#my fiance five seconds later

[ghostjelliess]

Author: she waded into the oasis.

Me: Ew! Girl, you seen an oasis? They stink! And bugs! And the water is full of... things: decomposing leaves, snakes, water bugs, sometimes fish or crayfish, and omg the ants. And the water's hot. Like yeah, get your bath, but you just WADED ON IN?!?!?! Splish splash? Just like that??? uh.

[wandascosmic]

she's cheer captain (5)

wanda maximoff x fem!reader

part five of 'you belong with me' series

summary: basically a wanda series inspired by jim and pam from the office

word count: 3595

tags: best friends to lovers, slowburn, reader is in love with wanda, wanda's as oblivious as ever but loves reader so much, in a friends way, pining, a whole basketball game, reader is a pro basketball player actually, except i don't know anything about basketball so this is the best i could do, minor injury, minor mention of blood, vision sucks

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7

“No, I know the warranty’s expired but isn’t it supposed to last longer than two years if it isn’t defective?” you overhear Wanda say on the phone. “Ok, 3 years then.” 

Furrowing your brows, you make your way over to her desk to ask what’s wrong, seeing Wanda anxiously biting the nail of her thumb. 

“Hey, Maximoff, what’s up?” you ask softly, Wanda’s head jerking up at the sound of your voice, her eyes softening once she sees you. 

“Hey,” she mumbles dejectedly. “Um, the toaster oven I got at my engagement shower broke,” she laughs awkwardly. “And I know it’s silly, but..” 

The toaster oven you got at your engagement shower 3 years ago. For a wedding that still has yet to be set. “No, I understand,” you offer her a reassuring smile. 

Wanda smiles back gratefully.  

Drumming your fingers on the desk, you ask, “Are you ready for the basketball game against the warehouse staff today?” 

Wanda groans, leaning back against her chair. “It’s not gonna end well.” 

You laugh. “Wow, Maximoff. For Tony’s designated cheerleader for today, you’re quite negative,” you tease.  

Wanda laughs as well. “That was Sam’s idea so he could suck up to Tony.” She shakes her head. “And besides, I declined because I can’t cheer against Vis.” 

Your smile falls for a split second. 

“Yeah, I guess not.” 

***

“Attention, everyone,” Tony announces coming out of his office. 

You swivel in your chair to face him, leaning your head on your hand. 

“Corporate just called me to let me know that we need staff to come in on Saturday,” he says, making the office staff groan collectively. 

“Yeah, that was my reaction too,” he mutters. “Anyways, they let me know that the basketball game later today against the warehouse staff can be used to decide who comes in and who will stay home, and I agreed.  So those of you playing, you better win, because I refuse to come in on a Saturday,” Tony says menacingly before going back into his office.  

“Wait, Tony, we still need a cheerleader!” Sam yells as he runs after him, but Tony ignores him, shutting the door in his face. “Wanda, I still think it should be you.” He says, turning to the receptionist. 

“No, Sam,” she declines once more, dialing a number on the desk phone and putting it up to her ear. “I can’t cheer against my fiance.” 

“I’ll do it,” you say, making Sam and Wanda look at you curiously. 

Sam turns around and narrows his eyes at you. 

“You know, wear a little flouncy skirt and what-not,” you say seriously. 

Wanda snickers quietly at your joke. 

“Yeah, right, Y/N,” Sam grumbles. 

“Oh, yeah,” you rub your chin with your pointer finger and thumb. “I forgot I’ll be busy playing on the team, and you’re benched for nearly setting the building on fire last year after losing in foosball.” 

***

You were actually looking forward to playing on the team. It’s been a while since you had played basketball, but you had been on your high school team for all four years and it was something that had kind of become your thing. Plus, you may or may not have the motivation of impressing a certain green-eyed brunette.  

“Are you coming down?” you ask Wanda as you tie up your running shoes in the chair across from her. 

“Yeah, I’m just forwarding the phones,” Wanda answers, pressing a few buttons absentmindedly. 

“You gonna wish me luck?” you ask. 

“Yeah, you’re gonna need it,” Wanda returns, her mouth opening in fake shock as you laugh at her.  

“No way, is that trash-talk from Wanda?” you tease. 

“I’m just saying, Vision is very competitive,” she tells you with a shrug. “And, he wants to take the waverunners to the lake this Saturday, so..” Wanda tilts her head in a teasing manner. 

“Wow,” you say wistfully with a shake of your head. “Well, I’m going to the outlet mall on Saturday,” you respond as if you were rather conflicted. “So if you wanna save big on brand names and Vision has to work,” you pause to give her a teasing smile making her let out a laugh. “Which he will, because I’m also competitive.” Wanda raises her eyebrow slightly at the challenge. “You should feel free to come along,” you invite.    

Wanda ponders for a moment, tapping her chin in deep thought. “Um, I think I’m gonna be up at the lake,” she answers with a smirk.

You narrow your eyes at her with a smile. “I think I’ll see you at the mall, Maximoff.” 

Wanda laughs. 

***

Sam had somehow convinced Tony to let him play on the team despite his history of quick-tempered overreactions, you didn’t know how he did it, but you suspect it might have to do with the half-eaten chocolates you saw in Tony’s office through the window which weren’t there in the morning. 

Now, your team consists of you, Sam, Tony, Nat, and Peter, who joined last week as the new intern. 

“Alright,” Tony walks onto the middle of the floor of the warehouse. “Those of you on the team with me, you better win because I refuse to come in on a Saturday,” he announces, which you suppose is his version of a pep talk. 

“Wow, Tony, very motivational,” Nat replies sarcastically with her arms crossed. 

“You know, if we win, maybe Tony will buy us some drinks,” you tell Wanda, stretching out your legs slightly. 

Wanda pats your back in false comfort, “Well, that’s a nice thought, but once again, it’s gonna be a tough competition…” 

“Oh, you’ll see, Maximoff,” you retort. “I’ll be at the outlet mall on Saturday, getting loads of great deals, then celebrating with a round of shots.” 

Wanda laughs, and you smile at her. 

But your smile quickly falls as you see Vision come out of the warehouse bathroom in his athletic wear, on his way to greet his fiance. 

Wanda notices your line of sight and turns to face him, greeting him with a hand on his chest and a quick peck on the lips. 

“Hi,” she says in a breathy voice, looking up at him with a loving grin on her face. 

“Hey,” he whispers back, and Wanda wraps her arms around his neck as the two engage in a much deeper kiss. 

You quickly avert your gaze and decide to do a couple more stretches.  

“Alright, everyone, listen up,” Tony declares as both the office and warehouse staff huddle up in a circle, Vision unfortunately ending up standing next to you. “This is gonna be a friendly game, but whoever loses this game will have to come in to work this Saturday, got it?” 

Everyone nods in understanding. 

“Alright, great, let’s start,” he says, jogging backward into place as everyone starts to disperse around the court.  

“Have a good game,” you tell Vision as the two of you take a couple of steps back to spread out, holding out your hand for him to shake. 

“Yeah, you too,” he says, shaking your outstretched hand and then running off to meet his teammates. “Should be fun,” you catch him mutter under his breath. 

You narrow your eyes in suspicion. 

“Alright, office team, huddle up,” Tony announces, snapping you out of your thoughts and forcing you to form a circle with the rest of your teammates. “Peter, you’ll take Steve, Nat, you’ll take Clint, Sam, you take Vision, Y/N, you’re on T’Challa, and I’m on Jean, got it?” 

You all nod. 

“Alright, good luck. Spread out, everyone!” Tony says as he walks towards the middle of the court to grab the ball. “Wanda, you’ve got your foot in both camps here, why don’t you do the jump ball, okay?” 

Wanda nods and walks towards Tony to grab the basketball. 

“Don’t listen to him, Wanda, trust me. Tip it my way or you’re sleeping in the car,” Vision jokes with a laugh as he squats down. 

You clench your jaw as you see Wanda’s frown. 

The ball goes up in the air and Tony quickly gets his fingers on it to tip it towards your side of the court. 

“Sam!” he yells as the ball ends up right beside Sam. 

Sam tries to dribble the ball but unfortunately, you all quickly notice that his skills are subpar at best. Sam loses control of the ball after the third dribble, allowing Vision to steal it from him. 

“Oh, come on!” Tony yells, running after Vision as well as the rest of you. 

You quickly sprint after Vision who is on his way to score, and right as he’s about to send the ball into the hoop, he passes it to Steve, who makes the shot. 

“Damn it,” you mutter. 

T’Challa tries to pass to Vision but you quickly interfere, stealing the ball before Vision can get it and sprint towards the hoop, dribbling the ball at your side. Before you can make the shot Clint guards you, so you pass it to Sam and run around Clint. 

“Shoot it, Sam!” Tony shouts. 

Sam throws the ball to try and score but misses again, accidentally throwing it over the hoop entirely. 

“Sorry, Tony!” Sam apologizes. 

“It’s fine, Sam,” Tony replies, but you can tell that he’s already starting to get frustrated. “Let’s go into zone, everyone!” he instructs. 

You jog in position, squatting down in an athletic stance to try and grab the ball being passed around between the warehouse staff.

“Defense!” Sam chants with a clap. “Defense!” 

You guard T’Challa with your arms up, and he quickly tosses the ball over your head to pass to Vision who’s right beside the hoop and about to score. You sprint to try and stop the ball, but Vision scores another point before you can reach him by doing a layup. 

Tony groans. “Who’s got Vision? Come on, step it up!” he yells. 

You move to grab the ball Vision scored and start to dribble it as you sprint towards the other side of the court. Once you reach the hoop, you’re about to shoot the ball when suddenly Vision stands in front of you to stop you from shooting the ball, with the rest of his teammates surrounding him. You inch a bit closer to him, as if you’re about to run past him on his right side, the ball dribbling at your side, and right as he starts to lean over a little bit to mirror your position, you fake him out, throwing the ball behind your back and catching it on the other side of your body, successfully passing him on his left and scoring another point. 

“Whoo!” Wanda cheers, joining in on the applause you receive for your play. 

The game passes by a bit more, and soon the ball ends up in Sam’s hands once again who’s on the opposite side of the court from the hoop. Sam goes off of his first instinct, and tries to shoot it from all the way across the court, surprising no one when it doesn’t make it into the hoop. 

“Oh, come on!” Sam yells in frustration. 

Nat steals the ball from Clint who had picked it up after Sam’s shot and scores once more, and Steve makes a 2-pointer after taking the ball from Peter, who was trying his best to be as friendly as possible since he was still the new guy. 

You furrow your brows in confusion as you hear an argument come from the corner of the warehouse, turning to see Sam trying to full-on wrestle the ball out of Jean’s hands.

“Back off!” Jean yells at him, but Sam ignores her as he gets the ball out of her grip. 

He sprints, dribbling the ball to his side as he runs towards the hoop, but unfortunately, Vision steals the ball from him before he can make it, making another shot for the warehouse team instead.  

Tony shakes his head. “All right, time out,” he says, making a T with his hands. “Office team, come on in.” 

You all walk towards Tony who stands beside the bench, panting heavily and starting to sweat quite a bit. 

“Ok, we’re down right now, guys, what do we do?” 

“Run away and start a beet farm,” Sam suggests with a shrug. 

“What? No,” Tony answers with a shake of his head. 

“Switch Y/N and Sam,” Nat responds. “She’s the strongest on our team, and it looks like Vision is theirs.” 

Wanda’s eyes widen as she overhears Nat’s suggestion from the bench. 

“Yes, smart. Ok, Y/N, you take Vision. Sam, you’ll take T’Challa, got it?” He points to the two of you and you both nod in response. 

Wanda shifts uncomfortably in her seat. 

“All right, everyone take it up a notch, come on!” Tony says with a clap, silently instructing you all to disperse across the court once more. 

The ball goes back into play, Nat taking hold of it immediately, who quickly passes it to you, and you start to dribble your way toward the hoop. You’re about to score, but Steve blocks you with his arms out, along with Vision who stands at your side to prevent you from scoring as well. 

You dribble the ball slightly, inching a bit closer to Steve before faking him out and turning to throw the ball over Vision’s head, scoring another point. 

“Yes, let’s go!” Tony yells with a fist pump. 

You jog back to the other side, giving Wanda a teasing nod as you pass her on the bench, and she watches your running form with a soft smile. 

Peter grabs the ball from Clint, starting to dribble toward the hoop, but Sam steals it from him, making his first shot of the game.  

“Same team Mr. Sam!” Peter yells, but Sam ignores him as he continues to cheer for himself.

The ball soon goes back into play, and you sprint as fast as you can after it. Steve gets ahold of it first, but gets blocked by Peter before he can go any further. You see Steve about to pass it to Vision and you quickly block him to try and catch the ball yourself. Vision growls, shoving you out of the way so you stand behind him so he can grab it instead. 

The ball gets thrown into the air, the two of you shoving each other out of the way to try and take ahold of it. As you’re about to steal it successfully, your palms are right about to contact both sides of the ball, suddenly, something hits you right in the mouth. Hard. 

You run off slightly with your hand on your mouth to check if you’re bleeding, and Wanda’s eyes widen with worry as she sits up slightly to see if you’re ok. 

“Whoa! Whoa! Vision! Foul! Dude, you just clocked her right in the mouth with your elbow,” Tony says with shock. “Y/N, are you alright?” 

Wanda tries to peer around the corner to check on you, her worry increasing by the second.  

Once you walk back onto the court and nod that you’re ok, she exhales in relief, relaxing slightly. 

The game soon restarts and the ball makes its way into your hands once more. You dribble the ball to the hoop, and right as you’re about to score, Vision stands in front of you, blocking you from making your shot. Dribbling the ball slightly, you fake him out on his right and quickly go around his left, scoring another point. Soon after, Vision is about to score when you steal the ball from him, and run towards your own hoop, scoring a 3-pointer for your team. 

Wanda smiles as she watches you play. 

Tony passes the ball to you and Vision quickly guards you by standing on your backside as the hoop is behind you. You fake him out once more and swivel around to score. However, as you do your move, he trips and falls over, making him skid a couple inches on the ground.  

“What the hell, Y/N?” he says as he stands back up, brushing his shorts slightly. 

“Hey, dude. That wasn’t her fault,” Tony says, pointing towards his untied shoelace. 

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” he retorts, bumping your shoulder forcefully as he walks past you. 

Wanda frowns as she watches the interaction. 

Bruce lets you all know that the game is about to end in 2 minutes, and somehow Sam scores his second shot of the game after stealing the ball from Tony, making Tony roll his eyes despite being grateful for the additional point. 

The game passes quickly, and suddenly, you all hear the blare of an airhorn being fired by Bruce to indicate that the game is over. 

You stop running and try to catch your breath by putting your hands on your knees, feeling exhausted from all the exercise. 

“And the winners are,” Bruce points to Jennifer to indicate for her to do a drum roll. “The office team by 10 points!” he announces. 

You all cheer and high-five one another, and you receive a couple of compliments on your play making you smile. 

Tony turns to the warehouse staff. “All right, great,” he claps. “Guess you guys are working Saturday.” 

The warehouse workers groan, starting to walk out the door to go and change, but unfortunately, Vision has a different idea. “No, no, no, I’m not coming in on Saturday,” he says, stepping closer to Tony. 

“Hey, come on, man, they won fairly.” Steve pats him on the back. 

“No, no way, this isn’t happening, Rogers,” Vision replies, shoving Steve’s hand off of him aggressively and invading Tony’s personal space even more. 

“Dude,” Tony gets his attention. “We won. You heard me at the beginning, whoever loses will come in on Saturday. That was the deal, alright?” 

“I don’t care,” Vision snaps back. “We’re coming in on Monday, right?” 

You sigh, noticing Vision’s fists clenched and the sign that he’s about to get physical. Slightly worried for Tony’s safety and because you were already tired, you decide it’s probably best to end the argument. “Hey, Tony,” you say softly. “It’s fine, we’ll come in on Saturday,” you comply. 

Tony shakes his head. “No, Y/N, that won’t fly. We won fairly and this guy is just coming in here–” 

“Tony, it’s fine,” you interrupt. “It probably wouldn’t have been good for morale anyways,” you reason.

“You know you basically won that game for us, right?” Tony says, utterly confused by your actions. “And now you’re completely discrediting your hard work–” 

“Tony, don’t worry about it.” 

He narrows his eyes at you. “You’re insane, Y/N.” 

You shrug in response. 

“Well?” Vision demands. 

Tony looks over at you and you nod. 

“Fine,” Tony relents. “We’ll come in on Saturday.” 

Vision smiles smugly, and as leaves the two of you to head towards the bathroom, you hear his snark remark of, “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” 

You and Tony both watch him until he closes the bathroom door behind him, and you sigh as you go to pack up your stuff. 

“I hate you,” Tony says behind you. 

You nod, zipping up your bag and patting him on the shoulder. 

“Well, you can yell at me on Saturday,” you respond, going to head upstairs to shower and change. 

***

You were back in your work clothes now, staring into the most beautiful green eyes to ever exist as the recipient of them iced your lip for you. 

“Wanda, this is completely unnecessary,” you tell her, sitting up slightly in the large chair across from her desk. “I’m fine.” 

“I know, but it looked like it hurt, and this will prevent it from swelling,” she replies, sitting down on the arm of the chair. Wanda’s brows furrow in focus as she treats your barely qualified injury, while you watch the cute expression on her face, completely entranced. Somehow, every day you just fell more and more in love with her. And right now, you didn’t even care that you had to come in on Saturday. Just one moment with the most beautiful girl the world has ever known would make you do it again in a heartbeat. 

“There, that should be good,” Wanda says, snapping you out of your thoughts. 

You laugh slightly. “You mean my non-existent injury healed already?”

Wanda slaps your arm. “I was worried, you idiot. And a thank you would be nice,” she returns as she walks back to her desk. 

“Thank you, Wanda,” you say, leaning back in your chair with a smile, watching her.  

She smiles gratefully as she sits back down in her chair. 

You and Wanda start a small conversation between the two of you for the next few minutes, but unfortunately, your moment with the receptionist is cut short, as the devil himself walks in. 

“Hey, baby,” Vision greets, looking over at you as he walks towards Wanda, limping slightly due to his fall you assume. 

“Hey,” Wanda greets back as she starts to put her stuff away, Vision noticing you and giving you a grin. 

“Look at Larry Bird, over here,” he says, nodding his head over at you. “Larry Legend.” 

“Yeah, she’s, uh, she’s pretty good, huh?” Wanda agrees as she comes around her desk with her arms crossed, staring at you for a moment before grabbing Vision’s arm. 

The two start to walk out together, and you wave goodbye to both of them as a silly smile makes its way onto your face.

part 6

[libraryofgage]

Addams Family Steddie AU Part 3

Part One | Part Two

To preface, a bitch is sick rn so if you see any typos, no you didn't lol

"Robin, this is serious."

Steve can perfectly see Robin rolling her eyes through the phone as she says, "Oh, right, I'm so sorry your fiance-to-be is the perfect boyfriend who takes you on wonderful dates and romances you every single second you're together."

"I'm starting to think you're jealous."

"I'd only be jealous if Eddie had tits."

"He'd probably get some if I asked."

In the silence that follows, Steve can imagine Robin's scrunched face: her crinkled nose and curled lips and generally disgusted eyebrow furrow. He counts down from six in his head and then mouths along as Robin says, "I'd hang up if I weren't so invested in your love life."

"For someone so invested, you're not helping."

He hears a put-upon sigh through the speaker and returns it with a sigh of his own. Steve gives up on sitting properly and collapses back onto his bed, staring at the unmoving ceiling fan Hulyet is currently hanging from to nap.

"Fine, fine, what's the actual problem again?" Robin asks, her question followed by the sound of her shutting a book (one of her science textbooks based on the sound it makes when closing) so she can give Steve her full attention.

"Eddie is always planning our dates, and they're always really good, right? So I want to plan a date in return, but I have no clue how to plan something we'll both equally enjoy. In fact, I have no clue how Eddie plans our dates in the first place."

"Just start with something he likes and try to find something you'll like in it."

"Okay, say it again, but pretend I'm five."

Robin sighs again, and Steve hears the creaking of her bed as she collapses onto it. "Okay, the last date he planned, it was a hockey game, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, you like sports. Hockey is an obvious jump from there, but was Eddie also having fun at the game?"

Steve hums, reviewing their date from the week before. He hadn't expected Eddie to pull out hockey tickets, but he'd looked forward to it nonetheless. The game itself was fun, and the rink was cold enough that Steve had been able to scoot closer to Eddie and complain about being chilly.

Of course, Eddie's immediate response was to pull out a lighter, open it, and flick a flame to life while asking, "How big of a fire do you want, Stevie?"

For a brief moment, Steve had considered the question. But then he'd realized a fire would disrupt the hockey game, so they probably shouldn't start one.

After grabbing the lighter and stuffing it into his own pocket, Steve leaned closer and whispered, "Wouldn't you rather put your arm around me?" Eddie had lit up, and his smile was wide enough to make Steve feel blinded as he wrapped an arm around Steve's waist and pulled him closer.

It had been wonderful and romantic, right up until both of them got way too into the game and completely forgot about cuddling in favor of shouting at the players to hit harder and actually draw some blood to get the puck.

Steve smiles a little at the memory. "Yeah, he enjoyed the violence."

"Well, we all enjoy seeing buff people get a little bloody," Robin says, and Steve can see the way she's nodding like a wise man. "Anyway, he probably knew he'd enjoy the whole violence part of the sport. So, follow that formula."

"What formula are you seeing here?"

"Thing fiance-to-be likes plus a small part of it you could probably enjoy equals romance. If that's too hard, just get him a gift and plan the date around that."

Well, it sounds easy when she says it like that. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because I'm the genius here, obviously. Now go plan a date so you can tell me all about it later. And I expect details, Steven. Sordid details. If I'm not quivering in my bodice, what's the fucking point."

"You don't even have a bodice. And my name isn't Steven."

"I'll get one, and your name is whatever's comedically appropriate."

"I found a good website for bodices and corsets, actually. I can send it to you."

"What are you doing on that website, Steve?" Robin asks, her voice light and eager.

Steve smirks, pulling the phone away from his ear and saying, "Wouldn't you like to know," before quickly hanging up. The phone stays silent for three whole seconds before Robin immediately calls back, but Steve is too busy laughing to actually pick up.

Part of why the Munsons moved to Steve's neighborhood is the cemetery within walking distance. The cemetery is at the very back of the neighborhood, hidden from people who don't actually live there. The front of the cemetery is perfectly presentable. The gravestones are clean and new, and flowers decorate most graves while others hold pebbles and stones of various sizes and colors.

The back of the cemetery, however, is a Munson paradise. The grass gives way to brown, under-watered weeds and dirt, the faded gravestones are covered in moss and plants climbing them, and the trees are perpetually leafless and spindly to create the perfect horror movie atmosphere. It was like that even before the Munsons moved to the neighborhood, but Steve doesn't actually know why.

The back of the cemetery is where Steve leads Eddie, occasionally looking back to make sure the blindfold covering Eddie's eyes is still in place. "You know, I was expecting more than walking when you pulled out the blindfold," Eddie says, squeezing Steve's hand.

"We're almost there," Steve promises, looking around them until he spots the picnic blanket and pillows he'd laid down earlier in front of a blank gravestone. There's a small projector on the edge of the blanket, facing the wall of a mausoleum, with a DVD player connected to it.

Steve stops at the edge of the blanket, takes a deep breath, and moves to stand in front of Eddie. "Okay," he says, reaching up and carefully pulling off the blindfold.

When it comes off, Eddie looks straight at Steve, not sparing a glance at the set-up behind him. "Are you the surprise?" he asks, sliding his hands around Steve's hips and pulling him closer.

"I'm not much of a surprise," Steve points out.

"You're the best gift I could ask for," Eddie says, sealing the words with a kiss that would be too easy for Steve to get lost in.

And he almost does, but he pulls away before Eddie's tongue can get too far into his mouth. "No, wait, you haven't seen the actual surprise," he mumbles, putting a few inches between them and gesturing to the picnic blanket.

Eddie's eyes light up, and he pulls Steve to the blanket. He sits against the headstone and tugs Steve down next to him. "Movie date in a graveyard? Very romantic, sweetheart," Eddie says, leaning close and kissing Steve's jaw.

"Well, that's not the whole surprise," Steve replies, leaning his head on Eddie's shoulder. He hears a quiet hum from above him and adds, "This is our spot."

"What? Like a make-out spot? We gonna sneak out in the middle of the night to make out right here twice a week?"

"Only twice?" Steve asks, his voice teasing as he tilts his head back to see Eddie smile. He doesn't give Eddie the chance to answer, though. Instead, he takes Eddie's hand and plays with his engaged-to-be-engaged ring. "I mean, this is our spot. We're leaning on our gravestone."

A few seconds pass before Eddie seems to actually process the words. When he does, he straightens up, tugging Steve away from the gravestone with him so he can see it. "Is this...a couple's plot?" he asks, his eyes wide as he looks from the stone to Steve.

Steve flushes, heat rising in his cheeks as he looks away. He takes a deep breath, deciding to just verbalize his thought process when he'd bought the plot. "I figured, well, we wouldn't want to be apart even in death. So we'll be buried together, you know? Our corpses will be embracing as we rot for eternity, becoming skeletons and dust that will only know each other."

The words are followed by silence, making Steve wonder if he somehow fucked up with his gift. He braces himself and glances up at Eddie to ask if he doesn't like it only to be pushed back on the blanket. Steve blinks, his brain barely catching up as Eddie kisses him. This is, by far, the most desperate kiss Steve has ever received from Eddie. It's a kiss that's practically begging Steve to give Eddie permission to swallow him whole, tuck him securely into the marrow of his bones, and hold him there so they'll never be apart.

Steve is a little confused, but he's far more interested in kissing back, sliding his fingers into Eddie's hair and tugging playfully as he bites Eddie's tongue. A rough growl in response sends shivers down Steve's spine, goosebumps spreading across his arms as Eddie pushes his hands under Steve's shirt.

Surprisingly warm fingers trail across Steve's abdomen before Eddie's hands settle on his hips, his pinkies teasingly pushing past the waistband of his jeans. Steve sighs softly, relaxing at the familiar sensation as he hooks one of his legs over Eddie's waist, pulling him close until their hips and chests are flush against each other.

Eddie grins against Steve's lips, his left hand trailing down Steve's waist to rest on his thigh, holding it in place as he teasingly grinds their hips together. Steve jolts, a surprised, quiet moan escaping him as his hands start to tremble with adrenaline and...well, sheer horniness if he's being honest.

"Please tell me we can fuck on our future grave," Eddie says, his voice low and husky as he speaks against Steve's lips.

Steve groans, fully agreeable to the idea only to realize two very important things. One, he doesn't have any lube, and two, he was actually looking forward to watching movies with Eddie, which wouldn't really happen if they got too distracted. Plus, you know, the whole sex in public thing, but that's not as big of a deal. Who's going to be visiting the cemetery on a Wednesday?

But Steve doesn't want to completely dash Eddie's hopes and the sheer joy in his eyes at the idea, so he presses another kiss to his lips and promises, "Later, Eddie."

Despite his disappointed expression, Eddie doesn't argue. He just sits up, pulling Steve with him so he stays in his lap. "I'll hold you to that, sweetheart," he whispers, kissing down Steve's neck until he reaches the point where it meets his shoulder. He bites down there, causing Steve to inhale sharply as he licks and sucks a hickey onto his skin.

Steve shakily exhales, biting his bottom lip to keep himself grounded. When it feels like Eddie is about to start on another hickey, Steve uses his grip on his hair to pull him back. "Stevie," Eddie breathes, his eyes dark as he looks up at him, "you know what pulling does to me."

Steve snorts, kisses his cheek, and climbs off his lap. "Keep it in your pants for now, babe. I actually want to get to the other part of this date," he says, moving over to the projector.

"And what's that?" Eddie asks.

"Classic monster movies," Steve says, grinning at the excited gasp that comes from Eddie as he turns on the projector. Once it boots up, the mausoleum wall shows the opening menu for a Monster Movie Collection DVD. Steve puts on Frankenstein, making sure the movie actually starts and the opening credits begin rolling before climbing back into Eddie's lap.

"I love you so fucking much," Eddie says, wrapping his arms around Steve's waist and hugging him close as he rests his chin on Steve's shoulder.

Steve grins, leaning back against him and idly playing with one of the rings on Eddie's fingers. "I love you, too. Now shut up and watch the movie. No more making out until at least this one is over."

"Yes, sir."

Steve can't help a soft laugh. He takes Eddie's hand, raises it to his lips, and playfully bites his palm before lacing their fingers together and focusing on the movie.

Tag List: @estrellami-1, @justforthedead89, @starman-jpg, @abstractnaturaldisaster, @sugartin, @ashwagandalf, @xjessicafaithx, If anyone else wants to be tagged in potential future parts, just let me know!

[nolita-fairytale]

don't want to walk alone | carmen 'carmy' berzatto x fem!reader | chapter one: june/july

summary: you and carmy plan a wedding like it's the opening of a new restaurant.

warnings: swearing, eventual smut, lots of tooth rotting fluff, marriage, no use of y/n, second person pov

wc: 3.4k

listen to: let's get married (bleachers cover) - mitski

a/n: the long awaited wedding FIC!! welcome to part four of the 'make my heart surrender' universe (four part series). this takes place a month after the end of 'still into you' but before the carmy as your baby daddy headcanon series (my carmy masterlist is organized chronologically, if you'd like to read in order). anyways, i truly adore writing for these two and feel it important to note that after watching season 2, i've realized this has just become an animal of its own -- its own universe/timeline/entity which also means there AREN'T any SEASON TWO SPOILERS! this chapter was inspired by a conversation from two months ago between me and @carmensberzattos so courtesy of us, enjoy some healthy relationship-future husband!carmy. also don't worry syd will be starring in the next chapter. i missed her too. lmk if you wanna be added or removed from the taglist.

masterlist | part two

"let's just get married, don't wanna walk alone, so let's get married, 'cause we don't wanna walk alone or runaway." (bleachers, let's get married.)

'I just want to be married to you' are the words uttered (first by you, you think, but maybe he said it first, you really can’t remember) that lead you and Carmy to the decision that you should elope. Sooner rather than later, preferably, is what you both agree on. It’s not like you’re planning on having a big wedding anyways. How much work can a civil ceremony at City Hall and a nice dinner party afterwards be to pull off?

Famous last words. 

You’re not sure how you’ve gotten from there to here, locked in a heated debate over menu edits with your fiance in the middle of your shared apartment when the sun’s just barely come up, but here you are.

“I’m just saying that we should be open minded and leave room for his artistic integrity!” Carmy passionately argues, winding you up as he makes his case. 

“Artistic integrity? Carmy, are you kidding me right now? I-!” you fire back, shaking your head incredulously. “We said we were gonna keep everything chill.”

“It is chill!” he defends, matter-of-factly.

Oh, he’s just looking for a fight.

“There is nothing chill about a parm espuma and it certainly doesn’t belong anywhere near the carbonara!” you scoff, stubbornly. “I mean, the only reason he even brought up the idea of a goddamn espuma in the first place is because he was trying to impress you.”

Carmy’s jaw twitches in response as he grinds his teeth, a display of discomfort at the mere thought.

“He-he was not,” he denies with the kind of conviction of a five year old toddler who's sure as can be.

You shoot him a look. 

“Carmen,” you warn him. 

Sure it’s a silly thing to fight about, but there’s no malice in this argument. It’s all passion, artistry, and for lack of a better term, foreplay. You let out a sigh, softening before you rise out of your chair. 

“Baby, when are you going to admit that you’re kind of a big deal and that people want to impress you?” you level with him, making your way over to your very stubborn and very insistent fiance. You settle down onto his lap, before tucking a stray curl behind his ear as you break, giving the sweetest smile.

He laughs dryly, averting his eyes from you because he’s not sure how much longer he’ll be able to stand his ground (especially when you’re looking at him like that). 

You’re right. And he knows you’re right. 

And Carmy’s never been able to resist you for long anyways. 

A fox-like grin spreads across your lips and you know you’ve won the argument when you feel a pair of hands snake around your waist. 

“Don’t push it,” he warns you, seeing the look on your face as he shakes his head, finally returning his eyes to yours. 

You raise an eyebrow, “You like that I push.” 

He nods slowly in surrender, his face softening as he asks you:

“You really want to fight about this?” 

You shake your head with a laugh. 

“No, of course not! Of course, I don’t want to fight about this!” you exhale, sliding your hands over his shoulders to wrap around his neck. “But I do think that your new buddy is trying to impress us and that it may be wise for us to reign him in – clear the air on what it is we’re looking for.” 

A beat. 

“Don’t get me wrong. Of course, we can leave room for creativity… but I don’t want our wedding party to turn into some pretentious fine dining fancy party.”

“Well, we did meet because of some pretentious fine dining fancy thing,” he points out, giving your hip a squeeze. 

You giggle, “How could I forget?”

You shake your head once more, leaning in to press your lips against his. Carmy inhales deeply, enjoying the feel of your lips on his, your arms wrapped around his neck, the weight of your body on his lap. 

You indulge him for a moment, deepening the kiss as you feel your future husband relax against you, because you really are happy that Carmy’s made a new friend. 

Carmy had met a private chef a few months ago and had been trying to hire him for the restaurant for a while now. Wanting to work for himself, the chef had respectfully declined all advances, but he and Carmy had kept in touch, and it looked as if the relationship could potentially extend outside of the four walls of a kitchen. Since you both agreed that no one from the restaurant should work the party, it had been good timing (making a new friend and the fact that he was a private chef) and the right move for Carmy to ask his new friend to cater the wedding.

“Fine,” you resign yourself, pulling away from the kiss. “Derek can keep the liquid nitrogen but that is as far as it goes.”

Carmy shoots you a look – one that says he’s not quite convinced. 

“And I will be more open minded in the spirit of… artistic integrity. But I’m not changing my mind about courses. Family style or bust, baby,” you negotiate, a serious look in your eyes. 

Carmy thinks it over for a moment before finally coming to a resolution. 

“Deal,” Carmy nods with the same intensity as a ‘yes, chef.’

You nod too, completing the agreement. 

“I want it to be real, Carm. I want it to be us,” you reiterate, your voice soft as you make your condition loud and clear. 

“I know,” he returns, just as determined and committed to the idea as he is to you. 

You’re satisfied with the resolution – even more satisfied with the fact that you’ve come to it together. 

“You know…” he starts, something in his voice that you can’t quite make out, unsure if you’re going to like what’s about to come out of his mouth. “... it could be a perfect menu if you just let me-.”

“Don’t even finish that sentence, Carmen!” you interrupt, knowing exactly what he was going to say. 

You are so not playing this game today.

“You don’t even know what I was-!”

“Yes, I do! You are not catering your own wedding party,” you protest, adamantly.  

You know him too well. 

He laughs, shaking his head as he leans back against his chair, like he’s in high school again, and you’ve just caught him sneaking back into the house. 

“God, I love you! But sometimes you drive me up the wall, Carm,” you groan out of frustration, eliciting another laugh from his chest as you hang your head, resting your forehead against his shoulder this time.

“Such a control freak,” you sigh, against his chest. 

“Thought you like it when I take control,” he murmurs, beginning to leave kisses across your exposed skin. 

You giggle partially because it tickles, and mostly because of what Carmy’s said. 

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

You lift your head and Carmy kisses you again, this time savoring the way your lips feel against his for a little while longer – just long enough to remind himself that he wants to have the option to sneak away in the middle of your wedding party to have sex much more than he wants cater to be in control all the time. 

Sometimes, he thinks to himself, control is overrated anyways. 

Only sometimes.

“Okay, okay,” he mutters, letting go of the idea. “I’ll get back to Derek about final menu edits and make sure he knows that while we want him to be creative, we also want to keep it… you know….”

“Chill?” you emphasize. 

“Chill,” he confirms.

“Okay. Thank you, baby,” you smile softly, trying your best to enjoy the temporary moment of peace between the two of you. Carm squeezes your hip as you roll your eyes with a sigh, muttering an:

“Oh fuck.” 

“What’s up?”

You shake your head again, laughing incredulously before letting out another sigh. 

“Just wait till we go through this again with the cake.”

“Fuck!” Carmy shouts towards the ceiling, throwing his head back as you laugh. “Why did we say we wanted to plan a wedding again?”

“Well baby, I don’t think either of us can pass up on a chance to create a menu,” you giggle, leaving a few kisses along his jawline before you make your way up to his nose. “Can you imagine if we decided to have a full-on wedding? That’d be a freaking mess.”

He chuckles, “It’d be like opening another restaurant.”

“Yeah, pass,” you hum, so glad to have dodged that bullet.

-----------------------------------------

By the time you and Carmy are even ready to focus on the cake portion of said wedding-dinner-party it’s a month later. You’ve been through half of the bakeries in the city, you think, and something’s just felt off. You’re practically eating your words, as it dawns on you that you’re having the exact same thought as Carmy: that it could just be perfect if you were able to make it yourself. 

Then again, you remind yourself that a cake is an entirely different thing versus running a dinner service, so it can’t be that unhinged to have these thoughts, right?

But you and Carmy made an agreement, so in solidarity, you decide it’s only fair for you to make like Tammy Wynette and stand by your man. 

You’re grateful for the half day you have today (“Summer Fridays”, as it’s so fondly referred to around your office) – and the fact that you get to work from home. What it means for you is that today you can clock out early and pick up samples from the tenth bakery (okay, so maybe it’s the eleventh but truthfully, you’ve lost count) in the running for your wedding cake. 

You change out of your pajamas for the first time today, throwing on a slip dress and one of Carmy’s crisp, white Ralph Lauren button downs – worn layered and open like a cardigan – before you head to the bakery, and then eventually, The Bear.

The restaurant is closed for the afternoon, as they do a shift change over: some stay and take a break, others go home, let the dinner crew come in and take over. It’s different these days and while some days you miss it – the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, the sounds of an ‘all day’ shouted by the expeditor, the careful dance that is working in a kitchen – you remind yourself that you’re enjoying a half day, and that when you’d chosen to leave, you were ready for a change. 

After entering The Bear, you make small talk with Gary while he finishes turning over the dining room for dinner, catching up over the flag football league he’s recently joined – one, it seems, to be taken very seriously by all participants. You tell him that you’re here with wedding cake samples, and he’s more than eager to give you some space to set up, because who doesn’t love free cake? Mid-sentence, Gary gestures towards a table for you to set up on, as you begin to unpack your large brown paper bag. 

“Well, well. Look who it is,” Marcus calls out, as soon as he sees you. “Heard a rumor you were out here. You brought cake?”

“I brought cake,” you repeat as confirmation, turning to see your dear friend and mentee. “But don’t worry. I’ll be thinking about yours the whole time.”

He snickers, moving in for a hug. 

“‘S Good to see you, Chef. How ya been?” he asks, enveloping you in his arms for a tight squeeze. 

“Good to see you too, Marcus. I’m good. Had a half day today so… you know, we’ve just been busy with wedding stuff. But what’s going on with you? What’s new?” you answer, turning the focus back onto him. 

“Oh you know. The usual. Though, I’ve been workin’ on some new shit for Syd’s new menu when I’m not here,” he answers, a broad smile spreading across his lips as he talks about. 

“Jeez, Brooks. I know, Carm’s got ya busy. When the hell do you ever sleep?” you ask, as you shake your head. 

“I don’t,” he answers plainly. 

And just as you’re about to remind Marcus to get some rest, Sugar comes bursting through the front doors, her rounded belly full on display now that she’s had a chance to tell almost everyone the news of her pregnancy. 

“Hey! Sorry I’m running late,” Sugar says, announcing her arrival. “Got tied up running an errand and then I had to stop at the store for Tums. This baby is killing me with the heartburn these days. Fucking christ.” 

“Oh, no big deal. I haven’t even seen Carmy yet,” you shrug, as she mutters a surprised ‘oh’ and Marcus mumbles something about going to get Carmy. “It’s good to see you!”

“Yo, Carm!” Marcus shouts, heading back to the kitchen while you and Sugar exchange hellos. 

“Awww, it’s good to see you too, sweetie,” she smiles, pulling you in for your second hug of the day. 

This is something you miss about working in the kitchen: the camaraderie, the found-family, all the love. 

“Wow this is… quite the spread,” Sugar mentions, eyeing the cakes you’ve laid out on the table.

“Yeah… they had a lot of ideas, I guess,” you say with a shrug. 

Sugar shoots you an unconvinced look. 

“Okay, fine.  I had a lot of ideas…” you admit guiltily. 

“...aaaand no one is going to do it the way you want it to be done,” Sugar sighs in the middle of your sentence. 

“And they were more than willing to play. I couldn’t help myself!” you finish, defending yourself. 

“Well, your enthusiasm is one of the many things I love about you, but… yeah, this is a lot,” Sugar grins as she gestures towards the overwhelming amount of cake you’ve just laid out on the table. 

Regardless, Sugar really can’t wait to be your sister-in-law. 

“Speaking of… I thought this was just a small wedding. It looks like you’re preparing to feed the entire French Army during Marie Antoinette’s reign.”

“Oh it still is – small,” you answer, simply. “I went a little overboard, didn’t I?”

“Why go through all this trouble? You might as well have a small ceremony instead of-,”

“No!” you protest, hearing another voice say the same thing. 

“Sugar, we’ve already told you that we don’t want to do anything big!” Carmy adds, as soon as he enters the dining room. 

“Hey, babe,” he says, sending you the softest smile as he looks your way.

“Hey you,” you smile in return as he approaches you, giving him a short ‘hello’ peck on the lips. 

“Fak attack!” Fak cries out, as he enters the dining room. “Ooooh cake tasting!”

“Yeah,” you chuckle, as Fak is quickly followed by some of the line cooks that have just wrapped up lunch service. 

It’s then that you hear Tina’s voice, growling something in Spanish as Richie speaks way too loudly about god knows what, as Ebra follows behind, somehow in the middle of a story that has little to do with whatever Tina and Richie are going on about. 

You smile to yourself, because you really do miss this part. 

“I told everyone we were doing a cake tasting,” Carmy starts, gesturing towards the rest of the staff as they join you. “That cool?”

“Totally. We have more than enough to share,”

“That’s true,” Sugar says. "And I can't complain because the baby is reeeeaaally craving cake these days."

As everyone at The Bear crowd around the circular dining table where you set up the cake tasting, you all enjoy bites here and there, comparing notes, sharing reactions to each flavor combo. 

Earl grey & lemon. A classic red velvet. And of course, you had to get a little weird with the black sesame clementine combination you’d dreamed up with the pastry chef you’d been working with. 

“I think my favorite is the black sesame and clementine but I doubt it’s a cake everyone will like. Doesn’t have the crowd appeal we probably should keep in mind,” you murmur to Carmy as the two of you watch his staff go on about the tiramisu-inspired one. 

“Well, babe, it’s our wedding! We can do whatever we want,” he encourages you. 

“I don’t know,” you sigh, paralyzed with indecision. 

“The tiramisu one is good. I’m leaning towards that,” Carmy shares with you, eager to hear your thoughts. 

“Yeah, I don’t know. Don’t you think it’s a little too on the nose?” you reply, unsettled and unsure that any of these are right. 

“Why don’t you guys just let me make it?” Marcus interjects, asking the question he’s been wondering this entire time. 

“I-,” you start, unable to help the fact that your eyes begin to wet with emotion. “Really?” 

He laughs, glancing sideways at you. 

“Uh yeah. I’m a little offended neither of you did in the first place,” Marcus teases the two of you, though you know there’s some truth to it. 

You and Carmy exchange a look that says something along the lines of: ‘oh shit.’

“Well, we didn’t think you’d-,” you stammer, beginning to explain the why behind you and Carmy’s hesitation in the first place.

“We just thought you’d want to- that you should be able to enjoy the party,” Carmy adds, finishing your sentence, his eyes widening as he realizes that you both kinda fucked up. 

“Chefs,” he says, looking from you to Carmy once more, with a seriousness in his voice as he rises to his feet. “It would be my honor. And just because I’m makin’ the cake doesn’t mean I won’t be able to enjoy the party. I can do it in the days leading up to it.”

“Oh-, okay, yes! Yes!” you cry, leaping to your feet this time, as if you’re accepting Carmy’s proposal again. 

Richie rolls his eyes in response, groaning as he mutters something snarky to Fak, as Marcus pulls you into the biggest bear hug. 

“You all are a bunch of saps,” he scoffs, directing this next comment to Marcus this time. “You big softie!”

“Richie!” Sugar hisses, glaring the sharpest daggers from her eyeballs into Richie’s skull. 

“Oh fuck off, Richie,” you snort, with a laugh. “You’re just salty because… wait. Carm, you haven’t asked him yet?”

“Babe, I-,” Carmy whines, his eyes wide. “You just ruined the surprise!”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah ‘fuck’ is right,” he pouts, though he can never stay upset with you for too long. 

“What the fuck are you guys even talking about?” Richie asks, squinting as he looks between the two of you. 

You and Carmy share a knowing look, deciding that now is a better time as ever. 

“We want you to be our witness, Cousin. At the courthouse,” Carmy says, a soft intensity in his eyes as he answers Richie’s question.

“Jesus Christ,” Sugar snarks, with an eye roll as she realizes she’ll be stuck with him at the damn courthouse as well.

“Wh-?” Richie begins to ask, looking from Carmy to you, then back to Carmy again, tears welling up in his eyes as he realizes what Carmy’s just said. “You-? Really?”

“Yeah, of course,” you reply, in a well-duh kind of tone. “Plus you know I can’t get married without my Ava there.”

“And sign the marriage license and everything?” Richie balks, because he really can’t believe it. 

“Yeah,” you reassure him. 

“Yeah. I mean, fuck yeah! Fuck yeah!” Richie declares, even more sentimental than Marcus this time. “Shit, Cuz… Hell yeah, I’ll sign the fuck out of that marriage license as your witness.”

Tina snickers, exchanging a look with Sugar, and earning a glare from Richie. He lowers his voice, directing the question towards you this time: 

“Oh and uh… cool if Ava still sings “Love Story?” I kinda promised her she could sing a Taylor Swift song as part of my best man speech and she insists that one is about you and Carmy,” Richie asks, looking around suspiciously, afraid of someone else hearing. 

“Awwww, Richie. Of course,” you coo, only melting inside a little at the thought.

“What?” Richie snaps, realizing that he hasn’t been as discreet as he thought he was. 

Sugar snorts in response, earning a laugh from both Tina and Marcus. 

It’s Marcus’ turn to roll his eyes at Richie this time. 

“What?” Richie repeats, this time with a little more annoyance in his voice. 

Sugar smirks, firing back with a:

“Who’s the big softie now, Rick?”

[goldengalore]

Scandal

An anxious!reader fic.

Summary: Harry faces the biggest scandal of his career when a popular influencer claims that the singer forcefully entered his home and attacked him. Y/N sets on a mission to clear Harry’s name.

Word count: 11.4k

Warnings: anxiety, physical violence, mentions of domestic violence, nonconsensual kiss, cheating, toxic masculinity, angst, smut (a bit of domrry and subrry)

A/N: Lots of protective!harry in this one. Pay attention to the warnings. Characters make some serious (false) accusations towards H. If anything makes you uncomfortable, click away! Otherwise, enjoy this angsty fic :)

***

Y/N doesn’t like parties.

Even when she was a little girl and her parents would invite all their extended family over to celebrate her birthday, her tiny self would cry and complain until one of her parents scolded her to shut her up. As she grew older, she developed methods of alleviating the discomfort brought on by social events—the main one involving alcohol.

Calling her an alcoholic would be inaccurate because the only time she ever really drinks is during social situations. In fact, she can go for weeks and months without drinking if she doesn’t have to attend a social event. Still, she knows it’s not healthy nor very effective. All it does is reinforce her belief that she can’t socialize without using alcohol as a crutch, worsening her anxiety in the long run.

Recently, she has decided to start overcoming this habit by completely avoiding alcohol before and during social situations. At first, she wanted to limit herself to one drink, but she knows that the suppressing effect on her overactive nervous system will be enough to lure her into having another, then another… then another.

Tonight is her first chance to put her new rule into practice. It’s her best friend Rosie’s birthday. Her fiance, Colin, threw her a surprise party at his house. Now, Y/N may despise parties, especially the big, extravagant ones that Colin likes to throw, but she is willing to sacrifice a part of her sanity for the people she loves, like Rosie.

Because they’re in LA and Colin is an influencer, most of the people he invited are also influencers of some sort. Y/N warned Harry about this, but he still chose to come along, much to her relief. Surprisingly, aside from a few people asking for a picture with him, he has managed to keep a low profile. He also knows about Y/N’s new rule for herself and has agreed to help her abide by it, even going as far as not drinking himself, though she told him that wasn’t necessary.

Now, while they’re conversing with a small group of people—or at least Harry converses while Y/N mostly just listens and nods and tries not to think about how badly she wants to go home—someone offers Harry a drink and she notices him hesitate for the briefest second before saying no.

“H, you can have a drink,” she tells him in his ear a minute later. “Seriously, I don’t mind. I promise you’ll still be the best boyfriend in the world by the end of the night.”

He smirks. “I’m going to need that on a mug or a t-shirt or something, you know, just so I don’t forget.”

“Fine, you’re getting that for Christmas this year, but that’s all you’re getting.”

He places a hand on his chest. “I would gladly accept that as my only gift.”

She rolls her eyes at his dramatics, smiling all the while.

“All right, I’ll grab a drink then, if you insist,” he says.

“Good. I’m going to use the washroom. Meet you back here in five?”

“Deal.”

They both go their separate ways—Harry to the bar and Y/N to the washroom. When she finds it, she opens the door and instantly regrets not knocking first. Next to the toilet is a girl kneeling on the floor with a guy’s dick in her mouth. And not just any girl, but a well-known Instagram model whose face Y/N has seen many times before.

“Shit, sorry! Sorry!” Y/N blurts out, quickly pulling the door shut. It’s only after the door closes that her brain registers who the guy was. He had his back to her, but the dirty blonde hair messily styled around his head gave him away.

It was Colin. Rosie’s Colin.

At first, she stays frozen in place, too shocked to move, but then she sees the doorknob twisting from the other side and suddenly snaps out of it. Her legs start taking her away from the washroom.

“Y/N!” she hears Colin shout from behind her.

She walks faster, pushing through the crowds of people, with no plan for where she’s headed. Eventually, she ends up out in the backyard by Colin’s pool, thinking she must have lost him somewhere in the crowd. But then the glass door slides opens and out comes Colin. He closes the door before walking over to her. The light from the pool reflects off his pale face. His blue eyes are wide and frantic.

“Look,” he starts, “what you saw back there, it wasn’t— We weren’t— It wasn’t—” He pauses before starting again, “She’s just a friend.”

She scoffs at his lame defense. “Do all your friends give you blowjobs?”

“She wasn’t giving me a blowjob.”

“Oh, so your dick just fell into her mouth by accident, is that it? How stupid do you think I am, Colin?”

In the time she has known him—which hasn’t been for very long, since he and Rosie only started dating eight months ago and got engaged three months into their relationship—she always got the impression that he views her as a naive little girl. People often make assumptions about Y/N based on her quiet, reserved nature, like that she is uptight or that she knows nothing about sex or the world. It never fails to annoy her.

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” he says slowly, patronizingly, which only contradicts his statement. “You just… You think you saw something you didn’t see.”

Her eyes narrow. “That sentence doesn’t even make sense.”

She can see him struggling to find more ways to gaslight her. When he realizes he can’t, he just says, “You can’t tell Rosie.”

She doesn’t reply, doesn’t feel the need to. And Colin clearly doesn’t like that. He begins walking towards her, eyes darkening dangerously. She takes a few steps backward, thinking he’ll stop, but he doesn’t, not until she’s right at the edge of the pool with no more room to move back. He looms over her, all six feet of him.

“Did you hear me, Y/N?” he asks, his icy gaze boring into her.

She’s not sure where her boldness comes from in that moment, but all she says in response is, “Fuck you.”

Suddenly, he grips the back of her neck with both hands and smashes his lips against hers forcefully, shoving his tongue into her mouth. Y/N recoils so hard that she would have fallen back into the water if his hand wasn’t gripping her neck so tightly, holding her against him. She lifts her right foot off the ground and swings her leg back before driving the toe of her boot into his shin as hard as possible.

He grunts in pain and releases her, shouting, “Stupid bitch!”

She sidesteps him so that she’s no longer balancing on the edge of the pool and vigorously rubs her mouth with the back of her hand.

Clutching his shin, he pins her with a menacing glare. “You’re not going to say a word to Rosie,” he says between gritted teeth. Then he places his foot on the ground and limps back into the house.

Y/N doesn’t notice she’s shaking until he’s gone. She stays outside a little while longer to gather herself and suppress the nauseating feeling induced by having Colin’s lips on hers. Then she heads back inside to find Harry.

He has a drink in his hand now, and he’s talking to a couple of regular, non-influencer-looking people. As he lifts up his arm, she snuggles into his side, wrapping her arm around his back, resolving to stay there for the remainder of the night.

She will tell him what happened. Just not now. Not with Colin watching her from across the room with Rosie under his own arm, as if he didn’t just cheat on the poor girl and then proceed to kiss her best friend.

She will also tell Rosie what happened. Colin can try to intimidate her into silence, but it won’t work. Rosie will find out. Y/N will make sure of it. She just won’t unleash the devastating news on Rosie’s birthday with all these influencers surrounding them, eagerly awaiting some drama to go down so they can use it as “content.”

The party is nowhere close to done when Y/N and Harry decide to head home, but they’re both spent and ready to crawl into bed. They find Rosie to say their goodbyes, and Y/N tries to rush the process before Colin can show up.

“Happy birthday, girlie,” she says while giving Rosie a tight hug—tighter than usual after what she discovered tonight. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Thanks for everything.”

Unfortunately, right as the two friends are pulling out of their embrace, Colin appears at Rosie’s side.

“Colin told me that you helped plan this whole thing,” says Rosie.

“Yeah, Y/N was great. Couldn’t have pulled it off without her,” Colin tells her. Then he looks at Y/N. “Thanks for keeping it a secret from this one.” He points his thumb at Rosie, laughing easily, but the threat behind his eyes as he stares at Y/N is unmistakable.

She just gives him a tight smile, resisting the urge to slap the cocky grin right off his face. Then she says to Harry, “Let’s go.”

“Thanks for having u—” Harry begins to say to Colin and Rosie, but Y/N grabs his arm and starts dragging him away before he can finish his polite farewell.

Once they’re outside, she lets go of his arm and he gives her a puzzled look.

“What was that about?” he asks as they walk to his car.

“What?”

“Seemed like you couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there.”

“Oh, you know how I feel about parties.” She leaves it at that for now, and luckily, he doesn’t press any further.

He’s had a couple drinks, so Y/N drives them home. As soon as they enter Harry’s warm, empty house, she says, “H, I need to tell you something.”

“Hold that thought, lovie.” He holds up his index finger. “I really need a wee.”

He dashes off to the bathroom by the stairs. Meanwhile, Y/N heads to the living room and flops down on the couch, feeling exhaustion take over her after what transpired tonight. Just as she’s thinking about how she’s going to explain everything to Harry and how he’ll react, she hears the bathroom door open.

Harry joins her on the couch and says, “Right, what did you need to tell me?”

She takes a deep breath. “Something happened at the party tonight.”

“Okay…” He swipes his hair back, gazing at her intently.

“I caught Colin cheating on Rosie with another girl.”

He raises his brows, his expression growing serious.

“After I saw it happen, I walked away and Colin followed me out to the backyard. He tried denying it, but I obviously wasn’t falling for it, so then he said I can’t tell Rosie and he…” She pauses, hesitates. The memory of the repulsive kiss makes her stomach turn again. “He grabbed me by the neck and kissed me—”

“He what?” Harry’s brows climb even higher.

“—and I kicked him in the shin and then he left. I honestly think the kiss was just him trying to make me feel small and intimidate me into not telling Rosie.”

Harry’s usual easygoing demeanour has completely evaporated. His hands curl into fists on his thighs. His jaw clenches and unclenches, as his hard gaze fixates on the coffee table in front of them.

“That piece of shit,” he mutters. “That fucking piece of shit.” He closes his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Y/N, I’m going to—”

“H,” she says, placing her small hand over one of his fists, “I know you’re pissed off right now, but I need you to help me figure something out here.”

He looks at her, eyes softening. His fist opens and turns to grasp her hand. “Of course, whatever you need.”

“I need to tell Rosie what happened. I’m going to do it tomorrow. I’m going to tell her what I saw in the bathroom, but I just don’t know if I should mention the part about him kissing me. She’ll already be devastated to hear that he cheated, and I feel like I’d be adding unnecessary pain by mentioning that. What would you do if you were me?”

“I would tell her everything,” he replies. “Every detail. She deserves to know exactly how much of a prick he is.”

That’s exactly what she expected him to say. Nodding, she says, “Okay. Thank you.”

His anger seems to return after that. He rubs his free hand over his jaw, shaking his head. “It’s awful, what he did to you. And Rosie. Neither of you deserve that.”

She feels so fortunate to have him in that moment. If he wasn’t at the party tonight, she’s not sure what she would have done. Surely, she would have managed one way or another, but knowing that Harry was in the house, even when Colin was cornering her out by the pool, gave her a boost of courage—something she only realized later when she found her way back to him.

Now, she scoots closer to him and wraps her arms around his torso, squeezing him tightly. He squeezes her back.

“Can we go to bed? I’m exhausted,” she tells him.

“Yeah, absolutely.”

***

The following day, when Y/N informs Rosie of Colin’s infidelity, she breaks down into tears before Y/N has even finished explaining what she saw in the bathroom. Her best friend seems so distraught, sobbing and barely forming coherent sentences, that she decides not to follow Harry’s advice about mentioning the kiss.

Before Colin came along, Rosie was always an intelligent, rational human being, the type to think long and hard before making any major decisions. When he appeared in her life, it was like she lost all sense of logic and reason within a matter of weeks of knowing him. Things moved so rapidly between the couple. Y/N thought Rosie was joking when, three months into their relationship, she revealed that Colin had proposed to her and that she had said yes.

Y/N could never understand the hold that this guy had on her friend, but for the most part, it seemed harmless. Until now. Watching someone she cares so deeply about fall apart right before her eyes drives a sword through her heart.

She offers to spend the day with Rosie at her apartment, suggesting that they binge-watch some trashy reality show while munching on their favourite comfort foods, but Rosie says she needs some time alone to process everything. Respecting her wishes, Y/N reminds her that she can call anytime she needs to talk, then heads home.

That night, she’s sitting in bed with Harry, both of them immersed in their own books—him, a romance novel and her, a mystery novel—when her phone buzzes with an incoming call from Rosie.

“Hey, Ros—”

“What the fuck, Y/N?”

Rosie’s hostile greeting makes her pull the phone away from her ear for a second.

“You lied to me.”

“I— What?” Y/N’s uneasy tone draws Harry’s attention away from his novel.

“Colin told me you kissed him.”

Her heart sinks to the pit of her stomach. Immediate regret settles in at not telling Rosie about the kiss. She played right into Colin’s hands. “That’s not what happened, Rosie.”

“Oh, really?” She hears Rosie let out an unamused laugh. Then she hears his voice in the background, whispering something to Rosie. Y/N’s hand digs into the bedsheets, scrunching them between her fingers. Harry reaches for her hand and pulls it into his lap.

“He kissed me,” she states. “He’s just telling you it was the other way around to cover his ass after cheating on you.”

“He never denied cheating on me. He admitted to it.”

Y/N is genuinely taken aback by this, unsure how to respond.

“He said you walked in on him in the bathroom and then you walked away. When he found you later and tried to explain himself, you came onto him and told him that if he fucked you, you wouldn’t tell me that he cheated.”

She scoffs, shaking her head in disbelief. “And you believe that? C’mon, Ro, you are so much smarter than this.”

Once again, her ears pick up on Colin mumbling something to Rosie.

“What lies is he feeding you now?” she asks.

“He thinks we should talk in person,” says Rosie. “All three of us. I agree. I’m at his place right now. Come over and let’s hash this out.”

She closes her eyes. “Rosie, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What are you so scared of, Y/N?” Colin says into the speaker now, all loud and smug and condescending.

She feels Harry’s hand squeeze hers now.

“I’m giving you a chance to explain your side of the story,” says Colin. “And maybe even apologize.”

She huffs, “Apologize?”

“For trying to get between me and Rosie. She forgave me. Maybe she’ll forgive you too. But that won’t happen if you don’t come here and talk to us.”

Y/N’s blood is boiling. How could Rosie forgive him? It makes no sense. Yet again, she finds herself baffled by Colin’s hypnotic spell on her best friend. Except this time, she is also concerned for Rosie’s safety. Because if he could persuade her to forgive him for cheating, God knows what else he can make her do with the right amount of manipulation and coercion.

“Fine,” she says. “I’ll come.”

“Good girl, Y/N,” says Colin.

She almost hurls. And she knows Harry heard that too from the way his hand tightens around hers. She hangs up.

Before she can say anything, Harry states, “I’m coming with you.”

“I don’t know if—”

“It’s not up for discussion, Y/N. I already know I can’t convince you to not go, so I’m going with you. That’s it.”

“Fine.” She’s too tired to argue, and if she’s honest with herself, she’s relieved that he’s coming. Colin is bigger than her and has proven that he has no respect for her boundaries. If she has to swallow her pride and admit that she needs her boyfriend there to protect her just in case, then so be it.

Harry softens when he realizes how overbearing his words sounded. “I won’t do anything, I swear,” he reassures her. “I’m just going to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

She nods. “Okay.”

On the drive to Colin’s house, Y/N gives Harry a rundown of the fabricated story that Colin has planted in Rosie’s head. She also mentions that she no longer feels safe leaving Rosie with Colin.

The house looks desolate tonight, a stark contrast to the previous night when it was filled to the brim with people and music and drugs and alcohol.

Rosie is the one who opens the door for them. Her puffy, bloodshot eyes convey that she hasn’t stopped crying today. Her dark brown hair falls in messy waves around her shoulders. She seems surprised to see Harry, but amidst the surprise, Y/N detects a hint of relief as well. The same relief that Y/N felt when Harry said he was coming with her.

Rosie leads them into the kitchen where Colin is slouched in a chair at the end of the dining table, his hand wrapped around an open bottle of whiskey on the table. A sickening smirk begins to form on his face when he sees Y/N, but it falters when his gaze falls on Harry.

“Why’s he here?” he says, turning his chin up at Harry.

“It’s fine. He can stay,” says Rosie. She sits on a chair that’s already pulled out from under the table, angled towards Colin.

Y/N grabs another chair and drags it far away from the table to maintain a fair distance from Colin. Meanwhile, Harry just leans against a wall off to the side, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. He’s dressed in a blue Adidas jacket and black gym shorts that he threw on before coming here. A hair clip keeps his curls up and away from his face.

“Harry, you wanna sit?” asks Rosie.

“I’m good, thanks.”

The group stares at each other. Y/N at Rosie. Colin at Y/N. Harry at Colin.

After a prolonged silence, Rosie finally says, “Okay, who wants to start?”

“Y/N can start,” Colin answers immediately.

There’s no doubt in her mind that this is merely a tactic to convince Rosie that he has nothing to hide and that Y/N is the one who should be explaining herself.

She clears her throat and shifts in her seat, trying not to let Colin’s annoyingly persistent gaze get to her. “Okay… Well, Rosie, like I said on the phone, I never kissed Colin. He kissed me and I pushed him away and he—”

“Why didn’t you mention any of this earlier?” Rosie interjects. “When you were at my apartment this morning and you told me that he cheated, why didn’t you mention the kiss?”

“You were so upset. I didn’t want to make it worse. I should’ve told you and I regret that I didn’t, but honestly, I just didn’t want to hurt you even more.”

“How am I supposed to believe anything you say now?”

Y/N frowns at her. “Because we’re best friends? And we have been for years? Way longer than you’ve known him.” She glances at Colin.

“He told me the truth. The whole truth. Something I would’ve expected my so-called best friend to do.”

Y/N just sighs and leans back in her chair, silent now as her mind grasps for some way, any way to convince her friend that Colin is the liar here.

Rosie turns to Harry now. “Did you know about this?”

He nods. “Y/N told me everything when we got home last night.” He pauses before adding sincerely, “She’s telling the truth, Rosie.”

“You weren’t even there when it happened. How can you be so sure?”

“Because I know her. And you know her. And we both know she’s not like that. You can call me biased, but it’s very clear to me which of these stories is the more plausible one.”

Y/N notices a subtle shift in Rosie’s expression, as if Harry’s words have actually made her see things from a different perspective. While she’s glad that at least Harry can get through to her friend, the fact that Rosie is quicker to trust Colin or Harry over her is maddening. She and Rosie have had several conversations over the years about people not believing women unless a man backs them up. It’s rather hypocritical of her to be doing the very thing she claims to be against.

Colin, who was previously slumped in his chair with a look of indifference, sits up when he realizes that he might be losing Rosie.

“What are you even doing here, man?” he asks Harry. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“I disagree.” Harry’s relaxed disposition seems to irk Colin even more. “Oh, and you should know,” continues Harry, “that neither of these women feel safe being alone around you, which says a lot about the piece of shit you are.”

“I never said I don’t feel safe around him,” Rosie argues unconvincingly.

“You don’t need to. It’s pretty obvious. And Y/N said—”

“You should really stop believing everything your whore of a girlfriend tells you,” Colin interjects.

A tense moment of silence hangs in the air before Harry pushes himself off the wall and strides over to Colin.

“Harry,” says Y/N in a warning tone, her heart speeding up as she watches Colin rise to his feet. The two men are face-to-face with only a few inches of space between them. Colin is as tall as Harry but with considerably less muscle on his body. However, that doesn’t eliminate Y/N’s concerns about her boyfriend getting hurt. “Harry,” she says again, pleadingly this time.

“Don’t worry, love. I’m not going to do anything,” he tells her, still sounding calm as ever. The only indication that Colin’s words have gotten to him is in his fists, which are clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles have lost colour.

“Yeah, he’s not,” says Colin, the smugness returning. “He doesn’t want to ruin his nice guy image. Isn’t that right, Styles?”

Harry lets out a brief, unamused laugh through his nose, then steps back, turning around to go back over to the wall. As he’s walking away, Colin says, “You know, now that I think about it, I should’ve just fucked your girlfriend when I had the chance. Show her what it’s like to be fucked by a real man.”

Now that Harry is turned away from Colin, Y/N can see his entire facial expression, including the rage that swims beneath the tranquil surface. His chest rises and falls with deep, controlled breaths. His eyes find Y/N’s.

“We’re leaving,” he states firmly. “Now.”

“What are you so scared of, Styles?” Colin goads him, the same way he did to Y/N over the phone. “Worried you’re gonna end up in the news for socking me? ‘Mr. Treat People With Kindness loses it on innocent civilian.’” He cackles at his own dumb joke.

Harry pinches the bridge of his nose, his patience visibly diminishing.

Y/N stands and turns to Rosie. “You’re coming with us.”

“What? No, I’m not.”

Losing her composure, Y/N presses her hands against the sides of her head, which is pounding at this point. “Oh my God, Rosie! What kind of hold does this guy have on you?!”

“I just want to talk to him.” She rises to her feet too.

“Why? So he can tell you more lies and manipulate you—”

“Oh, don’t act so fucking righteous, Y/N! Let’s not forget that you lied too!”

“I was trying to protect you! I’m not going to apologize for—”

“Colin, stop!” Rosie’s attention has shifted to the guys, who are now going at each other. Or at least, Colin is going at Harry with his fists, but Harry blocks each and every blow either with his arms or by ducking out of the way completely.

“C’mon, hit me!” Colin shouts desperately, swinging and missing, then swinging and missing again. “Don’t be a fucking pussy! Hit me! What are you waiting for?!”

At the next swing, Harry grabs Colin’s arm and twists it behind his back, spinning him around, then kicking the backs of his knees to make them buckle. Colin collapses face-first onto the hardwood floor. Harry falls on top of him, still twisting Colin’s arm behind his back at a painful angle while pressing his head down into the floor with his other hand.

Colin cries out in agony, struggling underneath Harry’s weight. “Get off me, asshole!”

“Are you gonna stop?” asks Harry.

“You’re breaking my fucking arm!”

“Are you gonna stop?”

“Get off—”

“Are you gonna stop?”

Colin, finally realizing that he’s no match for the man holding him down, surrenders. “Yes! Yes! Fucking yes!”

But Harry doesn’t let go immediately. Instead, he leans down to Colin’s ear and says in a low, chilling tone, “Good boy, Colin.” Then he lets go.

He stands up, fixes his jacket around his torso, and turns around to face the women as if nothing just happened. “Y/N and I are leaving,” he tells Rosie. “You can come with us if you want. It’s your call.”

“I’m staying,” she replies, wincing a bit as she stares at Colin writhing on the floor.

“Okay.” Harry walks over to Y/N, grabs her hand, and starts pulling her towards the door, much like how she dragged him out of the party last night but with more urgency.

“I think he broke my arm,” they hear Colin whine pitifully as they leave.

Harry doesn’t release Y/N’s hand until they reach the car. Once they’re seated inside, she instantly starts assessing his appearance to check if he’s hurt anywhere, but he seems entirely unscathed. You wouldn’t even be able to tell that he’s just been in a fight.

“Are you okay?” she asks just to be sure.

“I’m fine,” he answers, securing his seatbelt before starting the car.

“That got way out of hand.”

“I wish you’d just left with me when I said so,” he mutters, eyes focused on the road ahead.

“Harry, I didn’t want to leave her with him. I still feel awful about leaving her there.”

He takes a right, exiting Colin’s street. “What else were we meant to do, Y/N? Drag her out against her will? You think she’d still talk to you after that?” He scoffs.

His unusual harshness is making her feel even worse about a situation that is already difficult to grapple with. “No, of course not,” she says, a lump forming in her throat. “I understand why we had to leave her. I’m just saying that it fucking sucks, okay? The whole thing fucking sucks and I hate that my best friend is in the middle of it all and I can’t do anything to help her. I’m probably going to lose the only real friend I’ve made in my adult life all because of some fucking douchebag and I hate it, I hate him, I—I—” She breaks down then, her face falling into her hands as she sobs.

Anger is a strange emotion. When it’s there in full force, consuming you from head to toe, it leaves little room for anything else—anxiety, grief, and despair included. Then once it disappears, all those other emotions come hurtling in from all sides, crushing you beneath their weight.

Harry pulls over to the side of the road. “Y/N.” He turns to face her and carefully pries her hands away from her face.

She tilts her head back against the headrest, squeezing her eyes shut, tears falling unhindered.

“Hey, I get it,” he speaks gently. “I know it’s a shitty situation. I know you want to protect her, the same way I want to protect you, but you can’t save someone who’s constantly refusing your help. It’s not your fault, my love. You’ve done everything you can.” He holds both of her hands in one of his while using the other to wipe her cheeks. “I’m sorry for being harsh with you. I just hate the idea of you getting hurt. I’m sorry.” He kisses her hands several times.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, opening her eyes to look at him. She grabs a wad of tissues from the box on the dash and clears her throat before saying, “Thank you for being there tonight and handling everything so well… And not killing Colin, even though I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did.”

“Trust me, I wanted to. The prick needs someone to teach him a lesson. Unfortunately, that can’t be me.”

“I don’t know. I think you taught him pretty well that he’s not as man as he thinks he is.”

He smirks, and it’s the first sign of any pride he feels about overpowering Colin. He looks back at the road and says, “Let’s go home.”

***

It’s been a couple days since the incident at Colin’s house. Y/N hasn’t heard from Rosie again, nor does she expect to. Now, it’s the middle of the afternoon and she’s working on a new commissioned drawing when she receives a call from Jeff.

“Hey, Y/N, I’ve been trying to reach Harry all day,” he says when she picks up. “Is he with you?”

The urgency in Jeff’s voice makes her stop what she’s doing. “Uh, no, he’s out golfing with some friends. Why? Is everything okay?”

“Have you been online at all today?” She barely has a chance to answer before he says, “Sorry, dumb question. Of course you haven’t. That’s why you’re so calm. Anyway, there’s this guy, some TikToker, making some serious allegations against Harry. His name is Colin Rogers. Does that ring a bell?”

She sighs and closes her eyes. “Yeah. That’s Rosie’s fiance. What’s he saying about Harry?”

“To give you the CliffsNotes version, he’s saying that you cheated on Harry with him a few nights ago, and when Harry found out, he forced his way into Colin’s house and beat him badly enough to cause bruises and bleeding that landed him in the hospital.”

“Oh my God.”

“Like I said, that’s the CliffsNotes version. I skipped out a lot of details. It’s… bad. And he has a witness corroborating his statements.”

She frowns. “What witness?”

“Your friend Rosie.”

Y/N facepalms and groans in frustration.

“Now, we know all of this is bullshit, right?”

“Yeah, that’s not what happened,” she confirms.

“Which explains why he didn’t say a word to the police and went straight to his little Internet followers. Now it’s all anyone is talking about.”

“Are people believing it?”

“Some are. Some aren’t. That’s usually how it goes.” He sounds tired. “Look, I need to run, but I’ll send you an article detailing everything Colin said. I hate to give these tabloids any clicks, but this article is pretty thorough. Please tell H to call me when you hear from him.”

“Will do.”

Jeff sends her the article a few seconds later. She takes a deep breath before opening the link, a sick feeling settling in her stomach.

The clickbait headline reads: Harry Styles’ first big SCANDAL! Read more to find out how the “As It Was” singer ASSAULTED TikTok influencer Colin Rogers in his home.

As Y/N scrolls through the article, she finds that Jeff was right. It’s bad. Very bad. There are clips from Colin’s TikTok where he describes in exaggerated detail his manufactured version of events from that night. In the clips, you can clearly see dark purple bruises on either side of his head and around his eyes as well as his neck. His lip is badly cut, the surrounding region swollen and puffy. Even his nose is bent at an odd shape, signalling a possible fracture.

Y/N recalls how desperately Colin was trying to provoke Harry that night, saying degrading things about her to get under his skin. He even alluded to Harry ending up in the news for hitting him. Colin may be an arrogant dickhead, but apparently he’s not stupid. He was planning this out in his head even then—how he would use that situation to publicly smear Harry’s reputation along with Y/N’s.

As another one of Colin’s TikToks plays, she sees him hold up a small object. Harry’s lion ring. Colin says he found it after Harry left his house, claiming that it must have fallen off during their altercation. But Y/N knows that’s a lie because Harry wasn’t even wearing any rings that night. He was, however, wearing rings the previous night at Rosie’s birthday party. It had to have slipped off his finger at the party without him knowing.

The ring is the only “proof” Colin has of Harry being at his house at one point. Other than that, he presents no solid evidence to back up his claims, but of course, anyone who has spent even a week on social media knows that it does not operate on facts and evidence. People’s insatiable hunger for drama trumps the truth in most online spaces.

Harry gets home from golfing a couple hours later, and Y/N sits him down to explain everything. By the end of it, he is befuddled and speechless. It takes a while for him to gather his thoughts, at which point he says he’s going to make some calls to Jeff, his publicist, and a few others on his team to get their input.

He disappears into the study for the next few hours, his deep voice occasionally carrying over to Y/N, who is working at the dining table. The sun has gone down. She contemplates getting started on dinner when Harry emerges from the study.

“Hi, baby,” she says.

He walks over to her and kisses the top of her head before taking a seat next to her. She notices the fatigue on his face.

“How did the calls go?”

“We’re releasing a statement tomorrow,” he says. “It’s been drafted up already. Just explaining what actually happened that night and making it very clear that I was invited into the house and the only time I touched Colin was to defend myself, but his injuries were not my doing.”

“Can’t you also sue him for defamation? Is that what it’s called?” Suddenly feeling self-conscious about her lack of knowledge on the law, she adds, “Sorry, I don’t know much about this stuff.”

He smiles sweetly. “It’s a bit early to take that step. Jeff thinks the statement might be enough to make Colin retract his story. I’m not so sure.” He shrugs. “I guess we’ll see.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Nope, you just keep being your lovely self.” He pokes her cheek.

“Well, Rosie’s over on her Instagram, trying to convince everyone that Colin’s telling the truth. I feel like I should say something too, like maybe—”

“Darling, trust me,” he interrupts. “There’s no need. My team will handle it. They know what they’re doing.”

She bites her lip and lets out a soft sigh. “Okay.”

“And let’s stay off social media for a while, yeah? Just to keep our sanity intact.” She knows he’s mostly saying this for her. He hardly uses social media unless it’s to catch up with his loved ones, and while she also isn’t on there that much, she struggles more than him when it comes to ignoring people’s opinions online.

“Yeah, definitely,” she agrees.

But later that night, while she’s lying in bed and Harry is finishing up his nighttime routine in the bathroom, the urge to look online strikes and she can’t resist. She opens up the hellsite known as Twitter and doomscrolls through the shitty takes of people who clearly don’t know a thing about Harry but have been desperately waiting for something like this to come out about him just so they can jump on the bandwagon and “cancel” him and pile on the hate like their life depends on it, despite the fact that none of them know what they’re talking about and—

“What are you doing?” Harry’s voice startles her. She quickly turns off her phone and looks at him standing next to the bed in just his Calvin Klein underwear, which does nothing to hide his prominent bulge.

“Nothing,” she replies.

He gives her a skeptical look.

She sighs. “I’m sorry! It’s like a car crash that I can’t look away from… Except I’m involved in the car crash and I didn’t even get the worst of it.”

He climbs onto the bed, gingerly plucking the phone out of her hands and placing it on the bedside table. Then he lies on his side next to her, propped up on one elbow. Y/N gazes up at him and shakes her head in awe at how laid-back he seems.

“I don’t understand how you’re able to stay so calm in just about every situation,” she says. “It’s infuriating and hot at the same time.”

He chuckles. “I just try to remind myself that these people don’t actually know me, so there’s no point in letting their opinions get to me.”

“You say that like it’s the easiest thing in the world.” Thanks to her social anxiety, Y/N has spent the better part of her life obsessing over what other people think of her, whether it be her loved ones or the random stranger that cashed her out at the grocery store. She has always yearned for the kind of cool indifference that people like Harry exude even in the face of immense scrutiny.

“I’ve had practice,” he says. “You’ll learn as well.”

“Yeah? Will you teach me?”

“Happily.”

His gaze shifts down to her lips, and he leans down to kiss them, soft and slow. Meanwhile, his finger traces along her jaw and down her neck until his hand comes to rest on one of her breasts. She’s not wearing a bra, and her thin shirt hardly acts as a barrier between his large hand and her supple skin. He squeezes her lightly in his palm, keeping his kisses and touches gentle, like he’s handling an expensive piece of porcelain.

For a moment, her mind drifts off to the comments she read online. She cannot fathom how anyone could believe that this man—this gentle, patient, loving man—would ever do the things that Colin accused him of.

It turns out that her mind isn’t the only one wandering off to other places because Harry suddenly pulls away and says, “Sorry to bring this up, but I…” His jaw clenches. “I just hate that he put his filthy hands on you.”

“I know,” she whispers, reaching up to weave her fingers through his curls in a soothing gesture. She had no idea that Colin’s actions towards her at the party were still bothering Harry.

“And with the press being all over it now, I almost wish I’d just beaten the living shit out of him. I mean, everyone thinks I did anyway.”

“Yeah, but that’s not you, H.”

He just shrugs.

Y/N sits up and tugs at his briefs. “Take these off.”

His brows perk up at her demand.

“I’m tired of thinking and talking about Colin,” she says. “So, let me give us both something else to think about.”

A smirk forms on his lips as he hooks his thumbs into the waistband of his briefs and pulls them down his legs.

Before he entered her life, Y/N would never take the lead during sex. She always felt like she lacked the self-confidence required for that, but then again, none of the men she’d previously slept with were ever willing to let her take the lead anyway. They were the type of guys to feel emasculated by relinquishing control to a woman, though they would never admit this.

Harry was different. He was equally happy to lead and be led, to give and to receive. That alone made sex with him an ethereal experience.

Now, once Y/N also strips naked, they rest on the bed with their positions reversed—him on his back and her propped up next to him. Her hand cradles his jaw before she leans down to kiss him. Then she brings her hand to his semi-erect cock, wrapping it around the base and stroking softly until he grows stiffer in her palm and starts leaking precum. She strokes his balls as well, drawing more fluid from his tip that she then uses to get his dick nice and wet.

Harry is ogling her exposed breasts now in that way he does when he really wants to suck on them, so she slides up the bed, allowing him to take them into his mouth. When she gives his cock a firm tug, he moans around her nipple. The sensation causes her own wetness to pool between her legs.

He continues licking and sucking on her tits, grazing his teeth over them ever so slightly. The pleasurable feeling momentarily distracts her from her task, but then she returns her attention to his needy cock twitching in her palm. She jerks him faster, moving her hand up and down his pinkish flesh with just enough pressure to turn him into a moaning mess under her. Her nipple falls from his mouth as his lips part.

“Fuck, Y/N,” he pants. “I— Wait, stop. Stop.”

She immediately stills her movements and starts to ask what’s wrong when he flips them over so that he’s on top of her.

“As much as I was enjoying that,” he says, “I want to feel your pussy on me when I cum.”

His erection prods her thigh as he hovers over her, his legs wedged between hers. He reaches down to her cunt, feeling the wetness that has accumulated there. She can see it in his eyes, in his blown out pupils, that he really wants to put his cock in her right then, but he takes a minute to toy with her clit and heighten the anticipation for both of them. At last, he grabs his cock and starts guiding it into her sopping pussy.

He pauses once he’s inside her and brings the hand that was playing with her clit up to her mouth, pressing his damp fingers against her lips until she opens up and takes them into her mouth.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he says.

Still sucking his fingers clean, she wraps her legs around his hips.

He grins at her quick compliance. “Such a good girl.” Then he emphasizes, “My good girl. Isn’t that right?”

She nods, closing her eyes as he grinds his hips down into her.

“Mhm. All mine.”

Her pussy contracts around him. Keeping his fingers in her mouth, he retracts his hips and thrusts back into her. She whimpers and wraps her arms around him, nails digging into his back muscles as the rhythm of his thrusts increases in speed and urgency.

He pulls his fingers from his mouth to place that hand on the bed for extra leverage. With her mouth free, all she can do is moan his name and cry out from the intoxicating feeling of his cock ramming deep into her cunt with every thrust.

“Look at you,” he coos. “Taking my cock so well. My perfect girl. My dream girl.”

His voice and his cock are the centre of Y/N’s universe right now; nothing else matters. Her orgasm is just around the corner, building rapidly in her core.

“Ready to cum all over my cock, Y/N?”

“Oh yes, please, yes—” She gasps as his hips rock into hers at just the right angle to push her over the edge. Her whole body locks around him—legs around his hips and arms around his back.

Harry grunts with one final thrust before letting himself go, filling her up with his seed. His body relaxes on top of her. She eases her grip on him as well. Their breathing slowly returns to normal, the rising and falling of their chests syncing up.

It’s hard to think about anything else after that. She wants to stay like that forever, with him covering her like a weighted blanket, his length gradually softening inside her. She even starts to drift off after a few minutes until Harry lifts his head to look at her.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep on me yet,” he says. “Let’s get cleaned up.”

She groans as he rolls off of her. He chuckles at her reluctance and drags her out of bed with him.

***

The viral storm rages on for days, even after Harry’s team releases the statement. Contrary to Jeff’s predictions, Colin doesn’t retract any of his claims and instead doubles down on them even harder, emboldened by the blind support of his followers.

Y/N and Harry block it all out. While she found it difficult at first to look away from the trainwreck, she was eventually able to redirect her attention to her art instead. For several days, the couple remains in their happy little bubble, unbothered by the incessant buzz of the online world.

That bubble pops on one sunny Friday afternoon.

Y/N is in need of some new art supplies, and Harry is in the mood to add to his vinyl collection. They decide to make a whole day out of it, visiting the art supply store and the record store before wandering around a few other places. One shop specifically dedicated to vintage home decor catches their attention, and they end up spending over an hour in there, walking through each aisle like kids in a candy store.

Harry is usually the first one to notice when they’re being watched or followed; they often joke that he has a third eye on the back of his head. Today, however, Y/N is the first to notice the two girls who keep showing up in or around the same aisle that they’re in.

Harry’s eyeing an antique candle holder set when she leans over to him and says quietly, “I think you have a shadow… Two, actually.”

He follows her gaze to the two girls idling at the end of the aisle. When he lifts his hand to wave at them, they seem to freeze in place like a couple of deer in headlights.

He turns back to Y/N. “I’m going to go say hi.”

She nods. “Okay, I’ll wait outside. Take your time.”

It’s a beautiful day out. Not too hot, not too cold. The cusp of spring. Perfect for a light sweater, but even in her long-sleeved shirt, Y/N feels nice and snug. She stands in front of the shop, the bags containing their new purchases hanging from her arm. She tilts her head up towards the sun and closes her eyes for a minute.

“Y/N Y/L/N?”

Her eyes snap open at the sound of her name. A short, balding man dressed in all black stands before her.

“Uh, y—yes? Do I know you?” she asks, giving him a once-over.

He smiles. “No, but I know you.” Suddenly, he pulls a big professional camera out from behind his back and brings it up to his face with the lens directed at Y/N to capture her reaction as he says, “Ms. Y/L/N, how do you feel about the allegations made by Colin Rogers towards your boyfriend Harry Styles?”

She tenses.

Y/N has always hated being the centre of attention. Of course, when you’re dating a global superstar, it’s inevitable. However, over the course of their relationship, they haven’t had too many run-ins with the paparazzi; Harry has become rather skilled at avoiding the pests.

She wonders how this guy figured out their whereabouts, but considering how much time they spent inside the shop, it wouldn’t be surprising if an employee, or even the two fans Harry is currently talking to, tipped him off.

When she doesn’t respond to his question, he says, “Colin claims that Harry has a short temper and is a lot more aggressive than he lets on. Is this true, Ms. Y/L/N?”

She looks over her shoulder at the shop windows to see if Harry is on his way out. Whenever she tries to step back or turn away from the annoying pap, he finds his way right back in front of her with his camera shoved in her face. Flashbacks of how Colin cornered her by the pool at Rosie’s birthday party flicker in the back of her mind.

She continues ignoring the intrusive questions until he asks her, “Has Harry ever hit you, Ms. Y/L/N?“

The question is so jarring that it almost feels like someone knocked the air out of her lungs. “Excuse me?”

The man seems pleased to finally get a reaction out of her. With a casual shrug, he replies, “Just felt the need to ask since the new claims came out.”

Her heart pounds in her chest. “What new claims?”

“A source close to you and Harry says that she’s seen him lose his temper with you on more than one occasion and—”

Her face contorts in disgust. “God, you people will believe anything! No, he hasn’t hit me. He would never. And the fact that you would ask any woman a sensitive question like that while filming her without consent is disgusting.”

“So… Are you denying the claims, Ms. Y/L/N?”

What do you think, dumbass? she wants to say, but she refuses to give him any more content. Of course, that only makes him more persistent, and yet again, the camera is far too close to her face.

“C—can you get that out of my face please?” she says, less assertively than she would have liked, but her anxiety is rising with every passing moment and the only thing on her mind at this point is how to slow down her heartrate before she passes out.

Suddenly, a ringed hand appears from the left side of her vision and shoves the camera down and out of her face.

“Whoa, don’t touch the equipment, man!” the pap shouts angrily, clutching his precious camera to his chest.

Harry steps in front of him, towering over his short figure. “When someone asks you nicely to get the camera out of their face, you get the camera out of their face. It’s not that complicated.”

The pap takes a step back, raising his hands by his sides. “Calm down, pal. What, you gonna hit me too?”

Harry just scowls at him, then turns to Y/N with concerned eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, let’s just go.” She reaches for his arm.

Not wasting another second, they start walking towards Harry’s car parked down the street. The pap is relentless, following them all the way there.

Right as Harry presses the button to unlock the car, he says, “Harry, any comments on the new claims about you hitting your girlfriend?”

Harry freezes in his tracks and turns around. “What did you just say?”

“H, let’s just get in the car,” Y/N pleads.

“Not my words, man,” says the pap. “Just saw it in the news today. A source close to you said—”

“A source close to me.” Harry scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“You can look it up if you don’t believe me. I’m trying to help you, man. Colin Rogers is dominating the narrative. This is your chance to say your piece—”

“Right, well, here’s my piece then.” The pap raises the camera to his face again as Harry says, “Colin Rogers is a narcissistic, misogynistic, abusive pile of shit.” Leaning towards the man, he adds, “And so are you.”

And with that, he gets into the car and so does Y/N. She’s still shocked about what he said to the pap, not that it wasn’t deserved. He’s just always so stoic in these situations, and it’s the first time she has witnessed him break.

They ride silently for a while until Harry says, “People are saying I hit you? What the fuck? What the actual—”

“Okay, wait,” she says, placing a hand on his arm. “We don’t even know if he was telling the truth. He could’ve been making it up to get a reaction out of us. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

This is new to Y/N, being the calm one in a crisis. More often than not, Harry is the one talking her anxious self down from the proverbial ledge instead of the other way around.

He doesn’t speak for the rest of the ride, but she can tell his mind is spinning. Once they reach home, she heads upstairs to change and put their shopping away. When she comes back down, Harry is sitting on the couch, leaning forward on his thighs with his phone in his hands. His face is set in a deep frown.

“He was right,” he says without looking up from his phone as she approaches him. “People really are saying that.”

She sits down next to him and gently pulls his shoulder to make him rest back against the couch. He sets his phone aside and rubs his hands over his face.

“Y/N, they think I’m some kind of monster. They think they need to, like… save you from me, as if I would ever hurt you…” Finally, he looks at her. “You know I would never hurt you, right?”

Her eyes widen. “Yes. Oh my God. You don’t need to tell me that, Harry.”

He sighs and tilts his head against the back of the couch. “Out of all the things people have said about me over the years, this has got to be the worst.”

She brings her hand to his jaw, his stubble scraping against her fingers. “Baby, look at me.”

He tilts his head down again to meet her gaze.

“These people don’t know you,” she says, using his own wording. “They’re just a bunch of trolls that feed off drama. They don’t care about the truth. They don’t care about ‘saving’ me. It’s all just an act. And in a few days, they’re going to move on to some other celebrity gossip that catches their attention. Meanwhile, the people who do know you are still going to see you as the big softie you are.”

The look in his eyes is still one of utter defeat and hopelessness, which makes her worry that her words have had no impact on him.

“Do you want to talk to someone else about it? Like Jeff?” she asks.

He shakes his head. “Don’t wanna talk to anyone. Just wanna lay here with you if that’s okay.”

“Of course.”

She lies on the couch and lets him rest his head on her chest, his arm wrapped around her middle. She tries to think of some other comforting words she can say to him but then realizes that she doesn’t have to fill the silence. Sometimes, the act of just being there for someone is far more comforting than any words can be.

***

Y/N is getting worried about Harry. A week has gone by and he has hardly left the house. Between the two of them, he is by far the more outdoorsy one, but even she has been outside more times than him this past week. He hasn’t been eating much, claiming that he’s “just not very hungry.” She often wakes in the night to find him lying there, just staring up at the ceiling, and has to coax him to sleep. She doesn’t even hear him singing in the shower like he normally does.

It crushes her to see him so low. She wants to single-handedly take down every person who has made him feel this way.

The day after the incident with the pap, she made the dangerous decision to see for herself what people were saying online. Most people seemed to recognize that these new rumours about Harry hitting Y/N were completely out of character. Despite how private they are about their relationship, people know that he practically worships Y/N from the way he talks about her in his music.

The ones who believed the rumours were a small, but vocal, minority. Harry’s fans were trying their best to drown them out, like it was their full-time job, and while Y/N feels grateful for them, she wishes there was more that she could do to help.

Today, she somehow convinces Harry to go on a walk with her around the neighbourhood. Intent on not being recognized, he opts for the most indistinguishable clothing that covers him from head to toe, combined with a hat and sunglasses. He even keeps the hood of his sweater pulled up over his hat.

“It’s so warm out,” she says as they stroll down the sidewalk. “How are you not dying in that?”

He shrugs and kicks a rock in his path. “Dunno.”

Most of his responses have been like that lately. Short, indifferent. She doesn’t take it personally. After all, she behaves in a similar way when her anxiety has her in its grips. And anyway, even though he doesn’t talk much these days, he hasn’t stopped being affectionate or reminding her that he loves her.

When they return home from their walk, Harry immediately removes his hat and sweater, confirming that he was indeed too warm in that. She makes a comment about craving a cold smoothie, and he offers to make one for her as well as one for himself.

“I can make them,” she says. “It was my idea anyway.”

He shakes his head. “No, I was a dick on our walk. Need to make up for that.”

She gives him a look. “H, you don’t need to make up for anything.”

“I do though,” he insists, walking off to the kitchen before she can protest any further.

Suddenly, her phone goes off in her back pocket. She pulls it out. It’s Rosie. For a few seconds, she vacillates between picking up and ignoring it. In the end, she picks up.

“Hello?”

“He broke up with me,” says Rosie.

Surprise, surprise, thinks Y/N. “Did you call to tell me that?”

“No, I… I need to confess something.” Her voice trembles as she states, “I—I’m the one who told the press that Harry hit you.”

Y/N lets out a sigh and leans against the small table in the entryway of the house. “I already knew that, Rosie.”

“You did?”

“‘A source close to me’? Not a lot of people can say they’re close to me, so it was kind of a no-brainer.”

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I’m going to tell everyone that it was all a story, that none of it is true.”

“It’s a bit late for that.”

“You have no idea how sorry I am. Colin got in my head and he—”

“Did he tell you to say that Harry hit me?”

“W—well, no…”

“So that was your own genius idea?”

She says nothing.

Y/N closes her eyes, trying to sound as firm as possible as she says the next few words, “Okay, Rosie, I need you to listen to me closely… I don’t ever want to see you again. I don’t ever want to hear from you again. And don’t ever come near me or Harry ever again. Do you understand?”

Rosie’s answer arrives in an ashamed whisper, “Yeah.”

She’s about to hang up, her finger hovering over the little red icon, then she lifts the phone back up to her ear. “One more thing. How did Colin get those injuries?”

“Um, he went to that bar on Jacob Street that night after you and Harry left. He got wasted and got into a fight with a guy almost twice his size.”

Y/N knows exactly which bar she’s referring to. Now that she has the information she needs, she bids her now ex-best friend a final goodbye and hangs up. Tears prick the backs of her eyes as she realizes that the longest friendship of her life has just come to a calamitous end.

She places her phone on the table and looks up at the ceiling to keep the tears in. Then a pair of arms wraps around her waist from behind. She looks over her shoulder at Harry.

“I’m sorry, my love,” he says. “I know she meant a lot to you.”

She smiles sadly, a tear escaping the corner of her eye.

“Look at us. We’re just a couple of sad people, aren’t we?”

She laughs. “No! I refuse to label us as sad people. We’re just going through a tough time and we’re going to get through this.”

“Yes, we are.” He gives her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m actually thinking of going back to therapy. It’s been a while.”

“That’s a great idea. I should probably do that too.”

Later that afternoon, Harry falls asleep while reading a book on the couch. Y/N takes this as her chance to chat with Jeff about something that’s been on her mind since her conversation with Rosie.

When Jeff picks up her call, she doesn’t even wait for him to speak before she says, “I know how we can prove that Colin’s lying.”

“Uh… Okay, elaborate.”

“I spoke to Rosie today and she told me Colin went to a bar that night where he got into a fight with someone and ended up with those injuries. I know which bar it is. If we can go there and get security camera footage from that night, we can prove that Colin was lying all along.”

“I see what you’re saying, but we can’t just walk into a bar and ask for their security footage. We’re not investigators.”

“Okay, but don’t you know someone who can do that? You’re an Azoff. You have connections, don’t you?”

“Yeah, in the entertainment industry, Y/N. Not in law enforcement.”

She releases a heavy sigh. “C’mon, Jeff, there has to be something we can do with this information… If you’re not going to help, I will go to that bar and steal that footage myself.”

“Don’t do that,” he says quickly. “Look, I’ll see what I can do, okay?”

“Thank you.”

There’s a pause before he asks, “How’s H doing?”

“Not great. He’s really torn up about what people are saying, especially the rumours about him… hurting me. Which is exactly why I need to clear his name. I know some people will still say nasty things about him—that’s never going to stop—but…” She bites her lip to keep herself from getting emotional, which seems to be happening a lot lately. “Harry has been there for me through so much. I need to do this for him.”

“He’s lucky to have you.”

She smiles. She didn’t know she needed to hear that until now. Ever since this mess began, a part of her has been blaming herself for putting Harry through this hell because Rosie and Colin never would’ve entered his life if it wasn’t for her. While she knows that it’s not her fault, sometimes her insecurities get the best of her.

“Thanks, Jeff,” she replies.

***

Not even twenty-four hours later, the bar footage is released online. It spreads like wildfire, turning all of Harry’s critics to ashes and causing irreparable damage to Colin’s credibility.

Y/N messages Jeff to commend him for retrieving the footage so fast.

Y/N: YOU’RE AMAZING I OWE YOU

Jeff: You can repay me by drawing 100 portraits of me that I can hang around my house

Y/N: On it 🫡

Even Rosie sticks to her word by announcing on her social media that everything she said was a lie, which adds another nail in Colin’s coffin.

Over the next few days, the ominous cloud that has been hanging over Harry and Y/N’s heads finally clears. Harry is back to being his bubbly, radiant self, lighting up every room he walks into. Life feels like it’s returning to normal, at last.

Tonight, they’re at dinner with Jeff and Harry’s two other managers, Tom and Tommy. It’s not a business meeting; Harry was just in the mood to treat the people who continue to support him both professionally and personally. Lately, Y/N has been feeling motivated to overcome her discomfort around eating in public, so she agreed to tag along as well. Towards the end of their meal, Jeff raises his glass and clears his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Okay, we need to make a toast to someone at this table,” he states. “Not you, Harry. Don’t get too excited.”

Harry’s in the middle of sipping his drink, so he just flips his friend the middle finger, which Jeff graciously returns.

“This is a toast to Y/N and her investigative skills,” Jeff continues, now looking at Y/N, who is completely caught off-guard by this gesture. “She was the one who figured out how He Who Shall Not Be Named got his injuries. And she came up with the idea of getting the security footage from that bar.”

Everyone is staring at her now, including Harry. His eyebrows are raised in surprise as he asks, “That was your idea?”

“Oh, I— It was nothing,” she says modestly. “I didn’t even do much.”

Then Jeff reveals, “She even threatened to go to the bar and steal that footage herself if I didn’t help her.” He points a finger at her. “The lady knows how to get what she wants.”

Her cheeks flush red. “Okay, that might have been a bit dramatic, but I just couldn’t let Col—” She suddenly remembers their unspoken rule of not referring to Colin by name and corrects herself, “Sorry, I couldn’t let He Who Shall Not Be Named get away with smearing Harry’s reputation, so...” She shrugs, taking a sip of her water in a futile attempt to hide the blush on her face.

Harry smiles and squeezes her knee under the table. “Thank you, lovie.”

“Maybe we need to get Y/N on the team,” says Tommy.

“Oh yeah, she’s basically my guardian angel,” says Harry, winking at her. “Might as well.”

Y/N just laughs and accepts the praise, not bothering to hide her reddened cheeks anymore. She might hate being the centre of attention, but at least this is a good kind of attention.

“To Y/N, everyone!” says Jeff, lifting his glass up in the air.

“To Y/N!”

***

Thank you for reading! For more anxious!reader and other fics, check out my MASTERLIST

[heavyhitterheaux]

The Marriage Pact Part 5 (Slight NSFW)

In Sickness and in Health

A/N: Buckle up this is a LONG one 🤭

Synopsis: You get some advice from Urban and confront Jack about how he's been acting towards you once you leave him high and dry in the middle of his world tour. All you want is for the two of you to be on the same page, but when something gets revealed to you, you have to decide what is the best thing for your peace of mind moving forward

Pairing: Fiance!Jack Harlow x Fiancée!Reader

Series Masterlist

Special thank you to @hoodharlow for giving me a few ideas 💕

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

"Baby, it's not a big deal!" Jack said once you had finally caught up with him later in the day since the text had gone unanswered.

The text bubble kept appearing and disappearing for about five minutes before Jack just stopped trying to explain it over text knowing that it wasn't going to go over well. But now that you were in front of him, it wasn't going well now either. 

"How is it not a big deal when you are basically all over her!?" You asked as you shoved your phone into Jack’s face that had the picture of him and Neelam and all he did was roll his eyes. Making you think that he wasn't taming anything that you were saying seriously.

"It is literally just a picture."

"With someone that I don't even like and I told you how I felt about her and what do you do? Take a picture with her while you're half naked."

"Your jealousy is showing again." Jack simply muttered and you couldn’t do anything but roll your eyes.

"Oh, I'm going to be showing a lot more than that if you don't get your fucking shit together. And it's not jealousy. It is literally about respecting me as your partner and who is about to be your wife! Or did you suddenly forget that you put this ring on my finger?"

"I didn't forget a damn thing and I have my shit together, it's you who is so damn insecure. So every woman that I take a picture with, you think I want to sleep with them knowing that I have you? You're it for me and I don't want anyone else. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that."

All you did was stare at him. Once he had called you insecure, you didn't hear anything else after that.

He knew that saying that would hurt you based on you telling him that your ex would constantly say that and would gaslight you into thinking that everything that went wrong in the relationship was your fault and wouldn't take accountability for what he had done wrong.

"Shit, baby, I didn't….." Jack started to say as he realized what he had said previously and was trying to backtrack, but you weren't having it.

All you did was hug yourself as you stepped away from him. It was something that you had been working on and you knew that it was going to take time in order to break out of that mindset.

"Y/N, I didn't mean that and I know how…"

"If you didn't mean it then you wouldn't have said it. I have things to do so I guess I'll see you later."  You said while trying to turn away from him, but he pulled you back.

"Baby, just listen to me for a second. Please." Jack pleaded with you as he grabbed your hand, but a verbal answer didn't come out of your mouth until you knew he wasn't going to let this go. 

"No, I'm not doing this with you right now."

"We don't run away from our problems, we talk about them."

"Wouldn't have to talk about them if you didn't keep creating them." 

That instantly made him go quiet.

"We just wanted to take a picture. That was it."

All you did was stare at him before you even bothered to respond.

"Like I said, I guess I'll see you later."

"Baby, I'm sorry, okay? If I would have known that you would be this upset about it, I wouldn't have done it."

"Why wouldn't you think I would be this upset seeing as she definitely isn't my favorite person to be around? And I don't like her being around you so much." You asked while looking up at him.

"Here we go again with this shit. It is literally HER JOB."

"A job that I have had for how many years? And all of a sudden you and Chris decided that I need help?"

"How many times are we going to go over this?" Jack asked you while running a hand through his curls.

"As many times as it takes to get through your thick skull because obviously it hasn't worked quite yet." You answered while sitting down, but Jack took this opportunity to sit down next to you and slide you onto his lap no matter how hard you were trying to get away from him.

"I love you, you know that right? And like I said, I'm sorry and it won't happen again."

"Do I?"

"Y/N, come on. Don't be like that."

"How can I not be like that?"

"Like I said it won't happen again and I'm not letting you get up until you tell me you love me."

"I love you, now let me get up."

"I…. seriously?" Jack asked as he looked at you and all you did was shrug.

"I told you now I have things to do. Let me go."

"Hold on. What can I do to make this up to you?" He asked as he kissed your nose and smiled at you with those blue eyes that you loved so much. 

All you did was look down and play with your engagement ring and kept quiet until you heard Jack speak again.

"How about it's just me and you for the rest of the day? No distractions."

"Hmm…."

"No phones, just me loving up on my baby girl. So what do you say?"

"No interruptions?" You asked and all Jack did was smirk.

"Baby, I'm putting the do not disturb sign on the door to the hotel suite and putting my phone on DND. Is that a good answer?"

"I guess it's a good start." You said while shrugging even though deep down you knew for a fact that you were letting this slide a little too easily. However, arguing and fighting with Jack was one of the last things that you ever wanted to do. It took too much energy and if he said that it wasn't going to happen again, you were going to take his word for it. All you could do was hope that he didn't go back on it.

"Good because I already have everything set up. I was going to do this today anyway, just as a thank you for everything you do for me. That's why I had you go out with Ari earlier."

"I… you didn't have to do that." You said while shaking your head as Jack stood up and placed you on your feet.

"Yes I did. You're important to me and I never want you to forget that. We're in this for the long haul." Jack answered as he leaned down to kiss you.

"No one or anything is ever going to come between us because I'm not going to let them." He added while starting to pull your top over your head.

"I want to take a bath with my fiancée, how does that sound?"

"It sounds good. No complaints from me."

Jack simply nodded as he continued to undress you and finally got himself undressed as he went to run the water.

When it was warm enough, he got in first so that you would be able to sit in front of him and held onto your hand to help you so that you wouldn't fall.

Once you were settled all you did was lean against Jack's chest as he wrapped his arms around you and kissed down your neck.

"I love you and I'll never get tired of saying it." Jack softly whispered in your ear before kissing underneath it.

"I love you too. I just…. want us to be on the same page. I don't like arguing with you. I don't think we ever got into this many disagreements before."

"And I don't like arguing with you either or getting you upset. That's literally the last thing I want. My job is to take care of you and not hurt you. I haven't done a very good job of that lately, but I promise that things will be different moving forward."

"I'm holding you to that."

—

"Baby I…." You breathlessly let out as you and Jack got into a comfortable rhythm.

He promised to take his time with you and he was doing just that while also making sure that no one disturbed the two of you with both phones being placed on DND and face down on the dresser in the bedroom.

Jack then placed both of your legs on his shoulders making the hold that you had around his neck grow tighter.

"That's it, pretty girl. You're taking me so well." Jack said as he placed several kisses upon your lips and slowed down.

"You feel so good around me and I know I'm not about to last much longer."

Jack then slid out of you and took one long lick across your folds which instantly made you gasp.

"Mmm, baby don't stop, don't stop." You told Jack as your hands made their way to his curls and simply held his head in place while he continued to pleasure you.

"Shiiiit." Jack then inserted three of his fingers while still keeping his mouth on you and you were doing your best to stay quiet since the last thing you wanted to hear was a noise complaint because you were too loud. It didn't matter if you two had your own suite or not.

Jack then slid his fingers out of you and instantly went to suck on your clit and made sure to hold you down because he knew if he didn't that you would try and move away from him.

At this point, no sounds were even coming out of your mouth because of how much pleasure that you were in and it was only a matter of time before you came all over Jack’s face.

In order to get you to your peak faster, Jack sucked your clit harder  and without warning, you felt a gush of liquid release from you and cover Jack’s face as you let out a gasp, but he obviously didn't think anything of it as he still continued to pleasure you.

Once you had finally come down from your high, Jack then slid back into you making the both of you moan in pleasure.

You then noticed him increase his pace as you held him tighter knowing that he was close.

Not even a minute later, you felt him release in you as he collapsed on top of your chest as you kissed down his neck.

"I don't know what I did to get you to squirt all over my face, but I'm definitely going to try to make it happen again." Jack said as he leaned down to kiss you and he noticed that you were shying away from him.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked as he began caressing your face.

"I just…."

"Nothing to be embarrassed about, baby. Just happens sometimes when I make you feel good. I know we're both still learning what you like and don't like and I'm always going to go at your pace, okay?"

All you did was nod as Jack leaned down to place several kisses all over your face before going to your lips and all you did was flip him over onto his back startling him.

"Damn, I knew you were strong but I wasn't expecting that shit." Jack expressed as he looked up at you straddling him.

"I want you to teach me how to ride you." You said and could tell that he was startled by this.

"Are you sure you can go another round? I don't want to…"

"Yes I'm sure, so hurry up."

"Class is in session then. I'm loving this view already."

A few days had passed and you were finalizing the details of the mini trip that you were taking Jack on to surprise him to give him a much needed break from tour life. He had a week and a half off in total and three of those days would be used to fly the two of you to Japan in order to take him to the Pokémon museum since you knew that he had never been before while the other days the two of you were going to spend wedding planning.

You told everyone under the sun not to book anything for Jack for those particular days and you were excited to be able to have him all to yourself. You had been planning this for a while and couldn't wait to see the look on his face when you told him.

All of you were at dinner after one of Jack’s shows and you had been stealing food off of his plate when you suddenly heard Neelam pipe up.

"Oh, Jack, I booked you for a photoshoot and interview next week. On Wednesday and Thursday."

"Okay, that's fine." He responded not thinking anything of it but you looked at her as if she had three heads.

"Um no it's not fine. I have said from the beginning of this tour to not book anything for the next week and a half. You should have cleared that with me or Chris, but I see you just went on and did your own thing."

"I didn't think it was a big deal. It's a good opportunity for him to get a few more things in before Christmas."

"Well it is a big deal seeing as the bulk of those days were for wedding planning and for something I had planned for him. I obviously said not to schedule him for anything during those days for a reason."

"Baby, it's not a big deal, can't you just move it?" Jack asked not wanting an argument to ensue, but it looked like one was about to happen anyway.

All because he took her side.

"Did you just say to me that it's not a big deal?" You asked while looking over at Jack who looked as if he was trying to choose his next words carefully.

"Uh oh." Was all Urban whispered before taking another bite of his food.

"We do things together all the time, it's just one thing and the wedding planning can still happen. I'd rather do the interview and photoshoot during my break from tour anyway. Just get it out the way."

"That still doesn't excuse the fact that Neelam over here is not staying in her lane and respecting boundaries." You said while crossing your arms and looking at her.

"I got 100 dollars on Y/N." 2fo whispered to Quiiso who quickly nodded his head to agree.

"What the? What is your actual problem? I was hired to do a job and I am doing said job. Not my fault you're so focused on wedding planning and not your soon to be husband's actual career." Neelam said and everyone at the table looked at you for your response.

"Excuse me? Who the actual fuck are you talking to because I know for damn sure that it isn't me. I have done this for more than ten years by myself and I damn sure don't need your help. So do me a favor and learn to stay in your place like I said. You're lucky that you didn't get your ass beat because of that picture you decided to take with my man knowing that you had absolutely no business doing so."

"And this is the one you're supposed to marry soon? You could definitely do better." Neelam said to Jack and that could be heard was a collective gasp at the table.

"So, Jackman, you're actually going to let her talk to me like that?"

"Can we just drop this? I'm doing the photoshoot and interview."

"And just forget about what I have planned?!"

"I have the opportunity in front of me so I want to take it. Like I said, we can change things around to do it later."

All you did was nod your head and simply slid your chair out from the table in order to leave.

"Fine. Urby, do you want to go with me to the Pokémon museum in Japan since Jack doesn't want to?"

"Oh shit. You didn't say that's what it was!" Jack said while looking at you, but all you did was roll your eyes.

"Anyway, Urby. Do you want to go? Everything is booked."

"I… well…"

"Never mind. I'll ask Ari and make it a girls trip but as of right now, good fucking night." 

The next day, you woke up early and kept yourself busy to avoid having to run into Jack. Even though the two of you slept in the same room, you were asleep before he got back and was gone before he woke up. He had been blowing up your phone left and right, but you weren't giving him the time of day. 

Future Hubby- Baby, where are you? I haven't seen you all day

You- and you're not going to

Future Hubby- Come on Y/N, I didn't know that was what you had planned. I feel shitty about it.

You- It doesn't fucking matter. If I said that I had something planned for you, the courteous thing to do is go along with it because of all of the time and effort I put into it. And do you feel shitty? Because the fact that you didn't defend me last night from her speaks volumes. Go bother Neelam since you want to be up her ass so bad.

Jack tried to send you another text, but soon realized that you had blocked him.

He was currently with Neelam and Urban at the moment and all he did was sigh.

"Nee, let's get something straight. Do not ever disrespect my girl again. She knows me a lot better than you do and knows what I need. I know you’re trying to help, but I just want the two of you to get along. But please realize that my future wife is not going anywhere."

"Hmm a little too little too late for that." Urban muttered under his breath and Jack shot him a look. 

"But she…"

"But nothing. That's my girl and what she says goes. If you want to plan something, clear it with her moving forward."

"I just want to help since that's the whole reason I was brought on."

"And you can help without stepping on anyone's toes. Don't let it happen again."

While all of this was going on, Urban had been texting you and letting you know what had been happening.

Urby- Ooh look who finally grew some balls and stood up for his wife!

You- He can shove it for all I care. Too little too late. 

Urby- Same thing I said smh but he did put her in her place even if it should have been done months ago. Oh and he's asking if you could unblock him

You- No.

Urby- I'll relay the message lol

Next thing you knew, you had an incoming facetime call from Urban and knew it was Jack calling. And sure enough when you answered you were right.

"Baby! Unblock me!"

"And what makes you think you deserve to be unblocked?"

"Stop playing! Because I'll be your husband soon."

"And that's the best answer that you can come up with?"

"Please baby girl. I love you and I'm sorry."

"All you've been doing is apologizing lately and I'm sick of it."

"I know… I…"

"Bye Jackman."

Without another word you hung up.

It was now around 11 at night and Jack was knocked out cold when you went to go and find Urban. You did end up unblocking him however, you still didn't want to talk to him.

Urban had let you in and the two of you were now outside as he listened to how you felt about what had been happening regarding Jack lately.

"Come on Y/N,  you had to have seen this coming from a mile away."

"How could I have seen this coming?" You asked Urban while you sat across from him on the balcony. You know he had to have been looking for you by now, but your phone still hadn't gone off with so much as a text message or a call. It was almost as if he didn't even care and that bothered you to no end.

"You know he’s a whore and it's always been like that, you turned a blind eye before but now that you're on the receiving end, everything isn't always what it seems huh? As much as he brushes it off, he is still insecure and embraces any type of attention that women give him even though by now he should only want that attention from you." Urban told you and you couldn’t help but for your eyes to water.

"Urby…."

This was the last thing that you wanted to hear right now.

"You thought that he would change for you? I mean that's fair seeing as how much he loves and cares about you, but is that enough to make him do it? I mean you said yes to marrying him so you are just as responsible for this as he is. He's my best friend too, but he has shown you time and time again the traits of someone who doesn't actually want to be tied down or married." Urban quietly confessed as he took a swig of his Modelo. 

"Then why in the world would he ask me to marry him in the first place? That's a serious commitment."

"Because he knows that you're the only one that is going to put up with his shit, no matter what he does and no matter how much it might affect you as horrible as that sounds. He knows that you're always going to be there. Just because his ass turned thirty doesn't mean that the maturity aspect is there. Y/N, I am in no way, shape, or form trying to hurt your feelings, like I said in the beginning, the last thing I want to see is both of you heartbroken but especially you. You don't deserve this."

"I just don't know what to do anymore. It's a continuous cycle. He does something that I don't like, I get pissed off, he apologizes, and does something else and the cycle continues. But this one takes the cake. How could he side with her when I have been there for him through everything? I have never steered him wrong and I have always had his best interest." At that point, Urban had handed you one of your favorite wine coolers knowing that this was going to be a long night.

"You know what you need to do. Put yourself first and I guarantee that will be the wake up call he needs to get his shit together."

"Does he even want to marry me anymore? That's the ultimate question."

"Now the only person that can answer that is him, but from the outside looking in…. Would you want to be married to someone who disrespected you like that yesterday?"

“I guess not.”

“You’ve been living in a fantasy world and now it’s time to wake up.”

You stayed with Urban for about another hour or so and you decided to take his advice.

From now on, you planned on putting yourself first.

When Jack had woken up later on the next morning with his alarm blasting in his ear, he reached over for you and frowned when he noticed that your side of the bed was empty and cold meaning that you hadn’t been there next to him for quite some time.

All he did was sigh as he got up and started to get ready for the day, figuring that he would see you at some point and hoping that you at least were a little less mad at him than you were yesterday. 

Once he had finished getting ready, he figured that he would at least check your location to see where you were since the two of you shared it with each other at all times just in case to be safe and got an even bigger frown on his face when he saw that you had turned yours off. 

He couldn’t even remember the last time you had done that and immediately hit your contact in order to call you. He needed to know where you were and if you were safe. 

He called you at least three times and was immediately sent to voicemail before he began to send a series of texts, hoping that you would at least answer those.

Future Hubby- Baby, why is your location off? Where are you? You know we always keep it on

Future Hubby- Hold on, where the hell are all your bags?! 

Future Hubby- Y/N, answer me right now. Where are you and what is going on?!?!

When he didn’t get an answer from you, he immediately called Urban.

“Hello?”

“Urb, where’s my girl? Have you seen her?”

“Well, good morning to you too and no. After our talk last night…..” Jack immediately cut him off.

“Wait, after what talk? What is going on?”

“All I’m going to tell you is that you need to realize what you have before you lose it. Do what you will with that information.”

“What did she tell you? All of her bags are gone and she turned off her location. We always know where the other person is at all times. I just need to know that she’s safe.”

“It’s not my place to tell you what she told me but if the two of you are going to get married a lot of things need to get fixed before you do.”

“I’ll talk to her, but can you just tell me if you see or hear from her?”

“Sure. Hmm, I wonder if this has to do anything with me telling her to put herself first.” Urban said while thinking out loud.

“Urb!”

“What?! Not my fault you’ve been treating your girl like shit. You made your bed so lie in it. You should have stood up to Neelam and took up for her when that whole thing went down at dinner, but instead you did it the next day. So many situations that you have put yourself in when it didn’t have to be that way. If you want to marry her so bad, you need to show her that you value her and that she’s important to you because right now from the outside looking in, it looks like you want the single life with having marriage benefits.”

“I don’t want to be single!”

“You could have fooled me. You need to show her that you are in and I mean all in. Hopefully you fix it before it’s too late. I take it you haven’t seen her instagram story either?”

Jack put him on speaker before going to look at it and his stomach dropped.

You had postponed the wedding.

y/n added to their story

Meanwhile you were back in Louisville at your condo puking your guts out for the fifth time today. This had been going on for the last two weeks, but you didn’t say anything or mention anything to anyone thinking that it was just a stomach bug and that it would pass. However, when you touched down in Louisville and hit your favorite bakery to get a few different snacks to take home with you, the smell of your favorite cupcakes made you nauseous and you then became nervous.

Bottom line is that you knew what this was.

You had watched enough television shows and seen it in real life among your family members and friends to know there was only one clear cut explanation for what was going on with you.

You were pregnant and needed to take a test and make an appointment with your OB/GYN to confirm it and you were absolutely terrified.

“So much for being on birth control.” You muttered to yourself as you gripped the sink to help you get up from the floor and heard your phone ringing from the bedroom.

Without even having to go and look at it, you knew it was Jack since he had a different ringtone than everyone else.

You knew he was probably freaking out since you were nowhere to be found and you turned off your location which you knew he was probably pissed about since that was something that the two of you never did. 

Not bothering to answer him, you dabbed at your face with a warm washcloth before brushing your teeth and grabbing your wallet and keys to go to the nearest drug store in order to get the test along with some ginger ale and saltines in the hopes of settling your stomach.

It was only a matter of time before Jack would be on your doorstep and it probably would be in less than 24 hours.

Well, Jack found out last week that Gabrielle’s baby wasn’t his all to now eventually find out that you were now pregnant.

That was about to be a hell of a conversation since he was currently the last person that you wanted to be around.

You were tired of giving him so many chances and as you played with your engagement ring, you started to wonder if you had made the right decision by saying yes to him.

Bottom line was that if you were to slip the ring off and give it back to him at this very moment, you probably wouldn’t regret it. But you knew yourself better than that. Down the line you definitely would.

You were now going to be someone’s mother and had to set a good example for them even if that included not marrying their father. 

Jack had touched down in Louisville later that afternoon in the hopes of hopefully finding you since he knew this was your safe space, just like it was his. He was going to see his parents first before setting out to go and find you and was hoping that they had seen you so that the search could be kept short.

But once he entered the house, he was surprised to see you in the kitchen with Maggie hovering over the stove and sipping on sparkling water. Once his mom spotted him she had nothing but a smile on her face, while you on the other hand just kept a straight face and turned back to the stove in order to continue making the sauce for the pasta dish you were helping Maggie make. 

“So, do you have something to tell me?” Maggie asked while looking over at Jack, who looked back at her confused.

“Tell you what?”

All Maggie did was continue to smile as she looked between the both of you but you weren’t uttering a word.

“Y/N, I see why you came home early from tour and I can only imagine how traveling would take a toll on your body. And of course this one over here had to come and check on you in order to make sure that you were okay. You did the right thing by coming home and being close to us as well as your parents. You know we’ll look after you until Jack finishes up and can be here full time with you.”

“I’m lost, can someone fill me in?” Jack asked as he tried to make eye contact with you, but you just weren’t giving him the time of day. 

“Oh, like you don’t know. No need to be like that. I can’t wait to plan for the baby shower.”

It was at that moment Jack’s heart fell out of his ass.

All he could do was mouth ‘What the fuck is she talking about?’ to you and all you did was look at him with a tight lipped smile before mouthing back ‘It’s not yours.’ which instantly made him roll his eyes since he knew for a fact that it was his.

“And I absolutely love this shirt, Y/N. Did you get one for your mom too so we can match?” Maggie asked you as she held up a shirt that you bought her that said Worlds Best Grandma and Jack just knew he was going to faint while you were steadily quiet and tasting the sauce to see if it had enough seasoning in it. 

“Yes, I got her one too. She’ll get hers tomorrow since she flew home to visit my grandma in D.C. And the food is just about ready.”

“Umm, where’s dad and Clay?” Jack asked while he looked around and tried to keep his stomach from being in knots.

“They were out doing something so we made sure to make enough for them so they have it when they come back.”

As you were trying to eat your food in the hopes that it wouldn’t come back up, Jack was sending you texts left and right.

Future Hubby- You better stop playing because this shit isn’t funny. Now are you actually pregnant?

You- Who’s this?

Future Hubby- BABY STOP PLAYING. I’M BEING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW SO CAN YOU PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION?

You- It isn’t yours so why are you worried about it?

Future Hubby- Now we all know that’s a lie. And why did you just leave without saying anything? Do you know how worried I was about you? Don’t ever do that again without saying anything to me. I thought something had happened to you. And postponing the wedding?! Without saying anything to me!?

You- You’re lucky I didn’t call it off completely with how you’ve been acting towards me. Eat your food and stop texting at the dinner table. It’s rude.

The rest of the dinner was awkward between you and Jack and luckily Maggie didn’t notice anything was off between the two of you. She was simply on cloud nine with the fact that she was going to be a grandmother and that was the only thing she could talk about. However,  you knew that this was about to be a whole ordeal with the two of you finally got home.

And you were going to let him have it and not hold anything back. 

The two of you drove separately and once the both of you were parked in the driveway, Jack got out first before jogging over to you to open your car door for you.

He held out his hand for you to take and you simply brushed him off. 

“Baby, please. I know you’re mad….”

“Don’t start with me, Jackman. I’m tired and I want to lay down.” You said while walking up to the front door and sliding the key in.

“But we have to talk about this. You’re pregnant with our kid, didn’t tell me and also postponed the wedding and didn’t tell me. I had to find out through your instagram post so what the hell is going on?! You just left!” Was all that you heard Jack say from behind you as you entered the house and you took a deep breath before you rolled your eyes and turned around to face him.

“Because I am so utterly sick of your shit! For you to tell me that you love me so much, it sure doesn’t feel like it! There was a time that you would prioritize me and we weren’t even in a relationship! You don’t even do that now and we are!”

“I know I’ve messed up, but…”

“That’s putting it lightly.” 

“I just…”

“No, there isn’t any excuse that you can pull out of your ass to make me instantly forgive you for everything that you’ve done. Our so-called friendship has literally turned to shit ever since I said yes to marrying you and I’m wondering if I even made the right decision by letting you put this ring on my finger.”

“Y/N… you don’t mean that. I don’t want anyone else but you!”

“Really? Because you sure don’t act like you do. You had the nerve to call me insecure, but so are you because you have to seek validation from every single woman that you come across and I have absolutely no idea when you got like that. I have told you from the beginning that you have always been more than enough and not to change for anyone, but I don’t even think I recognize the person standing in front of me anymore. Is it to make me jealous? Let me know that you have options and can leave me the second that you get tired of me? All I want is for us to be on the same damn page and now we have to add a child into this hot mess express.”

“I never looked at it like that, but I don’t plan on leaving you for anybody!”

“Did you ask me to marry you because you knew that no other woman would probably put up with all of your shit and always be there for you?” You asked and Jack looked at you in disbelief.

“I asked you to marry me because I love you! How many times do I need to say that?!”

“Or is it because your whoring days are over with so you figured hmm let me just marry Y/N so I won’t be single for the rest of my life.”

“Where is all this coming from?! You know I hate arguing with you and us being at odds. For the last time, I asked you to marry me because I love you and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and keep in mind YOU AGREED.”

“And that was before I knew you were going to lie to my face, let people talk down to me, and almost have a baby on me.”

“Can we just sleep on this and talk about it again in the morning? I don’t want to do this with you or end up saying something that I’m going to regret.”

“It doesn’t matter because I’m leaving. I’ve said my piece.”

“You are not going anywhere and it is literally pouring outside. I want you safe. You already ran away from me once and I for damn sure am going to do anything in order to prevent it from happening again.”

“I am leaving because I don’t want to look at you and I’m convinced that you don’t even love me like you claim that you do.”

“Now you’re talking utter bullshit. I would give up everything for you in a fucking heartbeat, but because of the person that you are you wouldn’t let me do that! You don’t do that for people that you don’t love! And we need to talk about you postponing our wedding without even letting the groom fucking know.”

“At this point, do you even deserve to? The only reason why you found out I was pregnant is because Maggie said something. Because I didn’t want to talk to you.”

All Jack did was run a hand through his curls as you were now making your way to the front door.

“Baby!”

“Don’t fucking call me that!”

“Do not leave this house!”

“And who the fuck are you to give me orders? Last time I checked, I was a grown ass woman and can do whatever the fuck I want.”

“Just… I’ll sleep in the guest bedroom if you don’t want to be near me, but just please don’t leave.” Jack pleaded with you as he grabbed your hand, but all you did was shake your head.

“You have a show tomorrow so I suggest that you fly back at at least eleven in the morning so that you’ll be there on time. Good fucking night.”

“I’m not flying anywhere until we fix this!”

“Oh, Neelam won’t miss you too much?” You sarcastically said before snatching your hand out of his.

“Y/N…..”

“I don’t think I should be your manager anymore since you want to go along with what she says all the damn time so she’ll have you all to herself.”

“WHAT?! We are NOT doing this right now!”

“Well, I am. Now me and my baby are going to get some rest in my condo and if you don’t stop getting on my fucking nerves and hurting me, the next time you’ll see me will be in the delivery room. Now for the last time, good night.”

As much as he didn’t want to, Jack watched you go to your car and back out of his driveway and knew that he could only be frustrated with himself. He was going to do everything that he possibly could in order to get back in your good graces and prove to you that you were in fact the only person that he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. 

The only reason why the two of you were at this point was because of him so he couldn’t put the blame on anyone else. You had given him chance after chance only for him to keep disappointing you every single time.

To try and relax, he hopped into the shower and had placed his phone on the sink just in case you called him or needed him for something, but at this point he highly doubted it.

He stayed under the warm water for about thirty minutes when he got out and checked his phone to see that you had turned your location back on and he could now see it.

Jack was about to put it back down, but did a double take when he noticed that you weren’t moving anywhere and that you were still only three blocks from your shared house. Almost an hour had passed and you should have been at your condo by now even if it had been raining.

As he held his phone, a call from an unknown number came through and he had a gut wrenching feeling that it had to do with you and why it had your location showing at a standstill.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Harlow? This is Dr. Spencer from Norton hospital in downtown Louisville. Your fiancée Y/N Y/L/N has been in a car accident.”  

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[daddysfangirls-dc]

The Arrangement

Ch 2 Exposed

Damian Wayne x OC!Female

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Robin enters the cave to find everyone there, including Duke, who should have been sleeping. The only one missing was Jason. Not for long, however, he drove in, parking his motorcycle next to Robin's and walking past him, removing his helmet and settling it on the counter. It seemed like a him vs them situation as they took one side of the cave and left him alone on the other. He was nervous, a bit scared. In his head, he was going over every possible wrong he had committed recently, but he could find none that would warrant a full audience. They didn't let him stew for long.

Without a word, Bruce hit a button on the computer, and it came alive, revealing a dozen images. The main subject is Damian and a girl in various locations and situations. And while his appearance changed between images, Robin to Civilian, she wore the same outfit in every picture, bearing the scandalous insignia of the League of Assasins. If that doesn't make it bad enough, the center photo was of him kissing her knuckles while she looked up at him lovingly in a bed. Damian stood before his father, sharing the same expressionless face. 

"Explain"

"I see me in various situations with ...my fiance." 

The silence was still, and one would have thought time had stopped, of course, time started again. When Alfred started to stumble, everyone moved quickly. Jason, the closest to him, gathered him before he could fall and pulled up a chair with Duke's help. It was after Alfred was settled that chaos erupted. Damian couldn't say who said what. 

"what the fuck!?"

"You know how to talk to girls?"

"He doesn't even like people!"

"I'm sorry, did you say fiance?"

"She's part of the league?"

"When did this happen???"

"When did he start dating?"

"You're still in high school, right?"

"ENOUGH," Bruce said, silencing everyone. He looked to Damian." Explain. Everything"

Damian 'T T' the truth was bound to come out. " It's an arranged marriage," ignoring the smug look Tim and Jason shared. " It was made between Ra's and Her father. I was always told I was supposed to rule, to conquer. I was supposed to continue the legacy, have an heir, and teach as I was taught. I was five years old when I was introduced to her. She was three. She is the second daughter. I didn't like her at first. But she was skilled. The arrangement was made, and she was my mother's choice."

"Makes sense," Tim said. Dick smacked him upside the head.

"Ra's made the arrangement> He's gone. We can- " 

" I agreed to it," he said, striking his father's conclusion and ending any planning. "After Ra's died, her father approached me about the arrangement. I agreed to continue, and we stayed in communication."

Dick stepped for " Why didn't you say anything?"

"Your reactions were predictable."

"This is the young friend you've been talking to over the years." Now, all eyes were on Alfred. Damian confidence stance starts to flatter, and he nods shyly. " We'll. I'd like to meet her."

"I... she's sleeping now."

"Obviously, it's 3 am, " Tim scoffed. 

"She'll be leaving soon. I'll speak to her tomorrow and see if she can make time for dinner, perhaps."

"Is she a part of the League?" Bruce asked- No, demanded.

"She's not a threat."

" If the League is operating In Gotham- ."

" She's here to see me. Her purpose here is not as nefarious as you want to believe."

"I believe we should take a moment. Maybe pick up the conversation tomorrow." Alfred could see where everything was heading; honestly, it was far too late in the night for such things. It was all too much. Following the orders of their patriarchy, everyone files upstairs to their respective rooms.

"Tim"

"I'm just clearing the screen and saving the files. I'll be up in a moment B" He gave a nod and quickly lef. Alfred would come later and see if he actually did as said. 

-

"Good morning"

"They know." She took a moment. This was definitely not the phone call she had expected this morning.

"How did you tell them?"

"I didn't. Apparently, Drake has been surveilling us for some time. I'm unsure as to how or when it started." Damian was losing his touch when she suspected something, and he dismissed her. She didn't think to question him; it was his city.

" I'm sorry," she apologized. " If I had been more stealthy, more hidden, this wouldn't have happened."

"Don't apologize. It was inevitable. I was a fool to think I could hide it for so long."  Damian was too busy in the bliss of having her to remember to hide her. That sounded wrong. " They want to meet you?" 

"Oh"

"I told them you'd be departing in a day or so. You don't have to." They fell into silence. He heard the chirps of morning birds on his end while she heard the muffled sounds of cars honking from early workers.

"I-"

"Damian?... do you want me to meet your family?" He had to take a moment. Did he want her to meet his family? No, he didn't. He didn't want to introduce her to his family. They hadn't even met her, and they had already formed an opinion, already judged her. And while he knew one meeting her, some would change their opinions of her, others would not and would continue villainizing her until she proved herself worthy. And he simply didn't want to go through that, at least not yet.

"I want you to meet Alfred."

"your grandfather? You want me to meet your grandfather?" '

He was safe. He was good. He'd see how much Damian cared for her and she for him, and he'd look past everything else... hopefully.

"Yes, he wants to meet you as well."

"Damian, I'd love to meet your Grandfather."

[ellewritesalright]

Second Best - Part 2

Nikolai Lantsov x reader

Part 1 --- Masterlist --- Part 3

A/N: Started at school again so updates will probably be even more infrequent now. Once again, I hope this part is coherent enough :) also, I gave the mc reader a last name :)

Synopsis: When you were a child, the Lantsov king and queen arranged for their second son to marry you, a rich Ravkan noble family's only daughter. After many years, after all the destruction of the war, and after Nikolai was crowned king, Nikolai breaks off the engagement. But the complications of your past and your strict parents make it a nightmare to find a new fiance, so Nikolai promises to help you, yet he slowly realizes the mistake he's made.

Warnings: strict and mean parents, very slight self-image issues because of said parents, mentions of illness and death, me not knowing how to write sciencey things, kinda confusing and purposefully ambiguous details that will be important later in the story (bear with me please)

Word Count: 1840

..........

The day after the king visited, a letter addressed to you arrived at the Antonov house in Os Alta. You never got letters.

You grew up in the isolated countryside, surrounded by acres and acres of land and a household of servants who were under strict orders not to speak with you. When you were five, the only friend you had died during a small outbreak of pox, which was around the same time your parents started to restrict who came near your estate. Because of this, no one back in the countryside would be writing to you. Perhaps an old school friend sent you a rare letter, though they wouldn’t have the address for the city house, only the country estate.

There was no reason for a letter to arrive addressed to you. So when the butler handed you the letter at the breakfast table, your mother gasped and plucked it out of your hand before you could even open it.

Her eyes narrowed on the wax seal. "It's the double eagles."

"What does the puppy prince want now?" Your father looked over his morning paper, vaguely interested in the contents of the letter as he sipped at his morning tea.

"He's the king, father," you quietly chided. He just waved you off.

Your mother cracked open the seal and started reading. You wanted to grab it back from her--seeing as it was your letter--but you merely stood from your seat and hurried to her side of the table so you could read over her shoulder. 

"He was serious about helping her find a new fiance," your mother said as she read. 

You glanced at the first few lines, confirming her information. Then she gasped and set down the letter. You craned over her shoulder to understand what had scandalized her.

I wish to discuss what exactly you are looking for and to get to know you better before I help you find a match. As such, I would like you to have tea and luncheon with me in the Grand Palace on Saturday at noon. But only you--I do not wish to hear your parents’ talking.

"He's invited her to the palace. Alone." 

Your father set down his cup. His eyes flitted up to you.

Your mother tsked, looking at him. "She can't go. She'll ruin us if she goes. She'll let it slip, I just know she will."

"I won't tell him." You swore, eyes pleading with your father. "You know I won't."

"Look at her, she'll crumble and tell him everything," your mother said, her face tensing up as she glared at you.

He paused in consideration, crossing his arms. You stepped closer to him.

"Father," you said calmly. "It's my reputation on the line as much as it is the family's. I won't tell him or anyone else for that matter."

He scrutinized your eyes a moment longer, then he returned his attention to his newspaper. "You can go. But be back by two o'clock. No later."

Your mother sat up in her seat, seeming like she wanted to say something, but a glance from your father made her think twice. You grabbed your letter and envelope from in front of her and waltzed back to your place at the table. You quickly hugged your father's shoulders on the way to your seat.

……….

The last time you were at the Grand Palace, you were twelve and terrified. Your spine was as stiff as granite as Lord and Lady Antonov guided you into the throne room. You'd been lectured from this way to that as you got ready that day all those years back. 

"Keep your hands folded, and your mouth shut," your mother said as she fussed over your hair that morning. "Don't give yourself away by speaking commonly, girl. Be a proper lady."

You could still remember how her hands threateningly tightened in your hair as she started to braid it.

"The saints will pity you if you are not believed, daughter, but they will pity you more for what I will do to you if the royal family sees through you."

That was many years ago. But despite how the time had ticked, despite how you had grown and gone across the sea and back since then, you still felt like a nervous kid as you stood in the Grand Palace.

You stared at a painting in the palace's main drawing room. It was just a study of a vase packed with flowers, yet your eyes eagerly traced the purple petals and green leaves. You tried to imagine painting such a thing, although you’d never had an iota of artistic ability. You were only desperate to distract yourself from your impending meeting.

Suddenly the doors to the drawing room opened and Nikolai stepped inside.

"My apologies for being late. I was in the Fabrikator lab and there was a small crisis to be dealt with." He gave a suave smile. "Fire's out now, though."

"You started a fire?" You raised a brow.

His nose scrunched as he chuckled, "Well, not intentionally. Please, sit."

You smiled and sat down on one of the couches. Nikolai sat across from you, pouring two cups of tea.

"Sugar? Milk?" He asked as his hands hovered over the tea tray.

"Three sugars and a splash of milk, please," you replied.

"You like your tea sweet, then?" He glanced at you, making your eyes flit down to your lap.

"I didn't have many sweets growing up. Tea was always the one place I could get away with adding as much sugar as I wanted. And now my taste for tea is permanently skewed sweeter than everyone else I know."

"Nonsense," he smirked as he handed you your teacup and saucer, "everyone else's tastes are just too bitter and boring. Personally, I go for one sugar and as much milk as will fit before overflowing. But truth be told, I much prefer coffee to tea." 

"Me too," you smiled a bit. A thought came to you, and you spoke, "There was this coffee shop at the university of Ketterdam that served the best coffee. It was sweet and light all while keeping a rich flavor; I still don’t know how they accomplished that."

Nikolai sighed contently as if imagining the taste of what you've described. "Yes, Kerch coffee is leagues ahead of what we make here in Ravka, isn't it?"

"Must be the high demand of all their bankers and businesspeople," you remarked, making Nikolai chuckle softly.

"Must be."

The conversation lulled for a moment, and you noticed a bit of ash on Nikolai's otherwise pristine jacket cuff.

"So… that fire that you didn't start intentionally?" You inquired with a light tone.

He scrunched his nose again. "Yes?"

"Were you looking at some Fabrikator invention in their lab when you accidentally made it catch fire?"

"No, actually," he chuckled. "The Fabrikators were helping me work on an idea I had for a thermal converter, something that could be implemented throughout Ravkan homes to help heat houses in the winter.”

“That’s an admirable invention.” You furrowed your brow and paused for a moment. “Would it work independently of a fireplace?”

“No, it would work in tandem,” He explained. “There would be pipes connected to the fireplace that would then run along the house either on the walls or beneath the floorboards.”

“Tungsten pipes?”

“Yes. Tungsten or–”

“Nickel.”

He blinked at you. “Exactly. How did you know that?”

“I studied advanced physics at the University; we had engineering classes where we had to design and build different inventions. I designed a motorized plough but the machinations kept burning through the metals so I needed to find the best metals. In my research I found that Nickel and tungsten have high melting points. Ergo, nickel and tungsten can withstand the heat of your pipes.”

He watched you for a moment, smiling. You watched back. 

Men are frightened by smart women. Your mother’s words echoed in your mind.

But Nikolai wasn’t frightened. He wasn’t put off by your intellect. He sat there smiling at you for a second longer, then he set down his teacup and leaned forward in his seat.

“Two things,” he said with a bright glint in his eye. “One: did that machinated plough of yours work?”

You nodded. “Quite well, actually. I've tried to get my father to implement it on our estate and in our region’s farms, but he’s reluctant. He thinks it’s a fool’s tool.”

“Well Lord Antonov must be wrong. I can’t imagine anything you make would be worthy of such low-esteem. If you still have the designs, I would love to share them with the Fabrikators.”

You smiled. “I have the designs.”

“Excellent.”

Again, he watched you for a second, a light expression on his face.

“What was the second thing?” you asked.

“Oh, yes,” he grinned. “Two: would you like to come see the Fabrikator workshop?”

"Absolutely." You grinned back.

……….

The workshop was its own slice of heaven. All the machinery and pending inventions called to you as Nikolai and the Fabrikators gave you a tour. You could have stayed in the workshop for hours on end, but it was nearing two o'clock, and your parents would be livid if you weren't home by then.

Nikolai walked you back through the Grand Palace to where your carriage would be waiting for you.

"We never discussed my offer of assistance, did we?" He spoke as the pair of you walked through the main entry hall.

"I suppose we got a bit distracted," you smiled guiltily.

"Shame on us," he said with a lopsided grin. You reached the front doors and two servants opened them. Nikolai stopped in the doorway and turned to you. "So, you will accept my offer?"

"To help me find a fiance?" You asked softly.

"Yes."

You glanced over at the waiting carriage. Then your eyes found his again. "Yes. I'm sure you will find a better match than my mother will. She's already written to every eligible suitor that I am back on the market."

He let out a soft laugh. "Saints, that woman works fast." 

"Tell me about it," you grumbled.

He stepped towards your carriage and held his arm out for you. You took his arm and his help into your carriage. 

"Thank you," you smiled gently at him from the open window. "For everything."

He shrugged. "Of course."

"Truly, I am grateful that you are doing this. Saints know what sort of person my mother would force a match with. I have faith that you will offer me options with real merit."

He gave a small laugh. "High praise."

"I'm just being honest." 

"I know," he nodded as he looked up at you.

His eyes were so intent on yours. A hazel colour was so perfectly spun in his irises, and his stare felt warmer than any you'd ever seen before.

"I'll send you a list soon enough," he smiled at you. His eyes lingered for another moment, then he backed away from the carriage. "Goodbye for now, my lady."

Your chauffeur rode off, and you watched the Grand Palace slowly shrink away.

..........

A/N: Thanks for reading! Feel free to like, reblog, and comment if you want to read more, I really appreciate the feedback! If you want to be tagged in the other parts of this series or to be added to the Nikolai taglist please comment on this part or send me an ask. Otherwise, I hope you have a great day/night :)

Masterlist

Part 3

Taglist:

@xceafh @rhaenyrakryze @thecrowsgambit @nghtwngs @hauntedenthusiasttragedy @stuffyownswrld @sublimepenguinpeach-blog @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake @angie-likes-to-read @take-me-to-ny @historianthesecond

Nikolai Taglist:

@sweet0pia-uwu @notoakay @naushtheaspiringauthor @liter4ti @marchingicenotes7 @eyeofthestorm

[sailorstar9]

Sister Snatched My Fiancé, Now She's Stunned I'm With Someone Way Better

F/N's fiance and her younger sister got together.

On the day of their engagement, F/N overheard them confessing their love to each other, which almost making F/N sick to the stomach.

Shigeo and F/N were in a seven-year long-distance relationship from the second year of high school until the present.

Harumi had been following F/N around, calling Shigeo 'nii-san' for seven years. In F/N's eyes, they had always been like siblings. Shigeo treated her like a sister, but Harumi's true feelings towards Shigeo was unclear.

Harumi was F/N's younger sister from a different mother. F/N's father and motehr divorced early and F/N's father, since F/N had some talent, doted on her.

Harumi was cute when she was a baby, with chubby cheeks and drooling and she used to like sleeping while hugging F/N. But as she grew older; around kindergarten age, she was no longer cute. She would usually put on a look of grievance, blaming F/N for things that were not her business. She would say things like 'Tou-san, if you want to hit someone, hit me. I'm so scared when you guys fight. Nee-san likes it, so give it to nee-san. I didn't mean to. Can nee-san forgive me?”

At that time, F/N was too naïve to understand what manipulation was. How could such a young child have ulterior motives?

But F/N's father's attitude towards F/N changed from good to bad, worsening over time; especially because F/N's stepmother was Harumi's biological mother and F/N's position at home became precarious.

F/N worked harder at studying, hoping her father would love her more, but to no avail. F/N's father always thought F/N bullied Harumi and Harumi endured silently.

Did everyone think F/N wasn't wary of Harumi while dating Shigeo? It was fine for the first two years as F/N was in university and she was in high school. By the time F/N was in her third year, Harumi entered college and with more time on her hands, she started making moves.

Every weekend when Shigeo and F/N had a date, Harumi would tirelessly try to contact her, claiming sisterly affection. F/N tried to drive her away, but Harumi would cry and whine, “Nee-san, do you not like me anymore? What did I do wrong? Tell me. I'll change. I'm so sad when you treat me like this.”

F/N would roll her eyes and Harumi would turn to Shigeo for help, eyes red with tears.

Each time, Shigeo would mediate, saying Harumi was still young and liked following her, so F/N should let her do so. He would ask F/N not to be so harsh on Harumi.

The couple would argue about it several times; Shigeo said F/N was unreasonable and shouldn't argue with a child, while F/N fired back that he didn't understand anything and had no right to intervene. They almost broke up, but didn't.

Later, when Harumi clung to F/N, Shigeo remained silent, letting F/N handle her stepsister.

F/N was a resident doctor at the local general hospital. Shigeo worked in IT, a programmer who had already become a project manager in a private company; young and promising with thick hair.

Everyone had praised Shigeo and F/N as the perfect match and the number of people asking when they would have their engagement ceremony was countless.

Shigeo and F/N booked a hall at a local five-star hotel, choosing the venue for its duplex structure; bright crystal chandeliers and long spiral staircases. The first floor was designated to entertain guests and the second floor were dressing rooms and lounges.

F/N was touching up her makeup in her dressing room.

“Nee-san's dress looked amazing, highlighting her strengths; unlike me, who wears shirts and jeans every day.” Harumi whined. “This lipstick matches her so well. This is what they call a man killer? I'm so clumsy. I don't know how to apply makeup. Nee-san, can you teach me in the future?”

F/N look at Harumi through the mirror, “Okay.” she let out a breath and Harumi beamed.

Often, F/N couldn't tell if Harumi was being genuinely naïve or she was just pretending. After so many years, F/N still didn't like her. It was obvious: how could she still pretend to be so close to her?

“Nee-san it's almost time.” Harumi reminded. “I'm going downstairs to be with mom and dad.” she rushed out, leaving the makeup artist staring at her back in amazement.

“F/N, your sister is so lively and naive.” the makeup artist remarked. “Everyone is dressed elegantly at this event, but she is wearing a T-shirt and jeans.'

F/N smiled without a response; some things are better left unsaid to outsiders.

Shigeo was late in picking F/N up and no one answered the phone.

F/N called a friend downstairs and was told Shigeo had already gone upstairs a while ago.

Gone upstairs for while? F/N's suspicions arose. Indeed, a woman's sixth sense is really mysterious. At that moment, F/N's mind was filled with thoughts of Harumi.

Without hesitation, F/N got out and walked out, swaying her dress.

Next to the dressing room was a lounge with the door slightly ajar and voices were coming through it.

“Shigeo, this is the last time I call you 'nii-san'.” Harumi stated. “From now on, you'll be my brother-in-law. I feel so sad. Nee-san is so happy being able to marry you. You're such a good person. Nee-san must have saved the galaxy in her past life. Nii-san, what should we do? I really like you.”

“Harumi, don't do this.” Shigeo rebuked. “Your sister and I are about to have our engagement ceremony.”

The room fell silent and F/N hesitated for two seconds before pushing the door open.

The two of them were already on the couch with Shigeo kissing Harumi, with one hand under Harumi's dress; their kissing looking overtly passionate.

F/N's body was frozen; this was the scene of their engagement. Did they have no shame?

“Nee-san...” Harumi was the first to notice.

The adulterous couple scrambled to get up from the couch; one with hair resembling a bird's nest, the other with a suit so crumpled, it was hard to look at.

“Nee-san, it's not what you think.” Harumi frantically tried to explain.

“F/N, let me explain.” Shigeo quickly caught up, standing in front of Harumi; their strategic poses were too obvious.

When did these two really start? F/N wondered. Even if today was the tipping point, they must have flirted with each other a long time before.

F/N looked at Harumi, trying to force a smile, “It's not what I think, it's what I saw.”

She turned to Shigeo and sneered, “Your words say 'no', but your actions are quite honest. Today's engagement ceremony doesn't need to be cancelled, just change the bride from the bride's side. Shigeo, we're done. Consider it as if I never knew you.”

At that, F/N turned and left, tears flooding in an instant; so many years of love easily gone.

Harumi followed F/N out, grabbed F/N's wrist and fell to her knees, slapping herself in the face.

Smack!

The room downstairs fell silent at the crisp sound. In the vast space, only Harumi's begging cries can be heard. “Nee-san, forgive me and Shigeo this time. It wasn't on purpose. I was mentally prepared to call him brother-in-law. We didn't do anything wrong. Please believe me. Please... let's proceed with your engagement properly, okay?”

Her words made F/N laugh out with anger. “With such a situation, how can we proceed with the engagement? Should we ignore the elephant in the room?”

Shigeo stood at the door of the lounge, not moving an inch. He was watching F/N and Harumi, but mostly Harumi with pity in his eyes.

F/N's heart sank deeper and deeper. “How did I not know a point that you two had reached a point where you couldn't control your feelings? You two... you are quite something.”

Furious, F/N turned and ran downstairs and telling her parents that she realized Shigeo and Harumi make a better couple, so she's giving Shigeo to Harumi.

After that failed engagement ceremony, it didn't take long for F/N to pack all her belongings and move out to a share house near the hospital she was resident at, as per her stepmother's wishes.

Later, it was Harumi who posted affectionate messages and even privately messaging F/N to seek forgiveness: Nee-san, can you forgive me? Nee-san, you're so great. Many other guys like you besides Shigeo, but I only have Shigeo. I can't leave him.

A photo of a string of diamond rings was sent, one of them almost identical to the engagement ring F/N once had. Nee-san, which ring do you think looks better?

F/N felt a little suffocated; since that incident happened, every time Harumi sent her a message seeking forgivenes and showing off her relationship, F/N would reply with one sentence. Harumi would mostly say, “Nee-san is so good.' and 'Nee-san loves me the most.'

But on that particular day, Harumi replied, “Nee-san, you must be angry with what you said. I feel so sad. After all, it's the room you lived in for more than ten years.”

F/N rolled her eyes, turned off the screen, cursed Harumi under her breathe and looked out of the window.

Shortly after the end of F/N's residency, she took on a job as Manshine City's sports therapist.

In F/N's room at the Manshine City soccer team hostel...

“Are you with someone else now?” Shigeo's booming voice echoed over the phone, interrogating F/N without even using her name.

“Shigeo, we've broken up a long time ago.” F/N reminded. “You and Harumi have a child. Can't I have a boyfriend?”

“What child?” Shigeo barked. “Have you forgotten we're engaged?”

“It was you hugging Harumi that day, wasn't it?” F/N retorted. “We've already broke up, we broke up on that very day.”

“What break up?” Shigeo huffed. “When did I ever agree to break up? You've been the one avoiding me all this time.”

Chigiri directly took F/N's phone from her hand. Not mincing any words, he spoke, “Aoki-san, right? I'm Chigiri Hyoma, F/N's current boyfriend. Please refrain from harassing my girlfriend.”

F/N didn't know how Shigeo reacted as Chigiri hung up after he finished speaking and prompted blocked Shigeo's number.

“That's my phone.” F/N gave the redhead an astonished look. “Did you block someone without my consent?”

“Sometimes, a girlfriend needs to listen to her boyfriend.” Chigiri smirked and returned the phone onto the wireless charger.

Shigeo must have told Harumi about Chigiri, because after Shigeo's call the previous day, Harumi set up a Facetime meeting with F/N.

Harumi's face was full of grievances, “Nee-san, I missed you. It's been so long since I last saw you. Mom and Dad miss you, too. When are you going to come back?” noticing Chigiri lounging on F/N's bed in the background, she looked at the speedster pleadingly and whined, “Chigiri, please talk to nee-san for me.”

Swallowing her anger, F/N ended the Facetime meeting; over the years, whenever F/N had something, Harumi would look it up and would, most of the time, snatch it away.

After Harumi hit a wall with Chigiri, she turned to F/N for conquest, determined not to give up.

When Chigiri and F/N returned to Japan for a two-week vacation, Harumi showed up at the onsen ryokan the couple were staying at and wailed to the passers-by, asking if F/N was still mad because she was blaming her and that's why brother-in-law was ignoring her. She said she realized her mistake, that she had only one sister and nothing was more important than her sister. She asked how she could be forgiven; did she have to kneel down?

The gathering crowd were pointing fingers: just forgive her. How could siblings hold grudges? Isn't it natural for an older sister to give in to her younger sister?

F/N laughed in exasperation, “Who said the older sister must always give in to the younger sister? What if the younger sister is a scoundrel?” she looked at the crowd, knowing that the best way to deal with the situation was to accuse publicly. “At my engagement ceremony, my sister went to confess her love to my fiance and they rolled about on the couch. She acted aggrieved and delicate, frequently kneeling to apologize and forcing me to forgive her. Would you dare to have such a sister?” glaring Harumi, she continued, “After years of no contact, now that she saw I had a new boyfriend, she came back. Harumi, have some shame.”

The spectators shook their heads, seeing through Harumi's deceitful tears. “Can't believe it. She's crying so pitifully. It turns out she was pretending. Being a third party; such a person deserves public condemnation. Did seeing her older sister with a good man make her want to seduce a new brother-in-law? Shameless.”

The biggest differences between acquaintances and strangers was that acquaintances were bound by courtesy and would only gossip behind one's back. Strangers, on the other hand, it's harder to bear their insults.

Chigiri stood firmly by F/N's side, smirking, as Harumi ran off, covering her face in embarrassment.

When F/N saw Shigeo again after so many years, the programmer now looked more haggard than ever, with deep dark circles under his eyes, cracked lips and a cut on his chin from shaving.

“F/N, let's make amends.” Shigeo pleaded, with a bouquet of roses and a jewellery box in hand.

“Shigeo, we have no relationship anymore.” F/N reminded. “Please don't disturb me. You should give the flowers and jewellery to Harumi. I have no interest in being a third party. I'm visiting the sights with my boyfriend. He's coming out soon.”

Shigeo frowned, realizing just then that F/N was the one he truly loved. He said he had already broken up with Harumi; that she was a jinx. Ever since being with her, he had been unlucky. His colleagues ostracized him, he lost projects and nothing was going right. He said F/N was his lucky charm, that when they were together, everything in his work seemed to fall into place and he hoped to start anew.

When Chigiri exited the ryokan, F/N turned to her ex-lover, “Sorry, my boyfriend is here. If everything goes smoothly, I will marry him. So, don't come looking for me anymore.”

“You're...” Shigeo instantly recognized the 'Crimson Cheetah' and left quickly.

“I just heard someone say they're going to marry me.” Chigiri grinned.

“That was just a strategy...” F/N stammered.

“This is not a strategy.” Chigiri corrected. He pulled out a jewellery box from his pocket. “Put it on first.” he revealed a ring. “Otherwise, we'll have to do it again.” without a word, he slid the ring onto F/N's finger.

As for Harumi; women like her were common in life: thinking that they were young and beautiful, believing that by offering themselves, men won't refuse, thinking that conquering men means conquering the world.

Shigeo, not only blinded his eyes, but also clouded his judgment, choosing stones over stars. The only think he did wrong was that since he had chosen Harumi, he shouldn't have pursued an old flame.

[ereardon]

At Sea [Bob Floyd x Reader]

Chapter 2

Overview: I’ll be home in five weeks. That’s what naval aviator Y/N told her fiance before leaving for deployment in the Atlantic. But time ceased to stop when she met Bob Floyd, the ship surgeon. Shy and honest, Bob quietly slipped into Y/N’s life, creating a complicated dynamic on an already intense mission. Falling for Bob was not in Y/N’s plan, and as she continues to weave a web of lies, she must make a choice: return to the life she left on land, or forge ahead into the unknown with Bob. But before Y/N can decide, disaster strikes, leaving Bob to make the decision that will alter their lives forever. 

Chapter summary: Y/N and Bob have their first heart-to-heart; Y/N reminiscences on how she met her fiance

Pairing: Navy Doctor Bob Floyd x Female Aviator Reader

Warnings: Implied emotional cheating, lots of Naval inaccuracies

WC: 2.5K

Masterlist here

In the air, everything else gets stripped away. Fears, concerns, chores, anxieties, conversations. They all stay on the ground. 

Or in this case, on the deck. 

When you’re in the cockpit, your brain splits in two. One half shuts down – the half that controls emotions, everyday life. The other half, the aviator half, roars to life. It’s the part of you that instinctively knows when to dive or call for backup, when to evade, when to approach. That part works practically autonomously. 

The first time you sat in a cockpit, it was an extension of yourself. 

The jet dipped low, the ship just ahead. A quick flight, in and out on a search and rescue that yielded negative results. You jumped out of the seat onto the waiting ladder, pulling off your helmet. The late September wind whipped at your face as you shrugged on a pair of sunglasses and looked up toward the other incoming jets. Daiquiri and Johnson landed a few seconds later, the drop of the jet onto the runway causing a thump in your chest. 

“See you in the ready in ten,” you called out to Chevy, your backseater. He waved his hand in acknowledgement and you jogged out toward the cabin door, quickly descending down two decks. As you rounded a corner, helmet still in hand, you smacked into someone. 

Bob had his arms outstretched in apology before he could even see who he collided with. 

He was wearing navy colored coveralls and carrying a small clipboard, glasses seated low on his nose bridge. 

“Y/N,” he said, surprise lacing his features. 

“Hey you.” You looked to your left down an empty hall, tilting your head and beckoning him to follow you into the darkened hallway. The two of you turned the corner out of the main walkway. “What are you doing?” 

He raised the clipboard. “Filling out patient intakes and supply forms.” 

“Spicy.” He laughed. 

“Did you just get off of a flight?” 

You nodded. “Search and rescue that got called early.” 

Bob’s eyes roamed over you, slowly. “It’s weird to see you in uniform.” 

You frowned. “Weird?” 

He shook his head vigorously, a small blush creeping up his neck. “Not weird, sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I just mean, I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that you’re an aviator. It’s really impressive.” 

“I guess. I don’t really think about it too much.” 

“It’s not every day that you meet a beautiful aviator.” 

This time, you blushed. “You obviously don’t get enough deployments, sir. We’re crawling all over this ship.” 

He laughed and stepped closer, reaching out and touching the collar of your flight suit between his thumb and index finger. As Bob rubbed the fabric slowly, you felt your breath turn choppy at his proximity. “I think you’re selling yourself short.” 

You opened your mouth to respond when the thunder of footsteps crashed down the main hall. You and Bob broke apart like magnet poles. A few aviators stormed past, laughing, not noticing the two of you in the darkened hallway. “I have to go,” you whispered. “Maybe I’ll see you tonight.” 

Bob’s eyes twinkled as you turned, falling into step with the other aviators. 

***

You and Connor met at a museum opening your friend Sally had dragged you to. While standing in the corner, nursing a glass of wine as Sally pressed her chest against some stranger’s arm, Connor appeared at your side in an almost magnetic way. He was extremely tall with dark hair and tawny skin and the widest brown eyes you had ever seen. 

“Are you a fan?” he asked, motioning at the painting you were lingering in front of. 

You tipped your head, pretending to be an expert, before letting out a little caught. “Would you judge me if I said I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between this and something from the Goodwill bin?” 

He laughed. It was throaty, catching at the end, and reached out one strong hand that slid into yours perfectly. “Connor Bennett.” 

You told him your name. “Anyways, I should probably get back to my friend.” You whipped around but Sally was nowhere to be found.

Connor hadn’t let go of your hand. “At least let me show you one thing that doesn’t look like a donation item.” Before you could refuse, he was walking you confidently toward a lifesize painting on the far back wall. 

“This is an O’Keeffe,” he said. Your eyes rolled across the canvas. Soft swoops of vivid colors. It was pretty, but nothing to write home about. 

Instead, you lifted your eyes to Connor. He was mesmerized. His eyes were soaking up the canvas, drinking it all in, and you found yourself turning back to the painting, trying to see what he saw. The first time around you had missed the delicate but deliberate blue from one color to the next. How sensual the lines were. How confident. 

“So what do you think?” You liked that he gave you enough time to develop a thought without interruption. Most men couldn’t stand even a millisecond of silence. They wanted to be the smartest in the room. And if they weren’t the smartest, then the loudest. Connor was comfortable simply letting thoughts fill the empty space. 

You smiled up at him. “I’m a fan.” 

The two of you went on your official first date a week later, and you slept with him that night. At twenty five, you wanted to know what you were getting into. He was tender, but dominant. He stayed the night, even though he hadn’t asked. It had been years since you had let someone break that barrier. 

Later, you found out he was a curator for the museum. He worked normal hours and grew up in a two-parent household, went to Yale and was in a fraternity. He had an insanely good memory and could recite every Lords of the Rings movie on command. 

A talent that was not often used. 

Being with Connor was easy enough, in the way that other relationships never had been. So the day he proposed, you said yes. It wasn’t that you couldn’t picture a future without him. 

It was that he was the only person who had ever made you think that maybe a future with them wouldn’t be so bad. 

***

When, for the first night in almost a week, you got caught up writing reports and didn’t make it to the deck after hours, you wondered if Bob even noticed. 

How was it possible that the two of you had settled into a quiet routine in the span of only a week without ever acknowledging it outright? 

But every night, without fail, he showed. You met on the deck long after the sun had plunged into the horizon. Bob snuck out a thermos of coffee and the two of you would sit and talk long into the night. He was shy and unassuming, with a clear and keen eye for his surroundings. He chose his words carefully, often mulling things silently in his head before breathing life into words. 

He folded used tissues into near squares, loved James bond movies, his favorite candy flavor was lemon and he had a cat named Whiskey growing up. 

In turn, you told him about yourself. How your favorite feeling is coming in from a day at the beach, drinking a cocktail and getting ready for dinner after a shower. How when you were five, you tried to feed the ants that swarmed the cracks of the driveway with leftover birthday candy, almost giving your father an aneurism. 

Somehow, Bob’s fingertips landed on your leg, eliciting goosebumps as you told him about the day your childhood best friend and her family flipped their sailboat in the lake and how you and your parents were the first ones to show up at the marina and watch them pull the four family members to safety.

Bob asked questions, peppering you with small prompts that made you feel like not only was he listening, he was truly hearing what you were saying. 

Who your favorite musician was. Kacey Musgraves. What your favorite meal is. Breakfast, followed closely by dessert. How old you were when you had your first kiss. Fourteen, but the first one was nineteen. Your go-to drunk snack. Cold pizza and a Diet Coke. Why you became a pilot. It’s in your blood. 

He’s good people, as your mother would say. It was clear that after spending only a handful of hours with Bob, he respected people and treated them with kindness. In your head, he opened doors for old ladies, stopped traffic to scoop up a turtle crossing the road, helped little kids find their parents in a crowded mall. 

You had yet to see a crack or flaw in his demeanor. And that terrified you. 

After the first day on the run, you stopped wearing your ring. It was a hindrance for everyday life – helping out in the dishroom, exercising, flying – and you were now more understanding of why so many people opted to forgo rings in service. 

By the time you made it on deck, it was quarter to eleven. Darkness spread as far as the eye could see, except directly beneath the flood lights. Small beacons of light in a literal sea of black. You were somewhere deep in the Atlantic, and there was a nagging thought in the back of your mind of how cold it would be if you were to fall in. 

And how quickly the waves would overtake you.

“Didn’t think you were going to make it.” 

You jumped. Bob was lingering just outside the flood light ring. 

“Jesus Chris, you scared the shit out of me.” 

He gave a shy smirk. “Sorry. You didn’t show last night, so I thought maybe you were rethinking our arrangement.” 

The thought of him waiting for you put a pit in your stomach. 

“Oh yeah? And what arrangement is that?” 

He held up the thermos. “Contraband barista and customer.” 

You chuckled and he placed a cup of coffee into your hand, lingering for a second as your fingers brushed over each other. When he pulled away, even though the cup was steaming, your fingers felt cold wrapped around the mug. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” 

“I’m just lucky you showed up tonight.” 

He sounded relieved. Like he really thought you wouldn’t show. Guilt clouded your mind. The good part of you, the part that volunteers at the food shelter and cuts up six pack plastic rings so fish don’t get stuck and the part of you that wore a white confirmation dress under the scorching Louisiana sun screams at the rest of you to tell him. As your bare finger taps against the mug, in the deep recesses of your mind, she screams at you that you owe him that. 

“Are you alright?” Bob leaned toward you, propping one elbow on the wall behind your seat. You tilt your head back against the wall, his arm only a few inches away. His bicep is muscular, and you know that’s carting around a truly excellent body beneath his uniform. 

“I’m fine. Why?” 

“You seem a bit off.” 

“Do you really know me well enough to say something is off?” 

Immediately, you saw he was taken aback and guilt seeped into every cell of your body. Kindness is not one of your strengths. You’ve had to bite your tongue more than once growing up in the south with the alphabet of the Navy always ready on your lips. Honesty is a philosophy you lean too hard into at times, to your detriment. And one you ignore all too often as well. 

“I’m sorry,” you added quickly. “That was rude of me.” 

Bob dropped his arm and straightened. “It’s alright. I overstepped.” 

“It’s just, I mean we’re strangers, right? Kind of. And saying something like that makes me think you see this as more than it is.” You squeeze your eyes shut for a moment, hating yourself the moment the words leave your lips. You’re not sure why you say it at all. It’s sour as it exits your mouth. 

“Trust me, I am very aware of the situation, Y/N.” His voice was bone chillingly calm. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” 

Your heart began to jog in your chest. He knew. He had spotted the ring that first day and had been pretending otherwise ever since. If anything, you were pissed at yourself. An anxious blush crept across your throat, combating the cold of the ocean wind. 

“The mission is only a few weeks,” Bob said and your pulse instantly began to even out. “You’re young and smart and absolutely beautiful. I know that if we were anywhere else, this wouldn’t be happening.” He waved one large hand in the space between your bodies. “If I had met you at a bar somewhere, you wouldn’t give me a second look. But here, on the ship, it’s a limited dating pool. It’s limited everything. I’m your default.” 

Dating pool. The elephant in the room. The whale on the ship. You weren’t imagining the electric current running between the two of you. 

You let out a sigh of relief, not even realizing that you had been holding your breath, and laid one hand on his thigh, gently. Bob looked up, the vulnerability across his button nose and pink cheeks making you flush. 

“Stop it,” you whispered lightly. You wanted to tell him the truth. That you had noticed him that very first day in the mess. That talking to him felt like talking to an old friend, but also stimulated a nerve you didn’t even know you had. That touching him felt natural. That you had waited all day, rushed through your duties, to make sure you made it to the deck on time, just hoping he would still be there. 

He glanced down at your hand. You started to feel insecure about it, but as you went to lift it, you changed your mind. 

“Y/N.” That was it. Just your name rolling off his lips in a quiet whisper that got picked up and sailed away in the cold wind. Instead of pulling away, you rubbed your thumb across the thick material of his pants a few times. Slowly. A reassurance. So without saying it, he knew. Through the silence, you hoped he read you. 

“It’s not like that, OK?” you said. He nodded. “I need you to know that you’re a choice. I’m here because I want to be. Simple as that.” 

The words hung in the air, dense like the thick fog rolling in. Bob glanced over at you, his gentle face slowly relaxing. 

You sat there in the darkness and the silence, your hand on his leg, until the coffee in your cups ran cold. Until the wind picked up so high it felt like tinnitus. Until you both realized how late it was and how tired you would be the next day. 

Until you both knew, deep down, that tomorrow would be different. That everything had changed. 

Please follow my library page @ereardonlibrary

Tagging some people who I think may like this (but feel free to message me and say you're not interested and I won't tag you going forward!): @blue-aconite @horseshoegirl @clancycucumber230 @kmc1989 @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @spinning-away @bvbfloyd @startrekfangirl2233-writes @shanimallina87 @xoxabs88xox @xomrsalliej4787xo @sio-ina-bottle @joaquinwhorres @thedroneranger @callsign-magnolia @sometimesanalice @stargazer-88 @tomanybandstolove @laracrofted @iangiemae @teacupsandtopgun @palepeanutponyshoe @mrsjobarnes @desert-fern @double-j @djs8891 @gigisimsonmars @fanficfandomlove @bobfloydsbabe @katiedid-3 @katieshook02 @na-ta-sh-aa

[persona-brainrot-real]

a very long about haru because i love her and im upset about how the game let her story get overshadowed at every turn

its nearly 3am rn but i'm thinking about how genuinely insane it is for persona 5 to introduce Haru as a character who is struggling to find any of her autonomy and treat her the way that they do. her father is marrying her off to a man who makes it explicitly clear he wants to use her for sex and even Okumura, in his palace, is shown to understand this.

[ID: three screenshots of Persona five royal. In the first, Haru in her Phantom Thief outfit says "Father! You want me to be that mans plaything to satisfy your own ambitions?" the second is of Shadow Okumura, looking angry, saying "This is the only value you've had from the very beginning. The third image is before the boss fight against the cognition of Haru's fiance. He is saying "let's have fun! I'll play with you until I get bored!"]

even outside of the palace, in their daily life he makes it extremely clear that he has no intent on trusting Haru with company business (likely because he expects the company to be handed off to her husband after he dies) and he doesn't acknowledge her feelings or anything she says to defend her own autonomy (i know this is me reciting everything in the game i do have a point)

[ID: three screenshots of Persona five royal. In the first, Haru is upset as she says "So I'm not even allowed to decide where I will live, am I?". In the second, Okumura is saying "not only do you come home late, you've even stayed out overnight without permission..." looking disapproving. In the third image, Okumura is saying "I have my hands full right now with the company. Don't cause any more trouble for me." He is holding his phone.]

even when she first joins your team, she tries to insist on being useful and fighting, considering this is her request and her fathers palace, and morgana tells her she cant. i know its 'for her own sake' that she cant fight, but considering that Morgana was there when she first awakened and planned on using her to get through a palace alone, its really frustrating to then see him say shes not strong enough to fight in a team.

[ID: two screenshots of persona five royal. Both are taken in Okumura's palace. In the first, Haru is saying "I can fight too! Please, let me join you in battle!". In the second, Morgana is saying "Your persona is too weak to fight safely at the moment. Just leave that side of things to us for now."]

and this comes in AFTER morgana, while using her, gets her to insult his friends on his behalf because hes annoyed with them, even though she's visibly uncomfortable doing so, contradicts what morgana wants her to say, and is shown later to have no real malicious feelings for them - and all of the bitter feelings she DID have were because morgana told her that the PT's were mean and didn't treat him right or didn't need him, which wasn't true to begin with, and is why she has to ask him for direction on what to say,

[ID: Haru looks upset. She stands opposite the Phantom Thieves and looks at Morgana. She is asking him "What was it again?"]

and you bring all of this into a brilliant character of a girl who is so self-assured, so firm on what she wants and her own autonomy - i want to be a Phantom Thief, i want to be a hero, i want to have my autonomy but more importantly i want to earn it, i want to change my fathers heart myself so that he becomes a better person and a better business owner, i want to prove to him that i can be trusted with the company and that i have more worth than being married off - but never really gets to express that? Even when it comes to the fight with Okumura and her chance to have her moment - the moment where Yusuke tells Madarame he's a coward who lost sight of his passion, where Ann gets to tell Kamoshida that he's only alive because she wants him to live through all he's done (both in the palace and the real world), where Futaba gets to talk to her mom directly in a scene that always makes me tear up - Haru's moment to stand up to her father is overshadowed by her father speaking to Morgana instead!!!!!

i know that this could also be a huge meta moment - he sees his daughter standing up to him, defending herself, and dismisses her entirely to try and appeal to the next rational subject, a man, but . the man is a cat. it doesnt work as well if he turns to a cat to be like "well certainly you'll be more reasonable" and turns the focus to Morgana - who has already taken up a lot of time that Haru deserved to have recognised!!!!

i have issues with morgana, yes, and I believe a lot of that arc could have been really useful character building for him if it had been handled slightly better, given more weight and better pacing, but it really wouldn't have been such a big problem for me if it hadn't been pushed so heavily during Haru's character moments, because she is SUCH a good character!!!!

in her first appearance she makes for a really good subversion of what the PT's think that they are. her insistence on working for justice helps them work through their temporary doubt for what their purpose is and by having such a difficult situation happening in her life, she unites them all on something that they have to do. At least until they go to Okumura's palace for the first proper investigation, the intent to rescue Haru from her fiance is more important than the Phan-site and more important than any of Okumura's business practices.

she prioritises everyone elses happiness over her own to the point where she watches her father die on live television and tells the PT's to continue having fun at destinyland without her without considering that they'd want to be there for her. She has always suspected that people only wanted to be her friend for her money - and this seems to have affected her so much that despite being 'secretive about her history' at Shujin, she still doesn't mention at any point whether or not she has friends and is only seen speaking with teachers.

after her fathers death she has no real reason to trust any of the PT's - they were navigating with an unknown method, with no proof to show that what they were doing wouldn't cause a mental shutdown, they barely know each other, and yet she trusts them in spite of this and places her faith in the PT's regardless. even when faced with the person who DID kill her father, she understands that his death was a larger piece in a bigger plan and that it wasn't akechi's fault, it was the fault of Shido for ordering him dead, and in Shido's palace she's able to get the catharsis of killing the cognition of the person who aired her fathers death publicly on TV.

And what I think is a more frustrating part than any of that - where all of the Phantom Thieves, after their palace, get following story beats that increase their importance to make sure that you, as the player, can get attached to them, but the more PT's that join the team, the harder it is to juggle all of those characters and a lot of them have very vocal and prominent personalities that keep them involved. Yusuke's general quirks and behaviour keep him interesting, Makoto has an entire arc that's established ages before she's involved in Kaneshiro's palace, Futaba becoming navigator keeps her relevant, but where Haru's arc is taken over by Morgana in the palace where she's introduced, all subsequent story beats are entirely overtaken by Akechi.

Don't get me wrong, I love Akechi and he is in my brain 24/7, but it is extremely unfortunate that her fathers death immediately kickstarts the section of plot where the PT's realise that they're being tricked, meaning the plot suddenly ramps up, and during the school fair (something Haru is explicitly very excited about), Akechi's growing popularity and prominence in the story takes centre stage, especially as a day later he blackmails the PTs and joins their party.

Again, not complaining about Akechi, its just unfortunate that Haru's main story is clouded over by Morgana having a character arc and then the fan favourite comes in and immediately becomes the most prominent character for almost the entire rest of the game. It's sad because I love Haru but it wasn't until I romanced her that I realised how much I love her and how much there is too her - which ESPECIALLY sucks because it makes the section where you're reassuring her in the velvet room fall so flat compared to how you reassure everyone else.

ALL to say that i think it's wild to have a character whose entire arc routinely revolves around proving herself and reclaiming her autonomy from the men in her life, like her father and her fiance, and having her character arc so heavily influenced and even overshadowed by morgana, a male character. thank you guys for listening and if you disagree with me consider writing what your opinions are on your own post and not on mine :3

Anyway. huge rant post over. Haru is my wife and my girlfriend and my silly rabbit and i think she should be hyped up way more. ESPECIALLY for her showtime attack with makoto because that's fucking adorable. everyone must post one thousand haru okumura positivity posts right now

[ID: a gif of Haru Okumura, in her Phantom Thief outfit, holding her hat with one hand and pointing with the other. She says "I am no longer your subservient puppet!" while looking determined.]

[disregardcanon]

amc iwtv the birdcage 1996 au. It’s still set in the mid nineties. Our young couple looking to get married is comprised of claudia and madeline. But how could our pair of lovely ladies get married in such a way that would get the conservative senator parents to agree in the nineties? How would they even be able to do it legally?

Madeline is a trans woman who plans to come out after she and claudia graduate college, and then establish themselves and their careers far away from HER parents, who are influential not in the united states but in quebec… because madeline must be french, you see. There can’t be a madeline who isn’t french. 

She and claudia go to college together in new orleans (where grace still lives so claudia has some family support in the area). madeline studies fashion and claudia studies black history and american ethnic studies. She’s probably going to law school later. 

Madeline, for her part, has known that she’s trans for quite a few years and does plan to transition when it’s safer for her to do so. However… She also really really wants to live with claudia and knows that at the moment, the only way to make that happen is getting “straight” married. While it will hurt madeline and claudia both to have a “traditional” wedding where madeline has to be “the man”, it IS their only legal option and it’s going to be incredibly good for them to just.. Be able to do it now and live together for their last year and a half of college. 

In this version of the story, Madeline’s parents, actually, don’t need an inciting incident to approve of their “son” getting married, despite any qualms about the fiance being Black and American. Their fashion major “son” wants to get married to a WOMAN! They can finally point at this process and prove that “he” is “straight”! That’s all they’ve wanted for years! And sure her french isn’t very good (certainly not quebecois) but she knows some! That’s more than most americans. They can work with that. 

The Eparvier parents agree the moment that it’s pitched to them. What makes them decide it must happen right now immediately, however, is another disaster for a conservative politician. I won’t specify what happens because it doesn’t REALLY matter and the reason it happens in the movie is… jarring in an otherwise fun little movie. Know that it’s suitably White Upper Crust Awful enough of a reason that they’ll decide that they have to drive all the way from Quebec City to San Francisco and makes the “meeting Claudia’s parents” so much of a time sensitive thing. 

Meeting claudia’s parents is going to be… complicated. Louis, of course, owns and operates a swanky drag club called the birdcage. Lestat is the star drag queen there. 

Biologically, claudia is the result of the single time that louis tried to force himself to be straight with his dear friend lily. It… did not work. However! They both decided that they wanted a baby in some capacity so she decided to keep it. Louis would her sole guardian and Lily would pop in sometimes in a cool aunt capacity. When claudia was about five louis started seeing lestat and lestat and louis was a little hesitant to go all in with the relationship immediately and he became “uncle les” even as lestat moved in and very clearly took on the role of the second parent. 

Claudia still calls him uncle les at this point, but she knows also knows he’s her other dad. She comes home to visit and update the news from “I have this lovely girlfriend!” to i’m going to get “straight” married to my lovely girlfriend, also her parents are conservative politicians so we need to work out a strategy for this… but by the time she’s said her hellos to her dads and friends and settled into her bedroom the phone is ringing and the caller ID says “EPARVIER” she picks up the phone… to the very unfortunate news that madeline’s family is about to drive the entire fucking way from Quebec City to san fran for an impromptu engagement dinner. 

She estimates that it’ll take three and a half days, tops. Her dad’s worked up a quick itinerary with a stop close to Chicago for a hotel stay, then one near cheyenne wyoming and then a straight shot to san fran. These are VERY long days but like. The eparviparents are desperate. They’re getting their kid engaged in an acceptable way and it’s going to delete public perception of The Scandal

The journalist tailing them for a story is NOT daniel, because daniel has many flaws but “tabloid reporter who would out a family for profit” is not one of them. He’s a different journalist who finds out what the situation is and then goes oh god oh shit how do i keep these vultures away from my niece and her girlfriend?

Claudia is desperately trying to figure out how to get her family to pretend to be Straight as Boards and Cultured in a Respectable to Racist Rich White People Way because dear god she just wants to get married to her girlfriend and be done with this situation. 

Louis tries his best to accommodate all of this, but it’s… hard. His baby girl wants him to pretend to be straight for not only this engagement dinner they have to throw together over the course of a few days, but for the duration of a wedding and then however long it takes for the two of them to escape the eparviparents’ hold. And then of course louis and the folks at the birdcage are going to be the ones that the eparviparents are interrogating and coming after when claudia and madeline disappear off the face of the earth. 

This is going to have far reaching consequences! But claudia really wants this, and she isn’t actually ashamed of them! She’s gay and once she’s safe she and madeline will live their best gay lives. Pretending again for a bit won’t kill him… right? 

But, uh… how do you get lestat to look straight, even if she already calls him “uncle”?  Looking at how good they were at pretending back in the NINETEEN TEENS? Not at all. Like louis maybe… can pretend… by virtue of just being so Inside Himself, even after coming out and coming to terms with himself… but lestat? Especially a lestat who’s a proud and happy drag performer? It’s gonna be hard. 

So the idea is just… cutting lestat out entirely? Just like in the movie? It causes some very sad fighting and then some sad-funny Louis Tries To Teach Lestat How To Pretend to Be Straight and then when lestat finally gets so upset about his family wanting to cut him out entirely… louis drops the palimony announcement. (if i die, all of this is going to you. I know we can’t get married because it’s the nineties but this is as close as we can get. You’re my husband in all the ways that matter. You’re my daughter’s other father. I love you you absolute drama queen. You french disaster. my hurricane of a husband-) 

Lily still lives in the area and claudia convinces her to come to the dinner and pretend that she and louis are married. (it’s just a temporary thing, just a means to an end, it shouldn’t MATTER!) 

The full plan for the dinner 

Degaying the house

Delefting the house

Lily pretending to be Louis’s lawfully wedded wife who has been Claudia’s second legal parent this whole! Time!

Claudia lying about her major and her interests and her background

A dinner with friends and people from the bar pretending to be in-house employees.  Like oh yeah we’re rich! We keep a staff i guess? 

The friends are mainly just armand.  Armand isn’t their house boy but when the opportunity to play a butler in this weird play claudia’s making up presents itself he is ALL fucking in. he is Rashiding it up in this bitch. He’s very clearly NOT a butler but for different reasons than the guy in the movie. This is because he says stuff like “electronic mail” and “the situational comedies that they play on network television” and the only modern things he can bring up are melissa ethridge and the musical rent. You know! Totally heterosexual conversational topics! 

Daniel is mainly playing crowd control to keep their assortment of Dear Queer Friends away and keeping an eye out for the paps. 

The plan goes tits up immediately. The paps get… very very close. They don’t get a photo proving that Senator Eparvier just went into Famous Gay Nightclub The Birdcage, but.. Lily gets stuck in some atrocious traffic. Claudia, Louis, and Armand as Rashid are absolutely drowning in the Rich White People Bullshit of it all… and then drag queen lestat pops in. 

AND FUCKING KILLS IT! Lovable! Hilarious! Exactly what the doctor ordered! Yes, they end up discovered by the eparviparents by the end of it… but they all have such a lovely little time. Claudia ends up declaring lestat her dad and madeline is able to say that she IS going to marry this girl and thinks her family is lovely. Her parents try their hardest to usher her out until daniel blocks the door like “ARE YOU CRAZY!?!?! Your fucking canadian paps are out there. Do you want them to get your picture like this?” and then they get the quebec politician and his wife out of the bar undetected through the use of Drag Makeup and Deception! 

The parents come to terms with claudia’s family… existing, at least. It’s far from the point where madeline can come out (it’s the nineties) but the eparviparents are okay with the wedding. They offer to pay despite tradition about the “groom’s” family not to try to dictate it being in a more traditional setting, and louis lets them because he and lestat don’t want to accidentally out their future daughter in law or cause a bigger fuss than necessary. 

The straight laced quebec politicians and their family attend the wedding with a bunch of queers of color and then we end on “girls just wanna have fun” as the girls kiss and dance. We’re not quite there yet, but like… it’s close. The people who matter will still be around in the aftermath

[honeyhotteoks]

Lmao dumb hard thought that just came to me

Imagine yunho after nnn (no nut November) ends-

He actually somehow makes it through the entire month and once it’s Dec 1 he can’t help himself

like imagine him pinning you down and 😍

bro please i cannot think about this it's going to make me think thoughts in fact don't click under the cut there's no specific and very clear thoughts about this 💀

Your December is off to a shitty start. You missed your train, you spilled coffee straight down your new white blouse, and somewhere around mid-day you lost cell service almost entirely. Work wasn't going well, especially since you were late getting there, and all you want is to go home and see your fiance. Fiance. That word is new, only a couple of months since he proposed and you've been practicing the word on your tongue everytime you slip up and say 'boyfriend'.

But when you get home he's not there. Your apartment is quiet, empty and lonely, and your cellphone won't work long enough to find out where he is. You resign yourself that today is just a bad day, a really bad day, and hopefully not a sign for the month to come.

With a sigh you lay back on the couch and let the drama Netflix suggested autoplay. You let yourself fall asleep and forget this ridiculous day.

You wake a few hours later to insistent kisses, Yunho's broad hands coasting up the length of your body and slowly tugging open the snaps of your sweater so he can run his hot lips on more of your skin.

"Mm," You stretch pleasantly under his hands, "there you are, baby,"

"You didn't answer any of my calls," He pulls open the last snap and his lips work their way down your bare abdomen.

"My phone's not working," You murmur, running a hand through his mop of wavy dark hair, blinking hard to wake yourself up.

"Ah," He sighs, "I was wondering what happened,"

"Mhm, I," You start to say, but Yunho's yanking down your trousers and underwear already, "w-what's gotten into you?"

"December," He opens your legs, tipping them back to angle your body up for his mouth, "fucking finally,"

It all clicks into place suddenly - December 1st. An entire month of abstinence over, and if it hadn't been due to the sizable bet between him and his best friends, you would have broken those rules long ago.

"Oh my god," You sigh, "I completely forgot,"

"You forgot," He licks a stripe up your slit and you shudder under his hands, chuckling he kisses your inner thighs, "you forgot that today's the day I finally get to fuck you again? It's all I've been able to think about for weeks,"

"Is that the little star on the calendar?" You giggle, remembering the blue sticker that appeared next to today's date.

"Mhm," He nips at your soft skin, "now relax,"

"I thought this was about making you come?" You sigh, sinking into the feeling of his fingers delicately circling your clit.

"Oh, it is," He grins, "but you need some prep, you haven't taken me in a month,"

"True," You widen your legs a little, settling into the cushions.

"Plus," He adds, "I'm not going to last five minutes inside you, so I'll take care of you first,"

You huff a small laugh, "Yunho, when have you ever come that fast, I swear," your voice catches as he sinks a finger into your wet heat.

"I haven't come in a month," He pumps his finger, adding a second, "I haven't even touched my dick, and neither have you. If you think I'm not going to die at the feeling of this around me?" He thrusts his fingers again, crooking them deliciously into your g-spot and then says, "Then you'd be crazy. I'm going to fuck you so full you'll feel it for days, sweetheart,"

Your muscles flutter and clench around his fingers and he grins, knowing he has you right where he wants you. You don't last five minutes either, and when he finally comes inside you later that night it's so hard you feel like you might break apart under his hands. It doesn't matter though, you still want him, and he fucks you again and again. After all, you have a lot of catching up to do.

[thatoneluckybee]

OKAY PROPAGANDA TIME! @yttd-enjoyerNo pressure for any of these lol, I added a lot because rambling and procrastination. I’m copy-pasting some descriptions from another post of mine. I was trying to look for some with good lore and magic systems, or that had great characters.

Cursed Princess Club: This one is adorable and hilarious. It’s a fantasy and comedy. The Pastel Kingdom has four children. The eldest, Maria, is 18, and so beautiful that forest animals follow her when she sings. The second oldest, Lorena, is 17, and so beautiful that flowers grow where she sleeps. The third child is prince Jamie, who is so beautiful that he is constantly GLOWING (literally.) And his twin sister, Gwendolyn, is the sweetest and perhaps most loved of all! The three sisters are happily engaged to the Plaid Princes. When Gwen meets her soon to be betrothed, though…. he finds her to be really, really, ugly. Gwen has to learn to love herself as she is with the help of a club for cursed princesses (and one prince who wants to change the club name desperately.) It’s hilarious. Someone swallows her fiance whole. Jamie can taste feelings through food and keeps accidentally violating HIPPA. Lorena beats the crap out of a bunch of clowns. Gwen keeps getting mistaken for an evil witch. There’s a really spoiled drunk llama named Laverne. Maria buys merch of her boyfriend’s fanclub. There’s an omniscient clam. It’s a glorious disaster. (Also that was what the screenshots I was losing my mind and spamming last night. I relate to the plaid guy on an eerie level. This one has INCREDIBLE character arcs and parallels and foreshadowing and details and AUGH)

Space Boy: This one is one of my all-time favorites, and I believe it deserves an award for it’s realistic character arcs and characters. I’d be convinced if you told me they were real people. Sci-Fi Romance. (A lot of romance. Not a particular favorite genre of mien it’s just like 70% of all Webtoons.) In the far future, humanity is exploring the furthest reaches of space using the freezing sleep thing (real thing, forgot name.) Amy lives happily on a mining colony in deep space, until her father loses his job, and she and her family are sent away from the colony, and everyone she knows, back to Earth, where she wakes up 30 years later (frozen sleep thing.) Amy is adjusting to life on Earth, the new technology, and trying to come to terms with the fact her best friend is now in her 40s and she’s missed it all in sleep. Amy’s identifying trait is synesthesia: to her, people have flavors to match their personalities! Well, everyone except a strange boy she meets a school, who refuses to speak to her, and doesn’t have a flavor, Oliver. Amy decides that she WILL find this kid’s flavor if it kills her, and manages to get herself roped in the most chaotic mystery involving ancient cults, alien artifacts, unsolved murders, a government conspiracy, and whether or not Oliver is actually who he says he is. It’s so sad but I love it so much and I want to send everyone to therapy. I don’t even like sci-fi usually so this was amazing for me.

Nomads: ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES. The concept is your stereotypical “there were five kingdoms after a war 100 years ago:” the Sun, Sea, Sand, Sky, and Snow kingdoms. To maintain the peace, traveling between the kingdoms is banned for average citizens. You may, however, choose to become a Nomad, and travel for a price: you can never have a permanent home. Lance of the Sea Kingdom REALLY doesn’t want to be a Nomad. However, his little brother Mikah goes missing, and Lance has to find him in one year (once Mikah turns 18 it’ll be impossible to find him.) It’s going well and dandy until some unfortunate circumstances result in him, his new traveling buddy Satra, and a magic talking cat-thing being mistakenly accused of kidnapping a prince. And now they’re wanted bounties. (This comic is HILARIOUS so many shenanigans and I love Satra so much.)

Castle Swimmer: Can’t reveal TOO much of this ‘cause spoilers but it’s a really really good story. It’s a fantasy romance too. In this society of “Mers” (merfolk), every kingdom has long awaited the day a mysterious, mythicaeing known as the Beacon arrives. He will grant each kingdom’s prophecy, be that granting them fortune or saving their lives. When the Beacon arrives, though, turns out he’s literally just some kid named Kappa who has no idea what he’s doing. Siren is the prince of the shark kingdom. They have a curse that will cause them to suffer and become covered in scars and eventually die. The only way they can break the curse is whenever the Beacon arrives—and Siren, as predicted, will kill him. The only problem is that Siren REALLY doesn’t want to be a murderer, and Kappa REALLY doesn’t want to die, and they both are pining HARD. 

Suitor Armor: This is a romantic fantasy but I like it because it doesn’t feel boiled down to JUST a “will they won’t they.” Fairies and humans have been at war for as long as anyone can remember, with heavy losses on both sides. A Lord rescues a child, a little girl named Lucia, to be his daughter, Kirsi’s, lady-in-waiting until Kirsi marries a nearby king. The only issue? Lucia is a fairy, and she and the Lord must hide that if she wants to live. After they’ve grown up, Kirsi and Lucia go to the nearby kingdom to prepare for the wedding, where Lucia meets their mage’s newest creation: an enchanted, sentient suit of armor named Modeus. And now we’re all aggressivley shipping a tin can with one of the coolest women ever. (And I LOVE the magic system in this… we don’t know everything yet, it’s being revealed as time progresses, but it’s amazing in my humble little opinion.)

Homesick: Recommending this one since you’ve read School Bus Graveyard! It’s almost a “sister series” in that the fanbases overlap lots and the creators have done collabs too! Disclaimer that it’s mature for a reason. It covers a lot of dark topics and is a HORROR FOR A REASON. School Bus Graveyard is incredibly dark, but it sort of eases you in to the terror while Homesick tosses you in like a flailing child. If you do choose to read it I can provide trigger warnings, though it may spoil some plotlines a bit. Rayne (my pfp!) wakes up on a rooftop with no memories at all and meets a boy named Samael, who quickly informs her that it’s the apocalypse. Cannibalistic creatures called murks roam the land, feeding on anything that makes eye contact. Rayne and Samael form a deal to survive, but things get really, REALLY messy when they encounter someone from Samael’s past and get wrapped up in something that might just be worse than the apocalypse. On top of it all, Rayne has noticed some strange things about herself, including terrible headaches that warn her of murks… (It’s so good I love it but good lord it gets dark. I really want to say more about it but the story doesn’t jump right into the main action or plot right away so I CAN’T WITHOUT SPOILING IT SOB.)

Okay limiting myself to six for now sheesh I typed a lot.

[olsenmyolsen]

Facetime With My Mom (Tonight)

Part 3 of On The Inside With Elizabeth Olsen

Word Count: ~2.6K

masterlist

Robbie POV

Waking up on the floor from my drunken stupor at five in the evening is not how I'd expect today to go. But it's what I deserve after the things I said to Lizzie. My love. My fiance. I didn't mean to hurt her. I wanted to let her know what I was feeling, but I was chasing her out of our Richmond home before I knew it.

That was three days ago.

I know by now she's back home. Or at least I hope. She has yet to call or text me, and I don't blame her. But I know she misses me, and I love her. I'm not going to give up.

_

After giving myself a much-needed shower and putting some of Lizzie's gross anchovy toast into my stomach, I decided to sit on our bed and call her. It's six now, so L.A. time it's..... ten in the morning. She'll probably be gardening, taking care of her little kiddos. She hates it when I call them that, but everyone knows she can be such a mom.

Okay, stop stalling, Robbie.

I unlock my phone and go to our text messages. My heart breaks a little looking at the last several texts I sent her. All left on DELIVERED.

I click on the call button, and to my surprise, I hear her angelic voice.

L: "Hello."

R: "Lizzie! Are you safe?"

L: "Yes, I am."

I can feel tension over the phone. I pause, thinking about how I want this conversation to continue.

R: "Lizzie I-."

L: "Why are you calling me?"

R: "Well, I haven't heard anything from you for three days, Lizzie. I was starting to get worried."

I hear Lizzie let out a heavy breath.

L: "Were you starting to get worried, or are you worried? There's a clear difference and let's not forget that you were the one that said you were having second thoughts and-"

She's right.

R: "Lizzie, I'm sorry. I know I hurt you, but that was not my intention-"

I hear Lizzie, and someone else starts laughing before Lizzie shushes whoever else is with her.

R: "Lizzie, are you laughing at me? Who are you with?"

L: "No, I'm not laughing at you, Robbie. Something funny just happened in front of me. Look, listen, I got to go. We can finish this talk later."

R: "Wait, Liz-"

L: "Alright."

R: "Elizabeth, I love you."

L: "Alright. See you later."

She didn't say it. The line goes dead. Once again, I'm left alone with my thoughts. I drop my phone onto our bed and begin dragging my feet into the kitchen. I grab the nearest bottle of brown bourbon, making a promise to myself to drink until I can't remember.

Y/N POV

I close the door to my apartment and lean my back against it. I let out the one squeal I've been holding in since she left me earlier. I know I shouldn't be freaking out. I mean, yes, it's a date, but it's not like a date date, right? We're just friends.

But she is insanely attractive, dresses so cool, her voice is soothing and cute, plus she makes me so comfortable and omg, I need to pick out an outfit! I sprint into my bedroom and rush head first into the closet.

"Now she said I don't have to wear anything too fancy, but what does that reallllly mean?"

I rip out half of my closet, searching for the perfect item, and after an hour, nothing calls to me. I flop myself onto the pile of clothes on my bed in frustration. Without realizing it, I begin to call my Mom.

M: "Y/N, are you alright?"

Y/N: "Yes, Mom, I'm fine. I just need some help."

M: "Some help? Help with what, darling?"

Y/N: "I'm going out with a friend tonight, and I have no idea what to wear!"

M: "This is what you called me about? Seriously?"

Y/N: "Yes, seriously, Mom. It's important, please!"

M: "Okay, Y/N."

Y/N: "Okay, let's switch to FaceTime."

M: "How do I do that again?"

After painfully walking my Mom through the simple steps of modern technology, she begins to help me. However, over a half hour later, I quickly realized that she has no idea how I dress and what looks good. So I'm sadly back to step one. 

M: "Y/N."

Y/N: "Yes." I responded, frustrated.

M: "If you're going to continue having an attitude, I'll hang up. I raised you better than that."

I walk off screen to mock her and throw my hands up at her.

M: "Y/N?"

I walk back in frame so she can see me.

Y/N: "You're right. I'm sorry." I lie.

M: "That's okay. Now, what about the black piece under your Taylor Swift Cardigan?"

I look for what she is talking about. Oh, this! I pick it up and hold it up to the camera.

M: "What do you think?"

I do like it, but I don't think it's good enough for Liz, but she told me not to wear anything too fancy. So I guess this should be okay? Plus, it's black, and black looks good all the time, right? I'm so tired of looking at my clothes, so this will have to do.

Y/N: "I think it could work. Thank you, Mom!"

M: "Of course, dear. Y/N promise me you'll call soon so we can have an honest talk about your life.

No.

Y/N: I promise

M: Now go get ready!"

Y/N: "Okay. Bye, Mom! Love you!"

M: "Love you too."

After hanging up with my Mom, a rush of panic runs over me as I realize how many texts I've missed from Liz.

Liz - Sexy ☕️ Bitch

Today 1:13 PM

I hope whenever you see this, you enjoy the name 🤍

Today 2:07 PM

You haven't seen my text yet 🥺

Today 2:43 PM

Oh completely forgot to send the address for tonight, so here you go! I can't wait! (address attached)

Today 3:37 PM

Hey Y/N, did you make it home okay? Please text me when you see this.

Today 4:04 PM

Suppose you're having second thoughts about tonight. I'm sorry I feel like I'm pushing you. Please text me or call me, so I at least know you are safe, but if you don't want to, I can understand. I'm sorry.

Oh my God! I've had Liz worrying this whole time. And Jesus, she is so fucking cute with all these texts. But oh my God, I'm an asshole!

Today 4:14 PM

Hey, I am so sorry! Yes, I'm alive. I just saw these texts!!! I just got off the phone with my Mom. She was helping me pick out an outfit for our date! I'm so excited! I just clicked on the link, and it's somewhere I've never been to, so now I'm extra excited!

The link could've been to a fucking Mcdonald's, and I would've still said what I awkwardly said.

Oh shit, she's typing.

Today 4:14 PM

Y/N, omg, I'm so glad you're alright. I swear I was about to go search all over the city.

I'm so so so sorry for making you worry! Can you forgive me?

I'll think about it! Okay, I thought about it. Yeah, I forgive you lol

(Aww, that's cute. She still uses lol)

Whew, thank you, Liz

So do you like it?

Like what?

My name in your phone?

It's perfect.

😊 so you going to tell me what you're wearing tonight or is it a surprise?

Hmmmmmm A surprise But don't expect something crazy

😒 finneeee

Hey, I don't need any sas from you, Miss.

I'm glad you remembered Miss not Ma'am like a good girl. So I'll see you at 7. Don't be late

I practically throw my phone across the room after reading that last text! Good girl! Good girl, she said! She has to know what she's doing! Right? Fuck, this actually might be a date date! How me? Why me? Oh shit, I need to start getting ready NOW!

After giving myself the most needed shower in history, I sat on the floor debating on what shoes I wanted to pair with my black bishop sleeve dress. I think heels would work, but I hate wearing them, so I'm going to hedge my bet and wear my black vans to match. Liz did say it wasn't too fancy of a place!

I slip on the dress and walk into my bathroom to look myself over once more. Even before Naomi ruined me, I don't think I ever looked at myself more than I have tonight. It was not exactly easy when all you've been told is how unattractive you are and how lucky you should be that even be graced in the presence of someone who was supposed to love you no matter what.

I reach my hand out and touch the mirror of my hand. Yep this person looking back at me is me. Tonight I don't look at myself with hate and disgust. This is a moment I hope to save. I look down at my counter space and search through all my bathroom drawers and cabinets until I spot my make-up bag.

"Let's do this, huh?"

_

Liz POV

(What Liz is wearing tonight and awww, look cute, Aubrey)

"I should've just had someone pick her up. What was I thinking?" I look at my phone - 7:04. Where the hell is she? I run my hand through my hair. "Y/N would've told me if she was backing out. She's probably rushing to get here. I trust her." I put my head into my hands. My mind is spiraling into a panic, and the constant thoughts of the last three days don't help. But seeing and meeting Y/N has been a bright light. Literally, since I saw her that first day, I can't help but think of her being all cute while reading my order back to me. I feel drawn to her, and I can't explain it.

"Liz?" 

I look up, and it's her. She's here!

"Y/N!" I walk up to her and hug her. I feel like I caught her off guard because the hug she gives me back isn't a full one. "You ready?"

"Yeah, sorry I'm a little late. I got turned around at one point, and........" I hear her, and I'm trying to process what she is saying, but it's slowly becoming gibberish as my eyes start wondering. Y/N is doing things to me right now. Who knew just a black dress and vans could look so good on someone. My eyes work back to her face and her cherry-red-covered lips. She's beautiful.

"Liz?" Y/N breaks my thoughts. "We going inside?" I nod, grab her hand, and head in. I make a beeline to the hostess. The hostess looks us up and down with a stank face. Bitch.

"Name?"

Now for my favorite part. "MK," I say in my most bitchy voice. I watch from the corner of my eye Y/N look at me, confused, before looking back to the hostess, flustered and embarrassed.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry, Mar-MK. I didn't recognize you with your sunglasses on and your new friend. Please give me one moment." I watch her squirm and phone someone. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy this.

The hostess ends the call as a waiter dressed in all-white tux approaches.

"Walter will be taking care of the two of you tonight. Once again, MK, I apologize for my ignorance tonight. I hope you and your friend can forgive me." The pleads fall on deaf ears as I pull Y/N to follow Walter to our private table.

I look back at Y/N, who has a face painted with amazement. Everyone in this place screams money, and I feel a little regret bringing Y/N to such a place on the first date. Once we reach our table, I pull a chair out for Y/N. She thanks me as I take a seat opposite her. Before Walter can even ask, I answer. "Red." Walter nods his head and disappears.

"Okay, what the fuck was all of that!" I don't think I've ever heard anyone this giddy before. I smile and explain that I used my sister's name to get us a table here and that fucking with the snobby people is all good fun. Y/N laughs, and it warms my heart to see that after seeing how she was at the park. Walter returns with two glasses and a handpicked bottle of Red.

"For you and your friend."

"Thank you, Walter." I address the man but stare at Y/N as she ogles everything around her. She's so cute.

"I shall be back momentarily." Walter leaves us, allowing my date with Y/N to begin properly.

I grab my glass as Y/N follows suit. "To tonight and everything that comes with it." Y/N and I share a smile as we each take a sip.

Comfortable silence begins to build. I don't mind because it gives me time to get lost thinking about the woman in front of me.

"So, do you just wear those sunglasses all the time, or are you hiding something?" I smirk at her question. "And what if I am hiding something?" She leans in. "Then I'd like for you to share it with me." Okay, Liz, moment of truth. I feel my nerves working their way up my body. Y/N would've known by now. I don't want to brag, but I'm Elizabeth Olsen!

I remove my sunglasses and set them on the table. I look Y/N straight in her eyes. I watch them go from eager to wide. Oh no. This was a mistake. "Wow." Is all Y/N can manage to spurt out of her mouth. I panic. "I know, Y/N! I feel like I should've to-"

"Your eyes." I stop in my tracks. "What Y/N?"

"Your eyes are so beautiful." Is this happening? "I mean, now I can clearly see you. You are so beautiful, Liz, but your eyes are like hiding their own little emerald forest inside them. Wow." I feel the butterflies inside of me multiply.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry- I shouldn't-" Y/N's eyes divert to the wine glass and then back to me. "What did Walter put in this?" Y/N asks, taking another sip, causing me to hunch over laughing. "Walter sure knows how to pick them, huh?" I respond, watching Y/N giggle to herself. Okay. So she really has no idea who I am.

"So the whole point of this dinner was to get to know each other. So let's start." I don't want to waste any more time. I want to know Y/N.

"Okay, I'll try not to struggle, but no promises, Liz." Y/N gives a half-hearted smile. She seems to get nervous when attention is shown her way. Or maybe it's just me? "Y/N, I just want you to know tonight is supposed to be fun, so there is no pressure here. Tell me if we get onto a topic you don't feel comfortable with. Okay?" I assure her. Y/N shines me a smile that could light up the world till the end of time. "Thank you, Liz."

"Of course. Let's each take a big sip of this wine, and then I'll ask a question." Without another word, a chug of wine goes down my throat. Y/N once again follows suit.

Part 4

[hollywoodxwhore]

Ours | Chapter 8

Colson x Presley (Original Female Character)

Synopsis: Presley and Colson fell in love accidentally, but they were meant to be. Now that all the obstacles have been removed, they're moving in together in LA. Now, they have all the time in the world for Colson to teach Presley all of the things he knows. This fic is the sequel to Mine, which can be found in my masterlist!

Warnings/Content: Smut (18+), omorashi/piss kink, golden showers, swearing, masturbation, dirty talk, talk of dominant/submissive experiences, literally pure smut and filth I'm so not sorry for this

More angst to come soon!

Presley

Colson and I have been making love. A lot.

I’m not complaining. I love feeling close to him. I love the way I can feel all his love pouring out when we’re together. I’m satisfied every time, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I want more. 

I think back to the first night we had anal. To the time he made me hold my piss and then let go when we were fucking. The time he dominated me. We were just getting into experimenting when we got engaged and we drifted away from exploring when it happened, falling back into the loving way we used to have sex before. Again, I love it, but Colson has opened a side of me that I didn’t know existed. And I like that side of me. But I’m still timid. I don’t even know where to start with asking Colson to try something new. 

But today, luck is on my side. I’m dropped right into a situation without having to do anything. 

I’m on the couch looking absentmindedly through some emails offering piercing jobs when the door from the garage into the house opens. I perk up. Colson is home later than expected, but to be fair, he did oversleep and had to rush to the studio. I glance at my watch. Colson and I woke up just after eight and it’s 4:30. 

I hop off the couch to greet my fiance in the kitchen. He’s grimacing as he sets his bag and phone down and I frown. “You okay?” I ask. He brushes a kiss to my lips and pushes past me.

“Yeah, just have to piss like you wouldn’t believe,” he says hastily, hurrying to the bathroom. I freeze in my tracks, remembering what we talked about last time. Next time, it’s your turn.

“Col, wait,” I call, hurrying to catch up to him. He’s in the bathroom, pulling himself from his pants as he lifts the toilet lids.

“What?” he asks, looking at me, and there’s a frantic spark in his eyes. He grips himself, squirming, and something about it turns me on.

“I don’t want you to go yet,” I say. My cheeks are flushed but I remind myself not to be embarrassed or scared. Colson is into this. He’s told me multiple times.

Colson winces. “Pres, I didn’t even have time to go when I got up this morning,” he confesses. “I ran to the studio. Had a big ass coffee and haven’t gone.”

My eyes widen. “You haven’t gone since last night?”

Colson shakes his head no and bounces on his heels a little, looking at me pleadingly. I consider for a second, but he looks way too cute, all wiggly and desperate. I smirk and his eyes widen. “Pres–”

“Hold it,” I demand. “Until you can’t.”

Colson actually whines. I’ve never heard him make that sound before and it seems to shock both of us. His cheeks redden and he clears his throat, tucking himself back into his pants. I catch a glimpse of his stomach, swollen and protruding with his need, and he doesn’t button his jeans again. He shifts uncomfortably. 

“It’s not going to take me long,” he says tightly. “So whatever you want to do, we’d better do it in the shower.”

“Oh, come on,” I say, walking closer to him. He’s tense, shaking, and a light sheen of sweat shines on his forehead. “You can hold it, can’t you?”

Colson’s eyes study mine and I can tell he’s thinking. “Pres,” he says through gritted teeth, “I last pissed at midnight when we went to bed. It’s almost five PM now. You do the math.”

He’s a little short with me, his voice taking on a snappy tone, and it’s adorable how close he is to his breaking point. But shit, when I do the math, I start to feel guilty. Midnight was almost 17 hours ago. Jesus Christ. “Col, I’m sorry baby, you can–”

“No.”

I lift a brow. “No?” I question.

Colson’s throat bobs. “No,” he says softly, jaw twitching. “Feels good.” His voice is so quiet I barely hear him. 

“What was that?” I ask with a little grin.

Colson groans, squirming before me. “I said it feels good,” he groans. “It’s that pleasure-pain shit you talked about when you did it.”

“Mm,” I reply, reaching out to cup his cock over his jeans. He hisses, hips twitching forward a little as he hardens just slightly. “Think you can fuck like this?”

“Absolutely not,” Colson croaks. “I have to piss too bad to even get hard.”

“That’s a shame,” I sigh. “Maybe you need to let out a little bit so we can fuck.”

Colson’s blue eyes go wide as he shakes his head. “There’s no way I’d be able to stop,” he admits. 

“Fine,” I say, taking his hand. “Let’s go. But as soon as you’re done, you’re fucking me.”

“Deal,” Colson says, eagerly following me upstairs to our big bathroom. I turn to face him and lift his shirt over his head. My hand slides slowly over his belly and he groans, eyes closing. I slip my hand into his boxer briefs, fingers grazing his cock, and he shivers. “Holy shit,” he croaks. He can’t keep still, circling his hips, jiggling his legs. 

As I lift my hand out of his boxers, I let my palm skim over his belly, and his eyes go huge. “Oh fuck,” he squeaks, arching his back. “We need to hurry.” 

“What’s wrong?” I pout. 

Colson’s eyes close and he shudders, wrapping his hands around my upper arms. He squeezes tightly and groans, entire body trembling. I look down, eyes widening when the front of his jeans darkens with a leak. Shit. He’s right, we need to hurry. 

I help him out of his clothes and then get out of mine, pulling my hair up. He grips his cock and eyes me, arousal darkening his eyes. “Are you gonna let me…” he starts.

I don’t say a word. I keep my eyes on his as I step into the tub and lower onto my knees, sitting on my heels. Colson groans and moves as quickly as he can to the tub, stepping in gingerly. I look up at him as he stands over me. 

Suddenly, he curses, hunching over a little as a small stream spills out, right onto my tits. I go completely still, eyes widening. This is getting real. Holy shit. “Fuck,” Colson says shakily. “You look so good, baby.”

“Cols,” I say quietly, looking up at him. 

His blue eyes are open as he looks right back at me. “Babe?”

“Claim me,” I say.

Colson’s eyes go wide and he moans as he lets go of another stream accidentally. “Fuck, I can’t hold it any longer,” he confesses, sliding his hand to the base of his cock. 

“That’s okay, baby, let it go,” I tell him.

Colson’s teeth worry his bottom lip and his thighs tremble as he tries to let go, but he’s held it for so long now that he can only release little spurts. I know it’s killing him, so I reach out and lay my hand over his belly. He hisses, saying my name urgently, but when I apply gentle pressure, he makes a sound, so raw and unintentional that it shocks me into silence. “Fuuuuck,” he growls as it bursts out of him. 

I stay completely silent, in total awe as he releases a torrent of pent up need all over me. He aims at my chest, at my belly, anywhere he can reach. Within mere seconds, I’m soaked in it. Once he’s not completely wrapped up in desperation, Colson opens his eyes and looks down at me. “Holy fuck, you look so good like that,” he rasps. He’s shaking as he finally lets go, panting. 

I’ve never seen him piss for this long, well over a minute at least. His head falls back and he lets out an almost tortured moan as it tapers off slowly. He shakes himself off and lets out a breath, slumping. “Holy fuck,” he says weakly. As soon as his bladder is empty, his cock starts to fill. Unintentionally, he starts to move his hand up and down his cock.

“Col,” I whimper, wanting him so bad but also wanting to watch him. He can’t help but touch himself, moving his hand a little quicker as he watches me. His stomach and thighs are tense and I can tell by the way his mouth hangs open that he’s already close. Holding it, claiming me, it turned him on like crazy. 

“Baby, fuck, I can’t stop,” he grunts, planting one hand on the shower wall for support. 

“Colson,” I moan, arching my back. “Come all over me, baby.”

“Fuck yes,” Col growls, hips jerking as his orgasm catches him by surprise. He comes hard, on my face, on my tits, on my tongue. I eagerly swallow it down, watching his body as he’s racked with pleasure. “Jesus Christ,” he moans when he’s done, slumping over. 

I swipe his cum off my face and lick it off my fingers. Colson’s cock twitches and he grunts softly, watching me intently. “Touch yourself,” he nearly barks. He sounds almost angry with his desire. I spread my legs and slip my hand between them, finding my pussy already wet for him. “Good girl.” I bite my lip as I circle my clit with my fingers quickly. “Did you like that? Me pissing all over you?” he growls, staring at my hand.

“Yes,” I whine, spreading my legs even more as I rub myself fast. 

“You gonna come for me? Good fucking girl,” Colson groans, dropping to his knees so he can be even closer to me. “God, I can hear how wet you are. You’re fucking perfect, Presley.” I whimper at his praises, hips jerking a little. “Don’t stop. Say my fucking name when you come.”

It doesn’t take more than a few seconds until I’m crying out his name, my head falling back in pleasure as my orgasm makes me tremble. “Holy shit,” I say weakly, finally pulling my hand away. Colson takes my hand and lifts it to his lips, tasting my release on my fingers. I shiver, whimpering as I watch him. He smirks at me and reaches behind me to turn on the shower. 

We wash up quickly and by the time we step out of the shower, Colson is all over me. Our skin is still dripping wet but he can’t help but lift me onto the counter and press between my thighs. “God, you’re so fuckin’ hot,” he growls, teeth gnashing at my lip. I whimper, dizzy with desire, and shove his chest. His eyes are dark as he backs up. I hop down from the counter and walk into the bedroom. 

“Where are you going?” he asks, following me.

I glance at him over my shoulder, looking him up and down. “I wanna ride your dick. Can’t do it like I want to in the bathroom,” I say simply, and I swear, Colson’s eyes nearly go black. I hide a smirk as he crawls onto the bed, settling onto his back. “No, sit up,” I say. He watches me, not usually one to relinquish power, but he seems interested. He does as he’s told and then I climb over him. Immediately, I sink down onto his hard cock, moaning as I do. My brows knit together as the crown settles right against my already swollen g-spot. 

“God damn, baby,” Colson rasps, shifting his hips a little beneath me. I watch him, gripping onto the headboard, and then slowly, I start to rock my hips. Colson groans, letting his head fall back against the headboard with a thump. Big hands curl around my hips but he doesn’t control my movements. 

I bite my lip against a mewl. I love riding him. I love how deep I can feel him, completely impaled by his huge cock. I know it feeds his ego, too, knowing how full he fills me. I like coming on top, too, because I can fall against Colson when I do. 

Colson grabs my hair and yanks me to him, his lips brushing my ear. “Do you have any idea how sexy you looked drenched in my piss?” he purrs. “Did you like it when I claimed you?” 

I whimper, goosebumps covering my skin as my hips jerk a little. I decide suddenly that I really like when Colson is dominant: marking his claim, choking me, spanking me, telling me what to do. It’s all so hot to me. “Y-yes,” I whimper.

“Yeah, I know you did,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to the double x tattoo I got behind my ear when I moved to LA. “Fuck, you’re so perfect for me.”

“Mm, daddy,” I whine, brow scrunched in pleasure as I continue to rock on his dick, abusing my g-spot so perfectly. 

“Fuck, angel,” Colson says tightly, squeezing my ass. “Mind if I take control here?”

“Please,” I squeak out, eyes closed. And then, I’m crying out as Colson grips my ass and bucks up into me, hard and fast. His cock slams into my spot with every hard thrust and I’m almost drooling with how fucking good it feels. “Colson,” I choke out. “Daddy–”

“Good fucking girl,” Colson moans, watching my face as I come undone. “You close for me? Can feel that pussy fuckin’ squeezing me.”

“S-so close, fuck, I’m gonna come, Colson,” I say frantically, digging my nails into his shoulders. 

“All over daddy’s cock, c’mon,” Colson grits out, and with one more slam of his cock, I completely come undone around him, my head going light as I squirt. “Holy fuck,” Col growls, barely waiting until I’m done before flipping me over and drawing my legs around his waist.

I whimper and squirm, sensitive from coming twice already, but it won’t be enough until I see Colson come, too. It’s the best part. So I pry my eyes open and watch as he works himself toward completion. 

“Cols,” I manage, and his eyes pop open. He looks like pure perfection right now, his cheeks ruddy and his hair messy, pupils blown as he fucks into me, desperate to make himself come. “L-love you,” I manage.

“I love you t– uhhh fuck!” Colson cries out, slamming his hips into mine. He jerks and shudders as he lets go inside of me, the most beautiful sounds falling from his pink lips. He’s shaking hard when it’s all over and I’m almost worried I pushed him too far. He collapses on top of me and curses weakly as I stroke his hair.

“You okay, baby?” I ask after a few minutes of quiet. He’s still trembling.

“Yeah. Fuck,” he rasps. “Can’t believe you made me piss my pants.”

“I didn’t!” I insist. “Not fully, at least.”

“That’s a comfort to no one but you,” he says dryly, but he smiles against my skin as he kisses my collarbone. 

“Sorry,” I say sheepishly.

“Nah, you ain’t,” Colson says, and he’s right. I just smile, completely sated, and keep stroking his damp hair. “I’m so getting you back for that.”

“Uh, no,” I protest. “That was payback for you making me pee on you.”

“You loved it,” Colson says cockily.

“I…I…no comment.”

Colson chuckles and we both whimper when his cock twitches inside me. “Alright,” he sighs, slowly dragging himself out of me. I’m so overstimulated that I whine until he’s finally out of me, and then I carefully waddle into the bathroom. Once I’m cleaned up, Colson comes in and lifts the toilet lids.

“Um, didn’t you just piss a gallon on me?” I ask.

Colson shoots me a glare. “Yeah, you fucked up my kidneys. I have to piss again,” he says, but the venom in his voice is barely there. I know how much pleasure he got from that. 

I shrug, leaning against the counter. “Yeah. You hated holding it,” I say casually. “That’s why you came as soon as you got your hand around your dick when you were done.” Colson grunts, gripping the base of his cock as his other hand presses to the wall. His brow is furrowed as he looks at me over his shoulder. “Oh, you must like being punished,” he says in his low, sexy voice, and I shiver. Fuck, will there ever be a moment I don’t want him? “Go away. I can’t focus.”

I snort. “You pissed all over me and you can’t pee in the toilet when I’m right here?”

“Presley!” Colson whines, bending his knees, and I laugh, relenting. I leave the bathroom, closing the door behind me, and crawl back into bed. 

I love when Colson dominates me, but god, I love controlling him just as much.