#its been so long since a movie has made me giddy omg

[worthyking]

just watched how to lose a guy in 10 days new comfort movie UNLOCKED

[suganovakawa]

My birthdays coming up 👉👈 and I was wondering if I could request some birthday headcanons with oikawa, bokuto and akaashi? If that makes sense ^^

omg yess !! and early happy birthday anonnie 🥺💓

birthday shenanigans!

— oikawa, bokuto, and akaashi give you a birthday to remember!

— gen masterlist.

gen taglist ( open! )

a / n : hehe this is my first request , i feel kinda giddy , actually 🥺 my writing requests will be open for a while , so don’t be afraid to request anytime !

tooru oikawa.

✧｡ this boy has your birthday written down on every calandar he owns

✧｡ there is no doubt in my mind he is the type to stay up until midnight to make sure he is the first person to wish you a happy birthday

✧｡ he’ll call you , too — he’s not afraid of getting an earful from you , as long as you know that he cares about you so so much

✧｡ “ tooru ??? what time is it ??? ”

✧｡ “ Y/N ITS MIDNIIIIIIIIIIIGHT HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET ”

✧｡ “ TOORU WHY ARENT YOU SLEEPING COULDNT YOU HAVE JUST WAITED UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING ”

✧｡ “ well i needed to make sure i was the first person to wish you a happy birthday before going to bed . you sleep well now , my dear . i’ll be picking you up tomorrow . ”

✧｡ now , if your birthday happens to fall on a weekday , he’s going to make sure everyone on the volleyball team wishes you well

✧｡ well , he doesn’t really have to force them , since they all like you enough to do that on their own

✧｡ he’ll skip practice to take you out for dinner , he doesn’t want to hear your complaints about his actions

✧｡ “ i can’t let you skip practice tooru ! volleyball is important to you , it would be selfish of me to take you away from practice ”

✧｡ “ you forget that you’re important to me as well , y/n . and besides ! your birthday comes once a year , i’m not gonna miss a chance to celebrate that . ”

✧｡ he takes you to your favorite place , and you two of you enjoy dinner together

✧｡ he waits until you get to your place to come inside and give you a present

✧｡ tooru would be the type to gift you jewelry , so expect something like a very special necklace and matching earrings to go with it !

✧｡ you will absolutely not leave his side if your birthday falls on the weekend

✧｡ he’ll tell you to text him when you wake up , and when you do , he’ll be at your door even before you get dressed

✧｡ like the weekday , he’ll still take you out to dinner when the sun sets , but until then your guys’ agenda is completely your choice

✧｡ so , you decide stay at home with him , and bake a cake together to celebrate the occasion

✧｡ i would say he’s a decent baker ?? i see tooru as a better chef than baker but he’s not pitiful when it comes to pastries

✧｡ after you two come back from dinner you stay up watching movies and cuddling until you fall asleep in each other’s snuggles

✧｡ you’ll probably fall asleep first , tooru will notice and smile , kissing your forehead gently and shutting off the tv before falling asleep shortly after

✧｡ “ happy birthday , my love . ”

koutarou bokuto.

✧｡ this boy is going to treat your birthday like a national holiday and nothing less

✧｡ he’s going to 👏🏼 spoil 👏🏼 you 👏🏼

✧｡ you better expect the most bokuto-type greeting when he lays his eyes on you on your special day

✧｡ “ BABY !!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY OMG IVE BEEN WANTING TO SEE YOU !!! ”

✧｡ “ thank you , kou — kOUTAROU YOURE SMOTHERING ME I CANT BREATHE AKAASHI PLEASE HELP — ���

✧｡ yes keiji is going to be watching over him today even though he always does on a daily basis lmao

✧｡ if your birthday falls on a weekday , bokuto is going to force all of his teammates to wait for you so all of them can give you their best birthday wishes the moment you arrive

✧｡ they complain but secretly they don’t mind , they have respect for someone who can handle someone as crazy as bokuto

✧｡ after practice he’s headed straight for your house , and holy shit are those presents in his arms

✧｡ “ kou !!! how was practice ?? ”

✧｡ “ great ! everyone let me leave early for you , so i had enough time to get dressed and surprise ! these are all for you ”

✧｡ “ KOUTAROU HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU SPEND ON THESE ”

✧｡ idc how many times you demand him to tell you , the monetary value will not leave his mouth

✧｡ each gift bag has something different , from your favorite snacks to clothes to jewelry

i told you you were gonna get spoiled

✧｡ you , my friend , are royalty ; and he WILL treat you as such

✧｡ if your birthday falls on the weekend , expect a shit ton more from koutarou

✧｡ not only are you going to get those presents , but this guy also planned a whole surprise party for you too

✧｡ say thank you to akaashi , he did most of the planning because bokuto had no idea how to plan a party

✧｡ the fukurodani players were invited , your friends were invited , and even your family was in on the plan

✧｡ bokuto will stop at nothing to make sure you feel nothing but love on your birthday

✧｡ “ happy birthday baby ! you deserve nothing but the best today . ”

keiji akaashi.

✧｡ though keiji won’t be as flashy as bokuto when it comes to your birthday , boy is he going to make you feel loved on your special day

✧｡ he makes sure to call you when you wake up , wishing you a happy birthday before you start your day

✧｡ AND HE SINGS FOR YOU TOO

✧｡ he is a singer and you can’t change my mind

✧｡ so already this mf has made you swoon literally bare minutes into your day

✧｡ but honey , it gets better from here

✧｡ if your birthday happens on a weekday , still expect a wondrous bokuto greeting

✧｡ he secretly tells you akaashi has been worrying about what to get you for your birthday and what to do but you’re not supposed to know

✧｡ KOU HIDE KEIJI IS COMING

✧｡ “ baby , what did bokuto tell you ? ”

✧｡ “ huh ? nothing , he just asked what i was gonna do for my birthday . ”

✧｡ “ oh , okay . you’re a bad liar , by the way . ”

✧｡ KFJJSJFJDJ he knows you like the back of his hand don’t even try hiding anything from him

✧｡ he asks for you to wait for him after school , while he asks for permission to miss practice for the day

✧｡ once he takes you out of school , he takes you back to his place , where this one man wonder cooks you a birthday dinner

✧｡ keiji akaashi is complete husband material wbk

✧｡ i see akaashi as the type of person who takes mental notes when you notably express a desire to have something

✧｡ like you could just be shopping with him and you’ll see something you like “ omg that’s so pretty ! i really need to get that someday ”

✧｡ uh no you’re not getting it for yourself , he’s gonna buy it for you

✧｡ hahahaha you’re funny if you think you’re gonna get keiji to confess the amount of money he spent for you

✧｡ if your birthday is on the weekend , he’s gonna pick you up and take you to your favorite places to shop

✧｡ you two have to compromise because akaashi originally wanted to pay for everything you laid eyes but hell no that’s way too much

✧｡ after a bunch of begging and persuading he finally let you use your own wallet , he wouldn’t buy anything for you unless it was under any price equivalent to $15

✧｡ you’re gonna be out all day with him sis , but he’s still gonna cook you dinner like the good hubby he is

✧｡ no matter what , he’s gonna make sure he treats you and make you feel loved and appreciated because his love for you knows no limits

✧｡ “ i hope you enjoyed your birthday , my darling . i love you . ”

[47beesinarave]

Love in the Air

Part 3

a/n: I really really really loved writing this part. could not stop smiling as i did. and as much as i love good angst, writing wedding fluff is sosososo fun omg

1.2k words - Love in the Air Masterlist

“Are you sure we have everything?” Hana had asked you that for the seventeenth time since waking up this morning at the hotel. Six times since arriving at the wedding venue.

“yes, I’m sure, Hana. Just worry about getting yourself ready and relaxing in here for a bit with the rest of the bridesmaids. AH-” you stopped her before she could interject and ask you something else. “I already texted Akaashi. The men are all good over there and they know to get in touch with me if they need anything. Now please, just breathe, relax, sip some water, and let the makeup artist finish your make-up.”

“Thank you, y/n,” she sighed, a relieved smile making its appearance. “I know I’m being kind of annoying and a pain today.”

“Nonsense. You’re an annoying pain every day. Today is no different,” you shrugged and gave her a wink as you turned back to the mirror to finish your own makeup ignoring little glare she gave you.

“Do you think it will rain? I hope it doesn’t rain on us.” you shot her another look as she said that.

“You could answer that better than me. You’ve checked the weather probably a million times in the last week.”

She laughed.

The bride’s room was busy and always moving. Family coming in and out to greet Hana, give her hugs, wish her well for the future. Surprisingly, her makeup only had to be fixed once, after her mother and future mother-in-law came in to talk to her. It was happy and full of laughter and smiles.

Hana’s grin never left her face, and only seemed to grow as time crept close and closer. Her giddiness was contagious and palpable, and when you turned around to look at her while everyone was lining up you could see it in the air around her. You felt her sigh against your shoulder as you wrapped her in a tight hug.

“The last hug I get to give you as an unmarried woman,” she whispered. You could hear the smile and joy in her voice.

“You ready?”

“Definitely.”

“Good,” you stepped back giving her hands a squeeze as her father came and stood beside her.

You turned at made your way back to your place next to Akaashi, taking a moment to pause and look at him. Suits suited him. They suited him very well.

He looked down and met your gaze. “You know, in most of the movies I’ve seen with weddings in them, the bridesmaids will complain about the dress the bride picked and there’s some dramatic falling out amongst them because of it. But if what I’ve seen and heard so far, Hana has good tastes.”

You shot him a questioning look. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“You look really nice.”

You felt the blush creep up your neck and take over your cheeks, your makeup definitely not doing a good job of hiding it. You quickly turned your head back towards the doors. 

“Thanks,” you whispered, biting your lip to hold back your smile. “The suit doesn’t look too bad on you either.”

He let out a soft chuckle, and you decided that you really liked that sound.

You heard the music start on the other side of the doors. They opened and you looked back at Hana, her face beaming and bright. You grabbed Akaashi’s arm and began to walk forward.

The ceremony, while long, was beautiful. Hana looked beautiful, and you saw the tears starting to form in her eyes as she reached the podium and grabbed Bokuto’s hand. He had a smile to match hers and your heart swelled at seeing how much the two of them cared for each other. You felt your own tears begin to form as you listened to their promises to the other. You’d never been happier for Hana than you were at this moment.

-----

The reception that followed was just as full of tears and smiles as the ceremony. The pre-dinner speeches and toasts by some of the groom’s men pulling out many laughs from the people in the room. The speech that was given by Hana’s father goading out more tears from her.

You leaned towards Akaashi who was seated next to you. “Weren’t you supposed to give one of the toasts, as the best man?”

He glanced back at Kuroo as Kuroo was sharing another story he’d had with Bokuto, something they had done together fresh out of high school. “I was, but Kuroo was really insistent about giving one so I figured I’d just let him have the honors.”

“Oh? How thoughtful of you all.”

“Not really, he just gets really annoying about some things and it would be exhausting arguing with him on it.”

“You’ve really mastered the art of handling them, haven’t you.”

“Didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t I would’ve probably died or lost my sanity.” He smiled a nostalgic look in his eyes. “Instead I only question it a little whenever I’m around them.”

People started to filter towards the dance floor as dinner and all of the, as Hana put it, “formal traditions that are mostly for show” finish up. You stand amongst the crowd next to Akaashi, watching Hana and Bokuto share their first dance. She’d had plenty of rehearsal and practice, but still tripping over her dress and she’d laugh with Bokuto. Slowly other couples joining, a couple of the children bouncing around near the DJ.

You see Akaashi turn towards you and reach out his hand, his eyebrow raised in a silent question. You smiled as you took his hand and he led you towards the dance floor. The song is soft and warm, and you can’t tear your mind away from how close the two of you were standing. Trying to memorize the weight of his hand in yours, the heat coming from his hand on your waist, and the warmth radiating from his body that was inches from yours as you softly swayed and spun around the dance floor.

“For someone who supposedly doesn’t play sports, that was quite a way to catch the bouquet earlier.” He said with a cheeky grin.

“Let’s not talk about that, please.” you pouted and you felt him chuckle as you turned your face away in embarrassment. 

“Most people try to catch it, you know? Not smack it away from them.”

“Will you please stop teasing me about it?” you whined.

“No, absolutely not,” he said as he continued to laugh.

You sighed and looked out at the rest of the dance floor. More people had joined in, more of the kids forming circles and dancing around on the tiles. You saw Hana’s grandparents enjoying a small moment together in their own corner. You saw your ex that you actively avoid, which surprised you. He must’ve been someones plus one to the reception. What surprised you the most was that him being there didn’t bother you like it normally would, and you weren’t sure why.

“Are you alright?” Akaashi asked, noticing the slight change in your face.

You looked back up at him, seeing the slight scrunch from concern on his eyebrows. You smile up at him.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” you said softly. You honestly were, because more than anything else around you, the feeling of being held this close to Akaashi was the biggest thing on your mind. The feeling of being in his arms and feeling the gentle warmth that radiated off of him as you both slowly swayed to the music was nice.

And you added it to the endlessly growing list you had of things you liked about him.

Tag List <3  (if you wanna be added shoot me an ask or dm!)

@sleepyhaikyuuu @chi-chanmoosedrip @akaashit-baeji @fern-writes-ig @skyguy-peach @gulfwanq @mochi-poof @keijilovebot @whalien52dreams @cold-and-cold @marvels-supernaturalsherlock @drainedjaz @aizawa-sh0ta @hqmakkitrash @spudicide @asranomical @hakueishirei @akiiyukii @strawbrieshortcake @briswriting @pineapplekween @sosugasweet @macaronnv @agaassi @chxrry-wxne @seffuchan 

[parkkate]

Hold on to the memories

OMG HI HELLO wonderful person, who sent me one of my first prompts ever!!! :D 💖💖💖 Man, I feel like that was aaaages ago :D Thank you so much for this ask! I would NEVER ignore this!! :D Although, I have to admit I rarely write sequels, well in this case prequel, to any of my ficlets. BUT a few other people have messaged me about a sequel, too. And you guys were all so sweet about it! So, @potterlocked16, once again, thank you so much! 💖 :)

This time, it’s from Draco’s pov.

It’s on AO3 as well, if you prefer to read it there :)

And you can find part 1 here or also here on AO3 :)

“What are you smiling about?”

Making sure he wouldn’t spill his coffee, Draco slowly leaned back in his chair. Without breaking eye contact with his boyfriend, he placed his feet on the table and crossed them at the ankles.

“Nothing,” he said, his smile widening.

“You’re wearing the socks,” Harry remarked.

“I know.” It didn’t even occur to Draco to give Harry some snarky or witty retort. His mind was preoccupied with other things. Happiness, for the most part.

They had come a long way since they had first moved in together over two years ago. What a roller coaster ride it had been! For almost a year, they had just been flatmates. Sure, they had spent a lot of time together, but it had taken quite some time before things had changed. It had all started with their mutual desire to spend their evenings at home, rather than going out. They’d just eat dinner and sometimes watch television together. Draco had become quite fond of spending their evenings like this.

At first, he had been wary of this weird Muggle device that had suddenly replaced one of their shelves in the living room. Harry had assured him, he’d like it. And he did. This television thing was quite entertaining. But that wasn’t the part Draco liked most.

At that point, there wasn’t much they didn’t share. Except for Draco’s shampoo. But Harry knew not to touch it. Just like Harry knew Draco would be cold on the sofa. He distinctly remembered that one night, when Harry had gotten the ball rolling…

Draco felt his lips stretch into a smile as he watched his flatmate approach, a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a blanket in the other. They were so in sync by now, they barely needed any words to know what the other needed. Draco took the bowl from Harry while he draped the blanket over the both of them.

“What are we watching tonight?” Draco asked. Not that he really cared. Rather than watching the movie, he usually watched Harry. His face and his reactions to the plot twists were so captivating. Tonight was no exception. Harry’s eyes were wide and he absentmindedly shoved popcorn into his mouth every now and then, while the bloke in the weird black suit with pointy ears (apparently he had a thing for bats or something?) speeded into the night on his motorcycle.

As much fun as it was to watch Harry like this, Draco realised he had been sitting in the same position far too long. His left leg felt numb and his neck was beginning to hurt. He started shifting, causing the blanket to fall on the floor.

“Sorry,” Draco mumbled. “My leg has gone dead.”

“Hold on,” Harry said, changing his position and putting the popcorn aside. “Here, give me your feet.”

Draco frowned.

“What?” “Give me your feet,” Harry repeated. He patted his lap and gave Draco an expectant look. Slowly, Draco stretched out his feet. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this. He didn’t like people touching his feet. Not many had done so, but he just knew he didn’t like it. As soon as his heels touched Harry’s thighs, Harry put the blanket over them again, slipping his hands underneath. He started rubbing Draco’s ankles, much to Draco’s surprise. Huh. That didn’t feel so bad. Actually…

Draco let out a contented sigh. Who would have thought having Harry Potter as a flatmate would have such benefits?

Out of the corner of his eyes, he glanced at said flatmate. It had been a long time since he had thought of him as ‘Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived’. To him, he was just Harry now. No more ‘Golden Boy’ or ‘The Chosen One’. Just Harry. The potential love of your life. Oh, Merlin! Not that again! Draco inwardly groaned. His mind was such a traitor sometimes. Actually, lately, it was all the time.

It didn’t matter if Harry was cooking dinner, coming out of the shower, or reading in one of the armchairs, Draco always stopped in his tracks and just watched him. He couldn’t not do it. It was like a reflex. Speaking of reflexes… Draco’s right knee suddenly jerked when he felt Harry’s fingers on his bare skin.

What was he doing? Harry’s fingers were brushing his shin. Draco had been so preoccupied in thought, he hadn’t realised how Harry’s hand had slowly found its way up his trousers leg. Was Harry even aware of what he was doing? He seemed to be completely absorbed in the movie.

“I need something to drink. You want something?” Harry asked, not taking his eyes off the television.

Draco just shook his head and watched Harry as he went into the kitchen. He could still feel Harry’s touch on his skin and it utterly confused him. He desperately wanted him to touch him again, but would that even happen? Had that just been an accident?

When Harry returned with a glass of water, Draco tried to act as normal as possible. Which wasn’t that easy to do, because holy shit, what was Harry doing? He hadn’t been sitting this close to Draco before! Now, Draco’s thighs were on Harry’s lap and Harry was almost touching his bum. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!!!

The following twenty minutes were the most uncomfortable in Draco’s life. Okay, maybe not the most uncomfortable, but uncomfortable enough. Because he didn’t dare move a muscle in his body. He stayed completely rigid, afraid of making Harry realise Draco was basically sitting in his lap. But he had to move sometime.

Not wanting to end this but feeling curious at the same time, Draco slowly leaned forward. He acted as if he was just stretching a little bit, but instead of leaning back to his original position, he rested his head on the back of the sofa, right next to Harry’s shoulder. Now, he’d just have to move his head down a few inches and he’d basically be snuggling with Harry. Sweet Merlin! Okay, stay calm. Act natural. Do it gradually.

When his cheek made the first contact with Harry’s jumper, Draco almost made a strangled sound. Almost there! It seemed almost too good to be true when he was finally nestled on Harry’s shoulder. Draco couldn’t resist reclining his head. As a result, his nose was pressing against Harry’s throat. Oh dear God! He smelled so, so good!

When Harry suddenly started moving, Draco thought he was about to be pushed away. Instead, Harry draped one arm around Draco, pulling him even closer to him. He placed his free hand on Draco’s forearm and then Draco felt Harry’s cheek on top of his head. Merlin’s pants! Now he was really sitting in Harry’s lap and there was no denying that this was full-on snuggling!

It wasn’t like they hadn’t had physical contact before, but not like this. Draco had often imagined what it would be like, having Harry’s arms around him, but he had never dared to hope it would actually come true. It was a curious feeling. He felt warm, giddy and secure.

Being held like this was a completely new experience for Draco. Sometimes, especially as a child, his mother had hugged him or patted his back… But it had always been because Draco had been crying, because he had a nightmare or had scraped his knee while playing in the garden. There had always been a reason. She had comforted him because he had been upset.

For the longest time, Draco hadn’t thought he needed anything more than that. From anyone. Being hugged for no reason at all seemed like such a strange concept. Until Draco discovered there was always a reason, wasn’t there?

He desperately wished he could look into Harry’s head right now. What was his reason for doing this? Did he feel the same things Draco felt right now? It wasn’t likely. Then again…

Draco peeked at Harry from under his lashes. How many times had he been hugged as a child? As an adult? Draco still didn’t know everything about Harry’s past, but the things he had told him, still appalled him. Looking back, Draco hadn’t had the best childhood either, but, at least, he had been happy then.

The urge to take Harry’s pain away often clouded his judgement, resulting in soppy little presents or biting his tongue when they were about to fight. It was so unlike him and he wasn’t even sure if Harry had noticed any of it. It wasn’t like Draco was trying to woo him or anything. He just… couldn’t help it. But maybe, judging from their current snuggling situation, Harry wanted to be wooed? Maybe he even wanted to woo Draco?

Well, there was only one way to find out…

Heart beating wildly, Draco decided to push his luck. He started drawing circles with his thumb on Harry’s hand. His mind was so firmly programmed on being rejected, he couldn’t believe it when Harry started to do the same.

Sitting so close to him, suddenly made Draco extremely nervous. And because of his traitorous body, Harry would know exactly how nervous he was. Draco’s whole body shook with every violent heartbeat. There was no way this was going unnoticed. And surely, Harry had noticed Draco was breathing heavily, too.

But as embarrassing as this was, Harry hadn’t pulled away. That was a good sign, right? Well, he was still watching the movie intently. But he couldn’t be so distracted, he didn’t realise what was going on, right? Right? Well, Draco would have to get his attention to find out…

Slowly, he leaned his head back further and started caressing Harry’s jaw with the tip of his nose. If Harry just turned his head a little bit… Come on, look at me! It would probably knock all the breath out of Draco’s lung, but he already felt breathless. All he could think about was the fact that he might be kissing Harry Potter in the next few seconds. If he would just turn his head and look at me!

Draco continued caressing his jaw with his nose, but Harry was either too fixated on the movie or he didn’t care. Well, that was a disappointment! But his heart still jumped when Harry slowly intertwined their fingers or pulled him closer every now and then. It was so confusing. Harry obviously wasn’t opposed to them being close, but it was also very obvious he didn’t want it to go any further than that. So for the time being, Draco decided to just enjoy these moments. And they kept happening. A lot. And it was fantastic. Only, the more it happened, the more Draco realised, snuggling on the sofa wasn’t enough anymore. His heart sank every time Harry turned off the television and they each retreated to their respective bedrooms. For weeks, he was lying in his bed, unable to sleep because he missed Harry’s warmth. Was Harry experiencing the same thing or was Draco the only one? What if they were both miserable?

One night, he couldn’t take it anymore. He just couldn’t watch Harry go into his room and close the door.

“Harry,” he carefully began while they were still on the sofa.

“Hmm?”

“Would you mind if I…” Merlin, just ask him already! “... if I slept in your room tonight?” Draco put his tongue between his teeth, fighting the urge to bite down on it. Hard. He could already feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “You see, my room is-”

“Sure,” Harry said with a smile. Wow, he hadn’t even given Draco the chance to give him some lame excuse.

“Okay. Great.”

Draco was so excited, he stayed silent for the rest of the night. He insisted on going to the bathroom first, so he would already be in bed when Harry came in. It still did nothing to calm his excitement. And apparently, his body was very, very excited about this. As soon as Harry slipped into bed and opened his arms for Draco, his mind went completely blank. He didn’t hesitate to press his body against Harry’s, wondering what he had done to get so lucky.

Feeling Harry’s fingers on his skin, listening to the sound of Harry’s heartbeat, breathing in his smell… it all felt like a dream. Only, it was arousing some very real and very alarming sensations in the pit of his stomach. The fact that one of his legs was trapped between Harry’s thighs didn’t exactly help either.

Careful not to be too forward, he let his finger slide down Harry’s side, stopping at his hips. He didn’t dare to go down any further. Not without knowing Harry was okay with this. Draco never found out if he was. Harry simply pulled him closer, cradling the back of his head and pressing it against his chest. Well, I guess we’re not going to kiss then. Again. Huh. Maybe that was his answer after all.

Maybe Harry just liked to snuggle. Draco knew he was… inexperienced. Maybe he wanted to take things slow. Or maybe he didn’t like to be too physical in general. Merlin, this was so confusing! Especially, when his body was still hoping for more!

And Draco couldn’t help wondering what that would be like… letting his fingers slip underneath Harry’s shirt, caressing his stomach… moving his hand to his back, sliding his fingers up and down his spine. At that point, he’d probably take off Harry’s shirt. What noises would Harry make if Draco started kissing his chest? He’d have one hand buried in Harry’s hair and move his mouth up to his neck from time to time, before slowly moving down again.

How would Harry react if Draco teased his nipple? Would he scream if Draco started sucking it into his mouth? Or would he silently squirm under him? Maybe he wouldn’t like it at all. Oh, but in Draco’s mind he did. He kept begging for more. And Draco would happily comply.

What if he left a trail down Harry’s chest with his tongue, down to his stomach? Would Harry tremble with anticipation? Would he whisper Draco’s name when his tongue caressed his abdomen, right above the waistband of his pants? Would he arch his back and press himself closer to Draco? Would Draco be able to feel how much Harry wanted him?

Oh, sweet Merlin!

Draco had to stop these thoughts. Now! Because he was pretty sure Harry could feel how much Draco wanted him right now. Damn it, cool it down! Well, that was easier said than done. Harry kept moving, ever so slightly, and basically rubbed himself against Draco. Oh God, this was not good! Harry was basically feeding the beast. But without giving it what it wanted.

Draco mentally swore. What should he do now? Harry seemed to be asleep, but what if he woke up, just to find the manifestation of Draco’s excitement poking his hip? Fuck, that would be so embarrassing! He had to turn over. It would mean not lying in Harry’s arms anymore, but if that was the price he had to pay…

Careful not to wake Harry, Draco tried to detangle himself from him. It proved to be nearly impossible. His leg was still trapped between Harry’s thighs. Ugh! Well, okay, there was no way Harry wouldn’t wake up. But if Draco was already facing the other way, maybe he wouldn’t notice anything.

Alright then…

Without being careful this time, Draco yanked his leg free and basically threw himself on the other side of the bed. His body was already screaming at him to go back. It craved Harry’s touch. As if Harry could hear the protests of Draco’s body, he had his arms around him again only a few seconds later, hugging him from behind.

Oh God, this was even worse! Now, his bum was nestled in Harry’s lap! And the only thing separating his bum from Harry’s lap were two very thin layers of fabric.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!

Okay, stay calm. Well, as calm as you can. Okay. The thing is, you can’t just get up now to take care of this… problem. Harry might think you don’t like sleeping with him after all. Shit. Ugh. Okay, try to wait a little bit and then you can sneak out. And then you’ll come back and things will be fine…

And they were. After Draco had gotten up three times that night. And the night after that. And the night after that. And- Well, you get the idea. But Draco was determined to make it work. He would rather suffer through this than not having Harry near him. But he also had to admit, it kind of stung that Harry didn’t seem to have the same problem. At all. Well, yes, in the morning, but that wasn’t necessarily because of Draco. It kept being the most confusing thing ever. And it took months for Draco to get enough sleep. His body still got excited, but it was almost like falling into a routine. And if Harry didn’t want to be more physical with him, Draco certainly wouldn’t push him.

The way they interacted with each other now was so comfortable and sweet (minus the occasional fighting), Draco was genuinely happy with how things were. It almost felt like they were a couple. A couple nobody knew about…

“So, how’s work?” Weasley asked one night when he and his wife were over for dinner.

“Oh, same old, same old,” Harry said with a shrug. “It would be much more fun if you were still around.” Weasley chuckled as he shoved another spoonful of crème brûlée into his mouth.

“Well, sometimes I wish I could just go back. Especially when Rose is being difficult. But I like to be a stay-at-home dad.”

“Who would have thought,” Hermione grinned while she patted her husband’s shoulder. “You guys should come over sometime. Rose misses you.”

“We will,” Harry assured her. Draco had to admit, if only to himself, he had become fond of the little monster, so he had no objection to that at all.

“Is she still insisting on being a dragon tamer?” Draco asked, a smile forming on his lips.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Weasley laughed.

“Yes, I’ve been meaning to have a word with Uncle Charlie about that,” Hermione said, looking less stern than she sounded.

“Good luck with that,” Weasley mumbled.

“Have you heard from him lately?” Harry asked, reaching for his wine glass. Only, it wasn’t his wine glass he was grabbing right now.

Draco stared at his hand that was suddenly covered by Harry’s. What was he doing? They usually only did this when they were alone! Were they really ready to make it official? Seriously? They hadn’t even talked about it!

Draco was on the verge of panicking. They had been living in their secure little bubble. He wasn’t ready to face reality just yet.

The weird thing was, their friends didn’t even bat an eyelash at their joined hands. They were just talking and laughing as if nothing unusual was going on. Did that mean they were fine with it? Draco had no idea what to make of this…

Draco was still smiling while the memories played out in his head. Harry hadn’t let go of his hand the whole evening. Weasley had commented on that at one point, but that had been it.

As confusing as this whole thing with Harry had been, that had been the moment Draco had been sure. If Harry was comfortable enough to be affectionate towards him in front of their friends, they had made it. They were officially a couple. Draco would never forget that day. June 1st.

As he took a sip of his coffee, he watched his boyfriend prepare breakfast. Boyfriend. After six months of officially dating, he still wasn’t tired of that word. And now that he finally got to, he definitely wasn’t becoming tired of kissing his boyfriend.

“You better let me take care of that pancakes, otherwise you’ll have to starve to death,” Harry mumbled against his mouth.

“I don’t care,” Draco whispered, closing the gap between their lips again. Harry made a pleased humming sound while his hands wandered to the small of Draco’s back.

“Ron and Hermione will be here any second.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about that. I’ll take a quick shower then.” He placed a quick kiss on the tip of Harry’s nose and started taking off his clothes as he walked. When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw his boyfriend watching him, his cheeks flaming up. Draco gave him a dramatic wink before he hurried into the bathroom.

As much as he wished he and Harry could have taken a shower together, Harry wasn’t there yet. They had done lots of stuff, though, and it wasn’t like Draco was complaining. Sure, it was frustrating sometimes, but he wanted Harry to feel comfortable with what they were doing. He’d never want Harry to do something just because he thought Draco was impatient. Draco would wait. It would be worth it.

Casting a quick cleansing charm on the socks, Draco put them on again, along with some fresh clothes and made his way back to the kitchen. Just as he was about to enter, however, he heard a squeal that made him stop.

“Harry, mate, you’re joking, right?” Ron said incredulously.

“I wish I was,” Harry mumbled.

There was a brief silence after that and Draco wondered what they were talking about.

“How can you not know you’re dating someone?”

What?

“He never said anything! We never discussed it! I really had no idea!”

Wait, what?

“But… you guys… mate, come on, you must have realised-”

“I didn’t! How was I supposed to know?”

“Harry,” Hermione interjected. “Have you never thought about all the things you did together?”

“Well, yeah, but… I thought lots of people hold hands or snuggle… and… sleep in the same bed?”

“Oh, Harry!”

“I know, I know. And when Draco congratulated me on our anniversary, he looked so happy! And I was happy, so I saw no reason to tell him then.”

“But… you have told him, right?”

“Not exactly.”

“Harry!”

“I was waiting for the right moment. I didn’t want to-”

“Err… Harry-”

“No, Ron, I know, but-”

“No, Harry, you might want to stop talking.”

Draco had stepped into the doorway, his hands balled into fists. He watched as Harry slowly turned around.

“HARRY JAMES POTTER!!!”

“Oh, God! Oh no!” Harry’s face was pale and he looked like he was about to be sick on the kitchen floor.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!”

Weasley and his wife exchanged uncomfortable glances.

“I think we should go,” Hermione muttered, tugging at her husband’s sleeve.

“No, please don’t go,” Harry said in pleading tone. “He’s going to kill me,” he hissed under his breath.

“Damn right I am,” Draco fumed. “Are you seriously telling me, I was only under the impression we’ve been dating for the last six months? Are you seriously telling me, you had no idea what was going on?” He took a deep breath, which didn’t calm him in the least. “ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TELLING ME YOU’RE THAT STUPID?”

“Draco-”

“I’m leaving you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Watch me.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and gave Harry a murderous look.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” Harry said, his voice shaking. “You love me. And I love you. That’s all that matters, right?”

“No, it’s not!” Draco threw his hands in the air and walked over to the kitchen table. “For the past six month I have been happier than ever before. AND NOW YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT WAS ALL A LIE?” He picked up the plate full of pancakes and began chucking them at his boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. Never-really-had-been-his-boyfriend. Ugh, whatever! “I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!”

“Draco!” Trying to shield himself from the pancakes, Harry was covering his face with his hands. “I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry!”

“That’s it? You’re sorry?”

“Draco, what do you want me to say?”

“Nothing! I don’t want you to say anything, because everything is a lie!”

“Hey, I wasn’t lying when I told you I love you.”

Draco considered throwing the plate at Harry when he ran out of pancakes. Instead, he put it back on the table and gritted his teeth.

“Look,” Harry continued, slowly lowering his hands. “I really am sorry that I hurt you. But I didn’t do it in purpose. I really had no idea.”

“You are unbelievable!”

“I know. I’m not good with stuff like that. But… I mean, we were happy, right? We’re still happy.”

“Speak for yourself,” Draco growled.

“Draco.” Harry walked over to him, placing his hands on Draco’s shoulders. Draco shrugged them off, only for Harry to grab his hands.

“Let go of me.”

“No.”

“I said-”

“No! Draco, I love you. It took me long enough to realise it. I’m pretty sure I was in love with you long before you were in love with me, so-”

“I highly doubt that,” Draco muttered. “And that’s not the point.”

“Draco, I’m sorry. I’m such an idiot. But… you do know I’m happy with you, right? I mean, I was completely overwhelmed when you told me we had been dating for the last six months, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. And I realised it’s what I wanted all along.”

“Now you’re just saying things so I won’t kill you.”

“No, Draco, I mean it. I love you. I want to be with you. Ever since you came back into my life, I’ve had these feelings I’ve never had before. You changed everything. For the better. And I hope you will do so in the future. And I hope you’ll let me try to do the same for you.”

As much as Draco wanted to stay mad at him, these words found their way right into Draco’s heart. Damn Harry Potter and his soppiness!

“I won’t forgive you just yet,” Draco muttered darkly. “But I’ll let you try to make it up to me.”

“Okay,” Harry whispered, moving his hands to Draco’s hips. “I love you,” he breathed before brushing his lips softly against Draco’s.

“I know,” Draco murmured, trying hard not to let it show how much the kiss affected him.

“Are you still mad?” Harry asked, kissing him again. His tongue traced the curve of Draco’s lower lip. Draco couldn’t help but shiver.

“Yes,” he practically moaned, before his own tongue met Harry’s. He buried his hands in the thick black locks, pulling him closer to him.

“How long are you going to be mad?” Harry asked, breathlessly.

“For a very, very long time,” Draco responded, relishing the deep sound Harry made when Draco slipped his fingers underneath his shirt.

“Err… guys? We’re still here.”

“I don’t think they can hear you right now, Ron.”

“Can we make them stop?”

“They’ll just scream at each other again, if we do that.”

“I’d rather watch them scream at each other than watching… this.”

“That’s exactly why we should give them some privacy now. Come on, Ron.”

“But what about breakfast?”

“I’ll buy you some on the way home.”

“On the way home? What, you want to grab some poor wizard’s scone while we floo past him?”

“Don’t get smart with me. Come on.”

“Hermione… They’re going to be okay, right?”

“Yes, I firmly believe they’re going to be okay.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because they’re Harry and Draco.”

[juggieheadcoopers-blog]

Hi!! I've spent the last few hours just reading your work and omg I love the way you interpret the prompts! You're making the long hiatus so much better already and I can't wait to read more! I have a prompt request as well: friends with benefits to realizing they like each other (with some angst added in!) thank you!!! :)

First of all thank you so much, that’s so sweet of you! Second of all, here it is! This is more playful than angsty but I still hope it’s okay!

AU: Jughead never went to Riverdale High and never became friends with Betty and the gang the way they were supposed to. Archie, Jughead, and Betty were close in middle school, but once they parted ways and Jughead followed in his father’s footsteps of becoming a Serpent, their relationship was never the same.

–

Betty brushed past Cheryl Blossom as she hurried her way down the freshly-mowed lawn of Riverdale High’s courtyard, nearly snagging her baby blue sweater on one of Cheryl’s particularly sharp insect brooches as their shoulders slammed into one another.

“B, where the hell have you been?” Veronica called to her from their usual picnic table at the end of the quad, her prized set of pearls shining elegantly in the mid-afternoon sunlight.

Ignoring the icy glare that Cheryl tossed in her direction, Betty maneuvered her way through the crowd of chatting classmates to slip her way onto the bench of the picnic table next to Kevin, just as Veronica turned to narrow her eyes at Betty. “I’ve had to listen to Cheryl’s incessant ramblings regarding the subpar quality of her brand new Louboutins for the past half hour and trust me, when I reach the point of boredom beyond repair talking about designer shoes, you know there’s a problem.”

“Sorry, something came up,” Betty mumbled, shrugging off her pale pink backpack and placing it on the wooden surface in front of her.

“There have been a lot of things ‘coming up’ lately,” Veronica pointed out. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say our little, not-so-innocent Elizabeth Cooper has a man in her life she’s been hiding from us.”

“Yeah, right,” Betty scoffed, unzipping her bag and rummaging through its contents to find the salt and vinegar chips she didn’t eat at lunch. “You know how terrible I am at keeping secrets. Remember your surprise birthday party last year?”

“How could I forget? You asked me to come over to help you with an English paper,” Veronica recounted the event in question, shaking her head in shame at Betty’s failed attempt at such a classic form of surprise. “The day Betty Cooper asks Veronica Lodge for homework advice, you know there has to be something else going on.”

Betty’s lips curled into a slight smile, her expression distant as she reached into the bag of chips and popped one into her mouth, repeating this process for several minutes without blinking or acknowledging that there were other people sitting at the table with her.

“Kind of like now,” Veronica mumbled, waving a perfectly manicured set of nails in front of her in an attempt to snap her out of the trance she had fallen into. “Look at her face, Kev. There’s something wrong with it.”

“You’re right, V,” Kevin concurred, leaning in close and tilting Betty’s chin towards him with a flick of his thumb. “There’s an actual smile on it. Hell must have frozen over.”

“Hey, I smile!” Betty defended herself, her too-tight ponytail nearly smacking Kevin in the face as she whirled around to look from Veronica, to Kevin, and back again.

“Not since Polly-” Kevin started to explain, but before he could get the words out, Veronica lunged across the table to place a hand over his mouth, nearly knocking various textbooks and papers onto the grass in the process.

“Shhh!” Veronica quieted him. “Kevin, we agreed that bringing up such events should be handled as if one were at Hogwarts and in the position of saying the name Voldemort - you just don’t do it!”

“Sorry,” Kevin shrank back onto his spot on the bench. “Let me rephrase. You’ve been a little down the past few months, but lately-”

“You’re happier than Kevin during a Brad Pitt movie marathon,” Veronica finished for him, her eyes dancing wildly as she leaned in to point a finger in Betty’s direction. “And that can only mean one thing.”

“Betty Cooper: number one in her class, editor of the Blue and Gold and all around girl next door, is getting a little ‘Fifty Shades of Freaky’ with one of Riverdale High’s finest young bachelors,” Kevin concluded, his arms crossing in front of his chest as if he were proud of himself for solving such a complicated riddle.

“I am not!” Betty protested. “You two have way too much time on your hands if you’re speculating why I’ve been smiling more lately.”

“What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t notice such things,” Kevin pointed out, his gaze suddenly leaving his friends to focus on the parking lot in front of them. “Kind of like how I’ve noticed Jughead Jones’ massive biceps lately, holy hot and bothered Rolling Stone-meets-Abercrombie you can actually see them bulging through that leather jacket.”

The boy in question stepped out of his midnight-black 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner, his dark hair falling effortlessly over his eyes as he moved to shut the driver’s side door.

“Joining the Southside Serpents has really sat well with his upper body muscles,” Veronica admired, her mouth hanging open slightly as he pulled out a cigarette and lighter from his jacket pocket like he was plucked straight out a scene from the Outsiders. “Too bad he doesn’t go here anymore, I would love to run my hands up and down those-”

“Veronica!” Betty’s eyes went wide as she turned to glare at her friend, whose mouth was practically watering as she took in Jughead leaning against the classic car and taking a drag from his cigarette like she was watching the most sensual thing she had ever laid eyes on. “Last time I checked you still have a boyfriend, or have you forgotten about our good pal Archie Andrews. You know, captain of the football team, lead singer of his very own rock band, Riverdale High honor student. Ring any bells?”

“Oh please, I’m allowed to window shop as long as I resist throwing anything into my basket,” Veronica muttered, picking up her copy of The Sun Also Rises and fanning herself with it, even though it was a perfectly cool fall afternoon that didn’t even come close to meriting such actions.

“That’s wrong on so many levels,” Betty mumbled, pushing her half-eaten bag of chips away from her and wiping her greasy fingers down the front of her sweater.

“What’s Jughead doing here anyway?” Kevin wondered. “I thought he and Archie stopped talking once he moved schools a few years ago.”

“He’s here to see me actually,” Betty admitted, turning in her spot on the bench to look at Jughead for the first time since he had pulled into the parking lot. “He was the best writer we had at the the junior newspaper in middle school and no one’s ever come close to filling his shoes, so he’s helping me out a few times a week after school at the Blue and Gold.”

“You sure he’s not helping you out with a few other things too?” Veronica wiggled her eyebrows at Betty suggestively, her lips creeping up into an amused smile as Betty narrowed her eyes at her.

“Just friends, Veronica,” Betty assured her. “Jughead isn’t Archie’s favorite person right now and after everything that’s happened with their fathers - I just - I wouldn’t do that to him, okay?”

“Whatever you say, B,” Veronica shrugged, still looking unconvinced as she reached underneath the table to retrieve her cheer bag. “Okay, I have to go find Cheryl before River Vixens practice so I can warn her that the choreography she’s been throwing at us is too 90′s cheer routine and not enough Beyonce video like we were going for.”

“Yeah, and I have to go witness the bloodbath of bitchy, yet impressively clever insults that is sure to occur as a result so we’ll see you later, Betty,” Kevin followed Veronica’s lead as she made her way away from the picnic table, the giddiness in his expression made even more evident by the enthused squeal escaping his lips as he bent down to pick up his backpack.

“Bye, guys,” Betty called out to them, shaking her head in amusement as she watched them round the corner to head back into the school.

Betty kept her gaze focused on the chemistry textbook resting open in front of her as she saw the movement coming from the parking lot out of the corner of her eye. Jughead had pushed off his car and was slowly making his way onto the sidewalk leading up to the courtyard. Her breath caught in her throat as he took a step closer. And another. And an-

“And then there was one,” Jughead announced, his leather-clad sleeve brushing the soft fabric of her sweater as he slid his way onto the picnic table next to her. “What’s it like without chatter mouth one and two attached to your hip?”

“I don’t know,” Betty sat up straight, turning slightly on the bench to quirk a challenging eyebrow in his direction. “What’s it like without your manhood to back up that newfound edginess that drives all the girls crazy? Wanna find out?”

“Betty Cooper,”Jughead beamed, one leg tucking underneath itself so that he could turn his body to face hers completely. “Throwing the banter back at me like we’re in a 1940′s black and white screwball comedy. I like it.”

“You’re early,” Betty noticed, her eyes focusing back on the periodic table displayed on the inside cover of the chemistry book.

“I ditched the last two periods,” Jughead shrugged nonchalantly, scooping up the abandoned bag of chips on the table and tossing back a handful into his mouth. “I figured that I’ve already learned as much as I needed to know about 17th Century England and the Taming of the Shrew to pass with at least a C in both history and English and still function in the real world like an adequately intelligent human being so why not skip out early and come see you?”

Jughead crumpled up the now-empty chip bag and tossed it behind him, missing the trashcan completely as he looked back to watch it roll onto the grass. Leaning in close, Jughead rubbed a hand on her knee resting underneath the table, his breath tickling the exposed skin of her neck and nearly causing a thrilled giggle to escape her lips.

“Jug,” Betty warned, reaching down to remove the hand slowly creeping its way up her thigh and turning to give him a leveled glare. “We agreed, remember?”

“You agreed,” Jughead corrected. “I said friends with benefits was a dated form of emotional torture that benefits neither party in any meaningful way.”

“Isn’t that the point?” Betty reminded him. “To not get attached in a way that lets you mean something to the other person?”

“I think that ship has sailed,” Jughead admitted, his eyes flicking to hers with a vulnerable state of truth-turned-worry when he realized that she might night have felt the same way. “At least on my part anyways.”

“You know that we can’t be anything more than what we are,” Betty explained. “At least not right now.”

“Because Archie blames me for my father’s involvement in his father’s shooting and he would love nothing more than to see me strung up on the mantle of his nice and cozy family-sized home,” Jughead recalled, his eyes rolling backwards dramatically sliding his leg back underneath the table and facing the empty set of picnic tables across the courtyard. “Yeah, you said that when we first started - whatever you want to call this. Doesn’t mean I understand it. And it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Juggie,” Betty whispered, resisting the urge to reach out and caress his cheek affectionately the way she had grown accustomed to since they had started their relationship nearly eight weeks before.

“You know how I feel about you, Betty,” Jughead told her, his eyes softening slightly as his head turned to smile weakly down at her lips. “And I think that if you were being completely honest with yourself, you know exactly how you feel about me too.”

Betty knew he was right. She knew that she felt more than just lust, coupled with the added bonus of orchestrating their clandestine meetings, for the boy from the Southside who was more than just his leather jacket and tough demeanor. But she couldn’t risk her friendship with either boy in her life by making things official. Not yet.

“This is the way things have to be right now,” Betty sighed. “At least until Mr. Andrews gets out the hospital and everything just - settles down. Please, Jughead. I don’t want to lose you. But I don’t want to lose him either.”

Betty held Jughead’s gaze, her bottom lip jutting out slightly as her teeth automatically reached out to bite down on the tender skin there, a habit she had formed around the time she had started seeing Jughead in a little-more-than-just-friends kind of way.

“God, why do you have to do that thing with your bottom lip,” Jughead mumbled, his eyes flicking down to her pink lips with a fleck of longing in his gaze. “You know that drives me insane.”

“I know,” Betty beamed, her eyebrow quirking flirtatiously up in his direction. “Why do you think I do it so often?”

“Okay, if we’re still playing by these ridiculous rules you’ve set in place then we better get to the Blue and Gold room because I’m feeling the overwhelming urge to kiss you,” Jughead breathed, his heart beating wildly as Betty’s leg brushed against his, making his palms sweat in the best way possible. “Now.”

“Then what are we waiting for,” Betty leaned in close to Jughead as if she were going to meet her lips to his, but swung her legs out from underneath the picnic table at the last second and stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. “Race you.”

“You’re on.” Jughead grabbed Betty’s bag off the table and sprinted after her, not even noticing that there had been a figure lurking in the shadows who had witnessed their intimate exchange with a devious smile plastered on her flaming red lips. Turning on her less-than-adequate Louboutin heel, Cheryl let her waist-length red hair swing playfully behind her as she sauntered her way to cheer practice, already scheming and plotting how she was going to use this juicy new development to her advantage.

[themdolanboys]

Regrets

Summary: You broke up with Ethan. Why the bloody hell did you do that? Word count: 3,738. Warnings: Lil bit o’ smut at the end there ;) A/N: Hello lovelies! I worked really hard on this and I think it’s my best one yet, so I’d really appreciate it if you’d let me know if you like it!

__________________ It had been almost five months since you and Ethan had broken up, so why did it still hurt so bad? Why did your heart clench painfully when you heard his name? Why did you feel your stomach churn whenever you thought of him? Which was everyday, by the way. You just couldn’t stop thinking about him, and you felt ridiculous for it because you were the one who called it quits on your 14 month relationship. 

 Ethan wasn’t exactly sure as to why you had broken up with him, which you knew was your fault, but he didn’t put up much of a fight for you either, which only fed into the paranoia and insecurities that lead you to break up with him.

 Truthfully? You let your anxiety get to you. You thought he was getting bored of you and that he was fed up of you, but his pity for you made him stay. You started to convince yourself that he didn’t love you anymore, that he never really loved you in the first place, that everything you had shared together was a lie. 

 Your paranoia stemmed from your dad leaving when you were five, and it made you believe that no one could ever truly want you. As a result of that, you built walls of steel around your heart, layers and layers of steel, promising yourself that you’d never let anybody hurt you again. It had made it hard to trust people.

 Then you met Ethan. 

The gorgeous boy on the football team who had intense hazel eyes and a sweep of brown curly hair, streaks of red in the fringe. You didn’t particularly think jawlines were an attractive asset until you had met him, but his was so sharp it had made you want to sink your teeth into it. He had full pink lips that when opened, showcased a perfect set of pearly whites. 

 You had reluctantly agreed to tutor him in history at your teachers request, as if he got one more bad grade he wouldn’t be able to play football that season, and God forbid one of the best players being chucked off the team because you refused to tutor him. You’d have a riot on your hands. 

 So out of fear for your life, you and Ethan met up every Thursday afternoon from 3 until half 4, oddly enough the only day he didn’t have practice. Apparently the coach had a family thing going on on a Thursday. You’d hadn’t spoken to Ethan prior to this, so you didn’t really have an opinion on him as a person. 

Truthfully, you’d never really given him the time of day. It wasn’t because you didn’t like him, it was just because he was popular and whilst you weren’t friendless, you definitely were not popular, so you never crossed paths. You quickly learnt that Ethan Dolan was one charming boy. 

Going into this, you had dreaded it because despite not having an opinion on him as a person, you assumed because history wasn’t his strong point he wouldn’t make this easy on you. 

 However, that first Thursday, he had gotten there before you did, even though you were right on time, and he smiled when he saw you. He pulled your chair out for you and thanked you profusely for agreeing to tutor him. ‘Oh, right,’ you thought to yourself bitterly, 'of course he has to suck up to you, he needs you to stay on the football team.’ So at first, you tolerated his kindness with fake smiles and forced yourself to tutor him, thinking that he had his agenda and you had yours (extra credit).

 However, the more time you spent with him the more you tried to push your paranoid thoughts to the back of your mind, because Ethan was actually a pretty great guy. You began to realise that he was genuinely sweet and eager to learn. 

 As the weeks went on you had started to warm up to him. He told you that you had made history fun for him again, and listening to your teacher drone in the same monotone voice for an hour 'sucked all the life out of him.’ That had pulled a surprised laugh out of you, short and abrupt, and your hand flew over your mouth in horror. 

 Ethan’s eyebrows shot into his hairline in surprise and he gave you an amused smile, staring. It made your heart lurch in your chest and pound against its steel confinements as if it were willing them to crack. You automatically put yourself in a stance of defense and protect. “What?” You snapped at him when he continued to stare, internally cringing because even you knew that it was a little too harsh. Oh well, you had already said it now. Ethan held his hands up in surrender, “Sorry, sorry, it’s just that I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh before. It was cute.”

 It was your turn to be stunned. You gaped at him in surprise, opening your mouth, only to close it again, not knowing that to say. He chuckled at your surprise, “what, has no one ever told you that you’re cute before?” You closed your mouth and pressed your lips on into a thin line, looking down at your history text book like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. This was dangerous territory you were stepping in, and you wanted to bring the focus back to something more in your comfort zone. No way were you going to flirt with Ethan Dolan.

“No.” You told him sternly, your voice confident even though you didn’t feel confident. You both sat in silence for a few moments, and just as you were about to lift your head up to look at him again, he surprised you for the second time that day by placing a single finger under your chin and gently pulling your head up to face him. 

 "I don’t believe you, because you really are cute.“ He told you sincerely, and whilst you were a master of the poker face, you knew you had no control over the burning flush you felt on your cheeks. He wore you down eventually, of course he did. Ethan was like no boy you’d ever met. Well, that was probably because you’d never let a boy get this close to you, but the point was still valid. 

Ethan was so sweet and genuine, and he really did look happy to see you once a week. He was cheeky and he often made you laugh, and before you knew it, you had fallen for him, hard. When he asked you on a date, shyly admitting that he liked you, you were reluctant to accept. 

You knew that you liked him too, but you were so used to pushing people away that there was a part of you that wanted to get up and bolt. For once in your life, however, there was an even bigger part of you that actually wanted to trust him. 

 You had the most incredible 14 months together. Ethan was the perfect gentlemen and he cared greatly for you. He wormed his way into your heart and even though it took you a while, you began to trust him and told him some really personal stuff about yourself, including your dad.

But then, of course, your paranoia kicked in; the old you had returned and you coldly cut him out of your life. It was hard to break up with the first (and only) boy you had ever loved and the look on his face when you did so broke your heart, but the need to protect yourself was stronger. You broke up with him and cut off all contact, never speaking to him again.

 For the first two days he tried everything to get you to talk to him. He flooded your phone with voicemail’s and text messages but you instantly deleted all of them and just prayed he would go away. In a sick kind of way, you liked that he was trying to contact you so badly. It made you feel like he cared and you had needed that reassurance, even though the relationship was over. At the end of the second day, he simply sent a message saying 'I don’t know what I did, but I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone now. Take care, Y/N' 

 You had to admit that the text stung, because for the first time you had stopped thinking about how you were hurting and thought about how the way you handled things had probably left him hurting too. You quickly got defensive again when another text came through. 'Bitch.’ Grayson. You turned your phone off and shoved it under your pillow, allowing yourself to cry.

Looking back on it, the text also stung because part of you was hoping Ethan would never give up on you, and you thought that if he loved you he would have fought harder. The paranoia really did make you a selfish bitch sometimes. So here you were, 5 months later, still hurting. 

Time had changed your perspective and so you thought about him a lot, about how much you hurt him. You were angry at yourself for letting your anxiety get the better of you, because you knew Ethan loved you. You often thought about texting him, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

Maybe he had moved on and texting him would only re-open healing wounds. Too much time had passed by now, anyway, it would be cruel for you to text him after so long. 

 The buzz of your phone, alerting you to the fact you had received a text message, pulled you from your thoughts. You pulled it out from under your pillow to see that it was from your best friend Kayla, inviting you to some house party. Usually, you would decline. House parties weren’t really your thing. You’d much rather stay in and study or watch movies. The thoughts of him were strong tonight though, and you thought that you could use a drink or seven to distract you. 

You text her back to let her know that you would be coming, to which she replied "Omg really?! YES! Ok be ready for 9, I’ll pick you up! Xx” You rolled over onto your side to look at the digital clock on your nightstand. It was half 7 already so you got out of bed and dragged yourself to the bathroom to have a shower, wanting to make sure you had enough time to get ready so you could look good. 'Maybe I’ll find a cute boy to distract me’ you mused, turning the shower on. 

n hour and a half later and you were wearing your favourite lacy little black dress that hugged your body in all of the right places. You paused momentarily as you remembered how giddy you had been when you brought it for your one year anniversary date with Ethan. The look he gave you when he actually saw you in it was priceless, and even thinking about it now made you shiver. You almost didn’t make it out of the house that night.

You shoved the thought to the back of your mind as you reapplied your lip gloss and checked yourself in the mirror one final time. You nodded at yourself in approval just as you heard a car horn. You grabbed your phone and shoved it in your bra before walking outside to meet Kayla. The ride to the party was mostly silent. Kayla glanced over at you curiously the entire ride, and you knew that she was trying to figure out why you had agreed. You weren’t willing to offer her an explanation though, so she just huffed and turned on the radio. 

You ended up parking 3 blocks away from the house because with the amount of cars already here you couldn’t park any closer. You cursed yourself for not bringing a jacket as you rubbed your arms, trying to fight off the cold. As you approached the house you could hear the thumping of the music and the laughs of drunk teens on the lawn, huddled in groups, each with a red solo cup and some of them smoking. There was a ping pong table and it appeared there was a tournament going on. 

You pushed your way into the house, through the throng of sweaty teens and grabbing on to Kayla’s hand tightly to make sure you didn’t lose her. You headed straight to the kitchen where the drinks table was and wasted no time in mixing a variety of different alcohols and chugging them down. You and Kayla scrunched your faces up as the alcohol burned its way down your throats. 

Kayla began to tug on your hand, “come on Y/N, let’s go dance,” You were already feeling a light buzz so you agreed, allowing Kayla to drag you to the makeshift dance floor in the living room. You actually began to enjoy yourself a lot more than you thought you would, nodding your head to the beat and jumping up and down. Maybe it was the alcohol, but you were laughing. You couldn’t remember the last time you laughed where it didn’t feel forced or fake. Maybe this party was a good idea after all.

Before long you felt hands on your hips and a warm body behind yours. Glancing over your shoulder, you were met with blue eyes and a delicious smirk. You smiled to yourself, deeming him hot enough to dance with. You winked at him in what you hoped was a seductive manner and pushing yourself further back against him, almost grinding. 

You felt a pair of eyes on you from across the room, so you looked up, instantly regretting it as your eyes locked onto a familiar pair of hazel ones.

Ethan. 

Everything seemed to slow down, the music and the people dancing around you. Everything blurred into white noise as you stared back at him, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. He had been watching you dance with some guy you didn’t even know the name of, and he looked utterly crushed.

Not taking a minute to think about what the look had meant, panic surged through your body, and you could taste bile at the back of your throat. Your fight or flight response kicked in, and it chose flight, the only thing you could think being, 'oh god, I need to get out of here' 

You weren’t really paying attention to where you were going as you desperately pushed people out of the way, stumbling up the stairs and luckily finding an empty bedroom, slamming the door shut. You slid down the door and hugged your knees, forcing yourself to breathe. Sobs racked your body and pinched your eyes shut tightly as the tears fell, not bothering to wipe them away. 

 You didn’t know how long you had been sat there when suddenly there was a soft knocking on the door. 'Please be Kayla,’ you thought to yourself, 'oh god, please be Kayla.’ “Y/N?” A deep voice rumbled, and you internally cursed. You held your breathe, just begging that he’d go away. 

“Look Y/N, please, I saw you shut the door, I know your in here and I’m not leaving until we get a chance to talk. plea-se.” Hearing his voice break and the tone of desperation one again sent daggers through your heart. 

You had done this to him. What kind of a monster where you? You knew you had to open the door, you owed it to him. Taking a deep breath you stood up, your legs shaking and you slowly opened the door. 

Your breath caught in your throat when you saw him. He looked tired; his eyes had dark rings around them and his hair was unattended to, the red streak faded into white. He looked at you expectantly when you realised that you hadn’t opened the door fully, blushing as you took a step back and went to sit on the bed. 

Ethan walked in and joined you, cautiously sitting as far away from you on the bed as he could, as if he was scared you were going to try and run away. You stared at down at your fingers and inspected your nails as you both sat in silence. 

 "How have you been?“ He asked you, his voice rough. It sounded like he had been crying.  "Erm. Okay. I’ve been okay,” you lied, too much of a coward to look up at him. “What about you?" 

He didn’t reply, instead placing a finger under your chin and lifting your head to meet his gaze. It had made you think of the first time it had happened in the library, when he called you cute. A giant wave of emotion swept over you, and it suddenly felt too overwhelming, everything that had been boiling up inside you during the last few months was finally going to come out.

"Ethan, I am so, so sorry.” You sobbed, breaking down in tears once again. To your surprise, Ethan pulled you close to him, almost to the point where you were sitting on his lap, and wrapped his arms around you. He shushed your gently and stroked your hair as he allowed you to sob into his shoulder. You sat like that for a while, with him holding you. It was such a relief to be in his arms again, you forgot how good it had felt. He smelt the way he always had, and you found it very comforting. 

You pulled back eventually, finally calm enough to talk to him. “Ethan, I never should have broken up with you the way I did. I didn’t think for a second about how much it would hurt you and I just feel like such a bitch because you didn’t deserve it. I just got paranoid that you didn’t love me anymore and I had no valid reason to think that and I realise that now. It’s just hard for me, you know? After my dad left I thought it was my fault that he had stopped visiting and I hated myself for it. I let myself believe I wasn’t worthy of anything good. I know that it’s not really an excuse for how I treated you but I’m starting to realise that it was my dads fault for never coming to see me, not mine. I know I need to stop blaming everything on my dad leaving and I’m trying to open up. So here I am, asking you to forgive me." 

 You took a deep breathe, relieved to finally get what you had wanted to say for weeks now finally off of your chest. Ethan sat in silence throughout, watching you intently. 

 "Y/N.” He smiled, “I forgive you.” Your eyes widened in surprise. “Really? You forgive me, just like that?"  "I know how hard it was for you to say that to me because I know how much you hate talking about your dad. We’ve both made mistakes. I should have fought harder for y-"  "Ethan no, it wasn’t-” you tried to interrupt, but he put a hand over your mouth. “Let me finish,” he demanded sternly, to which you could only nod. “I should have fought harder for you, because I knew something was going on with you. Everything was so great between us when you just broke up with me for no reason. I didn’t stop loving you, not even for a second." 

He took a deep breathe, making sure you were looking at him. "I am still in love with you.” You couldn’t do anything other than stare him, not believing what he was saying. 

Your heart swelled with emotion. You had completely fucked him over, yet here he was, baring his soul to you, letting you know that he still loved and cared for you. You didn’t deserve him, he could do better than you. You couldn’t hurt him, not again. 

“Ethan, I don’t think I can hurt you again.” “Then stay.” You stood up to talk away but Ethan grabbed a hold of you hand and pulled you back down, making you huff. He had the audacity to smile at you.

“What if I fuck up again? What if I-” “The only way you could hurt me is if you walk away." 

Without giving you a chance to reply, he grabbed your face and crashed his lips against yours. You involuntary let out a whimper, grabbing his hair and tugging on it to pull him closer. 

He grinned into the kiss and moved his hands down to your waist, pulling you into his lap. Desperately needing oxygen, you broke the kiss and rested your forehead against his, panting heavily. He opened his eyes and your heart skipped a beat, you had almost forgotten how beautiful they looked up close. You knew you were going to give in. 

 "God, I forgot how good you were at that,” you whispered, not wanting to ruin the moment. He smirked at you. “Give us a second chance, Y/N. You won’t hurt me again, I won’t let you. I won’t ever let you go again, I promise, please."   "Okay.” You grinned at him and you couldn’t help but giggle when his smirk turned into a big grin of his own. 

 You used his momentary distraction to your advantage, using all of your strength to push him into a lying down position on the bed. It was your turn to smirk at his stunned face as you straddled him. 

“Now, if I seem to remember, there was something else you were really good at,” you smirked, pushing your hips down and grinding against him. You bent down to suck on his neck, knowing there was a spot just under his ear that drove him crazy. 

He groaned and bucked his hips up, flinging his head back against the mattress and gripping your hips hard. You smiled, loving that you could still get this reaction out of him.

“Be patient baby,” you grinned, “we have all night." 

He huffed in annoyance, only to whimper when you blew air on the part of his neck that you had just been sucking. "Besides,” you said, dragging your hips over him again, “I’ve got a lot of making up to do.”

[chronicallycal]

Hi Callie! I’m glad to be back in your inbox too! I totally need to catch up on the Harry Potter series once I have the time. Admittedly, I have only watched the movies so far. I’ve heard that while the French translation is fine, there’s something to be said about the wordplay in the original version, so I’m actually tempted to read it in English. Recently, I chose instead to watch some cult movies for the first time, namely the Indiana Jones and Star Wars series oops (NSA)

Your messages are under the cut again, too, because of length lol.

(and I’ve only watched the initial trilogy of both series). Now I finally know what those “Jedi mind tricks” are all about ^^ I can see why you’re comparing the beginning of S8 to what happened in 2x01 and 3x01. Their emotions were indeed less concealed this time, probably because unlike the previous times, in S8 they knew what it was like to be in an actual relationship with one another. Well, I didn’t appreciate the fact that they didn’t work together in the final season, but the thing is,

it would have made no sense if they had, at least during the separation. Because then what would even be the point in breaking up? It was already bad that Castle kept coming to the precinct occasionally (necessary because of how the show is structured), and that Kate also returned several times to the loft, giving her the opportunity to leave a message there if she had wanted to. In fact, I wonder if Castle would have been spared, had Loksat actually come after Beckett in the first half (NSA)

of the season, as Caskett were still married and regularly seeing each other. Besides, after a few eps, Castle started investigating on his own anyway. So while your idea is interesting, imo the writers would have had to find another reason for them to be separated in order to be able to implement that idea. Plus, I think removing the PI office from the picture wouldn’t necessarily equal to Castle visiting the precinct more often (Wouldn’t it hurt him too much to do that?

Would Beckett tolerate his presence after a while? etc.). But yeah, 2x01 and 3x01 were certainly easier to watch because of the way the COTW was handled. You have perfectly described the way I feel about the transition in S8. While it made total sense for them to reconnect sexually with other, and while Castle didn’t completely drop the talk about Loksat, they were almost too happy after what had JUST happened. In other words, things were back to normal really quickly, if that makes sense. (NSA)

I agree that this transition phase would have been a good time for them to discuss their future. Of course I liked the shift between S4 and S5 too, it was about time that they become an item, and I actually loved many Caskett moments in S5 (especially at the beginning of the season with their newly found intimacy, and around episodes 18-21, if “Still” is 5x21). In regards to the end of 5x10, it would have been interesting indeed to see Beckett having that conversation with Castle later on (NSA)

in the show. I guess it happened off screen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that topic was only addressed after they got engaged. Aside from that scene, there were other mentions of insecurity in 5x08 (on Beckett’s side), and in 5x18 (on Castle’s side) for example, so for me it was a pretty recurrent theme in S5. Like many people, I didn’t like “The Squab and The Squail”, and I still have trouble with the fact that this episode was supposed to air after “Still”, so I’m leaving it aside (NSA)

for the moment. Some people wrote that in their opinion, at the end of S5, Castle had this tendency to deflect Beckett’s questions about the more serious topics, which led her to think that he wasn’t looking for real commitment, when Castle was actually afraid that showing how serious he was about them would spook her. I really liked this explanation, even if in big part, the insecurities resurfaced in those last episodes because it was the end of the season and the writers couldn’t think (NSA)

of another way to stir drama. I would certainly have preferred a proposal in other circumstances, because the part in S5 looked really serious (see Castle’s face), and there was this terrible misunderstanding between them for a minute. And yes, in the second half of S6 C&B were essentially giddy in regards to the wedding, and you’ve just made me realize that seeing a wider range in emotions would probably have made those episodes better. While I didn’t like the first wedding dress, (NSA)

the scene with Beckett in front of the mirror was a great moment in that regard. In 6x23, this thing with Rogan certainly came out of the blue, and you already know what I think of this episode.I really liked 7x23, but I have to admit that there weren’t any hints to Hollander’s Woods in previous eps either. More generally, there were many themed episodes in S7 I believe, so that didn’t really contribute to a sense of cohesiveness between the eps. About 2x24, until now, (NSA)

I was mainly sad because Castle was leaving the precinct with Gina at his arm, in front of everyone, may I add; and as Gina is his ex-wife, it felt more serious to me than a fling atm. But you’re absolutely right that there’s actually more to it than that, and geez that makes this ending even more heartbreaking. On the other hand, I really love 2x12 because of how Kyra is portrayed, so I’ve got to admit that Kate’s jealousy was fun for me too in that particular ep. (NSA)

Wow, I didn’t expect you to write a whole paragraph in French, especially now that you’re telling me you don’t practice the language as often anymore

, nor used to writing such long messages in one go in English (it’s probably easier for me to chat or to talk). But I’m up to the challenge because I love getting the opportunity to discuss the show with you, plus it doesn’t hurt that you always give really awesome answers in return. Thank you for that, by the way! I’m going to finish by sharing with you what I thought of your newest one shot. I actually wrote down the following “sentences” as I was reading the fic, (NSA)

so you’re getting here my unbridled scene-by-scene reactions. Warning: there’s gonna be some serious rambling involved (but you know that about me now :p) The beginning: ouch, painful, but it wouldn’t totally be a fic of yours if there wasn’t at least some angst involved (except for some rare occurrences), right? / That was a twist, even if I was intrigued right away by the supernatural aspect of your fic; the best part is, you copied the beginning of the scene in the summary and I didn’t (NSA)

The scene with the popcorn is so sweet, so them, so in character. / Castle is alive! And babyyyy. / Oh okay, we’re back to the theater now; is the baby real or is just a way to motivate them? (I think it’s real, let’s hope it’s real) / Aww a glimpse into the future, I think I see where we’re headed now; and mmh still a mention of a hospital bed even in that scene, nice (I pictured a nursery at first) / Oh okay, it will actually be a constant back and forth before the final scene encased (NSA)

in reality. OMG I’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, she so saw what happened in “Always” the first time she was here :p And that’s why she knows things he doesn’t. / Beginning of next scene: I can imagine Castle coming back to reality by wanting to join Lily when she laughs, maybe symbolically open a door or something. Okay that didn’t happen but it’s so cute! Ooh and the twins are on the way! / Ooh we don’t wake up straight to reality, but Kate’s still got her hand in his. Interesting! (NSA)

/ What the hell with Caleb Brown??? And here it comes. A taxi, good! / Didn’t we have those lines before? I’m checking…yess we did! Everything is definitely accurate then :) / And okay, I should watch Criminal Minds (I guess that’s what CM means?) more often because I didn’t get the reference ^^ All I can now say is wow, I have no words (well, I sure had them before), it was so fantastic. One of your best works, if not the best. (NSA)

The succession of short scenes made it really pleasant to read as well. I’m sure Rickcastlefromthailand has loved her birthday gift! ;) Until next time, Callie! NSA 19/19 PS: The length of these messages is getting out of hand LOL.

Hi!

In my opinion, you should definitely read the Harry Potter series. While I haven’t read the French version, so I can’t comment on its quality compared to the English version, but I will say there’s a certain beauty and wittiness to J.K. Rowling’s writing that may or may not have been reflected in the translation. However you choose to read them, though, I would definitely recommend it. That being said, I actually haven’t seen the movies. Or any of the other “cult” movies you mentioned. My movie watching is so minimal, I have a long list of movies I have to see, per my friends. lol. (oops?)

Upon further reflection, I have to agree that the idea of them working together through the separation would have most certainly been more flawed than the story line we were presented. I also agree that there is a certain degree of doubt that, despite their separation, Castle would have been spared in the event that LokSat went after Beckett in the early portion of the season. Personally, I doubt such a criminal would have spared the person who has so often presented himself as Beckett’s partner in crime, especially since both of them have shown great dedication to finding the truth. If nothing else, I imagine LokSat would have been aware of the fact that Castle would likely would have gone to great lengths to find out what happened to Beckett, whether they were separated or not. And LokSat, who doesn’t seem to be someone who cares about bloodshed, likely would have gone after Castle if only to avoid that hassle and inevitably doing it later.

Your description of the transition phase is also very accurate, in my opinion. Idk if you saw, but Raina (bravevulnerability) recently wrote about why Castle forgives Beckett so easily in her fics, and explained that forgiving someone doesn’t necessarily mean everything is okay/back to normal. In a way, I feel that this is what the reunion in season 8 lacked. Spare for Fidelis Ad Mortem (8x15), and the struggles in that episode, and the entire concept of hiding their reunion, there was a distinct lack of lingering emotions. Of course, to an extent, these could have passed during the winter hiatus, but I do think a certain degree of lingering doubts, even if communicated through subtle questioning and strange glances would have added a layer of authenticity of their reunion.

As for season 5, I think there’s a distinct difference in the insecurity expressed in episodes such as 5x08 and 5x18 compared to 5x10 and especially the end of the season. By which I mean, the prior instances seem to be more of a personal insecurity, a “will this work out” and “am I good enough for this person”, whereas the end of the season portrays the insecurity of “does this person want a serious relationship like I do”. The prior, to me, makes sense. Both characters have shown underlying insecurity throughout the series, so their doubts about being good enough for each other and/or compatible after all the effort put into their relationship are justified. What the end of the season does, however, is seem to make Beckett forget this commitment and effort that Castle has put in, as though he didn’t spend a year waiting to be with her, as though they hadn’t been together for a year, as though he hadn’t risked his life for her multiple times, one of which had just happened, in Still.

While I do agree that it’s highly possible that Castle would have evaded questions about their future out of fear of spooking Beckett, my problem with that is that it wasn’t shown at all prior to her doubts coming to surface. Which, in my opinion, is a failure of the writers, who knew where the season was going, as this is pre-planned, and didn’t take it upon themselves to present any semblance of build up to their end of season drama, in a way that made it seem implausible and almost juvenile. (Honestly, Beckett’s fears reminded me of something one would see with a couple who’s been hooking up for a few months, or playfully together with far less history, rather than a couple like Caskett). So for me, while this concept of the why being totally plausible and even a pleasant thought, in a way, my problem is that the writers didn’t execute that concept, and rather presented these doubts as something caused by Castle not wanting to sleep with Beckett in that one moment.

And for season 6, yes, I loved the moment in front of the mirror in 6x14. It’s a perfect example of how their past, personal struggles as individuals and as a couple could have been entwined. While I wouldn’t have liked a fulls season of merely rehashing the same doubts, I definitely think emotions such as those in that scene could have greatly improved the season for people such as myself who didn’t find great enjoyment in the giddy checklist style we did get.

Gah the reactions of the rest of the characters in 2x24 is truly heartbreaking, too. And I certainly agree that there’s a greater severity to that scene given that Gina is his ex-wife and not just a fling. I also think that 2x12 was a truly enjoyable episode. I actually really enjoyed Kyra, and the jealousy in that episode.

And aw! I hope my speaking French could bring you joy. I honestly need to use it more often, since I don’t want to lose it or my status as bilingual. And I’ve also used Duolingo, albeit to learn Spanish, and while it’s fun and teaches the basics, for sure, I find that eventually I get bored of doing the same lessons over and over again and just quit. Oops.

I’m also so glad my comments on your English could make you happy. I honestly had no idea you weren’t a native English speaker, so you certainly use the language well, even if it’s outside your comfort zone. I have to admit, I’m glad you feel okay with stepping outside your comfort zone for these messages, because I truly enjoy these exchanges we have.

And gaaaah I love your thoughts on my fic so much. Rambles are my favorite and it made me so happy to read your thoughts as you read, knowing where you were in the story and what was coming. I am so, so glad you enjoyed my odd little one-shot. And thank you so, so much for your compliments. I must admit, I’m fairly proud of that story as it went outside my comfort zone and into a genre I don’t usually explore, in a style not truly like my usual one, so to know it was well executed means the world to me.

(Also yes you should watch more Criminal Minds. Besides Castle, it is probably my favorite show lol).

Thank you, again, for this lovely message. I hope you have a good day, week, etc. Until next time!

Callie xx

(And yes these messages really are getting really long lol).