#joe mazzello x ofc

[crazy-little-cool-cat]

Hand in Glove - Chapter 21 | Ben Hardy x OFC

A/N: I know y’all probs forgot about this, but I haven’t. Life has just been kicking my ASS relentlessly, but I decided to kick its’ ass back and here we fucking are. Took me about 4 months to finish, but it is what is it. Also, I am a bottle of wine and a half down and not sure how this is going to end up, but let’s pray to the gods that Tumblr ain’t gonna fuck shit up. Dropping mic now. 

Chapter 1, Chapter 2,  Chapter 3,  Chapter 4,  Chapter 5,  Chapter 6,  Chapter 7,  Chapter 8,  Chapter 9,  Chapter 10,  Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14 , Chapter 15 , Chapter 16 , Chapter 17 , Chapter 18 , Chapter 19 , Chapter 20 

Word Count: ~fucktonK. Don’t judge me. 

Warnings: the usual? idk. Ben gets quite frisky, I’ll tell you that much. Also not sure how much of this was beta’d or proofread so fucking forgive me father if I have sinned.

The shrill sound of the alarm and Ben's low, gravelly swearing snapped Annie back to reality. Her eyes fluttered open in the soft light of dawn. She fumbled for her phone on the nightstand to shut the alarm off and look through her notifications. Ben stirred behind her, snuggling as close to her as he possibly could.

"Mornin'..." he murmured and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

"Go back to sleep, Benny." Annie smiled when he pulled her in and engulfed her in his embrace. "It's too early."

"Frankie needs a walk." Ben yawned. "And you need breakfast."

"I can do both of those on my own."

"You can," Ben nipped at the curve of her neck, "but I won't let you."

The bedroom door edged open, revealing the tip of a snout poking through. A soft whine alerted Ben and Annie that Frankie had heard the two "magic words" Ben had just said - "Frankie" and "Walk" - and was making her presence known. Ben clicked his tongue three times and Frankie came scrambling onto the bed, her entire body swinging from side to side as her tail wagged. She dove right in to Annie's face, licking and whimpering excitedly.

"Oh God!" Annie shook her head from side to side, trying to escape the assault. Frankie had other plans. With a paw on Annie's shoulder, she tugged at her until she was flat on her back and climbed onto Annie's chest, pinning her down. "No! Stop!"

"Franks, I was actually hoping to be the one to give mum a morning snog..." he grabbed the dog and kissed her nose, earning a few licks for himself. "Aw."

Annie seized the opportunity to sit up and stretch her arms high over her head. She slouched down with a slow exhale and gave Frankie a rub behind her ears. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted Ben's Suitcase and duffel bag. She sighed and stood up, scratching her cheek as she marched over to the ensuite bathroom and flicked the light on.

"All done packing?" She asked as she examined her sleepy form in the mirror.

"Mhm." Ben shuffled behind her, pulling his sweats up over his hips. "I know, I'm a freak for doing it a week ahead of time."

"You're a freak for a whole myriad of reasons, Mr. Jones." Annie rolled her eyes and chuckled as she squeezed toothpaste onto her brush and then turned to Ben, who waited patiently with his toothbrush in his outstretched hand, nonverbally asking her to please put some toothpaste on his brush, too. "So you're that desperate to leave, huh?"

"On the contrary, my love." He winked at her and squeezed her bum before brushing his teeth.

Annie shook her head with a smile and leaned into his arm, resting her head against it. When they both felt their mouths were foamy enough, they took turns rinsing. Ben decided to finish this morning's ritual with a searing kiss.

"I plan on spending every waking moment that I have left with my girls." He mumbled against her lips before pulling away and walking to the toilet. Lifting the toilet seat up, he pulled his sweats down to his thighs.

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"You're taking a piss when I'm right here?"

"Love, I've watched you give birth." Ben smirked. "Peeing is not half as nasty as that."

"Do you want me to watch you pee, Benny?" Annie smirked back, crossing her arms tauntingly. "Is that a sex thing?"

"Want you to?" Ben pretended to mull it over. "Nah. But if you want to hold it for me..."

"Freak." Annie scoffed and walked out of the bathroom.

"So no?" He called after her.

###

If there’s one thing Annie hated, it was not knowing where time went. One minute she’s shoveling eggs in her mouth in a hurry to leave for work, the next she’s got a baby attached to her boob again and it’s night outside. Annie walked into the bedroom, groggily rubbing her eyes after feeding Rory in the middle of the night. A full moon illuminated Ben, laying sprawled across her side of the bed.

"You stole my spot!" Annie huffed and collapsed onto Ben's side of the mattress.

Ben's arms quickly snaked around Annie and pulled her to him, squeezing her as close as he could to his body. He tucked her head under his chin and mumbled incoherently, wrapping a leg around her as well. Locking her in.

"Ben, I need air!" Annie squeaked against his chest and tickled his sides in a futile attempt to make him move.

"Shh." Ben pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "S'night time. No talking. Just sleeping."

"But oxygen!"

"No," Ben grunted and rolled over, right on top of Annie, careful not to put all of his weight on her. "Imma Human blanket now."

"Hey!" Annie flailed under him before giving up and relaxing, letting his body squish her into the soft bed. "Fine."

"Good girl."

###

Ben sat with Rory on his lap, both looking at the phone with goofy smiles on their faces. He'd just gotten the notification that Annie's series had posted a new story to the Instagram page, followed by a text message that simply said "show Rory".

The story was a boomerang of Annie in full costume, blowing a kiss at the camera lens. The next story was another boomerang, this time of Annie doing 'finger guns' and winking at the camera with her lopsided grin. Rory tried to grab the phone out of Ben's hands, babbling happily.

"So much for daddy-daughter time..." Ben murmured against Rory's soft tufts of blonde curly hair.

While he'd usually spend his day with Rory on Annie's set or with his mates, Ben decided that he needed some alone time with his baby. His departure was mere days away. Although on the outside he was his usual self, internally, he wasn't handling this too well. He knew Annie could sense that and he appreciated her efforts in trying to play it down and pretend everything's alright.

With a sigh, Ben turned the screen off and chucked his phone aside, much to Rory's dismay. She tried to crawl off his lap in pursuit of the device, but was captured and tickled by her father. Ben gently tossed Rory in the air, smacking a kiss to her cheek every time he caught her.

"You know what?" He cooed at Rory, who clawed at his face with her fingers. "We're going on an adventure! You wanna go see uncle Joey and uncle Gwil?"

At the mention of Joe and Gwil's name, Rory squealed. It was so high pitched, Ben couldn't help but blink in awe.

"Did Roger teach you how to do that?"

###

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm absolutely devastated." Joe lamented. "The mere fact that we only have a few days left is just -"

"I was asking Ben." Gwil rolled his eyes, interrupting Joe's rant.

"I'm fine." Ben shrugged and took a sip from his beer. Rory and Frankie played on the floor at Gwil's flat. "Gwil you have to duck, okay? You'll ruin the fort."

"Who's idea was this, again?" Gwil groaned, adjusting the corner of yet another blanket he managed to mess up. "Also, why are we in the fort?"

"If you're going to be grouchy, you can leave the fort, Mr. Lee." Joe stuck his tongue out at the tall man. "No grouchy people allowed."

"I'm not grouchy." Gwil retorted. "Plus, this is my flat, meaning that this is my fort, so I make the rules."

"You do realize that Rory is the actual baby here, yeah?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

###

"How are you feeling?" Mike asked between bites of ravioli during lunch break. "Jonesy all packed?"

"Mhm." Annie sighed and pushed the food around on her plate. "Got his passport extended today, too. Took Rory with him."

"Seriously?" Clara snorted. "He's taking her everywhere?"

"Yep."

"It's sickening." Jamie chimed in. "It's like they're siamese twins."

"Aw," Mikey drawled. "Bet he's gonna miss her terribly!"

"Do you think she'll even notice?" Jamie mused. "She's, what, five months old now? She just figured out she's got hands. She'll be fine."

"She loves her daddy." Annie poked Jamie in his side. "She figured her hands out two months ago, you knob."

"Could've fooled me," Jamie muttered.

"Don't be ridiculous, James." Mike pointed at his co-star with his fork. "She's going to daycare, she'll only see her mama in the early mornings and evenings. She'll notice there's an entire human missing."

"She'll have her uncles and aunties to keep her distracted." Clara winked. "Lucy and I already planned a whole Girls' Day."

"Um?"

"What?" Clara blinked innocently at her best friend.

"Why wasn't I invited?"

"Because you have more work than I do." Clara shrugged. "Gonna do it on my day off, Banana."

"Well, it's just you, Rory and Lucy, then?"

"Well," Clara looked at her plate sheepishly. "And Joe. And Rami. And Gwilym."

"What the actual fuck, huh?" Annie threw her fork down and huffed.

"Hey, you'll get to hang out with these two delicious chunks of mankind all day!" Clara smirked.

"Clearly, the superior chunks of mankind, mind you..." Jamie added, tongue-in-cheek. "We haven't had "us" time in forever, Banana."

"Don't you Banana me!" Annie hissed and turned to look at Jamie. He flashed her his best puppy dog eyes. "Oh, not the face."

"What face?" He feigned innocence.

"You know what face. Don't do the face."

"What," Mikey sighed, mimicking  Jamie's expression. "Don't you want to hang out with your own brother and husband?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake."

###

The next day was an entire mess. It started off well enough for everyone involved, really. It’s during the afternoon when things took a really, really bad turn. Ben tried to contain himself while Rory was napping, but his mind was racing. It was a chill day with "the band", as they now liked to refer to themselves.

None of them gave a second thought to the familiar sound of a notification rang through the living room. Then, it was dead silent for what felt like an eternity.

"Well, then!" Rami was the first one to break the silence, turning his screen off and tossing his phone on the coffee table. "Anyone see any good shows lately?"

"Ben? Buddy?" Joe shook Ben by the shoulder. "Dude, you haven't blinked in an hour."

Ben stared into space, his thoughts running wild. It was just a silly, candid, behind-the-scenes picture. Nothing more. However, he couldn't help the bubbling rage. There she was. His girlfriend, snuggled up to her ex-boyfriend turned reconciled-best friend. Her head resting on his chest, tucked under Jamie's chin. Her arm flung around his waist, his arms holding her close. One hand laced through her long hair. They looked so peaceful.

Ben knew how hard they worked. How tired Annie was all the time. How early she got up and how late she came home, trying to get as much work done while Ben was still around to be with Rory. He'd visit the set often, only to find her catching a snooze in her trailer. Stifling yawns between takes.

Yet he couldn't help but feel jealous. There was something beautiful and serene about the picture, especially when both Annie and Jamie were in full costume. The caption was what got to him most - "marital bliss".

"Mate, it's a picture." Gwilym brought Ben back to earth, cutting off his train of thought. "God knows, Clara had her pictures taken snuggled up to just about anything and anyone."

"Marital bliss?!" Ben sneered. "Marital fucking bliss?!"

"They're in costume!" Gwil retorted. "Those aren't Jamie and Annie. Those are Henry and Anne."

"That's Annie." Ben pointed at the screen. "That's how we always fall asleep."

"You're reading too much into this." Rami quipped. "Jamie isn't a threat to you."

"I'm going to be a continent away, while this arse is just lurking around..."

"He's engaged." Rami reminded him.

"It’s a bloody farce of a PR stunt and you know it just as well as I do. It's a sham."

"Why are you so riled up?" Rami's eyes squinted in confusion. "It's a stupid picture. They look pretty in it. End of story."

###

When Annie arrived later that night, Rory was fast asleep and Ben was losing his mind - slamming drawers and cupboards shut in the kitchen, cursing under his breath. He didn't even hear Annie come in.

Annie got a heads-up from Joe earlier that evening, letting her know that Ben had seen the Instagram picture. "He's definitely, 100%, not okay. Brace yourself."

"You alright?"

Ben's eyes shot up and looked at her. He wasn't just angry - he was positively fuming. Annie squared her shoulders, prepared for impact.

"I'm going out for a run." Ben muttered and walked right past her.

Annie followed him to the door, her arms crossed. Her brows knotted, she tried to figure out what to say. It was almost midnight. Ben never pulled an "Annie" before. He never walked out on an argument.

Before Annie could form a coherent sentence, Ben was out the door. She heard him stomping down the walkway, opening the gate. A shrill ringing startled her - he left his phone behind.

Annie took a deep breath and climbed up the stairs to check on Rory. After rubbing Rory's back gently and tucking her in, Annie went about tidying up. She picked up toys - baby's and dog's - and random articles of clothing. She straightened the sheets, organized the mail, stacked the coasters neatly. Anxiously waiting to hear the front door open again.

When it did, Ben walked right up the stairs without giving Annie an acknowledging nod of his head. She was prepared for an onslaught of accusations, but none came. Feeling perplexed, she absently followed him, wishing her stalking presence was enough to make him turn around to look at her.

It wasn’t. Taking his sweaty clothes off, he tossed them in the hamper and went in the shower, leaving the door open. Ignoring Annie's existence all together. Her guilt - not that she really knew why she should feel guilty - was quickly replaced with seething anger.

She stomped into the bathroom, stopping right in front of the glass shower doors. She glared at Ben, her hands on her hips. He started whistling and turned his back to her as he washed himself, suds forming on his skin. This wasn't just a cold shoulder. This was a butt-naked, frigid silent treatment.

"Are you joking?" Her voice bounced off the tiles. "Is this a bloody joke?"

"Had a good nap?" Ben snarled, still not facing her. "Looked refreshing."

"It was, actually." Annie raised a challenging eyebrow. "Woke up feeling recharged."

"Oh, yeah?" Ben turned the water off shook his hair. "Glad to hear."

"You're unbelievable." Annie scoffed as Ben reached for his towel and wrapped it around his hips. "How dare you?"

"How dare I?" Ben's eyebrows were so far up, they almost merged with his hairline. "I'm not the one snuggling my ex!"

"I also snuggled Clara!" Annie hissed. "Let me know when your little hissy fit is over, okay, love?"

"Fuck you, Annabelle." Ben loomed over her, his green eyes boring holes into her very soul. "This isn't a hissy fit."

"What is it, then?"

"I'm leaving, Annie. Leaving. In two days." Ben pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "For months."

"I'm aware." Annie said through gritted teeth. "You're also coming back."

"Will I have something to come back to?" Ben opened his eyes. "You've already replaced me as your sleep-aid..."

"Have you gone absolutely bonkers, Ben Jones?" Annie barked out a laugh. "What are you on about?"

"I'm fucking scared, alright?" Ben hissed.

"Of what?!"

"You!"

"Me?" Annie's eyes were wide. "You're scared of me?"

"Annie, I'll be gone. You'll be fair game."

"I'm not some deer you can hunt!"

"I won't be here to protect -"

"Protect me?" Annie laughed, cutting him off. "From what? The Big Bad Wolf? Jamie?"

"Well, thanks for mocking me." Ben brushed past her, bumping his shoulder with her. "Real mature."

"Ben, you're throwing a fit over nothing!" Annie followed close behind him. Ben unwrapped the towel from his hips and dried off his torso. "I'm not mocking you!"

"We've been going through every aspect of me leaving." Ben chucked the towel to the floor. "What to do with Rory, what to do with Franks, when I'll be back for a visit..."

"I know." Annie sat down on the bed. "We've got this. We're prepared."

"Every aspect except our own bloody relationship. And all this time, you've been so calm about this!" Ben grabbed his head as he sat down next to her. "You've gone on a few benders, yeah, but even then - you were so calm."

"What?"

"Annie, I'm going crazy over this. I'm devastated. Freaking out. I don't want to leave." Ben laid back. "And you? You're acting like everything's fine. Having cuddles with your ex. Looking like…” Ben sighed and balled his hands into fists. “Do you even care that I'm going away?"

Annie took a shaky breath and shook her head, running a hand through her hair.

"You'll have Joe, Gwil, Rami, Clara, Lucy, Mike..." Ben rubbed at his eyes. "Jamie. I'll have no one."

"You know they'll leave for the press tour soon."

"Yes, which I'll miss out on." Ben chuckled bitterly. "You'll still have your own mates with you."

"You'll make new friends."

"I bloody know I’ll make new bloody friends, Annie, It’s not that!" Ben scoffed and mumbled incoherently under his breath. "See? This is what I'm talking about!"

"Huh?"

"It's like you're not even sad about it all!" Ben waved his hands about as he spoke. "You're out there, snuggling your cast-mates, working for hours on end, living your best life -"

"You think I'm not sad about this?" Annie spoke through gritted teeth. "Really?"

"Well, are you?"

"Of course I am!" Annie climbed onto his lap and straddled him. "Ben, are you having a psychotic break right now?"

"You're so cheery and positive and -"

"Because I didn't want to upset you!" Annie smacked his chest. "You blithering idiot!"

"Really?" Ben's voice oozed snark. "Seems like it backfired, no?"

"You're an arse." Annie smacked him again. "You're an idiot and an arse! Who on earth leaves his wi-" Annie huffed just as the word slipped her lips "-girlfriend alone with a baby for months?"

"Annie, stop hitting me!"

"No!" Annie punched him in the arm. "You wanted to see me upset? I'm fucking upset!"

"Annie!" Ben grabbed Annie's wrists and pulled her to him. She braced herself on her haunches to avoid head-butting him. "Stop. It."

"Do you honestly think I'd replace you?" the hurt in Annie's voice was evident. "Do you really think I'd go fuck someone else while you're gone? Jamie, of all people?”

She stared into his eyes, waiting for his answer, but there was none. Annie nodded and started to pull herself up, only to have Ben's grasp on her wrists tighten. She bit the inside of her cheek and tried to pull away again. Ben restrained her, not taking his eyes off hers.

"Ben, let go." Annie's voice was low as she tried to shake her hands free. She stared down at Ben's hands holding her wrists.

"Look at me." Ben squeezed her wrists tighter. "Look. At. Me."

Annie fixed her eyes on him. His usually bright green eyes were clouded and darker, a mixture of sadness, anger and need. He bit his bottom lip as he lowered his gaze onto their hands. All of his sadness, all of his tension had finally reached a boiling point. A crimson flush crept up from his chest to his neck, his muscles clenching with ever jerk of Annie's escape attempts.

"Let go of me. Ben, I’m deadly serious. I hate you right now." Annie hissed, still tense under his grasp. Ben snarled at her choice of words. Annie noticed it and pouted tauntingly. "What, did that hit a nerve? Is that all I needed to say to get a reaction?"

"Shut up."

"Oh, poor Benny. Did I hurt your feelings?" Annie's voice lilted condescendingly. A vicious glint danced in her eyes. "Did you really think you could call me a cheater," Annie's voice was so sweet as she said that, "that you could call me a slag?"

"I never called you any of these."

"You didn't have to." Annie chuckled. "It was heavily implied. Especially when you didn’t even answer my bloody question.” Annie smirked bitterly, tongue in cheek. “So right now? I. Hate. You."

Ben felt as if his entire body is on fire under her. Pins and needles raked through his body, a tingle rushing over his naked skin as they stared each other down.

"Who in their right mind," Annie tilted her head to the side, "leaves their girlfriend and 5-month-old baby for three months and then has the balls to be paranoid about her moving the fuck on without him? Hm?"

Ben clenched her wrists tighter, his upper lip curling up.

"I know who," Annie murmured. "The same guy who'll fail to appreciate his girlfriend's efforts to keep morale high, even though she's hurting. The same guy who's so afraid she'll cheat on him when he's gone, for no fucking reason, other than his own fragile ego, it seems."

"Watch it."

"No, fuck you. Fuck being careful." Annie retorted. "What will it take for you to stop being an undercover jealous prick? Huh? What, do you actually need to mark me as your territory?"

Ben's cock involuntarily twitched at the thought, grazing the crotch of Annie's leggings. Making their eyes lock on each other again. Sending a flurry of butterflies loose in both of their bellies.

"Oh, you can't be serious." Annie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable."

Ben licked his lips and made his move. Now that Annie was distracted, he used his body weight to roll them over and pin her down to the bed under him. His green eyes burned with raw need.

"Shut. Up." He grunted as she tried to wriggle her way out from under him while he held both of her wrists in one hand, up over her head. "Stop it."

Annie's breath hitched when Ben ground his hips into hers, his erection rubbing her inner thighs. He kissed her searingly and growled when she moved her head, pulling her lips away.

"Did I say you can move?" He whispered, his grip tightening on her wrists as his hand worked its' way to her legs. He kissed her again, physically taking her breath away, pushing her leggings down. She pulled back, gasping.  "Do. Not. Move."

"Air!" was all Annie could whine before his lips crashed onto hers again, muffling her moans.

"Do I need to punish you?" He whispered against her lips, his free hand snaking under her t-shirt. "Don't move. Be quiet. Don't want to wake the baby, now, do we?"

Annie shook her head slightly, looking up at Ben with big, doe eyes.

"Good girl." Ben cooed and nuzzled the crook of Annie's neck before pulling her shirt over her head, bunching it on her arms. "Do you hate me, still?"

"Mhm." Annie smirked.

"Guess I'll have to change your mind, then." Ben ground his hips down again.

###

After waking up all alone in their bed in the wee hours of the morning, Annie's sock-clad feet padded softly on the hardwood floor as she shuffled to the living room. She paused at the doorway, looking at the back of Ben's head. The soft, colorful light from the TV illuminated him like a halo. His head propped up on his closed fist, his arms on the back of the sofa.

Sensing her presence, Ben glanced over his shoulder and nodded his head, beckoning Annie to come to him. Smiling, she closed the distance between them and curled up on the soft cushions next to her boyfriend. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her onto his lap before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Baby monitor?" He mumbled against her hair and smiled when Annie reached in her hoodie's pocket and pulled it out. "Did she give you a hard time?"

"My arms are dead."

"She wouldn't let you put her down, then?"

"Does she ever?"

"Solid point."

"What are we watching?" Annie blinked at the bright screen in front of them and groaned when her face appeared on the screen. "Oh, no."

"I have a lot to catch up on, okay?" Ben tickled her sides as she buried her face in his chest. "I'm not sure I'll have time to binge on this while in Arizona, you know."

"Why do you need to binge on this at all?" Annie's muffled voice whined.

"Because." Ben shrugged.

"Right, then." Annie leaned back and grasped at the fabric of his long-sleeved shirt. "You won't mind me binge-watching East Enders, then?"

"You do what you gotta do." Ben sighed and leaned forward.

He grabbed his cup of tea off the coffee table and took a long sip. Annie's gaze followed his every move.

"Ben?" Annie tilted her head as she bit her bottom lip.

"Yeah, love?"

Annie caressed his cheeks as a million thoughts stormed in her mind. A sad smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

###

For the life of him, Ben couldn’t figure out how on earth it was night again. It seemed like everything was moving on double speed, nonstop. Exhausted, he laid sprawled on the bed like a starfish, with Frankie gently nibbling at his toes. One arm draped lazily over his eyes, the other tucked into his sweatpants waistband ever so slightly. The TV was on but on a low volume. Background noise.

He felt Annie's presence while his eyes were still closed, lurking at the doorway. He opened his eyes just a crack, enough to catch a quick glance of her face, and could feel his how his heart is breaking just from her expression alone.

"Don't give me that look."

Annie blinked and shook her head lightly as if her mind was an etch-a-sketch and she could just erase whatever thoughts popped up so Ben wouldn't see what they were. Considering that this very night would be Ben's last night at home, they both walked on eggshells, high on the tips of their toes.

"What look?" Annie asked sweetly and walked over to the bed. Ben stretched out his arms, inviting her in for a cuddle. "I wasn't giving you a look."

"Must've been imagining, then..." Ben mumbled with a sigh. He raked his fingers through her hair lazily, enjoying the warmth her body radiated. "Banana?"

"Hmm?" Annie purred and snuggled up as close as she could.

"I'm sad."

"I know." Annie propped herself up on one arm. “I’m sad too.”

“I need to you promise me something.”

“Ben, for the last time, I’m not going to cheat on you with Jamie!” Annie poked his side. “I swear, I’ll only cheat on you with Joe.”

“That’s not what I was going to say and you would never!” Ben grabbed her wrist gently. “Promise me you’ll always text me good night and good morning if you can’t call.”

“I promise.” Annie smiled.

###

“You know what?” Ben stopped in his tracks on his way to queue for his flight check-in, “I think I’ll stay.”

“The hell you are, Ben!” Annie moved Rory over to her other hip. “She needs toys! And  food! And diapers!”

“But Arizona is so bloody far!”

“Jesus Christ, not this again.” Gwilym chimed in and handed a bottle of Coca Cola to Ben. “Be a big boy, now, Benny.”

“God, I’ll miss you.” Ben sighed, his eyes closed.

“I’ll miss you too, babe.” Gwil replied instead of Annie.

“Do you two lovebirds need a minute alone?” Annie snorted. “I’ll miss you too, Ben.”

“And I’ll miss you the most!” Ben cooed and grabbed his baby, kissing every exposed inch of her skin.

“Thanks, love.” Annie sipped from his Coke. “I really appreciate that.”

“Ben, you’ll miss your flight, mate.” Gwil scratched his head as he looked at the huge departures sign. “You better hustle.”

“I’m staying.”

“Go!” Both Gwilym and Annie barked at him.

“I love you.” Ben murmured, his lips pressed to Rory’s cheek. “Take care of mum, yeah? Be a good girl?”

“Are you -” Gwilym tilted Annie’s head up to get a better look, “are you crying?!”

“Shut up!”

“Oh, fuck.” Ben’s eyes locked in on Annie’s face, prompting a wave of tears from his own eyes. “We said no tears!”

“Stop it, Ben!” Annie pawed at her cheeks to wipe off her tears. “No crying!”

“Goddamnit!” Ben hissed and shrugged one shoulder, wiping his tears on his hoodie. “Alright. Alright. No crying.”

“I think this is the perfect moment to separate the two of you.” Gwilym said, taking Rory from Ben’s arms and bouncing her on his hip. “Come on, children. Just like we practised.”

Annie leaped up and wrapped her arms and her legs around Ben, holding on for dear life. They kissed, one last time, their tears mixing together. Ben squeezed his girlfriend as close to him as he could and inhaled her scent as he pressed a thousand kisses all over her face.

“I’ll call you as soon as I land.” He whispered in Annie’s ear. “I love you.”

###

TAGLIST:  @ramibaby @xgoingdownx @qweenly @violetpond @sweeterthancheese @drummerqueenrmt @westansstuff @justgivemethekeys  @blondecarfucker @cheeseedreams47 @rogerspoison @deacy-dearest @pinkmarvel @onceuponadetectivedemigod

[lovehelpmewrite]

Quite A Cheeky Little Thing | All You Have To Do Is Fall In Love AU

Other parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Author: Ella - @lovehelpmewrite Pairing: Gwilym Lee / OFC Rating: T Word Count: 2.3k POV: Ella Warnings: nothing, literally nothing Summary: Ella attends a play that Gwil is starring in, and the two go out for a subtly sultry dinner afterwards.

Masterlist found here! Series Summary: Best friends and college roommates Ben, Joe, and Gwil, find themselves tangled up with a group of girls who bring out the best (and worst) in them. Series Warnings: drinking, swearing Authors’ Note: Stories can stand alone, but it’s much better when read all together! Not everything is always in the same tense, or same point of view/perspective.

Ella: What do I even wear to a play?

Gwil: Something nice :)

“Something nice? What does that even- what does he even mean by nice? Like a dress? Like a cocktail dress or evening wear or…” I trailed off nervously, pacing in my room while Sarah and M laid on my bed watching. 

“Honestly, I think you’re overthinking it,” Sarah said. She was laying on her back, arm over her eyes to block out the light and minimize whatever hangover she was suffering from.

“I’m not! I can’t show up in a sundress and see everyone else there in evening gowns, Sarah! It’s important to him and I don’t want to embarrass him!”

“Ella, I mean, I know what you mean but I think you’re putting too much on this too,” M said honestly.

I stopped in my pacing and stared at her. “Well then what am I supposed to wear Mic?”

“Why don’t you just ask him?” Sarah asked as she slowly rolled off my bed and started toward the open door. “I’m going back to bed, good luck,” she called over her shoulder.

I turned back to M.

“She’s right.”

I groaned in frustration and walked over and dropped onto my bed facedown.

“M you know I’m not good at this, what if I fuck this up?” I mumbled into the bed.

She just rubbed a hand over my back comfortingly before speaking, “if he’s as great as you’ve been saying, he won’t let you fuck it up.”

I sighed and turned my face so I was looking at her again. “You’re right. You’re both right. I just… I like him a lot and I don’t want to scare him off or something.”

She just hummed in understanding and nodded, watching me think.

I picked my phone up and texted Gwil. 

And by nice you mean…? 

I dropped it back onto my comforter and looked back at Mic.

“Sorry for being a bitch.”

“It’s okay, I’m pretty used to it.”

I laughed and shoved her shoulder jokingly. “Yeah, I’m sure."

--- --- --- 

I smoothed down the skirt of my dress nervously while I stood with the group of other people presumably invited by the cast. I couldn’t help but hold my head a little higher though, as my invite came from the lead actor himself.

We all clapped as the cast made their way down the hallway outside of the theater, a few stopping by their invitees and thanking them with hugs and exchanging of flowers and kisses. 

Anxiety jumped in my chest as I watched Gwilym smiling and shaking hands with several of the people he passed, graciously thanking them for coming and for their praise on his performance. He had changed from his last costume into some dress pants and a button up shirt. Finally, his eyes met mine and a large smile overcame his face.

“I’m so glad you could make it,” he spoke, pulling me into a hug

“Oh! Of course, I’m glad I came. You were amazing!” I congratulated. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his back tightly. I closed my eyes at the comforting warmth and pressure of him against me and smiled wider than I have in a long time when we pulled back.

Gwilym turned his eyes down to my dress, his hands remaining on my hips while he looked me over.

“You look… incredible. This dress is just gorgeous on you,” he complimented, eyes staring into mine intensely. I bit my lip nervously as less than kid-friendly responses filled my head.

“Well, wanted to make sure I could keep up with my date. I mean, some of those costumes…” I paused, grinning as he looked down and blushed in embarrassment. Several of his costumes had involved him being shirtless or majorly undressed. “Well, lets just say I don’t know if I can quite hold up to that standard.”

“Well, I can assure you, you’re keeping up just fine. In fact, I’ll probably be the one having trouble keeping up with a woman as beautiful as you,” he countered, turning and leading us down the hall to the exit. He offered his arm and I gratefully slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow, my wrist pressed against the rolled up sleeve of his button down.

“Such a charmer, Gwil,” I grinned, looking up at him while he focused on finding a way through the crowd of leaving people.

Once we were actually out on the street and I could feel the cool night air on my cheeks I felt more at ease, like I normally did around Gwil.

“So there’s this little italian bistro just down the street here, amazing chicken parmesan, amazing steak and fries-”

“Gwil, I uh… I’m a vegetarian,” I said sheepishly, avoiding his eyes.

“Oh! Ah- they um… they have some amazing pasta dishes as well! Salads and, uh… whatnot,” he offered, obviously wracking his brain for ideas. 

I couldn’t help but laugh a little to myself, calling his attention back to me.

“What?”

“You’re cute when you’re flustered is all,” I laughed, looking up at him as his cheeks reddened.

“Well then I must be incredibly cute right now,” he joked, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Absolutely adorable I’m afraid.”

I watched his blush grow, having to look down at the sidewalk to calm the intense smile on my face while we walked in comfortable silence toward the bistro. Once we were finally inside and getting seated, Gwil pulled my chair out for me making my cheeks warm again as he took his own seat.

“So what can I get for you two?”

“Could we get a bottle of your best Chardonnay? Thank you so much.”

I held up my menu carefully, at first genuinely looking over the options but once I had decided on spaghetti carbonara, I was peeking over the top of it to see Gwilym’s concentrated face while he looked things over. 

Finally, the waitress came over with the bottle of wine, and a waiter behind her carrying a small basket of what I could immediately identify as garlic bread. We ordered easily and as soon as I deemed it polite I reached for a piece of the freshly toasted bread tearing off a chunk and humming as I ate it.

“You’re cute when you’re staring, just so you know,” Gwil said suddenly, taking his own piece of garlic bread.

My eyes turned up, embarrassment and panic flitting in my chest but he just smiled at me upon seeing my deep blush.

“Especially when you think I’m not looking.”

“I didn’t think you… sorry,” I mumbled, shifting in my seat and tucking my skirt under my thighs awkwardly.

“It’s okay, like I said, you’re cute when you do it,” he grinned cockily, taking a sip of his wine.

“You know you’re flirtier tonight than you usually are… I like it,” I smirked, tearing off another piece of garlic bread and chewing it slowly.

Gwil sat up a little straighter at my confession and smirked back, eating his own garlic bread.

“Speaking of flirting, our roommates seeming to be getting along well,” I commented, swirling my wine.

“Oh? Which ones?”

I laughed at the realization and cocked my head to the side. “Both of them I guess.”

“Well, Ben and Sarah certainly seem to be getting on well,” he said, gauging my reaction to see if I knew they had already fucked.

“Mmm, at least they do it quietly.”

I tried not to laugh as Gwil nearly choked at the bold statement. He swirled his wine glass absently as he spoke, only flicking them up to mind after the words were spoken.

“So are you- uh… are you quiet as well then?”

I stared into his eyes for a long moment, watching the heat rise up his neck from his unbuttoned collar. 

“Sometimes,” I paused, taking another sip of wine. “Usually not.”

For a moment we just stared at each other, seeming to dare the other to make some sort of move. 

Of course that all was ended when the waitress decided then was the perfect time to bring our meals. We both cleared our throats and sat up, smiling politely and thanking her as our plates were put down.

Even as I hungrily started eating, I couldn’t help but glance up at Gwilym through my lashes. Definitely more than meets the eye there.

After we had finished dinner we decided to walk around the nearest park for a while, holding hands and continuing to just talk and joke around and tell stories.

“Yeah! She broke my nose!” I laughed, watching Gwil react with mild horror as I recounted the time my sister and I were playing “airplane” and her legs bent and I went crashing into the floor.

“That’s insane!”

“You can still see the line from it, look!” I stopped and turned to face him, pointing to the still faint line I saw on the bridge of my nose every day.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Here,” I said, pulling his arm so he was nearly pressed against my front, face mere inches from my own.

“Ohhh, I see it now,” he murmured, fingers coming up to gently trace over the pale line.

My breath hitched in my throat while I looked up at him, my heartbeat pounding in my ears while his hand slowly moved back to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear sweetly.

“Ella?” He whispered, face moving ever so slowly toward my own, his eyes on my lips.

“Yeah?”

He moved his eyes up to mine. “I’m sorry your sister broke your nose.”

A slow smile grew on my face while my hands came up to rest on his shoulders, slowly moving over them and inward to sit on the sides of his neck. 

“Gwil?”

“Yeah?” he answered breathlessly, lips just marginally out of reach.

“Kiss me.”

“Yes ma’am.”

He pressed his lips to mine and it was like my heart exploded in my chest. His lips were warm against my own, contrasting to the slight chill of the night air and when his other hand came to rest on the small of my back the heat made me shiver slightly and lean further into him. 

Not that either of us were complaining. 

He gave a small hum of approval when my hand moved down to his waist and pulled him even closer to me. I could feel his responding grin when he experimentally lowered his hand to grab over my butt and I moaned into his mouth. 

When we finally pulled back it was reluctant and slow, both of us pausing and resting our foreheads together.

“Guess you really can’t keep quiet then, huh?” Gwil asked cheekily.

I laughed slightly embarrassed, letting my head drop down to rest against his shoulder. I let myself enjoy his continuous warmth though as his arms came to wrap around me comfortably. I could get used to this.

He walked me back to my dorm after that, both of us reluctant to leave the other. We both stood in front of the outside door to Chatham, holding hands and staring at each other with dopey smiles.

“I had… such an amazing time Gwilym. From a great play,” I took a step closer to him, “to an amazing dinner together,” another step closer, “to a spectacular kiss.” I smirked up at him, my hand moving slowly over his side and ribs to press against his back.

“Quite a cheeky little thing when you’re given the chance, aren’t you?” he grinned back down at me. 

I just grinned wider. “You haven’t seen anything yet, Mr. Lee.”

My eyes fluttered closed as he leaned down, kissing me for what probably was the twentieth time tonight. I hummed into it contentedly, vowing to never get tired of the feeling of his lips against mine. We could have stayed like that all night for all I cared and I would have been happy enough. 

But all good things must come to an end I suppose, as a muted “oh!” sounded from inside the dorm doors. We pulled back reluctantly, one of my hands on his back and the other fisting his collar, his on my waist and my neck.

And behind the glass of the door stood Ben Jones, face taken over by a large grin.

Gwil and I cleared our throats and let go of each other awkwardly as Ben pushed the door and came outside to stand with us. I crossed my arms tightly over my chest while Gwilym scratched the back of his neck, his other hand resting on his waist.

“Hey Gwil,” Ben greeted knowingly.

“Ben,” Gwil and I greeted at the same time.

“Just came out for a smoke. You?”

Gwil cleared his throat again, seemingly giving Ben the death stare. “Just walking Ella home, mate.”

Ben hummed and nodded knowingly, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter. “ I see.” He turned his gaze from Gwil to me and winked, making a definitively embarrassed blush creep up my neck.

“I’m going to- I’m just gonna inside. I had a really great time Gwilym,” I said finally, feeling the awkward tension only get greater.

“I’ll see you on Monday, love,” Gwil said finally, giving me one last soft smile as I pulled open the door and walked inside.

I practically stormed up to our dorm room door, shoving my key in and closing it loudly behind me.

“Sarah, I swear to god I’m going to murder Ben.”

“What? Why, what did he do?”

“He fucking-” I paused to throw my arms around nonsensically. “Interrupted our kiss! I was thinking about inviting him in and Benjamin fucking had to come out and cockblock me!”

M and Sarah both had to hold back laughs and while I was truly frustrated I couldn’t help the giggles that bubbled up my throat, leaving the three of us nearly falling on the floor in laughs at the situation.

Tags: @a-night-at-the-0pera @crazylittlethingcalledobsession @lelifesaver @redspecialty @rrrogahtaylahhhh @bensrhapsody @iwasnothingbutacityboy @vzlan-girl @musicgirlyy

[sherlollydramoine]

Soulmates

WARNINGS: Contains a slight bit of lovin’ in this chapter. 18+ only please, Reader is kind of a little bit of a bully in this chapter (I promise it won’t last long..)

As per usual I want to thank @ramibaby for all of her help and suggestions. @ramimalekpeen-deactivated201909 has deactivated (which breaks my heart) I will still thank her anyway. You two helped really offer the kind of guidance that I’ve needed to finish with this chapter. Just a heads up though guys, this chapter was written before the prologue, and I haven’t quite made as much progress on chapter two as I would have liked, so it may be a bit of a wait for the next chapter. XOXOXO 

And a very special twin makes an appearance!!! :)

Link to prologue: X

PART ONE

You looked up at him in complete confusion, as you desperately tried to pry your hands apart once again. It was like they had been superglued together - nothing you'd tried to do to unstick them had been successful. 

"Rami, what's going on?" You quirked a brow.

He didn't seem all that concerned about this predicament, and simply threw back his head, speaking between mocking chuckles,

"Looks like you're really stuck with me now."

"Rami,this-it-it isn't funny! What's happening? What did you do to our hands?!" You pressed, suddenly on the verge of tears. You were exhausted and wanted nothing more than to collapse on the shitty bed awaiting you in your hotel room.

It was then your attention was drawn toward Rami's hotel room door. With a loud bang, it swung open, that sound like a knife cutting through the tense, heavy air surrounding you. A rather dishevelled looking Sami peered out from behind the dark wood, his hair a mess and eyes weary.

"There you are!" He exhaled, shoulders slumping and eyes rolling. "I thought I lost you!" 

He gestured toward you and Rami as he made quick strides toward you both. It wasn't until he came to a stop before you his relieved expression vanished, replaced by one of pure shock and disbelief. With wide eyes he stared at your linked hands, his mouth agape. Why on earth such a seemingly innocent gesture caused this reaction was beyond you, and only added to your growing sense of anxiety. Suddenly, Sami's face broke out in a smirk and he reached up to nervously scratch the back of his head.

"Uhhh…" He stammered, eyes darting between you both, before resting on Rami's. " I think it's time you two had a little discussion..." He raised a brow, nodding knowingly toward Rami who seemed adamant on not meeting his brothers stare. 

With a sigh, Rami's eyes met yours and he reluctantly huffed,

"I guess so."

APPROXIMATELY TWELVE HOURS EARLIER

As you finally pulled into the parking lot of the swanky hotel your best friend Beatrice had decided was an idyllic location for her wedding, you let out a relieved sigh. It had been a long two days in the car and you were looking forward to getting checked in, and then settling in for a much needed nap.

Grabbing your bags and locking the car you headed inside, where you were greeted by Bea's loud squeals of delight and the sight of her sprinting toward you.

"Y/N YOU MADDDDDEEEE ITTTTTT!" she bellowed, arms out wide and you found yourself suddenly wrapped in one of her rib crushingly tight bear hugs. 

"Oof!" you huffed, eyes so wide that if you could see yourself in the reflection of the tiled floor you would swear they were bulging out of your head.  

 "Bea…" you tapped her shoulder, voice strained as you gasped for air. "Too tight…"

 She let go of you immediately and you drew in a sharp breath, clutching your chest. 

"Oh, sorry…" she giggled, nervously avoiding your disgruntled stare. " Just missed you…"

"Really?" you chuckled, straightening out your now crumpled shirt. "Hadn't noticed…" 

She hummed, straightening up her posture and speaking with an air of smugness as she stared down her nose at you,

"Well, that's because I'm a great actor."

"Uh huh…" You drawled, narrowing your eyes.

She shook her head dismissively at your lack of belief.

"S'true, just ask Joey baby…" 

"Joey baby?" Your scrunched your nose, cringing at the pet name.

 "Yes. Now that we are getting married I have taken it upon myself to utterly repulse all my guests with the sickening love I feel." 

"Wow, well do you think you could hold off on the pet names just for me?" You poked her shoulder, speaking softly, " You're favorite bridesmaid…?" 

She rolled her eyes,

"You've seen and heard worse from the two of us and don't flatter yourself."

"Excuse me?" You placed a hand on your hip, eyes honing in on hers as you bore a playful smirk. "Who else knows you like I do huh?"

Bea shrugged, fobbing you off with a wave of her hand as she looked anywhere but at you.

"Absolute perfectionist who is easily distracted and so stubbornly set in her ways that there ain't a chance in hell of getting you to stop something once you've set your mind to it…." 

You babbled, moving your head to try and meet her gaze.

 She was smiling at your words, purposefully darting her eyes away every time they met yours. Her smile grew wider as she reluctantly agreed,

"Alright...I guess you know me pretty well." Her eyes finally met yours again. "And you are my favourite bridesmaid." She took one of your hands in both of hers as she continued, "I'm so glad you're here, Joe's been so annoying with his chaotic energy this last few weeks." 

"Oh god…" you chuckled, shaking your head. "Can I at least have a nap before I get thrust into Joe babysitting duty? I've been in the car for like 2 days and I'm really tired."

"Aw, of course!" She smiled. "but... not until you've met your partner in crime for this week, and also, Joe will be very offended if you don't say hello first, he's been dyyyying to see you." She rolled her eyes once again and you couldn't help but roll yours too.

"Man, that boy is needy, I Skype'd you guys what? Two days ago!" You exclaimed. "Why does he need me? Isn't Mr. Mazzello busy being entertained by his..." you raised your hands, making air quotes. "Hollywood friends?" 

"Heeey watch it, one of those 'Hollywood friends' is my cousin. You remember Rami right?" 

You just stare at Bea incredulously for a good solid minute before opening your mouth to reply. She knows damn well you have haven't forgotten who he is. Being his cousin and the soon-to-be wife of Rami's best friend, she knows you spent most of your childhood and teen years around him.

"How could I forget? He's the asshole who shoved me into the pool at your 17th birthday party." you angrily mumble. 

"Oh come on, that was like twenty years ago. I can't believe you still remember that! Besides, he did eventually apologize for it and he still claims it was kind of an accident."

"Psht, it wasn't an accident, but regardless, I still ended up in a pool, and he didn't even bother to ask if I was okay, or to try helping me out. He just laughed and then left with one of his stupid friends. He was such a jerk. Ugh. You of all people know that I had the biggest crush on him back then, it was so embarrassing! Sami was at least nice to me, he was the one that helped me out and he wouldn't stop apologizing for his brother. Sami was always the nicer twin, to me. You also know it isn't just the pool incident, what about the time at the movie theater? Or the most embarrassing time when he actually stood me up for a date when I truly thought he might actually like me? " 

Bea sighed and then opened her mouth to speak, but was rudely interrupted by a loud screeching,

"YYYYYYNNNNNNN!!!"

 Turning your head, you saw Joe frantically waving his long arms - the sight of a grown man acting so unabashedly childish making you throw your head back with laughter. Joe had always exuded such a chaotic energy that it was almost infectious. 

"JOOOOEEEEEYYYY!!!" You yelled, bouncing excitedly on the spot. This earned a chuckle from Joe as he bolted toward you.

Soon you found yourself wrapped in the embrace of Joe's strong arms, your head pressed to his warm chest as you heard Bea mutter,

"Imma leave you with my overgrown man child and get you checked in." 

Pulling back abruptly from the hug, Joe gripped your shoulders, smiling down at you as he took in your tired state.

"So, long drive?" He pouted dramatically, staring into your droopy eyes. 

You simply hummed and nodded.

 "I still don't understand why you didn't just fly." 

"Mozzarella why would I fly, when I can enjoy the quiet solitude of a drive with great views? I got some fantastic photos on the trip here."

"Hmm...touche! You'll have to show me." He let his hands drop to his sides as he looked over his shoulder. He looked back at you with a brow furrowed and gestured toward Bea at the reception. "You not checked in yet?" 

"Not yet, Bay-Bea intercepted me before I could. She said she was going to check me in."

He nodded knowingly, smiling.

"Maybe you can tell me what Bea meant by my 'partner-in-crime' for the week?!" Joe raised an eyebrow and tried to avert his eyes.

"Mozzarella-" you said a little more aggressively than you intended. 

"Ummm… Welll….uh," he stammered, scratching the back of his head. " Bea decided that all the bridesmaids and groomsmen are partnered together this week for various activities we have planned, and uh, Rami is your partner." He bit his lip, seemingly mulling over his own words. "Annnnnd now she's gonna kill me before we're even married because I wasn't supposed to tell you. And oh my GOD I do NOT wanna die yet."  

He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt Bea's gentle touch on his back. Her hand remained there as she stood beside him, looking curiously between the two of you. 

"Uh, babe?" She questioned softly, a small smile forming. "why are you going to die?!"

"Jesus woman!" He exhaled, staring down at her and draping his arm around her shoulders. "what have I said about sneaking up..."

"I wasn't sneaking!" Bea implored. "I was walking, it's not my fault you can't hear-"

You cut their bickering off with a deadpan,

"He told me what you meant about the whole partner-in-crime thing." That seemed to shut Bea up almost immediately, her attention solely on you and lips pursed into a tight line as you continued, "And I don't like it." 

Bea side eyed a rather nervous looking Joe before her stern expression dropped. She let out a loud guffaw of laughter, proceeding to nuzzle her head into her fiance's chest. Joe looked just as confused as you were, offering you a shrug before welcoming Bea's affections by wrapping his arms around her.

"Y/N, it really wasn't meant to be a secret." Bea explained. "I just didn't want to tell you because you might have bailed on me or something. Everyone else knew except you." She looked down at her free hand, in which she held a room key. "By the way, this is for you." She held it out for you and you willingly took it. "Go have your nap but please be dressed nicely for dinner at 5 on the terrace. Oh, and you are in room 404." 

She smiled brightly at you before looking up to Joe and groaning,

"And for the love of Goood, you and Joe need to take a chill pill, I'm the one supposed to be having fits of hysterics, being the bride and all..." she raised a brow.

"Fiiiine…" you sighed. "Drama Queen….but thanks for getting me checked in, I do appreciate it."

Unsettled by the bombshell that was partnering with Rami for the week, you made your way to the elevators, your mind fraught with memories of his persuasive charm and sharp wit.

Once you arrived at your floor, you made your way to your room. It was when you turned to close your door you caught a glimpse of a familiar mop of curls headed toward the elevator. Your breath hitched immediately, and your stomach flipped. You knew he was going to be here, so you shouldn't have been surprised, but actually seeing him again after all these years seemed kind of surreal. 

He had been nothing but a figment of your memory for so long that he had become almost fictional - a two dimensional character who, constrained to your fading memories, you could justifyingly villainize. But now, he was here, in the flesh, walking so damn casually to the elevator, and looking so damn fine while doing it. Granted, you had only seen his back, but you had to admit, it was a nice one. As foolish as you felt your compulsion to run after him was, you couldn't help but feel it, simultaneously though, another part of you wanted to hide away in your room all week and never face him again. God, you had almost forgotten how easily he got under your skin.

After your much needed nap, you woke up feeling rested but rather annoyed at the cheerfulness of your alarm's ringtone. A moment of panic set in until your disoriented self remembered where you were, a feeling of dread following soon after. 

Sitting up and stretching out your aching body, you realised that, as painful as it was to admit Joe was right - flying would have been a better idea. With your heart and mind set on a hot shower, you grabbed your toiletries and headed to the bathroom. 

Once your shower was over, you decided that even though Bea had instructed you to dress nice, you really weren't in the mood for applying the makeup that 'dressing nice' entailed, so you simply pulled your hair into a messy bun and threw on your favorite little black dress and flats. 

Once you were thoroughly satisfied with your appearance, you grabbed your phone and room key and headed towards the terrace, opting to take the stairs instead of the elevator. 

It was as you bounded off the last step your body collided with that of someone stepping out of the elevator. You hit them with such force that, if they had not reflexively grabbed your shoulders, you would have fallen flat on your ass.

"Woah there!" A deep voice warned, strong hands gripping you tight as you almost tripped over your own shoes.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" You stammered, eyes on your stumbling feet. 

"Haha, it's alright!"

 There was a moment of silence as you looked up at the man before you, and it wasn't until you locked eyes that you realised you and your fellow collide-e weren't strangers. He may have noticeably more facial hair and laugh lines since you'd last seen him, but you'd recognise that face anywhere. 

"Sami?" You spoke in near disbelief, a bright smile forming as your eyes searched his.

"...Y/N?" Sami seemed just shocked as you, his gaze falling to your body, his smile wide.

"Oh my god…" You gushed, one hand covering your mouth as the other instinctively reached out. "You're…you're a man now..."

You almost couldn't believe this man was once the 18 year old boy who'd graciously helped you out of the pool all those years ago.

Without hesitation you extended a finger to gently prod his now overgrown locks, earning a rather bemused chuckle from him. 

"Haha!" Little creases formed around his eyes as he revelled in your apparent wonder of the aging process. 

You must have looked like a fool standing there gawking at the man, but you just couldn't help it.  He looked so different, so mature, and so damn fine.

God, if he looked this good, you dreaded thinking about what Rami looked like now, considering historically, he'd been the one to make your knees weak. Sure, you'd seen Rami on the silver screen, but you knew seeing his real, three dimensional face before you would be entirely different.

"And you are…" He started that sentence without seeming to consider where it may go, opting to punctuate it with a vague gesture to your body and stammered, "You, you look amazing!"

Thankfully, you were wrapped in his tight hug immediately after, so he wasn't able to see your now blushing cheeks.

When he pulled back, he returned your bright smile and asked,

"It's been so long! How have you been?" 

Since finding out about Rami? Not so great honestly.

"I'm doing okay I suppose." You nodded, mirroring his long strides as he started walking. "Just working, and trying to find the time to do things I like, which y'know is hard when you work 96 hours a week."

"Woah!" He jerked back his head. " What do you do? If I remember correctly you always wanted to be a nurse."

"Yeah that's exactly what I do, but I'm considering going back to school to become a nurse practitioner."

"You should!" He implored.

"Yeah, we'll see. But what about you? Bea told me you're a teacher?" 

"Yeah. It can be such a rewarding job, stressful, but rewarding. Kids can be sweet… sometimes." He rolled his eyes.

You chuckled, 

"Haha, sounds just as rewarding as what I do." 

A beat passed where you were just walking in silence, save for the sound of your footsteps clacking on the smooth floor. 

"And how's your brother? I've seen some of his stuff. He's actually really talented, well I mean I've always known he was ridiculously talented but... I mean.. It's just... Anyway, I thought his portrayal of Freddie was incredible."

"Yeah, it was incredible. He's doing alright. If you remember anything positive about my brother then you know what my concerns are, when he works he really gives it his all and I'm just a little worried that he's gotten in over his head. He'd never admit it because he enjoys his work so much, but I think he sometimes over does it."

"Yes, I do vaguely recall how much effort he puts into his performances. I used to watch him study and would sometimes get roped into running lines with him. Hahahaha... I never was one for acting though."

"Yeah,” he threw back his head, letting out a soft chuckle as continued, “you were a terrible actress. But Rami, he always had the magic. He was actually reading over something for his latest project when I left him to come down here would you believe?."

“Yes. I thought I saw him earlier, but I wasn't sure. I'm surprised the fans haven't descended on him yet. So where exactly is he? I've been anxious to see him again after all these years. "

Anxious being the operative word.

"Oh trust me, his royal highness is probably still preening in the mirror, but he should down soon. He came down to the lobby earlier to talk to Joe but when he came back upstairs, he did mention that heard you'd arrived." he laughed. 

"Oh, so he cares that I’ve arrived?" you pressed, raising a brow.

Sami just gave a nonchalant shrug, before responding,

"I don't know hun, but he seemed to be in good spirits after hearing you'd gotten here. He actually wanted to talk to you about something, but given what happened the last time you saw each other, I advised him that it wasn't a great idea."

"God Sami, I was so in love with him, and I just felt like such an idiot from the get go. It was painful how one-sided it ended up being. It took me a long time to move on. After Bea's party I went home and cried like the ridiculously hormonal teenager I was. I don't even want to talk about the failed dinner date fiasco."

"Trust me YN, it... It took him a while to get over what he did. My mom heard about it from Bea which is why he had to apologize to you. Though Bea and I did have bets placed on how badly you'd beat him up, kinda surprised that you didn’t actually."

You can't help but laugh at the memory of a very uncomfortable looking Rami standing in front of you in his mother's kitchen, while an audience of family and friends observed his sad attempt at an apology.

"Haha, Sami you are so right, Jesus, I wanted to smash his pretty face in. But.. I wasn't going to lash out in front of your mom, she's such an amazing woman. I wouldn't want to disappoint her by negatively overreacting to his sad attempt at an apology."

"Trust me, mom gave him a tongue lashing in both Arabic and English. It was... Well... I've never seen her get so upset at my brother over anything girl related before. Not like that anyway." Sami smirked at the memory.

"I am very sorry Sam." 

He just laughed again, 

"Don't apologize to me. It was far too entertaining."

By the time you two reached the terrace, the bride and groom were just sitting down, so you headed over to the table. Sami pulled your chair out for you and gestured for you to sit, so you took the offered seat. You smiled at him and gave him a thank you, before reaching for the menu. You were mentally debating between steak or chicken when you heard a slight commotion. You looked up in time to see Rami rushing towards table muttering his apologizes for being late. 

"Always know how to make an entrance don't you bro." Sami cheekily noted.

"Yeah, yeah..." came Rami's rather cavalier response. 

You couldn't help yourself so you chimed in,

 "So his royal highness finally decided to grace us with his presence."

You could feel all eyes on you, some with their mouths agape, others just looked slightly shocked. Bea tried to hide her amused smile behind her wine glass and Joe straight out laughed,whether at you or whatever Bea whispered to him you weren’t sure. Rami didn't acknowledge your statement, so you continued on,

"Surprised to see you at all, and I'm even more surprised that you didn't drag your pretty little blonde here with you."

You didn't mean to be so rude, you really didn't, but for some inexplicable reason your brain and mouth couldn't stop spewing venom. 

Sami nearly choked on his drink and Joe almost spit his out all over his amused fiancé. 

"Oh shit Y/N...shots fired.." came Bea's quiet response, as she slowly took a sip of her wine, her eyes darting back and forth between you and Rami. 

"Y/N, please reserve that whit of yours for stuff you actually understand." Rami deadpanned, sounding rather displeased with this topic of conversation. "I’m here now. I apologized for being late, and despite what you may think I was doing, I was actually on a conference call discussing an upcoming project.” He paused, doe eyes staring you down before he frowned and muttered,

 “Though I'm not sure why you think I owe you any explanation at all...."

You couldn’t believe his candour, and jerked back your head as you spoke,

 "Oh that's right, I forgot we’ve got a big shot Hollywood star with us. You know, winning an Oscar doesn’t give you the right to be a jerk." you spat, words sounding much more venomous than you intended.

"Rami. Y/N." Joe warned, with a hint of amusement in his voice, "I can't believe that this is coming out of my mouth but please, children behave!"

You rolled your eyes, from a technical standpoint you did start it. You glanced back at your menu to continue your internal debate when you heard Rami's voice calling your name. 

"Y/N?" Rami asked. 

"Yes, Rami?" You avoided his stare, looking over the menu before you.

"Just wanted to say you look good all grown up, especially in that pretty little black dress." He spoke with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. 

You laughed, knowing he was joking though you couldn't do anything to stop the blush that was spreading across your face - and chest. Feeling incredibly flustered even though you knew he didn't mean a word of it, you decided to respond as maturely as you could. Which apparently was as mature as twelve year old without parental supervision. 

"Malek, eat shit." Came your smug response. 

"Wow. And here I thought I was being nice giving you a compliment." 

Staring him down, you spat,

"Yeah, I'd have believed you, maybe, if you weren't being so sarcastic. " 

Before Rami could respond he was cut off by Bea,

"Awwww babe, aren't they cute? It seems as if they are on track for an epic love story like ours. You know guys, sometimes the best love stories start with a mutual hatred of each other. God, I absolutely hated Joe when I first met him and now I can't imagine my life without him." 

Bea made googly eyes at Joe who just took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. His voice strained as smiled at her and spoke through mock tears,

“She hated me so much.” 

This time it was you who nearly spit out your drink, and Rami nearly choked on the olive he had just popped into his mouth. A coughing fit came from him when Sami smacked his back to help him clear his throat. 

"What's the matter Malek, can't handle a bit of teasing? " you stated mostly for the purposes of trying to rile him up a little more. God that man brings out the worst in you, and of course being the fully grown adult you are, you handle it with such great aplomb. 

You couldn't hear his response but whatever he said made his brother's eyes go wide for a few moments and was quickly followed by the distinct sound of someone kicking someone under the table. 

"Owww!" Rami murmured quietly as you observed him hunched over to rub at the sore spot on one of his gorgeous little chicken legs. 

"Serves you right man. That was rude and wildly inappropriate." Sami huffed out of frustration while side eyeing his brother. 

Rami smirked in response to his brother and winked at you when he realized you were openly staring at him. 

“Just like all those years ago Y/N, it seems you still have a staring problem. I mean, I know I'm gorgeous, or whatever people call me these days, but girl… you just can't help yourself can you?" He teased, tone light and joking. 

"Oh Jesus Christ Rami, what the hell?!" Sami scolded as he observed the hurt expression on your face. 

You could feel the tears welling up in your eyes but, determined not to let the hurt and anger come spilling out in front of him, you grabbed your glass and take a deep pull of whatever liquid was in the cup. 

You ended up tuning out the conversation for a while as you reminisced, getting lost in old memories of the four (sometimes five if Sami joined) members of your group doing various activities throughout your youth, smiling to yourself at the memories of his golden skin in the pool. He always did look amazing when he was wet. 

Pulling yourself out of your "Rami-daze" you turn your attention back to the bride and groom. Seizing an opportunity in the lull of conversation you asked, 

"Soooo… Mozzarella, what are these activities that I was hearing about earlier from Bay-Bea?"

Joe needed little prompting as he and Beatrice launched into the details of all the different things they had planned for the week leading up to their ceremony. So many activities and so little time, but you weren't going to complain. You know how much time and effort had gone into planning this. How many middle of the night frantic phone calls from Bea and Joe wanting your opinion on something or the other. Nobody was allowed to go to sleep until the crisis, whatever it was, had been resolved. 

"So we are supposed to be up at the ass crack of dawn tomorrow for what reason?" asked Joe's best man and brother. 

"It's a surprise!" Bea exclaimed. 

"It's a no from me then." Joe's brother said. 

"Oh please your ass can go back to bed after, it's only about an hour of your time." Joe deadpanned. 

"Well I'm down for whatever it is." Sami assured. 

"Thank you Sami-I appreciate the enthusiasm." Bea smiled. 

"So Bea, this group is kind of small tonight, where is everyone?" you inquired. 

"Everyone else will be coming in the next couple of days." Joe answered for her. 

"What's the dress code for tomorrow morning's festivities?" Rami inquired. 

"Comfortable. So no high heels, or mini dresses. I would suggest a light jacket or sweater since it's a little chilly first thing in the morning." Bea advised. 

"Awwww Bay-Bea, but I was so totally planning on wearing my LBD and heels in the morning." Joe laughed out. 

"Well, I’m not stopping you babe but, I meant more something along the style of casual gym attire." Bea smirked. 

"Bold of you to assume that I don't wear mini dresses and heels to the gym." Rami joked. 

The laughter that went around the table at Rami's joke eased the mood considerably and you couldn't help but laugh along with everyone else. Rami really was a funny guy. 

"See Bay-Bea, Rami understands me." Joe chuckled.

"Fine. Wear what you want. Break an ankle or sustain any sort of injury and I will be pissed off Joseph. And for the love of God, you better not ruin any of my dresses in your attempt to be a clown." Bea scowled at him in her frustration. 

Joe pouted and then leaned across the table toward you. 

"Since I can't borrow Bea's, Princess can I borrow the black dress you're wearing tonight, for tomorrow morning?" 

"Uhhh sure I guess Mozzarella. Not sure if it will fit you though, but I'd most certainly enjoy watching you try." 

Joe dramatically clutched his chest .

"Gasssp are you? Are you calling me fat Y/N?!" he stuttered out so dramatically it would put any stage actor to shame. 

"Oh stop it. Of course I'm not, it's just. You're taller than I am, and I don't want to see your twig and man berries falling out of my dress. Especially at the ass crack of dawn when I most likely haven't had my daily dose of caffeine yet. " you scoffed. 

Bea literally spit out her wine all over the table, Rami choked on his tequila, Sami looked uncomfortable, and Joe's brother laughed so loudly it made you jump at the sudden loudness. 

Joe pouted, but you knew it was all an act. 

"I love you Joey baby. You're my squishy and I shall call you 'Squishy.'" Bea giggled as she poked Joe in the stomach. 

"Bea, what did I say about pet names? " You gagged. 

Joe looked so affronted, 

"Babe.. Did you just? You just.. You called me fat?" 

"No I called you my squishy." She retorted as she leant over to kiss his lips. 

"Did you actually quote Finding Nemo Beatrice?" Rami asked. 

"Indeed. A cinematic masterpiece. Fight me." Bea giggled again. 

This caused another round of laughter to go around the table. 

The waitress finally arrived to your table to take everyone's order. You couldn't help the random jealousy that was bubbling up in you as Rami seemed to openly and unashamedly flirt with her.

Once the waitress had everyone's order she disappeared and conversation resumed. 

"So Joe, real quick question about the partnered activities, what if my partner isn't here yet?" his brother asked. 

"If your partner is not available to assist you for any of the activities then we may have you grouped with another couple." Joe advised to the entirety of the dinner party.

 "However, there will be no partner switching unless the activity calls for it." Joe continued as he addressed that last piece to you and Rami. You rolled your eyes in response and highly suspected that Rami was probably doing the same thing. 

You barely heard any of the rest of the conversations because your mind was racing with thoughts of Rami. You had no clue where these thoughts were coming from and you weren't exactly pleased that they were occupying so much space in your brain. You cursed your brain and what you thought were long buried feelings you'd had for Rami. 

You thought no one had noticed you staring at his reflection in the glass that was behind the opposite side of the table from you, until you noticed his eyes catch yours in the reflection. He gave you a smirk and attempted another wink, but boy, can he NOT wink properly. Still, you found it endearing and rather distracting. 

"See something you like Y/N?" Rami suddenly spoke up, a little too loudly. 

His voice broke your silent reverie and you almost jumped out of your skin. Feeling the eyes of everyone at the table back on you; your skin flushed a deep red in response. You were embarrassed for having gotten caught so you did the only thing you could think of in that moment; say something stupid. 

"Awfully presumptuous of you to assume I was checking you out. I'm pretty sure I was staring at Sami's gorgeousness."

Ramis laugh was loud and infectious, Sami however, just cocked a brow and shook his head. . 

"I know I'm gorgeous YN so thank you. I mean him and I are identical so wouldn't it be natural to just assume that I'd be considered as good looking as him?" Sami asks with a small smile and another casual shrug

. 

"Without a doubt Sami, I think you are the better looking of the two of you actually. I mean Rami's smart but he memorizes words for a living, you Sami…  you teach the words." you add, while watching Rami's mock outrage in the glass. 

Rami opened his mouth to speak but closed it promptly once he realized the waitress was headed toward the table. Actually all conversation ceased when the waitress arrived with everyone's food. The sight of her openly flirting with Rami made your stomach start to turn, especially when he was just as flirty back. It made your stomach feel uneasy but you decided to tuck into your overpriced steak with gusto. You rationalize the fact that he's famous so the attention he receives shouldn't be unexpected but you can't figure out where the jealousy was coming from. He doesn't owe you loyalty and you don't him so why the jealousy? 

After dinner, a few people ordered dessert but your uneasy stomach wouldn't allow anything rich to settle. You sat back an observed the occupants of the dinner party. Rami was eating a slice of cheesecake, while Bea was silently enjoying her chocolate cake and simultaneously scowling at Joe who was eating ice cream of all things. 

"Joseph I swear, if you forgot your pills I will be NOT be listening to you complain all night during your self induced suffering on the porcelain throne."

"It's alright baby, I promise, I took them already." he beamed at her. 

You laughed a little too loudly thanks to the copious amounts of alcohol you had consumed throughout the evening. Moments like these with Joe and Bea were so commonplace and had been happening since they started dating, what seems like a million years ago. 

When the waitress came back to the table she handed everyone their individual bills but lingered near Rami. She smiled at him and tried to make casual conversation with him as he handed her his card. She frowned slightly but took it and walked around the table collecting everyone else's various forms of payment. 

You noticed the slip sitting in front of Rami that was obviously from the waitress, it had a name and number scrawled in neat handwriting on it. The jealousy made your stomach ache and tears threaten to spill.

 You pushed your chair back from the table quickly and took off back towards the elevator bank as fast as you possibly could. You could only pray to God that no one noticed the hot tears of jealousy that started to run down your face. You sure were glad you had decided to forgo makeup tonight but cursed your overly tired drunken brain and body. 

Once you'd made it halfway to the elevators is when you remembered that you left your phone and room key on the table outside. No way in hell were you going back, but you angrily pressed the button to summon the elevator anyway. 

"Well, shit." you muttered out loud. 

You nearly jumped out of your skin when you heard a deep, familiar voice from behind you calling out your name. 

"Y/N WAIT!!!" 

You spun around to find Sami running toward you, holding your phone and key card in his hand. 

"Hey, hun what's wrong?" 

"Nothing other than the fact that I'm drunk, stupid and seriously jealous! ”

"Jealous? Of who? The waitress? If that's the case you don't need to be. Rami usually throws them away or puts them, oh God, he'd kill me for telling you this. But he puts some of them in a scrapbook. Once it's full he puts it away. It's weird, but I promise you, he NEVER calls them."

" Sure. Whatever. It's not like he owes me anything. You don't have to tell me all his secrets. I should have expected it since he is super famous now. I  am also feeling guilty because I've handled the majority of this evening very poorly; no excuse for how much of a bitch I've been to him." You reasoned. 

"He actually wanted to come and apologize to you for goading you all night, but I wouldn't let him. You know my brother better than you think you do, you understand that he's a really good guy. Even as kids though, Y/N, something about you brings out the best and worst in him. For all his intelligence sometimes my brother is a full fledged idiot. His observation skills are excellent unless it's you."

" I remember. I know. Jesus, I just… Ugh. I just.. Fuck Sami, I don't even.." you struggle to find the words you want to say but something about the look on Sami's face tell you that he can understand what you're trying and failing to communicate. 

He just offers you a warm hug and a smile. 

"It's alright YN. Oh, Bea and Joe were also really concerned for you after your abrupt departure, what do you want me to tell everyone?" 

"Thanks Sami, I appreciate this. Just tell them I have a migraine and needed to lie down for a bit. Really Sami, thank you."

"You're very welcome and for the record he actually just burns the scrapbooks once they are full."

You can't help the giggle that comes out of you, because the thought of Rami having scrapbooks full of random phone numbers is hilarious, but the fact that he burns them; it's such a silly thing. 

"Sam, I want to believe you about your brother, I just… Yeah… I just… Yeah… Pretty sure that he doesn't truly care, I don't think he ever did.I mean maybe it's the alcohol talking here but it's stupid to hold on to something for twenty years, isn't it? I don't truly believe he ever gave a shit about me. I have told myself he just wanted to pull a prank and I was obviously the easiest target."

Sami opened his mouth to say something at the exact moment a soft ding rang out and the doors to the elevator opened with a metallic whoosh. You stood slightly off to the side to allow the previous occupants to exit before stepping inside. 

"Goodnight Sami." You smiled weakly at him.

"Goodnight Y/N." 

He opened his mouth to say something, again, but the doors closed with a thud before he could get a word out. 

"He likes you more than you can possibly understand." Sami muttered to himself as he began the walk back towards the dinner party. 

Once the elevator stopped on your floor, you let out a frustrated sigh. For some reason you really wanted to cry. Something about Rami has always drawn you to him, like a moth to a flame, yet also made you despise him at the same time, and you've never understood why.

Once back in your room you threw yourself onto the bed and screamed into one of the pillows. You laid there staring at the ceiling for a while before drifting off to sleep because when you opened your eyes again it was pitch dark outside and in your room. You couldn't get over the overwhelming feelings of frustration, so you got up and headed out to your balcony. Maybe some fresh air would help. 

"Why do I feel cursed?" You pondered out loud, to no one. 

"Ever thought that maybe you are?" Came a familiar deep drawling voice on the balcony next door. 

Your head whipped around to find Rami casually leaning against the railing of his balcony smoking a cigarette looking, quite frankly, like… sex on legs. The dim light of the balcony cast a halo around his curls. You smiled to yourself at how devilishly handsome he looked in that moment. It should be a sin to look so good, his shirt was completely unbuttoned, untucked and the belt missing from his pants. A cigarette hung from his soft lips as he stared at you, half lidded eyes glistening in the moonlight. You wanted to jump across the balcony and beg him to ravish you like some character from a cheesy Harlequin historical romance. For a moment your eyes meet his and he gave another one of his famous smirks that left your knees weak. You caught sight of his beautiful hands holding his cigarette as he took another drag and then slowly exhaled the gray smoke into the night sky. You shake your head and avert your gaze skyward, trying to empty your head of that particular line of thinking. 

"I know I am." He spoke softly.

"Curses are nonsense, superstition and I personally don't believe in them at all."

"Maybe you should start Y/N. In the belief of curses you may find some answers that you may never have believed you were looking for. "

"Why would I do that? And what mystical answers do you think I may possibly be looking for?" 

"Maybe there are forces in play that you don't understand. That hell, most of us don't understand. But don't discount the power of believing and the power of a kind of magic. You ever have that feel like you're drawn to someone but can't understand why?" 

"Now you are talking absolute crazy Rami. Maybe the answer lies in a simple truth. Attraction. Want. Need. I don't know. Maybe it's just the brain tricking you into believing an illusion. Maybe the answer is just lust." you stated before heading back into your room and slamming the balcony door shut a little more forcefully than intended. 

"Oh Y/N, if only you knew. You're my curse as I am yours." Rami quietly uttered before tossing the remainder of his cigarette into the makeshift ashtray on the patio table. 

You threw yourself back down onto your bed with a heavy sigh. You had no idea how Rami could go from being a complete prick to whatever that hell that just was; shaking your head because he actually wasn't being a prick, he was just being Rami. You tried to turn on the TV for whatever late night bullshit would be playing but found nothing satisfactory. You picked up your phone and tried scrolling through your various social media apps but still nothing caught your interest. Your mind was swirling with too many thoughts that were leaving you feeling a number of ways. God, how can that man leave you feeling so irritated and horny at the same time? 

Deciding to give up on trying to distract yourself, you aimed for sleep. With your mind still swirling with visions of Rami looking like a disheveled sex God, along with thoughts of curses, sleep managed to find you all too easily. You gave into the tug willingly as you felt yourself go under its spell. 

Two days since the unexpected happened and here you were about to make love to him for the first time. Two days since you were told the story of his family curse, which isn't really a curse to you, more of a blessing. And two days of being invisibly tied to the man you've known since you had turned eighteen, was the only man you've ever wanted. 

Warm and safe, with your hand still stuck in your soon to be lovers as he gently guides you down onto his bed. Fear, excitement, and lust coursing through your body, you can't wait for what's to come. It had been a long two days of preparing for this exact moment.The moment of complete soul bonding. The moment when both of you would finally be able to physically claim each other as your own, which would release your temporary invisible bindings, but would leave a permanent physical mark as a reminder as well as the permanent markings on your souls.

You look up into those beautiful eyes of his, darkened with lust in the low light of his bedchamber. His olive skin appearing a glowing gold as he positioned himself between your thighs.

"I've never done this before." you murmured, heart pounding with excitement and nervousness. 

"I know Y/N, but I would never intentionally hurt you. You are my soulmate, the one made just for me just as I was for you."

"I love you, I have my whole life even if I never understood it, please just love me now." You begged, as you felt his hard member against your thigh. 

"Always." He moaned out as he slowly pushed into you. 

You cried out at the sudden burning, stretching pain that shot through you, but once he was fully inside of you; his hips stilled waiting for you to get used to the feel of him for the first time. After a few moments the painful feeling passed and feeling brave you bucked your hips against his as you moaned at the sudden pleasure the movement brought. 

"Oh my love you feel so good." he murmured against your neck as he slowly began to move, his damp curls clinging to his forehead.

If you hadn't been unable to use your hands because they were still locked together, you would have clawed at his back urging him to continue moving. 

"Please. Please. Love me." you whined out, your eyes meeting his. 

Your lips crashed together with a passion you've only heard whispers of until now. 

You wrapped your legs around his waist which changed the position of your hips into one allowing him deeper access to all of you. You were panting and moaning with every movement of his hips against yours, and it wasn't long before you felt an unfamiliar feeling beginning to form in your belly. Before you could register what was happening, you were seeing stars as you began screaming out his name. 

"Oh my love. My love. I love you, I love you, I love you." He cried out before you felt his hot seed painting your inner walls. 

It was shortly after that you realized that you were able to pull your hands apart, but you both chose not to. Instead, you chose to stay as you were, all wrapped up in skin. 

"I love you Y/N. I have for years and will always. When our time on this earth ends just know my soul will always find yours in every life after this one."

You smiled against his warm skin as you readjusted your positions in bed, never letting go of each other's hands.

"I love you too. Forever and always."

You awoke with a start, heart pounding and with a dull aching wet feeling between your thighs. Awareness of your surroundings left you feeling confused momentarily as you had just been in some ancient place that you were unfamiliar with. You could still smell the incense, fire, and sweat mingled with the unmistakable scent of sex. Hell, if you were honest you could almost still feel your dream lovers cum between your legs, slicking your thighs and the weight of his body still on top of yours. 

Confusion wracked your brain at the realization that the man who had just made love to you in your dream, you were more than certain was Rami. The thought was a little disconcerting, especially because you've never recalled ever having a wet dream like that before. Everything felt so vivid and real. 

This isn't the first time you've a Rami centric dream, for as long as you could remember, at least once a year you've had vivid dreams where he was the main star. Your Rami dreams only became more intense after your eighteenth birthday. 

Feeling restless you decided to take a shower and afterwards decided to go for a little walk in the gardens of the hotel. Once again you felt like a little fresh air might help you clear your head. 

THE PRESENT

"Rami, seriously what the hell is going on? What do you mean 'I'm stuck with you'?" the tears that had formed moments ago began to fall down your cheeks. 

You look back and forth between the two brothers, neither willing to meet your gaze. 

"Sami why do your brother and I need to talk? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SOMEONE START GIVING ME SOME INFORMATION NOWWWW!" you yelled through the tears. 

Rami tried to pull you into a hug to offer comfort but you pushed him away. He chuckles again before quietly suggesting that the two of you go into one of your rooms. You nodded slowly in understanding before reaching into your bra with your free hand to remove your card key. 

"Hey you two just remember that if you need some more information mom's room is just down the hall. You could always go talk to her." Sami states. 

"Not now Sam, it's almost two in the morning but if Y/N has further questions we'll go talk to her. I'm pretty sure that I know all the pertinent information. You should try and get more sleep we'll see you in the morning." Rami addressed his brother, before following you into your room. 

As soon as the door slammed shut, you whirled around on Rami aggressively,

" Look, I'm fucking tired and I'm irritated so just tell me why the fuck my hand is stuck in yours!"

"This isn't a quick story Y/N, it is going to take some time to tell, and you may have additional questions. So, you might want to try to get comfortable."

"No! Not until you give me some answers! Fuck, just.. just give me the cliff notes version then..." you demanded with narrowed eyes. 

"Short version Y/N, I'm your soulmate and you are mine. Remember when I told you earlier that I was cursed?" 

You nod for a moment, recalling the details of the conversation that happened a few short hours ago. The confusion must have been evident on your face because Rami reached up to cup your cheek. You pushed him away just as a laughing fit hit you. 

"Insanity. That's what this is, it's insanity. Jesus, I'm losing my fucking mind. If I pinch myself I'll wake up from this-this whatever the hell this is." You laughed out, unable to hold back, the laughter not subsiding until your sides hurt and tears were streaming down your face. 

Once you calmed down from your laughing fit, you looked up at Rami's face and found it looking rather serious. 

"Rami please tell me this is a joke?!" 

"No. This is not a joke. I wanted to tell you about this before we found ourselves in this situation, but, here we are. Y/N, this is in fact very real. You need to listen to me now, because if certain things don't happen within a certain time period, one or both of us may die. This is a curse that has plagued my family for thousands of years."

 Tag @itsme690 @xmxisxforxmaybe @augustjosephine @moon-stars-soul @teamwolf2411 @sassystrawberryk @rami-malek-trash @mister-owls-cupcake @mezzomercury

[balmacedapascal-archive]

So I get off work in about 45 minutes which is a fucking miracle and I’m so excited so like if people want to send me asks or messages or whatever about Undrafted that would be super cool. Or if you just want to talk about anything really. I’m just going to be writing and doing laundry this afternoon and probably watching Undrafted again. For science.

[somethinginthewayiam]

Masterlist

last updated on 11/19/2024

Bold stories or chapters are SMUT/NSFW

Jake Hangman Seresin (Top Gun Maverick)

The girl behind the bar (Jake Hangman Seresin x plus-size reader)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4.1

Part 4.2

Part 5.1

Part 5.2

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

The girl behind the bar : the date (Jake Hangman Seresin x plus-size reader)

Part 1 - the restaurant

Part 2 - the bar

Part 3 - the apartment (1/2)

Part 3 - the apartment (2/2)

Hangman's shift at the Hard Deck

Epoliogue

Chibs Telford (Sons of Anarchy)

Chibs x plus-size reader (18+ throught, minors DNI!!)

A new job

Boys will be boys

Party at the clubhouse

Late night

Aftermath

Dress-up

Dress down

Car troubles

Part of the business

Better offer

Lockdown

A New Home

Maybe baby

Oh so horrible

Redwoody Productions

Wrong number

Henry Cavill Masterlist

Sebastian Stan

Sebastian x Anna (OFC) Series

Nightcap

The universe can be a bitch  Part 1  Part 2

What happens in New York…  Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5 Part 6  Part 7

Requests

Morning kisses (Ben Hardy fluff)

Imagines

You win an Oscar (Ben Hardy fluff)

Joe’s daughter (Joe Mazzello fluff)

BoRap Cast

Unexpectedly expecting (Ben Hardy x reader)

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8   Part 9   Part 10  Part 11   Part 12   Part 13   Part 14 (unfinished)

Prove it to me (Ben Hardy x plus-size reader)

My new favorite t-shirt (Ben Hardy x plus-size reader)

PRESSing matters (Ben Hardy x reader)

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8   Part 9   Part 10  Part 11

At the BAFTAs after party (main story)

- Gwil Part

- Joe Part

- Ben Part

Alex Hogh Andersen

Temporary Roommate (Alex x Reader)

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12  Part 13

Hvitserk

The gift (Hvitserk x OC x Magrethe)

My AO3 account

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

Can I request a fluffy Joe Mazzello x fem. reader wedding oneshot and when reader is getting ready for their wedding she thinks about when Joe and her first met in college when he bumped into her on the way to class and helped picked up her books and it was love at first sight?

Cute Coffee Shop Guy

Fandom: RPF, American Actor

Pairing: Joe Mazzello x Reader, Joe Mazzello x Female Reader,

Characters: Joe Mazzello, Original Female Character, Female Reader, Reader

Word Count: 1006 // Rating: Gen

Summary: Reader reminisces on her wedding day

Tags/ Warnings: Reader, Female Reader, Marriage, Wedding Day, Love, Mother/Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Requests, Request, My Writing, requested fic, RPF, Joe Mazello x Reader, OFC, Reader,

Notes: Hope you like it

‘You look lovely if I do say so myself,’ Courtney said as she dabbed the last bit of lipstick on the corner of Y/N’s lips. Y/N turned to look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was curled and gathered in an elegant updo interlaced with beaded hair slides. Tendrils shaped her face which was now made up. She looked amazing but not too overdone thanks to Courtney’s handiwork. 

‘It’s great I love it,’ she said turning around so she could inspect it from every angle. 

‘As if you needed it in the first place,’ her mother said coming to stand behind her. Her arm draped over her shoulder as she watched Y/N in the mirror.

‘Mom,’ Y/N said self-consciously.

‘Oh if there’s a day I’m allowed to brag about my beautiful daughter it’ll be today! Not every day you get married is it?’ her mom said with tears in her crinkled eyes. 

‘Here here,’ Courtney smiled offering Y/N a champagne flute. She took a tiny sip of it and looked at herself one more time as everyone started moving on to the next tasks. Courtney beckoned her maid of honour forward and sat her in a nearby chair so she could start her hair. Her mother started sorting buttonholes out for the groomsmen. But Y/N didn’t pay any attention. She was focused on herself. 

She was getting married today. And she couldn’t wait. She had been lucky to find Joe. He was an amazing, sweet, thoughtful and funny guy and not to mention handsome to boot. And he was going to be her husband.

It had been pure chance the two of them had met. Sure, they had both been at the same college but he was a year older and they didn’t really run in the same circles. They took different subjects and she was more of a small-town girl whilst he was a city boy. The first time she had even been to California was on the open day for USC whilst he had spent the majority of his childhood in and out of Hollywood. A child star. 

They had met by accident. She had been late for a test and had been racing out of the library on campus practically bowling him over as she collided with him. Her head had hit his chest and her books had jabbed right into his stomach. 

‘Woah where’s the emergency?’ he said as she pulled back. Her books had clattered to the ground and she had bent down to start picking them up when he followed suit. He smiled at her as he handed her her psychology textbook. Their hands touched for a moment sending a shiver down her spine. 

‘Sorry for bumping into you,’ she said meekly. 

‘Bumping into me? For a moment I thought I was a ghost and you were going to go straight through,’ Joe chuckled as they stood up. 

‘Again I’m sorry,’ she said. 

‘Don’t be,’ he said, ‘so…I take it you have somewhere to be?’ 

‘What?’ she said. 

‘Just you seemed in a rush? Sorry I shouldn’t pry-’

‘No, no, it’s not prying,’ she said, ‘I’ve got a psych test on the other side of campus.’

‘That’s a shame,’ Joe said. Y/N looked at him confused for a moment.

‘Why?’ 

‘Because I was gonna see if a pretty girl like you wanted to go for a coffee…but if you’ve got somewhere to be,’ he said. 

Y/N thought for a moment. She did have a test but it wasnt a big one. And it wasn’t as if psych was her major. And he was really cute.

‘If I’ve overstepped the mark I’m sorry I just thought you might want to-’

‘I do,’ Y/N said almost shouting, ‘I mean I do.’

‘But you’re not free, raincheck?’ Joe said. 

‘No,’ she smiled, ‘I was never gonna make it on time anyway. And my professor’s stance is ‘if you come late don’t bother coming’.’

‘Hence the running,’ Joe chuckled. He turned and started walking away from the library. Y/N followed him. Her books were now nestled back in her arms and her bag slung safely over her shoulder though she dreaded to think of what she looked like. Her hair was surely in disarray from the number of times she had run her hands through it trying to get anything to go into her head. She was wearing no makeup and a pair of yoga pants and a sweater. 

‘So,’ Joe said, ‘Starbucks or campus coffee house?’ 

‘Coffee house,’ she said, ‘it’s further away from the psychology building.’ 

‘Oh so we’re hiding out now,’ Joe asked. 

‘Definitely, it’s not going to look good if I get seen dodging a test and out for coffee with a cute boy,’ Y/N said. 

‘So you think I’m cute?’ Joe chuckled. 

‘Well I would,’ she said, ‘but I don’t even know your name. Or should I just call you the cute guy from the coffee shop?

‘Joe,’ Joe said, ‘it’s Joe.’

‘Well, Joe. Yeah, I’d say you’re pretty darn cute,’ she chuckled.

‘Huh Y/N?’ Courtney said pulling her from her thoughts.’

‘What?’ she replied. 

‘I said do you mind if the girls vary on hairstyles? I mean most of them I could do I think but Claire’s hair is too short-’

‘However they want it is fine,’ Y/N said. 

‘Lost in your thoughts hun?’ her mom said coming behind her and looking at her daughter in the mirror. 

‘Yeah,’ Y/N sighed. 

‘Not having second thoughts are you?’ her mom said her brow furrowed.

‘No,’ Y/N said, ‘no I’m not.’

‘Right, well let’s get you into your dress huh?’ her mom said with a smile. She would never regret it. She just thanked her lucky stars she missed that psych test. 

[justapurrcat]

Do yourself a favour and read this. Trust me. 💜

Lady In Red

Chapter Fourteen

Summary: He was only back at work for a week, just a simple favour to a friend. Gardner didn’t think anything of it, it’s not like it would make any difference. Then he met Margaux. 

Pairing: Gardner Langway x original female character

Words: 4.3k

/

The first thing Gardner knew as he rose from sleep was the smell of breakfast cooking downstairs. 

Calvin always got up early on Sundays to make waffles or pancakes, then spent the rest of the day focused on whatever it was he’d been dreaming about baking all week.

Gardner yawned, groaning softly as he reached up above his head and stretched. He let his arms fall heavily beside him again, turning his head and pressing his face into the pillow, sighing softly. 

He didn’t want to get up, he just wanted to stay in bed, the last safe place, and keep away from the world for a little while.

Continua a leggere

[american-satanxx]

Writing Masterpost!

I do accept requests. Message me to see if I write in your particular fandom! Mostly I’ll be writing about Ben Hardy, Douglas Booth, Colson Baker, Nikki Sixx, Slash, Duff McKagan...the list is long. So there is a good chance I’m in your fandom.

6 Underground

Immortal Lowlife

Motley Crue

Nikki Sixx

Animal in Me

Rebel Love Song

Ben Hardy

Request #1 Request #2

Joe Mazzello

You’re My Best Friend

San Fran 49ers

Jimmy G Hell of a Night Request #1

Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes Just Patrick

Supernatural

Dean Winchester Hellfire Heaven’s a Lie

Guns N Roses

Slash Welcome to the Jungle

DC Comics

Dick Grayson Phoenix Rises

Cursed

The Weeping Monk Juggernaut Child

All the King’s Men

Daniel Sharman

King in Your Story

Teen Wolf

Isaac Lahey

Game of Survival

Riverdale

Reggie Mantle x OFC x Sweet Pea Baby I Call Hell

Lovelink

Damien Jones I’ll Love You Through a Periscope

Albert Bishop Gave Your Heart to a Hurricane

Rory O’Brien Lullaby Singer

[warriorteam1924]

Welcome to my masterlist, I hope you enjoy your stay

Music is my savior  (Complete) (Borhaps cast x female reader)

As far as the eye can see (Ongoing) (Queen band + OFC)

Just because (John Deacon x FemReader - Smut) inspired by my Nico

Deaky’s Father’s Day (John Deacon X FemReader - alt end1 fluff & alt end 2 smut)

Deaky and his belt (John Deacon x FemReader - Smut) inspired by Lily

I suck your mind, you blow my head  (John Deacon x FemReader - Smut)

The cake icing (John Deacon x Veronica Tetzlaff - Fluff)

Oooh it’s bliss (John Deacon on his 69th birthday - fluff)

On such a breathless night as this (John Deacon & Freddie Mercury AU - Binky challenge - Unicorn Boy - Drawitinyourstyle -  what genre it is....?)

Better than a lifetime alone…. (Featuring John Deacon & his true love - AU - Fluff)

Deaky’s 70th birthday event masterlist 2021 (mostly fluff)

Shooting Star (John x Veronica - contains smut, angst, fluff) Parts : 1 - 2 - 3 

Deaky’s 71th birthday event masterpost 2022 (mostly fluff)

My body’s aching (Deaky’s 72th birthday - John x Veronica - Fluff)

Sin Sunday here we come (Joe Mazzello x FemReader - Smut)

La chandeleur (Joe Mazzello x FemReader - Fluff)

Be your Valentino, just for you (Joe Mazzello x FemReader - Smut)

Snooze mode  (Joe Mazzello x FemReader - Fluff)

The fire within you  (Joe Mazzello x FemReader - Fluff)

Oh how you want it  (Joe Mazzello x FemReader - Smut)

Today (A little something for Joe Mazzello’s Birthday - Angst/Fluff)

The fighter (Joe Mazzello x Reader - Request - angst and fluff)

You take my body, I give you heat  (Joe Mazzello x FemReader - Request - Smut)

Psithurism  (Joe Mazzello x FemReader - Request - Fluff)

This is what dreams are made of  (Joe Mazzello x FemReader - Request - Fluff)

Happy Birthday, Jones !!! (Ben Hardy x FemReader - Fluff)

Xin Nian Kuai le, my Ben (Ben Hardy x FemReader - Fluff)

Get up, get out spring is everywhere! (Ben Hardy x FemReader - Fluff)

Le bouquet (Ben Hardy x FemReader - Fluff)

Never too old to love you forever and beyond (Ben Hardy x FemReader - Fluff)

That's because I'm a good old-fashioned loverboy (Ben Hardy x Reader - Fluff)

Write your letters in the sand  (Ben Hardy x Reader - Fluff)

Paperback Reader (Ben Hardy x FemReader - Request - Fluff) 

J’ai deux amours (Ben Hardy x FemReader - Request - Fluff) 

Action this night (Ben Hardy x Joe Mazzello - Smut Collab)

All you do is live, all I do is die (May x Deacon - Angst - Breakyweek2k19)

A prisoner of love inside you (Deacon x May - Smut - BreakyWeek2k19)

Too much love could kill you  (Deacon x  Mercury - Angst  & Smut) (Deacury Week 2019)  Part 1 & Part 2  

Can it be Christmas ? ( Mercury & Deacon - Fluff - DeacuryWeek2019 )

Hear what I say (May x Taylor - Smut - MaylorWeek2019)

Let me hear the words of love (Mazzello x Hardy - Fluff&Angst - Hardzzello2019) Part 1 & Part 2

Doing alright  (Mazzello x Hardy - Smut - Hardzzello2019)

The laundry (Mazzello x Lee - Angst & Fluff - MazzleeWeek2020)

Dare me (Mazzello x Lee - Fluff - MazzleeWeek2020)

Take a little bit of my life (Mazzello x Lee - Angst - MazzleeWeek2020)

Let me take your hand, let me be your guide (JohnicaWeek2020 - fluff)

Mama said be careful of that girl (JohnicaWeek2020 - Angst)

Keep them on (Jimercury Week 2020 - Mercury x Hutton - Smut)

Lover Boy (Jimercury Week 2020 - Mercury x Hutton - Fluff)

Johnica Week 2021 Masterlist (Fics for Johnicaweek2021 - mostly fluff)

Waiting for something to fall from the skies….  (Jimercury Week 2021 - Mercury x Hutton - Fluff)

Remember, love walks through walls  (Jimercury Week 2021 - Mercury x Hutton - Fluff)

Made in Heaven (Jimercury Week 2021 - Mercury x Hutton - Fluff)

My sweeter half instead (Freddie Mercury week end 2021 - Mercury x Hutton - Fluff)

Challenging the doors of time (50years of queen - Featuring Queen band & Miami - 1920′s prompt)

When love must die (Breaky Week 2021 - John & Brian - Angst/Fluff)

The daffodils look lovely today (Freddie Mercury Weekend 2022 - Mercury x Hutton - Fluff) 

When the heart cries (Deacon x Mazzello - fluff & Angst)

Step by step (Deacon & Mazzello - Platonic fluff)

Once upon a time  (Deacon & Mazzello - Platonic fluff)

Let the music be you (Deacon & Mazzello - Platonic fluff)

No gift, Deal?!  (Deacon x Mazzello - fluff)

Something to remember me by (Deacon & Mazzello - Platonic fluff)

Dear Diary (Deacon x Mazzello - Angst?)

John’s little Ghost (John Deacon & his family - Halloween Fluff) (2019)

Don’t lose your head (John Deacon x reader - Fluff and Angst)  (2019)

Happy Halloween Mister Mazzello (Joe Mazzello x Reader - Smut) (2019)

Cara mia, mio caro (Ben Hardy x Reader - Halloween Fluff) (2020)

The night comes down (Roger Taylor and Brian May - Halloween thrill) (2020)

You put a spell on me (John Deacon & his family - Halloween Fluff) (2020)

Somebody’s watching me (Joe Mazzello x Reader - Angst and Fluff) (2020)

In the quiet of the night (Ben Hardy x Reader - Fluff) (2021)

The Crowded Masquerade (Joe Mazzello x Reader - kinda fluff ?) (2021)

Your presence is wanted at this ghostly ball (John Deacon feat Miss T. - fluff-angst) (2022)

The little things (Feat John - Fluff - 2023)

Somebody’s watching me (Halloween Special - Joe Mazzello & Swan - Thrill)

Santa and Paws (Ben Hardy x FemReader - Fluff) (2019)

Christmas surprise (Roger Taylor x FemReader - Fluff) (2019)

The Christmas Party (Ben Hardy x FemReader - Fluff) (2019)

Christmas Presents (Ben Hardy x FemReader - Fluff) (2019)

Believe in Christmas (Joe Mazzello x FemReader (&Laura) - Fluff) (2019)

Christmas Presents 2019 From Warriorteam1924 as Foxy Santa

December challenge : 24 fictions featuring Queen and Borhaps cast (2020)

I suck your mind, you blow my head with @painandpleasure86​​

A prisoner of love inside you with @painandpleasure86​​  

Happy Halloween Mister Mazzello with @painandpleasure86​​

Lazing in a Sunday morning & News of our world  sequels by @painandpleasure86​​

Action this night with @thosequeenboys​ 

Challenging the doors of time (50years of queen - Featuring Queen band & Miami - 1920′s prompt) -- collab with Rachel and her amazing drawing (X)

​​Five more minutes (a little personal one shot)

[crazy-little-cool-cat]

Hand in Glove - Chapter 26 | Ben Hardy x OFC

A/N: I am having a very, very hard time wrapping my head around the fact that there are only four (4) more chapters left for the story. It literally gives me anxiety. 

Warnings: Smut ahead with a sprinkle of melodrama. 

Word Count: ~2.9K. Not that bad, if I dare say so myself!

Chapter 1, Chapter 2,  Chapter 3,  Chapter 4,  Chapter 5,  Chapter 6,  Chapter 7,  Chapter 8,  Chapter 9,  Chapter 10,  Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14 , Chapter 15 , Chapter 16 , Chapter 17 , Chapter 18 , Chapter 19 , Chapter 20 , Chapter 21 , Chapter 22 , Chapter 23 , Chapter 24, Chapter 25

Ben opened the front door as quietly as he could, hoping to surprise Annie. The hall light was on for Frankie, but the rest of the house was pitch black. His shoulders slumped as he dropped his bag to the floor. 

The noise woke Frankie up from her slumber, and she came bolting out the living room, barking bloody murder. Her barks quickly turned into happy whines and yelps when she saw Ben standing at the hall. She rolled over on her back, her whole body swinging from side to side as she wagged her tail while he kicked off his shoes. 

“Oh, my baby!” Ben scratched her belly and dropped to sit on the floor next to her. “Daddy missed you!” 

He heard Annie and Rory approach the door and turned to face it. He could hear Annie’s muffled voice coming up the walkway and up the stairs, a jingle of keys. Rory banging on the door. The scream that came out of Rory as soon as she saw her dad sitting on the floor was deafening. She writhed and wriggled, forcing Annie to put her on the floor. 

Rory crawled at lightning speed towards Ben. He spread his arms and legs open, inviting her in for a cuddle. When she reached him, she braced her hands on his torso and pulled herself up to stand. 

“Clever girl!!!” Ben’s smile could have lit up the entire neighbourhood. “What a clever girl you are!” He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Come on, up we go!” he said, standing up carefully. 

Annie stood in the doorway still, looking rather sheepish. Ben walked over to her and gave her a lingering kiss, while Rory smacked his cheeks impatiently. 

“When did you get home?” Annie asked as they broke the kiss off. “Could’ve picked you up!” 

“I just got home a couple of minutes before you did, actually.” He bounced Rory on his hip. “Are you ready to take a bath and go to Auntie Clara’s?” Ben asked. 

“Ben, she just got home!” Annie laughed and took off her shoes. “Leave her be.” 

“I just missed your mum so bad!” Ben explained to Rory, moving his face out of her reach as she made grabby hands at his nose. “No, baby. That’s attached and you know it.” 

###

“Another one?” Ben asked, referring to the show they were binge-watching on Netflix together. “Hey, hey. Stay with me here.” 

Annie rubbed her cheek against Ben’s white t-shirt, listening to his heart beat. She moved her face to look at him, resting her chin on the back of her hands, right in the middle of his chest. She was so tired, and he felt so cozy, wrapped around her and keeping her warm and safe. It was just the two of them - Clara offered to take Frankie in for the night, as well. 

“C’mere…” Ben grunted and pulled Annie up on his body so they could look at each other properly. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for the chicken pox crisis.”

“I’m sorry I called you a tosser.” Annie whispered back. She smiled when Ben took a lock of her hair and twirled it around his finger. Just like Rory did when she was tired or moody. “I’m just tired. Worn out. Alone.” 

“You’re never alone.” Ben’s eyes locked on Annie’s. “Ever. You have me.” 

“Not when you’re not here.” 

“Annie, if I could quit working and never leave your side…” 

“I’m not asking you to do that.” Annie bent her knees to get more comfortable. “I’m asking you to maybe take jobs that are closer to home?” 

“I’ll try to stay closer next time.” Ben took Annie’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “Or… you could come with me. Bring Rory and Frankie…” 

“Now you’re just nonsensical.” Annie rolled her eyes and entwined her fingers with his. “I still have Greensleeves.”

“When it ends, then.” 

“Ben, really.”

“Just… just let me fantasise.” Ben bit his bottom lip.

“Is reality so horrible, Jones?” Annie sat up and felt a familiar bump under her. “When you said fantasise -”

“Not what I meant, but you’re not wearing any pants and I haven’t seen you in weeks.” His hands caressed their way over to her hips. “Can I ask you something?” 

“Sure.”

“Do you love me?” Ben asked.

“What?”

“Answer the question.” 

“Of course I love you. Are you having a stroke?” 

“Do you love me?” 

“What, you mean am I in love with you?” Annie raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” 

“Are you seriously asking this?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Ben, what’s this -”

“Just answer the question. Are you in love with me?” 

“Yes.” Annie breathed out. “Yes. Of course.” 

“That’s all I wanted to hear.” Ben smiled, the tip of his tongue poking through his teeth. “Was afraid you might not be anymore. For leaving you.” 

“Fiercely and forever, Jones.” Annie leaned forward to kiss him. “You’re stuck with me.”

“Fiercely and forever.” 

###

“Ben, harder.” 

“I’ll - ah, shit - I’ll break your pelvis if I go any harder!” 

Skin slapping skin. Ben and Annie were drenched in sweat, their muscles were shaking, their bodies exerted. Ben shifted the angle a bit and started thrusting again. Annie turned to jello. Her body collapsed forward, her back arching like it never did before. Ben licked his lips and grabbed onto her hips, picking up pace. 

“Yeah?” He asked, “like that?”

“Hm.” 

“Yeah. That’s a good girl.” He slapped Annie’s bum. “Such a good fucking girl.” 

“Ben, I -” Annie was panting, swivelling her hips and bucking back against Ben. She tried to brace herself up on her elbows. 

“No, no, no.” He lunged forward, his chest pressed against her back. “You stay down. That’s a good girl. Right there. Go lower. That’s it.”

He was just about to lean up when Annie let out a muffled ‘no’. She needed him to crush her. She needed to feel him. Snaking an arm under her, he rolled them over on their sides, realigned their hips, and rolled them back the way they were. 

“Spread your legs for me - hm!” Ben could feel the tingling sensations at the tips of his fingers and toes, indicating he was getting close. “Listen to me. Are you listening?” 

“Uh-huh.” 

“I want you to cum on my cock.” 

That’s all the encouragement Annie needed. Clenching around him, she let herself go, moaning. 

“Fuck yeah.” Ben reached around. He rubbed her clit, making her legs shake under him. “Did you just cum? Did you just fucking cum on my cock?” 

“Mhm.” 

“Fuck. Are you ready?” Ben’s voice was like a low growl in her ears. “Answer me.” 

“Yes. Yes.” Annie nodded as best as she could, feeling another wave about to wash over her. “Don’t stop. Don’t fucking stop.” 

“Fuck, fuck, fuckfuckfuckfuck.” Ben’s low moans were like music to Annie’s ears, and then his body relaxed on top of hers, crushing her into the mattress. “I am so fucking in love with you. Fuck. What fucking time is it?”

“How would I know?” Annie mumbled. 

“Christ.” Ben leaned up and looked at the clock on the nightstand next to Annie’s side of the bed. 11PM. “You hungry?” 

“Crusty.” Annie said and started laughing. “So crusty.” 

“Let’s go get cleaned up, then.”

###

“No more talkin’…” Annie mumbled, her lids heavy. “Need sleep.” 

“Fuck that.” Ben kissed the top of her head. “I missed you too much to let you sleep.” 

“Ben, please.” 

“Tell me about your plans for the next week.” 

“No!” Annie whined. 

“Please?” 

“Fine. Work Monday. Then OB-GYN check up Tuesday. Work the rest of the week.” Annie recited her weekly agenda monotonously. “Happy?” 

“OB-GYN? Something the matter?” Ben’s nerves immediately kicked in. 

“No, whacko.” Annie snuggled up to him. “Just a regular check up to see everything’s in place.” 

“Huh.” 

“Yeah.” 

“What if we don’t want it to be in place anymore?” 

“What?” 

“Just take the damn thing out.” 

“And then what? Go back to using condoms?” 

“No.” 

“That’s how babies happen…” Annie murmured and drifted off to sleep.

###

Annie woke up with a jolt. Ben wasn’t in bed with her. It was still dark outside, and Frankie was nowhere in sight. She thought she heard Ben say something just as she drifted off to sleep, but she wasn’t sure if she heard right. Once her tired mind caught up with Ben’s words and processed them, she was already away in Dreamland. 

Until she wasn’t. 

Reaching over to Ben’s side, she felt the sheets. Still warm. He hasn’t been gone very long. Chalking it up to jet lag, Annie sighed and grabbed his pillow, hugging it as she curled up on her side. Not long after, Ben came back, smelling like cigarettes.

“Where’d you go?” She asked, startling him. 

“Jesus bloody Christ!” Ben turned around. “You’re awake?” 

“Just woke up a few minutes ago.” 

“Something wrong?” 

“Did you really tell me to ask Dr. McCarthy to take the IUD out?” Annie sat up. “Or was that just my brain being weird?” 

“I did.” 

“You did?”

“I did, yes.” 

“Have you gone mad?” Annie’s voice was oddly calm. “Ben, if she takes it out -”

“We’ll have a baby.” 

Annie blinked at her boyfriend as if he grew a tail out of his forehead. 

“Am I asleep right now?” Annie finally asked. 

“No.” Ben said as he rolled back into bed and curled up on his side, facing her. 

“Did you just imply that you want another baby?” 

“Don’t you?”

“Someday, maybe, I…” Annie rolled over onto her back. “Rory’s not even a year old yet.” 

“I’m aware of that.” 

“You’re not even around -”

“I’ll be back, y’know.” Ben chuckled. 

“Ben, I can hardly manage one by myself.”

“Just think about it.” He said, putting his hand on top of hers. “That’s all I’m asking.” 

“I…” Annie clasped her fingers around his. “Ben, this is -” 

“If you’re going to pull an Annie, at least tell me where you’re going.” 

“Jamie’s.” 

“Damn it. Fine.”

###

“Do you realise the time -” Jamie started bleating, but stopped when he saw the look on Annie’s face as she stood at his door. “What’s wrong?” 

“Are you alone?” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Jamie stepped aside, inviting Annie in. “Annie, what’s wrong?” 

“Ben wants another baby.” 

“I figured he would.” Jamie put his hands on his hips, his sweats hanging low on his hip bones, chest bare. “Why are you here?” 

“I… don’t know.” Annie confessed. “I just needed to -”

“Pull an Annie?” 

“He knows where I am, though.” She said, her face expressionless.

“Annie, you’re starting to scare me.” Jamie stepped closer to her. “Are you alright?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Why are you here?” 

“I don’t know…” 

“I’m this -” he held up his thumb and finger, millimetres apart from one another, “ -close to slapping you right now.”

“Jamie, I’m terrified.”

“Of what? Knowing what you want, finally?”

###

“You did not.” Clara’s blue eyes shot daggers at Ben. “You did not tell her that. No way.” 

“I did, and she had that face again.” Ben nodded and bounced Rory on his hip. “Like the one she made when she found out she was pregnant.” 

“Ben, did America turn you into an utter moron?” Clara sat down on her sofa, staring up at her best friend’s boyfriend and child. “What on earth possessed you to tell her you want another baby?!” 

“Well, wanting another baby.” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“It’s not that complicated, really.” Ben shrugged. “I love her. She loves me. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together -” 

“Says who?” Clara scoffed. “Just because you made this one -”

“Says me.” Ben moved Rory over to his other hip. “I know we’ll spend the rest of our lives together.” 

“Not offence, Jones,” Clara’s awestruck expression remained, “but I think you might have ruined your chances there.” 

“How would you know?” 

“Where’s Annie?” 

“At Jamie’s, what does that have to do with anything?” 

“Oh, Ben.” Clara slapped both hands over her mouth. “Start praying.”

“For what, exactly?” 

“For yourself. For your relationship.” Clara shook her head in disbelief. “What have you done?”

###

“Why are you so freaked out, again?” Jamie yawned. 

“Because this isn’t me.” Annie sighed. “I’m not the kid-loving, mum-type. I’m not wife material. I’m hardly -”

“Right, listen to me very carefully.” Jamie sat up, propping his elbows on his thighs to lean closer to Annie, “you are definitely wife material. You’re an amazing mum.” 

“That! Right there!” Annie almost whined. “That’s the part I’m freaked out about!” 

“Explain.” 

“When I found out I was pregnant with Rory,” Annie picked at a loose string on Jamie’s sofa, “I gave Ben a whole speech about not wanting to be the wife waiting at home and raising kids alone while he’s off and -”

“And you are.” 

“Exactly!” 

“You love him.” Jamie stated. 

“I -” Annie opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. “Yes. Yes, and it’s terrifying, Jamie.” 

“He clearly loves you.” 

“He does.” Annie nodded. 

“You’re just -” Jamie scoffed. “You’re such an idiot, Annie. You two were made for each other. What are you so scared of!?” 

“What if this doesn’t work out?” Annie’s voice was almost a whisper. “What if it’s not meant to work out? What if I say no and it’ll break his heart and -” 

“What if pigs could fly?” Jamie asked. “What if aliens exist? What if we’re all living in a simulator and there’s someone - something - controlling our every move?” 

“What?” Annie’s face contorted in confusion. “What are you talking about?” 

“Annie, you need to talk to Ben about this. Not me.” Jamie shrugged. “I can’t help you.”

###

Ben was just walking down the stairs after putting Rory down for a nap when Annie opened the front door. He froze, foot still in the air, and held his breath. They locked eyes and just stood there, frozen in time. Each waiting for the other to make the first move. Say the first word. 

Annie was the first one to snap back to reality. She closed the door behind her and placed the keys in the bowl by the door. Seeing her move seemed to defrost Ben. He stomped down the stairs and walked up to her. Almost in a daze, she walked towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him as tight as she could. 

“You alright?” Ben asked after kissing the top of her head. He felt her shake her head against his chest. “Okay.” 

They stood in the hall for nearly ten minutes, hugging quietly. Ben felt his shirt getting damp right where Annie’s face was, and tears started pricking his own eyes. He couldn’t stand it when she cried. It was even worse knowing he was the reason she’s crying. Clara’s words repeated in his head like a mantra. Start praying. For yourself. For your relationship. 

“What have I done?” he thought out loud and felt Annie’s body shake as a muffled sob tore through her. “Annie, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. What have I done?” 

Annie couldn’t speak. She didn’t trust her voice to work right. She could barely breathe. 

“Please say something.” Ben sniffled. “Please. At least look at me.” 

Annie’s tear-stained face looked up at him, her bottom lip quivering even more at the sight of Ben’s face.

“It’s over, isn’t it?” Ben whispered.

“Kill Jamie.” Annie’s voice was almost a croak. “Fuck Joe,” she continued, making Ben frown with confusion. “Marry Ben.”

“What?” Ben wiped her tears away with his thumbs. 

“Fuck-Marry-Kill.” Annie licked her salty lips. “Kill Jamie, fuck Joe, marry Ben.”

“Annie, you’re not making any sense.” Ben searched Annie’s face for an explanation, a clarification. A sign that she hasn’t lost her marbles. “Kill Jamie, fuck Joe, marry me?” 

“I’m not ready for another baby.” A fresh wave of tears came streaming down her face. “Not now…” 

“That’s alright.” Ben’s thumbs were like windshield wipers. Wiping away Annie’s tears, unrelenting. “That’s alright.” 

“I…” Annie started and stopped, trying to find the right words. “I’m scared.” 

“Of what?” 

“You.” Annie’s voice broke again and she cleared her throat. “I just can’t -” 

“No. No, no.” Ben’s knees buckled and he dropped to the floor, grasping Annie’s hands in his. “This isn’t happening.” 

“I love you and -” Annie bit her bottom lip and looked up at the ceiling, “ -and I’m terrified. I never wanted to…” 

“Annie, I’m begging you.” Ben tugged on her hands. “You have nothing to be scared of. I won’t hurt you. I’ll quit acting and stay home and do whatever you want.” His eyes seemed to stare into her soul. “Annie. Please.” 

“Ben, I -” he looked down at the floor, feeling defeated. “ -Look at me. I need you to promise.” 

“Anything.” 

“Are we really fiercely and forever?” Annie asked. Ben nodded furiously. “Do you understand what I’m saying or are you forcing the words out of me even though you know how much I -”

Ben’s brows knotted as he processed what Annie said. 

“Kill Jamie,” he parroted, “fuck Joe, marry me?” 

“That’s what I said and you told me I make no -”

“Kill Jamie, fuck Joe,” Ben looked up at Annie, still kneeling on the floor, and a smile started to tug at the corners of his mouth. “Marry me.”

Annie nodded, tightening her grip on his hands. 

“You’re not ending this.” Ben stated. 

Annie shook her head. 

“You’re not ending this…” Ben repeated. “You’re not ending this!” 

Annie shook her head faster, a smile creeping up on her lips. 

“One last time, to see if I got it right.” Ben bothered his bottom lip with his teeth as he inhaled deeply. “Kill Jamie. Fuck Joe.” Ben grinned as realisation dawned him. “Marry me?” 

“Yeah.” Annie nodded and yelped when Ben pulled her down to the floor to sit in his lap. “Fiercely and forever, Jones.”

###

TAGLIST:  @ramibaby @xgoingdownx @qweenly @violetpond @sweeterthancheese @drummerqueenrmt @westansstuff @justgivemethekeys  @blondecarfucker @cheeseedreams47 @deacy-dearest @pinkmarvel @onceuponadetectivedemigod

[lovehelpmewrite]

Passed The Test | All You Have To Do Is Fall In Love AU

Other Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Author: Ella - @lovehelpmewrite  Pairing: Gwilym Lee / OFC Rating: T Word Count: 3.5k POV: Ella Warnings: series warnings Summary: Someone from Ella’s class has got an eye on her, as well as an interesting connection to her new friends.

Masterlist found here! Series Summary: Best friends and college roommates Ben, Joe, and Gwil, find themselves tangled up with a group of girls who bring out the best (and worst) in them. Series Warnings: drinking, swearing Authors’ Note: Stories can stand alone, but it’s much better when read all together! Not everything is always in the same tense, or same point of view/perspective.

I was practically falling asleep as my philosophy professor droned on. I set my chin on my hand and leaned over my keyboard, staring at another half-finished story of mine. 

As I looked back down at the front I caught another glimpse of him. Gwilym Lee, as I had found out after finding Ben on facebook for Sarah. Sitting two rows in front of me, right where I could see him.

Or, well, the back of his head.

I slowly pulled my phone up onto the table as the professor turned toward his power point again and turned the brightness down before texting Sarah and Michaela.

Ella: He’s here

Mic: Of course he is. Did you think he'd skip??

I frowned and glanced back up at him. He was typing away on his computer, taking notes like the no doubt great student he was.

Ella: Philosophy is bullshit

Sarah: No shit

I stifled a laugh into my palm and let myself look down at Gwilym again. 

I debated crumpling up a piece of paper and throwing it at him to get his attention. Admittedly, not my best idea.

I spent the rest of the class trying to think of ways to talk to him without seeming weird or desperate. 

When the professor called for the end of class, I watched dejectedly as he hurried to put his things in his bag and rushed down his aisle. Next time, I hoped.

I sighed, slowly shutting my own laptop and shoving it into my bag before grabbing my coat. It wasn't until I went to turn and bumped into him that I noticed Gwilym standing directly behind me.

“Oh! Sorry- sorry I didn't see you-” I apologized quickly, trying to calm my racing heart.

“No no! It’s my fault! I should have said something,” he apologized back. A British accent? I could swoon on the spot.

We both paused for a second and laughed and I watched as his hand came up to rub at the back of his neck nervously. God, he’s hot.

After a pause, he offered his hand to me, “I’m Gwilym.”

“Nice to meet you, Gwilym. I’m Ella,” I greeted back, trying to smother the giant smile on my face. We shook hands for a few seconds longer than what would probably be considered friendly but I couldn’t bring myself to pull my hand out of his. He has such nice hands, Jesus.

Gwilym cocked his head to the side. “What? No comment on my unusual name?”

I grinned back, raising my eyebrows at him. “What? No Rihanna mention about my name?”

He looked at me questioningly. 

I rolled my eyes before semi-singing the song I’d long gotten used to people associating with my name, “stand under my umbrella, -Ella -Ella, eh eh eh, under my umbrella, -Ella -Ella.”

I watched the smile on his face grow as he recognized the lyrics easily, my heart beating slightly faster and my face warm in embarrassment. 

“Ah, well I suppose I should have made the connection–can I walk you to your next class?” he asked, stepping back to let me pass him and exit the aisle.

“Sure! And honestly, it's refreshing that you didn’t, I hear it so often it might as well be my theme song.”

I relished in the chuckle he gave, warm and deep and settling over me like a warm blanket. 

“Well then, you’re most welcome, m’lady,” he bowed, waiting for me to exit the room before him before catching up quickly. I laughed. Cute and funny, I am so fucked.

“So, what did you think of the lecture today? I personally am really enjoying the whole paradox side of things but that’s me.”

I sighed and squinted ahead of me down the hall.

“I really just… hate philosophy,” I said honestly, turning to watch his reaction. 

“I suppose it’s not for everyone,” he laughed easily in return, eyes meeting mine. “I could try and tutor you if you want? Meet at this nice cafe just off campus-” he paused suddenly, cheeks tingeing the slightest bit pink. “Of course not like a date! I mean- not that I don’t- eh- well I mean I was originally just-”

“Gwilym?”

“Yeah?” he answered, scrunching up his face as if he was waiting for the rejection.

“Go on a date with me,” I stated before I could stop myself.

“Wh- what?” he stuttered, stopping in his steps to gawk at me like I had three heads.

“Yeah. Go on a date with me. Lunch date. At that cafe you mentioned. Pick me up at… noon on Friday. Does that work?” I asked, slowing down and turning but still walking down the hall while Gwilym stood there with wide eyes.

“Yeah… yeah! Friday is perfect!” he agreed easily.

“Great! I’m over in Chatham, 116. Can’t wait!” I called, watching with a wide grin as he just nodded seriously at the information. I turned back forward and tried to remember to breathe as I pulled out my phone and texted M and Sarah.

“Guess who’s got a date on Friday with (1) Gwilym Lee :)))”

--- --- ---

I stared in the mirror conflicted, Michaela laid on my bed on her phone as I tried on at least a dozen different outfits. After settling on some of my nicer jeans and a cute sweater I was debating shoes.

“M, boots or flats for this?”

She looked over the outfit and cocked her head to the side. “I think the boots look better.”

“Really?” I questioned unsurely. “SARAH!” I yelled in the direction of my open doorway.

There was a loud thump, some muffled laughing, and then a second later Sarah came out of her room in one of Ben’s shirts and his boxers. “You called?”

“Boots or flats?” I asked again, turning to face her. 

She bit her lip and looked me over for a few seconds, in which time Ben emerged from her room in a pair of sweatpants to wrap his arms around her waist from behind.

“Boots,” Ben answered easily. Sarah turned her head to look at him with a dopey smile. “They make you look taller.”

“Boots,” Sarah agreed, not turning her head from looking at Ben until he turned his to look at her and their noses brushed against each other sweetly. 

I tried not to imagine doing that later with Gwilym. Too soon for all that. I turned back to the mirror and nodded, yanking off my single flat and pulling on another sock and my left boot. 

“So who’s the lucky date?” Ben asked, words half muffled by Sarah’s lips against his.

I shook my head at their lack of self-control before standing back up and looking over my outfit in the mirror again. “His name is Gwilym, he’s in my philosophy class,” I stated coyly, watching Ben’s eyes shoot up.

“Lee?”

“Yeah, you know him? Really tall guy, looks too sophisticated for frat parties,” I joked.

“Are you just setting everyone up then?!” Ben questioned Sarah in response. 

“What?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowing as Sarah glanced between me and Ben nervously.

“What?! No! I- What are you even talking about, Ben?”

Ben rolled his eyes playfully. “You know he’s my flatmate, and you already set up Michaela and Joe. Now Ella and Gwil?”

“I thought Joe was your roommate?”

“I have two, how do you think we afford a three bedroom?”

“What? I’m… so lost.”

“Come on, I know I’ve told you this before. Now you’re setting up all my flatmates, I know it,” Ben insisted with a small smile.

Sarah turned to me with wide eyes. “No! I’m- Ella tell him! I had nothing to do with it this time I swear!”

Ben looked at me, awaiting my answer. 

I just shrugged. “She wasn’t involved as far as I know.”

Ben blew out a breath and pressed a kiss to Sarah’s cheek before moving to leave my room. “Alright, whatever you say, love. I should probably be getting back anyway, he’s probably out of his mind trying to get ready himself.” He shook his head with a grin and walked down the hall, pulling Sarah’s door shut behind him. We all looked at each other with wide eyes before Ben popped his head back out of Sarah’s room with a sheepish grin.

“Love, you still have my boxers.”

--- --- ---

I took several deep breaths as I heard the knock at our dorm room’s door. Sarah and Michaela stood off to the side and made excited hand motions for me to open it. I turned the knob and was greeted by Gwilym in a nice button down with a sweater over it looking the epitome of adorable, and a single small daisy.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

For a few seconds, we just grinned at each other, smiles getting increasingly wider before I shook myself out of the trance his blue eyes put me in.

“Oh! Come in, please. I just have to grab my wallet and then I’ll be all set. I’ll just-” I reached out and accepted the yellow flower from him, feeling the warmth of his presence settle over my heart once more. I pressed my lips together to keep my smile from getting too wide. “Thank you. I’ll grab a glass for this.”

Michaela’s eyebrows raised up as she watched me pass her toward my room and I shot her a warning glance.

“So Gwilym,” She started, looking to Sarah who shared her questioning smile.

“What are you majoring in?” Sarah started.

“I’m majoring in fine arts with a minor in English literature,” he answered easily, moving his hands to rest in his pants pockets.

I paused in my room to listen to the three of them talking without me.

“Fine arts… are you in theater with Ben?” Sarah asked curiously.

“Yeah! That’s how we met actually. We bonded over that and well, ehm, missing home.”

My heart ached a little at the confession.

“Yeah, he keeps talking about going back for the summer,” Sarah spoke.

“Where in the UK are you from, Gwilym?” Michaela asked.

“Oh! Well, I was born in Bristol and grew up in a small town in Birmingham. It’s quite lovely in the summer actually.”

I set the daisy on my desk and promised myself to put it in water later before finally walking back out.

“Ready?” Gwilym asked with an easy smile once he saw me put my wallet in my back pocket.

“For you? Always,” I smiled back playfully.

He offered his elbow out to me and I tried not to swoon too hard as I rested my hand over the crook of his arm. A true gentleman, what are the odds.

“I’ll be back in a bit, don’t burn down the dorm okay?” I joked, watching Michaela and Sarah nod in faux seriousness, making all sorts of gestures once Gwilym had turned to open the door and lead me out.

Once we were finally in the hallway and away from their prying ears, he seemed to relax a bit more.

“I hope I passed their test.”

I looked up at him in confusion, trying not to linger too close to his inviting warmth while we walked down the hall and out the front doors. “What test?”

“Ben said they’d test me- or well, that Sarah would.”

I laughed as the realization dawned on me. “Don’t trust either of them, they’re troublemakers,” I advised, relaxing even further in his presence and leaning into his side.

“Oh don’t I know it.”

The rest of the walk was relatively quite and awkward, very first date-esque. Though it was less uncomfortable with being out and more both of us just flustered by the other until we arrived. The cafe was small and cozy, feeling much more like a home more than a business, with plush recliners set into a sort of circle in the back corner. I followed closely behind Gwilym, smiling at an older couple that passed us as they exited. We stepped up to the counter and he ordered first before turning to me.

“Okay, and for you, love?”

I tried not to blush at the pet name as I answered, “oh, you don’t have to get me anything,” I said politely, shaking my head at his offer.

“Oh, but I do. This is a date isn’t it?” He asked, smile getting increasingly wider. 

“Well, yeah but-”

“What kind of date would I be if I didn’t at least get you a drink?”

My heart warmed at the statement and his teasing gaze before I ordered, still holding eye contact with him.

“I’ll have hot cocoa, please,” I stated, finally turning my eyes to the woman behind the counter, “extra marshmallows if you can.”

Gwilym let out a small laugh before pulling out his wallet and paying. We walked over and sat at one of the tables near the back and for a minute the normal awkwardness of a first date started seeping back in.

“So…” Gwilym started, eyes on the table as he rearranged the little packets of sugar provided. “Hot cocoa?”

I laughed a little. “I just don’t like coffee all that much. Just… never got into it.”

He just hummed in understanding, slowly nodding as we fell into a comfortable silence until our drinks were brought to us. “Ben’s the one who got me to start drinking it. I hated it at first, thought it was gross. But it's grown on me the longer I’ve been here,” he explained, slowly blowing across the top of the steaming cup.

I couldn’t help the dopey smile that came over my face while I pulled my mug closer to my chest for the warmth. Gwilym seemed to notice and creased his eyebrows. 

“Are you cold?”

“Just a little, but it's fine. I’m always cold anyway,” I said dismissively, taking a deep sip of my cocoa and smiling, “This helps too.”

He seemed to pause for a second before offering his hand out on the table, palm up. I tried to calm the rushing in my veins as I switched my cup to my other hand and gently rested my hand over his. He took in a sharp breath, “Christ, you are cold.” 

We both laughed for a second and I tried not to drop my cup when his hand closed over mine gently, holding tightly to my chilled fingers. For a second we just stared at each other, waiting to see if the other would say anything. When neither of us did he flicked his eyes down and back up to mine before taking a long drink of his coffee.

“So, what other classes are you taking besides the dreaded philosophy course?”

--- --- ---

I laughed while Gwilym recounted the story of the first time he and Ben had gotten drunk, walking slowly down the street and swinging our joined hands in between us. 

“-and then he decided it would be a great idea to take my mother’s antique china tea kettle and-”

“No!” I laughed in disbelief.

“Yes!” he confirmed with another gasping laugh, “yes, he thought it would be a good idea to pour the rum into the kettle and- and drink it out of the spout!”

I tried not to trip over myself as I laughed, reaching over to grip Gwilym’s arm so I wouldn’t fall over.

“I can’t believe that! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him anywhere near drunk! And he just- man, that’s hilarious!”

Gwilym continued to chuckle, eyes watching me continue to crack up over the story. My heart clenched again as we reached the walk up for my dorm and we stopped, turning to face each other. 

“So…” I said softly, looking down and staring at where our hands were joined, watching Gwilym brush his thumb over the back of my hand gently.

“So…” 

I sighed and dropped my head forward in defeat, “I should probably get inside, we’ve got philosophy on Monday and there’s supposed to be some quiz that I am vastly unprepared for so… yeah.”

“Well, you had fun at least, I hope?” he asked, only glancing up at me through his long eyelashes nervously before turning his eyes back down to our hands.

I grinned at him widely, “probably the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

“Good, I’m glad I didn’t bore you then,” he paused, licking his lips and drawing my eyes to them momentarily before he continued. “Would, uh… would it be alright if I walked you to philosophy on Monday? It's on my way anyways because I stop by the cafe every morning for coffee,” he asked sheepishly. 

My heart leapt in my chest and I couldn’t contain the enormous smile that overcame my face at the thought of seeing him again. “Yeah! Yeah, that’d be great!”

We both laughed a little awkwardly and paused before looking back at each other again. Just when I thought I was going to have to be the one to say goodnight first he spoke up suddenly.

“Are you free on Friday night?”

I bit my lip to hide my wide smile, “I might be. What did you have in mind?”

“I, ehm… well, I’m in this… production. It’s nothing special, very small and, eh, not the best but I was wondering if maybe you’d come watch me in it and perhaps I could... take you out for dinner after?” he proposed hopefully.

“That sounds amazing, I can’t wait to see you in it!” I said honestly. “Why don’t you, uh-” I paused to pull my phone out of my pocket and pull up a new contact. “Why don’t you just put in your number and I’ll text you for the details.”

I watched with a smile while he typed, concentrated on the task before handing it back to me. I laughed a little when I saw he had just put his name as ‘Gwil’, making him look at me in question.

“What?”

“Nothing, I just... never thought of you with a nickname I guess,” I smiled. “You’re a very proper kind of guy, very professional.”

“Ah, see but you’ve never seen me drunk,” he pointed out.

“We’ll have to do that sometime too,” I laughed, “you’ll get to see how clumsy I really am.”

Another moment of silence passed and the now lowering sun was beginning to hit the treetops and spread shadows across the ground. 

I sighed deeply, not wanting to leave yet.

“I’ll let you get inside love, don’t want your roommates to get too worried I’ve stolen you off,” Gwil smiled sweetly.

“I guess you’re right...”

“Goodnight Ella, I’ll drop by Monday morning then,” he promised, bringing my left hand up to his lips briefly to press a sweet kiss against my knuckles. 

My heart fluttered in my chest.

“Goodnight Gwilym, I’ll see you then.”

I tried not to watch him leave too hard but as I slowly made the walk up to my dorm I couldn’t help but stare. God, he has such a nice ass.

I practically floated down the hall to the section I shared with Michaela and Sarah, not even registering putting my key in the lock or opening the door, too immersed in the fresh memories of my first date with Gwilym. When I finally came back to reality I was leaning up against the closed door staring off at the ceiling like an actress in some cheesy romcom.

“She’s back,” Michaela sang from her doorway, making Sarah dart around the corner to look at me as well.

“Well, look at you, you’re all… glowy and shit,” Sarah remarked, both her and Mic coming closer to look me over. 

I stood up straight and crossed my arms defensively, “I- I am not glowy.”

“Did you guys fuck?”

“Sarah!”

“What? It’s a serious question, I mean look at her!”

I blushed and laughed thinking of someone like Gwil fucking on the first date.

“No, we didn’t fuck, we just… we went out for coffee and-”

“You hate coffee,” Michaela interjected.

“I got hot cocoa instead,” I corrected, “and he told me that he used to hate coffee too until he and Ben came to America and Ben got obsessed with it.” I paused, thinking over the night again and grinning at all the dumb topics we talked about. “He touched my hand too, he was worried I was cold and I told him I always am so it's fine but he insisted on holding my hand the rest of the night to keep me warm,” I said wistfully, holding my left hand in my right and trying to remember the warmth.

“That is so fucking cute,” Sarah stated bluntly.

“He’s picking me up for class on Monday.”

“He is?!” Sarah and M asked in unison. 

I nodded. “And we have another date on Friday.”

“Look at you go, fucking get that dick,” Sarah praised, making me and M laugh.

“Hopefully at one point, but maybe I’ll just look forward to the second date first,” I grinned.

“That’s adorable,” M whispered under her breath while I passed them to get to my room. 

Finally, I closed the door and took off my boots, changing into some pajamas and then jumping and landing on my bed comfortably. For a while I just laid there, replaying the date over and over in my head. Just as I went to turn and pull my lamp cord something on my desk caught my eye and brought the smile back to my face.

My single yellow daisy.

--- --- ---

alright guys!! this is part 7 so its time to get into this mf series !!!!! we post about every week or so and this shit is getting good! if you wanna be tagged shoot any of us an ask or message and we’ll add you to the list! thanks for reading loves!!

Tags: @a-night-at-the-0pera @crazylittlethingcalledobsession @lelifesaver @redspecialty @rrrogahtaylahhhh @bensrhapsody (you said i could tag you in queen stuff so im taking advantage lol)

[milkchu]

joe mazzello as a dad ♡ headcanons.

pairing: joe mazzello x fem!reader

warnings: just some swearing, kinda long???

a/n: i actually made being married to joe headcanons before this so go ahead if y’all wanna read!! 💓

so it’s no secret that this man would be 1000000% dad material

we’ve all seen pics of him with kids and it’s fuckin adorable

so imagine his face when you told him you were pregnant

he would be s o b b i n g

though it took some attempts

you had so many cute ideas and plans on how to break the news to him

like putting a bun in the oven or doing the whisper challenge thingy

but he just wouldn’t get it for some reason

so after like 938382728537 attempts

you decide to straight up say it to his face

“joe i’m pregnant”

his reaction brings joy to your heart nonetheless

he just pulls you in for a tight hug and buries his face in your shoulder

“i’m gonna be a dad?” his voice bREAKS bc he’s crying aw :(

and you just kiss his head and stroke his hair

“yes joe”

you also couldn’t help but tear up bc you know he loves kids so much and he’s been wanting to have his own and he can finally have a family with you 💗 uwu

ofc joe was with you through every step of the way

he would cook you breakfast and bring you literally any craving you had without question

“what do you wanna eat for lunch, babe?”

“pizza ,,, with mac ‘n cheese on top ,,, smothered in ranch ,,, and a milkshake with peanut butter in it ,,, lots of it.”

“ok gotchu babe”

he would also talk and cuddle your bump as much as he could

late at night he would make sure you were asleep (sometimes you weren’t so you pretended to be asleep)

and just talk to your bump

“hi there, mommy and i can’t wait to see you”

“i don’t care if you’re a boy or a girl or both or neither”

“i’m still gonna love you with all my heart and soul and protect you at all costs”

then he softly kisses your bump and goes back to sleep

you tried so hard to contain yourself bc you just wanted to squeal and drown him in a billion kisses

omg imagine when both of you went to award shows or premieres

showing off your baby bump like an icon™️

joe would be so silly when taking pictures on the red carpet

like he would just point at your belly and be like “i did that *wink wink*”

nonetheless both of you just looked so amazing like the ultimate power couple you are

when the due date finally comes OH BOY

all hell breaks loose in the house

“jO E m Y WATER JUST B RO KE“

and he would panic a bit but he would be prepared

like he had an emergency bag with your clothes and some essentials in it

he would guide you to the car

“yeah that’s right baby, you’re doing fine”

“fine? FINE??? i am totally NOT FINE JOSEPH”

then you finally arrive in the hospital

before you could even get down from the car, joe just picks you up and carries you to the emergency room

he holds your hand the entire time

after you finally give birth he just gives you tons of kisses

“you did so well, baby”

the nurses hand the baby over to him and he’s just looking at it with glossy eyes

then he shows your child to you

“he/she’s so beautiful”

“just like his/her mom”

he would def post a picture of the three of you on his instagram right after

proud parents™️ :’)

if you had a son, you would definitely name him after joe

like when you’re calling for one of them, “hey, joe?”

and they both turn their heads and say in unison, “yes?” lmaooo

“that’s it i’m calling you joey”

“oh god moOoOoOoM”

so the first few months of taking care of your baby was tough ofc but you both got the hang of it as time passed by

thank god you both took parenting classes

both of you would have this silly competition on who could put the diaper on the baby faster

or who could cheer your baby up first when he/she starts crying

but you still had your sweet fluffy moments

one time you woke up in the middle of the night and joe wasn’t beside you

so you went to your kid’s room and saw him on a chair, holding your baby :’)

the baby woke up crying so joe went and checked up on it

he was talking to it so you just hid behind the door and watched

“hey tiny person”

“it’s okay, it’s okay, shhh”

“daddy’s got you” :’)

then the baby would start smiling up at him, gurgling

and you swore you heard “dada” come out the baby’s mouth and it wAS U G H just brought tears to your eyes

you literally had your hand against your heart bc it was such a beautiful sight uwu

so you couldn’t help but approach the two, putting your hands on his shoulders

“oh sorry, did we wake you up, babe?”

“no, the bed just felt cold without you”

he chuckles, “be there soon, have to take care of this little one first”

you both just spent a few minutes together before you suggested to bring your baby to your bedroom

so you all slept together with your baby in the middle :’)

you also had a lot of picnics together !!!

your kid was about three years old and you would watch him/her play around in the grass (bonus if you have a dog!!!)

while you had your back against joe’s chest, his arms wrapped around you

“he/she grows way too fast” he grumbles and pouts against your shoulder

you turn your head to peck his lips, “that means we did well, right?”

he continues to have this cute pout on his face, “but he/she’s gonna grow even more then he/she’s gonna be an angsty teen, rebel against us, go to college, have a job, get married—“

you just cut him off with a kiss, you giggled, “and i’m gonna be by your side the whole time”

“enjoy the moment while he/she’s still small” 💗

then your child comes running up to the both of you, flailing around with cute lil chubby arms and legs uwu

“mommy! daddy! let’s pway!”

and you just spent the whole day playing around in the grass with your beautiful family :’)

when you have get togethers with the borhap cast

lucy would definitely be all over your kid, “sorry, guys. he/she’ll be staying with rami and i from now on”

also when you talk with the others while your kid is on your lap

joe, not paying attention, is beside you making goofy faces at your kid, giggles coming out from them

and oh boy expect lots of instagram posts from joe

one time he was alone with your kid while you were at work and both of them were missing you

so he decided to post a selfie of the both of them, making cute pouty faces

“it’s so lonely in the house without mom 😪 @(y/n)”

then you send joe back a selfie with a scrunched up face, “i’m at the grocery store buying food so you two babies don’t starve to death”

another is your kid’s first day of school !!!

you took the picture, joe was kneeling down, hugging your kid tightly

“it’s this little troublemaker’s first day of school! don’t burn the school down!” 😂

joe is definitely a dedicated dad

schedule a meeting at 3? no way man i gotta pick my kid up from school

omg when he arrives at the school too early

he parks his car first and decides to make a random video for instagram

y’all already know what it would be

then your kid, already a teenager, comes to the car and just finds joe like this—

“what the hell are you doing, dad?”

lmao alright that’s all i have for now !!! def making another part in the future!

*gif not mine!

tags: @b-hardys // @hunterswearingplaid // @livingforrt // @bensrhapsody // @jennyggggrrr // @little-weirdo-13 // @kemeryyyy

[glamrockmonarch]

Attachments Series

Series Masterlist | Chapter Two

Pairings: OFC!Princess Rose x Joe Mazzello; OFC!Princess Rose x Gwilym Lee; OFC!Laura x Ben Hardy; OFC!Laura x ???

Summary: Princess Rose lives a comfortable life along her parents. In a large family of royals, being the second child in the line of succession is not easy. On her 18th birthday it becomes a matter of great importance that she stops her heartbreaker ways and settles for a fine gentleman worthy of a kingdom. As the castle fills with the sounds of laughter and joy, Lady Laura must swallow her pride and do as she is told by her Queen…even if the heart tells her to act otherwise.

A/N: Just to clarify, I am not going to be including Felix and Rory into this because…well, I don’t know! For this, Rose will be the second child after Rufus and before Tigerlily - who we shall be referring to as Lily/Lilian for the purpose of style, sorry and thank you. Lola will be in the story as well, and I will much much MUCH appreciate feedback, thoughts and maybe theories? or guesses? on what you think the story is going to be like. I do warn you, there will be mentions of same sex relationships, adult content *wink* *wink* and really bad, inaccurate history. Because I try but not that hard. Also, I am sorry you do not get much Laura right away, but her part in the story is going to be a bit wild - my bi people will be pleased (I hope!).

(I promise the future A/N’s won’t be this long!)

Chapter One. Rose

                    He makes the bed soft, yet it’s hard to sleep on

“What does that mean?” Her face lost all colour. 

The wind entered through the windows of the large hall as she stood before her father. The King sighed. He did not like doing this to his daughter, but word around the kingdom was that she enjoyed the privileges of the royal home with too many liberties. Partying and drinking, constantly seen with male friends on social gatherings. 

The princess was eighteen now. Old enough, perhaps too old, to be married regardless of how much her father wished for her to remain a child under his and the Queen’s care. She was a handful, but she was theirs. And soon, for the sake of the crown, she would be someone else’s. 

The king’s blue eyes looked up from the floor and he stretched his back as he turned his gaze onto his daughter, Princess Ruthie Rose, his second-born. She looked back up at him with her impossible long blonde curls. Her sparkling blue eyes like his, which widened round as they were. 

“It means,” King Roger began, “you must meet these men. All perfectly eligible husbands… I’m giving you a month to choose one to marry.”

“And,” she tried to stand up tall in front of him, not a good time to test her father’s temper, “…and if I don’t want to be wedded?” 

She swung her nose up in the autumn’s wind. 

“I don’t care for what you want.” 

The statement flew in the air like a slap to her face, a wake up to a spoiled child with too much gold in her pocket and too little sympathy. 

He stared at his daughter with stern eyes, the blue in the irises turned cold as ice for the first time in her presence. 

“You’ve messed about, drunk your way here. I do not care if you want a husband, I don’t care if you want to be a lady or a whore! You will be married to a man of status! The name of this family will not be dragged along with you.” 

“Papa, I-” She took a step forward, bringing her hands together over her chest on her way to make another one of her skillful apologies. 

“No, Rosamund. Not this time.” The king stepped forward too, grabbing her wrists and pulling her hands apart he pointed a heavy finger her way. “I will personally choose for you.” 

“They will take me away…” She reasoned, “I refuse your kind offer, papa I cannot! I do not want to go!” 

“This is not an offer.” King Roger said, “Meet them. Make a choice. Or I will.”

Forcing her jaw to clench, the princess stopped her bottom lip from quivering. She held her handkerchief in a clenched fist and watched the man in front of her.  

“Where are they from?” She asked through gritted teeth. 

King Roger took a deep breath and walked towards the window, he looked past the gardens and into the paths leading to the palace. A cart was arriving. The first one. 

“Your brother insisted on giving Joseph a chance,” she rolled her eyes and smiled at her father once his eyes turned to her. 

“Of course! Joseph is one of our closest friends!” She spoke in bittersweet truth, knowing that choosing him would mean she would have to move to Monaco with him. 

“Benjamin of Russia is coming too,” the King frowned down at his large rings, “as is coming Gwilym, Prince of Hanover.”

She nodded her head and shrugged. “Only one of them lives in London, papa.” She felt the lack of space in her throat and a humidity that blocked her nose. 

“You will be smart to choose the Prince of Hanover, although I fear he is a man of science.”

“Cannot be worse than a Russian winter,” she guessed out loud before giving her father a forced smile and a bow. “Papa.”

King Roger watched as his daughter walked out of the studio. He sighed. Sitting back on his large chair he glanced at the gardens outside. So far it had been an enormous task finding the best people to marry his children, starting with Rufus…The Prince of Wales could not go along with the expected, no. He chose instead to find himself a wife at the court. Of course. Lilian was not yet getting married. 

But the trouble was already to be expected. 

~~~~

Fuming. The princess was fuming. Her lady helped her fix her hair before going to greet Joseph. She could not mind it any less, he was a good friend of hers and her siblings because of his constant trips to England, although his place of residence was Monaco instead. She would have picked him on the spot, was it not for that. Rose could not bring herself to think of a life away from her family home. From her sisters and her brother. From her father and mother. Away from the court she grew up in. 

It seemed to be all a horrible play. Why would they let her love it there so much if they knew she would be destined to leave one day. 

Rose put a bright blue ribbon in her hair and walked out to meet the ever so jolly Prince of Monaco. 

With a smile for his friend she swallowed the sadness of knowing the choice was made for her, and whatever efforts he made would be met with a negative response. Even if her heart was only fixated on Joseph as a friend…it still broke to the thought of the life to come when the day came and she was married to a man she did not yet know. 

“Splendid as always, Rose!” Joseph said humorously, although he knew the young Princess loved a compliment. 

“Oh,” she looked up and shrugged with a light move of her shoulder, “but you look so handsome too! One might think you are trying to court someone…?” 

Rose wiped the fan open and fanned herself for a second as Joseph smiled.

If he must be honest, Rose was a pretty girl. Although it did not matter that she was much younger than himself, he thought of her as a little sister, most probably due to his closeness to Rufus. If the King found him suitable for his daughter, he had been told, they would be wedded in a matter of days. It was of incredible importance to the crown back home that Joseph took a wife and produced an heir, but whether of not that would be accomplished with Rose, was still not clear.

“Please, do come have tea with me!” The Princess motioned towards the large hall in the palace, escorted by one of her ladies she began walking. 

Joseph stepped next to her and offered his arm, chivalry much alive. He talked to his friend about his time back at home, the fun bits. Why bore the young with politics? 

The tea room, so familiar, fell quiet too soon. While Rose fought to find a natural topic of conversation she could not stop thinking of what Joseph was told before coming to the palace that afternoon. His long lashes produced shadows under his brown eyes and his boyish grin reminded her a second later that she should not be scared of asking him questions. 

Taking glances up at him, with her bright blue eyes filling with doubt, the young Princess pressed her lips together in a tight line. 

Joseph’s brow furrowed watching every move of his dear friend. The almost imperceptible shaking of her hands holding the beautiful china while pouring the tea for the two of them. 

“What is the matter?” He wondered with a side smile, taking her apparent nervousness as a laughable subject of conversation. 

“I-,” she stuttered, something she loathed doing. Sitting back in the soft cushions of the sofa she looked up at Joseph with her spine straight as could be and her neck extending fully. “I don’t know what you were told, Joe, but I am unsure I can go through with it.” 

Joseph, Joe to his closest friends, put on a gentle smile for her and leant forward, reaching out for her hands that rested with stiff poses on top of her childish pastel gown. 

“There is nothing to fear, Rosey,” Joseph used his nickname for her too and  squeezed her cold hands; “whatever your father chooses for you will be best.” 

And while that made it somewhat clear what his father, the King had said to her friend, it was also followed by the doors behind them. A group of women and young girls walked in surrounding the Queen. Unknown to Rose, Joseph’s eyes fell upon the milky features of one of the Queen’s ladies. Brown eyes stared back at him, but the smile on her face did not falter, denying him any clues as to what she was thinking of him at the moment in which he was holding another girl’s hands. 

“Ma’am,” Joseph reacted to the Queen’s presence then.

With his hands taken off of hers, Rose looked down at her shaking fingers and squeezed them into fists before standing too and turning to see her mother with a false smile. The weight of things finally falling on her shoulders.

Thank you so much for reading!

[aint-nodenying]

meeting b.m hc

gwilym lee x reader

okay so i wrote this like how i speak and type, so if the grammar mistakes and inconsistency with acronyms and shortened words kill you, don’t read it. enjoy!!

okay so i want this to be a story as well but i’m gonna make this super detailed headcanon first

anyways you’re MARRIED TO GWILYM LEE RIGHT

i know, what a dream

so you’re like driving right?

actually, lets start this off in gwilym’s pov

so he’s on the set of borhap

i want to say it’s the first days, like live aid concert scenes

but it could also be when they’re in the farm recording

i just want it to be somewhere with instruments and stuff

so you (y/n) are out and about, having a girls day with ur bitches, ya feel

and i feel as though i should make it prominent that i have a very specific look for y/n here

if you don’t like that, sorry man

uhhh so y/n has a cockney accent, I DONT KNOW WHY DONT COME FOR ME I JUST HAD A COCKNEY ACCENT RESONATING IN MY HEAD WHEN I THOUGHT OF THIS

so she has a cockney accent (if u don’t know it’s kind of like jesy’s accent from little mix but you can also watch this)

also your band is a bit unconventional i think

bc y’all like move around what you do

like one day you’ll be on guitar and the next you’ll be on drums

that whole shabang

so you’re like out and driving about and gwilym is like “lol lemme kill my wife”

so he calls you right?

and he’s like “hey baby, what’re you doing?”

and you pick up and you’re like “hEY LOVE, nothing much just rehearsing with the girls, anyways i FINALLY got the chords in ‘39 down, like how fuckin’ cool am i???”

and little do you know BRIAN MAY AND ROGER TAYLOR ARE RIGHT BEHIND YOUR VERY ATTRACTIVE HUSBAND SAYING NOTHING

so he’s like oh tight, she can play a very intricate song that i wrote, that’s pretty rad

and gwilym, the little shit is like “yo are your girls with you?”

and you’re like uhhhh yeah lol why

gwil is like “hEEYYYYYY I HAVE A GREAT IDEA. WHAT IF you came onto set and just played it for us”

and you’re like uhhhh why??? is it in the movie?

and he’s like uh yeah sure the entire cast wants to hear it

you’re saying in your head “what the fuck???? who allowed this man to make decisions???”

and he KNOWS that he can’t make you come onto set without another push so he brings out the big guns

“hey, brian may is coming onto set today”

LITTLE DO YOU KNOW JOE IS TO THE SIDE VIDEOTAPING THE ENTIRE INTERACTION

SO UNKNOWINGLY YOU SCREECH ON THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS

and brian may is like holy shit she’s got a set of pipes 

so you’re like whimpering like uncontrollably and you’re like “holyshitholyshitholyshit you’re my hero”

and brian THE WONDERFUL MAN finally speaks up

and he’s like “hello, y/n how are you today?”

and you SCREECH AGAIN

one of your bandmates take the phone and is like “sorry mr. may, y/n in inconsolable rn, we’d love to come in to play you what we have”

and then in the background of the phone, very clearly next to your very loud and high-pitched whimpers are just your other bandmates SCREAMING

while we’re here let’s give them names

so there’s you,,,, crysanthemum (crys (chris), crysti, santhe???, mummy fOR SURE)

aaliya?? (a-lie-yuh) (ao maybe ali, liya (leah))

and,,,, lilliana (lilli, ana, liana, lil’ ana, anal if they’re being little shits to eachother lmao)

cool got that out of the way, let’s say that mummy answers the phone and says that and the rest are freaking out in the background

let’s reiterate that JOE MAZZELLO IS VIDEOTAPING IN THE BACKGROUND

so once mummy is like “lol we’re in studio rn and it’s a half an hour drive but we’ll be there in 15″

the borhap guys are all around rehearsing and just hangin about and then you and the ladies FINALLY ARRIVE

and so you get on the stage/in the “studio” and you’re all looking around in awe

but i’m just gonna say that if they’re in the wembley stadium, they’re not in awe of the stage bc they’re TALENTED WOMEN AND THEY’VE ALREADY PERFORMED IN THERE

if anything they’re in awe of THE OLD MEN WHO WERE ONCE THE HOTTEST MEN IN THE WORLD NOT TO MENTION THE MOST TALENTED

so you all get there with your equipment, well not the drums but you’ve got the bass and a tambourine, and a FUCKING 12-STRING

anyways you get there and gwil like attacks you with hugs and kisses because i’m SOFT

and joe has his phone out again videotaping this

and the borhap set is like!!!! besties!!!! because you’re all besties and you all love and support each other

and then FINALLY BRIAN MAY and ROGER TAYLOR MAKE THEIR WAY TO YOU AND ARE LIKE “how are you, love”

and you just start crying and blubbering like a fool and they hug you and they’re like

“aw it’s okay love”

and you’re like !!!!

THEY SMELL SO FUCKING GOOD

anyways after they let go brian is like “so i heard that you perfected ‘39″ 

and you’re like “wuhwuhwwuhwuh iwouldn’tsayiperfectedit BUT it’s not half bad”

so he’s just like “show me what you’ve got”

and so you and the gals go and set up (who would’ve known they used actual real amps on the set)

and brian and roger are to the side, brian smiling at you comfortingly and roger is brooding as per usual (but he’s in a good mood, you can tell)

so you count down, “1...2...3...”

and YOU GO OFF SIS

LIKE YOU STRUM TO YOUR HEART’S DESIRE HOLY SHIT

hold on lemme see if i can find a 12-string cover on yt

okay i’ve got this gal but imagine that she’s with 3 other girls, xxxx

so you’re not the only one singing though bc y’all swap parts

so you guys like harmonize and shit but you’re almost the one that’s primarily singing

uh let’s say that mummy is on bass, ali is on supporting 6-string, ana is on tambourine/stomping VERY LOUDLY/kick drum, and ofc you’re ON THE LEGENDARY 12-STRING

and so YOU’RE ALSO THE ONE HITTING THOS GD HIGH NOTES BC YOU’RE TALENTED AND WONDERFUL AND BC YOUR VOICE HAS MANY OCTAVES JUST AS FREDDIE DOES OR AS PERRIE EDWARDS HAS (take a look at little mix’s perrie and her octave range, it’s pretty impressive)

and so when you hit those fucking notes roger and brian are like

and so once you’re done everyone applauds you guys bc as i said before you guys are so talented

and i guess joe finishes off by recording you like squatting down, covering your mouth crying happily at the accomplishment of PLAYING THAT FUCKING DIFFICULT ASS SONG

and like the video cuts off right after brian and roger like clap and hug all the girls bc daaaaaaaamn

that shit was hard with a capital H

i guess thats it lol

the end

a/n hello this is my first queen fic/hc but i hope y’all like it. queen fandom is a lot nicer and open than any other fanbase i’ve been apart of which I LOVE. anyways i was planning to make this into a fic if you liked this. i also want to make a fic/hc of how you and gwil met but if you want that to be completely different, in no way involving this then i could do that as well. i could also do one about brian may (i’m not gonna say borhap!brian bc let’s be honest, they both look exactly the same) or roger taylor (borhap! or rela life bc i think both are A SNACC) um i’ll also open up a taglist why not, so taglist is now OPEN. i’ll have one for permanant queen!fics and lists for specific members. i wrote all of this in like an hour so i hope it’s not that too much of trash. anyways, have a nice day/night!!! LOVE YOU ALL

[crazy-little-cool-cat]

Hand in Glove - Chapter 30 | Ben Hardy x OFC

A/N: Wow, y’all! We did it! We’re at the last Hand in Glove chapter! What a ride it’s been, am I right? Enjoy this one. I tried to tie off most of the loose ends, buuuuuuut you know how I am. Expect the unexpected. There might be a sequel after Gold Digger’s done. 

Warnings: fluff that’ll rot your teeth and the usual stuff. 

Word count: who gives a duck?!

Chapter 1, Chapter 2,  Chapter 3,  Chapter 4,  Chapter 5,  Chapter 6,  Chapter 7,  Chapter 8,  Chapter 9,  Chapter 10,  Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14 , Chapter 15 , Chapter 16 , Chapter 17 , Chapter 18 , Chapter 19 , Chapter 20 , Chapter 21 , Chapter 22 , Chapter 23 , Chapter 24, Chapter 25 , Chapter 26, Chapter 27 , Chapter 28 , Chapter 29

Annie drove home on auto-pilot. Her mind felt like it’s sinking in quicksand. She's pregnant, again. She didn't plan to be pregnant, again. She needed to figure out how to tell Ben about it, again. This time was different, though. It wasn’t quite as scary as the last one. It wasn’t quite as upsetting. Deep down, it was actually exciting.

When she got home, she walked about in a daze, going from room to room. Trying to locate her partner in crime and his superhuman sperm cells. Passing by the glass doors to the back garden, she found him tossing a ball for Frankie to fetch and having a smoke.

She opened the glass doors and caught his attention. He beamed at her, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm pregnant."

"That's nice," Ben said, almost robotically, tossing the ball and watching Frankie chase after it. "Wait, what?"

"I'm pregnant," Annie repeated, "my eggo is preggo, Ben."

"As in, pregnant? Pregnant?" Ben stared at her. The cigarette fell from between his fingers. “Is it mine?”

"Of course it's yours, you wanker!"

"But you -" Ben started and stopped. " - and the -"

"Yeah, it turns out I'm one of the 0.8% it doesn't work for."

"Is it... it is still up there?"

"No. Dr. McCarthy took it out."

"How far along -"

"8 weeks."

"You're not pulling my leg?" Ben felt dizzy. Weak. "You're not taking a sick piss?"

"I'm pregnant, Ben." Annie started to smile and took his hand. She placed it right under her bellybutton. "Your almighty, ultra-strong, wicked swimmers are unstoppable."

###

"You're wearing jewelry now?" Joe snickered and pointed at Ben's hand. "Did Hollywood affect you that much?"

Ben looked down at his hand and smiled. With Annie at work and Rory at daycare, he told the boys to come over to his house. It was time for him to break the news, now that they were back, well-slept and no longer jet-lagged.

"Oh, this ring has nothing to do with Hollywood," Ben smirked, "could one of you text Rami and see where he is? Anyone fancy a beer?"

Gwilym and Joe exchanged confused looks at Ben's fussiness and nodded. Ben was visibly nervous or excited about something and they could tell. Right from the moment he greeted them at the door.  

"Help yourselves, gentlemen," Ben placed two six-packs on the living room coffee table and opened his own beer bottle. He bounced his knee as the three waited for Rami to join them. They busied themselves with idle chit-chat. They tried holding press-tour stories off for when all four will be present. When the doorbell finally rang, Ben sprung to his feet and almost ran for the door.

"Right, so of course I want to hear all about the press tour," Ben started as Rami sat down with his own beer bottle. "I have to break some serious news first."

"Oh... kay..." Rami glanced sideways at Joe as he took a sip from his beer.

"Annie and I got married."

The silence was deafening. You could hear a pin drop. Rami, Gwilym, and Joe stared at Ben, frowning and blinking.

"Did you lace this beer with something?" Gwilym finally asked.

"Nope." Ben tried to keep a serious expression on his face as he raised his hand and wiggled his fingers. He pointed at his ring finger with the other hand. "See? Wedding ring."

"When you say 'Annie and I got married'," Gwil scratched at his bearded chin, "what do you mean, exactly?"

"We're legally married." Ben rephrased his previous statement. "Went through the whole process, jumped through all the hoops. Brian, Roger and Jamie were our witnesses."

"When?" Gwil cocked his head.

"Three weeks ago."

"Was it on a whim?" Joe looked hurt. "Did you just decide to elope, just like that?"

"No. We planned it, very carefully."

"And you told no one because...?" Rami's beer-holding hand hovered halfway to his mouth.

"Annie insisted on it."

"Huh." Gwilym leaned back and rubbed his thighs. "That's..."

"A lot." Rami mused.

"We're also pregnant again." Ben blurted out and busied his mouth with his beer bottle again.

"He totally laced this with something," Joe announced and leaned forward. Anger etched on his features. "What the actual fuck did you just say?!"

"Calm down, Joe." Gwilym said and put a hand on Joe's shoulder.

"We're pregnant. Well, Annie is."

"What do you mean, she's pregnant?" Rami laughed nervously.

"Well, Rami," Ben smirked, "when a mummy and a daddy love each other very much -"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Joe's hands flailed.

###

"And cut! We got it!!!"

Annie slumped her shoulders and stopped weeping, relieved that she didn’t have to run through the whole scene again.

Anne, her character, apprehended and jailed in the Tower of London, listened to the accusations against her. Upon hearing the long list of men who testified against her - one of which was her own brother - she broke down. The scene drained Annie and took 12 takes to get right. She felt dehydrated, puffy and very, very tired.

"You're pregnant?"

The entire set fell silent, all looking from Clara to Annie in utter shock. A lighting fixture creaked as it swung back and forth. An intern dropped a script to the floor. The thud reverberated around the large space.

Annie stared at her best friend, gobsmacked.

"Annie, you're pregnant and you didn't tell me?" Clara stomped over to her, eyes shooting daggers. Her costume rustling as she skipped over carefully camouflaged cords. "The secret wedding - fine, it's whatever. But this?!"

"Clara, this isn't the time nor the place to -" Annie stammered out, feeling her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Fuck that!" Clara snapped. "Annie, what the hell?"

###

"So there will be an actual wedding?" Gwilym verified for the fifth time.

"Yes!" Ben groaned. "God!"

"And baby number two is due in...?"

"30 weeks."

"Wow." Rami fiddled with the label on his beer bottle.  "Wow."

"Yeah." Joe huffed. "Big wow."

Ben's cheeks flushed crimson red. He felt like his parents were cross with him for being naughty. He didn't know if this was just shock or actual outrage at that point. He raked his fingers through his blond mop of hair, feeling quite ashamed.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner." Ben almost mumbled. "It's been really hard to keep everything secret. I almost spilled the beans three times. I wanted you guys to be in on it but -"

"But the Supreme Leader had other plans." Joe shook his head. "I get it. I'm fucking pissed, man, but I get it."

"We are happy for you, you know." Rami pursed his lips. "Just... overwhelmed with all the news."

"How did your parents take it?" Gwilym wondered.

"We told them the next day." Ben recounted. "They were confused at first, not sure if we're kidding or not. Then, they were angry with me for hiding it and doing it like... that. The pregnancy reconciled them. They're over the moon."

###

"10 weeks?" Clara barked, pacing back and forth in Annie's trailer. "Ten whole bloody weeks?!"  

"Yep." Annie pursed her lips and nodded sheepishly. "Ten whole weeks."

"Annie, why?" Clara stopped, planting her hands on her hips. "Why aren't you telling me anything anymore? And let me guess-” Clara’s upper lip curled in a menacing snarl, “ -Jamie knew all along!"

"Actually he didn't," Annie interjected. "You kind of announced it to the world with your little outburst on the set."

"Why would you keep secrets from me?" Clara's voice sounded almost whiney. "We're best friends since... forever!"

"Because these are the things I needed to not jinx, okay?" Annie explained, subconsciously resting a hand on her belly. "I know it's just superstition but ill-wishers are -"

"God, Annie!" Clara groaned. "Fuck the ill-wishers! Fuck you as well!

Pounding on Annie's trailer door interrupted the two. Clara marched over and opened it, quickly pushed aside by Mike and Jamie.

"You've got some explaining to do." Mike pointed at her.

###

Anne Boleyn prepared herself for this - her execution - multiple times. The Hangman of Calais's arrival was pushed back due to weather and travel conditions. She joked with her ladies in waiting, earlier on in the day, talking about her little neck. Keeping up appearances. The show must go on!

She stepped onto the scaffold on the morning of May 19th, 1536. Escorted by Sir William Kingston, her jailer, Anne left the Tower's royal palace for the last time. The same place she slept in right before her coronation. Her crimson outfit trimmed with ermine, she made sure everyone present knew her status. Her reason for dying. She clasped her hands and took a step forward.

“Good Christian people,” Anne started shakily, “I have not come here to preach a sermon. I have come here to die." Anne took a shaky breath and squared her shoulders. "For, according to the law and by the law, I am judged to die," her voice carried as the crowd listened silently."And, therefore, I will speak nothing against it."

The crowd was mute as they solemnly listened to their Queen speaking her final words.

"I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak of that whereof I am accused and condemned to die," Anne looked at the peoples' faces. "But I pray: God save the King and send him long to reign over you!"  

A small smile tugging at Anne’s lips as she watched the memories play out in her mind’s eye. "For a gentler, nor a more merciful prince was there never, and to me he was ever a good, a gentle, and sovereign lord." Pausing, she looked up at the sky, for one last time. "And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best." A tear rolled down her cheek, quickly brushed away. "And thus, I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me.”

Anne kneeled at the scaffold. Distracting her and making her look away from him and his sword, the executioner beheaded the queen with one stroke.

"And cut! That's a wrap!"

Annie heaved a sigh of relief and felt her hands shaking as she clutched at her little baby bump, almost showing. Her last scene is over. Greensleeves is finally finished.

Ben clapped furiously, hooting and hollering for his wife as she got up off the wooden scaffold. Her speech - Anne’s speech - although he had heard it more than a hundred times at that point had still managed to wring his heart and guts. It never ceased to amaze him how Annie and Anne sort of merged together. One mixing in with the other. Annie’s vows echoed in his ears. ‘I will kill for you and die for you.’

‘Oi, Jones!” Annie snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Earth to Jonesy!”

“You were amazing up there.” Ben smiled and wrapped his arms around her. “Breathtaking.”

“Let’s go celebrate!” Annie beamed up at him. “There’s cake!”

“Shall we, then,” Ben bend his arm and waited for Annie to hook hers with his, “my lady Greensleeves?”

###

Other than the odd work-related trip and appearance, Ben and Annie were honeymooning at home. They watched Annie’s baby bump, Pookie, grow. They watched Rory learn how to walk, talk. Turn into a tiny little human.

Annie laid back on the sofa, her head in Ben’s lap. His fingers idly twirled locks of her hair as they watched whatever was on the telly. Grateful to have the house for themselves. Learning every curve and edge of each other’s body after dropping Rory off at daycare. Nesting and preparing a bedroom for Rory and remodelling the nursery for the new baby.

“D’you think it’s a boy this time?” Annie wondered and looked up at her husband.

“Dunno.” He shrugged. “Do you want it to be?”

“I think so, yeah.” Annie looked down at her little bump. “Pookie, give us a hint.”

“Maybe there’s two -”

“Ben Jones, I will kill you.”

“I’m joking!” He laughed and tugged on her hair gently. “However many there are in there, I’ll love them.”

“What about names?” Annie started to sit up so she could turn around and face Ben. “Thought of any?”

“Well, Henry for a boy.” Ben shrugged.

“Really?” Annie snorted. “Henry?”

“Yes.” Ben nodded proudly. “Name fit for a king!”

“Right.”

“Why, do you have better ideas?” Ben scoffed.

“Richard.” Annie suggested. “Also a king.”

“Meh.”

“John.”

“John?” Ben looked at her as if she went mad. “John Jones?”

“Yes. Our little Jay Jay.” Annie cooed jokingly and nuzzled Ben’s nose with hers.

“Alexander.” Ben offered and rolled his eyes when Annie frowned. “What?!”

“We already have two A’s, Ben!” Annie pouted. “Annie. Aurora.”

“William.” Ben shrugged.

“Sounds to much like Gwilym.” Annie retorted. “What!”

“How?”

“Just - ugh! Not William.”

“Fine. Christopher?”

“Sounds like a Winnie the Pooh character. Christopher Jones.” Annie grimaced. “Peter?”

“No. Not Roger, either. Or Warren!”

“Mark?” Annie suggested.

“Might as well name it Galileo.” Ben scoffed. “Man, this better be a baby girl.”

###

Annie brushed her teeth before bed, happy to know that the baby’s heart is beating and there is only one of those beating hearts in her womb. She just finished rinsing when Ben entered the bathroom. He stood behind her as she bent over for the sink and held onto her hips.

“Seriously?” Annie looked up at him through the mirror, water dripping down her chin.

Ben bit his bottom lip and nodded slowly, cocking his head to the side as he examined her bum. Annie watched his reflection curiously. He gave her bum a light squeeze and rubbed it as if it were a crystal ball. Annie stood up straight and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“I don’t know what it is, exactly,” Ben murmured and wrapped his arms around her waist, “but there is something about you that I just... “

“Oh?”

“Mhm.” Ben purred and leaned forward.

###

“Is he out?” Annie sobbed. “Is he okay? Is everything out?”

Whoever said that giving birth to the second baby is easy clearly lied. It all went down so fast. She didn’t have time for an epidural. She didn’t have time to even digest what was going on. One minute her water breaks, then wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, a human baby is introduced to the world.

“He’s out!” Ben beamed at his wife. “He’s out. Everything’s out. You did so well.”

“Ben, he tore me to pieces!” Annie violently wiped her tears away. “I’m hurting. I’m tired. I’m pissed the hell off. Stop smiling like that!”

“Annie, he’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Ben ignored his wife’s rant and brushed stray locks of hair away from her forehead. “And you are my hero, Annabelle Lee-Jones. You are an absolute rockstar.”

Annie sobbed incoherently in response.

“There he is, mummy!” the nurse said as she brought over the bundle of wailing joy. “Your beautiful baby boy!”

Annie took the bundle in her arms and looked down, tears still pouring down. Ben chuckled and wiped her tears away from the baby’s cheeks.

“What’s your name?” Annie whispered at the baby. “Galileo?”

“Annabelle…” Ben had an impatient edge to his voice.

“Well, what are we naming him, then?” She asked, stroking the baby’s little head gently.

“Oliver?” Ben suggested. Annie mulled it over in her head. “Alfred.”

“Alfred?” Annie looked up at her husband.

“Yes. Alfred.”

“Where did that come from?”

“A great English king.” Ben raised one finger in the air. “Classic name.” Another finger. “He’s clearly an Alfie -”

“Alfie.” Annie repeated, a smile lighting up her face. “Our baby Alfie.”

###

Ben and Annie stepped onto the dance floor, holding hands. Their guests clapped, hooted and hollered - all cheering for them as they made their “official” debut as a married couple. The music started blaring through the speakers as Annie and Ben took their place in the middle of the floor and wrapped their arms around one another.

Me and Mrs. Jones; We got a thing goin'on...

They gazed into each other’s eyes, oblivious to the world around them. Joe held Rory in his lap, pointing at her parents and talking animatedly to keep her awake and happy. Gwilym cradled baby Alfie as he slept, gobsmacked by the baby’s ability to fall asleep anywhere, anytime.

We both know that it's wrong; But it's much too strong To let it go now…

Annie chose to wear the same dress she did on her original wedding day, flower crown in her hair. Ben opted for the tux he wore at the Oscars. He pulled her closer and dipped her back. Annie threw her head back and laughed heartily, gracefully kicking one leg up in the air. He picked her up and kissed her as they swayed to the music.

We meet every day at the same cafe Six-thirty and no one knows she'll be there; Holding hands, making all kinds of plans While the jukebox plays our favorite songs…

Annie looked over to the side and saw Rory and Joe having a very heated discussion. She beckoned them over with her hands, smiling brightly. Joe asked Rory a question, making her eyes light up. They stood up and he put her down on the floor. She held onto one of his fingers as they walked on the dancefloor. He bowed deeply and made Rory burst in a fit of giggles before he picked her up again and swayed alongside her parents as he sang along to the song.

Me and Mrs. Jones We got a thing goin'on; We both know that it's wrong; But it's much too strong To let it go now...

Ben smiled at the rest of the guests and nodded his head, signaling it was okay to join them in their dance. Couples started flooding the dancefloor within minutes, all swaying and rocking to the smooth R’n’B song Annie and Ben chose for their first dance.

We gotta be extra careful That we don't build our hopes up too high; Because she's got her own obligations And so, and so, do I...

When they discussed their first dance song options, they got into such a fight that they almost called the whole thing off. Annie wanted Best of My Love, Ben wanted Love of My Life. It was actually Rami who suggested the most appropriate song for them -

Me and Mrs. Jones We got a thing goin'on We both know that it's wrong But it's much too strong To let it go now…

His logic behind it was flawless. The song practically described Annie and Ben’s journey through the relationship. How they tried to hide it at first, insisting there’s nothing serious happening. How they came to terms with their relationship status and were so very careful at first. How Rory had happened when caution was thrown to the wind.

Well, it's time for us to be leaving It hurts so much, it hurts so much inside Now she'll go her way and I'll go mine Tomorrow we'll meet The same place, the same time...

How heart wrenching their time apart from one another was. How hopeful they were. Counting down the days until Ben comes back to visit. How, even at their busiest, they always made time for themselves.

Me and Mrs. Jones We got a thing goin'on We both know that it's wrong But it's much too strong To let it go now...

###

“Mummy!” Rory ran over to the sofa with her favorite stuffed animal, followed by a yapping Frankie. “Mummy, Frankie did bad!”

Hand in glove The sun shines out of our behinds; No, it's not like any other love This one is different, because it's us...

Annie groaned internally and closed her eyes. Alfie was attached to her breast while she fed him, the house was a total chaotic mess, Ben was away at some Cognac launch and all she wanted to do was just scream and run away. She played her favorite album to keep herself happy and sane. There was something about The Smiths that made her feel… normal.

Hand in glove We can go wherever we please; And everything depends upon How near you stand to me...

“Rors, baby, Alfie’s -”

“Frankie did baaaad!” Rory’s voice rose in volume and octave.

“What did she bloody do?!” Annie asked, her patience all but lost.

“Took my Pupper!”

“You’re holding your Pupper and he looks fine.” Annie raised an eyebrow.

“Frankie bad!”

And if the people stare Then the people stare; Oh, I really don't know and I really don't care; Kiss my shades...

“No, Frankie good.” Annie patted the empty cushion next to her, inviting Rory in for a cuddle. “Rory, are you jealous of Alfie and mummy?”

“No.” Rory skulked.

“Rors…”

“Mummy…”

Hand in glove The good people laugh; Yes, we may be hidden by rags But we've something they'll never have...

“Tell you what.” Annie whispered. “When daddy gets home, we’ll have a whole day, just for ourselves. No boys allowed.”

“No boys?”

“None.”

Hand in glove The sun shines out of our behinds; Yes, we may be hidden by rags But we've something they'll never have...

The front door opened, making Rory stand up on the sofa expectantly.

“Uncle Joey?” Rory looked at Annie with sparkling eyes. “Uncle Gwilly?”

“Annie?” Ben’s voice boomed from the hall.

And if the people stare Then the people stare; Oh, I really don't know and I really don't care; Kiss my shades...

“Daddy!” Rory shrieked and scrambled off the sofa, doing a bee line for the hallway. “Daddy! Daddy!”

“There’s my girl!” Ben crouched down and let Rory crash into him. He picked her up and tossed her in the air, eliciting overjoyed squeals and shrieks. Her soft blonde curls bounced as she flew up in the hair and landed safely back in his arms. “Where’s Mum?”

So, hand in glove I stake my claim I'll fight to the last breath; If they dare touch a hair on your head I'll fight to the last breath; For the good life is out there somewhere, So stay on my arm, you little charmer...

“In here!” Annie called and winced when Alfie dug his nails into her boob. “Alfie’s eating!”

Ben stood at the doorway to the living room and blinked, gobsmacked. It looked like a tornado had run through, destroying and overturning everything in its’ path.

“Are you okay, Annie?” He asked.

“What? Yes, I’m fine.” Annie frowned. “Why?”

“Because it seems like we had a burglary going on while I was off.” Ben smirked.

“Oh, shove it!” Annie stuck her tongue out at him. “You try taking care of these two little ducks and see how far it gets you with housekeeping.”

“I know.” Ben put Rory down and sauntered over to the sofa, plopping down next to his wife. “I ducking love you. I don’t care about the mess.”

“Mess?” Rory chimed in. “I clean!”

“Oh, now you’ll clean?” Annie scoffed.

“I clean for daddy.” Rory huffed and went about tidying up and putting all her toys away.

“Don’t you never, ever leave me home alone again.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

But I know my luck too well; Yes, I know my luck too well; And I'll probably never see you again; I'll probably never see you again...

##########

TAGLIST:  @ramibaby @xgoingdownx @qweenly @violetpond @sweeterthancheese @drummerqueenrmt @westansstuff @justgivemethekeys  @blondecarfucker @cheeseedreams47 @deacy-dearest @pinkmarvel @onceuponadetectivedemigod

[crazy-little-cool-cat]

Hand in Glove - Chapter 24 | Ben Hardy x OFC

A/N: I’m a shooting star leaping through the skies like a tiger, defying the laws of gravity. Don’t stop me now. Also, y’all can thank the Jewish holidays for giving me so much free time to write. This chapter was written in collaboration with @ramibaby​. My dear, thank you for sacrificing your fics for this chapter. You are a champion. 

Word Count: Laughs nervously.

Warnings: There’s smut. Also, I’m kind of making fun of fanfics in this one, which means I’m making fun of myself, mostly, so please, fellow writer - do not take this seriously. This is pure fun. If you’re confused by this statement, just read the chapter and your issues will be resolved. 

Chapter 1, Chapter 2,  Chapter 3,  Chapter 4,  Chapter 5,  Chapter 6,  Chapter 7,  Chapter 8,  Chapter 9,  Chapter 10,  Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14 , Chapter 15 , Chapter 16 , Chapter 17 , Chapter 18 , Chapter 19 , Chapter 20 , Chapter 21 , Chapter 22 , Chapter 23

“Bullocks.”

“I’m telling you, Jamie. They hated it.”

“Sweet Clara,” Jamie shook his head and pursed his lips, “they’re lying. At least one of them is.”

“Who’s lying?” Annie startled them both.

“You are.” Jamie said, tongue in cheek.

“Enlighten me.” Annie crossed her arms.

“We’ve kissed, what, trillions of times?” Jamie asked. “Not one of them was like kissing a croc. Or an eel.”

“How do you even know -”

“The Snitcher here told me all about it.” Jamie patted Clara’s head. “Anyways, someone’s lying.”

Annie took a deep breath.

“Well, then?” Jamie tapped his foot as he waited for Annie to either tear him a new asshole or come clean. “Which one is it?”

“I mean, it wasn’t that bad.” Annie said, looking at the ground.

“Oh, no…” Clara took a step back while Jamie lifted his closed fist and released it, dropping an invisible mic. “Annie, what are you saying?”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Annie shrugged. “Did I make a whole show of it to get you knuckleheads to stop? Yes. But so did Joe.”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, the plot thickens!” Jamie leered.

“Fuck off, Jamie.” Annie shot back. “Look, did I like the way Joe kissed me? No. Not really. He’s too gentle.”

“But?” Clara prodded on.

“But it wasn’t as horrible as we both said it was.” Annie said casually. “Will I do it again now that I know what it’s like? Nope.”

“Jamie?” Clara looked at the tall redhead.

Jamie squinted suspiciously at Annie, scrutinizing her from head to toe.

“She’s telling the truth.”

###

“How many more of these do we have left?” Ben rubbed his face with both hands and threw his head back against the back of the sofa he, Gwilym, Rami and Joe were crammed in since the morning. “If I have to answer the same bloody questions again…”

They finally got a break. Gwilym decided to go stretch his legs a bit and Rami went out for a smoke, leaving Ben and Joe alone in the room.

“I know, right?” Joe grumbled.

“Can I ask you something?” Ben removed his hands and turned his head to look at Joe.

“Shoot.”

“You liked kissing her, didn’t you?”

“Look, Ben, I don’t want to hurt your feelings…”

“So, you did.”

“It wasn’t as horrible as we made it seem, no.” Joe started. “But I didn’t like the way she kissed me, man.”

“What?”

“She’s too aggressive.” Joe shrugged. “The lip biting thing? I don’t like it.”

“Wait -”

“I mean, she’s not a bad kisser at all.” Joe rephrased. “Very... passionate.”

“Huh.”

“Just a bit too much for my liking.”

“Good. That’s good.” Ben straightened up. “So it won’t happen again?”

“No.” Joe smiled. “Although, her kiss did make me wonder what your sex life is like.”

“Amazing, actually.”

###

Annie stared at her phone, scratching her head in confusion. After looking through her texts while Ben filled the car with petrol, she had half a mind to pay someone to build a flying saucer for her and her family leave this planet forever.

“What’s wrong?” Ben said as he put on his seat-belt.

“The world.”

“Uh?”

“There’s people out there pining over Clara and me. Like, romantically.”

“Come again?” Ben adjusted the rear view mirror and smiled when Rory’s reflection appeared. “What are you on about?”

“They call us Clannie, Ben.”

“What?”

“They’re writing stories about Clara and me as a couple. Graphic stuff.”

“Can you send me a link to one of them?” Ben smirked.

“No!” Annie shuddered. “You sick, sick man!”

“Could be hot.” He shrugged.

“So could the stories about you, Gwilly and Joe.” Annie smirked back.

“What, like Gwil and me, Joe and me, and Gwil and Joe?”

“No, no,” Annie stifled a chuckle. “All three of you at once.”

Ben blinked, staring at the road ahead.

“Da!”

“Yeah, baby?” Ben replied instinctively, before slamming his foot on the breaks. “Did she just call me Da?”

“She’s six months old, I’m not sure babies start talking at that age.”

“She called me Da.” Ben insisted.

“She’s a babbling blob, Ben.” Annie rolled her eyes. “She didn’t call you Da.”

“She said her first word and it was Da.”

“Ben, you’re being irrational.”

“You’re jealous.”

“Da! Ba! Bfffffffffff!” Rory continued.

“I know, Rory,” Annie turned around in her seat, “but doing press interviews can make anyone hear things.”

“Sssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

“You’re absolutely right.” Annie replied. “But we love him anyways.”

###

If there’s one thing Annie hated the most about promoting season two of Greensleeves, it’s doing the interviews and late-night talk shows. Same questions, different people. It got tiresome. She managed to play the “Baby Card” more times than she’d expected... Until the producers realised what she was doing and the proverbial party was officially over.

“So, is the cast really that close?” Jason, the host, asked Clara and Annie.

“Some are closer than others.” Annie replied, surprisingly diplomatically. “Jamie and I have known each other before and Clara and I basically grew up together, so that was inevitable.”

“The previous George Boleyn was alright, I suppose. He didn’t last too long, though.” Clara chimed in. “But the new guy? We love Mike.”

“Oh yeah, he fit right in.” Annie smiled. “As far as the older cast members - we look up to them, but we don’t share our nonsense with them too much.”

“What about Jane Seymour’s character?” Jason asked.

“Well, we haven’t met her yet.” Annie confessed. “The production team’s goal was for art to truly imitate life and they want my reaction to be as genuine as possible. We haven’t filmed the part she comes into the picture just yet.”

“We don’t even know who she is, to be honest.” Clara added.

“I suspect someone messed up and forgot to cast a Jane, really.” Annie shrugged.

“Careful, there, Annabelle.” Jason chuckled. “Keep calling the production team out like that and you’ll end up fired.”

“I’ll be beheaded either way.”

“And what a glorious sight it will be.” Clara cheekily teased her.

“You two seem to have an amazing bond.” Jason admitted. “Do you ever fight?”

“All couples do.” Clara answered and Jason audibly gasped. “We don’t like to be too public about our tiffs.”

“Clara, you blithering fool…” Annie smacked her own forehead dramatically.

“Well, since you ladies brought it up -”

“Not this lady.” Annie muttered, pointing at herself.

“- what exactly is Clannie? I assume you’ve heard the term before.”

Clara and Annie exchanged amused smiles and sighed simultaneously.

“The bane of my existence.” Annie replied.

“Basically, I stumbled upon it the other day after a fan sent me a private message on Instagram, saying there’s an actual hashtag people use when they talk about Annie and I.”

“Sounds innocent enough.” Jason shrugged.

“Oh, you dirty, dirty man.” Clara joked. “You know damn well where this is going.”

“You seem to be enjoying this!” Jason laughed.

“Believe me, she loves every bloody minute of it.” Annie chimed in.

“Right, so as I snooped around I found that Clannie is like a code name for Annie and I as a couple.”

“Aha.”

“And the more I delved in, the more entertaining it got. People are writing some pretty wild fanfiction stories about us.”

“Is it really all fiction?” Jason asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if you’ll look at the screen here,” Jason turned back a little where a huge image behind the scenes of Greensleeves appeared. It was one of Annie licking cake off Clara’s face, “the show’s Instagram page is like fodder for the Clannie enthusiasts.”

“Oh my God, I forgot about that!” Annie burst out laughing. “It was Clara’s birthday! Season one! Jamie took this picture, actually. Right after I smashed Clara’s face into that cake.”

“It’s tradition.” Clara explained. “The cake licking part was definitely improvised.”

###

“Ben?”

“In here!”

Annie followed the sound of Ben’s voice and found him in the living room, folding laundry while watching whatever was on the telly.

“I am absolutely shattered.” Annie wrapped her hands around Ben’s waist and looked up at him. “Longest day in my entire life.”

“Likewise.” Ben murmured and kissed her. “Just got home a couple of hours ago. When I picked Rory up from my mum’s she was already asleep.”

“God, I wish I could be her for a day.”

“Yeah? Want me to give you baths and carry you in my arms and nibble on your little bum after I change your nappy?” Ben raised an eyebrow. “Just say the word. Also Joe and Gwil shot a weird little bit today when they read what Tumblr users said about the movie and cast and do people not wank anymore?”

“I, uh…” Annie was at a loss for words.

“How was your day?”

“If I have to hear about Clannie again I will definitely clock someone.” Annie released her grip on Ben and collapsed on the sofa. “Why are people so obsessed with this?”

“Two hot birds doing naughty things?” Ben shrugged. “I can see the appeal of it.”

“Ben, no.”

“Don’t be such a prude, now, love.” He put the last item of folded clothing in the hamper and flopped down next to Annie, his hand trailing up her thigh.

“Ben…”

“I missed you, alright?” his fingers poked their way under the waistband of her leggings. “I can’t stop missing you.”

“Ben, seriously, I’m so tired.” She grumped as he slid off the sofa and positioned himself in front of her, nudging her legs open. “I missed you too but -”

“Let me do all the work.” He looked up at her through his eyelashes as his hands gripped her waistband again. He looked up at Annie with his best puppy dog eyes and waited for her consent. With a sigh, she lifted her bum up, letting Ben pull her leggings and knickers down in one swift motion. “Good girl.”

###

When Ben’s phone rang for the fifth time and Gwilym’s name showed up on the screen yet again, he knew something was either horribly wrong or that Gwilym is drunk and emotional. Glancing at Annie, they both sighed in resignation before taking the FaceTime call.

“Have you been drinking?” Annie asked when Clara showed up on the screen. “What kind of fuckery is this?”

“We found a good story and we just had to share, alright? Calm your tits, Annie. It’s not a Clannie.” Clara rolled her eyes. “Why won’t Joe pick up?”

“I just texted him to pick up.” Ben shoved the screen into view. “As his husband, he’ll surely listen to me.”

“Bugger off!” Gwil turned his phone around and flipped him the bird.

“Why have I been summoned?” Joe asked, his face appearing on the screen.

“Well, we have a treat for you!” Clara practically sang.

“A treat?”

“Yours socks are going to fly right off, mate.” Gwil added as Clara pulled the story up on her phone. “You’re not ready for this.”

With a devilish smile to the camera, Clara cleared her throat and began.

“’Joe…?’ Ben croaked, eyes still closed, brow low and fingers wrapped firmly around his length over his jeans.” Clara started reading.

“Off to a good start.” Annie teased.

“It gets better.” Clara commented. “Right, where was I? Ah. There.” She snickered. “Suddenly, his eyes shot open and they landed on you once again; glassy and dazed they were as he stared you down, stroking himself with more purpose. He looked at you with such focus and intent, it was as though he was about to devour you whole. You looked at him with such longing, it was as though you were about to let him. ‘Undress… h-her.’ His words came out in a strangled whine and he bit his lip, looking over your body expectantly as Joe wordlessly obliged.” Clara raised her eyes from the screen and huffed. “Gwil, stop smiling like that!”

“What in the bloody hell is this?” Ben was visibly annoyed. “I do not whine. Annie, tell them I don’t whine!”

“He really doesn’t.” Annie nodded. “But Joe doing everything Ben says? That person hit the nail on the head right there.”

“Hey!” Joe’s brows knotted. “I don’t do everything he says!”

“But you do.” Ben and Annie choired.

“Shut up, you two-headed-monster.”

“People, can we please focus on the important stuff? There’s more to read here.” Clara scolded them. “Let’s see… Oh, this is good! Your nerves grew as a pair of warm hands rounded your shoulders from behind. Joe must have felt you tense up a little as he leaned down to murmur in your ear, ‘Alright, Y/N?’ The ghost of his words made you shiver on their way past.”

“Who the fuck is Whyanne?” Ben interrupted.

“Sounds like some hillbilly from a West Virginian trailer park with a potato gun and a cousin with missing teeth.” Joe added.

“What?” Clara was visibly confused.

“Who’s Whyanne and why did I tell Joe to undress her? This makes no bloody sense.”

“It’s written as Y-slash-N, you knobs.” Gwil explained. “Carry on, doll.”

“Anyways.” Clara continued. “You smiled at his redundant question - of course you weren’t.”

“I don’t like where this is going.” Joe commented. “Sounds a bit rapey.”

“Just let me finish!” Clara groaned. “You were certain your panties were soaked through at the mere sight of them - a fact you felt too compelling to keep to yourself. With that in mind, you shook your head slowly from side to side, eyes still on Ben before you, your chest inflating as you drew in a deep breath. Ben shot you a confused look, concerned you were having second thoughts.”

“Yeah, this is definitely rapey.” Joe concluded.

“Joe, if you won’t let her finish a bloody paragraph, so help me God…” Annie threatened, clearly invested in the story.

“Thank you, Banana!” Clara put a hand over her heart with a grateful smile. “Wait I lost my spot again… duh-duh-duh… there it is!” She smiled triumphantly. “Here we go. Hold on to your manties, gentlemen, this is about to get steamy.” She took a deep breath and got into character. “‘No,’ you breathed, tilting your head back to look at Joe. You reached a hand up to cup his jaw as he looked down at you, a look of worry overtaking his soft features.”

“My features aren’t soft.” Joe muttered. “They’re manly and feral.”

“Of course they are, bub.” Annie reassured him.

“Guys! Come on!” Clara snapped her fingers at the camera. “Focus!”

“Sorry.” Annie said sheepishly.

“’I’m so fucking wet and…”

“Whoa, whoa!” Ben cut her off. “Gwilym, control your woman!”

“She’s reading the story, you saggy tit.” Gwil explained.

“Joe emitted a soft whine -” Clara paused, knowing an interruption is due. “Joe, sweetheart, this sounds like something you’d do, don’t even think about denying it.” She pointed at the camera. “- Joe emitted a soft whine and his expression shifted; his eyes dark and nostrils flaring as his grip on your shoulders tightened. Pushing your ass back against his crotch, you disclosed, ‘…I think I’ve ruined my favourite…” Clara burst out laughing. “Sorry. ‘I’ve ruined my favourite -” the pitch in her voice rose ten octaves at the last syllable as she tried to stop laughing like a madwoman. “My favourite…” Clara was absolutely wheezing. She tried to finish the sentence, but all that came out of her was a screechy, “laaaaaace-pannnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeee”.

“What?” Ben looked at Annie in utter bewilderment. Annie shrugged in response.

“What was that last part?” Joe scratched his head as he tried to make sense of Clara’s incoherent shrieking.

“Lace panties.” Gwilym’s voice saved the day and translated his hysterical girlfriend’s nonsensical mumbling. “She ruined her favourite lace panties.”

“Oh.” Joe, Ben and Annie choired.

“Clara, compose yourself.” Gwil chuckled as she physically doubled over, tears running down, her laughter leaving her breathless. Moving to sit next to her and switch to the front camera on his device, he took Clara’s phone from her. “Right, guess I’m going to take charge now. You furrowed your brow, your mouth ajar as you began to slowly grind against him, your hand never leaving the side of his face as his eyes bore into yours.” Gwilym paused. “Seems anatomically impossible if her back is against you unless you have a freakishly long neck.”

“I thought she was looking at Ben?” Joe asked.

“She’s clearly looking at you, Joe.” Annie quipped.

“Joe tried to keep his composure - to play along in the same teasingly innocent tone as yours, but the feeling of you moving against him must have been a little to much to bear as he stuttered ‘oh n-no…” Gwilym snorted. “Wow Joe, got a little excited there, hm? His hands trailed down your waist before resting on your hips. He held onto them tight as he pushed his clothed hard on against you with such force you drew in a deep breath.”

“Oh, wow.” Annie leaned back, her eyes wide. “The power of Joe’s boner really got her there.”

“His voice was low as he murmured, ‘surely we can - ugh,” he licked his bottom lip, eyes closing a moment as you felt his cock twitch against your ass - he was just as worked up as you.” Gwilym paused there, mulling over what he had just read aloud. “Joe, whoever wrote this seems to think you have a speech impediment.”

“Right?!” Joe asked, “Why do I keep stuttering?! I’m the most charismatic one!”

“Anyways.” Gwilym said, ignoring Joe’s last comment. “His eyes fluttered open and he continued, ‘surely we can make it up to you’. ‘I’d like that Joey…’ you smiled.”

Joe, Ben and Annie waited, not sure if that was it or if there’s more to the story. After a minute of Clara’s heaving and the rest sitting in silence, Annie finally spoke.

“To be fair,” she looked at Ben, “if it weren’t for the lace panties, I’d be willing to bet cold hard cash that Gwil wrote that for himself to read.”

###

“Hey, Joe! I bought something for you to take on your tour!” Annie beamed mischievously.

It was the night the guys - minus Ben - were leaving for the press tour and Annie went out on a whim earlier that day and decided to tease Joe in the best way she could possibly imagine.

“Well? What is it?” Joe asked impatiently.

They were all gathered at Annie and Ben’s, from which the car to the airport was picking the rest of the guys up. Ben was mopey and miserable, a stark contrast to Annie’s cheeriness.

“Close your eyes.” Annie drawled.

“I’d rather keep them open, actually.”

“Alright then.” Annie shrugged and left the room to fetch Joe’s present. She returned with a life-sized cardboard cutout of Ben. “Ta-daaa!”

“I love it!” Joe gushed and rushed over to her, taking the present and looking it over. “What’s his name?”

“I call him Ben Cardy.” Annie said proudly. “You’re welcome.”

“Oh Ben!” Joe’s smile was so wide, his face could split in half. “It’s like you’ll be with us after all!”

###

Ben was staring at his phone intently, his hand lazily palming his crotch. He knew he shouldn’t have done that. He should not have gone down the Clannie rabbit-hole. But Annie was away at work, Rory was napping, and he just felt compelled to at least give it a look. He almost hung from the bedroom ceiling fan when Annie cleared her throat, announcing her presence. He dropped his phone with a yelp.

“Jesus, Annie!”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” Annie choked back a chuckle. “Also, surprise!”

“Why are you home?” Ben fumbled for his phone.

“Well, this is not what I was hoping you’d say.”

“Sorry, I mean -”

“I can leave if you want me to.” Annie suggested.

“What? No. Shut up.” Ben rambled. “Why are you home so early?”

“I figured you’d be sad and lonely now that the guys are away and decided to surprise you and come home early.” Annie shrugged. “Clearly, this isn’t the reaction I was expecting.”

“Christ. I’m sorry.” Ben’s face was beet-red. “I’m happy you’re home, obviously.”

“What do you have there?”

“Nothing.” Ben powered the screen off and tossed his phone aside. “C’mere.”

“No, there’s definitely something.” Annie stepped back and shook her head. “Was that porn?”

Ben had only a split second to think about a satisfactory answer that wasn’t also a total lie.

“Yes.”

“Well, that explains the tent you’re sporting.” Annie smirked. “Were you just getting started?”

“Uh.” Ben furrowed his brows.

“Alright. What’s up?” Annie pointed at Ben’s crotch. “Other than that.”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.” Shame flashed in Ben’s eyes. “Just regular porn, y’know.”

“Ben.”

“Annie.”

“Give me the phone.”

“No.”

“Are you…” Annie grimaced. “Are you sexting someone?”

“What? No!”

“You’re hiding something.”

“Annie, just let it go.”

“Fuck off. Give me the phone.”

Ben bit his bottom lip as he contemplated his next course of action. Either he tells Annie what’s on his phone, or he tries to distract her long enough for her to forget about it. When Annie lunged forward and made grabby-hands at his phone, his instincts kicked in. He physically blocked her.

“Annie, stop.”

“What the fuck!”

“It’s a Clannie story, alright?!” he almost growled at her. “There. Now you know.”

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

“Ben, that’s…” Annie struggled to find the proper adjective.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Ben looked mortified. “I was bored and lonely. It’s horrible.”

“Then why are you hard?”

“Because it turns me on.”

“I’m confused.”

“Look, it’s not Hemingway, alright?” Ben groaned. “But the stuff this person wrote? The mental image I have planted in my brain now?”

“Good Lord.”

“Just come here. Listen.”

“Have you gone utterly bonkers, Jones?”

“Seriously. Come here.” He patted the empty space on the bed next to him.

Muttering to herself, Annie did as asked and snuggled up to her boyfriend.

“Right, so I’m skipping the beginning because that was just all kinds of blah.” Ben’s voice had an animated quality to it as he scrolled. “There. Listen.”

“You’re awful.” Annie mumbled. “This is domestic abuse.”

“Shut up.” Ben got comfortable and began. “’I’ve never been with a woman before…’ Clara confessed shyly, avoiding Annie’s piercing gaze.”

“Starting off with a lie, I see.” Annie scoffed and rolled her eyes, trying to stop Ben from reading any further.

“Annie simply smiled at how bashful Clara had become. Reaching out, Annie tucked a wayward strand of hair behind Clara’s ear. Clara leaned into it smiling softly as her eyes met Annie’s once again. ‘Would you like to?’ Annie asked boldly -”

“Alright, stop right there.” Annie sat up straighter. “I am sick and tired of everyone feeling like Clara is this sweet, innocent, baby angel all the time and I’m some she-devil, maneater, sex-crazed banshee.”

“You were cast as Anne Boleyn for a reason, love.”

“That’s besides the point! Clara is a filthy, naughty little elf!”

“Right. Anyhow.” Ben cleared his throat. “‘Would you like to?’ Annie asked boldly sitting up on her heels so their faces were only inches apart. She could feel Clara’s warm breath ghost her cheeks as she replied quietly, ‘yes.’”

Ben paused and waited for Annie’s outraged reaction.

“No comment?” He asked, genuinely surprised.

“Nope. You know, with me being such a bloody whore and enticing sweet blondes into sex all the time and whatnot. Carry on.”

“I mean, where’s the lie, though?”

“In case you forgot, you kissed me on our first date. And convinced me to have unprotected sex.”

“You should thank me for it.” Ben booped Annie’s nose with his finger. “Gave us Rory.”

“Goddamn it. You’re right.”

“Let me just find where I was when you so rudely interrupted me and scared the shit out of me…” he scrolled through the story. “There. ‘Fuck Clara, so good!’ Annie moaned, bare chest heaving as she grasped at the bed sheets beneath her. For someone who had never been with a woman before, Clara certainly knew how to use her tongue in a way that had Annie screaming in delight.”

“This? This makes you horny?” Annie snorted.

“Shut up.” Ben kept scrolling. “Oh, this bit is juicy. ‘Thought about this for so long.’ Annie breathed, her fingers parting Clara’s slick folds and spreading her wetness around. Slick folds?” Ben blinked at the screen.

“My ears feel like they’ve been sexually assaulted.”

“Slick folds. Okay.” Ben took a second to recover. “Hmmm… ‘Thought about what your sweet voice would sound like moaning my name.” Annie continued. Clara’s breath hitched and hips jerked as Annie began lazily circling her engorged clit -”

“Oh my God that’s not even remotely sexy.” Annie covered her mouth with her hand. “Engorged clit?!”

“-’Fuck, Annie, make me cum!’ Clara almost sobbed.”

“Alright, stop. I’m the one almost sobbing.” Annie looked up at Ben as if she’d seen a ghost. “What the fuck was that?”

“I don’t know, but my cock is throbbing.”

###

“Do you two even realise what you’ve done?” Greensleeves’ executive producers were beyond livid. “The fans are furious!”

“They’re furious?!” Annie barked back. “Did you even see the utter shit that’s out there?!”

“It’s not that bad.” Clara shrugged. “Some of it’s pretty good.”

“Clara, if you don’t zip it -” Annie muttered, clenching her fists.

“Ben seemed to like it.” Clara blurted out in anger.

“Oh?” Jamie’s ears perked up. “Our little Benny Boy wants to see his girl get it on with her best friend?”

“Stay out of it, James.” If looks could kill, Jamie would be dead, resurrected and killed again, for good measure.

“Not a chance, Annabelle.”

“You imbeciles need to stop being so rude to our fans.” The executive leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, pointing at the trio. “If they want to write porn about the three of you, you shut up and look the other way. You don’t go on national television and bitch about it!” he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

“I’m guessing Ben won’t be into any Jannie stories, then?” Jamie quipped and earned a slap to the back of his head. “Ow!”

“Any publicity is good publicity?” Clara asked timidly.

“I mean, some of our fans loved our honesty. They’re all about Team Clannie now.” Annie said.

“Yeah, and some of them are planning to assassinate you for being evil enough to seduce Ben Hardy and Gwilym Lee with your witch-magic superpowers.” Mike finally spoke. “You two are in for some serious rounds of online shit-talking, ladies. Enjoy.”

#########

TAGLIST:  @ramibaby @xgoingdownx @qweenly @violetpond @sweeterthancheese @drummerqueenrmt @westansstuff @justgivemethekeys  @blondecarfucker @cheeseedreams47 @deacy-dearest @pinkmarvel @onceuponadetectivedemigod