#june: oh don't be mean he is trying his best!

[maegalkarven]

Astarion: should be easy

Astarion: *rolls 1*

[lets-try-some-writing]

imagine raf loosing a tooth on base

Oh boy. This is how I see that going down.

Ratchet: He would lose his scrap. He would immediately start frantically trying to call June and try to put the tooth back in because humans aren't supposed to loSE THE MOUTH BONES THOSE CAN'T BE REPLACED-!

Bulkhead: He would similarly panic and promptly attempt to preserve the tooth on Ratchet's orders. Human appendages can be put back on if the part in question is taken care of. The poor mech would struggle to not fumble something in his haste.

Arcee: She would try her best to help Ratchet with her smaller digits. She wouldn't panic too terribly, but she would indeed be VERY concerned. The mouth bones breaking out is a sign of something likely going very wrong in the body.

Bumblebee: He would panic but try really hard to hide it and play moral support, probably coming up with less than supportive comments along the lines of:

"If the worst comes to worst, we can make you metal mouth bones."

"If the mouth bones are important in your society, you can always wear a mask like me! We can be twins!"

"Don't worry! I am sure nothing is wrong probably! I've never seen a bone come out of someone on its own like that, but Ratchet's the best doctor we have! He can... probably fix it!"

Smokescreen: He would try to be helpful but ultimately be resigned to kid sitting duty while the rest of the team hurry to fix things. He would give similarly bad reassurance to Miko and Jack while the duo try in vain to explain.

Ultra Magnus: He would immediately begin writing a casualty report and an apology letter for Rafael's family. Losing bones in an organic creature probably means the creature in question is going to die. He would jump the gun and get the funeral rites prepared beforehand.

Optimus: He would play damage control and try to keep everyone calm to little avail. He might also begin to figure out that things are fine, but likely would end up a tad overwhelmed with Ratchet losing it.

When June eventually turns up to explain, the team are going to have to stand around like fools. Losing the mouth bones does not indicate death in young humans. It is merely a strange molt that the squishes go through as their frames change into their adult forms.

Ratchet will never stop being haunted.

[yuriisclumsy]

Greetings. I'm happy to see Cale x reader's request.. 💯

Can I request Cale x reader.. Where the reader is kidnapped, so Cale and the others try to help search her but Alberu, the reader's best friend already knows.. He be like : Yup, they didn't kidnap her but she kidnapped them.. Fluff and chaos .🤣🤣🤣

Thanks for reading.🫂🫂❤️❤️❤️

The Kidnapped Wife

[Authors Note]: Look! I updated again! Not my main muse, but I finally got a good idea for this one. Hope you all like this one! This request in back from June. PS. As you can see I don't have my iconic title. that's because of the limit in characters you can have per post. I hate it :D.

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 1084

»»►Getting kidnapped is something that would definitely happen to us, because, you know…we’re the wife of the most powerful man in existence.

»»►How did we get kidnapped? Oh, I don’t know…maybe it was because of the temptation of FOOD?

»»►Seriously, out of all the things they could have bribed you with, it had to be food? So uncouth.

…

“What do you mean [Name]’s been kidnapped?”

That was the first question Cale asked when he was informed his wife had been kidnapped.

Yes, you read correctly. You have been kidnapped.

And no, you did not take a nap. You’re no kid. I mean that bad people abducted you to an unknown place, far away from any village–hell, far away from any living soul.

“I received a letter from the letter’s boy under your name, Master Cale. When I grabbed it, I smelled the faint traces of poison coming from within it,” Ron explained.

There’s poison in this…?! Cale yelled in his mind, and let go of the paper instantly.

The butler smiled sinisterly, amused at Cale's actions of dropping the letter at the mention of poison. “So, to secure your wellbeing, I decided to open it and see if it was life threatening. But you needn’t worry, Master Cale. The letter only had a small amount of poison in it. It would only take effect if you were to hold it for a longer period of time.”

Bullsh-t. You knew it had poison, and didn’t bother warning me about it, you creepy old man.

“Right… Well, thank you for taking my health and well-being into consideration, Ron.”

“You are very welcomed, young master.” Bastard.

Cale turned his body to look outside the window. “Anything else regarding her?”

“Unfortunately, these foxes were more cunning than this old fool could have anticipated. They left no trace of their presence behind for us to possibly find.”

“...” Cale looked out where the children were playing, unaware of their ‘mother’s’ disappearance. “Call for Rosalyn and Raon. We need their magic for this, also…” he looked back at Ron, “get the crystal.” Ron’s smile widened. “We’re calling the imperial family. This could very well be an attack on the kingdom.”

…

Grunts and pants are the only sounds heard in a room turned upside-down from battling.

“You B-tch!” a man yelled.

“You’re calling me unpleasant?” The man went flying to the wall behind him at full speed. “Me?”

“Ah!” Another goon charged at you from the opposite side. You blocked it by grabbing his hand, going underneath, you punched him in the stomach. “Agh..!”

“Screaming your attack is very ineffective. Weren't you lot professionals?” You saw a small glimpse of the shining of a gun's metal. With quick reflexes, you throw one of the limited pieces of furniture from the palace you had been held hostage and threw it at him, rendering him immobile. “Cute try, but not good enough.”

You stood in the middle of the room full of bodies of men laying there in the ground either whining or crying out of pain. All this would have been avoided if they just decided to negotiate with you.

“Poor souls…”

…

“HAHAHAHAHA!” static cackling came from a ball on a table. It belongs to none other than the crown prince.

Cale looked at the prince like he had lost his mind. “...Why are you laughing?” Alberu looked up and stared at him through the crystal ball. Cale did not like that.

“Isn't it obvious?” He smirked, “clearly I think all of this is hilarious.”

Well no sh-t. Cale’s expression began to sour.

“Now, now, master Cale. Don’t look so distraught, [Name] is completely fine. In fact, I think she’s doing better than even I could have imagined,” he picture you beating the crap out of the kidnappers, much to his pleasure.

“Is that so…” Cale wanted to punch Alberu in the face. He just wanted to wipe that smirk off his mouth, even if it is a crime to do so. 

“Master Cale, if you would allow me?” Ron approached his master from the other side of the table.

“What is it, Ron?” Cale was as irked as he could be.

“I agree with the crowned prince,” Cale looked betrayed at Ron’s agreement on the situation. “Master Cale, [Name] is a talented individual. Surely, you should put some trust in her abilities.

“I’m also in support of this, [Name]’s prowess is no joke. She’ll make it home safe on her own,” Rosalyn commented.

“What the humans are saying is true,” Raon landed on Cale’s lap. “You can trust the Great Raon Miru’s judgment!”

“...” Cale closed his eyes. With all of this faith in you, he can’t ignore it.

“Fine.” He glared at Alberu. “But if she isn’t here by sunset, I'm sending Choi Han and Raon to get her.”

“That’s fine by me!”

With that, the call ended, and Alberu couldn’t stop from giggling at Cale’s worriedness for you.

“Ah… [Name], you’ve gotten yourself a worrywart as a husband.”

…

The sun had gone down a while ago, the birds went to rest, and the children had all gone to sleep on your shared bed. Yet, there was still no sign of you anywhere in sight.

Cale paced back and forth in the balcony, he did not enjoy worrying about someone's safety, much less yours.

“Master Cale.”

“Huh? Oh...Choi Han. Has there been any news?” He looked down and shook his head slowly. “I see… It’s getting late, you should head to sleep.”

“But, master Cale, who will–”

“I will.”

“...” Choi Han wanted to protest, yet he remained silent. He knew better than to argue with a stubborn man. “Yes, sir…” He left Cale with himself. 

Hearing a click from the door, Cale let out a frustrated sigh and scratched his head, annoyed at the situation at hand.

“...Where are you [Name]?” he whispered.

“I was gone for a day, and you missed me that much?”

“!” Cale twisted his body and faced the person that had spoken to him.

And it was none other than his lovely wife.

“Hi, Bo,” You smiled sweetly. “How are you?”

Cale sighted for what seemed like the 100th time this day. Only this time, it was out of relief. “I’m fine…” he said with a small smile.

“I’m glad…” You leaned and gave him a kiss on the check.

“Only there..?”

“Well, yes. I’m extremely hungry right now, and I want to eat,” with perfect timing, your stomach growled loudly.

“...” Cale’s eyebrow twitched at your response. He motioned his hand to look like a knife, and karate-chopped you in the head.

“OW–”

“I’ll go get Beacrox to prepare something for you. Wait here,” opening the door, he pointed at you. “And don’t. Move.” You giggled.

“Eye, eye, captain.”

With an approving nod he left in search of your meal.

𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚜: @lureslutes, @cruzerforce4256, @narcise63, @potterhead-whovian-117, @margieee194, @zenix108, @vimenorie, @lunavixia, @potterhead-whovian-117, @alithurism, @matchalyne, @minteaspoon, @dontknowhowtousethis, @valacz29, @rainalovesouya, @vimenorie, @lunavixia, @lablog5, @htshbtcp, @purposefulwhale, @leylnnn, @ixchelhernandez4, @minteaspoon, @mx-unreality, @ntcc2605, @lapislasulat, @lunavixia, @thxmiss, @sumariii, @pspsps28, @holy-bells, @bloomingblueorchid. Re-blog or Comment if you want to get added into the Tag section for Lout of Count's Family updates. Back to Lout Of Count's Family Master-List

Master-List

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Thailand is back in charge

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

June 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Wandee Goodday (Sat YT) ep 7 of 12 - There is so much to love about this pair. But one of the things I truly adore is what great communicators they are about what they want & need as friends & as lovers. As boyfriends? Not so much. But the way they can (and do and did) communicate speaks well to their ability to communicate in the future, once they have resolved the inevitable doom the BL gods will reign down upon us over the next 3-4 eps. I guess what I am say is... these two are gonna be awesome husbands.

The break up was sad but inevitable.

Yay for a crying kiss. I do so love a crying kiss! 

Can we talk about the fact that all that tension was worth it?

Excellent kiss all round from GreatInn. Possibly one of the best of the year. Their only issue in winning this category in 2024 is that they're up against OffGun, TayNew, and JimmySea, not to mention BillyBabe... and MosBank coming soon. But I gotta say, for a new pair? Fantastic work boys.

My Stand-In (Fri iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - I literally spent this whole show saying “Oh, Poor Joe!” Which is now the actual name of his character: Poor Joe. He's like the country music sad sack. How much is this narrative gonna keep kicking him while he's down?  

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 1 of 12 - Star Hunter + MosBank + a beloved familiar face? You ready? Let's go. I got a lot to say.

Unexpected supernatural historical paranormal mythological Sign-esk elements happening in our dream sequence opening. I’m not mad about it. But I do think it’s going to be mishandled in the dubious hands of Star Hunter. My BLabies, no matter what else, with Star Hunter we can rest assured there will be chaos and narrative mess. And now, lucky us, there will be a supernatural mess. But at least it will be sexy and high heat.

Honestly, I'm not worried about MosBank and I know what to expect from Star Hunter,. So we're all on the same page.

Meanwhile, enter a cute side couple (normal for this studio). WAIT a second I know that face! That's Tenon of PitchBank fame (side couple, and only good thing about, Golden Blood). I’m sad to see his pair busted, but delighted to see him pop up again in a BL.

Tenon appreciation time: He kisses beautifully everyone, and he is a killer eye-emoter. We are in for a real treat with this actor. (Especially if we get to a place in the narrative where he pines. OH PLEASE MAKE HIM PINE.)

Okay back to the show. I love Tenon but I also LOVE his infiltrating, wicked smart, younger brother character. This role is great for him. I adore an industrial spy. I enjoy a rich boy pretending to be an intern in his family's company (yes it's a trope, just not common in BL). Excellent work Thailand. No notes.

In conclusion?

It’s a cheesy silly office BL and I am enjoying it immensely because I have no expectations. So don't burst my bubble. Star Hunter is bound to do that on its own without tumblr's help.

We Are Cute (Weds iQIYI) ep 11 of 16 - Oh my God they are all so cute! I love the beginning bit when Peem was feeling down and Phum tried to cheer him up. Ridiculously charming. All the sides were super adorbs too. The actual name of this show is "We Are Cute". Meanwhile, Kluen = the only boy in a BL ever to take his unfinished drink with him? I like him even more now. 

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - New take on the umbrella trope to be trapped under a parasol together. NO SINGING. Honestly? I am not loving this as much as I really wanted to love it. It's the middle of the rankings for good reason. I do like the idea of historical Cinderfella BL though. Why isn't that what I'm watching? The play with in a play is a dangerous trope to deploy, it only distracts my with attractive possibilities. 

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 10 - I'm gonna try to cycle back to ending this rap-up week on Saturdays, which means the recap for this episode will be in next week's weekly (so to speak). Meanwhile, I am doing a Trash watch on this show. Hopefully that will get updated tomorrow.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 4 of 12 - It’s fun enough. Kind of a pulpy lark. Best + Seng = a surprisingly good match.

Only Boo! (Sun YT) ep 10 of 12 - Good kiss from the sides. No surprises there. The main’s kissing was fine too, I guess. I like that they had a genuine struggle with being an idol and not being able to date. It’s nice to see that depicted on screen in a BL. I wish we had a bit more of a montage around the rise & success of Moo's boy group. But I understand the money in play for this kind of show prohibits that. All in all? It’s fine. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

At 25:00 in Akasaka AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 9 of 10 - Oof. This ep was painful. So much awkward desperation and confusion. Oh Japan, must you?

Crazy to be in a place and time where there is no other noted non-Thai BLs airing. Not even from Korea. What is going on? Are we in 2020 all over again? Please no.

It's airing but...

The Last Time (Thai Fri YT?) - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something. Can't find it.

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ???) 10 eps - I can't find it. Comments from last week suggest this is not my thing anyway, but Lee Long Shi very much IS my thing. I've put the search on hold for a bit and y'all can let me know if it's worth tracking down. Also, who knew Frank & Big could kiss like that? Not me.

ARGH could Monster Next Door please just start airing. I am SO tired of waiting for Big to lead out a BL. It should have happened years ago. *grumbles in chronic second lead syndrome*

In case you missed it

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru 2 AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai 2 Haime! (Japan movie) - Continues the (frankly) lackadaisical story from part 1 ans was meant to drop yesterday. We thought maybe Gaga, but nothing so far.

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. Devastated this hasn't had international distribution.

As others see us: NuNew's 'Awful' Performance in BABYMONSTER's 'SHEESH' Goes Viral - I don't like BL being noticed by Kpop stans. I flipping LOATHE this song and I'm not wild about Babym. This is all 'round uncomfortable making and I want it to stop.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

June Releases Still Coming

6/26 The Rebound (Thai Weds Gaga) - MeenPing are back in their 3rd BL together, a basketball based romance (Meen was a national basketball player, so yay for that). I like this pair better than most (I still do miss Meen with Est but Est has a fantastic looking new BL coming from GMMTV so yeah...) Anyway I'm up for a sports romance starring a man who, yah know, actually played that sport so... I'm game (pun intended).

6/26 I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) 10 eps - A new series adaptation of beloved yaoi I Hear the Sunspot (first adaptation was feature film Silhouette of Your Voice 2017).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Forget "boyfriends but they don't realize it." These two are married but they don't realize it.

Praise be, he didn't leave his full drink behind. BEST BOY.

It was a great make out sesh.

THAT LIP BITE.

All round excellent ep this week, We Are Cuties.

Top tier flirting banker from the fuck buddies though. Man, their innuendo is on point. And I do mean that point. (Wandee Goodday)

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity

@rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember.

[babyjakes]

silent sins. [blurb.]

〈 disclaimer: this blog posts content not suitable for individuals under the age of 18. minors are strictly prohibited from viewing, sharing, or interacting with this blog. for more information on this blog's commitment to protecting minors, read our full statement here. 〉

event | june '23 ari-themed blurb night

summary | your dad's hot friend does unspeakable things to you on your parents' couch.

pairing | dark!dad's best friend!ari levinson x college student!reader

warnings | HEHE umm this is dark-ish ari (reader protests and begs to stop but he keeps going). dad's best friend!ari (with parents sleeping upstairs :')). daddy kink. like one line of praise. the rest is mocking, degradation, humiliation. heavy clit focus per usual. oral (f receiving). pussy slapping. ass play (fingering). implied forced orgasm. overstimulation. his hand over reader's mouth to keep her quiet.

word count | 519

an | okay i had so many requests for dad's best friend and stepdad ari filth sooooo i threw them all together into a little somethin hehe <3 thanks to a few nonnies and @lilacevans for the inspo, i tried to smash together mean!daddy, oral, pussy slapping, and ass play in this lil thing so i hope you all enjoy!!!

“No Ari, please—” you sob, your fingers tangled in his hair as you half try to push him away, yet half keep him locked in place with his messy beard rubbing so cruelly over your puffy folds.

The older man lets out a low, rumbly chuckle as he watches you squirm and try to keep yourself quiet. Tightening his grip on your inner thighs with his massive hands, he spreads you out further, holding you in place against your parents’ couch as he releases your poor little clit from his lips long enough to grumble, “Better keep it down, sweetheart. Wouldn’t want to wake them up, now would we?” He nods towards the stairs, reminding you of your sweet, innocent mom and dad who are sleeping so obliviously just a floor away.

"I-I'm trying," you whimper as his eyes fixate on your poor little button, so swollen from his relentless attention. "Please Ari, I-I can't take anymore," you try to reason as he pulls back the hood of your puffy bundle of nerves, admiring his own work.

"You can't?" he sings teasingly as he drags a bit of your wetness up from your dripping hole, swirling it around your poor clit and watching in delight as you squirt out weakly against him, beyond overstimulated at this point. "Oh but baby, you've been such a good girl for me," he croons as he rubs your little nub in slow, punishing circles. "Can't you give Daddy one more? Wanna see this pretty little pussy cum one more time," he frowns in mock sympathy as your little hands scramble to hold onto the pillows surrounding you.

"N-no Daddy, no more," you plead with wide eyes as you watch his face turn a bit darker at your refusal.

"No?" he repeats, securing back the hood of your clit with one hand as he examines the exposed knot of nerves. You yelp as his other hand lands down harshly against it; Ari's brow is furrowed in concentration as he rubs his flat hand against your juices to get it nice and slick before dealing you another slap, then another, right against your poor, aching clit. "Good girls don't say no, sweetheart," he reminds you, bringing his hands up to lick your mess from his digits before bringing a single finger down to plunge into your virgin ass.

"N-mmpphh!!" You let out something between a surprised whimper and a deep, humiliating moan as the large man's free hand comes up to slam over your mouth, silencing your protest. He grins as he pumps his thick finger in and out of your tiny little hole, licking his lips as his eyes settle back in on your pulsating clit.

"Now don't worry about making too much noise, princess— Daddy knows dumb little girls like you can't keep themselves quiet. You just cry into Daddy's hand as he makes you cum again, okay? Don't worry, baby; I'll make sure you give me a nice, big one," he chuckles before diving back in, his lips latching around your poor little button like they were made to fit each other.

[myteavsricochet]

Favorite firstprince fanfics, another incomplete list:

(Part 1)

Come Let Me Love You

Henry always struggled to have a good night's sleep. Alex made it easier over the years they had been together, but little cries in the middle of the night always woke Henry.

A little glimpse into a future where Alex and Henry are doting fathers to a beautiful little girl.

Obliviously Devoted

She looks at him in the way only June can. She's the only one he'll allow it from without a fight. "I don't know if you're ready to have this conversation or not."

His fork clatters to the plate in front of him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

June sighs a sigh of long-suffering and pinches the bridge of her nose, before she looks him dead in the eye and sets his world upside down. "You know you and Henry are dating, right?"

Alex gapes at her. Mouth hung open, eyes blown wide. "W-what?"

"I say this with all the love in the world," she says. "But sometimes, I swear, you are the most oblivious idiot on the face of the planet."

Tags: idiots in love, oblivious acd, best friends to lovers, alternate universe - roommates/housemates

(even though you want to) please try to never grow up

“You better have a good fucking reason for sending me to voicemail, Hen.” He glares at the phone for one second before he actually sees the screen, and then his face melts into something Henry can only describe as fond. “Oh,” he whispers, dropping his mug of coffee onto the counter so he can lean in closer to the phone. “Look who’s there.”

“Yeah.” Henry keeps his voice so low he isn’t even sure Alex can hear him. He doesn’t seem to mind, eyes taking in the picture in front of him with parted lips, the edge of his finger covering the camera when he undoubtedly reaches to caress his daughter’s head.

Or, Alex misses his daughter when he goes back to work after a long paternity leave.

tags: domestic, tooth-rotting fluff, family fic

Let Me Wash Away Your Worries

Alex has had a terrible week. Henry is right there to take care of him.

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Bath Sex, Cuddling & Snuggling, Romantic Fluff, Praise Kink, Alex Claremont-Diaz Needs a Hug, Worship

ephemeral enchantments

in which Henry is an overworked barista with a tendency to embarrass himself in front of everything that breaths and Alex is charmed from the first time he met him.

Tags: Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Awkward Flirting

Three fights Alex and Henry never had

Yes, Alex and Henry got their Happily Ever After. But that doesn't mean everything was just automatically perfect when they moved in together...

Tags: Established Relationship, Domestic Fluff

am i homophobic? (URGENT) (PLEASE HELP)

Now, it might be pretty early in the morning and Alex’s brain functions might not be working as quickly as they normally do, but he can still put two and two together. There's a strange man in their kitchen. Henry is shirtless, rumpled, and holding two pairs of boxers. Henry and this Sam guy slept together. Which… obviously is fine because Alex is not an asshole, but he’s definitely feeling something about this development that he will examine at a later date. But of course, instead of saying something normal, you know, like a normal person would, he says, “Ohh.” Like a fucking weirdo.

or: the "am i homophobic?" roommate au that no one asked for

Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Sexuality Crisis, Mentions of homophobia, no one is like actually homophobic though, Idiots in Love, Explicit Sexual Content, Unsafe Sex

The shape of your lips bruising my heart

So, that neck-kissing scene in the bloopers? Yeah, that one. Well. I wrote it.

—

In which Alex has a hard time leaving the hotel after their night in Paris.

you’re leaving (now i’m left amongst the living)

Six years since they've been together, Alex and Henry were now a far cry from the lovestruck couple they once were when their history began. If you ask Alex, all of it was Henry’s fault. If you ask Henry, he’d agree and say that Alex was right.

But before Alex could ever find out why Henry does not seem like the man he once decided to spend the rest of his life with, he already walked away from it all. Now, Henry was alone, left to deal with whatever shattered remains he could salvage from his life.

Or, the one where Henry’s sick and Alex only finds out two years after they've broken up.

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Lawyer Alex, Writer Henry, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Fluff and Angst, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Hospitalization

Fifty First Dates

Henry has used a dating app exactly one time. Predictably, the date turns out to be terrible. The bartender, however, is not.

OR

A cute stranger’s solution to Henry’s woeful dating life is to set him up on fifty first dates.

Most People Exist

Henry Fox is a nurse at the New York Cancer Center. He’s happy with his job, content enough with his life, but it all gets turned on its head when he connects with a patient with a brain tumor—Alex Claremont-Diaz.

———

Henry is a nurse, Alex is a patient.

Tags: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Cancer, Nurses & Nursing, Minor Character Death, Falling In Love, Slow Burn, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, They will end up happy I pinky swear

i want your dreary mondays

“You little menace,” a voice says from the door, entirely too fond to be anything mean. “I told you to wait by the car, not go inside.” The man steps inside, shaking the rain from his hair, and Henry is treated to the sight of the most beautiful man he’s seen in his entire life, standing in the middle of his shop with clothes dripping to the floor and raincoat bundled up around him. He notices then the umbrella clutched in the little boy’s hand, the innocent wide eyes watching his father, and the picture forms in his head.

Or, five times Henry makes a piece of art for Alex's son on his drinks, and one time he does it for Alex himself.

It's Nice to Have a Friend

Two boys meet on a beach, build a sand castle, write letters, and fall in love.

Tags: Alternative Universe - Childhood friends, Friends to lovers, Slow Burn, Growing up together

Leave A Message

"This is Alex Claremont-Diaz's phone. If it's a business matter, I don't know how you got ahold of this number, but if you have my number that means you probably have Zahra's. Call her instead. If you're friends or family, just text me. If you're anyone else, I'll call you back as soon as I can."

Or: Alex's voicemail message over the years, and the messages people leave for him.

I must tell you what you will not ask

Henry's lower lip wobbles, and a fresh tear rolls down his cheek. Alex watches it track down to his chin, and wonders if Henry would mind him wiping it away. “I really was looking forward to seeing them.”

Another tear escapes, and this time Alex can't help but lean forward and brush it away with his thumb. Henry's breath catches, and he looks at Alex, wearing an expression he can't quite parse. “Come home with me,” Alex blurts out.

Henry's plans for Christmas fall through, so Alex invites him home for the holidays. They're best friends, strictly platonic roommates, so why does everyone think they're dating?

drive-thru mornings

“Would you like to pay cash or by card, sir?”

Alex startles, but recovers quickly and smiles charmingly at the girl in the window. Maggie, her tag reads. “By card, darlin’,” he says. “Actually, could I pay for the man behind me, as well? I have no idea what he ordered, but he’s strikingly handsome, isn’t he?”

Tags: Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in love

you turned a moment (into forever)

Sharing an apartment with Alex had seemed like a good idea at first. They’re best friends, prices in Brooklyn are absurd, and they had both been in urgent need of residence – it only made sense.

Except for the small, tiny, teeny, barely there fact that Henry has been in love with Alex from the first moment he laid eyes on him. And the fact that Alex doesn’t know, and can never find out.

—

Or, as coffeecatsme so eloquently put it: Roommates AU where Alex has insomnia and slips into Henry’s bed every night because it’s the only way he gets a good night’s sleep.

You Can Hear It In The Silence

At the Lake House, Henry doesn’t run when Alex tells him he loves him. But he can’t say it back; too afraid of the consequences it would have, no matter how true it is. But as the truth settles in, Henry decides Alex is worth fighting for. So he does.

A Long Way From the Playground

Henry and Alex were best friends growing up until they went to separate colleges and they grew apart. When they see each other again as adults, against the odds, both living in the same city again, will it be a joyful reunion or will the pain of the years apart get in the way? How do you become friends again when there is so much of the past in the way?

Oblivion

The man starts to cock the hammer of gun, and Alex squeezes his eyes shut, his lower lip trembling almost imperceptibly.

“Stop!” Henry shouts, his voice cracking. “I’ll give you whatever you want, I’ll do anything…just please, don’t hurt him.”

Alex’s eyes fly open, shooting Henry the same incredulous look that he gave him in the hallway, and Henry knows he’s shown too much of his hand, revealed a part of himself that he’d sworn he would take to his grave, but he’s too full of fear and desperation to feel self-conscious about it now. He can deal with the consequences when they get out of this.

If they get out of this.

******

What if the moment in the hospital wasn’t a false alarm and the publicity surrounding the forced bromance between Alex and Henry had the adverse effect of them being kidnapped together?

Confidential Memorandum

"Hello, Mr. Fox-Mountchristen's office. How may I help you?"

"Hello, can I speak to Mr. Fox-Mount-krishen, please?"

Alex blinked. After two weeks of hearing nothing but the voices of snooty men and frazzled secretaries calling in, the person on the other line now sounded decidedly neither snooty nor male nor in any way adult.

It was a little girl.

"Mr. Fox-Mountchristen's unfortunately in a meeting right now,” Alex began slowly, “but I could take a message?"

"Oh." The girl paused. "You're not Mr. Hunter."

Alex starts a new job as Henry's new assistant. Henry's daughter keeps calling the office and leaving him messages.

we thought we ruled the world

Alex stares down at his latest text from Henry. A link to an article he’s seen about ten versions of so far. He’s managed to resist clicking on any of them, but now Henry is sending it, so he supposes he should at least give it a skim.

How Prince Henry’s Relationship With FSOTUS Lost Ellen Claremont The Election

............

Or, what would have happened if Ellen lost.

Run, Don't Walk

Henry loves sex. He loved sex even before he was with Alex, although there's something to be said for the level of precision and intimacy acquired through years of learning each other's bodies. He's liked being filled from the first time he ever experienced the feeling, and he doesn't think he'll ever love anything quite as much as he loves getting fucked.

But this? This is giving him pause for thought.

Tags: Porn without plot, Marathon sex, Henry loves sex, and Alex, and sex with Alex

london bridge has fallen down

Alex can feel the eyes of the room on him as Shaan approaches his side. Then, Shaan quietly murmurs in his ear. They’re words he’s thought about before, distantly wondering about what might happen when they were finally uttered. How their lives might change. There’s nothing that can prepare him for the reality of it though, nothing that can prepare him for how his breath hitches when Shaan speaks.

‘London Bridge is down, Sir.’ 

---

Queen Mary is dead. Henry doesn't know how to feel.

Screw Your Courage to the Sticking Place (and forget macbeth is a fucking tragedy)

"You don't owe me anything."

"Of course I do. If you have time now...there are things I'd like to say."

Alex hesitates.

"I know I don't have any right to ask you to listen," Henry adds. He sounds so hopeful though.

A little closure doesn't sound like a terrible thing. Agreeing to go with Henry, alone, to Kensington Palace sounds like returning to the scene of a crime.

It's been over a decade since their breakup - Alex is now a single dad forging his career as a lawyer, and Henry's finally getting the courage to stand up to his grandmother. In finding themselves, can they also find their way back to each other?

[skyeeuphixia]

𝚃𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚢 𝚂𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚋𝚢 // 𝚆𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎

Thomas Shelby x lover oc (dorothy)

in which tommy comes home to sights worse than war

═════•°• ⚠ •°•═════

warning/s: mentions of war

words: 2.5k

═════•°• ⚠ •°•═════

If there was one constant in Tommy's life, it was his girl. Dorothy.

Through all his hardships, she was right there by his side. The two of them were like something out of a storybook, they were always in their little world as if they were constantly walking through a serene forest specifically crafted for them, rather than the smoky streets of small heath. When she was around, nothing else mattered to him. 

From the first day he met her, he was captivated by her, and no matter how many times his brothers or Aunt Polly rolled their eyes or teased him for saying so, he knew he'd marry her one day.

•°• ⚠ •°•

June, 1897

"You alright?" A young boy asks, standing close to her. 

Dorothy was walking home from school, her pristine braided plaits bouncing as she walked. She was looking down at her feet as she walked, something her mother often yelled at her about as it would 'ruin her posture'. Her mind was filled with the little symphonies she constantly composed, melodies meant to drown out the relentless clatter of the factories meaning she didn't hear the sound of speeding footsteps running toward her.

Suddenly someone barrelled into her shoulder harshly, causing her to tumble to the ground. Her eyes cloud with tears as she feels the harsh sting of her hands and knees colliding with the cobblestones. The person who collided with her didn't even look back, but it was the person who was chasing him that stopped. 

Dorothy looked up to be met with the brightest blue eyes she's ever seen, they were so hypnotizing that she almost forgot what he asked her. 

She wiped her eyes as she was adamant that she doesn't cry in front of people. She huffed as she sat up, mumbling, "What do you think?"

The boy holds his hand out to Dorothy, which she begrudgingly takes and he pulls her to her feet.

"You're bleeding'" He observes, looking at her grazed hands and scraped knees. 

"Oh well spotted," she snaps slightly.

"Hey, I wasn't the one that pushed ya. That was Freddie you should be mad at him," He points out, once again she just pouts and huffs slightly. He takes her hand, or more so he holds onto her fingers to avoid touching the scrapes on her palm and hurting her further, and her begins walking with purpose.

"What are you doing?" Dorothy asks, trying to pull her hand away, but his calloused hand is stronger than hers.

"I'm Thomas Shelby, by the way," the boy introduced himself, without looking up from his task.

He didn't say anything and something in her just told her to trust him, so she went with him willingly. He pulled her towards the cut. Once they arrive, he sits her down on a small chunk wall. He takes out a handkerchief from his pocket, dipping it into the water. Once satisfied he walks back up to her and kneels in front of her, gently padding the handkerchief against her knee, wiping away the dirt and blood. 

Dorothy winced, and each time he softened his touch, as if he were learning how to be gentler.

"Dorothy Hawthorne," she mumbled shyly.

"That's a long name...I'll call ya Dottie," He decided, as he moved to wipe her hands.

"I'd prefer if you didn't," 

"Too late, Dottie it is,"  he replied, a sly grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

•°• ⚠ •°•

From that moment onwards, Tommy was infatuated with 'his Dottie'. He started going to school more often to catch a glimpse of her, he would even ditch his brothers to be around her, it was quite annoying in Dorothy's opinion. But over the years, and as he refused to leave her alone, she decided to give the boy a chance and pretty soon they were best friends in every sense of the word. 

"I don't need you to be anyone, other than who you are Tommy," she'd say, running her fingers through his hair as they lay in the grass, heads tilted towards the sky.

Dorothy and Tommy couldn't pinpoint when the line between friends and love began to blur, but by the time they were 15, there was no doubt they were in love. To Tommy, Dorothy was the light that made his life a little less grim. With her soft red curls that always perfectly caught the sun and her eyes that shone with optimism that no one in the dreary city shared, she truly was everything Tommy thought he didn't deserve.

Dorothy had this way of making Tommy feel genuinely seen and heard. They would take regular walks around the canal and to the nearby fields, hand in hand where she would listen to him with a patience that no one else gave him. He would ramble on, he'd rant, and, being quite the dreamer back then, share his grand plans of rising above it all, of making a name for himself. And Dorothy, always with that quiet belief in him, never doubted that he would.

"Always know how to ground me, eh Dot?"

"Don't call me that,"

When everything in his life went wrong, it was Dorothy he ran to.As long as she was around, Tommy could smile, laugh, and joke, like nothing else mattered. He was always longing for the feeling of her arms thrown around his neck as they looked at each other longingly. She was his anchor, his constant—his safe place in a world that often felt too harsh.

But when the war came, it shattered the fantasy they had built together. They were ripped from the little world they had created, and everything changed. Tommy could still remember, with painful clarity, the day he told her he was leaving. And even more vividly, the day he left.

•°• ⚠ •°•

August, 1914

"Talk to me, Thomas," she whispers, her voice cutting through the silence.

The sky hung low and heavy across Birmingham, with thick clouds threatening to rain and a cool breeze in the air carrying the last whispers of summer with it. They were once again in the field, both sat under a tree. Their tree. 

Tommy was laid back on his hands while Dorothy lay beside him, her head resting on his chest. Her fingers delicately trailed along his shirt, and for a while, the world felt calm. But Dorothy could feel it in how quiet he was and the way he held her, that something was wrong.

He didn't reply to her at first, his gaze remaining out on the sky. The tension in the 24-year-old's jaw was visible, and eventually, his blue eyes met hers, clouded with emotion that Dorothy hadn't seen in him before, "I enlisted, in the war. My brothers and I leave in a few days,"

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. Dorothy's breath caught in her throat, her heart hammering in her chest. She had known, of course, that this day might come. Everyone in Small Heath had been talking about the war for weeks now, the rumors, the uncertainty. But hearing it from Tommy—her Tommy—made it all too real.

"A few days?" She whispers, her breath catching in her throat, her hand coming up to cup his cheek. "Tommy you...you can't, there must be something-"

"Dottie," He interrupts, his hand coming up to hold hers, his eyes softening, "I have to. It's happening, I have no choice"

Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. Not yet. Not in front of him. Instead, she tried to be strong, tried to smile the way she always did when the world felt too heavy. “Then I’ll come with you,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I’ll wait for you, wherever you are.”

Tommy gave a sad chuckle, shaking his head. "You know you can't love."

“I can,” she insisted, the desperation in her voice growing with every word. “I’ll follow you anywhere, Tommy. You know that. I don’t care where it is.”

Without saying a word, he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her like he could shield her from the storm that was coming. She buried her face in his chest, breathing him in, clinging to the moment, knowing it was slipping through her fingers.

"You'll wait for me here," he murmured, his voice low in her ear. "And I'll come back. I promise."

•°• ⚠ •°•

The train station had never been busier than the day that they left. Part of Dorothy prayed Tommy would get stuck in the crowd and miss the train by some miracle, but it seemed that God had too many prayers to answer that day, before she knew it, he was in front of her, holding her tightly for what felt like the last time.

"You better come back" she whispers.

"You know I will," he whispers back, his voice fighting to remain steady. The whistle of the train pirces through the station and with one last squeeze, Tommy let her go, running toward the train. The platform was flooded with women and children, waving tearful goodbyes to husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons. Dorothy stood frozen among them, her heart in her throat as she watched him leave.

Tommy stuck his torso out the narrow compartment window, a boyish grin on his face despite everything, his brothers laughing at him from behind. Dorothy rushed to him, her hands gripping the window’s edge as she stood on her toes, catching his lips in a desperate, emotional kiss.

"We'll be back by Christmas, Dottie,"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" She chokes out.

"At least one more," he chuckles, his hand reached for her cheek, lingering for just a moment longer, before the train began to pull away, taking him from her.

•°• ⚠ •°•

But they weren't home by Christmas, Four long, torturous years passed, and with each one, Tommy lost a part of himself. The war had stripped him bare—his smile faded, his jokes became rare, and his laugh was carried away on the bitter winds of France. The man who had once been full of life felt like a shadow of himself. 

However there was the occassional glimps of light amidst the chaos. Everytime a letter from Dorothy arrived, a flicker of his old self returned and for a brief moment he could smile again. He kept every single letter she sent, tucked safely in the pocket of his uniform—right over his heart, the only thing still capable of keeping him grounded in the hell they were living through. 

Feeling them was his only motivation to keep going.

He had promised her he'd come back for her.

Over time, the letters became less and less frequent, but that didn't come as a surprise to Tommy. There wasn't much for him to tell her, what was there to say when everyday was filled with dirt and death? And Dorothy...had already used all variations of words in the English dictionary to say she loved him.

"You better come back" she had said.

Eventually, the day came that he could go home. His brothers were engaged in a deep conversation about home, while Tommy looked out the window at the rolling fields, but he wasn't really seeing them. His thoughts were miles away, buried deep in the trenches of France, where everything had been consumed by mud, blood, and fire. Sure the war was over now, but it clung to him, a shadow that refused to lift.

He shifted in his seat, adjusting the hat pulled low over his eyes as if the familiar flat cap could shield him from the memories clawing at the edges of his mind. The trenches had been hell, but it wasn't the mud or the screams that haunted him most...it was the silence. The silence that stretched on when the gunfire stopped when the dead lay still, and all he had left were his thoughts. And his thoughts always went back to Dorothy.

And he had promised. He had told her he would come back. But the Tommy who had made that promise...that boy...was gone. The war had taken him, just like it had taken everything else.

Once they arrived at Small Heath, John, and Arthur wasted no time going to the Garrison, but Tommy just wanted to see his girl. The streets were the same, but they felt different—empty in a way they hadn't before, but something gnawed at him, a sense that the world he had left wasn't quite the same one he had come back to.

It wasn't until he saw the posters that the dread set in.

His Dottie's face was on every wall, lamppost, and window. Her name in big bold letters:

MISSING, DOROTHY HAWTHORNE

Dorothy's bright smile stared back at him, but it was a mockery now, surrounded by a message that chilled his bones. Tommy stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the poster as though it couldn't possibly be real. His heart pounded in his chest, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind, but all he could do was stand there, frozen.

When the words sunk in, he ripped the poster of the wall, crumpling it in his fist, before shoving it into his pocket. Without a second thought, he marched straight to the old betting den, his heart pounding with a mix of disbelief and rage. The moment he burst through the door, his eyes found his Aunt Polly. She barely had time to acknowledge him before he slammed the poster down on the table in front of her.

"How long?" His voice sharp, like a knife ready to cut thriugh whatever lies had been kept from him.

Polly looked up at him, and for the first time, Tommy saw the deep sadness in her eyes, the kind that spoke of years spent carrying the weight of a world no one else could understand. It seemed like she had been holding it all together for far too long.

"Just over ten months now," her voice quiet almost like she was bracing for a storm.

"10 months...10 MONTHS! AND NO ONE THOUGHT TO TELL ME?!" He raged, smashing one of the glasses on the table. Polly knew that Tommy had a temper, he was bound to inherit something from his father, but this was anger she hadn't seen from him. The war had made him harder, darker, and she had a sinking feeling this kind of fury might become a new part of him.

"You were at war Thomas, facing god knows what. We didn't want to give you a reason to go out and get yourself killed," 

Thomas couldn't bare to listen to another word, storming out of the house towards their field, their sacred place. The same picture of him mocked him the whole way there. But when he got there, it was no longer the sactuary that he remembered. The wildflowers were gone, wilted and forgotten. The birds that once filled the air with song were silent. The sky above was a dull, lifeless grey, and the entire world felt void of her, as if she had taken all the light with her when she left.

Her name caught in his throat, a whisper at first, then a desperate cry torn from his chest.

“DOTTIE!”

His voice echoed through the empty field, but it brought no comfort, no answer...just the sound of it fading into the wind, as hollow and lost as he felt.

•°• ⚠ •°•

(fin)

part 2?

[starrywyatt]

chapter 3: he let you have his bed? man's in love!

☆ never saw it comin'- a george clarkey story ☆

! THIS STORY READS BEST IN DARK MODE !

intro

chapter 1

chapter 2

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

madison pov:

i woke up and my surroundings were unfamiliar and then i remembered i was in george's room... in his clothes. i rub my eyes and sit up, deciding i should probably get back changed before facing the others as i don't want to give off the wrong impression.

i get changed and head to the living room to let george know he can go back to his room if he wants to. i open the door and george is already awake stood over the stove, cooking something. "morning" i say, trying not to make him jump. "ahh good morning, did you sleep okay?" he asks. "yeah your beds actually a lot comfier than mine, i think i need a new mattress" i laugh. "did you sleep okay?" i ask. "the sofa is actually not that bad, but i was awoken by arthur leaving early this morning, so i just decided to stay up and make breakfast" he says and i do still feel bad. "ahh that's annoying. thank you so much again for letting me stay over, i'll probably call abi and then we'll get out of your hair" i say, pulling my phone out. "i promise, it's no bother. you can stay for breakfast if you want, i've definitely made enough" he suggests. "are you sure? i wouldn't mind staying" i smile and he begins to plate up some pancakes and bacon.

we sit just us two at the kitchen island and tuck into the food george had made. "oh wow, it's really good. thanks george" i say between mouthfuls. "that's alright, may as well complete the bed and breakfast status" he says and i laugh.

we make small talk about our plans for the week and i realise just how easy he is to talk to and i can tell he takes a genuine interest when i talk to him. "when are you on tour?" he asks. "well, the proposed dates are in june, so in a couple months but i'm just waiting for my manager to let me know if arthur's confirmed the dates" i say. "ahh okay, going all across europe?" he asks. "pretty much, yeah. europe and the uk and ireland so should be good but scary" i laugh. "i'm sure you'll smash it, i mean how many live shows have you played? probably a fair few and festivals? their crowds are probably 3 times the size" he says, trying to reassure me. "you're so right, will just be weird. probably weird for arthur too" i say. "yeah, i mean i've been to all his london shows and i think the biggest is 1000" "aww that's cute that you've been to all of them" i say. "yeah, i mean of course got to support my friends and it's so nice to have friends that make genuinely good music. you included if i'm being nice" he says, jokingly rolling his eyes. "we're friends? aww" i say sarcastically. "don't try it otherwise i'll never be nice to you again" he says, making both of us laugh. and suddenly, we're interrupted by abi and chris walking out his bedroom. abi was in a tshirt that was way too big for her and what looked like chris' boxers, how did we both end up this way? "sounds like you two are having a good morning" chris says and walks over to the kitchen to begin making drinks for him and abigail. she walks over to me and gives me a side hug from my seat. "you okay?" i ask her. "yeah, tired" she yawns. "you slept all the way through the best movie ever, how are you tired?" george says. "you literally turned it off as soon as chris left" i say. "shush" he says and turns back round to his food.

i finish my food and george kindly takes my plate and puts it in the dishwasher and abi finishes her coffee and has some toast as chris' cooking abilities don't stretch too far. she goes and gets changed and we head back home. "thank you so much for having me, hopefully see you again soon" i say, hugging george, i turn round and see abi and chris chatting away in the corner and turn back to george and shake my head and he just laughs. i clear my throat and they both turn around and hug goodbye before me and abi head downstairs.

"so, did you kiss?" i ask abigail. "no! just cuddled. it was nice but no he didn't make a move" she shrugs. "maybe the boys were right about his bad rizz" i laugh. "you and george? there's definitely something going on" she says, changing the subject. "literally no! i just had no other option because someoneeee fell asleep" i say, nudging her side and she just looks away. "it's fine, i slept in his bed and he took the sofa." "he let you have his bed? man's in love!" abigail says. "shut up! he's literally not... is he?" i smirk. "i'm joking! i'm joking" i say straight after, laughing. "do you like him?" abi, nudges me as we get onto the tube. "i don't know him well enough to like him! but he's good to talk to i don't know. i'm saying no right now. i think we'd just be friends" i say and abigail just smirks.

i get home and olivia finally calls with the final decision from arthur's team. "hellooo" i say. "right, finally spoke to arthur's management and tour is a go! he is free for all the dates and as i'm sure you're aware, very keen to come. someone from the label is making the graphic as we speak and then you can post it tonight" she explains and i'm excited to finally tell everyone the exciting news.

as i'm laying in my bed scrolling tiktok, i receive a message from andrew.

i was planning on bed rotting for the rest of the day, so i suppose it gets me out the flat. i flick through my wardrobe and spend far too long deciding on an outfit but i finally do and decide to tease the tour announcement on instagram...

my dms are immediately flooded with questions and i have to fight the urge to leak it to everyone. as i'm about to leave, i get a notification:

georgeclarkeey liked your story

why does that plaster a stupid smile on my face? i snap out of it and wait on the corner for max and andrew to appear as my flat was on their way to wagamamas. "oh hello" i hear max's voice from behind me. "hellooo" i hug both of them. "you look nice!" andrew says and we pull away. "thanksss" i smile and we head to the restaurant.

"so, did you speak to arthur?" max asks as we sit down. "yeah, it's happening! i went to the boy's flat the other night and told him" i explain. "umm where was our invite?" max says. "sorry! i was just gate crashing abi's plans with chris" i explain. "yeah, what's going on?" max asks and i explain that there's pretty much nothing but they're being very flirty. "speaking of flirty, george told me you stayed over" andrew says. "what? when did he tell you that?" i laugh nervously. "i went to their podcast filming today, he seemed pretty happy with himself for it" andrew raises his eyebrows. "that makes it sound like we slept together. abi fell asleep, so i went in his bed and he slept on the sofa" i shrug. "interesting" max says. "what!" i laugh. thankfully the topic is diverted and we have a nice meal.

"it's so fun being a third wheel" i say sarcastically as max and andrew have a quick kiss. "well, we could've invited george" max says. "right, i'm going toilet" i say, actually needing to go.

we pay the bill and head home, i get in and abi's not here. i pull my phone out and have a few notifications:

💬messages george clarke

i assume abi's already messaged but she's come over to see chris

if you're free after dinner, me and arthur are just hanging out if you want to come over

💬messages abigail <3

just heading over to see chris, feel free to come also after dinner! hope you had a nice meal

the messages were sent over an hour ago and it was now 10pm, so i decide it's probably a bit too late to head over now. i message both of them back.

i take a seat on the sofa and turn the episode on and am laughing within the first 20 seconds. max and george's personalities just fit so well. i make it through the first 15 minutes and then the story begins. i vaguely remember george telling me about this when we were drunk but he didn't explain the full thing. however, after listening to the story i actually just feel really sad for george because from what i've seen of him he does seem like a genuinely sweet guy and that is a really horrible thing for someone to do.

(aware 10pm on a sunday is a random time to announce a tour but for the sake of the story just go with it lol)

george also shared the post to his story...

i answer the call and am met with george's face right up close. "oh, camera's on. hello" he says, making me laugh. "hello" i reply. he turns the phone around to face abi. "oh hello. sorry, i came over to the boy's flat and now we're building lego so i'll probably stay over" she explains. "damn, i've been replaced" i fake cry. "you could've come!" she says. "i know, i know i'm joking. i kinda like having the empty flat" i shrug. "i can't lie watching these two build lego is tedious. i'll probably head to bed soon" george explains, sitting back in his seat. "how was your dinner with max and andrew?" george asks. "yeah it was nice. ended up staying much later than intended because max had a million things to tell me" i laugh. "classic max" george sighs sarcastically. "but it was good. actually, when does the best episode of the useless hotline so far come out?" i ask. "my solo episode isn't happening for a few weeks" george says in joke confusion. "ha ha, i mean my episode bitch" i reply. "oh, i think it's been pulled, callum predicted views to be too low... next sunday" he sighs. "good, give the people what they want" i shrug. "is arthur there?" i ask. "yeah, do you want to talk to him?" george asks. "yes please" he walks into the kitchen and hands his phone to arthur. "hello! oh george george, that hinge girl just messaged you that your penis was really big and she wants to shag again" arthur says pretending to read a notification, looking up at george and i laugh. "shut up arthur, that can't be true because it's tiny" george replies, not appreciating arthur pretending to embarrass him.

"how do you feel about the tour announcement?" i ask. "good! most of the comments have been positive" "yes, people are so happy you're coming! i'll probably come to yours when tickets go on sale so we can be nervous together" i laugh. "yeah definitely. when is that, friday?" he asks and i confirm. "can you guys shut up now, i want my phone and my bed" george walks over and me and arthur say goodbye. "rude" i smirk to george. "well, i'm tired and watching chris and abigail is like watching paint dry" george says. "can i say bye to abi?" i ask and george walks over with his phone. "goodnight guys" i say. "night night, i'll be home tomorrow morning" abi says. "okay, have fun but not too much" i raise my eyebrow.

george walks back to his room. "right i'm gon-" he starts. "wait, have they kissed?" i whisper. "umm, i don't think so. lots of physical contact but chris is a pussy so i don't know if that will happen" george says. "for fuck sake, he needs to hurry up" i say. "he's only got little legs bless him, he probably can't even reach her lips" george jokes. "for fuck sake" i say through laughs.

we wrap up the conversation and i decide it's also time for me to head to bed. "alright, good night george" i smile. "good night madi" he says and we end the call. madi? that's the first time he's called me that.

apologies about the way the text messages are laid out, transferring this from wattpad and tumblr layout is funny

[vettelinyourarea]

Hi hi hi there! I absolutely adore your works can you make one for Oscar Piastri + If by chance by Ruth B? Thanks and have a good day!!!!

If by Chance - Oscar Piastri

genre: angst?? the ending is fluffy though

word count: 1,178

inspired by if by chance by ruth b

warning: english is not my first language

thank you so much anon for your kind words and for the request! i am so sorry if this took quite a while. i know if by chance is supposed to be angst but i kinda make it fluff for the ending and i hope it's okay with you <33

enjoy!!

I can't believe it's been all these years

I can't believe I've cried all these tears

My friends tell me I should've moved on

A long, long time ago

But what do they know?

Mm, what do they know?

It's been two years now since you last saw Oscar, your ex-boyfriend who also happened to be your first love. All those years apart don't make it easier for you to forget about him. You knew breaking up with someone on good terms was always the hardest, but you never knew that you would suffer from it.

Two years ago, you broke up with Oscar and successfully stayed friends with him for a couple of months until it was too much for you. You were seeing him on Instagram, living his life as a racing driver, winning his Formula 2 championship. You want to be happy for him, you do, but it all just seems impossible. It hurts you to see him win the championship without you, signs with McLaren without you, having to go through the problems he had with Alpine without you. 

You knew you were being selfish, and you knew that you had to move on, but what can you do when after all these years, he still treats you like he used to?

And I don't mean to be selfish

But my heart breaks every time

That I see you smile

'Cause I know that it's not me

Who brings it out of you anymore

When you first see the picture on Instagram, you can't help yourself but cry. Oscar and his new girlfriend just made it public about their relationship, and it's all over your social media feed. You feel sick seeing the pictures, but you know it is going to happen eventually. You knew that you should've moved on a long time ago, just like Oscar did. But you can't. Seeing him smile so brightly as he used to at someone that's not you makes your heart shatter to pieces. Seeing him looking at someone else with so much love like he used to look at you, makes you cry even more.

Your friends said that you're being dramatic, that you're being stupid, that you should have moved on from him by now. But what can you do? 

You found somebody new

You put me in the past

I don't even know if our memories will last

But If By Chance it doesn't work out with her

You'll always have a chance with me in my world

"Hey, how are you?" he asked, surprising you. It was June, winter in Australia, and for once, you finally joined friends going out at night. This wasn't supposed to happen. Oscar wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't even supposed to be in Australia.

"Hey, I'm good. How are you?" you replied, trying your best to keep your composure, to not run out the door as fast as you could. Tonight was supposed to be a girl's night out where you're meant to realize that being in love with Oscar is stupid, where you're meant to meet a new guy, get laid, or something along the line. Definitely not this. 

"I'm good!" he replied with a huge smile on his face, sitting on a barstool next to you. You knew this was supposed to be the time when you left him, where you joined your friends dancing on the dance floor. But you can't. It feels like you're stuck in your seat, stuck to see Oscar's stupid beautiful smile that makes your stupid heart race. "Are you with anyone else?" he asked after ordering himself a drink.

"Oh yeah, just with a couple of friends," you said, trying to be nonchalant, trying to hide the fact that your heart is beating uncontrollably. "What about you? Are you with anyone else?" you asked after taking a sip from your drink.

"Oh yeah, just with my girlfriend," 

And that's the moment your heart seems to be destroyed. 

Is it so wrong of me to hope she breaks your heart?

Is it so wrong of me to pray she tears you apart?

And I know that in the darkest part of you

You pray and hope and wish for it too

'Cause you don't mean to be selfish

But your heart breaks every time

Here you are, still at the same bar 6 years later after you met Oscar for the first and last time after you broke up. And he's also there, at the same spot six years ago where he destroyed your heart that night. But it's different now. You're here with Oscar as his fiancee. 

"What are you thinking about, huh?" he asked you, breaking you from your train of thought. You just smiled, looking down at your drink, a little bit ashamed to tell him the truth. "Tell me, please?" he said while leaning down to meet your eyes. 

"I was wondering the night where we met again after our break up if we would ever happen again. If it's possible to have you again as the love of my life," you said with a low voice, afraid that he would laugh at you. But when you're met with silence, you continue. "I was secretly hoping that night that you would be back again for me." 

It was silent for a couple of seconds before you felt a pair of hands on your cheeks, and your lips were met with his. "I'm here now. Sorry for taking so long to realize that you're the one I want with me," he said with a sweet smile. "I'm sorry that it took another person in my life to make me realize that you're the love of my life." 

You can't help but chuckle at that. You remember the first time his now ex-girlfriend reached out to you how she said that Oscar is secretly still in love with you and is too scared to make a move again, that she broke up with him and has decided to help him get back with you. "It's okay, she's the one who helped us get back together, and now I have a new best friend because of you!" you said. 

It is true that you are now best friends with his ex, that you're now her daughter's godmother. "Well, I'm glad that it all worked out in the end. You have a new best friend, we got back together, and we also have a goddaughter," he said, looking at you adoringly as you laughed. 

It all feels so surreal for him and you how fate seems to be working in the worst way possible but have the best result. The past didn't matter to the two of you. It worked out in the end just how you wanted it. 

"I love you," you said to him.

"I love you too, and I can't wait to marry you and be with you for the rest of my life."

[matthias-the-tulip]

my updated list of parts i hope they keep in the red, white & royal blue movie

(updated after i reread it in a day) (a lot of these are just funny lines that add absolutely nothing to the plot but they make me laugh)

• the MAGAZINE 😭

• “he has the personality of a cabbage.”

• “i want to hear you gush like he's your fucking prom date.”

• alex makes a long loud fart noise


• “i'm going to throw up on you” at the stables (doesn't look like they're at a stables in the trailer 😒)

• “i'd rather be waterboarded” also at the stables (again, doesn't look like they're at a stables)

• “i bet he has a secret lovechild,” nora says. “or he's gay. or he has a secret gay lovechild.”

“it's probably in case i see his equerry putting his batteries back in,” alex says.

• midnight ice cream on instagram

• “i didn't know you wore glasses.” (henry's wearing a suit not pyjamas and alex is not wearing glasses what's that all about!)

• awkward fist bump on “this morning” (does not look like it’s a chat show in the trailer but also would a royal even go on this morning)

• star wars stan henry 🥹

• “not impressed, just surprised.”

“at what?”

“that you actually have, you know, feelings.”

• henry is beginning to smile…

• “do you MIND?” in the cupboard at the hospital

• “you're not the prince of me” 😭

• “i'd rather not be the little spoon.”

• henry's feet in a mop bucket

• “locked in a cupboard with your elbow inside my rib cage.”

• “i cannot believe even mortal peril will not prevent you from being the way you are.”

• “are you psychoanalysing me? i don't think royal guests are allowed to do that.”

• “is that the time you threatened to push me into the thames?”

• “no booty calls.”

• “it was like you were trying to set him on fire with your mind.”

• june's (nora now i guess 😟) plot to murder woody allen

• “don't let the papers print lies about me after i've garroted myself with my tie.”

• “you are the thistle in the tender and sensitive arse crack of my life.”

• “yes, famously the most sinister of all animal sounds, the gobble.”

• “cornbread knows my sins.”

• the whole turkey situation really

• “buy a summer home in majorca with the turkey”

• MR WOBBLES

• “jabba” cakes.

• henry watching bake off

• “you're jeff goldblum”

• “yo there's a bond marathon on and did you know your dad was a total babe”.

“I BEG YOU TO NOT”

• “it sounds like you did your best.” 🥹

• the new year’s party being referred to as “the legendary balls-out bananas white house trio new year's eve party” (white house duo now 😭)

• “please do not attempt to steal my shine. you will fail and i will be embarrassed for you.”

• “says prince fucking charming.”

• get low playing at the new year’s eve party

• alex’s reaction to get low playing at the new year’s eve party

• “christ, you are as thick as it gets.”

• alex falling while running with june (nora now i guess 😟) cause he was thinking about henry

• “he's gay and you're hot, so.”

• “still waters, deep dicking.”

• “prince henry is a biscuit,” nora says,
“let him sop you up.”

• they know each other's sleep schedule and alex gets in a bad mood when he doesn't talk to him 🥹

• “you're not going to kill him, are you?” she says.
“probably not,” alex tells her

• “shut up, shut all the way up, oh my
god”

• alex pushing henry up against a wall!

• “i mean, er, should we, i dunno, slow down?”henry says, cringing so hard at himself that one eye closes. “go for dinner first, or-“

• hooking one knee around the back of alex's thigh 😉

• ”i'm going to die,” henry says helplessly.

“i'm going to kill you,” alex tells him.

“yes, you are,” henry agrees.

• alex fixing his hair for him 😢😢😢

• henry singing god save the queen (king i guess) to make his 🍆 go away

• “i am going to do very bad things to you, and if you fucking ghost me again, i’m going to get you put on a fucking no-fly list. got it?”

• “you were jealous,” alex says. “you want me.”

• henry calling alex bossy 😂

• alex literally just insulting henry while he’s going to town on him

• “do you ever stop talking?” henry says. “such a mouth on you.”

• “hi,” he says, when he reaches henry’s eye level.

“hello,” henry says back.

“i’m gonna take your pants off now,” alex tells him.

“yes, good, carry on.”

• fucking eyelashes

• when he's done, he presses a sticky kiss in the crease of alex's leg where he'd slung it over his shoulder

• the mattress shifts, and henry moves up to the pillows, nuzzling his face into the hollow of alex's throat. alex makes a vague noise of approval, and his arms fumble around henry's waist, but he's helpless to do much else.

• the tip of henry’s nose catching on alex’s

• “for fuck’s sake, man, you just had my dick in your mouth, you can kiss me goodnight.”

• monocles for babies 😂

• “i don’t like that look,” amy says. “you look…sweaty.”

• “what in the rich-white-people-sex-dungeon hell?”

• the whole polo kit situation. henry slowly putting his boot back on the floor

• “i’ve thrown men in the dungeons for less.”

“hey, don’t threaten me with a good time.”

• paris!!! leaving directions to the cheese

• “you're a mad, spiteful, unmitigated demon, and I'm going to kiss you until you forget how to talk.”

• birthday floggings et al and the buttercream!

• alex’s heart going weird at henry on the boat and having to put his head in his hands

• “i don't give a damn what joanne has to say, remus john lupin is gay as the day is long, and i won't hear a word against it.”

• “i will staple your dick to the inside of your leg”

• “i did get both of the gay kings.”

• “deflowering the darling of the republic.”

• “i'm not ... historically great at talking about things,” henry says.

“well, i wasn't historically great at blowjobs, but we all gotta learn and grow, sweetheart.”

“wasn't?"

“hey,” alex huffs. “are you trying to say i'm still not good at them?”

“no, no, i wouldn't dream of it,” henry says, and alex can hear the small smile in his voice. “it was just the first one that was.. well. it was enthusiastic, at least.”

“i don't remember you complaining…”

“yes, well, i'd only been fantasizing about it for ages.”

• baby. (!!!)

• “i miss you,” alex says before he can stop himself. he instantly regrets it, but henry says, “i miss you too.”

• “i want to ... put my fingers in his mouth...” she moans, sounding horrified.

• just the whole karaoke bar situation. plz. toilet stall hookup!

• “bisexuality is truly a rich and complex tapestry.”

• o captain, my captain

• “if only you had known the mighty work of thine loins would be undone by a gay heir who likes it when american boys with chin dimples are mean to him.”

• the fruity truth: my favourite english author is jane austen.

• “when at wimbledon”

• “i want to see a cage match between your grandmother (grandfather i guess) and this fucking ghoul running against my mom”

• “and you are good. most things are awful most of the time, but you're good.”

• “he is truly a picture, wearing an expression of bewildered panic and absolutely nothing else.”

• “jesus tits”

• henry falling out of the wardrobe and just. sitting on the floor. (zahra finds him in the wardrobe instead :()

• “i thought you were getting into international relations or something.”

“i mean, technically-“

• “you're literally putting your dick in the leader of a foreign state, who is a man, at the biggest political event before the election, in a hotel full of reporters, in a city full of cameras, in a race close enough to fucking hinge on some bullshit like this, like a manifestation of my fucking stress dreams, and you're asking me not to tell the president about it?”

• all of zahra's quips tbh - “every time i see you, it takes another year off my life.” - “ask me if i'm afraid of the crown.”

• SEXUAL EXPERIMENTATION WITH
FOREIGN MONARCHS: A GRAY AREA.

• EXPLORING YOUR SEXUALITY: HEALTHY, BUT DOES IT HAVE TO BE WITH THE PRINCE OF ENGLAND?

• FEDERAL FUNDING, TRAVEL EXPENSES, BOOTY CALLS, AND YOU

• history, huh? bet we could make some. (the emails plz like i need at least some of them read aloud over a montage or something)

• “some saucy tart once tried to impugn my virtue against an oil painting of him, and in the halls of memory, some things demand context.”

• I GUESS THAT MAKES YOU. THE MF. NORTH STAR.

• “i thought you might need to, like, have a catholic moment about this or something?” 😭

• “santa maria is watching!”

• skinny dipping!!!

• “philip is the heir and i'm the spare, and if that nervy bastard has a heart attack at thirty-five and i've got malaria, whither the spare?”

• alex's meltdown outside kensington. very important. - “how 'bout i just keep yelling and we see which of the papers show up first!” he turns back to the window and starts flailing his arms too. “henry! your royal fucking highness!”

• “jesus, could you stop being an obtuse fucking asshole for, like, twenty seconds?”

• “i fucking love you, okay?” alex half yells, finally, irreversibly.

• “what do you want?”

“i want you-”

“then fucking have me.”

“-but i don’t want this.”

• “a whole lifetime of fine. that’s not good enough for me.”

• henry nuzzling his nose behind alex's ear.

• alex laughs and grabs his head and aggressively kisses his cheek, smashing his face into the pillow.

• “next time we shall visit some of the george Ill pieces and see if they burst into flame.”

• DANCING TO YOUR SONG IN THE MUSEUM

• ��i completely fucking love you” and the ring and the chain

• “once shaan managed to dislodge him from the chandelier”

• henry’s email about memories and grief and the first time he saw alex

• “jesus, be a gay beard”

• henry and alex in the car after the fake date

• “i will physically fight your grandmother (grandfather i guess) myself if i have to, okay? and, like, she's (he’s) old. i know i can take her (him).”

“i wouldn't be so cocky,” henry says with a small laugh. “she's (he’s)full of dark surprises.”

• “your spine's a ridge i'd die climbing”

• “check the fucking news, you horny little miscreant”

• “it’s about to be gay DEFCON five in this administration.”

• “then fuck it.”

• the big group hug

• oscar saying “give ‘em hell.”

• “you're my mean friend.”

• “jumping off cliffs is kinda my thing”

• I 😭 LOVE 😭 HIM 😭 ON 😭PURPOSE 😭 they can't leave that out if they do i'll kill someone

• “what are we even defending here, philip? what kind of legacy? what kind of family, that says, we'll take the murder, we'll take the raping and pillaging and the colonizing, we'll scrub it up nice and neat in a museum, but oh no, you're a bloody poof? that's beyond our sense of decorum! i've bloody well had it. i've sat about long enough letting you and gran and the weight of the damned world keep me pinned, and i'm finished. i don't care. you can take your legacy and your decorum and you can shove it up your fucking arse, philip. i'm done.”

• “for what it's worth,” he says to philip, “that is the bravest son of a bitch i’ve ever met.”

• “we banged it out last night” + high five

• “i've been gay as a maypole since the day i came out of mum, philip.”

• all the support for them 🥹

• bea pouring the tea on philip's lap

• “you know, i think all that cocaine i did must’ve really done a job on my reflexes!”

• henry pulls alex close and kisses him, whispers, "i love you i love you i love you."

• never 😭 tell 😭 me 😭 the 😭 odds 😭

• “my life is a cosmic joke and you're not a real person”

• “you are the absolute worst idea i’ve ever had”

• “listen, you've had your first big sex scandal. no more sitting at the kids' table.”

• how to love each other in plain sight

• “holding henry’s hand atop his own knee” in the portrait

• “all this fundraising for sobriety is going to drive me to drink”

• “i'm the prince of...here” 😭

• “you spent a month of your gap year talking to yaks in mongolia, h.”

• “i know it's a lot, but you give people hope. so, get back out there and be alex.”

• the super six 😭 (fantastic five now i guess)

• the picture of them on the cover of the magazine

• henry fixing june's hair 🥹 (NORA NOW I GUESS 😟)

[hippiegoth97]

Into the Fire: An Eddie Munson x Reader Story Pt. 19

Collage by me :)

Master List

Part 18

Tag List: @keikoraven @ar-jupiter @alcielo1438 @cairro-xx @stolen-in-moonlight

@micheledawn1975 @janiejenn @rafescurtainbangz @melodymunson @spacedoutdaydreamer

@veemoon @sariahs-stuff @feral-pumpkin-energy @comeonatmebruh @munsoneightysixx

@morgthemagpie @josephquinnsfreckles @jenniquinn @usergeta @cometzombie

@spookybabey @daggerdaggerkitten @nina6708 @sanctumdemunson @yourdailymemedelivery

@person-005 @slowandsteddie @gri959 @elegantkoalapaper @letitgoandletlive

@loserboysandlithium @costellation-hunter @leelei1980 @h-ness1944 @pretendthisnameisclever

@ohmeg @stalactitekilla @hellfirenacht @birdysaturne @oneforthemunny

@prettyboyeddiemunson @eddievanmunson @msgexymunson @rattkween86 @violetpixiedust

@bimbobaggins69 @angel-munson @eldermayfield @munsonsbtch @babygorewhore

@mediocredreams @xxbimbobunnyxx @taintedcigs @ali-r3n

Content Warning 18+ Only, Minors DNI: swearing, mentions of smut, teasing, mentions of alcohol use/drunk driving, anger, light arguing, mentions of death, fluff

Word Count: 6k

divider by @strangergraphics

Part 19: Day After Day

Saturday, June 3rd, 1989

"Wake up!" You shout at your mother as you flick on the light switch in her bedroom. She groans at the bright light and your loud voice. She rolls over to look at you, her brows knitted in annoyance. You show no sympathy for her hangover, standing with your arms crossed. "Get up, Mom. I think we need to have a little talk." You say, barely hiding your intense anger towards her. It's after noon already, you've given her plenty of time to rest. Now is the time for a goddamn explanation.

"Okay." She whispers, struggling to sit up in bed. Her head is pounding worse than she ever thought possible, and her stomach churns beyond belief. She takes a deep breath, before attempting to stand up. "Oh, god." She whimpers, reaching for the trash can beside the bed. She vomits into it, still dizzy from last night. Her head stays inside the can for a moment, waiting to make sure she's finished. Spitting the remaining bile from her mouth, she sets the container down and follows you out of the room. You lead her to the dining room table, gesturing for her to have a seat. She takes the empty chair next to Dustin, leaving a spot open across from her and beside Eddie.

You retrieve a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin for her, setting them on the table. She happily accepts them, drinking down half the glass immediately. You take your place at the table, crossing your arms. Eddie and Dustin are dead silent, knowing better than to test your already thin patience. They keep their faces still, not even daring to breathe too loudly. "So, you wanna tell me what the fuck you were thinking, Mom? Why you thought it was a good idea to drive home drunk, and almost kill a couple kids in the process, no less?" You bark, your face hard as stone while your eyes never leave her pained expression.

"I-I, uh...I don't know." She says shakily, struggling to open the little bottle of pills you gave her. Eddie reaches over to help her, but you stop him in his tracks.

"No. If she wants aspirin, she can get it her damn self." You glare at him, and he puts the bottle back down. His hands return to his own lap, and he nods like a scolded child. You look to Mom again, trying your best not to shout when you speak. "Mother, I think you and I both know damn well that 'I don't know' doesn't make a very good answer. It wasn't a good answer when I used to come home from school with bruises all over me, or when I stole a couple bucks from your purse one time. So, it sure as shit doesn't mean anything now."

"I know that, Y/N." Mom replies, barely above a whisper. The tension in the room is palpable, and so quiet you can hear the earth turning. You had hoped some sleep would've calmed you down, let you wake up and think rationally. But seeing Mom passed out in bed for hours only reminded you of what she did last night. "Look, I know you're upset with me. I'm certainly not proud of this."

"You're damn right I'm upset! And we can definitely agree on the lack of pride here. I just don't understand why you'd do something so fucking stupid! You could've gotten a cab home, or hobbled over to the motel across from the bar for the night. Anything would've been better than getting behind the wheel. I also don't get why you felt the need to drink so much, you never even drank like that when Dad left." You give her some time to contemplate her answer, your foot tapping incessantly as you try to stay relatively calm. Mom's still struggling with the stupid pill bottle, her hands slipping over the cap repeatedly, the pills clicking against the inside of the container like the beans of a maraca. "Oh, for fuck's sake! Give it here. I can't keep watching you struggle with the damn thing." You hold out your hand, quickly and easily flipping the cap off. It flies across the room, landing on the kitchen floor.

"Thank you." She says, pouring six or eight pills into her hand. She puts them all in her mouth, taking another sip from the glass of water to wash them down. She sighs after swallowing, putting the lidless bottle on the tabletop. "Look, Y/N. I know I've made a big mistake, but you just don't understand." She says sullenly, resting her hands on the table, clasped together.

"That's why we're all sitting here, Mom. So you can explain it. Not just to me, but to Dustin. And to Eddie. You think he's such a bad influence, and yet, here you are with a goddamn DUI." You seethe, growing more irritated as she dances around whatever the truth is. You can see she's ashamed, but how much of last night does she even remember?

"I never said that, Y/N." She replies, growing a bit annoyed herself.

"You didn't have to, it's what you meant. But that's not the point. Let's start with an easy question, since you seem to be having such a hard time answering me." You say somewhat snarkily, drawing odd looks from Eddie and Dustin. "Why did you go to the Hideaway?"

"Are we really going to do this like an interrogation? You do realize how insulting this is, right?" She says with a scoff, unable to believe you're treating her like she's your child.

"Learned from the best, didn't I?" You shoot back.

"Y/N, is this really necessary?" Eddie asks, drawing your stare.

"Butt out, Eddie." You retort as nicely as you can. He's far from the one you're upset with. You look at Mom again. "Go on, out with it."

Your mother rolls her eyes. "Fuck, fine! I went there to blow off some steam after our fight."

"Okay. Why did you drink so much?" You continue, with no plans to let up.

"I didn't intend to. I only meant to have a couple beers, maybe a cocktail. But I was so angry, and upset. So much has been changing these past few months, it's been a lot to handle." She explains sadly. Of course, she isn't wrong, this year in general has been a whirlwind for everyone at this table. You started dating Eddie, Dustin graduated and turned eighteen, Dad's funeral, talks of you moving out. The idea of her babies growing up can't be an easy thing to take.

"Okay, I can understand that. It still doesn't excuse what you did. You're always on our case about being responsible and making good choices. And you yelled at me just yesterday for getting a cat, of all things. Why did you try to drive home?" You can sense heat building behind your eyes at this question. The idea that Mom could've gotten hurt, or even died, makes your heart ache. You don't know what you'd do without her, and everyone around you would be just as devastated by the loss.

"I wish I understood myself. I remember Jack trying to stop me, take my keys. But I was being stubborn. And I think..." She pauses, her bottom lip trembling as she manages to recall the thoughts going through her head last night. "I felt like you and Dusty don't need me anymore. And I know that's no excuse, truly, I do. But you two have been my everything for so long, I got comfortable in the idea of you both relying on me all the time. So, to see you becoming so independent, it really hurt me." She sniffles, a couple tears rolling down her cheeks.

"But we're supposed to grow up sometime, Mom. You have to know that." You reply, letting the anger melt away little by little as you hear her speak. You really wish she'd told you she felt this way, but she kept it to herself for fear of hurting your feelings, or burdening you. Shit, you're more like her than you originally thought.

"I know, I know." She lets out a sob. "And I'm so proud of you both for how hard you've worked, how far you've come. I know things haven't been easy for either of you, but I've tried my best to make it better when I can. It's just hard to let go, sometimes."

"It's not like we're abandoning you, Mom. We're always gonna be your babies, whether we like it or not." You let out a small laugh at that, a couple tears of your own escaping your eyes. Everyone else chuckles too, the air in the room lightening as the seconds pass. "And we'll always need you, just less often. But that's good, because you raised us to take care of ourselves. And you did a kickass job, Mom. I mean it. Being a single parent is hard work, and you made it look like the easiest thing in the world." You reach across the table, taking her hand. Dustin adds his on top, leaning into Mom to comfort her. Eddie doesn't do the same. He feels like this conversation doesn't really include him, to be honest.

Mom looks at him, nudging her head to the pile of hands at the center of the wooden surface. "You better put your hand in, kid. Looks like I'm stuck with you, too." She laughs, and Eddie smiles. He claps his hand over Dustin's, capping off this tiny tower of flesh, bonding the four of you together for what you all hope is forever.

"I'm still pissed at you, by the way. But I'll get over it." You say to Mom, still smiling all the while.

"I promise, I'll never do something so stupid again. With how I feel right now, I might not even drink ever again." She replies with a sigh, her stomach aching for some food. She gets up from the table, going to the fridge to pull out some leftover pizza from last night. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you, Y/N." She says with her back turned. "That wasn't fair of me, I overreacted. I know you'll take good care of Arwen, and I'm glad you've been able to gradually move onto the next stage of your life." Mom puts a couple slices onto a plate, popping it into the microwave.

"Thanks, Mom. I appreciate that." You reply with a small smile. Arwen wanders down the hall from your room, following your scent to the dining table. Her paws pad along the floor as she walks, and she meows repeatedly on her journey. She brushes against your leg, purring nonstop. "Hi, little one. C'mere, cutie." You coo to her, picking her off the floor to sit in your lap.

 Eddie reaches over to pet her, which she happily accepts. He scratches behind her ears as that seems to be her favorite spot. "Look who made it all the way over here all by herself! Such a smart girl, Arwen!" He praises in adoration.

"Does he always talk to the cat like that?" Mom asks, whipping around when she realizes where the high-pitched words came from. Eddie blushes beet red, and you and Dustin can't help laughing.

"Yes, he does. He even did it in front of everyone last night." You chuckle despite Eddie scowling at you. You put a hand on his thigh to let him know you're not making fun of him.

"That was pretty hilarious. But it's really sweet, dude. And Arwen is very adorable. Scientifically speaking, it makes sense to experience that kind of reaction." Dustin explains through his snickering.

"Scientifically speaking, I'm gonna kick your ass if you keep talking about it." Eddie narrows his eyes at Dustin, crossing his arms with a huff.

"Alright, alright! Sorry, man!" Dustin raises his hands in defense.

"Play nice, Eds. We've been over this." You say sweetly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He softens at your touch, laying his head on your shoulder.

"Aw, I've just got to get a picture of this." Mom says, looking around for the camera. She'd left it out last night after taking photos of Dustin with his gifts. She finds it on the counter and points it towards you and Eddie. Arwen senses the camera's presence, perking her head up so Claudia can see her fluffy little face in the viewfinder. You stay still, Eddie still leaning on you while each of your hands rests on either side of Arwen. It's a perfect little moment of the three of you, looking unbelievably happy and in love. Mom clicks the camera, and the flash goes off. The device whirs, and the exposed film spits out the front. Mom waits for it to fully develop, before handing it off to you.

You hold it between two fingers, committing the image to your memory. Your sleep-mussed hair, and wrinkled pajamas. Eddie curled into you affectionately with a humble smile on his face. And itty bitty Arwen perched in your lap, head cocked to the side and gray eyes piercing into the camera. "We're very cute, aren't we?" You observe aloud, unable to stop grinning. You and Eddie and a kitty makes three. This is your first photo with the cat, and you only hope it'll lead to many others just as joyful as this one. This isn't just an impromptu snapshot taken by your hungover mother. It's a representation of what the future holds for you, and the little family you've begun to make without even realizing it.

"Yes we are, sweetheart. That's mostly because of you and Arwen, though." Eddie chuckles, planting a kiss on your shoulder.

You scoff. "Yeah, right! You're just as cute as either one of us, Eds. Maybe even more." You lean in to give him a kiss on the lips, and he lovingly meets you in the middle.

"Ugh, get a room!" Dustin protests, looking away from your romantic display.

"No one said you had to look, big guy." Eddie replies once you break away.

"You also don't have to swap spit out in the open all the time." Dustin retorts, getting up from the table to leave the room.

"He's just upset that his ex-girlfriend Suzie is getting married off to someone in her church. I'm sure he'll find someone else in college." You say once Dustin is out of earshot.

"Oh, yeah. I remember him sayin' something about her. 'Hotter than Phoebe Cates', he used to say." Eddie chuckles, recalling how strongly Dustin used to feel for Suzie.

"And she used to call him 'Dustybun', which was really cute." You giggle. They used to be so damn adorable together, you really wish things would have worked out for them. But Suzie's parents are pretty strict, and want her to be with someone who's Mormon like them. You remember how heartbroken Dustin was when she called to break up with him, he was practically inconsolable. He didn't get out of bed for a couple days straight after that.

“I'm sure he'll find someone new if he's got 'King Steve' giving him dating advice. Harrington's quite the ladies' man." Eddie says.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Steve's pretty much tapped out the Hawkins dating pool at this point." You reply simply, putting the subject to rest. You spend the remainder of the day box-training Arwen and cuddling in bed with Eddie. It's a relatively relaxed Saturday, save for the interrogation earlier. When the sun sets, and dinner is served, eaten, and cleared away, you lay down with your little family. "So, have you decided if you're going to visit your father, Eds?" You ask casually.

"Yeah, I've thought about it a lot. I think I'm gonna do it." Eddie replies, laying on his side as he pets the kitten. "Wayne said the visit is planned for two weeks from now. And you're welcome to come along if you want. I'd like for you to be there, Y/N. It would mean a lot." He looks at you seriously.

"Of course I’ll come, baby. I'll be there with you the whole way. I promise." You give him a quick kiss, before laying back down on your pillow. "What are you gonna say to him?" You ask, curious to know what he's thinking. You're glad he's going to face his fear, get some closure from a torrid chapter of his life. He's got a thoughtful expression on his face, thinking long and hard about your question.

"I...don't really know. I guess it all depends on what he wants to say. I'm fuckin' terrified." Eddie says finally.

"I know, love. But he's in a prison hospital bed, sicker than ever. He can't hurt you, and Wayne and I will be there to protect you. Okay?" You reply to comfort him, taking his hand in yours.

"Yeah. I'll just have to see it to believe it, I guess." He squeezes your hand, attempting to keep the anxiety at bay.

Saturday, June 10th, 1989

The next week goes pretty smoothly. You and Eddie work every weekday and the theater, grinding through your shifts to earn that sweet, sweet money. It's far from difficult work, but it can get a bit taxing. New hit movies always draw a crowd, which can make for hectic lines at concessions and large messes of popcorn to sweep up from the auditorium. You've been able to earn a decent amount of cash so far, setting it aside in a savings account that you refuse to touch until you move in with Eddie.

When you aren't at work, you're at home with him and the cat. Arwen takes to box-training pretty quickly, she's eerily smart like that, and she absolutely loves playing with her toys. There's one in particular, a stick with a string tied to it, and a bundle of colorful feathers attached to the other end, that she loves to chase and jump to grab at for hours. It entertains you to no end that she's so playful, full of life. Arwen is also very cuddly, she's definitely attached herself to you, as if to say that she is in fact your child. She'll nap in your lap, or Eddie's sometimes, and just purr nonstop.

Halfway through the countdown to see Eddie's father, you get to have your special movie date with Eddie. You've had the whole day off, spending most of it in bed, fucking and groping like nobody's business. Eddie's been spending a lot less time at the trailer, fully consumed with sharing almost every free moment with you. You're practically living together already, completely content.

When the time nears closing at the theater, you both get dressed to head over for your private screening. You arrive just as everyone is leaving, and Jamie gives his set of keys to you. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He jokes, drawing a light laugh from you.

"No promises, man." Eddie replies, his arm wrapped firmly around your waist. You head inside, going first to the projection booth. Milo was kind enough to set the reels up for you, leaving a note on how to turn on the projector and ensure the movie plays correctly. "I think I got this, angel. You wanna go get us some snacks?" He asks, looking over the piece of paper Milo left in the dim light of the booth.

"Sure thing, Eds. I'll meet you in there." You reply, skipping down the steps to concessions. You're unbelievably excited, you've never had an entire theater all to yourself before. It's gonna be a great night. You notice a large bag of popcorn sitting on top of the machine, steam lining the inside of it. There's a post-it stuck to the bag, from Jamie. It reads:

Figured I'd make you two some fresh popcorn to save you the cleanup. Have a good time, you both deserve it.

-Jamie

"Aw, he's such a sweetheart." You say aloud to yourself, opening the bag to pour the popcorn into a bucket. You squirt some extra butter over top, it's an absolute must for you. You fill up a large soda to share, and grab your favorite candies from under the counter. You take all your goodies, and head into the auditorium to wait for your boyfriend. The spot you choose is smack dab in the middle of the sea of velvet seats, the optimal place to sit in any movie theater. You set your drink into the cup holder, and tap your foot as you wait for Eddie.

You look around the dark room, which is honestly a bit eerie at this time of night. No people around, barely any lights on. The dated architecture of the place casts vast shadows around the enormous auditorium, giving you an odd feeling that you're being watched. Where is he?, you wonder. You peek behind you towards the double doors, hoping he'll get the movie going soon. Just as you turn back around, the projector kicks on. The sudden light and sound startles you, almost making you spill your popcorn everywhere. You curse under your breath, sighing loudly at how jumpy you are. You relax into your seat, knowing Eddie will be down any moment. The old previews begin to play, further putting you at ease.

You hear the door swing open, his footsteps casually approaching you in their usual cadence. You turn around again, needing to see his comforting face to calm your nerves. But, he's not there. Nobody is there. You swear you heard the footfalls stop at the end of your row, which is what prompted you to turn and look in the first place. The hairs on the back of your neck prick upwards, and you're frozen in fear. Too afraid to move, as it might cause someone, or something, to lunge out of the dark at you. Your breath comes out short and rapid, a thick chill worming its way up your spine. Your heart races as you feel every second pass painfully slow, ticking towards the inevitable jumpscare, just like a cheesy horror movie. "Whatcha lookin' at, princess?" You hear Eddie ask curiously on the other side of you. You let out a bloodcurdling scream, your body jolting upwards in your seat. Some of the popcorn spills onto the floor, and in your lap. You whip your head around to look at Eddie, finding him sitting right next to you.

"Jesus, Eddie! That wasn't fucking funny!" You shout, smacking his arm.

"Ow! What the hell are you talking about?" He asks, his brows knitting in confusion.

"Don't play dumb with me! You walked in the auditorium over there." You gesture to the right of you, to where you'd heard the footsteps. "And then somehow you snuck around behind me to the other side, so that when I looked over, nobody would be there!" Your hand follows your words, demonstrating the mean trick Eddie's surely played on you. "And then, you came around to this side to scare the shit outta me!" You finish, annoyed as ever at him for making you so scared. Eddie isn't usually the one for pranks, he knows you don't like them very much. So, for him to do it tonight of all nights is pretty rude.

"Y/N, I swear to you, I have no idea what you're talking about. I came in on the other side." Eddie says slowly, looking completely serious. His eyes drift over to where you were fearfully staring before, hoping he won't find some creep waiting in the shadows.

You scoff, rolling your eyes. "Oh, please. We're all alone, late at night, and you didn't think to try to freak me out?" You ask incredulously, crossing your arms.

"No, sweetheart. I know you hate pranks, I would never go so far just to scare you. Tonight is supposed to be special. I wouldn't do anything to ruin that." Eddie replies sincerely, putting an arm around you to comfort you. 

You're not sure you believe him, but he’s never been one to lie to you. However, that leaves only two possible conclusions. One, some asshole decided to sneak into the theater after everyone left. This is highly unlikely, as Mr. Biggs personally searches every nook and cranny of this place to prevent such a thing. So, that leaves the other possibility. That, despite your highly scientific frame of mind telling you otherwise, the Hawk is haunted. You hate to have your mind even step foot in such a ridiculous place, you've always been a skeptic of anything supernatural. It's kiddie stuff, the kind of thing gullible people buy into. Make-believe, crap-ola, complete and utter bullshit. Right?

"Well, if it wasn't you, then who was it?" You ask shakily, refusing to look back at where the noise came from.

"Okay, I hate to tell you this, angel. I know you don't believe in paranormal stuff. But there's an understanding from everyone that works here that a ghost haunts this place." Now, Eddie, on the other hand, is a whole-hearted believer in the unexplainable. Ghosts, aliens, Bigfoot, you name it. If it's even slightly spooky and freakish, he's all about it.

"Please tell me you're not gonna tell me some stupid ghost story. We're supposed to be watching a movie." You groan, gesturing at the screen.

"I know, I know. But there's a ton of previews still, and it's not a long story. Plus, you don't even believe in this shit anyway. What do you have to lose?" Eddie says with a grin, pleading at you with his eyes to let him tell you his tale.

"Ugh, fine! But I already know it's bullshit." You roll your eyes, settling in to hear what he has to say.

"Let's reserve judgement until after my story, hm?" He insists. You nod, and he begins. "So, there's talk of this guy named Frank. Frank was a lonely guy, with no wife or kids. Kind of an oddball, too. And he loved the movies, ever since he was a kid and saw his first film, he couldn't get enough. Now, this was decades ago, talking, like, right after World War II. But Frank used to be a real regular around here. He'd come to see every news reel, every silent film, every early Hollywood hit, even the dirty movies when they used to show them late at night." Eddie explains in his usual way, making every word sound like the most riveting thing you've ever heard. Those natural story-teller abilities of his are really coming into play tonight.

"So, one night, Frank came to see It's a Wonderful Life, which he'd seen many times before. But you know Frank, he never missed a single screening. Ever." He pauses again, smirking at how transfixed you are as you listen. "Things go the same as always, he gets his popcorn and drink, he goes up to the mezzanine in his usual spot. Everyone knew Frank's spot, never daring to take it from him. He was known for having quite the temper. If concessions was out of popcorn, or the movie started late, or someone took his spot, he'd go berserk."

"Berserk?" You ask, wondering what he means by that.

"Yeah, he'd go absolutely apeshit, shouting 'til he'd turn red in the face. You see, he'd suffered a few head injuries from working in a factory. And you know how places like that were back then, no regulations or safety measures. So, he ended up too brain-damaged to work anymore. That's why he was always at the movies. It soothed him as it reminded him of his childhood. Most of the time." You can sense this is where the story goes sideways, waiting anxiously to hear the rest. You can't believe it, you're actually enjoying a ghost story.

"Anyway, during the showing, the projector caught fire. It melted the reels of the film instantly, the images of Frank's favorite scene dissolving before his eyes. He completely lost it, standing up out of his seat to shout at the screen, at the projection booth, and anyone who told him to pipe down. He even went so far as to stand on the ledge of the mezzanine, to let everyone in the auditorium know just how pissed he was. He was ranting and raving, begging for the movie to be turned back on. But nobody listened. They were too busy evacuating the building as the fire consumed the projection booth."

"Oh my god." You gasp, this story is far darker than you expected.

"That's not all. Once people started filing out, the sprinkler system had been turned on to put out the fire. But Frank was still on the balcony, right on the ledge. The water began to rain down on him, which made the surface slick. But he paid no mind to it, he just wanted his movie turned back on. He was jumping, kicking, and slipping around. Until he made one wrong move, and fell from the balcony, aaaaaaall the way down to the ground. He landed in the seats, and his neck snapped on impact, killing him instantly."

"That's awful." You say, scrunching your nose at the grisly imagery.

"It sure is, angel. So, the firemen found Frank's body, carried him outta here. There was a funeral where all the theater employees came, but no one else showed up. Frank didn't have any family left. His brothers had died in the war, and his parents had succumbed to illness. And like I said, he had no wife or children. All he had were the movies. So, to honor their sad little customer, the theater permanently reserved a seat up there for him. It's still up there, if you wanna see it sometime. Roped off and everything, with a sign that says: 'Reserved for Frank. Our most valued patron.'" He finishes, capping off his tragic tale.

"So he'd never miss another movie." You point out with sadness, finding the ending of this story kind of bittersweet.

"Exactly. I doubt he has, either. And it seems he's interested in watching our special movie with us tonight, sweetheart." Eddie says kindly, looking up at the balcony where he knows Frank's spot is located.

"That definitely was a long story, by the way. Not to mention a pretty fucked up one." You reply smartly, nudging him in the ribs with your elbow.

"Ouch! Jeez, you're really kickin' my ass today." Eddie chuckles, pulling you in closer to him as the movie starts.

"Sorry, baby. Will a kiss make it better?" You ask while pouting your lips forward.

He lets out an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose." He accepts your peace offering, even going so far as to nibble on your bottom lip. He pulls away a second later, and you both turn your attention to the enormous screen in front of you.

The film itself is quite extraordinary, beautifully animated vignettes of a green orb called a Loc-Nar corrupting all manner of creatures and civilizations. There's action, and fantastical imagery, a killer soundtrack. Not to mention, almost every female character is naked at one point or another. Including a valiant warrior, a woman that certainly captures both your attention. Taarna of the Taarakian race. She's absolutely beautiful, with her silver white hair, and the rather risqué 'armor' that barely covers her body. She rides into battle on a pterodactyl-like creature, brandishing a golden sword.

If you're being honest, though, the green orb being the only true connection between all the stories leaves you wanting a bit more in terms of plot. But you sense the film's making was, in good part anyway, to showcase the artwork that you've seen in the magazine in Eddie's room. The Loc-Nar's existence being the thing that would give an excuse to put together such a project. You still end up enjoying it immensely, but you keep waiting for 'something else' to happen. Maybe the movie would be better if you were high. 

"So, what'd you think, princess?" Eddie asks as the credits roll.

"It was pretty cool, and I enjoyed watching it with you, love." You reply, unable to hide your slight dissatisfaction. You'd built the movie up quite a bit in your mind, and it just ended up being kind of...average.

"I know it's a little light on plot, Y/N." He says kindly, taking no offense.

"And heavy on the tits!" You quip, making you both laugh.

"Very true. But you still had fun, right?"

"Of course, darling. I always have fun with you." You give him a gentle kiss, before you two stand up to lock up for the night. You sweep up your popcorn mess, and Eddie shuts off the projector. He meets you in the lobby, ready to take you both home. "Hey, Eds?" You ask, twiddling your fingers nervously. You feel stupid even entertaining the idea, but you find yourself wanting to see Frank's spot, to pay your respects.

"Yes, sweetheart?" He asks with a smile, already sensing what you're going to ask.

"Can we...go up to the mezzanine before we leave?" You question sheepishly.

"Of course, love. C'mon." He takes your hand, leading you up the side staircase to the balcony. You push through the heavy door at the top, and move through the rows to find the roped off seat. And lo and behold, it's just as Eddie described in his story. 'Reserved for Frank. Our most valued patron' is printed in bold type on a yellowed piece of card stock, set neatly on the cushion of Frank's velvet chair.

"I can't believe something so awful happened in such a happy place." You say softly, bringing your hand up to touch the back of the seat. You imagine Frank sitting there, waiting for the next showing to play, envying you for your ability to leave this place. Your heart twinges with sadness on his behalf, the poor man didn't deserve such a gruesome fate. His life sounded difficult enough. And the one thing that made it just a little bit better, ended up taking it all away.

"That's life, princess. I know there's no comfort in it, but it's the way things are." Eddie replies, just as quietly as you. Out of respect for Frank, perhaps, or your perceived sorrow for a man you've never met. He wraps his arms around you from behind, laying his head on your shoulder. "Let's go home, baby. We should leave the poor guy alone."

"Okay." You whisper, nodding. He pulls away, taking your hand again. You turn to leave, before looking over your shoulder at the permanently reserved seat one last time. "Goodnight, Frank." You say to it, making Eddie smile.

"Is someone believing in ghost stories now?" Amusement laces his tone, perhaps he's been able to expand your belief a little tonight. He has no doubt in his mind that Frank resides here, he's seen the fucker himself on more than one occasion. When he's cleaning between showings, there's usually a dark figure sitting in Frank's special seat. Or similarly to what you experienced earlier, he'll hear footsteps that seemingly belong to no one.

"Just the one! Only because I experienced it myself. It's not like I'm gonna start hunting for cryptids or something." You're adamant about being realistic, saving the monsters for the movies. But in this case, you don't really have any other way to explain what happened tonight. So you'll believe in the paranormal, just this once.

"I would never expect you to, baby." Eddie smirks, walking you both down the steps and out the side door. You lock everything up behind you nice and tight. You climb into Eddie's van in the lot a few minutes later to head home for the night.

To Be Continued…

[mochie85]

Wanderlust

Part 1 of the Wanderlust Series.

Wanderlust Masterlist | Complete Masterlist

Summary: You try to convince your best friend to go on a long road trip with you. Pairing: Bucky x Female Reader Word Count: 694 (a drabble, really) Warnings: Fluff. ALL fluff. A/N: This is for @the-slumberparty June Monthly Challenge: Summer Vibes. I picked a tent (can the VW Bus be considered a tent?) and the Road setting. I don't know if I should continue with the story. I mean, I have some ideas, but I don't think there's an actual plot...lol. Edit: It's decided...it's now a series...I hope y'all are happy!

The one thing you wanted to do before you started your new job was to visit the national parks in your state. You graduated with honors and had multiple job offers in the tech industry because of the algorithm you created for your senior project.

Tech careers were unpredictable and oftentimes fleeting. But you were confident that your innovative program would help kick-start your career and cement your position in the company that you chose for a long while.

That’s why you wanted to go out and travel. See nature! Just before you commit to a desk and computer for the rest of your foreseeable future.

“Do you know how big California is?” Bucky asked you agitated.

“Yes, I do,” you answered back with a cheeky grin.

“California has the greatest number of national parks!” he pointed at the map.

“Yes. Nine! And that doesn’t include the monuments and the trails and the memorials-”

“No!”

“Well, I’m not asking for your permission.”

“I still say, ‘no.’”

“I’ll go with or without you, Buck. I just thought you should know my plan.”

“Do you know how dangerous it is out there? Especially if you’re alone.”

“I can take care of myself. I did take that self-defense class for a couple of months,” you reasoned.

“Why can’t you go somewhere that has- Look, Nevada! Nevada has one national park. The Great Basin. And hey…we could even hit up Vegas while we’re there!” Bucky pointed at the map.

“Oh, ya cuz I would really be safe from creep-o’s in Vegas!” you rolled your eyes at your best friend.

“Ok. What about Hawaii? Hawaii has two national parks! And it’s HA-WA-II!”

“Do you know how much that plane ticket would cost? I haven’t started my job yet. Besides, who would watch Smokey while I was away?”

“You’re bringing the dog?!”

“Of course, I’m bringing the dog! Smokey goes where I go.” And as if he was called, your large greyhound came over licking your hand under the table. “We’re gonna have so much fun in our Bus-Bus, aren’t we, Smokey?!”

“And another thing?! How sure are you that the rusted piece of metal you call a car will actually take you around California? You’d probably break down before you get south of Oakland!”

“I had my mechanic look at it! Sid said it was in good shape! Plus I can call a tow if I need to.”

Bucky just looked at you defeated. He knew there was no convincing you out of this hair-brained plan of yours. You had always been a person to stick to your guns as soon as you planned it out. ‘No Regrets,’ you had always said.

No Regrets, Bucky repeated in his head trying to decide what to do. Nine parks! Nine! It would take you a month and a half to finish that round trip. And that’s only if you decided to stay at each park for a couple of nights, not the week you were planning.

“All right. All right. I’ll go with you.” Bucky relented, placing his head in his hands.

“I didn’t ask you to, Buck,” you chuckled, trying to hide the relief on your face.

“Bullshit! You knew I was going with you the moment you told me about it.” He called out your bluff. You shrieked and held your arms out to Bucky’s neck, embracing him in a tight hug.

 “You and I are gonna have so much fun! You’re not gonna regret this.”

“Ya, ya, ya.” Bucky relished in your warm embrace. You smelled like sun-kissed fruit on a lazy afternoon. You felt like a cool breeze that just wafted into his life unexpectedly and decided to stay. Erupting his life into chaos.

You pulled away looking into his deep blue eyes. He narrowed them as if he saw something in you that he had never seen before.

“Ok, we leave right after graduation! And you can’t take it back now Barnes. You’re in this with me till the end!” You smiled at him. Your cheeks were puffy and red, carrying a dimple that he wanted to caress.

“Lord, help me.” He whispered under his breath.

⬅️Wanderlust Masterlist | The Redwoods➡️

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[bloody-bee-tea]

June of (minimal) Doom 2024 Day 6 - They don't care about you

Satoru feels Suguru’s cursed energy spike, going wobbly and all out of whack and he knows that something is seriously wrong. So wrong that he simply acts on instinct instead of thinking it through and between one blink and the next he finds himself right next to Suguru, in a small village, in a house with two crying kids and two screaming adults.

Fun.

“Satoru?” Suguru gasps out, apparently busy trying to keep a tight leash on his curses and Satoru stumbles.

Long distance teleportation really is a bitch.

“Suguru,” Satoru breathes out and grabs his arm, trying to steady himself. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s—why would you ask me that? You’re barging in here, making me think something is wrong,” Suguru gives right back, his voice shaking the tiniest bit and carefully angles himself in front of the kids as if he has to protect them from Satoru.

It only adds to the strangeness of this situation.

“Your energy—it’s not right. What’s going on?” Satoru says, hoping that it explains enough and that Suguru is not going to ask why he always keeps a close eye on his energy in the first place but Suguru doesn’t seem to care too much about that.

Something cruel passes over his face, almost turning it into a sneer and Satoru flinches back.

“Nothing is right, Satoru; don’t you see?” he hisses, pointing at the kids and the adults, some of Suguru’s curses still trying to escape his control and Satoru doesn’t really understand what’s going on at all.

“I see something going wrong,” he carefully admits because the kids look beaten and they are locked up in a cage but it doesn’t give him the bigger picture.

It doesn’t explain Suguru’s behaviour.

“Don’t you dare judge me,” Suguru bites out and that is so far from what Satoru was going to do that he doesn’t even understand where Suguru got that from.

But it seems they are not at all on the same page of this conversation and so Satoru takes a deep breath.

“Tell me what’s going on here. Explain it to me,” he says, taking a step back and giving Suguru space to breathe because he seems decidedly unwell.

Suguru takes a measured breath and then a second and third and then it all just comes tumbling out of him; not only what’s going on here, right now, but also everything that has been going on with him since they lost Riko. He speaks so fast he stumbles over his words more than once and with everything he says Satoru feels more and more sick.

He has missed so much. He thought he knew Suguru best, was tuned in to him but he has missed all of this turmoil and agony and Satoru hates himself a little bit for it.

Those thoughts are almost enough to drown out what Suguru is saying but Satoru forces himself to pay attention.

Suguru is opening up to him; he needs to listen, for once.

Suguru is talking about what Yuki said to him, what she entertained as a valid idea and while Satoru sees the merit of that thought, it’s also impossible for more than one reason.

“—and I’m going to burn it all down, starting with this village!” Suguru yells out at the end, breathing harshly and Satoru steps forward, tightly gripping Suguru’s arm.

“You’re not going to do that,” Satoru tells him, because if Suguru does any of that then that means he can never come back home and Satoru can’t have that.

And besides—

“It’s not going to work, Suguru,” Satoru tells him, because it’s not.

“Oh, right, of course you’d say that,” Suguru bitterly says and scoffs. “I’m not strong enough, right? Is that it?”

“That’s not it at all, Suguru, let me explain,” Satoru bursts out because how dare Suguru think that he’s not as strong as Satoru. “It’s not a good way to go about this. You want to take those girls with you, yeah? And then kill every non-sorcerer so that no curses can be born again?” he sums up Suguru’s big talk and only goes on when Suguru nods. “So you want to make breeding machines out of the girls?” Satoru asks then, deliberately blunt and cruel and Suguru flinches.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Where do you think new sorcerers are going to come from when you kill off every human? You’d need to breed new ones and who is going to do that? It’s not as if the pool is going to be very big, especially not at first. That would mean those girls there? They’d have to have at least a couple of kids each.”

“Satoru,” Suguru says, clearly appalled by what Satoru says.

“No, listen to me. Listen, Suguru,” Satoru implores him because there’s a better way to go about this. It might just take just as long as what Suguru is currently entertaining but it wouldn’t take Suguru from his side. “Some sorcerer parents birth normal humans. What are you going to do if that happens to them?” He nods towards the girls. “Are you going to take their kids and kill them, too? And you know better than anyone that sorcerers can be born to non-sorcerer parents. It happens like that more often than not, outside of the big Clans. You’re going to slow down our growth like that!”

“Then what would you have me do?” Suguru screams right in his face and Satoru thinks he prefers this anger over whatever manic energy was driving him before.

Satoru takes a few deep breaths before he lays out his own plan. He didn’t think to share it yet, wasn’t sure if Suguru would be on board and so he kept quiet about it but Satoru now sees where he went wrong.

He should have told Suguru from the very start, to let him know that he wasn’t alone, that the system is fucked all the way up and that Satoru intended to change things.

Maybe it would have helped with Suguru’s agony.

“The higher-ups—”

“Gods, Satoru, give me a break,” Suguru interrupts him, not even letting him finish his first sentence. “They don’t care about you. They are not going to listen.”

“—need to go,” Satoru goes on as if Suguru hadn’t just interrupted him.

He gives him a mean smile when Suguru gapes at him.

“What? You think I don’t know that they don’t care? I know it better than anyone, Suguru. The higher-ups, the clans—they are all rotten down to the core. They don’t see the person. They just see what you can do for them. They see me as the bearer of the Six Eyes, as the one who inherited both techniques. My family very rarely sees me as a Gojo and even that only because it allows them to boast with the fact that I am one of them. No one there has ever seen me as Satoru, has seen me as human. And they are not going to start any time soon; not with me and certainly not with anyone else.”

“So what? You want to kill them?” Suguru sneers out, clearly not believing that Satoru could go down that path.

“Yes,” Satoru simply says and holds Suguru’s gaze. “They have to go. The higher-ups at least. The Clans we’d have to see. Some of the younger members might be open to our cause, that needs to be checked out first. But the older ones? They all have to go.”

“It would wage war,” Suguru says and Satoru shrugs.

“We just have to time it right. I’m not saying we do it right now. It will take some time still. We have to see who would support us, which older sorcerers would be on our side. We can’t build it all up from scratch, we need experienced people.”

“And the school?” Suguru asks and Satoru is glad to see that he at least seems to have some sort of attachment to it.

“It has to stay,” Satoru gives back. “We need it for training, for education. But things have to change there, too.”

“The grading system of curses,” Suguru slowly says, clearly getting into the idea now as well and Satoru breathes a little bit easier to see him lose some of that manic energy, turning it into something more productive, the cogs in his brain starting to turn.

“It’s dog-shit,” Satoru agrees and sees the corner of Suguru’s mouth twitch. “I mean, come on, how many Grade 2 curses or lower have you been sent after this month?”

“Too many,” Suguru agrees, because of course.

Sometimes Satoru wonders if the higher-ups are misgrading the curses on purpose but he can’t figure out why they would do that.

“It’s not acceptable that we’re being sent after curses everyone else can handle while—” Satoru briefly stumbles over the name and he sees Suguru flinch, too “—Haibara has to go up against a local deity. It’s not right and there has to be a more accurate way to grade them. Or missions should only ever be carried out in teams, one lower grade sorcerer and one higher grade. There have to be ways to prevent these stupid useless losses.”

“Teaming up sounds like a good idea; it would mitigate any potential misgrading and it would allow them to get away if things go to shit,” Suguru nods, now clearly completely focused on what Satoru is saying.

Satoru wants to weep with how relieved he is, but he has to make sure that he’s not going to lose Suguru again.

“And we need a more reliable way to find sorcerers born to non-sorcerers,” Suguru says, already skipping ahead to Satoru’s next point.

He’s going to point out just how alike they think with glee later, because right now he’s too scared to interrupt Suguru and make him spiral again.

“There either has to be a way to detect them somehow or we have to subtly let the public know about curses so that kids who can see them don’t feel ashamed or scared and know where to go.”

Satoru winces when Suguru raises an eyebrow at him.

“It’s a work in progress, shut up. I wasn’t ready to talk about any of this yet,” Satoru defends himself and Suguru’s face softens the slightest bit.

“Then why did you?” he wants to know and Satoru blinks incredulously at him, as if the answer isn’t entirely obvious.

“Because I was losing you,” he plainly gives back. “I should have known you weren’t happy with the system either, but I didn’t expect you to go down such a different path. And I can’t lose you, ever,” he states, because he can’t.

Despite everything, Suguru is the only one who has ever seen him as human, who has ever been his friend, his partner, his everything, and there is no way in hell Satoru is going to let him go down a path that would separate them.

“I wasn’t—” Suguru starts as if he didn’t plan to level this entire village to the ground just mere minutes ago and he bites his tongue, clearly noticing his slip up when his eyes fall on the cowered humans in the corner. “Okay, yeah, I was,” he breathes out and slumps where he stands.

Satoru allows himself to step forward, so Suguru can rest against him, his head heavy on Satoru’s shoulder.

“The girls are sorcerers, I gather?” Satoru whispers, reaching up to scratch at Suguru’s neck and he hums when Suguru nods. “Case in point, then. We fucking need a better way to find them,” Satoru hisses out, his eyes sliding over to the silently crying kids.

“Suguru, we have to get them out of here.”

While Satoru is looking at the kids, Suguru is looking at the adults, Satoru can tell. There’s a hatred rolling off him that he isn’t used to and in all honesty, Satoru isn’t sure he wants to stop Suguru from what he’s going to say next.

“These two—I can’t let them go,” Suguru mutters, confessing it to Satoru as if this is his gravest sin and Satoru huffs out a laugh because he couldn’t care less about these two.

They don’t matter in the grand scheme of things and non-sorcerers die all the time during their fights with curses.

“A second curse, attacking us while we’re trying to get the kids to safety is not out of the realm of possibility,” Satoru carelessly says. “And who knows what we have to do to protect the girls, right?”

It’s a peace offering as much as everything else Satoru has said today; he hopes he can make Suguru understand his own rage, his own feeling of helplessness in face of the rules of the higher-ups and he knows Suguru understands when he turns his head, buries it into Satoru’s throat.

“You don’t mind?”

Now that really makes Satoru laugh.

“Suguru, might I remind you that I was this close to slaughtering many more people than these measly two and that I only didn’t do it because you said no? I would not have hesitated had you even so much as faltered in your answer,” Satoru honestly replies, because it’s nothing but the truth.

He wouldn’t have held back and he wouldn’t have felt bad about it, either.

Just like Suguru won’t feel bad about these two.

“So, not everyone but—some?” Suguru asks and Satoru sighs.

“Suguru, did you not listen? I said the higher-ups and most of the Clan members have to go. Where do you think they are supposed to go? A happy little island? I intend to send them straight to hell, so please. I’m not going to lose any sleep over those two over there. Are you?”

“Hell no,” Suguru decides and Satoru briefly feels cold when Suguru pulls away, but that feeling is quickly chased away when Suguru leans in to press a kiss to the corner of Satoru’s mouth. “Thank you,” he breathes out just as he lets out one of his curses who swallows the non-sorcerers whole.

“You always clean up so nicely after yourself,” Satoru notes as he moves over to the cage and breaks the lock.

“Gonna keep the fussing to a minimum,” Suguru says as he comes after Satoru, briefly carding his fingers through his hair before he crouches down to meet the girls. “You’re going to come with us, is that alright?” he softly asks and Satoru could weep because this is the Suguru he knows now.

He can’t help himself, he just as to lean in and press a kiss to Suguru’s cheek because mere minutes ago he was certain he’d lose Suguru and now they are finally on the same page. About more than one thing it seems, judging by the sly smile Suguru throws him but for now Satoru decides to concentrate on the girls.

They need medical attention and most of all they need to get out of the cage and out of this village.

And Suguru and Satoru will make sure that they have a better future before them.

[lets-try-some-writing]

Hey there, I just wanted to say that you got me hooked on your "The Grim Dark Archives" content. Like, it's a whole twist on the normal "I´m the truly nice and benevolent protector of the innocent" and all that stuff without being a full SG au, and I love it.

The idea that, despite all, the bots are aliens...and that they have their own personal agenda and way to do things, which is completely different from the human way in all senses, is both terrifying and awesome. Now, I´m dying to know more of the au, and most importantly...how the tfp trio fits in this dark version of the tfp world.

In canon, the bots truly love them...but in this au? 1) Either they don't, but pretend they do, or the most horrifying option...2) They do, truly do, they love them to the point of madness...but in their own way, which will put everyone around the kids (cause I see them trying to hide this behavior from the kids as to make things less stressing for their charges and easier for them) on edge.

Anyway, I love your content in general, my dude. I can't wait to the next post, wish you the best!

Oh I have PLANS for the TFP kids in TGDA. Both of the options you listed are partially correct. I don't want to give TOO much away, but to put it simply, in that AU, Cybertronians do not love, period. At least, not like us.

To them, bloodline, faction, function, and usefulness define everything. Everyone has a goal and ambition, and unfortunately for the children, they fall into the useful category. Not being born Cybertronian and consequently into any group means they are not kin. Their allegiance is not yet cemented so they are not yet part of the faction. And their function is so unknown to the bots as to be unworthy of trying to decipher. That leaves them only with their usefulness to keep them alive.

I will say this:

Optimus wants Rafael alive for a reason, and he has tasked Bumblebee with his care.

Jack keeps Arcee's attention off the team, and so until he expires naturally, he is to be kept alive at all costs.

Miko is a distraction for the Wreckers, ensuring they do not begin falling out of line.

June is allowed to remain because Ratchet wants to know everything about the fleshies on Earth.

Fowler is tolerated because he is a source of data. Other agents are not actively hunted, but they are not well regarded either.

I am so pleased The Grim Dark Archives has caught your attention! I write for it sporadically, but I am so very happy it is beginning to garner attention :D

[roseharpermaxwell]

RWRB FirstPrince Holiday Recs

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve - click below for my favorites.

I Don't Know About You, But I'm Feeling... by @iboatedhere. T, 794 words. Four birthdays in Alex's life.

it was the fourth of july (you and i were fireworks) by dreakawa. G, 1k. Alex has always loved fireworks. They were loud and bright and beautiful; in a way, he felt at peace among them.

Tonight, though.

Tonight, Alex watches in amazement as his roommate and best friend, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, gazes up at the display, his big blue eyes taking it all in, lips curved in a gummy smile that takes up his entire face, and oh.

Alex isn't watching the show.

Alex is watching Henry.

love, we begin by rizcriz. T, 1.1k. Henry loves his best friend. Absolutely adores Pez for all he’s worth and then some. But current circumstances have left him with a deep sense of loathing that cannot be outweighed by his hatred for any other thing in existence. In fact, Henry hates Pez so much right now that he wishes they’d never met.

All this to say, it’s two minutes to New Years, Henry’s at a party with only one person he knows—who has very much abandoned him— and is surrounded by horny women eyeing him like he’s going to be their magical prince in shining armor New Years kiss.

or, Henry gets a New Years kiss.

kiss me, and tell me that i’ll see you again by fxckingeyelashes. T, 2k. “Forgive me if I’m being too forward, but are you into guys perhaps? I’d like to know if I have a chance.”

“A chance at what?” Alex raises his eyebrows. It’s only then that he notices the rainbow G A Y under Henry’s name.

“A chance to be your new year’s kiss.”

(you can start) a family who will always show you love by @waterloolovers. T, 2.1k. “Confetti eggs.”

“Cascarones, but yes,” Alex grins, “I’ll give you a pass since your Spanish is a bit tragic.”

“Rude.” Henry rolls his eyes fondly. “So you just… chase each other around and try to smash eggs on each other? Seems rather messy with confetti going everywhere.”

“It’s very messy, but that’s the fun part of it. It’s meant to bring good fortune for the rest of the year."

The Spirit of Giving by @cha-melodius. T, 2.3k. His practice tamales come out pretty damned good, if he says so himself, and the ones for the holiday party are going to be even better. Alex is confident now that there’s no way his won’t be the best dish a the whole potluck; he’s definitely going to win (and no, he doesn’t care that you can’t ‘win’ a potluck, June).

(1 million words challenge holiday edition, prompt: “My holiday dish is better than your holiday dish.”)

Speaking my Language by HMS_Chill. G, 2.3k. Prompt:

"Alex always saying sweet things to Henry in Spanish but won't tell him what any of it means, and he's always google translating them and awe-ing at how cute Alex is and then like maybe he learns how to say something adorable to and says it to Alex and Alex just like melts or something"

one of your girls. by seafloor. M, 2.4k. New Years Eve; three years later. An hour before midnight.

Santa, Tell Me by @harrysglasses. G, 2.5k. Henry receives a very special gift from his office Secret Santa and is determined to find out who it's from.

we play all day (and spread holiday cheer) by headabovethewater. E, 2.5k. Nora guffaws. “You fucked Santa’s Elf?!”

“I mean,” Alex pauses and shrugs, “not with the costume on, obviously.”

“I can’t fucking believe you,” Nora exclaims, her hands cupping her own face in disbelief. She looks over Alex’s shoulder and cocks an eyebrow, before she lowers her hands and her tone, and asks, “Since when do you have a thing for blondes?”

I'll Have a Flu Christmas by @three-drink-amy. G, 2.7k. Plans go awry when Alex comes down with the flu right before Christmas while Henry waits for him to fly over and meet him in England. Prepared to spend Christmas sick and alone, Alex doesn't expect Henry to take matters into his own hands.

i think i'm falling for you by WaterlooLovers. T, 2.8k. Henry blinks at the man. He’s thankful the rink is fairly dark, only disco lights and black lights surrounding them, so the man can’t see the blush on his cheeks. The man is gorgeous, and still holding his waist, and Henry might be hallucinating. Maybe he did crack his skull on the hard rink floor. “Um.”

Trick or Kiss by @hillerskas. NR, 2.9k. Henry’s been here for ten minutes and he’s already causing Alex to feel some feelings. He supposes Henry has made him a bit scared with his costume, but not in the god given Halloween way he should.

Or, Alex is throwing the Halloween party of the year and can't quite figure out why the Prince of England is haunting his every thought.

onward to adventure by rizcriz. T, 3k. Some men would call Henry a fool.

He’s standing at a bar an hour to midnight in a packed nightclub on New Years Eve hoping to catch sight of a man he’s met all of once. Perhaps fool is too lighthearted a word for what he is. Foolishly optimistic—though, he’s never been deemed the optimistic sort before, he supposes there’s a first for everything.

Some people, people like Pez, who are standing watch—or, rather, dancing watch from a respectable distance away—call Henry a reformed fool. Because the fool part came a year ago when he let the world’s most perfect match disappear into a crowd and out of Henry’s life with the promise of returning in a year.

May Your New Years Dreams Come True by chamel. T, 3.1k. “In fact, I’d wager money my date will by far be the hottest there.”

Hunter scoffs, which honestly Henry doesn’t understand. It’s not like Alex hasn’t pulled in some real lookers to previous years’ parties, much to Henry’s chagrin. “Really? You want to bet?”

Alex shrugs. “Sure.”

“Henry,” Hunter says suddenly, finally—and unfortunately—acknowledging that he’s actually been standing there the whole time. “You want in on this?”

(1 million words challenge holiday edition, prompt: "Competition to see who can bring the hottest date to the New Year’s party")

you and me, forevermore by @theprinceandagcd. T, 3.1k. "He pushes up on his toes to kiss Henry, who returns the kiss immediately, greedily, tongue brushing against his in a way that makes Alex's brain short circuit just as much as it did a year ago.

A year ago.

It still does something to him, stirs something deep inside him that makes his entire body feel like pure mush. It's a memory burned so bright in his mind - cold air, a buzz in his veins, a tree in a quiet garden, fingers gripping his face, soft lips against his.

The night his world turned on its axis and shifted toward Henry, altering his path and forever tilting him closer."

Or, Alex and Henry on New Year's Eve, one year after their first, and Alex wants it to be special.

don't let me get drunk again by @getmehighonmagic. E, 3.1k. Alex had never wanted to cancel plans as much as he had while watching Henry pull a pair of light wash, tight jeans over his stockinged legs and bare ass.

Christ, he’s getting hard thinking about it now.

Merry Christmas, Darling by lucy_in_the_sky. E, 3.2k. Alex and Henry's first Christmas together as a couple. Just some good ol' fashioned Christmas smut

Wherever you are, as ever I remain by gallifreyandglowclouds. M, 3.4k. 'It’s transparently a lie, and he shouldn’t lie to Alex, but he can’t help it in the moment. He so badly wants everything to just be fine, to love this new life without a foot stuck in the old one.'

Henry can't help but feel a little homesick during his first Christmas in Brooklyn.

stars by the pocketful by weather_stained. T, 3.7k. Henry is having a terrible Halloween, so terrible that he completely forgets it even is Halloween until Alex shows up at his door asking to borrow a prop for June's costume.

Though Henry opts out of June's Halloween party, Alex makes sure he doesn't spend the holiday alone.

Call It Even by @smc-27. T, 3.7k. Alex shrugs. “I’ll go with you.”

Terrible, terrible, no good idea.

Too bad his mouth works faster than his brain. Which is…another thing he wishes to not think about. His mouth, and Alex, and all the things he could do to that man.

“All right.”

Fuck.

(aka: henry needs a +1 for a holiday party. his roommate offers.)

Help Yourself to Happiness by ronans. NR, 3.8k. ‘So you’re taking the post down, I assume? Now we’re both sober and in control of our impulses?’

Pez barks a laugh. ‘Absolutely not.’

‘I know we discussed the very real possibility that I would cry myself into oblivion without you here singing horrendously off key Christmas carols, but… isn’t this a little… desperate?’

‘I’m willing to see where this will take us, aren’t you?’ Pez asks, raising an eyebrow.

‘Says the man who would be safely out of the country after setting his best friend up with a potential murderer.’

Pez levels him with a look and then picks up Henry’s phone. ‘How many polos did he play?’ Pez turns the screen around so Henry can see the comment. ‘Does that sound like a person with murderous tendencies?’

Henry snatches the phone back. ‘This is a terrible idea.’

Or, A drunken night leads to Pez posting on Reddit, calling on any singles in the area to help Henry be a little less lonely this Christmas.

to see myself in someone’s eyes by saintsnames. G, 4.4k. five fathers, five father’s days

or: a father’s day each in the lives of oscar, arthur, leo, henry, and alex

I'm not gay, but my apparel is by @clottedcreamfudge. T, 4.5k. “I’m not a salesman,” Alex points out, coming out from behind the counter and rolling up his sleeves. “I’m a purveyor of oddities, curiosities, and intrigue.”

“Yes, I saw your sign.”

“And now here we are,” Alex says, gesturing grandly and expansively to the space around him.

“Here we are,” the man says softly, then pulls one hand out of his coat pocket and holds it out to Alex. “Henry Fox-Mountchristen. I would like to purchase an oddity, curiosity, or an item of intrigue.”

you bring blue lights to dreams by headabovethewater. E, 4.5k. When Alex pulls him a bit closer and kisses him again, he thinks he sees a flash of blue peek through the opening in Henry’s shirt, but he ignores the thrill that travels down his spine and shrugs it off. Wishful thinking, he’s sure.

Or, Henry surprises Alex as they celebrate New Year's Eve together.

baby, be mine by strwbrryfox. T, 4.8k. five times alex asks henry to be his valentine and one time henry beats him to it ♥️

many times, many ways by @littlemisskittentoes. M, 4.8k. The thing is, Alex knows he can’t replace the bittersweet wave of memories that swarm Henry’s head at the sight of snow flurries and smell of peppermint in the air. He doesn’t want to. He wants Henry to keep those close, even if it is through the sepia tone of melancholy.

But Alex can’t help but wonder if maybe he can find a way to balance poignancy with something a bit easier. Something a little bit lighter. Something Henry can revisit to understand where he belongs, how he fits into the “happy” of it all any time he needs.

He looks over to Henry, finally asleep against his chest. He takes in the gentle slope of Henry’s nose, the fluttered fan of eyelashes against moon-bathed cheeks. He fixates on the subtle canyon, the soft part of Henry’s lips, the phantom wind of a silent snore, and Alex knows: the very least he can do is try.

or, holidays have always come as a reminder to Henry of what he’s lost. But Alex always manages to remind him of everything he’s gained too.

Ink it in on my skin, sign me up, make it last against the time by @hgejfmw-hgejhsf. E, 5.2k. “Okay, then,” Alex says, and Henry can’t help but smile at the hint of mischief creeping into his voice, “there’s two weeks until Valentine’s Day. We each have that long to make it happen, and we’ll do a big reveal that night. Deal?” Flecks of gold are shimmering in his copper eyes. Henry leans forward, catching Alex’s lips to seal their accord.

“Agreed.”

OR

Alex and Henry both decide to get tattoos.

I must tell you what you will not ask by @lizzie-bennetdarcy. E, 5.3k. Henry's plans for Christmas fall through, so Alex invites him home for the holidays. They're best friends, strictly platonic roommates, so why does everyone think they're dating?

Have you ever been alone in a crowded room? by @hgejfmw-hgejhsf. T, 5.4k. When the Legendary Balls-Out Bananas White House Trio New Year's Eve Party is interrupted by a security threat, Henry, Pez, Nora, June, and Alex find themselves locked in the White House library for their own protection with nothing but time, a few bottles of champagne, and some lighthearted conversation, until a single question threatens to change everything for Henry.

You and Me, Forevermore by milowren. NR, 5.6k. When Henry gets sick a few days after Christmas, he and Alex end up celebrating New Year's together in a different way than they planned.

Red, White, and British Blues by lucy_in_the_sky. E, 5.6k. Instead of the warm Texan sun, today Alex wakes up to an English chill. Instead of a lively barbecue packed with friends and family, he and Henry are scheduled to attend a state banquet later in the afternoon.

Again, he tries to not be disappointed. It’s just, he was really looking forward to a chance to take a break from all this nonsense for the weekend.

God bless the USA, or whatever.

where every wish comes true by @hypnostheory. E, 6k. “Locked out?”

“I forgot my keys,” Alex says with a sigh, leaning against his door with a muted shiver. He was planning on a heated Uber ride to June’s apartment, not standing out in the cold ass hallway. Alex hugs his coat closer to his chest. “My friend has my spare.”

Henry nods, leaning against his own door frame. Alex isn’t sure what the man does outside of going to grad school at NYU, but it must be bench-pressing horses based on the size of his biceps. Henry reaches up to push his glasses higher on his nose and Alex swears he wasn’t that bisexual when the day started. “Would you like to wait in my apartment for your friend?”

Alex gets locked out his apartment on Christmas Eve. He's forced to take refuge in his neighbor and occasional fuck buddy Henry's apartment, and together the two get into the Christmas spirit with the help of a festive costume and a silk ribbon.

The Honeymoon Suite by clottedcreamfudge. E, 6.1k. Henry's plane is grounded, which is absolutely fine, and not at all the worst possible outcome on Christmas Eve when he should already be on his way to London. Alex's plane is also grounded, but fortunately for his leggy British co-worker, he's a generous soul who's happy to share the room he managed to bag at a local hotel while they wait for their new flights.

So, so generous.

Baby, it's Halloween and we can be anything by sheisraging. E, 6.3k. Alex is furious. More furious than he should be about the whole thing, but still. Plans were made. Money was spent. Costumes were purchased—not even rented—purchased!

it's in the stars, it's who we are by @indomitable-love. E, 6.4k. 'Henry pulls back with wide, startled eyes, releases him roughly and staggers backwards. He lets out a mumbled curse and turns on his heel, and Alex has just enough of something still firing in his brain to reach out and catch Henry’s wrist. Just enough awareness of the fact that Henry is about to run, to say, ‘No, wait,’ before he can disappear through the snow.'

or, the AU where Henry doesn't run after the New Year's Eve kiss.

Re: Inappropriate Festive Party Conduct [Sent with High Importance!] by @largepeachicedtea. E, 6.5k.

Alex has changed his suit into something soft-looking and appropriately red, though the white shirt with the holly pin is still there, now accompanied by a trail of sparkly tinsel around his neck like a festive scarf. He’s holding a whiskey glass in one hand, leaning into something Nora is saying, and looks positively lethal. “Christ,” Henry mutters through a gulp of cider. “He looks good,” Pez agrees through a cheshire grin. “He always looks good,” Henry says. “Right now, he looks–” “Henry! Pez!” “Fuck.” “Alexander!” Pez hollers. “Babes!”

—

An office holiday party AU where Alex and Henry ignore the first rule of corporate festivities: Don't hook up with your coworker.

Ho for the Holidays by @whimsymanaged. E, 6.8k. “Listen, don’t worry about this,” Henry says quickly, already mentally crafting the passive-aggressive text he’s going to send Pez. “Better luck next year. I’ll just be off—“

“Hold your damn horses.” Alex stops Henry with a fast, surprisingly gentle hand to his wrist. His eyebrows furrow. “What did you put on your questionnaire?”

Henry’s ears go hot. “That’s none of your business.”

Alex scoffs and leans in closer. “Baby, we matched. It’s safe to say we have at least some interests in common. Be honest—was it because you confessed to having a secret desire to slap me?”

Or, Pez organizes an event called Ho for the Holidays, and these two idiots get paired up.

all my time is yours to spend by smc_27. T, 6.8k. Any way you look at it, Bea is not meant to be here, and if it were just the lights, he’d assume she forgot to turn them off. The fire burning is another thing entirely. The weather has been dreadful, and perhaps her flight was canceled. Surely, she’d have told him as much.

He should investigate.

Waffles & Conversation by clottedcreamfudge. E, 7k. “I’m fine, I swear. I just need to give it a proper clean and I’ll be fine.”

Ellen isn’t convinced. “Okay, but you’re letting Henry look at it later.”

Alex grits his teeth for what must be the thousandth time today and tries to keep his voice level. “No, I’m not. He’s a vet, mom.”

“And he’s the closest thing to a doctor we have coming tonight,” she says firmly, letting him take his hand back and raising her eyebrows at him. “It’s that or the ER, honey. Your choice.”

You're the Perfect Gift for Me by @cha-melodius. T, 7.2k. “Twenty-one-year-old Scotch,” the man says with a low whistle, looking more impressed than anything else. “Special occasion or just expensive taste?”

Alex can’t stop his grimace. “Came up here to propose,” he says, even though this random stranger doesn’t need to hear his woes. “Found out my girlfriend’s getting back together with her high school sweetheart.”

“Ouch,” the man replies, the word sounding slightly absurd in his rounded, posh accent. He looks at the bartender. “Leave the bottle.”

(Dumped two days before Christmas by his girlfriend, Alex meets a British writer who's spending Christmas on his own in generic Tiny Town, USA, and together they discover something new to celebrate.)

Snowed In? Snow Problem by @rmd-writes. E, 7.3k. The challenge: to write a fun college AU for the queen of college AUs (though she’ll probably be mad at me for saying so). Bonus points for also including the only one bed and getting caught doing something sus tropes.

The result: hopefully all of the above, plus they’re snowed in for the holidays.

AKA Henry and Alex get snowed in at their dorm for the holidays, whatever will they do?

It's Not Thanksgiving Without the Turkeys by allmylovesatonce. M, 7.5k. Thanksgiving 2020, Alex invites Henry to join the Claremont-Diaz family for Thanksgiving. More than anything, they're excited for another excuse to be together.

(Valen)Tie Me Up by @happinessofthepursuit. E, 7.7k. “Well, I actually made your gift at one of Pez’s workshops, though I’m sure they would’ve gotten it out of me anyway,” Henry says, voice fond.

Alex’s mind is whirring, going through the monthly calendars from Seize the Play. Pez leads classes multiple times a week, but there’s only a few that Henry could’ve attended, and one in particular that would explain his own gift…

“Which one?” Alex asks.

“I think that’ll immediately be clear.”

Or, Alex and Henry exchange gifts for their first Valentine’s together—then proceed to use them.

you make it look so easy, i know it's not by @anincompletelist. T, 7.9k. Bea’s to his left, speaking frantically on the phone with who Henry hopes is the fire brigade or someone else trained to deal with these— situations. In front of him, Pez is fumbling frustratedly with the water hose, showcasing his colorful vocabulary with a flourish of jerky hand movements and chaotic pacing. On either side of the fence, his neighbors are peaking over the sides to ask if everything’s okay, and Henry feels the resolution to make a good first impression crumbling and slipping rapidly out of his grasp. Even David watches on from inside the house, his sage eyes and patriotic bowtie appraising the scene and looking back to Henry as if to say I told you so.

And the fryer — the fryer itself is up in flames, thick gray smoke swirling up into the air and soaring high above the tree line now. In the distance, the echo of sirens. Henry may faint right here, in the middle of his backyard at his new home before he's even unpacked, with all the neighbors and his family and friends watching on, on his first official American Thanksgiving. It is, by all means, not what he’d envisioned for the day.

everything ever written about love by greenandmoss. E, 8.4k.

“Bet you’re glad you knocked on this door.”

“I am, actually.” Smiles should not be this disarming. It’s disconcerting.

It’s like they’re in a movie, where all the lines are pre-written, and the smiles and the looks all mean something. The couple are scripted to catch eyes, and fall in love with each other the second their lips touch. But that’s fucking ridiculous. Henry sits there like some kind of James-Bond-Jude-Law heartthrob, and Alex’s life is not a movie. This is not how real life plays out.

Or: The Holiday au but it's just that one scene where Cameron Diaz meets Jude Law

Save a Horse, Ride a Princess by @affectionatelyrs. E, 8.6k. “I have to say, this is all quite literal, don’t you think?”

Alex wouldn’t know literal right now if it hit him in the head. “Huh?”

Henry points at Alex: “Pillow Princess,” and then to himself: “Cowboy. Ready to ride and all that.”

Alex nods dumbly. “Right.”

Or, Alex and Henry dress up as the ultimate couples costume for Halloween — themselves — and they both feel some kind of way about it

the world watched (and the world smiled) by fangirl6202. M, 9.1k. "Oh,” Alex says finally, faintly, touching one hand to his lips. Then: “Shit.” 

His mind catches up then, realizing that Henry is walking away and he doesn't even think twice. He begins to quite literally chase after him, trying to get to him before he can get away or, God forbid, try to fly back to England and ghost him. 

Henry is very pointedly not looking at him, stuttering apology over apology until Alex has to quite literally throw himself in front of him to get him to stop. Alex doesn’t know what to do. But the answer is simple, isn’t it? So fucking simple.

 

He takes Prince Fucking Charming’s lapels into his hand and kisses him back. 

Or; it's New Years, and Henry stays.

more than you could ever know by indomitablelove. T, 9.5k. He watches Alex’s bright smile as he talks to Bea and Leo, the way that Ellen and Catherine have their heads bent close together and how Nora is talking with Pez, Oscar and June. He feels something catch in his throat, something blooming in his chest with such strength that it threatens to burst its way out. He never, in a million years, thought he would have this.

this year i will fall by @rmd-writes. E, 9.8k. Henry has many regrets in his life, but leaving the ice rink after a literal run in with the potential love of his life without even obtaining his name may be his biggest. With his family visiting for the holidays for the first time and ever-present work deadlines looming, he's too busy to think about how to engineer his own happy ending worthy of the novels he edits.

But what if fate has other ideas?

Ye Merry Gentlemen by allmylovesatonce. M, 9.9k. Across three different years, at different points in their lives, Alex and Henry celebrate Christmas together.

On My Mind (Let's Go) by @sparklepocalypse. E, 10k. Pez blows into his hands and rubs them together to warm them. “Listen. Just… whatever happens in there, say yes, alright?”

“I don’t follow,” Henry says, his brow furrowing. “Say yes to what?”

“Whatever opportunity comes knocking,” Pez says breezily. “You forget, I’ve seen your messages. The booze is flowing tonight, and everyone’s got their best fit on – so opportunity will knock, and you will say yes.”

(A movieverse New Year's Eve fix-it that started as crack and turned into crack taken seriously. With dancing. And smut. Like... a lot of smut.)

Someone Special by bleedingballroomfloor. E, 10k. "That was Shaan," Henry explains as Alex snuggles closer to him, pressing his nose to his neck. "The blizzard hit early, apparently. Too risky to fly."

"So Christmas here?" Alex says in that sleepy drawl of his that Henry will never get tired of. "Fuckin' sweet."

Happy NY by @myheartalivewrites. E, 11k. “Hi,” he says, and Henry looks into his eyes, taking in the brown colour and little flecks of black and gold that give it depth; the tiny freckles dotted across his nose and cheekbones, only a shade or two darker than his deep bronze skin. “Uh, sorry about that,” the man says, but he doesn’t step out of Henry’s arms. Instead his eyebrows go up, and his expression changes, from one of embarrassment to something Henry thinks is surprise, and maybe, ever so hopefully, a little bit of interest.

would you wait for me? by smc_27. T, 11k. Henry Fox has made Alex nervous from the second they met.

Now it’s different. Now Alex has to try and find a shirt to wear to a party where he’ll inevitably see Henry for the first time in a year. For the first time since Alex’s heart was broken and he’d made what felt like the brave and smart decision and left.

Coming back might be a mistake.

Gonna Give You Something (So You Know What’s on My Mind) by @affectionatelyrs. E, 11k. Alex hums, turning around to pull open the freezer drawer. “You want anything?”

But Henry barely registers his question. Not when Alex is slightly bent over, allowing Henry a perfect view of his perfect ass. Each individual ridge of his spine is visible due to his lack of shirt. All of these things combined would normally be a large enough issue in itself to render Henry dumbstruck, except—

Except, that’s not the only thing that Henry’s faced with.

Right there, clear as day: blue lace, delicately peeking out from the waistband of his joggers. Henry’s hand immediately flies up to his cheek. The skin is hot to the touch, and he feels the imprint of where the material once lay like a brand.

Or, With the help of a white elephant gift, Henry learns that maybe the whole being-in-love-with-his-roommate thing isn’t as one-sided as he thought

Love and Hate at the Farmers' Market by myheartalive. T, 11k. Alex and Henry both work at a farmers' market and they hate each other, until suddenly— oops! They don't!

(Secret) Santa Baby by @indomitable-love. E, 11k. "When it comes to Secret Santa, Alex really does have a reputation to uphold. Everybody wants Alex to get them. Nobody actually wants to get Alex, which is why he usually ends up with novelty socks or a political biography, but he doesn’t care. Ultimately, everybody wants Alex to get their name. And right now, Alex is seconds away from finding out who his new mark is. The person that he’s going to spend the next few weeks learning inside and out to ensure that he gets them the perfect gift."

Alex gets his work nemesis, Henry, in the office Secret Santa and realises that he doesn't know nearly as much about him as he thought...

Trim my Christmas tree by @clottedcreamfudge. E, 12k. Henry is a writer, not a mall Santa, but unfortunately this year - thanks to his adorable and conniving nieces and their Aunt Beatrice - he's going to have to be both. This doesn't leave him a great deal of time to pine horribly over the part-time bookseller and Law student over at June Claremont-Diaz's shop, but somehow he manages to jam it in anyway.

Ho ho ho.

i'll be home for christmas by @dumbpeachjuice. M, 12k. He books a tiny cottage in a village called Little Snoring (not to be confused with the nearby Great Snoring) somewhere in Norfolk and tries to tell himself Christmas by himself in a foreign country is going to be an adventure from which he will have an adorable story to tell his friends and family, and not just totally depressing. At the very least he can take a cute picture of his snowy cottage and pretend he’s not totally fucking jealous of his entire family gathering in Austin without him.

If he ever fucking gets there, that is.

Or, Alex's first Christmas in the UK gets ruined by the British weather. A handsome stranger invites him to spend the holiday with his family instead.

The Holiday by @dracowillhearaboutthis. E, 13k. Henry is in no mood to attend his family's holiday gathering this year. So when June Claremont-Diaz asks him via a Home Swap website whether or not his house is free over the holidays, he jumps at the opportunity to escape the country and his family for the holidays.

He did not include Alex into the calculation - June's charming and gorgeous brother who suddenly appears at her doorstep.

Airplane Mode by clottedcreamfudge. E, 14k. Getting into an argument with someone in the airport lounge had probably been a mistake, in hindsight; Alex knows this. But with so many fucking delays and the fact that the signal on his phone is currently making it about as useful as two paper cups joined by a piece of string, he’s kind of on-edge. It’s not entirely his fault that he snaps.

Attractive people with perfect hair who take the last almond croissant before Alex can get to it probably just need to understand this. Alex is at the end of his tether, and he will not be swayed by, “Well, I was here first,” in a British accent so smooth it could butter bread.

Home for the Holidays by lucy_in_the_sky. E, 14k. “How would you feel about maybe spending Christmas in Texas with me and my family?” He bites his lip after popping the question.

Henry’s eyebrows shoot up. But before Alex can regret asking, a soft smile blossoms on his face.

“I want you there with me. I- I wanted you there this week, too-” Alex starts to ramble. “And, like, it’s totally ok if you want to go to England to be with your family, duh, but I’d love to show you Austin and introduce you to my family and teach you the Claremont-Diaz holiday traditions and kiss you on Christmas morning and-”

He’s cut off by the hard press of Henry’s lips against his own.

“Yeah?” Alex beams.

“Yes, love. Of course yes.”

Sweet Dreams of Holly and Ribbon by @villiageidiot. T, 14k. He falls asleep on the loveseat, Nora and June curled up on the couch across from him, as a terrible Hallmark Christmas film plays in the background. It’s the fourth night of sleeping alone—Henry taking care of some business back in the palace—and he’d rather wake up cold and cramped across from the two of them than alone in his own bed.

That’s how Alex falls asleep.

That is not how he wakes up.

A Fine Line by indomitablelove. E, 15k. Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Whatever is inescapable. In the worst way possible. He’s always fucking there. Alex turns up for his shift and Henry is there behind the coffee machine, apron tied around his waist and stupid, tight white T-shirt clinging to his biceps. Alex turns up for open-mic night at the cafe and there he is again, reading his fucking poetry. Alex goes to the grocery store, or the bookshop, or the fucking campus library, and who does he see? Henry. Always Henry.

Always Henry, always with a different guy.

Alex hates Henry. He's only letting Henry and his stupid long limbs and his overly symmetrical face stay on his couch because he has to, because 'tis the season not to be a massive dick, because it's Christmas. Isn't he? -also coffee shop/roommates

12 Days of Christmas with Alex and Henry series by @coffeecatsme. E, 16k. "It seems I've gotten myself in quite a tangle."

"Tangle?" Henry's voice is hoarse, eyes darkened as they travel over Alex's body. They stop at his crotch, and Alex can see it even under the dim lights—Henry's growing hard too, a visible bulge pushing at his sweatpants. Alex's cock gives a desperate twitch.

"Y'know, I was trying to put them around the tree," he starts, gesturing at the plain tree at the corner. It's clear he didn't even attempt to touch it. "And somehow I've managed to completely trap myself. Can't even move my hands." Henry makes a desperate noise at the back of his throat as his eyes snap up to Alex's face. Alex flashes him a suggestive grin, teeth biting down on his lip. "Seems I'm completely at your mercy."

(Dil)Do It Yourself by @happiness-of-the-pursuit. E, 16k. “Listen,” Nora starts, turning her body once more so that she’s sitting sideways in the chair with her legs thrown across the armrest. “I did the math. There’s a 79% chance you’re gonna become a slut to the power of the prostate, and while we’re not dating anymore, it’s my duty as your fellow slutty bisexual to get this party started.”

Or, when Nora drags Alex to a holiday dildo workshop, he doesn’t expect to find someone to use it with.

Spirit of the Season by @pridepages. M, 17k. Henry was dead to begin with. That much you must understand, or nothing that follows will seem strange or wondrous...

Alex Claremont-Diaz doesn't believe in ghosts. And he really hates Dickens.

But that's not going to stop a very unusual Christmas Spirit...

Henry Fox is on a mission. Once a year, he finds a soul in need of his help. (Too bad this one's such an utter berk.)

When two lost souls find each other on Christmas Eve, they may just find everything they never knew they wanted.

The Christmas Guest by @omgcmere. E, 17k. Alex is looking forward to a relaxing winter break catching up with his sister after her semester abroad, but June's gone and ruined everything by inviting her insufferable international student friend to stay with their family for a real American Christmas experience. Henry is irritatingly gorgeous with a completely obnoxious superiority complex, and Alex is prepared to hate every single second he's forced to spend in his presence. As Alex starts to get into the Christmas spirit, however, he finds that maybe there's more to Henry than meets the eye - and maybe, just maybe, this will actually be the best Christmas ever. - also college

Four Christmases by @hgejfmw-hgejhsf. E, 19k. From Washington to Austin, London to New York, Alex and Henry spend Christmas with different members of their families from 2020 - 2023. Funny couples' Christmas sweaters, festive swimsuits, statement-making ties, and family pajamas all bring lots of laughs, some tears, and a bit of fun to be had by all along the way.

A Year in the Life series by milowren. NR, 19k. Alex and Henry are coworkers, Henry has a crush, and they end up at a haunted corn maze together a few nights before Halloween. Shenanigans ensue! And - When Alex's flight home is canceled at the last minute, Henry invites him over for Thanksgiving - despite never having hosted an American Thanksgiving before.

and you would be there too by smc_27. M, 20k. It’s mostly dark out here, just the lamp poles in the parking lot casting a warm yellow glow across the packed snow.

“We’re closed.”

Henry spins around, heart racing, and sees the beautiful man from the café and from earlier at the shops. He cuts a stunning image, swinging one leg over the wooden fence rail and stepping into the parking lot as he pulls a red and black plaid shirt over his shoulders, his tan pants tight enough across his thighs to make Henry blush for noticing.

This Hell of a Season by Chamel. E, 21k. (Nova, Baby follow-up) “The first few years, it was a relief to get away from all the stupid family drama,” Alex says, blowing a long sigh. The hand that’s not holding Henry’s slides onto his stomach, a warm, comforting pressure. “Then I started to resent it. It hurt to be stuck out on a mission while everyone celebrated without me.”

“And now?”

A grin slips onto Alex’s face as he walks two fingers across Henry’s bare chest. “Now I have you.”

(Or, 3 times Alex & Henry spent Christmas on missions and 1 when they didn't; or, A Very Nova Christmas Special.

Love on the Menu by berrybluefae. M, 23k. Henry Fox has a side hustle at his job as a host in an upscale restaurant. He loves setting up romantic moments for guests who want a little something extra for their night out to dinner. A bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne for the couple celebrating their 50th anniversary? Easy. A special table with candles and a dessert with a surprise for the woman about to propose? Child’s play. But despite playing Cupid for the restaurant’s guests, Henry has never been on the receiving end of a grand romantic gesture. So imagine his surprised delight when anonymous gifts begin appearing just for him.

Who is Henry’s secret admirer? Only Valentine’s Day will tell.

You Make Every Day Feel Like It's Christmas by allmylovesatonce. T, 25k. Burned out on work, Alex goes to visit June who is on assignment in a sleepy Vermont town called Snow's Landing. June is determined for him to see where she's been living for the last six months and to love it as much as she does. The most intriguing part of it all is June's best friend there, a man named Henry, that Alex believed was a jerk at first but is starting to discover a new side of as they spend more time together.

Paper Chains by @myheartalivewrites. E, 25k.

DAY 751

(Alex)

Henry is… Well, if Alex is being honest, Henry is everything to him.

But it’s kinda hard to explain.

DAY 1

I have no idea how to summarise this one, folks. The best I can do is… Alex and Henry's journey from awkward beginning as colleagues, to best friends, to spending time apart and finally to finding each other again.

But it’s not as straightforward as that.

Every Day's a Holiday (When I'm Near to You) by bleedingballroomfloor. E, 29k. I know this is a long shot, but if anyone’s going to Texas/anywhere south for the holidays and is crazy enough to drive there instead of fly, I’m looking for a road trip buddy. We can split gas money and snacks if you pick good ones. DM me if you’re interested.

And Henry knows he's about the make the most idiotic decision he's ever made in his life.

Or, Henry impulsively tags along with Alex on a road trip to Texas with absolutely no plan. Surely this won't backfire.

in a holidaze by @tedddylupin. E, 49k. Alex didn't mean to spend his New Years Eve thrown together with a perfect stranger at an airport. He didn't mean to offer up to share his hotel room with a very attractive stranger. He also didn't mean to find the man insufferably perfect either.

Or: the one where Alex and Henry find each other during different holidays throughout a year's time.

When I think about you by @clottedcreamfudge. E, 50k. Dream sharing is absolutely not a thing, even though Alex would very much like it to be.

The magic of soulmates, however, means that someone you’ve never met – someone whose soul is tied to yours, in whatever way that manifests – can appear in your dreams, like an extra character who keeps popping up over and over again. They won’t be having the same dream as you, and you won’t actually meet, but whatever you remember from the dream can start to take shape in your waking hours; you can figure things out, bit by bit, dream by dream.

I only tag an author once per post, but I'm still figuring out firstprince author handles. If you see one I may not know or find a broken link, please give me a heads up!

Master List of RWRB FirstPrince Recs

Master List of Recommendations

[canirove]

Broken Hearts Football Club | Chapter 22

Author's note: I have no idea about heart issues, so I don't know if what is explained in this chapter makes any sense. Same with June's injury. So if there is someone reading this story who knows about medicine... I'm sorry 🙈 Remember that this is fiction 😅

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Masterlist

"Here you go."

"Thank you" June said, taking the small cup of coffee Mason was giving her.

"Isn't it taking them too long?" he said, sitting down next to her.

"I don't know. I guess they want to run all the tests they can to make sure they know what happened."

"That I scared him and gave him a heart attack. That's what happened."

"Mason, it wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was" he said, resting his head against the wall. "You said it yourself, I scared the hell out of you. Imagine how he must have felt."

"If what happened was your fault, then it also was mine."

"What? How?"

"We were kissing. I could feel my heart beating against my chest like crazy, so I guess his was going through something similar too. Then you add the scare and…" June shrugged.

"His best friend and the girl he loves giving him a heart attack. Great" Mason sighed.

"He doesn't love me."

"Oh, c'mon June" Mason said, rolling his eyes.

"What?"

"Chilly loves you and you love him."

"I…"

"Don't you dare saying that you don't, because after what happened today, you can't keep denying it. I saw you, June. I saw the way you reacted when he fainted, the fear in your eyes. I still don't know how I managed to make you stop crying and shaking" he chuckled.

"He's my friend" June replied, playing with the plastic cup in her hands.

"And you love him. But not in the way you love Lauren and Vittoria. You love him in the way I wished you had loved me."

"You what?"

"I fell in love with you, June. Head over heels. I only told you I had feelings for you because if I told you how I was truly feeling, I knew I would scare you off. Though little did I know…"

"I'm sorry. But I…"

"I know. It's ok" Mason said, taking her hand on his. 

"Do you still…"

"Love you? No, I don't. I think I needed you to break my heart and make me hate you to finally move on and let you go."

"I'm so sorry, Mase. I shouldn't have lied to you about Ben and then used you to try and forget about him and everything that was happening between us. It was stupid and the only thing I did was hurt the three of us and ruin your friendship."

"You didn't ruin anything. Though it was close" Mason chuckled. 

"I'm sorry. But I just… I…"

"You freaked out."

"Big time, yes" June sighed. "Because I care about him, you know? Like, I truly do." 

"I know" he said, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze. 

"And I don't want to keep running away every time I start feeling something for someone, every time I have a chance to finally be happy and leave my past behind. I don't want to run away from him, Mason. From what I feel for him."

"Then don't."

"Easier said than done" she snorted.

"You could start by telling him what you just told me."

"I could, yeah…"

"Mason!"

"Mrs. Chilwell" he said, quickly getting up.

"Where is he? What happened?"

"We aren't sure yet, the doctors haven't told us anything. He started to feel unwell at Cobham and fainted."

"We?"

"Yes. June was with us when everything happened."

"Hello, Mrs. Chilwell" she said, her eyes fixed on her now empty cup.

"You are June Maxwell, right?" 

"Yes" she nodded.

"I'm sorry about the things Benny has said about you. It isn't the first time he behaves like that when he fancies a girl."

"Family of Benjamin Chilwell?" a doctor called, not allowing June to process what Ben's mum had just said.

"Here, I'm his mother" she said. "How is he, what happened?"

"Is it ok if we discuss it in front of them?" the doctor said, looking from Mason to June.

"They are his friends, it's ok."

"Alright, then. Benjamin had a little scare, but nothing serious. It was expected."

"Expected? What do you mean?"

"He stopped taking his pills after Christmas."

"What?" Mrs. Chilwell said.

"He didn't tell you?"

"He didn't, no. Did he tell you anything?" she asked Mason and June.

"No" they replied.

"Well, we decided to stop because he wasn't needing them anymore. His last tests were perfect, the best he had had since he was diagnosed."

"The best?"

"Indeed, Mrs. Chilwell. He has been changing some things in his life and they've been doing wonders for his health. He's apparently started to cook for himself and eat healthier, going for walks besides her usual gym routines, staying at home instead of going out to party… He's living a more chilled life, and that was what his heart needed."

"Chilly chilling" Mason chuckled.

"Exactly" the doctor smiled. 

"Then what happened today…" June dared to ask.

"That was a side effect from not taking the pills anymore. He told me that lately he had been feeling a bit dizzy, and today it hit him a bit stronger."

"Then it wasn't related to me scaring him?" Mason asked.

"It wasn't, but it didn't help" the doctor laughed. 

"So he is ok. It isn't anything serious."

"He is perfect, Mrs. Chilwell. You don't have to worry."

"Thank God" she sighed. "Can I see him?"

"Of course. If you'll follow me…"

"Thank you" she said. "And guys, you can go home and rest. Especially you, June. I know you are recovering from a serious injury. I promise I'll keep you updated."

"Thank you, Mrs. Chilwell" Mason said.

"No, thank you. Both of you. I know how much you care about my Benny and I am very thankful" she smiled. "Now I'm gonna scold that son of mine for not keeping me updated about his health."

"Don't be too harsh on him, Mrs. Chilwell" Mason chuckled.

"Just a bit. Then I'll cover him in hugs and kisses while he complains" she laughed. "Anyway, I better go. It was lovely seeing you again, Mase."

"You too" he smiled.

"And I'm glad I finally got to meet you, June. Let's hope next time we do it in better circumstances."

"Yes" she said with a shy smile.

"Well, your mother-in-law loves you, and that isn't easy. Congratulations, Maxwell" Mason said once Mrs. Chilwell was gone.

"Shut up" she replied, hitting his arm. 

"Sorry, sorry" he laughed. "Let's go home, I could do with a nap."

"Same" June sighed, the weight she had been feeling on her chest since Ben collapsed finally leaving her.