentioned that it could get extremely dangerous if the fluid buildup got too severe. And of course now that I'm back in bed, the swelling is receding. I can't fucking win. Have you ever had a really bad haircut? Looking back, I think the haircut I had before this current one was pretty bad, but at least it showed me I'd like short hair on myself. What’s your favorite DIY crafts YouTube channel? I don't watch DIY. What would be the best surprise you could receive right now? At this moment, just give me the magic answer to losing all this fucking weight and getting in shape and being happy. Do you usually forgive when someone hurts your or try to get revenge? I forgive too much. Were there any subjects in school that were really easy for you? English and most science. Did you ever skip a grade or get held back a grade? No. Was your first car used or new? I haven't had my own car yet. How often do you watch the news? Never. Do you have a fan in your room? I have two. Have you ever hatched an egg? In elementary school, as a class. It was a chick. :') I think it was in kindergarten? Would you like to go to a fortune teller? No, because I wouldn't support them spouting bullshit and lying to people. Do you chew gum on a daily basis? No. I've actually been craving gum for a long time now... For each person you’ve kissed, describe your feelings in one word: My feelings towards them? Jason: Remorseful. Tyler: Eye roll. Sara: thankful. Girt: love. Do you have “friends” that you actually hate? That's some juvenile shit. No. Would you rather get [another] tattoo or piercing? Gimme both, but if I had to pick, a tattoo. If you’re dating someone, how long has it been? It's been just shy of a month Feels a lot longer. If you’re a girl, have you ever had the urge shave your hair? Not shave my entire head, no. Do you live by a forest? Not anymore. :/ Do your parents drink? My dad is a recovered alcoholic, so he doesn't touch it anymore. Mom only drinks lightly for special occasions. Does downloading music without paying make you feel guilty? Yes, and yet I do it anyway. :x Does your house have air conditioning? Yes. What do you believe in more: Ghosts or demons? Ghosts. I don't believe in demons. Do you think they’re making too big of a deal over Michael Jackson’s death? Old survey is old, but no, not really. He was an absolute pop icon that was deeply loved by millions and millions and inspired the genre deeply. I wasn't even a big fan and yet I felt for those who were. French fries or onion rings? The former. I don't like onion rings. Favorite healthy snack? Um. I suppose apple slices w/ peanut butter, especially lately. Or strawberries. ]If you see a bee in your house... are you going to kill it? Bees honestly scare me, so I'm not touching it. Mom will have to get it, and I know she would kill it. Would you feel funny if you kissed somebody of the same sex? Done it before, and it didn't feel weird. If your best friend grabs your hand, what do you automatically do? I'd look at her and ask what's wrong. What’s something you can cook or bake like a pro? Nothing. Do you tend to flirt a lot, even when the person isn’t single? No, especially if the person is taken. Can grills be sexy on a guy? Grills are unattractive on everyone. Have you ever flown first class? Ha, yeah right. Are you the type of person who can shake insults off easily, or do they tend to stick around in your brain & bother you? They stick around for years upon years. Some I think I'll never forget.

[nekojitachan]

For some reason I was inspired to write more of ‘The Real Thing’. No clue why....

I thought this was going to be really short, too. Ha.

We’re starting to move things along, time-wise and plot-wise. Seriously.

Last part can be found here.

*******

“So, uhm, how are things going there? I mean, outside of the games, you Ravens are on the usual winning streak and they’re already talking about you making Court with the way you’re shutting down the goal whenever you’re playing, but with classes and… uhm, well, with Nathaniel?”

If Nicky didn’t sound as if he expected Andrew to yell at him at any moment, Andrew would tell him to fuck off and hang up. However, Nicky insisted on sending him care packages (and sappy A/B/O books, which Nathaniel continued to ask him about and allowed Andrew to invent ridiculous answers in return) and checking up on him, so… so Andrew humored his cousin.

(Or something like that.)

“I should make the dean’s list this semester and Nate’s fine,” Andrew said as he fought the urge to tap his fingers against the top of his desk.

“Hmm, just fine? He’s your soulmate.”

Once again, Andrew wished that he could have slit Riko’s throat before the prick had announced to the world that Nathaniel was his soulmate, even as at the same time he felt a deeply buried hint of satisfaction over knowing that everyone referred to Nathaniel as ‘his’.

He needed a drink.

“He’s fine,” Andrew repeated. “Still breathing and has all of his limbs.” All of his very attractive, very flexible limbs.

“That’s not- oh fine.” Nicky was definitely sulking on the other end of the line. “You could be a bit more romantic about finding your other half, you know.”

“Why? He’s my other half.”

“Exactly.” Nicky’s tone softened as he spoke that word. It was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke again. “Uhm, you hear from Aaron lately?”

Andrew didn’t say anything as he thought about how his twin continued to avoid him.

“Ah, yeah, okay.” Now Nicky sounded sad. “He’ll… he’ll come around. It’s difficult, not knowing where one’s soulmate is when everyone else has found theirs,” he tried to explain. “He’s feeling a bit jealous right now.”

Why would Aaron feel jealous? Andrew had moved away from California and given up any chance of a family he might have with Cass because of his brother (even if it included Drake), had gotten rid of Tilda for Aaron (who really should pay attention when making bargains), had joined the Ravens… well, partially because of the scholarship extended to Aaron (and partially because of the north star mark on his left forearm).

“It’s time for practice,” Andrew lied, unwilling to talk anymore.

“Oh, okay. Tell Nathaniel I said ‘hi’! I can’t wait to meet him, maybe during the holiday-“

Andrew hung up on his insane cousin before Nicky could go any further with that ridiculous plan, then completed his English homework. Ben had gone off to one of the study rooms to talk to his family, and returned a few minutes before the afternoon practice started (for real) with a disgruntled expression on his face.

When Andrew arched an eyebrow over the way his roommate slammed his books onto his desk, Ben huffed and shook his head. “Riko’s being even more of his ‘I’m the captain, do what I say or else’ self.” When Andrew’s drug-induced smile flattened, Ben shook his head again, that time with more vigor. “Nate wasn’t involved! He went after Jordon because of his performance this morning, and then got even angrier when Kevin tried to step in.”

As long as Nathaniel was all right. “What else is new?” Riko had become a nagging little bitch (more of a nagging little bitch) as the season progressed, as he became obsessed with ensuring that the Ravens led not only their district but the entire Class I division in points, as he excelled in both the collegiate and professional leagues.

Which meant that he became a bitter little bitch whenever he felt that he wasn’t given his due as the best striker in all of Exy, whenever someone stole his thunder (especially if it was his own partner) or if he believed that his teammates were lacking. Which meant that the Ravens had to put up with the psychotic prick’s mercurial moods.

Had Andrew said moods? More like tantrums.

At least as long as Andrew continued to either shut down the goal entirely during his time on court (not always possible) or limit the other team to one or two points, then Riko left him (and Nathaniel) alone. Well, the prick wasn’t happy when he ‘politely’ (meaning didn’t shove a knife in their ribs) reminded people to keep their fucking hands off Nathaniel, but it was still possible to play a game with a concussion or broken fingers.

Ben managed a weak chuckle at Andrew’s statement, then they left for practice; Andrew didn’t see Nathaniel or Jean in the locker room, which meant that they were already out on court. That wasn’t too much of a surprise since as part of Riko’s ‘perfect court’, they were expected to put in extra effort (to live up to the ‘perfect’ part), but it also meant that a certain prick expected more of them.

Andrew didn’t exactly run out of the locker room, but he managed a fast-paced ‘saunter’ that got him to the court before the rest of the team. He was just in time to notice a very familiar flush to his soulmate’s cheeks and gleam in those startling blue eyes as Nathaniel watched on while Riko tore into Kevin about – well, Andrew didn’t really give a shit about what, just stopping Nathaniel from getting into trouble.

“Why don’t you-“

“There’s my sweetpea!” Andrew called out right before he used his racquet as an improvised hook to draw Nathaniel towards him; Jean jumped at the loud noise then scoffed at his actions. “Got a kiss for your honeybun?”

“I’ve got a knife for your belly,” Nathaniel gritted out, yet he allowed Andrew to ‘reel’ him in. “What did I say about calling me that?”

Andrew pretended to think about the demand for a moment. “Okay, snugglewoogums.”

Behind them, Jean tried to turn a chuckle into a cough while Riko finally stopped berating Kevin. Nathaniel gave Andrew an incredibly pained look before he shook his head in defeat. “Fine, stick with the first one,” he spat as he ducked his head.

Aware of Riko’s attention on them, Andrew allowed his grin and tone to take on a salacious edge. “I told you I always get my way.” He smacked his soulmate on the ass with the handle of his racquet, well aware that he’d get an earful (and more threats about being filleted) later on, while Riko grinned in approval.

“It seems we finally found someone to tame our wild #3,” Riko taunted; for a moment, Andrew worried that it would set off his soulmate, but Nathaniel glanced over at Kevin, who had hurried to get the rest of the team ready for practice (and away from Riko), and seemed to decide to let the snide comment slide since things had settled down.

It was the usual Ravens’ practice after that (of which Andrew was So. Damn. Bored); going over the Ravens’ drills (and being caned by Tetsuji for any mistakes), followed by learning a new play or two (and being caned for not paying attention) and then a few scrimmages (and more caning for mistakes). Riko was quick to pounce on any players he felt weren’t up to the team’s demanding standards, to the point that Andrew was certain that he wasn’t the only one looking forward to the next time the asshole left for a Wildcats’ game.

As expected, Nathaniel dragged Andrew off to a table in the far corner of the dining hall after practice; no one paid any attention to him eating with his soulmate and Jean anymore, while Ben was fine having his meals with Leif and Toby (who actually said more than two words at a time to him). Jean sat with his back to the other Ravens, which helped to block any curious gazes, while Nathaniel glared as he jabbed a chopstick at the grilled tofu lying on top of his bowl of seasoned rice. “Laying it on a bit thick earlier, weren’t you?” He pitched his voice low so it wouldn’t carry very far. “Honeybun?” There was enough malice in the ‘nickname’ to choke a horse (too bad it didn’t choke Andrew and give him an excuse to skip dinner).

Andrew grunted as he contemplated flinging his own piece of tofu as far across the dining hall as possible. “Oh, did you and Valjean want to be beaten for pissing off Riko today?” It was a bit of a low blow to drag Jean into things, but the best way to prove his point.

Nathaniel appeared guilty while Jean gave him a warning look for such dirty tactics, which Andrew ignored. “He’s being a real asshole to Kevin lately for no reason.”

Other than being a jealous, insecure prick, but what else was new? “Kevin’s a big boy, let him take care of himself.”

“Kevin can’t fend for himself once off an Exy court or outside a press conference,” Nathaniel muttered, which made Jean chuckle. “But whatever,” he said when Andrew narrowed his eyes. “You done with your homework for the day?”

“Yes, you?”

Nathaniel nodded. “You… uhm, coming back to the room with us?” He kept poking at the disgusting slab of tofu while a hint of blush spread across his sharp cheekbones.

Despite the fact that Andrew basically went to Nathaniel’s room every night after dinner (unless it was a game night), he nodded and forced his attention on his own dinner while Nathaniel murmured ‘good’ and Jean looked as if he was about to get up and leave the table in disgust.

The rest of the meal passed in silence.

Once they reached the relative peace and safety (relative) of Nathaniel’s room, he pulled out the German language books which Nicky had sent Andrew (oh how his cousin had been delighted to know that Nathaniel had wanted to improve upon his slight knowledge of the language) so they could work on it that night; they’d taken to alternating between German and French in the last few weeks. Between Andrew’s eidetic memory and Nathaniel’s almost uncanny ability to learn languages, they were progressing rapidly between the two.

(Andrew wanted to know what the hell his soulmate and Jean were saying all the time – and to be warned by Jean if necessary – and to talk to Nathaniel privately.)

Andrew sat on Nathaniel’s bed, all too aware of how close they were to each other, as they went through the lessons that Nathaniel had worked on earlier that day and his pronunciation (which was damn good). They were in the middle of a short dialogue (asking for directions) when Nathaniel’s phone pinged, which was a rare occasion; almost everyone he knew was in the Nest, and his father certainly didn’t bother to talk to him.

Nathaniel’s brows drew together in a puzzled expression as he looked at his phone; Andrew noticed how Jean paused in reading a book to give his partner a worried glance. “I won’t be able to watch the game on Friday,” Nathaniel announced after texting back a response. “Ichirou wants me in the East Tower to translate.”

Andrew felt a wave of… of something dark and possessive and primordial slam into him as a wide smile spread across his face. “Oh, how wonderful, fun Moriyama time. Will Nathan be there to play as well?” He could easily (oh so easily) remember the bruises which had littered lovely ‘Nat’s’ face after his last father’s visit.

Nathaniel twitched at the response, which earned a muttered curse from Jean. “I… no.” Nathaniel shook his head, which caused the workbook in his lap to slip onto the bed and his dark auburn curls to flash through the air. “He doesn’t… not when Ichirou… no.”

The incoherence was a sign of how upset he was, as was the way his hands twisted in the hem of the overlarge black sweatshirt he wore; aware of how he was the cause of such disturbance, Andrew found himself reaching to thread his fingers through those mussed curls without a thought, to leaning forward until he felt his soulmate’s breath warm against his face, until he could see the flecks of pale grey swirl in those icy blue eyes….

A manic part of him urged him on to kiss his soulmate, to feel something, to take whatever he could – for a moment he almost gave into it, too. Then he noticed the naked emotion on Nathaniel’s face, the odd mix of trust and confusion, and found himself leaning back even as his hand wrapped around his soulmate’s nape.

(NathanielwasapipedreamwasmaybetooperfectforhimbutifhetookhimnowlikeTHISthenhe’ddefinitelyneverknowifadreamcouldbecomereality)

“Be certain,” Andrew said, his voice thick for some reason. “Because I feel that I’m due an introduction with your father for some reason, an introduction where I have a very sharp or heavy object in my hand which I make very familiar with him many, many times.”

His soulmate gazed at him for several seconds as if trying to make sense of the words before he gave up and rested his forehead on Andrew’s shoulder. When Andrew glanced at Jean, the French bastard shook his head. “I’m putting my money on the Butcher, not a runt like you.”

“He’s an old man,” Andrew sneered.

“An old man who’s used to fighting off overreaching fools. Up your game, Minyard.”

Andrew gave him the bird while he combed the fingers of his other hand through Nathaniel’s hair; once he realized what he was doing, he forced his hands away from his soulmate. Nathaniel blinked at the loss of contact then slowly rose from the bed. “Aah, it’s late,” he said as he walked toward the bathroom.

Jean waited until the door closed behind him and there was the sound of water running to lean forward and gaze at Andrew. “He doesn’t say much about what happens up in the Tower, but I know that Ichirou doesn’t let Nathan touch him,” he told Andrew, his deep voice quiet in the small room. “Kengo doesn’t stop the bastard at all, but Ichirou does.”

Andrew thought about that as he gathered up the German language books then placed them on Nathaniel’s desk. “Why?” Why did Ichirou protect Nathaniel?

Jean shook his head. “I don’t know, and I don’t think Nat does, either.”

Yet another question to add to the growing pile of them, but at least Andrew knew that Nathaniel should be safe that Friday. Should. He’d have to wait for a better answer after their game with the University of Vermont’s Catamounts.

(When he was alone, with his soulmate, without any drugs in his system….).

Except things didn’t exactly go that way – Andrew should be used to life fucking up his plans by then. After all but shutting down the goal except for one point during his time out on court, he’d dealt with the usual post-game bullshit, showered, changed and was about to head to Nathaniel’s room (well aware of the clock ticking down on his drug-free moments) when Akagi insisted that he follow the assistant coach to Tetsuji’s office.

He was ready to ignore the man, except Aaron’s name was mentioned.

Well aware that he hadn’t seen his brother in class that morning, Andrew pushed aside the urge to tell the Moriyama lackey to ‘fuck off’ (along with the growing sense of nausea) and tagged along; the rare burst of true anger helped to push back the withdrawal that sunk vicious claws into his nerves until they sizzled with an aching itch that wasn’t quite pain.

Not yet, at least.

Andrew found his twin, bleary-eyed and reeking of alcohol, standing hunched over as to make himself appear even smaller in Tetsuji’s office with some middle-aged man who turned out to be the Dean of Science. He stood there and listened while Tetsuji basically talked the man out of evicting Aaron from Edgar Allan because of the stupid prank he and his ‘friends’ had done due earlier that evening to the stabilizing effect (what a fucking joke) he had on one of the Ravens’ most promising players, and that Tetsuji was certain that he could find something to keep Aaron busy so such an incident wasn’t repeated.

From the look Tetsuji gave Andrew, he knew that such a thing better not happen again, and that he’d be paying for the ‘Master’s’ intervention.

“How could you be so stupid,” he hissed in German while the two men hashed out the details of Aaron’s new ‘work study’ position.

Aaron wavered on his feet while he shook his head. “I didn’t- why the fuck do you care?” he whispered back.

Because the Moriyamas never did anything for free. Because the price better not involve Nathaniel. Because Andrew was always cleaning up for his twin. “You were supposed to stay out of trouble.” Andrew had done what he could to keep track of his brother while on campus, but that task had grown almost impossible between juggling classes, being a Raven, Nathaniel, and Aaron ignoring him the past few weeks. “Not break into-“

“You have everything,” Aaron turned to give him a look that was pure jealousy. “They’re already talking about you making Court, you found your soulmate, what else is there? I’ve got nothing.”

He certainly didn’t have any brains, Andrew thought with growing bitterness. He had a scholarship to pursue his dreams of being a doctor, he had the brother he’d begged for along with the second chance of a future. ‘Nothing’ indeed.

However, it seemed that Tetsuji and the other guy were finished, so away Aaron went, leaving Andrew to find out what he owed for his brother’s latest folly. “I suggest making him clean the bathrooms,” Andrew said as he struggled not to fidget from the growing drug withdrawals.

Tetsuji regarded him in that flat, ‘you are worthless to me’ manner which made him such a cheerful fellow for a few seconds before he leaned back in his big leather chair. “I know about the deal you made with my nephew, both about Nathaniel and being off your medication while on court.” His thick brows drew together very slightly, the only hint of disapproval on his usually mask-like face; if it were during a practice session, Andrew would expect the bastard’s cane to be brought down on him at any moment. “You shouldn’t need any incentive to do your best during a game, but one can be… irrational in regards to their soulmate.”

One could also be irrational as fuck in regards to their psychotic nephew, but Andrew (for once) kept his mouth shut, considering what had happened in the past few minutes, and considering the reference to Nathaniel.

(Oh, was it difficult, though.)

Tetsuji nodded once, as if pleased by his silence. “Your performance on court is exemplary and has helped the team to have one of their best seasons in years. Upon comparing it to how you play during scrimmages, I believe you were correct when you told Riko that you play best when off your medication. That’s why I’ve had Dr. Gale submit a recommendation that you’ve improved enough in the last few months and no longer need it.”

That… was not what Andrew had expected to hear. “He can do that?” He was supposed to have weekly sessions with the psychiatrist, per the whole court sentencing thing, but one of the very few good things about having signed with the Ravens was, due to the hectic practice schedule, after attending a couple of them, the weekly visits had just… stopped. Dr. Gale would swing by the court once a week to technically ‘see’ Andrew, but that was that, and nothing else was said about the matter.

“He already has; along with the recommendations from your professors and me, it’s expected to be approved.” Tetsuji gave him an intent look. “You’ll be checked in to a local rehabilitation center over the winter break and return in time for the spring semester to play unmedicated.”

On one hand, Andrew felt an odd fluttering in his chest at the thought of being off the damn medication early, in no longer having to take it (in being done with it earlier than expected after he’d found Nathaniel). On the other hand, he was being told to do something, and while he wasn’t the twin studying medicine, he could do a quick bit of math and realized that winter break didn’t give him a lot of time to come off an additive drug.

(But Aaron had done it, so why couldn’t he?)

His innate nature to do the opposite of what he’d been told struggled with the fact that this was what not only he owed to keep Aaron at Edgar Allan but was what he wanted as well; after several seconds, he gave the ‘Master’ a curt nod.

Tetsuji nodded once in return. “Prepare accordingly,” was all he said before he motioned for Andrew to leave.

Andrew didn’t waste any time doing just that.

Nathaniel appeared anxious when he reached his soulmate’s room but didn’t ask any questions. He took one look at Andrew and got out of the way as Andrew went straight to the bathroom so he could take the damn medication (only for a little longer) and get ready for bed. When Andrew came out several minutes later, it was to find that Nathaniel had switched out the sheets for him on Jean’s bed.

“Uhm, everything okay?” Nathaniel asked, his expression uncertain.

Andrew took a moment to check that his soulmate was unharmed (at least physically), that the only bruises on him were a couple fading ones from practice earlier in the week. “Long day.” He was too tired right then to talk about Aaron, Ichirou and winter break, too… it was too much. It would wait until morning.

Yet all Nathaniel did was give him a slight, earnest smile and went to fetch something from his desk. “Okay. Ah, here.” He handed over a small bundle wrapped in a black cloth napkin, a hint of pink on his cheeks. “There were snacks and since it was Ichirou… I was able to bring something back I thought you might like. Good night.” That done, he hurried over to his bed.

Andrew stared after him for moment before he unwrapped the napkin to reveal a large chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting drizzled with caramel, topped with a chocolate raven. Despite the slight upheaval to his stomach from before and the fact that he’d just brushed his teeth, Andrew felt his mouth begin to salivate and sat down on the bed so he could spread the napkin over his lap.

The cupcake was delicious, was the best thing he’d tasted in weeks, was a chocolate overload that made him want to groan in delight. Once he was done licking the last trace of buttercream from his fingers, he glanced over at his soulmate, who was pretending to be asleep. “Thanks, sweetpea. Next time, grab at least two.”

Nathaniel made an adorable growling sound before he spoke. “Sure, the more poison, the better,” he grumbled before he jerked the bedding higher up his narrow shoulders.

Andrew began to count the days left until winter break as he crawled beneath blankets.

*******

Excited for what happens in the next few parts. I always knew how this was going to end, but had a flash of actual dialogue the other night and... YES.

[misskittyspuffy]

Not that simple

Relationship: Dean/Cas (strongly implied)

Context: second part of season 13

Summary: “How is it? To be in love?’’ Jack’s question had taken them all by surprise.

Note: This is a fanfiction I wrote in french two years ago. I'm trying to translate some of them, it helps me practice my english :) This is not my mother tongue, I hope there won't be too many errors. Feel free to let me know if you notice anything, I'm all for improvement :-) Thank you for giving it a chance! <3

***

“How is it? To be in love?’’

Jack’s question had taken them all by surprise. Sam was absentmindedly listening to a podcast, while Cas had just joined Dean, who was throwing cereals in a bowl. They stopped what they were doing, their attention drawn to the young man’s question after he just entered the kitchen.

Dean looked deeply confused. “Huh?’’

“I was reading this book,’’ Jack explained, showing them the object causing his questioning, “and the way people describe that feeling makes me want to fall in love. It sounds really nice.’’

“First Jack, this…’’ Dean pointed what Jack was holding, “…is NOT a book, this is a magazine, a thing chicks usually like to read on a beach. And two, what is it even doing here?!’’ he said accusingly, directly looking at his brother.

Sam cleared his throat, embarrassed, and looked away. “So hmm, Jack, why do you wanna fall in love?’’

“I’d like to share that kind of bond with a person. The way people are talking about it, the way it makes them feel… Do you think a Nephilim could fall in love?’’

They exchanged shy looks, except Dean and Cas, who cautiously avoided each other’s eyes.

“I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to,’’ Sam finally answered.

“I’m part angel, and they’re not known for being especially in touch with their feelings. Have you ever been in love?’’ he suddenly asked Cas, turning his body to him.

The angel’s eyes were looking at the ground.

“Well… history has proved that angels can fall in love and give up everything they have to live that romance,’’ the angel said, avoiding to answer the real question.

“With a human?’’ the young man asked curiously.

Cas stuttered, which usually never happened. “I… yeah… I mean… this is usually how it worked. Love is the most human feeling of all, and only humans could inspire an angel to feel it.’’

“You’re living the life of a hunter now, Jack,’’ Dean intervened, while he had remained silent so far. “Hunters rarely get to live the perfect life with their loved one. Our way of life doesn’t allow us to do that.’’

“Oh… so, you’ve never been in love?’’

Dean instantly regretted opening his mouth. He rolled his eyes, trying to look casual, but his look awkwardly drifted to the angel sitting next to him.

“That’s not really my point. What I mean is… whatever feelings you have, acting on them would be way too dangerous for that person. It would be used against you. Some lives have been destroyed. The feeling of the loss… sometimes, it’s just too much.’’

“Like you, when Castiel died?’’

The brown hair angel frowned interrogatively at the mention of Dean’s reaction to his death, while Sam repressed a smile. A part of him was really enjoying the fact that Jack, considering how innocent he was, confronted Dean about what happened when Cas was gone. In the meantime, the eldest Winchester was damning himself for even bringing up the subject. He was pretty sure his face was turning red, real fast.

“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to understand,’’ Jack said curiously when he was left with no answer for a moment.

Dean was struggling to find his words and was finally about to say something when Sam intervened, preventing him from explaining —he knew it would have been a sad attempt at saving face.

“Jack, the thing is… you don’t get to choose. When you fall in love, it just happens to you. You don’t have a say on it. You sometimes don’t even realize it’s happening until it’s too late.’’

“Have you ever been in love?’’

Sam looked awkward for a moment. “Yeah… I mean, it’s a beautiful feeling. Like you’re being seen and understood in a unique way. Your heart beats faster in the presence of the person, there’s something really special about it. It makes you feel safe and strong, and at the same time, fragile and vulnerable, because you know how much you have to loose. It’s difficult to describe.’’

“What happened?’’ Jack asked curiously.

The youngest Winchester looked down. “They died,’’ he said, thinking of Jess but also Eileen —he may not have gotten the time to fall in love with her but not matter what it meant at the time, he loved her. “Which happens… way too often, because of our way of life.’’

“But… do you regret it?’’

A sad smile appeared on Sam’s lips. “No. I don’t.’’

***

The next evening, on their way to a case, Dean had to stop the car for some gas and food supplies. Sam couldn’t join them the moment they leaved the Bunker. He had something to do first, that would help them for their new mission, and was supposed to meet them later. While Dean was out of the car, Jack —who was sitting in the back seat— decided to ask Castiel a question that only he (besides the eldest Winchester himself) could answer.

“Is Dean in love with you?’’

Cas’ face suddenly froze. He was looking away, sitting in the passenger seat on the front of the car. For a moment, Jack wasn’t sure he had been heard by the angel.

“No,’’ Cas finally said, while he was looking down. “Why are you asking?’’

“Yesterday, Sam said that being in love with someone makes your heart beat faster. Dean’s heart is beating faster when he’s looking at you. Yours, too.’’

Cas looked intrigued for a moment. “Things are not that simple, Jack.’’

“Why wouldn’t they be? When you died, Dean was desperate. He looked empty, was drinking a lot… I didn’t see him sleep much either. Aren’t those signs of a deep loss and indicators of a romantic attachment?’’

“That’s his usual way of coping,’’ the angel simply answered.

Jack was skeptical. “I’ve been with you for months. It seemed different.’’

“Even if it was, it doesn’t matter,’’ he said sadly.

“And you? Do you love him?’’

“Of course I love the Winchesters. They are my family.’’

“No… I mean… are you in love with Dean?’’ Jack clarified, not realizing how insistant he was.

“Again, I’m not sure it matters,’’ Cas said in a cryptic voice.

“Looks like you are.’’

“I’m not even sure of what it means, Jack. Love is a very dangerous thing to feel when you are an angel.’’

“Same way it is when you’re a hunter?’’

“Well… the angels, they already used Dean as a way to pressure and manipulate me, in the past. An angel once said that I was lost the moment I laid a hand on Dean in Hell. She was right. But I would do it over and over again, if given a choice,’’ he ended up saying with a soft smile.

“So you love him,’’ Jack concluded.

Cas sighed. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter. Dean doesn’t deserve that kind of weight to be put on his shoulders. My feelings are my own, he shouldn’t have to handle them.’’

The young man seemed thoughtful for a second. “But what if they were mutual? Wouldn’t it be better if…’’

Dean came back to the car, interrupting their conversation. “Look what I got!’’ he said while sitting again in the driver’s seat.

He handed a nougat bar to Jack, who took it with a smile, and put the rest of the supplies at Cas’ feet.

“You okay, man?’’ he asked in a concerned tone, when he realized how off the expression on the angel’s face was.

“I’m okay, I’m just thinking,’’ Cas tried to answer casually.

“Keep some of your thinking energy for the case, I think we gonna have a hard time with this one,’’ he said with a half-smile.

Cas kept his eyes on the Winchester, who was starting the car again. At this moment, it just clicked. Now that words had been used to define how he felt, he couldn’t pretend that these feelings weren’t there. Not anymore.

Staring at the Winchester, he realized for the first time how deeply lost he was.

[wiebkesf1paddock]

Stuck Inside

A/N: Well hello there everyone!

Due to this isolation-Corona-situation I finally decided to come back to writing fanfiction after like 4 years.  So, please don't expect the best of writing, but I am surely trying my best!

This time I'm around with formula 1 oneshots. I do take requests (if I get some) and will try to do all of them (again, if there are any).

I will write solely about F1 drivers (and Nico Hülkenberg because I love him). Fluff imagines or oneshots literally about all of them, nsfw-stuff not about: Kimi, Seb, Perez. I simply don't feel comfortable with that.

If you have any requests, any constructive criticism about the plot or the style of my writing, please let me know! English is not my first language and I will try to improve wherever I can.

I hope I can get you through this shitty time with this. Have fun reading! Love you!

I hope you enjoy this first one with Charles. I was inspired by the movie 'Two Night Stand' for this one. I know that a government probably won't be this harsh with their rules, but let's just ignore that for the sake of the story. This one will probably have like three parts.

Wiebke :)

Warnings: none

Word count: 2328

Part 1

You woke up and looked around. Okay. Fuck. You were not in your own bed. Means that something bad besides your hangover happened last night. When you turned around in the bed, you found yourself face to face with a sleeping guy. A quick look under the blanket showed you that he was only in his boxers and you only had your top and some knickers on as well. You couldn’t remember going home with someone, only the kisses you shared with some dude last night at the party at your friends’ house. But you couldn’t tell whether it was the same fella or not. He was very handsome though; you could not deny that. Just as you wanted to slip away from under the blanket, his eyes opened, and he looked at you with a soft smile.

“Good morning there,” he spoke, and you could make out his French accent pretty well.

“Er…yeah good morning…” you were embarrassed that you did not remember his name.

“Charles,” he said, as if he was able to read your mind. “Strange…last night you knew my name pretty well. I actually think everyone in Monaco knows it now,” he teased a bit with a smug grin on his face.

You rolled your eyes at his remark but could not keep the blood from rushing to your face. “Well, it can’t have been this good, because I actually don’t remember any of it at all,” you countered and were pleased to see that that actually hit him off-guard.

He quickly gained his confidence back and grinned at you. “Touché. That was a good one. So, you are hungover, yes?”

The way he was speaking was so cute you actually had to shoot him a real smile. “Yes, a bit. And I actually have no memory of what happened last night. Sorry.”

Charles sat up and smiled warmly at you. “No problem. You can lie down again if you want and I get you some pain killers and water.”

“Oh. Yeah. That would be nice. Thank you. And after that I will go, I promise. Normally I don’t even stay this long.”

Charles cocked an eyebrow at you as he got up: “Normally? So, you do that very often then?” In that moment you could have slapped yourself for saying that. It sounded like you were having one-night stands on a regular basis. Which was not the case. Actually, it was the first one you had, since you and your ex broke off over one year ago. But what angered you even more was that Charles had the audacity to think that he had the right to judge you.

“What if? You just had a one-night stand as well. Who are you to judge me?” you snapped at him and he held up his hands in defense.

“Sorry. Relax. It was just a joke.”

He exited the room and you got up from the bed and took your phone out of your purse. You had ten missed calls from your best friend and some messages also from your family.

“What the hell?!” you mumbled to yourself as you sat down on the bed again to look through them.

Your eyes widened when you read what she wrote:

 Y/B/F/N: Girl I hope you had a good night! I sure did and your fella was so handsome! But call me as soon as you wake up if you haven’t read the news yet!

 Dad: I hope. You are fine and staying safe! We will try to get you back here as soon as possible! But you have to stay inside with Y/B/F/N!

 These messages didn’t make any sense and you thought that the best thing to do was to call Y/B/F/N. She quickly picked up the phone.

“Hey Y/N! So glad you called me! Are you safe?” she asked sounding concerned.

“Yeah I am. Are you? I am still at the flat of my one-night stand. Still deciding whether he is a jerk or not.”

“Well I hope he is a good guy, because you have to stay with him for a little longer. We all are not allowed to go anywhere right now. Monaco is on lockdown.”

“What lockdown?! What is going on?” You started to panic a bit not understanding what exactly your friend was talking about.

“Yeah lockdown! Because of the Corona virus. Someone tested positive here and now everyone has to stay inside for at least 24h so that they can test the relatives and friends of the person. First Corona case here. The government went completely nuts.”

“Oh shit, what?! No, no, no. Do you know how fucked up it is to stay with your one-night stand? Like…what am I supposed to do? Oh no.”

“You will have to deal with it, Y/N. I’m so sorry. At least he is hot. So, you could get it on a couple more times.” You could almost hear her smirk through the phone.

“Not helpful, Y/F/N!” you whisper-shouted; in that moment you saw, that Charles was approaching the bedroom. “Right, I got to go. We will speak later, okay? Stay safe!”

“You too! Call me if he turns out to be a creep! And remember to use protection!” Y/F/N laughed, and you rolled your eyes but had to laugh as well at the silly joke before ending the call the moment Charles entered the room, holding a glass of water with some aspirin already dissolved in it.

You put your phone away and tried not to blush at the sight you got. Charles was still only in his underwear and you hadn’t noticed before how fit he really was, but now his trained body was on full display and your friend was right. He was really hot.

“As much as I like that you are checking me out, I think you should check out this aspirin in water first. It will make your head less heavy.”

Instantly you felt the need to roll your eyes again. He was so nice to you but on the other hand he kind of acted like a douchebag.

“Thanks,” you said as you took the glass, he handed you. He had gotten himself a glass of water as well and sat down next to you on the edge of the bed.

“So, you know how I said that I would be leaving after having the aspirin?” you began talking, after downing the entire thing.

Charles nodded and looked at you, waiting for you to continue talking.

“Well…there is the first official case of Corona here in Monaco and we are not allowed to leave the flat for at least the next 24 hours. I talked to my friend on the phone and she said that the government went completely crazy and no one is allowed to go out for now,” you told him what your friend had said, “and I guess what I am trying to say is that I actually have to stay a bit longer.” You blushed again slightly when you looked at him because it was so uncomfortable for you to say that.

“Oh shit, what? I did not know that! I did not look at my phone yet. Of course, you can stay here! And just so you know, I did not ask you to leave right away anyway. So, I suggest I make a hangover breakfast and call my mother and brother and ask them if they are okay, and you can go and take a shower if you want. Towels are beneath the sink. I think I might also have a spar toothbrush in the cupboard next to the mirror. You can use that. And then we can talk about everything over breakfast?”

Now he was so nice again. You also weren’t sure he wanted to say that he actually did not want you to leave as soon as possible. But it sounded that way.

“Extra toothbrush, huh? So, you do this on a regular basis then?” you grinned and raised an eyebrow at him.

Charles chuckled lightly and shook his head. “I apologize for saying that okay? Let’s not bring this back. I make breakfast and you can get ready.”

“Alright. Sounds great. But I could help you with making breakfast. I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of you or am using you,” you replied.

He shook his head and smiled. “Don’t worry. I would not think that. You go and take a shower and then we can eat. The bathroom is down the hallway on the right side” he said and motioned in the direction where the bathroom was supposed to be.

You nodded and smiled at him while getting up and grabbing your phone.

“Alright, then…I will see you in a few minutes” you said while putting up a hand to wave at him.

Charles laughed and waved back, getting up from the bed as well moving towards his dresser. You turned around and exited the room. You couldn’t believe you waved at him. Waved! What was the matter with you today? Maybe the hangover had gotten into your head. You looked around the flat while going the way to the bathroom that Charles had described, and your eyes grew wider with each step you took. This boy had to have some money. His flat was actually really big, you had guessed that it was quite large because his bedroom was already huge, but the part of the apartment that you got to see on your way was even more impressive. It was really bright, and his furniture and decorations were chosen tastefully. When you found the bathroom, your breath hitched in your throat because, as you had already expected, it was big. There was a massive shower with a showerhead that was rainforest-style, there was also a big bathtub and it just looked all so beautiful and expensive that you were actually afraid of touching anything. You found a towel for yourself and took off your underwear. You turned on the shower and put it to a chilly temperature to wake yourself up and make yourself feel less shitty. It felt amazing to feel the water on your skin even though it was a bit cold, but you already could feel the dizzy feeling from your hangover fading off slightly. You looked around the shower and after some contemplating chose to use some of his shower-gel to wash off the smell of the previous night.

Just when you had gotten out of the shower and dried off the water that remained on your skin, and had brushed your teeth with the spare toothbrush, you remembered that you of course had no spare clothes with you because you didn’t plan on staying longer. However, you also did not want to put on your clothes from the previous day. You would have to ask Charles to use his laundry machine and probably remain in the towel in the meantime. Or maybe Charles could lend you some clothes. But that would be a bit strange. He wasn’t your boyfriend or anything and you did not want to creep him out. It was already so kind of him to let you stay at his apartment (although there was no other choice to be fair). You wrapped the towel tightly around you, took your dirty clothes and tapped out of the bathroom and followed the hallway. You heard some whistling and followed the sound, guessing it was Charles. You entered a living room that was connected to a big rooftop terrace, which could only mean that you were in the penthouse. You looked around to find that the living room was also included an open kitchen and dining area. Charles was hustling in the kitchen with a pan on the stove. He had not noticed you yet and was concentrating on preparing pancakes. “Erm Charles? Could I use your laundry machine to wash my clothes? Of course, I did not bring any spare clothing and I don’t want to put on the dirty laundry,” you said, and he turned around when he hard your voice.

His jaw dropped a bit at the sight of you only wrapped in a towel some drops of water you didn’t catch still glistening on your skin.

“I…yes of course. I will wash them of course! Do you want some clothes from me? I mean…I wouldn’t mind you staying in that towel but maybe that won’t be too comfortable for you,” he shrugged and had this boyish grin on his face again.

You felt a rush of heat shoot up your cheeks all the way to your ears at his remark and could not even say something back. Instead you just chose to nod your head.

“Right, let me get some clothes for you and give me your dirty ones. In the bedroom was some more right? I will take that too, okay? You look after the pancakes and I will be right back!” he said coming over to you and taking your top and panties out of your hands and rushing out of the room already before you could say something.

A few minutes later Charles came back with a t-shirt and some sweatpants for you.

“I don’t have women’s underwear, sorry. But yours will be ready in like two hours. So, I hope this is okay?” he asked while handing you the clothing.

“I mean I hope you don’t!” you laughed and took the garments from him. “Thank you so much though, Charles. This is all very kind of you. I will definitely pay you back for everything!”

“No, don’t worry about that! I am actually glad that you are still here! Now put on the clothes and I finish making breakfast. Do you want tea or coffee?”

You grinned and took the clothes from him. “I will go with tea, I think. It’s easier on the stomach.”

“Tea it is then.”

[sillydodobird]

Glittery

Here it is, finally!!

This took forever and its insanely long and I can’t tell if i love it or hate it. I started this over a month ago and I just finished it. It’s one of the longest things i’ve ever written. Super sorry if anythings misspelled or wrong, It’s Christmas Eve and I really need to wrap presents! Happy Holidays to you all!

Paring: Chlonath 

Warnings: Kissing, Cursing. 

Length: 7K+, so buckle up. 

It’s probably the insane amount of sugar in her snickerdoodle latte that’s making her so sentimental. One is naturally sentimental around the holidays, but she’s looking at a really pitiful looking Christmas tree surrounded by more impressive Christmas trees. The small thing is barely 4 feet tall and kind of slouching to the side, but it’s adorable in its own little way. It has character. More character than the other overpriced 9 foot trees in the lot. 

Chloe has probably been staring at the tree a little too long because a teenager comes up to her and asks her if she needs help with anything. She makes a split-second decision and decides to buy the little charlie brown Christmas tree. She’s never actually bought a real tree, her parents grew up with real tree’s and both never wanted to deal with the hassle of having to care for a dead tree in their own living room, opting for the fake trees that are not as big of a fire hazard.

It’s not even December 1st and in the back of her mind, she realizes the tree might not make it until Christmas because of how early she bought it. Worse comes to worst she will just buy another one. 

This is the first year she’s spending most of the season alone, not going back to Paris until the day before Christmas eve. She can’t say she’s upset she won’t be with her father until then but she does feel a little out of place not being home.

She has her butler, Nico, drag the small tree in and place it right by the window, far away from the fireplace. She doesn’t have any Christmas decor at her apartment, this is the first of soon to come decorations. 

--

She hears him before she sees him. More accurately, she hears his weird gasp slash choked “Chloe?” 

Really she could ignore him, pretend she doesn’t recognize him, but some strange part of her longs for the normalcy of someone from Paris, even if that someone happens to be a hipster art student. She grinds her teeth before turning around to face him.

“Kurtzburg?” 

The ginger in question has changed since the last time she saw him, which was a little over a year ago. His hair is longer, pulled up into a messy bun. His cheekbones have gotten sharper and from what she remembers she thinks he’s gotten taller. Other things haven’t changed, he still has paint on his hands and he still has ripped jeans on even though it is 23 degrees outside.

Nathaniel doesn’t look nearly as confused as he sounds. She’s not sure if he’s shocked to see her because he didn’t expect to see a familiar face in New York or if he didn’t even know she was in New York. She, on the other hand, doesn’t know why he is in New York. Last she heard, he going to the royal college of arts in England.  

“What are you doing here? Are you on vacation?” He asks in french, which Chloe is grateful for because she really hates speaking English. 

Chloe fiddles with her Starbucks cup, her second of the day. “Uh, no. I live here.” 

Red eyebrows rise, “You live in New York?” 

“Yeah, I’m at FIT.” She doesn’t ask him what he’s doing here because she doesn’t really care.

“The fashion school?” Nathaniel asks, “That’s really cool, Chloe.” 

The blonde nods already feeling the awkward tension in the air. She’s not sure if Nathaniel can feel it, he’s always awkward, maybe he’s immune to it. 

He obviously doesn’t pick up on the weird air that comes with seeing an old classmate, “I’m at Columbia.” 

Oh great, the hipster goes to the college her father wanted her to go to. The Ivy League college that Chloe decided not to apply for because she did not want to follow in her father’s footsteps. Her father, while slightly disappointed, managed to be supportive of his little princess forging her own path in life. She realizes that this means she will probably be seeing him more than she wants too. 

“Very cool.” Her voice is monotone, displaying how uncool Chloe really finds it. 

He reaches up to grab a package of colorful Christmas lights from the shelf, “Well it was, uh, nice seeing you?” It sounds like a question more than a statement, and Chloe guesses the awkwardness is finally starting to register to the artist. 

“Goodbye, Kurtzburg.”

 Nathaniel makes a weird face like he’s second-guessing himself, “Uh...See you around, Chloe.” He leaves the aisle, taking the colorful lights with him. 

Once he’s out of sight Chloe lets out a breath. She can finally get back to shopping. 

-

Her townhouse is now a winter wonderland. A very well thought out the color scheme to be both holly and jolly but not nauseatingly so. 

Chloe decides to celebrate her newly decorated home with hot chocolate and watching Saturday Night Live’s Christmas special. 

-

Chloe really wonders how she managed to piss God off enough that he decides to make her life a living hell. 

She’s positive she’s cursed. Just today she woke up late and left her portfolio at her house, had to speed walk to class in 6-inch heels because her driver had a family emergency, almost twisting her ankle in the process and on top of everything her hair appointment had to be rescheduled. 

But now it’s pouring rain and she did not bring an umbrella. Even though it is well below freezing it’s not snowing outside, it’s just freezing cold rain. 

She’s sitting in Starbucks’s lobby, sipping hot chocolate and trying to work on her essay. It’s not due for another week but she feels like wasting time waiting for the rain to stop. 

Once again, she hears him before she sees him. He’s ordering a black coffee, weird how boring his coffee order is considering how artsy he is. His hair is down and he is wearing a ridiculously bright blue scarf that clashes terribly with his, well, everything. 

She’s debating on hiding behind her portfolio when he notices her. His blue eyes widening in recognition and she can see the moment of hesitation before he makes his way over to her. 

“Uh, Hey. Long-time, no see.” He jokes.

“Are you stalking me, Kurtzburg?” 

Nathaniel lets out whatever is a cross between a sigh and a laugh, “Still blunt as ever, I see. Would have thought you would have grown out of it by now.” 

Her blue eyes narrow, she doesn’t need or deserve attitude from a living breathing tomato. 

“What do you want?” She doesn’t want to attract any more attention to herself than necessary, the fact that they are speaking french is already attracting onlookers. 

“Nothing, Chloe. Believe it or not, I don’t seek you out. I’m just taking shelter from the storm, same as you.” 

Chloe hmphs but doesn’t bother responding to him. She bites her tongue when he decides to sit across from her. 

He takes out a sketchbook and some graphite pencils. She wonders how much he’s improved since the last time she saw his artwork. Admittedly, he was the best artist in their entire school. She remembers the beautiful paintings he did of Ladybug and Chat Noir and she can’t help but be curious about what is taking up pages in his sketchbook nowadays.

She resorts to sneaking glances at him. He doesn’t look at her, too focused on his art. His stupid hair falling in his face and he moves to push it behind his ears, where she notices he has multiple ear piercings. His eyebrows were furrowed and he looks to be having trouble with whatever he is drawing. 

After a while, he speaks up. “So why New York?” He doesn’t even look at her, still looking down at his art. 

For a moment she considers telling him to fuck off and let her write in peace, even though she hasn’t actually written more than two sentences. She decides to answer him with a smidge of politeness. 

“I like New York.” She really does love it here. It’s always busy and she doesn’t ever feel like people are watching her. Back in Paris, she could never let her guard down. 

“How does your father feel about you being here?” He’s put his pencil down, using his fingers to smudge the graphite. He still hasn’t looked at her but she hasn’t looked at her essay since he spoke. 

“Why do you care?” She spits out, she can’t tell if she’s annoyed at the fact that he’s asking such a personal question or if it’s the indifference his voice seems to project. 

“Curious. My parents hate that I chose to go to school in the states.” 

“Why did you come here? I thought you were destined for the Royal College of Arts.” She doesn’t realize she’s even asking the question until its out. 

Luckily Nathaniel either doesn’t notice how weird it is that his former bully knew where he was planning on attending college or just didn’t care. 

“Didn’t like the vibe.” He’s picked up his pencils again, fingers now dusted with graphite. 

Chloe bites back a laugh, “Didn’t like the vibe? What were they not hipster enough?” 

He does look up at that remark. His blue eyes meet hers and a weird feeling spreads through her stomach. His lips spread to let a small smile peep through. 

“Nah, just didn’t feel right.” 

She rolls her eyes but doesn’t try to get any more info out of him and he doesn’t bring up his previous question.

He does, however, ask what kind of classes she’s taking and she responds. It’s not awful, talking to the redhead. If anything it’s just nice to be able to converse in her natural tongue. She tries to figure out what he is drawing but he keeps it perfectly angled away from her. 

It’s about another 40 minutes when he starts to put his sketchbook away. She looks out the window and notices the rain has stopped. 

“Imma head on home.” He says while making eye contact with her. He has a soft smile and a dimple makes an appearance. He lifts his bag up and stands up.

“Bye.”

“Bye, Chloe. See you around.” He sends her one last smile, this time with teeth, and walks out the door.

Chloe tries her best to look uninterested, gives him a small wave and looks back to her laptop. She’s only managed to write two paragraphs in the last hour. 

Chloe tries to stay and finish her essay but quickly gives up after 20 minutes. 

It’s not like her essay is due tomorrow anyway.

-

Chloe manages to score an A on her marketing exam and she celebrates by taking a walk through the city to do some Christmas shopping. She’s already bought her parents, Adrien ( and by extension Mariantte), Sabrina, and all of the people her father employes to make her life easier. She did manage to contact her driver’s wife and plan a small romantic vacation for the two of them, so she's able to cross off ‘good deeds’ on her checklist. 

Chloe is admiring the newest line from Versace when she sees him.

She is 98% convinced he is stalking her and the next thing she should do is file for a restraining order.

He’s in a very ugly silver puffy jacket, jeans, and boots. He has a beanie on covering most of his hair but is unable to cover the unruly locks. She wonders how an artist can be so fashionably challenged. 

He’s also carrying bags, not shopping bags because Chloe highly doubts he can afford to shop in this plaza. 

She decides to ignore him. He obviously didn’t see her and she's definitely not about to walk up and start a conversation with him.

She does, however, see him when she walks towards the Channel Gardens. He has a camera in his hands and he’s zooming from tree to tree snapping away pictures. She didn’t know he was interested in photography, she wonders if this is for a personal project or a mandatory school project.

She turns away and starts her journey home. It’s below freezing and she’s ready to watch the polar express and wrap presents.

And if her thoughts drift to the redhead in the garden, well no one can prove it.

-

She’s listening to Terror Jr and trying to find inspiration. She doesn’t know if it’s because of the holiday stress but she has been severely lacking any inspiration. 

Chloe hates feeling like this. She feels like how she imagines the color brown to feel like. Boring, unimaginative and overall yucky. 

She is getting nowhere on this stupid essay and she’s also getting nowhere with the spreadsheets she needs to have completed by the end of the week. 

She’s at Starbucks again because while she does go to a fashion school the library is always crowded around this time of year and she’s claustrophobic. She’s only been in the Starbucks for a while, she’s only on her first toffee nut almond milk latte. 

Her father FaceTimes her, which is honestly surprising. Who taught him how to do that? Jean? 

The camera is pointing to the ground so she sees some of his shoes and the floor. He’s discussing the annual Christmas dinner at their house with all of their extended family. Chloe zones out through most of it until he asks if she’s bringing a plus one, during school, Sabrina used to be her plus one but now she can’t see that happening. She tells her father she doubts it and puts on a smile so he forgets about it. He’s perfectly fine going back to rambling on about Paris and his mayoral duties.

She manages to hang up with her father and goes back to writing her essay. It takes her about another 2 hours, and two more latte’s, but she manages to finish it. 

-

He finds her at Target again. She wants to know why he’s at Target so often and then realizes she can’t find that weird because she’s at target most days. 

“Maybe I should be worried about you stalking me, Bourgeois?” He teases. 

“Fuck off, Kurtzburg.” She doesn’t hold back this time but instead of being intimidated he, however, lets out a laugh and smiles a toothy smile at her. 

“Oh Chloe, it’s no biggie. I don’t mind.” 

Chloe rolls her eyes and starts to move her cart away from him, tempted to run over his feet. 

He catches up with her, “Alright, sorry. I just think it’s funny that this is the second time I've seen you at target.”  

“Have you looked at the calendar? It’s less than 6 weeks until Christmas.”

Nathaniel nods, keeping pace with her even as she tries to speed up. “Ah, nope had no idea.” 

She abruptly stops and he stumbles a bit. 

“What do you want?” She asks 

“Nothing. I just think it’s a funny coincidence.” he raises his hands in mock surrender.

“So you’re bothering me because?” She snaps.

He lowers his hands and she’s ready to hear whatever bullshit is about to flow from his mouth.

“I think we should hang out.” Her eyes widen and Nathaniel is quick to continue to add on. “I think we should hang out because it’s nice to see someone from home.”

“Come on, Chloe. We should at least try hanging out once.”

She glares at him, “Doing what?” 

He averts his eyes and shoves his hands into his orange hoodie, “Well...I uh…” He stutters “I really didn’t think you’d let me talk long enough for me to get to that.” 

Chloe rolls her eyes and walks away. If he wants to hang out with her, he’s gotta do better than that. 

-

They do become friends or what Chloe would call acquaintances who don’t hate spending time together.

 She grows used to the way Nathaniel dresses. She doesn’t approve of it but she is used to it. 

She grows used to the way he constantly doodles. How his hands are often covered in paint.and how he always had at least 3 earrings in. 

She’s not even really sure why he’s even trying to be friends with her. It’s not as if he doesn’t have other friends in New York, she’s seen his Instagram stories that include friends who she imagines share the same passion for art. 

But she’s now in those Instagram stories. He’s developed a habit of snapping photos of her and adding them to his story. He always tags her and she wonders if he’s completely okay with all of their old friends and classmates knowing they are hanging out. 

The first time she puts him in her story and tags him, he sends her a small little heart and smiley face emoji. No one is around to see her blush and therefore it’s totally fine. 

-

He’s asked for her help with some art project, something about Christmas lights and free not chocolate. Chloe doesn’t turn him down and now they are in the middle of Rockefeller Center, staring at the Rockefeller Christmas Tree.

Chloe is sipping on her hot chocolate, with extra mini marshmallows. Nathaniel is setting up his art supplies, thankfully it looks like he just plans to sketch and not paint. She wonders how long this is going to take and if they should go out for dinner afterward. 

The ice skaters are all around and Chloe remembers when her parents first took her here when she was a little girl. She hasn’t been ice skating in a few years and she’s pretty sure she would look like a newborn baby giraffe trying to skate. 

She’s content to people watch but Nathaniel wants to talk apparently. He’s gotten into the habit of playing a game like twenty questions, something about them needing to know more than the basics about each other. 

“What is your favorite Christmas song?” 

In all honesty, it’s probably that Pennies from Heaven song from the movie Elf but she doesn’t say that, “Merry Christmas, Darling by the Carpenters.”

“A classic.” He says while looking up at the tree, hand still moving across the paper. 

“What about you? Is it something like super obscure? Must be Santa by Bob Dylan?” She laughs.

“What? No! What even is that? Is it good?” 

“It’s definitely weird.” 

He laughs and Chloe realizes she doesn’t hate the sound. Doesn’t make her want to grind her teeth, his laugh is not obnoxious but it’s genuine. Like he’s honestly having fun just sitting here working on an art project with her. 

“It’s Please Come Home For Christmas.” He says after he’s stopped laughing “By The Eagles.” 

They go back and forth for a bit, she finds out he thinks Eggnog is better than hot chocolate which Chloe calls bullshit on and Nath finds out that she can’t possibly pick a favorite Christmas movie because they are all good, including the shitty hallmark ones. 

It’s around 11 o’clock. The crowd has died down and there’s no one around besides the stray couple still ice skating. Nathaniel is putting the finishing touches on his sketch. It’s gorgeous of course, he’s managed to blend the colors of the lights on the bright green Christmas tree to make it look as if they are twinkling, he’s also drawn the ice skaters and the hot chocolate vendor. She’s amazed he managed to put this much detail into something that’s only taken him 2 hours. 

“So what do you think?” 

It takes her a moment to realize he’s asking for feedback. She’s not sure why he’s asking someone who has very little artistic talents but she gives her honest opinion. 

He blushes when she tells him that it’s amazing. His cheeks a similar color to his hair. It really shouldn’t be cute but it totally is and Chloe wants to see it more often. 

-

They go to a special showing of Elf. It’s dark in the theater and she’s currently munching on popcorn and Nathaniel is sipping on his ICEE. 

She’s trying to focus on the movie because it really is one of her favorites. However, her mind keeps drifting to the redhead who just moments earlier was mistaken for her boyfriend. 

The usher at the movie theater just happened to mention how cute of a couple she thought they were, which side note: if they were an actual couple they would most definitely be the cutest couple.

Nathaniel didn’t even correct her, neither did Chloe. Which makes her mind race. Why didn’t he correct her? Does he care if people think they are dating? Does he want people to think they are dating?

Now her mind is curious how he would be as a boyfriend. The seed has been planted in her head. She wonders what he would wear on the first date, where would he take her, would he kiss her on the first date? How does he kiss? Is it soft and slow or fast and passionate? Would he be in control or would he let her take control? Would she want him to be in control?

Her thoughts are swarming around and she doesn’t even notice he’s talking to her until he taps her on the cheek. 

She smacks his hand away and glares at him. Just because she was entertaining the idea of kissing him doesn’t mean he can bother her. 

“You zoned out, I wanted to know if you wanted a refill?” He asks looking down at her now almost empty popcorn tub. 

She would actually love some sour patch kids but she’s not going to ask for that. “I’m fine. Thanks.” 

He smiles at her and then stands up and walks out of the theater. 

Chloe has finally managed to get her thoughts together enough to start enjoying the movie when he walks back in. He sits down and she figured he would go back to watching the movie but he turns to her, hands her two boxes of sour patch kids(original and watermelon) and puts his arm over the back of her chair.

 Chloe gives up trying to watch the movie. 

-

They are building a gingerbread house. Or more accurately Nathaniel is designing a beautiful gingerbread house, with intricately placed candies and icing. Chloe, on the other hand, gave up after 10 minutes; deciding to let the artist do what he wishes. She’s content to watch the grinch, the original animated version, and drink Eggnog. 

Chloe doesn’t really remember why he even came over, it’s a Saturday and she really should be studying for her finals. She shouldn’t be spending time with the artist who is way too invested in this editable house. But his tongue is slightly sticking out and his hair is disheveled like always. He’s also mumbling to himself about aesthetics and weight limitations. 

“The older I get the more I relate to the grinch.” She says.

Nathaniel is adding what looks like some candy shrubbery to the side paneling, “You love Christmas though, Chlo.” 

If Chloe wasn’t paying attention she might have missed that. He called her Chlo for the first time. The only other person who calls her that is Adrien, and yet it feels very different coming out of Nathaniel’s mouth. Somehow more intimate and affectionate. She wonders when they reached the point of nicknames. Would it be alright for her to call him Nath? Did he even realize he did it? 

Chloe recovers quickly though, “Of course I love Christmas, I meant that I understand where he’s coming from.”

Nath breathes a laugh, “Yeah? You gonna run away to live in a cave with a dog?” 

She rolls her eyes and goes back to the movie. 

-

While she likes to pretend that she is 100% aware and in control all the time, it’s not true. Right now she has no idea how this happened. When did they get into this position? She doesn’t remember him moving his arm to rest over the top of the couch, or when her legs decided to intertwine with his. She remembers how far apart they were when they first sat down though.

She wants to know if he noticed how close they’ve gotten. If he was just as unaware of it as her or if was secretly inching closer to her all night. She can smell him, and she’s trying hard to not being creepy about it at all. He smells strangely warm and fresh. She always kind of expected him to smell like art, like acrylic paints and clay. Instead, he smells like clean laundry and spiced oranges. 

They are watching it’s a wonderful life on her tv. The fireplace is crackling and the Christmas tree is glittering in the corner. Nathaniel is fully engrossed in the movie. He admitted that he had never seen the movie before and so here they are, sitting entirely too close together. 

She is honed into the fact that his right hand is absentmindedly stroking her hair. She wonders if he would notice if she moved her hand from her lap to his thigh and if she did would that be too forward? 

She decides to take a leap of faith because she’s not thinking straight and she can’t tell if it’s because of him or if it’s because of the glass of wine she had earlier. 

Her hand moves and she lets it rest gently on his thigh and she can feel him tense up beneath her. He doesn’t move or shove her off of him so she’s taking that as a good sign. 

Chloe is distracted by the movie when he moves, he jostles them so she is practically in his lap, he moves so one of his hands is on her hip and the other still in her hair. 

Nathaniel rests his chin on top of her head and she’s not breathing properly. She’s not paying attention to George Bailey or Clarence. She feels like she might overheat, he’s so warm and he smells so good. 

He hasn’t looked at her or acted like this is unusual even though they’ve never ever been this close to each other. He’s acting like this is completely normal, that she’s always been able to feel how his chest feels against her back or how his fingers feel on her hip.

Chloe wonders if he knows what he is doing to her? 

Does he know she feels like her heart is about to burst out of her chest?

Does he know how he makes her feel? How safe and happy she feels?

She doesn’t want to move, wants to stay in this moment forever or at the very least the entire night. But unfortunately, life gets in the way and Nathaniel whispers to her after the credits start to roll that he has to head home and that she should get some sleep. 

Chloe gets very little sleep that night. Instead, she spends hours tossing and turning, remember the way it felt to be held by him.

—

“Are you going back to Paris for Christmas?” 

The question doesn’t startle her, she’s been expecting it. Christmas is less than two weeks away. 

“Yeah, I still need to book my flight. What about you? Are you going back for Hanukkah?” She knows his parents miss him and even if he doesn’t say anything she can tell he misses them when he’s speaking with them on the phone. 

Nathaniel nods, “The semester ends on the 18th so I’ll probably leave on the 19th.”

They are in her kitchen, making some stupid holiday cookies that will probably burn in the oven but Nath seems excited.

“Do you think you’ll meet up with anyone from school?” She asks after a short pause. She is curious if he still talks to anyone back home. She doesn’t really speak to Sabrina anymore besides the occasional text every now and then and Adrien is busy with his career and Marinette. 

Nath shrugs and continues kneading the dough. His hair is very disheveled and she ponders when she started finding that attractive in a man. 

“I might meet up with Alix and Kim, maybe Max.” He says. “But I don’t think our schedules will match up well.” 

Chloe nods, she wants to know if their schedules match up. If this weird friendship they’ve managed to form will exist in Paris. Nathaniel doesn’t seem to be afraid to let people know they are friends, he’s posted about her enough on Instagram.

But she desperately wants to know if Nathaniel talks about her to anyone else. And if he does, what does he tell them. Wants to know if he talks about her with the fondness only one can talk about someone they treasure. 

He’s tearing open the packaging of the cookie cutters, with his teeth because Nathaniel could care less when he tells her they should travel together. 

She chokes on the glass of eggnog she’s drinking. 

“What?” 

“I said we should travel together, flying by yourself is so boring.” He says this way too nonchalantly. 

Chloe resorts to just staring at him, confused and slightly shocked. 

“I thought your parents would be picking you up from the airport.” She says and she can see that he doesn’t seem to understand why she’s apprehensive. 

“Yeah? And?” 

-

They do end up flying together, Chloe convinces him to let her pay for his first-class seat because she is not about to ride in Economy just because he decided to tag along. 

It’s an 8-hour flight. Nathaniel is wearing grey sweatpants paired with a Columbia hoodie and she’s not sure she’s ever seen him look less like a hipster. He is still wearing some very ugly sneakers so she guesses the world hasn't ended just yet. 

He’s seated across from her, watching a movie on his Ipad. It’s only about 3 hours into their flight and she wishes she could just fall asleep. 

She watching the Sound of Music, but in all actuality, she ends up watching the way Nathaniel’s hair falls into his eyes and counting how many freckles litter his nose and cheekbones.

-

She’s standing at the luggage pick up and Nath is standing next to her. Vaguely she realizes onlookers definitely see them as a couple. She moves a tad bit closer to him. To make it easier for other people looking for the luggage, of course. 

Chloe has met his parents before, Victor and Lisel. His parents are kind and warm, and it’s so obvious that they love their son. His mother latched on to him as soon as she saw him. His father actually greeted Chloe first. He is so unlike her own father that she instantly tensed up before he smiled at her. 

Lisel lets go of her son and immediately goes to hug Chloe, which startles her. She supposes other families are more touchy than her own but she still wasn't expecting it. She timidly hugs Nathaniels’s mother back. Nathaniel shoots her a smile when they pull apart and she works harder to push those butterflies down. 

-

She supposes she believed her parents would be waiting for her to arrive home. However, the only two who greet her are the family butler Jean, who takes her bags and then gives her a quick hug, and the family dog, a Shih-Tzu named Beignet. 

Beignet jumps into Chloe’s arms and demands attention, which is fantastic. It takes her mind off of her parents. 

Jean takes her bags to her room and Chloe makes her way through her childhood home. The entire hotel is decorated for Christmas with plastic trees littered around every corner. This year's theme is very pastel Christmas, baby blues and frosted green baubles and light pink bows. 

Beignet squirms in her arms and she sets the tiny dog down who then tries to get her to play a game of tug of war with a nearby toy. Chloe entertains him until he tires himself out, curling up beside his plush faux fur doggy bed by the fireplace.

-

Her mother is the first one to arrive home. Tossing her bag to Jean, who doesn’t even bat an eyelash at her antics. Butler arrives behind her, carrying multiple shopping bags. Her mother embraced her in a hug that Chloe returns, albeit the hug is very awkward and kind of robotic because they rarely hug. 

Chloe is wondering what has gotten into her mother when she releases her and begins to speak. “Chloe, my love, I found the most amazing dress for you to wear for Christmas dinner! It’s going to look dazzling on you!” 

Her mother continues rambling on even well after Chloe stopped listening.  

-

Her father comes home much later. Chloe is sound asleep on the couch with Beignet curled up next to her, Christmas Vacation still playing on the tv. Her father drops a kiss on her head and gives her a small squeeze. Chloe, recovering from jet lag, sleepy mumbles a greeting to her father. 

-

Nathaniel forces Chloe to hang out with Alix and Kim. They go Ice skating and Chloe only trips a couple of times. Kim, however, fell multiple times until Alix took pity on her boyfriend and grabbed his hand to lead him around the skating rink. 

Nathaniel asks her after Alix and Kim left if she had fun. Chloe tells him it wasn’t as deplorable as she would have thought and Nath rewards her with hot chocolate. 

-

It’s Christmas Eve and she hasn’t seen him since they went ice skating with Alix and Kim. She can’t lie to herself and say she doesn’t miss him. It’s been less than 48 hours but it feels like it’s been so long. 

She knows he’s not avoiding her. She knows that he has plans with his family. She spends time doing some self-care, taking a hot bath, drinking wine, and watching the Muppets Christmas Carol. 

It’s around 9pm when he calls her. 

His voice is hard and she can hear the cold wind through the speaker. 

“Are you home?” He asks.

“Yeah, but I’ve already changed into my pajamas so-“

“I’m outside. The doorman won’t let me in.” 

Of course, they wouldn’t let him in, they won’t let anyone in unless she told them too. 

She forgoes the elevator, opting to run down the stairs. She’s in her Hello Kitty pajamas and her hair is down and she has absolutely no makeup on. 

she gives the doorman, Georg, permission to let him in. Nathaniel all but runs inside, his hair is messy and awful, he has snowflakes on his jacket and she belatedly realizes that he’s wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. He comes straight to her, she doesn’t know what happened but something seems to be wrong. His eyes are hardened and she suddenly has a flashback to when they were kids and he was akumatized. 

She’s grabbed onto his wrist and is pulling him up the stairs to her bedroom, she doesn’t even bother looking back to see the look she knows Georg is giving her. 

Once they reach her bedroom he immediately makes his way over to her bed, uniting his shoes and taking off his hoodie. 

He’s laying down on her bed, she hasn’t moved, opting to lean against the closed door. He looks exhausted and drained. She wonders what happened, she assumes it’s something to do with his family and she wonders what in the world could have happened. She’s also having a very small moment of panic at the image of Nath in her bed. He looks comfortable and a little too good against her bedspread.

“You can come over here, you know.” He says after a while. 

She slowly moves to her bed, unsure if he wants to talk about what happened, or if he wants to outright ignore it. She finally sits at the foot of her bed, next to his sock-clad feet. 

“Just lay down, Chlo.” He nudges her with one of his feet and she decides to give in. 

She positions herself a respectful distance away from him. He doesn’t allow that.

He reaches over and puts an arm around her waist and pulls her closer, fitting them together and Chloe stops herself from thinking they are like puzzle pieces. His fingers are gently moving across her exposed shoulder, and his feet touch hers and she belatedly realizes he’s trying to intertwine their feet. 

She’s entirely too close to him. Friends do not cuddle each other. They definitely don’t allow their fingers to roam over the other's chest and they definitely don’t imagine themselves planting kisses on their jaw and neck. 

Chloe’s brain is foggy and filled with thoughts of nothing besides the redhead and the way he smells and how nice it feels to be held by him. 

She sneaks a peek at him and finds him already looking at her. She tries to think of something to say to break the silence but he interrupts her.

He interrupts her in the best way possible.

She remembers debating with herself about how he would kiss, but anything she could imagine pales in comparison. His hands are on her jaw and neck, his lips are not rough against her but not soft. 

She knows he can probably feel her shivering when his hands drift down to her waist and especially when one holds on to her upper thigh. 

She wastes no time in exploring him as well. She hesitantly bites his bottom lip and his hand on her thigh tightens in the most delicious way. His mouth opening for her and it’s now a whole different type of kiss. 

One of her hands is holding tight on his hair, allowing her fingers to pull slightly and he makes a noise that Chloe will try forever to recreate. Her other hand is moving down his chest and she stops them right above his sweatpants. 

She’s trying to figure out what her next move should be when he pulls away from her. Her heart stops and she’s nervous he’s going to take everything back and tell her this was a mistake. 

He, however, moves his attention from her lips elsewhere. His mouth pressing kisses to her cheek, jaw, and neck. He even presses a small kiss below her ear and she swears she swoons. 

He places one final kiss on her neck with a soft bite and then he pulls her even closer. Nathaniel embraces her and she has the chance to gather her thoughts now that his lips are not attached to her anymore. One of his hands is still on her thigh but the other one moved to her hair. 

He breaks the silence. 

“Your hair is down.” 

That’s what he’s going with? Mentioning her hair? 

“Well...I was going to bed before you barged in here.” She teases. 

He snickers and she feels it more than she hears it and that makes her entire face flush. 

“I like it. Your hair. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it down.” 

She hmm’s and is curious if they are going to act like the kiss didn’t happen and continue being just friends. That idea doesn’t sit well with her and she wants to latch onto him even tighter. 

“If it wasn’t obvious, Chlo. I do like you. A lot. Like a lot a lot.” 

Chloe laughs in relief and instead of responding she moves back to kiss him. 

Unlike the other kiss, this one is soft and sweet. Her hand goes to his face and she traces a thumb over one of his cheekbones. His hand moves from her thigh and wraps itself around her waist. She feels him smile into the kiss which makes her heart flutter. 

“Merry Christmas, Chloe.” He says when they separate.

“It’s 10pm on Christmas Eve.” She points out and he tickles her in response. 

-

He leaves around 1am on Christmas morning, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and then he’s out the door. Georg shoots her a small smirk and winks at her when he closes the door behind Nathaniel. She can’t even feel embarrassed instead she feels all tingly inside. 

-

“Merry Christmas, Chloe. For real this time.” He says when Georg opens the door. “Merry Christmas to you too, Georg.” Who in turn just nods his head in acknowledgment. 

She grabs his hand and pulls him inside. 

“Happy 4th night of Hanukkah, Nath.” She kisses his cheek and tries to walk into the hallway. 

Nathaniel has other plans and pulls her into his arms and kisses her. It’s nothing major but it’s sweet and makes her feel tingly again. 

It’s hours later, after awkward introductions and her father interrogating Nathaniel, snuggled by the fireplace with Beignet curled up at Nath’s side, she asks him what had him upset last night. 

He blushes and tightens his hold on her, he mumbles something about Alix and Kim which makes her very confused. 

“What? What happened with Alix and Kim? Did you guys have some kind of fight?” Even though Alix and Chloe are very different, Chloe can see what a good friendship Alix and Kim have with him. 

He shakes his head and moves so his head is digging into her shoulder and hair. 

“Alix and her annoying boyfriend said if I didn’t do something soon, someone would steal you away.” He says and then pulls away from her with wide eyes. “Not that I see you as some type of property! I don’t think that! I promise! I just kept thinking about it last night and I had to do something.” 

Her boyfriend is biting his lip and nervously petting Beignet. Chloe can’t help but love how flustered he looks.

“I’m glad they said something. If they didn't, who knows how long it would have taken for you to confess.” She says, her hand moving to his neck to play with the ends of his hair. 

“Hey! Why couldn’t you be the first one to confess?” He protests but grabs her hand in his and moves to pull her closer. 

“I could have, but I couldn’t tell if you liked me that way or not.” She says.

He presses a kiss to her temple, “You couldn’t tell? Even after I didn’t correct the movie usher? Or after I practically cuddled you to death while watching it’s a wonderful life? Really Chlo?” 

“I thought maybe you were just one of those touchy-feely friends.” 

He scoffs and she giggles more. 

“Well, Chloe Bourgeois. I want you to know that I really adore every little thing about you. Even if you obviously have zero taste when it comes to superior holiday drinks. Eggnog is obviously better than Hot Chocolate.” 

She smacks him lightly on his chest and he laughs. She giggles into his chest, content to just stay there with him while the fireplace roars with Andy Williams plays in the background. 

[silver-kitsuneneko]

Alrighty! I'm going all out on this one soo be prepared for a long haul since my curiosity MUST be quenched: 1, 3, 4-6, 11, aaand 13-16 for the writing ask thing, please

OOOH! Awesome!!! Okay! [rolls up sleeves!] Here we go!

1.     What's something you've written that you know is OOC and you just don't care? Omg…I thought my dark secret would never be heard. Me and Incubirb wrote a fanfic together in high school called Dealing with Chibis. It’s a YGO fanfic. We had fun and it’s still posted on FF.net but the yamis are OOC. VERY OOC. Do we care? Nah, it was something we wrote when we were younger and it’s a reminder of the good ol’ days and annnnnnnnd how we improved n,n Yes it’s cringe but it’s OUR  cringe damn it!

 2.    Something you hate to see in smut. No build up! Okay, I’m all for PWP because sometimes you just want to read smut without having to read a story behind it but please at least give the audience some foreplay. Also and I used to do this, don’t say womanhood an manhood, just say cock, clit, vagina, and things like that. Because well…sex is an experience, or I’ve been told, but it’s also dirty and passionate so using the terms can make it a little better or I can just be a huge perv. I’m probably the latter. Finally, weird ass things that would be near impossible during sex. Shampoo is NOT lube, ripping out a woman’s tampon and flinging it behind you is not sexy, sex in the shower/ on the beach/ is not romantic and I’m assuming harder than it looks.  Or something that is outright gross that is supposed to be romantic >< I’ve read of questionable shit and I just had to pretend I never read it. Just…but logical about it, please!

 3.    Something you love to see in smut. I personally like non con…hear me out. It’s a fantasy, it’s a good plot device, and it’s just so dark. I also like a weird powerplay and pet play because…well no one needs to know that ^^: (stay tuned One Piece fans). I also like good chemistry with the characters, like the more experience boy or girl with another girl and descriptions. Like don’t just say “and they totally did it!” yeah no, describe the act and the senses.

 4.    Something you hate to see in dialogue. Using net speak in writing. Not making a conversation believable and writing an “accent” in someone’s speech. Once again, I was guilty of this years ago, minus the net speak. The writing accent thing can be good in some cases but horrible overall. Like in HP, JK Rowling writing the way Hagrid talked. I’ll admit, it did kind of get you into the mood that Hagrid had an accent but when she did it with the French accent and Bulgarian one, it just became really…distracting. Have your readers imagine it instead of having to read/listen to an accent. Just say that they had a strong accent or if they do speak in broken English in order to emphasize a plot, by all means! Once again one of my fave authors did this well. In one of her stories, the characters were aliens who spoke Russian, this woman had RUSSIAN in the book so the reader was just as clueless as the characters in the story. Same story and one of the characters had a thick Polish accent made it difficult for him to make friends, so she emphasized it when him and is stepbrother switched bodies and he realized that one of the things his new brother had to face.

 5.    What "don't ever do this" writing rule are you guilty of constantly breaking? I know I break a lot! Hell, there’s run on sentences and things like that everywhere XD But apparently the ,” that a dear sweet nitpicker brought to my attention. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not like “OMG HOW DARE SHE!” it’s more of, she was just doing it to be an ass? Like really trying to find something wrong with a story? Anyway, that. I don’t know why I do it. I think it’s a habit that I have to break but I didn’t know it was a habit? Like some writing rules says its okay. Some say it’s bad, some people don’t even notice it. But that’s just how I’ve always write. No one else seems to care so I just kept doing it.

 6.    What do you need to work on most? Rereading my work! I don’t get offended when my readers point things out! Like I welcome it because sometimes I’m concentrating on writing that I don’t see the mistakes or rapid typing that I forget to go back. Like I write in layers. I write the beginning, scenes in the middle, the end, refill things, connect things, and polish things before posting but even I overlook things. I don’t have a proofreader so I’m grateful for the extra pairs of eyes XD Seriously I don’t get offended in the least!  

 7.    What aspect of writing have you had the most growth in? Character development! Seriously! It takes time and a lot of work to write a good character! My first real fanfic characters were OCs and one dimensional at most. Then again it was middle school and high school and emotions were high, things weren’t the best but still, they were my characters. They stuck with me in college and it gave me more than enough time to revamp them into proper characters. Also during that time I was working on a coping mechanism writing/story and learned how to really flesh out a character and giving them a back story on how they came to be instead of “this character was just born AWESOME!”

 8.    We all project onto our characters. Where has your personality or life choices leaked onto the page the most? Well, with me and not so much in my One Piece fanfics but Hetalia, my issues with my family, especially my mother/ grandmother. Because of my family situation, I never really had a safe place to express myself freely and when I did it was always taken away. I was around a lot of adults who were affected by my grandmother’s own issues which resulted in immature adults with issues of their own where I had to always be the “adult” or the “bigger person” one to someone who was twice as old as I was when I was a preteen/teenager and they were full grown ass adults. Which sucked since being a mature kid really gives more problems and doing things just to please a family who wouldn’t care less but I did have a Dad who really took the time to really understand me which was nice. So a lot of my Reader-chans have either unavailable parents, awesome parents, or raised by people who aren’t parents but the best parents they could ever have because in my opinion, sometimes the best people who actually care isn’t your family and if these people accept you, treat you with respect and genuinely care about your well being then they are your family.  

9.    What's the most ridiculous thing you've done to put off actually writing? Hmmmm Well I’ve always found time to write but usually now with the pandemic, it’s mainly “I have to clean!” which is partly true but malaise DX Well For one fandom at least. Not to mention I’m adding in a lot of filler so I can send a ton of sad fanfics without feel guilty XD

[erekiio]

The Gift (A Hat In Time oneshot)

Hello everyone !

This is not my first fanfiction, but this is the first time I write something in English. I used to write in French but I decided to change that. If you ever find any grammar mistake, please tell me, so I can correct it as fast as I can. It also helps me to improve ! Any criticism is welcome !

The two drawings you'll see are mine.

I hope you'll enjoy everything as much as I did when I wrote and drew them. If you do, please tell me, reblog or give that post a like, that way I'll know if it's a good idea for me to continue writing in English. Happy reading !

Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/22243435

_____________________________________

The Snatcher had decided to leave his forest for a while, to complete the daily part of his deal with the hat wearing child. How did he let himself get trapped that easily ? He didn’t know. Somehow, the kid had taken advantage of a small mistake on his part and there he was : a ghost being forced to play a small girl’s BFF.

He loathed it. Being trapped in one of his own contract ? That was humiliating, to say the least. However, he didn’t have a choice and could do nothing but what he was forced to by the kid’s terms.

The ghost teleported himself in the unusual contractor’s bedroom. He expected the day to pass the same as always : he would wait for the child to come back to her spaceship, offer her some new advanced contracts and watch her die over and over again. Classic BFF day ! But what he didn’t expect was the thing below him once he appeared in the room, on his regular spot.

Confused, the shade looked under him : there was an object he had never seen before. It looked like a sort of big bean. It was black, and when he touched it, he felt fabric on his ghostly hand. The thing was soft and it seemed rather comfy. Though, none of this could explain what that thing was doing here, on his part of the room. He was used to sit here ! Well, as much as he could sit with no legs, but still ! That was his spot and it was taken. Why did the child put it here ? Was it a provocation ? Was she trying to mess with him, the ghost that had taken so many souls before ? Surely she wasn’t that stupid... Or maybe she was just reckless. After all, she did make him her BFF...

Just as he was about to throw the bean away, a noise interrupted him. He recognized the opening sound of the bedroom door and when he looked behind him, he saw the kid coming in. His eyes met hers and for a moment they both remained silent. The Snatcher suddenly realized he was still holding the bean in his arms and he quickly put it down, not wishing to seem ridiculous, especially in front of her. His reaction seemed to amuse the little girl, as she started to giggle with her annoying childish voice. The shade decided to ignore it, preferring to ask her about what he found instead :

-“Hey look, it’s the insufferable kid !” He said, an irritation definitely noticeable in his tone : “Good thing that you came, because now you can tell me what the hell that thing is, and especially what it’s doing here !”

-It’s a gift !” She replied cheerfully : “Do you like it ?” She then asked with stars in her eyes, looking at him with big expectations.

His anger quickly faded into bewilderment as he slowly processed what she just told him. A gift ? Cleary, he had misunderstood her words because there was absolutely no way this kid was foolish enough to give him a gift, of all people she must have met on this planet.

-“Excuse me ?

- Yeah !” She took several steps in his direction, still smiling in her usual dumb way : “People in Mafia Town told me there was this tradition here, where you give people things at this time of the year. So I bought you something !”

The ghost blinked in disbelief. Did she just buy him something for Christmas ? His eyes remained locked on hers for a few seconds. As they passed, the child’s face started to crumple little by little :

-“You don’t like it ?” Her voice was quiet and the shade could see that she was definitely upset.

A feeling of malice grew inside of him at the sight of the distressed child. Truly, this was something he would never get tired of ! His smile widened as he spoke again :

-“Well, I don’t even know what that is. Do you really consider yourself as my BFF ? I don’t think you are, considering how bad you are at giving people gifts ! Did you pick it at random ? Because that’s what it feels like. I’m honestly disappointed here, kiddo.”

His contractor frowned at his remarks and glared at him. Oh, now she was angry ! The Snatcher couldn’t help but hope that she would regret her deal with him and break it once and for all. He knew she probably wouldn’t, as she was rather stubborn on the BFF subject, though he could still try. The contract did prevent him from killing her directly, as it was not something best friends usually did together, but it didn’t forbid him from being mean. He was thankful for all the loopholes this deal had for his own benefit.

-“I didn’t pick it at random !” She retorted : “I know you’re saying this to make me feel bad.

- Oh really ? Then tell me. What is it ? What am I supposed to do with a bean thing like this ? Sit on it ?”

His sarcasm didn’t fall on deaf ears, as the child’s face showed how offended she was. Oh, how he loved arguing with her. He almost let another mockery leave his mouth before the girl cut him short :

-“Well... Yeah ? That’s what it’s for ? It’s a pouffe !” She countered, pointing her finger towards said bean thing.

A pouffe ? Confusion replaced his want for teasing, as he slowly turned his head back to the gift. He couldn’t see how he could sit on such a strange shaped object. There wasn’t any real backrest ! It was just big and round !

The little girl noticed his puzzlement and all trace of annoyance disappeared from her face. She let another giggle escape her mouth and the Snatcher’s eyes quickly came back on her : he hated being laughed at. He scowled at her, though it did little in his favour, as she continued to chuckle. As he was about to snap at her, the kid shook her head in the same way a disappointed parent would do in front of their misbehaving child.

The ghost didn’t like that comparison at all.

-“Look it’s... Let me show you !” Before the shade was able to retort anything, the child left her spot to move towards him, much more determined than before. After a few strides, she came right next to him, shooing him away with her small hands.

-“Did you just ‘shoo’ me ?” He said, offended, only to be ignored by the kid, who took the bean thing in her arms. The ghost didn’t move an inch : he didn’t want to let a little girl give him orders, especially in that manner. However, she seemed quite resolved in what she wanted to do, making a face when she noticed he had no intention of floating away. That didn’t stop her and soon, she started to push him while keeping the pouffe in her hands.

-“Are you serious ?” His tone was nothing more than exasperated at that moment. He stayed motionless, weary of the child’s tries to make him move. The more she tried, the more irritated he became and after a while, he simply pushed her over the edge into the pillow pool. A shriek escaped the little girl’s lips as she fell, just after dropping the gift at the shade’s metaphorical feet.

The Snatcher drifted higher in the room, a very satisfied look on his face. On the pillows was the kid’s body, laying on her back. For an instant, she seemed groggy, not realizing right away what had happened. A few seconds passed where she recollected herself before meeting the Snatcher’s stare. She then let out a frustrated groan, repeatedly punching the pillows next to her with both of her fists :

-“Why are you so difficult !

-Oh I don’t know... Maybe because someone forced me into a contract I didn’t agree with !” came the ghost’s answer, full of sarcasm. His mischievous smile widened at the pleasant sight in front of him. Seeing his contractor’s annoyance really was something he loved. Now he just needed to convince her that this arrangement was no longer a good idea on her part... She never gave up on his advanced works anyway and probably never will, so he didn’t expect to receive her soul anymore.

At this point, he just wanted to be completely out of this deal.

-“You know,” he started speaking again, this time with a falsely gentle voice : “If you decided to breach our contract, I wouldn’t have to be here. Things could go back to how they were : I would take care of my forest and you could do whatever you want to, without me being here to argue with you.

-But I want you to be here with me !” She grunted, eyes shut hard : “We’re BFF ! Remember ?

-No, we’re not !” He yelled, infuriated, his words resonating in the bedroom. He could feel his body deform itself with the strong emotion rising inside of him. A banal victim would have been terrified of him, but this girl simply glared at him, as if the ghost was nothing to be scared of.

He didn’t understand why this kid not only wasn’t afraid of him but wanted to be his friend, of all people. He was a monster, who took countless of souls before and who would continue to do so, without feeling any guilt ! He didn’t even like children ! But here he was, trapped in an arrangement where he had to take care of one.

This was pure irony.

Silence fell between them, while both looked away from each other. A certain awkwardness rose in the room, aggravated by the heavy atmosphere. The shade wanted only one thing and it was to get out of here. Nonetheless, leaving was something linked to his contract. One day, the kid had told him that BFFs had to be together regularly and he had become forced to follow this implicit rule after that. He never told her, of course : he didn’t want her to realize the power she held over him ! But since he didn’t know what best friends did together himself... What she explained to him turned into rules he had to obey in order to respect his part of the deal.

He hated that.

-“Look, kiddo.” He took a breath he didn’t need and calmed himself, ready to talk again : “We’ve never been friends. I tried to kill you, several times. I still do now ! So why do you want me to stay ? What do you want from me ?”

The shade looked at the hat wearing child once more. Her eyes were still shut and now he could see two shining trails on her cheeks, while her lower lip was trembling.

“Oh. Oh no.” He immediately thought. This was not happening. This couldn’t be happening.

Very mixed feelings developed inside of him. He should be thrilled to see her tears ! When she cried while working on his death wish contracts, he was overjoyed ! Why was this time so different ? Why didn’t he feel good ? He always found it funny and laughable to see someone sobbing ! Anyone’s misfortune made his happiness. This girl was nothing more than a burden to him ! He had tried everything to kill her, to make her leave his forest, in vain ! And now that he managed to make her cry by just talking to her, he was feeling bad ?

What was happening to him...? Fear started to grow in his mind, as he was slowly becoming aware of a fact that was so scary to him.

He remained motionless and silent for a few seconds, not knowing what to say or what to do. He had never wanted to comfort anyone before and still didn’t want to now. However, he felt the weird and unwanted need to do something, anything, to end that situation as fast as possible.

-“Kid, I...” He began before hesitating for a instant : “I’m not someone you want as a friend. And in my case, I don’t need any. We’ve had a fun time together, with me attempting to kill you and you trying to survive, sure ! But now ? It’s time for this to stop. I don’t know why you’d want to befriend someone who tried to murder you ! Like, seriously, do you enjoy dying so much ?” He let out a forced laugh at the last part, knowing full well that the child only continued his advanced contracts because she was so stubborn.

He waited for an answer, though the kid’s mouth remained closed and her eyes looking elsewhere. She had stopped crying and her lower lip was no longer shaking, but her expression was more than enough to see how upset she still was.

The shade sighed, suddenly tired. He casted a glance around him, unable to decide what to do. Should he stay here and wait ? Or should he leave ? However, the very idea of leaving the kid behind in that state made him quite uneasy and, worst of all, made him feel guilty.

God, he hated feelings.

He floated back to the ground, ready to sit on the pillows he had stolen in the beginning of his stay in the spaceship. Next to him was the bean given by the child, yet he really didn’t want to think about it at that moment. The less he thought about emotions, the better. He materialized in his hand one of his favourite books from his home, Faust, and opened it. The wish to read, though, wasn’t there. His eyes simply looked at the words without getting their meaning.

Why was everything so hard with this child ?

He was about to turn the third page of his book when said child spoke again, with a hushed voice :

-“Do I need a reason to be friend with you ?”

The ghost didn’t reply at first. Why was this kid so persistent when there was nothing to befriend from the start ? He was a monster ! Then again, when he thought about it, she did make friends with a lot of people who had tried to murder her at least once... Maybe she liked being a target in the end ? In that case, she really was as reckless as he thought... Another sour laugh slipped from his mouth, getting the attention of the little girl who, for the first time since his outburst, looked at him directly.

-“I’m not going to stop trying to kill you in our contracts, you know that ?

-Yeah, I know.” She answered with a little smile on her face : “They’re fun sometimes.

-Only sometimes ? Kiddo, they’re hilarious to me !”

She giggled at his words and, for a very brief second, the ghost felt a grin appear on his features. Although, as soon as he realized what was happening, he quickly hid it behind his book, doing everything he could to make this new smile disappear. Since when did he find this kid’s laughter cute ? This wasn’t like him !

He knew he had been too late to hide it when he heard another snort of amusement coming from the hat wearing child. And as much as he wanted to ignore it, he couldn’t completely deny the feeling of contentment he felt from the sound alone.

Emotions truly were complicated things, and he really wished he could avoid feeling them, especially when they were so different to what he believed himself.

The Snatcher came back to reality when he heard the kid’s voice once more, playful this time  :

-“By the way... You know BFFs have to accept each other’s gifts, right ?”

The ghost let out an enraged groan and closed the book with strength, as he had to understand that, yes, the child had probably guessed how their contract worked.

He couldn’t wait for the end of their arrangement, this deal which had made his life so much more difficult... But, at the same time, there was something else, something new.

Something he couldn’t help but be scared of, while making him a little happier at the same time. And as he reluctantly took place on his new seat, the same question came back to him : what was happening to him ? He didn’t know.

The child smiled from ear to ear when she saw him sitting on the pouffe she gave him. Much to the shade’s displeasure, he couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

But he supposed that maybe, for a while, he could let things go and see where it would take him.

[luciousmafloy]

First Love [pt. 1]

Luka Couffaine x Reader

my first story! yay! i hope it doesn't suck!

Soo, a few things you need to know:

1. English is not my native language so i'll probably do some mistakes lmao

2. your character is a German who moved to paris

3. french is written in english and when your character speaks german i will write it in german with the translation after it

4. i will 'use' the villains for my story not in chronological order- i hope you don't mind and understand what i just wrote lol

5. yeet

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

your pov

i stood in my new room. it wasn't fully decorated but it already looked comfy and cozy. i sat down on my grey couch and picked up my phone to text my friend f/n.

we were in Paris now for only three days and i already miss her like hell. on of my fears is that i won't make any friends here. That would suck.

"the food is ready!", i hear my mom shouting for me and my little sister.

even though we are germans my parents speak french with us, so we can improve our french. i think i'm good at the language but i'm not perfect. my sisters french isn't that good so my parents sent her to a special school, where she'll learn the language. she dumb lol. no, my sister is actually really smart. She once won a math competition in 5th grade. I could never. my math is horrible.

anyway , i walked down the stairs and sat down on a chair. It's weird that the house where we live now is our new home. it feels a bit strange, but i will get used to it by time.

"s/n, your bus will drive at 7:35 please get up tomorrow timely"

my sister gave my mom a no-shit-sherlock look and i started laughing.

"fine", she said.

"when you want to improve your french, you have to speak more than one word", i told s/n.

"i can speak french when i want to", my sister said.

"it doesn't matter. Stop it please", your mother interrupted us. she hates when we argue like that, but i can't help it.

after dinner i went to my room and turned on the tv. I found nothing interesting to watch so i decided to watch the news. I need to know at least a bit about my new home town.

the friendly red-haired news lady told something about akumas and ladybug and chat noir.

i already knew the heroes of paris, they looked pretty cool in their animal-like costumes but doesn't the spandex feel weird on their skin? when i meet them, i could ask them this. but no, probably not, that would be weird.

they showed an interview with the akuma victim. the victim was a sweet man who sells ice cream. friendly and genuine persons like him get akumatised too? okay, that is scary... i hope i won't get akumatised, i don't wanna hurt people.

after watching the news, and texting my friend f/n about this strange akuma stuff, i found a funny show to watch for the rest of the evening.

~ the next day ~

my alarm clock played my favorite song at exactly 7:15 am. my sister had to get up earlier than me, because she has to take the bus to get to school when i can easily walk to school.

i stayed a few minutes in my warm bed but after my mom yelled at me i got up and ate breakfast.

"and? excited for school? hell, even i am excited, for both of you!", my mom says to me while she drank her tea.

"yeah, but i'm scared. what when they all think i'm weird and avoid me?"

i'm definitely not the person who just wanders to people and strikes up a conversation with them. nope.

i'm the kind of person who stands alone and watches other people having fun, and then feels bad about themselfes.

"then you have to come ouf of your comfort zone and talk to people"

"ja, weils auch so einfach ist", i mumbled. (yeah, because it's so easy)

"oh, don't be a sissy. now get up and change your clothes and brush your teeth. you have to go in 20 minutes!"

"yes, mother", i said while saluting and pretending her to be my boss.

i walked upstairs to my room and picked out my favorite clothes. i feel a bit confident when i wear them, maybe it'll help me.

after brushing me teeth and doing my skin care routine i grabbed my backpack from the floor and walked downstairs to my mom.

my dad has already left for work, he always leaves early and comes back late.

"mama, ich hab wirklich angst", i said to her. (mom, i'm really scared)

"das schaffst du schon. wenn du heute keine freunde findest, dann eben morgen. versuch einfach ganz normal zu sein, dann kann nichts schiefgehen"

(you got this. if you make no friends today, you will make some tomorrow. just try to be normal then nothing bad can happen)

i smiled at my mother. she is good at cheering me up, that's one of the many reasons why i love her so much. even though she can get pretty strict sometimes.

"thanks, mom. i needed that"

my mom gave me a hug, i felt good. i love hugging people, but i'm often too shy to do it.

"oh my- i have to go now if you want to be on time!", my mom said nervously.

i think she is more anxious than me. anyway, i said goodbye to her and left our house.

i think i know the way to my new school. my parents walked the whole way with me yesterday and even if i don't have it memorized, then why does google maps exist?

on my way i put on my earplugs and listened to my favorite music. music really helps me calming myself down. i was so nervous. the students in my home town didn't really liked me. i had some 'friends' yeah, but without f/n i wouldn't have survived all my school years. i really miss her and i hope i find a f/n in paris.

when i walked into school i looked around. there were many students chattering and having fun, even though its the first day after school holidays.

i checked the time, 10 minutes until the class starts. i better search for the classroom.

with my schedule in my hands i walked up the stairs, looking for my room. i felt a bit lost, there were many students and it scared me.

"hey, do you need help?", i heard a sweet voice saying behind me.

i turned around and saw a small girl, with blond short hair and the biggest blue eyes i've ever seen.

"ähm- ah, yeah. i-i can't find my classroom"

great. why can't i form a single sentence to a stranger without stuttering?

"well, can i see your schedule?", the girl asked smiling. she is really nice.

i handed her the schedule i just got yesterday and bite my lips.

"ah! we're in the same class! juleka come here, it's the new girl!"

a girl with dark clothes came up to us. she looked like the complete opposite of the girl before me, but the fact that they are friends or maybe a couple (who knows?) is super cute.

"hi", said juleka and stood beside the sweet girl.

"that's great! we're gonna get along just fine, i know it! i'm rose, that's juleka and your name is?"

rose and juleka started walking and i followed them.

"i'm y/n. it's nice to meet you guys"

i really hope they will stick with me today. and tomorrow, i hope they are going to be my friends, because they seem really nice and i don't think i will meet other people so easily and fast like that.

"madame bustier told us that you are german! but your french is so good, i didn't even notice a accent. do you already like it here?"

rose talkes a lot. it's cute.

"thank you and yeah.. it feels weird to live here now, but i like it"

rose smiles. "that's nice to hear. look, we're here, our classroom!"

rose opened the door and i walked in behind juleka. there were a few students already here.

i noticed a girl with blue hair who was talking to another girl with brown hair. in front of these two sat a boy who listened to music.

"you can sit behind juleka and me, if thats okay?", rose asked me.

juleka already sat down on her place and looked calmly out of the window.

"yeah, yeah. that's good"

i walked up, but a girl with blond hair stopped me.

"look sabrina, the new german girl is here. they clearly don't have clothing stores in germany, when i see what you are wearing", she said and her friend faked a laugh.

"why do you care about my clothes?", i asked her.

"they look horrible, just like marinette's", the girl shrugged.

"chloé, just because no one except you can afford designer clothes doesn't mean you can pick on us!", the blue-haired girl shouted angry. i think she was about to slap chloé or something because her friend held her back.

chloé simply turned away and started to whisper with her friend.

"i'm sorry about that, but- that's chloé", marinette said to me in a sad tone.

"oh, it's fine. it's not your fault", i told her.

marinette smiled and the girl behind her leaned forward. "hi, i'm alya"

"and i'm marinette, it's nice to meet you. madame bustier has told us about you"

honestly, why are they all so nice? is this some kind of fanfiction or what-

"name's y/n", i smiled.

then a boy entered the class, causing marinette to stare at him. ah, someone has a crush. alya sent me a knowing smile, while she rolled her eyes. i just giggled and walked up to my place behind juleka and rose.

"i heard what chloé said, i'm sorry. she is like that with everyone", rose sighed.

"it's okay. i'm just glad not everyone here is like her"

"me too", agreed juleka.

"i hope she will drop that mean attitude", rose said.

a woman walked into the room and was instantly greeted by every student. it was madame bustier, she looked friendly. i hope she is as friendly as she looks like. "ah, y/n i see you've found a place to sit. but you are alone, how about you take a seat with rose and juleka?". everyone turned to me and i felt uncomfortable.

"ähm- yes, madame?", i said while grabbing my backpack and standing up to sit next to rose.

the class laughed, even madame bustier giggled. "you don't have to call me madam, y/n"

i nooded and said a quiet 'okay'.

what a start.

[football15-7fics]

Little Princess - Chapter 5

August 26, 2017

"Dad is back, mom is back, I couldn't be more gratified!" Adrianna spoke to herself as she sipped on her vanilla latte at BVB09's canteen.  Her father had one important meeting with the CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, team's manager Peter Bosz, and the team's medical staff. As the meeting would end, he promised her daughter a lunch at their favorite French restaurant "Le Petit Paris" and the best in Dortmund.

Even though her doctor strongly shouldn't advised Adrianna to drink on latte, coffee and spicy foods, she just couldn't res3it on her favorite food and drinks.   Finally the diagnosis of her throwing up was just an acute stomach inflammation, nothing to worry about. She just had to take the treatment the doctor prescribed her and to avoid certain foods and drinks, but the stubborn girl decided to snub the advices and stuck on the stomach pills only.  

"This latte is so delicious, I need one more!" She said as she had a look at her Instagram notifications.  It was noticed that she got a bunch of new followers, mainly footballers from the EPL. It was very questionable of that rise in the numbers of British footballers.  Adrianna had many footballers following her mostly Germans, including Dortmund's team and several others from different teams like Bayern Munich, Schalk and many more.   She followed back some of the Brits.  The reason was, not that she didn't like them, that English generation was a wave of freshness to the National Team, she just didn't knew those very well.  She had her pictures liked by footballers and it kept rising more.

"Hey Adri…" a voice she recognized very well.  It was Jordan, the merchandising team coordinator, he was responsible for the selling of Dortmund's items.   Adrianna had asked him earlier to get her a dedicated shirt from Marco Reus for her little cousin.

"Hello Jordan… how are you?"  

"Doing great, what about you?" He asked as he walked to her sitting table.

'Doing good too… How's the little one doing?"  Jordan and his wife Heidi welcome a baby boy four months ago.

"Ahhh he's growing so fast you know!" Jordan had a brilliant smile on his lips, you could read the happiness on his face.

"Awwww yes… And soon you gonna take him to the stadium to see games, I can imagine him with his little jersey one, I'll die of cuteness.!"

"Oh I will for sure, he's a fan already of our colors black and yellow, oh by the way, the Reus' dedicated jersey is at the boys locker room, I forgot it there, do you want me to get it for you?"

"No, it's okay Jordan, I'll collect it myself, no worries."

"Sorry again… but I got to leave, your dad asked me to join the meeting, and I'm running late, see you soon Adri!"

"Don't stress yourself, Dad won't kill you!" Adrian joked.

As Jordan left the canteen, Adrianna picked her belongings and headed right away to the players locker room.  On her way, she greeted the people she knew. BVB's staff was a bunch of love and cuteness. She walked pass the photo studio area where mascot Emma had a photoshoot for the BVB's weekly magazin.  Emma's biggest fan was of course Adrianna. This one had her iPhone submerged of selfies with the Bee mascot. Adrianna kept moving along the long black yellow corridor printed with every player name and face on, the locker room was just at the end of.

"Oh it's here!" She exclaimed as the perfectly folded jersey was noticeable to her sight.   The locker room was her favorite place in the stadium. Well not in a fantasy mean with all those sexy footballers gathering there after a game, walking naked, them having a shower to swipe the sweat off.   Adrianna never imagined of so towards the boys. What she loved about this room, was the flow of positive energy. It was joyful and extremely beautiful. This was the place where they exchanged their advices if they had lost a game, what didn't work, what had to be improved, but most of all the joy of a win game.  The lockers room was one vibrant holy place.

"Let's not try to ruin that beautiful folding!" She said as she put the jersey in a black and yellow gift bag.

"Alright, now let me add a signed player card in the bag, gosh Manuella will love it!" Adrianna exclaimed thinking on her little cousin.  Manuella was a fervent fan of Marco Reus, she called him the king of football.  

"Right, let's leave now!" She said as she turned the doorknob.  Echoes of her dad's voice could be heard from the hallway, she walked faster to his reach but stopped immediately as Jadon Sancho was in her sight.  It seemed he brought a friend with him. The three men were moving at her direction. Adrianna became very agitated at his view.

"No fucking way, he can't see me!" She baffled with an fast breathing.  She immediately traced back her steps and got inside the locker room.  

"Shit!!!" She knew she was short on time to decide on a move.

"Ok let me hide in that big closet, they won't fine me here!" She walked straight inside the big in size black closet, thankfully big enough to have someone to hide in there.  Thankfully again Adrianna wasn't a claustrophobic person otherwise things would have turned badly. "Let's pray they don't check the closets!" She felt her heart beating so hard against her chest when the door opened and the three men walked inside.

"So Jadon, this is where your BVB's tour ends, the locker room!" Philip smiled.

"Woaw, it's just great, I love it!" Jadon answered as he examined the room.

"And I like the fact that you love the place, so how do you feel?"

"I feel good really I do, the stadium is simply so amazing, I can feel the football fever here…"

"It is… if you come to the proposed agreements, Dortmund will be your new home! You know, BVB is not just about football, but we are very keen on family bond, I've witnessed lots of great times here, when players had to leave us I saw tears in their eyes, we are one family."

"Beautiful story!!" Jadon exclaimed with sparkles in his eyes.

"Bro, you can't miss such of an opportunity!" Reiss Nelson, said to his friend.  This one accompanied Jadon on this one request to make sure he would not miss on that chance.  Jadon named Reiss as his brother, they grew up together, started to play football in the streets with Reiss.  

"But you still have got some days to think on it and take a final decision." Philip said with confidence.

"I don't have to think on it anymore, I'm ready to start a new chapter of my life here in Dortmund, yeah let's do this!"

"Yeeeaaaaaaah bro, that's your best decision ever!" The two friends hugged in the most warmest of the way.

"I can't fucking wait…"

"Then, deal, you won't regret on your move Jadon, you'll love Dortmund in every of it's way!"

"I know right…!" Jadon sounded like an excited child.

"So bro, we better start your stuffs packed, your new home, Germany.!"

"Yes, your transfer will be officially announced in three or four days as of now, you'll get introduced to the team on the same day, which gives you some time to pack your belongings!"

"Yes sure!"

"Now if you can follow me to the medical bay, we'll get your first medical check up done!"

"Sure!" Jadon nodded.

The footsteps of the three men were distancing from the locker room.  Just to be sure, Adrianna waited a bit more.

"Damn, that was close!" Adrianna shushed with a deep breath of relief. "Now, just leave that place!" She spoke to herself as she grabbed her bag, phone.  Luckily they haven't noticed her belongings. But while picking her stuff an iPhone was left on the table that didn't  belong to her.

"Oh, hi…" Reiss appeared by surprise which caused Adrianna a mini heart attack.

"OMG, you scared the hell out of me!" Adrianna spoke with her hand on her chest.

"Really sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I forgot my phone I guess."

"Oh it's yours, I was wondering to whom it belonged!"

"Yeah, it's mine…"

"Then I'm glad you got it back…"  Adrianna had a stupid smile on her face.

"Do you work here?" He asked politely.

"Ehmmm yes, I work in the merchandising section!"

"Oh great, great, Dortmund had signed my friend, Jadon Sancho, this kid deserves it, maybe you know him, his previous club was Manchester City, but in the youth section." Reiss talked with such deep pleasure.

"Jadon… Sancho [She was hesitant at answering], euhm, yes, I think so…" She foolishly replied.

"You'll get the chance to see him in live, he's a great guy and my brother, anyway, I gotta go now, Mr Braün and Jadon are waiting on me, it was nice to meet you, may I ask for your name?"

"Keisha… oh yes, we'll look forward to see your friend in action at the stadium."

"Have a nice day Miss Keisha."

"Yes you too, on and what an impolite  I am, my name is Reiss.!"

"Nice to meet you Reiss!" Were the last words she spoke out as he moved out of the locker room.

"Oh fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck…" Adrianna cursed as she walked the quicker she could.