#i'll just be half-blonde then for the next 6 weeks

[midnights-wish]

ok, look. i went to the hairdresser yesterday to get my peek-a-boo highlights done: goal was to get my hair as light blonde as possible for the first session, & to then color them ashgray.

but now i'm a little confused, because my hair still looks blonde; no gray in sight. i'm not sure if this is just me, because i'm lacking knowledge on the topic seeing as this is my first time dyeing it in 10 years, but i had assumed, from how my hairdresser talked about it, that even though i wouldn't get the exact gray i showed her, a gray would still be noticeable. she ended up telling me after my hair had dried & we noticed that the gray didn't show, that it's because of the yellow tint, & if i wash it out with silvershampoo, this will change & the gray will become more noticeable after latest a few washes.

so now i'm sitting here, with my towel wrap, hoping she is right & that i didn't choose too light of a colour to put over the blonde part of my hair. (& being a little irrational with already hoping there's gonna be some signs of gray after the first wash :))

[mamaestapa]

Team Dinner Disaster

• pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

• series summary: Y/n Hubbard, the younger sister of Cincinnati Bengals Defensive End Sam Hubbard, finds herself in a difficult situation after a steamy hookup with her brothers best friend, who just so happens to be the quarterback for the Bengals. In just nine months their lives will be changed forever. How will Y/n and Joe manage to to go through parenthood together? more so, how will Sam take the news he is going to be the uncle of his best friends baby?

• chapter summary: The Bengals team dinner turns into a complete disaster after an encounter Joe has at the restaurant

• word count: 2.8k

• warnings: pregnancy, vomiting, angst, lots of angst, crying, mentions of cheating, Joe gets mad and v upset, get the tissues ready babes...

series masterlist

June 26, 2023

6 months pregnant

You were laughing along with Morgan and Holly as Tee told a story about his bar experience from a couple nights ago. As you were attentive to the story Tee was telling about a fan encounter, Joe was dealing with his own fan encounter...

"Excuse me." An unfamiliar feminine raspy voice spoke from beside you. You glanced in the direction of the voice, eyebrows furrowing as you looked at the source of this new voice. A tall woman with wavy copper red hair, bleach blonde highlights and blue doe eyes approached Joe with a soft smile on her plump red lips. You figured it was just a fan so you turned your attention back to the group you were conversing with before.

Joe turned his head to the left to look at the woman who looked to be in her early twenties. A half smile half smirk pulled at his lips as he looked at her.

"Hi Joe," she said, flashing him her best smile, "I don't know if you remember me, it's Izzy."

"Yeah I remember, we talked on the phone last week about the..." Joe glanced over in your direction, careful not to say his next words too loudly, "uh arrangement."

Your head perked up at a few of the words you picked up through your left ear: Izzy and arrangement.

Who's Izzy and what is this arrangement?

You eyed the two carefully, half listening to the conversation you were having with your friends and half listening to Joe's interaction. Izzy smiled as she placed a hand on Joe's shoulder, her infectious laughter filling your ear. You turned to look at the interaction your boyfriend and this Izzy girl were having. You couldn't help but feel a little jealous at the hand placement and the smiles on their faces as they spoke.

It almost seemed like they had some sort of history together...

"You never called me back." Izzy said, voice laced with slight disappointment as she spoke, "I get you're busy but, I need to know if this will work Joe."

Joe nodded in response, "I know and we will, but," he glanced around the table full of his teammates and friends before bringing his face closer to Izzy's, "Can we talk about this later? I don't want Y/n to know."

You felt your heart drop to your stomach at the mention of your name. The conversation you were having was now long forgotten as you gave your full attention to Joe. You turned towards him, folding your arms over your chest and letting them rest on your belly as you looked at him.

The red head, Izzy, made eye contact with you as she spoke, "Sure sweetie. Don't forget to send me the details." Joe nodded at her words as he spoke, "I'll send them to you tonight so you'll be prepared. Thanks Iz."

Prepared for what? You didn't know exactly, but you'd make it your mission to find out and get to the bottom of it. Izzy smiled at you, saying a soft hello and congratulations before she sauntered away from the table. Your lips parted as you just watched her walk away from Joe like nothing happened. Your thoughts were running wild, all of them going to the worst possible case scenario. There was no reasoning with yourself on this one.

Joe was cheating on you. He had to be.

You looked at Joe with an expression full of hurt and confusion. How could he do this to you? How could he do this to your little family? You just got back on good terms with Sam and now you have to deal with this.

"Joe?" You squeaked out softly, making your boyfriend turn around to look at you. His face filled with worry as he looked at you. Joe took in your hurt expression, teary eyes, and flushed cheeks. You looked like you'd just seen a ghost and were about .2 seconds away from a breakdown.

"Y/n," he said softly, tone growing worried, "what's wrong?"

You were fine just a few minutes ago. You were upbeat, happy, laughing with Tee and seeming to enjoy the team dinner. Right now, your whole demeanor took a full 180. Joe figured it was just the hormones making you feel this way, after all you have been having some mood swings lately.

You scoffed at your boyfriends obliviousness, "What's wrong?" You shook your head, "You're seriously asking me what's wrong?"

It's definitely not mood swings.

Joe parted his lips as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Y/n, baby I don't know what's going on but-."

"Was I not enough for you?" You asked, voice full of hurt. You placed your hands on your bump as you looked directly into Joe's confused blues, "Were we not enough for you?"

"I-" Joe stuttered, "I don't know what you're talking about? Of course you are. Both of you are."

You wiped a tear away as you sniffled softly, trying to compose yourself and not make a scene in the restaurant. You were feeling so many different emotions and it was a matter of time before they all came pouring out.

"Then who the hell is Izzy? What kind of arrangement do you have with her Joe, hmm?" Joe's face fell at your words. Now he looked like one that had just seen a ghost. "Y/n, you weren't supposed to hear that."

"Yeah I figured." You said, voice cracking with emotion as you tried to sound bitter. Joe's Adams apple bobbed as he gulped. His mind was going crazy with thoughts on he was going to explain this to you. He knows what it looks like to you.

"Was I ever going to find out or were you going to keep sneaking around behind my back?"

The hurt in your voice and the distraught look on your face had Joe's heart breaking. He stayed silent. He couldn't find the right words to explain himself, at least not in the middle of team dinner. You shook your head in disbelief at his silence. You stood up from the table and gathered your things. You walked away from the group, leaving a few of your friends and Joe's teammates stunned as they saw the tears rolling down your cheeks. That's all the confirmation you needed.

You choked out a sob as you jogged out of the restaurant, ignoring the looks from the concerned hostess and couple waiting tone seated. You pushed open the doors of the restaurant and stood by the entrance, chest heaving as tears rolled uncontrollably down your cheeks. You knew you looked crazy, insane even. But you had no control over your emotions right now--none at all.

You were feeling absolutely gutted. You were certain that Joe was cheating on you. Why else would some random, hot, model like twenty something year old approach Joe about a certain arrangement in public? He had to be cheating.

Your chest heaved up and down as you choked out painful sobs. The tears poured down your cheeks as cried into your hands. Each time your thoughts wandered to Joe your sobs grew harsher, almost to the point where you felt sick.

This almost hurt worse than the drama with Sam.

As you continued to cry and let out all of your emotions, you started to feel sick. Extremely sick to your stomach. The sudden wave of nausea crept up your throat and your mouth filled with saliva. Before you knew it, you were hunched over and throwing up all the content of your stomach. You grabbed your hair pulling it back as your chest heaved. Suddenly, you felt a hand on your back, rubbing soothing circles as they shushed you softly. The touch was so gentle, almost like if it was any harder it would shatter you into a thousand pieces. You wiped your mouth with the back of your hand, letting out a soft sniffle as you did so. You wiped your cheeks and turned to see whose hand was on your shoulder. Your heart dropped and you let out a pained cry as you saw who it was.

Joe.

"Don't touch me," you cried out, pulling away from his touch, "Please."

Joe pulled his hand back, a deep frown was on his face as he looked at you. You never pulled away from his touch no matter how upset you were with him. He must have really fucked up.

"Y/n," he said softly, "it's not what you think-."

"Then what is it, Joe." You seethed, turning around to face your boyfriend. You wiped the tears off your cheeks as you looked at him with a look full of sadness and a hint of disgust. "What could it possibly be if it's not what I think."

Your emotions were running wild. Pregnancy hormones really show no mercy.

Joe let out a sigh as he ran his hands down his face, "I," he hesitated, "I can't tell you."

You scoffed as more tears welled in your eyes. Why can't he say?

"If you're cheating on me, please tell me now." You looked into his eyes, a tear rolling down your cheek as you continued, "Because I don't want to find out through a gossip site that you got another girl pregnant. Was one not enough for you?"

Ouch. Joe couldn't deny it, that one hurt.

"Y/n," Joe pleaded as another sigh escaped his lips, "I'm not cheating on you." He said desperately, trying to reach out for you.

You shook your head, turning away from him once again. Your chest heaved as your sobs picked up again. Joe's heart broke as he watched the woman he loved more than anything in the world. The woman carrying his baby boy that he already loved more than life itself. Break down into shambles all because of him and some stupid surprise he was trying to plan for you.

"Sweetheart," Joe said softly, "please look at me." The crack in his voice made you reluctantly look at him again. Joe's blue eyes were watery as he looked at you wearing a guilty expression. Once you locked eyes with Joe, he continued speaking.

"I would never cheat on you. I would never do that to you or peanut. Ever."

The mention of your unborn baby's nickname made you place your hands on your six month baby bump. The little boy moved wildly inside of you, clearly sensing your emotional turmoil. You whispered a soft "I'm sorry" down to your protruding belly, knowing your son was probably starting to become just as distressed as you were. You sniffed a coupled times as you just listened to Joe's soft pleas for you to listen to him.

"Y/n please," he pleaded as a tear rolled down his cheek, "you have to believe me. You know I'd never do that to you."

You closed your eyes tightly at his words. You wanted to believe him, you really did. But something just seemed off to you. Yes he denied that he was cheating, but he wouldn't tell you what was actually going on. You shook your head at his pleading, more tears falling from your eyes as you looked at him again. Your heart broke at the sight in front of you. Joe looked absolutely distraught. Lost. Worried. Heartbroken.

"I guess we'll find out how true that is." You said, your eyes showing off every bit of emotion you were feeling. Joe furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he wiped away his tears, "What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't have this conversation right now Joe. I mean I don't know that I believe you."

Joe's breath hitched in the back of his throat at your words. Your confession absolutely gutted him. How could you believe he'd actually cheat on you? After everything you've been through, all you've done for each other, how could you even doubt your relationship?

"Y/n," Joe said softly, his voice wavering, "we have to talk about this."

You shook your head, sniffling as you spoke just above a whisper, "I can't. Not right now."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't have your parents think that everything is fine between us tomorrow when it's really not. We take about this here, right now, I don't think I'll make that trip." You explained, your voice wavering as you spoke.

Joe gulped as he watched you try to gather yourself before speaking again, "So I'd rather wait to have this conversation somewhere else because I don't think I can handle any more right now."

Between your raging hormones and your heightened emotions, anymore talk about the current situation was only going to make things worse and cloud your judgment even more.

You needed a few days.

Joe's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach at the mention of his parents. His parents. Joe totally forgot that the two of you were traveling to Athens tomorrow morning to stay with his family for a few days before heading to California for his off-season training.

How was he going to explain all of this and pretend everything was fine between the two of you to his parents?

"We can't have this talk at my parents." Joe said shaking his head, "I don't want them to know about this?"

"Why because it's true?" You seethed, snapping at Joe and making him step away from you. Joe shook his head at you. His jaw clenched as he gazed at you.

"There's just no reasoning with you is there?" Joe snapped, his tone matching yours. He continued to speak harshly, "You convince yourself shit is true so it must be true then, right? And that's not all. You refuse to hear anyone out, ever. That is why we get caught up in shit like this Y/n."

Tears welled up in your eyes again at Joe's words. You choked out a sob as you took his words to heart. Ouch.

"Fuck you, Joe." you said, voice cracking with emotion, "I'm done." You slowly started to back away from him as you spoke, "I'm going home with Emma and Sam. You can pick me up there tomorrow on your way through. I can't even look at you right now."

Joe scoffed at you as he shook his head. The air grew tense between you the longer you stood in each others presence.

"Fine by me." Was all he uttered to you. You shook your head in disbelief as the tears threatened to fall from your eyes once again. Both of your hearts were breaking from this conversation, but you knew spending the night away from each other was best.

What a complete disaster of a team dinner.

hi loves!!

see, i told you it was an angsty one. everyone say thank you anaheim ducks😚 (that damn jamie drysdale trade had me in shambles for days)

what do we think? is joe innocent and is y/n just overreacting? or is something going on…

it feels like forever since i’ve updated this lol. i need to get back on the daddy issues grind…ive been slacking very bad and i apologize. i need to start making it a goal to have this series updated at least once a week again!

i hope you’re all still interested in this series! i promise the angst is almost over, there’s so much fluff coming in the near future. you’ll be in your dad joe feels when those chapters come out, trust me ;)

as always, thank you for all the love and support you all continue to show me on my work and just in general! you are all so amazing and you mean so much to me. i love you all!🫂🤍

tags: @dandelionwrites8 @joeburreauxsworld @theflawedwriter @mrsshiesty @ann288 @ijustcrypretty @theoneandonlyfanz @wickedfun9 @venus-b @hummusxx @stainednailpolishremover @a-moment-captured @alternativemadchen @erinmartin1987 @kkrenae @unhingedfangirl @sublimemusic-rebel @meameagirl @ilovejoeburroww @hallecarey1 @j-worlds-blog @blinkloverx3 @jordyn14 @kristencochefski1125 @ryiamarie @unsaidjaelinrose @sinners-98-world @ozwriterchick @hornyforherbert @fangirl-madz @fantasywritersstuff @jackharloww @bernelflo @austinswhitewolf @emherb10

[ladykailitha]

Well Met By Moonlight Part 9

Hey guys! I'm back. Sorry I missed posting on Sunday, but I was supposed to have internet in the new place on Friday, but didn't get it until today. So to make up for it, I'll post on Saturday.

And yes, WIP Wednesday is back this week, too.

Holy shit guys, I am sooo sorry! The last time I updated this story was way back in November. I've been sitting on fresh chapters for at least half that! I thought I had updated it since then but I guess not!

I guess be sure to reread the earlier chapters to remember where this one left off?

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

****

Steve wrote down his lie that he was going to tell Tommy and sealed it in an envelope. He handed it to Robin.

“Open that only when I tell to you,” he warned.

She nodded.

Steve had already called the Mayor to set up his first town hall meeting and encouraged Billy to do the same. He doubted Billy would do it. He liked that humans saw vampires as evil. He liked that the myths that surrounded vampire-kind was incorrect. He thought he could use it against humans.

Steve wasn’t so sure. It was like the cross he had been nailed to. Crosses were thought to have been talismans against vampires, not werewolves. And it wasn’t as though Steve was going to spill every secret about his pack.

He just wanted to clear up some misconceptions about werewolves.

When he showed up to the meeting he wasn’t surprised to see that Billy wasn’t there. But he was surprised to see Eddie and Wayne there. They could only answer questions about bitten vampires, but at least it was something.

“Thank you everyone for com–” Steve said.

Just then the double doors burst open and in walked two redheaded girls.

They couldn’t be more different from each other if they tried.

The oldest of the two girls, even though they stood at the same height wore preppy clothes. Her long curly, strawberry blonde hair was pulled back in an artfully messy ponytail. She looked every inch the cheerleader she was.

The younger of the girls had her bright red hair in braided pigtails. Her clothes were cute but eclectic. Her face was freckled and her smile was mischievous.

Beside him he heard Nancy let out a huff of laughter and Steve was tempted to do the same.

It appeared that Chrissy Cunningham and Max Mayfield either by the directive of their Dominus or not, had come to the meeting.

“My apologies, alpha Harrington,” Chrissy said. “I mixed up the time, I had hoped to arrive early rather than late.”

Max rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to talk so formally, it’s only Steve.”

There was a twittering of laughter from the crowd as the two girls made their way up the aisle to the stage. Steve reached out a hand to Chrissy and helped her to onto the stage. Max batted Steve’s hand when he offered it to her next.

She eyed it a moment and then leapt up to land on it as soft as a cat on her feet.

Chrissy rolled her eyes. “Show off.”

Max stuck out her tongue as there was a flurry of activity behind Steve to setup to more chairs for the vampire born.

Nancy and the two born stretched out on the left side of the stage while Steve and the two bitten vampires stretched out on the right side of the stage accidentally dividing it men and women.

Once everyone was situated Steve spoke again. “Welcome everyone. Thank you all for coming out to the first of what I hope to be many of these town hall meetings.”

The crowd stirred restlessly.

“Though they need no introduction,” Steve continued, “may I present, vampires Chrissy Cunningham, Max Mayfield, Wayne Munson, Eddie Munson, and my female alpha, Nancy Wheeler.”

There was some muttering in the crowd, something dark. Steve shared a glance with Wayne, having both caught on to the undertow of anger.

But who were they angry at?

“Let’s get this started,” Steve said. “I had people write the question they wanted answered the most and Mayor Roberts has graciously offered to moderate for us tonight.”

Mayor Roberts handed him a stack of notecards with questions on them.

“Right, first question why does it say that a wooden stake to the heart would kill a vampire? Doesn’t that do that for everyone?”

Wayne and Chrissy shared a glance, and the she waved her hand at him for him to answer.

He broke off a piece of wood from a nearby structure and unbuttoned his shirt. He stared the audience square in the eye as he buried the makeshift stake into his chest.

The people in front of him gasped, while those behind him winced. He pulled the stake out and slowly the wound closed in upon itself without even so much as a drop of blood spilt.

Wayne tossed the makeshift stake at Chrissy and she slammed it on her arm, causing the wood to splinter everywhere as it shattered against her skin.

“Myth denied,” Max said with a grin.

Suddenly there was an uproar from the audience as they surged to their feet. Steve and Nancy chuckled into their hands, heads pressed together.

“What about other weapons?!” someone cried from the crowd, barely loud enough to be heard over the shouting of the crowd.

“You want to try it?” Wayne growled.

The person sat down hard and the room went silent.

“Silver weakens us, but doesn’t hurt us,” Wayne said. “Makes more like super humans instead of supernatural beings. Might prevent us from changing into our other forms. Yes, we have more than one. There was a wood long ago that could kill us if you stabbed us in the heart, but it has long since gone extinct.”

Chrissy smiled. “Like the Roman contraceptive of old, you mortals drove it to extinction because you used it in everything, thinking if it could kill us, then building houses, wagons, crosses, and yes even stakes out of it would protect you from us.”

Eddie was grateful that mortals couldn’t see him roll his eyes from that distance. Because no, the wood was not extinct, but he knew why Chrissy and his uncle were telling them that. No need to give them ammunition. Yew. The answer was yew. Planted in cemeteries and graveyards for over a millennia, it was a guard against the rising of the undead and nearly used to extinction.

It still is a rare tree and the ones that are left are closely protected. And if a couple of the keepers were vampires, who’s to say it isn’t for conservation reasons?

Steve looked over at him and winked. Eddie huffed out a laugh. Yeah, it seemed like Steve knew that too.

Wayne and Chrissy sat down and Steve stood back up.

“That one was a fun one,” Steve said with a grin. The audience stared up at him in disbelief. “Let’s get on to the next question. What is the purpose of a female alpha?”

Steve’s grin grew. “Sounds like a question for our Nancy Wheeler.” He handed the mic to her.

“Female alphas act as ‘mother’ to the pack,” she explained. “There are family units in each pack but just as the alpha male makes decisions for the whole pack as leader, he will come to the alpha female for advice to make sure he’s taking in all aspects of the situation. She’s co-leader. Often times the alpha female and male are bonded, but not necessarily. I’m not bonded to Steve for example.”

Someone raised their hand and Nancy called on them.

“Then how is female alpha chosen if they aren’t mates?” they asked.

“This is a question for our alpha male.” Nancy smiled and handed the mic back to Steve.

Steve laughed. “Most older alphas will pick their mate because it’s easier to counsel with someone you’re bonded to. Plus there is always the chance that your mate will be jealous if the alpha female isn’t her.”

There was some murmuring, but is sounded more like understanding then the anger when they first started.

“But in cases where the alpha isn’t bonded he will either pick someone who they are looking to bond with or the strongest female in the pack. In my case I picked the strongest female I could trust. And that was Nancy. She’s a capable leader and a good friend.”

Nancy blushed.

“And what happens when you do bond?” someone shouted from the crowd.

“That is something that would be discussed before hand,” Steve said. “If my mate even wants to be alpha female, then she would discuss it with Nancy. There is no rite of combat like there is with an alpha male.”

The real answer was that Nancy would be forced to step down and his mate would step up. But he wasn’t going to tell this group that. Also, it was a given that once Steve found someone else, anyone else Nancy would step down. She didn’t like being Steve’s alpha female. But she also knew the power vacuum that would have occurred if she hadn’t.

Because keeping Joyce as alpha female would have caused a rift between the alpha male and female that could have torn the pack asunder.

“Next question...” Steve said and continued to answer questions.

Yes, they couldn’t be one hundred percent truthful. Because they didn’t want to hand over the information about their weaknesses to their enemies, but good god, it felt good to dispel rumors like crosses and consecrated ground did nothing to vampires or werewolves. That werewolves weren’t limited to shape changing once a month, but that the forced change of the full moon was taxing on their bodies hence the need for schools and employers to give them moon days off.

Moon days were the day after the full moon where the very tired human form of the werewolf need to rest from the activities the night before.

The meeting had gone over so well, that the mayor, the president of the Hawkins Middle School PTA and the president of the teachers' union had all come up to him to ask him to do a more kid friendly version for the middle schoolers.

A fact that had him wanting to cheer and run to Robin to tell her how well it worked.

Before he left to do just that Chrissy came up to him and pressed an envelope into his hand.

"The Dominus sends his regards.”

Steve looked down at the envelope and tried hard not to snarl. It wasn’t Chrissy’s fault. She was just the messenger and very likely didn’t even know what was in the envelope. But Steve did.

He saw her and Max off before turning to look at the Munsons. He nodded their direction and Wayne nodded back. Steve had informed them of his and Robin’s plan before he enacted it.

Nancy looked between them with a frown creasing her forehead. Steve hadn’t told her what was going on yet and he felt the heat of her ire at being kept out of a loop she felt she shouldn’t have been kept out of.

Steve just shook his head at her. He would tell her when he was ready.

****

Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @goodolefashionedloverboi @bookbinderbitch @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @bookworm0690 @littlewildflowerkitten @vecnuthy @scheodingers-muppet @just-a-tiny-void @potato-of-the-lord @goosesister @tinyplanet95 @anaibis @she-collects-smut @irregular-child

[nekole-doodles]

*slams open door* @mcytblraufest

IT'S FINALLY POSTING WEEK FOR THE MCYTBLR AU FEST!!! YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA NOW LONG I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT! Anyway, here's the art I submitted:

So, this is from my Rebirth DSMP AU based on the webtoon Rebirth! I haven't talked about it on here but it's definitely one of my favorite AUs :D For those who have read Rebirth, Wilbur takes Noah's place and Tommy takes Neo's place(and yes, they are brothers in this AU).

Also, it was an absolute pleasure to work with lemon_doodles(I don't know their Tumblr :']) and @deathshadowrules!!

Here's the link to deathshadowrules's fic:

And if lemon_doodles wants me to add the link to their fic, I'll reblog this with the link :>

Here's some info on this AU for a bit more context(this is pretty long btw):

(Also, quick note: The fanfics have a different interpretations of this AU and the information the art provided so the details might not line up)

Again, this is an AU heavily based on the webtoon Rebirth, I recommend it, it's really interesting :)

There are themes of time travel/time loops, zombies/zombie apocalypse, superpowers, and this is also a modern AU.

The world ended on November 16th(date idea credits to deathshadowrules) when during a solar eclipse, everyone on Earth passed out for an unexplainable reason and when they woke up the next day, half of those people became zombies, later referred to as the Undead due to them having abilities that exceed the zombies typically depicted in media. This day became known as Armageddon. Along with the rise of the Undead, some of the remaining humans gained abilities/superpowers.

Summary: Wilbur had experienced this apocalyptic world and survived for 6 years. In the later part of those 6 years, he ended up letting Tommy, his brother who he disregarded for years before Armageddon, get captured(I think by the military) for experimentation due to his unique abilities and body. (I'm trying not to spoil too much of Rebirth so some of this is vague TvT) He regretted this decision greatly because he found that he still cared a lot about Tommy, despite their relationship not being great over the years, so he decided to save Tommy from the experimentation. In doing so, he died right after he freed Tommy from the test tube he was being kept in, wishing he had one more chance to fix his mistakes, mainly to make sure that Tommy will remain safe and to (hopefully) mend their long-broken relationship. Then, Wilbur wakes up on November 15th, the day before Armageddon began, which was 6 years ago. He had traveled back in time after he died. He realized that this was his chance to save Tommy. Little did Wilbur know that Tommy has been in a sort of timeloop where once he dies in one timeline, he goes back in time near the start of Armageddon and starts another timeline.

Extra Details Time!

When Wilbur got sent back in time after his death, he got a white streak in his hair with a few gold strands(in the art, it literally just looks blonde because I messed up and couldn't fix it, I tried ahdkshj) Also, I was originally going to make one of Wilbur's eyes gold but I totally forgot while coloring and couldn't go back to fix it. Btw, the whole thing with the gold hair strands, butterflies, text, and eye makes more sense if you read Rebirth but I don't know how to explain it.

Wilbur and Tommy are not biologically related to Phil and Techno but Wilbur is still very close with them. He's known Phil and Techno since he was young and treated them more like family than his actual family. Tommy never really interacted much with Phil and Techno and honestly kind of avoided them. He didn't really know why he avoided those two, maybe because he was salty that Wilbur was always more friendly to them than to him. But otherwise, Tommy feels pretty neutral towards them and gains more respect for them throughout Armageddon due to how stable their living situation is for the end of the world(they've got a good base and everything. Their roles are based on the Blanche family)

Wilbur's wife is Sally, but unfortunately, she's a pretty self-centered person and attempts to hide this but her actions really expresses this fact. She takes the place of Parish, for those who read the webtoon, and I deeply apologize.

Fundy is Wilbur and Sally's son. He doesn't really like Tommy but they start being a bit less aggressive towards each other as the story progresses. He takes Abel's place.

Wilbur's ability is advanced fire manipulation instead of blood manipulation like Noah from Rebirth. Since Noah's blood manipulation has an unbelievable amount of possibilities, I kind of had to twist the possibilities of fire manipulation so that Wilbur's abilities are still able to fill the role they need to. If you want to get a good idea of a way Wilbur uses his fire manipulation, think like- Colonel Mustang's flame alchemy from Fullmetal Alchemist but instead of using alchemy, Wilbur causes his fire to burst.

Schlatt takes Ian's role and is just as much of a prick but him and Wilbur aren't brothers. Schlatt is a businessman that comes from a family that is close with Wilbur's, so they've known each other since they were kids(they were introduced to each other at a young age in the hopes they would be friendly enough to be able to work closely with each other). They were sort of friends before Schlatt became a prick but Wilbur still had to deal with him because he is a genuinely good businessman for the company(btw, I should probably mention that Wilbur owns a pretty big business, for those who don't have that context from Rebirth. Idk if the business will be the same or if I'll change it to fit Wilbur better)

Tubbo is Schlatt's son(from a previous marriage) but Schlatt is a pretty distant father because he doesn't really care. Tubbo takes Iva's place but has a different personality because he's older than Iva, and therefore, less innocent.

Quackity is married to Schlatt but he isn't Schlatt's first partner. A few months into the marriage, Quackity began regretting the marriage but felt like he couldn't end it. He takes Lena's place but him and Tubbo act more like close friends. They're both happy with their friendship and don't feel the need to push it to "family". Quackity still takes care of Tubbo though since Schlatt definitely isn't :/

Niki takes Li's place but is a bit less emotionless/cold. Her ability is being able to control water and its temperature(basically waterbending). Also, since people usually ship Noah and Li, I would just like to specify that Niki and Wilbur are friends and only friends.

Some ages(these are still a work in progress though): Wilbur- 26/28, Tommy- 14, Fundy- ~8-10, Tubbo- 14, Niki- 21/22

I think that's enough lore dumping for today :| This AU is still a big work in progress but I'm having so much fun with it!

[oh-my-may]

I FINISHED CHAPTER 12! (Basically... PS says I have like 7% remaining and that is probably gonna be leaving the Gold Saucer again so... yeah)

I HAVE THOUGHTS BRO.

Zack??? ZACK FAIR??? How dare you be the most beautiful gorgeous cute man ever. His sections always manage to have me tear up. The ending of this game is SO gonna hurt me my god.

My date was with Aerith... which i didn't mind but Cloti for the win you know. Aerith, girl, Zack is somewhere out there!

Didn't bother with any of the new minigames at the Saucer yet, since I wasn't a fan of a lot of them the first time around. Will probably only do it after finishing main story, since some of the exchangeable rewards are very nice.

Loveless was wonderful. Teared up seeing Jessie again. The song was so moving. The party acting as the main cast had me rolling tho. THE WAY YOU COULD CHOOSE BARRET AS YOUR TRUE LOVE? They're so unserious. The little game mechanics were a little confusing tho. I swear I don't have a left-right-weakness but this part had me questioning. Managed to get score A but still... wish there would havd been earlier triggers that told you what button to press... but maybe that's just me.

BUT THE COLOSSEUM HAD ME QUESTIONING EVERYTHING. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BASICALLY 6 ROUNDS OF FIGHTING BACK TO BACK AND THERES ONLY ONE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE YOUR EQUIPMENT. The first two rounds were easy, when they brought put the Tonberry I was having war flashbacks to the boss fight in Corel. Didn't expect a round 4, but Aerirh and Phoenix came through for me <3

THE TURKS AGAIN THO??? Listen, I'm a proclaimed Turks lover okay. I love them. My pookies. BUT YOU'RE GONNA MAKE ME FIGHT THEM A THIRD TIME NOW?? Elena is always easier to handle, Rude kinda annoying still but we got through it. Wanted to take this opportunity to say how much I love Elena being such a hater. And her having the most bone chilling horror movie scream when you land a hit or pressure her. Queen.

BUT THEN RUFUS??? ALONE AS CLOUD??? I was gnawing at the bars of my enclosure bro. I hate blonde men. Had to restart several times to get his patterns down. Was very upset with my inability tp dodge, usually I play my fights pretty head-on offensive... I was shaking crying throwing up until I had Rufus down to like half his health. Kujata on Cloud really helped me idk. Darkstar was annoying, but got him down eventually after using Clouds Limit TWICE. Almost died when Rufus was only like 3% HP remaining. The way I was shaking when it was finally over... damn. Never wanna do that again but I had already heard that the Rufus fight was pretty annoying...

Cait's betrayal was nothing new to me, I did know about it. Still made me sad ofc. THE WAY YOU CAN'T PLAY WITH HIM AFTERWARDS? I'm heartbroken.

Now it's off to the Temple/The Promised Land. Very curious what the last 2 Chapters are gonna bring. Heard 13 was quite long, but I wanna try and play it all now without any more interruptions... gonna play side quests and minigames later. Maybe I'll even be able to finish this weekend, which would be nice. I'm on vacation next week and won't be home...

So that's that. Enjoy some screenshots I took during this chapter!

[wtfsheikura]

6

Y/N FOLLOWS MY MOM INTO the backyard while giving me the cold shoulder.

She has plenty of reasons to be upset with me, starting with putting her in this predicament. I have a tendency to dive into situations without evaluating the potential repercussions of my actions, and I suspect I'll face the fallout when we're alone later.

The last thing she wants is to pose for photos with my family and pretend we're in love, especially when she's upset about me not bringing up the acquisition sooner. As soon as I suspected she might not be aware of it, I should have addressed it. To hell with the merger's confidentiality rules. I should have put Y/n first. I won't make that mistake again.

Once we get to the back deck, Mom and Tomoe leave us to help Rin and the photographer with arranging a couple of wooden benches in front of an ivy arch on the property's edge.

Y/n and I stand side by side as Mia comes out of the house dressed in a bright blue summer dress and silver sneakers. Her golden-blonde hair falls in waves to her waist, framing her distinct, mismatched eyes—one blue, the other green.

She moved in next door to Akira a year and a half ago, and he didn't exactly roll out the welcome mat. Everything changed when his long-term nanny quit, and Mia stepped in to help care for Lola. It didn't take Akira long to fall for Mia, and after three months where she lived abroad, they moved in together and recently got engaged.

"Look who finally showed up," Mia teases me.

"It's good to see you, MiMi." I wrap my arm around her shoulder in a side hug.

"You must be Y/n." Mia extends her hand to Y/n, who accepts it with a small smile. "I'm Mia, Akira fiancée, and that's our daughter, Lola." She motions out into the yard, where Lola is running, chasing after their dog, Waffles.

"Waffles stole my headband again," Lola shouts in our direction.

Mia adopted the Australian Shepherd/Corgi mix with comically large ears from an animal shelter before she moved to Aspen Grove. She felt an instant connection because he also has mismatched eyes—a combination of one brown and one blue.

I laugh when I spot the three tiny furballs with floppy ears trotting closely behind Lola, yipping with excitement.

Akira slings his arm around Mia's shoulders and tugs her close.

"I can't believe you're keeping the whole litter," I say with a hint of amusement.

Mia recently started volunteering at the local animal shelter, and a couple weeks ago, someone brought in three Aussie-Corgi mix puppies they found on the side of the road. Instantly reminded of Waffles, she knew she had to take them home with her. What started as an offer to foster them quickly led to her adopting all three.

"Yeah," Akira grumbles, but his tone changes when he glances down at his fiancée with affection. "Mia doesn't want to separate them."

"They're part of our family, and I won't abandon them," she declares. "Who else would love them like we will?"

"I'm sure Satoru and Y/n would." Akira smiles at us. "What do you say, lovebirds? Do you want an adorable puppy as a wedding present? Consider it therapy to bring you closer when the honeymoon stage is over." He winks at me.

Y/n fixes him with an icy stare. At least we can agree that Akira's joke isn't funny. The last thing we need is to add an untrained puppy to the mix.

"Akira, tell me you did not just try to pawn off one of our dogs." Mia swats him on the chest.

"I'm sorry, sunshine." He places a kiss on her forehead. "I was just messing around. They're not going anywhere," he promises.

Akira might not be enthusiastic about sharing his home with three more furballs, but he's smitten with Mia. He would do anything to make her happy, even if it means being the owner of four energetic dogs.

"Let's hope you have better luck training them than you did with Waffles," I taunt, shooting him a playful smirk.

"Hilarious," Akira responds dryly.

"I thought so." I grin triumphantly, squaring my shoulders.

Y/n glances between us with a confused look.

"Waffles wasn't trained when I adopted him," Mia explains to Y/n. "Akira made it his mission to whip him into shape, but Waffles gave him a run for his money."

"Hey, now," Akira playfully chides, his voice filled with amusement.

"I'm just messing around," Mia quips, using his own words against him.

Akira chuckles. "Touché." He takes Mia's hand, lacing his fingers with hers. She gives him a soft smile, and he looks at her like she's his entire world. When Mia came along, Akira was a grumpy cynic whose primary focus was raising Lola and growing Gojo Holdings. She has brought light into his life and taught him how to smile again.

Even as a carefree, unattached bachelor, I often wonder what it would be like to look at someone the way Akira looks at Mia. My gaze drifts to Y/n, who's watching Mia and Akira's interaction closely, chewing on her lip. Despite our less-than-ideal circumstances, I'm glad she's here. It didn't occur to me how much I missed her until I saw her sitting at that hotel bar in Vegas.

"Akira, Satoru, why are you all just standing around?" Tomoe shouts from the yard. "The photographer is waiting." He motions for us to get a move on.

"We're coming," Akira hollers back.

"You ready for this?" I whisper in Y/n's ear.

"Do I have a choice?" she mutters.

"Nope." I grin, taking her hand in mine as we follow Akira and Mia to join the rest of my family.

Two hours later, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Lani, the photographer my mom hired, isn't messing around. She must have taken hundreds of photos by now, and I'm hoping she'll wrap things up soon.

Y/n has kept her distance despite Lani and my mother constantly encouraging us to stand closer together. She talked with my dad and siblings in between poses and tolerated my mom's never-ending questions.

From my shameless eavesdropping, I've learned that Y/n depends on coffee as her lifeline, works long hours, and is a décor enthusiast.

I'm the type to go with the flow and never sweat the small stuff, but even I'm left wondering how we can pull off a fake marriage. We couldn't be more opposite if we tried.

I don't own a coffee maker—I prefer protein shakes and smoothies. I'm usually the last one to arrive at the office in the morning. And let's just say the décor in my London apartment is somewhat lacking.

"Satoru, Y/n, you're up next," my mom announces, breaking me out of my thoughts.

What is she talking about?

"For what?" Y/n questions, mirroring my confusion.

"Couple photos," my mom states like it's obvious. "I have no pictures of your wedding, so this is the next best thing." She clasps her hands together with anticipation.

"Come sit over here." Lani motions toward a blanket she's laid out, with several fruit trees and the barn in the background. "Y/n, I'm going to have you take off your shoes, if that's alright."

"Okay," Y/n says, her voice filled with uncertainty.

She's wearing a light blue spaghetti-strap dress. Her hair is styled in loose waves, and she has on a pair of open-toed heels. Even without advanced warning, she came ready to crush family photos.

She's a goddamn vision. I can barely contain my fingers itching to reach out and draw her close to me, to feel the warmth of her skin against mine.

"I'm going inside to make dinner," my mom announces. She turns to Mia and my brothers, sitting on a nearby bench. "I could use some help."

"Sure thing," Mia jumps up, pulling Akira along with her.

"Have fun, you two," Akira calls out as they walk toward the house.

Tomoe gives Y/n a sympathetic look before he follows behind.

Ari and Rin disappeared inside thirty minutes ago, right after their photos. I don't even want to guess what they're doing.

My dad is playing with Lola, Waffles, and the puppies on the deck, and when my mom reaches the patio, she gestures for him and Lola to go inside too.

With everyone out of view, Y/n exhales and her tense shoulders drop. I offer her my hand to help her down onto the blanket, but she shakes her head.

"I can do it on my own," she says curtly.

"I know, but I want to help," I reply, my hand cradling her elbow as she lowers herself to the ground.

She glances up at me, her eyes softening for a moment. "Thanks," she murmurs.

Y/n settles on the blanket and I take a step back as she slips off her shoes. Once she's finished, she shifts to the middle and smooths out her dress, waiting for further instructions.

"Satoru, sit behind her, please," Lani directs me. "You're going to spread your legs with your knees slightly bent and once you're in place, Y/n will lean against you," she instructs.

Once I'm seated, Y/n reluctantly leans into me, her back pressed against my chest as her thigh brushes against my leg. She fidgets with her hands and I can feel her breathing quicken as she leans into me.

"Satoru, wrap your arms around her and kiss her forehead. Y/n, hold his hand and place your other hand on his calf to show off that gorgeous ring of yours," Lani instructs.

Y/n's eyes widen in alarm, but luckily, I'm the only one who notices. Lani is too busy checking the settings on her camera, and my family is all inside.

It was convenient that my mom required every member of our family to help with dinner except Y/n and me. I don't buy it; she always has an ulterior motive. She probably figured she'd get better photos of us without an audience, and I'll do my very best to make sure Y/n is as comfortable as possible.

Y/n lets out a nervous laugh as she awkwardly rests her head on my shoulder. Her hands tremble as she places one on my knee and the other on my lower leg.

Lani moves positions, and the angle of her camera focuses on my left side. My hair is pushed back from my face, which means my scar is visible. My body freezes up, and my breathing becomes shallow. I was so focused on making sure Y/n was okay that it didn't cross my mind that couple photos would include close-ups of our faces. There's a reason I don't like to look in the mirror. I'm not under any illusions that I'm physically attractive, and prefer to avoid daily reminders of that.

Group shots are easy to manage since I can stay in the back and angle my face away from the camera. However, I steer clear of close-up photos whenever I can.

Y/n tilts her head back, worry etched on her face. "Are you alright?"

"Let's try another pose," I suggest. "I'd prefer my good side showing." I gesture to my face.

"If you'd like, I can edit out your scar," Lani offers.

"Absolutely not," Y/n interjects sharply, glaring at Lani before looking back at me. "You're beautiful. Your scar is part of you." Lowering her voice so only I can hear, she adds, "This situation isn't easy for me either, but we'll get through it together, okay?" She gives me a soft smile as she brushes her hand across my scar.

I blink down at her, rendered speechless. I'm well aware that most women don't find me attractive. They tolerate my looks because they have to, but no one has ever called me beautiful. Part of me wants to dismiss her words as mere pity, but I know that's not accurate. If it were anyone besides Y/n, I wouldn't believe it, but she's not one to mince her words.

"Whatever you say, boss," I choke out, overcome with unexpected emotion.

"Everything okay?" Lani asks.

"Yes," Y/n says, turning back to face her. "We're all set to continue."

"Perfect. Cash, wrap your arms around her," Lani says when I don't move.

If she finds it strange that Y/n and I are uncomfortable with each other, she keeps it to herself. Thank god Akira and Tomoe are inside, or they'd be teasing us without mercy.

I band my arm around Y/n and pull her tight against me. My racing heart reverberates in my ears, its steady rhythm grounding my senses. Y/n's shallow breaths are a dead giveaway that I'm not the only one affected by our proximity.

She feigns indifference, but now and then, I catch her mask slipping. Like when she couldn't stop sneaking glances at me when I walked into the hotel bar. Or when I woke up with her clinging to me like a baby koala.

"Y/n, scoot a little closer to Satoru, please," Lani calls out from behind her camera. "Pretend I'm not here, and you're just sharing a special moment as newlyweds."

Joke's on her because Y/n would rather watch me get struck by lightning than be my wife. Unfortunately for her, she's stuck with me—at least for now.

The sooner we cooperate, the sooner this will be over.

I take the opportunity to enjoy this fleeting moment as I bury my face in her hair and inhale the scent of jasmine, lavender, and vanilla. She smells like heaven, and I'm forced to push aside any thoughts of her writhing against me in pleasure.

Fuck me.

Maybe taking photos together was a bad idea. This woman is toying with my mind. One minute, I'm agreeing that getting an annulment is a good idea, and the next, I'm consumed by an overwhelming desire to explore every inch of her.

My instincts take over as I grip her hair in my fist and push it over her shoulder. A part of me can't help but wonder what it would feel like if I peppered kisses along her neck, holding her hair like this. Would she hum in delight or cry out in pleasure as I played with her breasts, alternating between pinching and twisting them with my fingers, my tongue slipping inside her mouth.

That's not an appropriate thought to have during a family photo session.

That doesn't stop my cock from pulsating with excitement. I use my newfound daydream to keep me in the present as I caress Y/n's hand in a hypnotic fashion—back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. She sits still as a statue but grips my calf tightly, proof that my touch is affecting her—no acting necessary.

Her reaction pushes me forward, and I drag a finger along her arm, leaving goosebumps in my wake. I pause for effect, and as she lets out her next breath, I plant several kisses along her shoulder as my hands tug her closer to me. The tension crackles between us.

"Why don't you kiss her on the mouth, Satoru," Lani suggests as she snaps another picture.

That's a terrible idea.

Common sense doesn't stop me from fixing on Y/n plump red lips, practically begging to be kissed. Technically, our first kiss was at the chapel after we exchanged vows, but we were both buzzed, and I didn't get to enjoy it the way I wanted to. There's no chance I'm passing up the opportunity to taste her now that we're sober.

One little kiss can't hurt, right?

I'm sure that thought will come back to haunt me later, but I can't find it in me to care.

My dick is doing the thinking when I lightly grasp Y/n chin and tip her head back, coming face-to-face with her wanton expression, her chocolate-brown eyes ablaze with desire. Our intermingled panting is music to my ears as I slant my mouth across hers.

"Can I kiss you, N/n?" I murmur.

"You'll smear my lipstick," she whispers teasingly.

"Fuck it, I'm kissing you anyway." I brush my lips against hers in a teasing stroke, and I'm both shocked and pleased when a soft moan escapes her mouth. As I deepen the kiss, the tension between us becomes an inferno.

Our lips are interlocked as I cup her cheek with my hand. She shifts position—her ass pressed against my rock-hard cock.

Kissing her is like tasting forbidden fruit. Every touch is electric; every breath is charged with anticipation, making it all the more sweet.

I'm lost in the moment when Lani's high-pitched voice jolts me back to reality. "That was perfect," she exclaims. "I got so many incredible shots. I'm all set."

I jerk my head up to find her retrieving her equipment bag from one of the benches nearby. Y/n and I were so caught up in the intensity, I briefly forgot Lani was here.

My gaze pings back to Y/n. She stares at me, cheeks flushed, like she can't believe what just happened. She finally snaps out of it, scrambling out of my arms, pausing when she sees my face.

"Uh, you should take care of that," she says as she motions to my lips.

I swipe at my mouth with the back of my hand, grinning when I glance down at my hand, now marked with red lipstick.

"I'm going inside," she announces, refusing to make eye contact.

She puts her shoes back on in record time before hustling toward the house.

"I'm right behind you."

Holy shit, I just kissed Y/n... again.

Now is not the time to panic; it won't do me any good.

When I look at the house, I spot Tomoe and Akira watching out the window with smug expressions on their faces.

Even I'm starting to see that our dilemma has gotten out of hand. The sooner we leave for London, the better.

Something tells me that our kiss just complicated things, especially since now I want to do it again... and again.

[ace-the-fox]

Me: Yeah I'll get the last two rare pair week days done the weekend after my exams. No biggie :)

My procrastination brain: Yeah... noooo

I still don't have the doodle done for the free day. Might get it done by at LEAST next week, but no promises. I'm happy to leave things here either way, I just wanted to get all the fics done at least lol.

Did I also just use this as an excuse to drop in an lwa oc that's been in my brain lately? Yes, I absolutely did. I'm not ashamed of it either.

Day 6: Dates

"Okay, before you do anything with your hairspray and your little pins, just know I've had this hair-do since I was thirteen."

Vonnie snickered, setting stuff up like a professional hairdresser. Or a mad scientist. Either one worked. "And that, Frankie, my boy, is precisely why I need to do this."

Frank pouted a little, blowing golden hair out of his face. It felt weird to have had it be down and in his face all day. Vonnie, an Appleton student a year above him and a good friend, had convinced him (REALLY convinced him) to try a different hairstyle for his first date with Andrew. Frank had relented in a panic three hours before the date and had run over to her house ASAP.

"Anyways, the more you hesitate, the later you risk running for your little date," Vonnie said, running their hand through the now loose blonde strands of hair. "Even though the two of you have practically been dating since, like, two years ago to me, but I digress. A first date is a big thing, after all. So, you'd best listen to me."

Yes. His first date. With Andrew. Frank could still barely believe it. He could barely believed that Andrew had asked him out before Frank could gather the balls to.

Andrew had approached it a bit like a business proposition. Matter-of-factly and sternly, but still a lot more awkwardly. His face went a particular fuscia that Frank hadn't thought was possible for his pale complexion. And how could the blonde ever say no (not when he'd been, at least consciously, crushing on the boy for a year by now).

So, here he was, sat in a chair in Vonnie's bathroom with the much taller person stood behind him. They'd tied their long, fluffy black hair up, though there were still curls falling in their eyes. Their father was always hounding at them to get a haircut, but everytime he made the appointment, Vonnie never showed.

Frank couldn't help but feel just a little nervous, even though he had no reason to be. He'd never been this nervous for a date, even with pretty girls that were way out of his league. To be fair, in any other circumstance Andrew would probably be equally out of his league, but in these circumstances they had been friends before this. And they had been friends for years. This was the closest Frank had known any of his dates. Why was he so jittery.

After a moment of scrolling through a pinterest board she had made for that moment (they'd had it for years, by then), Vonnie put their phone right in front of Frank's face. "You think this'll impress Andy-Pandy? It's close enough to what you usually do..."

Frank glanced at it. It basically was the same as his usual style, just a lot less solid. So more of it curled up in his face. It looked rugged. Stylish. Andrew might just be impressed.

Frank smirked up at Vonnie. "Do your worst."

And, so, Vonnie did. While the two of them sang along to cheesy 2010s pop for the next half hour. "I'm happy for you, Frankie, my man. I really, really am," Vonnie chuckled, finishing up with another choking spray of hairspray, midway through Kesha's 'TikTok.' "Now... What do you think?"

Frank looked in the mirror. A completely new yet uncannily familiar man looked back. He grinned, feeling a little bit better about his date now. He started to wonder if Vonnie's offer had been deeper than just wanting to see him with a different look to what he'd been rocking for five years now. "Love it. Thanks Von."

Vonnie hugged him from behind, in a way that made even the effortlessly friendly Frank jump a little. "Man, I am happy for you two!" she giggled. "I thought we'd all be in our thirties by the time this happened!"

Frank rolled his eyes but laughed. "Yeah..."

Vonnie finally addressed how still obviously jittery he was. "Don't you worry. I'm sure it'll be no different to you two hanging out together anyways... But do you want me to do a little stalking anyways, to wingman it just in case?"

Frank held up a hand. "Nope. I think we'll manage."

"You will," Vonnie laughed, reaching out to ruffle Frank's hair but retracting, so as not to scuff their own handiwork.

(And they did. A few hours later, Vonnie got a spam of emojis and five pictures of Andrew and Frank being cute and cuddly together from Frank. Vonnie sent back a response that she hoped was as smug as intended.

"Told you soooo 😘")

Bonus, the reference for Frank's hair because I wasn't sure how to describe it well enough 💀:

Not the most creative, but most of the results for "men's haircut ideas" are literally all the same DX

[sunglasses-snake]

I've had a long week;

Tuesday my coworker wanted to be at the pay station, that's where we sell memberships and get good reviews for good customer service. It's our most "service worker" position and typically only goes to like 3 of us cause we the only ones who smell good enough. When my boss told us to switch, cause he made me go in the tunnel, he threw a hissy fit (complete with stomping and screaming) (this is a 43 year old man btw who openly carries a gun off shift) and stormed off leaving me to work a 10 hour shift by myself (closing too btw). It was supposed to only be 6 hours. Didn't get fired either, only written up AGAIN. This is the 7th time in the 5 months I've been working here and he STILL WORKS HERE.

Thursday I'm working with the same coworker. He spends all shift out at the pay station cause our boss isn't here to force him off and I don't want to work alone again. (It's extremely hard, you have to balance like 30 things at once and it's EXHAUSTING). Ended up working by myself anyway cause when I say all shift I mean the hour and a half he was actually "working" while I was here. He spent 20 minutes in the bathroom when I first got there, spent an HOUR AND A HALF polishing his motorcycle and then immediately after he says to me "I'm taking my break" and POOF for the next 30 minutes. Came back in his car and proceeded to smoke weed for the rest of shift. When time to close came, he took 40 minutes to spray the tunnel, the easiest job btw, and I had to do everything else. I couldnt leave until he is done either. He lives 3 minutes away. I HAVE A 40 MINUTE WALK.

Friday was a normal day until SOMEONE TRIED TO HIT ME WITH THEIR CAR. "Oh they probably didn't see you" said the police. The only reason I'm alive is cause their tires did a slight burnout before they started moving making a loud screech that warned me.

Yesterday I got yelled at by my gm cause my boss threw me under the bus. She said I was the reason sales were so low last month, that I was lazy out at the pay station. I have the most sales but she takes credit for like 70% of mine cause she refuses to let me put them in. I got yelled at and written up. Later that day I get a text from my ex asking to hang out. I said no cause that usually means she's gonna try and take some money from me. Then a (I'm not saying this to shame her, just point out she was *quite* a character) bright pink Mercedes-Benz wouldn't stop and pulled onto a roller that was actively coming out and it ripped her bumper off and fucked up the base plate on our machine. So now I had to file an incident report and fix the base plate. The incident report took 20 minutes which is like really fast, the lady who was dressed in a skintight bright pink body suit, one of those puffy jackets ALSO bright pink, Bright blond hair and had some of the longest eye lashes I had ever seen, was extremely helpful and was really nice. (Probably the nicest person to me this week). She really helped speed along the process. She admitted on the report that she was not paying attention and was on her phone. She also offered to pay for any damages to the machines, I turned her down cause base plates are easy as fuck to fix. Speaking of the base plate, when I eventually got around to putting that back together I had a customer ( who got a full refund btw) talking to me about how it was unacceptable that he had to wait 15 minutes and didn't even get the wash. Base plate got fixed and work resumed as normal. What was my coworkers doing during that whole thing? Hotboxing the first coworkers mention car. Like... actual hotboxing. On the clock. With zero repercussions. That doesn't even end the day btw, when I got home and finished puking cause of stress (common thing I've talked with my doctor about it, she recommended me my current therapist) I tried to log on to my PS5 and my subscription had run out so I had to ask my sister to pay for it and I'll get her back on Wednesday. More puke.

Today is shaping up to be as bad cause I always sit at a bench down the street to rest my feet before my shift and my coworker who was late got angry at me for not coming in ASAP to help open. I closed last night btw. When I walked up, another coworker saw me, smiled, and immediately stopped doing the towels and left them there for me to do. Wanna know what he went to do? Sit in his car. When I went out to the pay station, he didn't even bother getting out of his car, he just honked and signaled for me to be in the tunnel. Again. Later when my boss asks me why nothing has been sold, I have to explain to her it's cause they sit in their car and put in the bare minimum effort. Hearing that you think "minimum wage minimum effort" they make $16 an hour. That's not minimum wage. *I* make minimum wage. I've been here an hour and a half and I'm about make myself puke on purpose just to go home and fuck these guys over.

[immajustvibehere]

Chance Encounter 

Chapter 7

Chapter 1 // Chapter 6

warning: Micah's nasty advances, hinting at sexual abuse in the past, drinking, long chapter but cuddles!!!

summary: After an unpleasant experience at camp (Micah), Arthur proposes to take you on a trip up Dakota River.

5200 words, 26 minutes reading time

Arthur walked you through camp and explained the most important rules with precise words. If you earned money, you must share it with the camp. There were those who leave camp regularly to seek out people, stagecoaches, shops, and trains to rob, to collect bounties (keeping in mind that most of them had a price on their head too) or hunt and there were the others, who stay in camp, prepare food, do laundry and dishes. 

"'Course", Arthur explained while you stepped over a sleeping man, "there are a bunch of people who do nothin'. This is Uncle. If ya ever talk to him...prepare to waste some time." Aside from Uncle, you were also introduced to the camp cook, Mr. Pearson, who was pouring himself a cup of coffee at the moment you passed him with Arthur. 

"I'll leave ya to the girls in a minute, they’ll find somethin’ for you to do for sure. Just...there", Arthur put his hand on your shoulder, which took you by surprise, but immediately proved it had to be done to shove you a bit to the right, revealing a man with long blond hair and a red shirt slouching through the grass a bit further off, "Micah Bell. Don't talk to him. Ignore him if he talks to you, he can be a nasty fellow. Same goes for this man over there." Now he directed your attention to a man who was just carrying a plate with breakfast in one and a cup of coffee in the other hand...and then stumbled over a root, spilling half of his cup on the ground. You found it amusing and it got even more innocent and harmless, as you saw how flustered he got when a man with huge scars on his face started scolding him for his clumsiness. "He ran with the O'Driscolls. Our....rivalry gang, so to say", Arthur tried to explain, finding it a difficult to keep things uncomplicated and light-hearted. Though he still wasn't a huge fan of making you a member of this gang and binding you to all the troubles that probably were to come sooner or later, he didn't want to scare you away either. 

This said, Arthur walked you over to three girls, Tilly, Karen and Mary-Beth as you soon found out, and left them to explain the rest to you. And explain they did. In the next three days you were pretty much filled in with who is who and who is what. Mrs. Grimshaw was determined to make you earn your place in the gang by scrubbing blood stains out of the men's clothes, but you didn't complain, since this monotonous work which didn't need a lot of thinking was perfect for listening to camp talk and chatter. 

It was Lenny who introduced you to Hosea who in turn sat you down the same evening to check your reading skills. You shared the lesson with Jack, which you found quiet embarrassing, though you were relieved to find your reading better than the one of a four-year-old child. 

Arthur was hardly ever on campsite. You had seen him on your first day at camp and it was only after almost a week had passed, when you decided to get up earlier, that you ran into him again. But before you had realized he was at camp, you just left your sleeping mat, which was positioned under the open sky, next to the tent of the other ladies, and strolled towards the lake. Dipping your feet into cold water had proved to be the most effective way to get you going in the morning. Days were long for you, since you wanted to give it your best, you tried cramming in as much as possible every day. The morning usually started with chores, some time in the afternoon you'd get on your horse and ride to the fence in Rhodes to continue your work for him. (You had only done this after you got the approval of Hosea, who was the next person in charge to look out for you, if Arthur wasn't around.) In the evening, if it wasn't too late, you still had a couple of minutes with Hosea, who made you read to him. Since Arthur hadn't been there, you convinced Lenny to continue your shooting practice, which took place whenever you and Lenny had some free time to spare. 

Now, only a week had passed and you were proud of the routine you had built for yourself. If anything, you knew how to work hard and you were keen to win over a couple of people who still looked at you dismissingly, as if you were only an additional mouth to feed. Still with bare feet, you sat down at the table. An apple in one hand, you watched Kieran, who had just risen and stumbled over to the horses. You kept your distance, as you had promised Arthur, but you weren't really sure if this was necessary. Kieran seemed like one of the softest and kindest men in the gang. Unlike Arthur, who, according to Mary-Beth, ‘can surely be an affectionate human-being who just craves to be understood but decides to hide this very side of him, as it makes him vulnerable; but rather displays his rough and distant manners’. Kieran, it appeared to you, didn't even have rough manners. He was just a shy, friendly, horse-loving man who was as nice as possible to everyone. 

"Got ya, finally! Can't run away now, doll", with your eyes and thoughts fixed on Kieran, you hadn't noticed Micah, who had come closer and was now seated next to you. After Arthur's first warning, you had only heard shady things about this Micah and were glad to put as much distance between you two as possible, or at least being surrounded by others when he was close. But now, the camp was still asleep and you were right next to him. "Good morning, Mr. Bell", you greeted, trying to sound as friendly and unbothered as possible, though this man was way too close for you to feel even remotely comfortable. 

"So you do have manners, Miss y/n. I thought I would have to teach you some", Micah's voice was dark and low, you weren't sure if he was trying to charm or threaten you, though it could be a mixture of both. "Now, why would a beautiful girl like you keep avoiding me, hm? It’s a real shame…", Micah came even closer. You almost jumped when his leg touched yours. "I haven't been avoiding you, Mr. Bell. I'm just very busy. I’m trying to keep my place in this gang", you quickly answered, your eyes wandering off, trying to find a more pleasant sight than this man's face way to close to yours. You wanted to run, but you didn't know where to. He'd just follow you and it would get way uglier real fast, you thought. 

Suddenly, you felt rough hands on your chin, pushing it up and towards the man who those hands belonged to, forcing you to look at him. "Look at me when I'm talking to you", came the demand. At this point you were scared shitless. You told yourself that it was not the same. You are not in an abandoned barn. You are not alone. There are many people around. It's not one against three, it's one against one and all you had to do was scream and he'd be running off. 

"If you wanna do the camp a favor, stop wearing pants. It's not very lady like. You should take what you can get before it's too late for you. Women get undesirable really easily, really fast", Micah growled. You knew that if you didn't fight back now, there wouldn't be any point in trying to do so later, but you were frozen in place. Micah's slick smile sent shivers down your spine and if you weren't so concentrated on keeping a straight face that didn't reveal you'd rather die on the spot then have this continue any longer, you would have felt another hand on your thigh earlier. 

"Leave her alone, Micah", Arthur threatened in a menacing voice. The grip on your chin loosened but only fully disappeared after Arthur added a "or I'll put a bullet through your fucking head right here, right now." Micah looked to the man who had just left his tent with a hand resting on his belt, close to his holster. When Micah finally stood up and left your side, you felt like you could breathe again.

"Mr. Morgan, didn't realize you were here", Micah sneered. To which Arthur didn't answer but only looked at Micah disgusted. "I was just welcoming our new-" "If I see ya close to her, ever again, I'll make sure you can never bother anyone in this gang again by putting ya out of yer misery", Arthur interrupted. Micah raised his hands in defense: "Yeah. Sure. Sorry, didn't know she was yours, big fella." And with this said, he was gone. 

"Yer alright?", Arthur asked concerned, taking the wooden chest Micah had sat on and putting it at a reasonable distance, before he sat down. 

"Yea-...no, no I don't think I am", you breathed out, quickly wiping tears off your face. You looked at the table in front of you, knowing you wouldn't be able to hold another eye contact like that without completely breaking down, even if it was just Arthur. There was silence between you for a while. Arthur was the one who broke it: "I'll take you out for a trip, if yer want. Leave camp for a while...I know it can be a lot sometimes. It's just an offer. Think about it." You nodded and Arthur took off to give you some space. 

You had already decided the moment he had finished speaking, but you sat still until your knees had stopped shaking and you could walk to your sleeping mat where you kept all your belongings. In your satchel you had hidden a revolver. It had been bought yesterday in Rhodes, but you knew neither Arthur nor Lenny would be too happy about you carrying a gun already. You packed a couple of things, stowed them away on your horse, got dressed and then looked for Arthur who sat on the jetty, scribbling something in his notebook and occasionally taking a sip from his coffee. He turned his head when he heard you approach. "I'd love a little trip", you said. He smiled sympathetically, closing his book and standing up. "Ya can go mount yer horse, I'll tell Hosea where we are off to."

Not five minutes later, you were on the open road. 

"Where are we actually going?", you asked after both of your horses had reached a comfortable trot. 

"Up north, past the Donner Falls, to the spring of the Dakota River", when Arthur searched your face and found a questioning expression, he added "it's close to the Wapiti Indian Reservation" as if that'd help. But you didn't mind where he'd take you, as long as you are away from camp and with Arthur...

"How long is the ride?", you asked, pressing your hat deeper in your face to protect you from the morning sun which was slowly becoming more powerful. 

"Depends on…how fast can ya ride yer horse?", he looked at you, all innocent and gentle, though you know there was a challenge hidden away behind those words. A big smiled formed on your face: "I won't race someone who has decades more riding experience than I have, but I promise you I've become better since our last ride." This being said, you gave your horse a "Heya!" and off you ran, savoring your head start for ten seconds, before Arthur caught up. 

When you rode past Dewberry Creek you pulled y/h/n back into a trot to win more time taking in the scenery. Morning dew had made the air misty, and the low sun was hitting the droplets in the right angle to produce a little rainbow. Arthur too slowed his horse down, observing you silently as you watched the scenery in awe. When you turned your head, your eyes met Arthur's. You had wanted to make a comment on the rainbow, but something about finding Arthur's eyes fixed on you rather than the nature made your cheeks burn up and forget your intention of saying something. So without anything being said, you looked back to the rainbow, which had started to fade. You knew Arthur wasn't the most talkative, but you really wished he had eased the tension by saying something. It was only after the rainbow was fully gone and the Heartlands started to stretch out in front of you when he suggested: "What d'ya say? Another race through the Heartlands." 

You sighed: "I don't know...", trying to keep Arthur's attention on your words rather than your actions, as you started to speed up your horse, "I really don't feel like- let's go!" You shouted the let's go only after you had started to sprint off. This time your head start lasted longer and you believed he let you lead deliberately before he passed you quickly, laughingly shouting a: "Too slow!"

You and your horse were both out of breath when you caught up with Arthur. The road was now going slightly uphill. To your right you could see the mountain tops of the East Grizzlies. The temperature dropped significantly, you were surprised to find out you could still shiver, after having sweated so much the last few weeks in Lemoyne. Careful not to fall off you rolled down your sleeves and took a jacket from your horse's back. It turned out quite a stunt - doing all that while trying to keep up with Arthur (you, of course, not wanting to ask him to slow down) and staying on your horse. 

Only a couple of minutes later, Arthur turned around: "Ya alright? It's getting a bit fresh." You noticed his surprise, already seeing you wrapped in a jacket, also with a bandana tightly knotted around your neck to keep the cool entering from there. The bandana was Lenny's old one, he had offered it to you a couple of days ago and you had gladly accepted. "I'm fine", you nodded and rode up next to Arthur.

"Ya can already hear the waterfall if ya listen. But we ride farther north, around the lake. There are some nice rocks you can climb and watch over the whole country", Arthur explained. 

"Can't wait", you smiled and took the lead. The road got narrower and Arthur warned you to slow down to keep your horse from slipping on gravel. There as a huge rock that was about two meters tall, standing proud and solid next to the trail. You looked at Arthur who nodded to affirm that this was indeed one of the rocks he had talked about. You hopped off your horse and examined the rock. It felt sandy, red earth coloring your hands as you searched for some grip, that you easily found. 

"Whoa", was all you could say. There was the spring of Dakota River, deep blue in front of you. Reddish brown rocks covered with grass and trees were everywhere as far as your eyes could see, only in the west you could distinguish the snowy mountain tops of the Grizzlies. You only realized that Arthur was next to you, when he lightly poked you with his binoculars and oh boy, the view got only better! You traced eagles and watched the water bubble and splash when a fish jumped above surface. A few minutes passed and you were still not tired of exploring the valley with the binoculars, when you heard the man next to you chewing on something, which reminded you how starved you felt. 

Finally, you lowered the binoculars and took some biscuits and a pear out of your satchel. 

"We'll be camping there", Arthur pointed to a flat space next to the river, "see if we can catch ourselves a fish for dinner." Without hesitation you looked through the binoculars again, examining the location Arthur had pointed at. "Alright", you mumbled, mouth full of food, and shot a quick glance at Arthur who was fiddling pineapples out of a can. The rock wasn't big enough to allow much space between you, but you didn't mind at all. Maybe it was only then when you truly caught on what you were doing...spending time with Arthur, alone, in nature. The two of you had never spent so much time together before, well, maybe when he rode from Valentine to Rhodes with you, more hours had passed on the clock than had passed now, but this trip wasn't over and this time you had talked more than last time. 

After you had finished your meals, you mounted your horses and rode on until you could leave the track and approach the little cove Arthur had pointed out. The horses gladly settled down in the grass as they came to understand that this will be a longer break. 

"If ya get a fire started I'll cast out the fishing rod. There should be some big fish in here", Arthur gave the instructions. On a grassy patch you rolled out the sleeping mats and blankets, put up a tent (you had one tent, which technically could fit two people...you were not yet sure how this will work, but you figured it was too early to worry about that), collected firewood and made a camp fire, afterwards looking for herbs that could give the fish better taste. All of this took you about an hour, but still, Arthur was standing there, rod in hand, waiting. 

"Nothing yet?", you asked. 

"No", Arthur wailed, "Fish don't like me today. Ever fished before?"

"Can't say that I have...", you admitted. 

"C'mere then. You do that."

"You sure? If I do something wrong, we might end up without dinner", you asked with raised eyebrows. 

"It can only get better", Arthur joked and gave you the fishing rod. There was a moment of silence between you before you looked at Arthur: "So basically...you just want me to stand here for the next hour." Arthur shrugged, gave you a smile and a pat on the shoulder: "Yeah."

Arthur threw some more sticks into the fire and checked if the tent was put up properly, then curiously examined the herbs you had found. When he saw a pile of berries you had collected, he raised his head. He pointed at the berries and looked at you, asking for approval to take some. You nodded: "Be my guest." You chuckled to yourself, finding it...cute he had asked for an okay. Standing still, rod in hand, you found enough time to let your thoughts roam freely. They lingered on the happenings of the morning, which made your hair stand up. But soon, they were fully occupied with the man who was sitting in the sun, only a few meters behind you. His eyes were covered by his hat, and you weren't sure if he was asleep or just resting...sleeping...yeah, will you share the tent with Arthur? It's his tent so the proper thing to do is offer to sleep under the sky, though you knew it would get freezing at night. 

You were still trying to figure out the sleeping issue, when you felt a fish nibbling on the line, you hooked it, tried to reel it in when you realized the resistance was way too much for you to manage. 

"A-Arthur!?", you yelled, trying to stay on two feet while the fish pulled and fought at the end of line, "Arthur! Help!" Arthur was behind you before you could say one more word, pushing you aside slightly and taking the fishing rod: "Christ, ya didn't have the rod for ten minutes and something bites. Ya a lucky charm or smthing?!"

It took another ten minutes of pure, sweat-inducing fighting for Arthur to reel the fish in. Occasionally Arthur would yell out a "Don't fight too much!" or "You're mine!" which made you chuckle; glad your job was done. "How big is this fellow?", you got curious as Arthur got closer to reeling the fish in and you noticed a huge shadow underneath the water surface. Arthur didn't bother to answer but instead pulled the fish out with a loud grunt. In front of you lay a muskie about as long as you were tall. You had never seen such a huge fish much less seeing someone be strong and skilled enough to get such a beast out of the water. 

Arthur laughed proudly, lifting the fish off the ground: "That's a fine fish and he’s heavy- wanna try?" He smiled cheekily, knowing you wouldn't dare lifting a fish that probably weighted as much as a dog. 

The fish was gutted and pieces of meat laid out on the little grill grid construction, where you had the more pleasant job of seasoning them. When you said that there was much more conversation between you and Arthur than the last time, this still meant that there were times where both of you didn't talk at all. The whole cooking process was done in silence, except for occasional instructions. When you started to eat, though, and you not only shared a loaf of bread but also a bottle of whiskey, you both seemed more ready to talk. Fishing and cooking, traveling around the country, herbs, berries and hunting were the most common topics discussed. 

The sun faded behind the mountains and the temperatures dropped significantly. Next to the fire, it was warm enough, but you still rolled yourself into an extra blanket. 

"That jacket of yours is not made for mountain coldness", Arthur remarked. 

"Yeah...didn’t think I'd need it for something like that", you said, chewing on a piece of bread. The fire and the whiskey did a decent job of keeping your warm anyways. Still, Arthur stood up, loosened a big blue coat from his bundle of traveling utensils and dropped it over you. "You don't need it?", you asked surprised as well as a bit worried you'd steal his coat. 

"I'm used to the cold. And the trip was my idea, so I'd feel damn bad to return you dead frozen to camp", Arthur sniggered. 

"Well, thanks", you smiled somewhat embarrassed, using the blanket to keep your legs warm instead after you had slipped on the coat. It was way too big for you, you had to fight to see the fingertips through the sleeve, but it was well worth it. A smell of cigarettes and forest hit you after you had turned up the collar. You smiled at yourself stupidly as you look down on yourself, thinking you must look like a pile of clothes. A satisfied pile of clothes. Well fed, warm and close to the man that you…- no. You stopped your thoughts there and looked up for distraction, only to find Arthur smiling at you: "I gotta say, you look like a pile of laundry." 

"Thank you very much, Mr. Morgan. Your words are quite charming", immediately after you had said those words you wondered if the alcohol in your system made it easier to say something like this. 

"Hah", Arthur teased, "Why would I try charm someone who looks like they hidin' in a laundry basket?" 

"You tell me", you shot back laughingly. Both of your laughs faded away and all that remained was eye contact that resulted in you blushing. Almost at the same time, you decided to break this staring duel. You could have sworn the tension in the air was thick enough to slice with a knife. "But no- that's my imagination. How much did I have to drink?", you thought. Before you could check how much was still in the bottle and calculating how much each of you had to find out if your conclusions have any legitimacy, you were brought back to reality. 

"It's gettin' late. Why don't ya go lie down, you'll need energy for the ride tomorrow", Arthur nodded at the tent. 

"You don't mind sharing the tent with me?", you asked. 

"Sharin'? Nah, don't worry. Ya got it all for yerself." 

"What? Hell no, Arthur. There's no way I'm stealing your coat and your tent. I'll sleep next to the fire then, I'll be alright", you stood up and kneeled next to your sleeping mat, readjusting it closer to the fire. 

"God damn the wind will kill ya woman", Arthur yelled, showing frustration at your stubbornness. You pretended not to hear him, laying down on the mat and readying it for sleep. 

"Okay then! I'll...I'll also sleep in the tent. Is that really alright though y/n? I don't wanna-", the big man stuttered helplessly. It was clear to you that he simply didn't want to make you uncomfortable by sharing a tent with a man. "Yes!" Satisfied with the outcome of your discussion, you took your mat and blanket and took them to the tent, doing the same with Arthur's while he watched you. 

"You coming?" you tried really hard acting casual, but you had to bend down to take the bottle of whiskey to gulp down another sip, hoping it would calm you down. 

"Y-yeah, in a second. You go ahead", Arthur waved you off. You handed the bottle to Arthur: "I swear I won't close an eye before you are in the tent."

You decided against keeping your eyes open almost seconds after you had said it. Maybe Arthur wouldn't be comfortable with that...you'd just...lie down as far in the corner as possible so you wouldn't take up too much space and then...your consciousness faded before you had even decided on what to do when Arthur would lie down next to you. You had failed to acknowledge how exhausted you felt and just like that you had fallen asleep. 

You remembered freezing that night when you woke up and fell asleep again minutes later. When you slowly started to wake up the next morning you weren't cold anymore. What had changed? You were too tired to open your eyes just yet but when you tried to turn you encountered a resistance that made it impossible. There was slow but heavy breathing that could be heard, probably coming from Arthur. So he did lay down in the tent! ...But the breathing was closer than you expected it be. Opening your eyes slowly, you found yourself lying in Arthur's arms, his face was somewhere above your head, based on the breathing and the light breeze on your forehead. Carefully you moved your head, feeling Arthur's chin right on top of it. If you hadn't been dead tired and could have woken Arthur, you would have screamed. 

Like on his horseback or in the hotel room, you felt drowsy...sleepy, perfectly safe and warm. You wanted to force yourself to stay awake to savor the moment a bit longer, but you drove back to sleep quickly. You were woken by movement and by the cold that hit you as Arthur left your side. Though you were awake, you decided to lie there for a while, pretending you were still asleep, thinking about the night. It was only when you heard the fire spit that you sat up and glanced outside. 

Arthur was sitting in front of the fire, back turned to you. You heard the water boiling in the coffee pot and looking up to the mountaintops you saw the first sunshine hitting the white snow. What a beautiful scene, you thought. But the cold, damn. The grass around your tent had frozen crystals on it and by opening the tent you were hit by cool air that had you awake in an instant. No point in laying down again, so you stood up and walked next to Arthur.

"Pretty cold, huh?", was the first thing you said after you two had wished each other a good morning. Arthur's answer was a low murmur. 

"I always see you with this little book...", you said, as if you had caught him a hundred times before. But this was only the third time or so. "What are you...writing in it?"

"'m drawing...", Arthur mumbled. 

"You can draw?!", excitedly you got closer to Arthur to look over his shoulder.

"A bit", he nervously closed his journal, "it's not really good though...just a hobby of mine..."

"Can I see it? Please", you begged. Arthur looked up to you, considering for a moment before he opened the page he had been drawing on. "Be gentle with your criticism", he joked. Your jaw dropped when you saw an almost finished sketch of the scenery before you. There was the lake, the rocks, the crooked pine trees, the campfire and even the coffee pot. 

"No, that's amazing", you whispered, comparing his sketch with the view in front of you, "and so detailed. I didn't think you could draw like that."

"Yeah", Arthur chuckled embarrassed and closed his journal again, "the coffee should be ready. Oh yeah- here." He handed you a book, it took you a moment to decipher it, but it was about forest animals. "Hosea made me promise to listen to you readin'."

"That's really not necessary", you stuttered. No way you would make a fool of yourself in front of Arthur by stumbling over words. 

"It is! Come on, Hosea's gonna kill me!", he pressed the book into your hands. 

"Can't I just read for myself?", you tried to argue. 

"No! I won't even be listenin'. I got the drawing to finish. Two pages."

You gave in. Every time you struggled with a word your cheeks would burn and you would have to take a deep breath to calm your nervousness. But soon you realized Arthur wouldn't be interrupting or correcting you, so you relaxed a bit. After that was done, the coffee had been drunk and a hurried breakfast of oatcakes, biscuits and canned peaches had been devoured, you packed your things and mounted your horses. You had handed Arthur back his coat, though you enjoyed disappearing in its comfortable vastness and smell, you wouldn't be able to ride in it. 

The horses slowly trotted along the path, Arthur rode in front of you. It was very quiet, and you almost couldn't hear it at first, but Arthur started humming a song. You weren't sure if he knew you could hear him, nor if he had realized that you had noticed you had slept in his arms. This was more or less all you could think about the whole time. Since you didn't want this trip to end, you didn't bother to ask why you were riding so slowly. Even in the Heartlands you didn't quicken your pace. 

Arthur had stopped humming and occasionally jumped off his horse to pluck some herbs. It was in one of those breaks when you heard shouts from far away: "That must be him!"

Arthur's head shot in the direction of the yell. Five men on horses were speeding in your direction. You were confused, but when you looked to Arthur for answers, he was back on his horse already. 

"God damn bounty hunters! Y/N, ride as fast as ya can", Arthur hastily commanded and off you went, "no matter what happens, you don't stop! They ain't here for you!"

This was it. Your first ever chase by the law. There was this terrible feeling in your stomach that someone will get hurt. 

-----x

looks like I'm aiming for about 10 chapters, so three more! It gets harder and harder to not make Arthur and y/n kiss at every god damn opportunity, I swear I'm trying so hard to hold back.

next chapter

[highwaytothedangerzone502]

India Lima Yankee - Chapter 33

Pairing: Rooster x Female OC

Word Count: 1770

Warnings: Mention of death, implied sex, a little dirty talk

Summary: Juliette Kazansky discovers Maverick is back in town for a special training detachment, but she's more than a little blindsided when Rooster arrives too. Having not spoken to him for almost ten years after their less than amicable break-up, Juliette can only imagine how the next few weeks are going to play out when she remains head over heels in love with him while he wants nothing to do with Juliette other than to forget her.

Or so she thinks.

Notes: Chapters in italics are flashbacks.

Chapter Songs: Wherever You Will Go Love Me Like You Do

Chapters: Chp 1 Chp 2 Chp 3 Chp 4 Chp 5 Chp 6 Chp 7 Chp 8 Chp 9 Chp 10 Chp 11 Chp 12 Chp 13 Chp 14 Chp 15 Chp 16 Chp 17 Chp 18 Chp 19 Chp 20 Chp 21 Chp 22 Chp 23 Chp 24 Chp 25 Chp 26 Chp 27 Chp 28 Chp 29 Chp 30 Chp 31 Chp 32 Chp 33

Rooster

"Don't stop believin'!" The pilots sang at the top of their lungs at the Hard Deck, enjoying their last night of freedom before shipping out in the morning. They'd all worn their whites for the formal dinner hosted by Cyclone, except for Juliette. She stood out like a beacon in the night sky, wearing a red dress with quarter-length sleeves, a half-open back, and black lace peep-toes with a red sole to match. Her wavy blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders, framing her glowing face. Rooster couldn't determine why, but for some reason, tonight more than others, Juliette glowed. Radiance burst forth from her smile, and the pure happiness sounding from her laughs made him melt. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she leaned against the piano he currently played. 

When the song ended, and his fingers tired from having played longer than he ever had, Rooster finally called it quits, if not just because he also couldn't resist not being right next to Juliette. It killed him not to be able to show her affection around the other pilots, to shower her with love and hold her until he had to ship out.

Without Rooster at the piano, Hangman took over the jukebox. Naturally, the first song that came on was his favorite, 'Slow Ride.' Then, one by one, each pilot picked their favorite song. Rooster, of course, chose 'Great Balls of Fire' despite having played it on the piano only an hour earlier, but he didn't care. He loved it and needed to feel his dad's spirit right now with the mission coming up tomorrow. Even though Rooster knew he wasn't going up for it, he hoped his dad would watch for his friends who did. 

Rooster looked over at Juliette, trailing over her features, trying to memorize them. She saw the movement, however, and met his gaze with a smile. "What's on your mind, Lieutenant?"

"You," he whispered, his eyes dropping momentarily down to her lips. 

"If you keep looking at me like that, the others will get suspicious, and it's making me want to do something really stupid."

"Blame it on the alcohol."

Juliette snorted. "If they hadn't seen how much I can drink and stay relatively functioning at Firefly's bachelorette party, I'd say sure, but they did, and they know I can hold it."

"Damn it. Okay then, what do you say we get out of here and head back to your place?" Rooster realized the possible insinuation in his words when Juliette tilted her head and raised her brows at him. He hastily added, "I just want to be with you tonight, Jules. It's not that I'm not enjoying being here, but I don't know when I'll see you next, and I want to spend every waking moment I have left with you."

"Bradley-"

"If that's all right with you..."

Juliette smiled. "Yeah, that's good with me. Admittedly, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to refrain from touching you," she said, standing up. Her eyes looked him up and down with more than a little lust and admiration. "You look good in every uniform, but the whites really do suit you."

"You can pull off any outfit, but red was always your color," Rooster said, aching to reach out and slip his arm around her waist and pull Juliette against him. "Come on."

She and Rooster bid the other pilots goodbye, ignoring their protests. Juliette explained she had to get home to her dogs and that Rooster was her ride home, but she'd see them all tomorrow. Exchanging goodbyes and hugs, she left the Hard Deck with Bradley. They barely managed to get to the Bronco before Rooster couldn't take it anymore. He pinned Juliette against the side of his car and kissed her, running his hands through her soft hair. Her hands slid up his back and grasped his shoulders, pressing herself into him. He could taste the whiskey on her lips, smell her expensive Jo Malone perfume, and feel her soft curves fitting perfectly against his hard muscles. This was his Juliette, the only person in this world who could make him give up the upcoming mission if it meant he could stay with her forever. She would never let him do that to himself or his career, but this knowledge made the true depths of his love for Juliette cement in his mind.

"I love you," Rooster murmured against her lips, curling his fingers in her hair, unwilling to part with her, even if it was just so he could go to the driver's side. He'd lost out on so much time because of his fears and stupidity, and Bradley didn't want to lose out on any more, no matter how little.

"I love you," he murmured against her lips. 

"I love you, too," Juliette replied softly. He felt her lashes brush past his, causing him to open his eyes. Rooster found her blue eyes dark with desire, and his breath caught in his throat. "Lieutenant?"

He clenched his jaw at the sound of his rank on Juliette's lips. "Hmm?"

"Take me to bed-" she gave him a chaste, teasing kiss- "or lose me forever."

He grinned. "Show me the way home, honey."

***

Rooster and Juliette's naked bodies were entangled underneath her sheets. Her head rested on his chest above his heart, and he wondered how she could sleep with it thudding directly in her ear. He drew mindless patterns on her bare back while staring at the ceiling above him, only a sliver of moonlight filtering through her curtains to illuminate the room. 

They'd barely made it through her doorway before they'd been all over each other. Between the near ten years apart, the past two weeks filled with a rollercoaster of emotions, and the upcoming unknown time apart sent them over the edge. It was break-up, make-up, and I-might-never-see-you-again sex all at the same time, and Rooster lost his God damn mind during it. He had to with what he was thinking right now. He'd only been with Juliette for less than a week. This should've been the last thing on his mind. They still had so much to reacquaint themselves with about each other, and yet...

"What's on your mind?" Juliette mumbled. 

Rooster glanced down at her. "What do you mean?"

"Your heart sounds like it's about to pound out of your chest," she answered, sleepily propping herself up on top of him. Her eyeliner was slightly smudged, and her wavy hair was uncharacteristically unkempt, but Rooster thought she'd never looked more beautiful.

"I've been doing some thinking," Bradley confessed, wondering why the hell he was even bringing this up. He knew what her answer would be.

"We both know how bad that is for you," Juliette teased, kissing the tip of his nose. "Is it about the mission?"

"No, not the mission. Us."

Concern crinkled her brow. He could hear the trepidation in her voice when she replied, "What about us?"

Realizing where her mind was going, Rooster rolled them over, so he was on top. He gave her a firm kiss and said, "I can assure you not what you're thinking of."

Juliette smiled softly, looping her arms around his neck. "Then what's on your mind, Lieutenant?"

"You."

"I can feel that," she joked, shifting underneath him. He groaned, bracing his forehead against hers, but when he didn't react any further, Juliette remarked, "That's not what's on your mind, though, is it?"

"No... Jules, I-" Rooster stopped himself when the small voice in the back of his mind yelled at him that what he wanted to say would ruin the moment and whatever else he had going on. And yet, another voice, equally as loud, told him this is what he would've asked her at dinner the night they broke up, and he knew what her answer would've been back then, that it'd still most likely be the same now.

"Bradley, what is it?" Juliette prodded, staring up at him with worry. 

"Marry me." The words tumbled out of his mouth before Rooster could stop them, and more poured out after when he saw the surprise etch onto her face. "Had I not been stupid, we would've been married by now, and I don't want to wait a year or two to ask you because I know you're the one I want to be with. I knew it the moment I gave you the locket, and I knew it when I walked into the Hard Deck two weeks ago and saw you. I made the mistake of letting you go once, and I won't make it again."

Juliette unhooked her arms from around his neck only to cup his face and press her lips to his, kissing him fiercely. 

"Is that a yes?" Rooster asked, blood pounding in his ears. Surely the kiss could mean no other answer?

Juliette shook her head. "No."

Bradley's heart dropped to his stomach. "I know it's sudden, but-"

"No, no, I'm not saying no because of that," she interrupted, her thumbs gliding up and down his cheekbones. "I don't want you asking me this because you're worried you might die soon, so I want you to ask me when you get back."

"Are-are you going to say yes?"

"Would I really be telling you to ask me if I was going to say no?"

"I would hope not."

Juliette shook her head. "I'm not. I know my answer. I just need you to ask me when you return from the mission, okay?"

Rooster nodded, then shifted off of her to reach for his backpack. He dug around the inside until he found what he was looking for. Returning to Juliette, Rooster took her right hand and slid a familiar ring onto her finger.

Her voice barely above a whisper, Juliette said, "Bradley, this is-" 

"My mom's," Rooster confirmed, staring at the glittering diamond shining in the moonlight.

He watched Juliette caress the ring with shaking hands. When she finally looked up at him, her eyes brimmed with tears. "Rooster, are you sure you want me to- are you sure you don't-"

"I'm sure. I want you to have it. It'll be yours when I return, too. Mom would've wanted you to have it. She knew way back when we first started dating that we would get married," he explained, taking her hands in his. "I'm going to get you a ring of your own, but I want you to have this as my promise to you that when I return, I'll ask you to marry me again."

***

Tags: @lgg5989 @shanimallina87 @polikszena @summ3rlotus @souslesyeuxde @gleasonmalfoy @icemansgirl1999 @supernaturaldawning @thedarkinmansfield @lyannaforpresident @lapilark @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth @simpofthecentury @shadeops21 @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @double-j @picklejuicesposts @bradshawsandbridgetons @majdoline @jakexfmc @catsandgeekyandnerd

[celestialevie]

Flower Boy // George Weasley x GN! Reader

Summary: AU where y/n is working at the tattoo shop, while their best friend is an owner of a flower shop. What happenes when expecting to see your best friend for lunch, you end up meeting a tall ginger man. Warnings: fluff, mention of food, tattoos, flowers, George being absolute charmer Word count: 1.7k a/n: enjoy this aboslute fluff of a fic!! and again, english is not my first language so if there are any mistakes please do not hestitate to let me know about it!! ' Evangeline ' is an oc of mine, so she might appear in some of my fics as a side charachter. Also credit to @bwbatta for the dividers!!

Being a tattoo artist was one of the things you were proudest of. It wasn't easy to become one after neglecting art for so many years during High School. But after your best friend opened her own flower shop, she helped you get your inspiration for art being constantly surrounded by flowers and stories of why people were getting flowers. You were happy with everything but not knowing that wasn't the end of your happiness. It all started when you were on your lunch break and decided to swing by your best friend's flower shop to visit her. Expecting to see a small blonde girl behind the counter, you were shocked to see a tall ginger man standing there instead. '' Hello, how can I help you today? '' When ginger looked up, he felt as if someone kicked all of the air from his lungs because before him stood a beautiful person with y/h/c hair and y/e/c eyes. Smiling at them as they approached the counter, they were even more beautiful up close. '' Hi, um I'm looking for Evangeline? I didn't know she hired someone new. '' Ginger laughed, nodding his head. '' Ah yes, I'm only here temporarily. Unfortunately, you just missed her, she left to go on a lunch break with my uglier twin. '' You only laughed at that. '' Too bad, but can you please let her know that y/n looked for her? '' He nodded. '' I'll let her know. I'm George by the way. If you ever wanna ask her for me. '' George wiggled his eyebrows, making you shook your head. '' It was nice meeting you, but I have to go now. Please don't break any of her flowers she's not afraid to commit murder if you break something in her shop. '' his eyes widen, making you laugh as you were leaving but his voice stopped you. '' Hey! You come here often? '' he asks '' Considering I use to work here and my best friend owns it, yes. '' and with that, you left the shop, heading back to your workplace.

As the clock turned changed time to 8 pm, you relaxed finally going home after a stressful day. Just as you were open the door, Evangeline barged in. '' Hello, heard you've been looking for me. '' She grinned at her best friend, attacking them with a hug. '' Hello to you too,'' you said returning the hug '' I see the tall ginger you failed to mention to me kept his word. '' smirk appearing in the corner of your mouth as you recall your encounter with him from earlier today. '' It seemed to me you left a trance on Georgie boy. '' Evangeline wiggled her eyebrows, making you laugh '' You can't do that to me, I wanted to have lunch with my best friend only to find she ditched me for and I quote the ginger man '' uglier twin '', leaving me to get almost a heart attack. For a second I thought I walked into a wrong shop. '' Both of you walked out of the shop, heading towards your apartment. '' Speaking of that date, you also failed to mention you were dating someone, and here I thought we tell each other everything, tsk tsk. I'm disappointed. '' you nudged her, blush creeping on her cheeks. '' Oh my god are you blushing? He's making you blush just by thinking of him? You need to tell me about him. '' and so she did. She told you how his name is Fred and along with his twin, he has 6 siblings, making both of them the middle children. It was very interesting to know about a man who took an interest in my best friend. Deciding she'll spend the night at yours, you both got cosy into pyjamas and watched movies until you both crashed. The next morning you went together to work, letting you know she'll come to your work for the lunch break. So when your lunch break came, you didn't expect her to walk in with the same ginger man from yesterday. '' y/n/n, I brought us a bodyguard to keep us safe during our lunch break. '' grin played on her lips, making you shake your head. '' Yeah because we're so in danger that someone is gonna try and kill us while eating Taco Bell. '' George snorted, making you look at him. He looked even cuter than yesterday if that's even possible. Maybe there was something in gingers that you'd yet to discover that makes them so attractive. '' So flower boy, what do you do when you're not being a bodyguard or taking care of Evie's flower shop. '' he was grinning at the nickname. '' I own a joke shop with my brother, but we're currently redecorating inside so we had to close it for a week or two. '' An attractive businessman, that's a first one you snorted to yourself. Spending an hour with two of them, turned into a mostly back and forth conversation between George and you. Soon Evie had to leave, her lunch break coming to an end. To your surprise, George asked you if he could stay for a bit longer, which you said yes to since you had no client for another hour. He asked you about your art style, which, according to George made your eyes sparkle up with happiness, making him chuckle when you started to ramble not even noticing. '' You're rambling. '' he chuckled making you blush a little. '' Sorry, sometimes I can get carried away without even noticing. '' George smiled, taking your hand in his, making you look at him. '' Don't apologise, it's adorable. '' blushing even harder, you looked at the clock making you realise that in 15 minutes your client should be coming. '' Oh shit I didn't even realise how much time has passed already, I have to prepare for the next client. But hey if you ever want a tattoo you know where to come. '' You said and with that, you disappeared somewhere behind in the storage, kind of hiding from flower boy, because he's starting to make you feel things you haven't felt before.

Everything was happening so fast, in the next few days he kept coming either alone or in a company of Evangeline. She knew what she was doing and she was enjoying it. You even got to meet Fred, him wanting to meet the fascinating best friend of his girlfriend and the person who his brother can't seem to stop talking about. So when George asked you out, you said yes having nothing to lose. Deciding on a picnic, both of you packed some food, and he picked you up after work, leading you to a park. He prepared a blanket and put down the baskets where food and drinks were, sitting down and relaxing. '' How was your day? '' you began the conversation. '' It was good, mostly spent the entire day thinking of what to bring for our date tonight. '' a smile appeared on his face. '' How was yours? Any interesting tattoos you did? '' so you told him about this older guy who had half of his back tattooed with some weird game character, which made him laugh. Looking up at the sky, it looked amazing. '' Isn't the view beautiful? '' a grin played on your lips as you looked at the stars. George was only looking at you, and how beautiful you looked under the stars. If he wasn't already falling, he definitely would've now. '' Yeah, it couldn't be more beautiful. '' you looked at him and he was looking at you. '' Stop looking at me like that! '' He grinned at you, placing a hand on your cheek. '' Like what? '' he said softly while looking you in the eyes. '' L-like I've placed all the stars in the sky as if I'm the most unique thing on this planet. '' you were avoiding his eyes, knowing you wouldn't be able to breathe if you do. George had other plans, because he softly placed finger under your chin, making you look up at him. His eyes were filled with so much adoration, making you get lost in them. '' I've been looking at you like that ever since we first met, darling. I've grown quite fond of you from the first time our eyes met. '' a smile was spread on both of your lips '' God how much I love seeing you smile. I like you so much, love. '' placing your hands on both of his cheeks '' Can I tell you something? '' you said quietly almost a whisper. '' You can tell me anything. '' ''I like you too flower boy. '' even bigger smile was on his lips. '' Could you say it again? '' you furrowed your eyebrows. '' Were you not listening? '' he shook his head. ' No, I was, I just like the sound of your voice. '' you shook your head at his goofiness. '' Can you kiss me? '' a grin appeared on his lips '' Thought you'd never ask. '' and with that, he placed his soft lips on top of yours, lips mending with each other. It was like fireworks exploded inside you, from how much happiness you felt in this moment. Everything was perfect.

The next day you decided to visit Evangeline in the shop, expecting to see I guy you've grown s much fond of. And there he was stood with Fred and Evangeline, his beautiful smile playing on his lips. '' Hello, hope I'm not interrupting a big secret meeting. '' you joked as you approached them. George pulled you in his embrace, placing a small kiss on your temple as he sneaked an arm around your shoulder. '' Of course not love. '' you smiled at him, starting a conversation with him, not noticing how Fred and Evangeline were looking at the two of you. '' I haven't seen her smile like that in ages. '' Evie said, '' Hey flower boy, '' Fred began only to be shot by a dirty look by you. '' Hey, only I can call him that,'' you said and with that making everyone laugh including yourself. This is the happiest you've been in forever, and you could only hope it could stay like this forever.

[camillemonty]

Crush

JJ x Reader|kook

Summary: You just moved to outer banks and you are not so thrilled about your new kook life as your parents and are curious about how your summer will be. As the summer goes on surprises come along with ups and downs, tears and laughter, new friends and family.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 (p1), Chapter 4 (p2), Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Chapter 7 - I'm sorry.

It’s been almost two weeks since you ditched the girls at the beach, but to your surprise, they came looking for you at your house the next day.

“We just wanted to tell you that we know why you ditched us yesterday” Sarah spoke.

“Pope told us what JJ said to you” Kie started “we just want you to know that we don’t feel the same way, we like to hang out with you”

“Yeah, I’m sorry he made you think that all of us thought that” Sarah said, you smiled at them and you felt your heart lighter.

“Thank you” you said and the two smiled.

“Do you want to go for ice creams?” Kie asked, you nodded at them.

You have been hanging out with them since that, sometimes John B or Pope came too, but never JJ, they didn’t talk about him around you and you didn't ask. Most of the time you just walked around on the island or went to The Wreck. They were friendly as always, and you liked hanging out with them but sometimes you missed the blonde's presence.

"Hello y/n" she smiled at you.

You got out of Lane's car and walked behind her to the house, she invited you to dinner with her parents two days ago. "Hi Mrs. Miller" you said as you walked in the kitchen and saw Lane's mom.

"There's something I can help with?" You asked.

"You can get the table ready with Lane" she said and you two nodded. You followed Lane to the dining room and in a couple of minutes, the table was ready. “Let's sit on the sofa” she said walking towards the living, she sprawled on the sofa and you sat next to her talking about random stuff to pass the time.

"Well well look who we got here" Cooper spoke as he arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hi Coop" you said with a smile. When you weren't with the Pogues you were hanging out with Lane and surprisingly Cooper and Peter always appeared, no matter where you were, and hanged out with you two, so now you felt a little closer to him, not to mention that you’ve seen him too for the golf lessons you accepted.

"May I say you look very pretty tonight?" He said.

"Well thank you kind gentleman" you both let out a chuckled as Lane rolled her eyes. Cooper sat on the sofa across from you "you are getting better" he said "I forgot to tell you that yesterday"

"Thanks" you felt proud of yourself.

"Maybe is your handsome teacher" he teased, putting a hand on his chest.

"Mmm I don’t know maybe I'm a fast learner" you replied.

"Well let me say you are the prettiest student I ever had" he winked at you.

"Because I'm the only one you ever had" you laughed. "Small details" he huffed.

Lane looked in between you two and smiled rolling her eyes “Leave the flirting for when I have someone to flirt to”. Cooper scoffed and you felt your cheeks turn red immediately. You kept talking, this time including Lane in the conversation until their mom called for dinner. Cooper sat in front of you, giving you quick glances through all the meal or stepping your foot softly under the table, thinking nobody noticed it, but both his mom and dad were well aware of what he was doing. Once the dinner ended you kept talking at the table.

"How are going the golf lessons?" Mr. Miller asked Cooper.

"Very well y/n is an excellent student and a very fast learner" Cooper answered and smiled at you.

"Well if you are part of the Island Club you have to play golf" his mother said.

"I never thought it will be so fun" you said.

"It seems boring from the outside but once you get the rhythm of the game it becomes fun" his dad spoke.

"Y/n honey do you want to come with us next weekend to our little boat trip?" Mrs. Miller asked "I think it would be fun to have you around" she glanced in between Lane and Cooper, both with big smiles on their faces.

"I'll have to ask my parents, but thanks for the invitation" you answered with a smile.

"It's our pleasure," Mr. Miller said as he nodded at you.

"Well we have to get going" Lane said after a while as she stood up from the table.

"I'll take you two I have to go out anyway" said Cooper following his sister. You got up too and said goodbye to their parents.

"Miss" said Cooper while holding open the car door for you. You laughed at him and Lane raised her brows teasing you. He drove you two to a full Boneyard, the bonfires were already lighted up and you were pretty sure half of the island was there. "Just call me when you want to go back home" said Cooper stopping the car "I’ll be with the guys"

You two nodded and got out of the car, Lane walked towards some people you didn't know, she introduced you to them and you started drinking right away, mixing up between the keg beer and some liquor they had. At your sixth beer, you started to feel funny, the alcohol already making effect on you. You were laughing your lungs out at something Sam, one of the guys, said and almost fall from the log you were now seated.

You looked around, unconsciously searching for the blue eyes you missed, you saw him in the distance and felt your heart thundering in your chest, he was just talking to some people but somehow he managed to look extremely hot while doing it. A cruel voice at the back of your head repeated his words "You are not part of the group anyway" it didnt hurt like before because you knew that it wasn't completely true, but it hurt you because that's how he felt about you.

You shook your head forcing yourself to think about something else and as you got into the conversation in front of you again you realized that they were talking about midsummer, you looked down at your beer remembering that night, and felt your stomach twist, you knocked back the rest of your beer and stood up "I'm going for a beer" you told Lane. 

"I'm going with you" she spoke and stood up. Suddenly you didn't felt funny anymore. You arrived at the beer and filled up your cups, you were mumbling stuff with Lane making your way back to the group when unfortunately a not-so-friendly face got in the middle. "Well hello girls” Rafe and Liam.

"What do you want?" You huffed rolling your eyes.

"Nothing we just ran into you two" Liam shrugs.

"And now we are going" Lane spoke as you two tried to walk away, but of course, they didn't let you go "So fast?" Rafe asked "I thought we were bonding"

"C'mon let's go drink something together, like old times" Liam wrapped his arm around your shoulders and Rafe did the same with Lane, forcing you two to go towards their group. Topper and Kelce we're the first’s ones to say hi. They didn't let go of the grip on your shoulders, making you stay there with them, you glanced at Lane, confused about what to do and she had the same look on her face.

Looking around you saw Sarah in the distance, which brought you an idea, carefully and with a smile on your face you reached for your phone in your pocket, Liam was too focused on the conversation happening in front of him to realize what you were doing. Quickly you texted Sarah for help and shoved your phone back in your pocket.

"Rafe what the fuck?" Sarah spoke seconds later, making the guy turn around. "Little sis" he smiled.

"Let them go" She demanded.

"We are just having fun" Liam said grabbing you tighter, but Sarah ignored him.

"You are drunk and high so if you don’t want me to call you out in front of dad let them go"

Rafe huffed and rolled his eyes "ok" he let go of Lane and looked at Liam, he let you go too "what a pain in the ass" he said referring to her sister, she showed him the middle finger and walked away with you two by her side.

"Thanks" you said.

"No problem" she smiled and just to keep the nightmare going, Rebecca catched up on you three. "What the fuck do you think you are doing?" She asked as she got in front of you.

"What?" You asked confused.

"Stay away from Liam" she warned you.

"Don't worry he's all yours" you rolled your eyes.

"Exactly he's mine and he loves me so back off," she said and you laughed at her "what's so funny?"

"Nothing just that you are too into it for a summer fling"

"It's not a summer fling" she stated.

"Of course it is" you laughed again making her face turn red from anger.

"You are saying that just because you are jealous that he chose me," she said placing her hands on her hips.

"Aw honey he didn't tell you?" You teased.

"Tell me what?" She tried her best not to sound worried.

"That he's going away for college when the summer ends" you could tell by the look on her face that she didn't knew that "oh he didn't… well now you know" with a big smile on your face you walked away. Sarah and Lane chuckled "Oh they are so going to fight" said Sarah and Lane agreed with her laughing.

You walked with Sarah towards the Pogues and Lane went back to the others. They were seating on a log in front of a bonfire, your eyes went straight to JJ and you felt your heart skip a beat, he was seated on the sand with his head tilted back laughing at something.

"Hello there" you said as you got closer, JJ eyes widened when he looked at you.

"y/n!" John B and Pope greeted you.

"Come here girl" Kie patted the spot next to her.

You sat on the log and side hugged her, you did your best and made an effort not to look at the blond in front of you but you failed, JJ was now looking at the sand with a red cup in his hand, his words flew through your mind once again and just as if he knew you were thinking about him he looked up at you but you looked away.

JJ was caught out of guard by your presence, yeah he knew you were hanging out with his friends but he didn’t expect you to join them now that he was here too. Anyway, he wasn't going to let that ruin the night.  He looked up and locked with your eyes for a second before you looked away, he thought about the last time he was here with you, it felt like a lifetime ago, he sighs and took a sip of his beer shaking his head to keep those thoughts away.

The rest talked like nothing had ever happened and for your fortune, the beer never lacked; the conversation was fluent in between things you do together and things they did with JJ, it didn't feel awkward at least not until John B and Sarah stood up and walked away saying that they were going to talk to some of Sarah's friends, and Pope and Kie on the other hand, were seated together at the other end of the log mumbling stuff between each other. Your pulse speeds up, as you were hoping for this moment didn't arrive, you glanced up at JJ he was concentrated on the fire in front of him, you budged in the sand trying to get more comfortable and turned to look at the people having fun around you.

JJ took this opportunity to look at you, his eyes trailed all your figure and face and he cursed himself at the fact that here you were, after days of not seeing you, sitting in front of him and somehow you looked more beautiful than the last time he saw you. Deep down he wanted to mend things up, he wanted to do something about it because he knew he fucked up, he knew it was his fault you were so distant. His mind played him dirty as he remembered the last time you two were here, he felt your arms around his neck and his arms around your body, he shook his head and took a sip of his beer. He looked at you again, he hated the feeling in his stomach, he wanted to feel comfortable around you again but he didn't know how to or where to start.

"Long time no see" JJ speaks suddenly, surprising even himself.

You turned at him and doubted for a second if he was talking to you "yeah" you finally responded.

"How are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine, you?" You took your knees close to your chest.

"Fine" he said simply "I see that you guys had fun this couple of days" he didn't know what he was doing, he hated small talks.

"Yeah we did" you nodded, not knowing what to say.

You locked stares for the second time in the night, this time a little longer but you couldn’t keep it too much and looked away. He noticed the look in your eyes get sadder "I'm going for a beer" he stood up "do you want some?" You nodded as he walked away.

This was too awkward, even for him, JJ was stubborn and he wasn’t going to just apologize to you, yeah he said those stuff because he was angry, but that was him and everybody knew that, if he is angry he would act and say things not thinking about their consequences and so far nothing too bad had happened. He grabbed two cups and filled them up, thinking about what to do next, what he would say to you.

“Hey hey look who we got here” Rafe voice snapped him out of his thoughts, JJ looked up at him and saw Liam too, he rolled his eyes and sighs heavily not at all in the mood for this, JJ straighten his back and with the cups on his hand, he tried to walk pass through them, but of course Rafe didn’t let him, he grabbed JJ’s shoulder making him stop in front of him “we just want to talk” JJ stepped back, pulling his shoulder out of his grip.

“What do you want?” JJ blurted out “see I’m kind of occupied” he raised the cups so the two could see them, Rafe glanced at Liam but he didn’t talk.

“You truly are a Pogue” Liam said just as JJ was walking through them, making him stop “digging in the trash of a Kook to see if you can find something for yourself” JJ's jaw clenched and he felt the anger grow inside his chest as Rafe chuckled.

“Don’t fucking talk about me like if I couldn't beat the fuck out of you if I wanted” JJ growled, his face dangerously close to Liam.

“Oh but you didn’t hear Liam?” Rafe spoke making the two turn at him “I heard y/n is all over Cooper Miller, getting golf lessons and everything” JJ’s brows frowned for a second but Rafe saw it “what you didn’t know?” he teased.

“Oh yeah I heard, but I was kinda rooting for the Pogue right here” Liam spoke and palmed JJ’s shoulder “But it was obvious she was going to go for Cooper, you didn’t think she was going to choose you did you?” he asked now facing JJ but he didn’t answer knowing very well what would happen if they keep pushing him “you did, didn’t you? You really thought she would have chosen a miserable and dirty Pogue like you” JJ's jaw clenched again as a smirk covered Liam's face “don’t worry she’s a slut she will come back crawling to you, now be a good boy and go get me some beer” with this last words Liam hit one of JJ hands, flipping the cup and wetting his shirt making him go blind with fury.

You were still seated on the sand when you heard gasping and saw people jogging to get somewhere behind you, that made you curious and you turned around, your eyes widened when you saw Liam’s fist smack JJ’s cheek making him stumble, you stood up immediately and ran towards them, you pushed the people that had already gathered around to look at the scene, everything moved so fast that the next thing you could see with clarity was JJ pounding at Liam’s stomach, but he managed to punch at JJ in the face again and you saw the blood coming from his mouth, JJ’s fist flew and connected to Liam’s nose, the sight was horrible and blood was everywhere.

“Stop!" you squealed as loud as you could but none of the guys heard you, you looked around and saw Pope and Kie but they didn’t move and John B and Sarah were nowhere to be found, you thought about it one, two, three times and took a long breath, so when you saw the two guys stop hitting each other for a second you did it, you stepped in between the two, a hand in each other's chest “stop!” you screamed again looking in between them, Liam spits out blood and JJ’s eyes were blazing with fire. Pope and Kie took the opportunity to come towards JJ and grabbed him trying to stop the fight from continuing. You took your hand off their chests and turned to look at JJ, his eyes meted yours for a couple of seconds and you felt your heart hurt at his sight.

“Look at you” Liam started making you turn at him “can’t decide who to spread your legs too” your eyes widened as you felt the heat creeping up to your neck “are you doing Cooper in the morning and the Pogue in the nig…” you didn’t let him finish, your hand collided with his cheek loudly, felling itchy already, you looked at him in disbelief but his face was void from any feeling. You turned around and walked away from the circle of people, fighting back tears of anger.

“You ok?” you heard his voice behind you after a minute and stopped.

“Like if you even cared” you mumbled thinking he wouldn’t hear, but he did “I do” he replied “No you don’t JJ” you snapped back turning to look at him, a couple of tears falling down your cheeks, his eyes softened at the view of you "you made it clear how you feel about me remember?"

"I..." He started.

"I thought we were friends" you said.

"We were" he said "look I was having a bad day and I took it out on you I know that it wasn't fair"

"That it wasn't fair?" You asked sarcastically "you know how bad you made me feel?" You said "that every time I look at you all I can hear is you telling me that? You know how hurt I was?" You felt your cheeks get hot with embarrassment.

JJ felt his heart twist at your words "I'm sorry" he said softly, so softly that you thought you were imagining it "I know I fucked up"

Silence falls between you two “You should clean those cuts” was everything you could say, he nodded shoving his hands on his pockets he gave you a last look and you could see in his eyes he really mean it, he was sorry, he turned around and walked away. You let out a deep sigh and sobbed as your vision got blurry with tears, you saw Lane walking towards you and when she was close enough she gave you a little hug “let’s go home” she said.

JJ walked back to his friends, John B and Sarah were there too, he kept his eyes on the sand until Pope placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everything ok?" He asked JJ.

"I apologize to her" he almost whispered.

The four looked in between each other and decided not to talk about it. They followed the blond to the van and drove back home in complete silence. JJ played with the rings in his fingers feeling like total shit about how he made you feel, he didn't know that it would affect you that much so if he felt bad before now he felt ten times worst.

Cooper arrived in a couple of minutes, giving you some time to calm yourself, but thankfully he didn’t ask or say anything all the ride home, you assumed Lane told him what happened. The car stopped in front of your house, you hugged the two from the bag seat and thanked them. The second you stepped in your room you felt a little lighter, you were tired and a headache was killing you, you put on your pajamas, took a pill for the pain, and as soon as your head touched the pillow you fell asleep

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

I struggled a little writing this chapter and had a little block so I really hope you like it 💕 I know it's not the best.

Feedback is always appreciated 💗 thank you for reading.

Taglist: @victoria-a567 @indeedtryingforstraykids @slytherin-chaser @magicwithaknife @princessmugglecup @hannahhistorian92 @5am-cigarette @lovelogan @edgymuffin @brown-eyedshell @lcil123 @purple-vodka-99 @thecraziestcrayon @rafeyybabyy @canyoubuymetoast

Let me know if you want to be tagged 💕✨

[d-targaryenshoe]

Falling, Fallen • Jackson Avery

Notes: I'm a huge softie for Jackson Avery. Don't @ me. And I had this idea since forever 🥺

Summary: Y/N is Jackson Avery's wife and decides to ignore her husband's good advice.

Warnings: needles, medical terms

Word Count: 1891

Jackson Avery. Someone who gave you a lot of heartache back in the days. Watching him love a few woman.

Then seeing him gave one of your best friends a love speech and running away with her from her own wedding.

Those moments were the most hurting times, but when the both of them needed help it was you who would be there for them. Because you knew in the end they were still your friends.

Although your feelings never went away. You still secretly loved him, but your mouth was muted. You didn't want to ruin what they had.

But a single talk together with Alex Karev made words fly around in the O.R and into the ears of Jackson Avery. Which made your secret not so much of a secret anymore.

After 6 months You were living together. Then a year after the two of you got married but now a year and a half you were waiting for the worst pain ever. Called labor.

Pregnancy. Something you thought you were not going to experience anytime soon. But yet you were experiencing it. Anytime as you were sitting on the couch in April Kepner's couch.

"You're all round and almost popping, you should be in laying bed, not sitting in my couch Y/N." The ginger female sighed, placing a pillow behind your back. "Pregnancy is not a joke."

April was the most worried friend you had. Although you never expected her to be this okay with you and Jackson being together. Because you knew how much he meant to her.

"I'm going crazy in that penthouse just waiting for a single sound to make me feel alive." Caressing your belly, you leaned your head back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

"Says the 40 week far pregnant woman, who's most likely to have a baby today or tomorrow." April raised an eyebrow at you while she placed both of her hands on your belly. "It's moving down."

Giving her an deadpanned stare you tried to get up from the couch as you leaned on your hands. Walking over to the female her fridge.

"Did you just spill my bottle of water?" April asked, knowing you were clumsy at times, or all the time.

Hearing the footsteps come closer to you as you just stared down to your feet, a small pool of water on the floor and no way to get out.

"Oh my- okay, stay calm. You're gonna be fine okay? I'll take care of you. My car keys." The ginger haired woman rambled, grabbing the black keys off the hanger on the wall.

Running a hand through her ginger colored locks April held open the door as you walked through and fresh air met your skin.

Opening the door of the car and getting in, you noticed April's nervous state as she quickly got around and sat down next to you, twisting her keys in the contact.

"Just keep breathing and don't die, okay?" April squeaked, placing her hand on yours as she gave you a much saying face. "That was dark wasn't it?"

Releasing a slight breath through your nose, you nodded at your friend as she drove out of her parking spot, not exactly slowly. "A little too dark."

"Jackson is going to freak out when he knows I didn't ignore your attempts to get out." Spinning her steering wheel towards left, she bit the inside of her cheek.

"If I didn't come to you. I'd be in that penthouse going into labor all by myself, Apes." Placing your hand on the dashboard, you leaned over while holding the bottom of your belly. "Constraction."

Coming to a halt you saw the light of April's phonescreen as she tapped her stopwatch app and she passed her phone to you. "Tap it every time you get one."

Tapping the icon, you breathed out, watching the stop lights turn green as April started driving again, giving you a quick glance.

"We're almost there, I just need a damn parking spot, okay?" At this moment the only thing you were able to do was throwing all your trust in April's hands but also in yourself.

Leaning your head back, you closed your eyes in pain but also in hope that all of this would be over soon. But the sound of a car door slamming shut made you opened your eyes again.

"Come on, take my hand." April took a hold of your hand as she pushed the door closed behind you with her free hand. "Y/N Y/L/N you're not having this baby in this parking lot."

Releasing her hand, you ignored her rambling and walked up to the double doors of the hospital with a fast tempo.

"Hey, I wasn't done talking!" The female retorted, pushing the door open before you walked through, placing your hand on top of your belly, breathing out.

"In and out, good job." April answered as she breathed in and out together with you. "Just like that."

"Oh god! Is it this far? Am I becoming a grandma?" Your eyes moved up as Catherine Avery strolled over to you with a nervous smile covering her lips before her eyes fell on April. "Oh and April, I've got her."

April frowned at the older woman, fiddling with her car keys as she placed her hand on your back, trying to release the pain somehow." But I just-"

Knowing Catherine Avery wasn't one of the easiest person the two of you have known, things didn't make it any easier.

"I've. Got. Her. You're free to go." Catherine pointed out, placing her one arm around your waist and the other holding your hand, leading you towards somewhere else. "Thank you for taking care of her, though."

You just assumed April nodded at her, knowing somewhere deep inside herself she was grateful for everything April did for you. And so where you.

Pulling open the blue curtains, the only thing you did was opening the cabinets and grabbing a patient gown, walking into the bathroom to change yourself.

"Take your time okay, sweetie?" A soft knock was sounded on your door what made you sigh slightly, the woman had no patience at this moment. "There's no need to hurry, okay?"

Opening the door with a fast pull, you threw a single glare in the female Avery her way, being frustrated with pain and a watermelon sized child inside of you.

"April told me someone is having a-" Arizona Robbins her words were cut off as she noticed the long browned haired woman sitting on chair. "Baby."

"Yes and please as fast as i can, I'm dying." You snapped, placing your hands on the hospital bed, moving your hips around, trying to soothe the pain. "Give me an epidural and enough lidocaine."

You heard a slight snort in the room, knowing Catherine couldn't handle herself in bringing out her own opinion as she walked out of the room.

"We can do that, let me page Jackson first, yeah?" Arizona placed a hand on your shoulder, giving you one of her toothy smiles when grabbing her pager. "Let me check your dilation?"

Grunting, you slightly layed back on the bed, placing your feet apart from each other, placing your arm over your eyes, scared for the pain you'd feel.

"Just relax, I know it's not comfortable but I need to do this." Arizona comforted, hearing you take a deep breath in, feeling the pressure. "You're 5 centimeters dilated, so an epidural is an option, I'll need Jackson to keep your back arched, okay?"

Nodding your head in silence, you lay your feet back down, covering them with the white blanket.

"I told you to stay home, why are you so stubborn?" And this was the moment you didn't wait for. A preach by your husband, who would freak out. "You're unbelievable."

"Well I'm carrying a human watermelon inside of me, maybe you should just be quiet and let me do my job?" You snapped back, sitting up, noticing Arizona held back a smile.

"I need to place a epidural, could you move up your hospital gown?" Arizona smiled, gathering her supplies to release you from the pain.

Moving the hospital gown away from your back, you could feel the cold disinfectant being wiped on your back with a cotton ball.

"I will give you a local anesthetic, just a little sting." Looking at the man in front of you, you slightly shook your head as he bit the inside of his cheek.

"I need you to lay on your side now, Jackson I need you to hold her hands as I insert the epidural." Arizona lectured, giving him a small shove in his back, breaking his stubbornness.

Shuffling back on your bed, you turned to the left, taking a hold of Jackson's hands as you felt Arizona inserting a needle into the lower section of spine. "Oh, this is the last and only baby I'm ever having."

"And in two years time we'll be here again." Jackson muttered, releasing your hands, giving you a smile that said a lot. "You know I'm right."

"You wish." The sentence left your mouth and Arizona snorted at the words, removing the needle of the Epidural.

"Let me see how far we're standing." The paediatrician mumbled, motioning for you to place your feet away from each other. "And Avery one more cocky remark, I'll hit you."

Jackson opened his mouth but nothing came out, instead he sighed and crossed his arms at the blonde female.

"You're 9 centimetres, Jackson I need you to sit behind her, and Y/N, I need you to be badass, okay?" The blonde female explained, placing her gloved hand on your knee, with trust.

"I can do that." You nodded, leaning back in your husband's chest, sweat already covering your forehead, wanting to be done with this. "I'm freaking Y/N Avery, I can do this."

Arizona shrugged and smiled slightly sitting down on the chair at your feet. "See? Just like that, If you have enough power, I need you to push."

Leaning back on Jackson's shoulder, you placed your hands on your knees, as a pain struck your abdomen, leaning forward you placed all your power on your core.

"Push push, you're doing great." Arizona spoke up, giving you a single spark of hope. "If you have the power, you can push again."

Not giving a single answer, you placed your chin on your chest and pushed once again.

"Head is out, one more firm push, and you're almost done." The blonde surgeon spoke up, giving you courage, knowing it was almost over.

Getting al your power together and sweatdrops covering your forehead, you placed pressure on your body for the last time as a loud cry was sounded across the room and made you lean your head back on Jackson's shoulder.

Seeing Arizona stand up with a bundle wrapped in a white towel, you held out your hands toward your friend. "It's a baby boy."

"Well aren’t you the cutest little thing?” Jackson whispered, caressing his son's cheek.

"I carried that for 9 months, you better call me cute AND badass." You retorted, gazing up at your husband. "Because I am."

"Yes you are, and I'm proud." He answered, kissing you sweaty forehead. "You are."

[houmi]

Project: Clean Slate

Chapter 6

Hiding your hurt only intensifies it. Problems grow in the dark and only become bigger and bigger. But when exposed to the light of truth, they shrink. You are only as sick as your secrets. So take off your mask, stop pretending you’re perfect and walk into freedom.

-Rick Warren

"(Y/N)-Nee it seems like I'm not going to be able to keep my promise."

"Sei, you'll get better, don't give up yet." (Y/N) squeezed Sei's limp hand. "Where's your good-for-nothing mother? Your brother? Daisuke call them, we need to talk, " she continued her voice raising.

"Nee-chan, they won't come." The sixteen year old sadly smiled,

"What do you mean by that Sei?" Daisuke's voice shook as his eyes watered.

"They're not even in Japan anymore."

"What?"

"They left already, Nee-chan. I'm fine though, I have you and Daisuke-Nii."

"Seiko! You can't be serious!"

"(Y/N) calm down, you shouldn't shout too much." Daisuke tried to calm down his sister, although he too was furious.

"Daisuke. Stay here, I'll drag them back here!"

"I know you're angry I am too, but I don't think you shouldn't do anything rash."

Seiko pulled her hand from (Y/N)'s grip and caressed the older female's face to calm down the enraged woman. Daisuke couldn't comprehend what his uncle's wife has done. They left Seiko to start anew, after everything Seiko only had the two of them.

"(N/N)-Nee, Dai-Nii... Promise me something?"

"What is it Sei? (Y/N) and I will do it. " Daisuke's voice cracked as he tried to smile.

(Y/N) on the other hand, can feel their beloved cousin slipping away. She can feel the cord of Seiko's life, thinning, so close to snapping. She bit her lip, trying not to cry, it wasn't fair Seiko was supposed to be safe, they weren't supposed to end up like this. They just had to go save someone else's life, like the angel they are.

"Promise me that you'll save the people who need it, regardless if they're a villain or not."

Daisuke softly chuckled nodding, right that is a very Seiko thing to say. Time seemed to slow down the busyness buzzing of the world outside was muffled as if this is the only moment to exist. (Y/N)'s lungs constricted, she can't breathe, it's as if the air is poisoned and she can't afford to breathe it in.

"I... We promise Seiko." It came out softer than what she intended to say,

Seiko smiled brightly relieved that they won't go alone. That darned smile that will be forever etched in (Y/N)'s mind. That darned smile that saved her a bunch of times. (Y/N) forced out a smile, a way to say goodbye since she doesn't trust her voice to not break if she uttered one word. Daisuke let out a sob as the hand he was holding went limp. Taking a deep breath the twins placed a kiss on Seiko's cheeks. The doctor and nurses came rushing as they try to somehow revive the teenager. Though (Y/N) deep inside that their cousin is gone,

"(Y/N)-Neesan!"

A pair of hands grabbed her hands stopping her from injuring her fists. It's as if she was ripped out of a trance. (Y/N) stared at the familiar gray eyed younger male, his blonde hair was covered with a gray beanie as usual. Though he towered over her, worry etched all over his youthful face.

"Hayato-kun, why are you here?"

The male sighed, not answering, as he pulled the older to a bench, he started to unwrap the cloth that was wrapped around (Y/N)'s hands. The wind blew gently, cooling down the (H/C) haired's body. The sky was pitch black, stars dotting the blanket of darkness. The college student was focused on her hands looking for a sign of injury.

"Hayato-kun I thought you won't be here until next week?"

"I took an indefinite leave Nee-san, you need me here." The young blonde murmured as he handed the older a bottle of water.

"But wouldn't that affect your grades?" She asked, taking a sip of the water.

"Seriously Nee-san, I'm top 2 in the whole campus. I could spare time away from that shithole."

The statement made the woman laugh, "Damn it, College sucks that much huh."

"You don't even know the half of it!" The younger chuckled. "What are you even doing training this late at night?"

"Just wanted to take my mind off things. The usual." She shrugged, standing up.

"We should go rest," (Y/N) started to head back, Hayato trails behind her. "Tomorrow you'll reunite with familiar faces." She smirked

"They wouldn't even notice that it's me! It's been years." Hayato whined as he hooked his arm on the woman's shoulder.

The two were deep in their casual chatter as they made their way to their rooms. Passing by the numerous painted portraits, arriving at a staircase Hayato bids her good night as he went straight through a corridor, leaving (Y/N) alone. She went up the stairs, a floor that only she, Daisuke, and Hayato are allowed to go. She passed by rows of paintings, arriving in front of a door. She sluggishly opened the door and went inside plopping herself onto her plush bed.

She curled into herself, tomorrow will either be twice as chaotic or it would be stressful. She sighed at that thought, her right hand found it on her mouth. Anxiously she bit on her fingernail. (Y/N) didn't know when she fell asleep, but nonetheless, it came, it approached her and cradled her in a dreamless slumber.

(Y/N) woke up, her eyes fluttering as she groggily stood up and made her way to her personal bathroom. Taking a quick shower, she dressed herself up with a white shirt and denim overall. Her damp hair clung to her skin as she made no efforts to dry it, she made her way down and into the kitchen. It's still quite early, the chirping of the birds was music to her ears. Deciding that she'd brew a cup of coffee, she turned on the coffee maker which automatically produced the dark substance.

Humming to herself, she grabbed an orange mug and filled it up to the brim with coffee, she didn't bother to put milk or sugar in it. She took a sip, the bitterness invading her senses, (E/C) eyes wandered all over the place. It has been years since they started all this they've come so far, but, this is only a start. The backlash of the citizens ever since their project started tripled, if not tenfold. At least there were positive feedbacks, with the top heroes and commission backing them up. Of course, the media went at it like a wildfire when they got ahold of the information that they were going to help the former notorious villains. But then, this is something that feels right, this has been something that makes her feel something. This might be stupid or a big waste of time for the others, but there's nothing that would stop her from healing others.

"Good morning (Y/N)-Neesan."

Hey Hey Hey 😀 I haven't been able to update since I was dealing with my college midterms and a lot of reporting on my end. So enjoy this chapter 😁.

Your Homie, Houmi

© houmi 2021

[rosemarypasta]

➤  pairing : oikawa tooru x female reader (karasuno manager)

➤  chapter warnings : slowburn (?)

➤  summary : You just recently joined the Karasuno boy’s volleyball team as their first year manager. As you grow closer to your teammates, you also unexpectedly grow closer to one of their biggest rivals, Oikawa Tooru

➤ chapter word count: 1515

-ˏˋ chapter five ˊˎ-

FRIDAY

6:50 AM

The day after the practice match with Aoba Johsai, you woke up to a world filled with vibrant spring colors, overjoyed with the outcome of yesterday's match and advancement on your unexpected relationship with the Seijoh captain. At first, you felt irritated at the fact that you had to wake up much earlier than what you're used to before joining the club but, the image of Oikawa popped up in your head which immensely calmed you down and made your heart melt.

You got ready for school in a daze, to the point where you made silly mistakes a high schooler shouldn't make like brushing your teeth with hand soap and nearly going out the door without your bag in your hands. You were thankful that your family members weren't around to see you in the state that you're in and made sure to leave the house as quiet as you possible could, in hopes to not interrupt their sleep.

You walked out the door and began walking towards school but spotted a familiar black haired boy just a few feet away from your house. You rushed to catch up with him and walked to school together for the first time since you two met each other. Kageyama sulked the whole way to school, complaining how he overslept because of how much energy he used up during yesterday's match and how Hinata would probably already be in the gym, giving him the title of today's winner of the morning race the two first years had.

You could barely understand what he was talking about. All you heard was tidbits of words from his rambles like "Hinata", "overslept", and "won. Your head was clouded by your upcoming date and the endless possibilities of how it would play out. So far you haven't even decided on the date and place where it would happen. Oikawa did text you once you reached home but he just made sure you were still down with the whole date idea.

The day went on as usual. Morning practice, lessons, break, lessons, lunch, lessons again and afternoon practice. Days like these go by like a blur when you have someone occupying your mind. During school hours you fiddled your fingers and sat on the edge of your seat, hoping to see a text notification on your phone every time you went to secretly check your phone but nothing came in. You figured since Aoba Johsai is a private school, their cell phone regulations must be tougher than the public school you're currently attending so you tried to soothe your worries and anxiety with that thought, though it did not prevent you from checking every hour you could. At one point in modern literature class, you felt your phone buzz softly through your pocket and you raced to the bathroom after getting permission from Takeda sensei. But to your disappointment, it was only a text from your mother informing you that she'll be out late. You went back to class with heavy shoulders and you sulked the rest of the period, spending the majority of the time with your head buried in your arms on top of the desk.

3:00 PM

The bell rang, dismissing the class from modern literature lessons and you slowly started to pack your bags for practice. You thought it would be nice if they had another practice match for you to watch and distract yourself from Oikawa but alas, it was a normal practice and you were sure you would find yourself spaced out, worrying about Oikawa as you watch the boys practice their serves from the sidelines.

"Y/N, your phone is buzzing." Your golden blonde classmate whispered into your ear, pointing to the vibrating phone on your desk, knowing it would immediately cheer you up from the downcast mood you've been in that she had to endure throughout the day. You averted your gaze from the stack of textbooks that you needed to organize to your phone with Oikawa's name on your screen. You felt like you could scream at the sight of the notification you have anticipated for the whole day but refrained from doing so to the best of your ability.

Oikawa: Are you free on Monday after school? 

You answered the text with no hesitation, your fingers tapped the letters "Y", "E" and "S" immediately and pressed send. You felt your fingers and cheeks were on fire, you clinged onto your phone as you watched Oikawa type in a response. 

Oikawa: 3 PM right? I'll pick you up at school :)

You felt your heart flutter at the sight of his signature smiley face. All your worries from the past handful of hours vanished at the sight of the simple text conversation and a smile crept onto your face until you realized your grave mistake.

You have practice on Monday afternoon.

But it was too late to change the date, you know how busy volleyball players must be, especially for Oikawa since he's the captain of a powerhouse school. You facepalmed yourself at your hastiness in responding to his text like a fool, it was completely your fault and changing the date would make things complicated. What happens if both of your schedules don't match up? Will the date never happen?

You bit your lip as guilt started to consume your conflicted body. Practice happens twice on a daily basis, surely missing one practice session won't hurt. Besides, there's Shimizu and it's not like your role as a first year manager is that significant. They will barely notice your absence.

You finished packing the rest of your things and jogged downstairs to join practice, planning to give your all in hopes that the lingering guilt will soon fade away the more sweat you break that afternoon.

In practice, coach Ukai made everyone practice their blocks, especially the first year middle blockers, Hinata and Tsukishima. You stood out of the court with a notebook in your hand to note the success rate of the blocks, the two brightly colored haired boys had. But of course, you had your phone in your other hand in case anything happens. You watched as Asahi hit a mean spike from the opposite side of the court the middle blockers were and cringed as you saw the ball hit Tsukishima's arm, leaving a raw bright red mark on his pale skin. Asahi stammered his apologies to his taller upperclassmen, "It's fine, please spike another one, Asahi-san." Tsukishima replied as he subtly tried to rub his arm, trying to not make the weak-spirited ace worry. The ace returned to his original position to wait for Sugawara to set a ball to him. 

You felt your phone vibrate against the notebook you were clutching onto and your eyes immediately scanned the screen to read the text that appeared on your screen. You expected a text from Oikawa but to your disappointment, it was just a text from your mother asking you whether you were going to be home late again since she still couldn't believe that you would be committed to going to practice everyday, even though you've already joined the club for two weeks now.

Immersed in your own disappointment, you texted your mother grumpily, not knowing what would hit you in the next few seconds. "Y/N watch out!" You heard Hinata scream your name in terror. You looked up from your phone as you pressed send and was greeted by a volleyball zooming right your way at an astounding speed of eighty miles per hour. Your legs refused to move, as if someone super glued your shoes to the floor. Your eyes filled with panic though all you could do was close your eyes and expect the upcoming pain you were going to have to endure.

You held your breath, waiting for the ball to break your nose but a few seconds have gone by and you didn't feel any pain and instead heard a blunt thud right on the tip of your nose. You slowly opened your eyes to the sight of Tsukishima's hand blocking half of your view. You watched from the seams of his fingers that the volleyball Hinata spiked ferociously ended up hitting his hand instead of giving you an unannounced nose job. The whole room went silent but collectively sighed in relief as they watched the ball slowly come to a stop after rolling on the ground for a while. 

Hinata, Shimizu, Sugawara and Daichi all rushed towards you to check if you were alright, to which you just nodded, overwhelmed with the surplus of attention given to you. You turned your head to the towering blonde to thank him but your eyes met his cold gaze. 

"You may not be a player but we didn't bring you here to just laze around, idiot." He spat though his voice remained monotone. Tanaka and Daichi hit him on his back in ways to scold him for his over exaggerated behaviour but his sharp words still sank deep in your heart.

next: -ˏˋ chapter six ˊˎ-

previous: -ˏˋ chapter four ˊˎ-

[solar3lunar]

1.𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙☼︎

Ayama POV

My alarm starts going off. I groan at it then shut it off. It's was a Sunday. I was wondering why I turned it on. I lied in my bed for a bit then it hit me. I wanted to torture myself today. By going on a walk on the beach.

I felt four paws on my thigh. "Morning, Nebula." I said. "Meow" "I'll get up." I told her. I stretched a bit. I took my bonnet off and got out the bed.

Once my feet hit the carpet. I walk towards my closest and pick out something simple and plain. I then went in the bathroom and set my clothes down on the counter and closed the door.

I got undress and put my shower cap on. And got in the shower. Once I was done in the bathroom. I walk out wearing a black tank top, a black crop top hoodie that I could only wear if I have a tank top under it. And black leggings.

I walked back into my room and went straight back to sleep. I woke up about 10 minutes later. Leo woke me up this time. "Okay, Okay." I sighed.

Knowing my dad already went out the house to help the other pro heroes with the exam that coming up tomorrow. I turn on the TV in my room, but all I found was news channel or ads talking about the exam.

I turned it off and went downstairs to get cereal not wanting to make pancakes or french toast. I pass a picture of my mother and father.

I stopped to look at it for awhile. I've seen some pictures of my mother. The rest are kept somewhere in my father's room.

She's Afro-Asian. She passed away when I was 3. I never met my grandpa or my grandmother from my mother side. They're villians after all.

I seen my mother's family members in Texas and some in California. We visit them sometimes whenever it's a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving. I've also seen my dad's family members other than his sister. He never told me why she not in my life. And tellsl me it best if I don't meet her.

Anyways, my mother's hair is natural black(or very very dark brown that looks black). Her hair was long and wavy in the first picture. Our hair same the same features. Our hair type can and it grows fast after a week or two. Her eyes were like mine, but her eyes colorare lavender and mines lilac.

Her skin is dark brown and it's very beautiful. I can't help but admire her. She also has some yellow sparkle across her face. They looked like stars. It's apart of one of her Quirks. Her eyes color and lavender.

She had four dark brown gazelle horns on her head and her gazelle ears were showing. Her body was well mature. I guess like mine though I never really care about my shape really. She has two of her horns wavy and the other two curly wrapping around the other white horns.

Her costume in the third was her in a long sleeve black crop top and black pants with gold medal plates around the rims of them. Her high combat boots were black. And finally she had a gold medal choker around her neck with the sun symbol in the middle of it.

(Considering her Quirks she doesn't really need a bold hero outfit.)

In the second picture her hair is long and was in a kinky fro she didn't show her horns. Despite her time being alive she was one of the top number ten heroes. I walked away from the picture to go eat.

"Leo! Nebula!" I watch the two come into the kitchen and go to their bowls. Turns out it was already filled. They just wanted me with them.

From what my Dad told me. He got them for my mom when it was her birthday. So the cats been in my life the moment they brought me home.

I keep thinking about the exam tomorrow. I wonder who I would see. Once I was done eating I decided to clean the house. I did every room but my dad's.

I decided to go down to the beach, because I don't want to stay in the house all day and game. I text my dad and inform him about my whereabouts.

I put 20 dollar into my phone case and put my phone in my pocket. And went near the door to put my shoes on.

Now that I'm here. I'm just going walk along the shore. Although it strange to be wearing this on a hot day. I honestly don't really care. I have my reasons.

I walk towards the beach and decided to walk along the shore. While doing that I saw Izuku jogging along the shore. Geeze he grown a lot. "Izuku!" I shouted. It doesn't seem like he can hear me so I tried calling out to him one more time. He didn't so I followed him.

I see him almost out of breath. "I finish what you asked." He said while breathing heavily. I look up to see he was talking to. I saw Uncle All Might, but I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to say about me being relate to my dad.

"Oh hey n-Ayama!" And that was a close call. "Wait?... Ayama!" Izuku shouts. "I been calling your name for the last minute." I spoke. I saw him blush a bit, but I ignore it. Not really sure why.

"Wait is it okay for her to see you like this?" He ask my uncle All Might. "Oh yeah. Before you I had told her about it, but she turned it down saying I should give to someone who doesn't have a quirk." He told him.

"Oh so that means you also know about 'The one for all' Right?" Izuku ask me. "That right, freckles." I giggled. "Freckles? BAHAHA!" Uncle All Might laugh blood coming out of his mouth.

Izuku was freaking out about it. I seen this before but I was just gross out. "Alright you can take a break. Oh by the way can you me a popsicle?" He asked me. "Sure."

"Come on Izuku! We have a lot of catching up to do." I shouted. He rush up to me as we went to the small market near the beach. Which lead you back to the roads and sidewalks.

We were talking about what the news were talking about. "I wish I could've been with you guys. Mostly to tell Katsuki to stop." I said with guilt.

"It's nothing to be guilty about." He said reassuring me. "To make it up to you can get what ever you want from the market just try not to go overboard." I said.

"Ayama you don't have to." He said waving his hands. "I insist." I tell him. "Your kindness never change a bit Ayama." He said. He right and that was a bad thing in middle school, but it not like it ever left me. I got myself a soda, Izuku got a chocolate mint ice cream bar, and I got uncle All Might a ice pop of himself.

"That would be 4 dollars, Ms." The cashier tells me. I paid her. She gave me my chain back. I thank her we both left walking back towards my uncle.

"So I'm guessing after today your finally getting your quirk."I said. He nodded while holding the bag in his hand.

"Oh I'd never asked you what are your quirk?" He asked me. "I have two of them, but their both complicated." I said. "Oh I see." He said. "Don't worry you'll get to see me in action at the exams." I cheer him up. Once we got the spot again.

"I want to be surprised that you're eating a popsicle of your self, but I'm not." I sighed. "It a hot day. I have every right." My uncle said. Leaving me and Izuku giggling and snickering. "Hey! What's so funny?!"

They went back to training and I decided to help uncle out with training. The fun part was Midoriya going on his back while doing push up. "I'm sorry Midoriya." I muttered. I spent almost the whole day with them. It was about 7:00pm

"Welp I better get going." I said. Me grabbing my soda bottle. "I'm guessing I'll see you at the exam?" I asked him. My uncle interrupt him "Oh yeah definitely!" I just sighed. "See you later Midoriya!" I shouted waving at them both.

I while walking towards my house I notice a teenager with ash blond hair that was spiky but looked soft. "I wonder if that could be... No. I doubt he would even remember me."

{Brain and Heart♡Melanie Martinez}

‘Help me when I'm at a loss for words. Bring up all of my memories for the please and the temporal.’ "There's that melody again."

'Well that was a fast walk.' Dad's Car was park in the driveway, so that meant he has came back. I open the door and then lock it behind me. I took my shoes off and left them at the door. "Lyric." My dad spoke. I jumped a bit. "Oh hey Dad." I said. "You seem lost in thought." He said.

"Oh yeah just a song came in my head. Although the melody was a bit strange." I spoke. "But who's know when I'll be using it." I shrugged my shoulders while walking towards the kitchen to go sit at the dinner table. It's was quite, but comfortable. I was just lost in my mind.

I got up from the dinner table and went towards the kitchen sink. That melody it sounded familiar, but I never heard it before.

I felt a hit on my hand. "Ouch, Dad!" I whined. "Next time, pay attention." He sighed. "What do you- Oh." I saw the dish I washing now broken in half.

"My bad." I mutter throwing it away in the trash. "Alright what was the lyric this time?" He ask. This isn't the first time this has happened. "Help me when I'm at a loss for words. Bring up all of my memories for the please and the temporal." I said.

"Don't give it too much though. If you go to sleep You'll have nothing to worry about." He said. He always does that. Brushes it off like it's nothing. "Alright, night Dad." I said.

"Good night and good luck tomorrow." He said. That right he won't be here when I wake up. I took a quick shower got into my PJs setting an alarm on my phone to wake up at 6:00am.

"I'm going to get a new bonnet. I can't stand this one. It's always falling off." I muttered.

The moment I closed my eyes. I saw someone with long wavy natural black hair and two gazelle brown horns and ears. I woke up and got out of bed and went straight downstairs to look at my mom's photos.

"I thought I told you to go to bed." My dad said. "Technically, you suggested it." I said. I'm still looking at my mother pictures.

"Bed. And I mean it." He said strictly. "Alright, alright." I said. Going straight to bed this time got it. I look at the clock it was 8:30pm.

"Just one question. Why do I have to go to bed this early?" [Ayama]

"Because you'll end up like me if you don't." [Aizawa]

~Wishlist~

~Luna Lyric~

~Universe navi~