#its an AU shhhhh just pretend

[foxy-the-silly-little-hooligan]

when you swing your baby brother like a cat

[i-literally-cant-with-this]

Art Credit: @/simibraun

Midnight Mum's

Headlights ran through the room you were sitting in. It was dark, save for the soft glow of the fire dancing around.

You stood up from the couch and peeked through the large living room window to see if it was your boyfriend getting home.

He had some friends from high school visiting and they all went out to catch up on life and all of its infinite happenings.

You could hear him laughing and talking as he built up to his goodbye.

"Yeah, yeah, my girl's prolly asleep by now. I'll hafta be quiet." Reiner said, way too loud.

His friends said something that you couldn't quite catch. But the way he responded to it, you assumed it was dirty.

You chuckled as you watched him stumble up the walkway to the door.

He bent over to ... tie his boot? No, he's picking a flower from his own garden.

"Oh my -- Reiner. You idiot." You said to yourself as you hurriedly closed the flue on the fireplace and jogged down the hall to your bedroom. You have no idea why you did this, but you wanted to pretend you were asleep when he got home.

His keys jingled in the door and then you heard it open as he kicked off his boots.

"Oh-kay, shhh, shhhh, shhhhh, Reiner. Baby is asleep. Ya gotta be qu- quiet. Ok. Where's the damn bathroom at. Why'd she move it. Pffffttt she can't move a bathroom. Duh, dipshit." He always talks to himself when he drinks. It's one of the things about him you find so sweet. Stupid, but sweet.

You hear everything. Him talking to himself. He doesn't say anything incriminating - not that you'd ever assume he would do something awful. He just talks about what he's doing. How he brushes his teeth, flosses and rinses out with the mouthwash that "burns like a bitch."

It makes your heart swell with love for him, these rare occasions he lets loose. He's usually your watchful eye. Always choosing to be the designated driver so you can embark on a little journey of self-indulgence.

You always make it up to him when you get home, though. So he never really complains.

"Shit, forgot to lay out something to sleep in. Au naturel it is, then. Hmph. Serves me right. Drunken asshole -" He chuckles softly to himself as he thinks he's sneaking quietly down the hall to get into your shared room.

When you heard him say he forgot to lay out something to change into for bed, you quickly ripped your clothes off. It wasn't anything special that you were wearing. Just an old t-shirt with some band he used to listen to on the front. Your panties weren't even that sexy. Cute, sure. But not sexy.

The door softly creaked open and you heard his breathing immediately after he stepped inside.

What you didn't expect was him standing beside the bed for a couple of minutes. You assumed he was looking at you, your bottom half covered and your top half for the taking.

His breathing changed, it quickened. It got deeper and a little faster.

Oh, how you wanted to roll over like he'd woken you. But you clung to what little resolve you had. Knowing he was just inches away from you, naked. Drunk. The thought of his fingers grazing over your skin was starting to turn you on.

"Hmm ... bed. Oh, oh god, fuck I love this bed. You did so good pickin' it out baby. S'soft. But like, firm. Firrrrrmmm and s'soffffttt. S'perfect, baby. Jus' like you. Mm-hmm. Jus' ... *yawn* ... like ... *stretch* ... you.

He rolled to his left side to throw his right arm over your exposed waist but when he did he 'accidentally' tucked it up under your breast.

You stirred a little. Rubbing your bare ass against his half-hard cock. You knew it was all for a reason. But he thought you were just being sweet, trying to cuddle up closer to him in your sleep. The way your body misses him after a long day of being apart from each other.

"Ohh ffffuhh-hoo. I'm home, baby. You snuggin' in close on purpose? Or you just wanna be closer to me? I missed you t'night. Couldn't stop thinkin' 'bout ya."

He tucked his face into the back of your neck and inhaled so deeply it made you shiver against him.

"Hey, you 'wake? Did'ja hear me? I missed ya, all night long. Wan'ned to call but my boys put a drink in my face everytime I mentioned your name. That's why m's'drunk. Heyyy, where are your clothes?"

Reiner reached down to let his hand graze your ass.

"Oh f- baby, you're ... you're not wearin' any clothes." He ran his hand across the warm skin and nudged your shoulder with his nose. Kissing in between breaths.

You rolled onto your back and put your right arm above your head, praying he wouldn't tickle you. This didn't feel like it was headed toward a tickle sort of night, though.

He accommodated your shift in position and scooted back a ways.

Laying there, just staring at you like he'd stumbled upon some beauty down at the hidden part of the beach. Lounging in the sun with no cover whatsoever.

"God, you're testin' me tonight. And I'm gonna fuckin' fail. So hard. M'gonna fail. But that's all right, 'cause t'morrow is a brand new day. I'll be better t'morrow. K? God? Thank you for this meal which m'bout to receive."

He ran his rough hands over your breasts to perk your nipples. "Oh god ... you're so fuckin' soft, baby."

You wanted to jump on him. You could feel how hard he was at this point. It was driving you crazy playing this game. And with who? Who were you playing with? Yourself? By yourself. Hoping there was still a way you could win, you moaned a little in your fake sleep state and threw your right leg over his left one.

Luckily, you often sleep tangled or splayed out on one another. So this probably seemed perfectly normal to him, how you laid just then.

"Thaaat's right, such a good girl. Even ready f'me in your sleep. Goddamn ..."

He ran his middle finger up the middle of your cunt, spreading your lips open just enough that he could dip his finger inside you.

"How - wh - you're s'wet, baby. You have some fun while I was out t'night? Or you just reactin' to me bein' this close to ya? Mmm, I wish you'd wake up."

Sucking your juices off of his finger he positioned himself right between your legs. Throwing both of your knees up over his broad shoulders, he grabbed you gently around the thighs and pulled you down a little bit.

"M'gonna have a midnight snack now, ok, baby? I need somethin' on my stomach ... other'n beer n'whiskey. You've been warned."

When Reiner said 'you've been warned', that usually meant 1 of 2 things: He was going to eat you like he'd die if he stopped or he was going to be so gentle and take his time with you so much so that you wouldn't know what the fuck to do with yourself.

You kinda hoped it was the latter. You missed him ... a lot. And you loved it when he came home to you after being apart. Whether it was for 9 hours or a week. You two always reconnected immediately.

It was one of your favorite things about being with him; how he always wanted to bridge the gap. No matter how large or small.

He started off lower than he usually does. Kissing your ankles and massaging your feet a little bit. You relaxed about the tickling. If he was going to tickle you at all, he'd have done it when you tossed your arm up and left your pit wide open. You weren't worried about your feet at all.

You did shift again, though, not much. Just opening yourself up further for him. As if subconsciously, like one of those dreams that seems too real, you made room for him between your legs.

"You're gonna wish you were 'wake for this, baby. I swear ... I'm only sorry m's'drunk. But I'll remember. Y'know what, doll, maybe I'll just set up my phone over there to record this. Jus' so I can show you later how good I made you feel in your sleep. Ahh, no. Then I'll have to move. I don't wanna move."

Reiner situated himself between your thighs, sucking and licking on both of them before he exhaled heavily on your wetter-than-it should-be-while-you're-sleeping cunt.

His breath made you moan a little. The soft heat of it all washes over your most sensitive spot. He looked up at you as his tongue met with your spread lips, licking such soft swipes on your clit.

You were almost out of your mind at this juncture. Watching him eat you out was almost spiritual. His eyes never left yours as he dragged his tongue over your pussy. It was so hard to keep quiet and not whip your eyes open to see his beautiful face stuffed in between your thighs.

He memorized the faces you made with how he moved his mouth. Reiner knew exactly what the fuck he was doing to you.

You were losing this little stupid game you were trying to play. Did he know you're awake? Is he doing this on purpose?

Words were right on the tip of your tongue while you were right on the tip of his.

How content he was, holding you open, lapping at your clit.

You were doing ok until he slid 2 of his calloused fingers into you. He prodded you with his fingers, feeling around for just ... the ... right ...

"Hmm, Rei'."

… spot. 

Oopsie.

"Heyyyy baby girl. There ya are. So sweet, waking up for me. Hi." He cooed. "I didn't think you'd ever wake up. But I got'cha. I know how to get'cha up."

He pumped his fingers in and out of you slowly, watching your face. You knew he'd never let you live this down and he knew you were awake the whole time.

"You're so good, Reiner. So good. You get me every time." You giggled and reached your hand out to the back of his head to tangle your fingers in his hair, pushing his face back down to your pussy.

He moaned against you as he licked and sucked on your clit. You felt like you were getting close already, he could tell. You were breathing heavily, you had your right hand on his head and your left hand over your mouth.

"Mm-mm. No coverin' up. Lemme hear ya." Reiner took your hand and laid it on his back, he put his right hand on your lower stomach to rub your clit with his thumb while he worked his tongue in and out of your pussy.

"Ahh, god. Reiner, I'm gonna cum, please -" You couldn't hold back anymore. You just needed to feel him.

He pulled his fingers out and moved his mouth over your opening, sucking and licking and moaning like he was the one getting the orgasm of a lifetime.

He kept it up until you came all over his tongue.

"That's my girl. Cum for me, baby. I love it. I love it." He whispered softly as you rocked against his mouth.

You weren't even tired. You didn't know what time it was but you knew it was late.

Reiner crawled up to you and laid beside you.

You rolled onto your side to face him.

"Hi." You said quietly, your body still feeling the effects of him working his magic on you.

"Hi yourself." He smiled, licking his lips.

"You tired?" You asked, walking your fingers around the hair just above his pelvic bone.

"Mm-mm. Not yet." Reiner leaned in to kiss you. You could taste yourself on his lips. It drove you crazy (in the best way, of course) how much he loved to taste you. You didn’t really understand and every time you bring it up, he just shakes his head and says not to worry about it. He “fucking loves it and that’s all that matters.” 

You reached down to wrap your hand around his cock, slowly stroking it. He closed his eyes and groaned in your ear.

"Fuck, baby. I want you so bad." He opened his eyes to look at you as you scooted down to lay between his legs.

You wasted no time, taking his entire length in your mouth. He bucked his hips up and let out a soft "ahhhh, fuck."

You bobbed up and down, running your tongue across the bottom of his dick. He grabbed a handful of your hair and held it back for you, so he could watch you work.

"I'm gonna cum, baby. Do you - do you wanna swallow or -"

You looked up at him and shook your head no.

"Ok. Ok." He was trying not to lose his cool. He was trying so hard.

You stroked him as you pulled your mouth off of him, licking the tip and smiling up at him.

"I want it ..." Reiner let out a long sigh as you climbed up his body and sank yourself down on top of his hard cock. "... here. Can you cum for me in here, Rei'? Please? It feels so fucking good when you cum inside of me."

You gave him your best innocent look as you began to ride him.

Reiner held onto your waist, bucking up into you and kissing your breasts as you bounced up and down on his cock.

He moaned your name as he felt himself getting closer to his peak.

"Oh, shi-. Oh baby, fuck..." he grunted and groaned as he came inside of you, filling you up and gripping your waist so tight it was like he was afraid to let you go.

"Stay with me, baby. Stay with me, right here, please." He whispered as he came down.

You laid on top of him, your head on his chest. You could feel his heart beating fast, and it made you smile.

He rubbed your back as you listened to his breathing slow down.

"I have something for you." He said softly.

"You mean more than what you just gave me?" You asked.

It was quiet for a minute.

"Mm-hm, s'over on the nightstand. I wanted it to be the first thing you saw in the morning. Well, after me, I mean." He gently guided you back down onto your spot in the bed and he climbed over your legs to reach for it.

"You didn't have to get me anything, Reiner." you said as you squeezed his ass.

"Oh, no. I know. It's really nothin'. Was just comin' home and saw it and I remembered the day we planted them in the front. I jus' wan'ned to give ya this."

He handed you a chrysanthemum and watched your face light up. 

“Doesn’t smell or look as pretty as you always do, but I,” he scratched the back of his neck and looked up at you from under his brows, “well, I just wanted to give this to you.” 

 Your heart was exploding in your chest.

You sat up to kiss him and he wrapped his arms around you.

You felt so safe and secure in that moment. You never want your time with this man to end.

"I'm gonna put this in water and then ... Do you want to try and get some sleep?" You asked, rubbing his arm.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Thank you, baby. You're so sweet." He smiled and laid back on the bed as you walked over to the bathroom to rinse out a small vase.

You smiled to yourself as you put the single flower in the water.

You sighed happily as you stared at the flower on the nightstand and felt his grip on you tighten. 

You were going to cherish that memory for the rest of your days. Together. Him and you. Just like this. Just as it should be.

[gamerbearmira]

Wild West AU where Alma and Pedro are a pair of notorious outlaws. (cue barbie mugshot meme)

YEEHAW⁉️⁉️

Mostly took inspo from Red Dead Redemption (and Cassidy from Overwatch shhhhh) I need to play red dead 2 tbh, it looks like a fun game, and I like the story (from what I’ve seen)

BUT ANYWAY. GUNS RAHHHHH 🦅🦅🦅 but Fr, I think they would’ve met at some wild, outra pocket shoot out and Pedro was jus like “yeah I love you” and Alma was like “🤨….🫣 shiii me too let’s bust this funky joint” mfs got caught but they don’t stay caught. And I don't even think they be stealing from everybody. It's more like a robin hood situation, steal from the rich, give to poor.

Course they want all the smoke

Yes they have matching hats and covers. And what abt it 🤨 I THINK ITS CUTE LET ME LIVE

Again, they have horses, but I can’t draw horses, just pretend they’re there.

I LOVE ROBBERY AND FRAUD⁉️⁉️⁉️

[greyeyedmonster-18]

🤔🧍‍♀️

hello friend! thank you for the ask

🤔 which fic do you want to send in time out?

honestly, my on-going Work in Process fic (its actually titled Work in Process, which i stand by is the funniest thing I've ever done on this site. where i got to tag things as WIP but it was actually a whole fic and no one but @padfootastic caught on) has been in time out for a whole month now.

its not even their fault! they did nothing! but they are in a corner and i am pouting and pretending they're not there.

shhhhh

🧍‍♀️what fic is begging for your attention right now but you refuse to give it?

lol see the above.

im so sorry, raising harry au my beloved

sirius and harry are just...in limbo right now. on a beach. throwing a frisbee back and forth. no where to go.

fic writer ask game <3

[tinyorangepotato]

Astrantia: If you found out you had one day left alive, what would you do with it?

Akira: Say goodbye and mend my relationships

Fiadh: Something illegal

Eden: Accept my fate

Ecstal: I would message ten people on Facebook saying if they didn’t forward the message to ten people, I would die tomorrow

@drunkparentalunit @illuzionns @wacco17 @boxofnothingness @thistlecore

[petchasnetch]

i finally got round to reading lungs by dreamicide and lets just say ...... my heart is full <3

[be11atrixthestrange]

Waking Up In Vegas Chapter 15

After a night of debauchery, Ron and Hermione wake up in Vegas... married.

Muggle!AU. Romcom!Romione. Slow burning, smutty, angst-fest.

Rated M.

Ao3 | FFN

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More Chapters

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*Six Weeks Later*

[Ron]

The flat is small but well-arranged. Bookshelves line the walls from floor to ceiling, maximizing the vertical space that only one of its residents can fully use. The kitchen is sparkling clean, save for two empty red wine-stained glasses in the sink. Usually, the dishes would be washed and stacked away before the clock strikes bedtime, but last night other, more fun activities got in the way.

The apartment's decor is simple — it has to balance the strikingly orange accent wall behind the television. The only other thing commanding attention is the large painting of a cityscape hanging on the wall across from the entry. It's an artistic rendering of a well-known skyline, characterized by neon lights, a replica of the Eiffel Tower, and a series of flashy hotels. Although the portrait might be recognizable to many, it's meaningful to only a few.

As the morning light peeks through the windows, the bedroom's blinds give up on filtering it out. The sun casts a ray across the pillows, illuminating the two sleeping figures entangled together in bed. Gentle and mild, the light is easier to ignore than an intense desert beam, and it takes a few moments for the tall, red-haired man to open his eyes.

When he does, he turns onto his side to bury his face into his pillow. The bed is warm and comfortable — the satin sheets were a worthwhile investment. Same for the pillow, which somehow maintains the perfect combination of cold and cozy. Ever since they bought a new, albeit expensive mattress, his back problems have become a thing of the past.

He smiles at the mountain of fluffy blankets beside him, topped with spirals of bushy brown locks. There's so much goddamn hair. It looks like a plush volcano of cushions is erupting with curly brown hair. He can't decide what he loves more: the explosion of brunette, the bright orange Chudley Cannons t-shirt, the black mens' boxers that have a little too much fabric for a woman, or the person it all belongs to.

Well, technically, the Cannons t-shirt and boxers are his, or at least, were his. But marriage is about sharing.

"Morning, wifey."

Hermione groans and covers her face with a pillow. "Too early."

Ron slips an arm around his wife, encouraging her to turn toward him. She obliges and snuggles up into the crook of his arm, where she fits perfectly. He presses a kiss to her forehead and nuzzles his head into her hair.

It would be easy to stay like this forever, ignoring real-life responsibilities. In a way, their bed has become an escape from reality, an oasis built upon the lessons they learned in Las Vegas. Defined by frequent 'I love you's, reprieves from work, and late-night explorations fueled by a glass of wine and the need to destress, it's the place that keeps them anchored to the magic. Who wouldn't want to stay forever?

But alas, they can't, as they have Maid of Honor and Best Man duties to attend to. Today is Harry and Ginny's wedding, and within a few hours, they need to transition from the carefree vacationers they became in Vegas to the highly organized planners helping to orchestrate the festivities.

Ron groans. Although their friends know they're together — they put on quite a show back in Las Vegas, after all — they haven't revealed the extent of their relationship, and the worst part about being in public together is pretending that Hermione's just his girlfriend.

"We should just tell everyone," murmurs Ron into Hermione's hair.

She chuckles and snuggles closer. "After the wedding. Let's not steal their thunder."

Steal their thunder. To be honest, Ron has frequently fantasized about stealing Harry and Ginny's thunder. A small part of him is jealous of their hen and stag weekend in Las Vegas and their elaborate wedding. Ron wants everyone to celebrate him and Hermione, and as time passes, he grows more desperate for them all to know.

"I want to steal their thunder."

"I know." Hermione gently pushes him over on his back and slides on top of him. The movement is swift and natural, and as always, she fits like a glove.

"Hmmm, hi," he says right before their lips meet. The kiss lingers; Hermione's teeth lightly latch to his bottom lip, driving him wild. Without breaking their kiss, Hermione shifts some of her weight onto her hips. She knows exactly what she's doing, and if Ron doesn't stop this train, they'll be late.

"Er-my-nee," he groans, pulling away. She pouts at him with her wide chocolate brown eyes, and it's all he can do to resist tangling himself back up in her arms. "Can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Do you wish we had more thunder?"

Hermione brushes a tuft of hair from Ron's forehead. "Sometimes. But I still wouldn't change a thing."

Ron smiles as she leans down for another kiss. Her fingers thread into her wild curls, prompting him to flip her over and land on top. He groans when she wraps her legs around his waist.

"You know we don't have time for this," he says between kisses. "We should get rea—"

"Shhhhh." She pulls him into her embrace and tightens her leg lock around his hips. "There's always time."

"Hey!" he teases, then leaning down toward her ear to whisper, "I take offense to that."

Ron doesn't give her time to respond before connecting his mouth to hers for another kiss. He can smell his cologne from the night before on her skin, yet it still tastes like Hermione when his lips travel from her mouth to the nape of her neck. A soft moan escapes her lips and sends him into a tizzy that leaves nothing else to do but get lost in her.

Six weeks in, and he's still convinced he'll never get sick of snogging Hermione Granger.

Plus, she's right — there's always time.

x

Harry and Ginny's wedding is just as elaborate as their weekend of partying in Las Vegas, but of course, classy. The venue is a converted warehouse, which initially horrified Molly, Ron and Ginny's mum, but it's unrecognizable after a few hours of decorating. They tie the knot underneath a trellis of climbing vines and twinkling lights illuminating the exposed brick wall behind them. Cafe lights drape from the ceiling beams, filtering the room's color just enough that everyone appears to glow. Each row of seats is marked by a simple bouquet and a periwinkle ribbon that matches the color of the bridesmaids' dresses, and the aisle appears to have been assaulted by flower petals, courtesy of Victoire, Ron and Ginny's niece, who recently discovered the true strength of her throwing arm.

Ginny has insisted that she and Harry walk down the aisle together as equals. Although originally disgruntled at the pushback on tradition, their father, Arthur, chokes up when he watches the pair approach the altar. Ginny's eyes sparkle with rare tears, and Harry can't keep his gaze off her radiant smile.

They're a couple in love, and there's not a doubt in the room.

Ginny's dress is simple — Hermione had said something about satin, but Ron doesn't remember the details. It's one of those dresses that doesn't dare pull focus from the woman wearing it, not that any dress could. Ron's always resented the Weasleys' fiery red hair and the way it sticks out like a sore thumb, but Ginny makes him think that maybe it isn't so bad after all.

While everyone watches the couple, Ron chances a glance at Hermione across the altar. He can hardly stand seeing her in her periwinkle bridesmaid dress, and he hopes to heaven his gawking isn't too noticeable. When he shifts his eyes in her direction, she turns her head back toward the bride and groom.

She was checking him out, too.

He doesn't have to keep his eyes on her for his imagination to run wild. That periwinkle dress turns white, and suddenly it's Hermione walking down the aisle. Her hair is tucked up into a spiral on top of her head, a few wisps escaping to frame her face.

Since it's his sister's wedding, Ron forces the image out of his mind, but he can't stop a wistful smile from forming on his lips and staying there throughout the ceremony.

When Harry and Ginny arrive at the altar, the music slows to a stop, and the officiant steps out from behind a curtain.

"Well, hello, folks!" says the blonde-haired man in a thick, mumbling American accent.

The wedding guests stare in silence at the man, who's dressed in white from head to toe, a greasy black wig barely covering his blonde locks.

Harry and Ginny burst into laughter, which breaks the seal for everyone else to follow suit.

"Yes! You got an Elvis impersonator!" shouts Fred, Ron and Ginny's brother, from the front row. "Someone check Mum's pulse."

With that, Ron snaps his head toward his mum, whose face has collapsed into her hands. Her body is heaving with what can only be sobs, or…

Laughter. Ron grins when he realizes that his mother's laughing hysterically.

At Molly's outburst, the tension and stuffiness of a formal event dissipate, and the ceremony continues flawlessly, having now been marked by Harry and Ginny's personalities. Elvis speaks to their bond, and even though he doesn't know the couple, he manages to capture how they approach life, always wearing their hearts on their sleeves and marching to their own beat. They've written heartfelt but humorous vows, expertly eliciting laughs and tears from their guests while they read them with shaky hands. They share their first kiss as a married couple to a round of applause and a standing ovation. Emboldened by the support, Harry picks up Ginny and drapes her over his shoulder as he skips back down the aisle to a chorus of cheers and whistles.

The wedding party follows the happy couple back down the aisle, starting with Ron and Hermione. They link arms and lock eyes, sharing a small, knowing smile. Ron wonders if she's also imagining the roles reversed, everyone clapping and celebrating for them as they traipse down the aisle after tying the knot.

What would the pseudo-Elvis have said about them if this were their ceremony, not Harry and Ginny's? Would he have spoken to how they disliked each other when they first met, and the utter disbelief they felt when they woke up next to one another in bed? Maybe he'd have talked about their strong determination to get a divorce and straighten everything out, followed by the looming 'what ifs' that kept knocking. What if they gave it a chance? What if they opened their hearts and it worked out? What if it was meant to be?

Maybe Elvis would have told a white lie at their request, saving their families the heartache of learning that they missed the original wedding, even though Ron and Hermione kind of missed it too.

That would be best wouldn't it? They could hire an Elvis to spin a new love story for their family, so they could keep the real one to themselves—not due to shame, but the simple fact that it's theirs.

Ron can't help but wonder.

Rather than a formal sit-down dinner, the ceremony transitions straight into a party. The delicate set-up of chairs and flowers clears into a dance floor. The doors to the warehouse open to an outdoor deck complete with a buffet and a dessert table, and a crowd forms at the bar.

Tugged away by Ginny, Hermione disappears into the crowd, and Ron becomes absorbed by friends and relatives. He'd rather stick with Hermione, but before he can locate her again, he's trapped in a conversation with long-lost family members. Old cousin Barny, Auntie Muriel and her flavor of the week — a scruffy looking man who introduces himself as Argus, and a neighbor who used to babysit when he was a toddler — he smiles through it all.

"Anyone special in your life, Ron?"

"I noticed the way you were looking at the brunette."

"Is it serious?"

"Should we be marking our calendars for another wedding?"

He deflects the expected questions — the ones that could draw attention away from the happy couple — with suggestive 'maybes' and 'we'll sees' although the truth, or at least a version of the truth, is evident on his face.

Yes, there is someone special. Yes, he was probably gawking at the beautiful brunette. Yes, it's serious enough that they live together.

"You're living together before you're married?" Auntie Muriel chimes in her most dismissive, judgemental tone.

Ron gives her a guilty look, a 'we're already married, you just don't know,' but to her, it's an admission of living together in sin.

"Well, I hope for your sake, she's the one."

"She definitely is," he says, nodding in a way he hopes ends the conversation.

Ron eventually negotiates an escape from small talk and heads to the bar for a slight reprieve. He slides into a seat and accepts a generous glass of champagne from the bartender. One sip reveals just how thirsty he is, and he lets out a satisfied sigh of relief before indulging in the rest of his glass.

"Another?" asks the bartender once he finishes.

"Erm, sure. Thanks."

While the bartender refills his glass, Ron takes a quick scan of the room. He's looking for Hermione, but she's nowhere to be found. His search doesn't last long as a certain someone slides into the barstool next to him and interrupts.

"Thank you for being here," says the dark-haired man beside him. "It means a lot."

"Ugh, not you," groans Ron, but his tone is laden with a touch of sarcasm only his best friend can decipher. "Should I say congratulations?"

"Yes, please," grins Harry. "Even though you've said it a million times."

"Well, you should soak it up because tomorrow, I'm done congratulating you," he says. "So needy."

"Cheers to you too," says Harry, clanking his champagne glass against Ron's.

"I've been meaning to ask you," says Ron, remembering Harry and Ginny's elaborate ceremony. "Why Elvis?"

Harry laughs. "Oh, Ludo? We met him at one of the casinos in Vegas."

"And you just asked him to officiate your wedding?"

"Well, he offered, and we didn't have anyone else," shrugged Harry. "To be honest, we were kind of drunk when we agreed, but Ginny wanted to bring some of Las Vegas into the wedding, so it worked out."

"Well, I liked him. I thought it was brilliant."

"I agree," grinned Harry. "So, will I get to congratulate you anytime soon?"

"Congratulate me for what?"

Harry rolls his eyes, aware that Ron is playing dumb. "Do you think you and Hermione will ever get married?"

"What makes you ask that?" Ron looks over at his best friend, and his expression that's full of excitement. Part of Ron loves that he and Hermione are the only people who know about their marriage. Another part of Ron just wishes he could share it all with his best friend. It doesn't feel right keeping him in the dark.

"You live together and seem pretty happy," continues Harry, oblivious to Ron's internal debate. "I'll admit, at first, I thought you two were moving fast, but you seem well suited for each other."

"After Hermione, you'll be the second person to know," says Ron, grinning at his friend.

"I'll take it!" says Harry. "Can I give you one piece of advice?"

"Sure, mate." Ron can't help but smirk — Harry's been married for barely two hours and is already touting marriage advice. Typical.

"If you know she's the one, don't overthink it. You'll just waste time."

Ron laughs softly. "I don't think that will be an issue for me."

"Good. I'm going to find my wife," says Harry, emphasizing the word like he's trying it on for size. "And you should go dance with your girlfriend. She looks like she could use a hand."

Harry motions across the room to where Hermione and Luna are alone at a cocktail table. There she is. Hermione's stiff body language is a stark contrast to Luna's eccentric gestures, and it appears that Hermione has become an unwilling audience for one of Luna's wild conspiracy theories.

"Happily," mutters Ron as Harry saunters off to find Ginny.

Ron meanders across the room to rescue Hermione from Luna's verbal clutches. Since she doesn't see him approach, he decides to surprise her by sneaking up behind her and looping his arms around her waist.

"Hi, girlfriend," he whispers into her ear.

"Hmmm." She seems to melt into his touch ."Hi, boyfriend."

"Sorry, Luna," says Ron, as he slides a hand down Hermione's arm and interlaces his fingers with hers. "I'm going to steal Hermione away for a dance."

"Of course! Have fun, you two," Luna says before turning around toward the crowd and skipping away, presumably in search of another unsuspecting guest to engage with.

"She's a lot, isn't she?" asks Ron.

"She's not too bad, once you get to know her. She's just talkative, that's all."

Ron tugs Hermione toward the dance floor where a smattering of couples intertwine, swaying to one of the rare slow songs in the D.J.'s repertoire. She wraps her arms around his neck, and he tightens his embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"It's a little weird to call you my girlfriend."

"It sounds wrong," she says, her voice muffled by his dress shirt. "I was never your girlfriend. It's probably how people feel when they first start saying 'wife' or 'husband.'"

"I reckon you're right."

Ron reflects on the first time he called Hermione "wifey." It didn't feel weird at all, probably because it was a joke. Eventually, the joke just turned real.

"Hubby suits you better, anyway," says Hermione. She always seems to know what he's thinking, but he doesn't mind one bit.

"I agree, love." Even now, Hermione can still make his cheeks tinge red with a simple statement. "Are you enjoying the wedding?"

He can feel her nodding against his chest. "Yeah," she mumbles. "Although, it was a lot of work. Are you?"

Ron shrugs. "Ours was better, I think."

Hermione laughs. "I'm sure it was. Too bad we can't remember it."

Out of the corner of his eye, Ron can see Harry and Ginny embracing on the dance floor, surrounded by his grinning family. A spotlight shines on them, and at the sound of clinking glasses, they lock eyes and share a kiss. When they make contact, the bystanders whoop and whistle. "Maybe they should have gotten hitched in Vegas like us. This is a lot of commotion."

"Well, you know Harry and Ginny," says Hermione as she loosens her embrace to glance over at the couple. "They like their parties."

"They do," he says, tugging Hermione back into his arms. "What would you have done if this was your wedding?"

Ron expects Hermione to take some time for her answer, but surprisingly, she has one at the ready. "It would have been smaller. Maybe a live band instead of a D.J. And red velvet cake."

Ron smiles into her hair as she continues.

"I probably wouldn't have had a huge wedding party. Probably just a maid of honor. Intimate rooftop ceremony. I'd write my own vows. I even have photos of my dream dress."

Ron chuckles. "You have it all planned out."

"I never really planned it, I just knew." She's smiling when she pulls away and meets his eye, but her smile fades into a frown. "But seriously, I wouldn't change a thing."

She must have interpreted his pensive look as disappointment. "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Let's plan it."

"Plan what?"

"Our rooftop wedding," he says as the color pink creeps up his neck.

"Ron, we're already married." Despite her deadpan tone, there's a twinkle in her eye and a soft smirk hiding behind her lips.

"Then let's get married again."

She narrows her eyes at him, and Ron can almost see the gears turning inside her head. "You don't think that would be a waste of time and money?"

"No. Not at all. Plus, I couldn't stop picturing you walking down the aisle today, and I'd love to see you in your dream dress."

She leans back and stares at him for a few moments, clearly running questions through her mind. When she finally speaks, her eyes are glassy with held-back tears, and a smile lifts her words. "You're serious?"

"Hermione Granger," he states in his most serious tone. "Will you marry me again?"

Their feet stop moving, and she bores her gaze into his. Her answer is swimming in her eyes, but he waits for her to verbalize it. "Of course I will. I'd marry you every day."

Ron barely has time to smile before she's pressing her lips against his. He responds so enthusiastically that it could very well be their first or thousandth kiss, lifting her gently off her feet. They're probably drawing attention to themselves, but Ron doesn't mind. It's like she's the only person in the room.

That seems to happen a lot.

Ron sets her back down and slides his hands down her arms, landing at her unadorned fingers. He rubs a thumb across her left hand, desperately wishing he had brought the ring. He didn't think to bring it to the wedding.

The ring — a modest emerald-cut solitaire in yellow gold, is still safely stashed in his bedside drawer, hidden by a few football magazines. He had a whole plan that didn't include a quiet proposal at someone else's wedding, but sometimes the best things in life are accidents.

"I have a ring, you know."

"You do?" she asks, her eyebrows raised. "You planned this?"

Ron laughs. "Well, sort of. But I wasn't planning on asking you tonight. Didn't want to steal anyone's thunder."

"When were you going to ask?"

He had it all planned out. A surprise candlelight dinner at their flat. A homemade cocktail — his best attempt at Liquid Luck. Slow-dancing in a dimly lit living room, furniture pushed against the wall to make room. Dropping to one knee in the middle of a dance. Strawberries and whipped cream. It would have been perfect.

But this is perfect too.

"I was going to propose six months in. Since that's when you can finally divorce me if you want to—"

"Right. Divorce," she scoffs. "When did you buy the ring?"

Ron averts his gaze when he answers. He hasn't planned on telling her this part. "In Las Vegas."

"That early?" she asks, her tone suspicious.

He nods.

"You knew you wanted to stay with me?"

"Of course, I did. Didn't you know, too?"

She smiles and answers him with another kiss. This time it's slow and loving, taking its time. Their bodies seem to melt together into one.

"That would have been so sweet," she says when they eventually break free.

"We can stick to the original plan if you'd prefer that—"

"No!" Her eyes widen as if she's afraid he'll take it back. "When have we ever followed plans?"

Ron grins. There it is — that spontaneous Hermione that only he gets to see. "And you were worried 'Vegas Hermione' would disappear completely," he says, tucking a hair behind her ear.

"I guess she's here to stay," says Hermione as she nestles her head into the crook of Ron's neck where it fits so perfectly. "I love you so much, Ron."

"I love you more, fiance."

Ron can't help but wince at her new title. 'Fiance' sounds just as odd as 'girlfriend,' and it'll only be true for a small fraction of their lives together — not enough time to get used to it.

"I still like 'wifey' better," she says as though reading his mind.

He does too. "Then I guess we have another wedding to plan."

"I guess we do," she says. "And what about our real wedding? Do you want to tell people?"

"Should we?"

"No," she says before securing her arms around his neck. "That wedding can stay ours."

Ron smiles as his lips meet hers. The desire for everyone to know is still there, but less so. They'll get to celebrate a 'real' wedding together, their guests blissfully ignorant of Ron and Hermione's little secret. It's a perfect plan, really.

Someday they might reveal the truth. They might let it slip in conversation, or accidentally admit it to Harry and Ginny after a few cocktails, or decide to tell their future children.

But until then, their original wedding can just be theirs.

*THE END*

[rowdyravens]

NSFW college au things

I had this dumb thought about my modern AU that I just had to get down into words. Everything I write is completely self indulgent this time I just wanted to write Julian getting flustered.

This is PRETTY nsfw so content is under the cut. Also I want to point out that since tumblr's algorithm sucks so all nsfw content will be tagged #spicy

I mentioned before that Alas, Asra, and Julian were all hooking up with each other at some point, well this takes place while that was happening but before Julian realized he had it bad for them

it's a given that Alas and Asra have a little "no strings attached" thing going on, but let's be real. They definitely have a thing for each other and definitely wish it was a little more. 

I want to get out of the way right now that while yes, Alas is a total sub for Asra, he is NOT for Julian. Mans is a gold star switch. 

Asra is very aware that Alas has a crush on Julian and teases him relentlessly for it. They also probably make Alas talk about how much he wishes Julian was there while they touch him. Shit I have to write that too. 

At first Alas would just hang around Julian when he was trying to get work done, messing with lab equipment and being a little annoying (not really julian just pretended) but it slowly turned into flirting and finally culminated in Alas sucking him off under the desk... a few times... and maybe they fuck in a study room... and on a lab table. Listen they hook up a lot okay.

They both have the emotional stability of a pile of bricks so they never really talk about it. It just... happens

The problem is, Alas wears reading glasses. Alas wears reading glasses... to their study sessions... Alas wears reading glasses... when they hook up. What I'm saying here is Julian accidentally pavlovs himself into getting a boner every time Alas wears their reading glasses. That's what I'm saying.

A little later on they're having a "study session" this time a real one!! at the library and Asra tags along with Alas because "the neighbors are having a party and I cant sleep. At least its quiet here" (the neighbors are not having a party he just wants to see Alas get all giggly and shy around his crush) If Julian thought Alas was annoying, he and Asra combined are a force to be reckoned with.

There's not really much studying going on. Asra keeps making dirty jokes and Julian is basically encouraging him by laughing at every single one. 

At some point Asra plucks Alas's reading glasses off the table and puts them on "Man how do you see out of these?" "shhhhh! Asra put them down!"

Uh oh. This isn't good. Asra looks... really good in those glasses. Really good. Alas is flushed with embarrassment. Asra is out of breath holding in laughter. Oh no. Abort mission.

Bonus

Julian: I'm sorry I just remembered I have a thing

Alas: Aww well... bye Julian :(

Asra:

Alas:

Asra: He had a boner didn't he

Alas: Yeah I wasn't going to say anything

[radioromantic-moved]

a somewhat comprehensive list of‏‏‎ ‎stellar‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‎firma‏‏‎ ‎aus‏‏‎ ‎that are bouncing around up in my head, in honor of au april. these are somewhat listed in order of how invested i am in them, from least to most. yes, every character has roles in all of these because i’m really emotionally attached to them shhhhh

-beauty and the beast au: this isn’t even a real au it’s just this post. but i still think it’s hilarious.

-fake proposal au: a couple gets engaged at the astral‏‏‎ ‎bar and receives a round of drinks on the house.‏‏‎ ‎trexel‏‏‎ ‎gets an idea, and like most of his ideas, it’s bad. cue the world’s most elaborate fake proposal. there is an improvised song because it’s‏‏‎ ‎trexel, and fireworks somehow. something gets set on fire. but now trexel‏‏‎ ‎and‏‏‎ ‎cyril actually have to pretend to be engaged every time they go to the bar while keeping it a secret from‏‏‎ ‎hartro‏‏‎ ‎and david and basically everyone else, which is an extremely difficult task.

-ghost au: this is entirely because i thought “trexel‏‏‎ ‎poltergeistman” one time and decided i was the funniest person on planet earth. and david is slimy which translates into ectoplasm. they both died in the same house and now they’re stuck in there together. eventually cyril moves in and now they’re all living in there! together! imogen is a sentient computer virus or something and‏‏‎ ‎hartro‏‏‎ ‎is a ghost hunter tracking paranormal activity in the area. this one is very silly (a funny bonus idea i just thought of is if the other david clones were former inhabitants of the house that‏‏‎ ‎trexel‏‏‎ ‎drove out and our good boy number seven was just unlucky enough to actually die in there.)

-elemental au: based off of a throwaway gag in season 1. david can manipulate earth or maybe metal or maybe water but whatever it is clones aren’t actually supposed to be allowed to do it. he can because of the weird way he was programmed.‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‎trexel‏‏‎ ‎is obviously pyrokinetic,‏‏‎ ‎hartro‏‏‎ ‎is aerokinetic, cyril is electrokinetic. not everyone has powers, the main gang just got lucky. (trexel‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎is the first‏‏‎ ‎geistman‏‏‎ ‎in generations to be born with anything so everybody is really excited and then really disappointed really fast.)

-galavant‏‏‎ ‎au: briefly mentioned here. this is really just a medieval fantasy au with a few stolen plot points but i started‏‏‎ ‎galavant‏‏‎ ‎and never finished it because i got bored of the immense amounts of heterosexuality so that’s still its title out of spite. and because “love is strange” would be an ideal cytrex song if it didn’t have a line about makeup which is bad for my dysphoria And my sensory issues. but i digress.‏‏‎ ‎trexel‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎comes from a family of knights and everyone’s expecting him to live up to that legacy but he never will because he is horrible. david is his long suffering squire who is probably human here but i could make them part mermaid or something because i like to give them gills. cyril is a runaway royal looking for someone to help them reclaim their kingdom from an evil monarch (who is probably‏‏‎ ‎hartro‏‏‎ ‎with imogen as her advisor). they’ve heard tell of the legendary feats of the���‏‎ ‎geistman‏‏‎ ‎family, but are quickly disappointed to find out that its only heir kinda sucks. (well, the whole family sucks, but they don’t know that right off the bat.) so they’re stuck with those two morons but shhh they become besties in the end so it’s all okay

theater au: THEATER AU MY BELOVED...the only one of these that actually aligns with canon. this is also the way i want the show to end canonically, this version is just the one with cyril shoved in there. the main cast escapes their awful work environment, commandeers a stolen spaceship, and starts up a traveling theater production. they’re all confirmed to be genuinely happy doing creative work and the sense of community in a theater troupe is so warming to me that i’d feel like a dork describing it fully.‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‎trexel‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎writes scripts and songs, and most of the time is the lead actor. david edits scripts, does graphic design, and makes sure everything’s running as it should (with acting appearances as needed).‏‏‎ ‎hartro‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎designs costumes, props and sets, and she’ll also appear on stage if the situation calls for it. imogen handles the tech and special effects, flies the ship, and does all the accounting. cyril is primarily stage crew and just fixes all the stuff that goes wrong, but yeah, whatever, secretly they really like acting, don’t tell anyone. they’ve also got like a billion old scripts from earth productions they could remaster (i want the gang to do little‏‏‎ ‎shop‏‏‎ ‎of‏‏‎ ‎horrors‏‏‎ ‎so bad if only to witness the insane fights over who’d play who.) basically every character makes appearances in this. the theater ship has a live in therapist because by god everyone on board fuckin needs one. basically they’re doing better and they’re pursuing their passions and they’re HAPPY and FULFILLED and. breaks down. anyway that’s the end of the post bc i gotta go think about this again.

[eriisaam]

Nobody: 

Me: Who wants moar streetracer AU crumbs? 8D

Road Wyvern (name tentative), owned by Camilla.

In a family fractured between streetracers and nons, she’s at odds with Xander between her passion as a racer and his massive concern for her safety, especially when as I mentioned last time for another sketch I did way back, Camilla was in a pretty bad wreck once before, and badly scarred the left side of her face while losing her left eye. (However, said accident wasn’t quite as “accidental” as it all seemed.) Occasionally, she hitches an additional seat for more mundane rides, but takes full advantage of her mostly dark palette during late night races not to be easily told in her daytime ongoings with the same bike. She’s a leader of a group of bike enthusiasts who may or may not be involved in lots of underground (probably) after dark streetrace circuits.

She is currently in a relationship with a budding med trainee, Erin, who found her at the scene of her accident and helped stabilize her long enough to go to the hospital. Because Erin can’t drive for crap, Camilla offered to drive for her, eventually easing her into outright drive dates together.

Silent Dragon, owned by Kamui (male Corrin). To Xander’s dismay, Kamui took up a bike and racing after heavy encouragement from Camilla, who similarly encouraged her other siblings. However, with Garon’s horribleness, combined with the increasingly high tension between Camilla and Xander, Kamui, at a loss of how not to make it so much worse, eventually runs away from home and rides off. In the time he disappeared, tensions broke so much that Camilla’s and Xander’s arguments eclipsed, they both said things they’ve soon regretted, and it all came to head when, while Xander was out trying and failing to find Kamui, Camilla was involved in  the aforementioned wreck.Although Kamui wasn’t personally involved in said wreck, he blamed himself for leaving and leading to said turn of events, so while he visited Camilla when she was too bad off to realize he was there, he avoided his family even worse so after the incident.

By complete chance, Kamui wound up being roomates in the college dorms with Erin, and Eclair, while neighbors with Dash, Sparrow and Lyon, and as Camilla eventually got close enough to Erin to find out Kamui lived with them. The accident didn’t even cross her mind in favor of her massive joy and relief to find him again where she then proceeded to blow the landline up to no end of their dorm thereafter for a long while. 

Happy Dream. Rider is Gunnthra.  Jokingly/mockingly, people also dubbed it “Hello Ktty��� for how obnoxiously kawaii it is, but for the sake of not having my kneecaps busted by Sanrio, it’s officially Happy Dream.

Gunnthra is a budding racer who had aspirations to have a pretty bike and by gawd she’s gonna get it. After running into Teru in his garage shop, and with him humoring her request for Happy Dream to be modded in all its brightly colored glory, it turned out she’s terrifyingly good in races, despite how caught off guard most get to see her bike, and through her unbridled joy and thrill of getting the hang of streetracing, it reignites Teru’s own interest to help her and relive his glory days through proxy of her.

Falchion, owned by Chrom. Its initial name was supposed to be Falcon, but Chrom got nervous and typoed the name while registering it, so Falchion it is.

He’s the least experienced out of anyone in streetracing, and quite honestly has no business at it. The reason he got roped into it at all is cuz he thought Sparrow and Lyon were cute, wanted to find a way to get to know them and break the ice, and Camilla, being Camilla, swooped in all “well biking’s cool, they’ll probably dig bikers. :) “

By pure luck and happenstance, he’s thankfully enough of a natural not to seriously break himself, surprisingly won his first race, and it took all the nerves in his not-quite-as-ylissian-but-whatever-this-AU body to try to pretend like he knew what he’s doing (while screaming internally), and how he has to live his lie to save face.

Except Sparrow and Lyon were way easier to impress than he thought, and both would’ve liked him just as well if he had any remote interest in games and anime but shhhhh...

Demon King, owned by Lyon. Between him and Sparrow, he has more experience in streetracing than he initially lets on.

While normally, Lyon is just another student trying to get by, he’s secretly more of an adrenaline junkie than he lets on. Partially, he started off stressed to a point of falling sick (often and repeatedly) out of stress, tension, taking way too much of his studies all at once, and the heavy, heavy inferiority complex he has of whether or not he could ever hold a candle to the name Vigarde made for himself in the social network.

Turns out, however, Vigarde was not just a big name in the public eye, but in the underground as well in his prime, and he was the previous owner of Demon King before he forced himself to retire from the public eye due to his ailing health. While Vigarde was supportive of Lyon’s pursuits of knowledge, and was open to the idea of letting him one day inherit Demon King, he initially hesitated on the idea up until he tried his first streetrace with a different bike he borrowed and won.

Although initially trying to ground himself and swear off the idea, he unfortunately was overcome by the sheer thrill and energy from the adrenaline rush of such a reckless and chaotic sport, he eventually does end up taking Demon King after all, albeit not simply for commute as his father believed. Though he maintains a calm, fairly friendly and helpful demeanor in schoolwork, he is described as having a completely different personality in races he takes part in, being highly competitive and surprisingly terrifying, living up the reputation of a speed demon.

I’ll be honest, I have no crumbs for Dimitri, or any real plot thoughts about the Blue Lion, but someone requested a bike for Dimitri, and also this gives me a chance to share thoughts of the other people:

- Erin is a student studying medicine, and while it’s debatable how much of it is outright her job just yet, she’s a trainee, and she happened to be around when Camilla was in her wreck to stabilize her and call an ambulance for her, saving her life. When Camilla sought her out to find her again, the two got closer to a point of dating, and it’s through her that she eventually reunited with her estranged brother, Kamui. Though she doesn’t drive at all, and she harbors all manner of history that would imply she should be against biking and streetracing, she doesn’t get in Camilla’s way of her clear passion for riding bikes despite her experiences. She also is frenemies with Kyo, to a point her rivalry with him is bad enough to make her recognize when he pulls up on campus from the sound of his engine. She is just as familiar of Camilla’s engine to otherwise perk up at the sound of Camilla pulling up similarly.

-  Kyo is an on-again off-again biker who cycles through more bikes than clothes. He owns a penthouse to live elsewhere, he works as a charmer off-campus, and he initially catches the interest of Kamui and Eclair in trying to charm both of them, whom Erin and lightly so Sparrow are less than convinced of his virtues behind why, especially as they unfortunately got to know both have pretty big and powerful family connections (well, Lyon too, but still...) He made an enemy out of Thorr, so much so that she tried to task a hit against him, only for the hit to target Teru instead (who unfortunately looks similar) which caused Teru to be permanently stuck with crutches, was the cause of Camilla’s accident, and nearly killed the one doing the hit, all in one fell swoop, just on the vain attempt to get Kyo to stop coming near her son Eclair. To say she was infuriated to find out Kyo came out of it all unscathed and still trying to woo her son is an understatement.

- Sparrow, whose actual name is Jase, uses the handle of “Sparrow” this AU based on her online aliases as she works for commission on art, this also being her major. She tends to be the most keen on upkeep of keeping the place tidy and not on fire. She knows more than she lets on about Lyon’s underground antics and suspects Chrom’s doing far more than he could actually handle, but so long as they and Dash stay alive and well, that’s about as much as she has the spoons to care for. She’s slightly more accommodating to Kyo, but not as unsuspecting of him completely like Kamui of his intentions with him and Eclair.

- Eclair is actually named Magni, and is the son of Thorr and nephew of Loki, both of whom are powerful people with heavy social influence, including in the underground. He is, effectively, a son of a mafioso, and despite meaning well this time around and trying to have a more genuine mother-son relationship to him this time, Thorr is still too smothering, controlling, and too much of a helicopter parent to have a particularly healthy relationship with all the same (but at least this time around, the three aren’t so all powerful as to delete countries with a passing fart, so, yay.) This unfortunately left him bright-eyed, naive, and very babie-vibed of the world of college life, which he only got into because Loki happens to like to give him leeways, be it to have Cool Aunt dibs and/or to piss Thorr off on purpose otherwise. While he isn’t so hopeless as to not function in the normal world, he unfortunately is still hopelessly naive all the same, which led to Erin and Sparrow being much more protective of him and Kamui.

[maknaes-and-hyungs]

mìngyùn(命运)

Pairing: Yixing x Contestant Reader

Group: Exo/ Idol Producer

Genre:Fluff, Slow Burn, Perhaps angst in the future

Chapter: <<Prev 1 next>>

Note: OMG I’ve had this for like a month or two and I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it. The second week of May was finals and now I’m on break and I wanted to rest before writing again so that’s why I’ve been gone. However I’m back and really missed writing. So I decided to make this more then one part, because you wanted the falling in love to take time. I’m not great at slow burnish stuff, but I will do my best!~Rin

P.S. I forget how I format my post so I always have to open up my blog and look at my previous posts. I am hopeless.

Request: Hi👋🏻 Can you write me a Yixing x reader (kinda an AU) where Yixing hosts idol producer girl ver. and the reader is a contestant there and they fall in love? (You don’t have to rush the falling in Love part haha) It’d be awesome if you could write one xD Thanks in advance xx

“Shhhhh-” One look from your leader and you stopped mid swear. You were being recorded for the second season of Idol Producer after all. Of course everyone claimed it wasn’t lady like, but you would say fuck that bullshit.

“Please behave yourself Y/N. We are representing Yuehua after all and we wouldn’t want to besmirch the legacy that the boys gained us last season.” Eyes rolled, you followed after her and walked to the middle of the floor as the other trainees gazed on the eight of you. Whispers of wonderment drifted through the air, but you were only focused on finding a place to sit.

All of the groups had sat together, but you honestly weren’t too fond of your label mates or the idea that you had to be a team against all others;Here you became individuals all fighting for a spot meaning that label loyalty would do you nothing. So, as your “teammates” walked to the left and up the stairs you stood in place which prompted more sinister whispers to crop up.

“Y/N now isn’t the time to space out silly.” The maknae of your group turned to you with a sweet smile that hid the hatred you faced everyday in practice. The fakeness was sickening and so you gave an unamused look and turned to the right set of stairs. To prevent them from turning around and pretending that this was some game you all played you chose a single seat at the end of the row next to another company.

The other trainees looked back and forth between you guys until the other seven Yuehua trainees huffed and strutted up near the top. You smiled smugly and leaned back into your seat ready to be named as the mean girl of the season. Of course you would turn people on their heels when you started making friends with everyone.You might come off as prickly at first, but somehow making friends came easily to you.

“I’m Y/N.” You put your hand out to the girl beside you and she shook it apprehensively, “You’re Feng Mian right?”

“Uh...yeah how did you know?”

“I saw that cover you did of Pristin’s Wee Woo. You’re super talented plus you fit the meaning of your name and its a great meaning at that.”

“Oh? And what is that meaning?”

“’ Falling asleep in the woods as the breeze swishes through ‘. You really have a calming and peaceful look about you.” Feng Mian looked surprised before she covered her mouth and giggled at how you described her.

“I thought you were rude, but in fact you’re quite friendly. I look forward to hanging out and performing with you. I’m surprised your name isn’t shu.(Meaning “kind” or “warm hearted”)” It was your turn to laugh, but before you could reply the next group was coming out and you both decided to focus you attention back to the front.

Group after group filed in, bowed, and searched for a place to sit while the rest of you whispered about them. The already seated girls commented on the trainees they recognized due to their skills or the outfits that made themselves seem shabby in comparison. It went on like this into the early morning hours and by then most girls were just fighting to stay awake leaving the judging for the mentors who were to come. It was in a lull after the final trainee came out that the mentors finally revealed themselves.

Zhou Jieqiong, Cheng Xiao, Jackson, MC Jin and Li Ronghao all came out exclaiming their greetings into their mics and waking us up. Then the man we had all been anticipating came out, Zhang Yixing, and without any prompting we all became alert and greeted the people before us.

“I know you are all tired, but the show is about to really start now! I am the nation’s producer Zhang Yixing and these are the mentors that will help in fostering the talent in all of you. Before you fall asleep let’s get right into the performances with Yuehua Entertainment.”

Finally you could perform and get these nerves you had been feeling out of your system. The rest of your group had sat lower then you so they arrived on the floor before you. The judges assumed that what they saw was the entirety of Yuehua and began their spiel.

“Sorry, but I’m also in Yuehua.” You cut off Yixing and bowed apologetically as you joined your “team mates” in front. The mentors gave curious looks and turned around to search for the empty seats.

“Why were you off by yourself?” Yixing gave you a strong look that implied he wasn’t happy with this new information he had gained.

“Because I felt it would be better to get to know other trainees since I already know everything I can about my seven label mates.”

“Yes well there will be time for that later. Anyhow let’s see your performance.” Yixing didn’t seem satisfied with you, but you ignored him and got into position. You could feel an impending disaster with the performance that you had felt ever since the day it had been thought up. As the only rapper of the eight of you, you had been given a lot more to do and you weren’t sure you could do it. Your label mates had no desire to support you and cover for the areas you lacked in. You weren’t going to let that get to you though and you set out to do the best you could despite this.

One song later you all were slightly out of breath and slick with sweat. Some had tears in their eyes due to little slip ups they had here and there. You stood up from your crouched position and moved back to your spot at the end of the line and awaited the harsh comments.

“Y/N-”You bowed and stepped forward to hear what Jackson had to say, “you are the only rapper here and I feel disappointed in you a bit. Your skills weren’t lacking, but it seems that you tried to take over the stage since you are the only one with your skill set.”

“I apologize if that was how it seemed. However, I didn’t have a hand in planning out this routine as I was hospitalized. I do know that this doesn’t excuse me though, since I should’ve put in my two sense when I could and I maybe should’ve tried to train on of my fellow label mates so they could rap some of my parts if restructuring was not possible.” I bowed my head before continuing, “This is my fault and I take full responsibility.”

“Yet that isn’t enough.” I stood up from my bow surprised to see Yixing with an annoyed look on his face. “You are a team and yet you sit by yourself and won’t rely on them for anything so they can’t rely on you. I am disappointed in your team work.”

“I won’t make excuses for myself, but that isn’t fair because you have things backwards. They have never let me in and have shunned all my efforts to help them so I can’t rely on them as you have said. I don’t believe I did anything to warrant the treatment I have gotten, but maybe I have and-”

“I’ve heard enough.” Yixing waved a hand at you and the other judges looked at him in slight disapproval. “We will now discuss ranking.”

You waited in silence with anger beneath your skin that only grew as rankings were announced. Your label mates all got a’s and b’s while you got an f. You felt this unfair as the rest of the mentors seemed shocked at Yixing’s announcement like they had all felt differently.

“Y/N you let us down and I hope you change in the future. Next up-”

“I can’t change and improve if an unfair bias is set upon me from the start.” Yixing stopped mid sentence and looked at you in shock,”However, I won’t let that or your unfounded malice stop me. Thank you for your work.” You bowed and walked back to your seat leaving everyone stunned.

This was going to be a rougher ride then you had thought. Yixing was after you for no reason from the start and you had been put at the bottom. You would fight though and make it to where you were meant to be.

Disclaimer: I love my bias, my boi, my sheep, yixing with my heart. I swear he wont be like this always but ummm I need a villain so it has to be him.~rin

[yellowjavkets]

1, 4, 44 for The Thing ?

1.) Tell us about your WIP!A more accurate thing to ask is “WIPS” because i have a doc titled “WIP” and it’s a mash of snippets of like thirty things iIve got in the works. the ones i’m most excited for is a voltron roller derby au, a bubbline thing and a pricefield but shhhhh its a secret :>4.) Do you have any writing habits/rituals?I have this routine thing where i HAVE to have the instrumental version of an album on, a cup of coffee, and my fairy lights on or I….write a lot slower, that’s for sure44.)Why (and when) did you decide to become a writer?I’ve been writing since I was a spike, but I really started steadily writing when i was fifteen. and why? Inflicting horrible things on my characters is how I pretend horrible things aren’t happening in my life lolol just kidding (I’m not kidding send help)

[supernaturalghostwriter]

The Punk And The Nerd 3! (BrOhm)(OhmBryce)

((another school au and also base on another art-work by alien--stranger on tumblr. so enjoy :3 ))

"i don't know about this" Jonathan stated out of nowhere while he and Bryce were eating lunch. Bryce looks up at his friend, confused. "about Ohm, about the date" Jon told after the look of confusion he got. Bryce blushes but he frowns. "but Jon, you know i'll be alright" Jon nods. "i know, but i'm just trying to protect your feelings, i mean the fucker's a bad son of a bitch, punk addict and i just don't want your heart broken by him" Bryce was grateful for a friend like Jon, he was like a older brother to the freshman in a way. whenever some bullies or people hurt or flirt with him, Jon would send them straight to hell. he was quite protective over Bryce. so was Evan and all their other friends. "i know, but Jon, i've never this deep of feelings for anyone before, i just...i don't know how to explain it" Bryce blushes, looking at his food. Jon signs. "all i am saying is be careful" Jon held onto his arm, looking at his friend. "be careful with that boy, he looks like he's no good is all" Bryce opens his mouth to speak but a voice spoke out to them. "hey Bryce!" he turn and saw Ryan waving, walking over. "hey Ohm" Bryce spoke, letting out a nervous laugh to Jon glaring at Ryan with a hiss, hugging his younger friend close. Ohm also gave a nervous laugh. "am i interrupting something?" the senior asked. "yes you are" Jon stated. "but what is it?" he asked. Ryan looks at Jon then looks at Bryce, smiles. "i was wanting to say see you Saturday Bryce" he winks before walking off. Luke was watching also, walking off with his friend to class. Bryce blushes deeply to the wink. he was smiling so big. Jon saw how his friend was acting and what this did to him. he signs, knowing it was going to happen sooner or later. "i guess maybe Saturday won't be so bad" "and maybe you can hang with Evan" Bryce giggles, seeing Jon's face go red and he waves his arms, fluster. "s-s-shut the fuck up!" the two freshman just laugh. then the bell rings and they got to class. then after school, Bryce walks home with Jon and Mix. once he got inside, he smiles, going to his room and lays on his bed, hugging his pillow close with a big smile on his face. tomorrow was Saturday, his date with Ryan meanwhile, "for fuck sake Ohm you look fine" Luke signs, having came over to his friend's house to assist him with getting a outfit ready for the date tomorrow. "come on Toonz, i want to look nice for Bryce" Ryan stated, walking in wearing his jeans only, slipping on a t-shirt. "then wear what you normally wear man, he doesn't care" Luke rubs his forehead. "but i want to be different, maybe something clean" Ryan sits, runs his fingers through his hair. "Ohm, relax, deep breaths, its fine, also Bryce doesn't care what you wear" Luke chuckles, seeing his friend like this. Ryan signs, pouting. "you make it sound so easy" Luke then grins. "if you want to really hear my advice...." Ryan raise a eyebrow, curious. "then maybe wear something fancy, that is, if you have a good hair brush and nice clothes for a fancy place" Luke grins as Ryan's eyes widen, then he also grins. "go fucking get him tiger!" then came Saturday, Bryce was already awake. he was looking through his closet of clothes. he got out a nice shirt, pants and shoes. he brushes his hair as he blushes. his heart wouldn't stop pounding. he was so happy for this. after Bryce got clean and ready, he saw it was 9:50 am. just ten minutes. he couldn't stop smiling. he texted Jon about how happy he was right now, a response came through of be good. he chuckles to himself. "thanks mom" then he heard a knock on his door. Bryce rushes over and opens the door, his eyes widen and jaws dropped at the sight. "hey Bryce" Ryan blushes, his hair was nicely brushed, wearing a nice shirt with a tie and nice pants and shoes. Bryce was still shocked. "i-is it bad?" Ryan asked, noticing the silent. "w-what? n-no no no, it just you took me by surprised is all" Bryce blushes, smiling as the other male also smiles. "shall we get going?" he offer a hand. he giggles, taking the other's hand. "sure" he shut the door, locking it. they walked to Ohm's car which was very nice. Ryan open the passenger side. "such a gentleman" Bryce got in, giggling. Ryan then got into the driver side and started the car. the car slowly drove down the sheet to a local cafe. they got out of the car and went inside, holding hands. Ryan got them a table and they both sat down. "this is really nice" Bryce smiles as Ryan nods. "true" then a waitress came over and order them some drinks. as Bryce and Ryan were talking to each other, Jon was spying on them. he didn't want Ryan to break his Bryce's heart. he was like a mother hen, ready to fight. Jon watches the couple, he felt someone next to him and looks over. "you too?" Luke chuckles. "i wanted to see how nervous Ryan is" Jon raise a eyebrow. "him? nervous?" Luke chuckles. "i know right? took me a surprise as well" he signs. "look, i get it, wanting to protect your friend from a painful heart break, hell i was doing the same for Ohm. but Ohm really likes Bryce, there is something about that freshman he really likes that is special to him" Luke stated. Jon watches, listening to this. he looks back at the couple who were talking. Bryce was giggling with a big smile to something Ryan said and Ryan looking nervous with a smile, seeing he didn't want to fuck it up. he signs. after they finished their drinks and such, Ryan and Bryce left the cafe. Bryce holding Ryan's arm as the senior blushes to his freshman's cuteness. Jon watches them go and he pretend to wipe a tear. "my Bryce is growing up" Luke rolls his eyes. "he's growing up? fuck, Ohm is so different now, but still a cheeky son of a bitch" Jon smirks. "he's your friend" Luke chuckles. "true, hell somebody has to look out for his sorry ass" Jon laughs. "i see" hour after hour, Bryce and Ryan had a lot of fun. they went walking. they talked. Ryan relaxed more as Bryce nuzzles him. after it was getting dark, Bryce saw they've been out for hours. Ryan also notice. "want me to take your home?" he asked. the freshman looks at him. then he notice something and points. "what's that?" he asked, seeing a movie theater. the senior looks over and smirks. "want to watch a movie?" the smaller male grins. "sure" they went into the movie theater. "why am i here?" Evan asked his boyfriend, who was still watching the couple on their date. "shhhhh, i want to see what movie they pick' Jon stated, watching. "also why is he here?" he nudge to Luke. "i want to make sure Ohm doesn't fuck up anything" Luke chuckles. they continue watching as they went to see a horror movie. Jon rushes over but Evan held him back. "but Bryce hates horror movies!" he whines. Bryce and Ryan were sitting in their seats as the movie slowly began to play after a minute. everything started out normal. then after half way, a jumpscare came up. Bryce jumps and held the nearest thing to him which happened to be Ryan. Ryan blushes and smiles, holding his boyfriend close to him. Bryce snuggles close, forgetting the movie as he whispers, blushes. "you smell really nice" the other blushes, whispers. "Luke let me borrow some of his cologne" after the movie was ending, Bryce lets out a yawn and stretches. he had almost fell asleep on Ryan's shoulder. they went outside and to his car. they drove back to Bryce's place. Bryce saw Evan's car there and signs. "Evan and Jon must be there" Ryan put the car in park, looks over at Bryce. "did you-" "i had a lot of fun" Bryce stepped in, smiling brightly. he leans over, kissing him on the lips. Ryan kisses him back. slowly his hands from the freshman's hair. Bryce's hands found his shoulders, kissing his tall boyfriend. slowly they broke the kiss, looking at each other, looking dazed. they lean in to kiss again, but then a knock on the passenger side window startle the couple, seeing Jon standing there, grinning. "hey fuckers" Bryce blushes deeply as Ryan signs, blushing. "come on bitches i want to go home" Luke whined. Evan signs. "i tried to stop them Bryce" Bryce blushes and nods. "i-i see" "i guess i'll head in" Bryce smiles to Ryan. "thanks for a really amazing date Ryan" Ryan blushes and smiles. "anytime Brycey" Bryce giggles, lean over and kiss his cheek before getting out of the car and walks into his house, giggling. Evan nudges Jon. "i'll be inside" Jon nods, as Evan went inside. Ryan was very shocked, then he did a victory cheer. Luke chuckles, rolling his eyes. Jon signs. "thank you Ohm" Ryan stops and looks. "for what?" "not hurting Bryce" "why would i do such a thing? look i may be a punk and may not be doing very well in school, but i love Bryce with all my heart. if i hurt him, then i won't stop you to hurt me" Ryan spoke, serious. Jon saw he was serious about loving Bryce. he looks at Luke who nods. "maybe keep your hair like that, Bryce likes it i see" Ryan raise a eyebrow. "you think so?" Jon nods. "keep it in mind, goodnight Luke" Luke nods. "same to you Jon" Jon went inside to Evan and Bryce to do some videogames. Ryan was sitting, thinking. "can we go home now man?" Luke asked, getting in. Ryan snapped out of it and nods. "sorry man" Luke chuckles as Ryan starts the car, starting to drive home. both Bryce and Ryan couldn't stop smiling for the reminder of the night. but Jon's advice got him thinking as he went home.

[nedcanquen]

NedCan fic: Mr 7th Floor

Surprise! I wrote something for the first time in months. This NedCan fic takes place in a professional services/audit firm AU that no one asked for and kind of came out of nowhere.  It’s not finished because I’m not sure if anyone is remotely interested in an Audit firm AU - if you guys like it though, let me know and I’ll see about writing more. (UPDATE: Looks like there are enough plot bunnies to continue writing this).

Tags: Audit firm AU, Pining, Office AU, Slow Burn, Single POV

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 |  Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8

Photo by Alisa Anton  

Notes:

APH Vietnam - Ha Ngoc Le APH Seychelles - Michelle Vel APH Australia - Jack Brown

Basically, the highest rank you can climb to in a professional services firm is ‘Partner’. After that it’s just variations of the title like ‘Managing Partner’ etc.

Mr 7th Floor

For the past three years, since the first sight of him in a shared elevator took his breath away, Matthew Williams has eagerly anticipated and dreaded the appearance of Mr 7th floor. It was actually ridiculous that he still mentally thought of tall-and-handsome-bicycle-maniac as Mr 7th floor (and that he seemed to have assigned the man a secondary ridiculous nickname on top of the first), because he did know the man’s name - Daan deBoer, Partner, Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory Services. Matthew was not a stalker, he was not…except he learned Mr 7th floor’s name by searching the corporate directory for all the names on said 7th floor and looked at all of their staff pictures until he found who he was looking for…

Okay, Matthew was a stalker.

A pathetic stalker. In his defense, he didn’t do it on his own? It didn’t take much encouragement though.

Anyway, he didn’t do more than that and besides, Mr 7th floor wasn’t a Partner then.

After learning Mr 7th floor’s name, Matthew went back to work, just as he had the day before when he hadn’t known of Mr 7th floor’s existence. Or at least tried to, because after he knew the man’s name it was impossible to avoid him - Daan deBoer turned up in several news interviews, in the firm’s magazine, and he was also easy to spot at every firm event Matthew found himself at. Even if he wanted to forget him it was impossible, because the firm was a micro world of its own and there was no escaping the consultants in advisory services, even at an audit firm where they were supposed to be the minority. Matthew was an auditor, like most people in his firm in a giant category called ‘Assurance services’, but the thing was, the Advisory folks were just obnoxious - they were loud, they were proud, and they made sure everyone knew it. With the amount of noise they made, you’d think that they won every inter-firm competition, they touted themselves for bringing in the most profits, doubled as models in every brochure, and could spend hours talking about something that meant absolutely nothing at all. They could draw diagrams like their lives depended on it too but in Matthew’s opinion, these diagrams didn’t really mean much once you scratched the surface of how nice they looked. The worst part was, they were paid better than anyone in Assurance, worked less hours in total, and still spent every waking moment complaining about how hard their lives were. They also all sat on the 7th floor.  

Fucking 7th floor.

The thing was, his crush was perhaps acceptable three years ago when Matthew was just a green associate at PK&DE, one of the world’s largest professional services firms and having a laugh with his new friends - feeling appreciated and human for the first time in a long time because he was good at his job. But now, Matthew was supposed to be management, even if he was at the lowest rank of it. It still meant new responsibilities - (officially anyway, he had already been doing most of this as an Assistant Manager) he led teams, he maintained his relationships with clients well enough that that they preferred to give him new work over the competition (except Maplecorp, who had switched their auditors last year but his friend there assured him that it wasn’t personal), he encouraged young associates “don’t despair, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed but you can do this” and dear Lord now he was responsible for career coaching - people’s lives, whether they were promoted or not depended on how well he could defend them when performance review season came about. Sometimes Matthew was proud of himself, making manager in just three years was no mean feat, but oftentimes he was just fucking terrified and hoped it wasn’t obvious that he didn’t feel like he knew what he was doing. That at any moment now, Francis would walk in and say “There was a mistake, we like the other Matthew” (surely in a firm this size there were other Matthews). Most times he could lose the anxiety in the work, and the reliability he found in it.

Anyway, now Matthew was a manager. He wasn’t supposed to have goofy crushes on hot men who were Partners and who worked on the 7th floor. At least not in the way he obviously crushed on said hot man from the 7th floor.

Because everyone in his team knew about it.

Matthew heard Michelle bite down a laugh as a certain someone walked into the elevator right before the doors closed, and could feel the heat rush up his neck and burn his cheeks. Matthew looked over at her to distract himself, give himself something else to do than awkwardly pretend he couldn’t see the man who was standing right in front of him in that cramped elevator (who was a head taller than almost everyone else in there) and saw that Michelle, was thankfully not being too obvious about how she was holding back her laughter. Matthew clenched his jaw and frowned at the small screen above that showed the steady ascent to their respective floors.

‘Come on’ Matthew willed ‘Just make it to his floor already and get him out out OUT’

But with the morning rush the elevator stopped on almost every floor, leaving Matthew to stew in agony, until finally, FINALLY…he was aware of Daan deBoer shifting his shoulders, getting ready to walk out. Too soon, Matthew relaxed and looked down from his intense glaring at the screen, only to catch those green eyes regarding him curiously for a moment, before the other man nodded at him briefly and walked out. By the time they reached their own 12th floor, Michelle was shaking so hard that she burst out laughing the moment they stepped off the elevator.

“Ahahahah! Oh my God Matthew! Your moment! You had a moment!”

“Shhhhh! Shut up shut up shut up!”   

The problem with spending most of his life at his job from a young age, with colleagues of a similar age, was that Matthew’s colleagues became his friends. This wasn’t really an issue except that it was almost impossible to keep secrets from them. Secrets were not on Matthew’s mind one fated 3 in the goddamned morning during the height of stock-take audit season after he discovered that some idiot didn’t know how to file things properly. At 3 in the morning, surviving off nothing but maple syrup and Red Bull, Matthew became prone to saying things like “this guy, this guy makes me forget how to count…” or “he wore a light orange shirt today, who the hell looks good in light orange? He does! He looked delish and I just wanted to lick him!…” Sleep deprivation is a bit like being drunk, but still okay, because if he open ed his mouth to talk about the numbers again he may have thrown himself out the window instead.

“Which guy?” Michelle and Ha dropped what they were doing and looked at Matthew greedily, desperately hoping for something different to sustain them through this painful season. And Matthew, in an equally desperate need to distract himself and not thinking that this would turn into a  problem, let them convince him to pull up the staff directory and click ‘7th floor’ to look at every single staff photograph until they found his mystery man.

“I hope his surname isn’t Zembiro or something, it’ll take us forever!” Michelle had wailed. Ha laughed with her while Matthew blushed, all smiles, enjoying their harmless game as he clicked on another name, and then the picture. Arthur, their manager, looked over from his cubicle on the opposite side of their section at the noise, but went back to his work. That was the good thing about Arthur, he stayed with you, even if he did micromanage a little. The three smiled sheepishly and ducked back down.

“It’s not Hunter David.” Matthew confirmed with a more careful whisper, closing the window and moving onto ‘Daan deBoer, Manager’ and not expecting any kind of success, except...

“Matthew? Matthew come back to us!” Ha waved her hand in front of Matthew’s blushing face and didn’t get a response. “Well, I guess we found him, let’s see.”

Files and numbers forgotten, Michelle and Ha leaned so close to the laptop screen that Matthew was worried they’d disappear through it, like some cliche horror story.

“Really?” Michelle scoffed, sounding disappointed.

“What?” Matthew felt oddly defensive about his taste here.

“I mean…he just looks…mean.” She finally answered, leaning back with a huff of disappointed. Ha was still looking.

“You don’t even know him.” Matthew lamely defended (and neither do you, a little sleepy voice told himself but he ignored it). “And it’s not fair to judge someone on appearance alone.”

“No, it’s just…come on Matthew, he has a scar on his face, he looks like a Bond villain, how does he even win clients? Does he scare them into signing contracts?”

“I know of him!” Ha yells, which is actually uncharacteristic for her. “He’s the guy who won the two-point-five-million bid from Honda Corp! He’s like…CEO Honda Kiku’s only friend.” She managed to spit out. Matthew feels his jaw drop and Michelle does the same. Two-point-five million on one bid? Assurance rarely pulled in those kinds of numbers with just one project, but the nature of their work was completely different.

“What on earth is going on here?!” Arthur is stomping over with a particularly stormy look on his face and Matthew gulps.

“Uh, sorry Arthur, we’re mostly done we just needed a break. The numbers were starting to…”

“Blur together.” Arthur finished for him. He shakes his head and runs a hand through messy hair before sharpening his gaze at Matthew’s laptop screen. “Why is there so much noise here over Daan?”

Silence. Matthew can feel burning embarrassment overwhelm him and Michelle opens and closes her mouth several times, trying to think of some lie or excuse for him. But they’re auditors, they’re not supposed to lie and they’re too inexperienced to do it well so Arthur finally chuckles.

“Really? Daan? That’s what you all like?”

Matthew is now aware of two shaking heads and a set of hands indicating him and he feels warmer, if that was possible. “Traitors.” He can’t help but mutter, but it’s 3.15am so who cares about discretion?

Arthur just looks at him, shocked and amused. “Have you even met him?”

“No! And I don’t need to! Really Arthur, sorry for disrupting everything it’s just, we needed a break, I saw someone in the elevator, we got curious, it’s...just can we all forget about this? Please?”

Arthur sighs and shrugs. “Office crushes help us get through the day I suppose.” There’s confusion in his tone. “Daan is...good at his job.” Arthur adds lamely, as if he can’t think of any other compliment to pay him but Matthew can detect a certain jealousy there. He’s somewhat grateful that Arthur is gamely trying to cover up whatever he personally thinks of the man so that his own Associates can have their distraction, but it doesn’t look like Arthur hates Daan the way he growls about Francis, their Partner. “Uh...he has a particular type of...mercenary fairness to him?”

“Arthur! Stop please it’s okay!” Matthew is ready to die of embarrassment now, waving his hands in front of his manager to get him to stop. “I really don’t need to know anything about him, I just...you know what? I’m awake again! Let’s finish these numbers and go home.”

Michelle doesn’t seem to hear him as she adds. “Tall, scarred, and brooding is not going to be just a Manager very long if he keeps pulling in numbers like that…”

He wasn’t. Daan deBoer’s rise to Partner turned out to be the fastest in the firm. Matthew somehow knew that whatever quality it was that Daan possessed that enabled him to do that, was at the root of Arthur’s personal hesitance to fully endorse the man. Still, it didn’t stop Arthur from transferring and joining Daan’s team two-years later when he finally left Francis’ and joined Advisory as an Associate Director. Daan promoted him soon after that, so there was some kind of grudging respect between the two at least.

However, since that fateful night, news of Matthew’s crush spread like wildfire amongst his own team (but thankfully not beyond that), because he finds emails from his colleagues linking to news articles that mention Daan deBoer. His phone gets sent messages with pictures of Daan from the firm’s sports day, looking particularly sweaty and good after the football match between Advisory and Tax. Michelle sends a picture of him cycling on the weekend with another laughing and blond gorgeous man (she puts a sad face emoticon afterwards). Matthew can actually live with that but it goes too far when Francis, the PARTNER in charge of his own team, sends him pictures of Daan shopping at the grocery store, clearly taken without the other man’s knowledge, since apparently they live in the same neighborhood, or at drinks sessions with other Partners. It never stops - Matthew’s team has decided that Daan deBoer is their personal distraction from work, and apparently they find Matthew’s blushing too amusing so they’re stalking deBoer for him, even though Matthew constantly tells them not to…it’s creepy. But because it doesn’t happen often, the warnings are left alone for months before some other stressful excuse begins and before Matthew knows it, he’s deleting new pictures from his phone.

He saves one though. Francis has managed to take a rather lovely picture of Daan deBoer looking at a bouquet of tulips in the store with a soft, faraway look. Matthew doesn’t feel right having it but every time he tries to do the right thing, his thumb hovers over the ‘delete’ button and the look on deBoer’s face makes him pause for too long.

Arthur’s email has three exclamation points next to it in his inbox, so out of habit, Matthew opens it first. Since Arthur’s transfer to Advisory, Matthew had prayed that Arthur never got drunk in front of his new colleagues and reveal his crush on Daan fucking deBoer or the strange fixation that Francis’ team had on him thanks to Matthew.

The email is short and not particularly sweet or salty, which means that Arthur is in a rush -

From: <Arthur Kirkland, DIRECTOR, ADV> <arthur.kirkland@pked.ca> To: <Matthew Williams, MANAGER, ASSUR> <matthew.williams@pked.ca> Cc: <Francis Bonnefoy, PARTNER, ASSUR> <francis.bonnefoy@pked.ca>

Subject: Project Oberon 2017 Proposal

URGENT

‘Need your updated CV for this proposal NOW - meeting in an hour to discuss’

“Project Oberon” - it is such a codename that Arthur would come up with. Proposals were given code names to protect potential client identities in case anyone carelessly spoke about work in public, and it was always fascinating to Matthew to see peoples’ naming preferences.

Right now though, Matthew looks at his watch and frowns, he hates last minute proposals and meetings but he’s lucky because he’s just finished the major audits and there’s a slight breathing space before it starts up again. It’s also curious and oddly exciting, Arthur has never invited him to a proposal meeting before, conflicting interests usually kept Advisory and Assurance working apart out of legal necessity and he’s not sure what’s going on with this but...if he can get some of his team members into this potential Advisory-led project, he can get his associates rare valuable experience in case they want the option to transfer departments later. Besides, he may not like how obnoxious the consultants are but it never hurts to have more friends in the firm. When Matthew finishes the necessary updates and sends it to Arthur, he notices another email from the man. ‘Congratulations on making manager. See you next week.’

Next week? Oh, the training course for new managers that was mandatory to attend.

Twenty minutes later after Matthew has sent his proposal CV over, along with some team members for consideration, Matthew is happily sipping his coffee as he checks his course registration details, noting who his classmates will be - training is easier when you know who you’ll be working with. Eduard from IT security services is going to be there, Yong Soo the new transfer from Korea who was joining the MNC team …it all looked quite pleasant actually until he read the name of one of the instructors for Day 3.

Matthew spit out hot coffee in horror at his computer screen even as he dropped the contents of the mug on his shirt and pants in horror. “Oh no…OH CRAP NO!” Matthew scrambles to save his computer from his coffee, turning it upside down and shaking the liquid out.

“Matthew?” Francis pops his head out of his office, wondering what has Matthew of all people, making such a commotion, his eyes widen.

“Ah, sorry boss, just had a little accident with the coffee, trying to save myself from a three-thousand dollar fine.” These crap laptops were not worth that much but that was IT policy for you.

Francis is an amiable Partner, known for being a genius but somewhat eccentric. The arguments between him and Arthur were stuff of legend because of that (well, and also because Arthur was his own brand of eccentric) - Matthew still remembers an audit file hurled so hard against the glass door that it had cracked (no one knew who threw the file) so it was a miracle they worked together for as long as they had. Still, Francis was fair to them, evidenced by still promoting Arthur after the file incident. Francis is full of energy and surprisingly patient and hands on when it comes to his team. He treats them to dinner after they finish every project (which is often Francis loves to cook and his wife Jeanne is such a wonderful lady that they love spending any time with her), gives honest heart-to-hearts when their morale gets too low, and he actually takes the time to get to know who they are as individuals - time that Partners don’t usually have. He has even spent weekends helping to tutor his more junior staff with their certification exams. However, Matthew has heard that once you become a manager, the kid gloves come off in a serious way. Matthew has just become a manager. Matthew is covered in coffee and may have ruined his computer that has EVERY piece of client work on it even though he’s backed up his files. It’s where he accesses the global databases and collaborative spaces, and files and...Shit.

“Take that thing down to IT before it actually becomes a mess.” Francis suggests. “And Arthur CCed me in on that email - get this sorted out quick because that proposal meeting is in a half hour and I need you there.”

Francis goes back into his room and Matthew bites back a groan.

IT says he’s lucky, it looks like no harm is done but they’ll keep it for a few hours anyway. The coffee has since cooled and Matthew feels sticky and disgusting. He does his best with the remaining five minutes he has in the bathroom to wash out the stain but now his shirt is wet. Shaking his head in hopelessness, Matthew calls Arthur from the privacy of the empty bathroom, hoping he can get a reprieve. No one else has a change of clothes that will fit and suddenly Matthew is irrationally upset at himself for actually being physically active and well, fit. But walking into his first meeting with those brash consultants while wet and bedraggled, and smelling of old coffee is a nightmare scenario to him. Matthew doesn’t care about what the consultants think about him and yet he does. He’s going there to represent his team, and represent Arthur’s trust in him…and he can’t even do that right.

Arthur doesn’t pick up, probably in discussion or who knows what. Matthew can’t just text him and not show up or leave without a word though, so he does what he’s always done, even with the tide of doubt in his head. He straightens his shoulders, takes a few deep breaths and prepares for battle.

The 7th floor is loud. That’s the first thing Matthew notices when he steps into their workspace. They’re yelling over cubicle walls at each other, laughing so loudly they can be heard from the other side of the floor, pacing or sitting on desks as they’re in discussion. Everything is flashier and some of these junior associates are wearing clothes that Matthew doesn’t feel like he can afford even now. He’s been to this floor before of course, twice before for quick errands and once to put a birthday present on Arthur’s desk in the wee hours of morning, but never in the state he’s in now. Entering the 7th floor also comes with a heightened sense of awareness. He’s always on the lookout for his Mr 7th floor, but thankfully has never run into him when he’s been here. It finally occurs to him for the first time since he’s received Arthur’s email that Arthur is on Daan’s team. Shit. He doesn’t know the worth of this proposal though, and chances are, unless it’s worth millions, Daan won’t be bothered with it and will be travelling or doing whatever it is that Partners do.

Matthew just shakes his head, takes a deep breath and goes to find the meeting room that was indicated in the email. He opens the door to find a flurry of voices - other consultants getting their computers set up, passing notes, drawing diagrams and timelines on the whiteboard. Arthur is deep in discussion with...of course.

Matthew wants to strangle them all, right here, right now, out of the embarrassment he feels. Arthur and Francis especially because there was no way they didn’t know, and granted, he should have known too but surely someone could have teased him to remind him? Actually, Arthur didn’t know that Matthew was covered in coffee and a sticky wet shirt, but Francis did. What had Matthew ever done to deserve this level of torture? The teasing had been exasperating before sure but always light hearted. This? This was too much.

Before too long, Daan deBoer’s gaze lazily moves over to him, then the man’s eyes widen and he does a double take. Matthew opens his mouth to explain but his Mr 7th floor beats him to it with a smirk and biting sarcasm.

“No one told me we changed the dress code and started allowing wet-shirt Wednesdays.”

As the younger team members burst out in laughter, Matthew feels his face heat up and his insides twisting. He also feels a cold fury at Mr fucking 7th floor and wishes he was never shallow enough to find the man attractive, but he still does because Mr 7th floor is and he has a deep and sexy voice to boot. He wishes his team let him forget about this stupid crush rather than encourage it, he wishes that it hadn’t escalated to the point where the man’s name and thought of meeting him would make him spill his own coffee...especially when he was going to meet the man that day anyway without even knowing it and find out that he was an asshole. Because yes, he may be covered in coffee and walking in here with pride but if Matthew saw someone like that walk into a room, he’d know that this person was having a crappy day and he’d go find a jacket or something.

Somehow the fury pushes Matthew forward with a hand extended, “Don’t get used to it, enjoy it while it lasts.” He bites out, before realizing what he’s saying, but hopefully he’s too angry for it to sound...wrong. Daan deBoer straightens himself, eyebrows raised in surprise as he shakes Matthew’s hand, even as the rest of the room bursts out into louder laughter and guffaws. Being in a room full of consultants is eerily reminiscent of spending any time with his brother Alfred, and somehow that calms Matthew down. He can handle these guys, he just has to mentally imagine that he’s dealing with a room full of Alfreds.

God help him.

Apparently acting like an ass to an asshole Partner is step one of getting by in Advisory because Daan deBoer just chuckles and nods. “Nice to meet you too Matthew. Just call me Daan.”

His brain is dangerously close to short-circuiting in its confusion over Matthew’s emotional state right now, so he tries to focus it. Had he even introduce himself? Daan doesn’t give him time to think about it though because he turns to the room. “Everyone, this is Matthew Williams from Assurance, he’s from Arthur’s old team and he’s the expert on Maplecorp. Arthur’s the lead for this proposal.” He gestures at Arthur and Arthur steps forward to whip some focus into this room - Matthew recognizes that expression and the set of Arthur’s chin when he’s in this mode.

“Right,” He says in his usual no-nonsense tone. “Maplecorp is expanding out into Europe, they plan to do it in a big way in a period of just one year. Why are we bidding? Because they dropped us as their auditors last year, so we finally can. Remember, we need to make ourselves distinct from the competition, and realistically speaking, there’s nothing that really separates us from them except,” He puts a firm hand on Matthew’s shoulder “We know them better than anyone else. They’re looking at buying over...”

Daan doesn’t stay long. Partners oversee several external and internal interests at once, but he also isn’t going home until they get a working draft to him that evening. This is in fact, the type of multi-million-dollar proposal that makes Daan deBoer feel uncharacteristically generous...according to his reputation anyway. The moment he leaves, the first of the team members to approach him is Jack, a jovial looking Manager from Daan’s team with a plaster over his nose and an odd resemblance to Arthur in the brows. He looks a little too happy but this thing about people brimming with barely suppressed and oddly hyper energy seems to be the norm here. “Hey there Matthew! I got my gym wear at my desk, I think we’re about the same size?” Matthew let out a breath of relief that he didn’t even know he was holding, a once over confirmed to Matthew that he should fit into whatever clothes Jack could offer. He follows him out to an odd corner and sees Daan’s room behind glass walls. The Partner is holding his cellphone to his ear, his back to the office, looking out his window, but somehow radiating tension in the way he’s standing. Since Daan can’t see him, Matthew risks a look, taking in as much as he can before turning to Jack. Daan’s desk is sparse, only the laptop is on it, but there’s a happy-looking bouquet of tulips on the corner of the desk, another on the shelf in front of the window, a few bronzed awards, a wooden ship on a back shelf with books and an antique-looking map framed up on the wall. There are photo frames that Matthew can’t quite make out but he’s a little surprised at how...warm that room actually looks. It’s the flowers that do that.

“Don’t worry about returning these today,” Jack smiles. “I’d hate to be stuck in wet clothes all day and we are going to have a loooong day.”

Matthew nods grimly. Proposals were intense and taxing in all the wrong ways - win none and all the people relying on you couldn’t work. But to actually win one...you had to go through hell and back and lay your soul on the table...at least that’s how it felt. A proposal was usually a week’s worth of work squished into a few days, and unpredictable - new ideas and concepts changed so quickly that the moment you thought you were done you had to start all over again. Hunting down the right talent to throw into the team makeup or get the right advice sometimes led to phone calls across the world, and you having to wait for these people to wake up. At the end of it all, the potential client could just reject you, and all your work wouldn’t come to anything...yet. Matthew just feels like he’s unfairly judgemental of the process because it taps on his more sensitive anxieties - giving someone else the power to judge him and his worth, to dismiss his sweat and blood to call it unworthy or expensive. It was like a dating auction gone wrong with a whole bunch of legal concerns thrown in but…

Matthew looks around on his way to the men’s room at the young and eager associates sitting at their laptops and making phone calls and realizes that this is how they earn their living. Arthur, Francis and countless of others had gone through this pain over and over again just so Matthew and others like him could work and grow. It was his turn to give back.

He returns from the bathroom dressed in a clean yellow rugby jersey with green accents, a wallaby and an Australian crest on green, where Jack was from, Matthew assumed - and shorts that run to his knees. It feels odd at first thanks to the firm’s usual strict dress code, but he tells himself he’s got extenuating circumstances and he’s not meeting any clients today - nope, just a room full of consultants.  

“Matthew, Daan wants a word.” Jack grins when Matthew returns his bag to him. “I’ll see you back in the project room.”

Matthew bites the inside of his cheek. Daan wants a word. He quickly messages Michelle that she’s welcome to his music collection if she never sees him again, before striding into Daan’s room with more courage than he feels. “You wanted a word with me?”

Daan is sitting in his chair now, leaned back slightly with those gorgeous long legs elegantly crossed. He’s not looking at Matthew yet, he’s distracted by something on his screen, a finger tapping his chin as he’s thinking of...something. Those green eyes flicker to him and his expression transforms to one that is more amicable. Matthew would believe it if he didn’t notice the stiffness still apparent in the man’s shoulders. “Matthew,” he smiles. “Have a seat.”

Stiff shoulders or no, death knell or no, Matthew has to fight the swoon over that smile. He sits and waits.

“I realize that what I said back there could be...misconstrued. I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

It took a second for Matthew to put what Daan was saying together. “Oh...” He trails off, not quite sure what ‘misconstrued’ means exactly in this context, it could mean a lot of things, but the asshole part of it wasn’t really, wait... ‘wet-shirt Wednesdays’, and what he himself had said after...oh, OH. “I was joking too! I mean...” It’s too late to take the words back because Daan is looking at him searchingly. “I mean I was pissed off but...I didn’t think that you were being forward or sleazy or anything like that. Please don’t worry about it.”

Daan’s expression hasn’t changed and Matthew feels like he’s being picked apart and assessed, which Partners tend to do, so this is an all too familiar anxiety for him.

“I pissed you off.” Daan eventually says, interested. “If you didn’t think I was being inappropriate, what else was it?”

Matthew can’t quite believe he has to explain it, but tries to wave the concern away anyway. Then he remembers his Teamwork training course from a year ago, ‘Don’t expect people to act as you would, put yourself into their shoes’. “I had a deceptively good morning,” Matthew tries to explain, “Which was quickly burned away by my own clumsiness and terror for my work laptop, which is still with IT at this moment. Then walking into a room to meet a lot of new people for the first time, representing Francis’ team, but covered in coffee and water and feeling sticky didn’t have me at my best, then you called me out on it, it was just…I was trying to make a joke rather than jump down your throat about my morning. I feel I would have responded differently, if I were in your shoes, and do what Jack eventually did. But I know that isn’t fair, we’re all different and I owe you an apology as well.”

Daan is looking at him again with that assessing look but nods. “I see. Well I can see how helping someone instead of joking with them may have gone down better for a first-time meeting. No apology needed. ”

Matthew is grateful that the issue seems mostly resolved. “I promise Daan I’m usually more...put together than this.” He doesn’t even realize he’s smiling with relief until he notices Daan is smiling back at him, more relaxed now that he’s not dealing with getting reported for sexual harassment.

“Don’t worry about it Matthew, we all have our off days.” Daan shrugs, eyes twinkling even if his smile is...it looks like he’s fighting to keep it from full-blown amusement. “And don’t worry about making a good impression here.” There silence for a beat before Daan quickly adds “Arthur’s known to be picky. I look forward to seeing what you all come up with tonight.”

That’s a dismissal if he’s ever heard one and Matthew doesn’t want to sit in there any longer than he absolutely has to. He smiles and leaves.

The moment he turns around though, he grimaces, grateful that the desks in this part of the floor are mostly empty. He hurries back to the project room and checks his messages.

Matthew: If I die, you can have my music collection Shell: ?? Shell: ??????? Shell: OMG Francis just told me you’re with Arthur and you’re gonna be there all day! Shell: IS 7TH FLOOR THERE?! IS HE HOT?! Shell: Of course you find him hot, ARE YOU TALKING TO HIM? Shell: HAS HE SPLAYED YOU OUT ON HIS DESK NAKED AN-

Matthew rips his eyes from his phone and silences her notifications. He absolutely refuses to read anything she’s going to send him today.

The brainstorming session goes well, and before too long, Matthew finds that working in comfortable clothes lets him relax in a way he never could before. It allows him to build an easy camaraderie with the giggling and exuberant consultants of the 7th floor, who all seem to be eager to take a liking to him.

Michelle is positively buzzing at the news that Matthew has FINALLY met the infamous Mr 7th floor. She’s even more excited at the prospect that Matthew may even end up on a project with Daan and even if he doesn’t...he’ll be seeing Daan during his training.

“No I won’t.” Matthew confidently responds.

“Are you skipping this round of training?” Michelle looks confused.

“No, but there are 50 new managers and 5 instructors on day three. Class will be split up between them for that simulation and Daan is an Advisory Partner. He’ll take the Advisory managers. I’ll probably end up with Yekatarina or Timo.” He reasoned, naming the Assurance Partners who were also involved with the week-long training.

Michelle just gave him a searching look and a wink. “Well I think the universe has finally gotten tired of your pining. Twenty bucks. I bet you twenty bucks you’ll be assigned to Daan deBoer.”

Matthew laughed and shook her hand. Easiest twenty he’ll ever get.

Matthew ows Michelle twenty bucks. He is also going to die because manager training Advisory style involves a lot of talking and sitting too damn close around a small round table to the object of his (still, unfortunately) affection, and Matthew... this was funny when it was an unreachable crush but now Daan is a PARTNER and not just any partner but possibly the lead Partner on a project he is going to be working on anytime soon and oh God why the fuck are there only a handful of these Advisory people to distract him and why are they all so damn giddy all the time? He understands that they share a floor and they all already knew each other, making him the odd one out but do they all have to look like they’re in on a joke that he has no idea about?

Daan for his part is stiff and stern, which didn’t surprise Matthew at all. The last time he had seen Daan with any kind of light heart was the wet shirt incident. His sternness didn’t seem to have much of an effect on these new managers though. Training is good and all but…

Matthew summons his courage and stays back after everyone else has packed up for the day. Daan is wearing that fucking orange shirt - a shade so light that it is almost unnoticeable but it makes him look fresh.

“Daan, why am I here? I didn’t apply for a transfer to Advisory.” Because honestly, there are few reasons he is the only non-Advisory manager here.

Daan nods but didn’t stop what he’s doing - staring at his phone with a frown before pocketing it and looking at Matthew. “What do you think of it so far though?”

Matthew shrugs. “I prefer the stability of audit, I think my associates wouldn’t give me as much trouble as the stories I’m hearing today and you can afford to pay my department for my time if we really do win Project Oberon.”

That smirk graces Dawn’s face again. “Has Francis been complaining about how cheap I am again? He's not the one who can talk.”

Matthew sighs. The firm encouraged cross-departmental projects and learning but had set up a cost structure where departments had to pay each other to use each other’s team members, it led to friction at times when people were tempted to other teams, but Matthew knew that the structure also created an incentive within the firm to share opportunities.

“No one complained.” Matthew lies. “I just like my own team, we're a close bunch.”

“Francis does a good job of fostering a team community.” Daan acknowledges. “And he doesn't fight to promote someone as quickly as he has you, usually, without a good reason. You have a lot of potential and we like potential and diversity in advisory, we’re always looking for the best. No pressure, but just consider it? You'll have a better springboard for yourself here, more diversity of work, better recognition and pay…” He trailed off and looked away, somewhat distracted by something and Matthew had this strange feeling that Daan wasn’t as sure himself, if Matthew belonged in Advisory, as his words imply.

Matthew put on the most polite smile he can muster. “You haven’t even seen me work. Not really.”

“Proposals are work.” Daan responds almost immediately, but Matthew is still suspicious.

“Well, thanks...but I’m happy staying where I am right now. If I change my mind…”

“You know where to find me.” The tone is so sure and encouraging, eyes warm, matching the small smile fighting its way to stay that way. It is completely at odds with his demeanour just a moment earlier. Well, Daan isn’t wrong, Matthew does know where to find him.

Does he ever.

More notes:

PK&DE is a spoof of the four current ‘Big4’ accounting/professional service firms: PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young. These are known for providing armies of auditors (who mostly belong to a giant service called ‘Assurance’) who make sure that companies aren’t lying to the public, management consulting services (under a service called ‘Advisory’) who make money by advising companies on how they can work better and lose less money and Tax advisory services (under ‘Tax’) who help people navigate complex tax rules. There are other services but those are the main ones.

Real-life rankings between the firms vary by firm and even then, by country. Vaguely, PK&DE’s ranks are:

Associate (entry level) Senior Associate Assistant Manager Manager (considered first level of management) Associate Director Director Partner (junior) Partner (profit-sharing)

Matthew is fast-tracked like whoa - him making manager in three years is so not the norm (people tend to spend at least two years at the AM level alone even if they perform well). 

Daan and Arthur are also fast-tracked promotion wise and Francis is older. 

P.S. If you’re curious what the Wallaby rugby jersey looks like (is it too much of a spoiler if I ask you to pay attention to how form fitting it is? Probably).