#ignoring the god awful nose mask + highlight

[crickcabanaa]

on a scale of 1 to 10 how babygirl is his recreation

[naptoons]

May I ask for an imagine of Brandon making a song about you cause he misses you during quarantine :(

Big bet I got you, I love these cheesy concepts.

Butterflies - Brandon Arreaga

Summary: Brandon has been missing you so much during this whole shutdown, so to ease his need to have you next to him, he writes and produce a song solely about you.

Warning(s): Nothing Fluff is all

A/N: so I wrote a song/poem for someone long time ago cause I had a crush on them but I ended up not giving it too them lol so I’ll put it too use.

Proofread: yes/no

Laying on your bed, you went through the pictures of you and Brandon, you were reminiscing on all the good times you spent with him, pressing on the pictures to hear what happened in the background, smiling everyone you heard Brandon yelling “that’s my girl!!” Or “damn you look really good” as you were going to text Brandon his caller Id popped up to FaceTime you.

“I was just thinking about you” you state, seeing his smile appear followed by the giggle you’d always melt over, you watch him fix his hair for what seemed like the third time.

“You’re just everlastingly perfect” Brandon’s voice hits a lower octave, rolling my eyes You hear his soft scoff “aye none of that! You’re beautiful end of discussion okay?”

You scrunch my nose up “but I didn’t even say anything!”

“Baby, I’ve been with you for a year, I know all your facial expressions” Brandon fights you on your debate, he licks his lips moving his bangs out of his face.

“I wish you would’ve dyed your highlights that color, you’d look even hotter” you state, grunting as you get up from your bed walking towards the kitchen. You hear nothing for him after your sentence so you looked back at him just to see his dazed orbs on you. “Jesus Brandon it’s been a year and you’re still zoning out while looking at me?”

“You act like I’m still not nervous by your presence y/n, you’re beautiful to me no matter how long we’ve been together”

“You’re going to still say that when I’m covered in wrinkles?”

“Fuck yeah, wrinkles don’t stop your beauty” he laughs, You grab a bowl for ice cream then open the freezer. “What you’ve been up to babygirl tell me about your day”

“Oh just looking at pictures of us and missing you even more, I also broke a nail” you show him the band-aid wrapped around your index finger. Brandon pouts at your injury and adorable you are.

“Aw my baby I’m sorry about your finger, how’d that happened?” Brandon softens, his fave coming closer to the screen giving his undivided attention to you.

“I bought new furniture to decorate my room” You pout

You guys spent quite some time talking hearing what one another has done for the day, you guys ended up watching a horror movie together, which made you slightly mad at Brandon, knowing full well that you couldn’t sleep without him around to hold you after a horror movie. But here you were in bed three hours later falling asleep.

“I won’t leave, I’ll stay until you fall asleep babygirl, stop fighting it” Brandon laughs slightly

“Wouldn’t be in this situation if we didn’t watch it, you’re just a sadist” you mumble, only fueling his laughter even more, you turn your back towards the camera hugging the teddy bear he bought you.

“Aw pretty girl, look at me I’m sorry” Brandon pouts, you look at him over your shoulders seeing him take off his sweatshirt “I’m sorry babygirl, let me see your face beautiful” Brandon’s voice sounding serious.

“Fine only cause you’re adorable, and I need to sleep” which makes Brandon beam bigger, you saw him sitting in front of a computer, sighing you just knew he was constantly working, but this time he was working on something for you. Brandon looked over once again to see your eyes were closed. His smile growing the more he wrote and erased, changed the beats on his laptop, strummed his guitar. He was determined it be perfect. Not only for his sake, but for you. He wanted to let you know you’re loved. And those kind gestures doesn’t stop after he asked you out. It was for a lifetime.

The next morning you woke up to your phone constantly vibrating, confused you thought your phone would’ve died from how long you were on FaceTime for, but it turns out you put it on the charger while talking to Brandon. Pressing the lockscreen you see you’ve been tagged in so many posts. So many twitter mentions. Did Brandon post a screenshot of you from FaceTime last night? Ignoring it you thought to yourself it wasn’t the first time he’s done something like that. Walking towards the bathroom, more and more notifications ringed.

Curious to know you walked back swiping on of the mentions, and typed in your passcode.

“ Just when you thought their relationship couldn’t get any cuter!!! 🥺 @y/n @brandon_arreaga STREAM IT GUYS!! “ you read one tweet. You favorited it then moved onto the next one.

“The beginning of the song starts off with her giggles when he visited her from tour......I’m soft dont touch me😩😩😩😩 go stream this people @y/n @brandon_arreaga” you favorited a couple of tweets, sliding down your notifications you stumble open his SoundCloud that he’s uploaded something. The cover art was a picture of you two on your first date. the Polaroid picture that is in his wallet till this day. Turning on your speaker you press play.

The intro was just as they said, you giggle when he came and visited you with your favorite flowers, you were crying if pure happiness. The guitar strings comes in right after you said “I love you”

‘Babygirl, got a heart like a garden, but she’s too scared to ever let it bloom’

‘Don’t wanna cave into love if it’s to soon,but she’s the girl I pray about to the moon’

Your eyes started to welt up in tears, he wrote a song for you? He used to love singing to you and still does, but now he gets to sing a song for you.

‪‘She doesn’t realize the pull she has on me‬

‪Honey golden eyes that just melts on me‬

‪A fragile sunflower in the garden sweep by the sea’ ‬

‪‘No matter what the tides bring, you gotta know you’re still my baby’ his soft voice brings the tears down your cheeks, after the song was done, an audio was played at the end, you remember exactly what it was. The day Brandon took you out to watch the lanterns. ‬

‪“I’ve never been this deep in love, ain’t these like the butterflies your mom tells you to run away from?” You hear you’re voice ask ‬

‪“Yeah, doesn’t mean they’re dangerous, just means you’ve found the right one, and you know they are, cause everytime you see them the butterflies just won’t stop” ‬

‪Smiling you wiped you face, calling Brandon on facetime, in a matter of a minute he answered seeing you wipe your face with his hoodie sleeve. “Hey babylove you okay?, what happened?” Brandon’s voice honeyed in on you, making you miss him even more.‬

‪“your song is happened” you choke through‬

‪Brandon feeling a sigh of relieve giggles through the phone “god you really are beautiful, I’ve missed you so much so I thought I’d write a song about how much I loved you” ‬

‪You heard your doorbell ring in the background “give me a minute baby” you tell Brandon, clearing your throat you walk across your wooden floor towards the front door, unlocking it there he stood, with his sultry eyes, he pulled his mask off to show you his beautiful smile. “And drove all the way here just to see you” in one hand he held a self care basket for you and his overnight clothes. In the other was his hand on your lower back, while your tears fell on his shoulders.‬

‪“I’m here baby” Brandon mumbles kissing your neck, backing away you let him in, as your dog runs and jumps on his legs “oh hey princess/prince I’ve missed you” he coos at your dog, placing the basket on your kitchen counter and his overnight bag on the living room floor.‬

‪“You’re staying baby?” You pout ‬

‪“Yeah, you thought I was just coming by and not staying? You’re crazy” Brandon chuckles you run over to him but this time he catches you his fingers hooking underneath your thighs.‬

‪“I love you so much” Brandon mumbles softly on your skin, kissing every part of visible flesh his lips can reach. Giggling you roam your fingers through his hair.‬

‪“I love you more”‬

[galahadwilder]

Marinaked, Ch. 6

Marinaked Archive

EVERYTHING WAS TERRIBLE FOREVER.

”Oh-ho-hooooooh my god,” Rena said, staring. “Kitty is cut.”

”Oh my god!” Queen Bee shrieked, covering her eyes. “Put on a blanket or something!”

Oh my god, Ladybug thought, trying not to stare.

Chat was completely naked except for his mask, his ears, and his underwear—Ladybug-pattern boxer shorts. His skin was as red as his underwear as he tried to cover his chest with naked hands, avoiding everyone’s eyes as best he could.

They hadn’t even been fighting the Akuma for ten minutes and Ladybug had kept slipping up, distracted by the closeness of her partner/crush because, even though he didn't know what he'd seen, she was mortified at the mere thought of him. Moreover, now that she knew who he was, she couldn’t keep denying how hot she thought Chatdrien was. Every time he entered her field of vision she lost her focus, but trying not to look at him was even worse. She’d left herself wide open, a prime target for the Akuma’s primary attack. Of course she should’ve expected Chat to tank it for her.

Ladybug was completely frozen as her partner—as the love of her life—whined in distress over having what little dignity he hadn’t sacrificed to his awful sense of humor stripped from him. Oh, god. The things she’d imagined doing to that chest and those legs...

She counted herself lucky that Adrien was a boxers man, because if she’d seen any more of the shape of his ass she thought she might pass out.

"Carapace," Chat said, "can I please borrow your shield?"

Carapace shook his head. "Hell no," he said. "Don't want to deprive the world of the glory of that chest."

"Babe!" Rena yelped.

"What?" Carapace said, not even bothering to hide his staring. "You're the one who proposed the Ladynoir exception clause."

"OKAY!" Ladybug yelped. "Everyone calm down!" Especially me, that would be lovely, thank you. "We—we've still got an Akuma to chase."

Rena smirked. “Not you, Buggy,” she said. “I think you’re distracted enough today. You should...” One eyebrow raised behind her mask. “...stay behind.”

Ladybug growled. “I’m going to kill you,” she whispered, too low for the rest of the team to hear.

Rena just winked and kissed the air, then turned to Carapace and Bee. “Come on, losers,” she said. “We’ve got an Akuma to catch.”

”Who put you in charge?” Bee screeched as the three of them charged across the rooftops in the direction the villain had run. Leaving Ladybug alone with a very-nearly-naked Chat Noir.

She tried not to look, she really did. But Rena was right: the boy was an Adonis—unsurprising, now that she knew who he was, but still. The things she wanted to do to that chest... Unf. She bit her lip, trying to ignore the steam that was no doubt blasting from her ears.

“Ladybug?” Chat croaked. “Could—could I get some pants, please?”

Ladybug blinked, shook her head. “R-right!” she said, fumbling for her yo-yo. “Um... Lucky... Lucky Charm?”

A mess of red polka-dotted flannel fell into her hands. She unfolded it to find a Ladybug onesie, perfectly sized for Chat Noir and a zipper down the front. She groaned, holding it out to him. “Tikki hates me.”

”I’ll take what I can get,” Chat said, relief filling his voice. He took the onesie from her hands, unzipping it and hurriedly stepping in.

”I’m surprised,” Ladybug said, pointedly not looking at him while he dressed. “I figured you’d be more comfortable being shirtless around people.”

”What do you mean?” Chat said, as she heard him zip up the front of the pajamas.

"Well, cause you're a..." Ladybug trailed off, then mentally slapped herself. He didn't know that she knew that he was a model, and she couldn't just... drop that on him. "You know, you're always so, so..." She flexed her bicep the way he always did when he was trying to show off. "That."

He giggled, padding up behind her. "My Lady, I didn't know you noticed."

She turned and flicked the tip of his nose. "Hard not to when you keep flaunting it, Kitty Cat."

"What can I say," he said. "Call me 1080p cause these muscles are defined—is Rena wearing lingerie?" He narrowed his eyes, peering off into the distance.

"She's what?" Ladybug cackled, her head snapping around in the same direction, and yep, Rena Rouge's suit—except for the mask and ears—had vanished and she was definitely wearing a lace jade bra-and-panty set, highlighted in the same lime as Carapace's chest plates, which she'd commissioned from Marinette not a month before. Ladybug shaded her eyes. "Must be date night," she said, then shoved Chat Noir in the shoulders with a smile. "I guess you've just lost the award for most embarrassing underwear choice of the day."

"Come on," Chat smirked, jostling her right back. "Like you're not wearing underwear with me all over it."

"I'm not, you stupid—" she began, then her throat froze up as she realized that she was, in fact, wearing Agreste brand underpants today and thus his name was, in fact, written on her underwear. "Oh, Kwami-dammit."

Chat jerked. "Wait," he said, his voice strangled. "You are?"

Ladybug groaned as she felt the heat rising in her face. "Can you just... have Plagg disintegrate me, please?" she muttered into her hands.

Want to read more? Browse the “marinaked” tag on my page!

[amyscascadingtabs]

deep blue but you painted me golden

alternative title: and for god's sake, protect the neck! /

amy learns about one of the downsides to staying over at her boyfriend's place.

read on ao3

Amy Santiago is a woman of her word.

Therefore it falls naturally that when her boyfriend of four and a half months switches his lumpy dumpster mattress for a brand new model, she stays true to her promise and starts sleeping at his place more.

A lot more. Definitely more than she'd been aiming for. Had it not been for her pet fish and absolute refusal to wear a clothing item with any type of stain to work, the detective is certain she'd manage a full workweek without glancing her own apartment.

To her defense, there are plenty of smart benefits to how much she's staying there. Jake's apartment is closer to work, has a surprisingly good shower, and if she manages to motivate him, sometimes he’ll even cook. It’s a tempting and clever option, perhaps even a professional one when she’s worked overtime on a demanding homicide investigation and has to be back at work early the next morning, and she repeats these reasons under her breath whenever she judges herself for having become the cheesy girlfriend who spends each and every night at her boyfriend’s place.

Though of course, she’d be lying if she said there weren’t other benefits associated with staying at the Cobblestink studio. 

Sleeping alone in her own apartment doesn’t allow her the sight of her newly awakened boyfriend moving around in the apartment looking for clean clothes with sleep-ruffled hair and nothing but boxers on, nor the heart-melting view of how he’ll hog the no-longer-shared duvet and roll himself to a sleepy blanket burrito when she gets out of bed first, not the way he’ll smile so wide without opening his eyes when she places a cup of coffee on his nightstand and a light peck to his forehead. Last but not least, staying over at Jake Peralta’s apartment gives her the opportunity to use her most efficient and doubtlessly favored techniques in the art of rousing him from sleep. She'll do this with kisses, starting as soft presses to the exposed skin near his neck before growing more serious when he hums and wraps his arms around her, one of her hands playing with his hair while the other one lightly skims his waistband. He'll react with his hands moving under and up her shirt, fondling as their lips, then tongues, meet.

The ways in which she can make her boyfriend go from deep asleep to fully awake in a few minutes are few, but they are foolproof.

As reliable a tactic and as effective a morning mood-booster as it is, there are inevitably occasions when it backfires and they’re forced to rush in order to arrive at the 99th precinct on time. Amy Santiago adores her boyfriend, but she also adores coming to work on time. She’ll be damned before she willingly arrives less than thirty minutes before the morning briefing.

This Wednesday, however, is the first time she’s been late since the god-awful morning there was a problem at the bank.

“Fifteen minutes before briefing is not late”, Jake insists when she complains to him after they’ve stepped into the elevator. “My standard, if you recall, is five.”

“I do recall”, she mumbles, adjusting a wry button on her periwinkle blouse, buttoned in all haste after the morning. “And I refuse to sink to your level of untimeliness. Me being your girlfriend doesn’t mean you get to corrupt me.”

A proud grin appears on his lips. “You’re my girlfriend.”

“I’ve been your girlfriend for four months.”

“I know”, he says with the same sunshine smile. “It’s still cool when you say it out loud.”

Dork, she wants to tell him with a chaste kiss. She leans in, touching her nose with his, but the universe is not done playing tricks with her - right as she’s about to go for it, the elevator doors fly open and the couple breaks apart in an instant. Charles high-pitched squeal remains loud enough to make the entire floor aware of their arrival.

~

Despite the near-tardy arrival and humiliating elevator-incident, Amy does manage to be productive once she gets a start on her workload for the day. She replies to four emails, adds a few points to her to-do-list for the day, and listens attentively to Terry’s briefing even as she senses Charles’ looking at her throughout. At one occasion she glares back at him, finding him with a delighted smile on his lips and tears in his eyes. Weird, Amy thinks to herself - her and Jake are not even sitting together and she's made sure her outfit and hair looks immaculate despite her getting dressed and fixing her hair in under ten minutes. Then again, Charles has a tendency to get teary-eyed whenever her and Jake as much as sit next to each other at Shaw's, so she brushes it off as a classic case of Boyle Obsession.

She grows suspicious when it doesn’t pass. Most days, the 99’s detectives will start working on their cases and whatever insignificant details are interrupting their focus will with time seem less interesting than new leads or ideas. Jake and Terry leave for a couple hours of door duty where there's been a recent string of B&E’s. Hitchcock and Scully order six different pizzas to try and settle a bet on who's more lactose intolerant, and everyone else in the room moves as far away from the pair as possible. Captain Holt instructs Gina on organizing a file cabinet and she moves three folders before returning her attention to her phone. Amy and Rosa go through witness statements from the same alluded case of drug trafficking they’ve been working for a week. Her workday is moving at its usual pace, yet she can't shake the feeling she's being watched. Every now and then Gina looks up at her with a snicker and a scrunch of her nose, and all the way from her desk, Amy can feel the intense looks Charles keeps aiming at her.

She tries to ignore it. She really does. No matter what judgeful comments Gina has to offer about her outfit or what she's done to invoke Charles obsession-high today, Amy has a job to do and she's certain they must stop at some point. First when it's been an hour of their knowing gazes getting on her nerves, does she shoot them both a warning look that appears to pass them by.

She turns page, tapping the neon yellow highlighter against the paper and trying to focus on the transcribed statement, but her curiosity has officially shifted from the case to the question of what on Earth about her is making people stare.

“Rosa?”

“Mm-hmm?”

“Do you have any idea”, she treads carefully, “why Charles and Gina are staring at me like I went to work wearing a clown mask? It’s distracting.”

Rosa doesn’t look up from her papers, her deadpan expression intact. “Nope. No idea.”

“You’re not even looking at me.”

Her friend sighs, closing the stapled stack of papers using the pen as a bookmark and looks at Amy for about three seconds before she snorts, holding her fist to her mouth to muffle a subtle bout of laughter.

“Now I have to know”, Amy insists. “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on!”

“You really want to know?”

“Of course I do”, she wheezes, leaning in. “What’s making people stare? Tell me!”

“I’m no expert, but it could be the obvious hickey on your neck.” Rosa grins, touching a spot an inch below Amy’s right ear. “There.  Probably wasn’t visible when you wore your hair down, but you put your hair in a ponytail before the briefing, so…”

“What?” She reaches for her phone, opening the camera to selfie mode so she can see for herself, and sure enough, there’s a bruise. It’s a distinctly non-ambiguous one at that; a dark red-and-purple mark where she, if she thinks hard enough, can remember Jake’s mouth being earlier that morning. She doesn’t remember being aware of him sucking hard enough to leave a mark, which shocks her especially since he’s aware of how unprofessional she considers visible hickeys, but she supposes it’s plausible they were both too... in the moment, to notice.

It doesn’t matter to her now. She’s still mad at him.

“I’m going to kill Jake when I see him”, she asserts, rubbing at the bruise as if that would make it go away. “I swear. I don’t even have concealer with me.”

“Oh, don’t do that.” Rosa’s already returned most of her attention to the statements. “Captain Holt’s already complaining about how homicides are up, meaning we’ll all suffer the consequences if you do. Not cool, Amy.”

“That’s your issue with it?”

“Nah, but it’s fun to see you flustered when you realize the whole precinct can see you got laid this morning.”

“They can’t see that, technically -”

“Nope, but you didn’t deny it.” Rosa looks up again, looking smug as ever before doing some kind of wink at Gina which Amy can’t really interpret, and Amy feels her cheeks heat while she dreams of sinking through the floor.

~

Despite her fierce temptation to call up her boyfriend and yell at him immediately, she realizes it’s not the best of options. She has to be professional, which is why she takes out the ponytail and tries to keep her hair covering the bruise.

Unfortunately, the damage has already been done.

“Amy”, she hears a familiar voice when Rosa leaves for a break - it’s unclear what she’s doing, but Gina seems to have left with her - and she’s alone at her desk, leaving every chance in the world for a wild Charles Boyle to appear. “Oh, Ames.”

“Please don’t”, she mumbles. “I already know.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of”, the detective assures her. “The opposite. Honestly, I think you two are doing the world a favor with your lack of fear to openly display your love for one another.”

“It was an accident.”

“Nothing is ever truly an accident.” Charles has a daydreaming look in his eyes. “Not with the intimate, burning, flawless love you and Jake have. In fact, I think you should show it openly much more often. I strongly believe it would make the world a better place.”

She glares at him. “Back. Away.”

“Oh, but you know I’m right”, he shrugs, and then waltzes off with more confidence than she’s ever seen in the man.

It’s afternoon by the time Jake and Terry return. By afternoon, Amy has been given an exorbitant amount of affectionate glances aimed at her neck from Charles, a few more snickers from Gina, and even the odd glance from a passing-by beat cop who must've seen the bruise peeking through her hair. Therefore, when the familiar figure pops down in the chair at the desk across from hers and is all gleeful smiles the moment he sees her, Amy’s rightfully annoyed. Her being teased is his fault and she's furious.

“So I just solved a pretty epic case on my own”, he brags, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back. “Well, pretty much solved. Pretty much on my own. Terry helped, and we’re not totally-totally done yet, but whatever. You impressed by me?”

She looks up at him with reluctance, meeting those coffee-colored eyes immune to seeing the mess on his own desk but so capable of seeing through her. His hair is messier now than this morning, and when she doesn't reply to his question immediately he leans forward to put his elbows on his desk, scrunching his nose and putting his fists under his chin to grab her attention.

It's utterly adorable. She wouldn't admit it publicly and doesn’t either, remaining focused on her computer screen instead, but seeing him again after a few hours makes her want to forgive him in an instant.

“That's great, Jake.”

He narrows his eyes at her short response. “Is something up?”

“Meet me in the evidence room in five”, she whispers, giving no further explanation. Jake gives her a curious look, as if he’s not sure whether she’s going to make out with him or yell at him based on the poker-face she’s working hard to maintain. To be fair - when he smiles at her in that specific, adoring way, Amy’s not sure either.

~

The way he swoops in and checks the door behind him before walking up to where she’s standing reminds her of their first real kiss. Although this room is also the location of them startling and consequently killing a man with a genetic heart condition, not to mention a part of her workplace where she’s spent enough hours for it to feel unremarkable and habitual, it’s always, in a way, going to be their room. She wonders if he’s thinking the same thing.

“Hey there.” He keeps his hands in his jean pockets as he leans close enough to peck her lips. “Did you want to talk about something? Or simply have a moment in peace with your unbelievably hot, super-sexy boyfriend? Remember”, he says with a raise of his eyebrows. “As we once so tragically discovered, they do have cameras here. “

Amy rolls her eyes, shaking her head at his jokes and how desperately they make her want to give into laughter, then pulls her hair aside to point a demonstrative index finger at the hickey. “What in the world, Jake Peralta, is this?”

“What? Oh, ohhh. I see.” He looks down at the floor, blushing as he rubs one hand along his neck to adjust the collar of his flannel. “Shit, Ames. I’m sorry.”

“You should be”, she mutters with a pained grimace. “Gina’s been laughing at me all day, and Charles is over the moon, which is nearly as distracting.”

“I didn’t even notice it‍.”

“Yeah, well, neither did I before I put my hair up and everyone started teasing me. Either way -”, she puts a finger to his chest, “it’s your fault.”

He grins, running a hand through his hair before holding hers with it, their fingers intertwined against his heartbeat. “I’ll make it up to you?”

“You better.”

“If it matters, I think it’s pretty cute.”

“Shut up.”

“Hot too, for that matter.”

“Shut. Up”, Amy wheezes, though this time partly out of frustration over the effect his faked innocent smile has on her, how looking at him so close when it’s noone but them (and a few cameras) still makes her legs a little shaky, pulse a little higher.

She squeezes his hand tighter, and because she’s not in heels today, she stands up on the tip of her toes when she kisses him. His hands rest on her upper back, holding her as she lets herself melt into him for a couple seconds, giving his lip a light bite to remind him he’s not forgiven. It’s unclear whether it serves his purpose, because he just smiles against her lips and technically she’s still annoyed with him but he’s kissing her like that and her annoyance can wait.

First when she realizes how she’s lifting one of her legs, her knee moving towards his waist, and how her hands are tempted to wander strictly non-work-appropriate places, does she make the agonizing decision of pulling away and separating them. They’re almost panting as they do, taking deep breaths to get themselves back to reality.

“So”, he mumbles, chuckling lightly. “I take it I’m forgiven?”

“Oh, no. I’ll get my revenge.”

“Somehow I don’t doubt you on that.”

She does get her revenge a few days later. Amy Santiago’s a woman of her word, after all.

(She wouldn't admit it out loud, but it's totally worth another day of Charles giving them both lovesick glares for hours on end.)

[resetmypatientviolence]

Conflict of Interest : Cold Blooded, Part 2

Characters: Jaela Abdi-Walker and Kimiko Amaya (TRR MC’s)

Word Count: ~5,500

Rating: PG

Warnings: None

Description: While Kimiko spends a day in luxury (glued to her phone), Liam’s final candidate for the open Royal Council seat has both him and Jaela up in arms, but for two entirely different reasons. 

Author Note: Welcome back to Cold Blooded after... forever. This is a crossover TRR AU (that takes place post STB-verse) with @trr-fangirl‘s and I’s MC’s, Jaela and Kimiko. Part One is on our blogs if you need to catch up. Otherwise, thank you for reading and please enjoy! Both of our Masterlists are link in our blogs headers. 

“Are you listening?”

Liam watched the incoming text messages flood his phone screen before locking it and turning his attention back to Jaela. “Of course, we were discussing all the candidates for our open Council seat.” He shot her a small smile, waiting for her attention to move elsewhere.

It didn’t.

“I can tell something else is bugging you, you know,” she said with narrowed eyes, coffee in hand. “Is it something at the palace?” She asked but he shook his head. It was Jaela’s idea to get him out of the palace and away from his usual routine. Brunch sounded like a nice idea and both their schedules were clear for the morning. But, these messages had nothing to do with his kingly duties— for once.

“It can wait, I assure you.” Jaela appeared ruffled, displeased with the shift of her shoulders. “Now, to our candidates.” He sat up in his chair and picked up a sheet of paperwork then handed it to her over the croissants and near empty plates, much laughter and talking-- and little work-- done over the first part of brunch.

She set down the coffee and stared down at the paper before taking it from him, frowning, “What’s this? I thought you brought the applications?”

Liam leaned back and grabbed his phone, lips quirked at the new message on there. “I’m not bringing confidential documents out of the palace, Jaela.” Jaela frowned deeper-- as he expected-- and he quickly texted back while Jaela scrutinized the six names on the list. “Besides, it’s brunch. I knew we wouldn’t get that much done, nor would you accept a stain on the applications.”

Jaela smirked at his all too accurate joke and met his eyes just as he sent off a message to…

“Kimiko…” she murmured, tapping the sheet. Liam gulped, adjusting his collar. Her emotions are clear as day, still, to him. He knows that tone. It’s unmistakable.

“Yes?” He said in his best attempt to mask his emotions around that name. He can’t tell her about Kimiko, not yet. If she found out…. “What about her? She’s a diplomat’s daughter, one of Cordonia’s most trusted, actually. One of my final six to fill the open seat.” Why am I worried if Jaela finds out? Wouldn’t she be happy for me? Focus, Liam.

“Just…” Jaela pushed hair over her shoulder, wrinkling her nose. The sun hits her cheeks just right, highlighter sparkling across the planes of them. Liam blinked, rapidly, and glanced away. “She’s the only one here not on mine.” As if Jaela expected this, she pulled out her own list, passing it to him. Indeed… all the same, except her.  Liam bit the inside of his cheek to hide the disappointment from her. Why did her opinion matter so much, still?

Jaela placed the list down and picked up her coffee, finishing it off, eyes still on Liam’s list before her. On the name flashing on his phone. “So, who is the diplomat?” She asked, her eyes still on the paper.

“Mr. Takashi Amaya. His wife is an esteemed lawyer in Japan.... My father worked with them occasionally before he stepped down.”

Jaela repressed a snort, but raised her eyebrows high, instead. Her opinion of his father didn’t change, he should have expected that. Probably not the best thing to first mention about her…. “Seems like you know a lot about her…?”

He shrugged, his eyes still glued to his phone. Kimiko. “Hm, I wouldn’t say that. We are talking about her parents who work for our country, are we not?”

Liam did not miss the dramatic roll of her eyes, or the frustration she exuded again. Well, what did she expect him to say? To offer? He had to keep neutral, emotionless in the matters of Kimiko.

Jaela sighed and finished the last bite of her food, meeting his eyes with a sip of her water, her mind filled with a million questions she wanted to say, wanted to ask, but knew it would be futile.

What was the point of asking him any more questions when he was going to dodge them all? There was something up. Liam couldn’t keep his eyes away from that phone, nor did she miss his controlled speech when he spoke about this Kimiko despite the slight flush to his cheek when she said her name. Just because he could smoothly deflect one minor question doesn’t mean he could for all of them. But she had to leave it at that. At least she had one idea of why she was on his list.

There was another reason, too, Jaela just knew. But for now...

“I’ll look into her application tonight but you should do the same for Brianna-- since you didn’t consider her either,” she muttered, standing up and smoothed down her skirt, flicking her gaze to him… Liam looking respectfully away, of course...and to his phone. Jaela ignored the flutter of a long distant pang and picked up the papers. “So, you’ll look into Brianna’s app?”

Liam looked up at her, lips tight, but a smile was there. So he wasn’t too annoyed. Or whatever. He was too easy and too hard to read all at once. “Yes, of course. The same for you to Kimiko’s application.”

“I’ll give it a through second look tonight, Liam,” she agreed, smiling as well. “I’ll see you at the meeting later and...” Jaela bit her tongue, resisting making a joke about whoever he was texting. Something told her it wouldn’t go over well. So, she gave his shoulder a squeeze instead and headed towards to front her car, she had a lot to go over before the meeting, Kimiko’s name burning on the page.

She had a feeling, that’s all. She couldn't tell if it was good or bad, either. Jaela hated those limbos-- the between. Lord knows her and Liam experienced enough of that, already.

*

“Oh, my gosh! This would look gorgeous on you, Kimiko!” The older woman, Avery, enthused from across the large, empty boutique. She rushed over to her younger sister and held up a bright pink floral dress. “Look!”

Her dark brown eyes flicked up from her phone-- I can’t wait to see you again-- for a split second before pulling out the lollipop in her mouth. “Oh, hell no,” she snapped then placed the candy back into her mouth and continued to tap the screen rapidly, heartbeat faster than her fingers. You have no idea how much I miss-- Ew no, don’t be clingy-- :) -- no, you’re not a child-- I can’t wait to see you too, Liam-- better. Good. Perfect.

“Oh, come on! It’s so pretty and I bet your little friend would love to see you in anything else than but black!” Avery whispered mischievously.

Kimiko ignored her sister’s comment but she couldn’t hide the heat that rose in her body as she thought about.... She cleared her throat and turned to her sister, a faint blush still on her cheeks. “I don’t want to wear a pink fucking dress, Avery!”

Avery rolled her eyes and tossed the dress into the nearby tailor’s face then shooed him away. “You’re so damn annoying! You need some color in your life… God, you’re so basic--”

“Will you shut the hell up already?!” Kimiko shouted, her eyes shooting daggers at her sister.

Avery threw her hands up into the air as she stalked off to the leather couch. “Fine! Don’t ask for my help if you’re just going to yell at me. You’re notorious for doing that shit.” She plopped onto the chair and kicked off her heels. But not even a moment later, a smirk appearing on Avery’s face. “Now, tell me about this girl you met at the club the other night.”

Of course. Avery would do anything to get her fill of gossip. It was her guilty pleasure, besides being an instigator. Kimiko raised an eyebrow and slid her phone into her back pocket, giving her sister the undivided attention she wanted from the start. Liam can surely wait. And I thought I was the clingy one…

“Oh… Her,” Kimiko mumbled, a flash of annoyance spreading across her features. Her face always told on her… no matter what emotion she was feeling. Everyone in the room knew.  

Avery snickered-- her tone mocking, “Aw, what did the big bad duchess do to you? It’s not often that little Kimi gets upset over some chick.”

“Well, that chick is the reason why my top smelled like whiskey!” She blurted while eyeing the jewelry section a little ways away from her. Her sister laughed again and Kimiko narrowed her eyes. “The hell is so funny?”

Avery flipped her hair, “You’re seriously still pissed about that... when that same woman holds your career in the palm of her hands? Tch, someone needs to get their priorities straight.” The smile on Avery’s lips spread wider when Kimiko didn’t respond. “Tell me I’m wrong. I dare you.”

Kimiko’s nostrils flared. “What are you trying to say?”

The older sibling shrugged, nonchalantly. Kimiko hated when she did that. Avery knew exactly where she was going with her little speech— she just wanted to be difficult. “I don’t know, Kimiko.”

“Whatever, Avery. I don’t have time for your stupid mind games. Besides, I’m pretty sure Daddy will raise hell if I’m not on that council. I’m not worried about her,” Kimiko said with a mischievous smile on her face as she finally made her way to the jewelry section.

Avery frowned and pursed her lips to keep from scoffing, “Using Father’s power, huh?”

“Well, you certainly don’t give a shit about him and your guess as to where our brother is as good as mine. So, why not use my daddy?” She asked, her black stiletto nails ran over the enclosed case of expensive necklaces and bracelets, eyes glittering as she studied each of them. A small, almost unnoticeable smile appeared on her lips when her sister didn’t come back with a witty retort.  

Avery ignored her sister’s dirty comment as she walked over to her. She leaned onto the case, her eyes burning with something more than just anger… Her eyes burned with resentment. And Kimiko knew all the reasons why.. Even if she continued to block them out. “He’s a shit person and you know it.”

Kimiko opened her mouth to reply, she still felt the need to protect him.. To protect her father. After everything he’s done for her in order for her to get this far in the political world… She felt obligated to. But the persistent vibration in her back pocket told her otherwise, she’d have to save that argument for another day. He wanted her attention. Her hand flew to her back pocket just as Avery looked over at her.

Avery looked at the phone in her hand and shook her head, “Can’t even hold a conversation.” She muttered before she called over an employee to open the enclosed case.

Despite the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes, Kimiko unlocked her phone and began to type right away, ignoring the world the best way she knew how to.

*

Jaela thumbed through the small stack of applications on her desk, skipping over some to get to what she was looking for. She stopped when she found her name and pulled it out. Leaning back in her chair, her eyes flew across the words, though she took moments to carefully scrutinize her qualifications and the apparent reasons Liam felt that she was right for the job. Reasons he wouldn’t elaborate on.

Jaela scribbled down notes as she read, biting the tip of her tongue. “Why does he want you so much…” she muttered as she read where she was from, how old she was, her experience, how long she lived in Cordonia and any given information about her time in Japan. There were no flaws in her application.... Not even one. This woman may have even been more capable than the candidate she picked. But... there was something still wrong.

Something that didn’t feel right about this applicant.

Kimiko Amaya...

She placed the application back into the stack and pulled out her keyboard, her fingers hovering over the keys, for what she didn’t know, after all, she did tell Liam she would do a thorough investigation, but there was a short knock on her office door that pulled her away from seeing that name before her eyes.

“Dinner?” Drake said, smiling, hot plate in his hand. Jaela smiled and stood up, greeting him with a kiss, taking the plate.

“Thank you for bringing me dinner,” she said. “I’ve gotta look into this… Kimiko Amaya… for a bit.” Drake raised an eyebrow and followed her to her desk, setting his hands on her shoulders, massaging them.

“You didn’t this afternoon?”

Jaela nodded, head falling back, looking up at her husband, plate set on the desk to the side, hands on his wrists. “Nah, too busy with the Council, bills and stuff to sign. But… I promised I’d give her another look, like Liam promised he’d look at my candidate.”

Drake offered a reassuring squeeze and leaned down, kissing her forehead. Her wore an odd expression, one she can’t read, but it didn’t matter. The chicken smells good. “Alright. Just don’t stay up too late, okay? I love how hard you work, but I love my wife more.”

She smiled, circling her thumbs over his skin. “I promise. You’ll get all the cuddles tonight.”

He smirked and ran his hand to the back of her neck. She shivered at his tender and tantalizing touch, biting her lower lip. He’s certainly tempting… but she needed to work for just a bit longer. “And more…?”

She rolled her eyes and smirked, kissing his palm, squeezing his hand. “I’m sure this can’t take too long, but if somebody is making me procrastinate…” She hinted with a pointed eyebrow raise, Drake shaking his head and chuckling.

“Alright, alright,” he said with one final kiss. “Don’t work too hard, Abdi. I’m sure we’ll have a lively debate tomorrow about who to choose for our final six.”

“I won’t,” she said, and that was enough to get Drake to finally leave, leaving the door cracked.  She let out a small sigh and glanced at her monitor, ready for a truly thorough look into the life and qualifications of this Kimiko.

In a few minutes, multiple tabs were open-- some articles (various tidbits of gossip about her family, not that gossip held any weight in her decision) , some social media (she seemed to like champagne and martinis and getting paid for advertisements) and others of general information about her and her family… and their history, so to speak.

Maybe it was excessive. She shouldn't have gone beyond the application, which has everything and more-- after all, she didn’t do this much digging with the other candidates she reviewed. But she was serious about her research and she hoped Liam was the same way. After all, these were the two candidates they disagreed on, so perhaps more was required than a second look at their applications.  

Jaela blinked and swallowed the chicken, refocusing on the screen. Enough of her thoughts. She had notes to take, replacing the empty dinner plate with a notebook as she truly dug into the mystery of why Liam wanted Kimiko Amaya so badly on the council… and why he blushed over this woman. First things first… one thing was for sure, her social media was always updated.

The last post was from three hours ago and it was of a boutique somewhere in the capital with the caption, ‘All to ourselves’ with tons of heart emojis next to it. Jaela raised an eyebrow as she continued to scroll through her feed, tons of pictures of bags from designer stores, at extravagant events with the same few people or out in the city with another woman, her sister, most likely. Had to be… But something about her seemed familiar. Oddly familiar. Nothing usually got past Jaela but this woman surely did. But she’d didn’t have time to rack her brain to why she looked familiar, not when there were notes to draw up.  

The more Jaela scrolled through her social media, the more annoyed she got. She had only scrolled past a handful of photos and announcements about charity events she attended, one of her working in the Apple Orchard catching her eye but that was the year before and there wasn’t much else after it.

Just of her partying... or shopping. Such a revolutionary pick over Brianna. Liam probably didn’t even look at Kimiko’s social media, he barely knew what a hashtag was-- “Hey...” Jaela jumped and turned to look at the door. She bit her lip when she saw the expression on Drake’s sleepy face. It had been almost two hours since he left the first time. “I thought you said--”

“I’m sorry. I’m coming right now,” she muttered and began to log off her desktop and clean up around her desk. Bedtime. She said she’d give Kimiko a second look… and she did, through nearly every photo, including one of of her shoes… on that carpet…. Something nagged  in the back of her mind, but she tried to push it back, letting her sleepy husband lead her to their room, Chance happily waddling at their feet.

*

Jaela tried.

She really, really tried to fall asleep, to accept that she looked at all she could and her mind wasn’t changed about this girl. Her social media was enough to disqualify her. Let alone her family, even if her father was a friend of the crown. Did Liam really want a woman with such little world experience to help run a country? He was better than that. She knows him.

But hours later, Drake snoring quietly next to her, out like a light (and he would be, she knew exactly how to get him dead to the world), Jaela stared at the canopy top of their bed, covers up to her chest. She can’t sleep. She can’t quiet her mind. She can only think of this Kimiko, a disastrous fit for the council once you looked past the paper. Her damn pictures… flaunting her travels and wealth for the world, despite only wearing basically black and white (did the girl not know how to wear color?), she still has to show off everything that says, “I haven’t worked a hard day in my life and only took Daddy’s money to get where I am”, even if those shoes are mediocre at best, and with that carpet-- fuck, that carpet.

Jaela’s heart leapt into her throat, eyes wide, cool dread settling form head to toe. His carpet.

Silently, she slipped out of bed and threw on a robe, wide awake and back into her office with the half finished notes and bullet points of her argument to Liam as to why Kimiko cannot be a part of the Royal Council. Chance followed her and curled at her feet as the desktop loads to right where she left off. All tabs opened, and back to her social media, array of pictures, whether genuine or a paid advertisement, that are everything Jaela doesn’t want to be associated with before her.

Jaela scrolled to the picture that left her so unsettled. Shoes, they’re just shoes, that stupid #ad in her caption. She frowned. The carpet is… it’s so familiar. It looks like… Liam’s office. Jaela gulped hard, stomach twisted at the mere thought, the possibility. Does Liam not realize that she’s a conflict of interest then? But… Jaela leaned back, rubbing her eyes with a heavy sigh. Liam’s not the only one who has to have a carpet like that… and he’s not the only powerful person she would visit.

“Does he even know her…” Jaela mumbled turned her attention back to her notes. If she was going to argue against this woman who was clearly not fit,  she needed good points. Everything about her social media proved one thing: she was a liability and so was her family. Jaela needed to prove Liam wrong, to prove that she was right. It wouldn’t be her first time doing so….

And before long, Jaela was knee deep in articles, looking through this woman’s tweets, as much as her Facebook as she could, her friends, family-- almost as fucked as hers--, and everything about this woman, her dark eyes staring through the screen, boring into hers. Jaela’s notes made barely any sense as the night dragged on, words turning into scribbles, sentences half complete ideas, reasons to argue against her weak and repetitive, but she just-- she couldn’t describe it-- she needed to protect Liam from this woman, she thought in her half asleep daze, scrolling through those pictures again, wondering why she looked so familiar. There’s no reason why she needs to do this search, digging everything, printing out articles, other than a gut feeling, present even as she nodded off.

“Gotta… protect… she’s a liability…”

“Time for bed, Abdi,” Drake whispered in her ear, arms coming around her. He lifted her into his arms. She tried to resist, but it was weak, head on his chest, hand on that damned scar. And she was sound asleep before he set her on the bed. Drake kissed her forehead and tucked her in with a frown, brushing hair off of her cheek. “Why do you care so much about her?” he whispered, question only heard by Chance, dutifully curled at Jaela’s feet.

*

“I have to ask, Jae,” Drake said after spitting out his toothpaste. Jaela paused brushing, then continued, waiting for him to carry on. “Why are you so… hyper-fixated on this Kimiko girl? If you don’t want her…” Drake kept his voice pretty even. Huh. Pretty alert for the morning, too. But… Jaela spit out her toothpaste in her sink, eyes narrowed in the mirror on him. “Why not just tell Liam no? Why did you need to...  I don’t know…” He trailed and looked away, hand through his wet hair.

“Finish your sentence.”

Drake sighed, gripping counter edge. “Why did you need to look her up like that? You know Liam didn’t do that to yours. Are you… intimidated by her or…?”

She blinked, incredulous. Her? Intimidated? “Me, intimated by her? Drake, you’ve got to be kidding me.” She wiped her mouth, then ran the water, getting some on her face before the cleanser. “I’m just... “ How could she explain this to him? The carpet? She’d seem crazy if she threw accusations like that into the air. “I have a gut feeling that she won’t work as a council member. I don’t know… she can’t be on, that’s all I know, Drake.”

He frowned and watched her, tugging on his hair. Jaela paused cleaning her face, then continued with a racing heart. Drake knew something, didn’t he? “She seems okay on paper, Jaela. It’s invasive to look her up like that. It’s not like we’re selecting anybody today.”

Jaela shook her head and rolled her eyes before washing off the bubbles. “It’s just a gut feeling. And when Liam listens to my arguments against her today, he’ll agree. That’s all, Drake. She’s not a fit, I’m glad I investigated her as much as I did, and I’m certainly not intimidated by a girl who hasn’t worked a day in her life and had everything handed to her. That’s final.”

She would have preferred a more impassioned response from Drake but she didn’t comment on his shrug, nor the way he said, “If you say so,” while avoiding her eyes in the mirror, leaving the bathroom after that. Maybe she seemed crazy. But she was right-- she knew it. Kimiko Amaya wouldn’t set one designer sponsored foot inside the council chambers.

*

“I wish I could have breakfast with you before the meeting but my father wants me in Japan, ASAP. You understand, right?”

Liam stared at her message before replying back with sincerity, trying his best to hide his disappointment.  Of course he was looking forward to having breakfast with her. He wanted to see her dark brown eyes, her cute smile and even the wrinkle in her nose when she laughed. She was his good luck charm and that’s why he wanted to see her. Yet, maybe things would run smoothly without seeing her. She couldn’t always be around... but he hoped that small inconvenience would change very soon.

“Of course I understand, Kimi. Have fun at your charity event.”

He put his phone down on his desk, a sigh leaving his lips as he wiped his eyes. Seeing her would have made his day ten times better but he couldn’t let her consume all of his thoughts, he had a country to run and an all important council meeting to attend. But it didn’t take long for her to text back and for a smile to appear on his face.

“I will for the both of us! Good luck in the meeting!”

That’s all he needed. For the next two hours, Liam handled proposals and bills and trade negotiations-- and gave Brianna’s application a final look (Kimiko was far more qualified and deserved to make it to the next round, in his objective opinion), texting Kimiko here and there, grinning each time her name popped up, a welcome distraction to the paperwork on his desk. She was… something special. A bright spot in his life, growing brighter each day, the days without her dragging and the days with her passing by too fast.

There was minutes until the council meeting that would narrow down the candidates to the final six. For a brief second, his stomach twisted-- he knew what would face him in there: Jaela. Unless she agreed with his choice to move Kimiko on to the next step… but he knew her. Did she ever back down from her convictions?

Liam stood up from his desk and grabbed all the essentials-- the applications, his notes and pens when his phone lit up. Just a simple reminder about the meeting but there was an overwhelming urge to text her back. A quick text wouldn’t cause him to be late. He picked up the phone again and sent a quick message to her:

“Would you be up for a date when you come back?”  He hadn’t even looked away from his phone-- she texted him back so quickly.

“Yeah, anything to spend more time with you.” With that, he slipped his phone in his pocket and exited his office with a smile on his face. The meeting would go as he expected, he knew it. Jaela had to change her mind after reviewing Kimiko’s application; she’d love her when they’d officially meet, and hopefully forget about that drink spilling incident. She’d see he’s never been happier and would welcome Kimiko into the council and friend group with open arms. For the first time, things would go as planned in his life. It’s what he had to believe, still smiling from Kimiko’s texts.

Liam silently greeted his staff as he quickly walked through the hallways, glancing at his watch. He was already running a bit behind just from sending a quick text message (though, it was worth it). It wasn’t like him to be late and it would start the meeting on the wrong foot if he was. He sighed in relief after rounding a corner when he noticed Hana and Maxwell entering the council room and not a minute too soon. But that wasn’t the only thing that caught his eye as he approached, people filtering into the chambers.

Jaela covered her mouth as she let out a short yawn, her appearance was spot on as usual but even the makeup she wore couldn’t cover the bags under her eyes. Not to mention how she appeared to move slow, further evidence that it seemed as if she didn’t a wink of sleep. He contained a frown. It’s Jaela. She worked tirelessly on anything-- there was no way she stayed up all night over Kimiko.

When she noticed Liam, she gave him a small nod, pausing for a moment to adjusted the files in her arms. Liam moved quickly, noting the notebook filled to brim with words-- but before he could get a good look at it, she turned and slipped into the room with another yawn.

Drake looked up from his phone after Jaela entered the room and locked eyes with Liam. Liam stopped-- dare he ask Drake what was going on?-- and then moved to stand next to Drake, leaning against the wall. Liam gulped as Drake searched his concerned face. Drake didn’t need to speak for Liam to know what had happened, why Jaela was so tired. Liam knew his visions of what should happen… wouldn’t be that easy, even with Kimiko being his good luck charm. Why can’t things be easy? Doesn’t he deserve to get what he wants, too?

Yet, despite Liam knowing what would happen, he had to ask. “Is Jaela alright? She seems particularly tired.”

Drake nodded, a hand deep in his pocket. “She’s fine. She was…” he paused, apparently search for the words. Liam nodded, urging him to continue. Drake sighed, apologetic brown eyes meeting Liam’s worried blue eyes. “She was up until like three or four, I forget, doing research on you know who,” he said quietly.

Liam’s stomach dropped and he sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, containing his reaction. There was no denial that Jaela might have dug a little deeper than Kimiko’s applications. But how deep? He couldn’t deny the flare of anger within him at the possibility that Jaela overdid it, infringing on Kimiko’s privacy by prying into parts of her life that would be erroneous to her qualifications and work as a council member. It’s no surprise: but how far? Why was she up that late? “Of course…” Liam muttered, lowering his hand. “How… how much did she do?”

Drake shrugged. “... I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”

Liam went to respond, to pester for more information-- he’s her husband, after all, Drake surely knows more-- but Jaela appeared in the doorway, glaring at the two. She tapped her foot with a frown. “I’m glad you two are having a thrilling conversation, but I believe we have a kind of important meeting to run. Come on.”

Drake and Liam grimaced and wordlessly followed Jaela into the chambers, doors shutting behind them. Liam took his seat next to Jaela, as usual, and she started the opening statement, voice not showing a sign of tiredness. While she spoke, Liam glanced down to her extensive notes.

Too extensive notes. One jumped out to him-- more so slapped him across his cheek-- and he clenched his fist on his knee while Jaela flawlessly began the council meeting. It read: “Reckless, Spoiled, Had everything handed to her, Flaunts her money around, Not worth a second look.”

Not worth a second look? How can Jaela think that? Assume that? If she’d actually meet her--

“I see you’ve done your research,” Liam whispered to Jaela as Hana spoke, about what Liam didn’t know, fire burning within him. Kimiko… she was worth everything. And Jaela didn’t give her a chance.

She shrugged, moving her notes closer to her, blocking her words from view. “I said it would be a thorough review of your candidate.”

Liam’s nostrils flared. “So, she’s not worth it but you’ll stay up till three researching her?”

Jaela narrowed her eyes. “You shouldn’t have looked at my notes, Liam. Besides, you’ll hear all of this.”

He wanted to pull her aside and discuss this now. But… he only clenched his fist tighter, thinking of Kimiko’s laugh, or how she looked at him after they kissed, under her thick lashes and like he was the only man in the world. “Oh, I can’t wait for you to enlighten me.”

Jaela brushed back her hair and smirked for one second. “You seem a little touchy about this candidate. Any reason why…?”

“None,” he snapped and looked away-- he couldn’t give into her prodding. This wasn’t the time nor place. If Kimiko made it past this round, and the next, and was selected… then they could know. He couldn’t give Jaela any more ammunition against the woman he was falling in love with day by day.

Falling in… the heat in Liam’s cheeks now wasn’t anger at Jaela’s false assumptions. Maybe, he’s falling for her. It would be the first time in years and it’s a love like he’s never experienced before-- and will do anything to hold on to.

He’ll do anything for Kimiko, no matter what Jaela thinks of her. He’s put his happiness on the backburner for too long for Jaela. She hadn’t even formally met her, so how could she formulate an opinion on her by just picture? But... None of that mattered anymore. Her thoughts didn’t matter-- but his happiness does. That’s a first for the first time years, too.

It felt… simply indescribable.

Disclaimer: All rights and characters belong to Pixelberry.

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[booksncoffee]

how you get the boy - four

“How’s your day, petal?” Harry asked, smile lingering on his lips when he noticed that I was still wearing his jumper.

“Don’t call me that,” I protested, brows furrowing, bottom lip jutting out.

“First I can’t call you Alice and now I can’t call you petal?” He gasped, placing a hand on top of his chest.

read below // story page

Throughout my nineteen – verging on twenty – years of existence, I had been told a number of times that I, Tenley Beckworth, did not have the patience of a saint. Especially by my brother, Nick, who strongly believed that he’s the only person who had it, for he succeeded in putting up with me – the most annoying little sister one could ever ask for, according to him – for twenty years before he eventually moved out of the house, leaving me alone with my parents until I got accepted into UCL.

But that’s not the point. The point was that Nick was dead wrong; I did have the patience of a saint too. If I didn’t, how could I deal with someone like Harry Styles on a daily basis?

“Caramel macchiato for Alice!” He called, making me flinch at the name he’d just used to call me. Turning around to meet his smug grin, I masked my surprised expression with one that showed annoyance – the one look I happened to give to him almost each time we bumped into each other. I was beginning to worry that this look might be etched on my face for the rest of my life. I didn't want to be that person with an annoyed expression. But then again, when Harry opened his mouth to speak, I realised that maybe I just didn’t care if I was stuck with that face. “You’re not going to ask me how I know your middle name?”

Knowing that he thrived on riling me up, I decided to ignore him by taking my coffee from the counter and leaving The Cup immediately. Besides, I was pretty certain that he’d found my Facebook account, which I’d abandoned years ago, and that was how he came to know my middle name. So I chose not to entertain him.

But Harry had the tendency to mess up my wise plan.

“Aw, you’re not up for a bit of a morning chat with me, Alice?” Harry asked, lips stretching into a shit-eating grin as he pulled the cup back before I could grab it from him and leave. “Reckon ’m a good company.”

“You’re annoying,” was all I said, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms in front of my chest. I blamed the absence of caffeine in my system for the unoriginal and overused remark I’d just made.

The question of whether he had other things to do or not – like go to classes – sat heavily on my tongue, but as soon as it came into my mind, I remembered how that witty remark resulted in me arriving to class ten minutes late.

He ended up talking about his major, telling me that most of his classes were either online or began in the afternoon which was why he always got the morning shift at The Cup and a few hours shift during the evening when he was done with his classes.

I didn’t know how he managed to convince his manager to give him two short shifts in one day and I didn’t want to know either. Harry Styles seemed like a person who’s good at persuading someone – excluding me, obviously – and I assumed that all he had to do was turn on his charm so he could get what he wanted.  

“How’d you sleep last night, Alice? Well?” He questioned, kinking an eyebrow at me before he added, “Heard you snoring so it must be good, yeah?”

I hated everyone who lived in London for choosing not to swarm The Cup this morning like those other mornings. With the lack of people in this place and the help of his co-worker who was attending the two customers that were ordering their drinks, Harry could take as much time as he wanted to taunt me without having to worry that he would create a long line by disregarding his job for a few minutes.

“First of all, do not call me Alice.” I said through my gritted teeth. “And second of all, I do not snore-“

“Says everyone who snores,” he interjected.

I took in a steady breath, pinching the bridge of my nose and shaking my head at the idiot standing in front of me. “Ugh, why do I bother?” I muttered to myself as I forced a smile, extending my hand towards him, “Could you please hand me my coffee?”

Even though Harry was infuriating, I had to admit that he made a good cup of coffee. Best one I’d had so far if I had to be honest which explained why I kept on coming here.

“Ah,” he said, rubbing his lower lip with two fingers as he seemed to contemplate my request. “I think this is the first time I hear you begging.”

“M’not begging,” I interjected with a scoff to which he ignored completely and finishes his interrupted sentence.

“And I kinda like it,” he said, winking at me while he handed me my Caramel Macchiato – finally – that I grabbed quickly out of his hand. He waved at me, shooting me a genuine smile for once, surprising me but I, as a strong believer that a girl should have a big ego too, chose to merely roll my eyes. “Have a good day, Alice.”

“It’s Tenley for you.” I countered sharply, turning around and making my way towards the exit before he got the chance to open his mouth and further infuriate me, which was something he proved to be good at.

The thing about me was that once I’d gotten my mind set on something, I couldn’t seem to focus on anything else apart from getting the task in hand done which right now was to get the hell out of The Cup and get to class so I wouldn’t be late.

The door was cold against my palm as I pushed it away from me, feeling Harry’s stupid eyes following me out into the cold weather. No sooner than taking a mere two steps out of the coffee shop, I felt a body collided with mine, temporarily stealing my breath as I stumbled back a few steps, the careless person who had run into me not budging at all. A string of expletives left my lips as soon as I felt the warm coffee spilling down my shirt. Luckily for me, I had chosen to wear a black jumper today, but unluckily for me, the fabric of this piece of clothing was thick, absorbing the spilled liquid quickly which meant I would smell like coffee for the rest of the day.

Good bloody job, Tenley.

“Oh god,” finally the person had the courtesy to say something. “I’m so so sorry.” I would’ve ignored his apologies because one, there was no way I had time to return to my flat and change my clothes and two, I no longer had coffee to help me stay awake during my classes today.

However, when I looked up and noticed that it was Liam who had bumped into me, somehow my face softened, the scowl replaced by a small smile immediately.

“S’fine,” I said with a wave of my hand, against my better judgment.

If there were one person on this earth who I couldn’t, for the life of me, be mad at, it would be Liam Payne. Perhaps it was the dopey smile that was always adorning his lips, or the crinkles by the corners of his eyes that accompanied that dopey smile or perhaps he was just a really nice lad who I used to have a crush on.

Highlight on: used to.

However, I was beginning to think that the crush might still be there, somewhere deep within me, when I saw the concerned look etched on his forehead as he scanned my shirt.

He shook his head in disapproval when he saw the spilled coffee on the ground, the creamy brown liquid sifting through the cracks. “No, it’s not fine, let me get you another coffee.” Placing a hand on my shoulder, he turned me around and dragged me back into The Cup before I got the time to protest.

“Li-“

“Listen, I can’t let you leave without your coffee,” he pleaded before I could even get a word out of my mouth. Though my insides were twisting – in a good way – because of his sweet gesture, I was worried that I would be late to class. The walk to my campus would take at least seven minutes and right now I had only five minutes left.

Why I decided not to take my car today, I didn’t know.

“But-“

“I’ll drive you to your class, ‘right, love?”

Letting out a resigned sigh and completely ignoring the tingling sensation I felt inside of me upon hearing him call me love, I nodded meekly and followed him to the counter where, of course, Harry had to stand there with a shit-eating grin sketching his lips.

“Mornin’ mate,” Harry greeted him, a friendly smile attached on his lips. Just as I began to wonder if they knew each other, I pushed that pondering to the back of my mind because why did I even bother? I should’ve known by now that Harry knew nearly everyone. “Welcome back, Alice.”

“Alice?” Liam asked, turning his head to look at me with a questioning look written all over his face. Although we’d met and hung out in the library together a number of times before, he hadn’t gotten the chance to learn my middle name. I usually kept it to myself; not that I was ashamed of it, mind you.

“My middle name,” I answered, cheeks flushing slightly which caused Harry to scoff and roll his eyes. I knew full well what was going on in his mind; therefore I mouthed a ‘shut up’ to him.

“Right,” Liam said, clapping his hands together, eyes scanning the list of drinks in front of him. “What’re ya havin’?”

“Caramel Macchiato, yeah? Your regular drink.” Harry beat me to it, winking as he punched the price of the drink on the cash register. I hated how he remembered my order. “Anything for you, Payne?”

It didn’t take me longer than a minute to figure out that he wasn’t exactly a fan of coffee and that he didn’t come here often. If he were, he wouldn’t have trouble in telling Harry the drink he wanted without having to look at the menu. Shrugging, he handed his credit card to Harry. “Eh, I’ll have what she’s having.”

As soon as Harry returned the credit card along with a receipt to Liam, he began preparing our drinks while conversing to Liam about the football match that would be held at King’s College soon.

It was strange how just like most of my friends, Harry went to the same university as I did but not once had we bumped into each other. Not that I wanted to of course. I was actually glad that we’d never crossed path. I could tell that everyone in the campus knew him and if my friends did know about him too, they must have not thought he was important enough to be brought up in our conversations.

It seemed like I’d chosen the right group of friends to hang with.

I didn’t know how long I had zoned out – a habit I couldn’t get rid off – until I felt a hand on my forearm, shaking me gently, almost making me jump out of my skin. My startled expression emitted chuckles from both Liam and Harry who apparently had stopped talking while I tuned them out.

“You weren’t listening, were you?” Liam questioned and I kinked an eyebrow at him, shaking my head. “Harry said he’s got an extra jumper for ya.”

Turning to Harry, my lips quirked disbelievingly. “He did?”

Jackass rolled his eyes and without saying another word, he turned around and went into a room, which I assumed was the storeroom. Few seconds later, he emerged out of there with a black knitted jumper in hand that looked a lot like mine, except it was bigger. He saw me studying the piece of clothing and rolled his eyes when my lips curled in disgust.

There was no way I was going to wear his jumper. I hadn’t stooped that low yet; in fact, I would never stoop so low as to accept his offer that I knew very well had its ulterior motive.

Tilting his head, Jackass scanned my face for a moment, tapping his chin as I frowned at him. “Do you honestly prefer to smell like coffee for the rest of your day than smell like me?”

As much as I loved coffee, I didn’t think smelling like one would be entirely pleasant. Besides, I didn’t think people would want to stand close to me if I smelt like Caramel Macchiato. Nonetheless, that didn’t mean I would rather smell like Harry for the entire day. God knew that’s the last thing I wanted.

With my head held high, I said, “I’d rather smell like coffee, thank you.”

Beside me, Liam shrugged and casually slung his arm over my shoulder, “No offence, love, but I think Harry smells nicer.”

I couldn’t believe Liam took Jackass’ side instead of me. But then again, he might be right; Harry might smell nicer than the current smell of my jumper. Therefore, begrudgingly I took his sweater, avoiding his eyes and his face altogether as I did so.  

“Thank you,” I muttered, feeling heat creeping up my neck.

“Anything for you, petal.”

&&

Regardless how fast Liam drove, I was still twenty minutes late for class, as I decided to change into Harry’s jumper – which was most probably the most comfortable and warm jumper I’d ever worn – before I walked into the lecture hall. Luckily for me, my lecturer was facing the board in front of him and didn’t seem to notice me slipping into the back seat quietly.

Perhaps I was getting better at slipping into class without being caught.  

“I don’t think that’s yours,” Shiloh pointed out as soon as she saw me walking towards her. Tossing my bag down to the grass, I plopped down next to her and glanced down at her notes which had been colour coded. I hated how organised she was. “Are you going to tell me whose sweater you’re wearing right now or do I have to guess?”

I rolled my eyes. Between the both of us, she was the most observant which was why she noticed nearly everything. Though sometimes it could be good, other times it felt like I couldn’t keep a single thing from her. Like, right now.

“It’s Harry’s,” I answered, tugging the jumper arm sleeves further down my wrists until they covered my hands. Why Shiloh chose to stay out here on a chilly January evening, I hadn’t a clue.

“Ah,” Shiloh clucked as she gathered her highlighters and textbook and kept them in the tote bag she carried around everywhere. “So he’s a Harry now.”

“A Jackass, nonetheless,” I snickered, choosing to ignore the incredulous look she was sending my way.

“A nice Jackass then?”

“Nice and Jackass can’t be in the same sentence, Shi,” I argued, “Especially when we’re talking about Harry.”

Standing up, Shiloh brushed the grass from her jeans, extending a hand for me to take it. Once I was steady on my two feet, she picked up my bag and handed it to me. “Did you notice the butterfly tat?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, “Ridiculous, innit?”

Beside me, Shiloh shrugged, appearing to mull over my rhetorical question. She should have agreed with me by now. “Well-“

“Oh my God,” I stopped walking completely and turned around to face her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, I looked straight into her eyes. “Tell me you think it’s ridiculous.”

Shiloh ran her tongue over her lower lip, green eyes that were filled with uncertainty looking at anywhere but me. “You know I’ve always thought tattoos are cool.”

“Yeah, but not his!” I exclaimed, my eyes widening twice their normal size. A few people stopped in their tracks to glance at me. “Shiloh Rae Allen, you’ve officially gone mental.”

This time, an offended look crossed her face as soon as my words hit her ears. Clutching her bags, she shook her head and scoffed. “I’m not mental, Tee. You’re just overreacting. So what if I think his tattoos are cool?” Before I got the chance to answer, with a hint of smile ghosting her lips, she added, “You’re the one who’s wearing his jumper, anyway.”

Knowing that arguing with my best friend over Jackass – someone who meant little to nothing to us – would be pointless and stupid, I decided to shut my mouth and ignore her remark. Besides, there was nothing to be argued about and Shiloh would win anyway. She always won.

“You’re not angry, are ya?” Shiloh asked as she caught up with me, placing a hand on my forearm to slow me down.

“Nope,” I shook my head. “Annoyed, yeah, that you’re not on my side.”

Shiloh let out a sigh, one that spoke volume, one that said she was done with me overreacting. But what could I do? It was in my nature to behave this way.

“Tee, you know ‘m always on your side.”

Her soft voice slowed me down and eventually I stopped walking and ran a hand down my face. “I know.” She’d proven that when she defended me in front of Harry. “You’re right, I’m overreacting.”

A smile instantly adorned her lips, “Tenley Beckworth admits that she overreacted, what a wonderful day for everyone in UCL!”

“Shut up.”

Her laughs only increased and she slung her arm over my shoulder. “But you’re not you if you don’t overreact.”

I didn’t know if I should take that as a compliment or as an insult. I simply rolled my eyes and nudged her side with my elbow, which elicited a wince from her.  

“Harry does smell good,” Shiloh said as she leaned her head against my shoulder, inhaling the scent of the said guy, humming in satisfaction.

This time, I couldn’t deny her statement because she was right. The combination of peppermint and his cologne that he must have sprayed on the jumper before he kept it in his bag was the kind of combination that I didn’t think I would be fond of.

But I was proved wrong.

Bringing the sleeve up to my nose, I took a deep breath and nodded my head. “Yeah, he does.”

&&

The first thing I saw once I had kicked off my shoes and placed it on the shelf was Louis standing in the kitchen with one hand running through his hair. He had his mobile phone pressed against his ear and a tight smile gracing his lips when he saw me looking at him. He gave me a single wave before he turned around and continued talking to whoever it was on the other side of the line in a hushed tone.

The second thing I saw was Harry and Niall in the living room, both had their feet up on the coffee table as they watched a tennis match on the telly.

When even the sound of my footsteps walking towards the living room went unnoticed by them, I cleared my throat as I took a seat on the single couch across them.

“Oh, hey Tee,” Niall casually greeted me with a nod of his head, eyes still fixated on the telly ahead of him. It seemed as if he was the one who lived here and I was just the visitor who came to interrupt him who was watching the boring tennis competition intently.

“How’s your day, petal?” Harry asked, smile lingering on his lips when he noticed that I was still wearing his jumper.

“Don’t call me that,” I protested, brows furrowing, bottom lip jutting out.

“First I can’t call you Alice and now I can’t call you petal?” He gasped, placing a hand on top of his chest.

“Oh, come off it,” I rolled my eyes at Harry, ignoring the offended look he had etched on his face to make me feel guilty. It didn’t work, just so you know. Diverting my gaze to Niall, I moved from the couch to sit on the coffee table, obscuring his vision.

He threw his hands up before they fall back onto his thighs. An annoyed look sketched his face but it disappeared as soon as he saw me frowning at him, “Yes, Tee?”

“What’re you doing here?”

“Obviously to watch this intense tennis match,” he stated.

Though technically he did answer my question, it wasn’t the answer I was looking for. “How did you get here? Who invited you?”

Niall furrowed his brows as if he was appalled that I would even ask such questions to him. Nevertheless, he still answered my questions, for he knew what I would do if he were to ignore me. “Harry offered me a ride home since my car broke down but about an hour ago Louis called and invited us here for a drink or two. Satisfied?”

“One more question,” I said, holding my pointy finger between us.

“Jesus.” Niall sighed as he leant against the couch, mouthing something that I couldn’t decipher to Harry, which emitted chuckles from him. “What is it, Tenley?”

My eyes darted from the blond head to the curly head, brows furrowing as I tried to connect the dots. “How’d you two know each other?”

“He’s in most of my classes, Tee.” He answered with a roll of his eyes, clearly annoyed that he had to remind me of something he’d told me before. And that was when I remembered that Harry majored in Psychology and so did Niall. “If you paid more attention to what I told you, you wouldn’t be asking me this question.”

“Well excuse me if I forgot them,” I retorted, standing up from the coffee table and stepping away from his line of sight, “You told me all of those things when we were drunk.”

“’s everything alright here?” Louis asked as he appeared into the living room, brows raised questioningly at the three of us. Turning to me, he smiled, “Hope you don’t mind that I invited them here.”

Niall and Harry turned to me, both had shit-eating grin stretching their lips.

“Of course,” I said, forcing a smile before I turned on my heels and got into the kitchen.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and tuned out their voices coming from the living room. If there were one thing from this kitchen that could calm me down, it would be the chamomile tea. Fortunately, I had just bought a few boxes of them from the grocery store, therefore I didn’t have to worry about running out of chamomile tea for at least a month.

As I was preparing the tea, I felt a presence behind me. Thinking that it might be Louis getting some snacks or something I chose to continue with the task in hand.

“Niall told me everything,” his deep voice enunciated each word and my hand stopped stirring the tea. I was glad that it was my back he was facing, for I didn’t want him to see my widened eyes.  

“What?” I croaked clearing my throat as soon as that word left my lips, turning around to face him and sure enough he had a smirk slapped on his face. “What did his big mouth tell you?”

Harry rubbed his palm over his neck before he hoisted himself up onto the flat surface, swinging his long legs back and forth. “Reckon he told me everything.”

Luckily for me, I was brilliant at masking my surprise with indifference. I leant my back against one of the counters and kinked an eyebrow at Harry who was eyeing my every move. “Yeah?”

He nodded. “Bloke told me he slept with you few months back,” he mentioned with a hint of smirk tugging at his lips. Though I should be surprised that Niall had told him that, I wasn’t. With a promise of a pint or two, he would succumb to temptation and would tell anyone whatever he or she wanted to know. He was weak, to say the least but alas, he was a good friend. One that I planned on keeping. But what came out of Harry’s lips afterwards made me change my mind. “He also told me that you slept with him ‘cause you wanted to forget Louis.”

My calm demeanour slowly changed and my face contorted in an all-consuming anger that I couldn’t hold back. After placing my cup down on the flat surface, I marched out of the kitchen, my fists clenching and my pulse speeding up the closer I was to Niall.

“Niall bloody Horan,” I said through my gritted teeth as I tried my very best not give away the fact that I was fuming even though keeping my emotion in check was the least of my concern at the moment. But when I realised that Louis was sitting next to him on the couch, I bit my tongue.  

Niall, on the other hand, knew what was coming his way. Eyes widening, he heaved himself of the couch and gave my cheek a quick peck. “See you later, Tee. Love ya!”

Before I got the time to stop him, he was already putting on his shoes and opening the front door, bidding his goodbye to the other two blokes.

“You alright?” Louis questioned me, eyes scanning my face as I plopped myself down to the couch, a heavy sigh escaping my lips.

“I’m grand,” I huffed.

“You left your tea in the kitchen,” Harry informed as he placed my cup on the coffee table. When I kinked an eyebrow at him, he simply shrugged. “S’pose you need it.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” I agreed, taking a sip of the tea without saying another words, ignoring the smirk stretching his lips when I didn’t argue with him.

Though it hurt to lower my ego, with Louis sitting next to me, that was all the incentive I needed to put up a decent façade in front of Harry. Even if it was slowly killing me.