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cheri-translates · 3 years

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[CN] Summer Palace Tour with Gavin

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for content not yet released in EN 🍒

Summer Palace Tour Video: here

The weather in autumn is exceptionally clear and refreshing. Standing at the entrance of the Summer Palace, I look at the tickets in my hand with anticipation.

The documentary from my previous collaboration with the Forbidden City garnered positive feedback, and many viewers expressed that they had a better understanding of traditions and culture through the film.

As such, the company managed to clinch the rights to shoot a sequel. This time, the collaborative partner is another famous imperial palace...

The Summer Palace, also known as “The Royal Garden Museum”.

This is a rare opportunity. Before filming officially begins, I decided to visit the venue to take a look around. Of course, I’ve also invited him along.

My gaze flits past the bustling crowd. Just as I’m searching for that familiar figure, a voice rings out -

Gavin: It’s crowded here. Don’t stray off.

Gavin walks over to my side, taking my hand.

MC: I’m looking for the guide board. This place is really huge.

I blink at him, releasing a soft sigh of awe.

With a small smile, Gavin grips my hand lightly.

Gavin: It’s over there.

He brings me to the guide board. Giving it a sweeping glance, he turns to me with a relaxed smile.

Gavin: It says there are two entrances. Where do you want to go first?

MC: Let’s start from the north entrance.

LOCATION 1: Suzhou Street

Standing on the white marble stone bridge of Suzhou Street, I tiptoe, staring into the distance.

Beautiful shopfronts span as far as the eye can see, and tiny colourful flags outside the shops drift in the breeze.

MC: Wow, I can see the Yuquan Mountain and the Western Mountains from here!

I tilt my body to the side, pointing them out to Gavin. He glances in the direction of my finger, then nods.

Gavin: Mm, the view is pretty good. There are many shops as well. Why don’t we take a break here?

He asks relaxedly and contentedly, and it seems as though the beautiful scenery has melted into his eyes.

A wave of joy surges from my heart. Without realising it, I start to talk even more, pulling on Gavin’s arm as we walk down the bridge.

MC: Sure, let’s walk around!

There are many visitors in Suzhou Street. Row upon row of shops are arranged neatly.

MC: I heard that after Emperor Qianlong returned from an imperial tour in the Jiangnan region, he longed for the bustling view in Suzhou... For the 70th birthday of his mother, he built this street in order to bring the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan to the city of Beijing.

All of a sudden, I think about the “ideal home” that Gavin and I once talked about. My eyes crinkle upwards.

[Note] This is a reference to Hometown Date!

MC: Gavin, do you still remember the question about our “ideal home”?

Gavin pauses slightly, then nods.

Gavin: Why the sudden question?

MC: It just came to mind after looking at the scenery and greenery.

My gaze slowly sweeps across the view before me, and I express the thoughts in my heart.

MC: In the future, our home must definitely have a huge garden. I want to grow all sorts of trees and plants in the garden, and create a beautiful Jiangnan scenery.

Gavin can’t help but chuckle softly. He lifts his hand, scratching the tip of my nose affectionately.

Gavin: Sure, we’ll do it together.

He turns around. Standing in front of the railing, he blends into the pictureque scenery behind him.

A gentle breeze brushes the stray hairs on Gavin’s forehead, revealing a pair of crystal clear amber eyes.

Gavin: But the scenery isn’t important. The most important thing is that you and I are in that scenery.

LOCATION 2: The Marble Boat of Purity and Ease

MC: “The Marble Boat of Purity and Ease”... it’s a really beautiful name. But why was it given such a name?

Gavin follows my pace unhurriedly, walking towards the riverbank. We watch as sunlight descends on the boat, casting a dazzling halo over it.

Hearing what I said, he flips open the guide map and reads it aloud.

Gavin: “The Yellow River is clear and the sea is calm - the world is at peace throughout the years.”

Gavin: Its name originated from a wish for peace and prosperity.

MC: Peace and prosperity...

Gavin lets out a “mm”. Staring at the tranquil lake, his voice is calm.

Gavin: It’s a shame that things didn’t go as planned.

His words make me recall the past that I’d read from history books.

The land was left in tatters, and fresh blood spilled like wine. The rippling and surging lake of the Summer Palace couldn’t salvage everything that was burnt down.

We pass by white marble railings. They are pure white, and one can no longer see traces of a vastly different past.

MC: Back in school, I remember the solemn atmosphere in the classroom when we learnt about this moment in history... It’s as though everyone experienced it firsthand.

Muttering to myself, I find my mood dampening. However, Gavin suddenly speaks.

Gavin: I used to feel angry about it, but not anymore.

MC: Why not?

Gavin: Because I understand now that if you want to protect something you cherish, you have to keep getting stronger.

Gavin looks at me, his eyes filled with calmness and bright rays of light.

He doesn’t continue, simply hugging me from behind as we stare at the Marble Boat of Purity and Ease quietly.

Specks of radiance land on the boat. It’s as though this historical boat has been stranded in this moment, bringing with it the tranquility of consistency through the ages.

Looking at this peaceful scenery, I suddenly tilt my head upwards. Gavin lowers his eyes and meets my gaze, his eyes clear and bright.

MC: Gavin, in the past, I always thought that peace and prosperity was something ordinary. But afterwards, I slowly understood the weight behind them. It’s been difficult for you, Officer Gavin.

Gavin chuckles softly, encircling me even more tightly into his arms. His chin rubs the top of my head gently.

Gavin: I already have a reason to fight. So, it isn’t difficult at all.

LOCATION 3: Long Corridor

Even though it’s already autumn, the weather is still pretty hot. However, cool breezes weave through the Long Corridor, and they are incredibly soothing.

MC: No wonder the imperial household enjoyed coming here to avoid the heat... it’s much more cooling than other places!

I smile at Gavin. The moment I finish speaking, a visitor from the side suddenly bumps into me.

Before I can react, Gavin reaches out to pull me into his arms.

Without a word, he simply uses his body to shield me from the crowd behind. Then, he tilts his chin at me.

Gavin: What were you saying?

Sweeping a glance at the growing crowd, I find that the originally cooling Long Corridor is gradually becoming stuffy and hot. I shake my head.

MC: Nothing much. It’s just that this path is pretty long, and it’d be a while before we reach the end.

Gavin: Want to go somewhere else?

Meeting Gavin’s gaze, I shake my head. After fanning myself with a hand, I stand on my tiptoes to fan Gavin as well.

MC: Since we’re already here, we might as well finish the walk. Anyway, the scenery along the way is really pretty.

A faint breeze brushes stray hairs on his forehead. Gavin’s bright eyes notice my actions, and he smiles slightly.

Gavin: Sure.

Tugging on Gavin’s hand, we continue walking forward. Gavin doesn’t say anything, and it seems like he’s pondering on something.

After a moment, I feel a refreshing breeze drifting from our interlaced palms. It gradually encases my surroundings, lifting up a few locks of hair.

I immediately turn to Gavin. He blinks, his eyes innocent and bright.

Gavin: It’d no longer be hot like this.

A breeze brushes my sleeve, and I can vaguely hear someone exclaiming from the front.

Visitor: It’s so cooling all of a sudden!

I turn my head, watching as the person beside me stares out of the corridor as if nothing happened.

Gavin: The view’s pretty good here.

I can’t help but laugh quietly, pulling on his hand as we continue walking.

LOCATION 4: Hall of Peace and Longevity

MC: Gavin, look at that lady. The hanfu she’s wearing is so pretty!

I tug on Gavin’s sleeve, signalling for him to look.

MC: The design of that hanfu was likely inspired by items in the Hall of Peace and Longevity. There are images of phoenixes, Yulan magnolia flowers, and peonies woven on it. The workmanship seems so exquisite...

Gavin: Do you like it?

MC: Mm! It looks really pretty, and it’s an innovative blend of traditions and cultures! I just don’t know where I can buy... huh, Gavin, why did you take your phone out?

Gavin: I’m searching for the shop selling this outfit. Since you like it, get one.

MC: ...it won’t be too late to do that after returning home!

LOCATION 5: Garden of Virtue and Harmony

MC: Gavin, look! There are paintings of dragons on the ceiling of the Garden of Virtue and Harmony!

Walking past the inscribed board outside the Garden of Virtue and Harmony theatre, we arrive at the inner hall.

Arching my neck to stare at the paintings on the ceiling, I point them out to Gavin.

Gavin’s gaze follows the direction of my finger, and he nods slightly.

Gavin: It does look very nice, but that’s not all.

MC: Huh? Did I miss something?

Gavin suddenly lifts his hand, tilting my head gently and enabling me to see uneven ridges on the paintings.

Noticing the curiosity on my face, he smiles while explaining.

Gavin: That should be a movable board which allows actors to descend from the ceiling.

Astounded, my eyes widen as I turn to him.

MC: Wow, there were already elevators back then!

Gavin smiles in amusement at my exaggerated tone and expression. He nods.

Gavin: Mm, it’s pretty amazing. Aside from that, there are many other mechanisms here.

He casually points at the decorations on stage, and seems to find them interesting.

Gavin: In order to carry out a perfect performance, they spent a lot of effort on the decorations. The ingenuity of predecessors have remained till this day, and they are by no means inferior.

I nod in agreement. Something occurs to me, and I can’t help but laugh.

MC: Then again, Officer Gavin doesn’t need an elevator to descend from the sky!

The corners of Gavin’s lips curl upwards subconsciously. He seems to think of something, and coughs softly.

He looks around at the surroundings. When he’s certain that no one is watching us, he turns back to look at me, a somewhat resigned expression on his face.

Gavin: Not so loud.

Receiving Officer Gavin’s “instruction”, I give him a wink, doing a “zipping” motion over my lips.

Gavin glances at me, then suddenly lowers his head, chuckling softly into my ear.

Gavin: But it’s the truth.

LOCATION 6: Lotus Pavilion

MC: From here, we can see green pines and the palace on Longevity Hill!

I pull Gavin to the corner of a veranda.

MC: I originally thought the Hall of Jade Billows was just a tiny palace. Turns out it must be seen from this angle.

Gavin: Mm. Aside from Longevity Hill, we can also see the Jade Spring Hill. It looks just like a landscape painting stretched out in front of us.

MC: Looks like the person who wrote a couplet based on the Lotus Pavilion had the same thought as you.

I stare at the hanging couplet on the rear eaves of the Lotus Pavilion, smiling as I read it aloud.

MC: “The uneven pavilion is akin to a magnificent palace basking in the glow of sunset, and the scenery is reminiscent of a painting”.

Gavin studies the words on the couplet, then grips my hand.

Gavin: Let’s go and admire that “painting”.

LOCATION 7: Garden of Harmonious Pleasures

MC: I heard that the Garden of Harmonious Pleasures has a winding corridor comprising over a hundred sections that connect the entire garden into one structure. I couldn’t conceptualise this clearly through the guidebook. Now that I’m in it, I can experience the beauty of this classical architecture!

Walking through the corridor with Gavin, I click my tongue in amazement.

Gavin: Mm, it’s extraordinary. Based on the map, this corridor connects the north and south.

Gavin unfolds the map in his hands.

Gavin: Look at the markings. The mountain spring here is the source of the Kunming River.

Leaning into Gavin’s arms to look at the map, I nod along with his words.

MC: I see! No wonder I felt a certain aura of unity while walking.

Gavin chuckles, then keeps the map.

Gavin: “A winding path leads to quiet seclusion” - I guess this describes the view in the Garden of Harmonious Pleasures.

LOCATION 8: Hall of Benevolence and Longevity

Spotting a strange bronze creature in front of the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, I walk over to it curiously.

MC: What’s this? It doesn’t resemble a lion or any other animal...

Gavin: It’s a Qilin.

Hearing Gavin’s words, I’m a little shocked as I examine this sculpted bronze creature before me -

It has the head of a dragon, deer antlers, and hooves. Its body is covered with scales, and it looks mighty and awe-inspiring.

MC: Is this the Qilin which treads on auspicious clouds and prevents disasters in the world? Why would there be a sculpted Qilin here?

Gavin: It’s probably because the Qilin is a legendary auspicious beast which prevents evildoing and wards off evil spirits.

Gavin responds calmly. Since this makes sense, I nod, flipping open the guidebook to learn more about this.

MC: “The sculpture of the auspicious beast Qilin was cast during the reign of Qianlong. It sits on a white marble base with lotus petals carved around it. There are seven pearls carved on the base. There’s a treasure carved between the two front limbs of the Qilin... it exudes a mighty aura, and greatly enhances the beauty of the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity.”

My head bobs from left to right as I read the introduction on the guidebook.

Finding this amusing, Gavin crosses his arms, looking at me with a smile.

Once I’m done reading it aloud, I take another look at the Qilin, scrutinising the sculpted scales on its arms.

Seeing that I’m entirely focused, he suddenly asks a question.

Gavin: Does it look that impressive?

I nod vigorously.

MC: It does! It’s incredible and even symbolises good luck. If possible, I’d want to meet a Qilin! That way, it can guarantee that everything I do will go smoothly, and that each day will be happy!

Gavin doesn’t say anything. He suddenly takes my hand, looking at the decorative patterns on the Qilin together with me.

After a moment, he pretends to be casual as he speaks.

Gavin: You probably won’t get to meet a Qilin.

Gavin: But I can make you happy every day.

LOCATION 9: Shop

Noticing that I’m deciding between postcards from across the display window, Gavin turns to me.

Gavin: Shall we make a postcard?

MC: Mm! Let’s pick a photo~

At this stage, you can customise your own R karma by selecting a pose and backdrop :>

[ LITTLE SNIPPETS ]

Gavin grabbed a stray kitten which attempted to carry a sandwich away in its mouth

We met a fortune teller, and he appeared to tell Gavin something secretively

A boy was trapped on top of a bronze cow, and Gavin carried him down

A little bird hovered over your heads. Perhaps tired from flying, it suddenly landed on Gavin’s shoulder and took a short break

At the city wall, Gavin carried you up to look at the distant scenery

When you’re tired from walking, Gavin immediately carried you to a wayside pavilion

While on a boat, there was a soothing breeze on the Kunming River. You leaned against Gavin’s shoulder and fell asleep

Passing by ginkgo trees along the west dyke, Gavin caught a few drifting ginkgo leaves and gave them to you

[ MOMENTS ]

MC: I saw quite a number of ladies taking pictures in ancient costumes. I regret not preparing an outfit...

Gavin: It’s okay, we can come again next time.

MC: The “Sacred Tree” is very beautiful this season. No wonder it’s a must-see.

Gavin: If you like it, we can stay here for a while longer.

MC: There are so many people. Should we come back again later?

Gavin: Sure. How about walking around the Garden of Virtue and Harmony first?

[ EVOLVED KARMA ]

Just as you said, there’s a different feeling when seeing the historical architecture of the Summer Palace up close.

I took many pictures today. There are photos of you, but there are even more photos of us.

When we head back, let’s look at them together.

- Gavin

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc gavin #I won't be doing translations for the other love interests!

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venuscribble · 3 years

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No open cars, no open bars — Kim Namjoon

A/N: Hello again! Sorry I will do everything but follow the laws of grammar in my writing, I'm working on it... Grammarly hates my guts. Anyways, please do enjoy!

Summary: Joon takes his most favourite person to his most favourite spot in Seoul. He even gains a new friend on the way, too.

Fluff, hints of idol!Joon, gender neutral reader, bullying in a very romantic and charming way

It feels like I’ve lived for this little moment

On the two wheels, everything is just a trivial daydream

“Nearly there!” calls out Namjoon, riding ahead of you with his navy denim jacket billowing slightly behind, spanning out to meet the push of the wind like the wings of a dove. As the same gust pushes itself through your hair and makes waste to the careful styling you had applied to it, you can't help but realise it doesn't treat you half as nice as it does to the man before you. The gentle breeze makes his every movement elegant as he peddles along, head turning side to side to make sure every inch of the scenery around him is taken in. Intently, Namjoon soaks every little detail of his ride up and leaves nothing to be ignored. There’s not a single thing his pensive mind cannot see the beauty in, as his legs continue their steady push of the pedals below him. Nothing is minute, and to Namjoon, everything has its unique charm. It makes perfect sense for Namjoon to demand that the physical embodiment of everything he loves most about biking should accompany him on his next excursion. Despite your feeble argument against it, you knew how much accompanying Joon meant to him, a signal of trust and love which such a small gesture revealed to you. “It’ll be absolutely perfect,” he gushed as you agreed. ��My baby and my bike. My two favourite things.”

You’ll do almost anything to see the bright beam of a smile Joon emits when he hears any good news. Even, it seems, deal with the gradual pain in your calves as you carry on peddling your bike along the smooth concrete path. Casting your gaze around, you understand with full clarity why Joon comes here to think - the world around you feels nothing less than idyllic. With the golden light of the sun meeting the greenery on either side of the road which you and your partner now inhabit, it feels like nothing of the cold concrete world you’re used to. Saturated and delicate, the air of perfectness is almost confusing in a sense of unfamiliarity to you. Even the daisies along the path's edge which greet you with a bow as the wind hits them feels closer to a Ghibli movie than your admittedly average life. It feels so unlike bustling Seoul, unlike unforgiving earth, unlike any dimension you could conjure up. This moment between you and Namjoon is so intimate that you conclude the space belongs to both of you and you two only. Only yours and Joon’s reality to feel the sunlight warming your cheeks and to think back on in future days.

“You look so peaceful.” You call out to Joon, hoping your voice carries through the whirring of your wheels and your backpack which audibly jiggles under your peddling. Namjoon smiles to himself, head ducking slightly in bashfulness. Accepting compliments from such a deity as yourself…he knows that will never be his forte. Alas, something his high IQ falters at - the praise of his loved one. He doesn't have a moment to string a reply together when along the path ahead he spots something that has him squeezing his brakes.

“Ah, check it out!” He exclaims happily, dismounting his bike as you brake to find...a traffic mirror? As you settle your own bike out the way to walk to your boyfriend, your head comes to rest on his shoulder from behind, looking up to the circular shape. It gives off an almost fish eye effect, the sky which is gaining an orange hue curving around your interlocked figures. A strong arm moves to hook around your waist, as Joon pulls you into his side. Seizing the opportunity to finally have you close once again, his lips plant a small kiss atop your head.

You give a small puff of a laugh. “Yknow, stopping to look at your reflection is a little vain.”

“Stopping to look at our reflections,” Joon jokes with a soft squeeze to your hip. “Me and my love.”

Your head turns to find where Joon had left his bike - of course, rather half-hazzardly abandoned in the middle of the path.

“You just left your love in the middle of the road.”

Namjoon can only let out a long and disapproving aish at your joke, releasing the hand on your waist only to engulf you in a gentle hug. Your head rests against his chest, finding solace in the familiar deep scent of his cologne. His arms wrap around your frame and rest on your hips, chin resting atop your head as he begins to rock your bodies side to side.

“Stop that.” He whines, rather than scolds. “You know I’d choose you above anything alllll day. Even if it was some kinda super cool mountain bike with an engine built in so I don't have to pedal. I’m still choosing you, okay?”

“Even above a super cool bike with engines?” you pout up at his face. He’s starry-eyed staring down at you, love pouring out of his gaze.

“Even then, and always.”

Content, you allow yourself to settle back into the comfort of his chest. What a sight, you wonder. Two lovers swaying to a melody no one can hear. You hear some chatter in the distance which only becomes a murmur once your senses tune to the soft rise and fall of Joon’s chest. His eyes smile down at you until flicking up to the mirror once more, and the sight of your frame resting upon his as the sunset casts a golden beam over you makes something tug at his heart. "Why me", he puzzles. Why him of all men in this lifetime, granted a gift so precious as yourself. He closes his eyes. His mind spirals into self-reflection. Why should Joon be the sole person granted such a harmonious moment as the one happening in front of his very eyes? What makes him so lucky? He doesn't have too long to analyse what karma he has, as he feels two paws plant themselves above his knee.

“Yeong-Won! We don’t jump at strangers!” ashamedly orders a woman as you turn your head and deduce to be in her mid-30s, whilst she and another older lady pry the golden retriever from hopping up your boyfriend’s leg. Not that Namjoon would care at all. Joon loves animals, and your many days having him give Moni just a few more kisses than you can attest to that.

“Hey, buddy!” coos Joon as he bends to meet the dog’s level. It’s slightly more grown than a puppy yet reaches to kiss Joon’s face with ease as he sinks to greet the boisterous dog. He rakes a hand over its head, running through its golden fur and ruffling his slightly floppy ears. “Nice to meet you, Yeong-wonie. What a handsome boy, eh?”

“He never does this to strangers,” offers the older of the two women to you. “Looks like he needed to say hello!”

You smile in return, shaking your head as Joon and the dog carry on playing as if the world around them has dissolved away. “What a lovely dog, he’s adorable!” You giggle. Joon rises to stand once again, not without ruffling the golden fur one last time.

“So sorry about that, again.” The younger woman adds as her eyes seem to pause on Joon’s face. Not something you're entirely foreign to.

“Wow, I feel like I recognise your face, mister. Dayeon-ah, doesn't the nice man seem familiar?”

The elder, now identified as Dayeon in your mind, furrows her eyebrows together as she thinks. Namjoon all but turns red.

“Ah, my mother tells me I have ‘one of those faces' all the time. It was nice to meet you! See ya, Yeong-wonie!”

After a quick goodbye, you both share an embarrassed laugh together and settle to resume biking once more. The sunset is in full swing now, casting shades of neon pink and blood orange against the cloudless sky like lazy brushstrokes of colour overlapping.

As Joon promised, it only takes a quick 2 minutes of peddling until you rear a corner and the greenery which followed your left side on the path is replaced by the apricot shade of the Han River. The sight makes your stomach stir - it's like nothing you could ever imagine. The setting sun reflects so perfectly, an oil painting brought to life in front of your eyes. You know Joon meets your level of adoration as the wind carries the sound of his small “Wah, so pretty” to you. Joon, your self-proclaimed bike guide during this trip, guides you along the path beside the river further, the atmosphere tranquil with the sounds of birds chirping and your wheels spinning.

“We’re here, babe.” Joon announces, once again dismounting his bike and prompting you to follow, resting your bike beside his. He is, of course, your guide. Your personal guide pauses to stop at a flat square of concrete just aside from the main path, facing the river which grows more and more picturesque by the minute. Your perfect picnic spot, you realise, pulling the backpack off your body and spreading the soft brown blanket kept inside. Joon gives a soft sigh as his body all but collapses down onto the square. The man is uber-fit, almost shockingly buff these days, yet he groans groggily after your short ride.

“Someone tired?” you tease. “Maybe you should be hitting the gym some more than you already are.”

“You're so mean to me. I bring my favourite spot and you make fun of me like this.” Huffs Joon, leaning back with his hands behind him supporting his body. “You’re lucky I love you as much as I do,” he adds with a small laugh.

“I know,” you reply, rapidly. You know you are, you might just be the luckiest person on earth. The one feeling the warmth of Joon’s unconditional love and companionship every single day. You feel like the moon and Joon is the earth itself, only you are blessed to be in his orbit despite the unfathomable size of the universe and countless other people living as you are.

“Hey, you know I'm kidding, babe.” Joon softly argues, hand running through your hair, ruffling it slightly. A blush creeps up to warm your cheeks, nuzzling into the large hand currently entwining it’s fingers into your hair. After a slight pause to collect his thoughts, Namjoon’s voice becomes more gentle as he replies, “Having you...it's like having this one treasure no one else can find. Like, I dunno. Like everything good you’ve done in life is being repaid to you. Does that make any sense?”

“Of course it makes sense, babe.” Your hand pries the one resting on your head to lock your fingers together, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “You feel like that to me, too. I promise. You feel like everything good.” You take a quick look around your surroundings. You catch Joon’s eyes locking onto yours, gazing adoringly at you as if some sort of heavenly body had taken form, moulding into you. “You feel like the sunset and the trees... The wind, the flowers, all of it. You feel like nature to me, Joonie. Just tranquil and loving,” you turn to meet his eyes, “always so loving.”

“Ah, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Didn’t think taking you on my ride would make me so…”

“Gross?” you intercut with a smirk.

“Emotional, Y/N. But, this is the most romantic place in Seoul, I suppose. Doesn't help that I'm here with my angel. It’s human nature to be all soppy.”

You shuffle down to rest your head on Joon’s thigh, the extra bulk recently gained there making for an excellent makeshift pillow. He looks down at you with a tender smile which makes your most favourite pair of dimples on earth take form.

“I’m just waiting for someone to pop out that bush and say ‘Hey, got ya! Look at you being all mushy!’” you joke, the laugh it emits from Joon slightly rocking his thigh and your head in return.

“It’d probably be Jin-Hyung. I would go investigate myself if he didn’t have a schedule after we left. Still, not that I think anyone else can be trusted.” He huffs.

“Mm, definitely not.” you agree, nuzzling slightly into his thigh below you.

“I could stay here forever,” Joon begins after a tranquil minute, “just frozen in this moment.”

You want nothing more than for that to happen. For the laws of time to grant you this never-ending memory, to encapsulate it forever and never again worry about the minutes passing you by.

Joon’s lips press another soft kiss upon your head, lingering there for a while, basking in your warmth and the smell of his favourite green apple shampoo you keep using. Above you the sun gives its last fleeting moments of illumination, sinking to be doused in the Han River. He stays there, engulfed in bliss for a short second, nothing worrying him on Earth. That is, until his eyes widen and his head whips from atop yours to rapidly look at your puzzled face.

“How’re we getting home?” He all but exclaims. He’s right, you're both clearly slumped and what little sunlight that is left quickly fades. You think for a second, then, nothing.

“Shit!”

#kim namjoon x reader #namjoon x reader #bts x reader #namjoon imagine #BTS imagine #bts scenarios #namjoon scenario #you guys notice my dog name pun?#i was proud

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annarendellsa · 3 years

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my heathers headcanons

it's the way i see them and draw them, you don't have to agree! this is based on both the musical and the movie

CW: mention of suic*de and e*ting disorders (bulimia) as well as various mental illnesses

Heather Duke

• heather duke is aromantic and yes its because she wears green, have you seen her socks in the off broadway musical? /hj

• more seriously, she IS aromantic but it took some time for her to figure out. she is allo but she doesn't label her sexuality, and she was always confused and frustrated to experience sexual attraction but never romantic attraction; she had a hard time accepting this part of herself.

• post heathers: maybe she discovers about non binary identities and asks her girlfriends to test out they/them pronouns on her? idk? aro-agender duke?

• she also struggles with empathy as she is naturally apathic

• and she's putting this image of a cold mean girl because she believes she can only be that given she's aro and ND

• post musical: she had no idea mcnamara actually tried to commit suic*de and when veronica tells her she breaks down in tears and spend a few days writing an apology letter to mcnamara

• post musical: mcnamara helps her to develop her compassion, knowing it's not her fault she's incapable of empathy. she didn't have to forgive her, but they did, and it really motivates duke to become a better person and be as nice as her

• post musical: she sees a doctor! she eventually recovers from her bulimia. veronica and mac are 100% supportive of her recovery, and very proud

• she gets bigger as part of her recovery and learns to embrace it

• duke is very pale with really dark and thick hair and eyebrows, soft features and quite a lot of body hair

• you know the bootleg where duke has blonde hair? when she's on the tv she speaks german and i vibe with german duke now

• duke Cannot say fuck and if someone is prude/innocent/idk it's her. the why are you pulling my dick was just to fluster veronica i think

Heather McNamara

• they use she/they pronouns!! just because. she still identifies as a girl though

• mac is autistic of course, it's like semi canon in the musical

• since she's very tall (movie) she stims while standing like being on the tip of her toes or rocking back and forth and the others can be quite annoyed because she moves a lot but they never snap at her

• post musical: veronica finds her stimming endearing and they know it's safe to stim around her, especially since veronica stims herself

• post musical: mac hums as a stim too and you can often find macnamawyer snuggling on the floor while humming in harmonies together

• she used to mask a LOT and it played a big part in her depression. she knows they had to stop themselves from stimming when she was a heather, she had been the weird kid in middle school but now that chandler took her under her wing, she has to pretend to be NT in order to stay in the lifeboat (😭)

• she's a lesbian!! of course she is

• she knows it since she is in middle school and has been """gal pals"""" with chandler since them but she still struggles with it she has comphet yk, but still less than chandler

• chanamara definitely practiced kissing together "to be ready when we'll have to kiss boys" 👀👀👀

• chandler always had a soft spot for mac and tried to hide it by being cruel to duke

• post musical: it took mac some time to understand that duke had nothing against her personally. she was chill with them until chandler died. from that moment she had to prove herself as the new queen bee and mac was a collateral victim

• duke definetely gave her trauma though and mac is in the process of trusting her again

• mac themselves is not a cinnamon roll just yet and she still has to make up for what they've done to others

• mcnamara has nicknames like mcNcheese or macaroni (veronica came up with those)

• they're also a vegetarian and she loves yellow food

• like she ever only eats yellow food actually (autistic thing). that girl is deficient! part of why she looks that fragile and thin

• also i see mcnamara as mixed race with golden/light brown skin and they have this type of curly curly hair but she straightens it all the time so it's only just wavy (once again, to blend in with the heathers)

• her natural hair colour is actually a dark strawberry blonde? her dad is irish and he's a redhead that's why (stole this from @cam-eats-candles hehe) but she dyes it so it's lighter

• post musical: she starts wearing her natural hair!! and goes with her mom to the afro hairdresser to start to get her curls done right (cornrows mac!!)

• their parents divorced (movie) and it's for the best. mac has daddy issues and only goes to her dad to get cute jewellery for their girlfriends 💖 (he doesn't just sell engagement rings. a lot of regular expensive rings, really)

• she's not a baby, she's not weak nor completely innocent and pure!! the girl is a head cheerleader, she's strong and flexible as hell.

Heather Chandler

• heather chandler is Also a lesbian BUT she is on the ace spectrum like demisexual? so yeah she's double disgusted when she "sleeps" with men

• as a queen bee she's also convinced that the only way to exist is through male validation :(

• chandler is taller than duke and veronica but shorter than mac

• chandler's skin is like rosy and it freckles very easily. i see her with the same cloudylike hair she has in the movie, dark blonde, with the red scrunchie only holding back some of her hair

• she is Buff and is genuinely into sports (lesbian jock like regina george)

• she has a sharp hourglass shape her shoulders are broad and her legs long and strong. she could lift veronica against a wall easily. and she did

Veronica Sawyer

• ADHD!! she's been diagnosed for a while but only became medicated post musical

• bisexual!! so bisexual!! without a preference. she's always been open and proud about it and her parents are supportive

• for me veronica is brown, with thick and dark hair and dark brown eyes, midsize, average height

Martha Dunnstock

• that's canon i know, but she's fat, and not the socially acceptable-hourglass kind of fat. big arms! big tummy! double chin! (i see fanart of her just being chubby quite often and it's ANNOYING like that's a big part of her character)

• she's perfectly healthy like this as are many fat people :))

• i also like the hc that her attempt at sewer slide made her permanently disabled and that she keeps using a wheelchair! because it happens, it's important to show it, and it gives me a lot of ideas for cute kindergarten girlfriends prompts 💓💓

• of course realistically being fat AND physically disabled in the 80's was and is not an easy thing to go through but it's in my head so

• she's also a tiny bit taller than veronica

• i don't hate the outfit she wears in the off broadway show, but I like her west end outfit better!! it's a lot more 80's inspired and i totally see her in kidcore/clowncore etc, even if pastels are cool too

• in the current west end version, martha is played by a black woman and she looks amazing! however I've been drawing and imagining martha as east/south east asian, for no reason really?? also idk kinda rubs me the wrong way that in the more official versions of heathers it's always duke that is black, or martha? not the others? hmm

• i'm not comfortable with hcs that exclusively babyfy her or patronise her like a bunny rabbit just bc she's a fat outcast who likes unicorns!! she's not just cute and giggly! martha can and does swear and she Fucks, like mcnamara

• big round glasses + big nose + long brown hair

• taking inspiration from the princess bride line but she's a huge movie nerd. yes she loves happy endings but she also loves horror movies, as long as they have a happy ending

• she never gets a makeover omg y'all just hate people with glasses and a childish aesthetic istg

• she takes this aesthetic further though and

• post musical and high school: she doesn't just wear baggy clothes anymore as she only did that to prevent more bullying. she develops an unique style with a lot of pink and glitter and she's awesome

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ok this is getting long ill probably do more!! tell me what you think <3

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theasstour · 4 years

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𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐏𝐀𝐆𝐄 | 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 𝟏𝟎.𝟒𝐊 𝐍𝐁: 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞

A/N: IT’S FINALLY HERE 🐚🌊✨ Lightkeeper!Harry is here and I’m BEYOND excited to show you lot this concept I’ve been thinking about quite literally everyday for MONTHS now! I love this story with my entire heart, and I really hope it resonates with some of you and that you fall completely in love with lightkeeper!harry and ST like I have 🥺 Love you! Enjoy! x

Thursday, 11 June

The universe would always balance itself out, Y/N McKay was aware of this. She was aware that if she had faith and believed everything happens for a reason, it would make the tough times of her life easier to mentally handle. If she did good, the universe would work to give it back to her in some other form. However, that didn’t mean that when something dreadful did happen it wouldn’t affect her, and she wouldn’t feel hopeless. Because she did. Very much so.

Most of her life she had lived in a constant state of harmony. She was neither displeased nor satisfied with the life she was leading because it kept her out of trouble; it kept her safe. Her entire life she had lived in peace in Winchester, a fairly prissy town in the middle of Hampshire county in England. Her father owned a business of sorts, Y/N had never gotten the details of it or how he’d gotten where he was, but all she knew was he inherited it from his father and it was expected to be handed down generation after generation in the McKay family. However, Y/N was an only child and neither her mum nor her dad thought she’d be fit to run the business when the time came.

“Nothing personal, darling,” her mother had said when it was brought up during a dinner when Y/N was still in sixth form. “You just don’t have the brains for it.”

“What your mother means to say,” Y/N’s father went on. “You’re so intelligent in your own way, running the business won’t make you happy.”

They always called it that. The business. They never told her what it was about or explained when she asked questions about it. Not that she expected her dad to be a drug lord, but it would’ve been nice to be let in on something. It would’ve been nice to be given the opportunity to feel of enough importance to someone to know special things.

Y/N looked out the window of the train, the Cornish coast stretching out as far as the eye could see, the sun not yet hanging high enough on the sky to make it dreadful to walk outside in her black oversized smock dress. The book in her lap was still open, though she’d read the same page over and over and over again, not being able to concentrate for long enough to remember what happened at the top of the piece of paper. Everything was fuzzy and she had too much to think about; too much to consider.

The last 24 hours had been the worst of her life. Yesterday had turned everything upside down and she hated it. However, thinking the universe would balance itself out and work in her favour, she was also aware that the reason her life needed help to be smoothed out by higher powers in the first place, was because it was in imbalance. Something was off. Something had thrown it off. But she forced herself to stay hopeful, knowing that if she lost that little flicker of hope in what seemed like an endless night, it’d be next to impossible to find her way back to peacefulness.

She glanced down at the book in her lap and was about to start reading again, not liking it when she had to put the book away in the middle of a chapter. She wasn’t given the opportunity as the overhead speakers sounded their soft alarm, and next second, a woman was speaking.

“Next stop is St Ives. Doors will open on the right-hand side.”

The nerves Y/N had felt in the pit of her stomach came back again, this time with more intensity than the last few. Though she realised what she was doing that morning when she boarded her train for Reading, and then again when she stepped on the train for St Erth, and yet again when she sat down on the train towards St Ives, this time it felt worse than all those times before. This was it. She was here.

She had no idea why she chose St Ives out of all places in Cornwall – in the world even –, why here of all places? Even years later, she could never seem to remember the exact moment when she chose that coastal town, or why it had appealed to her at all. Maybe it was the fact that it had a beach, or that it wasn’t particularly populated, or that there was no way anyone she had ever known would be there. The most important part however, and maybe the only reason why she chose St Ives, was because it was far away from Winchester. It was far away from her family, from her ex, and everything she associated with that town and everyone living in it.

She put The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall away in her purse, slinging her purse over her head to rest across her chest before she reached up and took her old leather bag down from the overhead compartment. This was the only one she would risk bringing as it used to be her father’s back in the day, but he never used it anymore and wouldn’t suspect it being gone. Placing the strap on her shoulder, she walked off to the closest door, apologising when she jabbed someone with her bag on the way out.

Stepping off, Y/N instantly regretted wearing a long-sleeved dress. Though she was under the protection of the roof above the platform, the heat was still almost insufferable. It got her wondering if this was just a normal day in the very South of England or if it was an exceptionally hot one. She prayed for the latter.

She walked out of the station, staying in the cool shade for a few minutes longer as she typed in the address of the inn she was staying at. Not really knowing how public transit worked here yet, she didn’t want to risk taking the wrong bus or asking a tourist for directions to a place they’d never heard of. Instead, she put her EarPods in and went on her merry way. The second she stepped out into the sun, she was once again reminded of why she’d never wear that black dress again that summer.

The Roaming Crab Inn was on The Terrace, the road along the coast of St Ives, holding dozens of hotels and other places to stay during a visit. Y/N didn’t know why she’d chosen this exact inn, or how she’d even happened upon it. It might’ve had something to do with the picture of the old lady grinning from ear to ear on the inn’s website. A picture that was so lovely and so warm that, in the midst of everything Y/N was going through right then, it made her tear up.

She stepped into the inn, placing her sunglasses on the top of her head, and made sure her hair looked alright before walking a bit further inside. Cherry wooden panels lined the floors, walls, and ceiling, a reception desk in the same style attached to the wall to the right. Pictures of all kinds of people hung on the walls. Y/N suspected it might be locals as well as dear guests who had come and gone over the years. No lights were on as the sharp afternoon sun was sufficient in keeping the lobby just bright enough o that electricity wasn’t needed. Fake green vines hung along the ceiling and walls, as well as from different pots on the fireplace to the right that didn’t seem to be in use. Still, two old recliners stood beside it, tempting to sit down and drown in, to escape a turbulent life.

To the left was a staircase leading up to the other landings, and though Y/N hadn’t stepped foot on it yet, she already knew it creaked. This entire house seemed more like a cottage you’d find in the middle of the country, not on the coast of South England. She slowly started making her way over to the reception, and that was when she noticed the back door. Behind the desk was an old, white windowed door, a little smaller in height but a little wider in breadth than normal doors – like the entrance. It was open, leading the way out into a back garden that seemed to be both small and surrounded by the neighbouring houses on all sides. The wooden fence was covered in vines, flowers of all kinds poking out amongst them and on the ground around. The stone paved patio seemed to be old and uneven, there was a set of bistro metal chairs in all the colours of the rainbow along with a white table to match them.

A gang of old ladies sat around the table, chattering amongst themselves and occasionally laughing, all holding a different knitting project each. Y/N hated the thought of disturbing them, but she also just wanted to check in and go up to her room; maybe even go for a walk to take a look around the place she’d be in for the next few weeks.

She reached for the bell, hitting it lightly as to not make it sound urgent and intrusive. A small yelp was heard from the back garden and then the sound of the metal chair scraping against the stone patio. As she heard the footsteps get closer, Y/N glanced around, taking in the interior of the inn undisturbed one more. As someone appeared in the doorway and their eyes met, the old lady who stood there gave Y/N that warm smile of hers she’d seen online the night before.

“Hello, dear!” she chirped, placing her glasses on the bridge of her nose and walking over to the computer on her side of the desk. “How are you?”

“I’m good, thank you. And yourself?”

The old lady smiled, her eyes almost disappearing behind her high cheekbones. Her long white hair was fastened in a bun at the back of her head, the rest of her dressed in a pair of white trousers and a tunic with some bird print on it.

“I’m wonderful. What’s your name then, lovely?”

“Y/N McKay.”

“Ahh,” she said. “You’re the one who booked your stay last night.”

“That’s me, yeah,” Y/N chuckled, brushing some hair behind her ear.

“Till August 10th.”

“Yes.”

“Right then, Y/N,” the lady said, taking a key hanging from the wall beside her and taking her glasses off, smiling the entire time. “Let me show you to your room.”

The two walked up to the second floor, taking a right as they arrived and the inn-keeper unlocked the door. The innkeeper kept the door open for Y/N, letting her walk in first. Though the floor and ceiling were similar to the wooden panels of the lobby, the walls were white. Against the same wall that the door came to rest against stood an old blue dresser, and a fake flower in an elegant vase that seemed to be just one of the many flowers in the room. The double bed stood to the far left wall, white sheets covering it and looking so lush that it took everything in Y/N not to sprint over and throw herself onto it. There was a desk as well as a recliner, and a window on the opposite wall overlooking the ocean that was just about a minute’s walk from here.

“The bathroom is over there,” the innkeeper said, pointing at a door beside the staircase. “You share it with the other guests on the same floor as you, alright?”

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Y/N admitted, genuinely meaning it as well. She didn’t see the problem with that in the least.

“I’m mostly downstairs or in the next house over, which is mine,” she continued. “So if there’s ever anything you think I could help you with, do pop by.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, my goodness,” she suddenly exclaimed, walking over to Y/N. “I’ve completely forgotten to introduce myself. I’m Bessie.” Bessie smiled at Y/N again, making the latter almost want to cry for the umpteenth time that day. “And I really hope you enjoy your stay here in St Ives.”

With that, the innkeeper left Y/N to herself. Y/N let her bag and purse fall to the floor before she dragged the chair by the desk over to the window. She opened it and just stared out across the beach and sea outside. Seagulls were howling overhead, waves were crashing against shore, and the familiar salty scent of the presence of the ocean lingered in the air constantly. It was like one of those trips she’d taken with her parents every summer, a new place every year, always by the coast. Her favourite might’ve been their vacation in Bali. It was gorgeous beyond comprehension, in a way no other place she’d ever been could come close to. But she was aware she’d never go on another trip with her parents again. Not after everything that happened the night before.

Now she couldn’t rely on them any longer. She was on her own. She had no idea what she was going to do, no idea what lay ahead of her. As she at on the chair looking out over St Ives, the town she’d spend her summer in, she realised she’d never felt more forlorn.

St Ives is a coastal town located in the very south-west of the southernmost county in England, Cornwall. It is known for its surf beaches – most well-known being Porthmeor – and its many art galleries and restaurants. Tate St Ives is a gallery at the seafront and has rotating modern art exhibitions, focusing primarily on British artists. The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden is located in the modernist artist’s former studio, displaying her bronzes and other works.Y/N, having grown up in a fairly posh family with exquisite and particular taste, knew a thing or two about art.

She always had her purse on her, and in it she’d keep all the essentials for going out and about. Hand sanitiser, Kleenex, band-aids, pads, keys, a portable charger, and the book she was currently reading. The Well of Loneliness lay in her purse as she strolled around, a St Ives guide book in her hand that she’d bought at one of the local stores on what must’ve been their high street.

First and foremost, she wanted to do some sightseeing. She’d be here for a long time, so she might as well get acquainted with the town she’d stay in and learn its ins and outs. There is this part of St Ives called The Island, that isn’t at all an island, but it is just called that. The Island is the imposing headland that juts out into the seat from the spit of land that separates the harbour and Porthmeor beach – the most popular and most central beach in the town. In ancient times it was a promontory fort, but these days it’s probably better known as a location of the tiny chapel of St Nicholas. Walking to The Island, Y/N took in the incredible views of the ocean surrounding her, and the beach – The Townas - beside her that was cramped between The Island and Godrevy Point on the other side.

To her left was what looked to be Hellesveor Cliff, and at the very point of it, on the top of what must’ve been the most haunting cliff Y/N had ever seen, stood a lighthouse. Looking in her guide book, it didn’t say much about the lighthouse except the care of it had been passed down generation after generation by the family currently living there. It was at the very edge of St Ives, farther out than Godrevy Point. It made it so Porthmeor, St Ives, and The Townas were all guarded by these two points, the St Ives Lighthouse watching over its town and the far coast around.

Continuing on her walk, she strolled down the Down-a-long, which is the old, lower part of St Ives built on the narrow ridge of land that separated The Island to the rest of the town. This part of town is the archetypal image of St Ives with its jumble of cobble streets lined with whitewashed, old cottages, some seeming to fall apart and others in better condition. Y/N thought the street names were equally evocative and unique, some of her favourites being Salubrious Place, Teetotal Street, and The Digney. Though it said in her catalogue that fishermen used to live in the Down-a-long before, next to none lived there now as most of it was occupied by galleries, cafes, and little shows that one can shake a stick at. As she strolled through Fore Street, the main shopping street in St Ives, she walked by a vintage shop – Vintage Divine – and jotted it down on her phone.

All her life, Y/N had always loved everything vintage. She liked the thought of owning something that had once been part of someone else’s life, that had made them happy enough they wanted to hand it on and give someone else that same happiness they’d experienced. Though neither her mum, her dad, or her ex-boyfriend liked her obsession with vintage and stuff owned by others before her, their disinterest had never stopped her from going to markets or stores. However, she never bought anything unless she knew she could hide it. Now, she thought, that didn’t have to be a problem.

A few years back when she started to realise her obsession with old stuff, furniture, clothing, and books owned by others before her, she read an article online. The article had suggested that people are attracted to vintage pieces because they offer an escape. Wearing these garments, holding these ornaments, touching furniture from another time is a way to experience a different life. A life that isn’t your own and that was lived before hers or parallel to hers. Shopping vintage then created an exciting search for something special and creative, something a normal shopping trip could never give her. It was weird how much she was looking forward to going through that shop, Y/N realised, but she couldn’t wait to explore and take items home with her. Not that she expected she’d be welcomed home to Winchester anytime soon, but she chose not to think about that too much.

Fore Street was a narrow and cobblestone-clad street with people milling about trying to find a decent place for lunch. Stone cottages lined both sides of the street, either a neutral colour like white, a dull yellow, beige, light blue, or just plain, grey stone. Y/N enjoyed walking among these houses. It was a quiet town, peace seemed to be permanently settled between the cramped streets and tiny houses. Though Winchester wasn’t London with its tall buildings and never-ending bustle, St Ives was even smaller than her hometown, which made it that much more appealing to her. There was a sense of relaxation in the mere atmosphere around her that massaged the tension out of her shoulders and straightened her hunched back.

The door to the Seafood Café she was about to walk by burst open. A couple of people standing around jumped at the commotion, as did Y/N. Dressed in high-waisted loose fitted denim jeans, a white tee shirt tucked into them, a pair of orange worn down Vans, and brown curls in a dishevelled mess, the man who caused the ruckus didn’t seem to notice everyone’s attention being on him. He halted a bit as he came outside before he walked left. Y/N stopped moving, the sudden interruption in her peaceful stroll taking her off guard. The man suddenly started straight for Y/N, his head bent, eyes on the cobblestone before him. He didn’t seem to notice where he was going, not looking up in the direction he was heading. So, when he saw Y/N’s shadow, that’s when he glanced up. Their eyes met just a second before he managed to stop, preventing them from crashing into one another.

“Oh!” he erupted, voice crescendoing. He blinked twice, eyes settling on her for a few seconds before he said a quick, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, I should’ve moved out of the way,” Y/N assured him, about to step to the side when she noticed his lips moving again. No words came out, though. She stood there for a few seconds, just watching his jaw and lips work, not seeming to find his words.

“Have a good day,” she went on, trying to step out of the way when the man blurted out, “Please, miss.”

She looked at him again, about to narrow her eyes when she saw a troubled expression on his face. His eyes were a little wide and he glanced over his shoulder before meeting her eyes again. The door to Seafood Café opened again, a woman and a younger girl stepping out.

“Please,” he repeated, voice low. “Go along.”

Y/N frowned. “Excuse me?”

“I’ll owe you my entire life if you just play along for a minute or two, yeah?”

She cocked her head some to the side. “I don’t know what you mean, sir. I should-“

“-I don’t usually do this- I mean, I never do, I’ve never done this before – ever -, but-but they think I have a girlfriend and I don’t. Please-“

“-Harry!”

The man – who Y/N could only assume to be Harry - turned around to face a tiny Filipina woman and an even smaller girl beside her, who looked to be no older than ten. The two looked Y/N over, eyes scanning her from head to toe. Y/N felt like she was under a magnifying glass.

But while they took her in, Y/N’s thoughts wandered to the words the man beside her had said only a few seconds earlier. “They think I have a girlfriend and I don’t.” Was he… was he saying what Y/N thought he was saying? She glanced at him, seeing him draw a shaky breath and meet her eyes, waiting for her to make the next move it seemed. Everything that had happened in the last minute confused her. She didn’t know this man, didn’t know what he’d told these two women or why. She was also well aware that by just walking away she wouldn’t need to worry about him any longer; his problems weren’t hers. This seemed messy, confusing, and a little risky.

Usually, she wouldn’t want any part of it. The Y/N she was yesterday wouldn’t have considered this. She would’ve looked at the man apologetically before excusing herself and walking off, leaving him to figure out whatever lie he’d told these two on his own. But Y/N had changed. Or… at least that’s what she wanted to believe… Fine, she wanted to change, and maybe this was a place to start.

Harry sighed, turning around to face the two he had tried to get away from, shoulders sinking as he met their eyes. The defeat was evident in his body language; he was about to give up and just tell them that he didn’t have a girlfriend. That’s what finally did it, seeing how it took absolutely everything out of him to tell them the following. “Jasmine, I’m sorry, I need to tell you-“

“-It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Y/N interrupted him, smiling as she stepped out from behind Harry. Though she had seriously considered helping him, it still surprised her when she actually heard the words coming out of her mouth. Her heart was beating about as fast as it had that morning when she’d left Hampshire.

Harry looked at her, mouth falling open, obviously shocked by her willingness to help him. It took him a few seconds to gather himself, but once he did, he looked back at the two they were trying to convince with a bright smile on his face.

“What did you have to tell me, Harry?” the older woman asked.

“That, uhh…” He looked at Y/N again before glancing at who she could only assume to be Jasmine. “Jessa, this is my girlfriend.”

Jasmine raised her eyebrows, eyes lighting up suddenly. The girl beside her stood there fidgeting with the hem of her top, looking Y/N up and down still.

“Hi,” Y/N said, stepping forward and reaching her hand out for Jasmine. “I’m Y/N.”

“Y/N,” Jasmine said, a smile coming to rest on her round face as they let go of the others’ hand. “Harry, you said her name was unusual.”

“That… I-“ Harry stopped himself.

Y/N’s lips parted, unsure how to react to that.

“That’s why you didn’t want to tell us her name, since it was so unusual. Y/N isn’t unusual.”

Y/N chuckled a little, looking at Harry whose whole face was a shade of red she’d never seen before. He glanced around him, meeting her gaze before quickly looking to the ground, scratching at his neck.

“You thought my name was weird?” She was well aware Harry hadn’t known her name until that point, let alone had any time to form an opinion on it. But regardless, she found it funny how he’d refused to give them his pretend girlfriend’s name by telling them it was an unusual one, as if they’d laugh at it.

“I didn’t-“ Harry sighed. “It wasn’t like I was embarrassed I just…” He trailed off, motioning with his hands, but Y/N had no idea what that meant. She didn’t take it to heart, though, knowing it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with his cover-up story.

“He has such a way with words,” Jasmine said, clicking her tongue at him. “Anyway, I’m Jasmine, but just call me Jessa. Harry’s stepmother.”

“And I’m Grace.” The little one stepped forward, grinning from ear to ear. The small one had the same roundness to her face as the woman beside her, as well as the same flat nose and almond shaped eyes like Jessa’s. “Harry’s kept you a secret.”

“Gracie, I haven’t kept her a secret as much as I’ve kept her away,” Harry said. “You’re gonna scare her.”

“We won’t scare her!” Jessa exclaimed. “It’s your girlfriend, Harry! We will be nice.”

“Somehow doubt that.” Harry turned to Y/N, turning his back to his step mum and what must be his half-sister. “They like to interrogate, especially Jasmine.”

“You villainise us,” Jessa said, walking closer to them and taking Y/N’s hand between hers. It took her off guard and she almost pulled her hand away, the feel of someone’s skin voluntarily touching hers felt weird.

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” Harry continued, ignoring Jessa. There was an apology in his eyes that he didn’t voice. Or at least that’s what Y/N thought she saw anyway. “They’ll make it hard to enjoy yourself.”

Jessa reached over and pinched Harry’s exposed forearm. He flinched away from her, glaring as he stepped back a few paces.

“Now you’re being rude.”

“I don’t want you lot to make her uncomfortable with all your questions,” Harry said, a frown etched in his forehead. He hadn’t met Y/N’s eyes directly ever since they almost walked into one another. “Besides, she’s…” Harry’s eyes fell to the guide in Y/N’s hand. “She’s sightseeing.”

Y/N smiled at Jessa and Grace, showing them the small book she was carrying with her. “I’ve just been to the Island. The view from there is fantastic.”

“Harry, the view from the Island is nothing. Have you shown her yet?”

“Jessa, it’s… she’s just…”

Finally, he looked at her, not knowing what to say that would make his stepmother give it a rest. Y/N could understand why she asked so many questions, she was just eager to get to know someone who she thought was Harry’s new partner.

“I arrived this morning,” Y/N answered, smiling at Jasmine. “We haven’t had the time to meet up properly, so in the meantime I’ve just been walking around.”

“Where’s your luggage?”

“At the Inn. The Roaming Crab.”

Jessa’s eyes went wide, looking at Harry disapprovingly again. “She’s not even staying with you? What kind of boyfriend are you?”

“She could stay at our house,” Grace said, eyes on the space that separated Y/N and Harry before she met Y/N’s eyes.

“It’s not that… It’s not like that, I-“ Harry stopped himself, dragging his hand over his face that had been bright red ever since this whole spectacle started. “You’re blowing this out of proportion.”

“Am I?” Jessa crossed her arms.

“Yes… I-“ Harry stuttered and though Y/N hadn’t known this man for very long, she could tell he found it hard to find his words in stressful situations.

“We didn’t want to overwhelm each other. We haven’t stayed together for a long period of time before, this would be the first, so I’m staying at the Inn so we won’t get tired of each other too quickly.” Y/N hoped she sounded confident and truthful; she wouldn’t want to blow this for Harry already. After all, she had no idea how long he’d need this pretend girlfriend lie for.

A frown appeared between Jasmine’s brows and it dawned on Y/N that she must’ve said something wrong just now. Panic rose to her chest, but Harry cleared his throat.

“Except for that trip to Exeter last month, but that was only a single weekend. Now she’s here for…” He narrowed his eyes, as if the answer was at the tip of his tongue but Y/N knew she was the only one with an answer to that.

“August 12th,” she said, Jessa letting go of a small squeal at the sound of it. “Dunno how many weeks that’ll be, but I’m-“

“-That’s fantastic! You need to come to Gracie’s birthday next weekend.”

Harry stuttered a little, Jessa’s enthusiasm making him nervous, Y/N thought. “Nanay-“

“-She’s going to love that, won’t you, Gracie?”

Grace nodded her head, grinning up at Y/N. “You can put pretty stuff on my eyelids.”

Y/N raised her eyebrows some and Jessa laughed. “Eyeshadow.”

“Oh! Well, I don’t have loads of that since I’m no good with make-up, but I do have nice jewellery.” Y/N picked at the one she was wearing just then, a gold necklace she’d gotten for her birthday the year before.

Grace’s smile didn’t fade one bit at that. In fact, it only seemed to get a little bigger at the sight of Y/N’s pretty necklace. The girl didn’t say anything, but she swayed from side to side, looking excitedly up at her brother’s supposed new girlfriend.

“You’re coming then?” Jessa asked, looking so happy she might burst, and it hurt Y/N that she probably wouldn’t.

“Jessa, we have barely had time to catch up, let her breathe,” Harry pleaded and Jessa waved her hands at them.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overwhelm you, Y/N. It’s just…” Jasmine’s eyes fell on Harry standing beside Y/N, her eyes glistening. “It’s just so nice to know Harry’s not alone anymore.”

“I’ve never been alone, nanay.”

Jessa shook her head, sighing heavily. “Alright, we’ll leave you two lovebirds alone. You’ll probably want some time to yourselves to just walk around. Has she been to the lighthouse, Harry? Take her there.”

Harry sighed, scratching at the back of his neck. “Nay-“

“-Fine, we’ll leave. It was so nice to finally meet you, Y/N.”

“You too, Jessa. And you, Grace.”

Grace gave a wave before Jessa took her hand and the two walked away, probably on their way home or whatever other plans they had. Y/N watched them for a few before turning to Harry. His blush had calmed down a little, but a bead of sweat had appeared at his cupid’s bow. If it was because of nerves or the weather, she did not know, but she was not about to ask him that.

Upon closer inspection and now that they didn’t have Harry’s stepmum and sister watching over them, Y/N could finally study the man she rescued for a total of five minutes. Green eyes that reminded her of the moors she’d spend time running through each summer, a slight stubble along his soft jawline, nose a little too big for his face, and a slight dimple in each cheek even though he wasn’t smiling fully yet. She wondered what they’d look like if he actually grinned.

“Hi,” she said, reaching her hand out. “Y/N.”

Harry chuckled softly, taking her hand, eyes staying on the place they were touching each other. “Harry.”

“I’m glad I could be of some help, Harry.”

A crooked smile reached his lips as his eyes fell to the ground and he stepped away, letting his hand fall to hit his thigh. He glanced up at her. “Thank you for that. They say they’re worried, but they’re really just nosey.”

Y/N grimaced a little, making a breathy laugh escape Harry’s lips. “Is your life more interesting than theirs?”

“Not in the least. I lead the most boring existence in the most boring town in the United Kingdom.”

She chuckled, reaching for her necklace. “Not sure you can claim that title, my life’s pretty up there as well.”

Harry tried to shove his hands into the pockets of his jeans, but the arms of his denim jacket wrapped around his waist were in the way. “Oh?”

“Blimey, I won’t keep you if you’ve got things to do. You look like a busy man.”

Harry stared at the watch on his wrist and bit his bottom lip, looking up at her through his thick set of dark eyelashes. “Yeah, I gotta be on my way actually.”

She gave him a smile, getting one in return.

“Listen, thank you so much for that. I just needed to get them off my back. You don’t actually have to come to Gracie’s birthday party, Jessa just loves when she gets to interrogate people. Her favourite sport is discussing gossip.”

Y/N laughed. “You burn a lot of calories doing that.”

Harry chuckled, scratching at his neck as his eyes fell to her neck and then shoulder. “Anyway, I don’t know how to repay you. If you’re here till August, I guess I’ll see you around.”

For some reason, Harry not really knowing what to say was funny to Y/N. It wasn’t like he owed her anything or the other way around. She’d just helped him out and now they could part ways. Easy as that.

“You don’t have to repay me, I’m glad I could help,” she smiled. “I’ll try and stay out of your way if I see you out and about. You know, to avoid the awkward conversation of telling them we’re not actually together.”

Harry’s lips tipped upward. “Right, thanks.”

“Now, since I’m talking to you,” she said, opening the catalogue again. “Where’s the Tate Gallery?”

Harry turned around, pointing up Fore Street from where they stood. “When you reach Bunkers Hill, you follow that all the way up to Back Road, then you just walk along The Digney and it’ll be on your right-hand side.”

“Thank you so much.”

“No, thank you. I… It was too much-“

“-I’m serious when I say I’m glad I could help, don’t worry about it.” She shot him one last smile before giving him a wave. “Bye, Harry.”

“Bye,” he said, giving her a short nod before she focused her attention back on her surroundings. She needed to catch the street names and get her walk to the Tate on the first try because she could really not be asked to walk back and whip her phone out. After all, Harry just helped her so it was going to be easy to just follow his navigation and get there.

As she strolled along the gallery and the rest of St Ives that day, she couldn’t help but think about that little encounter earlier. She wondered what happened after that, if Jessa and Grace demanded more information from Harry or if he told them how it was all a lie. Putting it all aside, she focused on her trip instead. She’d never meet that family again, but she really hoped everything worked out for them regardless. The last thing she needed was for this summer to be about anything but her and what she really wanted in life. She didn’t need distractions. Her whole life up until now had been a distraction.

Friday, 12 June

Being in south England and not taking advantage of the amazing beaches this part of the country offered, was maybe on the same wrongdoing scale as committing a serious crime. Y/N had gotten dressed that morning and headed straight downstairs to eat breakfast in the tiny dining hall of the Inn. It was positioned in what must’ve originally been the living room in the house, four tables placed in there with two chairs placed by each of them. The dining room had the same layout as the entrance to the Inn; wooden panels all over, flowers and plants everywhere along with pictures and candles to top it off.

When she walked downstairs, Bessie was quick to jump up from where she was sitting in her small back garden, meeting Y/N with a warm beam on her face. When Bessie asked Y/N if she’d like a meat, vegetarian, or vegan full English, Y/N startled herself by replying vegetarian. She hadn’t grown up vegetarian, but in all her life, she’d never had a purely vegetarian meal. So, instead of correcting herself, she let Bessie make her that vegetarian breakfast. The thought of eating something she hadn’t before didn’t make her anxious as she thought it would’ve, but she was rather excited about the whole thing.

Bessie came out with the tray, setting it down before Y/N and asked her if she would mind Bessie’s company. With a quick reply encouraging the old lady to sit down, Bessie ran – or walked as fast as her short legs could take her – outside and returned with her knitting. Y/N had been alone pretty much all day the day before nd she had anticipated being alone all day today as well, so she rather enjoyed Bessie’s company. She had never really envisioned this to be part of her trip to Cornwall – an old lady with her grey hair put neatly in a bun with two knitting needles holding it up, wearing a long bohemian dress and glasses perched on the end of her nose, talking her ear off and Y/N having an immense amount of fun in the process.

The sea and seagulls sounded from inside the Inn, but as Y/N put her bathing suit and summer dress on, on her way down towards the beach, the costal sounds only intensified. The salt in the air clung to her skin and the smell of seaweed got more prominent the closer she got to the ocean. She put her stuff down and brought The Well of Loneliness out again, wanting to finish the book that day because she really wanted to know how it all ended. She wasn’t sure how much time went by as she laid there, completely captivated by the world Radclyffe Hall had created within the book.

It wasn’t that Y/N particularly enjoyed the book. No, it wasn’t that. It was endlessly long and detailed, for absolutely no purpose. The writing wasn’t particularly memorable; one wouldn’t remember it for its evocative and imaginative characteristics, nor for Hall’s ability to tell instead of show. Over the years she’d studied English in college, Y/N knew that a writer should be able to balance those two out; show some, tell some. But that concept was lost on Hall. No, Y/N didn’t like The Well of Loneliness for its writing, not even the plot.

She liked the book because of the plea embedded in it. The plea for LGBT people to be treated as human; that they were normal and not a disease. Why did they have to be other? They didn’t choose this life so why were they to be punished for it by being treated differently? By being illegal? The Well of Loneliness was published around the same time Orlando by Virginia Woolf, who was one of Y/N’s favourite authors ever. Though these two books touched on similar themes of identity, where Orlando shrouded the issue of mysticism, The Well dared to discuss sexual identity openly. Y/N commended Radclyffe Hall for that.

However much Y/N sympathised with Hall and the main character, Stephen, she couldn’t help but laugh at the hypocrisy in the book. While it attempted to strive for acceptance of one minority, it also emanated an underlying attitude of snobbishness and chauvinism towards other minorities at the same time, which made no sense to Y/N. Then again, it was the 1920s, so she guessed she couldn’t really ask for anything else from a rich white person at the time.

Having finally finished the book, Y/N asked someone nearby if they could watch her things while she took a dip. There was a blonde bloke around her age and another bloke with blue hair, sitting not too far off, and when she asked if they could keep an eye on her stuff, they promised they would.

Y/N took her time swimming, trying to remember the last time she’d been on a beach where the public were allowed. It was odd seeing so many around her, but she liked it. She liked the sound of others around her. Silence was good, but in the disturbance of human noise was the reassurance of rescue. The promise that you might be lonely, but you are never alone.

Walking back up to her picnic blanket, Y/N thanked the two men before lying back down, soaking up the sun. She hadn’t been aware she’d already been at the beach for a few hours until she realised her stomach was rumbling. So, packing her stuff together and making sure her hair was somewhat dry, she walked around to see if there were any places she could sit down. The only place on Porthminster Beach was the café with the same name, and by the looks of it, it was completely full. Since Bessie had served Y/N some breakfast, she must have something for lunch as well.

Walking back the 5 minute to the hotel, Bessie jumped up from her place in the back garden, sitting back there with two other ladies and knitting like they’d done the day before.

“Hello, dear, you had a good trip to the beach?”

Y/N couldn’t help but feel completely at ease in this old woman’s company. “Yes, I did. A bit hungry, though, do you have something I could eat, possibly?”

“Of course! What do you fancy?”

“Oh, a toastie’s fine.”

“Vegetarian?”

For some reason, the fact Bessie remembered Y/N’s preference from this morning made her smile. “Yes,” she said without thinking.

“Right, just sit down and I’ll come by with your lunch, my lovely.”

“Thank you so much, Bessie.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Y/N sat down, bringing her phone out as she hadn’t checked it properly in a few hours. She wasn’t sure what she expected, to be fair. There was no one from home who would want to contact her, and if they were to, they would rather look around Winchester than call. In their minds, she couldn’t have run far. Regardless, the mere fact they hadn’t even called her made something inside her sink a little. It felt awful knowing how little she meant to them all along. So little that they wouldn’t even pick up the phone and save her a call or a text.

“Here, my dear,” Bessie said, putting down a tray before Y/N. “I’m gonna pop outside to my little knitting club, if that’s fine by you. Just come on out if you don’t have anything else to do after this, yeah?”

“Thank you so much,” Y/N said and Bessie smiled at her before she disappeared outside again.

Turning her attention to her food, Y/N started thinking about what she could do the rest of the day. She could walk some more around town, she’d seen bigger parts of it yesterday, but there were always corners of a town that needed discovering. Once she was about halfway through her toastie, hasty footsteps sounded from the lobby and a somewhat familiar figure appeared. He stopped a bit on his way towards the reception desk, as if he didn’t want to be a bother to Bessie of some kind by asking for assistance. Bessie appeared a few seconds later, grinning from ear to ear as usual.

“Hello, Harry love.”

“Hi, Bess. I…” he stopped himself, running his hands up and down the sides of his white and grey striped cotton-blend trousers, a navy blue tee shirt tucked into it and a pair of white Vans on his feet. “I just wanted to come check again.”

“For the third time.”

“Yeah, well…” He did a quick shrug. “I just wanted to check.”

“She’s here.” Bessie gestured to Harry’s right and when he looked that way, his eyes immediately found Y/N’s. She didn’t think she’d ever see him again. However, a summer in a small coastal town would make that very hard. She’d try her hardest to stay out of Harry’s way, as well as his family’s, so she wouldn’t make things awkward. She would have escaped to a town a little further south or on the other side of Cornwall, but she was settled in now and she’d already paid for her whole stay.

Though she’d promised to keep away from him to prevent any unpleasant situations, Harry hadn’t made her the same promise. And here he was. For some reason. He seemed both taken off guard to see her sitting there as well as relieved he’d finally caught her. A sigh left him, slumping his tense shoulders a little before he thanked Bessie quickly and walked to Y/N.

“Is it,” he started as he made his way over. “Is it okay if I sit down?”

Y/N nodded her head while swallowing, gesturing with her hand at the chair opposite hers. “Yes, go ahead,” she said when her mouth was free to.

“Cheers.” Harry sat down, slid a little closer to the table and rested his hands between his legs as he leaned back against the back of the chair.

The two fell into silence for a little while, Y/N watching as Harry’s eyes fixed on the small bouquet of flowers in the tiny vase placed in the middle of the round table. Yes, she loved company, but Harry’s had taken her a little by surprise and she was eager to know why he’d come looking for her. She didn’t want to try and draw a conclusion herself without hearing his reasoning first, knowing that whatever she came up with wouldn’t be correct anyway. Instead, she put her toastie back on her plate and focused her attention on Harry, who had yet to say anything. From the way he was biting the inside of his lip, she assumed he was mulling over the right thing to say. It didn’t seem to ever come when finally, he opened his mouth.

“First, I just want to say sorry for yesterday,” he said, meeting her eyes, but quickly looking to her shoulder. “It was proper daft. I was desperate and I panicked, and you were right there.” He let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry for putting you in that position.”

Y/N just gave him a smile. “You don’t have to apologise, I’m glad I could help.”

“And I appreciate you helping me out, I really do, but… here’s the thing…” He cleared his throat. “Jessa and Gracie are right about losing their minds of this.”

Y/N chuckled. “Oh?”

“Yeah, they called and texted all last night and this morning, saying how nice it was to meet you, that I need to bring you to Grace’s birthday next Saturday,” Harry said. “And it makes me wonder if it was even worth it yesterday. I still appreciate what you did, and this is all my fault, but I think…” He trailed off again, scratching at the back of his neck. “Look, I’m doing a naff job of explaining this.”

Sipping her juice, Y/N just smiled at him till she put her glass down. “Take your time.”

He took a deep breath. “Think I might tell them it’s all fake. I don’t have a partner and that’s fine.”

Y/N nodded. “Yeah, being single is fine.”

“Only thing that’s stopping me is the fact that Jasmine will be crushed. Ever since my dad died, she’s been so worried about me living alone in the lighthouse.”

There was so much to unpack in that sentence that Y/N felt herself retract a little, scanning his face for what the appropriate reaction to that would be. Harry must’ve noticed her silence so he glanced at her face, eyes going wide.

“Oh! Don’t feel like you-“

“-I’m sorry about your dad.”

“No, that’s okay, he hasn’t been with us for two years now,” Harry went on. “That was a real mood killer. Bringing up my dead father with someone I barely know.”

Y/N smiled. “Think you fake breaking up with me was a great mood killer before that was even brought up.”

Harry smiled a little at that, those deep dimples just barely gracing his cheeks. “Sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry.” She wiped at her mouth with the napkin, brows slowly coming into a frown. “You said something about a lighthouse… do you live there?”

“In the lighthouse?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, I’m the lighthouse keeper.”

Her frown deepened a little.

“What?”

“I didn’t think those existed anymore.”

“What, lighthouses?” Harry’s smile widened, amusement tracing his pink lips.

“No, lighthouse keepers.”

He shrugged. “Here’s a living, breathing example of one.”

She couldn’t help her laughter. “Fine, I take it back. I don’t really think about lighthouses enough to give their keepers much of a thought either.”

“Too bad.”

Y/N just shook her head some, noticing a slight redness to Harry’s cheeks that hadn’t been there a few seconds earlier. “You were saying about Jessa.”

“She’s worried about me living alone in the lighthouse. Says I’ll be lonely and that she thinks about me sitting up there crying my eyes out or summat.”

“Do you? Cry your eyes out?”

“No, I like having my own space. I like living there alone. She’s just being a protective stepmum, looking out for me and all that. Like, yes, I’m still sad Dad is dead, but it wasn’t like he lived with me in the lighthouse anyway. He lived with Jasmine and Grace.”

Y/N nodded slowly. “She doesn’t want you to be alone ‘cause she thinks you don’t want to be.”

“Exactly,” Harry said, pausing a bit before mumbling something that sounded like, “That’s why I’ve told them for a few months now that I have a girlfriend.”

She narrowed her eyes some.

“To get them off my back, innit? I don’t want them to think I’m miserable, ‘cause I’m not. But when I told them I had a girlfriend, they got so happy, yeah? I just tried to be as vague as possible, didn’t give them a name and they didn’t ask, assuming I wanted to keep her secret. Jessa hasn’t bugged me about this in weeks… Until yesterday.”

Y/N started piecing everything together. “That’s why you stormed out of the restaurant.”

He nodded. “And ran into you.”

Y/N couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “The idea of just telling them I was your fake girlfriend just fell into your head once you saw me?”

Harry chuckled and shifted his gaze away from her, clearly embarrassed. “Yeah. I never do stuff like that. I hate uncertainty, so trusting you yesterday when I didn’t know if you’d play along… well, it took five years of my life.”

She laughed. “If I hadn’t then the whole lie would’ve been obvious to Jessa and Grace.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, I’m glad I could help then,” Y/N said, really meaning it as well.

“Yeah, and thank you so much for doing so. It really helped me out… if you look away from Jasmine texting me five times today alone to organise a dinner with you and all of us.”

They both laughed a little at that and when Y/N glanced at Harry again, he was looking down at his hands in his lap. After a brief pause, he met her eyes again.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this, and thank you for helping me. I’ll tell them everything now, I don’t want you to have to hide while you’re here for two months.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

For the next few seconds, they looked at one another in silence. Y/N thought back to the moment she’d seen Harry, how it might’ve taken her a few seconds to catch on, but her main instinct had been to help him. She thought of the gratitude on Harry’s face when she played along, how she hoped he one day would find an actual girlfriend that would have just as big of an impact on Jessa and Grace as it seemed she herself had. She was about to tell Harry this when the sound of footsteps sounded from the lobby again.

A woman Bessie’s age walked in, a bag slung over her shoulder and sunglasses in her short black hair. As she stepped inside, she spotted Harry and Y/N sitting together and her mouth fell open, a grin coming to rest on her wrinkling face.

“Bessie, you didn’t tell me these two were going to be here,” the old woman said, walking into the dining area. Bessie stepped out from behind the wall that hid the reception desk from the dining hall. At that, Y/N’s stomach dropped. Bessie must’ve heard their entire conversation. By the look on Harry’s face, he was going through a similar near-death experience to the one Y/N was currently enduring.

“Hi, Mrs Rose,” Harry said, no one seemed to notice the slight tremor to his voice.

“Harry and his new girlfriend,” Mrs Rose said, looking between them. “You know, you lot are the talk of the town.”

“We are?” Harry asked, the surprise in his voice so evident it made the older women laugh.

“Yes, of course! Jasmine told everyone!” Mrs Rose continued, looking to Bessie who was already nodding her head.

“Not everyone, but she told her friends, and you know how people like to gossip around here, don’t you, Harry?” Bessie gave him a smile and Harry smiled back, though it did not reach his eyes. “Anyway, Florence, this is Y/N. Y/N, Florence.”

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Y/N said, grinning at Florence who stuck her hand out. The two shook hands as Florence beamed back at Y/N. “So, the whole town knows?”

“Wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case,” Florence said, turning to Bessie who made a noise of agreement. “Jessa can talk about everything and anything for hours, but if her stepson gets a girlfriend? That’s the news of the century and she will not shut up.”

“How lovely,” Y/N said, not really knowing what else was appropriate in this setting as Harry hadn’t opened his mouth once to say anything.

“It’s a little less lonesome up in that lighthouse now, hm?”

“Oh, uhm…” Harry looked at Y/N and then back at Florence, his words having completely escaped him. Y/N was about to come to Harry’s rescue when Bessie took them both by surprise.

“They stayed here tonight,” Bessie explained and Florence looked at her with a furrow between her brows.

“Why on earth would they do that? Harry’s got a perfectly nice place by the lighthouse.”

“Who are we to question the decisions of our youth?” Bessie linked arms with Florence. “Let’s go outside, Flo dear. Leave the lovebirds to be by themselves.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs Rose,” Y/N called after them.

“And you, Y/N!”

The second the two ladies were out of sight, Harry and Y/N shared a wide-eyed look, both of their panic equal it seemed. Y/N took a sip of her juice, somehow thinking it would calm her down. It did not.

“Jasmine told everyone,” Harry said, voice a whisper so no one walking by or sitting in the back garden would hear them. “She told everyone.”

“She can’t have… right?”

“You underestimate Jessa. If she was kidnapped and put in a gag, she’d be able to talk through it and move her jaw and teeth in a way that would obliterate said gag.” Harry ran a hand over his face. “She’s very chatty.”

“You’ve painted a vivid picture.”

Harry sighed, leg bouncing and eyes distant as he seemed to be racking his brain for a solution to the situation they were finding themselves in. “I was gonna tell Jessa it was a lie. I was gonna tell-“

“-You still can.”

“But everyone knows now. It’ll be well embarrassing for us when we have to tell people on the street that ‘oh yeah, that ol’ thing, we only pretended to be a couple so people wouldn’t be all up in Harry’s business,’ I somehow don’t see that going down well.”

“Then there’s only one thing we can do?”

“What’s that?”

“We pretend to be a couple.”

He stared at her, his facial expression very neutral, and though Y/N didn’t know him well enough yet, she did think she could decipher when he was displeased and when he was not. He seemed to be mulling it over, wanting for her to elaborate before he made a final decision.

“Everyone knows, I’m leaving in August, we can just say we broke up when August comes around.”

Harry nodded, thinking for a moment before he asked, “What will people say when they see us separated on the street then? Like, we’re not seen together.”

“People need to spend some time apart; it’s exhausting to be around another person 24/7.”

Harry nodded again, contemplating their predicament. “There’s always a lot of parties around here during summer. You don’t have to tag along, but you might have to if Jessa’s gonna be there.”

“I don’t mind,” Y/N admitted, shrugging her shoulders some. “I don’t have anything to do all summer, anyway. Might as well be in a fake relationship with a bloke I barely know and help him all I can.”

This made a breathy chuckle leave Harry’s lips and he held her gaze some before having it fall to his folded hands. “Well…” he said, suddenly reaching his hand across the table. “I’m Harry Edward Styles.”

Y/N laughed but took Harry’s hand, shaking it lightly. “Pleased to meet you, Harry. I’m Y/N Bernadette Angelica McKay.”

Harry whistled under his breath. “Mouthful.”

“What happens when you’re brought up in a posh family.”

Harry smiled at that and sat back in his chair. “I guess… I-I guess we should talk about how we got together and all that.”

“Yeah, make a story so it sounds more believable.”

“It’ll help if we have the same story, yes.”

She couldn’t help her laughter again, but it was cut short as Harry’s phone in his pocket started ringing. He sighed, taking it out and looking at it before putting it back down.

“Look, I gotta go.”

“Oh.” Y/N, having thought they were going to plan their fake dating history, blinked in confusion when Harry stood from his chair and looked at her apologetically. “We’ll see each other at some point.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, walking off toward the back garden, calling Bessie’s name as he did. They exchanged some words Y/N couldn’t hear and Harry disappeared into the kitchen for a minute before resurfacing again. Standing in the lobby, he looked at Y/N through the doorway leading into the dining area, mouth opening and closing as he tried to come up with something to say.

She just gave him a smile, hoping he understood that she just wanted him to take his time. It took one more sigh and a little staring contest before Harry finally found his words.

“You know where to find me, my house is the very tall, pointy one on the outskirts of town.”

She chuckled, watching as he walked out of the front door and down the street. Y/N found her bag, putting it on her shoulder as she got her lunch tray and sat it in the kitchen as she’d done after her breakfast that morning. On her way upstairs, Y/N turned as she reached the front door that was left open to welcome guests. Stepping into the doorway, she looked out over St Ives.

Seagulls were still screaming overhead, the sound of people down by the beach hung in the air all throughout the day, it smelled of seafood and summer, and just beyond the small town, on a tiny hilltop and on the very tip of a cliff, stood a lighthouse. A white lighthouse that rose high above the whole coast around it, protecting everyone. Locals, foreigners, and sailors. And it was operated and taken care of by the bloke Y/N was going to spend her entire summer in a fake relationship with. It didn’t seem real, and yet, that was exactly what it was. She didn’t have Harry’s number and knew next to nothing about him, but – as he put it – he lived in the very tall, pointy house on the outskirts of town. It was impossible to miss it. She could find her way to him, even in the dark.

The lighthouse keeper, Y/N thought to herself as she took in the lighthouse again through the window of her room once she walked upstairs. I have to pretend to be in love with a lighthouse keeper. And somehow, Y/N realised when looking back on that particular summer, that wasn’t the weirdest thing that would happen to her in St Ives.

NEXT UPDATE: Sunday, 2 August, 9PM GMT!

Huge thanks to my AMAZING beta readers! 🌊 @aileenacoustic 🌊 @bopbopstyles 🌊 @fromyourstrulyh 🌊 @harrys-creature 🌊 @honeydearly 🌊 @juliassgem 🌊 @summerfeelng 🌊 @sunflower--styles 🌊 @withallthelove-a 🌊

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader #harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #harry styles fic #het fic #1dff #PLS DO COME CHAT WHEN YOU'RE DONE READING I LOVE YOU SO MUCH :DDDDDDD

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link4eva · 4 years

Text

Kiro’s Victory and Defeat Date Translation [CN]

Hi, y’all! I just have a couple notes just before you begin reading. I don’t actually know any Chinese so this translation was done through the power of Google Translate. Also, thanks to @cheesy09 and @keliosyfan for looking it over! ありがとう！💛

The translation below contains spoilers for a date that hasn’t been released in the ENG server yet so please don’t look below the cut if you don’t want to be spoiled.

You can read the call that comes with this date here!

Hope you enjoy!~

*Spoilers for future content below!*

On a rare sunny day, I opened all the windows in the house for some fresh air.

The wind gently fluttered the curtains, bringing in a hint of the coolness of spring.

Looking at the two tickets sitting on the table, I walked over and put them in my wallet one by one.

Just recently, Kiro and I learned that an expert street dancer from abroad was coming to Loveland City to have a “strength exchange” in an underground workshop.

The moment our eyes met, Kiro and I smiled in harmony and immediately booked two tickets.

Suddenly, there was a familiar-sounding knock on the door that interrupted my thoughts.

Before the answer was completely formed in my heart, I had already made up my mind.

As soon as I opened the door, a dazzling golden colour appeared before my eyes.

Kiro: Miss Chips!

The person standing in front of me flashed me a bright and brilliant smile which made me laugh to myself.

MC: Why did you come so early? Didn’t you say that I will see you at night?

Kiro pouted his lips, pretending to be dissatisfied, and patted my face quickly.

Kiro: Well, that’s a simple question to answer.

Kiro: Of course it was because I missed you. So, I showed up in advance.

That bright, smiling face made me lose my train of thought for a moment.

Suddenly, his eyes glanced behind me, showing an unexpected expression.

Kiro: But, behind you, Miss Chips….

Before he finished speaking, I seemed to remember something and hurriedly rushed to the living room to put away the game controllers scattered on the floor.

MC: It’s nothing. You didn’t see anything!

Kiro: I clearly saw everything!

Kiro: The messy living room, the controllers on the floor, and the dark circles under Miss Chips’ eyes….

Kiro pushed up his non-existent glasses with a serious face, analyzing every “clue” in front of him.

Kiro: So, according to my speculation, the truth is that--

Kiro: Miss Chips pulled an all-nighter last night playing games.

Hearing Kiro figure out the answer, I couldn’t help but whisper to myself.

MC: I didn’t mean to stay up that late but this game was kicking my butt.

Seeing Kiro’s confused face, I sighed and decided to confess the truth.

MC: Actually, last night, I was practising the fighting game we played together last time.

MC: Last time, I hadn’t played much and the experience wasn’t the best.

MC: So, I thought about practicing in secret. I thought it would be a lot more interesting when we played together next time.

Kiro’s eyes were surprised. He stared at the controller on the ground.

Kiro: Practicing by yourself isn’t as effective as playing with another person.

As soon as he stopped talking, he stepped forward, holding my gaze firmly in his.

Kiro: So, let me join in.

Kiro: My cute and hard-working Miss Chips~

[Second Part]

As soon as I brought over the fully charged controller, Kiro sat down on the couch with me in his arms.

MC: Eh, do you want to play like this?

I turned my head to meet Kiro’s eyes but didn’t expect to be held even tighter.

Kiro: Don’t we always play like this?

Kiro: Is Miss Chips still not used to it?

MC: But we are playing as opponents in this fighting game….

MC: It’s too hard to play this close!

Kiro: Is this too close?

Kiro: What about this?

As he asked this, he nuzzled his head lightly into my neck, his face pressed against mine.

When he became even closer, the tips of my ears began to burn uncontrollably.

MC: This is even closer than before!

The next second, he leaned back contentedly on the couch with a satisfied smile, his arms still encircling me.

Kiro: Are you ready?

Kiro: Remember, I don’t show mercy to my subordinates!

After Kiro pressed the start button, the TV entered the countdown phase.

3, 2, 1--

The living room was silent for a bit aside from the sounds of the game from the TV and the mashing of buttons.

Although I couldn’t see Kiro’s expression behind me, his state seemed to match those of the characters on screen.

The perfectly-executed combo and roundhouse kick instantly reduced my health bar by a lot.

I couldn’t help but hold my breath, hold the controller tightly and get more serious.

Although I may be at a disadvantage, probably because of all the practice the past few days, I didn’t panic.

At the same time, the combo moves that I had been waiting to use also swiftly responded at the same time.

Soon, our health bars were equal. The drawn-out battle made me want to win even more.

MC: Look at me!

Kiro: Miss Chips, be careful~

Suddenly, Kiro’s character shot up into the sky, a precursor to an even bigger move.

I immediately sounded the alarm in my head and quickly hid the moment his character fell.

Kiro: Nice!

Although I enjoyed hearing his praise, I didn’t dare take it lightly.

I held my breath and walked towards Kiro’s character, like a cheetah lurking quietly before hunting.

Suddenly, Kiro’s moves finally showed a small opening, and I quickly followed the moves that I had practiced hard over the past few days.

After triggering a series of critical strikes, his character instantly fell to the ground. A big “WIN” flashed on the screen.

I raised my hands happily but Kiro turned my body to face him and pitched my cheeks lightly. His eyes were full of joy.

MC: Yay!!!

Kiro: Miss Chips is amazing!

MC: Phew, if it weren’t for all those “make-up classes” every day recently, I’m afraid today would be another miserable defeat~

Kiro: MC’s desire to win is very strong!

MC: So is yours! You are on so many leaderboards for so many games!

Kiro held his chin pretentiously and blinked.

Kiro: This can’t be compared with the desire to win!

Kiro: As for me, I was just adhering to the principle of “perfect clearance”. So naturally, I ranked first.

MC: What you said just now….Makes me wonder if you just let me win.

I squinted my eyes and slowly approached him. He waved his hand quickly.

Kiro: I didn’t. If you lose, you lose, but….

Kiro: If I only lose to you, I will be willing.

He looked straight at me, his blue eyes gleaming.

And in such gleaming eyes, only me is reflected in them at this moment.

I nestled my body in his arms again and shook the controller.

MC: Well, should we play another round?

Kiro: Yeah, let’s play some more before we go out!

I pressed the start button excitedly and we both sat up slightly, looking at the game screen with full concentration.

When night fell, we reluctantly put down our controllers, took the tickets and prepared to go out.

(Cut to the warehouse)

After nearly an hour’s drive, we came to a warehouse in a remote suburb.

I looked back at Kiro, who was already wearing a baseball cap and helped him to lower the brim of his hat with worry.

Kiro: Don’t worry, I won’t be recognized.

Kiro: Let’s go in.

[Third Part]

Unexpectedly, there are some warehouse buildings outside. But, there is something special when you walk in.

The graffiti all over the wall shows the unique atmosphere here. The young people’s swaying to the rhythm synced perfectly with the beat.

Looking around, dozens of circles surrounded by people are scattered in various places of the warehouse. Cheers and chants also oscillated in it.

Looking around, I saw a passerby who was about to bump into me….

Kiro quickly stretched out his hand in front of me and blocked me. The passerby paused after bumping into Kiro’s arm and then walked past us.

MC: There are a lot of people here, and it seems that the expert street dancer isn’t here yet….

Kiro: Then let’s go to the side and wait for a while, alright?

I nodded and followed him to a place with fewer people.

After sitting for a bit, I didn’t expect to see several young women looking at Kiro.

I was shocked. No one would recognize Kiro, right?

Seeing the gazes of the young women continuously cast towards Kiro, I silently stepped forward and blocked his figure.

While I was thinking about countermeasures quickly, one of the men with dreadlocks had already walked in front of Kiro.

Man with dreadlocks: Hey, buddy. Seeing you up closer, is this your first time coming?

The brim of the hat blocked most of Kiro’s face, his blue eyes were also hidden in the darkness.

The brief silence made the man with dreadlocks frown. He twisted his neck and it cracked.

Man with dreadlocks: There are a lot of people who bought tickets just to have fun here. It’s really unpleasant.

Man with dreadlocks: If I’m wrong, you’re welcome to use your strength to let a few of our brothers have fun.

As the man with dreadlocks said this, his companions quietly surrounded us in a circle.

Just when I thought I was ready to stay silent again, Kiro raised his chin and said,

Kiro: These words don’t sound very inviting.

I don’t know if he was deliberately concealing his identity but Kiro’s voice was much deeper than usual.

Man with dreadlocks: Oh, I have seen people like you a lot, you are just afraid of losing~

Man with dreadlocks: After all, your girlfriend is watching. Wouldn’t your image in her heart be greatly damaged if you lose?

MC: You….

I couldn’t help but prepare to fight back and Kiro gave out a soft laugh beside me.

Kiro: It seems you didn’t understand what I said.

Man with dreadlocks: What?

Kiro’s lips raised up to make a shallow arc and slowly walked in front of the man.

Kiro: In this case, I also have my own rules.

Kiro: If you really want to “communicate”, should we place a bet?

The flickering neon lights made Kiro’s face light up. He gave off a dangerous aura.

I don’t know if they noticed Kiro’s faint provocation. The faces of the group of people became a little timid.

Man with dreadlocks: Hmph, that’s crazy!

Before he could finish speaking, one of them leaned close towards his ear while looking at Kiro at the same time.

Man: Brother, why do I feel like the more I look at this person’s face, the more he looks like Kiro?

As soon as he asked, the man with dreadlocks suddenly raised his head and laughed.

Man with dreadlocks: Him? You should go to the hospital to see the eye doctor.

Man: ….

Man with dreadlocks: Besides, even if it is, how strong can a star be? All that praise is for nothing.

Those harsh words kept echoing in my ears. My worries were gradually replaced with anger.

I can’t help but think back to the way Kiro was immersed in practice and creation for countless days and nights.

The work is polished over and over again. He only wants to show the best side of himself to everyone.

Thinking of this, I took a deep breath and couldn’t help refuting it.

MC: Do you think you can wipe out all their efforts with just one sentence?

I had been silent this whole time. I couldn’t help but stun the people around me.

MC: They will never be defeated by prejudice.

The man with dreadlocks suddenly laughed and shook his head helplessly.

Man with dreadlocks: Another girl who’s been brainwashed by celebrities….

He wanted to say something more when a cold voice sounded in the air.

Kiro: Enough nonsense.

I followed the voice and found that Kiro had reached the center of the open space. He raised his chin and ignored the person in front of him.

Kiro: What are you waiting for?

[Fourth Part]

The rules for the dance battle are simpler than I imagined. There are no restrictions for either party. The people around the scene will be the “judges”, and the side with the louder voices wins the game.

Man with dreadlocks: Brother, it’s not too late to admit defeat, you know?

Kiro shrugged indifferently as if he didn’t care about the mockery of the other party.

Kiro: Before we start, let’s decide on the “trophies” for both sides.

Man with dreadlocks: Raise the stakes all you want, you can’t win anyway.

Kiro: In that case….

Kiro stopped in the middle of speaking as if thinking of some interesting idea. He slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

Kiro: After I get the CALL, you’re gonna have to admit really loudly that you love Kiro so that everyone in the building can hear you. How about it?

The man with dreadlocks was stunned as if he hadn’t expected it. I quickly smirked and asked,

MC: Isn’t that a little much?

Man with dreadlocks: How can I do that! I don’t know how to CALL. We need to change one thing.

Kiro ignored his opponent, lowered his head, and leaned towards me.

Kiro: Could I ask Miss Chips to do a demonstration of CALL?

Kiro: It’s also considered cheering for me.

His voice is as soft as a feather, slowly brushing my ears.

My body temperature rose uncontrollably and I blushed as I met his gaze.

There was a little bit of starlight hidden in those blue eyes and the corners of his lips rose slightly to form a little devilish smile.

Kiro winked, my mind trembled, and I nodded subconsciously.

MC: The friend who doesn’t know how to CALL, let me teach you.

I glanced at the man with dreadlocks, took a deep breath, shaped my hands into a horn, and shouted out loudly.

MC: Kiro, I will love you my whole life! And I will not regret it!!

My heart beats like a drum with every word.

Those shouts that had been hidden in my heart for a long time had finally poured out at this moment.

This is what I’ve always wanted to do. But, I rarely seem to be able to do it in public….

My voice caused many people to look sideways. I gradually recovered and hid behind Kiro.

Kiro: Thank you, Miss Chips. I can hear you clearly.

Kiro’s words floated past my ears and were soon drowned out by the surrounding music.

The man with dreadlocks walked to the center and made a provocative gesture to the sky to indicate the beginning of the dance battle.

He immediately began to move, and after a series of smooth waves, he drew a lot of voices from the surrounding crowd.

The rhythm became faster and faster and he finally landed on the ground with a somersault, raising his eyebrows at us with disdain.

Kiro glanced disapprovingly and then turned to face me.

Kiro: Look after this hat for me.

Before I could respond, he pulled up his sweater and hat and walked towards the center stage step-by-step, with an unclear look.

The surrounding lights are still flickering and dimming, adding a little mystery to the atmosphere at this moment.

Kiro stood in the middle of the crowd with his head down. He raised his head when the music in the background dropped the bass.

In the next second, Kiro fell straight to one side and just when I thought he was about to lose his center of gravity….

He steadily caught himself with one hand on the ground. He took advantage of the momentum to lift his feet in the air to cross and freeze, his flying necklace also crossing a beautiful parabola.

I couldn’t help holding my breath, my eyes swept across the smooth body lines and messy golden hair subconsciously.

In the end, I couldn’t look away from those azure blue eyes. They were a very determined pair of eyes.

He, at this moment, is completely different from when I was nestled in his arms that morning, making it hard to concentrate.

Suddenly, the music seemed to make things difficult for Kiro on purpose, and the rhythm suddenly became crazy and rapid.

He didn’t look the slightest bit worried. He followed the variation of the beat to improvise one brilliant move after another.

Every movement is sonorous and powerful but light at the same time. There was no sense of heaviness.

The atmosphere on the scene became more and more intense. The force of the crowd kept pushing me out until I was gradually pushed out altogether.

As I tried to squeeze back in, cheers sounded around me.

I jumped up anxiously, vaguely seeing a familiar pair of arms raised high.

The result of the dance battle seems to be obvious and I can’t help but want to eagerly witness the moment of his victory.

MC: Let me in!

My voice was instantly overwhelmed and there were many voices in my ears that wanted to compete with Kiro.

Just when I was getting a little anxious, someone held my hand tightly and the noise around me stopped instantly.

Kiro: It’s okay to compete with me, one by one.

Kiro: But, my person should have the best viewing position, right?

A cold voice sounded in the crowd. At the same time, my vision gradually widened.

Kiro: Miss Chips, keep looking at me.

MC: OK!

Even though I was a little shy to be watched by everyone, I stood not far away from him, a warm feeling filling my heart.

People who wanted to compete came up one after another and then slipped away amidst the sounds of the crowd.

Until the end, no one dared to step up, only the undulating admiration remained.

As time passed, the crowd didn’t seem to be as crowded as before. They were quietly spreading out.

Seeing that Kiro’s hair was stuck to his forehead because of sweat, I took out a tissue and wiped it.

MC: Obviously you are a person with a strong desire to win, But this morning, you pretended to be a pig and eat a tiger in front of me.*

*So I had to google this phrase here and it’s an idiom. It’s basically saying that Kiro acted weaker than he actually is in order for his opponent to lower their defense against him.

Kiro: Because the situation is different.

Although Kiro tried his best to cover it, he was still slightly out of breath.

MC: Different?

Kiro: Well, because in front of MC, I don’t need to strive for perfection in everything.

Kiro: Being with you makes me happy and helps me relax.

Kiro: But just now, everyone was looking at us. I had only one thought at that time.

Kiro looked at me seriously, his eyes brighter than ever.

Kiro: In front of the person I like, I don’t want to lose.

Kiro: I can’t lose.

As soon as his voice fell, my heart skipped a beat, my hand that was gradually moving stopped.

The sweetness and emotion in my heart were repeatedly intertwined. I looked at him and couldn’t speak for a moment.

Kiro leaned over, his line of sight aimed right towards my lips.

Kiro: Since I won, will I be rewarded by Miss Chips?

Kiro: Such as….

Without waiting for him to finish, I quickly gave him a peck on the lips, blushed and “escaped from the scene”.

Kiro: Wait, just that? Is that it?

Kiro’s voice came from behind. I snickered and continued to run forward.

I didn’t tell him, in fact, that I didn’t care about winning or losing.

Because in my heart, Kiro will always be the best and irreplaceable person.

But seeing him win the game for me, I secretly smiled in my heart and just let him have this moment.

He’s always handsome no matter what. *Phrasing was a little weird here so I hope I interpreted this right lol*

[End]

#mlqc #mlqc kiro #mlqc spoilers #mr love queen's choice #mr love game #mr love #mr love kiro #mr love dream date #date translation #kira #I'm so proud of you MC!!#SHOW YOUR MAN SOME LOVE!!#HE DESERVES IT!!!

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dojae-huh · 3 years

Text

Universe: album

I like this album more than Sticker. There are more interesting songs.

It is weird for me to listen to songs and not recognise all the voices though. There is newness instead of familiarity.

Taeil stood out the most.

I miss Tende. I feel like SM figured out how to use Haechan, but not how to use Doyoung and Jaehyun separately from Taeil.

For example, Jaehyun is best when he either sings properly like in the start of “Beautiful”, when his warm tone shines, or when he plays with “chicky” delivery (the whisper rap in “Punch”, the rap in “Lemonade”, his parts in “Kitchen bit”). When he simply sing-songs like in “Good night” he doesn’t stand out much, he doesn’t have enough raspiness or silvery to his voice. He sounds not bad, just not very captivating, he is unmemorable.

Doyoung gets the best parts when he is paired with Taeil (the newer songs). When they transition from one to another. Otherwise he is tasked with layering weaker vocals. JohnDo, Do’s harmony parts on Beautiful (with Sungachan I think? and with Kun).

A good role for Doyoung is the “silver knife”, when his clear tone is used atop of others. “Yestoday”, “Lightbulb”, “Promise you”.

While when Do is given lines that don’t require anything special or are short (no space), he blends in. “Universe”, “Know Now” (both songs in some parts). He is the support. He is often faded out, which isn’t something complimentary. Do’s singing voice isn’t very textured (like Jeno’s or Mark’s), so without putting in power or emotion/colour the voice is "just nice”. Again, unmemorable.

Well, to put it rudely, the role of sub vocal doesn’t suit Doyoung or Jaehyun.

JaeDo opening and ending “Beautiful”, heh. I also snickered at the JaeDo moment in the MV (at 4:00)

I really liked the inclusion of the whistle. It’s that satisfaction from a “pay off” from the promotions/teasers and from having a “unique element”.

P.S. It will be a cool thing if the boy sitting in the second bus is a new future neo. The girls in the first bus look in front, but this boy is alone and is looking at YangYang.

#NCT2021 #cherries in the sky high

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funkwhistle · 4 years

Text

Get Some Rest

Pairing: Dutch Van Der Linde x reader (no direct references to being female, but references to typical things a woman would do around camp etc)

Warnings: none, just fluff again

Summary: After Dutch’s injury, the pair of you seem to be a little closer than before...

part 1

(Image is mine)

Get Some Rest

It had been nearly two weeks since Dutch had returned, injured, from the job. About a week ago, he left the tent for the first time, sitting by the trees to read another one of his books. His face had regained some of its hopeful colour and he seemed stronger now, although he still worked on disguising his limp as he walked through camp.

You hadn't spoken to him since you took his bandages off his leg, three days ago. The wound was healing nicely, although he'd most probably have a scar; it was a miracle he was alive anyway. Yesterday you'd found a book lying on your sleeping roll and, upon opening it, you'd seen the meticulous lettering of the book's owner - a certain Dutch Van Der Linde.

You'd been trying to get some peace and quiet for long enough to be able to read, but as soon as you had a minute to yourself it was dark or raining. However, you'd managed to read the first chapter over the course of yesterday and today, and here you were - sat by one of the rocks on the edge of camp, reading the book and debating whether or not to fall asleep.

“Come on!” Miss Grimshaw calling you back from your break shook the longing for sleep from your mind as you gently placed a ruined bootlace you'd broken last week into the book, marking your page for later. Then you stood up slowly, making your way back to camp, tucking the book into one of the large front pockets on your apron.

As you approached camp again, you caught the eye of Dutch, who sat, as usual, under one of the few trees that littered the landscape. While he looked at you, you could swear his mouth tilt up into a smile a little, but Miss Grimshaw's insistent calls prevented you from saying anything. Instead you smiled a little at you, before moving away. His eyes didn't waver from watching you as you walked away.

The afternoon passed without interest, you helped Charles groom the horses and prepare the stew with Pearson. Just as you were scooping a ladle-full of the stuff into your bowl, a familiar voice spoke behind you; “Mind getting me some dear?” Dutch stood behind you, holding his bowl carefully as you spooned some of the stew into it. Placing his hand on your shoulder to support himself, he leaned past you, grabbing some of the bread that was on a plate by the pot. While he was leaning you became aware of how close the pair of you were to one another, if you wanted to you could very easily kiss him now-

“You enjoying the book?” he spoke again, making you jump back into what was happening, the feeling of guilt at what you'd felt coursing through you. Dutch had been on your mind a lot over the last few days, ever since you'd helped his leg.

“I haven't managed to read much, but thanks for lending it to me,” you replied, nodding at what he said as he removed his hand from your shoulder. Strangely, when his hand was gone, you felt as though something was missing. However, you quickly dismissed the thought as you continued speaking, now walking over to one of the tables in camp.

“It's nothing, there's no need to thank me,” Dutch said, still smiling at you. “Come with me,” he moved away from the table where you'd normally eat your dinner with some of the girls to just outside camp. The pair of you sat in contented silence for a while, only the sounds of you eating interrupting the peaceful sounds of the desert. Your heart was fluttering again in your chest, you told yourself he was being kind for your help, nothing more, but your heart wanted, no needed, it to be something more.

“Well lo-” “Tha-”

You both started speaking at the same time, before both stopping. Dutch was looking at you again, it felt as though he could read the thoughts chasing themselves around your head as you stared back at him. However, your eye contact was soon broken as the sun began to shine awkwardly into your eyes, meaning you had to move your hand to shelter your face from the hot evening rays.

“I should get going,” you said, standing up and grabbing your bowls to wash them, and Dutch stood also, passing you his bowl.

As you grabbed the bowl from him, your hand skirted over his lightly, not heavy enough for it to be obvious but enough to make him glance down at you. Behind the stoic demeanor there was a glimmer of something in his eyes as he looked down at you, but you couldn't place the emotion

you shivered a little as the cool evening swept in and you realised you were still wearing your warmer clothes from the heat of the day. Dutch cocked his head at your reaction, moving closer to you and carefully, as though you were made of glass, pulling you closer for a hug, running his hands up and down your arms to generate some sort of heat for you. Shocked, you didn't move for a moment before putting the bowl on the crate next to you and resting your arms around him.

The pair of you stood there, content, for a while; every now and again Dutch would hum contentedly as you moved your hands hesitantly over his back. Your breathing matched his, chests rising as falling together as you leaned your head on him. And an unspoken happiness flooded the pair of you, that you were both here and both alive.

The perfect harmony couldn't last forever, for soon enough the sound of Arthur calling for Dutch rang through camp and Dutch moved back from you. Strangely, when he was gone, you felt as though something was missing from within you, as though being with Dutch filled a part of your heart you never knew to be empty.

“Dutch-” you started, but you were cut off by Dutch as he turned back to face you, his hands finding their way to your arms again, seeking the contact between the pair of you. At this, you nearly melted, the feeling of complete-ness filling you again. Stepping closer to you, Dutch cupped your face softly, running his thumb over your cheekbone as he leaned closer and closed the gap between you.

Time stopped. You couldn't reister what to do next, it was like you were kissing that boy again in Ohio, your brain couldn't comprehend what you were supposed to be doing until you felt Dutch's hand on your hip, pulling you closer to him. And then it was natural, as you moved with him, hands snaking up to the nape of his neck, standing on your tiptoes to reach him. His fingers moved over your hips, as though they had a mind of their own as he skated his tongue over the edge of your lips.

“Dutch!” Arthur called again, nearer to you than he was before and with more urgency in his voice. Dutch hummed unhappily against your lips, shaking his head slightly and muttering an apology to you before he was pulling away from your lips. Instead of moving away from you, however, he kept you close to him, letting you hear his pounding heart as he gently caressed your hair and replied to Arthur.

“Arthur, what do you want boy?” “Dutch! I just-” Arthur rounded the corner on the tent to see the pair of you, although Dutch was attempting to cover you from potential embarrassment, the two stew bowls gave it away. “Nevermind, it can wait,” he said, sneaking back around the tent, making Dutch sigh deeply and turn back to you.

“Now, where were we?”

A/N This is a part 2 to Get Some Rest

Any requests would be welcome, surprisingly I write more than just Dutch :0

I’m also sorry this might not be quite right I’ve written it quickly so it might get a little love over the weekend

Here is part of a copy of Evelyn Miller’s book - An American Inferno

#dutch van der linde #dutch x reader #dutch van der linde x reader #reader insert #red dead redemption imagine #red dead redemption 2 #red dead #rdr2 #bill williamson #sadie adler #arthur morgan #john marston #Pearson #hosea mathews #arthur morgan x reader #dutch van der linde x fem!reader

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tessandscottforever18 · 3 years

Text

Sept 12

Fresh off the UK release of Amazon Studios’ reimagined 'Cinderella', pop icon Camila Cabello talks to Nick Levine about her starring role in the film and her next chapter.

Camila Cabello is in a very good place right now. The utterly joyous video for “Don’t Go Yet”, the lead single from her forthcoming album Familia, shows her dancing around a dinner table surrounded by family, friends and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Valentina. An eyepopping colour palette definitely complements the song: a bright and buoyant Latin bop banger that hits like musical serotonin. In the comments beneath the YouTube video, the singer has added a sweet message: “Hope you guys love this and that it inspires many wine drunk kitchen dance parties for you and your familia.”

The video may be a visual feast, but it’s no fantasy. Cabello says it reflects a recent healing period during which she focused on “collective joy and community and really growing the seeds of my relationships”. The casual dinner parties she threw with partner Shawn Mendes became a nourishing ritual as she stepped off the pop star treadmill for the first time in nearly a decade. This breather was long overdue given that Cabello’s career has maintained an upward trajectory ever since she entered the US version of The X Factor in 2012. Though she auditioned as a solo artist, she ended up landing a record deal as a member of Fifth Harmony, a girl group formed One Direction-style on the show. Four years later, she went solo and cemented her A-list status with “Havana”, one of the bestselling digital songs of all time. She now has more than a dozen platinum singles to her name, including 2016’s collaboration with Machine Gun Kelly, “Bad Things”, and 2019’s “South of the Border” with Ed Sheeran and Cardi B.

Still, Cabello’s pace of life slowed down last year for one reason only: the pandemic. “It’s been an absolutely traumatic thing that’s happened to the world,” she says today, speaking on the phone shortly before she records Spanish overdubs for her movie debut in a feminist reimagining of Cinderella. “But in terms of my mental health, before that particular moment, I was really approaching… ” The 24-year-old pauses, then corrects herself. “I mean, I don’t think I was even approaching, I think I was burned out. And I feel like that necessary forced pause [caused by the pandemic] just allowed me to look at my life differently. It allowed me to recalibrate what makes me happy and what is important to me. I feel like it saved me in a lot of ways.”

Cabello has spoken candidly in the past about her struggles with anxiety, which in turn led to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Today, she likens managing this anxiety to a “constant ebb and flow”, which is made easier by her new therapist, but says the pandemic let her rethink her attitude towards work. “I’m fortunate enough to choose what I say yes and no to,” she explains. “That’s what’s really important to me this time around. If it’s affecting my mental health in a negative way, I’ll say no and do it another way.”

“I feel like the public and the media could almost have become a third person in our relationship.”

A project she’s clearly fully invested in is Cinderella, a new film version of the familiar fairy tale, directed by Pitch Perfect’s Kay Cannon. Cabello stars as the title character opposite Broadway legend Idina Menzel as her non-wicked stepmother and Pose actor Billy Porter as her fairy godparent. According to Cabello, these reimagined characters are just two of the film’s progressive elements. “Those classic fairy tales were all written by men. That’s why the story [of Cinderella] is that of a woman who’s saved by a prince,” Cabello says. “But in our version, which is written and directed by a woman, she’s saved herself and is trying to build her own life. It’s a much more empowering version of the story.”

In fact, Cabello’s Cinderella story has “no evil people in it at all”, because it places the focus firmly on the heroine’s self-actualisation. “Cinderella’s dream is to live an independent life at a time when women aren’t allowed to have careers,” she explains. “So she’s seeing something that’s wrong in the world and not waiting for someone else to correct it for her – she’s doing it herself. I think that’s a really necessary, positive update.”

Cabello has also been using her formidable social media presence – 54.5 million followers on Instagram, 11.9 million on TikTok – to spread some very necessary positivity. After being papped on a run in mid-July wearing “a top that shows my belly”, Cabello told her TikTok followers she thought “Damn!” before remembering that “being at war with your body is so last season”. Today, she says she experiences much less body insecurity since sharing this post. “I felt like I was not alone in feeling that or alone in my frustration,” she says. “And so next time there are pictures of me where my belly is out, there’s gonna be a community of women who have heard me talk about the way that makes me feel and who support me. And that is honestly so liberating.”

She has even used TikTok to break down a human rights issue that is close to her heart. In July, Cabello shared a well-received video explaining that recent protests in Cuba aren’t “about lack of Covid resources and medicine”, but are really “the latest layer in a 62-year-old story of a communist regime and a dictatorship”. She says speaking out in this way was a matter of moral obligation for her. “You know, I’m Cuban and I still have family on the island,” she says – Cabello was born in Havana, then moved to Miami with her parents when she was six. “And so much of what I do is Cuban culture. I mean, ‘Havana’ is one of my most successful songs so far,” she adds. “So when I’m in the United States, showing the beautiful part of Cuban culture, I feel like I also have to be there for the hard part, for the people there who are struggling.”

“If it’s affecting my mental health in a negative way, I’ll say no and do it another way.”

“Havana”, a sultry and infectious celebration of the Cuban capital, was so huge that it could easily have overshadowed her debut album. But thankfully, 2018’s Camila was a cool and cohesive affair that also spawned the brilliant angsty banger “Never Be the Same”. Then in 2019 Cabello launched her second album, Romance, with “Señorita”, a massively successful duet with Mendes that has now racked up 1.9 billion Spotify streams. When Cabello and Mendes confirmed they were dating shortly after its release, they became gossip-site staples – something they remain today – and were accused of faking the relationship for publicity. The impact of this negative coverage on their mental health was barely even mentioned.

Still, more than two years later, Cabello says she and Mendes have managed to maintain their privacy. “I feel like the public and the media could almost have become a third person in our relationship,” she says. “But that’s not been a thing for us because Shawn and I don’t even look at social media like that. Even though we know it’s there, it’s almost like it doesn’t exist for us. And that’s why we don’t live in LA. We live in Miami or Toronto, where there’s less paparazzi and that kind of attention is less of a thing.”

Looking ahead, Cabello says she’s excited for fans to hear Familia, which she feels has greater “intimacy” than her previous albums because she worked so closely with core collaborators Scott Harris, Ricky Reed and Mike Sabath. Because she trusted them implicitly, Cabello says she was able to “freestyle” during recording sessions and really pour her heart out. “You know, there’s one song [I’ve recorded for the album] where I’m talking about my mental health and anxiety without [specifically] saying it’s about anxiety,” she says. “But it’s about what anxiety looks and feels like for me in my body and in my mind. And that wasn’t something I came into the room intending to write about. Ricky just showed me a piece of music he had and it all came out of me.”

Cabello says this “stream of consciousness” songwriting style “never would have happened” when she was recording Camila and Romance because, for her, there was still too much “tension” in the room. But this time around, she felt comfortable enough to be truly vulnerable. In this respect, Cabello draws a comparison between her own creative evolution and that of Billie Eilish, who recently released her acclaimed second album, Happier Than Ever. “I saw this quote from Billie where she said, ‘I wasn’t scared, it wasn’t forced, there was no pressure, it was just really nice.’ And I feel the same way about this album’s process for me,” she says. The message is clear: in both her personal and professional lives, Camila Cabello is in a very good place.

#camila cabello #interview: hunger tv #hunger magazine #cinderella promo #cinderella #don’t go yet #familia #shawn mendes

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shelovescontrol91 · 3 years

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“If it’s affecting my mental health in a negative way, I’ll say no and do it another way.”

#camila cabello #shawn mendes #shawmila #cinderella #familia

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justkeeptrekkin · 5 years

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Hi M anon!! I’m so sorry this took me so long. I’ve played around with the idea a bit, hope you don’t mind. Tagging @a-shipping-life who requested something similar. Enjoy!!

***

“This is....”

Crowley’s voice trails off as he views his surroundings. When he’d imagined post-armageddon, he had always thought of fire and brimstone. Or, depending on how the war ended, sickening rounds of celestial harmonies, on repeat- listening to it all from behind bars in a pit. Instead, three years into the Third Testament, the New Era, the Age of Satan’s Spawn, and Crowley’s attending children’s birthday parties. Apparently.

The back garden of the Young family household is perfect for a party- according to Azirphale. A nice little closed off area, with some nice bunting and nice cake and a nice view of the Cotswolds rolling in the distance. Kids and family friends, together, having a nice time. All a bit too nice for Crowley’s taste, who’d preferred the bratty parties Warlock’d had, with nasty children and inappropriately dangerous presents (Nanny Ashtoreth had been the one to anonymously give Warlock a bow and arrow set).

Crowley takes his stand beside Aziraphale, wincing at the ensuing fourteenth birthday party. He needs a shot of insulin with how sweet this event is. He eventually manages: “This is. Ugh.”

“It is not ugh,” Aziraphale tuts, rolls his eyes. “Birthdays are nice.”

“Exactly. Nice is ugh.”

Aziraphale casts him a reprimanding glance, but a smile is pulling at the corners of his lips. He looks Crowley up and down judgmentally and passes him a plastic cup. “Here.”

“What’s this?”

“Punch.”

“I’m assuming not the alcoholic variety.”

“It’s a fourteenth birthday party, Crowley.”

“What? The Youngs could be more progressive than you think. What harm did a bit of vodka do a teenager. Do teenagers not drink nowadays? I find it hard to keep track.”

“Not till his sixteenth,” Aziraphale says. Eyes scanning the party with as much wariness as Crowley’s had. Adults eating cake from paper plates, teenagers sitting on the grass and sulking at how lame this is.

“I can- I can almost guarantee that lot will have had a cheeky WKD before sixteen,” Crowley mutters into the plastic cup of punch.

Their gazes find The Them, who are sat on the garden bench and on the grass, conspiring amongst themselves. And Crowley thinks that whilst a couple of them aren’t really that badly behaved, Adam has a mischievous streak about him, and the others follow suit. The Youngs are probably struggling to keep up with their teenage son. But then, better the little devil use his powers to make a fake ID to grab a six pack of Strongbow from the corner shop, than to destroy the world.

Just as he’s considering this, the four of them look up at Aziraphale and Crowley. As if they’ve been talking about them.

Crowley sighs, peering at them over the rim of his glasses. “Yep. That lot are trouble makers.”

“It- are they talking about us?”

“Looks like.”

Aziraphale pouts his lips. “Teenagers.”

For a moment, they simply stand at the periphery of the party and survey. Newt and Anathema are here, who they could probably hold some awkward conversation with (“So… world didn’t end then.” “Apparently.”), however, they’re currently occupied by some of the guests from the village. And there’s a lot of other people who’ve been invited by Mr and Mrs Young who seem to be here for their benefit rather than Adam’s.

“Why are we here again?” Crowley whines.

“Because we’re his godparents.”

Crowley wrinkles his nose, peers down at the red juice that’s calling itself punch and doesn’t have nearly enough rum in it. “Not officially.”

“You were the one who assigned us that term, remember?” Aziraphale prompts.

“Suppose.” Then, because he’s feeling brave. And he gets these bouts of bravery when he’s in Tadfield. “How’s about after this we find the nearest pub and pissed. You can crash at mine afterwards.”

There’s a moment when he looks like he’s going to argue, twisting his lips primly and casting fleeting glances at Crowley. All coy. Crowley loves every daft bit of him. “Yes. That does sound good.”

“We can wash down the niceness of this pa- uh-oh. Here they come.”

Aziraphale picks up the slice of cake that he’d laid on the table behind him. A forkful hovering just in front of his mouth. “Sorry?”

“Teenagers, twelve o’clock.”

Aziraphale reluctantly lowers the fork, puts it down on the paper plate and surveys The Approaching Them. Adam at the front. And then the others disperse- going inside to do something more interesting, Crowley supposes. Now, with just Adam, it feels less like they’re about to be ambushed. The boy looks at them with that quietly expectant look he has, and has had since he was eleven when they first met. Though he’s a few inches taller than he used to be.

Dog trots by Adam’s side, and looks up at Aziraphale, pleading silently. Aziraphale brings the plate of cake closer to his chest and narrows his eyes at Dog.

“Thanks for coming,” Adam says, though he doesn’t look massively excited.

“Are you having a nice time?” Aziraphale asks pleasantly.

Adam shrugs. “Not really. Mum and dad invited all their friends and none of mine. Apart from you two, and Anathema and Newt. And obviously Pepper and people. It would be a lot nicer if there weren’t all these annoying old people, too.”

Crowley nods in grim understanding, curls his lips in disregard for said old people.

“Oh,” is Aziraphale’s reply. Then, smile wavering, “Well, it’s nice to see at least that there are people here who care about you, no?”

“They don’t even really know me,” Adam shrugs. “They aren’t here for my birthday. They’re here for the free cake and to boast about their lovely little middle class lives. It’s the perfect opportunity for bourgeoisie posturing under the guise of a birthday party- it’s actually really shallow.”

So this is teenaged Adam. And no less, Adam as a teenager being influenced by Anathema. Aziraphale looks a bit lost for words, but Crowley’s grinning like a loon.

“Well said,” he drawls through his smirk. “Any good presents?”

“Got a Nintendo Switch.”

“Very good,” Crowley replies seriously.

“Anyway,” Adam sighs, “The others have gone inside to find lactose free snacks. I should go help.Brian’s lactose intolerant now.”

“Oh, what a shame,” Aziraphale says sincerely.

“See you later.”

Adam traipses inside, and Dog follows chirpily. Aziraphale and Crowley watch them disappear.

“He’s going to be…” Aziraphale shakes his head, exhales through pursed lips.

“Ball-buster, that one.”

“Yes.”

Some very nondescript music plays distantly. It looks as if Mr Young is attempting to hook up his phone to bluetooth speakers and is struggling, crouching on all fours to inspect the wiring. There isn’t any wiring, is the problem. It’s a wireless speaker system. But that doesn’t seem to have occurred to Mr Young- bum in the air and face buried in Apple technology.

“Oh- oh bother. Why am I like this?”

Crowley turns to see Aziraphale has dropped cake down his waistcoat. He’s holding out the offending plate of cake and frowning at the mess- multi-coloured frosting and sprinkles everywhere. Dog is absolutely delighted, eating the scraps by Aziraphale’s feet.

Aziraphale gives Crowley his sad, cherub eyes. Crowley looks back, pouts his bottom lip. Oh, diddums.

“Would you…?” Aziraphale asks. Looking at him through his lashes.

He gives it a long moment- gives Aziraphale a few seconds to enjoy himself, gives Aziraphale the impression that he needs to work to convince Crowley. He doesn’t.

Crowley snaps his fingers, cake gone. More than that, he turns to fetch him another slice.

And he makes that little flustered smile. The one that makes Crowley putty in his stupid angelic hands. “Oh, thank you.”

“Alright, alright,” Crowley waves a dismissive hand over his shoulder as he goes to get more cake.

There’s the cake- half of it left, at least eight slices. There’s the stack of paper plates. He looks up- no one around. He takes a slice as quickly as he can, not wanting to be cornered by any of the horrifically boring guests.

Then:

“Can I ask you a question?”

Crowley spins round to find Adam. Oh, that’s fine. Adam’s not a boring octogenarian. “Questions? Love questions. Shoot.”

“None of the others believe me,” Adam starts, hands in his pockets, expression as cool and collected as ever. “I’m pretty convinced, but it seems rude to tell them I know when I haven’t even asked.”

“Asked what?”

He’s busying himself with cutting a slice of cake, paying attention but not feeling the need to give Adam his undivided attention. That is until:

“You two are married. Aren’t you?”

A perfect slice of cake had been balanced on the knife in Crowley’s hand. And then Adam had said that. So now, he’s got a perfect slice of cake splattered all over the table. And Adam’s got a speechless demon, steaming from the ears. Literally, steaming from the ears.

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-”

“So,” Adam’s eyes widen a little, and he nods slowly. “You’re… not. Married.”

“I’m- you’re- what? Who- why’re- listen,” he says, pointing a paper plate at the son of Satan, “You have no- what did- did he? Where did-”

This could take forever, and they both know it. Crowley’s mouth is a broken record. His brain has disconnected itself entirely from the rest of his body. For a demon who can speak multiple languages, who can speak tongues, he can’t for the life of him speak any of them well. Thus, Adam makes the executive decision of saving him from this never-ending, hellish loop of inarticulacy.

“Sorry for making it weird,” he says, not looking that sorry, “The two of you are just so obviously in love, I figured you guys were married. And gay marriage was only legalised recently, cause, like, homophobia and stuff. So I figured that you didn’t have rings because- are you OK? There’s smoke.”

“What?”

“There’s smoke. Coming from your head.”

Right, so he’s progressed straight from steaming from the ears to smoking. Fantastic, perfect, excellent. It’s probably from the speed that his thoughts are spinning; his brain going so fast, so out of control that it’s generated enough mental friction to cause a fire. Thoughts like-

-me and Aziraphale married a wedding what would we wear where would we live would we live together perhaps we’d have a garden and I could cook for him and he could knit me socks like the socks he gave me for Christmas two years ago and oh holy fuck is it that obvious that I love him does he realise does Aziraphale know does he love me back he loves me he loves me not he loves me he loves me not he loves me-

-OK, he can smell the smoke now. Just wonderful.

Then, from across the garden, Crowley hears Aziraphale exclaim: “Married?”

Pepper is staring at him like he’s an idiot. Aziraphale’s staring back at her like he’s gone catatonic. Holding an empty paper plate. Mouth hanging open. Eyes widening slowly, like the THX theme music should be playing in the background.

And then Aziraphale’s head snaps round to look at Crowley. Looking, as far as he can tell, absolutely mortified.

Crowley stares back.

Adam stares.

Pepper stares.

Crowley puts down the cake knife and takes a deep, nerve-steadying breath. Because whilst the world hadn’t really ended three years ago, it feels a bit like it has now.

Time to face the music, he thinks.

***

Part two possibly will be written if people want one...

#Good omens #ineffable husbands #Crowley #Aziraphale #my writing #fic prompt #fanfiction

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