#moms being controlling telling me I can’t go to work tomorrow like this and yelling at me about it

[raeathnos]

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[starryblueeyesandstarryblueskies]

The Princess and The Pogue | J. M.

Pairing: JJ Maybank x reader

Summary: Your daughter comes home from school telling you about a local OBX fairytale. It turns out it’s about you and your husband.

Listen to But Daddy I Love Him for full experience

Requested by @idontevenknowbsblog

A/N: This turned out way longer and more angsty than I had anticipated but I’m a sucker for the angst. I just can’t help it. I’m sorry this took me a million years to finish!

As I am an adult, all characters I write for are written as adults. Any minor characters will be aged up to the general range of their actor’s age.

Warnings: allusions to domestic abuse, controlling parents, forced engagement, so much fucking angst, only kinda proofread

Word Count: 3.5k

-

Your daughter’s tiny feet press against the back of your seat as you head home after picking her up from school.

“Mia, stop kicking,” You laugh, “Mommy’s trying to drive.”

“Sorry, Mommy.” Your daughter giggles. “I’m just so happy today!”

“I’m so glad you're happy, Baby.” You smile at the five year old in the rearview mirror. “What did you do at school today?”

“We got to draw all our shapes today and we sang the alphabet song a bunch of times!”

“Ooh sounds like a fun day.”

She claps excitedly. “Oh and Kylie’s older sister told us a fairytale at recess!”

“A fairytale? Very cool. What was it about?”

“Did you know a princess used to live here? A long time ago. She ran away with a pogue because her evil king father wouldn’t let them be together.”

Your eyes widen at her words, a small smile forming on your face as she tells the story that takes you back to what seems like a lifetime ago.

-

“Mom, I’m headed out,” you yelled through the foyer.

“Ok, hun.” Your mom poked her head over the stairwell. “Just don’t stay out too late. We have that business lunch with the Cameron’s tomorrow and it’s very important that you be there.”

“I’ll be back in a few hours,” you promise, “besides I’m just going to hang out with Sarah.”

“We just love that you and Ward Cameron’s daughter are friends. It looks so good for your father’s business for the families to be close. Especially with you set to inherit the company someday.”

With Ward Cameron being the biggest real estate developer in the Outer Banks and your dad owning the biggest construction company, the two men worked closely on most of their deals. They were also the closest thing to friends that either of the men had. The two richest men in the island made for a powerful team.

“Glad I can help you keep up appearances,” you muttered under your breath.

“What was that, hun?”

“Always happy to help the family.” You gave your mother a forced smile and made your escape, slipping outside and into Sarah’s waiting car.

“Ready to go see your man?” She grins at you and you return the gesture.

“God, yes.“

-

You hadn’t expected to fall in love with JJ Maybank. Considering the very different lives the two of you led it was surprising the two of you ever even crossed paths, but that was one of the perks of being Sarah’s friend. When she fell in love with John B and got involved with the pogues she dragged you along with her.

It wasn’t like you had anything against the pogues. In fact, you had admired them from afar your whole life. Their freedom and adventures were something you envied, forever stuck in your kook bubble. You didn’t have a choice but to follow the plan your parents had created for you.

JJ, on the other hand, hated kooks with a passion. He had a hard enough time with Sarah joining the group and when she brought you in, arguably the even bigger kook princess with the even bigger kook king of a father, he vowed to himself he would never accept you. After all, you represented everything he hated, the life he always dreamed of but would never attain.

He would sneer and call you “princess”, his voice dripping with disdain, doing everything in his power to piss you off, but you didn’t mind. You loved his passion and the way he would do anything to protect the people he cared about. You ignored his insults, treating him just as well as you would anyone else.

Before he knew it, your soft words and beaming smile had softened JJ. He began to actually look forward to your presence in the group, feeling sad when you couldn’t get away from your parents to spend time with them. Then, one day the two of you were the only ones to show up to a pogue hang out. You ended up spending hours just talking and getting to know each other. The rest was history and you had been together from that day forward.

Unfortunately, you knew that your parents would never let you spend time around a pogue, let alone be in a relationship with one. So, like Sarah and John B, you and JJ had to keep your relationship hidden. Thanks to the help of the pogues, the two of you had been successfully seeing each other behind your parents’ backs for over a year.

-

“I’ll be back to pick you up at 8:00,” Sarah reminds you. She pulls up to the little cove where you and JJ liked to meet. “We only have a couple of hours tonight because of that lunch tomorrow. Don’t want our families to get suspicious.”

You nod. “Got it. I’ll see you then.” You slip out of her car. “Tell John B I said hi.”

“Will do.”

She pulls away as you make your way around the rocks hiding the entrance to your spot.

“Hi, princess.” Your boyfriend grins at you in the orange light of the sunset, pulling you into a hug.

“JJ,” You breathe him in, soaking up the comfort he gives you. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, baby. Four days without you is four days too much.” JJ leads you over to the blanket on the sand, sitting back so you can settle between his legs.

“I know. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t get away much this week. My parents are going crazy about this lunch tomorrow.”

“Aren’t they always crazy?” JJ jokes, poking your side. You squirm a little bit, trying to escape his prodding.

“I mean, yeah. They’re just extra crazy this week.” You settle further into his chest, JJ giving up his attack in exchange for wrapping his arms securely around you. He nuzzles his head into the side of your neck. “But, it’s okay because at least we have right now.”

“How long do we have until Sarah comes back to pick you up?”

You let out a sigh. “Two hours.”

“That’s it? Damn.”

“I’m sorry, J.” You look back apologetically, but he just shakes his head.

“Hey, don’t apologize. We just have to make the most of the time we have, like usual. It won’t be like this forever.”

“Right.” You give him a small smile, turning back to face the sunset before he can see the doubt in your eyes. You hoped JJ was right, but you had no idea how things would ever change.

As expected, your time together flew by too quickly and before you knew it Sarah was back to take you home.

JJ was reluctant to let you out of his embrace. “We’re still on for tomorrow night, right? After you finish up with all your kook business?”

“Of course, baby. I wouldn’t miss it.” You give him one last goodbye kiss, distracting him long enough to slip out from his arms. He pouts, but lets you go, knowing if it was your choice you would never leave.

-

You stare numbly at the wall, unable to will yourself to move from your position balled up on the bed. You aren’t sure how long you've been laying there looking at nothing. You didn’t feel anything, having cried out all your tears hours ago. A buzzing sounds from the other side of the room, your phone going off once again, but you don’t pick it up. It’s probably Sarah calling again to see if you’re okay after what happened at lunch. You’re not.

Having sat in silence for so long, you jump when you hear a rattling at your window. It takes you a minute to clamber over to the window with the lights out in your room. You hadn’t realized how dark it had become outside.

You peek out warily, trying to determine the source of the noise. “Shit.” You mumble under your breath as you realize JJ is perched in the tree closest to your room.

You unlatch the door so he can climb inside, turning away from him quickly. You’re thankful for the darkness in that moment as you scramble to make yourself look presentable, flattening your hair and wiping at your face. You pull down the sleeves of the massive sweatshirt you’re wearing, one you stole from JJ months ago, making sure you are completely covered.

“JJ, what are you doing here,” you whisper, “What if someone sees you?”

“I was worried about you. You were supposed to meet me hours ago, remember?” He sounds frustrated.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I totally forgot.” You run your hand down your face stressed. “I didn’t mean to stand you up.”

“You forgot? Y/N, I’ve been calling and texting for hours.” JJ moves closer, but you step back. “I thought something bad had happened.”

He takes another step back. Again you back away, trying to keep him from seeing your face. Brows furrowed, JJ moves towards you again. This time you can’t move away fast enough, bumping your dresser as you try to get away.

“Woah, wait.” JJ takes your face in gentle hands. “Have you been crying?”

“It’s nothing. I’m fine.” You try to pull away, but he doesn’t let you off that easily.

“Baby, what’s going on? Is it something I did?” The worry in his eyes brings a fresh wave of tears to your eyes. You shake your head, willing them not to fall.

“No, no. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Something with Sarah?” You shake your head again.

“Your parents?” That stills you. “It is your parents. What is it? Did something happen at lunch?”

You don’t answer.

“Talk to me, baby. I can’t make it better if I don’t know what’s wrong.” JJ’s voice is so sincere and his touch so soft. He really thinks he’ll be able to fix whatever the problem is.

You gather your strength and gently pull away from him, not wanting to see the look in his eyes when you tell him.

“My father and Ward Cameron have decided that it is in the best interest of their respective businesses for our families to be officially joined.”

“What on earth does that mean?”

You feel like you're going to be sick, but you force the words out anyway. “I am set to be married to Rafe Cameron.” You keep your eyes on the floor, waiting for JJ’s response. He stays silent.

“I had no idea they had this planned until my parent’s announced it at lunch.”

“What do you mean you’re marrying Rafe Cameron?” He tries to keep his voice calm. But you can hear the venom behind his words anyway. “You can’t just marry Rafe.”

“I don’t have a choice, JJ. They practically signed my ownership papers over to Rafe right there.”

JJ is pacing your room now, hands constantly running through his hair. “He can’t just do that. You’re an adult, Y/N. Tell him no.”

“I can’t tell him no JJ.” He stops in front of you, the look on his face half shock half anger.

“What are you talking about? You can’t just tell me that your father is marrying you off to Rafe and not even try to fight him on it.” You turn from his intense gaze, unable to handle it any longer.

‘Y/N-” JJ reaches for your arm to turn you around and you flinch back hissing in pain. Your sleeve rides up, revealing a number of dark bruises.

“I tried talking him out of it, JJ. He made it clear saying no wasn’t an option.”

JJ seethes, body tense with anger. “He hurt you.” It’s not a question which is just as well because you have no response.

“I’m gonna kill him.” He growls.

You lay your palms flat against his chest. “No, you’re not. We can’t make this situation any worse than it already is.”

“He can’t just get away with this!” JJ’s voice rises with his anger and you shush him quickly, looking back at your door.

“Please, Y/N.” His voice cracks on your name. “Things can’t just end like this.”

The pain in his words breaks your heart. You let the tears fall freely, unable to hold back the emotion any longer.

“I’m so sorry, JJ.” He cradles your face in his hands like he did at the beginning of the night. “There’s nothing either of us can do to change this.” JJ brushes his thumbs against your cheeks, brushing at the tears. “You should go.”

“No, Y/N.” He has tears running down his face too. “I can’t leave you like this.”

“Please, JJ. You have to go before something wakes him up. I don’t know what he’ll do if he finds you here.”

JJ’s eyes flit down to your wrists, taking in the bruises once more before he nods slowly. He won’t be the reason your father hurts you again. You lips press against his slowly, both of you pouring all the love you have for each other into the kiss.

“I love you,” you whisper against his lips.

“I love you, too. Always.”

With those last words, he slips back out your window, closing it quietly behind him. You watch as he climbs back down the tree and crosses the property. As he finally fades out of blue, you sink down to your floor, your knees unable to hold the weight of your body as it’s wracked with sobs.

-

You don’t leave your room for days. All you can do is lay in your bed and cry, mourning the loss of the man you love and the life you had planned.

If it was up to you, you would never leave that room. Unfortunately, your parents have other plans. They parade you and Rafe all over town, making sure everyone on the island knows the two of you are “madly in love” and engaged to be married in the spring. The whole pageantry of it makes you sick.

The cherry on top of the whole ordeal is the engagement party that you parents planned for the weekend. They rented out the whole club and invited every kook on the island. You’re pretty sure it’s your own personal hell.

Sarah pins one last curl to your head. “Done. You look beautiful.”

You give her a small smile that didn’t reach your eyes. “Thanks, Sarah.” You were dressed in a white sundress that your mother had bought for the party and Sarah had done your hair and makeup to perfection. The whole look was stunning, but you just feel like a trophy being shown off.

Sarah gives you a sympathetic look. “You ready for this?”

“No. But I have to be.”

It takes everything in you to keep a smile pasted on your face as Rafe takes your hand and leads you out to the throng of people. Everyone smiles and hugs you, offering their congratulations. You do your best to seem gracious and excited, but all you feel is emptiness and the faces move before you in a blur.

You make it two hours into the party before you can’t take it any longer. The panic that has been creeping up your throat all night takes hold and you have to break away. You excuse yourself from Rafe, claiming a need to run to the bathroom. He gives you a harsh look and makes you promise to hurry back, but ultimately lets you go.

You hurry away from prying eyes, not letting yourself break until you get inside. Chest heaving, you gulp down air like you’ve just run a marathon. One of your hands is pressed against your chest, the other braced against the walls to hold you up as you stumble towards the bathroom.

Before you can make it more than a few feet an arm catches you around the waist, pulling you into an alcove you had never noticed. You stumble back, trying to pull yourself together, not wanting whoever grabbed you to see your harried state.

“Hey, hey. It’s just me.”

Familiar hands rub up and down your arms, grounding you. You look up to see the blue eyes that you love so much.

“JJ,” you whisper, breaths still coming fast and hard.

“It’s okay, baby. Just breathe.”

JJ holds you close as you will your body to calm, feeling safe for the first time all night.

“What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you, talk to you.”

You sigh, looking at him with sad eyes. “As happy as I am that you’re here, you have to go. If anyone sees you. My father, or Rafe-”

“What if you didn’t have to worry about them anymore?”

“JJ, we’ve been over this. I can’t break this engageme-”

“What if we just left? You and me. Right now.” His eyes bore into yours, willing you to see the possibility.

You can’t act like you haven’t had the same thought yourself, but you just didn’t see how it would be possible. “How would that work, JJ? My father controls my whole life. My money, my future, everything.”

“You don’t need anything he has to give you, Y/N.” His voice is pleading.

“JJ…”

“We can figure it out. You have a degree, I have experience. We’ll get jobs. We’ll make it work.” He reaches a hand into his pocket. “I know I can’t give you a life like this-”

“I don’t want a life like this.”

“-but I will do everything in my power to give you a good life, to make you happy.” He holds up a simple, beautiful band of silver. “Will you marry me?”

You stare up at him with wide eyes. “Are you serious?”

“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. Say you’ll marry me. We can leave right now. I have a plan to get us off the island. Your parents won’t know until it’s too late. Just say yes, please.”

“Yes, yes.” You nod vigorously. “I’ll marry you.”

You rip off the gaudy ring currently on your hand and JJ replaces it with the silver band. He kisses you so deeply you think you see stars.

“I love you, JJ Maybank,” you whisper when you part.

“I love you too, Y/N Y/L/N, so much.”

You could stay in that moment forever, but you both know you don’t have time to waste. JJ begins to pull you to a side exit, but you stop him. There’s one last thing you have to do before you leave.

You find a piece of paper, scribbling out a few quick words and titling to your father.

Have fun explaining to the Cameron’s that your daughter ran off with a pogue

Y/N Y/L/N

You set the folded paper on the center table, placing Rafe’s ring next to it.

“Ready to get off this island?”

You grab JJ’s hand. “God, yes.”

-

JJ was right, the two of you figured it out. You both found jobs on the mainland and created a happy life for yourselves. You and JJ got married a few months after you ran off and Mia came along a few years later.

You had kept in touch with the pogues of course and they let you know when your father and Ward Cameron’s businesses had come crashing down, forcing the two men off the island. They had no power anymore, so eight years later you decided to move back to your home. People had gossiped at first, but they moved on to the next big thing when they realized that neither you nor JJ cared what they had to say. You wanted to be in the place where you grew up and fell in love, and you wanted Mia to be surrounded by the friends that you called your family.

Mia was just about bouncing in her seat by the time you got home. You hurried to get her out of her carseat so she could rush inside and see her dad. Friday’s were always her favorite because JJ got off work early and was already home by the time you brought her back from school.

She pulled you along by the hand as she continued on about her fairytale. “The evil king disappeared and they lived happily ever after.”

JJ scooped Mia up as the two of you entered the house, making the little girl squeal in delight.

“Daddy!”

“Who lived happily ever after, Mia-mine?” She giggled as he burrowed his face in her little belly.

“The princess and the pogue!”

JJ’s eyes met yours over Mia, giving you an intrigued look.

“Kylie’s older sister told her a fairytale at lunch about a couple that used to live on the island.” You tell him with a knowing grin.

“A fairytale? That’s awesome, baby.” JJ lowers Mia back down to her feet. “Hey, why don’t you go wash up and Mommy and I will make you a snack.”

“Okay, Daddy!” The little girl runs off happily.

You make your way to the kitchen, JJ coming up behind you and snaking his arms around your waist. “So the princess and the pogue, huh?” He smirks as you turn to face him.

“Who knew we’d become an OBX fairytale?” You reply.

“It makes sense. It doesn’t get much more ‘happily ever after’ than this. Right, princess?”

You give him a gentle kiss. “Right, pogue.”

-

Writing Masterlist

[johnsbleu]

Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader Chapter 151

warnings: none hmh masterlist

The stress levels in the house this morning are a little out of control. John is nervous, which makes you nervous, which makes him nervous, and it makes you even more nervous. It’s just a big ball of nervousness. It’s John’s surgery day tomorrow morning. It’s been a fucking nerve wracking few days.

You know it’ll go okay. He knows it will too, but you’re both still nervous. John is so nervous since he’s not ready to not have control over things for a while. He’ll be down and out for about three to six weeks they said, which really isn’t that bad in your mind, but to John, of course he sees it as a life of sitting on the couch while you and Ronan run around and have fun.

Unfortunately with him being so nervous, he’s been a little bit of an ass. He doesn’t mean to be, of course, but he is being one. You obviously have no problem calling him out on it, and now it’s escalated into a massive fight where the two of you are just arguing with one another. It’s been going on all morning now.

You went to your room to take a shower and get ready for the day, but John just followed you and continued arguing. At this point, you’re convinced he’s just arguing to argue. Probably just trying to air out his frustrations, but you’re not his emotional punching bag. His arguments don’t even make sense, but you don’t dare say that. You’re not an idiot. That’s how a real argument happens.

“John! Stop!” you turn around and put your hand out, “I’m so fucking sick of this. You’re yelling at me and taking it out on me. I’m not gonna continue to let you yell at me.”

“I’m not yelling.”

You roll your eyes, “You’re not now, but you were! You’re taking all of this out on me like it’s my fault or something. You called and made the fucking appointment, not me. That’s on you. So, what? Now you don’t want to get the surgery?”

“No, I just…” he drops his hands to his sides and shrugs, “I mean, yeah, but…”

You roll your eyes, “If you want to be in pain every time you play with our daughter, then so be it. I can’t tell you what to do.”

“But I want--”

“Obviously you don’t fucking want the surgery!”

John huffs, “I wasn’t going to say I didn’t. I was going to say that I want to be able to do things and I can’t if I’m sitting on the couch.”

You blow out a big breath and put your hands out like you’re calming yourself, “John, listen to me, it’s for three fucking weeks.”

“That’s a lifetime to me. I do so much around here and I won’t be able to if I’m on the couch for weeks.”

You know it’s not true, but you immediately jump to a different conclusion here, “Like I can’t run this house? You think I can’t fucking run this house or take care of you? Of Ronan? I know how to do my fucking job as a mom. I know how to clean and vacuum. I can take care of you two.”

“I didn’t say that!”

“No, you didn’t but it was implied!”

John turns around and walks over to the window and looks out, “I never said you couldn’t run this house--you already do. But you don’t know what it’s like to give up control. You don’t know what it’s like to have to take care of yourself your entire life, then suddenly just stop. You’ve always had someone to take care of you, so you don’t get it.”

“Growing up with a mom who worked six days a week and missed a lot of things with me and Tess, yes, I kind of get it.” you say, but he keeps his back to you, “We had to fend for ourselves a lot. I don’t blame my mom one bit. She did what she had to do to make sure we had a roof over our heads. I still had someone to take care of me, you’re right, but I certainly wasn’t coddled.”

John glances over his shoulder, “I didn’t mean it like that. You know I think your mom is amazing.”

“John, I’m not asking you to fucking move mountains. I’m asking you to sit on a damn couch for three weeks while your body heals.”

He sighs as he looks at you, “I’m supposed to take care of you.”

“I’m not doing this again.” you whisper, and he shakes his head, “We said we’d take care of each other. Why can’t you let me take care of you?”

“That’s not how it works.”

You laugh in disbelief, “It literally is. I take care of you. You take care of me. We take care of Ronan. That’s how it works. Why are you fighting me on this?”

John walks over and sits on the bed with his back to you, “I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“I’ve had surgery before,” he says, and you walk over to sit next to him, “But this is the first time I’m having surgery and have something I could lose.”

You furrow your brow, “You’re just getting surgery on your knee.”

“What if I crash?”

“You’re not going to crash, John. You’re completely healthy.” you tilt his chin up so he’ll look at you, “You’ll be fine.”

“Completely healthy people crash all the time.”

You nod slowly, then you look into his eyes, “But not you, I promise. I always keep my promises, don’t I?”

He’s scared. You get it. You’ve never had surgery but you’d probably be freaking out too.

“Look,” you turn to face him as you reach for his hands, “It’s not up to me. It’s up to you. Do you want to get this surgery? If you don’t, we can call and cancel. No big deal. We’ll figure out something else for the pain. Maybe some physical therapy.”

“No, I made the appointment. The doctor is expecting to see me tomorrow. I’ll still do it.” he says, then he looks at you, “You don’t think I’m a wimp, do you?”

You laugh as you lean over to kiss him, “Of course not. With my anxiety, I’d be way worse. I’d have packed my bags and ran.”

John lets out a small laugh as he wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you close so he can kiss the top of your head.

“I should go shower.” you whisper to him, then you get up and grab your towel off the bed.

“Hey,” John calls out to you and holds your gaze, “I know you can take care of Ronan and me, and I’m glad that it’s you that gets to.”

You smile as you nod, “You were just upset.”

“I’m still sorry,” his eyes soften as he looks at you, “I should be taking care of you though.”

“Don’t you think that I want to take care of you?

John laughs a little, “I’m a grown man.”

“And I’m a grown woman,” you say, and John nods. “But you’re my husband. I know that…let me choose my words wisely here, I know that you did everything when you were married to Helen. She was sick, I get it. But I’m not. I can take care of myself.”

John laughs when you close your eyes and groan, “What?”

“I just sounded like every teen drama show where the male main character is trying to protect the female love interest and she goes on about how she can take care of herself.” you roll your eyes, “You’re 16. Neither one of you can take care of yourselves.”

“Peach…” John laughs, trying to get you back on track.

You walk over and sit next to him again, “I know that taking care of the ones you love is something you do, but it’s also something I do. I love you and I want to take care of you, so just stop being stubborn and let me do it. Because, I know you know it, I’m really fucking good at taking care of you.”

“You are.” he bumps your shoulder and looks at you, “I’ll stop being stubborn.”

“For today.” you tease, which makes John laugh. You lean up to give him a few kisses, then you grab your towel, “I’ll be out of the shower in a bit.”

John nods, “I’m gonna get Ro up.”

“Okay.” you smile at him, then you walk to the bathroom. You stop and look over at John as he sighs deeply and his shoulders droop.

Unfortunately no pep talk or even arguing will help with his anxiety over this.  

__

You took Ronan to Tess’ house earlier this morning, and now you and John are just getting ready to leave. Ronan will probably come home to visit John when he’s released from the hospital but she’s going to be staying with Tess for a few days.

“Ready, babe?” you ask softly as you lean against the door frame.

John looks up at you and nods, “Yeah.”

He’s been so quiet this morning. You really feel bad. You almost feel bad for suggesting this whole thing in the first place, but he needs to have it done and he knows that. You both know that. And at the end of the day, you suggested it but John was the one to follow through and actually make the appointment. You didn’t pester him about it. He’s a grown man and made the decision himself. A decision you’re pretty happy about.

“At least you don’t have to stay the night at the hospital.” you whisper to him when he gets to you, and he smiles softly. “You just have to stay in a recovery room for a bit until the anesthesia wears off.”

John touches your cheek lightly, “I’m not upset with you.”

You exhale in relief and relax, “Are you sure?”

“If I didn’t want to do this, I would have canceled it by now. I need to get this done. I need to do it.” he says, and you nod your head. He looks down at his watch and kisses your forehead, “We gotta go.”

You grab your keys off the table and hold them, then you stare down at them for a few moments. It’s only been a week since your car accident and you haven’t driven yourself once. John has driven everywhere, and even when he drives, you still cling to the door handle. Now with John about to be recovering for a few weeks, you’ll have to drive. That scares you.

“Hey,” John’s hand gently rests on top of yours, “I’ll drive us there. It’s my left knee too, so I can probably still drive after.”

“Oh, hell no. You are not driving us home after having been put to sleep.”

John laughs, “I mean in a few days. I’ll be fine. We’re stocked up so much on food, I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere for a while. Maybe I should call Jimmy and have him drive us home?”

“I can do it.” you whisper to him, and he looks at you, “I can. I can be brave.”

“I know you can,” he smiles, then he leans down and kisses me, “You’re the bravest person I know.”

You scoff since that can’t possibly be true, then you smile at him, “Ready?”

“I am.” he nods, then he takes the keys from your palm, “But I’m driving there.”

“Fine with me.”

__

“I’m starving,” John whispers, and you frown as you nod.

He was told not to eat before surgery and since the surgery was scheduled for the afternoon, he hasn’t eaten since dinner last night.

“I’ll make sure to have something for you when you get back from your surgery. You’ll probably be offered dinner since it’s…” you look at the clock, “Noon. You’ll be out in about--”

The door opens as the doctor comes in, “Mr. and Mrs. Wick.”

John sits up and shakes his hand, then you shake his hand too.

“I see you’re ready to go, got changed and everything.” he says, and you smile since John dreaded putting on the ugly hospital gown. “You might want to take off your wedding ring and whatever jewelry you have.”

John slides his wedding ring off and places it in your palm, “Better keep it in a safe place, Mrs. Wick.”

You laugh as you hold it close to your chest, “Of course.”

“I just wanted to come in and let you know what we’d be doing. It’s a pretty simple procedure and a pretty quick recovery.” the doctor says, and you nod your head when he looks at you and begins to tell you how they’ll insert a small camera into John’s knee to be able to look around and examine his knee. When they find the tear in the meniscus, they remove it and sew him up. He’ll be sent home by the end of the day when the sedation wears off. “Pretty simple and quick. We’ll give you some simple exercises to do at home, but you really won’t be out of the game for long. You should be able to put weight on your leg by tonight, but we’ll give you crutches to help you get around, and I’d also avoid stairs.”

“Sounds good.” John says, then he looks at you.

“Well, someone should be in shortly to wheel you down to surgery. We have a waiting room right outside, so you’re more than welcome to sit and wait.” the doctor says to you, and you nod. He looks at his watch, “I need to check on a few patients, then I’ll be waiting for you.”

John shakes his hand, “Cool.”

You smile at the doctor as he leaves, then you look at John as you walk around the bed to stand between his legs, “I think you’ll be running around in the yard with Ronan in no time.”

“I miss her,” he whispers, and you nod your head. “You’ll FaceTime her when I wake up, right?”

“Of course.”

John rests his hands on your hips, “And you’ll be there with me right when I’m out?”

“If I could sit in on the surgery with you, you know I would. If I could lay on the surgery bed with you, you know I would.”

“I know,” John laughs, and you cup his face to kiss him. “I love you.”

You smooth his hair back and smile, “I love you too.”

A soft knock at the door pulls you away from John, and a young woman comes in with a wheelchair. She smiles softly, then she does a double take when she looks at you.

“Hi,” you smile at her, and she laughs a little. She’s the nurse you threatened to punch the night of your accident. You sent her flowers and a gift card to a nice restaurant in Oyster Bay since you felt so bad for threatening to hit her. Hopefully she understood that it was one of the scariest nights of your life.

“Well, I didn’t expect to see you here.” she smiles, then she gestures to your forehead, “Still healing?”

You touch your temple, “Just a tiny cut, but nothing makeup and my hair can’t hide.”

She laughs as she nods her head, then she looks at you, “Thank you so much for the flowers and gift card.”

“Yeah, of course. Thanks for not slapping me when I threatened to hit you.”

“Hey, I’m a mom. I get it.” she says, then she looks at John, “We’re ready for you.”

John groans quietly as he stands up and looks at you, and you wrap your arms around his waist and bury your face in his chest. He kisses your head as he rubs your back, then he gives you a long and soft kiss.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll be waiting.” you kiss him once more, then you stand back as he sits in the wheelchair. A smile immediately spreads on your face when he looks up at you with red cheeks, and you laugh, “Hey, you saw my give birth. This is no where near as embarrassing as that.”

John laughs, “It wasn’t embarrassing, it was amazing.”

You smile, then you walk beside him as he’s wheeled down to surgery, holding his hand the whole time. You press a kiss to the back of his hand when you get to the door, then you kiss him.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” John whispers, and you lean in to kiss him again. “I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll be here the whole time.”

You smile softly as you stand back and cross your arms, and he looks over his shoulder at you and waves before the doors close.

__

The hospital was freezing while John was in surgery, so you quickly ran out and got his sweatshirt from the car. You got several texts from your mom, Tess, and Jimmy, all asking how it’s going, and you told them all that he should be out any minute now. Tess included a picture of Ronan sleeping in her text, and you keep looking at it.

“Mrs. Wick,” someone says, and you look up to see a new nurse, “Your husband is out of surgery and in a recovery room. He’s still asleep, but should be waking up within the hour. You’re more than welcome to go sit with him. Room 306.”

“Thank you.” you smile at her, then you take your bag and hold tight to John’s wedding ring.

You head down the hallway to the recovery rooms, then you find his and slowly push the door open to see him asleep on the bed. You smile as you walk over to him and take his hand, and you lean down and kiss his forehead gently before putting your things on the little table in the corner. You push the chair up next to his bed and hold his hand, then you look down at your phone when you have another text from Jimmy--he’s very worried about his bestie. You decide to open a text group with your mom, Tess, and Jimmy.

Just got out of surgery. He’s still sleeping, should be up soon. I’ll FaceTime with Tess when he’s awake and feeling up for it.

You look back up at John and laugh a little since he’s probably getting such good sleep right now--lucky bastard. You put your phone aside and hold his hand, then you lean your head down and close your eyes.

__

Even in your sleep, you know John’s touch. His fingers trail up your cheek and tuck your hair behind your ear, and you smile softly before his thumb slides down your jawline to your lips. You press a soft kiss to his thumb and  slowly open your eyes to look up at him.

“Hi,” he whispers softly, and you sit up.

“Hi, how do you feel?”

John shrugs, “Fine. A little pain.”

You stand up and lean over to kiss him a few times, and he pulls you onto the bed with him. You’re on his right side, so you’re not worried about hurting his knee. He presses his lips to your forehead and keeps them there, then he slides his hand down your arm to your hand where it’s clutched into a fist. He pries your fingers open and lets out a small laugh when he sees his wedding ring hanging loose around your thumb.

“I kept it safe,” you whisper, then you hold it up so he can put it back on. “Does it fit?”

John nods as he looks at the silver ring on his finger, “Of course. Felt weird without it.”

“How long have you been up?”

“Oh, about…15 minutes. I ordered something to eat too. Should be here soon.” he says, and you snuggle closer to him. “You must have been tired.”

You nod and let out a small sigh, “I didn’t sleep very well last night.”

“Were you worried about me?”

“Of course I was.” you sit up and look at him as he smiles, “You’d be worried about me too.”

John nods, “Aboslutely.”

“I was just worried because--”

“Because I’m old.”

You look at him and roll your eyes, “You’re not old. I was worried because…you got into my head yesterday, I won’t lie. You talking about crashing just freaked me out a little.”

John reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear, “Well, I made it out alive, so you don’t have to worry about anything. I’m out, I’m alive, I’m just…starting to be in a fuck-ton of pain.”

“Oh, a fuck-ton?” you laugh as you walk over to the phone on the wall, then you push the button for the nurses station, “Hi, this is Y/N Wick. My husband has woken up and said the pain is starting to settle in.”

“We can bring down something for him in a moment.”

You nod and smile, “Thank you so much.”

John reaches out for your hand when you hang up, then he tugs it so you’ll lean down to kiss him. You grab your phone and show John the picture of Ronan sleeping, then you hold it up so you can FaceTime with Tess.

Tess’ face pops on screen as she runs and laughs, then she stops and waves, “Hey, currently running away from some kids.”

“Are one of those kids mine?”

“Yup!” she smiles, then she turns around and smiles, “She’s a little crabby today.”

You laugh, “I figured she would be. She didn’t sleep great last night either. None of us did.”

Tess grunts a little as she bends down to sit with Ronan, then she pulls her into her lap and moves the phone down, “How are you doing, John?”

“Pretty good. Just in a little pain right now but they’re coming with some meds for me.” he says, then he smiles when Ronan looks up when she hears his voice, “Hi, bug.”

Ronan makes a noise and looks up at Tess’ phone, then she squeals and reaches forward when she sees her daddy’s face.

You smile and hand your phone to John so he can talk with Ronan, then you get up and walk over to the nurse bringing in John’s meds and food. She tells you that it’s just ibuprofen and when he should take them and how many he should take.

“Yeah, after I eat, I think I can leave. Doc might wanna come check on me but yeah, I’m ready to get home.” he says, and you sit back down next to him, “I really hate being here.”

You lean over to look at your phone, “We’ll be home in a bit. If you don’t mind--”

“She’s your kid!” Tess laughs, furrowing her brow, “And I’m across the street. Of course I don’t mind. Just call me when you want me to come get her.”

“I can’t thank you enough.”

Tess waves it off, “Shut up.”

You laugh as you look at Ronan blowing raspberries as she sits in Tess’ lap, “Well, John is going to eat, then we’ll be home within, I’d say, two hours.”

“Okay. Just text me when you want me to bring her over.” she says, and you nod your head. She looks down at Ronan, “Say bye-bye to momma and daddy.”

Ronan looks at her and says ‘dada’, which makes John laugh as he eats his food. Tess laughs and presses a kiss to her forehead, then she hugs her tight as Ronan squeals.

“Bye,” you sing as you wave at them, then you laugh when Tess holds up Ronan’s hand to make her wave. You hang up and get up to put your phone away, then you sit on the edge of John’s bed, “You’re cool with her coming over for a bit?”

“Of course.”

You laugh, “We’re like part time parents.”

John laughs, “Yeah, let’s not keep it that way. I love our hectic mornings and late nights.”

“Me too.” you smile as you lean over to take a bite of his pudding.

“This is not filling at all.”

You cup his face as you laugh, “I’ll get you something on the way home.”

The door opens behind you, and you look over to see John’s doctor coming in.

“How are we feeling?”

“Pretty good.” John says as he sets his food aside.

The doctor looks at John’s chart and you finally get a glimpse of his name tag and nearly choke. Faartz. His last name is literally farts. John widens his eyes and shakes his head when you look at him, and you turn away to keep yourself from laughing.

“Mrs. Wick, you’re not the first.” Doctor Faartz says, and you look at him. “Trust me, I know. It’s an embarrassing last name. But you grow up with a last name like this, you learn to just roll with it.”

“I am so sorry. I’m usually so mature.” you say, and he laughs when you grimace.

Doctor Faartz laughs, “I actually love it now. Great conversation starter. My wife has a great sense of humor so she’s embraced it as well.”

You smile softly, “Then she must be pretty great.”

“You probably get jokes about your last name.”

“Oh, no where near what you probably get.” you say, then you look at John, “Most of the teasing comes from my brother in law always asking to start a candle company.”

Doctor Faartz laughs, then he sets John’s chart down and walks over to help John up, “I just want to make sure you can put pressure on your leg, then you’re free to go.”

John carefully puts more weight on his leg until he’s standing completely unassisted, “Yeah, feels fine. I mean, it hurts, but not too bad.”

“It might be a little more painful and sore tomorrow, so keep that in mind. Avoid stairs.” he says, and John nods. “You have kids?”

John nods, pride immediately filling his chest, “A daughter, yeah. She’s with her aunt and uncle though.”

Doctor Faartz nods, “Might want to keep her there for the night and tomorrow morning. You’ll be sore tomorrow.”

John nods, “Yeah, that makes sense. She’s 8 months, so she’s crawling a lot.”

“Oof, yeah, keep her clear of your knee.” he laughs, then he takes John’s chart and writes a few things down, “I have a pain killer down at the pharmacy for you. Take it with food. It may cause drowsiness as well.”

“Sounds good.” you say as you take the papers, then you smile at him, “Thank you for everything.”

Doctor Faartz nods his head and shakes your hand, “Of course.”

You walk over and get John’s clothes from his bag, then you grab the sweatpants you packed for him. He pulls the hospital gown off once the doctor has left, then he sits down and watches you as kneel down and help him put some socks on. You carefully put his sweatpants on each leg, then he lifts himself up so you can get them pulled up.

“I fucking hate this already.” he says, and you look at him, “You just had to put my goddamn socks on.”

“Jonathan, don’t start this right now.”

John sighs loudly and puts his shirt on, and he rolls his eyes when you put your hand out to stop him from getting off the bed. You step into the hallway to find the wheelchair waiting, and as soon as you come in with it, he rolls his eyes again.

“Don’t be stubborn. Just sit your ass down in the chair.” you say, and he looks at you. “Now.”

He does it, but not without a groan of annoyance. You know he secretly likes when you get bossy, so he’s probably eating this up.

“The crutches are down at the pharmacy, but the pharmacy is on the other end. I’ll have to drive over there.”

“Can you drive?”

You nod as you grab your bag and put it over your shoulder, “I’ll be fine.”

“Peach…” he reaches for your hand and holds your gaze, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” you nod, then you lean down to kiss him, “Don’t be stubborn.”

John laughs quietly, then he shakes his head, “I hate this, Y/N.”

“I know you do.” you sigh as you stand in front of him, then you get firm with him, “Let me take care of you, Jonathan.”

“I’m supposed to take care of you.”

You put your hand up, “No, we’re supposed to take care of each other. We got married and agreed to take care of one another. I’m pretty sure in our vows it said in sickness and in health, and we both agreed to that. I get it. You hate giving up control. You hate your wife taking care of you for whatever sexist--”

John furrows his brow, “You know that’s not true.”

“I know. And we already had this fight.” you sigh, then you kneel down in front of him, “You’re only down and out for a bit. We’ll chill out on the couch, catch up on some movies, and just hang out. It’s fine, John. Ro will stay with Tess for tonight and maybe tomorrow, then I’ll bring her home. I know you miss her.”

“Thank you.” he whispers, and you lean in to kiss him. “For everything, peach. I mean it.”

You smile at him, “I’m your wife, it’s what I do.”

__

Holding tight to the steering wheel, you stare ahead at the hospital parking lot. Your heart is pounding in your chest as you cling to the steering wheel, and you feel John put his hand on your knee.

“You can do this.” he whispers, and you nod, “Just take it a little bit at a time.”

You gently push the gas and feel John grip your leg tighter. You turn slightly to the right to round the curve around the hospital, then you press a little harder on the gas.

“Good job, baby. You’re doing great.” John says, and you reach up to wipe the tear on your cheek, “We’re almost there.”

You slam on the brakes when a car pulls out in front of you, and John grips your leg.

“That was their fault. You’re okay.” he says, and you nod your head. “Keep going, sweetheart.”

You pull up in front of the pharmacy and put the car in park, then you grab your wallet and head inside to get John’s prescription and crutches. You run in quickly to get everything since you just want to get home and not have to drive anymore, then you rush back out to John and stuff the crutches in the backseat and hand him the meds.

“Can you believe that they almost didn’t cover the crutches?” you say as you put on your seat belt and start driving. “She said it’d be about $50 for some damn crutches until she saw our insurance covered it.”

“Yeah…it’s, yeah, ridiculous.”

You laugh and look in the rear view mirror as you switch lanes, “Thank god we have good insurance. Imagine if we didn’t when I had my hemorrhage, or when we had Ro. Yikes.”

“Costs about 14 thousand just to have a baby, and that’s a standard delivery. No private room. I remember looking up all that stuff when you first got pregnant. I was shocked.” he says, and you glance at him, “I am shocked. I am fully shocked, especially right now.”

You laugh as you turn down the road that leads to Mill Neck, “Why?”

“Just am.” he says, and you laugh again. “But yeah, we have great insurance so, that’s good.”

“Are you still hungry?”

John nods, “Yeah, but I’ll just order something when we get home.”

“Sounds good.” you say, then you turn the corner and head down the street to your house. You pull up to a stop and sit there when you realize you just drove from the hospital all the way here without second thought.

“So proud of you, mouse.” John whispers, and you look at him, “And shocked. See how easy it came back to you? The fear went out the window.”

You swallow as you look at him, then you nod, “I’m scared again. I’m thinking about the fact that I’m driving and now I’m scared.”

“You can do it, baby.” he whispers, and you nod as you look ahead. “You got this. We’re only a few blocks from home.”

“I can do this.” you whisper, then you press on the gas and drive through the intersection after looking both ways about five times. You drive slowly past the bookshop, around the construction, then you turn and head down the street, all while John squeezes your leg and tells you how proud he is.

As soon as you get into the garage, you put the car in park and exhale loudly as you relax back in your seat. John pats your leg and smiles when you look at him. He leans over and kisses your cheek, then he turns your face so you’ll kiss him.

“So beyond proud.”

You close your eyes and cry softly as you put your head on his shoulder, “I don’t want to drive again.”

“You will, peach. You like your freedom. You’ll drive again, but if you don’t want to in the meantime, I’m more than happy to drive.” he whispers, and you nod your head. He kisses you a few times, then he smiles when you quickly get out.

You get the crutches and help John out, then you wait to make sure he has his footing before you grab your bags from the back seat. You know he’d rather use the crutches by himself than have you hover, so you don’t. He wants to feel like he’s in control, so you allow him to walk on his own. He doesn’t put much pressure on his left leg, but he takes a few steps and winces in pain.

“Don’t bend it too much for today. We’ll just get you settled on the couch for tonight.” you say, then you jokingly roll your eyes, “I guess you can have the chaise.”

John laughs, “Oh, you’re so generous.”

You laugh as you hold the door open for John, then you put your hands out behind him in case he falls. If he does, you’re most likely going down too--he’s so much bigger than you. You close the door behind you and follow behind him as he walks his way to the couch.

“You’re doin’ good.” you say, and John scoffs.

You put your bag down and immediately start moving around the living room to get John comfortable on the couch. You grab some blankets and pillows, then you wait for him to move to the chaise to lounge out. He can’t quite move his leg, so you reach down and help him put his knee up on the couch, propped up by some pillows.

“Want some ice?”

“Yeah, that’d be good.” John says, then he grabs your hand when you start to walk away, “Thank you.”

You smile softly as you lean down to kiss him, “No need to thank me, Wick.”

Before leaving for the hospital you put an ice pack in the freezer for John. You grab it out and wrap it up in a kitchen towel, then you grab some water and John’s meds. He’ll need some food to take his meds with, but you’re sure he wants to see Ronan. You shoot a quick text to Tess to let her know you’re back and she can bring Ronan over, then you head out to John.

“Okay, what’s for dinner tonight?”

John opens his eyes and tilts his head up, “Pizza sounds ridiculously good right now.”

“It does, doesn’t it?”

“And that pasta they have.” he says, and you open the food delivery app to order some food. “And garlic knots.”

You laugh as you set your phone down, “Already ordered it all. Ro should be here soon too.”

John nods and watches as you gently place the ice pack on his knee. You sit down next to him and get the few papers the doctor gave, then you spending several minutes looking at the exercises John will need to do.

“Ooh, you can do some mini squats. Tone up that butt.”

John laughs, “What is a mini squat?”

You hop up from the couch and show John, and he laughs when you show him from the side angle too.

“Super simple.” you say, plopping down next to him. “You could get a butt like mine in no time.”

John laughs, shaking his head, “I’m pretty sure no one can have an ass like yours.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty good, huh?” you smirk, and John leans over to kiss you.

Looking out the window, you see Tess coming up the driveway with Ronan, so you get up and rush to the door since you miss her so much. As soon as Ronan hears you calling out her name, she kicks her legs and squeals loudly.

“Hi, baby!” you reach for her and kiss her cheek, “Oh, I’ve missed you so much.”

Tess smiles as she hugs you, “How are things?”

“He’s inside just hanging out.” you say, then you head in.

“Damn!” Tess snaps her fingers when she sees John on the couch, “I was hoping he had a cane instead of crutches so he could yell at kids to get off his lawn and shake it in the air.”

John laughs as he shakes his head, “I get it, I’m old.”

Tess sits down next to him and nudges his shoulder, “Nah, I just love to tease you.”

You bounce Ronan in your arms and walk over to John so he can hold her, then you glance out the window to see your food is here already--a perk of being well known in a small town. Quickly making your way to the door, you grab your food, then you bring it into the living room and immediately flip it open so you can take a piece of pizza. You didn’t realize you were so hungry until just now. John leans forward and takes the piece you’re offering him, and Tess sneaks a piece too.

“We’re going to Jimmy’s parents, but I just want to sneak a piece of this first.” Tess says as she gets up, and you smile at her, “We’ll be home around 8 probably.”

“Perfect.” you nod, then you pinch Ronan’s cheek.

Tess ruffles John’s hair, “Just text me and I’ll come get her.”

“Thank you again.”

“It’s no problem, goose.” she says, then she leans down to hug you, “We like having her. And before you ask, yes, Jimmy has asked about six times already today if I’m ready for another baby. He held Ronan for about two hours straight and is just in love with her. He’s begging for another baby.”

John chuckles, “And what was your answer?”

Tess shrugs, then she laughs, “We’re thinking about trying for baby number two this fall.”

You gasp as you look at her, “Tess!”

Tess laughs, “Yeah, but then I don’t really think I want to be pregnant in the summer. You were miserable.”

“Well, yeah, but Tess!” you get up and hug her tight.

“We’ll see. Nothing is set in stone, of course.” she says, and you nod your head, “Anyway, I better head home. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

You sit back down on the couch with John and grab the pasta that he wanted, then you grab another piece of pizza. Ronan is resting her back against the couch as she sits in John’s lap, and you lean over to kiss her before you get up and grab something for her to eat.

John has the remote and is picking something to watch, and he laughs when Ronan grunts a little, “Did you miss us today?”

“I bet she missed daddy.” you say, and he smiles before pressing a kiss to her head.

You hold up a little noodle for her to eat, and she takes it from your hand and tries to eat it but it doesn’t quite make it into her mouth the first few tries. You and John both laugh as you watch her, then you cheer when she finally eats it.

“Good job!” John smiles, then he takes another bite of his food and groans when he moves his leg a little, “Fuck, that hurts.”

“What can I do?” you ask, already standing up and going through his bag for the meds. You read the bottle and open it to take one out, “This says you might feel drowsy, do you want one now?”

John thinks it through before he shakes his head, “Not while she’s here. I just want to hang out with her before I take one and fall asleep.”

“Okay.” you say softly, then you put his pills back in the bag and set them in the middle of the table so Ronan can’t somehow get them. You reach over to give Ronan a few more pieces of food, then you sit on the couch and watch TV while you eat.

You’re starting to feel like the day is catching up with you, and all you want to do is sink into a warm bath and get into bed but you definitely can’t. You want to be up so that if John needs you, you can get up to help him.

Ronan starts to fuss a little, so you take her and put her on the floor to change her diaper, then you put her in her bouncer so she can play for a little bit while you clean up. You put the pizza and pasta away, then you throw away the rest of the garbage before you grab another ice pack for John. You gently place it on his knee and smile at him, and he grabs your hand and pulls you back to the couch.

“You look tired.”

“I’m okay,” you lie, then you look at John, “Just want to make sure you’re okay. Do you have to use the bathroom?”

John inhales and nods once, “I do.”

You get up and hand John’s crutches to him, then you follow behind him to the bathroom. You won’t sit in the bathroom with him since you don’t want him to be uncomfortable, but you’ll just be outside the door if he needs help. You close the door a little and hear John laugh, so you open it.

“What?”

“You’re so cute.” John smiles, and you roll your eyes as you shut the door a little. “Alright, I’m done, mommy.”

You open the door and roll your eyes again, “I’m just trying to help you without hovering.”

“I know,” he washes his hands and laughs, “You’re doing a good job, baby.”

“Thanks.” you smile softly, then you walk with him back to the couch. You see John wincing and clenching his jaw more as he sits down, so you grab the meds and hold it up, “Just take them.”

John sighs and takes the pill, then he drinks some water, “I just don’t want to miss anything.”

“I know, but look at her,” you both look at Ronan, then you laugh as she smacks her hands on her bouncer and plays with the attached toys. “She’s just hanging out. It’s only one day. She’ll be home with us tomorrow afternoon. And remember, this is a good thing. You had this surgery so that in a few weeks when she’s starting to walk, you can crawl on the floor with her and play.”

“A few weeks,” John exhales loudly, “Or six weeks.”

You sit down next to him and take his hand, “You won’t heal any faster if you don’t take the medicine and just rest and let your damn wife help you. You’re the most independent person I know, but for the love of God, just let me help you. Let me make your lunch and bring it to you while you lounge on the couch and heal. Let me do what you did for me after Ro was born.”

“I know, it’s just not in my nature to let someone else help me. I feel useless. I know I’m not, but that’s how I feel.” he whispers, and you smile softly, “I like taking care of you.”

“I like taking care of you. It makes me feel like you need me, it makes me feel…I don’t know, good?” you say, and John laughs. “I just love taking care of you just as much as you love taking care of me. It’s our job.”

John pulls you closer to kiss you, “You’re really good at your job.”

“Thanks.”

__

It’s been five days since John’s surgery and he’s doing amazing! He’s been doing some exercises with you every day. The first day he mainly just watched you work out and do them, but he eventually got into it himself. His movement in his left leg is really amazing and he’s able to get around the house without crutches now. He still doesn’t put too much on his left leg just to be cautious, but he’s doing really well!

Today is just a pretty rainy day but John is feeling very antsy from being confined to the house for the past few days, so the two of you decided to drive out to the Manhattan shop. He’s driving since you’re still a little freaked out and he’s been dying to drive for days now.

“How’s your knee?”

“It’s good.” John nods, and you smile at him. “How’s my peach?”

You smile at him and squeeze your eyes shut, “I’m good!”

“Good,” he takes your hand and kisses it, “Thank you so much for taking care of me.”

“Of course, babe.” you smile at him, “I like taking care of you. I know you don’t believe me, but I like it.”

John scoffs and shakes his head, “You shouldn’t have to take care of me.”

“Did Helen take care of you?”

“Well,” he glances at you, shrugging his shoulder a little, “Not really, since you know…”

You nod, “Yeah, well, I’m sure she would have, and I’m sure she did, you just don’t remember. She was your wife and I’m sure your vows weren’t that different from ours, which is to take care of each other. You’re so damn stubborn--trust me, I love that about you--but sometimes I wish you’d get that through your damn head.”

John laughs as he looks at you, “Okay, bossy, I’ll let you take care of me.”

“Thank you.”

“I can still wipe my own ass though, right?” he jokes, and you roll your eyes playfully when you look at him. He reaches over and ruffles your hair a little, “I get what you’re saying. I’ll let you take care of me, because you’re right, you’re really good at it.”

You smile so wide that your cheeks hurt, “That makes me feel good. I won’t hesitate to put you back in your place though if you forget that.”

John laughs as he reaches for your hand and kisses it, “Oh, trust me, I know.”

Pulling up in front of the shop, John parks the car and looks over at it. There are some racks of books outside on the sidewalk and a few people looking at them and even tucking a some into the crook of their arm before heading into the shop. You look over at John and smile at him, and he leans over to kiss you.

When you reach for the door handle, John puts his hand out to stop you, “Hey, I just wanted to--”

“You already apologized.”

John looks down, “Yeah, I know, but you need to hear it again.”

“I forgive you.” you whisper, and he lets out a small laugh. “We fight. It’s healthy. It’s normal. It’s marriage.”

John nods his head before looking up at you, “But you still deserve an apology. I am sorry for how I was talking to you a few weeks ago. I was just scared of losing you.”

“I know.” you turn to face him more, cupping his face and rubbing your thumb over his beard, “I tried my best to help--”

“You were perfect,” he whispers, and you close your eyes when he leans over to kiss your cheek, “You did so well, peach. You really did help ease my mind. I’m still sorry for talking to you that way.”

You start to laugh, “When we fight, you apologize for weeks. Even after we’ve talked it out and forgiven each other.”

“Because I don’t like to fight.”

You pull him to you and crash your lips to his, kissing him desperately. You lean your forehead against his and exhale slowly before you tilt your head back to look at him, meeting his heated gaze. You lick your lips and lean forward to kiss him again, and he smiles when you lean back to look at him again.

John slides his hand up your thigh and pulls you closer, “Can I keep making it up to you tonight?”

“Mr. Wick, I thought you’d never ask,” you put your hand on over your heart and smile, “Why, yes, you can.”

“Hate to break it to you, but…” he sighs dramatically and playfully, then he sits back in his seat and gestures to his knee, “You’ll have to be on top.”

You smirk when he looks at you, “Just where you like me.”

__

Thank you so so so much for reading! if you want to be added or removed from my taglist, let me know! <3

taglist:  @sakurachan-9​​​ | @beingnerdyissupercool​​​ | @ruby-octo​​​ | @aragornswife​​​ | @angie-20000

[sophism84]

You know we all arrive here on this planet without a guide book and we spend our lives trying to find out why we are here. And after this very long night of mine, I think I have figured my reason why I’m here. So like when I died, I was arguing w someone who literally was like you have to go back. And I was before then and just swelled up and showed them, look this is what I’m living through, I don’t want this anymore don’t make me go back. And they were like let me show you. But the sky was grey that day. The sun was not shining. They said the sun would shine tomorrow when I woke up. I said I was too sad, I couldn’t do it. It didn’t matter they waited for me to say yea. So I woke up to a nurse, an intubation tube and strapped to a bed. I don’t know how to describe those first five minutes other than why the fuck am I strapped down? Lol I can’t breathe lol

Anyway, I’ve met some wild people on the internet. People who are international, I would never speak to them in my normal life. We don’t run in the same circles. But these conversations apparently carry influence. To the point where I’ve heard my words in rhymes set to music, playing through my ear pod at work. And I’m like damn I like this song, then as the week goes on you remember. As if you’re brain is just saying “lol you like this because” this most recent memory escapade where it just HAD to remind me I have talked to this person lol made my memory of something that happened over ten years ago possibly so real.

I was talking to this person, who I now know who they are cause, anyway we were talking about our childhood, and I was like “no sorry I never grew up w that stuff my school was poor” and lord was it. We had teachers who hit us for discipline, my fifth grade teacher would crank the ac down to 55 if that possible, and yell at us that we were retarded and that he bets ours moms still wipe our butts, I remember my tummy grumbling and being so tired hungry and cold I just wanted to die lol and heck yes I reported him. Lol I just got moved classrooms where he walked me inbetween rooms where he put his hand on the small of my back pushed me into the new room and told his friend the new teacher I needed a teacher who “talked nicer” lol cause IM THE PROBLEM lol okay!

Anyway someone close to me in 2000 did something illegal legally lol which is funny that saved my life. I never knew they like actually loved me until they dd this and everything happened and now that I look back the industry they worked in and the knowledge they had, they def stuck their neck out. Anyway this person was in need. For something that was entirely out off my control. And I couldn’t do a thing. But I answered a couple more questions for this person on the internet. I don’t remember if I asked straight out. But this person on the internet helped out ny person. And how I found out was I was w my person and they were explaining what was going on now, and they said the thing that made it all possible. And let me tell you it didnt fully hit me in that moment. But I did feel like I had a secret I could never tell a soul, cause it might go away lol but damn did it throw my mind into wtf that’s not real like absolutely no way haha that’s insane. Lol but the craziest thing. My person and I are not close anymore. And they will never know that the reason they’re good now, is cause I talked w someone on the internet. But how do you repay someone for possibly saving your life or I guess literally. They don’t need to know how it happened to them and if they ever did there would be so many questions I couldn’t answer and they may never believe me cause it’s so crazy how could it be?

This is also the most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me. Out of any conversations I’ve had w so many people. I’ve heard more songs I would like to admit after my convos. Anyway. I guess that’s why I’m here? To talk to people and just see them live out their lives. And no one will know but me. Lol cause this is why I’m here. Not to be an asshole, but I’m tired. I don’t really wanna not be here anymore lol this shit not fun anymore.

On an unrelated note. I hate that we exist at the same time. I can’t tell you the depths of sadness when I realized everything and came to the conclusion. The one I have needed to arrive at. I will never admit it to your face. But I am so hurt and angry at god that we exist in the same time. Did you have to show up? Why would god do this to me?

The mostest best lovely thing is you might read this and you will never know it’s about you. And that makes me feel better.

[mrsman]

I don’t hate peter I hate how much he hurts me I wish I could make him feel what I feel of being rejected and abandoned so maybe he’d stop doing it to me but he theoretically knows and it’s a waste of time

I’m bidding for attention I won’t even get bc I blocked him on here so what is my issue what’s my damage well if he finds a way around it to see it then why stalk to that degree but not be with me it doesn’t click to me doesn’t make sense it infuriates me I just want to be loved why be so obsessed but not present so I set traps like a child

I am being childish I only consider one guy to be with and legit I don’t even want him I just want to feel validated that it would’ve been a good match and I wasn’t crazy for liking him and it wasn’t okay for those people to shame me for having the feelings that I had I’m so tired of feeling ashamed of my romantic feelings why can’t I love someone in peace why does it always have to be this way so desperate and shameful

Why do I have to carry this burden not only am I “too perfect” for the person I want to be with but he told me I’d be humiliating myself to take him back so I feel humiliated and I expect people to agree but no one does my therapist my friends my family all support me and say it’s okay and I’m brave to want to forgive him and continue but he doesn’t see it that way I guess and I can’t know different he doesn’t tell me different I was too chicken shit to acknowledge anything I felt we spoke about “in the spirit” and he responded in kind and I read rejection

I wanted him to forgo my words and show me some kind of movement some kind of change some kind of desire and he offers me closure instead it was like he twisted everything I said to fit his agenda yet again he wasn’t listening if the reality is that we are so connected and talking to one another then why is he still not listening to me I don’t want to yell and get closure by having you leave again I don’t want this door closed you want it closed stop asking me to close it because when I tried you refused and stuck your foot in the door that was you

You won’t let go now but you’re still not around and every day the space you used to occupy grows wider and gnaws at me it’s supposed to get easier right no it gets harder and more acutely painful more precise cuts in the gut and heart I am struggling so much without you but you don’t want to be here or you’d be here am i wrong about that? I even unblocked your number I don’t know why I prayed and God said it so I did it but that’s it and now what

I’m giving up on giving up I guess I’m just leaving the door open you don’t have to lunge for it or put your foot in it it’s open come whenever you like you have my permission I don’t want to care and try to control anymore but I have to care just not control and I’m struggling this is some of the hardest shit I’ve ever had to do and it irks me that I’m getting no foreseeable reward or relationship it’s like the echos are there like yea yea you love me it’ll work out but who can really say sure God and your dad and Alex and my mom and Susan but I can’t conceptualize it and I’m struggling so much

Everything is so difficult I don’t know how people go from being with their one the one the person made for them and just stop loving them or at least put the love away and move forward how do they do that I can’t figure it out and I don’t want to either I just want to protect myself by understanding at least that I’m not being stubborn I’m just genuinely doing what I’m being told is right and this is right we’re gonna be together right? Right. So I guess I sit and I wait. Yes you have my permission. I don’t want to give it yet unless you’re ready and willing but I won’t know I’ll never know until you speak up so I guess I’ll put down my answer as yes sure. If God says no wait then I’ll come back and take this down or change my answer to not yet.

Until tomorrow then.

3/5

[bitchyfoxymama]

Blinding Light - Avengers x F!Reader

Prologue

A/N: I wrote this prologue as a stand-alone story for an assignment in my 11th grade English class almost a decade again, I made it into an avengers story because why not! ANYWAY! this fic will take place after Age of Ultron; Pietro didn't die ok. I may make the chapters correspond with the movies and shows as well but I don't know yet. we shall see, also should I make a taglist??

Warnings: Typical MCU violence, attempted kidnapping, HYDRA, car crashes,

≿————-　❈　————-≾

Ever since I could remember, I knew I was different; given I had powers but that wasn’t the point. I knew I was different because I had this knowing feeling that I was destined to do great and save the world. Normal was never in my vocabulary growing up because my unique circumstance gives me the ability to control and emit electricity, blue electricity. My sister also has powers, she can read minds, and our mother, on the other hand, is just a regular human being while our father was quite the man, he was a SHIELD agent who fell in love with my mother. My father was a rehabilitated Hydra agent who was tested on and apparently got the ability to shoot energy out of his hands. He died after a mission went wrong. I was 16 and Marie was only a baby. I’m now 27 and life has been more than difficult, but what can you do in a world full of mystical beings?

I’m pulled out of my thoughts by my mother calling my name. “(Y/n), I need you to go and take Marie to the park, she’s been asking all day and I can’t stop working right now so could you please could you take her for just a few hours? At least until the sun goes down and then I can’t take the three of us out to dinner?”

“Yeah sure, that’s no problem,” I say putting my hair into a messy bun.

“Remember, no powers. We don’t need anything to happen like last time.” She says not taking her eyes off her computer screen.

“Hey, that was an accident, that asshole was getting too handsy and I had to show him I’m not one to be messed with.”

“Yes, I know but it caused a huge blackout that lasted 3 hours,” she says pinching the bridge of her slim nose, she took her eyes off the screen to stare into my eyes with warm, concerned brown ones. “We can’t afford to move again, besides Marie is starting to plant herself here and I don’t think I can do that to her, make her pack up and leave again. Just be careful, I love you.”

“I love you too, I promise no powers” I smile softly at her. “Now where is Marie anyway?”

“Right behind you, now can we go? I really want to perfect my swing jumping before tomorrow because I’m challenging this one girl in my grade.” She says smirking.

Marie was the spitting image of my mother, she had light brown, slime nose, soft warm brown eyes, and thin lips, while I, on the other hand, was almost identical to my father, (h/l) (h/c), with (size) nose, (size) lips, (e/c) eyes.

“Alright, miss bossy let's head out to the park so you can bring ‘Honor to us all��� by winning your little competition.” I grab my phone and we are out the door, walking to the park only a few blocks away from our small 2 bedroom house.

We reach the almost deserted park and I sit on a bench near the swings.

“Marie I’ll be right here, yell if you need me ok?” I tell her pulling out my phone and pulling up Tumblr and catching up on some of the fanfiction I had saved.

“I’m not a child (y/n) I’m 10 almost 11, practically an adult!” she says while walking towards the swings “But if someone tries taking me ill scream”

I just roll my eyes and continue reading. I get interrupted by a call from my mother.

“Hey mom”

“Hey sweetheart, I need you to pick up some milk and eggs on the way home.”

“Alright, is that all? Or do you need anything else?”

“No, that’s all, also how do you feel about Chinese for dinner?”

“That sounds great, alright I’ll see you when we get back I love you”

“Love you too honey”

“Bye.”

“Bye Bye.”

I go back to reading my Game of Thrones fanfiction sneaking glances every few minutes at Marie, but I don’t need to worry because she looks like she’s having the time of her life jumping off the swing.

A short time later I notice the sun starting to go down and become a horizon of pink, purple, and orange. We still needed to get the groceries mom asked for. I look up from my phone only to see a guy grab Marie and start pulling her towards the street.

“Hey, you a-hole! Let go of my sister now or feel my wrath!” I yell, feel my wrath? Really (y/n)?

“(Y/n), help!” Marie yells to me with tears running down her face. Her look is enough for me to disregard my mother’s words; I can already start to feel the electricity course through my veins.

“Oh? And what are you going to do little girl? Throw a soft punch to my face?” the creep asks, smirking.

“You wouldn’t like to find out, now I say this a second time, put my sister down, I won't ask a third,” I say calmly trying to keep it in, can’t let it out here in the open.

“I think I would,” creep says dropping my sister and charging at me.

At that moment everything goes in slow motion. Everything starts going back in regular motion when I hear a woman scream and I see the kidnapper on the grass passed out. I grab a Marie and we high tail it out of the park and run back home as fast as our legs can carry us.

≿————-　❈　————-≾

When we make it to our house I release the breath I hadn’t even realized I kept in. I hurried up the stairs, change my clothes and grab a duffle bag shoving in only the essentials and grabbing the stash of cash I had saved up from the tips I gained from my job as a waitress at the local cafe. I have to keep my family safe and the only way I can is by running away and staying as far as I can from them.

“So, this is it? You’re running away? No discussions? Nothing.” I jump. Mom.

“You know this is how it has to be. I screwed up! Big time and I can’t risk your safety for something I did!” I say “I promised dad that if anything happened to him, I would protect you! Both of you,” I kiss her cheek and walk down the stairs only to be stopped by Soojin.

“You’re leaving?” she asks with tears in her eyes.

“I have to protect you both somehow, by leaving this ensures your safety.” I pull her into a big hug “I love you, and don’t you ever forget that.”

Our mom comes down and pulls us both into a hug. “Here, take these, you’re going to need some mode of transportation, also there is about $2,000 dollars in the duffle in the back along with clothes. You can’t wear the things you have if you want to disappear.” I look up at her and grab the keys.

“Thank you mom, I love you so much” I give them both kisses one last time and run out the door to the old beat-up Ford pickup truck that was my father's. I hit the road only after changing into the clothes from the duffle bag which is a simple form-fitting tank top, black leather jacket, dark wash skinny jeans, and brown combat boots.  

≿————-　❈　————-≾

I was on an empty highway when a random pair of headlights pop up in my rearview mirror. The car had its blinders on. The next thing I knew, I was being rear-ended by a random car, I sped up trying to get away from them. I kept driving noticing I had lost them when I saw another car stopped horizontally in the middle of the two-lane highway.

“Shit!” I yell pressing on my brakes so hard I thought my foot would go through the car’s floor, but it was all in vain. The last thing I remember was the sound of my tires screeching and my windows breaking.

I hear a faint beeping, I try and open my eyes only to be met with blurry overhead lights and pressure around my wrists and ankles, once the blur eases I can see I was strapped to a metal table, both wrists strapped to my sides and my legs strapped apart. I look around the room and see two weird-looking men in white coats and a strange symbol over their hearts. They were mumbling something in a foreign language.

Struggling against my restraints I yell out to them “Why the hell am I here? And where the hell am I?”

“Well my dear you are here because you are the daughter of Elliot Jacobs are you not?”

“What does my father have anything to do with this?”

“Everything my dear, now if you’ll stay still, this will only hurt…..a lot,” the doctor on the right says while injecting me with something and darkness takes over my senses once again.

≿————-　❈　————-≾

When I wake once again, my head is pounding; it’s as though someone put a jackhammer on my head and turned it on. I turn to see the same doctors in the corner once again. While their backs are turned, I use my electricity to break the bonds and pull the needles out as gently as I can but even that doesn’t stop the pain. I wince sitting up on the table.

“Well it’s been fun boys but I think it’s time for me to go! Hope to see you never,” I say zapping them, only knocking them out cold. I run out of the room only to be stopped by 5 guards. I smirk and stomp my foot down sending a huge shock wave through the hallway. On my way out I spot another doctor who is about to notify more people of my escape.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, I just took out 5 of your guards with just a stomp of my foot. Now you go ahead and tell your boss or whoever you work for this if they ever try and come after me again, or my family I will kill each and every one of you. Slowly and painfully, I’ll make sure you feel each and every shock of electricity flow through you. Got it!” I tell him with venom leaking off of every word. “Now if you so kindly point to the way of my things and a car that would be wonderful, and one more thing, if you send anyone after me you’ll greatly regret it.”

He points down another hallway where I see my duffle and I head to the garage where I see a brand new black SUV. I grab a pair of keys off the hook near the door and unlock the car. I check the duffle bag and see that the money is still in there.  I drive out of the garage and into the rising sun. I knew I could never go back now, people were watching me, bad people, and if I wanted to keep mom and Marie safe that meant that from this moment on I was a ghost. No communications with them or the life I left behind, I’d do anything to keep them safe even if that meant breaking their hearts.

≿————-　❈　————-≾

I stopped at a gas station about 50 miles from where I was held. I walk up to the counter with my Arizona Ice tea and candy bar.

“So, where are you headed?

“Excuse me?” I asked confused, pushing up the sunglasses I was wearing to the top of my head.

“Where are you headed? A young girl like you must be headed somewhere for some reason” the cashier said.

“Well I don’t know where I’m going”

“Well, I tell you what, you can have that for free, and here’s a map.”

“Wow, that’s very generous of you,” I say taking my things. “I’ll never forget about this encounter, thank you” I put my things in the SUV and went to the hood, and open the map. It seems I’m in Trenton, New Jersey. Well looks like I know where I’m going now. New York gets ready for me, I’m a force to be reckoned with. I’m Y/n Jacobs and this is my story.

≿————-　❈　————-≾

[boldlyvoid]

Amethyst you so much

Summary: Spencer has had a crush on Y/N since she started working at the bau. She only ever works the night shift after a case, handling all the aftermath gracefully. one night, Spencer stays back and they strike up a conversation about rocks, causing their feelings to dig a little deeper.

Warnings: pure fluff, weed mention, hurt/comfort, grief and mourning

Word Count: 6.4K

Read on Ao3

Late nights at the office had become his thing since Gideon left.

He couldn’t bring himself to go home some nights without a game of chess, a cup of coffee, and the ambiance of the post case staff working. He would’ve had no idea about what goes on after they close a case if he didn’t stay behind most nights.

The phone rings almost every 10 minutes, and it’s always answered by the sweetest voice. The fax machine never turns off, and the most beautiful girl in the world is always running around placing papers in different places.

He’s been smitten with her since she started here, 2 years ago. Never seeing much of her since she was switched to the night shift, always wanting to just watch her from afar, never speaking to her unless he needed to.

“Yes, again we are so sorry for the door,” he can hear her voice from the back corner of the room. “Agent Morgan will be paying for that out of his paycheck, don’t worry, Mr. Kennings. We’ll be sure to remember your hotel when we’re in the area again. The FBI has a very generous budget for overnight cases. Of course, you have a good night too.”

She hung the phone up harshly and let out a deep sigh. He turned around to see her face in her arms, resting against the desk. She looked done, completely fed up. He would be too.

She looked up then, noticing that he was making eye contact with her. She awkwardly smiled and waved at him, “sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Spencer replied. “We asked for the key, I should have stopped him from kicking it in.”

She laughed then, walking over to his desk so she didn’t have to yell across the room. She sat on the corner of his desk lightly, “why do you stay every night?”

“Oh, um,” he wasn’t prepared for this. She had never talked to him before. She was barely able to even look at him when she used to place papers on his desk 2 years ago, now she was on his desk.

“I don’t like to bring the work home with me, it’s better to destress here before I go to my apartment,” he answered, half honestly.

She nodded slightly, “I get it. Luckily I go home in the mornings so the sun helps me feel better.”

“Going home in the dark isn’t fun,” she lightly smiled up at her.

“Do you want a coffee or anything?” She asked softly, “seeing as I am still your assistant as long as you’re here?”

He laughed lightly, “I would, but I’d like to join you in the staff room for it?”

“Okay,” she stood, straightening out her shirt as he stood as well.

He held the doors open for her, letting her walk out first, still smiling as she waited in the hall for him. Never being anything less than 1 foot from him for some reason, and he didn’t mind in the slightest.

“Do you like your job?” He asked lightly.

“Oh yeah,” she laughed. “It’s like customer service on crack. Have you ever had to explain to someone why you can’t pay for the cracked foundation after Agent Morgan’s ransacked a place?”

“I honestly never thought of who has to deal with the aftermath,” he awkwardly admitted to her. “I’m so sorry.”

She couldn’t stop laughing as they entered the kitchen, “it’s fine. I never have to apologize on your behalf, it’s everyone else who seems to be reckless. Sometimes I feel like it would be better if I came along to babysit.”

“That would be helpful,” he smiled softly as she entered the staff room.

He watched as she took a new coffee filter out of the cupboard. Emptying the coffee pot with ease, rinsing everything before adding the water and scooping in the grounds. He was mesmerized by how fast she was able to do it, then again it was sort of her job.

“What mug would you like?” She turned to him with a smile that made his heart skip a beat.

“Um, the purple one, if it’s there?”

“You really like purple, huh?” She teased him, standing on her tippy-toes to reach the mug for him.

She placed it on the counter before grabbing a white mug, it had a bumblebee on it, “bee happy” written along the top. It was perfect for her.

“Purple is a stress-reducing colour,” she explained. “When I was a kid my parents painted my room purple so that I’d sleep better.”

“I’ve always been drawn to it.”

She leaned against the counter while the coffee pot started to percolate, “Probably because of your anxiety, coffee doesn’t help that.”

“It’s in my DNA to be like this,” he tried to joke, knowing he succeeded when her smile crept back onto her face.

He was on a mission to keep seeing it.

“For someone who spends a lot of time with dead bodies, creepy places and bad people, you sure are a mousy little thing aren’t you?” She teased him.

“I also love Halloween, go figure.” He’s not sure where the confidence came from, being able to make light-hearted jokes like this was only easy with the team.

Which she technically was a part of. He’s seen her almost every single day for 3 years, slowly being able to get comfortable enough for this very moment.

“What else are you into, outside of here?” She asked honestly, making his heart swell as no one else had ever asked him before.

“Lots of things,” he sighed. “I love to read, I’ll read anything. But mostly I enjoy far-off worlds. Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Sherlock mostly.”

“No supernatural?” She gasped. “Sacrilege, honestly. What kind of nerd are you if you don't support supperwholock?”

“That's the show with the monster hunting brothers right?” He tried to recall it to his mind.

She nodded with a pressed-lipped smile, “it’s bad but in a way where I can’t stop watching every Thursday, they just introduced an angel who is pretty gay. Star Trek is cool too, I guess, I was raised by Trekkies.”

“My mom was into Doctor Who.”

“Mamma’s boy,” she teased him slightly, returning her focus to the coffee as she poured the now finished brew into their mugs. “She was nice when she came in that one time, I made her a very sweet coffee just like yours.”

He reached for the sugar then, poring a generous amount into his mug with a grin, “how much do you like?”

“the same amount,” she couldn’t help but laugh. “I hate the taste of coffee, but it keeps me awake.”

He poured the sugar into her mug as she places a spoon in each. Allowing him to stir his own before picking it up finally. Holding the warm ceramic in his hands, it was almost as warm as the feeling in his chest when he looked at her.

He’s felt it for a long time. He’s been caught staring at her by Derek, JJ even tried to get him to give her his number. Which she already had for when she calls him into work in the middle of the night. They knew he had a crush, he did too. He just didn’t know what to do about it.

“Come to my desk, I want to show you something?” She asked softly, avoiding eye contact as she walked towards the door.

He followed, like a lost puppy, all the way back to her desk. It was always neat, he always looked at it when he made his way up the stairs to the briefing room. He could even see it from where he sat at the table sometimes. Always wanting to see her leave in the mornings.

She had a collection of rocks that always changed, he loved the blue one the most but it wasn’t there currently. She had all new ones since the last time he looked.

“Here,” she hands him one. It’s brown and gold, the colours moving and shifting as he turns it with his fingers. The gold running through it like a beautiful wave.

“what’s this for?”

“It’s a Tiger’s eye, for good luck and happiness,” she smiled. “Keep it at your desk and maybe it’ll be easier for you to relax when you come back?”

The butterflies in his chest were swirling then as she looked up at him with pleading eyes. Wanting him to take it, wanting him to feel better. Caring for him.

“Thank you,” he barely whispers, clearing his throat softly. “It’s very nice of you.”

“You’re always nice to me, so,” she shrugged.

They sat down then, he dragged his chair from his desk over to hers. Sitting in close as she explained all the meanings to her rocks. He listened carefully, getting to examine each one as she spoke.

“This one is Jade, it’s for balancing emotions and allowing compassion so I don’t scream at everyone on the phone,” she laughed as she placed one in his hands. Her fingers brushing his palm softly.

It was a beautiful green stone with a thin white line running through it, separating into 3 directions as he flipped it over, “it’s beautiful.”

“I know some people don’t believe in this stuff,” she started to get embarrassed as she placed them all back on the shelf. “But I’ve always thought; if the moon, which is just a rock, can control the water, and humans are 70% water, then who’s to tell me the moon cycles don’t control my emotions and these smaller rocks can’t help problem areas?”

“You’re not wrong,” he shook his head softly as he thought her words over. “People depended on the stars and planets for guidance originally, as well as rocks and herbs for healing, just because it’s outdated doesn’t mean it doesn’t work?”

“Thank you,” she smiled. “No one has ever agreed with me that easily.”

“Anytime you want to talk, I’ll just be over there,” he pointed at his desk. “And I’m a phone call away?” He swallowed sharply at his boldness, trying to stay calm as he awaited her answer.

“I do have your number,” she smiled, reaching out to place her hand on his. “But you should go home, I’m sure you’re chilled out now.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, staring at her hand as they touched. He lightly wrapped his hand around hers, holding it slightly, running his thumb over her knuckles. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“And every day after,” she whispered, tilting her head as she smiled at him.

This was going to be interesting.

—

Penelope was always dragging him out. She would take him shopping, to dinner, to the movies. She was like his big sister, dedicated to making sure he wasn’t always cooped up or trying to retreat into a fantasy life.

She kept him busy.

She had 4 bags in her hands as they walked down the street, peering into the store windows to see what else she could possibly be interested in taking home for someone. That’s when they passed the natural health store.

He stopped in his tracks, seeing all the different rocks on the wall accompanies by little cards that described how they could help. He opened the door and rushed inside before Penelope even noticed he stopped following her.

“Good afternoon!” The shop owner called out to him. “How can I assist you today?”

“Um, the girl I like has a rock collection,” he says softly, knowing Penelope is behind him listening. “Crystals more specifically, I’d like to get her some?”

“Well, you came to the right place,” the man beams, escorting him to the wall of rocks. “What is she like?”

“Wonderful,” the words are carried out of his mouth on a sigh as he thinks about her. “She’s confident and nice, and caring. She’s always positive and just so lovely.”

“I’ve got you,” the man starts picking rocks off the wall and placing them in his hands.

Spencer follows him to the desk where he lays down a handful of rocks, Penelope is shockingly quiet as she stands beside him, staring at the collection. She’ll be full of questions later, all of which he is terrified of.

“This is a rose quartz, pretty basic love, beauty, anti-depression stone,” he pushes the pink and a green rock towards him. “Serpentine is for new adventures, observation and insight. I have a feeling you’re up for an adventure with her?”

Spencer nodded enthusiastically, “I like that one. It would be better to get her some rare ones, some that have to do with friendship, new beginnings, or opportunities?” He tried to explain his feelings as best as he could. Not knowing if he sounded dumb for a change.

The man smiled wide, “here,” he dipped below the counter and dug out a box. “Chrysocolla is literally for new beginnings, love and opportunity.”

He hands Spencer a vitreous, raw blue stone with small green marks running all through it, it’s beautiful like her. “This is perfect.”

“I’ll throw in a Kiwi Jasper as well, it’s for being by someone's side, support and trust. As well as a Ruby in Zoisite it symbolizes finding the joy in life with someone,” he hands Spencer two equally beautiful stones, prepping a bag and wrappings for all of them.

Spencer lays out the 5 stones he picked out, watching him wrap them with care before placing them in a bag. He rings everything up, Spencer pays and before he’s even out the door Penelope is pouncing on him for answers.

“Who?!”

He can't help but blush and stutter, trying to brush past her and continue walking down the street. “You can’t hide forever Spencer, who is she?”

“How do you know it’s a she?”

“You literally said so?” She looks at him like he’s an idiot. “Come on? I won't tell anyone!”

“Y/N.”

The gears are turning in Penelope's head as she tries to place a face to the name, knowing she’s seen her somewhere, “From the office?”

He nods softly, “the one Derek bullies me for staring at?” He clues her in more as they walk.

“He also bullies her for staring at you,” she adds with a smile. “She’s going to love those, when are you going to give them to her?”

“I was thinking about just leaving one on her desk every day? Maybe with a note for why I picked it?” He really wants to woo her, she’s too special to just flirt with.

“She’s going to love that.”

—

Sure enough, he walked into work every day for the next week, placing a rock on a sticky note on her desk. He was never around when she was able to see it, only knowing she got it when he'd arrive at work the next morning with a note reading 'thank you ♥︎ ' on top of his files.

He thinks about her all weekend, planning how he'll give her the last rock as he takes the elevator up that morning. Only to see her sitting at her desk, phone pressed to her ear as she tried to talk someone out of suing the FBI, she looked absolutely miserable. Just a casual Monday morning for her, almost at the end of her shift.

He rushed over to his desk, putting all his stuff down to dig one of the rocks from his satchel. Picking the Kiwi Jasper for today, he grabbed a pen and a sticky note and wrote her a little note.

“Always here if you need to talk, -Spencer ♥︎”

He walked over to her desk, she was still talking so she didn’t notice him until he was right there, she looked up at him with a thankful smile.

“Yes sir,” she answered the person talking to her. “Can I call you back after I speak to the chief? thanks.” She hung up on him, turning all her attention to Spencer.

“I know you know it's been me leaving these, but I brought you in another one,” he says softly, placing the rock in her hand and sticking the note to the shelf where it would end up.

“oh my gosh, Spencer?” She placed her free hand on her heart as she looked at the rock.

“You looked upset?”

She stands and pulls him into a hug, he can feel all the eyes on him as he holds her back, letting his chin rest on her shoulder as she squeezes him.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she pulled back, awkwardly smiling at him as she also noticed everyone staring.

“Always,” he smiled back, hand still resting on her arm. “Um, I have a case I need to get to.”

“Of course, good luck,” she smiled.

He pulls the tiger's eye out of his shirt pocket, showing her that he still had it, “kinda hard not to have good luck with this.”

She bit back a smile, her eyes gleaming as she took a deep breath through her nose. Releasing the same feelings he was keeping inside, allowing both their butterflies to swarm out together.

—

He loved when they had cases in Virginia. Being able to stay in the bullpen and work was relaxing, it was easier to think where he felt safe.

He was working on the geo profile all alone, a huge map stretched across a clear case board as he laid a yardstick across it. Drawing a thick red line with marker over it, in his own little world as he worked away.

He doesn’t realize she’s standing there too until she’s lightly pressing her hand on his back.

“Hey,” she whispers softly. “It’s 10 pm, thought you’d like a coffee?” She places the purple mug on his desk with her purse, turning her attention back to what he’s doing.

“Thank you, I’m almost done here,” he says softly, finishing the red triangle he was making on the map.

“I’ve always found it fascinating how you do this,” she complimented him. “You’re so careful.”

“Like baking, it’s an exact science,” he smiled softly.

It made her giggle slightly, placing her hand back on his back as she moved in closer to look. He wanted her to stay there forever, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to focus. He tried his best to steady his hand as he finished the line.

Putting the yardstick back down and turning to her, she doesn’t move her hand, instead, softly moving to rest on his arm as she stands close to him. “How are you?”

He feels nervous for some reason, it’s not like she hasn’t been this close to him before. It’s just that she’s close and she smells wonderful and he wonders if her lips would be a better wake-up call than the coffee she brought.

He realizes he’s staring at her lips when he licks his own, “I’m good,” he furrows his brow and clears his throat with a nod.

She smirks at him, “how come you’re the only one still here? Hotch said it could wait till tomorrow?”

“I was waiting for you,” he admits, “but I got carried away setting this up, I never heard you come in?”

“Cause I didn’t,” she scrunches her nose slightly as she straightens her stance. “I saw you working hard and went right to get you a coffee.”

“You’re wonderful,” he blushes as the words slip out, trying his best to keep eye contact when all he wants to do is kiss her.

She pats his arm slightly as she backs up a little, grabbing her bag from where she set it on his desk. “I’m going to set up for the night, come talk to me before you leave?”

“Of course,” he says as she walks away, letting out a small sigh as he realizes just how badly he wants her.

He never gets to talk to her before he leaves, she’s on the phone when hotch comes storming in. Saying something about another body and making Reid leave with him. He’s busy for 3 days straight, thinking about her with every free thought he’s able to squeeze in.

He carries the rock from her in his pocket everywhere he goes; in his pants beside his keys, in his bag with his books, in his breast pocket, over his heart, behind a bulletproof vest. Feeling it press against his chest, a part of her keeping him safe where ever he went.

They finish the case with minimal damage, Spencer specifically making sure that Derek leaves all the doors on the hinges for Y/N’s sake, cleaning up any messes they make so she won’t have to hear about it over the phone. They all notice that he’s doing it for her, quietly appreciating the fact that Spencer is happy for a change, that there’s a glimmer of hope in his eyes again.

He arrives back at Quantico 30 minutes before her shift starts. Everyone else is packing up for the day while he sits at his desk, reading to occupy the time before she comes in.

Only she doesn’t.

30 minutes pass and she’s nowhere to be seen, it’s only 9:02 by the time he starts to panic. Wondering if she’s okay, hoping she’s just in the elevator or grabbing a coffee that’s actually good, somewhere outside of the office.

“Reid,” he hears Hotch calling him from his office door. “She just called in, her grandmother passed away last night so she won't be in.”

“Oh,” he furrows his brow, looking at him with confusion. “How did you know?”

“Penelope,” he smiles. “She’s still here too, and she knows where Y/N lives.”

“It wouldn’t be weird to go see if she’s okay?”

Hotch just smiles at him again, “go see her, Reid.”

Getting her address from Penelope felt a little weird, but she writes it on a sticky note for him and he’s out the door before she can even pry into what he’s going to say. Which is good, because he doesn’t know yet.

It’s late, but he stops by the little rock store on his way to her house. Seeing the lights still on and the same man from before behind the counter.

“Welcome back,” he’s overly cheerful for it being so late. “How did she like them?”

“She likes the ones I’ve given her so far,” he smiles, looking over the wall himself this time for the right one.

Scanning past every emotion and affirmation known to man as he looked around, picking out a beautiful pink Rhodonite for healing grief, supposedly acting as a hug from emotional troubles. And a Rainbow Moonstone for inner peace, harmony and strength.

“She’s lost someone recently?” He asks as Spencer places them on the counter.

“Her grandmother,” he says softly. “These are good, right?”

“They’ll be perfect, we also have amethyst bracelets, they’re good for healing and drawing in positive energy,” he points towards the small display of bracelets. Small purple stones separated with small gold beads.

He picks up 2 of them, placing them on the counter as well.

“Is she still just a crush?”

Spencer laughs lightly, “unfortunately.”

“She might be more after this,” he smirks, ringing him up. “I’ll give you a 2 for one deal on everything, I have a feeling you’ll be in a lot.”

Spencer thanks him as he pays, picking out a small purple bag for the rocks and bracelet. Placing one on his own wrist before leaving. Also picking up some cookie dough ice cream and a card at the corner store just beside her apartment. Remembering all the times Penelope, JJ or Emily has mentioned it being the best ice cream for crying.

He takes a very deep breath before knocking on her door, hoping to every god out there that she doesn’t find this incredibly inappropriate and weird.

“Spencer?” He hears her voice before she even opens the door, looking out the peephole at him.

She whips the door open, eyes puffy and swollen as she looks at him in shock. She’s in a big sweater and shorts, tears dripping down her cheeks as she shakes her head at him.

“I thought you could use some cheering up?” He awkwardly smiles, holding the ice cream up for her to see.

She wraps her arms around his middle, burying her face against his coat. Still crying as she holds him, he holds her with his free hand, shushing her as he presses his cheek to her head.

She pulls back with a sniffle, “come in,” she offers with an arm out, ushering him inside the small room as she closes the door.

He takes his shoes off, handing her the ice cream so he can take off his coat and satchel too. “This isn’t weird right?”

“Not at all,” she laughs slightly through the awkwardness. “You don’t know how much it means to me that you care this much.”

“I brought something for you,” he says as he struggles to dig everything out of his pocket.

He hands her the card and the little purple bag, seeing the overwhelming glance grow on her face. Her eyes grew wide as he mouth opened, speechless.

She opened the card first, reading the passage about grief that was already provided. Dealing with grief was something Spencer knew too well, adding something a little special to the bottom of the card.

“To live in hearts we left behind is not to die,” -Thomas Campbell. As long as you remember her, with a smile on your face and love in your heart, she will always be with you ♥︎ Spencer

She wipes her tears with her forearm, placing the card on the counter beside the ice cream before she opens the bag. She pulls out the bracelet first, absolute shock on her face.

“Spencer?” Is all she can say, in a high squeak as she shakes her head at him.

“I didn’t want you to be sad,” he says softly, stepping into her space and placing a hand on her arm. “I love seeing you smile, and I thought this could help.

He takes the bracelet from her grasp and places it over her hand. Resting it on her wrist softly, straightening it out against her sweater as she notices the matching on over his shirt sleeve.

“Oh this is so cute,” she swoons. “thank you, really Spencer.”

“And there are some rocks for grief healing in there too, one is supposedly like an emotional hug which should heal the grief and sorrow, and the other is more for inner peace and harmony,” he rambles away, not wanting her to miss anything.

She pours the rocks from the bag, into her hand, looking them over silently with a smile, “they’ll look great on my desk.”

“The purple looks nice on you too,” he compliments her, watching her eyes drift up to him.

She places the rocks on the counter before wrapping her arms around him once more. This time he’s able to actually hold her back, tight as possible as he rubs his hand over her back.

She smells like home, clean laundry and happiness. She’s soft and warm, he holds her perfectly against his chest, like she was a missing puzzle piece that someone finally found under the table, she fits into his life like she was supposed to be there.

She kisses his cheek softly before she pulls back, causing him to pull her into a real kiss on impulse. Connecting their lips as she sighs into the contact, melting into his grasp as she kisses him back.

Her lips are soft, fitting between his own gently as she breathes him in. Her hands reach up to grip his cheeks, kissing him again and again, placing pecks to his lips and cheeks with her eyes closed as he giggles.

“Thank you,” she whispers against his lips, “for everything.”

“I’d do anything for you,” he whispers back, kissing her one last time before she pulls away.

“I was actually about to smoke some weed on the fire escape and probably cry some more,” she laughs lightly. “would you like to join me?”

“I’ll stick with a bowl of ice cream,” he smiled awkwardly.

“Nice one,” she laughs as she opens the ice cream.

“What?”

“Oh, you didn’t even get the reference you made,” she laughs lightly, “to get high you smoke a bowl, so…”

It makes him smile, “I'm a comedian part-time.”

He makes her laugh again, loving the sound of her giggle replacing the tears. “Why aren’t you this funny at work?”

He thinks about it for a little, watching her scoop the ice cream into two bowls, “it’s a little hard to make jokes when people's lives are on the line, I know everyone else does but I get too focused.”

“They probably wouldn’t appreciate your jokes even if you did make them,” she says as she handed him a bowl with a spoon. “They’re kind of mean to you, in a family way but it still sucks sometimes to overhear.”

She walks into the living area then, grabbing a few blankets and opening the window to the fire escape. Crawling out to sit on the ledge, waiting for him.

“I don’t mind it,” he says as he finally sits down beside her.

She places the blanket over their laps, both of them sitting criss-cross applesauce as they ate.

“Do you like your job?” She asks him, just like he once asked her.

“Most of the time,” he nodded as he got brain freeze. The cold air, the cold ice cream, everything that was catching up to him as he scrunched his face up at the feeling.

She laughs at him only a bit before she’s also attacked by the brain freeze, holding the vein in her neck as she chokes out another laugh, trying to warm up the blood going to her head so the pain would stop.

They’re both just a mess of giggles together, unable to say any words as they let it all out. She leans her head on his shoulder lightly as they calm down to just soft chuckles. He presses his cheek against her head.

“Thank you, Spencer,” it sounds like she’s crying a bit. “My grandma was a lovely woman, she’d be glad I’m laughing right now.”

He reached out a hand for her to hold over the blanket. She interlocked their fingers softly, both cold from holding their ice cream bowls.

“If she was anything like you, I’m sure she was the most wonderful woman,” he says softly, not intending to make her cry but having a feeling he might.

“Would you be interested in holding me on the couch while I cry?” She asked softly, tears in her eyes as she looked up at him.

“Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”

—

He’s late for work the next morning.

Waking up to the smell of coffee, opening his eyes to a strange view. He’s on a couch he doesn’t recognize in a room he doesn’t know too well.

Then he remembers, they ended up cuddled up on the couch. He wakes up to the memory of her on his chest, crying softly as they listened to some music, he ran his hand over her back while she went through it all, blessed to have his support.

He fell asleep under her at some point, waking up alone with a blanket laid over him. He sat up to see her in the kitchen, pouring coffee into a travel mug.

“Good, you’re awake,” she smiles at him. “Coffee is ready, I uh, I have this button-up shirt from a guy friend, if you wanted to wear that to work today? So they don’t think you stayed here?”

“That’s smart,” he replies as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes.

Getting up, he uses the bathroom, changes and takes that coffee from her. He’s not expecting her to kiss him on the lips at the door, but she sends him off to work like an old housewife.

He doesn’t want to pull away from her, keeping her pressed against him as he leans in for 4 more kisses before she finally pushes him out into the hallway with a laugh, “get to work!”

“Fine,” he sighs, “are you going to be in tonight?”

“Yeah,” she smiles, “funeral is in West Virginia next week, so I’ll be in until then.”

“I’ll see you later?”

She nods slightly with a soft smile, “you’ll be seeing a lot of me soon, Spencer.”

“Good,” he winks at her before heading down the hallway and towards the street entrance.

He sighs as he walks outside, resting his back against the apartment complex door, taking a moment to think about everything that just happened, the night of company and the wonderful send-off.

It was something he could get used to.

He rushes into the briefing room when he arrives at Quantico, sitting down with his coffee and pretending he wasn’t late. Listening carefully to JJ’s presentation of the case as he flips through everything he missed already.

“Wheels up in 30,” he heard Hotch say as he zoned back in. “Nice of you to join us, Reid.”

“I know that travel mug from somewhere,” Derek said as he stared at Spencer, who was taking a sip to avoid the awkwardness.

“Hmm?” He played dumb.

“That’s Y/N’s. She washes it every morning when she leaves to go home, I see her do it every morning,” his eyes open wide. “Holy shit.”

“Isn’t that the same tie and slacks from yesterday?” Emily teased him as well.

“Her grandma died, I brought her ice cream and slept on the couch okay?” He all but yelled, flailing his arms slightly so they’d all back off.

Derek reached his fist out for him to pound it, “good man.”

Then Penelope noticed the bracelet, “did she get you that?”

He sunk his hand into his pocket then, “no.”

“What?” Emily and JJ asked in unison, straining their necks to try and get a good look at what she was talking about.

He nervously held his arm out for them, showing them the purple bracelet resting over the sleeve of his shirt. “I got one for her too, it’s for healing and peace. It’s what she needs right now.”

“Oh, so you love her,” Derek smiles as he teases him. Making everyone else in the room swoon slightly.

“Okay and?”

“Oh my god!” Most of them shout at him, embarrassing him to no end. He was so glad she wasn’t at work this morning or else she would be able to hear this from her desk.

“Did you kiss her?” Rossi pries, asking what everyone else was thinking.

He scrunches his face, pushing his glasses up slightly as he clears his throat, “a few times.”

“Is she your girlfriend?” JJ kept the questions coming.

“Not yet,” he said softly. “Kinda weird to walk into her apartment while she cries to say ‘hey sorry about the death in your family, want to date me?’”

“Yeah,” Emily agrees, shrugging lightly. “At least she knows you like her now, it’s been what? 2 years?”

“2 years, 3 months, 17 days and 43 minutes,” he confirms with a small nod and pressed lips.

“Gross,” Derek teases him.

“The plane is leaving in 10 minutes,” Hotch cut into their fun.

Making them all gather their things and continue the interrogation in the elevator, and eventually on the plane, and in the police precinct. Even Penelope called him in the middle of everything to bug him about her.

The questions were never-ending, everyone wanted to know how they even started talking, who made the first move, how he plans to ask her out. They were relentless, he almost regretted admitting to anything.

They bug him all throughout the day, all the way until they’re arriving back at the BAU late that same night. He almost doesn’t want to go back to the bullpen and see her with all of them, knowing they were going to follow and say something.

She’s waiting in the hall when the elevator doors open, a pressed-lipped smile on her face, “bad news.”

“Another one?” Hotch sighs, “have Garcia send us the info. Be at the table in 10.” He pushes his way out of the elevator, passed them all as they stare at Y/N.

“Hi?” She awkwardly waves at them all, showing off the bracelet on her wrist.

“See ya, Spence,” JJ and Emily say as they matt his shoulder, dragging Derek and Rossi towards the bullpen doors.

“Sorry,” he apologizes for them softly, stepping into her space.

She wraps him up in a quick hug, keeping one arm around his waist as she guides him towards the bullpen, “it’s fine, they’re going to have to get used to us being together.”

“Together?” He repeats her words.

“I only cry on my boyfriend's shoulders, if you're up for the title?” She teases him softly, pinching his side as they walk towards the doors.

“Can I frame “Dr. Spencer Reid, Y/N’s boyfriend” beside my Ph.D.’s?” He keeps his hand on her shoulder, holding each other slightly as they walk towards her desk. He felt like one of those kids who wouldn’t let go of their girlfriend's hand in the school hallway, attached to her at the hip.

“I’ll make one for you while you’re gone,” she laughs lightly.

They stop at her desk where he sees all rocks he got her collecting on the shelf, as well as a cup of coffee and his favourite kind of donut.

“Thought you deserved something nice too,” she says as she nudges his side.

He kisses her on the cheek as a thank you, “you’re welcome,” she smiles to herself. A feeling of pride growing in both their chests.

“See you later?” He asks as he picks up the coffee and donut, walking away slowly as she smiles at him.

“Come home to me safely, Doctor Reid,” her voice is just loud enough for everyone in the briefing room, where everyone is waiting at the window, watching them, deciding to put on a show in return.

He stops on the steps to look at her softly, “I’d fight a thousand unsubs to come home to you.”

“I’ll leave the light on,” she blows a kiss at him, making him blush a deep red.

He waves, making his way up the steps and into the briefing room. A smile on his face, heart thumping in his chest, all the support in the world swarming around him as everyone patted him on the back.

That tiger’s eye really did bring him good luck and happiness, and her name was Y/N.

[honklore]

invisible string | dreamwastaken

(requested plot by red string of fate soulmate au, dream is still a streamer, reader has commitment issues, dream just wants someone to love, chat is the best wingman, sapnap and george try but they suck, reader is timid but dream makes them feel brave, taylor swift references, this is not very deep or poetic at all, i don’t like typing y/n so after this i’m going to move to ___)

listen to: invisible string by taylor swift

In kindergarten, red strings were simply a crafting tool, and teachers never mentioned how much pain they would eventually bring.

Because when they appear, from a child’s eighteenth birthday and beyond, they tighten like a godforsaken high school ring that came in one size too small. Like the universe is a child tugging their mother towards the ice cream truck, you’re pulled around central Florida, passes faces you can’t memorize and voices too garbled to hear.

The string knows where you need to go, and when.

And you’re at the park, feeding ducks and trying to ignore that incessant pull that tugs at your pinky, when you hear it.

It’s a voice you know only because it’s a voice that’s been in your house before. At least, through your brother’s tablet screen. Some gamer online — a streamer, with a distinct wheezing laugh that you’d recognize anywhere.

And you do. Behind you.

You risk a small peak, and your heart drops into your chest. He’s tall. Too tall to not intimidate you. And his sandy hair is wavy, curling at the collar of his sweatshirt, falling perfectly into place when he runs his hands through it. When he does, you see it, the red string.

Which means he could see it too. All he’d have to do is turn around.

But you’re not ready. You haven’t been, not since you watched your cousin get rejected on her eighteenth birthday. Since you watched a string of fate get clipped in front of you, like the three fates had finally had enough of your cousin’s happiness.

It was enough to make you curl into yourself, and reject the natural pull set before you. So you run, and you try not to think of what would’ve happened if he saw you before you saw him. You try not to feel the clippers, but the blade feels tangible against your skin.

You don’t stop running until you arrive home.

“Hey chat, just wanted to do a few practice runs and catch up with you guys,” Dream mumbles into the mic, already restarting his game after deciding he didn’t like his seed. The donos begin rolling in, even before Sapnap and George have unmuted, so Dream flits his eyes to the display screen, subconsciously reading along with the text-to-speech voice, “Dream, what if we shared a string of fate? Ahaha, just kidding... unless... love you bestie.”

Dream chuckles, “Actually chat, I felt a tug today! Isn’t that weird? I was actually reading up on what that could mean, and it seems like either my soulmate is in a lot of distress, or they were in my vicinity. I’m hoping, for their sake, it’s the second one. How would you even comfort a soulmate if all you can do is tug on a stupid string?”

“Simp!” George finally unmutes just to be annoying, and Dream knows soulmates are a touchy spot for him, considering he wasn’t given a string on his eighteenth. Which is strange, but not impossible. Of course, chat doesn’t know this, because it would give them more hope of becoming George’s metaphorical soulmate, but it certainly makes for awkward conversations once Dream and Sapnap get into their own soulmate bonds.

“I’m not simping, George!” Dream feels a bit defensive, because he’s genuinely just curious. He has no interest in meeting his soulmate right now. At least, that’s what he tells himself. He has his streams, and his friends, and chat. He’s fine.

[abbywastaken donated $10: dream why don’t you go back to where you felt the pull and see if you feel it again? that’s how i found my soulmate. okay luv u bye.]

“Thanks, Abby. Love you, too. Um, honestly I was in a pretty public place, so I don’t know if they would even come back anytime soon. Also, this is Orlando, right? Tourists are everywhere.”

Sapnap snorts, and Dream thinks it’s funny, since he’s in the other room. “Just say you’re a coward and go.”

“I’m not!” Dream says. “It was just a small pull, okay? It wasn’t even a big deal.”

He feels another lurch when he says that, but this one is in his chest. It taps against his heart, a quick reminder that it beats for someone else, and he needs to watch his words. “Okay, it was a big deal. Sort of. I’ll go tomorrow, okay chat?”

Chat is spamming all types of messages, from encouragement to jealousy. Dream manages to read off a few donos and create his first nether portal of the stream. He answers as they appear, eyes scanning for a fortress. “No, I didn’t see them… I’m not telling you guys where I was, that’s weird… I’m wearing a sweatshirt and jeans… Hi, Sarah and Patrick…”

He trails off as the donos do, and works at getting blaze rods. George is talking about a riddle he just learned, and he’s trying to trick Sapnap into saying something stupid.

Lost in his own thoughts, he finally closes the stream after a hasty goodbye. “What if I missed my chance?” He asks the two boys on the other line.

“It’s a string of fate, Dream,” George says. “You didn’t miss your chance.”

“Maybe they saw how ugly you are and ran away,” Sapnap says, completely joking, but the thought lingers in Dream’s head.

Did they feel the tug, and run away?

You pour cereal for yourself, and when your brother shuffles into the kitchen, you make him a bowl as well.

He’s eleven, and as little brothers go, he’s pretty chill. Aside from the inappropriate jokes and hogging the bathroom when you have to get ready for work, you like hanging around with him.

You pass him his bowl, and he grins. “I’m gonna watch Dream’s new video on the TV, since mom’s not home.”

You furrow your brows. Dream must be one of the dozens of streamers he likes. Maybe one of his friends will be in chat with him, and you will be able to connect a voice to a face. “Can I sit with you?”

He gives you an odd look, and it’s true, you don’t ask to watch videos with him often. “I guess.”

You eat a spoonful of cereal and settle into the couch while he gets everything ready. He clicks on a lime green icon of a little white blob man, and when the first video appears, you’re taken aback by the voice.

That’s the voice you heard. It’s this one, out of all the random men yelling about a block game. It’s Dream.

“Why doesn’t he show his face?” You manage, wanting information about the person that shares your string.

“What?”

“Like, he’s handsome, right? Why doesn’t he have a facecam?”

Your brother snorts. “Handsome? He’s never shown his face, Y/n. Don’t you know who Dream is? He’s like, super famous.”

“Oh.” You think of his golden hair, as sunny and soft as the glow around his entire being. His voice right now, joyous as he gets chased by his friends. “I mean, I don’t keep up with streamers.”

He begins to explain Dream and his friends, along with lore in their role play server, and it’s all interesting enough that you sit and listen, holding on to the little bits of information you can collect about your soulmate.

You file these facts in a secluded corner of your brain and try to make a whole person, along with the hair and the laugh and the intense music he plays as he gets hunted by his friends.

By nightfall, you’re following all of his socials and binge-watching his old streams, holding on to the way he speaks to his friends, and the fond way he replies to donos.

[dreamwastaken is live!]

You click on it, bundled underneath your covers as if someone might see you and find out your secret.

“Hi, chat! I know I was just live yesterday, but I cut it too short and wanted to come talk to you guys.”

He uses his avatar to wave at the screen, and it’s kind of an adorable sight.

[gogysimp donated $25: did you go see your soulmate?]

Your heart stops. Does he know? Did he see you? Or even worse, has he already found someone else, and he just hasn’t severed the tie?

“No!” Dream’s laugh pulls you out of your worries. “I was busy with meetings today, actually. And I was too nervous. Sapnap also refused to come with me, so I’m just going to go another day.”

So he didn’t see you. He just knows you were there.

You click the donate tab before you can stop yourself.

[y/n donated $1: would you reject your soulmate if you didn’t like them?]

Dream mumbles the question, and you try to ignore the way your heart deflates when he skips saying your name. “I don’t think so,” he states plainly. “I mean, logically, a soulmate would be your other half, so I wouldn’t not like them. But I know some people just don’t click, or there are other issues. So, I don’t know. I guess the only thing I can say is that I don’t want to reject them. And I hope they don’t reject me. I mean, imagine finding out your soulmate is a Minecraft Youtuber. That would be pretty weird…”

You giggle to yourself as he trails off and answers another donation. So he’s against rejection. Okay. Maybe you have a chance.

[kyra donated $60: i’m your soulmate.]

“Meet me where you felt the tug, then,” Dream says sassily. “Chat, don’t be weird, okay? I can’t control who my soulmate is, and I don’t want you guys to exclude them if they become a pat of my life.”

Oh, you think. So his chat is vocal about their opinions, and apparently they mean a lot to him. You shiver despite your warm position and imagine how annoying you might seem to his loyal viewers: someone who only knew about him because of their brother.

Insecurity pushes against your chest, so you close the stream and push your phone away, hoping to forget this ever happened, that maybe you won’t have to deal with the inevitable if you don’t think about it.

Yogurt Barn isn’t the first place on your list of dream jobs, but it has decent pay and helps you pay off student loans, so you appreciate it nonetheless. The teal sweatshirt they gave you as a uniform keeps you warm as you scoop the frozen treats.

Your coworker, a girl named Madison, is busy manning the counter, so you check each flavor and refill the ones running empty.

“Can I ask you a question?” Madison met her soulmate, Anna, only days after she got her string. It was a textbook romance, two people meant for each other, no doubt in anyone’s mind. She might be able to help you now. That is, if you can even admit to who your soulmate is.

“What’s up?”

“I felt the tug,” you say, avoiding her eyes in favor of restacking the medium cups.

“No way!” Madison is perky in a way that makes you want to be included. You like this about her. “Did you see them? Did you talk to them?”

“He—” You want to say that the part of him you saw was perfect, enough to keep you up when you should be dreaming. But reality is nothing if not disappointing. “I ran.”

“Y/n…” Madison gives you a stern look — like a mother finding out their child didn’t defrost the chicken in time. “Why would you run?”

“I don’t want to be rejected.” The magenta swirls painted onto the walls are a stark change to the clay sidewalks of the strip mall. “And before you say he wouldn’t… It’s happened to my cousin. It’s possible.”

Madison frowns. “But that can’t be the only reason, right? I mean, we all know someone who has been rejected. It’s usually not the end of the world for them.”

“He’s a famous streamer,” you blurt, and you’re thankful the shop is as empty as it is. Just the words themselves sound fake.

Madison snorts. “Like, gaming? That’s what’s holding you back? He’s a gamer?”

“I don’t care that he’s a gamer!” You hiss. “I care that he has a loyal fanbase who more than likely all want to be his soulmate!”

“You can’t say that for certain,” Madison says. “I mean, everyone knows about the soulmate system. If you watch someone and don’t feel the pull, you know they aren’t your soulmate, right? So why wouldn’t they accept you?”

“I don’t know,” you say. “I’m just scared. I mean, he’s got this huge following and everything and I’m just me. I work in a yogurt shop for goodness’ sake.”

You head into the back to grab more cups, and the bell rings, signaling a new customer.

“Welcome to Yogurt Barn, what can I get for you?” Madison’s customer service voice pricks your ears.

You sift through the boxes to find the smaller cups and listen to the customer’s order. “Can I have a strawberry cone?”

Your string pulls, that same familiar voice filling your head, not on the screen but once again just a few feet away. He’s infiltrating your life, so close you could reach out and touch him, but it’s such a terrifying thought that you set down the cups.

You tear off your apron, and run into the break room to grab a water and calm yourself down.

It’s ten minutes before Madison comes back to find you. “Hey, are you okay? You disappeared.”

You take a deep breath and stare at the poster on the wall. It’s brightly colored, with a walking yogurt cup waving and reminding employees to wash their hands before scooping. “That was him. The guy— the pull— Dream— I can’t— Does he know? Is he following me?”

“It’s okay,” Madison runs her hand down your back. “It’s okay. He isn’t following you. When the pull starts it tends to draw the couple together until they meet. He probably doesn’t know it’s you.”

You nod and take your breaths in gulps. “Okay. Yeah, you’re right. You’re right.”

“Why don’t you go home early, okay?”

Dream is live again.

Fresh out of the shower, you pull a t-shirt over your body and burrow into your blankets. Earbuds in, you try to focus on the sound of his voice, ignoring every ounce of anxiety that’s been riddling your mind.

“Hi, chat. I’m gonna practice speed runs again. I think George is joining soon.”

You open the chat and scroll through the emotes, clicking the ones you like and sending them, just to calm yourself down.

[kylo donated $5: did you find your soulmate?]

Dream laughs. The sound makes your chest tighten with longing. Your fingers ache. “Actually, I went to the place I felt the pull again. I dunno what I was expecting, but they didn’t show up. But after that, I was running some errands and I felt it, chat! I felt the pull again.”

He trails off while his character starts to look for a lava pool. “I feel discouraged but I don’t want to like, chase them, you know? I don’t want to scare them off.”

You click the donation tab again.

[y/n donated $1: maybe your soulmate heard your voice and got scared of you because they watch your videos.]

It’s not the total truth, but it might help him sleep better. You don’t want him to feel discouraged, but you can’t bring yourself to follow the pull.

“That could be a possibility…” Dream crafts a portal and sends his character through. “But I wish I could talk to them. I wish I could tell them that it’s okay. Like, we don’t have to rush into anything.”

[y/n donated $1: They probably wish they could talk to you too]

“Thanks, Y/n.” He sucks in a breath as soon as he says your name. The Minecraft pause screen appears and the sound of a discord call can be heard.

Your heart pounds in your chest. Something about him saying your name just solidified everything. Your arms feel hot and cold all at once, like you’ve just been thrown in a frozen lake. He has to be feeling it too.

“Chat, I gotta go, okay? I’ll try to stream again soon.”

“Hello?” A sleepy voice comes in through Dream’s earbuds.

“George! Their name is Y/n!” Dream is so excited, his voice raising a few octaves as he talks. “Someone donated with that name and I felt like, super weird. I didn’t feel it until I said the name out loud.”

“That’s crazy,” George says, monotone but supportive. “Do you think the dono is actually them?”

“I don’t know,” Dream scrolls through their past donos and quickly screenshots each one. “I mean, they definitely could be.”

He shares the pictures in their group chat.

George hums. “It sounds like they’re trying to tell you how they feel without admitting that it’s them. Where did you say you felt a pull?”

“At the park, and at the yogurt shop down the road.”

“So go there again. Maybe all they need is a little courage. If you feel the pull this time, you should follow it.”

Dream thinks about it for a moment before finally agreeing. He changes the subject to their next jackbox stream, and George is now happily talking about how they’re going to team up against Sapnap.

He goes into Sapnap’s room that night. He sits on his desk chair while Sapnap sits cross legged on his bed, scrolling through his phone. “Do you wanna get frozen yogurt tomorrow? My treat.”

“Hell yeah!”

The new strawberry-lemonade custard is a hit. Not only are the colors aesthetically pleasing for the teenagers who want a nice snapchat story, but there was a promotional coupon in the mail that has people lining up to the door.

“It’s not even that good,” you tell Madison while the two of you are on break. You’re both using a sample spoon to try out the new summer flavors, and in your opinion, strawberry-lemonade isn’t even the best one. “Blood orange is better.”

Madison wrinkles her nose. “No, blue raspberry is best.”

“It’s sour, though,” you say.

“Guys! Break’s over and you’ve got a line!” Your manager stares disapprovingly at the cups of custard the both of you are indulging in.

“We’re coming.” You toss the cup into the trash and walk out, scratching at the sudden itch on your pinky finger.

Pulling on your gloves, you grab a scoop and address the first customer, “Welcome to Yogurt Barn.”

“Hi!”

You still like you’ve been caught stealing on camera. You look up, hand clutching the scoop so tightly you can feel the cold steel through your gloves.

It’s Dream.

It’s him. He’s tall, and his hair is a sunshine blond, dark at the roots and curling beneath his ears. And his freckles… little spots all across his cheeks so endearing that you get a little distracted staring at them.

Then he’s talking, and you have to focus on his jade-green eyes, not his lips, which are a warm pink. “It’s you.”

You blink. Fear strikes your spine and you drop the scoop. “I gotta go.”

“Wait!” Dream calls, just as Madison shouts your name.

You exit out the back door again. Your heart is pounding against your chest, ribs expanding, and all you can hear is the sound of your name coming out of his lips, just last night through a screen.

“Y/n?” Only it’s in front of you, a few feet away, and he’s searching your eyes for any reassurance that you won’t run away again. That you won’t reject him. “That’s your name right?” He keeps talking, a nervous smile flitting across his face. “The donos? That was you?”

You can see the string now, red and blaring, tightening with each step Dream takes. It’s signing off your fate, for better or for worse, and you can’t fathom why he’s trying so hard, why he cares so much.

It’s hot in Florida but you feel cold, chilled to the bone. You straighten up. You figure you owe it to him to look up in the eye.

He leaves you breathless, eyes shining in the sun. “It was me,” you say. “You’re Dream.”

“Clay, actually,” he says. His smile widens, and it’s magnificently bold. He’s triumphant, just from your reply, and that alone gives you the slightest bit of hope.

“Clay,” you say. “I’m— I’m not— I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“You don’t have to be.” Clay is quick to reply, hands open and palms up. It’s a complete surrender — putting it all in your hands. “We don’t have to announce it. We don’t have to be anything at all, if you need time. But I would like to be your friend. If— If that’s okay.”

But you want to be close to him. The draw of your strings pulling each other closer and closer makes you want to wrap your arms around him. If he hasn’t rejected you, maybe you can do this. “I– I want to be more than friends, but I’m terrified of you rejecting me. I’m afraid of the string getting cut.”

Clay set his brows, “I won’t let that happen. We’re connected. Fate, ya know?”

“Yeah,” you breathe, and it’s a sigh of relief. “Okay. Maybe I’ll give you my number?”

“I’ll give you mine!” Clay is animated, holding out his hand for your phone. “That way you can text me when you’re ready.”

The red string shines like gold in the Florida sun, and when your fingertips brush, it burns with a satisfying warmth.

[fatiguing-thoughts]

“Fighting and Making Up” -The Pack Preference

Request:  For preferences you could do a two part of what y’all get into fights about and then make up.

        I wasn’t sure how to do this exactly, but I wanted to keep it lighthearted! I hope you enjoy :) 

Jacob: 

It isn’t something that happens often, but when it does Jake has no issue telling you that you done messed up. 

“Why didn’t you tell me there was a problem with your car?” 

“Because you’re so busy, I know you’re tired from patrol and hanging out with me. I didn’t want to bother you.” I say looking down at my feet. 

“Well, now it’s worse and needs more work. Don’t wait to tell me when something is wrong.” He shakes his head in disappointment. 

It doesn’t get very intense, he just usually gives a mini lecture about how damaging it is to my car. Not yelling, but the disappointed, annoyed tone someone gives when they don’t wanna yell. 

It’s usually making up by sitting in the garage, bonding over fixing whatever is wrong with the car. Keeping each other company, talking, and eating snacks. 

Seth: 

Seth is a loving boyfriend, caring way more than you thought was possible. He gets upset with you when you get sick but push it off. It causes some tension and frustration because he doesn’t like seeing you like that. 

“Please, my mom is a nurse. Let her look at you.” He pleads.

“Seth, it’s just a cold! I’ll be okay.” I reason.

“You don’t know that, it could be anything.” He pouts. 

Eventually, a few days pass and you end up being worse instead of better.

“Maybe if you had listened to me the other day you wouldn’t be this sick.” He says, making you your favorite soup. 

A lot of times he’s just more upset that you won’t make it easier on yourself. It usually starts out with an argument like one above, but you guys make up as he takes care of you, refusing to leave your side. He makes sure you take your medicine, makes sure you get rest, and is always ready to bring you food and water. Oh, and a lot of cuddles, can’t forget the cuddles. 

Leah:

Leah and you don’t fight often, but it’s often when you overwork yourself or spread yourself too thin. 

“(Y/N), why did you say you can cover their shift? You’re already working a shift that day, call them back and tell them you can’t. Plus you agreed to help Seth with his math homework tomorrow morning. And you agreed to volunteer at the shelter. Plus you need to do your paper and study for your final, it’s your senior year of college.” She says, frustrated. 

“Leah, you know I can’t say no. They need my help!” I defend. 

“I know, but you can’t do it all! You need to take care of yourself, make sure that you’re helping yourself. You’re making yourself sick with how much you’re doing…” She grabs for my hand. 

“I know, I know. I can’t help it, I hate saying no.” Tears brimming my eyes. 

“I’m not trying to make you sad, you’re just spreading yourself too thin. I hate seeing you like this, you’re ready to explode at the drop of a hat.” She pulls me into a hug. 

“I know, I don’t know how to fix it.” I let the tears fall. 

“I’ll help you. We’ll get you through this, but next time-- don’t do this to yourself.” She smiles, kissing me on the forehead. 

Afterwards she helps you get your stuff done, helping take the stress off your shoulders. Though, she reminds you constantly to stop taking so many things on at once. The night is usually filled with hot chocolate and cuddling by the fire, including long and loving kisses. 

Paul:

It was no secret that Paul always had the hardest time out of everyone in controlling his temper. Though, after he imprinted on you it did improve vastly. The only issue with this is that now he was a ticking time bomb when it came to the subject of you. He was one of the most emotional and caring people you’ve ever met-- which is why he had such a hard time controlling his temper at times. It happens every once in a while where he gets too jealous/protective over you and goes off the deep end, just a bit. It usually goes something like this:

“Paul, stop being pissed off.” I sigh, walking in our front door from the party we just had to leave. 

“No, did you see the way he looked at you? He hugged you for way too long. You don’t get the way he looked at you. If I wasn’t right there he would’ve absolutely tried something.” He huffs.

“Paul, he was my chemistry partner from a class three years ago. He was just saying hello. That’s the first and only time I’ve seen him since high school. He just hugged me hello, albeit very long but… you’re the only one I see.” I look deep into his eyes. 

“You didn’t hear what he said before he came up to you! He told his friend that he used to wanna get you in bed, and then said he still would. I just hate seeing other people look at you like you’re an object.” He walks over, hugging me. 

“Well, Paul you can’t fight everyone who checks me out or says something in poor taste.” 

“I know, I’m sorry. I just lose it sometimes when it comes to you.” He sighs, closing his eyes. 

“I know, I know it’s because you care. I love you, Paul.” 

“I love you, too.” He kisses my forehead, pulling me into a tighter hug. 

Lots of cuddling and snacks ensue, by the end of the night you guys always make up. 

Embry: 

Embry and you have been inseparable since you were kids. You guys dated before his phasing, and thankfully he imprinted on you. He was always overprotective, worried about everything you did from day one, and now that he’s phased and imprinted, he knows the real dangers out there and his feelings have only gotten more intense. It’s not always an argument per se, but it usually ends with him worried when you go out into the woods alone or just with one of your friends. 

“Embry, she just wanted to go on a small hike. It wasn’t even at night.” 

“(Y/N), it doesn’t matter if it’s day or night. You should’ve told me so I knew to make sure nothing happened to you, I can’t fathom what I would do if something happened to you.” He trails off. 

“I understand, but I didn’t know we were going into the woods. She just asked me to go while we were at her house, it was just the woods behind her house. I didn’t know I was going to or I would’ve mentioned it.” 

“Well, you went pretty deep for Quil to find you on patrol. I just need to make sure you’re safe, I can’t let anything happen to you.” His voice trails off. 

“I didn’t realize how far we went until after. I’m sorry, Em. I can’t exactly say anything about vampires or the pack to her. I didn’t mean to upset you, it was just a nice day to take some pictures.” I look down at my feet. 

“I understand, I’m sorry for getting so upset with you. Just try to send me, or all of us, a text. Just in case. I need to make sure you’re safe, always. I love you.” He kisses my forehead. 

“I will, I’m sorry again. I love you, too.” I push myself further into his chest. 

It doesn’t happen often, but if it does you guys make up and often lay in bed listening to your favorite music. A lot of cuddling, talking about how much you mean to each other, and back scratches. 

  Jared: 

Jared doesn’t really argue, he’s a snarky guy but overall one of the sweetest people ever. The one thing that always gets under your skin though is whenever you guys have somewhere to be or something to do, he always needs “five more minutes” to wake up. This wouldn’t always be such a huge deal if it was actually five more minutes, but after ten of those you’re set back almost an hour. 

“Jared. Get up, for real.” You throw a pillow at his sleeping body.

“Five more minutes.” He grumbles, clutching the pillow close to his body.

“You said that an hour ago! We’re going to be late.” You huff, getting onto the bed. 

“Don’t do it.” He pleads.

“Too bad.” You say, jumping on the bed.

You then have to deal with grumpy Jared for the duration of him waking up and getting ready to go, but he makes up for it by apologizing and leaving kisses all over your face before you leave, only making you later. He gets you your favorite snacks on the way home.  

“I won’t do it next time, babe.” He says as we walk out to the car to leave.

“Mhm, okay. You say that every time.” You laugh.

You buy him an alarm clock for Christmas. You buy another for his birthday. He keeps throwing them out.

Quil: 

While with the pack you were always witty due to your comfort levels, you didn’t always behave that way. You were always meek and nervous with confrontation with others. It all started in high school where Quil would get upset that you would let people talk to or treat you a certain way, earning no backlash from yourself. Quil began to stick up for you, smart mouth and all. It has lasted all through the years, even when someone was rude at the grocery store. 

“Quil, you don’t have to do that.” 

“Yes I do. You don’t stick up for yourself, it’s horrible. You need to stop letting people talk to you like that. I can’t sit there and let you take it.” He argues.

“Okay, but did you have to tell him that he looks like his mom huffed gasoline when she was pregnant? What does that even mean? What if she did?” I ask, astonished after the incident. 

“I did, I told him the truth. A lot of nerve for him to think he can say anything about you.” He scoffs. 

“Quil… I just ignore them because it’s easier, it’s so much easier than to get so angry.” 

“I get angry for you, it works. I love you, I can’t sit and let someone disrespect you.”

“I love you, too. Just chill out sometimes, okay?”

“We can agree to disagree, I can’t let someone disrespect my girlfriend. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable.” He kisses my cheek before pulling me over to our bed. 

After these kinds of situations, it usually ends with a lot of cuddling and watching funny movies to make us feel a little better. 

Sam: 

When you take too long to get ready and make a mess in the bathroom with all of your cosmetics he tends to get upset, especially when he has to get in there to get ready, too. 

“Please at least let me pee, you’ve been getting ready for an hour.” “I’ll be out in a minute!” I yell back through the door. 

“You said that ten minutes ago! What else could you possibly be doing?” He knocks again. 

“You can’t rush beauty, Sam.” I open the door. 

“You don’t need to spend an hour of your time to look beautiful, you look amazing when you wake up. But let me pee, now.” He runs into the bathroom, frustrated with how long he’s had to wait. 

“Thank you, Sam.” I blush from outside the bathroom door. 

Sam always respects the fact that you like to get dolled up sometimes before certain events, but cannot help but be frustrated at how long it takes you. It’s always a “just a minute!” from you, as you hog the bathroom counter. You make it up to him by not only cleaning the bathroom up immediately, but by giving him a sweet kiss. After you guys return, you cuddle and watch movies. You give him back rubs and spoil him with affection, promising to get ready quicker next time. 

__________________________

Word Count: 2028

[bts-reveries]

expect the unexpected | 17

You spent the previous night at your parent’s house while your dad stayed at the hospital with your mom. They wanted to make sure that everything was okay before they let her go. Your dad let you know that there’s food in the fridge and to eat when you get home. 

You weren’t hungry so you decided to get some shut eye… until midnight when you were suddenly hungry and ate every leftovers your parents had. 

Long story short, you came back to the hospital the following morning and you’re now in your mom’s hospital room, throwing up in the toilet. 

“Are you okay hon?” Your dad asks, peeking his head into the bathroom. 

“Ugh I think I ate too much last night,” you say, getting up from the bathroom floor.

“Are you sure that’s all? Nothing else?” Your dad asks you as you go over to the sink to rinse your mouth and wash your hands. “Do you want to get checked? We are in a hospital already,” he laughs.

“No, I think I’m fine. I’m just going to go lay down, I kind of feel light headed.”

“Okay sweetie, if you still aren’t feeling well by the time mom’s discharged, we’re going to get you checked next. Can’t be too safe. You probably caught something,” your dad says, walking to your mom’s side.

“What’s wrong?” Your mom asks you when you walk out of the bathroom. You shake your head, you didn’t want her to worry, she’s been through enough. 

“Nothing, I just ate too much last night right before I went to sleep,” you answer, sitting down on the chair by her. 

“Okay… I see.”

-

“Are you going to forget us again,” Soojin says as the four of them drive up to the school drop off. Jin scoffs.

“Yah, it was an accident,” Jin says, running a hand through his hair. “I’ll be working at our building today. So I won’t fall asleep and I will be able to pick you up on time.”

Soojin pouts, “I like it when Uncle Yeonjun takes us home..”

“And that’s why it isn’t happening anymore,” Jin says with wide eyes, turning his head back to look at her. “Daddy will be the one to pick you up until college. Okay?” 

“Fine,” Soojin says with a small eye roll, her older brother laughs at her.

“Okay, I love you both, be good,” Jin says, unlocking the doors and waving his hand at the kids.

“Can you at least bring uncle Yeo--” 

“Leeeeeeaaavee,” Jin says, pointing out the door, interrupting Soojin. His daughter huffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she gets down from the car. 

“Bye dad, we love you,” Minseok says, speaking for both him and his sister. “Bye Han-Han,” he says, tickling Haneul’s chin, making him laugh.

“Okay Haneul, you’re going to work with me today,” Jin says, driving off as soon as his two oldest gets to their friends.

“No auntie Sohu and auntie Rin today?” Haneul asks, already pouting. Jin glances at him from the rearview mirror.

“Nope, not today. Maybe tomorrow okay? Daddy has a lot to do,” Jin tells him. “You’ll see uncle Kookie later though.”

“Uncle JaaayKaaay~” Haneul says it the same way that Jungkook does it, nose scrunch and everything. 

“Yeah uncle JaaayKaaay,” Jin repeats. 

-

“Okay, the first meeting is in ten minutes,” Yeonjun says, walking right alongside Jin. The two power walked to the nearest elevator. Haneul was running right behind them since his little legs couldn’t keep up.

“Daddyy,” Haneul whines, starting to cry. The two older men stop mid step, looking down at Haneul. Who is now kneeling down onto the floor and crying. Throwing a tantrum in the middle of the room. 

Haneul begins to start screaming, heads are turning towards them three now. 

“Aigoo,” Jin sighs, bending down to pick up his son. “What’s wrong?” If you were there, you would know it was because they weren’t giving him attention. I mean, I’d hate it if my two friends were walking ahead of me and leaving me behind, forgetting about me!

“You’re okay~” Jin says, bouncing Haneul in front of him. Hanuel screams in response, bending backwards. Jin smiles sheepishly and bows at the people who walk by, staring. “Shh shh,” he hushed. “He’s being so dramatic,” Jin says to Yeonjun.

“Umm sir, he is your son after all…” He replies.

-

“Are you feeling better?” Your dad asks you as you three get to their car. Your mom was finally getting discharged, so the three of you were leaving the hospital now. 

“I think so,” you say, hopping in the back seat. “My stomach still hurts a bit though..” you say, rubbing your belly. “I shouldn’t have eaten so much, so late last night..” 

“Maybe it’s your period honey,” your mom says, looking back at you from the passenger’s seat. 

“You’re right,” you say, coming to the realization that you haven’t had your period yet. You take out your phone to check when the last time you had your period. You had an app for it, especially since you take birth control as well, you keep well track of your period. Although now that you think of it… you should’ve had it already this month. 

“Dad, before we go home, can we stop by the store? I just need to grab something really quick.”

-

“Okay, moving on. As some of you know, I had a meeting yesterday with Mr. Lee,” Jin says, sitting in the boardroom and having a meeting with his fellow employees. “We’re good to go with our new building in Busan.” Everyone starts to clap and Haneul looks around the room confused, slowly starting to clap along. He was currently sitting on Yeonjun’s lap. 

“With that said, a few of you will be going to Busan to scope out the new area where our building will be,” Jin says, scanning over the employees sitting around the table. 

Haneul squirms out of Yeonjun’s hold, running to his dad.

“Are any of you interested in going?” Jin asks. “Or I can pick-- Haneul, later,” Jin says, whispering that last part as Haneul tries to climb onto his lap. Jin looks over to Yeonjun and gives him the look saying ‘get him please.’ Yeonjun immediately gets up and runs towards Jin, bending down to pick up Haneul.

“No!” Haneul yells, turning around to give Yeonjun a dirty look. Haneul turns back towards Jin and tries to climb onto his lap. “I only want daddy,” he says.

“I’m sorry everyone, he’s been a little clingy lately,” Jin says with a slight laugh, picking Haneul up and placing him on his lap. “Let’s continue, does anyone want to go?”

A few people raise their hand up, Yeonjun writes their name down. 

“Perfect,” Jin says. “This will be next week, your transportation and hotel will all be paid for.” Haneul turns around and wraps his arms around Jin’s neck, standing on his lap.

“Haneul, can you sit down please,” Jin says, tapping his little butt. “Come on, daddy is working.” 

“Noo,” Haneul whines, hugging Jin’s neck even tighter and leaning on him. Jin sighs. 

“Okay, I think it’s time for a nap,” he says, looking over at Yeonjun. “I’m sorry everyone, we’re going to have to cut this meeting a bit short. I’ll follow up with you who volunteered to go to Busan later. By tonight you will get a message from me. For everyone else, thank you for your time, I’ll see you all later.”

Everyone says their thank you’s and gets up to leave the room. Jin sighs, rubbing Haneul’s back as he stands up from his chair.

“Go ahead and get some food to eat Yeonjun or whatever else you want to do, I’ll be up in my office. I’ll put Haneul down for a nap,” Jin says, bouncing side to side to help Haneul fall asleep.

“Okay, thank you sir. Would you like me to get anything for you two?” Yeonjun asks. Jin shakes his head.

“No, we're good for now, thank you.” With that, Yeonjun walks out and Jin stays a while in the boardroom to try and soothe Haneul. 

“Haneul-ah~,” Jin says calmly. “We’re going to be here all day, please be good for daddy..”

-

You sat on the toilet (with the lid closed) waiting for the results. 

Can this really be happening?

You just got back from the store and are now in your parent’s house. You told your parent’s that you were just going to get medicine, which you did, but you really went for one other thing. 

*Dit. Dit. Dit.*

The three minutes were up and you were nervous to check.

What if…

-

“He’s sleeping so peacefully,” Jin says, standing over Haneul (who was asleep on the couch he had in his office). 

“I can go pick up the kids again hyung,” Yeonjun says. He was standing next to Jin.

“No, I promised the kids I’ll be the one to pick them up today. Can you just watch him while I’m gone? I won’t take long and he should still be asleep by the time I come back,” Jin says, scratching his head. Yeonjun nods.

“Yeah, no problem hyung. I’ll watch him.”

“Okay, thank you. I’ll be back in like fifteen, twenty minutes.”

-

“Hey you remembered us,” Minseok jokes as he gets into the car. 

“Of course I did,” Jin says.

“Where’s Haneul?” Soojin asks, looking at the empty car seat. “You forgot him! Mommy is going to be soo mad at you!” Jin laughs, looking back at them.

“I didn’t forget him, he’s sleeping in my office. He’s with uncle Yeonjun,” Jin tells her. Soojin’s eyes immediately light up at the sound of his name, making Jin roll his eyes. “Anyways, when we get there, we’re going to wake up Haneul and go eat something in the cafeteria. Then we have a shoot to go to, so we’ll be going to our other building.”

“Why do we have two buildings anyways,” Soojin asks, looking out of the window as Jin drives away from their school.

“One is our main location, that’s where my office is at and where all the office work takes place. Our other building is where all the studios are at for our clients to take photo or video shoots,” Jin explains.

“Can I have one of them when we’re bigger,” Soojin asks, kicking her feet against the back of the passenger’s seat.

“Sure princess. One for you, one for Minseok, and one for Haneul.”

“But that’s three, you only have two buildings,” Minseok says. “But I can share with Soojin or Haneul, I don’t mind.” Jin smiles as he hears what Minseok says, but by the look on his daughter’s face, Jin can see Soojin quirking up an eyebrow at her brother from the rear view mirror. 

“Don’t worry, you two don’t need to share. We’re opening up another location soon, Haneul can have that one,” Jin tells them.

“Good, because I want my own building,” Soojin says, crossing her hands over her chest. Jin laughs. They really are polar opposites. 

-

The three walk into Jin’s office and Soojin immediately runs to Yeonjun, who is now carrying Haneul. 

“Is everything okay?” Jin asks as he hears his son crying, he walks over to his secretary, taking Haneul from him. 

“He woke up and started crying when he noticed that you were gone, I tried my best to calm him down.”

“Aigoo, Haneul-ah, why are you being so clingy to daddy lately huh?” Jin says, pressing kisses to his cheek. Haneul lays his head onto Jin’s shoulder and calms down. 

“I think you’re just going to have to carry him all day,” Yeonjun says. 

“I think so too. I would use a baby carrier on him, but I think he’s too big for that now..”

“Haneul misses mommy that’s why,” Minseok says, rubbing his little brother’s back. 

“Should we facetime mommy then?” Jin asks.

“Yes I miss mommy too!!” Soojin says, bouncing up and down. 

“Okay okay, we’ll call mommy first and then we’ll go eat,” Jin says, pulling his phone out of his pocket. 

It’s ringing and ringing

And ringing and ringing 

And ringing 

Still ringing

And no answer.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

expect the unexpected

♡ part seventeen: no answer ♡ 

pairings: ceo, dad!jin x interior designer, mom!reader

a/n: short but a lot👀

something to read while we wait for muster day 2!!💗💜♾🪐

taglist: @silentlyimpractical @jillianmarie @waddlebby @cecedrake2217 @ddofa @samros95 @sope-and-shine @joonjoonsmiles @codeinebelle @aianloveseven @Chamchamcham @princessjazzyjazz @notvantaes @casspirit0705 @ramyagovindraj @brinnalaine @ephyra1230 @betysotelo18 @thoughtfultaledreamer @salty-for-suga @cosmicdaylight @dreamcatcherjiah @kookoo-kachoo @justinetingball  @josierosie @jayhope88 @butterflylion @hobiismyhopeu @momma-said-that-it-was-oke @ygbubs @catspancake  @somewhereofftheglobe @strawberryforever25 @rjsmochii @prdshobi @beeeb05 @eatjeanjin @taekookcaneatme @Cheeely14 @kookietsukkie @anpanman-sonyeondan @glitteringcoffeefreak @chocobetterknot @alpaca1612 @ohmy-fandoms @liljooniecutie @Jikachoo @preciouschimine @fan-ati--c @Joondala @httpmuffin @dammit-jjk @jikooksgirl19

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[awkwardgtace]

Secret Brother Pt3 (Final)

Ending for Ian and Mikhail.

TW: mentions of abandonment. This part specifically mentions pet like treatment. It is painted as how wrongly Ian was treated Mikhail does not stand for it.

Part 1 Part 2

Secret Brother Part 3 (Final)

Ian was shaking his head mumbling no. Mikhail almost wanted to laugh at himself. He was so upset about everything, he didn’t even have to worry about growing right now. He took a step towards Ian who matched with a step back. He let out a deep sigh and sat down on the table waiting for Ian to approach. Ian just started pacing, clearly unsettled. This went on for a few minutes.

“Ian, can we talk?” Mikhail asked. Ian looked at him, eyes wide with fear. This is exactly what he was dreading since he first shifted to help out. He hated the fear borrowers always had when it came to him changing sizes.

“Why should I talk to you? I don’t know you at all.” Ian tried to sound fierce, but fear was seeping through.

“Ian, just because I can change my size doesn’t mean anything else is different. I’m still the same Mik who helped you.”

“You’re Mik?!” he screeched. All right, if Ian was willing to interact after this he was teaching the kid to focus on details. There wasn’t any other way for him to know his name. It was also kind of funny to hear just shock about it, Mikhail started laughing. “Don’t laugh at me! How was I supposed to realize!?”

“Buddy, I’m not laughing at you, it’s just funny. Here I was so sure you’d figured me out. That I had no options to avoid telling you now, but I could probably have played it off until next week when I was planning to talk to you.”

“So-so you’re the human, so you don’t need to be protected. So this was a waste,” Ian looked at Mikhail with a mixture of fear and acceptance. “W-What do you plan to do with me now?”

“Well we can talk, you can tell me about this human that scared you. You can just go back to the walls and I’ll leave you be. We can keep going like before if you want. You can move and I’ll help you or you can move on your own. Next steps are up to you. I’ll follow your lead, I know the fact I’m human sized most of the time can be troubling.”

“What will you do if the bad human shows up?” he asked.

“Keep you safe.”

“What if I ran away from them, wouldn’t most humans give me back?”

“Nothing will make me change my mind. You’re a person and from how you acted it doesn’t sound like they treated you like one.” Mikhail was positive he wouldn’t let Ian get caught by that person again. There isn’t anything Ian could tell him to make him change his mind. He wasn’t going to encourage Ian thinking he didn’t have choices. Ian was a person who could make his own decisions.

“Fine, I'll tell you what happened with the bad human. We’ll see how serious you are after that.” Ian moved closer to sit in front of Mikhail. His face was more serious than he’d seen until now. It made him nervous, this wasn’t an easy story it seemed.

“I lived in the house with the bad human and their family pretty much my whole life. My family didn’t like how curious the child was and had been talking about moving for a few years. When my mom got pregnant, my dad decided I should start borrowing. He didn’t want her out, and wanted me to be able to get supplies we needed once the baby was born. It went fine at first, I’d practiced a lot, but I was seen. I told my parents and we packed up everything, they’d been prepping for that for a long time. They didn’t want to risk staying with the curious human child so we left the same night. It was raining and I got caught in a current. My dad held my mom back from trying to help me. He said it was better to let me live with the consequences, it was my fault we were moving anyway. She fought against him, but the current was strong and I was pulled under. When I woke up I was in a room I recognized. It took me a few minutes to realize I was also in a cage.

“That was the bad human’s room. At first they were nice, they said they were just keeping me there so I wouldn’t get hurt. After a week I started to ask when I could leave. They would play up this idea that I would be in too much danger. One day I decided to try to leave, they hadn’t taken my things so I could open the cage pretty easily. Apparently while I’d been out they found all the entrances in the room and blocked them off. The human was angry when they came back. They took everything, but my clothes that day. Then I started getting punished if I acted wrong. Days without food and water, sometimes they’d leave a sheet over the cage so I couldn’t tell any time. A few times other borrowers showed up, they promised to help me usually. I would point them to an exit and never see them again. I can’t blame them, I probably wouldn’t risk capture by a human who kept an underfed borrower.

“I’m not sure how long I’d been with them, but eventually they started talking about some project. The human took me with them to that building. They kept saying something about the perfect topic. I’d been behaving for a while so they’d started making mistakes. They left me on their desk along with some other things. I stole what I could to make a hook and tried living in the walls,” Ian took in a shaky breath. Tears were falling down his face as he spoke. Mikhail was trying to stay calm as he listened, ready to go find the cruel person and show them how being caged felt.

“Then there was the day you showed up. I’d been listening to the bad human a lot and they were planning to try and capture me again. I knew climbing in your bag might be a bad idea, but you didn’t live in that building. I didn’t want the bad human to get me again. I figured once out I’d either make it work in the new human home or die trying.”

Mikhail couldn’t hold back anymore. He stood quickly walking over to Ian. He fell to his knees in front of him, pulling him in to a tight hug. He felt himself grow a bit, the desperate need to keep Ian safe taking a bit of control. He fought himself to keep close to Ian’s size, now wasn’t the time to loom over him. Ian froze, but soon turned into Mikhail’s chest crying. He grabbed the cloth of the shirt in tight fists, letting out everything he kept inside. Mikhail held him tightly until he’d worn himself out. Ian had started to fall asleep, it made sense and Mikhail let him. This was a rough night and he deserved some rest. Ian’s world was changed a lot. As Ian fell into a deep sleep, Mikhail moved to get them both off the table. He had grown carrying someone before, although this was the first time in a long time.

He sat at the table edge with Ian in his arms and focused on getting back to human height. He watched as the boy got smaller, sliding him off into one palm as he reached his human height. He slid off the table trying to be quiet enough for the borrower in his hand. He watched for any signs he woke up, then turned to grab the hook off the table. Mikhail took slow, steady steps to his room. He wanted to let Ian sleep, he’d clearly been on edge for a while. He placed the hook on his palm next to Ian and used his free hand to pull a pillow off his bed. He placed it on the nightstand and carefully slid Ian off on to the plush pillow. Ian curled up smaller, tempting Mikhail to lift him back up. He grabbed a shirt from his dresser laying it over the borrower, he placed the hook just out of the way in case he moved in his sleep. Mikhail wouldn’t let Ian think he was trapped.

Mikhail got into his own bed, facing Ian with a sad smile. He’d been through a lot, it wasn’t fair he’d had to deal with all that. He would make sure whichever student it was didn’t have a chance to get near him again. He felt himself slowly drifting off to sleep, hoping Ian wouldn’t have run off tomorrow morning. His sleep was dreamless and he was thankful. He wasn’t happy when he was woken up by someone banging on his front door. He opened his eyes, sleepily looking towards the pillow. He couldn’t tell if Ian was still there, he wanted to check, but more bangs came. He sighed knowing he couldn’t take the time to talk with Ian while this was going on.

He slid out of bed and stalked over to his front door. He wasn’t expecting anyone he knew to be there and was ready to yell at the rude solicitor. He opened the door, getting far more annoyed when a student pushed past him into his home. He glared at the girl who invited herself over. She had been far too pushy from the start of the year and this was a breaking point. He had no time for her today, especially with how sure he was that this was Ian’s captor.

“Can I help you Anise?” he asked, voice dripping with annoyance. “I don’t particularly appreciate students barging in to my home.”

“I’m sorry professor,” she said, with no ounce of remorse. “Just that topic I’ve been bringing to you for the last few weeks. I know it sounds crazy, but I did have proof that I could use for the project. I know this sounds crazy but if you’d just let me look around for a few minutes I know I could find it. I’m positive it left with you when you held the study session.”

“Anise, I’ve told you before this is a scientific course, you will not be doing a paper on the folklore of small humanoid creatures,” Mikhail was barely controlling his anger. “I expect you to leave. Now.”

“Professor, just trust me!” she yelled. He’d had enough of this student and was ready to kick her out. Unfortunately there was an audible yelp from the bedroom, one that she had clearly recognized. She started walking towards the bedroom seeming sure this was her chance. “Professor that noise, I’m positive it’s my proof if you’d let me just-”

Mikhail had enough, he slammed his arm across the doorway she was just about to enter. He could tell he’d grown a large bit, but honestly couldn’t care less. She stormed into his home, going on about using a person as proof, and intended to just wander around. He glared down at her, not willing to put up with her much longer.

“That noise you heard was my brother, who you just woke up,” he growled. “I’ve had enough of this fantasy. I will be removing you from this class effective Monday. I will also be contacting the school about this conduct. And to entertain your theories, even if these humanoid creatures existed based on the folklore you so heavily have referenced, they would be sentient and equal to us in intelligence. I question your ethics based on how desperate you seem for this fantasy. This field expects a level of compassion which you clearly lack.”

“Wait no please just-” she tried to argue. She knew that Mikhail was respected in his field, it wasn’t good to be on his bad side.

“Get out of my home before I throw you out,” MIkhail’s voice was dark. He had definitely hit over a foot higher than normal, he was lucky this girl wasn’t focusing on that. She opened her mouth to try again, but she stopped as she met his glare. She slowly turned and walked out of the house. This was poor conduct, it would be handled and he’d be letting his family know about her. He slammed the door behind her, a bit harder than he’d intended. He tried to calm down as he walked back to his room, Ian was probably terrified. He couldn’t calm down enough to get his size back to normal, unfortunately.

Ian was sitting up on the pillow, the shirt pulled up around him. It looked like he’d been shaking. Mikhail sat on the floor in front of the nightstand, it made him just about eye level to Ian. He couldn’t bring himself to meet his eyes, he didn’t want to see him scared. It was bad enough he wasn’t a borrower, but he was pretty clearly bigger than his usual human size. Although he could luck out again with how oblivious Ian proved to be after last night. Ian seemed to be just as lost with how quiet the room was. Mikhail looked up a little, but couldn’t read Ian’s expression at all.

“You actually stopped them,” Ian said. Mikhail almost thought he heard awe, but that couldn’t be right.

“I told you I’d keep you safe,” he smiled a little.

“You said I was your brother.”

Mikhail blushed, he hadn’t meant to grow so attached. He didn’t mean to announce it like that either. “Yeah, I uh, I kind of think of you like that, after the last few months.”

“So what’s next if I stay here?” Ian asked. Mikhail looked at him with wide eyes.

“Then, we figure out the boundaries for us,” he answered. “You can stay in the walls or we can set something up out here. Up to you entirely.”

“Is it ok if I think you’re like a brother too?” Ian’s voice was small, Mikhail had to strain to hear it.

“I’d love to have a secret brother like you,” Mikhail smiled. He leaned his face closer to the pillow, just realizing he’d gotten down to his usual size. Ian crawled to the edge of the pillow hugging Mikhail’s nose. His smile grew and he carefully cupped his hand behind Ian. This wouldn’t be easy, but having a brother like Ian sounded pretty great.

[supercorpkid]

How you met Maya’s parents.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader, Kelly Olsen x Niece!Reader

Word count: 2545.

It was a normal Thursday. Until it wasn’t anymore.

Jamie and Maya were in front of the school waiting for their parents to come pick them up. You fell a little behind, because the school counselor wanted to make sure you sent your application for the robotics thing she had you applied for.

“I just want to make sure you won’t miss the date. It's very important and prestigious…” Blah-blah-blah. You know all of this. She’s been telling you about this program for two years now. You look at Maya and Jamie talking, wishing the counselor would just shut up and let you go already, so you could join their conversation that sounds way more fun.

“Oh, my parents are here.” You hear Maya’s voice. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

It’s all a blur after that. There is so much going on it’s hard for you to know what to do next. First, the school counselor is asking something about your project. Second, you hear a car accelerating on the street close to the school. Third, police sirens chasing said car. Fourth, Maya is crossing the street.

“MOM’S HERE, GOTTA RUN!” You yell, leaving a dumbfounded counselor behind. You change using your super speed.

You quickly pick up Maya, putting her on the other side of the sidewalk, and you run to the middle of the street to stop the car with your body. There’s a loud crashing sound, but you’re obviously not hurt. The police car stops behind it, and two cops leave it raising their guns at the two criminals still inside the car. They’re handcuffed and taken away in a little time, and just then you notice the crowd, the phones and the applause around you. You smile a little embarrassed from the attention.

You look to the sidewalk, and run to Maya, who’s being held by her dad while her mom asks her several questions on whether she is hurt, scared, and ok.

“Are you ok?” You add to the amount of questions.

“You saved me.” She says, eyes blown, pupils completely dark. “Thank you.”

“Thank you, Superkid.” Her mother says offering her hand, as in for you to shake it. You try not to use much strength, although it is kind of hard given the situation you were just in and you’re still very worked up after it.

“You saved our daughter!” Her dad chimes in, also thankful. “There’s nothing we can say to thank you for that.”

“No need.” You smile, shyly. “Just doing my job.”

“Superkid!” You hear Jamie’s voice coming closer. “That was incredible. You saved her!”

“Thank you, Ja-” You bite your tongue. “Random girl.” Nope, too forced.

“Oh, is this your girlfriend, Maya?” Her mother asks and you blush furiously at the thought of them knowing about you. It takes you a while to realize they are NOT talking about you, but about Jamie.

“Oh, Ah. That’s, um-” Maya tries to use her words, but she’s too confused to do so. You decide to interrupt.

“Well, glad to see you’re ok.” You say looking back at the street where the cars are having a hard time moving because there’s a broken car in the middle of it. “I should take this car out of here.”

You pick up the car, and right before flying away with it, you hear:

“Oh my God, she’s so strong.” Coming from Maya’s mouth.

“That kid is amazing.” Her dad agrees, and you smile to yourself again, while taking the car out of the way.

A few seconds later, though, you’re back in the school, in your old clothes and glasses. Running towards Maya like you were there the entire time.

“Babe, are you ok?” You rush in, holding her hands and looking at them for any bruises. “I saw what happened from the other side.”

“Superkid saved her.” Jamie says, with a grin, like she’s just giving you brand new information, and you hold a laughter back.

“Actually, this is my girlfriend.” Maya says to her parents and they both shake their heads agreeing.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you.” Her dad raises his hand and you, and you shake it, politely.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Rose.” You say, still blushed from when he called you amazing a minute ago. You turn back to her mother. “Mrs. Rose.”

She doesn’t talk for a while. She just stares at you and you can see the wheels on her brain turning. Oh no. Not the…

“You’re a Luthor.” She says, matter-of-factly. Then turns to her husband. “She is Lena Luthor’s daughter. I’ve met them a while back.”

“What?” Maya’s dad lets go of her, turning rigid at the mention of your last name. “You can’t possibly be dating an evil Luthor.”

“She’s not evil!” You hear and you think it came from Maya’s mouth, only to realize a second later it was Jamie who said it, while reaching out, holding your shoulder to support you. “And her mother isn’t evil either. Just because Lex Luthor is the worst, doesn’t mean everyone in the Luthor’s family is too.”

You want to answer. You want to tell them to go fuck themselves because they just said you were amazing, and thanked you for saving their daughter’s life. And now they’re just staring at you like you’ve committed a crime, when you have done the exact opposite. But your words are stuck in your throat and your eyes are filled with tears before you can even form a sentence.

“You understand too little of the world, little girl.” It’s what her father answers. “You have no way to know that her mother is not evil, but I have. I’ve seen how L Corp treats people that dare to go against them.”

“Wait, you know my mom?” Your words finally come out, in complete shock and disbelief. Maya never mentioned any of that. She said her parents hated your family because Lex tried to mind control them, along with everyone else on Earth. And honestly, you know that feeling of being mind controlled by him, so you can’t blame them.

“We’ve met before.” He twists his nose while saying that. “A little too icy for my taste.”

“Dad, please. Let’s just go.” Maya asks, trying to push him out of the way.

You feel Jamie’s grip tightening around your shoulder, like telling you it’s time for you both to leave. You agree with your head, unclenching your jaw, still shooting daggers with your eyes. But, still, you breathe deep.

“Icy doesn’t mean evil. I hope you can understand that.” You say, and smile at Maya. “I’m just glad you’re ok.”

“Come on. My mami is here.” Jamie pulls you by the hand, and you let yourself follow her trying to ignore their looks to your back. Jamie wraps her arms around you and whispers in your ear. “No super hearing. It won’t do you any good.”

“Nothing about this has done me any good.” You manage to say, and Jamie shoves you inside Kelly’s momvan. And you’re so lost and sad, you don’t even understand why you’re going with her when you can just fly away. Weirdly, flying doesn’t feel like an option to you right now.

“Is everything ok? I heard that there was a car chase around here.” Kelly asks when Jamie walks in, and sits on the passenger seat next to her.

“Superkid saved everyone.” Jamie says with a smile, and you can see a smile coming up on Kelly’s face, while she starts driving away.

“Good for you!” Kelly says taking one hand out of the wheel, and patting your leg gently. “You must be so proud of yourself.”

“Yeah, it’s-Mhm-it’s…” You start, but soon you’re crying desperately, being very loud about it. “It sucks!”

“Hey, hey. No!” Jamie looks behind and reaches out to you. But she doesn’t know what to do or say, and Kelly doesn’t really understand what’s going on. They stare at each other for one second, until Kelly turns to the front again, breathing deep.

“Where would you like to go, honey?” You know she is talking to you, even though she’s using Jamie’s pet name. “Do you want to go home? To our place? Maybe you want to tell me more about what happened?”

“I’m sorry, auntie.” You dry your face, holding your tears back. “You can just stop the car here, and I’ll fly to L Corp. I have to work on a project.”

“I’ll drive you there.” She says and you agree with your head, because you really don’t want to fly right now. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“I’ll let Jamie fill you in after.” You shrug. “Right now, I just want to think about something else.”

They change the subject, but you don’t really pay attention to any of it. It feels so weird being loved when you’re wearing the ‘House of El’ crest on your chest, and just a minute later being hated on, when you’re wearing your glasses and there’s no alter ego helping you out of Luthor's name. One minute you’re Saving Face, the next one Earth Disgrace.

“Hey, little-Danvers.” Jamie says after Kelly parallel parks in front of L Corp. You look at her. “They’re dumbasses. They are the icy ones, ok?”

“Yeah. Thanks for your help back there.” You get out of the car and make your way inside the building. You know you have to work on your project, but you can’t even think right now, let alone come up with something new and innovatory. “Hey Aly, can you call my mom’s assistant and ask her if she’s busy right now?”

“Sure thing, Miss Luthor-Danvers!” Aly studies your face for a few seconds. “Everything alright, miss?”

“Um, yeah. It’s fine.” You agree and she does what you asked, even though she doesn’t look convinced at all.

“You can go up. She is not busy.” Aly says with a smile, and you match hers. You don’t even know what you’re going to say to Lena, but you feel you need her. You make your way to the last floor, and go inside her office. Lena stands up when she sees you, a smile on her face.

“There’s my little hero!” She says pointing at the images on the TV of you standing in front of the car. Hair blowing in the wind, hands on the waist, looking proud of yourself. Then she looks at you, looking sad and small in front of her. You get now why people think you’re two different people. These two images do not match. “My baby! What’s wrong?”

“I just want a hug.” You think about it for a second when you see her coming closer with arms open. “But I’d like some donuts more.”

Lena chuckles and asks her assistant to go out and buy you a box. She finally comes closer a while later, opens arms, and snugs you in. The tears come uninvited, and she just lets you cry for a while.

“Baby, what happened?” She presses when you don’t talk, only cry, for a few good minutes.

“I saved Maya.” You look at her, big watery eyes. “Her parents were so thankful, and it felt so good.”

Lena agrees with her head, because she understands how good it feels to save someone you love. It’s not the same as saving a person you’ve never met. Sure, both feel good. But saving someone you love is the most powerful and strong feeling you’ve ever felt.

“Then I was out of my supersuit and in my glasses and they just-” You choke on your words, and it’s like she knows what’s coming next. “They hated me!”

“Oh baby.” Lena brings you in for another hug. Tighter than the first one. She kisses your head a couple of times. “I’m sorry they can’t see what an amazing person you are. Suit or no suit. But that doesn’t make what you did today less important. It was incredible.” She holds your chin up, to look at her. “You’re incredible.”

“He said you are icy.” You say, and Lena’s response is a soft chuckle.

“Yes, well, men think that about powerful women.” She winks at you, unbothered. “I take it as a compliment.”

“Well, I don’t.” You pout and Lena cleans your face from your tears, same smile still on her lips.

“My love, they can only hurt us if we let them.” She says, raising her gaze at the door, calling her assistant in with the donuts for you. The box is placed on the table in front of you. Lena waits until she leaves, and turns back to you. “Come on, let’s eat donuts, and talk about how Superkid’s name is on everyone’s mouth today.”

“Is that a good thing?” You ask and she blinks at you like you’re asking a stupid question. You look back at the TV and see your video stopping the runaway car over and over again. Yeah. It’s a good thing.

Your phone rings at text, and you pick it up from your back pocket, while Lena goes for the donuts.

Maya: Sorry about my parents. They’re jerks.

You: Are you alright? It was quite the scare.

Maya: I’m 100% fine! Superkid saved me! Do you see now why she is my favorite hero?

You: Yes, I see now. I’m glad you’re ok. I’ll send a thank you card for your crush.

Maya: You’re my crush! Also, did I mention how sorry I am and how jerks my parents were?

You: You have.

Lena pulls your head towards her and kisses your forehead with a smile.

“You know, it’s not her fault her parents are jerks.” She says and you roll your eyes.

“Stop reading my texts.” You complain pretending to be upset, but you smile a little when she’s not looking.

You: Hey, we are not our parents, right?

Maya: No, we are not. You are the most comprehensive human being on the planet. That’s one of the things that make me love you.

You squeak in excitement when you read that, and stand up feeling so happy your feet don’t even touch the ground. You can’t stop reading the text over and over again.

“Hey! I brought donuts so we can celebrate you saving the people from your school!” Kara flies in, pink box in hands and Lena gives her an eyebrow raise.

“Beat you to it.” She adds with a smile, pointing at the pink box sitting on the table and Kara shrugs.

“The more the merrier!” Kara comes closer to you, pushing your shoulder down, making your feet touch the floor. “What’s with her?”

“Pretty sure her girlfriend just said she loves her.” Lena says with a smile, and Kara beams to you, looking as excited as you are.

“Seriously, you have to stop reading my texts.” You pretend to be annoyed, but you look back on your phone and a smile instantly comes.

You: You do, huh?

Maya: I do.

You: I love you too.

You love your girlfriend. You love being Superkid. You love donuts. And you love your moms very much. Turns out, your life’s insane, but it’s also pretty good.

Notes:

@sophixsa prompted this awesome idea, and I’m sorry it was a little sad at first, but happy ending, at least.

[worksby-d]

A Great Mentor: They’ll Come Around

A One Shot

Summary: Being with Andy for the better part of a year now, you decide it’s time to tell your parents. 

Pairing: Andy Barber x Reader

Warnings: Age gap relationship, upset parents

Word count: ~1700

a/n: You can find the rest of this series by checking out my masterlist :)

Dividers by @royallyprincesslilly​ 💖

Just barely opening his eyes, Andy has to squint, eyes too sensitive from sleep for the glow of your phone in the dark room.

“Y/N?” he asks quietly, reaching to put his arm around your waist so he can pull himself closer to you. “What are you still awake for?”

Putting your phone face down on the bed, complete darkness taking its place, you sigh. “Am I a bad daughter?”

“Hey…” You feel him shake his head before pressing a soft kiss to your neck. “What’s going on?”

“I feel guilty, Andy,” you explain. “I told my parents I wasn’t coming home until tomorrow… but I’m here now… with you. God, they literally live like five minutes away from here.” He stays silent, letting you talk about it.

It’s your spring break, but you wanted to see Andy before spending the week with your parents, so you told them you wouldn’t be home until Saturday, saying you wanted to spend your Friday night with some school friends before being gone a week.

“I don’t want to have to lie to them anymore. I want to spend time with you without lying about it, or worrying if they’re going to find out,” you go on. “I think I just have to finally tell them tomorrow.”

“It’s up to you, angel.”

Half of you hoped he’d talk you out of it. Damn him for being so supportive. You roll over to face him, tucking your head under his chin, listening to his heart beat for a moment.

“They’re gonna kill me,” you chuckle nervously.

His chest rumbles as he laughs at you. “They're not gonna kill you,” he assures. “They’re gonna kill me.”

“Oh good,” you exhale, feigning relief. “That makes me feel so much better.”

“Relax,” he urges, continuing to laugh. “They’re not gonna kill anybody, sweetheart,” he tries to assure you, gently rubbing your back. “By the way, I think sleep will make you feel better.”

You roll your eyes, but you know he’s right. There’s no use in worrying about it right now, so you let out one more deep sigh and let his comforting touch lull you to sleep.

In the morning, you wake up to the bed empty. Feeling the space where Andy should be, it’s cold, so you figure he’s been up for a while.

Before you have the chance to check the time, he walks in carrying a plate and a glass of water.

“Well if it isn’t Miss Sleeping Beauty herself,” he teases, putting the food on the table next to the bed. He’s giving you a quick kiss before you can retort. “Good morning,” he greets you more seriously, sitting next to you, leaning to peck your lips one more time. “Or afternoon, I guess.”

Sure enough, the clock tells you it’s 11:34 a.m. when you finally look at it. You just groan, rubbing your hands over your eyes. “Sorry.”

“Hey, you’re on break, you’re allowed to sleep in,” he chuckles. “I brought you some sustenance, though. I’ve seen what you call ‘breakfast’ when you’re at school, and I don’t know how you survive, so thought I’d make something good for you.”

“Excuse you,” you scoff. “I cook fine breakfasts.”

“I wouldn’t consider a bowl of cereal with a cup of sugar on top a cooked breakfast.”

“Ass,” you chuckle. “Well, thanks. I appreciate it.”

He sits in bed with you while you eat, getting some residual work stuff done since he quit early yesterday to be with you all evening.

“So what time do you have to be to your parents’ place?” he inquires, breaking the calm silence.

“Um, just sometime before dinner, I suppose,” you shrug.

He looks up from his laptop and over to you, giving you a sympathetic look. He can sense your nerves, the same ones that were keeping you up last night. “It’s gonna be fine,” he smiles, putting his hand on your knee. 

You flash him a weak smile back. “Yeah,” you nod, honestly trying to convince yourself more than him. “Yeah, of course.”

You lounge around with Andy for a few hours before deciding it’s now or never. He gently grabs your hand before you head out the door, pulling you against him tightly for a hug. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

You nod against his chest, savoring the feeling of his embrace. “Thanks,” you mumble and lift your head to kiss him. “I love you.”

You spend dinner with your parents internally debating when you should break the news, but you almost choke when Andy’s name is brought up, your dad saying something about him not talking to them as often as he used to.

Trying to seem indifferent, you just comment, “Huh, weird.” It works though, your parents promptly moving onto other things you’ve missed since you were home last.

Later, you're curled up on the couch, knees to your chest, sipping on a cup of coffee while your parents sit in their respective recliners on the other side of the room, reading the newspaper and scrolling through Facebook.

“So, I want to tell you guys something,” you speak up. Apparently you’re doing it now.

They both look up at you with raised eyebrows. “What did you do now, Y/N?” your mom teases.

“No, it’s nothing bad,” you laugh. “At least, I don't think.”

“I’m kidding sweetie, what is it?”

“Well,” you start, trying your hardest to suppress your smile, reminding yourself you have no idea how they're going to react. “I’m seeing someone.”

You've never been in a serious enough relationship to announce it to them before, so their interest is piqued instantly.

“About time,” your dad teases, and you roll your eyes.

“Someone you met at school?” your mom asks.

Getting closer to the part you're dreading, you stammer a bit. “Uh no, actually we’ve kind of been hanging out since last summer.”

They give each other a look, and you’re confused. 

“We figured you were maybe seeing someone,” your mom explains. “You've seemed really happy the last couple months.”

You smile at that, but it doesn't last long when your dad chimes in. “We also figured there was no way you were actually spending that much time with Andy Barber last summer. Kind of thought it may have been a cover up,” he chuckles.

“That… wasn't a cover up,” you shake your head. “I was spending all that time with Andy Barber,” you pause, trying to gauge their thoughts, but they're just looking at you. “Because I’m talking about Andy.”

“You’re…” your mom tries to understand. “What?”

“I’m dating Andy,” you admit slowly, and watch your dad’s eyes widen.

“No you’re not,” he shakes his head. “No-”

“Dad,” you plead quietly, shaking your head.

“He’s my age, Y/N. What the hell are you talking about?”

You flinch as he raises his voice, and look toward your mom, but she's avoiding your gaze.

“What is- Is he your sugar daddy or something?” he continues his interrogation attempt. “Are you guys just screwing around? Dear God, he’s using my daughter for sex-”

“What? No,” you scoff. “What the hell? You guys told me yourselves you’ve noticed how happy I am. I love him.”

“You-” He stands up from his chair, not able to finish his sentence without pacing a few times. “You love him? You’re shitting me. I’m gonna kill that bastard.”

“Dad, stop,” you beg, teary eyed this time. “He's so good to me. He’s supportive. He tells me I’m beautiful-”

“Of course he does!” he cuts you off. “You're half his age!”

“Let me finish!” you yell back at him, even surprising yourself. You let out a deep breath attempting to calm yourself. “He's been there for me when no one else could be…”

“Have we not been there for you, honey?” Your mom finally joins back in. “What is it that we weren't there for?”

Of course you're talking about the pregnancy, but you know you can't tell them about that yet, or ever the way this is going. “I just mean law school stuff… He’s stayed up so many nights, talking to me on the phone, assuring me it's all gonna be okay. He just understands what I’m going through.”

A silence fills the room, neither of your parents knowing what to say next.

“I can't believe this,” your dad utters quietly. “No daughter of mine is ruining her life by being in a relationship with a man old enough to be her father.”

“Dad, wait-” Despite your plea, he's walking out of the room. “I'm not ruining my life,” you affirm, only to your mom now. “I’m sorry,” you whisper. “I can't stay here. Let me know when dad wants to talk to me again.”

As you gather your stuff, you ignore your mom’s apologies, not wanting her to be the one doing damage control for your dad. You tell her again to let you know when he wants to talk to you himself, and then you leave.

Andy’s expecting you when he hears his front door open. You texted him to let him know you need to stay with him.

“That bad?” he asks carefully when you walk straight to the kitchen and pour yourself a glass of wine.

Leaning against the counter, you close your eyes and sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. “I wish they would trust me…” You finally look up at him. “My dad’s pissed. Said he's gonna kill you, by the way.”

Andy tips his head back laughing. “I expected as much. I’m sorry, baby.”

“I mean shit,” you continue. “I’m 23. I’m capable of making my own decisions. They’re the ones that raised me to think for myself and be confident with my choices… And now, my dad’s not talking to me because of who I decided to fall in love with.”

“Sweetheart, they love you. They just care about you and want to protect you,” he tries to justify, but you roll your eyes. “I would probably react the same way if my daughter told me she was with someone older.”

“Oh, come on, Andy,” you snap. “Whose side are you on?”

You push yourself off the counter to walk away, but he grabs your wrist. “Hey, hey, stop.” He wraps his arms around you, and some of the tension finally leaves your body as his hands stroke your back. “They'll come around.”

[bonjour-rainycity]

Imagine: Being friends with Alice and asking Carlisle for help on your chemistry homework

Characters: Cullen family, female reader

Rating: G

Word count: 2120

Warnings: None

Request by anon: Wait, omg I’m so happy I found a blog that’s updated recently and I’m definitely gonna ✨stalk✨ your blog and read all your writing after hw but if you’re still doing requests, I thought of something that I would just love to see written. And this could be short or something, y’know? It can be whatever you want it to be, but what if the reader is somewhat friends with the Cullens? Reader (maybe like 20 years old?) is invited to their house one weekend after bumping into Alice and becoming friends and from passing conversation, reader knows that Carlisle is a doctor so she asks him if he could help her with her organic chemistry hw cause she’s studying to be a med student? 

A/n Wow I’m so sorry this took me so long! It’s such a cute request and I loved writing it! Thanks for sending it in and for being patient with me :)

Shoot.

Mentally, I groan, stopping my progress towards my car.

I still have chem homework.

I fiddle with the keys in my hand, contemplating. You could go home…lay in bed…maybe with a pint of ice cream…and pass out in a stress and sugar-induced coma.

Oh, how tempting.

But then I remind myself of why I’m putting myself through the hell that is a STEM degree, and turn on my heel, heading back to campus. I know I won’t get any work done if I go home, so the library it is! Thank goodness it’s open twenty-four hours, because it’s creeping up to eleven and I don’t have the heart to return to one of the academic buildings.

Seeing as it’s Friday night, the library isn’t crowded. Still, I push past all the tables on the first floor and head up to my favorite spot on the second. Settling in at my favorite partially secluded table, I pull out my organic chemistry textbook, pop in my earbuds, and get to work.

{***}

A small, pale hand skims over the table near my book, and I look up with a start.

Alice Cullen stands by my desk, clutching a set of books that look too heavy for her thin arms, but she seems to be managing fine. She and I met during the first week of classes, and have been tentative friends ever since. We don’t see much of each other, given our varying degree programs, but she always greets me with a friendly smile and an offer to join her to study. I pull out my headphones, and give her a tired smile. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Good!” She smiles excitedly, somehow keeping her energy levels at—I check the time on my phone—1:12 am! “Have you been here for long?”

I shrug, feeling the weight of the late hour on my shoulders. “Since around eleven. I was going home but then I forgot I have o-chem homework. I don’t think it should be taking me this long, but I’m struggling. Thankfully only half of it is due in the morning. The rest isn’t due until after the weekend.”

Alice peers over to look at my book and the problems I work through in my notebook. “Oh, those do look hard. But you know, my dad is a doctor, and he probably knows this stuff like the back of his hand. He’d be more than happy to help you.”

I blanch. An invitation to the Cullen’s house? And free help on o-chem homework?

But then I remember my manners. “Oh, thank you, but I couldn’t—”

“Please,” she squeaks, balancing her books in one arm and using the other to retrieve her phone. “We’d be happy to have you over! I’ll let my family know. Does tomorrow around lunchtime work?”

“Uh,” I swallow, not sure I’m believing my ears. “That works great, thank you! I can bring the food?”

She shakes her head, waving off the offer. “Don’t worry about it—Mom loves to cook and will be excited to really use the kitchen. Oh! And there’s this new series my sisters and I have been dying to watch. It’s called Broadchurch. Have you heard of it? Maybe we can start it and see if it’s any good!”

I nod dumbly, too tired and relieved for the help to refuse again. “That sounds fun! Thank you.”

“Of course,” she smiles, shrugging like it’s nothing. “What are friends for?”

My smile softens. She considers us friends. “Do you want to walk out together? It’s pretty late.”

She beams and waits while I collect my stuff.

{***}

I pull up to the front of the massive house.

Alice is waiting for me on the porch. She waves excitedly, and I notice her fiancé standing near the door, looking uncomfortable. I stifle a chuckle. It’s well-known that Jasper, introvert in every sense of the word, fell hard for Alice who is the embodiment of an extravert. I wave, grabbing my backpack and stepping out of the car.

“Welcome,” Alice practically shouts. Jasper gives me a polite nod.

I smile at the two of them, calling out my hello’s and climbing the stairs to the porch. The second Jasper opens the door, I’m greeted by the warm smile of Esme Cullen.

“Hello, Y/n, welcome to our home! We are so happy to have you here.” She extends a warm smile, one I can’t help but return immediately.

Alice leads us straight to the living room, where two of her adoptive siblings, Emmett and Rosalie, lounge. Rosalie sketches something I can’t see, and Emmett yells loudly at the TV, losing at a video game.

“Beat it, Emmett,” Alice chirps, dancing over and taking the controller from his hands. “We’re going to watch Broadchurch.”

Putting his frustration at the game aside, Emmett grins, standing and ruffling Alice’s hair. “Alright, I was getting my ass kicked anyway. Hey, Y/n, good to see you again.”

I return his greeting, familiar with Emmett from an intro to theatre class we had together last semester. The image of his interpretation of Juliet for our final project comes to mind, and I have to stifle a laugh. Emmett goes to leave the room, pulling Jasper with him.

“Send Bella down, would you,” Alice calls after them, already settling on the couch. “Rose, you know Y/n, right?”

Rosalie looks up from her sketching. She smiles briefly at me, then returns to her task. I sit awkwardly next to Alice, waiting for Bella so we can start the show.

“There aren’t many women in STEM.”

My head shoots up, wide eyes turning in Rosalie’s direction. She doesn’t look up from her work, but I know she’s addressing me—Alice is studying fashion merchandising and design.

“Y-yeah,” I stammer. Alice’s older sister is just so intimidating. Well-spoken, obviously intelligent, tall, prettier than anyone I’ve ever met, and top of her law class. She’s not exactly warm either, like her mother or sister—even now, there’s a cold bite to her tone. But the edges of her lips quirk up, and I can tell she’s being nice.

“Don’t let the guys push you around. What you’re doing is important, and you’re probably smarter than them. What do you want to do with your degree?”

The answer, always on my heart and mind, is automatic. “I want to be a doctor. So, med school is next.”

She nods once. “Good.”

And apparently that’s the end of our conversation.

I try to hide my smile by rummaging around in my backpack for my water bottle. It’s nice to feel supported.

Bella comes gliding down the stairs and twists into the living room, folding herself easily onto the love seat. She greets me, and then tosses me the throw over the back of her couch. Alice nods as if forgetting something, then reaches into a basket hidden between our couch and Rosalie’s chair and produces three more blankets, throwing two to her sisters and keeping one for herself. She shoots me a grin as each of us, even the serious Rosalie, snuggles up.

Alice stands, turning off the lights and then wraps back in her blanket and scoots near me on the couch. “I hope this is good!” With a grin, she opens Netflix and plays the first episode.

{***}

Broadchurch does not disappoint. Before I know it, we’re halfway through the second episode, eyes glued to the screen. Bella, who was definitely reading a book under her blanket at the start, has put it to the side, leaning forward and watching the show intently.

The front door creaks, then clicks closed, and Alice smiles, pressing pause on the remote. “Dad’s home.”

Before long, the famed local doctor comes in to say hi to the girls and to greet me. He’s just as welcoming as his wife!

“Alice told me you are having trouble with some organic chemistry homework?”

I nod, hoping it’s not too much to ask for his help. “I got a good start on some of the problems last night, but I keep messing up. I’m not really sure where I’m going wrong—there’s no answer key so I can’t work backwards through the problems.”

He nods, casually resting his hands in the pocket of his slacks. “I remember o-chem homework quite well.” He grins conspiratorially. “It is the bane of many a med student’s existence. Why don’t you girls finish up your episode and then join Esme and me in the kitchen for lunch? I can take a look at your homework if you like.”

Relief washes over me. “That would be great, thank you so much.”

He smiles warmly. “Of course. Now, if you all will excuse me….” With a twinkle in his eye, he leaves us to rejoin his wife.

This family is so nice! I wonder why they get so much flack at school?

Alice resumes the episode, and soon my musings are washed away as I try to piece together the mystery of the murder before the detectives can.

{***}

Esme is a wonderful cook. Carlisle sings her praises but doesn’t fix a plate for himself, saying he ate plenty as she was cooking. We all sit down at the table, though I’m the only one who eats in earnest — Bella claims to be filled up on snacks, Rose says she’s on a diet, and Alice takes a small helping for herself, every now and then poking the chicken in mild disgust. I don’t see what the problem is, the food is fantastic!

Carlisle sits down next to me, and I slide my textbook and notebook in his direction. He smiles, looking almost nostalgic. “I remember these. The good news is, as a doctor, you won’t be doing much of this in day-to-day life, if at all. But it is important for some courses you will take in medical school, so it’s best to master the concepts now. See, on number nineteen, you start the problem correctly, but get lost once you have to balance the equation to continue. Instead of waiting until the middle to balance, I would do that first, that way, you have a solid base before moving on to solve the rest of the problem.”

I nod, peering over at the paper intently. I hadn’t tried that strategy before.

Carlisle takes out a pen, and begins scratching out an equation. Then, he grins, shaking his head, and crosses it out, starting again in much neater handwriting. “Forgive my penmanship. Though, if you decide to continue and become a practicing doctor, your handwriting will soon be indecipherable, too.”

From across the table, Rosalie snorts, and I can’t help but laugh along. It seems almost a rite of passage for a doctor to have horrendous handwriting.

In clearer script, Carlisle continues working out the problem, then slides the paper over for me to see. He explains what he did at each step, and I nod along, trying to commit as much of it to memory as possible. He works out another problem in the same way, then asks me to try on my own. I smile tentatively as I go, hesitant to accept that I actually know how to do the problem now.

But I do.

It takes concentration to work through the steps, but I can, which is a far cry from where I was last night. Carlisle waves off my thanks, saying I just needed to try a different approach, but I had it within me all along. I bring up another section I had issues with—structures of the elements—and Carlisle teaches me a better strategy for memorizing a few and then figuring out the rest. By the time Esme and Bella have put the food away, my homework is done—in a fourth of the time it would have taken me struggling through it on my own.

“Seriously, Dr. Cullen, thank you so much.”

He smiles pleasantly, handing me back my textbook. “Of course. If you need help again, just come on over. I know the girls love having the company, and my wife and I enjoyed the opportunity to meet you as well.”

Esme appears behind her husband, laying her hands affectionately on his shoulders. “Absolutely, Y/n. Please come over any time.”

I pack up my homework and thank them once again for lunch and for the help. Alice darts to my side, grinning. “Ready to finish the episode?”

I feel so much lighter now that my homework is done, and I don’t feel guilty at all for spending time with my new friends. In fact, I may even indulge in that ice cream when I get home.

“Absolutely.”

A/n Thanks for reading! If you have a moment, here’s the link to my masterlist :)

[mintbaby1012]

Jeongin ♥ Who Do You Love

In which you go over to the boys dorm to hangout and Jeongin gets jealous

dom!Jeongin x fem!reader

WARNING: Suggestive/smut, Fluff, jealousy, very slight angst if u squint.

Word Count: 2998

——————————————————————————

My boyfriend Jeongin had brought me over to his dorm to hang out with him and the boys. Currently I was sitting on the couch playing on the switch with Changbin, Hyunjin, and Chan. Jeongin was next to me watching videos, honestly he looked kinda grumpy and I don't know why.

"Y/n, come help me cook!" Yelled Lee Know from the kitchen so I got up and  ruffled Jeongin's hair causing him to look at me questioningly and I said, "Love you Jeongin!"

I gave him heart fingers before going to the kitchen after seeing him blush and look back at his phone saying nothing in response; honestly kinda disappointed he could've at least returned the heart finger but no. He's been a grump since Chan took me to his room to show me his new figure.

Once I got to the kitchen Lee Know gave me green onions to cut and a knife. "Hey Lee where is the chopping board?" I looked over to him and he was pointing at the cabinet next to me. I tried to grab it but it was pretty high up.

I started to lose my balance then I felt a body against mine holding me up and I got the board down without falling. I turned around and came face to face with Lee know and we just stared at each other for a moment before we heard the door open and Jeongin came in. Lee instantly moved away and went back to the the pot as my love came in,  just looked at me weirdly and went to the fridge grabbing strawberry milk, then left.

"Hey Lee I'll be back I'ma go talk to Jeongin," I said and left the kitchen looking for Jeongin. He wasn't in the living room so I went to his room and found him on his bed. So, I layed down and hugged him while asking, "Why are you being such a grump today?" He looked at me and said, "I'm not I'm just tired and want to watch videos he said and smiled at me kissing my cheek. Which made me happy but honestly I can't tell if his smiles are real at this point anymore he always smiles now.

"Can I have some of your strawberry milk baby?" I asked and he handed it to me so I took a few sips it was soooooo good like fhdfd it's an orgasm in my mouth. I cuddled a little more with him before going back and helping Lee Know cook again.

After we finished cooking the members all helped setting the table. We all sat down and started eating and laughing talking about random things then Lee Know said, "Y/n, open up try this!" He fed me the beef before I could respond, and I looked over to Jeongin who immediately stopped laughing and started eating more.

Eventually it was 10 PM and Chris said I needed to go back to my house so my parents don't get mad and  blame him. So me and Jeongin were on our way back to my house.

"Jeongin really tell me what's wrong I'm tired of you being a grump today!" I stated sternly and he stopped and looked at me. "You, You are what's wrong with me. Every single time I bring you over one of the members is with you not me, and Lee Know sometimes I want to punch him he's always flirting with you , I should be the one flirting with you not him....."

He started walking again leaving me behind while I processed what he just said. Eventually we reached my house and I invited him in because my parents would've gotten onto me if I didn't so we went up to my room to hang out for a bit more but he just got on his phone again. So what do I do, well I take his phone from him and toss it to my floor and exclaimed, "I'm not with them right now but look, look at what you're doing nothing you're not flirting your not even looking at me!"

Jeongin looked at me and said, "Well what do you want me to do i don't even know who you love anymore, so who do you love. Is it him or me because if you can't say I'm the one for sure then I'm walking out the door." Tears were puddling up in my eyes as I said, "You, I love you, I spent most of my high school life begging you to be with me and now you finally are and you have been with me for a year and your asking this. I'm shocked Jeongin."

He looked back at me dead in the eyes and said, "How do I know that, for all I know you could be doing things with them. They're older than you even though I'm older than you too, but they're all pretty experienced they can easily take control over you and your heart so I don't know if you love me anymore... I need proof."

So right after that I kissed him and it wasn't no normal kiss, I kissed him passionately trying to express all my feelings to him. At first jeongin was just wide eyes and shocked then he started moving with me our lips dancing together. I pulled away and asked, "Do you believe me now? Do you now believe that you are the one I love!"

He looked at me pushing back his hair and said, "I definitely believe you do now, sweetness."

I blushed and quietly said, "It's like you're trying to seduce me right now. Pushing you're hair and leaning your head back like that you evil human being."

He looked at me smirking and stated, "So what if I am, you are my babygirl not Chris' or Lee Know's. I'm allowed to seduce you."

I looked up at him confused on why he said that then my eyes widened as I exclaimed, "Did I say that out loud?!?!?!"

Jeongin kept smirking and said, "Yes, you did." Then kissed me again, picking me up and setting me on his lap.

We kept kissing for like 2 minutes till he bit my lip making me whimper and he took that chance to stick his tongue into my mouth sending an shock through my body.

Since when did he know to kiss like this, he's normally innocent only kissing me on the cheek or maybe on the lips but the lips is rare even in private, but right now, I'm not getting any vibes of innocence.

Slowly he worked his way to my jawline kissing it. Then to my neck kissing licking and leaving love bites making me moan quietly.

He got back to my lips and wrapped his arms around my back pulling me as close as he could to him. We kept kissing and my hands were running through his hair making a mess of it, as he layed back onto the bed so that I was on-top of him while he was laying down.

I loosened his grip on my back and worked my way to his earlobe, licking and biting it lightly causing him to whimper from this new feeling to him. I kept on kissing and biting him but now I was at his neck.

I then made my way to Jeongin's collar bone and looked up at him to see him in a dazed state looking at me with pure love. So in that moment I went right back to his collar bone kissing it and biting it, but it wasn't a normal bite I was biting and sucking on his skin to leave a mark; making him moan out, "Y-You're supposed to be innocent y/n, h-how do you know to do this... ngh"

I looked back at him and smirked, "I could say the same thing about you innie your older than me only by a few months."

He just smirked and slid his hand under my shirt exploring my skin. His free hand worked it's way to my ass squeezing it then spanked me as he said, "You've been a bad girl, letting the others fond all over you." He then spanked me again causing me to whimper, but then we both froze and I jumped up off him and he pulled on a hoodie and tried to straighten out his hair, I was at my TV acting like I was gonna grab the switch.

All of that work because we heard my mom coming up the stairs. She opened the door and I lifted the switch out of the holder and looked at her innocently as she said, "It's getting pretty late y/n either Jeongin needs to leave or call Christopher and he can stay in the guest room if he gets permission."

I nodded my head and Jeongin called Chris to ask then after he hung up he spoke to my mom, "He said since it's late he doesn't want me out alone so to stay here and he'll pick me up around 11 tomorrow morning if needed."

She nodded her head but before she left I pleaded, "Mama can Jeongin just stay in here we're mature, I mean we're literally adults in America and you were born and raised there Mama and all I want to do is cuddle with him."

She stood at my door for a few moments before sighing, "Fine but don't do anything that'll be regretted in the long run, understood." She said sternly and me and Jeongin both nodded our heads quickly in response and when she left I put the switch back and jumped back into the bed hugging Jeongin.

We layed there till I fell asleep. Around 2am I woke back up and Jeongin was gone, but I saw the light to the bathroom that was connected to my room was on so I got up and was about to knock on the door but stopped right when I was about to knock. He was moaning I could hear him moaning my name it was quiet but still audible enough for anyone in a five feet radius of the bathroom.

I just stood there wide eyes and blushing off in my own fantasy world not realizing the moaning stopped. Then the door opened and I was snapped out of my world; Jeongin and I stared at each other pretty much talking through our eyes and I turned around quickly and tried running to the bed to hide under covers in embarrassment but he grabbed my arm pulled me into his chest.

He leaned next to my ear and whispered, "Did you hear everything I was doing, sweetness?" I just nodded my head, and he pushed me onto the bed. Before I knew it he had my shirt off and I was exposed because I don't sleep with a bra. He was scanning my entire body, while removing his shirt and pants.

Is this really about to happen am I really gonna lose my virginity right now. As Jeongin's dick sprung free, lustful fear clouded my eyes. Jeongin looked at me softly and said, "Baby I can wait for your v card much much longer, I know you're afraid to lose that but I can't just use my own hands anymore." I looked him in the eyes relived and he pulled me up to stand then pushed me down so I was kneeling on the floor as he was sitting on the bed.

I looked up at him confused on what to do. This is the first time I have seen a dick in real life and it's my boyfriend's as well. He grabbed my hand and place it on his dick. Manually wrapping my hand around it and using it as a toy guiding it up and down his shaft, till I got used to it.

He was now propping himself up on the bed, head back, and moaning out my name and cuss words following it.

I was staring at him trying to figure out what got the best reaction out of him and my conclusion was when I glided my thumb across his tip then blew on it.

Suddenly an idea struck me and immediately I put it into action. My mouth lowered onto his cock wrapping around it and he gasped in surprise, instantly sitting up straight and grabbing a handful of my hair and pushing me down onto his dick all the way causing me to gag.

He started thrusting into my mouth moaning sinnful words of pleasure. Eventually I stopped gagging and lowered my self onto him even more deepthroating him everytime he thrusted into me. "F-fucking hell I'm gonna cum sweetness!" Jeongin moaned out while pulling my head back so that he doesn't cum into my mouth, but I had other plans.

I instantly lowered my mouth back down to his throbbing shaft as he came and I took it all into my mouth. I looked back up at him and he was wide eyed and breathing heavily letting out his last bit of moans looking down at me. I made sure he saw the movement of my throat as I swallowed his cum.

He looked even more shocked and pulled me back up and kissed me while saying, "I love you, I love you so fucking much. I just didn't want to cum in your mouth I didn't want to make your mouth completely dirty..."

I just looked at him and said, "It didn't make my mouth dirty but it did give my taste buds a new favorite snack hehet!"

"Huh, what about me does your oppa get to have a new favorite snack too?" Jeongin asked and I shook my head yes.

Soon enough I was laying on the bed my pussy exposed and his mouth eating me out. I was a moaning mess. Everytime he would flick his tongue against my clit my whole body would jolt in pleasure. Then I felt something enter my pussy and I moaned out his name making him smirk in pride.

He was fingering me and eating me out at the same time. I was a moaning mess and it felt like I was on could nine. My body felt like it was engulfed in honey, he was sending so much pleasure into me just with three fingers and his tongue.

My hands worked their way to his hair pushing his face into me more because I need and want to feel more, I moaned out, "Jeongin, more give me more pleasure I feel something wierd in my stomach and I want more of that feeling!"

He snickered and hummed in response sending a vibration to my clit causing me to practically scream. His actions intensified and my whole body started shaking till I felt a release.

All the pressure that built up in my body was gone and I saw white sparkles floating around. My entire body jolted and I moaned out very loudly Jeongin licked up all my fluids and came back up to me kissing my stomach leaving hickies here and there then kissed my lips as I said, "S-so that's what having an orgasm f-feels like?!" I was completely out of breath.

Realizing that strawberry milk was actually not like an orgasm in my mouth but it was close.

Jeongin looked at me shocked, "You've never had an orgasm before?!?!? Either way I'm glad I was the one to cause it uwo." I just giggled and he got up and cleaned the whole mess. After he was finished cleaning and reclothing the both of us he got back in bed bringing me into his embrace as we fell back asleep enjoying each others embrace.

The next morning I woke up to my mom tapping on my shoulder and whispering, "I'm going to work now, I made some breakfast it's on the table whenever he wakes up remember to brush teeth and hygiene you don't want to look like teenage bums who hate the world, I love you, have a good day!!!" I hummed in response and waved to her goodbye as she left and snuggled back into Jeongin's embrace and fell back asleep.

Thirty minutes later I woke back up to Jeongin trying to get up without waking me, "Good morning innie! Go take care of your hygiene my mom made us breakfast." I said making him jump because I scared him, he nodded his head and pecked me on the lips before leaving to get clean.

[calamitykaty]

A Twist of Fate

Charlie x Fem! Reader

Word count:7670

Warnings: Slight Swearing, I think that’s it?

Requested: Sorta? It’s a multi writer topic by @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic​ revolving around the idea of y/n finding an ad to rent a date for Thanksgiving. *You can find the first writers fic HERE

A/N: HUGE thank you to @dream-a-little-bigger-x​ for reading every rough draft of this that I sent her, along with bouncing ideas with me! Also a huge thank you to @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic​ for supporting me when I got stuck and reading my super rough draft! 

I wasn’t gonna post this until tomorrow but now I have a Christmas Reggie fic that I want to post tomorrow so...Happy Reading.

 Y/N wrapped the buffalo plaid scarf around her neck and pulled her favorite slouchy red beanie over her thick mop of curls. Her cellphone was pressed between her right shoulder and ear as she buttoned up her navy peacoat and half-listened to her mom rattle off the preparations she needed to make for Thanksgiving.

“Mom, I really need to…” Y/N attempted to interject only to be cut off by her mother. She placed the phone on speaker and set it down on the counter while she slipped her feet into a pair of black boots. She had stopped listening to her mother’s droning voice nearly a half-hour beforehand, but her ears perked up when her mother asked the dreaded question.

“Are you bringing Noah this year honey? I know you guys like to alternate holidays with his family, but your Aunt Martha is going to make it this year and she is just tickled to finally get to meet him.”

Y/N pursed her lips and ran a hand over her face, she hadn’t told anyone that Noah broke things off with her two months prior. She hadn’t meant to keep it a secret for so long, but her mom loved Noah and she just knew she would blame her for ruining a good thing. She had been dating Noah for three years and it was perfect until Noah started talking about marriage and Y/N began to realize that she couldn’t picture her entire life with him. Noah felt like a moment in time to her, not an eternity. 

“I’ll have to check, Mom, I don’t know what Noah is doing yet.” Y/N settled on a half-truth to buy herself some time. She placed her elbows on the edge of the counter and rested her head in her hands.

“Honey, I need to know by the end of the week, okay?”

She could hear the irritation in her mother's voice at the non-answer that Y/N had given to her. Her mother was a meticulous planner and she could not stand curve balls making a mess of her perfect holiday plans. Her mother treated every holiday as if the editors of Better Homes & Gardens were going to drop in at any moment and do a two-page spread on her decor and perfect meal. 

“Got it, mom! I have to go!” Y/N quickly ended the phone call and shoved her phone into her pocket. She huffed out a heavy sigh and made her way to her front door, grabbing her keys from the catch-all bowl on the table next to the door. She quickly locked up her apartment and rushed down the two flights of stairs to the small community lobby. She adjusted the scarf around her neck and reached for the door but stopped as a new flyer on the community board caught her eye. She took a step back and ripped the paper from the thumbtack that held it to the cork board and shoved it into her coat pocket before pulling the door open. 

Her hair whipped around her face as she stepped outside and was met with the cool autumn breeze that had settled in over the last month. Y/N looked both ways before stepping off of the sidewalk and hurrying across the street where her best friend, Leigha, was already waiting for her inside the small corner cafe. 

“How is it that I have to drive from the other side of town and can make it on time but you literally live across the street and can’t?” Leigha teased as Y/N unraveled her scarf and took her coat off, draping both over the back of her chair before sitting down. 

“Sorry! Sorry! My mother…” Y/N rolled her eyes as she recalled the phone call.

“Enough said!” Leigha laughed, she had one of those laughs that turned heads. Her laugh was always a little too loud and sometimes she would snort, it always caused Y/N to break into a fit of giggles. Leigha had been Y/N’s roommate all the way through college and they had been inseparable since the very first day they had met. 

“So,” Leigha crossed her arms on top of the table,” did you work up the courage to tell her about Noah?”

Y/N shifted her gaze across the cafe and bit her lip “not exactly…” 

“You are unbelievable, y/n ” Leigha sighed, exasperated.  

Y/N snapped her eyes back to Leigha and held her hands up in defense “I tried! Well...I mean…I tried to try…” 

“You know if you show up stag and your mother already has a place setting for a plus one, you might as well just go ahead and bury yourself, honestly” Leigha tutted. 

“That’s why I have a plan!”  Y/N turned around and rustled through the pockets of her peacoat before placing the crumpled flyer on the table. She smoothed her hands over the paper and pushed it towards the middle of the table. 

Leigha snatched the paper up as the waitress came over and took their orders, Leigha ordered a blueberry scone with a chai tea while Y/N ordered a croissant with a side of strawberry preserves and a coffee.

“I mean…” Leigha read over the paper before sliding it back over to Y/N, “you’ve got nothing to lose.”

Y/N bit her lip and stared down at the flyer, re-reading it for the fourth time before she pulled out her phone and scanned the QR code to bring up the app. 

“I can’t believe I am actually this desperate to try to literally purchase a date a week before Thanksgiving.” She muttered as she began to fill out her profile. 

“Wait! Thanksgiving is next week? As in a week from today? I haven’t even made my Thanksgiving Pinterest board yet!” Leigha panicked and grabbed her face.

Y/N looked up from her phone and shook her head at Leigha’s antics “why do you need a Pinterest board? You literally do the same thing every single year.” 

“Yeah…” Leigha jutted her bottom lip out in a pout, “but I want people to think that I am making all of these intricate and super cute appetizers and stuff. It’s the illusion that I care about!” 

Y/N looked up and thanked the waitress as she set the food and coffee down in front of her before turning her attention back to Leigha who was eagerly biting into her scone. 

“Help me answer these?” She passed her phone over to the girl and picked up the knife, spreading the strawberry preserves onto her croissant. 

“Beach or Mountains?” Leigha readout with her mouth half full. 

“Mountains!” Both girls yelled out at the same time and burst into giggles. They continued down the row of questions, passing the phone back and forth until Y/N finally hit the submit button. Leigha practically yanked the phone from Y/N’s hand as the algorithm began to shoot out potential matches. Her thumb scrolled through the pictures at lighting speed before she stopped and slowly scrolled back up before thrusting the phone in Y/N’s face. 

“This one! Oh my god, this one! And if you don’t select the platinum package so that boy can say he loves you then I will literally never speak to you again!” 

Y/N wiped the jam from her chin and grabbed the phone from Leigha. He was cute, there was no doubt about that but unlike Leigha, she cared about what his profile said about him. She scrolled through his pictures, one of him playing guitar, one hiking, one surrounded by friends around a campfire. Lover of nature, endless adventure, campfire songs, and sharing the love with my friends. I’ll jump if you jump, let’s take this plunge together? 

She felt her lips curl up into a soft smile as she whispered his name to herself, liking the way that it rolled so easily off of her tongue. 

“I told yooouuuu!” Leigha sang out and crossed her arms over her chest, a smug look on her face. 

Y/N placed the phone on the table and tried to control the blush that she could fill rising to her cheeks, “calm down,” she rolled her eyes, “I’m paying for a Thanksgiving date, not falling in love.” She selected the platinum option and typed in her credit card number before clicking the purchase open without a second hesitation. 

“I better be your maid of honor!” Leigha teased as the two girls dropped the appropriate amount of money onto the table and began to layer their coats and scarves back on. Y/N pulled the girl into a hug and placed a kiss on her cheek before heading back across the street towards her apartment.

 She had just placed the keys back into her catch-all bowl by the door when her phone began to ding. She felt her heart begin to race as she saw the approval message on her screen that Charlie had accepted her request to rent him as her Thanksgiving date.

“Oh my god...okay...okay, this is fine...everything is fine.” She muttered to herself as she received another notification that Charlie had messaged her. She set her phone down on the counter and peeled her coat and scarf off before slipping her feet out of her boots. She wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans and grabbed her phone, refusing to look at it until she had settled in on her couch. She crossed her feet under her and pulled a throw pillow to her chest before finally sliding up on the notification and reading the message that he sent. 

Let's get to know each other? Lunch tomorrow?

Y/N hesitated for a moment before her fingertips began to slide across the keyboard on her screen.

Sounds good! How do you feel about chicken & waffles? I know a place!

She read over what she had sent several times, worried that she sounded too eager. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears as she waited for his response, watching as several dots appeared and disappeared several times on her screen before he finally sent his response. 

A girl after my own heart! How is 12:30? Send me the address? 

She felt her cheeks grow warm at his response and mentally reminded herself that he was just being kind and that she was quite literally paying for him. 

500 Rue Kennedy Dieppe, NB. and 12:30 is perfect! I’ll see you then! 

Y/N took a deep breath and closed the app before her thumb hovered over her mother’s contact. She quickly clicked on her number and quietly whispered to herself “please don’t answer, please don’t answer, please don’t answer.” 

“Thank god!” she exclaimed as the phone sent her to voicemail. She rolled her eyes at her mother’s elaborate message before finally being told to leave her message at the sound of the beep. 

“Hi, mom...it’s me...I just wanted to let you know that you will need to make sure to set an extra place setting for thanksgiving. Love you.” She rattled off, keeping the message vague but to the point. 

The following day Y/N stood inside of her closet staring at her assortment of clothes trying to decide what said “I'm cool and  definitely not desperate even though I paid for a date for Thanksgiving because my family is insane.” 

She pulled a mustard yellow cable knit sweater from a hanger and laid it out on her bed before heading back to her closet. Her fingers sorted through the variety of skirts before settling on a silky, pleated navy skirt that was cinched at the waist. She laid the skirt out next to the sweater before moving over to her vanity. 

She sat on the poof chair and stared at her reflection for a brief moment before pulling the small drawer to the left open and lining up her primers, eye palette, eyeliner, mascara, and her signature red lipstick. She grabbed the mason jar that sat on the right tableside of the vanity and grabbed the appropriate brushes, lining those up as well. 

She used her middle finger of her right hand to gently swipe the eyeshadow primer onto her eyelids before dusting the brush across a shimmery gold eyeshadow. She used a maroon eyeshadow on her crease and slowly blended the colors until she achieved a golden and subtle smokey eye.Y/N shook her hands out to steady her nerves before slowly pulling the liquid eyeliner across her eyelids and flicking it softly at the end for a subtle cat-eye before she carefully built volume on her eyelashes with the mascara. Finally, she grabbed the matte red lipstick and carefully swiped it across her lips before blotting them with a tissue. 

Y/N jumped at the sound of her phone vibrating on her nightstand. She moved across the room and grabbed the phone from the charger. 

See you soon! 

She felt the nerves settle back into her stomach and wiped her clammy hands on her pajama pants before quickly undressing. She pulled the yellow cable knit sweater over her head, careful not to let it touch her face. She followed that by pulling on the pleated navy skirt,  the fabric falling just above her knee. She pulled on the fabric of the sweater at her waist so that it slightly hung over the waistband of the skirt before she slipped her feet into a pair of black pointed flats. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and pulled her curls over her shoulders before grabbing her purse and slinging it across her body. 

Y/N entered the bustling restaurant and let her eyes wander across the tables trying to find Charlie. She wrung her hands together and pulled her lips into a thin line when she didn’t see him, her heart dropping at the thought that she had been stood up or even worse, that she had really fallen for a scam. She turned on her left foot and reached for the door, barely pulling it open before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She let go of the door, resulting in a soft thud as it closed. 

“Y/N? You weren’t about to bail on me were you?” The soft voice teased as she turned around. 

 “I thought you had stood me up, actually.” She could feel the blush that dusted across her cheeks at the accusation. Her left hand fell to her right wrist, her fingers loosely wrapping around it as she looked up at Charlie through her eyelashes and offered an apologetic smile. 

Charlie’s green eyes crinkled at the edges and his nose scrunched up as he laughed “take the money and run, I wish I would have thought of that!” 

“Oh..” Y/N looked back at the door and then back towards Charlie, “if you don’t want to do this, it’s fi--” 

Charlie smiled softly at her “I was just teasing, I didn’t want to sit at the table by myself in case you didn’t show and have to do the walk of shame, so I was at the bar.” 

Charlie placed his right hand on the small of her back and guided her to a table in the middle of the bustling restaurant. He pulled her chair out for her before taking a seat on the opposite side of the table. Y/N tucked her hair behind her ears and glanced at the menu, though she already knew what she was going to order. The waiter, a young kid, probably seventeen stopped by their table and quickly took their order. 

Y/N  finally looked up to find Charlie staring at her, his face cradled in his hands with his elbows propped up on the table. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“I’m just trying to figure out why a very beautiful girl would need to rent a date for a Holiday.” 

Y/N felt herself blush at his compliment and shrugged her left shoulder “I got dumped.” 

“Oh, I’m so sorry” 

She smiled and waved him off “It’s no big deal, we wanted different things out of life. He wanted marriage and I,” she hesitated, she hadn’t talked about this with anyone other than Leigha.

“You what?” 

 “I want adventure and I know that sounds silly. Like, of course, you can have adventure and marriage but Noah,” she paused, “that’s my ex.” 

Charlie nodded and gestured for her to continue, “Noah works in the financial district and he wanted marriage and kids and stability….and I barely know what I want to eat for breakfast let alone what I want for eternity.” 

“You’re a free spirit, nothing wrong with that!” Charlie interjected and Y/N felt her first genuine smile of the night spread across her face. 

“You get it.” 

“I do get it.” 

Y/N thanked the waiter as he sat down two beers along with their orders of chicken and waffles, before turning back to Charlie. 

“So, tell me about your family. What should I prepare myself for?” Charlie lifted the pint glass to his lips and took a sip of the amber-colored beer.

‘Well,” Y/N blew air into her cheeks and sighed, “my mother thinks she’s Martha Stewart. So be sure to compliment the decor as soon as you see her. You’ll win her over for sure...and maybe don’t mention the whole free spirit thing or you will definitely end up on her list of terrible suitors that I have brought home.” 

“Noted.” Charlie nodded before adding, “and your dad?” 

“My dad is easy going, just talk about beer and hockey and you'll be fine.” 

Charlie threw his head back in laughter and Y/N couldn’t help but smile at the way his whole face lit up when he laughed. She felt a flutter in her stomach as Charlie leaned forward so that his forearms rested on the table and his fingers lightly brushed across hers before he pulled back. Y/n pulled her hands off of the table and dropped them into her lap, her fingers lightly traced over the silky fabric of her skirt.

“Is everything okay?” 

Y/N inhaled a sharp breath and rolled her bottom lip into her mouth before exhaling, “yeah, but I should probably tell you something,” she looked up at Charlie through her eyelashes. 

“Well, c’mon then..” Charlie teased after several seconds of silence. 

“My folks don’t exactly know that Noah and I are….done...and I know there’s going to be a big event made of it when they find out.”

“Oof…” Charlie sighed and took a swig from his beer and a bite of his food. 

Y/N felt her heart beating in her ears, “I understand if you, I mean if this is too much and you want to back out.” 

Charlie looked at her with a playful smirk, “are you actually going to eat that or?” He pointed at her untouched plate of food with his fork. 

“W-what?” Y/N looked down at her food and back up at Charlie before letting a smile slip onto her face. She didn’t understand how someone she had just met could put her nerves at ease without even trying. 

Charlie let his fork clatter on his plate before leaning forward on his elbows. Y/N watched with furrowed brows as he grabbed the maple syrup and poured it in a circle over her chicken before he leaned back into his seat and met her eyes with a soft smile on his face. 

Y/N picked up her fork and knife and cut into her maple drenched chicken before popping a small bite into her mouth, “are you happy now?” she teased Charlie before putting her fork back down. 

Charlie tried to hold back the smile that threatened to take over his face as he nodded his head. 

“So, what’s our story going to be? It’s gonna have to be a good one if I have to upstage Noah to win over your folks.”

The two spent the next hour concocting a believable, but very romantic story of how they met. They talked about their likes and dislikes, their quirks and habits, and all of the little things that couples are supposed to know about each other, 

Y/N felt butterflies erupt in her stomach as Charlie walked her to her car, his left hand just barely brushing against hers. She mentally scolded herself for feeling jittery over a guy that was simply fulfilling his job, but she also couldn’t help but hope that maybe he was feeling their connection too.

“I’ll pick you up next Wednesday at 4 pm, yeah?” Charlie asked as they arrived at her car. Y/n tucked her hair behind her right ear and nodded. 

She felt her breath hitch as Charlie leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking backward and sending her a wave. 

A week later and Y/N found herself pulling on a green sequined, long sleeve dress, the hem set just above her knees. It was her go-to holiday dress, classic but not too formal. She painted her face with gold eyeshadow, a sharp winged eyeliner, and her classic red lips. Her hair hung over her shoulders in cascading curls. She sat on her bed, fastening a pair of strappy black heels when her phone dinged. She fastened the buckles of her heels and grabbed her phone, a smile instantly sliding onto her face at Charlie letting her know he’d be at her place in five minutes. 

She stood up and checked her appearance one final time before grabbing her gold clutch handbag and shoving her phone into it, just as Charlie knocked on her door. She quickly made her way to the front door and turned the lock before pulling the door open. 

“Wow…” Charlie breathed out as she came into full view. 

Y/N shyly smiled back at the boy, thankful that the blush she had on her cheeks already would mask the red glow that she could feel heating up her face.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” she teased, her eyes trailing from his brown wing toed shoes up to his pristine white button-up and finally to his slightly coiffed hair.

“Shall we?” Charlie extended his arm out to Y/N after she locked her door. She looped her right arm through his left, her hand resting lightly on his forearm as they made their way through the corridor and outside to Charlie’s car. 

He opened the passenger side door for her and waited for her to get situated before closing the door and running around to the other side of the car. Their forty-minute drive was mostly silent as Y/N worked to calm her nerves down. She knew that she was going to have a lot of explaining to do when she showed up with Charlie in place of Noah and she was trying to memorize all of the details that they had agreed on a week prior. 

“Are you okay?” Charlie glanced over at her for a brief moment before returning his eyes to the road, his left hand took hold of the steering wheel as his right hand settled on her bare knee. 

His hand was warm against her cold skin and Y/N wasn’t sure why but she found her left hand moving to settle on top of his hand. Without hesitation, Charlie flipped his hand over and let her palm fall into his before his fingers slid between hers and gently curled. 

“Just nervous…”

Charlie lightly squeezed her hand before letting out a small chuckle “if I didn’t know any better, I would think that you’re the one about to meet my family.”

“Oh, I’m not nervous about them meeting you, they’ll love you,” Y/N clarified,” I’m nervous about the terrible things that I know my mother is going to say to me about ending things with Noah.”

Charlie licked his lips as he pulled into her parents’ driveway. He pulled his right hand free from hers and put the car in park before turning slightly in his seat to face her. 

“You know that nothing she says is going to be true, right? You don’t have to live by someone else's timeline for your life.”

Y/N pushed down the warming feeling in her heart and nodded her head at his words. 

“Yeah, I know...are you ready?” 

Charlie smiled brightly at her and pulled the keys from the ignition before getting out of the car. He double-stepped around the car to the passenger door and pulled it open for her, waiting for her to get out before closing the door. 

He slid his left palm into her right hand and tangled their fingers together before placing a soft kiss on her hairline and whispered “let’s put on a show.” 

Y/N could feel the nervous energy erupting in her stomach as they stood outside of her childhood home. She took a deep breath before twisting the doorknob and pushing the red front door open. They were met with the warm heat of the home and the smell of cinnamon as soon as they stepped inside. Charlie let his eyes wander across the walls of the entryway, scanning the line of pictures before tugging Y/N over to one. 

“This is you, yeah?” The question was rhetorical as it had been obvious that it was her in the picture. She stood on a cliffside, at the top of a mountain with a bright smile on her face, her childhood dog, Rex, beside her and the ocean behind her. 

“Yeah, I was seventeen and went backpacking by myself for the first time. My mom was so mad. This family that was passing by was kind enough to capture the moment for me and my dad insisted that it be hung on the wall of accomplishments…” Y/N rambled off the story before letting her eyes move from the picture and up to Charlie. 

Charlie smiled down at her and laughed, “this is gonna sound insane, but I think that was my family that stopped and took the picture.”

Y/N pulled her brows forward so that her forehead was pinched in the middle “shut up! No it wasn’t!” she finally exclaimed. 

“Rex….the dog’s name was Rex. I remember because I thought you were pretty and I got flustered and I said something dumb about Rex from Toy Story.”

Y/N’s eyes grew wide as Charlie recounted the story and she felt her cheeks growing red at the revelation “well, this is a weird twist in fate--” 

She was cut off by the sound of her dad’s deep voice bellowing her name as he turned the corner. Charlie pulled her into his side and let his right-hand rest on her hip, while her right hand rested on his chest. 

“Well, this certainly isn’t Noah!” Her father exclaimed a large smile on his face and his eyes soft. He had never been the biggest fan of Noah’s to begin with. 

Charlie dropped his hand from her waist and stepped forward with it stretched out towards her dad, “Charlie Gillespie, sir.” He was taken aback when her dad threw his head back in laughter and pulled him in for a full bear hug. 

“Nice to meet you, son” 

Y/N giggled at her dad’s antics, he had always been the type to do things like that. He was a stout man with laugh lines at the corners of his eyes. He had graying hair and a well-kept beard and he radiated kindness. 

“And you, little missy, are going to have a lot of explaining to do to your mother.” Y/N pulled back from her dad's embrace and blew the air out of her cheeks. 

“Yeah, I know…” 

Her dad gently squeezed her arm and gave her a reassuring smile before leaving the two to grab a beer from the kitchen. 

“Why do I have the overwhelming feeling to call your dad pops and ask him over to mine to watch hockey?” Charlie joked. 

Y/N shrugged and tangled her fingers with his, “I told you he was the easy one. Are you ready for the rest?” 

“Lead the way, beautiful.” 

Y/N tugged on Charlie’s hand and he followed behind her as they made their way to the den where her brothers were corralled around and a card table, intense looks on each of their faces as they held their cards close to their bodies. Their wives were set on the opposite side of the room. Y/N could feel the three women’s eyes on her as she entered the room with Charlie and she knew their hushed whispers were aimed at her and the fact that Charlie was very much not Noah. 

Her youngest brother, Josh, was the first of the three boys to look up and notice her. He dropped his cards on the table, face down, and scooted his chair back against the hardwood floors. 

“Junebug!” He yelled as he practically launched himself towards her. Y/N exploded into a fit of giggles as her feet left the floor and he twirled her around in circles. Josh was three years younger than her, sitting at nineteen but she had always been the closest with him. Her giggles quieted down as he sat her back down and turned to Charlie. 

“Well, you’re not Noah.” Josh quipped with a playful smirk on his face. 

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck and laughed “I have a feeling I am going to be getting that a lot today.” 

“You play poker?” Josh eyeballed him. 

“I know my way around a deck of cards, yeah.” Charlie shrugged. 

Josh turned to Y/N and lightly punched her shoulder, “looks like you got yourself an upgrade, Junebug!” 

Y/N rolled her eyes at her brother and wished Charlie luck as he was pulled over to the table and introduced to her two older brothers, Samuel and Michael. She felt her shoulders relax for a moment as the table erupted with laughter from something Charlie had said. He looked up from his cards and shot her a wink before turning his attention back to the game at hand. 

Y/N glanced back at Charlie one last time before making her way over to the prying eyes of Amy and Melissa, the wives of Samuel and Michael. The two women each held a mug of her mother’s homemade cider in their manicured hands. 

“Who’s the cutie?” Amy was the first to speak, her left eyebrow raised as she asked the question. 

Y/N looked over her shoulder for a moment with a smile before turning back around “Charlie…” 

“Oh! Well, you’ve certainly never said Noah’s name like that before!” Melissa looked at Y/N with wide eyes. 

Y/N shook her head at the two gossipy women “like what?’

Amy and Melissa both shot knowing looks to each other before Amy quipped, “sweetie, that boy’s name left your lips like honey falling from a spoon.” 

“It did not!’ 

“You can deny it all you want, but we both heard it!” Melissa declared and brought her mug up to her lips, taking a sip of the warm cider. 

“Looks like I’m out boys!” Y/N heard from the other side of the room. She glanced over her shoulder to find Charlie laying his cards down on the table before he slid out of his chair. She smiled at him as he made his way over to her. He stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist and tugged her back into his chest, his head resting on her shoulder. 

“Charlie, these are my sister-in-laws, Amy, and Melissa.” 

“Very nice to meet both of you.” Charlie beamed at the two women. 

Melissa and Amy stood up at the sound of heels clicking against the tile floor of the kitchen. Melissa made her way around Y/N and she gently squeezed Charlies’s bicep, “good luck honey.” 

Charlie pressed a kiss to Y/N’s cheek and tightened his arms around her waist as he felt her body tense in his arms.

“You’ve got this,” Charlie reassured before loosening his grip on her and letting her grab his hand. 

Y/N sucked in a deep breath and gently pulled Charlie behind her as she navigated through the formal dining room and towards the kitchen where her mother was sure to be found. 

She stopped just inside the doorway to the kitchen and turned to face Charlie, “you can still get out of this, ya know?” 

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Charlie placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around, nudging her into the kitchen while he followed. 

Y/N stood silently for a minute as she watched her mother pull the green bean casserole from the oven and wipe her hands across her floral apron. Her mother was a thin woman with auburn hair that was almost always pulled into a chignon. 

“Mom? Can I talk to you?” Y/N hesitantly asked, suddenly feeling less like a twenty-two year old woman and more like a twelve-year old child. 

“What do you want to talk about, dear? Because if it’s about Noah,” her mother grabbed a wooden spoon and stirred the brown gravy that was simmering on the stove, “then I frankly don’t have time to listen to your childish reasons for ending the only good thing you had.” 

“You know?” Y/N choked out

Her mother grabbed the pepper grinder and began to twist the top over another pot of food, “I called Noah after we spoke last week since you couldn’t give me a straight answer when I called you.” 

“Oh…” Y/N placed her hands on Charlie’s chest and gently pushed him backward. Her eyes pleading with him to give her a minute. She didn’t want him to bear witness to the reprimanding she knew was about to come. Charlie hesitantly left her side and waited on the other side of the door. 

Her mother finally turned around to face Y/N. She placed her hands on the edge of the counter, her knuckles white from the tight grip. 

“Honestly, y/n. I don’t know why you can’t get your life together. You graduated college just to throw away your education for this silly photography hobby of yours and now you threw away a perfectly acceptable relationship because you want to travel and have adventures? You’re not a child, anymore, y/n. When is this going to stop? When are you going to grow up?”

Y/N stood silently as the words washed over her. She could feel the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes and let out a shaky breath. 

“I…”

“What? You what, Y/N? What explanation could you possibly have this time?” Her mother cut her off. 

Charlie pushed himself off of the wall he had been leaning on from the other side of the door and quickly made his way back into the kitchen. He felt her mother’s eyes on him as he quickly pressed a kiss to Y/N’s cheek, his hand sliding across the middle of her back before he put on his best smile and made his way over to her mother. 

“You have a lovely home, Mrs. Y/L/N. My mother would be insanely envious of the spread you’ve created, it’s magazine worthy!” 

“Thank you, dear. You are much too kind! I am so sorry, but I don’t believe I caught your name?”

Y/N looked down at the floor and smiled to herself at the charm that Charlie exuded as he introduced himself to her mother and offered to help her bring the endless amounts of food to the formal dining room for her. 

“I’ll go gather everyone.” Y/N shot an appreciative smile to Charlie before she made her way back to the den to gather the rest of the family into the dining room. 

Y/N made her way over to the empty chair next to Charlie, the latter getting out of his own chair to pull her chair out for her before sitting back down. He placed his hand on the inside of her thigh and let his thumb rub circles on the top of her leg. 

Her dad stood at the top of the table and carved the turkey while small talk was exchanged between her brothers and their wives and suddenly the question finally came from her mother. 

“So, how did you two meet?” 

Y/N glanced over at Charlie not sure if he was going to take the lead or not and was surprised when he started spitting out a story that was definitely not the one they had agreed on during their lunch meeting, 

 “I met your daughter several years ago on a hiking trip with my family,” Charlie paused and looked over at her before continuing, “my older brother, Patrick actually took that photo that you have on your wall in the entryway!” 

Y/N’s heart was beating erratically as Charlie squeezed her knee before turning his focus back to her mother “your daughter took my breath away that day and I kicked myself for weeks for not getting her number and just having this missed connection. I guess you could call it a twist of fate, really, that I found her again.” 

Y/N’s mother smiled at the two of them and Y/N felt her body tense for just a moment before relief rushed over her at her mother’s words “that may be the most romantic thing I have ever heard in my life.”

“Can we eat now or?” Josh hesitantly asked as he grabbed the plate of yams and began piling a portion onto his plate. 

Y/N felt at ease for the rest of the evening as their shared meal went off without a hitch. Her family shared embarrassing stories of her with Charlie and she sipped glasses of wine as he endlessly complimented her. Her heart felt full as the night drew to a close and her dad pulled out the last Thanksgiving tradition. The wishbone was passed around the table until it landed in her hands. She turned to Charlie and gestured for him to grab the other end of the bone. They both tugged on the bone with their eyes closed until it snapped. 

Y/N opened her eyes and looked down at the fractured bone in her hand and then over to Charlie who was holding the larger side. 

“Make a wish,” she whispered to him with a soft smile on her face. Charlie shook his head and kissed her forehead. 

“I don’t have to, I’ve got everything I want right here.” 

Y/N dropped her eyes to the table and reminded herself that as much as she felt the connection between her and Charlie, that he was just playing a role.

She looked up as the sound of chairs sliding against the floor filled the room. She followed suit and slowly stood up from her chair. 

“Do you need help, mom?” 

“You go ahead and head out honey, I know you have a long drive.”

Y/N made her rounds of goodbye to her family before looking back at Charlie and grabbing his hand. They silently walked to his car and he opened the car door for her. Y/N hummed along to the songs that played on the radio during the drive back to her place. She tried to ignore the heat that she felt in her stomach as Charlie’s thumb ran across her knuckles every now and then. She watched the cars that passed by them, red tail lights lighting up her face as they drove on the highway. Before she knew it they were parked outside of her apartment. 

“I guess this is it then…” Charlie looked over at Y/N as she unbuckled her seatbelt. 

“I guess so.” Y/N agreed, her right hand rested on the door handle as she looked at Charlie, her eyes searching for any indication that he didn’t want her to leave. She let her hand pull on the door handle when Charlie didn’t respond. 

She swung the car door open and stepped out into the street before making her way to the sidewalk. She turned around at the sound of another car door shutting and was taken aback by Charlie running over to her side 

“I should walk you to your door,” Charlie answered the silent question

Y/N smiled and led the way through the apartment corridor until they stood outside of her door, her keys dangling in her left hand. She looked up at Charlie and smiled, “you didn’t have to see me inside, ya know?” 

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand and shrugged, “all part of the job.” 

Y/N felt her smile falter and turned around to place the key into the lock of her apartment door. She quickly turned the key and opened the door before stepping inside. She turned to look at Charlie one last time, “well, thank you for giving me my money’s worth,” she let her eyes fall from his. 

“Goodbye, Charlie.” She closed the door and dropped her keys into the catch-all bowl before kicking her heels off and making her way over to the couch. She let her body slump into the soft cushions and pulled her phone out to call the only person that was going to understand. 

“Tell me everything!” Leigha demanded as soon as her face appeared on the phone. 

‘Well,” Y/N sighed, “I think I accidentally started to fall in love with him.” 

Leigha couldn’t stop the giddy laughter that erupted from her small frame “I knew this was going to happen! I so called this!” 

Y/N rolled her eyes at her best friend and poked her bottom lip out in a pout “it’s not funny Lee...I’m never gonna see him again and now I have all of these feelings to deal with.”

“You don’t know that!” Leigha argued

“I appreciate that you’re a hopeless romantic, Lee, but I was nothing but a paying customer to him...he basically said so himself.” Y/N frowned, thinking back to Charlie’s words as he walked her to her door. 

“Oh...hun, I’m so sorry.” 

Y/N let a sad smile slip onto her face, “I’m gonna go to bed, coffee tomorrow morning?”

Y/N hung her phone up and pulled herself up from the couch. She shuffled through the apartment until she reached her room and slowly peeled the sequined dress from her body. She made her way to the vanity and grabbed a makeup wipe and slowly removed the makeup from her face before she crawled into bed and pulled the covers tight around her body. 

It was 8 am when Y/N was pulled from her slumber by her phone blaring the ringtone that Leigha insisted she set for herself. She rolled over with her eyes still closed and fumbled around for her phone before slowly cracking her eyes to hit the green button.

“What?” Y/N grumpily answered

“Don’t what me!” Leigha chastised, “there’s a cute boy at the cafe and he just ordered your order! Like to the T!” 

Y/N set up in her bed and pressed her fingers into her eyes, rubbing the sleep away in small circles. 

“Ok? And?” 

“AND?! AND!!! His name is Charlie! I swear to god if you don’t get out of bed and make yourself look decent, I will literally kill you!” 

Y/N dropped her phone onto her bed and pulled the covers back. She quickly made her way to her bathroom and brushed her teeth. She stared at herself in the mirror and ran her fingers through her messy bed head, her curls tangling together between her fingers. 

“Shit..okay….okay…” She muttered to herself and opted to twist her hair up into a top knot. She secured it with a hair tie and ran back to her room where she threw on a pair of black leggings and an oversized jumper. Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest when she heard a knock on her door. 

She wiped her hands on her leggings and quickly made her way to her front door. She took a deep breath to settle her nerves before reaching forward to unlock the door. Her hand shook as she turned the doorknob and slowly pulled the door open. Stood on the other side was Charlie with a small brown bag and a hot coffee extended out to her. 

Y/N stepped to the side and opened the door wider, allowing Charlie to come in.

“What are you doing here?” She asked as she took the bag and coffee from his hands. She sat the bag on the counter and pulled the cup to her lips, taking a small sip. She hummed to herself as the warm liquid slid down her throat. 

Charlie stepped forward and hesitantly took the drink from her hands, setting it on the counter behind her. Y/N watched anxiously as Charlie’s eyes moved across her face, flickering between her eyes and lips several times before he lifted his hands and placed one on her right cheek while the other cradled her neck.

“I’m gonna kiss you now,” Charlie whispered into the space between them before catching her lips with his. Charlie pulled away before Y/N had a chance to react, his face glowing red as he held his bottom teeth between his top two teeth. 

“Is this free of charge?” Y/N joked as she placed her hands on Charlie’s chest and leaned forward, bringing her lips back to his. 

@straywonpil @siennanoelle01 @choppedhoundsludgeclod @cool-ultra-nerd @hxney-bunches-x @crybabyddl @sorryyoureoutofmyleague @dream-a-little-bigger-x @kcd15 @all-in-fangirl @ifilwtmfc @onlygetaway @iainttakingshitfromnobody @angryknightstatesmantrash @jazzyhales @bathtimejish @lanasfandoms @miranda0102 @emotionalbruv @aliandthephantoms @multifandombabies @kinda-really-lost @5sosmukefan @alexpjoyner @mo-d3ans @hannahhistorian92 @sunsetcurvenotsunsetswerve @i-should-be-writing-my-own-fic @sunflowerbecca @n0wornever @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic