#maybe I should call my dad see if he had trouble this morning cause if yes I’ll eat before i give it to him fjsbdjs

[yoohyeon]

The joy of having a sick dog that can’t hold himself for a long period of time so you step on poops when you wake up <3 😭

[newtonsheffield]

Kate Sharma (Trouble) and Anthony (Edmund), Viscount Bridgerton in I fell in love with the fire long ago by Moomin_94 (newtonsheffield)

In some ways Kate had been lucky. In a lot of ways she’d been lucky in truth, even if it didn’t quite feel that way. A lot of people might not see it that way. They might not think it was lucky to have nothing but the middle name of a man who’d had so much sadness in his eyes when you’d sat down beside him in a bar with at least three empty glasses already in front of him. He’d barely looked towards her at first, which she’d been thankful for. There to have a quiet drink alone to celebrate the promotion she’d sunk so much time into that now felt a little hollow. He looked at her when she ordered, his eyes burning into the side of her face and she’d felt her stomach drop as she’d taken him in. A muscle clenched in the corner of his jaw and his hair was falling over his eyes as he stared at her.

“Are you commiserating or celebrating?”

His voice was like rough gravel and she found herself swallowing, “Celebrating. I got… exactly what I wanted, I guess. Got a promotion. I’m a solicitor.”

He nodded, “Congratulations.” He looked over to the bartender, “You can put it on my tab. Someone should be happy tonight.”

“Thank you.” Kate cleared her throat, “That’s nice of you.”

“Not really.” The man chuckled darkly, “Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m doing here?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious you’re commiserating.”

His laugh was much brighter than it probably should have been as it echoed through the bar, “I have a good reason to commiserate.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Kate settled in, enjoying the strange dynamic she was striking up. “Come on, what happened.”

He took a sip of his drink, “Today is the anniversary of my father’s death.”

Kate’s heart sank, “I’m so sorry.”

“I told you it was good.”

“That is cause for commiseration.” Kate agreed, “I really am sorry.”

“This promotion pretty big?” He was changing the conversation and she knew it but she let him do it.

“Yeah. Sort of. Just became junior partner.”

“Well, congratulations. I’m very excited for you, random beautiful woman.”

“I’ll tell you my name if you tell me yours.”

He frowned for a moment, “Why don’t you call me Edmund?“

“Edmund.” Kate found herself frowning, weighing it on his tongue, “You don’t look like an Edmund, it doesn’t suit you.”

“That’s what everyone says.” He inclined his head, “It’s my middle name. And you are?”

There was something about his gaze flicking over her that made her feel more and more bold as she took a sip of her own drink. “What do I look like.”

His teeth bit into his lip for a moment and his voice was even deeper, “Fucking trouble in that skirt.”

“Trouble it is then.”

They’d agreed in the morning, as they’d eaten breakfast awkwardly in the restaurant of the Savoy Hotel that neither of them were in the position for this to be anything. So she’d left with just his middle name and nothing else to go on with no idea that a month later she’d be staring at a positive pregnancy test with no way to contact the father of her child. Maybe that wasn’t lucky. Maybe it wasn’t lucky that she’d had nothing to give her son of his father but that name. Edmund, Neddy. But she felt lucky to have Neddy. Nearly three years old now and so beautiful it made her heart clench to look at him. she was lucky to have him. In some ways lucky that there was no traumatic break up to have dragged them all through even if Neddy was already asking questions about his Dad.

The very last place she expected to find Neddy’s father was sat on her mother’s couch with Neddy on her lap half paying attention to a viscount trying to build a new library in his constituency.

“Well, you see Rachel-”

Kate froze at the sound of his voice, her mouth falling open as her eyes fell on the man that had occupied so many of her thoughts the last three years.

Anthony, The television said. Viscount Bridgerton.

“Holy Fuck.”

“Bad word!” Neddy said as Edwina and Mary both stared at her.

“What?”

Kate swallowed, the words choking in her throat. “That’s N-E-D-D-Y’s D-A-D.”

This is probably the most unlucky she’s ever felt, walking into the office of her former one night stand turned unsuspecting father of her child armed with nothing but her diligent google search from the night before. He had a right to know. Kate told herself again. Even if he didn’t want anything to do with them, she wasn’t looking for anything from him anyway. He should know that he has a child.

“Can I help you?”

Kate tried to smile at the receptionist. “Hello, yes. I was wondering if I could… speak to the Viscount? Please?”

The woman’s eyes flicked over her. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I… I don’t but it’s… very important.”

The woman frowned, “Are you a friend of his? Does he know you?”

Kate swallowed, “I… He might not remember-”

A door opened down the corridor and footsteps made their way towards them. He looked almost the same, other than his suit being much neater and his hair not a mess. He was just as handsome as when he’d hugged her before she’d left the restaurant and his eyes lit up as his smile grew into a slow, lazy thing.

“Hello, trouble.”

Kate’s laugh was a choked little thing. “You have no idea”

Now on Ao3

[mieldreams]

A Very Berry Christmas

Summary: A certain berry incident leads to finally getting to know the family from down the hall. Could the season's greetings blossom into the start of something sweet?

pt 2 is out!

pairing: single dad!Anakin x single nurse!reader

warnings: lame attempts at humour, brief mentions of barf. a whole lotta xmas puns.

word count: ~4.5k (someone needs to teach me how to not make everything 2k+)

You're sleeping peacefully in your cozy bed when you hear it. Three loud knocks that rouse you from your sleep. Or try to– you have half the mind to simply turn around and pull the covers back over your head and go back to sleep. In fact, that's exactly what you do, maybe this is just some weird dream.

Three more knocks, and they beat down more urgently on your door. That's when your reptilian brain kicks in, instincts taking over as your eyes fly open and you push off the covers to grab the giant candy cane prop you'd gotten on discount that you'd temporarily propped by your bed. It's not that you live in a shady area or anything, but you'd rather take chances on your poor hand-eye coordination with a fake candy cane than face whoever was at your door at– you check the clock on the wall, at 1 in the morning without one.

As you reach the front door you curse the old apartment and your annoying landlord for not installing even just a peephole to see who you'd have to fight off at the witching hour. There had to be some sort of basic requirement for safety in these apartments right? You'd have to check for that later since the more pressing matter was now loudly knocking on your door once again. You're thankful it's only you and that man with the twins on your floor, though for his sake you hope the twins aren't light sleepers.

This time the person only knocks twice before abruptly stopping. Should you open the door or simply walk away now that the knocking had stopped?

Your contemplation doesn't last long as you hear voices through the door, a rough voice telling someone to go back inside followed by loud shushing sounds as you hear a child crying. Curiosity gets the best of you and you quickly toss the candy cane aside to throw the door open and the sight that greets you immediately concerns you.

It's the man from down the hall, Mr Skywalker, and gosh he looks miserable. Though it's not like you'd know what he usually looks like, you'd only ever seen him in fleeting moments – sometimes with the twins, sometimes alone, the only reason you even knew his name was because you'd accidentally gotten his mail once. He's halfway down the hallway between his and your apartment and you assume he's the one who had knocked. When he turns around at the sound of your door opening you realise he's carrying a small boy on his hip who's a little red in the face, eyes still scrunched from crying.

"Oh thank god," he makes his way towards you again, "I know this is really sudden and I apologise for disturbing your sleep, but could you please look after my daughter for a while? I have to take my son to the hospital urgently and I don't want her to be alone, she's very well behaved— won't cause you any trouble I promise—" he's frantic as he explains, "Leia! Can you come out here please?" He's calling her over before you can get a word out, not that you were against helping him.

A girl, just as small as the boy, peeks her head around the doorframe of the apartment down the hall. Her father lightly bends down and wiggles his fingers to call her over. You use the brief moment to observe the man for the first time since he appeared at your door. You take in his sleep-tousled caramel blond hair, the wrinkled white henley that was clearly old from the way it stretched over his broad chest and shoulders despite the buttons being undone, probably bought at a time when he wasn't so...muscley. Your eyes quickly move down before your thoughts can continue down that line only to make it worse when your gaze lands on the strip of skin exposed by his shirt riding up, the prominent v-line peeking above the black sweats that sit low on his hips.

As the little girl slowly makes her way to where the two of you are you quickly avert your gaze. It would be mortifying to be caught ogling her father.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your son?"

Once little Leia reaches him and takes his hand he turns to you again, "We were making blueberry pie— going to— but Luke ate some of the blueberries and then started throwing up," he worriedly looks back at his son on his hip, tucking him closer as Luke shivers in his arms and curls into his dad.

Looking at Anakin, then back at Luke you clear the remainder of sleepiness from your voice, "I don't mean to intrude sir," you start slowly, "but I happen to know a thing or two about allergies, you can totally still go to the hospital but maybe I can take a look at your son for you?"

When he doesn't answer you get nervous and start rambling, "I know what I'm doing, I'm a nurse you see— I swear, I even have my certification for this– I could show you if you want," You make a move to retreat back into your apartment but Anakin's hand on your wrist stops you.

You gasp when you feel cold metal rather than flesh, eyes going wide as you turn to look at his palm wrapped around your wrist and for the first time you notice that his arm isn't human.

Anakin hears the little sound and immediately curses himself in his mind.

What the fuck were you thinking – grabbing her wrist like that, specifically with the metal arm when it's already freezing.

He quickly apologises before dropping your hand and you look at him again as he runs a nervous hand through his hair, "Could you do that? Would you do that? Take a look at him I mean," if it weren't for the situation at hand you'd have thought his stuttering and awkwardness were cute and holy shit he was so much prettier up close but you push those thoughts aside as your work brain kicks in.

You hope it's nothing too serious and that the poor man doesn't have to rush to the hospital at this hour.

You invite him and his children into your apartment, leading the little boy and his father into the kitchen while giving Leia full access to your plushie collection as you drop a whole bunch of them on the couch to make her a little more comfortable and keep her distracted while you check on her brother.

Though, when you tell her to get comfy she singles out a fluffy highland cow plushie that you'd customised to match the holiday spirit with a mini red santa hat, and then turns to you with big eyes, "Can I read those?"

When you follow her little finger you realise she's pointing at the stack of old newspapers. You shrug, "Sure, why not," you pick up a part of the pile and lay it out in front of her to let her pick.

Whatever keeps her busy you guess. She thanks you for it and you leave her there on the couch before heading to the kitchen. On the way you make a detour to the bathroom to check for any allergy medicine in case it was something mild.

When you walk into the kitchen you notice Luke is no longer crying, rather slumped against his father, cheek squished against his dad's shoulder. Probably tired from all the crying and throwing up, you think to yourself. You place the few bottles of medicine you had grabbed on the counter and ask him to sit Luke on it as well.

You fill up two glasses of water, handing one to Anakin and holding one out for Luke but he simply shakes his head.

"Does he have any allergies or anything like that?"

Anakin shakes his head no, "Not that I know of. And he's had blueberries before but never such a reaction to them," he tells you, worried eyes constantly shifting between you and Luke.

"Did he have any other reaction other than throwing up?"

The man shakes his head no again, "He only threw up. At first I thought it was one of those 'kids puke all the time' things but then he threw up again and complained about his stomach hurting and wouldn't stop crying."

You walk over to the cabinet in your kitchen and pull out an old friend, hiding him behind your back as you walk back to Luke. He was somewhat calmer now but you didn't want him getting upset again so maybe a distraction would be nice, "Hey Luke. I have a little buddy here who'd like to get to know you, he wants to play with you, do you wanna meet him?"

Curious but still shy he slowly nods his head, a feeble "okay" escaping his lips.

You pull out the old dinosaur toy you'd had since...gosh you couldn't even remember anymore. It was a little faded and worn (well loved is what you called it) but he was soft and smelled clean so maybe it would help.

"This is Rex the T-Rex. He says he's really happy to meet you." You wiggle the dino's hand in a little wave. You pretend that Rex the T-Rex whispers something in your ear, nodding like you understand what he wants to convey.

"He says he wants to talk to you, but he's very shy so maybe you can hold his hand to get to know him? He's a doctor you see, so he wants to ask you a few questions, can you answer them Luke?"

The little boy thankfully looks intrigued enough by the old toy, quietly taking him when you place it in his lap and nodding okay once again.

You then quickly start your assessment with a few questions, "Luke, do you feel any itchiness anywhere?"

The boy shakes his head no. You then ask him how he feels right now and only get a 'sleepy' in response. You could never be too sure with allergies, it was different for different people, but judging from everything you knew till now you had a suspicion this wasn't allergies.

"Luke, how many blueberries did you eat?"

The boy holds up his tiny fist, closing and opening it to show you, "just this much."

"You only had that many berries?"

He gives a 'mhm' while fiddling with the rainbow bracelet on his wrist, "I had them after dad washed them, then I had them after they were cold in the fridge then when we baked the crust and then when we were making the inside thing."

You have to stop yourself from laughing as Luke's father narrows his eyes at him, "Luke, how many blueberries did you have?"

The boy innocently holds up his tiny fist again, waving it in his dad's face this time, "this much."

"But you had that much four times?"

"Uh-huh," hearing his dad's tired sigh as he drops his head into his hand is what breaks you, and you can't help but snort.

You move towards the sink to wet a small cloth before taking it over to him, "Here, you can wipe the fruit on his face, the smell of it might be making it worse," then you leave them alone to head to your bedroom to find one of your older sweatshirts that had shrunken in size after your friend accidentally machine washed it when she borrowed it for a Christmas party.

You finally manage to pull out the old garment from the corner of your closet after struggling to pull out one sleeve that was stuck under a heap of clothes, making you fall on your ass when it finally came loose. You get up and dust your shorts off with a glared huff at the pile of clothes that you were too lazy to sort before heading back to the kitchen.

Since you had already decided what to do for Luke's nausea, you ask Leia if she would like some of the ginger honey tea you were planning to make. When she answers with a "yes, please," you smile at her and tell her you'll bring it to her in a minute before entering the kitchen.

Seeing that Anakin has finished cleaning up all the berry stains from Luke's hands and around his mouth you walk over to hand him the sweater, "I think it'll be better to have him out of that t-shirt, it doesn't exactly have the most...pleasant smell." You try not to make a face at the faint lingering smell of barf and blueberries – a combination you know will haunt you for quite some time.

Anakin takes the sweater from you, and you turn around towards the stove to start making the tea, "I think a little honey-ginger tea might help with the nausea, can he have that?" You glance at Anakin as you stretch up to pull out the ingredients and he barely avoids being caught staring at the sliver of skin peeking under from your shirt when it rides up.

He clears his throat, "Um, yeah— yeah he can have it." He glances at Luke who's still toying with the dino plushie you gave him. You turn back around to watch the boiling water and hear Anakin gently talking to Luke as he switches his spoilt shirt for your sweater.

With your back still turned to the two you realise that Anakin has a very nice voice – it's very calm and gentle, a smooth cadence that makes you think you could listen to him forever. You wonder how old he is, he didn't look that much older than you but the way he panicked with Luke made it seem like he was a bit inexperienced with such occurrences. Though you definitely had the advantage of your job to thank for your knowledge.

A soft amused chuckle is what pulls you from your thoughts, making you turn around as you switch to low heat. You see Anakin smiling at his son's form on the counter, drowning in your shrunk sweater that was still too big for him. You notice his gaze fixed on the graphics of the sweater – a 'Sleigh All Day' written above the picture of Santa Clause and Rudolph chilling on a sleigh like it was a beach chair, sunnies on and drinks in their hands.

His gaze then shifts to the sweater you're wearing, a dark blue with a white font that says, 'Birch, please.' with the photo of a sassy Christmas tree and it actually makes him snort. You smirk at him before turning back to the tea as he asks, "How many of these do you have?"

You glance at him from the corner of your eye, still smirking, "Do you really wanna know?"

He shakes his head with a smile before clearing his throat, "I uh- I want to thank you for doing all this. Specifically so late at night, and also— I'm really sorry for barging in on you and disturbing you. Neither of the twins have ever had a reaction like that, they're really smart and absolute angels, so tonight just...scared me a little." His voice fades out at the end and you turn the stove off as you turn to look at him again. He's gently running his hands through his son's hair, somehow smoothing out and messing up his hair at the same time.

Luke hasn't said much in the past few minutes but seeing the little boy almost drowning in your too-large sweatshirt as he's lost in his own play world makes a warmth bloom in your chest. Both the twins seem so well-mannered and calm that you're sure Anakin's right and they really must be angels.

"That's alright. Takes a village to raise kids, right? I'm glad I could help. And that it wasn't something too serious."

"I'm sorry— I feel like I've intruded in your house and haven't even given a proper introduction. I'm Anakin. The little blueberry monster is Luke," he points at his son, playfully ruffling his hair and making him giggle and duck to avoid the attack, "and my daughter— that's Leia."

You smile back at him, telling him your name in return, "It's nice to meet all of you." You turn back to finish preparing the tea, pouring it into four different cups for which you apologize with a grimace, "Sorry they're all...like that. I hardly have people over so I don't really have proper tea cup sets..."

Anakin would reassure you that it was nothing if he wasn't busy trying to contain the immediate smile threatening to grow on his face when he sees his cup – a white mug with the words, 'I just took a DNA test turns out, I'm a 100%' on one side and 'that Grinch' on the other, with the Grinch's iconic smiling face staring back at him of course.

He then takes a look at Luke's cup as you go to call Leia for the tea, not wanting the little girl to be alone in the living room. He notices it's a plain white porcelain with the words 'Wake me up before you cocoa' and a cartoon of a singing chocolate bar wrapped up in a red and green scarf.

You must really like Christmas he thinks.

You hear the little patters of her feet before she shows up at the doorway and you call her over. Before you can ask if she wants to sit next to her brother she's already raising her arms to be lifted onto the counter, and before Anakin can step in you're already lifting her into your arms and gently placing her on the countertop next to her twin who excitedly begins to show his sister his new friend while waiting for his tea to cool down.

Leia thanks you for the help again and you can't help but be amused at the kid's manners. She seems to be very well-spoken for someone so tiny, and you wonder if that's from her father or her mother, which in turn makes you think about these kids' mother.

Anakin seemed to live alone, and you had never seen any woman visiting his apartment, other than the one time you saw the twins with a tan woman in the parking lot when you came back from work, though you're pretty sure you overheard them call her 'Auntie'.

"Ouch, hot! Hot! Hot!"

Luke's tiny yelps snap you out of your thoughts and you watch as Anakin quickly puts down his own cup and reaches out to take Luke's from him, placing it on the counter beside him while scolding Luke with an 'I told you to wait till it cools down—'

Followed by a whine from his son "I did! It didn't have the hot floating steam anymore—"

"—and I told you that you should always check first with a tiny sip."

"But you always drink really hot coffee really fast."

"That's 'cause I don't have time in the morning and need to at least pretend to be listening when someone talks to me."

" I wanna try coffee too—"

Anakin sighs, "—No Luke, you cannot—"

Leia simply sits beside her twin, shaking her head with a soft sigh as she listens to her father and brother argue.

You can't help but be amused by this little family before you as they continue their bickering, entertained by their chaos and curious because—

"Why were you guys baking at one in the morning?" It escapes out before you realise and you quickly bite your tongue, chastising yourself in your mind, ohmagosh you can't just ask people why they're baking at one in the morning.

"—sorry you don't have to answer that, just got curious," you awkwardly shuffle on your feet, laughing in embarrassment before you move forward to take everyone's empty cups to the sink.

"It's okay," Anakin speaks up, "We have a tradition of baking something every weekend for the entire month of December. The twins were craving some pie and it's the weekend so I thought why not? Their mother used to bake the best desserts, I can't live up to that standard but...I try."

His words once again make you curious about their mother but this time you manage to bite your tongue in time. From his slightly breathier tone you can tell that the story here isn't exactly happy so you don't try to pry.

Seeing as the twins were getting drowsy, now that the adrenaline of the chaos had worn off and been replaced by the warmth of the sweet tea, Anakin pushes off the counter, "Anyways, thank you so much for helping us— helping me. And sorry we disturbed you."

You dismiss his apology with a wave of your hand as Anakin lifts the kids off the counter though Luke requests to be carried back again.

"I'm glad I could help. Kids can give real scares to their parents sometimes, I know I did –many times," you joke as you follow the man and his children out of your kitchen to the front door.

Anakin didn't know you too well, just a few casual run-ins that come with living on the same floor. Though he doesn't know how casual he can consider it when you always seemed to be in a hurry of some sort, finding out your job as a nurse makes things make more sense but still, you were a jittery little thing. He remembers that time when he was awake late one summer night, the twins were at Ahsoka's and he couldn't sleep so he'd stepped out for fresh air. He guessed you were coming home late from work, hair a tangled mess and feet dragging on the ground. You were carrying some paperwork and maybe it was the late night shift or maybe it was the dark parking lot but you accidentally ran into a tree near the door to the building, your paperwork falling from your hands. You quickly bent down to pick it up and then immediately started apologising to the tree and thanked it for helping you pick up the papers, then wished it a good evening and walked away.

He also remembers the time he overheard you talking to your friend in the hallway about babysitting their cat, but the next morning when he ran into you at the laundry there were long claw marks running up and down your arms that you quickly tried to hide by pulling down the sleeves of your sweater and a sheepish smile.

"Took my friend's cat for a walk. Some of the neighbourhood strays didn't like that. Almost lost an eye trying to separate those little bastards." "I mean catfights, amiright?" You had joked and he had only stared in disbelief and mild concern, hoping you had at least gotten the scratches checked out for infections.

He also remembers seeing you a few days back, struggling to drag a too-big-for-an-apartment Christmas tree across the parking lot, he would have helped you if he wasn't sure that he'd spook you in the dark empty lot. Though he didn't see the tree anywhere in your living space when he walked in so he wonders what happened to it.

He turns around at your doorway to look at you again.

"I don't doubt it."

Is that a smirk on Anakin's face? Is he messing with you right now?

You roll your eyes, shaking your head with a laugh.

"I'm just glad it wasn't anything too serious, hopefully though we'll keep the blueberry consumption to a limit from now on." You tease as you ruffle Luke's hair. He makes a gagging face at the mention of eating blueberries and it makes you laugh again.

"Guess berry pie will have to be put off for a while, huh?"

Anakin sighs as he adjusts Luke on his hip, pulling his daughter closer as she slips her tiny hand into his, "I guess so."

He looks back up at you and you're once again stunned speechless by how pretty he is, long eyelashes fluttering and pretty thunderstorm eyes rimmed red by the lack of sleep. He is still one of, if not, the most gorgeous man you've ever seen.

You've noticed that Anakin is a somewhat hard person to read. With the diverse variety of people that came to your work and the ones you helped, you had become sort of used to being able to read people. The way they behaved in emergencies alone told you a lot about a person. But for some reason, other than the panic when he first knocked on your door, you couldn't at all tell what he was thinking right now. And considering he seemed to be a first-time father, especially to twins, you suppose the panic was warranted.

Anakin's intense gaze fixated on you makes you nervous, so you let out an awkward chuckle while wringing your sweater paw hands, "I'd wish you an advanced 'Berry Christmas' but I feel like we've had more than enough of those, huh?"

You cringe and once again curse yourself at the lame attempt at breaking the silence that had lulled over and trying to escape Anakin's sharp eyes. You expect him to scoff and walk away from you as quickly as possible and maybe never talk to you again but instead he just smirks and looks down. He catches sight of the giant candy cane decoration you'd thrown aside and shakes his head, chuckling.

He starts guiding Leia and carrying Luke back down the hall towards their apartment and you think you're right, he's never gonna wanna talk to you again. He probably thinks you're some Christmas-obsessed weirdo who makes godawful jokes and he's gonna tell Luke and Leia to never talk to you again as well and—

With his back turned to you, his voice carries across the hall, snapping you out of your thoughts. He enters his apartment and pokes his head out to give you one last look, eyes looking you over once before he smirks, "There's better weapons out there than candy canes." And then his door shuts.

Your eyes widen when you realise he's joking with you and not immediately rushing to report you or something, and you laugh as you close your door.

As you stand in your apartment with your back pressed against the closed door, you can't contain the growing smile on your face. You hope you get to see more of the cute and slightly chaotic family living down the hall.

dividers by @strangergraphics and @tsunami-of-tears

A/N: an advanced berry christmas to everybody! :)

ps. what do y'all call Anakin's hair colour?

[ghost-in-the-hall]

Flowers (Phantom x GN! Reader) FLUFF

WARNINGS: Recreational smoking 🌿, doesn't go into detail, all fluff, Primo being a dad, Phantom being sweet, cute, and nice. Just a good old innocent mutual crush. Not proofread, sorry if there's any mistakes with keeping it GN, please feel free to let me know if I missed anything so I can correct it!

My Masterlist! ~ AO3 Link!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good morning Papa." You greet Primo with a smile, carefully setting down the cup of tea you had brought him on his work bench.

"Good morning il mio Bambino." He responds softly, completely engrossed in his task of pruning one of his many bonsai trees. "When you get a moment my dear would you be able to do me a small favor?" You breathed out an amused sigh. You had been Primo's assistant for a while, enjoying the slow pace of working with the eldest Emeritus brother.

"Papa, you don't need to ask." You giggle, bringing a smile to the older man's face. "Anything you need I'll take care of, don't worry."

"You truly are too good to me." He shoots you a wink causing you to playfully roll your eyes. "There's some produce that needs harvesting in the greenhouse. I was hoping I could have your assistance collecting it all."

"Of course. Let me just make sure I don't have any paperwork to file first." You give his shoulder a gentle squeeze as you pass, leaving him to finish his pruning. You fell into the chair at your desk with a sigh, flipping your letter opener around in your hand to sort through the daily mail. You paused as something caught your eye. A single sunflower sat at the edge of your desk. You picked it up curiously, a smile finding its way to your lips as you spun the stem between your fingers. "Thank you for the flower Papa!" You call into his office. You hear the scraping of his chair against the wooden floor, Primo emerging in the doorway moments later.

You glance over your shoulder as you hear him chuckle. "That flower isn't from me, my dear." He raised an eyebrow at you. "Perhaps you've caught the attention of someone special, hm?" You couldn't stop the blush from spreading across your cheeks as you giggled.

"I doubt that," you state with a wistful tone as you continue to admire the flower in your hand, "I'm pretty plain compared to a lot of the other Siblings. This was probably supposed to be a gift for you if anything."

"I'd like you to keep it regardless." He gently pats the top of your head. "And you are not plain. You have a smile that could light up any room, a laugh so melodic it would rival Cirrus' piano. You're a kind, beautiful soul inside and out. Not to mention your Papa's favorite." He teases with a wink.

"Thank you Papa." He holds out his arm for you to take.

"Come il mio bambino, we have a lot of work to do." You slide your hand into the crook of his elbow, allowing him to prattle on about whatever came to his mind as you made your way to the greenhouse together. No matter the task, working with Primo always managed to put a smile on your face. Over your time as his assistant you had grown quite close to him, Primo had become somewhat of a father figure in your life. The two of you would sit and chat about everything while you worked; filling each other in on the gossip you heard around the Abbey, Primo telling you stories of when he was in his prime, both of you unwinding with a nice cup of tea at the end of the day in his cozy office. Today was no different. You were both droning on about how, somehow, Sister Imperator had been even more stern than usual lately.

"Maybe you should offer her a joint, it might help her stop being so uptight all the time." Primo chuckles at your statement.

"You might be right, I heard she used to be quite the stoner in her day." You both paused at the sound of the greenhouse door slowly creaking open. Primo began to stand, you motioned for him not to trouble himself.

"I'll go see who it is Papa, it's probably just one of the Siblings from the kitchen." You rise with a groan, meticulously pulling off your work gloves before stuffing them into your pocket. As you approached the entrance you were met with the sight of a Ghoul curiously looking over the plants. He froze the moment he picked up on your presence, like a child getting caught doing something they weren't supposed to be. His shoulders relaxed as he realized it was you who emerged from the greenery and not the eldest Emeritus. "Phantom?"

"Hey." He returns your greeting with a sharp smile, fangs glinting in the bright afternoon sun that glimmered through the glass roof. "I was sent to ask Primo about some of his tea." He nervously shifts his weight between his feet.

"Oh, he's right back here actually." You motioned for him to follow you. Phantom takes a couple long strides, allowing himself to walk by your side. "You help in the greenhouse too?" He asks genuinely. You nod, giving him a small smile.

"I work pretty much wherever Primo needs me." You chuckle softly. "If I'm being honest I'd rather be out here than at my desk, it gets awfully stuffy in there sometimes." You whisper to him, as if it was a secret just for the two of you. You found Primo still diligently harvesting the produce you had left him with. "Papa, Phantom needs to ask you about some tea."

"Papa," Phantom bows his head slightly in a polite greeting, "Copia sent me. He's having, uh… that problem again. He said you'd know what I meant." His eyes widened slightly as he waited for Primo to remember what particular ailment he was referring to.

"Right," Primo claps his hands together. "I'll go grab the senna." Once Primo is out of view Phantom's attention immediately shifts back to you.

"What are you two harvesting?" You smile at his curiosity, aside from Primo and the other Siblings that helped in the gardens no one ever seemed interested about the work you did in here.

"Berries mostly." He trails closely behind you as you return to the plant you had been previously seated in front of. "The raspberries came out wonderful this year, I don't think we've ever had this big of a crop." Phantom kneels next to you in the dirt, eyes darting between your hands as they worked and your face.

"Can I ask a silly question?" He inquires sheepishly.

"There are no silly questions." You give him a reassuring smile, gently bumping your shoulder against his.

"What do raspberries taste like?" You paused. You had gotten so used to seeing Phantom dart around the Abbey that you had forgotten he had only been summoned a little while ago. Something as simple and well enjoyed by you he had never experienced before.

"Would you like to try one?" He nods eagerly. You search through the bush, looking for the best looking berry you could find. You carefully held it between your fingers as you offered it to him. "Now, I'm going to warn you, they have seeds and they're kind of fuzzy." He squints at the fruit, bright violet eyes analyzing it closely. He takes the berry between his teeth, taking extra care to make sure his fangs didn't accidentally graze your fingers. He chewed it slowly, eyes never leaving your face.

"It's good… sweet." He smiles proudly at his small triumph. His gaze travels to the top of your head. "You, uh, have a leaf." He points to your hair. You attempt to brush it away on your own but you could tell by the expression he was giving you that it was still there. He cautiously reaches towards you, untangling it from your strands before discarding it on the ground. His eyes scan over your features, a smile coming to his lips as he brushes the disturbed hair back into place. "Beautiful." You let out a flustered giggle. You both jump as Primo speaks up.

"This should take care of Copia's problem." He holds out a jar of herbs to Phantom. Seeing both of your bashful states he pauses. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?" He gives you a smug grin.

"No Papa, we were just talking." You nervously fidgeted with your fingers as you spoke.

"Thank you for the tea Papa. (Y/N), hopefully I'll see you soon." He flashes you another dazzling smile before making his leave. You couldn't stop your eyes from trailing after him as he left, turning back to Primo once he fully stepped out of sight. You had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes at the shit eating grin he wore 

"Don't look at me like that." You tried to hide your flustered state.

"I see we fancy ourselves a Quintessence Ghoul, do we?" He returns to the plant at your side with a laugh.

"We were just talking Papa." You reiterate again to try and get your point across.

"Just talking wouldn't cause the two of you to jump like that my dear. I've witnessed my fair share of crushes in my day, it's nothing to be ashamed of." He addresses the matter casually.

"Papa!" You exclaim through a giggle. 

"Fine, fine." He accepts defeat, holding up his hands in surrender. "But, when you do finally come to terms with the fact you're attracted to him, I'll be here to talk." He smiles patiently.

You laugh and shake your head, "I don't have a crush on Phantom, it's just…" you trailed off for a moment. You couldn't exactly put into words how you felt. You had always been pretty close with all of the Ghouls, so when the newest members were summoned you were one of the first to be introduced. When you had first met Phantom he was timid, still feeling somewhat awkward in his more humanoid form.

"Walk me through what you're thinking tesoro, maybe I can help you sort things out." You both kept busy as you talked, knowing if you actually allowed yourself to focus on the words spilling from your lips you would end up overthinking.

"He's very easy for me to talk to. It took me a while to form the friendships that I have, but with him it almost felt effortless. The first night I met him there was something about him that was just so… captivating. He was unlike any person or Ghoul I had ever met." You explain.

"You two definitely seemed to hit it off pretty quickly. Up until he met you I don't think I had ever really seen Phantom interact with any of the Siblings, he mostly kept to himself. Perhaps there are a few members of his pack he's close to, but compared to the rest of Copia's Ghouls he seems a bit reserved." Primo remarks.

"That's the thing Papa… he's not." You thought back to one of the times it had just been the two of you. "Phantom is loud, boisterous, confident." His infectious laugh echoed through your memories, bringing a smile to his face. It wasn't uncommon for Phantom to coincidentally stumble across you smoking alone in the garden, enjoying the twinkling starlight as the pungent smell of herb filled the air. Being with him only added to the dizzying head rush you had. Gazing into his eyes felt like you were running through a field of lavender, his fingers bumping against yours making your pulse thrum in your ears, entirely consumed by the image of him mere inches away from you. The two of you in your own world together as you resisted the urge to lean into him. You were snapped from your day dream as a thorn pricked your finger, you winced slightly, letting out an exasperated sigh as reality set in once more. "Him and I just get along really well, that's all." Primo just smiled knowingly. He had seen that far off look in your eyes many times before; pining Siblings stumbling into his confessional to pour their heart and soul out to him over a friend who they swore would never be anything more than just that. You didn't say much for the rest of the afternoon, the memory of Phantom playing repeatedly in your mind as you tried to convince yourself none of that mattered.

"I'll see you in the morning." Primo waves over his shoulder as the two of you part ways in the halls. You headed back to his office, having a few things to check on before fully retiring for the evening. You look behind you as you hear another set of footsteps join your own in the empty corridor. You were a bit surprised to see none other than the Ghoul occupying your every thought round the corner. You smile at the sight of him, pausing to let him catch up.

"Copia wanted me to bring Primo a thank you note for the tea." You found yourself shoving your hands deep in your pockets, the slight brush of his hand against yours sending a jolt through your body, causing you to have an urge you didn't dare give into.

"Primo decided to turn in a little early tonight…" you trail off, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye. "But, I am heading down to his office now. I wouldn't mind the company if you'd like to walk with me."

"I would love to." He smiles down at you. You blush, quickly darting your eyes down to your feet so hopefully he wouldn't catch your flustered expression. "You seem nervous." You remarked how that was a statement, not a question. You flashed him your most convincing smile, trying to shove your anxiety away so he wouldn't worry.

"It's just been a long day. I'm not really feeling fully… myself, I guess." You found yourself wanting to be honest with him the more you spoke. There was something about being with him that made you feel so undeniably safe that you couldn't lie about how you were feeling. The question flashed through your mind about whether or not Quintessence Ghouls possessed some type of mind control power to make you tell the truth. You noticed him glance over at you out of the corner of your eye. "I promise it's nothing to worry about." You slid into your chair as you arrived at Primo's office, Phantom perching himself on the edge of the desk at your side.

"Have you eaten?" He suddenly chimes. Your stomach decided to answer before you had a chance to, giving off a low angry growl over your hunger. "I'll take that as a no." Phantom chuckles. You return his laugh as you open some of the new letters that had appeared on your desk. You groaned as you recognized Sister Imperator's neat script.

"What now?" Phantom's brow furrowed at your distress. "Great, another meeting with Nihil, Papa's going to be thrilled." You drop your head into your desk with a groan. You felt Phantom's warm head slide across your back, rubbing soothing circles in between your shoulder blades. You reluctantly picked up the receiver of the old rotary phone, dialing the number for Primo's quarters as you propped your chin up in your hand. "Hi Papa." He sighed at the tone you greeted him with, already knowing what was in store for him. "We have a meeting with your Father." You held the receiver away from your ear as a loud string of Italian curses exploded out of it. "I'll be there in ten minutes." You inform him before hanging up. "I'm sorry to run off-"

"It's alright." He cuts you off, grimacing slightly as he realized he had done so. "Are you going to be in the garden tonight?"

You nodded slowly, "probably. I'm sure I'm going to need to unwind after this." You stand with a groan. You collect your belongings, smiling at Phantom as you turn to leave. In a moment of boldness, more than likely brought in by the aggravation of having to deal with Sister, you paused. "These meetings usually take about two hours. I'd really like to see you tonight if you have time."

"I'll be there." He responds eagerly. You try your best to hide your excited smile as you hurry off to meet Primo. The second you entered his quarters he noticed your change in attitude.

"Well, what do we have here? You seem awfully happy my dear." You met Primo's gaze in his reflection. His papal paint half done, still dressed in his gardening clothes. "Might I venture a guess this has something to do with a certain Ghoul?" You knew there was no lying to him in your current state.

"I may or may not be seeing Phantom after our meeting tonight." You spit out your statement hurriedly, knowing he was going to make a big deal about it.

"Hm," he hums, grinning at you, "sounds like a nice little date to unwind after a stressful day, no?" You haphazardly comb your fingers through your hair, trying your best to appear somewhat decent.

"It's not a date Papa, just two friends meeting up." He chuckles at your response.

"Tell me tomorrow if your feelings on that subject have changed." You breathe out a laugh, shaking your head in disbelief for how sure he was of himself. You helped him shrug into his Papal robes before heading to the never ending meeting. Every second felt like an hour, your eyes practically glued to the clock as you waited for the meeting to come to a close. 

"You are dismissed." The second Nihil groaned out the words you bolted for the door, not missing Primo's amused expression on your way out. You headed straight for the garden, expertly winding your way to the spot where you and Phantom always managed to run into each other. A smile instantly spread across your features at the sight of him. He had set out a blanket in the pathway, a small spread of various foods set out for the two of you.

"What's all this?" You ask with a soft laugh as you approach him.

His eyes darted to the ground nervously, you noticed him swaying on his heels slightly as he spoke. "Well, I know you haven't eaten so I wanted to bring you some food. I didn't know what you liked so I asked Mountain and well…" He trails off, motioning to the spontaneous picnic. "I was thinking maybe you and I could have some dinner together?" 

"I would love to have dinner with you, Phantom." He beams at your response, excitement immediately overtaking his nerves as he motions for you to sit. You sat and talked with Phantom for hours, your body and mind feeling lighter the longer you spent with him. As time passed the two of you eventually cleared off the blanket, opting to lay side by side to gaze up at the stars, a lit joint passed between the two of you. You watched the smoke curl high into the air, the warmth of Phantom's body seeking into your shoulder.

"I really like spending time with you." He speaks up suddenly. You blush at his statement, feeling his fingers ghost over yours both of your hands intertwined carefully. You didn't need to respond, he knew you felt the same way. The two of you took turns pointing out different constellations you recognized until, eventually, you decided you should probably get back to your dorm. Phantom's fingers remained intertwined with yours as he stood, hoisting you from the ground after him. You stumble slightly, falling into his chest. You felt the quick, steady rhythm of his heartbeat under his palm. His free hand lands on your waist to steady you. Your eyes snapped up to his, they glowed a beautiful violet in the moonlight.

"Sorry." You giggle nervously. He chuckles, giving your waist a gentle squeeze.

"No need to apologize, are you alright?" You nod, both of you blushing and mumbling out an apology as you realized you were still holding onto each other, taking a moment to separate. The two of you walked in a comfortable silence through the halls until you reached your dorm. You stood across from each other in front of your door, nervously swaying in your heels. "That was fun, maybe we can do that again sometime."

"I'd like that." Both of you searched for something, anything at all to say, to stay with each other just a few moments longer. But nothing came to mind. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, (Y/N)." He smiles at you, beginning to turn away. You reach out, catching his wrist in your hand. He looks back at you, a hopeful expression in his eyes. You stand on your toes, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

"Goodnight, Phantom." You take one final glance at him before you slip into your room. You fell into your bed with a sigh, dragging your hands down your face. "He's so handsome." You groan to your empty room. You let your arms fall out to the side, staring blankly up at your system as you remembered Primo's words from earlier. "I've witnessed my fair share of crushes in my day, it's nothing to be ashamed of my dear." You grimaced, that old man really could read you like an open book. You got ready for bed, dreading talking Primo tomorrow that he was right. But you needed advice. You had never taken the whole romance thing into consideration. Sure, you had dated a few people in the past, but none of those relationships really went past the honeymoon phase or initial hookup. You could already tell that if by some miracle Phantom did reciprocate your feelings this wouldn't be a simple fling. You woke with a start, getting into your overalls as you prepared for a long day weeding the flowerbeds. As you entered the garden you found Primo already waiting for me, a cup of tea waiting for you on the bench next to him.

"Good morning il mio bambino." He greets you with a smile. "These were left on your desk this morning." He picked up three white roses, all tied together with a purple ribbon.

"Was there any note?" He shook his head. You held the flowers to your nose, inhaling their sweet scent with a smile. "I'm going to put these in some water." You quickly run to the greenhouse, placing the blooms in a vase so you could take them home later before returning to Primo. You picked up the tea cup he had set out for you, sitting by his side and enjoying the stillness of the early morning air.

"So, how did last night go?" He prods.

You sigh, "it was perfect, I don't know what else to say about it." You chuckle.

"Are you still trying to keep up the façade that you're just friends?" He asks before taking a long sip of his tea.

"As much as I would like to, I don't think I can." You admit with a bashful laugh. "I've definitely got a bit of a crush on him." You spent a good portion of your morning catching Primo up on the events of the night prior.

He looks at you with an amused smile, "dare I say I think he might be feeling the same towards you my dear." He grins.

"I hope so, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to hide this from him." Primo collects your cup from you as you finish your drink.

"Well you'll have plenty of time to think things over tesoro. Enjoy the flirting, romance is supposed to be fun, you should be basking in the glow of young love." You blush, shaking your head as you playfully roll your eyes. 

"I'm going to get started out here, I'll come check on you in a couple hours." He pays your head before heading to his office.

"Don't work too hard." He calls over his shoulder as he disappears from the garden, allowing you to get to work.

"Well what do we have here." You jump slightly as Mountain bounds up beside you, a basket of vegetables perched on his hip. 

"Hey Mount." Your hand claps into his as he helps you out of the dirt.

"Primo's got you on weeding duty today?" He asks, a bit confused. Weeding was usually a job saved for new Siblings, Primo believing in a hierarchy of sorts until they got settled in.

"I needed a task that would let me reflect on my feelings." You preach back to him in your best Papa impression. "He's had some suspicions that are proving to be correct."

"Everything alright?" He motions for you to walk with him.

"Yeah." You trail off for a moment. "If I tell you something, can you promise it'll stay between us?"

"Of course, you know you can always talk to me." He nudges you.

"So, there's been someone leaving flowers on my desk the past couple days. Which is super sweet, but I need to find out who it is. Recently I've… come to terms with the fact I have feelings for someone." You chose your words carefully, hesitant to give away who the object of your affection was despite the fact you knew you would end up telling him regardless. "Then on top of that I don't want to say anything to this other person because they might not feel the same."

"First off, I wouldn't worry about confessing your feelings. You're amazing, whoever it is would be so lucky to have earned your affection. Regardless of the answer I'm sure everything will work out for the best. And if you want to know who's getting you flowers, maybe hideout in the greenhouse, they're bound to show up sooner or later." You nodded, that wasn't a terrible plan. "Now, the real question is, who's your secret crush?" He asks in a teasing tone.

"Promise you won't say anything?" You felt ridiculous, you felt like you were in high school all over again. You were a grown adult acting like a teenage girl. Yet you couldn't help the butterflies that erupted in your stomach at the mere thought of him.

"You have my word." Mountain promises.

"It's Phantom." He pauses, looking down at you with the biggest smile. "What?"

"You have to tell him, the two of you would be such a great couple!" You attempt to stutter out a response, Mountain's bluntness getting you completely fluttered. "Seriously though, I think it would be worth a shot telling him. You never know, maybe he could've been your secret admirer the whole time." He chuckles before the two of you parted ways. You headed to Primo's office, already having gotten a good deal of weeding done today. You pushed through his office door with a groan.

"Good afternoon my dear." He greets you jovially despite not looking up from his paperwork. A pair of thin, wire framed reading glasses sat perched on the end of his nose.

"Afternoon Papa, do you need me to take care of anything?" You refill his glass of water in his desk.

"Actually there is, I have a stack of hymns that need to be returned to the music hall. It took me a while to decide which ones I wanted for mass this week." He chortles. You accepted the stack from him with a smile. "When you return we'll have so tea, I believe you're due for a break."

"Of course Papa, I'll be right back." You read through the stack of sheet music as you walk through the halls, humming the melodies presented before you. You kicked open the door to the music hall with your foot. Your ears were instantly met with an all too familiar tune. You glanced up to find Phantom perched at the edge of the stage, his usual black guitar resting comfortably over his thigh as he rehearsed by himself. You sit yourself in one of the chairs in the room, watching as his fingers effortlessly moved across the fret board. He jumped slightly when he noticed you were there.

"Now how did I end up with such a pretty audience." He flashes his fangs at you as a wide grin spreads across his features.

"No matter how many times I see you play you always amaze me. You're so talented." You compliment him, earning a bashful chuckle that made your heart flutter in your chest.

"Thank you." He stands, slowly striding over to you. "Now what brings you all the way down here." You held up the stack of papers.

"Primo needs these returned." Phantom takes the stack from you, knowing howuch of a pain organizing hymns tended to be.

"Want some help? I'm pretty familiar with how Cumulus has it set up in here." He offers.

"That would be great, I'd be here all night doing this by myself." You joke. Phantom clicks on the radio, some oldies station buzzing to life. He slings an arm over your shoulder, guiding you to the filing cabinet where the hymns were stored. Phantom seemed much more relaxed than normal today. He was consistently making jokes, the two of you idly chatting as you sorted everything away. "I love this song!" You exclaim, turning up the volume of the radio. You swayed around the room, humming along with the tune. Phantom chuckles at your excitement. He sets his remaining sheet music down, stepping closer to you so he could pull you towards him. You laugh, letting your fingers intertwine with his as the other slides over his shoulder. The two of you swayed along with the rhythm, Phantom giving your waist a gentle squeeze as he smiles down at you. He spun you around, causing you to giggle. "I didn't know you could dance."

"I wanted to learn to impress someone I like." He winks at you, both of you letting out bashful laughter.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need you for band practice." Sodo leans against the doorframe, eyes darting between the two of you. Phantom reluctantly released his hold on you, holding your hand a few moments longer than necessary before joining the other Ghoul.

"I'll see you soon." He promises.

"Bye Phantom." You smile at him, waving to Sodo as they both leave. You finish filing away the hymns, clicking off the radio before heading back to Primo's office. The rest of the day passed in a blur, the feeling of Phantom holding you close clouding your every thought. You had decided to take Mountain's advice of waiting in the greenhouse, wanting to tell your secret admirer that you already had your eye on someone else. So, once you had said goodnight to Primo, you slipped out into the gardens in hope of capturing the mysterious florist in the act. You hid in a relatively secluded corner, tucked away behind some lush bushes where you couldn't be seen. Luckily you didn't have to wait long for them to show up. You heard their soft humming approach where you were. The soft snips of pruning shears as they collected their flowers. Your eyebrows knitted together as you realized that this was a voice you recognized. You peeked out from your hiding place. You smiled softly at the sight before you, stepping out into the open, you cleared your throat.

Phantom's eyes shot up to you, he froze as he realized he had been caught. He looks nervously between you and the flowers he held in his hand. His mouth fell open but no words came out at first. When, finally, through all his nerves he actually takes a moment to look at you. Your whole face lit up with a smile, eyes searching his face as you waited for him to say anything. He couldn't believe how cute you looked as you nervously wrung your hands. He stands, offering a small bouquet of red chrysanthemums. "I'm assuming you've been getting my flowers." He chuckles. You carefully take hold of the bunch, gazing it down in awe before placing them off to the side. Your body moved purely on instinct, arms sliding around Phantom's waist as you pulled him into a hug. He tenses up for a moment before wrapping you tightly in his embrace.

"They've all been beautiful." You mumble against his chest. You slowly separated from each other, his gaze catching yours. He smiles warmly at you, those gorgeous, glowing purple eyes causing you to melt.

He gently takes your chin between his fingers. "I feel… strange whenever I'm around you." He admits, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Strange how?" You ask through a smile, laughing as he tugs you closer.

"Sweaty mostly." He jokes. "You make me nervous in a good way." He continues to ponder out loud. "My heart starts to beat really fast, and all I can think about is reaching out to hold you… what kissing you would be like." You blush at his admission.

"You're more than welcome to find out for yourself." Your voice shook as you spoke, a soft breathy laugh punctuating your statement. His thumb ran over your bottom lip, his eyes tracing over every detail of your face.

"I'm sorry if I'm not any good at this." He chuckles.

"Just follow my lead." You tease, your hands sliding up his chest and into his hair as he closes the distance between the two of you. His lips crashed into yours. A satisfied hum left your lips as you pushed your body into his. He held you tightly, as if he let you go you would disappear before his eyes. The kiss started out slow, you slowly guided him through the motions. You had found out that Phantom was a very quick learner. His pace gradually increased, the kiss growing more passionate by the second as he grew addicted to the feeling of your lips on his. You pulled back with a gasp, both of you panting softly. You didn't even have time to catch your breath before Phantom's lips were back on yours, earning a surprised squeak as he pulled you flush against him one more. He pulled back slightly, his breathing ragged.

"That was nice." He chuckles. He places another few short pecks to your lips causing you to laugh softly.

"Does this mean you won't be bringing me flowers anymore?" You laugh.

"Sweetheart, I'll bring you flowers everyday if you want me to." He says with a smile as he pulls you in for another passionate kiss.

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Tag List: @spookyghostjelly @ramblingoak @kissingghouls @mustluvecho @belnovacaine @the-hole-in-terzos-shoe @herripinkle @iamsarahsaysso @fleagutz @jennmakesitweird @gothdaddyissues @i-fondued

[gnattyplayssims]

1955 Pt1 - Reunion

"Bro this place is a mess! When was the last time you did the laundry?"

"Uh...I don't remember."

"Seriously how are we even friends?"

"Cause I'm clingy?"

"Something like that. Can you believe we're about to be YA's"

"Finally! Feels like we've been stuck as teens!"

"How are you so good at this!?"

"It takes practice. My dad's a Master and he used to take me all the time when I was younger."

"I think I'll stick to cows and chickens."

"How are things out in the Bramblewood? You ask Pen out yet or are you still planning your perfect moment?"

"Whatever man these things take time to get em right. What about your aunt and uncle how are the twins?"

"They're fine. They're not babies anymore. I think my uncle already misses the infant stage."

"Ha I can't wait to have some of my own."

"You have to ask Penelope out first"

"Yeah yeah! We all know you don't like kids."

"It's not that I don't like them, I just...I don't know I'm different. I don't think I'll ever settle down like you and Nik will. Kids are fine but marriage? I don't think it's for me."

"If you say so. Hey I'm sick of fishing."

"My mom called this morning...Sofia's coming home. I guess I have a niece now."

"I hope she's not as much trouble as the twins. I can't believe your aunts having another set!"

"Do you think it'll be okay for her in Copperdale...if he's still there?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine!"

The trees were in full bloom as Sofia and Jamal arrived in Copperdale. Ava was in awe of all the green!

Anabelle ran down the stairs when they arrived, tears in her eyes "I can't believe you're home!" She went in for a hug but Sofia pulled back. "Oh right um...this must be Ava!"

Ava glared up at the strange woman and withdrew as her grandmother came down to embrace her. "It's okay sweetie, I'm your grandma."

"NO! No hugs!"

"MOM! Don't force her! You're scaring her!"

Ava was crying and hid behind Jamal who patted her head comfortingly.

Sofia introduced her "boyfriend" and no one noticed when Ava toddled away

"Where's Ava!? She was just here! Jamal?!"

"Hey relax, she's in a safe place, I'm sure she just went in another room."

"She's probably in the living room giving your father a hard time."

Ava had gone through the door and got lost. "Hey there little one."

"No hugs!"

Kye laughed, "Okay no hugs. I'm grampa what's your name?"

"Ava."

"Ava, that's a very pretty name for a very pretty young lady"

Ava quickly warmed to her grampa's kind words and gave a little wave.

Ava liked to talk and Hezekiah was amused by her barely understandable babble. "Why you chair wheels?"

"Because my legs don't work like yours do. I need a chair with wheels so I can move around. You walk and I roll."

"Walk and roll!"

"Yep and soon I bet you'll be running."

A song came on and Ava brightened and clapped her hands. "You want to come up here and listen?" Ava nodded and Kye pulled her onto his lap.

"I found her. I told you she just went through the door."

"Ah there's your mommy. Why don't you go see what gramma has in the kitchen."

As soon as Jamal and Anabelle left the room, Hezekiah's face fell. "She's beautiful, Sofie. I was so scared for you and I took that fear out on you. I knew you'd be an amazing mother and I should have said that instead."

"Dad."

"I'm so sorry baby girl!"

"It's okay now."’

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! I just want to move on. With you."

"So this is your room?"

"What gave it away?"

He pulled a book from the shelf. "Do you have the Chronicles of Rodiek?"

"I have it somewhere."

"I'd like to read it to Ava sometime."

"Oh I'll defintely look."

After a long night of pretending that everything in Oasis Springs was perfect, it was time for bed. "I thought I saw the light on in here."

"I had a nightmare. Thought I might look for that book."

"Any luck."

"No. Maybe in a box somewhere. I'll find it."

"I know you will."

"But now that you're here, maybe I found another distraction."

She brushed her thumb over his lip. "Don't do that, Baby. You know I'm trying to control myself."

"I don't want you to control yourself anymore."

"I need to. That was the whole point of coming here."

She traced his jaw and his fingers traced the pulse point in her wrist. Her lips met his and he drew her closer. "You're cruel you know that?"

"It's not cruel if you let me satisfy you this time."

He moaned against her mouth, "Don't put this on me. I'm trying to give us space."

"I don't want space anymore. I don't want anything between us." She pulled at this belt but he pulled her hands away even as he pinned her to the wall.

"I have to go back."

"Then give me something to remember while you're gone." He groaned desperately against her mouth.

She pulled free of him and he leaned against the wall as she draped her legs around him, climbing higher until he'd had enough. She gasped as his mouth moved down her neck hungrily, sucking just enough that she couldn't contain her pleasure but without marking her as Don had.

"Okay that's enough." He pushed her off breathing heavily and turned back toward the door.

She wrapped her arms around him. "Don't go." She gave him a fleeting kiss on the mouth, moving to his cheek and pressing his hand against the place of her need. "Please, Jam."

He allowed her to pull him back and slide the door closed behind him, the darkness of the closet closing in around them. She pressed him back against the wall unfastening his pants. By the time her hand closed around him he knew he was done for. Don had trained her well.

1955 Pt2 - A Lavendar Field

[watchmegetobsessed]

MY BEST GIRL

SEQUEL TO GOOD GIRL

A/N: oh my god! it's been almost an entire year since i posted good girl and its crazy that it has over 4k notes now! you guys have been begging me for a sequel and it took me long to write it, but now its finally here!! so join our lovely couple for one last ride!

PAIRING: CEO!Harry Styles X Reader

WARNING: sexual content (kinda slightly?)

WORD COUNT: 14.3k

SUMMARY: It's been a year since your arrangement with Harry turned into a love story. Now you're living happily with the man of your dreams, but something causes some trouble in your little paradise. Or maybe someone...

MASTERLIST

The expensive, silky sheets are hugging your naked body softly, the mattress underneath you feels like a cloud and makes you want to never get up. You hate how comfortable Harry’s bed is, makes the mornings a hundred times harder and you’re already not a morning person. He should have gotten a wooden box, that would be easy to leave, not this ocean of comfort he calls his bed.

Well, it’s not just his anymore, it’s yours too. Because two months ago you officially moved in with him. You basically already had most of your stuff here, but you finally ended your lease and moved the rest over to his place, taking this next step in your relationship that’s been going strong since that one hell of a night when he barged into the bar you were staying at, you both made a jealous scene of your own before you realized you’ve wanted the same thing all along: each other.

Now he is your boyfriend. Oh God! It sounds so amazing, calling him your boyfriend. Harry Styles, the hottest man in the business is yours and you get to come home to him every day. Well, most of the time you get home before him, but you don’t mind it. You love waiting for him to return from work, all tired but always radiating power, you just can’t keep your hands to yourself. Not that you need to, Harry is always just as eager to be with you as you are.

Sometimes, you feel like you’re a teenage couple, always handsy and horny, so passionate about each other, you have no idea how people around you still put up with the two of you.

Speaking of others, your relationship is so official you’ve already met each other’s parents. You were a nervous wreck before meeting Anne, so afraid she might think you’re not good enough for her son, that you’re just a little girl, not the person she imagined for her extremely successful son. But it all turned out to be the opposite, she was such a delight and kept telling you how happy she was to finally meet the woman who swept Harry off his feet finally.

“Mum, you act like I was ready to live in celibacy for the rest of my life,” Harry protested over dinner when Anne said she thought she would never see him with a woman by his side.

“Well you didn’t bring anyone home, what should have I thought?!” she talks back, making you smile while Harry just rolls his eyes at his mother. “But I’m so glad you are in great hands now,” she added, her hand finding yours on the table, giving it a loving squeeze that almost made you tear up.

Harry met your parents as well and though he looked confident, you knew he was shitting his pants, especially because you told him your dad might be judgmental because of the age difference. Essentially, you were right, you could feel the tension upon arriving even though your mother was an angel and welcomed Harry with so much love. But with a little time and warming up to each other, your dad also saw that Harry is treating you right and that he should be happy about you finding the man you’ve been looking for all your life. Though he didn’t let Harry leave without a fatherly talk of ripping his balls off if he hurts you. Harry took it very seriously while you just laughed at it, because your dad is not the aggressive type.

Now it’s been an entire year of being so hopelessly in love with this man you live with and it’s been the best year of your life. You’ll be graduating soon and you already have a job offer for after school, one you got for your own hard work and not because Harry pulled some strings. You made it clear you don’t want him to interfere in your career and he has been nothing but respectful of your decision. Everything is coming up so great, sometimes you don’t even believe it’s your life.

Soft lips meet the back of your neck and they travel down your naked back, peppering your exposed skin with sweet kisses as you hum into your pillow.

“I know you’re awake,” Harry teases you, his arm snaking around your waist to turn you over. You blink your eyes open rolling to your back as you finally meet his bright green eyes and tousled chocolate locks. “Morning, Love,” he smirks before leaning down he kisses your lips.

“Good morning, what time is it?” you ask, curling your arms around his neck to keep him close to you.

“A little after eight.”

“It’s Saturday, why did you wake me up so early?” you pout at him, but you don’t actually mind it.

“Because we are having brunch with my new partner, remember?” he hums, kissing your lips again before peeling himself out of your arms, a whine leaving your lips as you watch him stand from the bed.

A little over six months ago Diana broke the news that she was finally pregnant. Despite the rocky start of your relationship with her, you’d been getting along with her quite well once it was cleared that she is not out to steal Harry from you. When she told you and Harry that she is pregnant you felt nothing but happiness for her, but it also meant that she would eventually have to put work down for a while. It took some time for her and H to find someone to replace her, but the person was found last week and Harry has been bugging you to meet up with Alana, his new partner. So this brunch was arranged with not just you and her but also a few other people from the company who’ll be working close with her. A little get to know each other over great food, that can never be a bad idea.

“Don’t even try to go back to sleep, baby,” Harry warns you chuckling when he sees your eyes closing as he is getting around the room.

“Mm, just… resting my eyelids a little more,” you mumble. A moment later you feel the mattress dipping on either side of you, Harry holding himself up above you, a smirk tugging on his lips when you open your eyes and look at him.

“If you go back to sleep, you’ll miss the chance,” he murmurs, his eyes wandering down your naked chest.

“The chance to what?” you arch an eyebrow.

“To fuck in the shower,” he bluntly says before pushing himself up and heading into the bathroom, leaving the door open. That wakes you up, shower sex is just way too good to miss out on, so you spring to your feet as soon as you hear the water running, joining your boyfriend in the enormous walk in shower, but instead of cleaning up yourselves, you rather get dirty in there…

A few others are already there, people you’ve met at events you attended as Harry’s plus one and you’ve gotten along with them pretty well. When you became official with Harry you were afraid people around him wouldn’t take you seriously and see you as just an immature girl. There were a few occasions that proved your fear right, but most of your experiences have been quite positive. No one really has the guts to treat you bad when you have Harry by your side.

The two of you are welcomed warmly upon arriving, joining the table, but the group is still not complete, Alana is still not there.

“So what is she like?” you ask Harry quietly, secluding yourself from the conversation at the table. He shrugs.

“Highly competent to take Diana’s place, that I’m sure about.”

“And that’s not what I wanted to know. I figured she would be good at the job,” you breathe out, finding it a little funny that this is what he thought you wanted to know about. But before you could rephrase your question, the person in talk walks in. And your jaw drops to the floor.

You like to think that you don’t get jealous and insecure easily. Not after spending so much time with Harry, the absolutely most handsome man in the city. You have to be the real deal to score a man like him. But the moment Alana strides into the place, all male gazes are glued to her tall, supermodel-like figure with legs that never seem to end, her tight dress doesn’t cover much of them either as well as from her cleavage, though she tried to make the outfit decent with a blazer. Her dark, extremely dark, thick hair is in a stylish pixie bob style, something you could probably never pull, at least not like she does. Her makeup is flawless, judging from her features one of her parents might be Asian, her almond shaped eyes appear even longer with the perfect eyeliner running along her lashes. Plump, red lips, freshly manicured nails and a smile that could charm anyone basically. That’s Alana. The woman your boyfriend is gonna work with very closely.

“So sorry for being a bit late, there’s been an accident in my street this morning and I could barely get through the barricade,” she apologizes right away and your blood boils when you hear the British accent.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Harry smiles as he stands from his seat and greets her with a short hug before starting to introduce her to everyone around the table.

Everyone turns into a fangirl basically as they get to meet the woman, as if she was some kind of celebrity, while you’re sitting there, waiting for your turn, trying not to look as insecure as you feel at the moment.

This woman is going to be working with Harry? This is worse than when you met Diana. Bless her soul, but even she looks like a wanna-be Instagram model while Alana is Naomi Campbell.

Last in the line, she finally reaches you, Harry standing next to her as you get up from your seat, plastering your best fake smile across your face, holding out a hand to her.

“And this is my girlfriend, Y/N,” Harry introduces you and for a split second, you see the surprise in her eyes.

Ha! Yeah, you heard that right! Girlfriend!

“Oh, girlfriend! Wow, it is so nice to meet you!” she sing-songs as you shake hands shortly.

“Nice to meet you too! Though I don’t work at the company, I’m sure we’ll see each other often,” you smile at her, but there’s some spice in your words. It was a warning, that you’ll be around, so she shouldn’t try with any funny business.

The way she stares back at you lets you know that the message went through, though you’re not sure how she welcomed it. You can’t read her expression as she smiles and nods before you all take your seats and of course, Alana sits next to Harry.

She really is smart, that you can tell pretty early on and it makes you even madder, because she is not only a bombshell, but she also got the brains, which is highly unfair. It seems like she enjoys the attention that she easily gets from all the men around the table, and while you’re trying not to be bitter, you can’t help but feel tense about her entering your life all of a sudden.

“Everything alright?”

Harry’s hand squeezes your thigh gently under the table, grabbing your attention. Glancing up at him from your plate you nod with a soft smile, even though you want nothing else than leave as soon as possible.

“Yeah, just… got a bit lost in my thoughts.”

“Hope you are not stressing about school again,” he smiles at you curiously, making you laugh.

You’ve been a little all over the place about finishing school, there were times when you really didn’t think you’d finish, but Harry was always the one who pulled you back into reality and made you realize that you got this. He truly is your biggest fan and he is also convinced you have nothing to worry about, you’ll ace everything.

“No, surprisingly,” you chuckle as he smirks at you and leaning closer he kisses your temple.

“You guys look so adorable,” Alana chimes in from Harry’s other side. “How long have you been together?”

“A year and three months,” Harry answers easily. You always get surprised how great he keeps track of it, a lot of men can’t remember dates this well, but not Harry. In fact, for your first anniversary he flew you out to Paris and the two of you spent the most romantic weekend at a luxurious hotel that had the best view of the Eiffel Tower. Though it was your first time in Paris, or even in Europe, you didn’t get to do as much sight-seeing as you hoped, but you don’t mind, because the time you spent at the hotel was just as unforgettable as exploring the city.

“And how did you guys meet?”

“Um,” you hum and then let out an awkward chuckle. “He was a guest at one of my lectures. He asked me out after his presentation,” you tell her giving her the shorter version of what happened.

“Like, university?” she asks, pulling her perfectly shaped eyebrows together.

“Yeah,” you nod.

“Wait, so how old are you then?”

You should have expected it. You really should have. But still, you want to slap her across her pretty face to bring it up.

“I’m twenty-two,” you answer with a tight-lipped smile.

“Oh, you’re so young! I wouldn’t have even guessed!” she answers, but you can hear the meaning behind it: “I didn’t think Harry would date a little girl like you.”

As an answer you just give her a forced smile before turning back to your plate, not wanting to carry the conversation on. Bless his soul, Harry is so oblivious to what’s going on between the two women by his sides, but at least he is not giving you a hard time for being jealous.

At one point, Alana excuses herself to go to the restroom and you were planning to go at the same time, but you wait a little so you don’t have to go together. When you think she will be returning any moment you head to the restrooms as well. The room is designed that upon entering the ladies restroom there’s a short corridor and then you have to turn left to arrive to the area with the sinks, the stalls further down. Just as you walk in, you stop at the door upon hearing Alana’s voice who is definitely on the phone with someone.

“No, she is like… ridiculously young. Would have never guessed he would date a girl like her.”

She is talking about you, the sneaky little bitch is gossiping about you!

“I mean she looks pretty, but nothing extraordinary, if you know what I mean.” Your mouth hangs open at her comment. It’s not that you think you are the most gorgeous woman to ever walk the planet, but her words are unnecessarily hurtful, even though she doesn’t know you can hear them.

Leaning against the wall you keep eavesdropping with no hint of shame, if she chooses to talk shit about you publicly, it’s her fault she does it at the wrong place.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she chuckles at something the other person said in the phone. “I was taken aback when I learned that he is not single, but she is no competition. I’ll have him wrapped around my finger in no time.”

Your blood is boiling, this is not how you imagined this morning to go. And the worst thing? You can’t tell Harry. Men are so quick to assume you’re throwing a fuss because you’re insecure and not because it’s the truth and you don’t think he would be different. At least it’s not what you’ve experienced with your previous partners and you don’t want to risk making Harry think that you’re an overly jealous little girl.

Right now, it’s a problem you are facing on your own. And you have to solve it smartly, because there’s too much on the line.

When you hear Alana ending her call in there you quickly leave the restroom and head back to the table, so she doesn’t know you heard her. Harry gives you an odd expression for returning so quickly, but you just tell him you only wanted to wash your hands. Alana soon returns with absolutely no idea that you heard her phone call, which is an advantage for you, but you still have a lot to do to get rid of the woman who is trying to steal your man.

“Leaving without your morning coffee?” Harry asks in surprise on Monday morning when you are rushing around, getting ready to leave a lot earlier than you usually do. Most times he leaves way before you, but now he is still sipping on his coffee when you are about to leave, which is a new thing.

“Yeah, I have an early meeting with a TA who is supposed to help with some of my thesis work,” you explain, putting on some shoes and shoving your notebooks you left on the kitchen island last night into your bag.

“Oh, that sounds great!” he hums, nodding into his mug.

“Yeah. Hopefully this way I’m gonna finish it a little earlier than planned and I’ll have time to double check everything before submitting it.” Rushing over to him you cup his face and kiss his pink lips that now taste like coffee. “See you later?”

“Yeah. Have a good day, I love you.”

“You too and I love you too,” you giggle, before stealing another kiss, then swinging your bag over your shoulder, you’re on your way.

Because there’s still plenty of time before the first classes start, the campus feels awfully empty, just some of the early birds lingering around. As you make your way towards the library, you check the time again to make sure you’re not late. You wouldn’t want to make a bad impression on this TA who is saving your ass with his help. One of your professors offered to link the two of you, his name is apparently Logan, he is doing his masters and his research has a lot in common with yours, so in return for the help he can use some of your data for his work. For you, that’s a fair share and worth the time you save for yourself with having another person next to you.

It’s not hard to spot him, because he is the only one in front of the library, very much looking like he is waiting for someone. He is tall with dark hair and welcoming, warm chocolate eyes. The oversized hoodie doesn’t give away much about his physique, but it couldn’t be that bad, that you’re sure of.

As you walk towards him and he realizes that you’re the person he’s been waiting for, a small smile lights up his face, pushing himself away from the wall before taking a few steps towards you.

“Y/N, right?” he asks and you nod smiling back at him, stretching a hand out for him.

“And you must be Logan.”

“That’s right,” he chuckles softly. “Let’s sit down and have a talk, shall we?”

Luckily, the library opens super early on campus, so you are able to take a table in the far corner where you won’t disturb anyone, not that there are many around so early. You then explain everything you’ve been doing for your research and go into details about the part where you need his help. He listens to you carefully and even takes notes. When you’re done, he tells you what data he’ll be most likely using for his research and then you make up a plan about how you’ll go with the whole thing. He seems super nice and eager to help, so you know the two of you will get along well during this process.

“Thank you so much, you are saving me so much time,” you tell him as the two of you walk out of the library.

“No need to thank. I think it’s beneficial for the both of us,” he smiles at you, swinging his bag to his shoulder. “Where should we meet for our sessions?”

“I’m mostly either around here or at home, but I’m flexible so whatever works for you.”

Logan thinks a little, his eyebrows pulling together as he runs his tongue across his lips.

“Well, the library could always be an option, but I’m not opposed to go to your place to have a little more peace, if you don’t mind it.”

“Sure, both could work for me,” you nod.

The two of you agree on the next time you’ll meet and then part ways. You’re more than satisfied with how it all turned out to be.

This time of the semester has got you a little busy. With the end of your studies nearing, you always have something to do, something to work on, or just simply stress about. The days pass by you in a rush and it all mushes into one big mess, you can’t even tell what day it is.

You get so caught up with school work that for a little while you forget about Alana and only focus on the work you’re doing with Logan, often staying in the library long after your classes. Harry has been full of meetings too lately, the changes coming with Diana’s withdrawal and Alana’s introduction takes up a lot of his time, making him work late sometimes.

But at the end of the day you always go home to each other and for you, that’s all that matters. You’ve sensed that both of you have been in desperate need of some time together that doesn’t end up with one of you dozed out on the couch or in bed. It’s not that you haven’t been in the mood to get intimate with each other, you just didn’t have the energy for it with the workload that’s been towering above both of you.

So on Friday, you cancel on Logan, even though you feel bad about it, but you need to make time for Harry as well.

“It’s all good, I understand,” he smiles at you warmly as you break the news to him. “I’ll work a little on my own tonight, if that’s alright though. My roommate is out of town tonight so I’ll have some peace to go through the data.”

“I wouldn’t want you to do extra work, Logan,” you tell him, definitely not wanting to take advantage of his helpfulness.

“It’s not extra work. Some other day you might be the one working on it alone,” he smirks at you shrugging his shoulders. “It’s fine, honestly. Don’t worry about it. I’ll text you where I ended tonight so you can catch up for the next time we meet, how does that sound?”

“Thank you, that’s a great idea,” you nod, giving him a smile before the two of you part ways.

With a little scheming, you got one of Harry’s assistants to clear out his afternoon, so he can be home on time. Luckily, he wasn’t suspicious at all, he texted you happily that he’d be home by the time you arrive back from school. Little does he know that you’ll be the one waiting for him.

The two of you have gotten so used to Suzan cooking for you, it seemed like a good idea to cook together for once, spending time together, so that’s what you planned. Making a quick trip to the grocery store you buy everything you need for the menu and then head home to change and wait for him in the right attire.

Harry has let you know several times how much he loves seeing you in thigh high stockings, so you’ve bought a nice pair with some lace on the top, matching it with a short dress that will surely drive him crazy if he sees you, the apron covering your front. As you fix your outfit, you can’t help the satisfied grin that tugs on your lips, just when the doorman informs you for your request that Harry has arrived into the building.

Quickly, you put on some soft music and make your way out of the bedroom, waiting for him at the kitchen island with all the ingredients on top of it. He will see you right away when he walks in.

Harry opens the front door thinking that no one is home and he stops in his tracks right away when his eyes fall on your figure. After the momentary surprise, he blinks a few times and you see the tiny smirk in the corner of his mouth as he takes in your attire.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school, miss?” he hums, dropping his stuff onto the couch on his way before he reaches you, his hands immediately finding your waist as he pulls you against him, planting a kiss to your lips before you could answer.

“Wanted to surprise you a bit, got ourselves a free afternoon,” you smirk at him coyly, running your hands over his shoulders until you can lace your fingers through his hair at the back of his head.

“So you had something to do with my canceled meetings today?” he narrows his eyes at you, but he is not at all mad at you, of course.

“Maybe,” you shrug innocently.

“And what did you have in mind, wearing this?” he questions, one of his hands sneaking underneath your dress, giving your ass a nice squeeze.

“We are going to cook together and then have sex on every possible surface in the house,” you state confidently.

“In that order? Can we maybe switch them?” he murmurs, his lips already busy kissing along your jawline.

“Yes, so behave a little,” you giggle.

Well, he tries, at first. But you don’t even get through the first few steps of the recipe when he is fucking you from behind in the middle of the kitchen as you hold onto the countertop, your moans and the slapping noises melting together with the music you put on before. As you expected, the stockings really stirred his imagination and he just couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

When you’re both satisfied, you finally finish dinner and you set the table nicely while he opens a bottle of fine wine.

“Diana asked about you today, she’s been missing you,” Harry tells you over dinner.

“Ah, I’m sorry I haven’t been around the office lately,” you sigh sadly.

“I told her you’re busy with school.”

“I’ll text her sometime, maybe we can have a little shopping spree or something. Also, we have to buy something for her baby shower,” you remind him.

“It’s crazy that she is gonna have a baby soon,” Harry hums, seemingly deep in his thoughts.

“But that’s what she always wanted, right? So it’s a good thing.”

“Of course,” he nods. “I’m happy she found her person, the one she can be happy with for the rest of her life.”

There’s something odd in his tone that you can’t really put your finger on. Something that’s been definitely running in his head for a while, but not wanting to push him, you decide to wait for him to figure it out himself and bring it up to you whenever he wants to.

After dinner you move outside with the rest of the wine, watching the spectacular view of the city at sunset, just talking and enjoying each other’s company in peace. Once the glasses empty out, you definitely get back in the mood to stick to the original plan you had for after dinner, Harry hungrily tearing your clothes off as you get back inside, ready to make up for the busy times lately.

“Are you still my good girl?” he murmurs into your ear, pressing you up against the dining table before biting into your soft skin on your neck, your legs wrapped around his waist, his shirt abandoned somewhere on the way from the sliding doors to here.

“Always,” you gasp, sinking your fingers into the hard muscles on his back. He growls as his mouth travels down your chest, taking his time with swirling his tongue around your nipples, giving equal attention to both of them as you basically turn into jelly in his arms. He knows your body so well, almost better than you do, he knows exactly what you need to make you go absolutely feral and desperate for him.

His lips are getting closer to where you need them the most as you lie on top of the table, your legs hooked over his shoulders. But just when he could work his magic, his phone goes off somewhere on the kitchen counter, interrupting the fun you’re having.

“Fuck, let me just mute it, baby. I’ll be back in a second,” he growls, kissing your stomach before rushing over to the device that’s still screaming for his attention.

Panting heavily you push yourself up and watch him grab it, but for your surprise, he doesn’t decline the call right away, just stares at the screen.

“Everything alright?” you call after him.

“I… I think I need to take this,” he answers, looking at you like a sad puppy.

“Do it. I’ll be right here,” you chuckle. He sends you an apologetic smile before answering the call.

“Alana? What is it?”

And just like that, you regret letting him choose the call over you. What does that man stealing bitch want from him when you made sure to clear his schedule? You made sure to have his assistant on board with you to get him just one free afternoon and evening, so why does Alana have to ruin your plans?

Folding your arms over your naked chest, you try to figure out what they could be talking about. It’s a good sign Harry is not trying to hide the conversation from you, but you still don’t like it that you have no idea what she is saying.

“No, that’s not—“ he protests against something. “I told you, I don’t want that to happen.”

If she was here, you’d love to get a hold of that ridiculously smooth looking hair of hers and throw her out for bothering you.

“Lana, that’s not happening. Have you talked to George?”

Lana? Since when is he calling her that? Are they best buds or business partners?

“Fuck, okay, okay! I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just don’t let them sign it.”

And just like that, all your plans go out the window because of Alana. You hop off the table and grab your dress from the floor, already knowing you won’t finish what you started.

“Baby, I’m so sorry,” Harry sighs, walking back to you just as you put your hair up, trying your best not to lose your temper.

“It’s fine,” you sigh, hoping to make yourself believe it’s the truth. Harry cradles your face in his hands as he forces you to look at him while chewing on your bottom lip, still avoiding his gaze.

“Look at me, please,” he begs you, running his thumbs along your cheeks. At last, you give in and lock eyes with him. “I wouldn’t leave if it wasn’t truly important.”

“I know,” you say and it’s the truth, but it still feels like shit. And kind of like a déjà vu, just like when he left you in bed that one time Diana was calling him. Because that turned out to be nothing like what you thought it was, now you’re just trying to keep your cool and not overreact.

“I just… really wanted to be with you without interruption or any of us half asleep.”

“I know, I’m sorry, baby. I wanted it too. I’ll try to take care of this issue as fast as possible and come back so I can make it up to you.” He kisses your lips softly, over and over again until he sees the pout disappearing. You link your arms behind his neck and kiss him properly to let him know you’re not mad at him.

“I’ll be waiting,” you purr against his lips and you can tell how hard it is for him to leave you too just from the way he is clinging onto you.

But then he peels himself off of you and getting dressed quickly he is out the door in a few minutes.

You change into some comfortable clothes and then clean up after dinner, and then just wait around for a while, watching TV, hoping to see Harry walk in anytime, but hours pass by and there’s no sign of him so you decide to make the best out of the extra time.

Texting Logan you want to check where he left off so you can catch up with him in work. He answers right away and after exchanging a few messages you find yourself in a video call with him.

“What happened to your plans?” he asks. From what you see, he is probably in his bedroom, notes and books laid out in front of him, his face illuminated by a little desk lamp.

“Uh, don’t even ask,” you roll your eyes, still pissed at Alana for ruining your evening with Harry.

“Trouble in paradise?” he chuckles.

“No, just a series of unfortunate events, I guess,” you shrug and then get down to work.

You manage to get a lot done together and even when Logan has logged out, you’re still lying in bed, your laptop next to you, notes and books splattered over the covers. At one point, you fall asleep, not making it until Harry arrives back home.

It’s almost midnight when he finally makes it back, exhausted and disappointed in himself he wasted the time he could have spent with you, on work. He sighs deep seeing the cleaned up kitchen before he makes his way into the bedroom from where he sees some light coming. When he sees your sleeping form in bed, your laptop illuminating your beautiful face, his heart breaks knowing you had to end tonight alone, doing school work.

He rids himself of his clothes and before going to take a shower, he gathers your notes and books, careful not to wake you up, putting them to the dresser. Then he grabs your laptop and just as he is about to close it, he sees what’s open on the screen.

Though Logan has been offline for a while, his profile is still open since you forgot to close the tabs and shut the laptop off. His picture catches Harry’s attention and he zooms in on it so get a better look at the guy you’ve been spending time with lately.

It’s not often that Harry feels jealous or even insecure. Confidence has become one with his personality, but when he sees the young, handsome lad’s photo, his stomach drops in an instant. He is quick to jump into scenarios in his head where the two of you are doing more than just school work, because in his thoughts, there is no way a guy like this doesn’t fall for a girl like you. The image throws him down the rabbit hole.

Why wouldn’t you be into the age appropriate guy from school who looks good and is probably smart too. You’ve been raving about how great working with him has been, so you must be hitting it off during your study sessions.

Shutting your laptop he puts it aside as well before locking himself up in the bathroom, taking a cold shower to cool himself off.

He’s been definitely the confident one in the relationship, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been pushing his fears of you leaving him down. With the major age difference, Harry always had a tiny, evil voice in the back of his head telling him how you’ll most likely want to ditch him for a younger guy sooner or later and now these fears have surfaced more than ever.

He loves you more than anything. Can’t even imagine his life without you and even though you never showed any sign of not returning these feelings on the same level, he is now doubting himself more than ever.

Returning to the bedroom you’re still sound asleep as he gets under the covers, he just lies on his side and watches you for a bit, completely and so hopelessly in love with you.

As if you could feel his gaze on you, stirring in your sleep you blink your eyes open and see that he is finally back home with you.

“Hey! Sorry, I fell asleep,” you mumble half asleep as you cuddle closer to him, his arms locking around you, keeping you tight in his embrace.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come in time. I’m so sorry, baby,” he mumbles, kissing your forehead.

“It’s okay. I’m just happy you’re home now,” you mumble with a sigh and the way you call this place home has his heart in a grip.

“I’ll always come home to you,” he whispers back.

It’s a god sent gift that two of your afternoon classes gets canceled on a Tuesday, so you suddenly have the rest of the day freed up instead of sitting in class until five. After Harry mentioned how Diana has been missing you, you shoot her a text asking if she wants to grab a late lunch with you. The past few weeks she’s been pulling herself out of business, working less and less to the point where he only goes to the office just once a week, and today is that day.

DIANA: Absolutely!! I wanted to leave early anyway!

Y/N: Great! I’ll be at the office in thirty!

You try to call Harry too, but he doesn’t answer, so he is probably at a meeting. You reach his assistant and she confirms your suspicions, Harry has been in a meeting for hours and is not expected to be free anytime soon. It’s a bummer you won’t be able to see him, but you’re also not going there for him.

You’re already a well-known face in the office, no one ever questions your presence whenever you drop by, the front desk workers usually greet you with warm smiles when you cross the lobby of the building and head up with the elevator. Today is no different.

Diana has texted you that she has to finish one last call before leaving, so you decide to wait in Harry’s office that’s supposed to be empty since he is at a meeting.

“Hi, Daisy!” you smile at the assistant you’ve come to know well, though she is not the only one, she has two part time helpers to handle the workload she’s been dealing with.

“Oh! Y/N, hi! Mr. Styles is still in his meeting, I’m afraid.”

“It’s okay, I’m here to meet Diana. I’ll just wait for her in Harry’s office, if that’s alright,” you say, already heading towards the door.

“Um, sure, it’s just that… never mind,” she mumbles and you can’t really tell what’s gotten into her.

Pushing the massive double doors open you walk in, expecting the place to be empty, but you stop in your tracks when you see an all too familiar supermodel-like figure, lying on the leather couch Harry has in the corner of the room.

Alana is resting there like she has no worries in the world, her skin tight pencil skirt has ridden up on her thighs, showing off the lace on her stockings, the top few buttons of her shirt undone, giving you a nice view of her cleavage. That’s the state she is lying in your boyfriend’s office.

She opens her eyes at your arrival and her eyebrows rise, as if she has the right to be surprised to see you there when she is the one treating Harry’s office like her bedroom.

“Oh! Y/N! I didn’t know you were coming in!” She sits up, but takes her sweet time to fix her outfit, as if she was doing you a favor with covering herself up.

“Didn’t know I should call you beforehand every time I decide to come by,” you quip with an irritated smile.

“Oh, I’ve been just having the worst migraines and Harry is always so nice to let me use his office to crash! They are still working on mine and this couch is just so comfortable!”

“And your migraine gets better when you undress?” you purse your lips.

Originally, you wanted to keep your cool around Alana, not let her see just how annoyed you are by her, but you just can’t hold yourself back, this woman is crossing the line. What if Harry walked in instead of you, finding her half naked in his office? What’s worse, what if he is totally fine with it?

“Ah, I just got hot for a minute,” she smiles and shrugs innocently as she stands up, your eyes immediately sliding down to her perfect body. There is not even one flaw in this woman’s appearance and you hate her for that. “Harry is busy right now, want me to give him a message?”

“No thank you. I’m waiting for Diana, actually.”

“I see,” she smiles, but there’s nothing nice or even remotely friendly in her expression. “I’m sorry about ruining your plans the other day, Harry told me you weren’t too happy he had to come in.”

“It’s just rather upsetting when you make sure to clear his schedule and he still gets called in, you know?” you smile back at her viciously.

“I understand. But this is how this business works. You can’t really understand if you’re not in it.”

This is for sure an insult on so many levels, but it’s mostly calling you out for not being the right fit for Harry.

“Oh, I understand it just fine, don’t worry.”

“The transition is a stressful time, Y/N. And though I’m doing my best to take over things smoothly, Harry is the real boss, it can’t happen without him. He needs to focus on his business now.”

You’re moments away from slapping that perfect little face of hers, the top of your ears are on fire at this point from the boiling rage inside you.

“How nice of you to watch out for him. I’m sure you know just what he needs,” you smile at her with forced sweetness in your tone and from the look on her face, she must think she really did something here with her little comment, but you’re not done yet. “I make absolutely sure he’s got everything he needs at home though, don’t worry. I know he focuses the best if he gets his pleasure just how he likes it and I’ve been paying extra attention to that. He’s got quite the hunger, if I’m being honest, but it’s such a luck we are so good together in and outside of the bedroom.”

You see the evil glint in her eyes when you talk about sex with Harry, one thing she will never experience as long as you’re breathing. You refuse to let her get her hands on your man, not on your watch.

“Good to hear,” she smiles with blank eyes and clenched jaw and you take this as a win.

The door opens and Diana walks in, her plump belly appearing in your sight before her. She is glowing, even more than before, wearing a baby blue flowy dress that’s got enough room for her bump.

“Hey!” she smiles, her eyes quickly snapping from you to Alana and you notice her tensing up just a tiny bit. “I’m done now, you want to get going?”

“Sure,” you nod before turning back to Alana. “Maybe next time you have a migraine just take some pills,” you scoff at her before walking out of the office with Diana by your side.

“Are you currently plotting Alana’s death?”

Looking up from your food your eyes meet Diana’s over the table and she cocks her head to the side, already knowing the answer to her question.

“Is it that obvious that I despise the woman?” you huff with a frown.

“It’s written all over your face,” she chuckles. “What happened in Harry’s office?”

“If I tell you a secret, would you promise me not to tell Harry?” you ask her in a discreet tone.

“Of course, what’s up?” she nods, cupping her bump as an instinct.

“We had brunch with Alana a while ago, her and some other board members. I went to the restroom and I heard her on the phone. I don’t know who she was talking to, but she was talking about me.”

“What did she say?”

“That basically I’m too young for Harry and I’m no competition for her. She wants him, Diana. She wants to take him from me.” Your throat closes up as you say the words out loud for the first time. You’ve been keeping it to yourself all along, but now that you’re sharing it with someone, suddenly it feels a lot more real.

“You heard her say that?” her mouth hangs open.

“Yeah,” you nod nervously chewing on your bottom lip, poking the food around on your plate.

“I kind of knew something was wrong with her,” she sighs shaking her head. “But why didn’t you tell Harry?”

“Come on, he wouldn’t believe me. He would just tell me I’m jealous for no reason because I’m sure Alana has been acting just fine around him.”

“What if she’s been flirting with him?”

“Then fuck them both!” you snap, but you both start laughing. “If that’s the case he is either oblivious to it and hasn’t even noticed, or he did notice and chose to keep it from me. I don’t know which one is better, if my boyfriend is blind or if he acts blind.”

“Y/N, Harry is obsessed with you. He would never do anything to hurt you.”

“But I’m not like Alana,” you groan. “I’m too young for him, I’m not a business genius like him and I definitely don’t look like Alana.”

“Why would you want to? You look fucking amazing!”

“Not as amazing as she does!” you whine.

“But Harry is in love with you. Does that not matter to you?”

“It does, but is it enough?” you ask the question you’ve been chewing on for a while. Is love enough to keep you together forever? You’re not entirely sure, especially with people like Alana around.

“Honey,” Diana sighs and reaching over she takes your hand in hers. “What I’ve learned from my relationship is that you have to be honest with your partner. If you feel a certain way, you need to share with them and if they truly care about you they will handle it the right way and you’ll get over it together. Keeping this from Harry will probably not end well and as a friend of his, I know he would want to know if you felt this way.”

Deep down you know she is right. It’s childish to keep things from Harry that could poison your relationship. You love him so much, you’d hate it if you messed it up so bad that you end up losing him. It doesn’t matter how scary it is to bring it up, he is your partner and you trust him to treat your emotions and feelings right. Hopefully, he’ll tell you that there is nothing to worry about and Alana is not a threat, at least not to you.

Following your conversation with Diana you’re determined to talk it out with Harry and mentally note to bring it up as soon as possible.

Later in the afternoon you plan to meet up with Logan, but for a change you ask him if he is fine with coming to your place. You’re not quite in the mood to sit around in the library again, today has been way too exhausting to tolerate more people than what’s necessary. He has nothing against the idea so you wait for him at home, setting up your base at the kitchen island with all your notes and your laptop. You’re nearing the end of the phase of data analysis and you can’t wait to get your whole thesis done with already.

The doorman calls up to let you know that Logan is on his way up and you wait for him in the foyer. When he walks in, he stops and looks around with wide eyes, exactly the reaction you were expecting. Not many would think this is how a 22 years old girl lives in her last year of university, most of the people you’re friends with in school share a tiny apartment with more roommates than they probably should while you’re here, living in this luxurious penthouse that’s big enough to hold at least three families.

“Holy shit, Y/N. This is where you live?” he gapes, walking further into the place.

“Well, it’s not exactly my place, it’s my boyfriend’s, I just moved in with him,” you chuckle softly.

“Um, who exactly your boyfriend is?” he asks, following you into the kitchen. It’s not like you go around shouting at everyone that you’re dating Harry Styles, it simply never came up talking to Logan, you’re not hiding Harry.

“Harry Styles, I’m not sure if you’re familiar with—“

“Are you shitting me right now? You’re dating Harry Styles?”

“Yeah,” you chuckles, finding his shock pretty entertaining.

“I once saw the man at a conference, he looks intimidating as hell.”

“That’s just his tough act, he is a softie, I promise you,” you smile. “Alright, let’s get down to work, shall we?”

You easy into hard working mode pretty fast, making great progress with everything that’s left and you even get more done than what you expected. As a break, Logan shows you his work and what he has used your data for so far. It’s not an entirely different topic, but he is surely working on something you would have never thought of and it amazes you how your work fits into the picture. You start talking about school and then everything but school and while you heat up some leftover for the two of you, your thesis gets forgotten pretty soon as the two of you are just having a nice time together.

Harry got to leave the office a lot later than he intended. It’s been so hard to stop at the end of the day and today has been especially tiring so when he finally parks his car in the garage and heads up, all he can think about is to have a nice dinner with you, then make love to you, preferably either on the couch or in bed and then fall asleep with you in his arms.

He is surprised and not in the best way when he walks into his home and hears a male’s voice along with yours coming from the kitchen. His heart leaps upon hearing your bright laughter, but he is definitely not pleased that you’re not alone.

As he approaches the kitchen a broad back and dark haired head comes into his vision, sitting at the kitchen island with you next to him, two empty plates on the counter, your notes, books and laptop shoved to the side. Laughing at something your guest just said, your head is falling back as he is adding something else, but Harry can’t get himself to focus on what he is saying.

Then you see Harry standing there and though he catches the way your eyes light up, he would rather have you here on your own than with a guy who he assumes is Logan, the only guy that could get him to doubt himself.

“H! Hi! I didn’t hear you arriving!”

Hopping off the stool you stride over to him and pull him down for a kiss that softens him for a second, the touch of your lips working like magic on him, but then his eyes land on Logan again and the tension is back in his muscles.

“Hey baby. Didn’t know we were gonna have guests.”

“This is Logan. We were just working a bit.”

“I can… see that,” he mumbles under his breath.

“Mr. Styles, it’s so nice to meet you!” Logan smiles a tad bit nervously as he holds a hand out for him. “I’m Logan Wright.”

“Nice to meet you too,” he nods, giving his hand a firm shake. “I see you guys are having a break huh?” he nods towards the plates and though it’s not obvious, you can feel the slight spite in his tone.

“Yeah, we actually made great progress so decided to just put it aside,” you nod, examining his face with suspicion and you notice how he is avoiding to look at you, it’s making your stomach churn.

“Alright,” he nods. “I’ll be… in the study,” he sighs before turning around to walk out but you stop him.

“Aren’t you hungry? I can heat something for you or even cook something quickly?”

“I’m not hungry,” he answers shortly and with that, he is out of there.

You don’t like how this just went down, not even a bit and you have to get to the bottom of it before it eats you away with everything else you’ve been carrying with yourself.

“Logan, is it okay if we end this session here?” you turn to him with an apologetic look, feeling bad that you’re throwing him out.

“Don’t be silly, I was just about to say I better get going. It’s getting late and you must want to be with your man,” he smiles at you warmly, not even an ounce of anger in his tone.

“Thank you. I’ll text you about our next time, I think that might be our last one with everything we got done today.”

“Yeah, absolutely, we are so close to the end. Thank you for the dinner,” he nods, packing his stuff and swinging his backpack to his shoulder.

You walk him out and thank him for the work again before he leaves and you waste no time to go after Harry. At first it seems like the study’s door is closer, but getting closer you see that it’s open the slightest, almost like a tiny invitation for you to go in.

“Harry?” you call out softly as you push the door open slowly and poke your head in. Sitting at his massive desk he is turned around towards the window behind him, staring out at the twinkling lights of the city’s skyline. Hearing your arrival he turns around, his eyes flicker to you. “Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?” you ask softly, taking a few more steps further into the room and then stopping.

“No, go back to Logan,” he answers and you catch the bitterness in his tone.

“He went home, it’s just the two of us.” You stride closer to the desk and stop right in front of it, folding your arms on your chest, feeling not too welcomed in the room right in this moment. “Something happened at work today?”

“I just had a tiring day.”

“How about a bath together? I can give you a massage, wash your hair…”

“I’m not in the mood.”

“Is it because of Logan? Maybe I should have texted you before bringing him here, I’m sorry—“

“It’s your home too, you can do whatever you want, Y/N. It’s fine.”

There are so many concerning thoughts swirling in your mind as you stare down at him while he is avoiding to look at you. It hurts, makes you feel like something is wrong with you, but you have no idea what it is.

Maybe what you’ve been fearing is now becoming reality. Maybe the point where you’re not enough for him has come.

“If there is anything you want to talk about, I’m here,” you manage to speak up, giving him the opportunity to be honest with you. The silence following your words however is painfully long before he speaks up.

“I know. I have to take care of a few things now,” he says and it’s a clear hint for you to get lost.

Swallowing your tears back you turn around and walk out of there as fast as possible.

Harry knows he has lost his rational side and he is being a dick, but he can’t help it. Walking into his home he shares with you and seeing you have a blast with another man just set his worst insecurities free inside his head and he has no idea how to deal with it.

He has never felt this way before.

Sending you away when all he wanted was to hold you in his arm was a mistake he made out of spite and jealousy and though he knows he is acting like a caveman, the thought of losing you is scaring him to death.

Especially these days when he’s been planning to do something major, something that he never thought he would ever do in his life.

Standing from his chair he walks over to the safe where he keeps some of his most important documents, some money in case of emergency and there is one more thing sitting there. Punching the code in which is the day the two of you met, the safe opens and his eyes land on the tiny, blue jewelry box that’s been hiding in there for months now.

He knew he wanted to marry you for a long time. Maybe not since day one, but he definitely didn’t need much time to fall for you harder than ever and it sparked the idea of marriage in him very early on. He bought the ring just days after your one year anniversary and he’s been trying to figure out the best way possible to propose.

But the more he’s been plotting, the more scared he is getting that you might not be feeling the same way. What if it’s all too fast to you or worse, you don’t plan to stay with him for the rest of your life like he does?

Seeing you with Logan today just strengthened his ridiculous fears for some reason. You seemed so carefree and happy around him, he can’t help but think how Logan might be a better match to you than he is.

He takes a look at the ring and tries to clear his head and control his emotions. There is so much he has to figure out, but he knows one thing for sure. He doesn’t want to lose you and the way he acted was unacceptable. Placing the box back into the safe he shuts it closed before taking a deep breath and heading out of the room to look for you.

As he nears the bedroom he hears your shaky breathing coming from inside and it shatters his heart.

“Baby?” he calls out, walking into the room and finding you sitting on the bed, hugging your knees to your chest, your forehead resting on them. Your head snaps up at his voice and you’re quick to wipe your cheeks, trying to hide the fact that you were crying, but it’s obvious.

Crossing the room he approaches the bed and sits beside you, unsure what to do at first, but then he places a hand to your knee and when you straighten your legs out, it moves up to your thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Baby, I’m sorry,” he breathes out, while you chew on your trembling bottom lip.

“For what exactly?”

“For… being a dick. I didn’t mean to, I just… I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

“But I told you that you can talk to me about anything! And instead of opening up to me you just…” You take a deep breath, swallowing down your tears again as you shake your head.

“I know, I’m sorry. I just came home and saw you laughing around with that guy and I lost my temper, okay?”

You blink at him, trying to comprehend his words, make it make sense how laughing with Logan pissed him off, because it just sounds way too absurd right now.

“What are you talking about?” you breathe out.

“I fucking hated seeing you with him,” he growls clenching his jaw.

“Seeing me with him? We were working on my thesis, Harry.”

“It didn’t look like that,” he answers right away, his anger and jealousy starting to bubble in his chest again. “I don’t like that he is around you.”

“I repeat, we are working on my thesis, he has helped me so much with my analysis, I would be nowhere without him. Why are you making it to be something it’s not?”

“How do I know it’s not?” he snaps suddenly, once again losing his temper and deep down he knows it’s not how he should be dealing with the situation, but right now he is seeing red. Jumping to his feet he starts pacing the room, his hands on his hips and his chest is heaving. “How do I know what’s happening during these study sessions?!”

“Harry, do you even hear yourself? This is fucking nonsense!” you snap back, taken aback by the accusation. “And if I’m being honest, very ridiculous coming from you,” you add scoffing. He stops and looks at you with his eyes practically on fire.

“And what does that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you being jealous of Logan is basically a joke when you’re working with Alana! She is fucking obsessed with you and I know for a fact she is trying to seduce you!”

“You’re just making this up to cover your mess right now. Alana would never do anything, Y/N, where is this even coming from?!” he raises his voice, but you are not gonna shut up this time. It’s not how you planned to bring the issue up, but you will not let him accuse you of cheating when he is the one working closely together with the woman who wants to fuck him.

“It’s coming from facts! I’ve heard her talking about it before and when I was at the office last time she was fucking sprawled out on your couch with her blouse unbuttoned, like an open invitation for you to fuck her!”

“What the hell are you talking about, no one is allowed in my office when I’m not there!”

“Don’t fucking lie to me! She said you invited her to use the couch! Don’t try to make me believe it’s all a lie!”

“But it is, you fucking made it up because you’re fucking your little study buddy!” he barks and his words are like punches in your stomach.

“You’re the only person I’m trying to fuck, but you’re always out there up in Alana’s ass, or should I call her Lana? Is that how you call her when you fuck her in your office? Just tell me!”

“I’m not fucking Alana! She is my business partner, what’s so hard to understand about that?”

“And what’s so hard to understand about me not fucking Logan and Alana wanting to hop on your fucking dick?” you scream back, louder than you’ve ever been in a fight. Tears are streaming down your face as you’re kneeling on the bed and he is standing at the end of it, the two of you staring at each other with heaving chests and red faces from the heated fight. You’ve had arguments before, but none of those were anything like this. Not even close.

“It’s so fucking typical, that you see a pretty woman and think that she is someone you have to compete with. But news flash, Alana did nothing wrong, she’s been nothing but professional. Can you say the same thing about your little friend?”

After the screaming and shouting he is now talking rather quietly, but it just makes his words even more sinister. And you’re done with explaining yourself for something you never did.

Without giving him an answer, you get up from the bed and rush into the wardrobe, grabbing one of your bigger handbags and start throwing everything you need for the next few days into it. Harry appears at the door and looks at you with bewildered and confused eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” you ask with a sniffle, pushing your way past him out of the wardrobe and into the bathroom.

“Where are you going?”

“None of your fucking business.”

“It is! Why are you leaving, Y/N?”

“Because I won’t just stay here and listen to your accusations when I did nothing wrong! And if you don’t fucking believe me about Alana, I’ll not fight against her just to be treated as a liar, Harry!” you snap back and something breaks in Harry.

“Wait, no! Please, don’t go, Y/N. I’m sorry, let’s just talk this out, just please don’t leave!”

He runs after you as you return to the wardrobe again, grabbing a hoodie and tugging it over your head, getting ready to leave.

“I need space, Harry,” you tell him when he tries to touch you but you jerk away. “I need to think things over.”

“Baby, just stay here, please. I’ll sleep in another room, I swear I won’t bother you, just please don’t leave!” he begs, but you still don’t stop. With the bag and a pair of boots you storm out with Harry following you right behind.

“How come you’re begging me now, but when I was telling you about an issue, you didn’t even take me seriously? You made me appear like a liar and a cheater, Harry. And I’m neither of those.” Dropping your boots in the foyer you start to pull them on, knowing well nothing can make you stay at this point.

“Y/N, I’m sorry for the way I reacted, I was a dick. I just don’t think that Alana would do anything to hurt you or me.”

“See, it doesn’t matter what you think. I, as your partner, told you about an issue and instead of believing me and treating it with care, you used it against me and accused me. And that’s exactly why I was afraid to tell you about it.”

Harry watches you get ready to leave and he is paralyzed, shattered to see you leave because he hurt you so badly you don’t even want to stay in the home you share with him.

“Where are you going?” he asks, his voice barely more than just a whisper. “Please, I won’t go after you, I just want to know you’ll be somewhere safe.”

“I’ll probably go to Cece’s.”

“And when are you coming back?”

“I don’t know, Harry. I need some… time to think. I think you need that too.”

He wants to protest, he wants to beg you to stay, but he knows he has to let you go now, however painful it is.

When you get into the elevator and turning around face him, your heart breaks seeing him so lost and broken as he just stands there and watches you leave.

“I’m sorry,” he breathes out just as the doors close.

Even though you call ahead Cece is shocked to see you at her place with your stuffed bag and red, puffy eyes, because of course, you cried through the whole way to her place in the taxi.

“Come on, I’ll make you a tea,” she urges, inviting you inside.

You don’t tell her what happened, you don’t want to talk about it even for a second. Luckily, Cece accepts your silence and lets you be. That night you cry yourself to sleep in your best friend’s guest bedroom, spending the night away from the man you love the most for the first time in so long and it slowly rips you apart.

Harry arrives to the office after getting zero sleep last night. How could he even rest his eyes without having you home? He couldn’t stop thinking about everything he did wrong, which is a lot, and it was easy for him to fall down the rabbit hole.

He fucked up. Big time. He shouldn’t have even brought up Logan, he’s got no idea why it triggered him so badly and why he couldn’t communicate his issues like the grown man he is supposed to be. He knows if he doesn’t figure out how to win you back, he’ll lose his whole world.

He is basically a zombie walking around his office all morning. Zoning out, missing phone calls, only thinking about you and if you truly hate him by now, not wanting to do anything with him.

He is so deep in his thoughts that he doesn’t even hear the knock on his door, only snap back to reality when he sees Alana walking in. The sight of her brings back even more pain from last night and he needs to take a deep breath to keep himself collected.

“I sent you over the new versions of the Maxwell contracts, have you checked them out?” she asks, walking closer to his desk.

“Erm, no, sorry. I haven’t. I will do it now,” he clears his throat opening up his emails.

“Everything alright? You seem very… off,” Alana softly speaks, tilting her head to the side.

“I just… Y/N and I had a big fight last night, I’m just worried.” The news are like an angel’s song to Alana, a window thrown open just for her to climb in and never leave. Walking closer with a daring move she sits sideways onto his desk, but he is so distracted he doesn’t even notice how much she is showing from her thigh, his eyes glued to the screen, though he can barely comprehend anything he is reading.

“I’m so sorry, do you want to talk about it? I’m happy to listen,” she coos softly.

“I was just a dick to her. A complete asshole, I don’t blame her for hating me.”

“What happened?”

“This guy was there when I got home last night.”

“She cheated on you?” she gasps, assuming the worst right away, but Harry frowns shaking his head.

“No, of course not. I know she would never do it, he is just helping her with her thesis works. They did nothing, it wasn’t even a fishy situation, I just… lost my temper over seeing her with someone who is younger and probably a better fit for her. I started acting like a dick, even made her cry… I was horrible to her.”

“It sounds like you two are not really on the same page.”

“It was just a momentary slip. I love her, I want to be with her. I just have to figure out how to get her to forgive me,” he sighs leaning back in his seat. “I think I’m gonna take the day off, Lana. I can’t fucking focus on anything.”

“Why don’t you sleep on it a bit? It’s still so fresh, maybe you should think things through.” Alana is quick to try to change his mind, not wanting to let him run back to you this fast.

However Harry finally picks up on what might be happening. Looking up he realizes the way she is sitting on his desk and the sugarcoated meaning behind her words and all of a sudden, everything starts to make sense.

“You know what else came up last night? You.”

“Me?” she smiles innocently. “What about me?”

“She said you’ve been actively trying to seduce me. Do you know anything about that?”

“Come on, that is ridiculous, I would never do that,” she laughs, but Harry doesn’t find the situation that funny.

“Have you been in my office when I wasn’t here?”

“What?” she asks, her mouth going dry. “Everyone knows no one is allowed in here but Y/N when you’re not here. I would never break your rules.”

“Then why did she tell me you were lying on my couch when I was at a meeting the other day?”

“That’s ridiculous, I’m pretty sure she made that up, I haven’t even seen her in a while,” she scoffs, but Harry sees through him, finally.

Pushing himself back from his desk he stands up and heads towards the door. Alana jumps to her feet, panic rising in her guts.

“What are you doing? Do you not believe me?”

Harry walks out of the office without bothering to answer her, heading straight to Daisy’s desk. The assistant’s head snaps up right away and she squares her shoulders upon seeing her boss standing in front of her.

“Daisy, has Alana been in my office when I wasn’t here?” he asks, panic washing over the young girl as her eyes switch to Alana’s form standing not too far away, a ruthless look on her face.

“I, uhh—“

“Daisy, look at me,” Harry tells her and the girl obeys. “You’re not in trouble, just tell me the truth. Has she been in my office before when I wasn’t here?”

Daisy hesitates, but nods at last.

“She… She heard me on the phone with Y/N the other day, she knew she was coming in and she just walked in. I tried to tell her she can’t be in there, but she said you said it was fine. I’m so sorry, Mr. Styles, I—“

“Don’t worry, Daisy. Clear my schedule for the rest of the day, will you?”

“Of course,” the assistant nods eagerly, getting down to work right away as Harry heads back into his office.

“Harry, come on! Do you really believe her? Daisy has hated my guts since day one!” Alana tries, following Harry as he gets back to his desk, the lack of emotions on his face is alarmingly upsetting.

“Daisy has been working here for years and I trust her with everything. Unlike you. Now, I want you to pack your stuff, you’re done.”

“Done?” she gasps with a surprised chuckle. “What do you mean done?”

“That you’re no longer working here. We’ll arrange the paperwork and have you come in to sign your resignation.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“I’m very serious.”

“Even if this crazy story was true, how does that affect my job here?” she scoffs, folding her arms on her chest.

“I will not work with someone who I can’t trust, who tries to hurt me and my loved ones. Your character does not fit into the picture we are building around here.”

“For fuck’s sake! Are you really throwing me out because your whiny little girlfriend is insecure?” she gapes at him, definitely not able to control her emotions like Harry can. “It’s nonsense, you can’t be that into her!”

In the meantime, Harry is packing his stuff up without a bother, getting ready to leave as soon as possible so he can beg for you to forgive him, that’s all that matters right now.

“Harry, stop, let’s talk this out!” she begs, quickly dropping the confident act and trying everything she can to save herself.

“Leave,” he simply tells her, grabbing his phone and briefcase.

“Harry, I just—“

“Leave!” he barks. “I don’t want to see you again. And if you come near me or my girlfriend again, I will get a fucking restraining order against you. It’s not just an empty threat.”

Alana is frozen and devastated, just stares after Harry as he walks out of the room without another word. It’s over for her. She lost.

She lost against you. Not that she ever stood a chance.

You didn’t expect to have another study session so soon with Logan, but he said he wouldn’t make any other days work in the next two weeks so you have to finish your work today. Though you wanted nothing more than to go back to Cece’s place after your classes and just sleep the pain away, you agreed to meet up with Logan.

The night was a total disaster, you barely had just a few hours of sleep and even when you managed to rest, you kept having nightmares of Harry and Alana, walking in on them in a situation you wish to never witness. It still feels surreal, how you parted ways with Harry last night. Everything happened so fast and you felt betrayed by the man you’d do anything for. The way he couldn’t take you seriously about Alana and just kept accusing you felt like a knife was stabbed into your chest with every word that left his mouth.

And the worst part is that you still love him.

You still have no idea what to do, leaving him would destroy you, but staying with him right now feels just as painful.

You’re on your way to the library when your phone starts ringing, it’s Logan.

“Hey, I’m almost there,” you say answering the call.

“Change of plans. Can you meet me in room B23?”

You stop in your tracks, already in front of the library, but you turn around and make your way towards building B.

“Okay, but what happened?”

“Oh, I just, I had class there and asked the professor if we could use the room, thought it would be a bit better. You know where it is?”

“Sure,” you huff. You know that room pretty well, it’s where you had your class with Professor Robertson, the one where you met Harry. You can never pass the room without thinking back at that day and though most of the time it warms your chest, now you have bittersweet feelings about it.

Building B is close to the library, so you’re still on the phone with Logan when you’re nearing the room.

“Are you almost here?” he asks over the phone.

“Yeah, just a minute and I’m there. What’s up? You sound so exciting,” you hum.

“I just can’t wait to finish with the work, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess. Okay, I’m walking in now, see you in a sec,” you chuckle, ending the call. Slipping your phone into your bag, you let out a long sigh and push the door open, expecting Logan to be in there, but you freeze when someone else welcomes you.

“Hi,” Harry breathes out, standing by the teacher’s desk.

“Harry, what are you… Where’s Logan?” you ask, looking around, but it’s just the two of you.

“He is not coming. I asked him to help me a little to get you to come here.”

“What?” you huff, not entirely sure what this is about.

“I knew you probably wouldn’t come here if I asked you, so I’m sorry for playing you, but I just had to talk to you.”

You don’t reply, mostly because you have no idea what to say, so you just keep standing there and he uses the opportunity to tell you what he wants.

“Y/N, I am so sorry for yesterday. I lost my head completely when I saw you with Logan and couldn’t control my emotions. I know it’s not an excuse for the way I acted, but I really am sorry.”

“I just don’t know what was so upsetting about it!” you sigh, folding your arms on your chest.

“It’s nothing you did. It was… I got scared. I saw you with a guy who is your age and smart and he made you laugh and I got scared that one day you might realize that I’m not what you want.”

“Harry,” you deflate, especially seeing the hurt in his eyes. There’s no question he is telling you the truth.

“I know, but I’ve been fighting this feeling for a while. I’m always worried that I’m not the right person for you and I let my insecurities take over me. And the whole Alana thing? You were right.”

“What? Did she do something?” you ask in panic.

“She just tried to turn me against you this morning, but I could finally see clearly. Daisy told me that she really was in my office, just like you said. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, I was just… I was too hung up on my issues that I couldn’t see the whole picture.”

“You really didn’t notice anything on her?”

“I didn’t,” he chuckles bitterly. “But only because I’m so fucking in love with you that I see no one else when I have you.”

“You’re so sappy,” you say, the tiniest smile finally tugging on your lips and Harry finally dares to walk closer to you.

“I am and an idiot and such an asshole. I’ve been just so scared that you’d end up breaking my heart, I wasn’t thinking.”

When he is finally standing in front of you, with a moment of hesitation he reaches up to your face at last and cups your cheeks in his palms. His heart leaps out of his chest when you lean into his touch.

“I’ve been scared too,” you speak up quietly.

“About what?”

“The same thing,” you admit truthfully. “That you realize that I’m just a stupid little girl.”

“Oh baby. You’re everything to me,” he breathes out, kissing your forehead. “You’re my good girl,” he smirks. “No, you are my best girl.”

“Stop,” you chuckle even though tears are dwelling in your eyes.

“But it’s the truth. I could never be with anyone else, you’re everything I need and want… God, we’ve been so stupid.”

“Yeah, very stupid,” you chuckle through your tears as your arms wrap around his waist and you bury your face into the crook of his neck. He holds you tight for a bit before pulling back, way too soon for your liking and you’re just about to complain, but he is the first one to speak up.

“And that’s why we need something better to remember this time for.” Before you could ask what he meant by that, he lets go of you and taking just a tiny step backwards, you watch him get down on one knee and you almost faint.

“Harry!” you gasp, seeing him pull out a little jewelry box as he looks up at you with tears shimmering in his eyes while you’re full on crying already.

“Y/N, the moment I saw you in this exact room I was blown away by you. I couldn’t take my eyes off you and I knew I needed to see you again. Thank god that idiot Nick gave me the chance to talk to you, that’s the best thing he has ever done in his life,” he chuckles and you laugh with him through your tears. “I fell for you fast, though we messed it up a bit back then too, both of us so stubborn to just speak up about our feelings, but I’ve been the happiest since then, getting to share my life with you, coming home to you, it’s been my absolute favorite thing and I know that I want to have it for the rest of my life.” He pops the lid of the tiny box open and you gasp seeing the massive diamond ring inside. “These past few days just made me realize even more that you’re everything I need and want in life. So… Y/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?”

You’re in shock, you made up just moments ago after your worst fight ever and now he is proposing to you. It’s more than what you can process in such a short time.

“Are you asking me to just make up for the fight?” you ask with trembling lips. “Because I really want to marry, but I don’t want you to feel pressured, I forgive you without the ring,” you add as tears keep rolling down your cheeks.

“Baby, I’ve had this ring for months,” he chuckles, finding it cute how you’re making an excuse. “I was already planning to propose, but I couldn’t find the right moment.”

“So, you mean it? You really want to marry me?” you breathe out, most likely looking like a mess, but Harry still thinks you’re the prettiest thing on earth.

“I would be crazy not to,” he smirks. “So, what do you say?”

“Yes! Yes, yes, I want to marry you!” you cry out, throwing yourself into his arms, sobbing and gasping, a complete emotional mess, but happier than you’ve ever been. When you pull back and kiss him, your lips are wet from your lips and you can barely breathe, but you just need to feel him and taste him.

“Let me put the ring on,” he chuckles against your lips, the two of you are kneeling on the floor, but you couldn’t care less. Harry takes the ring out of the box and you watch as he puts it onto your finger with so much care before kissing it lovingly. You throw yourself at him again, just hugging each other in silence, bathing in the joyous moment that’s the first one of the rest of your lives.

“I love you,” you mumble against his neck, still in shock that all of this just happened.

“I love you too. My beautiful, good girl,” he hums, kissing the side of your face over and over again as he keeps you tight in his arms, never planning to let go of you.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed it!

[blackmissfrizzle]

I'll Take Your Man(s)- 9

Part 8

Series Masterlist

Characters: EZ Reyes x black!reader, Miguel Galindo x black!reader

Summary: No one lives forever

Warnings: Death of a loved one, hospitals, just major sad vibes.

A/N: Its finally here! I wanted to wait til I finished the whole series, but I decided I should give y'all something. Hopefully I'll finish the series soon enough.

Life was finally getting together. EZ was a great boyfriend, the sex was even better, your job was the best you ever had, you were back in school, and your dad was making some positive progress. Even things with Miguel were good. You realized how much he needed a friend that he wasn’t paying.

The only complaint you had was that EZ was distracted by something. Him and Angel were going through stuff. It wasn’t club shit or Adelita. Whatever it was, it was something with why they weren’t talking to each other a few months ago. Maybe you could get it out of EZ at lunch today. As you gathered your things to meet him, Frankie met you at your desk.

“Ugh,” you dropped your purse. “Which Reyes I gotta bail out now?” Since their little reconciliation, the Reyes brother bonding time consisted of getting in trouble or arrested together.

“Uh YNN,” Frankie took a deep breath. “It’s not EZ, Angel, or anyone from the club for that matter.”

The tone in his voice told you all you needed to know. “No.” Luckily your desk was right behind you to prevent you from falling.

“He’s at the hospital, right now. He still has time. I’m here to escort you.”

You shot a quick text to EZ, saying you had to cancel due to an important case. He had other shit to deal with and you didn’t want him distracted while doing club business.

Every criticism possible ran through your brain as you rushed through the hospital. This morning he did look a little pale. You should’ve stayed home instead of being occupied with work.

“You’re Ms. YLN?” A young black man in a white coat approached you when he saw you push through the double doors.

Thank God you didn’t have to search for any medical personnel. You’ve been through this before and they barely spared you a glance.

“Yes.” You caught your breath and tried to assess his face. Even in this short amount of time, you were too impatient to wait for the news. “Are you my father’s doctor?”

“Yes ma’am.” Dr. Andrews escorted you to a more private waiting room. It was reserved for the hospital more important clientele. You were a girlfriend to a Mayan but more importantly you were a friend to Miguel Galindo. You would be treated like royalty in order to avoid the wrath of Galindo.

Your anxiety was at an all-time high. You were biting your lip and fidgeting with your hands as you threw rapid fire questions at the man.

“He’s strong Ms. YLN. Most wouldn’t have held on this long after that type of episode. It’s a testam-,”

You didn’t need him to make you feel better, you needed the truth. “How long does he have?” You cut off Dr. Andrews.

He bowed his head and sighed. “At most, til the end of the night.”

“Thank you.” Tears were near but you kept it together. “Can I see him?”

Dr. Andrews led you to the room and reminded you to call him or any of the staff if you needed help.

Quietly you entered the room, but your dad still heard you. His head was already turned in your direction.

“Hey handsome.”

He coughed and shook his head. “Don’t you know it’s not good to lie to the dead?”

“Good thing you’re not dead.” You kissed his forehead and sat in the chair next to his bed.

“Yet.” A laugh that was meant to soothe caused more alarm when it turned into what seemed like a never-ending cough.

You tried to mask your grief with a snarky remark. “Seems like God didn’t like your joke.”

“Too bad. He’s gonna get a up close and personal performance very soon.”

Your dad continued to ignore your disapproving stare. “Pumpkin,” he patted your hand. “We always knew this day was coming.”

Leaving your seat, you laid your head gently by his side. “It was supposed to happen much later than this. After you walked me down the aisle and I have kids that you love to give too much sugar to.”

“I know, baby, but it’s my time. I told you that I was only holding on until I knew a good man could take care of you.” He cooed at you as you tried to get your crying under control. “I’ll always be with you.” He tapped your heart.

Despite this sad time, you were able to laugh. “You really love EZ, don’t ya?”

“Yeah, I do. Now give me that fancy phone.” He pointed at your purse. “Turn on that camera.”

Your dad recorded three videos. You held the camera for two and had to step out for the last one, which you assumed was for you. One was for EZ and the most shocking was the one he made for Miguel. When you tried to hide your surprise, your dad said Kennedy talks too loud on the phone and he knew the whole time. The only reason he didn’t say anything was one, you were grown and two, he knew you would make the right decision after all.

“Do me one more favor, sweetheart.” Your dad waved you over.

You got on the bed with him and let your dad hold you. It was reminiscent of all the times you would join him on the couch and watch tv with him. The last time this must have happened was after your mom’s funeral.

“What do you need, daddy?” You buried your nose in his gown. Even in clothes that did not belong to him, his scent is still strong.

He rubbed your back, babying you for the last time. “Sing me that Beyonce song. The one she did at that coach thing.”

Laughing, you knew exactly what he was talking about. “Daddy, it’s called Coachella.”

“Whatever,” he waved you off. “Coach, Coachella. Just sing the version of that song.”

Love On Top was your mom’s favorite Beyonce song. It was one of the last songs, her and your dad danced to before she died. Then Coachella happened and your dad fell in love with that version.

“Honey, honey. I can see the stars all the way from here.” You softly began singing. It was hard to focus on the lyrics with his breathing getting shallow, but you pushed through.

Halfway through the song, the machines started beeping. The doctors and nurses rushed into the room, but you shooed them out. You didn’t want your last moment with your dad surrounded by strangers.

Even when you knew his heart stopped, you continued singing. Your dad didn’t raise a quitter. “Baby 'cause you're the one that I love. Baby you're the one that I need. You're the only one I see. Baby baby it's you. You're the one that gives your all. You're the one that always calls. When I need you everything stops. Finally you put my love…” you clutched onto the gown and tried to get your tears under control. “On top.” You whispered the last line before breaking down.

Meanwhile, across town inside of a tunnel the Mayans met with Galindo. They were trying to find a way to save Adelita. EZ was paying attention until he got a text from Kennedy. “Oh my god.” He unknowingly said out loud.

“Is there something you would like to share with us Ezekiel?” Miguel couldn’t stand being in the same space as EZ. Any chance he could, he would try to knock him down a peg. Petty, but in the end EZ won, so he could handle these little jabs.

EZ ignored him and turned to Bishop. “I gotta go Bish.”

As the President and the new Mayan got into a little spat about him disrupting and leaving a meeting early, Miguel got a text as well. It was the doctor he assigned to your father. His heart dropped as he read the message. He made a promise to stay away from you as much as possible, but right now you needed as much support as you could get. “Uh, its fine.” He turned to his consigliere and showed him the text. “You can handle everything else. I’ll call you when you can come.”

Marcus nodded his head. He wanted to be there for you, but business had to be done. He would text his wife and the patriarch of the Reyes family to get something together. This time you would need your made family.

Miguel walked ahead without one look behind him. “Ezekiel, Angel with me.” Bishop nodded his head and told the boys to give you a hug from him.

Thankfully, they hit every green light. It didn’t matter though. They all would’ve ran red lights for you.

The hospital had to take the body and Kennedy forced you to get some food, so you were roaming around the hospital. In the middle of the hallway, you bumped into Emily of all people. God was really testing you. Luckily, she either saw that you were distraught, or she was just in a rush, because she ran off without a snide remark.

“What the fuck?!” You saw an unlit cigarette on the ground. Is this bitch still smoking while pregnant? You would have to tell Miguel about that later.

A few more minutes of aimlessly roaming the halls and suddenly you were startled by a barrage of footsteps. Looking up you saw EZ with Angel and Miguel right behind him, running towards you. He knocked the air out of you, since he didn’t even try to slow down.

“How did you know?” You clutched onto his kutte for dear life. It was familiarity and your safe space, exactly what you needed right now.

“Kennedy.” He held you tight. EZ wished he could protect you from this heartbreak, but unfortunately life was kind to no one. “What do you need right now?” He knew his condolences would do nothing to soothe your broken heart. His focus was to make sure you were taken care of.

“I already ate. Kennedy made me eat.”

Probably not enough. He saw the half-eaten Oreos in your pocket. He’ll try to get you to eat a real meal later.

You slightly let go to wipe your tears and gave Miguel and Angel a small smile. Their presence really did help. “Uh, nothing really. I’m gonna get a head start on the funeral.”

“Absolutely not.” Miguel interrupted. “Tell me what you want for the services and I’ll organize everything. You just focus on you.”

Finally, you accepted help from Miguel without a fight. Exhaustion made you too tired to fight. Plus, your dad deserved the best.

Angel then hooked his arm around your neck. “Let’s get you home. Where’s your keys?” He took them and handed them to EZ. “I’ll get Coco to bring the van to pick up your bike.” He told his brother.

You hugged Angel and Miguel once more, before going to your car. After that everything was whirlwind. On your way to the house, you cried some more. Then when you got there, you attempted to clean up, but EZ had none of that. He made you take a bath, which he joined to assure you did.

Dinner was something light, but you barely ate it. At least you made attempt which was fine by EZ. After you fell asleep rather quickly, EZ cleaned up, In the midst of cleaning, Miguel showed up. The two actually had a civil conversation.

“Her family believes death is a celebration. Have you seen a New Orleans funeral?” EZ kept busy as he spoke to the man.

Miguel nodded his head.

EZ took the trash out with Miguel following behind. “I know you want to help out which is great. But leave her a little bit of work. She’s gonna need something to distract her for a little bit.”

“Noted. Take care of her, Ezekiel.” This was as good as it was going to get. Normally, he would’ve shook his hand, but he still couldn’t stand him.

“Don’t worry, I will.” The two looked at each other and have a silent agreement. After this, Migel would wean himself out of your life as he has been doing.

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[lonely-lost-soul]

Little Hope

(Platonic SBI Famliy x child reader)

Request 6: An imagine or Drabble about sbi family x reader where the reader is the newest adoptee to the family and it turns out they sleepwalk! They do random things like moving stuff around, talking to empty air, and can sometimes end up waking up nowhere near their bed. Just harmless shenanigans that might be spooky at first but are ultimately funny and endearing in a way. 

Requested By: @0melodydrifter0​ 

When Phil brought home a little girl wrapped in a blanket Wilbur was pissed, another child his father had adopted that Phil couldn’t take care of, another child that would end up being his and Techno’s duty to raise. However, something was different in his father’s eyes as he held the young girl close to his chest, 

     “Dad?” Wilbur murmured an eyebrow raised suspiciously high on his head, “What’s that?” He watched his father wince a little cradling the toddler closer to him, 

     “Wilbur...this is (Y/n). She’s going to be your new little sister.” Wilbur grits his teeth and felt rage flood through his veins again, not at the little one, no he couldn’t blame the child for his father’s savior complex. “An old friend of mine village was raided, he asked for my help but by the time I got there everyone was dead, everyone except her.” Phil moved some stray hair out from the kid’s eyes, “I couldn’t leave her for dead Wilbur.” Wilbur’s face softened a little bit, now wasn’t the time to argue with his father, especially since he had just lost a friend. 

      “Could I...see her?” He asked hesitantly as Phil knelt down beside one of his eldest, Wilbur noted the girl had flecks of (h/c) hair on her forehead, her face was covered in soot and ash, he noted she had the brightest (e/c) eyes he’s ever seen. She was quiet, very different from Tommy already, she reached up and touched the side of Wilbur’s cheek with a pudgy hand. The boy was done for after that, vowing up and down that he’d be the best big brother in the world to her even if it killed him. 

Much better than Tommy and Techno too. 

Speaking of the first time Tommy and Techno met you it was quite the experience. Tommy basked in the fact of no longer being the youngest member of the family and Techno was quick to remind him the being the middle child was far worse. Tommy had called him a bitch and Phil told him not to curse in front of his sister which he huffed at, swearing to Phil that her first word would be fuck. 

He got hit on the back of his head for that comment. 

Technoblade was indifferent about that situation, saying orphans were cringe and that you smelled bad, Wilbur was okay with both of these outcomes. As he stated earlier he was going to be the favorite brother whether you knew it or not.

By the time you were ten years old Wilbur’s wish had come true, you stuck by his side and were a quiet staple in his life. He also spoiled you rotten, he made you songs and snuck you cookies when Phil wasn’t looking, he’d do anything to see that smile a smile on your face. However, much to his displeasure it seemed that both Technoblade and Tommy were encroaching on his little happy bubble with his sister. 

It started with Technoblade, he noticed you following him around more often than not. At first, the hybrid was annoyed, he’d lock you out of his room and force you away by threatening to cut off your fingers if you didn’t leave him alone. However, that only made you cry and it made Techno panic if Phil heard you crying he’d be a dead man, and if Wilbur heard he’d be double dead. He began to try to hush you frantically, you didn’t calm down until he stated he would hang out with you a little longer. It shut you up immediately, oh you were a sneaky little shit, he could respect that. He decided he read to you if that was alright, you nodded eagerly, and he carried you into his room. You were a kid of few words and Technoblade could respect that, he pulled out a story about some of the ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses. Figuring the Art of War was probably too much for a ten-year-old, surprisingly he enjoyed himself. You were eager to learn and enjoyed the stories way more than he thought you would, okay maybe you bonded just a little. He had taken to calling you Moirai the greek goddess of destiny, not only that but Technoblade had started bringing you gifts from his adventures, something he never did for anyone else.

Therefore Wilbur was feeling VERY threatened and Technoblade LOVED it. 

However, while the both of them were having their little pissing contest they didn’t notice their younger brother swooping in to join the fight for your attention. As the eldest were at war with themselves, Tommy had taken to sneaking you out of the house to cause trouble by his side. After all, no sister of his was going to be boring like Wilbur and Technoblade, she was going to be as awesome as he was if he had anything to say about it. So when he snuck you out one night against their wishes when they were too busy to notice he decided to take full advantage of that opportunity. He adored hearing your enthusiastic giggles as he tore through the forest with you on his shoulders. 

You were typically a very quiet child, so to hear you laugh because of him made Tommy preen with delight. Your fingers were twisted in his blonde locks as you steered him like a horse, it hurt like hell but so long as it kept you steady he really didn’t mind. 

The joy didn’t last long because Wilbur and Technoblade had found them not soon after he escaped their clutches. Techno plucked you off his shoulders and held you in his arms, you let out a little whine of disappointment and Tommy frowned,

     “Oh come on Technoblade don’t be an asshole!” 

     “Don’t curse in front of (Y/n), Tommy.” Wilbur hissed hitting him on the back of his head, “you can’t just run off with her it’s dangerous!”

     “I can protect her just fine you bitch!” 

     “Oh please, you can barely protect yourself.” Technoblade scoffed as you began to play with his pink hair, hating the tense atmosphere. Tommy snarled at his brother and moved to punch him in the chest but Techno was quick to sidestep them, “nice one genius.” 

     “FUCK OFF!”

You let out a displeased whine and covered your ears at the volume Tommy shouted, 

      “Shut up Tommy,” Wilbur hissed “You’re way too loud and you’re upsetting her.”

     “WE WERE HAVING A LOVELY TIME UNTIL YOU FUCKERS RUINED IT!” 

     “Tom-Tom please shush,” You pressed a finger to your mouth in distress, mimicking a hushing movement. His face faltered, his voice lowering in volume as he apologized softly towards you. “Thank you,” a big smile spread across your lips, and all three brothers visibly relaxed.

     “Alright little one,” Wilbur spoke tenderly running a hand through your hair his heart-melting a little as you nuzzled against it. “Let’s get you home, it’s way past your bedtime.” You groaned in distaste falling against Techno’s shoulder with a soft thud, the man chuckled softly as all three brothers walked back home. 

It was about two months after that when your happy facade came crashing down around you, it had been a particularly rough day. Everyone seemed to be busy with one thing or another and you were left to your own devices and thoughts. They all came rushing back to you, the memories of the day your village got raided and your bio parents passed away. Wilbur was the first to notice something was wrong and had asked Phil to check up on you, so when Phil finally got around to ask what was wrong you burst into tears. That’s when they discovered you apparently remembered more of the incident than you let on. It broke their hearts to see you so upset over something you had no control over, but like everyone else in their family of misfits, you blamed yourself for simply surviving the tragedy. 

They had made sure to coddle you the rest of the day, Technoblade had made sure to make you your favorite food for dinner. Phil and Wilbur tried to keep you busy with music and potion brewing and Tommy played some discs to help you fall asleep. You did so smiling and his heart soared, point to Tommy for getting you to fall asleep with a smile. 

Your found family had gathered that night to discuss what they should do with you moving forward. Phil had declared they all do their best to keep you distracted the next few days, preferably in shifts if that was needed. Wilbur offered to spend the morning with you, he wanted to visit Niki and Sally and both of them loved you if anyone would cheer you up they would. Tommy offered the afternoon and he could bring Tubbo over and you all could play soldiers, Techno said he’d handle the nights with Phil. 

Everyone settled into bed to get a much-needed rest, out of all the brothers Technoblade was the lightest sleeper. So when he woke up in a cold sweat with you standing over his bed he almost shit himself. You had a glassy look in your (e/c) eyes, 

     “(Y/n)? What are you doing? Do you know how late it is?” Technoblade scolded reaching out to grab his glasses, you didn’t respond to him which made his nose scrunch up. “Did you have a nightmare?” His voice got quieter as he reached out to cup your cheek, still no response from you. “Kid?” He sat up as you turned away from him to wander back out the door, “what just happened?” He murmured scratching under his chin, he’d have to bring this up tomorrow. 

Wilbur was concerned and immediately wanted to seek a doctor, especially because you had no remembrance of the event. Phil ran a hand through his hair in thought, “could it be sleepwalking?” 

     “(Y/n)’s too cool to sleepwalk. What the fuck do you mean?” Tommy scoffed and you frowned eyebrows furrowing together. 

     “Well it makes sense, doesn’t it? She doesn’t remember walking around but it clearly happened. Hopefully, it was only a one-off occurrence and she’ll never do it again.”

      “Is it bad if I do?” You whispered shuffling on your feet suddenly self-conscious, “Tommy doesn’t seem to think it’s good.” They all glared at the teenager who winced and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Phil knelt down in front of you and cupped your cheeks with his hands, 

     “It’s not bad. We just have to take some extra precautions for you is all, it’s perfectly normal especially after the trauma you went through.” You bit your lip and nodded within his hands, “Tommy’s an idiot-”

      “Hey!-

      “That doesn’t make you any less of a person and it doesn’t make you any more abnormal either,” Phil assured as Techno began snickering behind him, he turned his head to shoot him a look.

     “What? It’s just funny assuring her she’s normal when no one in this house is normal.” Technoblade waved his hand, “we’re all a bunch of misfits- don’t give me that look you know it’s true. Half of us are hybrids and the other half are gremlins,” He motioned to Tommy again who made an indigent sound tired of being the butt of everyone’s teasing. “So she’s never gonna be normal, but she’s always gonna be one of us and we’ll kill anyone who even thinks about teasing her.” 

Phil smiled sheepishly sweat gathering on his brow, “Let’s not kill anyone Techno at least not now. Especially if they’re children.”

     “Now, now dad, Technoblade has a point.”

     “Wilbur.” Phil scolded as Tommy’s face lit up, 

     “Can I punch a child?” You burst into laughter at Phil’s horrified expression, 

     “No Tommy. No, you cannot!” 

     “It’s okay papa I give them explicit permission to beat anyone up who fucks with me!” You shouted and Tommy’s face once again lit up, he grabbed you out of Phil’s arms and held you close. 

     “You said Fuck! I’m so proud I’m teaching you so well!” He spun you around only causing you to laugh harder as the older members of your family glared at Tommy, “Now say it again!”

Wilbur plucked you from Tommy’s arms glaring at his brother, “No. No, she won’t say it again. That’s a bad word you can’t say it till you’re older.” A pout settled on your lips as you crossed your arms in frustration. 

     “But Tommy gets to say it all the time.” 

     “And he’s older.” Phil let out a chuckle at Wilbur's response watching you slump forward with a loud groan of absolute torment. 

You didn’t sleepwalk again until a few months later, everyone had relatively assumed it was a one-off occurrence and their watchful eye was lifted. In the meantime Tommy had started to maybe sort of sneak out; he had his bag all packed and planned to meet Tubbo in the park. They both wanted to go monster hunting on their own, it wasn’t their first rodeo but it still wasn’t something he was supposed to do without his dad's permission.

Tommy didn’t give a shit about permission though. 

Obviously. 

He grabbed his sword from its place in the living room, Tommy held it up with a wicked smile. It shone in the dim light and he could see the reflection of his face inside it, it must’ve been freshly polished. Tommy put his sword in its holster and turned around, immediately letting out a startled yelp slapping his hands over his mouth. You were standing behind him eyes glassy as you blinked blearily at him, 

     “(Y/n)?” Tommy whisper hissed glaring at you harshly, “What the fuck are you doing awake?” You didn’t respond, only walking past him reaching for a sword of your own, his eyes widened frantically and steered you away from the sharp weaponry. “Are you sleepwalking?” Tommy asked in mild concern before a smirk came across his face, “Guess I don’t have to worry about you snitching huh?” He slowly led you into Phil’s room opening the door and shoving you in before shutting the door. Tommy made quick work of grabbing everything else needed before heading out of the house to meet up with Tubbo. 

Phil woke up to you standing over him, looming, and it almost sent him into a heart attack. He knew immediately you were sleepwalking, “Oh honey...come ‘ere.” He pulled you into bed with him and watched your eyes drift close and snuggle up to him. At least you were safe with him, so long as you didn’t start unlocking doors and injuring yourself they could handle this. 

After telling the other brothers about the incident last night Wilbur was only growing more concerned about your sleep state. He offered to take you to the doctor but Phil brushed him off, saying that normally this thing sorts themself out on their own. Since he was feeling rather protective Wilbur slept in the living room the next few nights just to make sure you didn’t go wandering off. Plus, Phil seemed to not only approve of but also grateful for the idea; so long as the old man could get much-needed rest he didn’t seem to care. Another week flew by with no problems, and he decided to spend one last night in the living room just to triple-check you weren’t going to sleepwalk. 

He woke up to the sound of a hooting owl and soft banging against the wall, he tossed his hand over the back of the couch and he blinked blearily. Unlike his twin, he didn’t exactly have the razor-sharp reflexes that Technoblade was gifted with. Wilbur grabbed his glasses from the coffee table and shoved them on his face haphazardly. 

What was that noise? Did Tommy sneak out again? He turned towards the opened door and it took a few moments to process why the door was open. Wilbur scratched the top of his head in confusion before his eyes snapped open in blatant realization. He tossed the blankets off the couch and scrambled out the door. Bare footprints were made in the mud leading away from your house, tiny you sized footprints. 

Oh, he was so fucked. How long ago did you leave? Are you alright? It’s so cold and you weren’t wearing shoes.

Wilbur made sure to grab both of your jackets and shoved his feet in his boots before heading out the door. He saw his breath out in front of him and winced you must be so cold, hopefully, you weren’t dead if you were he was totally in big trouble. He followed your footprints until they stopped at the edge of the woods, he looked around frantically and anxiety prickled at his skin. If the trail went cold here there was no way he would be able to find you, what if you woke up in a completely different part of the SMP. Or worse yet what if someone kidnaps you and takes you away from them? 

He entered the woods calling out your name desperately even though you wouldn’t respond if you were still asleep. Wilbur adjusted his glasses noticing a soft trail of broken leaves, he decided it was his best bet to follow them. Eventually, he came to a bit of a clearing in the woods that led up to a large cliff, Wilbur’s heart sunk. He felt his breathing stop as he walked towards the edge of the cliff, slowly like he didn’t want to know if he thinks what happened to you, happened to you. At the very top of the cliff is when he saw it, the bracelet you always wore on your wrist it was made of gold and Technoblade had gifted it to you after an adventure he had with Phil. He pulled the jewelry close to his chest and let out a shaky breath, tears swelled in his eyes as he peeked over the edge of the cliff. The poor boy couldn’t even see the bottom, Phil would have to fly down and search it, he was going to throw up. 

     “Wilby…?” 

Oh god, he could still hear your sweet, little voice. 

     “What are you doing? Are you crying?”

Wait, that was your voice!

He whipped around to find you rubbing your tired eyes, your feet were bare and you were shivering. Wilbur tore through the bush and scooped you up in his arms, cuddling you close to him as he peppered kisses all over your face. “Ewww Wilby stop!” You said through giggles pushing his face away from your own, 

     “I’m so glad you’re alright. You were sleepwalking again, I thought…” His voice cracked a little as you tilted your head. You looked around his shoulder and eyed the cliff wearily, you nuzzled against his neck and squeezed him tightly. 

     “I’m sorry…” 

     “It’s not your fault.” He whispered against you, “let's get you home though alright? Want to have a sleepover with me?”

     “Please. I’m scared I’ll wander off if I sleep alone again.” Wilbur nodded, running his fingers through your messy hair. For a girl your age, it was important to make sure you get a good night's sleep. As he carried you back home you ended up falling back asleep in his arms, he had a lot of time to think. He couldn’t believe that a few years ago he had despised the girl in his arms, thought of you as just another stowaway Phil brought home. You had managed to melt his heart and worm your way into not just his brain but his other brother’s brains as well. You had brought so much joy and happiness into their lives. Before you entered their lives there was arguing every night. Tommy and Techno were always at each other’s throats, Wilbur wasn’t any better, to be honest, but then you were there and everything changed. They had to get along and watch their language around you, you weirdly brought them together. Made them better and he couldn’t imagine what their lives would be like without their little hope.

[arcplaysgames]

You're not my dad, bro

I think Nanako is maybe everyone's dad though, lmao. "Are you causing trouble under my roof, father? Are you starting shit? 'Cause I'll end it."

Thanks for the assist, Nanako. She is singlehandedly going to keep this investigation going just by providing cover for me and my dipshit crew who bring fucking full sized katana to the food court.

uh.

holy shit

It is after dark. I just went up to my room to sleep. and my homeroom teacher is calling me and asking me to meet him at a gas station.

right sure okay i'll just go do that, that seems normal and not likely to end in a third fucking murder, yep sure, just gimme a sec to run up to my room and jot down my final will and testament, i'm sure nanako knows where the nearest notary public is in inaba and is willing to get it signed for me, mmhm

BRUH WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME AFTER DARK AND MAKING ME COME OUT TO GIVE ME THIS, IT IS A SUNDAY NIGHT, SCHOOL IS TOMORROW, YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN ME

breathe

its fine. okay.

anyway. after that brush with death, yosuke and chie talk about their shadow selves and note that Reverie didn't have one before attaining his Persona. Now, Yosuke thinks Reverie got his persona outside the TV!Saki Liquorstore, but we know from being the player that Reverie had Izanagi in a dream the first night after arriving in Inaba.

Which. Yep. Pretty weird. Metatextually, we could be Shadow Reverie, but that doesn't seem MegaTen's style. I hasn't known one to tap on the fourth wall in that specific way yet.

Whatever, I'm not going to guess this from the start. As long as it's not Ryoji again, I'm fine with it. We can literally only go up from Ryoji.

Chie's the Chariot. That tracks. Forward momentum at all costs. The Chariot is meant to learn to wield the reins, unifying conscious and subconscious to gain more control. I'm cool with this.

Velvet Room. The spoiler-free walkthru I'm using (I heard a suggestion to use it for the first month just to learn about various mechanics bc P4G has a LOT) had me leave and re-enter, and Marie seems just thrilled to bits to see me. At this point, I am becoming inured to the fact that literally no one is nice ever in this town. SIGH.

Marie is... not of man. Okay. /blinks

What is the Velvet Room... Margaret says everything that occurs in here is tied to our destiny and specifically the contract we have to fulfill. In P3P, no one but FeMC could see the Velvet Room, and in P4G, same case.

Nngh this is the kind of thing I wanna crack like an egg but the answer genuinely might be "this place is a vehicle of the story (pun intended) and exists to facilitate it."

So the Velvet Room is Atlus. There, I solved it. Quod erat demonstratum.

Because Marie is "not of man" (a term Margaret pointedly refuses to elaborate on) I should take her out to explore the world outside, apparently. Like my dates with Elizabeth in P3P.

Please don't blush, you're a bit too tsuntsun for me right now.

Margaret also calls me the next morning to talk about quenching my heart's yearnings, so I think she wants me to go find Akihiko and cry into his ample pecs until he hugs me because I am SO ALONE in this town.

But first I have to join a sports club. And culture club? I have zero recollection of these. I think I may have even skipped a sports club in my initial PS2 playthru bc I'm petulant and hate sports. Buuuut I need S-Links.

So:

do you know akihiko gives good hugs? i mean that's why he spent three years in boxing club, right? to give better hugs?

you know who i know gives good hugs? Mitsuru. she'd pull a whole jennifer lopez "come into my coat" thing, i bet you

[parvulous-writings]

Not so Wyld morning // Bill S Preston + Ted Logan x M!Reader

Request:     can you write a fluff oneshot with bill (s preston) x ted logan x m! reader with like. a sleepy morning between the three?

Requested by: @mlmpunisher​

Summary: Starts off as the request, and then goes off on a trip to the Circle K. I may or may not have gotten carried away. 

Warnings: a brief joke about kidnapping/death.

Words: 3.5K

Notes:  I’ve been waiting for an idea/request for these two. They’re my comfort idiots. My love for them... Let’s just say I watch the movies a fair amount, eh? My requests are currently open! My pinned post (found here) contains both a list of characters I write for, and a masterlist! Original character list - please request for these too!

Not my gif 

You, Bill and Ted were spread rather haphazardly over Bill’s bed. Legs crossed over one another, hands on chests or in faces. You were all tangled together, not that any of you really cared about that at that moment.  You had all fallen asleep during a study session- you had been desperately trying to tutor your boyfriends Bill and Ted, so that they didn’t fail their history class and completely flunk out of school- mostly because Ted’s father, Captain Logan, was threatening to send the taller boy away to an Alaskan military school to whip him into shape should he fail the semester. That was now an all too real threat to the three of you, none of you wanted to get pulled apart from one another. You had been trying to quiz them on the philosophies of the great Athenian thinker Socrates (whom both young men insisted on pronouncing So-Crates no matter how many times you corrected them) when you passed out one by one. First Ted- who was up against the headboard, and whose head had slumped forward when you had gotten onto the fifth or sixth question. Then Bill, draped over Ted’s legs, after leaning back to protest about how the quiz was starting to become “A total drag,” around the tenth question. He had promptly passed out whilst you were telling him it was for their own good- you weren’t all that surprised when you were interrupted by a rather loud snore coming from the curly-haired Bill.You hadn’t bothered to try and wake either of them- not only would they both be rather irritable if you woke them up too early, but it was nearly one o’clock in the morning at that point, so you figured that perhaps they were both subconsciously onto something.  You had taken the range and array of textbooks off of the bed, creating a little more space for you to somehow work yourself between them and get more comfortable to get some sleep of your own. After some shuffling, and a few murmurs from both Bill and Ted, you had found the perfect position, where you had promptly fallen asleep with them.

You were the first to wake up. Ted had taken your arm in both of his in your sleep, cuddling it as if it were a teddy bear. Bill’s legs had somehow tangled with yours, and he had ended up nuzzled into the side of your chest, not that you minded all that much. Though Ted was the more affectionate of your boyfriends in public, Bill could be just as affectionate as him in private. You tried not to move at first, not wanting to disturb them- they could both be as bad as each other when it came to being woken up too early (too early was counted as anything before they woke up by themselves). So, for what you had gauged to be about twenty minutes or so, you just laid there, staring up at the ceiling. There were no thoughts of any importance that drifted through your mind at this point, not until you had finally grown restless enough to carefully push yourself up onto one elbow to check the time on Bill’s alarm clock- which he rarely actually used as anything more than just a normal clock. It had just gone half past ten, and you felt your eyes go wide- that was much later than you had anticipated. Thankfully it was a weekend, though briefly your brain had tricked itself into thinking it was mid-week, causing even more of a jolt in your chest. You would have to get up soon to make your way back home; it was bad enough that you had spent the night out without letting your parents know that you’d be out past eleven o’clock. Every moment past nine in the morning that you spent away from them, the angrier they would get with you.  With this thought in mind you tried to push yourself up a little bit more, fully prepared to undertake the rather massive task of trying to begrudgingly untangle yourself from the two men you held dear, but you were quickly brought back down again by an unseen hand. Your head landed on Ted’s stomach, and you glanced over to him, seeing him peering back at you through tired eyes and a rather messy head of hair. He gave you a rather dopey smile, and you realised he was the one to pull you back; mostly prompted by the fact that Bill was giving another round of freight-train like snores. Ted’s head fell back again when you didn’t struggle against his protests of getting out of bed, and he gave a yawn before beginning to speak. “Morning, chief.” He mumbled, voice still raspy with the last dregs of sleep his body was trying to cling onto.  “I don’t get why you call me that.” You replied in a whisper, trying not to wake Bill. “Surely I should be the one calling you that- given your dad’s job and everything...”  “Eh,” Was Ted’s simple reply, accompanied with a rather lazy shrug. It was about a minute before the only other boy awake in the room started to speak again. “I mean, it does kind of suit you, doesn’t it? You keep me and Bill in order...” He prompted, glancing over to you with that same goofy smile, before his gaze moved back to the ceiling.  “For the most part, I guess.” You smiled back at him, taking his hand and draping his arm across you, so you could play absently with his fingers. Ted never minded that. 

The pair of you fell into a comfortable silence, which was disturbed only briefly, and rather inconsistently, by Bill’s snores. You weren’t sure how long you laid there for this time, but the rather delightful monotonous repetition was ultimately interrupted by a quiet groan of protest from the blonde haired boy at the end of the bed. He rolled onto his front, trying to cover his eyes- he had fallen asleep rather inconveniently where the light peaked through the blinds in the early morning. “Someone close the blinds,” He complained, trying to turn away from them but ultimately failing.  “Bill...” You chuckled lightly, nudging him to get his attention. “They are closed. The light is coming through the gap.” Your words were only met with a groan from Bill, and a stifled laugh from Ted.  “You should get it fixed, dude.” The taller boy jested, nudging the boy again, and Bill responded with a half-hearted swipe at Ted’s foot.  “Shut up, Ted.” Of course, he didn’t mean this in an inherently horrid way, despite his gruff tone. He loved both you and Ted deeply, more than he could love anything else- or at least that was what he thought. Ted thought very much the same thing- though that was no surprise. More often than not, it was like the two shared the exact same brain. If they were not thinking of the exact same plan down to the detail when it came to schemes, they were at the very least agreed on the end result. Most of the time this wasn’t too much of a problem for you- usually you were at the butt end of whatever shenanigan they were plotting- but there were times when you did get a little bit overwhelmed by the pair of them. More often than not, the times where you got overwhelmed involved a very particular phone-booth, with some rather unique properties. Unless you were in it’s presence you tried not to think about it- the amount of times you had been put through mind-bending situations already made your head spin to even consider again. They’d predict something, it would happen immediately after said prediction, then they would turn to one another and proclaim a quick “Excellent!” before reminding one another that they would need to remember that later. You were still a little bit confused by it- especially when they sprung something random on you-but you thought you were slowly starting to understand, even though the concept of time travel didn’t seem quite real. 

You broke your train of thought upon feeling a sudden weight on your chest. Though you wanted to crane your neck to see who it was, you didn’t really need to, you knew it was Bill. You did it anyway- your eyes being met with the golden curls of Bill’s hair. “Bill, love, I’m going to have to get up soon.” You warned him, as your movement would definitely affect him more than Ted.  “No.” He replied simply. From his tone, you could tell he didn’t overly want to debate it.  “But I stayed over without letting my parents-”  “You’re fine, you’re safe, what do they have to complain about?” He grumbled, shuffling so that his chin was on your stomach, his arms wrapped around your middle. His deep green eyes met yours, before flitting briefly to Ted, giving you both a smile. “C’mon, dude. It won’t hurt to have a little longer with us, right?” He asked, and you moved your hand to quickly brush a stray curl from his brow.  “Maybe he should go soon- like, just to check in.” Ted piped up, ever in your corner. “Cause you know what happens if he gets in trouble. He won’t get to see us for like... A week. That is most heinous, and you know it.” At this rather right line of reasoning, Bill groaned, burying his face into the fabric of your shirt.  “Shut up, Ted.” This was quite muffled, and of course still not completely serious. You laughed softly, “Okay- what about this? One hour. Like this.Then, we can ask Missy to drive us back to my place, and I can let my parents know I’m fine, and you two haven’t like... Murdered me, or something.” You joked, and you can feel Ted nod enthusiastically underneath you.  “Yeah, that’s a good idea!” He agreed, and you could hear the smile that was in no doubt plastered onto his face. “Then we can all head down to the Circle K afterwards, right?”  “Sure we can, Ted.” You agreed, reaching up behind you to clumsily pat his cheek.  “Only if he isn’t in trouble, remember?” Bill pitched in, shuffling to get comfortable again. “What about half an hour? If we want to head to Circle K, obviously.” You all consider this new plan for a moment, before each of you gave a curt nod, in unison. 

So there you all stayed- you nearly even fell asleep again before you felt Bill roll off of you. He then took your arm and helped you up, and Ted quickly rolled off of the bed to grab his sneakers. Bill chucked yours at you, before going to get his shoes as well. Ted was the first downstairs- “Hey, Missy?” He called out, and he was quickly met with the young woman’s reply.  “Yeah? What’s up, Ted?” She asked, giving a warm smile.  “We were hoping that you could drive us to (Y/N)’s house?” He asked, briefly wringing his hands, as he eagerly awaited her response.  “Sure thing!” She nodded cheerily, “Let me just finish making these drinks, and I’ll be right with you. You guys go out to the car.” She nodded over to the door leading to the garage. As you and Bill started down the stairs, Ted eagerly gestured for you both to follow him.  It didn’t take Missy very long to finish making the drinks she was preparing, and you all piled into the car. “So- did you all sleep well?” The blonde woman asked, glancing back at you and Bill in the back of the car- Ted had a fascination with sitting in the front seat. Ted and Bill nodded individually; you were the one to verbally reply.  “Yeah, I think we all got a fairly good night sleep.” You give an almost awkward smile. Though, at one point, both of your boyfriends had had some form of crush on her- despite her being quite a few years older than all of you- you hadn’t entirely understood why. You never really mentioned it though.  “Good to hear,” She replied, still wearing that joyful smile. “Hey, Bill- you might need to use the spare key today, the one behind the plant, if you’re staying out late with the boys.” She took a turning as she spoke, keeping her eyes on the road. “Me and your dad are going out for dinner tonight.”  “Okay, Missy- I mean, mom.” Bill replied, quickly correcting himself on his mistake. “Just stop on the corner here,” He told her, gesturing to the side of the road a five minute walk from your house.  “Are you sure?” She asked, glancing over her shoulder as she spoke. “I can take you all the way, if you-”  “No, it’s alright, thanks, Missy.” You interrupt quickly, leaning forward. “Here is fine.” She shrugged, but begrudgingly pulled over. 

“Thanks, Missy!” Ted called after the now fleeting car, giving a wave as well, before jogging to catch up with you and Bill, who had already started to cross the road to get to your street. “I’ll quickly grab some money whilst we’re there,” You told the pair of them, and they nodded.  “I was thinking we could get some slushies.” Ted suggested, giving a wide smile.  “Blue and red?” Bill added, giving a smile of his own, and Ted nodded energetically.  “Our tongues’ll end up as purple, you two know that, right?” You teased with a grin, glancing over your shoulder as Bill laughed heartily. It took Ted a moment longer to get the joke, but he started laughing even harder than Bill when it clicked with him.  “Oh well,” Bill shrugged, a rather mischievous smile. You fell into silence again as you jogged up your driveway, almost wrenching open the door and calling out a hasty “Hey!” to announce your presence to the household and those within it. You quickly made your way to your room, as Bill and Ted quietly entered your home after you, choosing to stay in the hallway- even though they had visited and stayed over at your house many times before. They were both silently hoping that they were making their will to leave relatively soon clear. Your father came into the living room, glancing to the two boys standing awkwardly in the hallway. “Bill, Ted.” He greeted, calmly. Bill mouthed a silent ‘Hi’, whilst Ted just waved. Neither of them wanted to anger your parents- Ted, because he knew how authority figures could be, he’d had experience with his own father, and Bill just didn’t want you to be punished and kept away from them. You came back through as quickly as you could, palming some of your loose change in your hand, making sure you would have enough for a slushie for yourself, and for your boyfriends if they hadn’t brought any money with them- which was more than likely.  “Going out again?” Your father asked you, wanting to make some sort of conversation. You nodded, glancing to him and giving a smile.  “Yeah, heading out to Circle K with Bill and Ted.” You told him. He was a lot more relaxed with the rules than your mother- whom you currently assumed to be out for lunch with one of her friends.  “Did your study session go well, then?”  “Yeah- we went over Socrates again. We all passed out- that’s why I didn’t come home or call last night.” Your father laughed gently, he understood.  “I figured as much. Your mother was saying that you could have been kidnapped- but I kept saying you’re a smart kid, you’d know what to do if that were a risk. Plus, I don’t think there’s anyone in San Dimas who would want to kidnap you.”  “Even if they did want to steal him away, we’d take whoever it is on,” Bill stated, confidently- nudging Ted.  “Yeah, we would!” The taller boy confirmed with a nod. You giggled and shook your head at the pair. Even your father chuckled gently at them.  “Good to know my son is in safe hands.” Though your father was aware that these two weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed of San Dimas, he wasn’t about to take away some of your only company. Your mother had brought it up to him before, but he usually elected to ignore the comments. “Anyway- get going, before your mother gets back. If she sees you going off with these to again without checking in properly she’ll have a fit.” He gestured to the door, “Just be back by eleven tonight, alright?”  “We’ll have him back by then!” Ted told him, opening the door and striding out, followed closely by Bill, and then you. Your father gave a wave, before heading back into your family home. 

There were few words on the journey to the local orange ringed store, you only started to speak again when you had each purchased your chosen flavour of slushie. Bill with strawberry, Ted with blue raspberry, and you with another blue raspberry. You all took a seat on the curb, and you decided to fill the silence with one of the first thoughts that came to your head mid-sip. “So, are you two ready for the end-of-semester presentation Mr Ryan is going to assign?” You asked, and both of your boyfriends looked rather shocked. “What? He’s done it with every other year-group, and we’re not exactly different, specification wise....” You pointed out, and Ted groaned.  “I suck at presentations.” He complained, “Plus neither of us can remember anything that Mr Ryan has taught us!” He exclaimed, gesturing rather wildly with his slushie. “I mean, even with your help, dude, I don’t think we’re going to do all that well.” You were about to speak, but Bill was the one to step in first.  “We gotta try, man,” He placed an affectionate hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder, “If we don’t, it’s even more likely that you’re going to be sent off to that heinous school in Alaska.” Ted considered this, then nodded. Bill was right.  “I’ll do everything I can to help my boys remember all they can,” You told them, a fond smile on your face which they quickly returned. They loved being referred to as your boys, they couldn’t even deny it- you could see it in their eyes. Bill leant over and pressed a very brief kiss to your cheek- though not before checking the parking lot was clear, empty of onlookers- and Ted reached across Bill’s legs to grab your hand, squeezing your palm to show some affection; you were too far away for a kiss from him, and he didn’t overly want to get up whilst his slushie was still rather full. He took a sip from the plastic straw in his beverage, before clearing his throat. “So..” He began, starting to grin wider than usual. “Who wants to make purple?” He nudged Bill, who then quickly looked to you, wearing the same grin as your other boyfriend. You started to laugh- of course this had been something that neither of them had forgotten. 

Without another word exchanged between you, you leant to close the gap between you and Bill, letting lips and tongue tangle in a passionate display of affection. Ted stared on adoringly, not overly minding that Bill was the first to get your attention and affection- though now he had finished off the majority of his drink he scuttled round to your other side, carefully taking your jaw in his hand when you eventually pulled away from Bill to catch your breath. Your break didn’t last for too long, since Ted pulled you gently so your already kiss swollen lips met his equally soft ones. Bill couldn’t help the warm and love-filled smile that spread over his face, before he just had to press a kiss to your cheek, and then reach over to Ted’s cheek to make sure he wasn’t left out. You all separated after a minute or so, and you wiped your lip carefully, wearing the same wide and almost goofy smile as the other two. Your lips, and tongue, as predicted, had turned a rather strange shade of purple.  “I think we should get another snack,” Ted suggested, “Cause I’m hungry, and then we can get the colour off of our tongues,” He grinned, and Bill considered the preposition.  “I guess some food wouldn’t hurt...” He agreed, “Marshmallows?” He suggested, which was replied to with a nod from both you and Ted. “I’ll get them then,” Bill smiled at you both, searching his pocket for some spare change as he got to his feet; marshmallows were a fair bit cheaper than slushies, and he could afford them with what he had to hand. Whilst he went back into the Circle K, you shuffled closer to Ted, smiling lightly as he drew you closer with an arm around your shoulder. That morning had certainly been most excellent, as most of the time with your boyfriends always was- it was something that you always looked forward to; spending time with them, making memories that would forever make you smile. 

[lemon-sugarcoats-nothing]

🐝vent

My night was awful. It started out Okay; i was at my grandma's apartment to see my dad and we played some games. Came home to mom's car not being in it's spot. My brothers and I assume she went to go run an errand, so we go inside, find her boyfriend, and unwind from being out all day. I was dealing with friend drama at that point too.

Half an hour later my mom calls me and tells me what to make for dinner, because she's out at a local "Social club" (Bar, but members only) with a friend. I think, "Great, maybe she wont drink though. She's been going sometimes and only having one".

7:30 passes. At 8 my brother asks me when we should make dinner, neither of us are hungry so we postpone.

8:30 passes, we make dinner because it's getting late. While we're making the food, friend drama dies off and they start joking around in the gc -all good and at that point i was ready to have a relaxing end of the evening.

9:30 passes. My friend moves a virtual birthday party for an acquaintance up half an hour (10) so i get started doing dishes. While im getting ready to do them, i start hearing noises and voices in the "back room" (small room at the back of the house that has the back back door, connected to the kitchen through another door) but no one's coming in. I cant tell if they're crying, laughing or just talking, but someone kept leaning on the door. I waited.

9:45 my mom opens the door and stumbles in; i immediately notice she. is. drunk. Her face is flushed, she was having trouble walking in the door, and she was slurring her words. I dont remember what the first thing she said was, but shortly after her friend also walks in. Her friend was tall (pretty) and significantly less drunk, i dont even know if she was tipsy. But it was a bit of a relief she was here too. My mom went upstairs -struggling- her friend followed a minute after. They came back down after my mom gave her a tour of the house, and then they went to the backroom to talk.

So far, so good right?

I was still uncomfortable so i finish dishes and other night-time responsibilities (Feeding the rabbits and refilling their water), then take my computer and phone to my room to camp out till morning (and for the birthday call).

Sometime during beginning of the call (10:15ish?) i start to hear arguing downstairs. Now, my room is above the kitchen, i have a "back room" to my room and i can usually hear when people are arguing in that room, from p much anywhere in my room. Sound carries. I couldnt make out everything they were saying, but it was b a d , and at one point my mom came inside the house shouting, and up the stairs shouting, and slammed doors so hard it shook the walls of my room, "[friend's name] Fuck you, [boyfriend's name] Fuck you. FUCK ALL OF YOU". My friends on call all heard it.

So im trying not to have a panic attack while getting a link for everyone to watch the movie Birthday boy picked out, and while we watch the movie the argument is still going but downstairs or in mom's room i dont remember. I had one earmuff off on my headphones so i can listen if she starts coming to my room for an argument, i pulled up an audio recording app just in case, because at this point I'm scared of a repeat of 21st of last month.

At some point it dies down, my mom left briefly, came back and was still pissed off but not slamming doors, just muttering things i didnt make out. She never came to my room because i wasnt supposed to have my computer in my room past 11 (it died at 11:20 anyway, in the middle of the movie, sad) nor am i supposed to have my phone there ever (she never notices, im about to be 18 anyway, my mom stopped caring with my older brother when he turned 18).

I stayed in my room the whole night, door closed. I dont close my door unless im doing....things, or unless im scared of what's on the outside of my room. But this causes problems in the summer and winter because my room isnt temperature controlled; the backroom to my room is unfinished, theres a crack in the side wall and a big gap in the door going to it. Heating doesnt go to my room, so closing the door = closing out all the nice warm air. I was cold.

I also was supposed to clean the bathroom last night. I was going to do it after dishes and before going to the virtual party, but my brother got shouted at for opening the back room door while my mom was in it (He was trying to take out the trash), and i didnt want to have to deal with her drunk ass while asking if anyone needed to use the restroom before it gets taken over for 30 mins to get cleaned.

So yeah i had a bad night. Im exhausted, i was exhausted before the shit with my mom happened, Im exhausted after having a small panic attack, Im exhausted from trying to figure out what room my mom was in, I'm exhausted from holding my pee all night because i was scared i'd run into her, Im fucking. exhausted.

[queenshelby]

My Friend’s Father (Part Five)

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Warning: Age Gap, Mild Sexual References

Words: 1,848

Notes:

I have decided to make this into a series.

Alright, no judgment. This was a dream of mine and I felt like I had to write it down. Everyone in this Fic is over the age of 18 and this Fic is in no way based on Cillian’s real family life. It’s pure filth.

 *************************

YOUR POV

Two weeks had passed since you visited your friend Denise in Dublin and it was time for the annual Galway Arts Festival.

Denise had been working on a photography project for the past year and had been nominated for a student award in Galway as part of which ten of her photographs were being displayed during the Arts Festival.

Whilst, as you had expected, Cillian didn’t contact you, you knew that he would be there to support his daughter. Being an artist himself, he was very proud of her and her work and he supported her projects not only mentally but also financially with the caveat that she would finish her degree at Trinity College.

Unlike him, he didn’t want her to drop out of university even though she hated it and you certainly understood his reasoning.

Contrary to Denise, you had no creative bone in your body. You enjoyed art and theatre, but weren’t an artist or performer yourself. Instead, you were an A Grade Law Student who had become rather bored in Galway and had recently applied for a scholarship to Oxford University.

Reading was your passion and you had always been known as a geek. In school, you were the girl that no one liked, nerdy, not interested in fashion or social media and wearing braces, which, luckily, had been removed three years ago.

You were shy and it was only for Denise that you came out of your shell. She was popular in school, mostly due to her name, but also because she was generally confident and, over the years, she helped you gain confidence especially after you had left high school.

But, today, you knew you would be questioning your gained confidence once again since, first of all, you would be seeing Cillian again and the truth was that you couldn’t stop thinking about him in an intimate way and, secondly, you were featured completely naked on some of Denise’s photographs.

Whilst the photographs were artistic and not sexual in any way and your most intimate part wasn’t visible on them, it bothered you knowing that people you disliked would see you so vulnerable and you couldn’t remember why you had agreed to being photographed like that.

The other woman who Denise chose to photograph was Amalie. She was 23 and had been Denise’s friend for a while as well but, unlike you, she began modelling professionally when she was just 16. You all went to the same private school together and, clearly, her lifestyle had been largely financed by her parents. She always wore expensive clothes and had no interest in pursuing a career other than modelling, which barely sustained her lifestyle considering the few small jobs she got.

***

Just as you served your last cup of coffee to an elderly lady sitting in the corner of the café you were working at, you saw Denise, Amalie and two other friends of Denise walk in.

‘Hey guys, take a seat. I will be right with you. I am just about to finish my shift’ you said as you hung up your apron.

‘Please tell me you will get changed before the Gallery opening tonight?’ Amalie asked somewhat weirdly and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes as you sat down at the table with her, Denise and the others before ordering some coffees for yourselves.

‘No, I thought I would go like this’ you said sarcastically, looking down at your coffee-stained clothes.

‘I bought a dress for tonight’ you then said, after Amalie didn’t seem to sense your sarcasm.

‘Right’ she then said as she flicked through Instagram and you simply looked at Denise who shrug her shoulders.

‘What are you looking for?’ you asked curiously as her eyes seemed to be glued to her phone.

‘She is looking to find more photos of my dad and Laura Jennings’ Denise said, rolling her eyes.

‘Laura Jennings, as in the actress?’ you asked, causing Amalie to nod.

‘Yes, apparently they have been dating’ Amalie then confirmed, causing you to swallow harshly. You knew that you shouldn’t care but you couldn’t help it. Knowing that Cillian was seeing someone made you feel ill.  

‘And you care about that why?’ you then asked Amalie after an uncomfortable shiver ran down your spine.

‘Apparently, just like you, Amalie thinks my dad is a DILF’ Denise huffed out before telling you how disgusting you all were.

‘Well, he is though…he is super hot’ Amalie then joked before carrying on. ‘And I don’t understand how you don’t know about Laura Jennings and whether this is true or not. You need to find out’ Amalie then said but Denise simply shook her head.

‘My father doesn’t share this sort of stuff with me and I certainly don’t want to know about his sex life, thank you very much. In so far as I am concerned, he doesn’t have sex, ever…yuck! Also, I would appreciate if you could not talk about my dad anymore, please. It grosses me out’ Denise said and you knew that, all of this had become a common occurrence ever since the day the first episode of Peaky Blinders aired on BBC, a show which Denise refuses to watch herself because of the heavy sexual content and a show which you, only a week ago, had begun to binge watch.

Cillian’s POV

When Cillian walked into the basement after you had left, he immediately saw the small folded up note you had left him but, reading it, made him somewhat uncomfortable.

He was torn about what to do with it and certainly knew that he should ignore it. He couldn’t see you again even if he wanted to.

The fact that you were 23 years younger than him and that you were his daughter’s best friend made it all wrong and highly inappropriate and he didn’t know what had gotten into him in the first place when he gave into you.

He had never felt attracted towards you in any sort of way until that last visit which was the first time had seen you since you and your family had moved away.

You changed in many ways and he wasn’t sure what it was that he liked about you. But what he knew was that it was more than just sexual attraction, which was usually something he knew how to supress.

With that in mind, he placed your note into his wallet and decided to ignore it for now. But he couldn’t quite bring himself to throw it out.

***

With his bags packed it was time for him to return to Manchester and resume filming of the final season of Peaky Blinders.

The first week of filming went well and Cillian decided to spend the weekend with his friend, fellow actress Laura Jennings. Cillian and her had developed a friend with benefits sort of relationship. No strings attached and no feelings involved. After his divorce from Denise’s mother, he wasn’t ready for anything else and Laura would certainly not have been the type of woman he would have wanted a relationship with in the first place.

Unlike him, she wasn’t press shy and, whilst they kept their arrangement a secret as best as they could, she was otherwise quite active on social media.

Cillian, on the other hand, only maintained a private Instagram account with the sole purpose of being able to check on his children. Whilst they were adults, he was still worried about them, especially Denise who had recently gotten herself in a lot of trouble after distancing herself from this Jeremy boy.

***

‘Another wine?’ Laura asked as Cillian was relaxing on top of the doonas, wearing nothing but his black Calvin Klein briefs, after they had spent the last hour doing exactly what friends with benefits would do after not having seen each other for over two weeks due to busy filming schedules.

‘Yes please…thanks’ he responded as he reached for his phone after a notification had popped up.

It was his daughter Denise who had posted on Instagram and, since she hadn’t posted for a while, he decided to check it out, hoping that she wasn’t with Jeremy again.

To his surprise, three new pictures of Denise and her friends showed up when he opened the APP and, one of them, there was you.

In the picture, you were wearing accompanied by a man in his late twenties, wearing a suit while you were wearing a dark blue dress and he couldn’t help but wonder who the man by your side was.

You looked simply stunning, with your hair long and open and your shoulders exposed. You were wearing only a little bit of make up and showed your beautiful smile.  

‘There you go Mr Murphy’ Laura then said as she returned to the bedroom with another glass of wine, pulling Cillian’s phone out of his hand and climbing on top of him.

‘Round Two?’ she then asked eagerly as she reached for another condom, but Cillian’s thoughts were elsewhere entirely.

‘Maybe tomorrow, I am tired. It has been a long week, sorry’ he explained, causing Laura to pout with disappointment.

But the second round never eventuated as Cillian left Laura’s house the following morning to drive back to Manchester to resume filming.

On his way back to Manchester, he called his daughter Denise to check on her and while he did, he enquired about your companion on the Instagram posts.

‘Why do you want to know?’ Denise asked somewhat confused but Cillian played it cool.

‘He looks familiar, that’s all. Didn’t he go to your school?’ he then asked, playing dumb.

‘Oh god no, he is 29. His name is Connor and he is an accountant. Y/N wouldn’t date anyone our age. You know she isn’t a normal 21-year-old’ Denise joked, referring to your nerdiness and intellect.

‘Apparently not’ Cillian chuckled before asking another question about the stranger on the picture. ‘So, they are dating?’ he asked.

‘I think they went on two or three dates or something. Why do you care?’ Denise asked.

‘No reason. I was just wondering’ Cillian confirmed before changing the topic.

   Tag List:

@lilymurphy03@deefigs @theflamecrystal @desperate-and-broken @weepingstudentfishhorse @livinginfantaxy @rosey1981 @atomicsoulcollecto @peakyboyslover @nerdy4itall@elenavampire21 @hanster1998@mariapaiva13 @fairypitou @harry-is-your-sunflower @zozeebo @lauren-raines-x @kasaikawa @littlewierdalien @sad-huffle-nerd @theflamecrystal @peakymalfoyscullymulder @themissthang@0ghostwriter0 @stylescanbeatmyback @1-800-peakyblinders @datewithgianni @momoneymolife @ntmynouis @lilymurphy03 @mcntsee@cloudofdisney@missymurphy1985 @peakymalfoyscullymulder @otterly-fey @janelongxox @uchihacumdump @basiclassy @being-worthy @chaotic-bean-of-smolness @margoo0 @chocolatehalo @vhscillian @ysmmsy @littlewierdalien @crazymar15  @stickyknightflowerbailiff @im-constantly-fangirling @goldensunflowe-r  @tellingyouastory  @captivatedbycillianmurphy​  @namelesslosers​  @littlewhiterose​  @ttzamara​  @ttzamara @cilleveryone  ​

@peaky-cillian​

@severewobblerlightdragon​  @ysmmsy​  

[sohin-ace]

Bucciarati - My little Seastar

Sister reader. Enjoy~

"Hey, Bucciarati! Can you help me for a sec?"

You turned towards the direction of the voice calling you and stopped in your tracks on the wooden docks.

"What do you want, Valentino?" You spat, a bit more harshly than intended.

The smug boy who was crouched on his zodiac chuckled at you. "Aw, come on, Bucciarati! Don't be like that. I just need some help to tie the rope. Your dad is a fisherman, right? You should know knots like no one else!"

Even though he had said this as a way to woo you and flatter you somehow, you couldn't help but hear it as a condescending remark. You crossed your arms over your chest and he pouted at the glare you sent him.

"Pretty please~? No funny business, I swear! Look, the guys aren't even here, I'm all alone. You can trust me!"

That's right. Valentino and his little gang took great pleasure in teasing you and bothering you at every corner and it pissed you off. No matter how much you insulted them, ignored them or avoided them, they never seemed to stop their stupid and useless bullying.

But sadly, oh so sadly, the Bucciarati that you were was kind. Too kind. You despised that you were so gentle-hearted, but in the end, this is how your father and brother had raised you.

You huffed and slumped your arms loose along your body, defeated. "Fine!" You dragged your sandals over the dock and approached him. "It better be quick."

The boy beamed as you embarked on the zodiac next to him, "Sure thing! Thanks a lot, girl. I'll make it up to you!"

He gave you the ropes as you crouched down at his place and got to work. But without you noticing, the boy had swiftly slid his leg over the vehicle and easily jumped back into the dock, leaving you behind.

Before you could even turn around and ask where he was going, the brat, now accompanied by all three of his little buddies that appeared out of their hiding spot, all kicked the zodiac off of the dock before you could even tie it.

"Waah-!"

You lost balance at the violent jerk of the boat and yelped, letting go of the ropes that could have saved you from your demise.

You couldn't even get back to your knees and try desperately to grab onto the dock's wooden planks. You heard the boys snickering and laughing at you as you drifted farther and farther away from the land into the water.

"I fucking knew it you disgusting piece of TRASH!" You yelled at them, angry with them obviously, but also angry with yourself for granting that bastard the benefit of the doubt. "You know damn well I can't swim!"

They all seemed to laugh even louder, obnoxiously. "Too bad for you Bucciarati! Maybe you shouldn't be so stupid next time! BWAHAHAHA!"

"YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE VALENTINO! SCREW YOU!"

Your curses and wails seem to fall into deaf ears as you drifted even farther away from the coast, with no way of even paddling back.

Looking around towards the much bigger boats parked along the docks, you could only hope 'he' would hear you.

"PAPA!! PAPAAA!!!" You called desperately. Surely he would hear you, he wasn't far after all, you did come all the way here to bring him his lunch. He must still be somewhere around the fishing boats.

After a few more vain attempts to call for your father, you settled to accept that he wouldn't hear you, nor would the other fishermen that were already far gone from their boats to bring their catches to land.

You sat on the damp zodiac and brought your knees to your chest, not even caring if your sundress slid down your thighs indecently and got stained by the salty water. Stupid Valentino couldn't even keep his tiny boat clean.

"Stupid, stupid..." Your voice cracked, threatening to break into a sob. "If he was a sailor he'd be dead before even sailing. That's how stupid this stupid boy is. Stupid."

With only your expletives to reassure you in your demise, you buried half of your face in your arms now craddling your cold knees.

Everything was so silent, the sea did a great job at muting every sound around the coast and you felt the loneliest and most scared you had ever been since you were a child.

You thought nobody would find you, and you'd be dead drowning because you could never learn to swim and since nobody even noticed your absence in minutes that felt like hours, nobody would cry for you if you died here either.

And so the stinging tears prickled at your eyes.

"Y/N?" You heard a familiar voice calling your name, but brushed it off as the wind. "Y/N is that you?"

You looked up towards the insistant voice in a sliver of hope and, like an angel fallen from heaven, you were met with the caring blue gaze of your big brother from the railings of one of the high boats right next to where you had drifted to.

"Bruno!" You gasped and got up immediately, almost falling over from the sudden sway of the boat under your weight. "A-ah! Bruno help me, I'm stuck!"

"Hold on!" The worried face of the male hesitated to leave you for even a split second. "I'm coming down. Don't move."

You nodded at his strict tone and waited for him as he disapeared. Your breath caught in your throat with stress, even though you were reassured to finally have a savior. And what a savior it was, your one and only big brother.

Barely a minute passed before you saw him come back and unravel an emergency ladder down to you. He made sure the ladder was all tight and secure and almost immediately after, Bruno jumped over the railing, to your grand fright, and started climbing down, your heart pounding with worry for him.

He finally arrived down and stepped into the zodiac, joining you, like a glorious hero, saving the day. You barely let him any time to react as you threw yourself into his chest and gripped viciously at the back of his shirt, scrunching it without care, scared to be alone at sea again.

Bruno wanted to scold you and yell at you for recklessly playing around all alone in the docks and ending yourself in such a dire situation. But when he felt you trembling and squeezing him like your life depended on it, which ironically it did, the elder couldn't help but sigh and wrap his long arms around your shoulders, a gesture of comfort.

"... What happened to you?"

"It's-" You choked a sob and Bruno tutted and shushed you softly, patting your head to calm you down, just like your mother used to do when you were a child.

"Shhh, it's okay bambina, I'm here now."

He felt you relax and you sniffled a few times before mumbling into his shirt. "It's Valentino! He tricked me! I hate him! He's such a coglione!"

"Hey! Language." He scolded and pinched your arm, earning a little 'ow' from you, "What would dad think if he heard you say such words? Bite your tongue, young lady."

"S-sorry..." You croaked a little ashamed of your outburst and lifted your head up at your brother. "They always do this to me... Valentino and the others... Why...? They know I can't swim and they throw me into the water all the time..."

Bruno let go of you to cup your face and wipe your tears off. He did not let it show to you but he was infuriated. There was only so much patience an Italian man could have when his family was being targeted. Especially his little sister and the only lasting woman of his life.

"Shh, stop crying now, mia stellina marina. I'll deal with them later, okay? Let's get you home for now."

"They'll see." You sniffled as your breath steadied, calmed by Bruno's soft tone, "When I'll marry a big, tall, goth policeman, he'll beat them up for me and then, they won't act so cocky anymore."

He huffed with amusement at your words before he let you go and laid a gentle hand on your back to usher you towards the ladder.  Bruno, still with a bit of confusion, mumbled to himself without you hearing it.

"... Why goth, though?"

Only now had you noticed the zodiac had stopped drifting since Bruno found you, held onto the much bigger boat by a phantom blue and white arm and a golden zipper that you'd recognize from a mile away.

"Can we... Can we let the zodiac in here?" You asked hesitantly towards your brother who paid no mind to it.

"Who cares? It's not ours."

With thoughts of Valentino's expensive motorboat getting lost in the sea, you slowly took ahold of the ladder's ropes and started climbing, Bruno keeping it steady for you until he was sure you embarked in safely.

He then joined you up and lent you a spare jacket that he thankfully thought of taking with him in the morning, covering you from the cold of your drenched dress against the littoral wind.

"Thank you Bruno..." You softly uttered and hugged his warm jacket closer around you, "I always cause you trouble..."

"Nonsense, piccolina. I could never live knowing my sister is crying, cold and afraid somewhere." He squeezed your shoulder against him as you approached the stall your father and his colleagues were filling with freshly caught fishes. "I'll make sure you're the one that never gets troubled again..."

Fortunately for you, the day ended much more peacefully than it had started and your father was happy and relieved to find you safe and uninjured. He had specifically instructed Bruno to not get involved or make a scene, but of course, his son was a stubborn mediterranean who could not let anything just slide.

It was not the first, not the second, nor even the third time this boy, 'Valentino' and his friends, had taken offense towards you.

So, Bruno would make sure the zodiac Valentino had worked oh-so-hard to afford, part-timing as a waiter, cleaning after people's messes, scrubing disgusting shit-stained lavatories and cutting his hands off of plastic and metal scraps scattered along the beaches for a few cents per day, got thoroughly anihilated to pieces.

"NOOOO!!!! MY ZODIAC !!!! MY 50 000€ BAAABYYYYYY!!! WHYYYYY???!!"

The very next day, as you walked along the docks to bring some fishing materials to your brother, you heard the painful wails of a very familiar boy kneeling down and crying on the woodplanks, his screams echoing against the shore.

"SHUT UP BRAT! You'll think about your money after you pay for the fines I'm about to give you. You think you can get away with polluting the water with your gross ass wreckage?" A tall and burly policeman wearing purple lipstick growled at the kneeling boy, no signs of mercy in his baritone voice. "You'll have a reason to cry when you pay for the oil you spilled in here. You're lucky I'm not throwing your ass in jail right now."

"Officer please-" Valentino pleaded miserably, but the policeman did not hold back on pushing all fives of the different citations he had owned by having pieces of his zodiac scattered all around the precious ressourceful ocean.

"You have two weeks to pay up and clean all that shit." The officer fixed his shades over his nose before turning around to leave. "And expect to receive a salty lawsuit soon. Fucking whiny bitchbaby..."

The policeman left with a determined and impatient step as you witnessed the entire scene with wide eyes, not noticing your brother approaching.

"Oh no... That's horrible..." You gasped with sympathy and worry, "I hope the fishes and corals won't get impacted by the oil spill..."

"Oh don't worry," Bruno chuckled, taking the heavy loads off your hands, "I made sure to zip that out of the water."

You blinked, confused.

"...What?"

"What...?"

That fic was inspired by the very first scene of H2O, I love that show so much, and I can't wait to post my mermaid fics in store!

[s1ater]

hiii i saw that you write cobra kai imagines and i was wondering if you could do a miguel imagine in which the reader is best friends with robby and has developed feelings for him while miguel still likes sam, so the reader and miguel start fake dating and emd up catching feelings for eachother?🥺💞

failure to plan, part one. miguel diaz x reader

summary 📣: above :)

warnings 🚫: gif not mine, swearing

slater’s note 🗯: also there will be A PART TWO I PROMISE

“i have a plan.”

you looked up from your textbooks, seeing a very hyper miguel, his hands pressed down onto the table, inches across from you. 

you press your lips into a thin line, narrowing your brows up to the boy, your head slightly quirked to the side, “what’s your plan?”

miguel pulled out the seat in front of you, causing you to begin to close your books and set them to the side, giving him your divided attention. 

“i need to be with same,” he said straight forward, folding his arms against the cold, blue plastic table, “i’m done constantly chasing after her.. wondering whether or not she likes me the way i like her still.” 

he paused giving you time to process his words as he tried to think of what to say next, how to form his words while your lips pressed back into a line. 

you didn’t know miguel that well... well you did but he was more or so an acquaintance than anything else. you had found yourself noticing him a lot more the moment him and robby had began to get along, causing your whole friend group to pull closer together, that being, sam, you, tory, robby, demetri, eli, and miguel. 

he was a funny kid, one you could put a lot of trust into if you needed to. 

“i know you like robby,” he paused, looking down at the table as if he was slightly ashamed for knowing this information, and you yourself were slightly shocked, but you stayed silent, resisting the urge to open your mouth. “i see the way you look at him, i know you like that kid just as much as i like sam.”

robby. that “kid” was your best friend and you had very valid reasons as to why you liked him, one being as to he was there for you since day one. robby didn’t have a lot of trust in people, nor did anyone seem to trust him... but you. 

you had met him at a skating rink where you had just about fallen on your ass if he hadn't swooped in and caught you by the arm, keeping you on your feet and away from falling into a deep pit of hurt and scratches. 

he taught you things, you kept him out of trouble, you kept each other alive and in your well beings. you couldn't have asked for a better friend nor would you ever think about replacing him. 

that’s why it was hard for you to realize that you thought of him more than just a friend. the thought of ruining what you had with for something that might not even be a possibility, that being; him liking you. 

“yeah, okay, so you know that, what about it?” 

“i have a proposition.”

“get to the point.”

you didn’t intend for anything that came out of your mouth to be rude, but the fact that he knew something so personal, something that you wouldn't even tell your mom or girl best friend about made you uncomfortable, on edge. what else did he know? 

it was ridiculous to feel so attacked by miguel diaz because really, the kid was sweet, he had no attentions in being harmful, but you just couldn't stop your mind from caving in on itself. 

“fake date,” he said it straight forward making you curve your head a bit in confusion and in thought, wondering whether or not your heard him right or if you were really going crazy faster than you thought. 

“huh?” “fake dating,” he repeated, “it’s the only way to tell whether or not if i’m wasting my time, but i don’t think i am, i just know she likes me back but i need to push her a bit.” “so you want to make her jealous?” he nodded his head, waiting for you to say something, waiting for you to say ‘yes’. 

“what’s in it for me?” “works both ways.” “yes, but i don’t think robby likes me like that, that’s why i haven’t said anything to him about it-”

“y/n,” he cuts you off, wanting to slow down the oncoming rambling that was about to spill out of your mouth in one big mess, “guy best friends usually like their girl best friends. robby just needs a push as well.” 

it made you bit your lip in thought, eyes racing back on the table top before you. the idea he presented before you was either a really good one... or a really, really bad one. 

“i’ll think about it,” you got up quickly, grabbing all your books before rushing out of the library. 

°•

monday came rather fast, making you think you didn’t have nearly enough time to think about miguel’s proposition. you knew he would probably would want an answer, especially due to the fact that you had ignored all his phone calls and texts. 

hanging out with robby all weekend hadn’t necessarily gave you any clarity either. it was the only thing on your mind as you the two of you went to the skate park and his dad's apartment, and mr. larusso’s home, and the food court, and anywhere and everywhere. the only thing. 

you begun to feel bad because twenty minutes into hanging out he had noticed, giving you hard time about it as time continued on it seemed to have been a repetitive thing. 

“what’s on your mind, kid?” “uh, nothing.”

all you could say was you felt bad. 

you hustled down the hallway, trying your best to maneuver yourself around the teen bodies that filled the hallway like a small box. it was hot and stuffy and you felt your heart all high in your chest as you tried to spot for something familiar, spot robby. 

you continued down the hallway before hitting a clearing a relief hitting you and lightening up on your chest, analyzing your environment before planning out how you’d get to your next class. 

you rounded a corner, five feet away from your physics class before you felt the weight of your body being pulled back in your past tracks. 

and you almost smacked whoever did so before realizing it was miguel, a relief coming over you as you sighed, sinking your shoulders back into a more relaxed position. 

he slightly laughed, letting go of your arm, “relax, it’s just me.”

you rolled your eyes, nodding him off, “what do you want?”

“i want an answer.”

“what?” you almost resisted the urge to play dumb but the words just fell out of your mouth, think it would give you more time to make up your mind. 

“you know what.”

“yeah, i don't know,” you turned around but he grabbed onto your shoulder quickly before flipping you back around. 

“y/n,” he gave you a pointed look that made you even more anxious than you already were.

you bit the inside of your cheek, hoping the answer would just come to you right in that moment, but it didn't. there was just some part of you that just didn't understand, maybe that was what was holding you back due to the lack of clarity on the situation. what did “fake dating” even entail? what would you have to do? and why you? what was so special about you other then the fact that you were just as helpless as he was to getting the person he liked to like him back. 

but so what? there were hundreds of girls like that at your school. 

you exhaled, almost rolling your head down in shame, “you know what, fine, i’ll ‘fake date’ you... but you have to tell me why.”

“what do you mean, why?”

“why me, miguel?” 

he rolled his eyes as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world, “i already told you, we both have people we like-”

“yeah but there’s other people in this school in that exact situation,” you extended out your arm, getting worked up for basically nothing. 

miguel rolled his eyes again before taking a step forward, “we can talk about this later, meet me in the library later.”

and he walked off. 

°•

“hey, can i give you a ride?” 

three o’clock arrived like clock work and after seven classes of hell you walked out of your last one, completely exhausted and ready to go home, but remembered you still had to meet miguel in the library. 

it had been bearing on your mind all day, that you just wished you could forget about it and go home with robby like he offered. 

“no, i can’t,” you mumbled, diverting your body to face robby as the two of you neared the exit of the school.

“why not? got a hot date or something?”

“something like that,” you smiled just as he did. 

“alright, i’ll see you later,” he gave your arm a tight squeeze before walking out the doors, waving as he continued out onto the parking lot. 

“lord, help me.”

°•

“no strings attached, you don’t have to call me at twelve in the morning when your crying nor do i have to call you when i get hurt or some shit,” miguel was straightforward, he pulled out his phone and began reading from a list off of it, like he had had this planned way before even deciding to talk to you about it. “we’re here to make people jealous, not get attached.”

you nodded, trying to process all the things he had said in the past ten minutes about what was to go down with the two of for however how long it would take before either sam or robby broke from underneath the pressure of you two “dating”. 

miguel already had the week planned and you were slightly grateful that he knew what he was doing because you sure as hell didn't. 

“i’ll take you out to the mini golf place so then it’s public, you know? it’ll seem more official and that way people will see us together...” he continued on by saying, “we hold hands, kiss in the hall, and do all the cheesy couple shit.” “thought you were a sucker for that stuff,” you hummed, raising your eyebrows, slightly shocked by him bad mouthing all the “cheesy shit” that couples do, the type of shit you would see him doing in the halls with sam when they were still a thing. 

he rolled his eyes, “whatever, we got a deal?” 

you watched him raise his hand, reaching across the table for your own... and you took it, nodding your head still lost, but content now. 

“we have a deal.”

masterlist

taglist 🗞:

join the taglist dawg 

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[babygirl-diaz]

You're Cute Enough to Fuck With Me Tonight (AU)

Going to a club when you’re in your late 30s is not the best way to spend your Saturday nights, but Steve and Natasha insisted, so Sam ended up giving in to the peer pressure. Natasha got them to bypass the queue outside because she apparently knew the owner. The nightclub turned out different from what Sam was expecting. It was an elite club with its own fancy VIP lounge. Natasha got them a VIP booth and the three of them did whiskey shots to celebrate the successful first season of their tv show.

They were talking and laughing and well into their third beer when Natasha said, “Sam, don’t look now, but cokehead over there is eating you up with his eyes.”

“Huh?” Sam asked, and turned around to see who she was talking about when he found a white dude with short dark hair and a face full of facial hair, looking at Sam like he was starving and Sam was a buffet. There was a line of cocaine in front of the guy and he leaned down to snort it before coming up to wave at Sam. Sam ignored him.

“I tell him not to look and what does he do… he looks,” Natasha said sarcastically. “The guy’s hot, though. I think you should go for it.” She leaned back against Steve, who absently stroked her arm.

“The guy looks like trouble to me,” Steve pointed out. “I think you should stay away.”

“Wow, thanks, Dad,” Sam huffed.

“I love this song!” Natasha announced when the strings of a familiar song played. Before Sam could say anything, he was being pulled onto the dance floor by his friends despite his protests. “Call Me By Your Name, really?” Sam asks

“What? It’s a nice song!” Steve said, almost offended.

“You’re so whipped!” Sam laughed and slapped him on the back.

He moved his hips and ass along with the music and let out a frustrated groan when Natasha and Steve started grinding up against each other and got lost in one another. Sam knew this would happen. He’d end up as the third wheel and that’s why he wasn’t keen on coming tonight.

Sam lets out a surprised sound when he felt hands on his waist. Whoever had their hands on him spun him around, and Sam immediately came face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes, rimmed red. It was that cokehead from earlier. Sam wanted to pull away but got hypnotized by the look the guy was giving him.

The guy leaned in close to Sam’s ear and sang completely out of tune. “Romantic talkin'? You don't even have to try. You're cute enough to fuck with me tonight.” His voice was rough and despite the bad singing, it ran a shiver down Sam’s spine.

“I’m Bucky,” the guy introduced himself and pulled Sam even closer to move their hips together. “And you’re hot.” His voice was slightly slurred.

“Well, lucky for me, my name is Sam and not Hot.” Sam wrapped his arms around the guy’s neck and pressed their chests together.

“Sam…” Bucky said as if testing out his name. “Beautiful name for a beautiful guy.”

“You’re just saying that to get into my pants,” Sam smirked.

“Is it working?” Bucky pouted

“Nah, you gotta try harder.”

“God, you’re so hot,” Bucky said into Sam’s ear and took his earlobe between his teeth and pulled on it, making Sam moan. “I want you so bad,” he continued to say and squeezed Sam’s ass. Maybe the alcohol made him do it, but Sam surged forward and kissed him. He darted out his tongue and licked Bucky’s upper lip before taking it between his own lips. He then tilted his head to the side and kissed the edge of Bucky’s lips. Bucky opened his mouth and Sam’s tongue slid inside and he let himself explore Bucky’s mouth. The kiss got intense and heated. Sam felt Bucky’s cock press against his and he moaned into Bucky’s mouth, and Bucky swallowed up the sound. The song ended and they pull apart but stay close. “Let’s get out of here,” Sam said over the next song.

“Okay,” said Bucky and took Sam’s hand, leading him out of the club. But when they got outside, a small group gathered around them and asked Sam for autographs and photos. Sam felt himself strain in his jeans and he hoped no one noticed it as he took photos and signed autographs. Once the crowd dispersed, Sam found Bucky giving him a curious look. “You some kinda big shot?” He asked.

“I’m an actor,” Sam replied. “Ever heard of the show Captain America and the Winter Soldier? I’m the Captain America part of it. My friend Steve is the Winter Soldier.”

“I don’t watch tv. Don’t get the time,” Bucky shrugged. “But I get to fuck someone famous. That’s one thing off my bucket list.”

“So that’s why you wanna fuck me?” Sam asked faking offense. “And hey, who said you get to fuck me?”

Bucky got closer to Sam and kissed him again. “Oh, you’re so gonna let me fuck you, doll.” The way Bucky says doll makes Sam shiver and bite his lips.

“You wanna come back to my place?” Sam asked.

“Nah, I can’t wait that long but I know just the place.”

Bucky took Sam’s hand and led him towards the parking garage. Sam raised an eyebrow when they got to Bucky’s vehicle. “You some kinda soccer mom?” He asked looking at the Jeep SUV.

“It’s nondescript. Works well for my line of work,” Bucky shrugged. “Besides, you’re gonna thank me in a bit.”

“Your line of work? Fuck, you’re not a stay-at-home dad, are you? I don’t do married men.”

Bucky threw his head back and laughed as he got into the SUV. Sam followed him. “I am not a stay-at-home dad or married,” Bucky replied.

Bucky was on him, kissing him, the second they got in.

Sam pulled away briefly to ask, “What do you do then?”

Bucky looked him right in the eyes. The red rim around his eyes was gone and his eyes turned dark as he replied. “I’m an assassin. I was at the club to kill one of my targets.”

Sam blinked at him before he burst out laughing. “Wow, I’m the actor, but you’re the one with the vivid imagination.”

A smirked twitched along Bucky’s lips. “What can I say? I have a boring ass job. So I’m just trying to make myself sound interesting.”

“So what do you actually do?” Sam asked. “No. Wait. Lemme guess.”

“Be my guest.”

Sam’s eyes trailed down Bucky’s body. “You’re an investment banker.”

Bucky’s eyebrow shot up at that. “So damn close… I’m a stockbroker. How did you--”

“I’m just that good.” Sam winked at him. But then a smile broke across his face and he shook his head. “I saw you with those Wall Street folks earlier. Wasn’t that hard to figure out what you did for a living.”

Bucky leaned in close and kissed Sam once again. “So smart,” he said in between the kisses. “Just the way I like ‘em. Get in the backseat.”

Sam didn’t need to be told twice. He made his way onto the backseat and took off his clothes. He tossed them onto the front seat and felt his cheeks heat when he noticed the way Bucky was looking at him. Bucky’s blue eyes dilated, and he licked his lips while once again staring at Sam like he was a buffet. Bucky pulled out a condom and single-use lube from his wallet and Sam raised an eyebrow at him. “You were waiting to get lucky tonight, weren’t you?”

“I just like being prepared,” Bucky replied as he got into the backseat as well. He took off his own clothes and threw them onto the driver’s seat and pulled Sam closer to ravish his lips.

Bucky was right. Sam was thankful for the fact that the vehicle was an SUV. They had enough space to fuck in the back.

When they finished, it left Sam breathless and sore, but in a good way. Bucky drove him home, and the two cuddled up naked on Sam’s bed.

“Didn’t think you’d be a cuddler…” Sam commented.

“Oh, I love to cuddle,” Bucky replied, and tightened his grip around Sam’s middle.

Sam made his head more comfortable on Bucky’s chest and kissed his pecs. “You’re gorgeous, you know that.”

“So I’ve been told,” Bucky chuckled.

Sam frowned at that. “How many guys do you pick up at the club?”

“Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?” Bucky teased and kissed the top of Sam’s head. “If it’s any consolation, you’re the best I’ve ever had.”

“You’re just saying that cause I let you fuck me,” Sam huffed.

Bucky got on top of Sam and pressed their lips together again. “Nope, I’m only saying that so that you’d let me fuck you again.” His hand moved down on the sheets and groped Sam’s ass, making him gasp.

“You asshole,” Sam said, with no heat behind his words. “Lube and condoms are in the side drawer.”

“How many guys do you bring around here?” Bucky asked, narrowing his eyes.

Sam smirked at that. “If it’s any consolation, you’re the best I’ve ever had.”

***

Sam woke up the next morning to a cold and lonely bed. Bucky had snuck out during the night without even saying goodbye. That made Sam hurt a little. Just a little. Huffing, Sam threw the sheets over himself and fell back asleep. He didn’t know how long he slept, but the ringing of his doorbell woke him up. Sam wanted to ignore it and go back to sleep, but the person on the other end of the door was relentless.

Groaning, Sam got out of the bed and put on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt before making his way to the door. He threw it open and found Natasha and Steve standing there, looking equally worried.

“Oh thank god,” Steve pushed past Natasha and hugged Sam tightly.

The guy was built like a tank, and Sam struggled in his embrace. “Let me go! You’re crushing me!” Sam complained and pulled away from his friend to catch a breath. “What is wrong with you, man?”

“You disappeared last night! And then this morning there was news that someone at the club died and you wouldn’t answer your phone… we were scared!”

“What?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, your leering cokehead friend, one of his friends OD’d at the club last night.”

“Shit,” Sam hissed.

I’m an assassin. I was at the club to kill one of my targets. Bucky’s words rang in his ears and for a moment, Sam entertained the thought that maybe Bucky wasn’t joking after all. But he shook his head and got rid of the thought as soon as it entered his mind. There was no way Bucky was responsible for some guy overdosing. Sam was being ridiculous.

“Where did you go last night?” Natasha asked, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

“The leering cokehead… I brought him home,” Sam replied.

“What?!” Steve screeched. “Why would you do that?”

Both Natasha and Sam gave him an exasperated look, and he threw his hands up.

“So how was he?” Natasha asked.

“The best I’ve ever had,” Sam replied.

[dangerous-mess]

Holiday Troubles

Characters: Aizawa, trans male reader

Contains: Unsupportive family, transphobia, homophobia, misgendering, mentions of a deadname (D/N), mentions of religion and praying, mentions of dysphoria, angst, hurt/comfort, angst with fluff ending. This was written mainly as a comfort fic during the winter holidays but wanted to post this here (originally posted on AO3). Please read with caution as this content may be triggering for some

Word Count: 2K+ 

The holidays were always rough for you, being not only gay but transgender as well. There were the off-putting tension and feelings every time you walked in the room, and the side glances and judgemental glares that were shot your way if you were even caught wearing something feminine and not masculine. Mostly from your parents and family, feeling the obligation that you had to follow gender norms in the hope to not only pass but to be taken seriously in your own identity.

The holidays got a little easier once you married your now husband. He made visiting your family a bit easier and made the holidays in general, more enjoyable for you. This year, unfortunately, he had meetings and a nightly patrol that he couldn’t get out of, so you were left to go to the Christmas family gathering by yourself.

The day came, and needless to say, you were a nervous mess. You dressed up in a suit, something masculine of course to appease your family and keep those comments at bay. Though, you knew you weren’t in the clear as there was still a high chance of being deadnamed and misgendered by family who were unsupportive or others who just didn’t try. Your husband, Shouta, let you know before he left early that morning that if you needed anything at all to give him or Hizashi a call and they would come and get you in a heartbeat. He said Hizashi, just in case he couldn’t be reached, which was fine with you, Hizashi had become a close friend to you.

You arrived at your parent's house a little later than they asked, just cause you were nervous and needed more time to prepare for this evening. You knocked on the front door, adjusting your suit as you waited for someone to open the door, only to be greeted by one of your younger siblings. They gave you a big hug, before dragging you inside where you were greeted by family. Your grandmother was the first to deadname you. She called out as you talked to your uncle, a devious smile on her face as the name rolled off her tongue. You cringed hearing it and so badly wanted to correct her, but if your mother caught wind that you did, who knows what drama may pursue. You endured the conversation with her, as she made sure to drop in your deadname every chance she could get.

“Honestly D/N, you really should stop playing dress up and realize that you are a girl. Your husband would be so much happier to have a wife who knows her place and not some confused girl.”

You took a deep breath and bid your goodbyes to your grandmother as you went to find someone else to talk to. Eventually, dinner was called, and you all gathered around and your grandfather said a prayer. You looked down at your feet the entire time, not really wanting to participate in the prayer. Soon it wrapped up and a line formed into the kitchen to get food. After everyone got food, everyone gathered around and talked, telling stories of things that happened within the past year in their lives, as well as asking questions to others to get the latest scoop. You just decided to eat silently, trying to not participate in the gossip fest happening before you.

“So Y/N, how are you and your husband doing?” Your dad asked before he took a sip of a beer. You held up your pointer finger, signaling that you needed a moment as your finished chewing food before you smiled and spoke.

“Oh, we are doing well! He sends his deepest apologies that he couldn’t make it, hero duties called.” You smiled, taking a quick glance around the room. Some whispers were exchanged, knowing it was about you and Shouta. It was clear that besides your family not supporting your identity, they also did not support your marriage to a hero. Especially a hero who was supportive of you and your identity.

“Honestly, how she manages to keep such a hero man, is insane. Like who would wanna marry some confused lesbian?” One of your aunts spoke out. You gripped your glass tightly, biting your tongue, not wanting to start any issues.

Other family members chimed in to add on to your aunt's comment and soon it became too much. You quickly excused yourself and went to the bathroom farthest away from your family. You pulled out your phone and texted your husband. You told him that you needed him or Hizashi or someone to come to pick you up, as you originally walked, as it was nice earlier prior to the sun setting. You quickly got a reply, saying your husband was on his way, and that he was getting someone to cover the rest of his patrol. You felt a bit bad to interrupt and have him leave his patrol, but god you just needed him right now more than anything.

You hid amongst the rooms as you waited for Shouta to send you a message or signal that he was here. Your mom called out your name, walking down the hall looking for you. The smile on her face dropped as she saw you and grabbed your arm.

“Come on Y/N, we are about to exchange gifts. Stop trying to hide and be nice and spend time with your family. It took a lot of work and effort to get everyone here, like your grandparents who haven’t seen you in ages.” Your mom aggressively whispered at you, as she pulled you towards the living room. You stayed silently, hoping that your husband would be here soon.

Your mom let you go and pointed to a chair near the tree. You sat down and were handed some gifts. You slowly opened them, trying not to draw attention to yourself. The first gift was in a gift bag, and opening it exposed a colorful piece of clothing. You pulled it out and it was a sundress. Although you didn’t mind breaking gender norms, dresses were never your thing, they held too many bad memories and made you dysphoric. You frowned, not having the energy to fake a smile. You felt your mind start to spiral before a voice pulled you out.

“Oh, D/N do you not like it. I made sure to even get the right size and everything. I thought you could put that on and surprise your husband when you go home. Imagine how he would react to see his wife, finally coming to terms with herself.” Your grandmother called out, staring at you the entire time. You went to open your mouth when another voice spoke up.

“Actually, I think my husband looks handsome and perfect just the way he is in the suit he is wearing, but thank you. Maybe we can save the dress and give it to one of my students, I know one of them would get much better use of it.” Shouta’s voice boomed out, making a hush fall across the room. You never heard the front door open, but then again Shouta was very good at staying silent. You looked at your husband, feeling all your emotions and feelings starting to rise to the surface. You caught a dirty look your mother gave you as you stood up and made your way over to Shouta.

He held out his hand as you got closer and held it tightly, quickly bidding goodbye for you both as he quickly led you outside to the car that was waiting outside and still running. “I had Hizashi drive me over, hope that’s okay.” You just nodded at him, not letting go of his hand until you got into the car. As soon as you and Shouta were in the car, Hizashi sped off.

“Heya listener, how did it go?” Hizashi asked out, peeking into the mirror looking back at you.

“I lasted longer than last year, so that’s a new record at least.” You joked, trying not to cry. At least not now, you had to make it until you were home and in bed, with your husband holding you close.

Hizashi talked most of the ride home, while Shouta kept glancing back at you. You tried to listen to what was being said, but you couldn’t focus, so you just looked out the window, slightly dozing off. You woke up to the feeling of being carried, your eyes adjusted as you saw Shouta was carrying you into the house and to the bedroom. On any other occasion, if he was carrying you like this you were bound to tease or crack a joke or something, but in this moment you just stayed in his arms, gripping onto him tightly. Once you both got to the bedroom, he helped you undress and slip on something comfy. After he finished helping you, he quickly changed and climbed into bed, pulling you close to him and holding you tightly.

For a while, you just laid there in his arms, fighting back the urge to scream and cry. Though, after he comforted you and let you know it was okay to be upset and that you could let it all out. In which you did, you sobbed in his chest for what felt like hours. You screamed and sobbed and let out all the feelings you bottled up for the few hours you were at the family gathering. Eventually, you ran out of tears to cry and were only left with your own thoughts. You were overthinking, mostly dwelling on the words your family spoke out to you this evening, and couldn’t help but question if it was true.

“Sho...I’ve got to ask you something, kind of important.” You gently pushed away and sat up in the bed, looking at him. He stared at you, and nodded, letting you know it was okay to continue on. You took a deep breath and went for it, “Am I enough for you? I brought a lot of baggage and trouble into our relationship and I know it can’t be easy for you dating me, specifically with the backlash and comments that get made by my family and others about me transitioning and just. If you were with anyone else, I feel like you won’t get all this drama and I’m sorry I’ve brought so much of it onto you Shouta.”

You watched as his facial expression changed and you quickly looked away, finding interest in anything that wasn’t his face, afraid of what his reaction not only meant but the words that were about to follow. “Y/N, please look at me.” You slowly looked up and he placed a hand on your cheek. “I love you Y/N. I love you for you, you are my husband and I won’t want anyone else besides me. You are more than enough for me. And we both have a lot of baggage but that doesn’t change my feelings for you, we can work through it all together. I meant what I said in my vows and at our wedding and I still stand by it. Forever and always.”

You fiddled with your fingers before speaking up, “I love you Shouta so much, I’m just afraid one day I won’t be enough, cause as silly as it is, I don’t feel masculine or manly enough, that you’ll find more of a ‘real’ man one day and just leave me behind.” Tears filled your eyes and you looked down, just wanting to hide under the blankets.

“Y/N Aizawa, you are absolutely masculine and manly enough. I will never find anyone else or more a man than you. You are all I want, and all I need. I love you so much, don’t ever doubt my love for you, cause it is never-ending sweetheart.” Shouta spoke out, lifting your head up and placing a small kiss on your forehead before pulling you into his arms, holding you close. You just stayed there close, as Shouta whispered sweet nothings into your ear as you drifted off to sleep.

Shouta always made the holidays more bearable, but he also made life in general easier. He made waking up a little easier and helped with your hectic thoughts to calm you down. He truly was the love of your life and the best you could ever ask for. You couldn’t have gotten any luckier to have a husband as sweet and perfect as you. He may not be the number one hero to the rest of the world, but in your eyes and his heart, he was, he was your number one hero.