#now i have to worry about. lectures. and not being on my phone during work hours.

[imthinkingmikumiku]

How the hell did I have so much energy to play otome games as a teen. Before I would get ~3 hours of uninterrupted sleep playing mystic messenger and still get up to go to school from 8-5. Now I get home from work and pass out immediately for several hours.

[pearlywritings]

"Bring your kid to work" day

synopsis: but sometimes it's very much unplanned.

pairing and characters: Zhongli x fem!reader, Xiao. Your family name is Rex-Lapis. Childe plays part in it too.

tw: modern AU, University AU, established relationship, fluff

word count: 2.8k+ words

a/n:��Also a part of my University modern AU with history professor Zhongli

The day started perfectly. Your older daughter was already at school with your permission to stay at her friend's house for a sleepover later, you had your day off, lounging in the living room with your son cuddling to you with his most favorite dragon shaped toy pressed between your bodies, listening to your husband walking around the bedroom, getting ready for the lectures at the University, being blessed with afternoon classes.

The day was perfect indeed. Until it absolutely isn't.

Sometimes you really want to kill your boss. It must be today that you are called to work to help with an emergency, that no one knows how to deal with except for you. And the fact that your boss does not consider any possibility of you having trouble with doing what's required, makes you fume harder.

"Li, I don't know what to do!" You cry in frustration, buttoning your shirt. "We can't find a babysitter in ten minutes! You have to go to work, I have to now too, we can't just ask Ganyu to cancel her plans, she's been waiting for this sleepover for weeks, and I can't take Xiao with me - by the sound of it I won't have a single moment to look after him."

It's been no longer than five minutes since you received that call, but you are already as stressed as after a week of non-stop work. Why must've the stars aligned this way!?

Your husband - bless his soul - is fully dressed and is holding your little son perched on his arm, supporting his back with a hand, watching your frantic movements with sympathy.

"I don't think I'll have many spare moments either, my love. Only breaks between lessons. Let me think," the man hums, leaning Xiao’s body more onto his shoulder and reaching for his phone with a free hand. The boy wraps arms around his neck, watching you brush your hair with a pout. The plan was to spend the whole day together with mama, watching cartoons, playing, maybe going for a walk or, ideally, taking a nap, finishing it all with making dinner and welcoming papa home. Now, it seems to him, all these plans are thrown out of the window.

However, Xiao was always a very perceptive and patient kid - he sensed somehow when the situation couldn’t be helped and him throwing a fit - not like he would - would only cause more trouble. That is why he is quietly waiting for what comes next.

And finally Zhongli finds a solution.

“I’m calling Ajax. He mostly spends time at the teacher’s lounge. As far as I know he really loves kids and has several younger siblings, he should be able to handle our son. And during breaks I’ll be taking over” “Oh,” as good as it all sounds, there is an instant hesitation in your mind. “‘Li, you sure you can ask him that? It’s a big deal after all…” “I know, dear, I know. That’s why I am calling him now in advance to make sure it’s alright,” your husband dials the number of his department’s secretary and puts the phone to the ear. “I don’t even mind paying him if he agrees.”

In reality you had nothing to worry about. The gingerhead was more than willing to watch your five-year old son. Maybe willing isn’t the right word even - the young man is excited.

Zhongli is lucky to arrive before the current class ends - the less attention is drawn, the better. He collected everything he could think of to occupy Xiao during his time at the lounge in a bag, which he passes to Ajax the moment his son and him are introduced. However while the secretary is wearing a wide and kind smile, the boy is glaring up at him from under the brown bangs, boring his strikingly golden eyes in the tall figure.

“Dad, I don’t like him,” the little boy pouts, hugging his plushie even tighter and throwing daggers at the gingerhead from behind the dragon’s mane.

“Ouch, little guy,” with a dramatic gasp, the young man clutches the shirt on his chest and presses the back of his hand to the forehead. “How will I live? Hated by Mr Rex-Lapis’ son…”

“Now, now, Xiao,” Zhongli gently pats his head, bending down to look into his eyes and finding displeasure there. “It’s only for today, baby. Me and mom are really sorry for not spending time with you today. I promise that soon I’ll be home for two whole weeks.”

To that the boy’s eyes widen.

“Two weeks… That’s fourteen days?”

“That’s right, sweety.”

“That’s a lot!” He jumps, elated by the news, no trace of dissatisfaction written over his cute smiling face.

“Haha, it is, dear.”

“Wow, Mr Rex-Lapis, your son is really smart!” The secretary stopped playing hurt, instead clapping his hands together in praise and nodding his head in approval. “How old is he?”

“He is five. Yes, he learns really fast.”

“No wonder, he has you and your wife as parents.”

The remaining 20 minutes before his first lecture Zhongli spends in attempts to make his son comfortable not only around Ajax, but also at the new place as well. All that time Xiao doesn’t let go of his ever-present companion - a toy dragon, which he is hugging close to his chest. He politely greets every professor that comes to the lounge, which makes the secretary’s jaw drop since he is the only one who’s been initially rejected and, Zhongli can swear, he saw his boy smirking in the toy’s fluffy mane.

Other professors can’t help but mention how much the son resembles the father, even making small talk with the boy, whom they’ve only heard about before or seen in the framed picture of your family on Zhongli’s desk. By how polite (sorry, Ajax) and shyly sweet he is Xiao quickly becomes everyone’s favorite, pockets currently full with all kinds of treats.

When it’s time to go, the man kisses Xiao’s forehead goodbye, promising to be back in an hour and a half for a break, and grabs the materials. Once he leaves alongside his colleagues, Xiao sighs and, ignoring his temporary caretaker, moves to the bag his dad left, starting to dig out all the candies to put them into its side pocket.

“Whatcha doin’, little guy?” The young man is at his side in two long strides, curiously watching the boy’s actions. Xiao gives him a side eye, before deeming the question plausible and turning back to his task.

“I don’t want them right now. I’ll bring them home and share with mom and dad.”

“I am sure they’ll like that,” Ajax hums, busying himself with the contents of the main section. “Oh, would you look at that! It seems that your dad packed some coloring books, toys and… oh, puzzles! You like puzzles?”

The boy quietly nods. Tiptoeing, he tries to see the two boxes his temporary caretaker is holding, and the young man immediately crouches down to let him look.

“This one is new,” Xiao finally points to the box in his left hand. Ocean blue eyes skim over the picture of a phoenix, drawn in a simple yet elegant style. Yes, that definitely looks like something Mr Rex-Lapis would’ve bought for his child’s entertainment.

“Alright, let's get you behind your dad's desk,” golden eyes sparkle and a glimpse of wonder appears on the boy’s face. Dad showed him his own space at the lounge; it's tidy and organized, with all the necessities sorted inside the drawers and some notes and pictures pinned to the corkboard on the wall to the left. He wants to see them closer!

His caretaker drags the chair back, but climbing on it Xiao performs himself. As Ajax is humming something while tearing off the tape on the puzzle box, the boy turns to look at the photos Mr Rex-Lapis has on display. It’s so funny, really - not so long ago this little fella’s father was an image of reserve to students, no one knew who his wife was or the fact he had two kids. The secretary remembers how just half a year ago he used to be among those only ones who knew of the professor’s secret (which, in reality, wasn’t a secret at all). Why hasn't he ever spilled any info to the students who adore him?

Well, what fun would’ve been in it?

“Is that your big sister?” Xiao quickly glances up, taking notice of how the tall (but not as tall as dad) man hovers over where he is sitting and points at one of the pictures. The boy looks at it again.

“...yes. It’s Ganyu.”

“I have a sister too,” the fond expression on that freckle-covered face and a seemingly lightened color of those ocean-blue eyes disarms the five-year old a little. He blinks, waiting for what more he can tell. “Not one actually. Oh, and I have brothers too. One is your age, by the way!”

“Doesn’t it get too… loud?” Small hands reach for the carton box, lifting the lid.

“It does, in a good way though. But when our two huskies join in on the fun… Let’s just say it’s a good thing we have our own house.”

“You have dogs? That’s so cool! I want to have a pet too,” Xiao unceremoniously empties the contents onto the table, yet carefully places the lid with the picture against the monitor of the computer. “Mom promised that when I get older, they’ll buy me a bird.”

“Oh? You love those?”

“Mhm… Maybe we’ll buy something as pretty as…” he pauses, looking at the fiery bird. Ajax quickly realizes the struggle.

“A fo-nuhks,” Xiao prompts.

“Yeah… A fee-niks.”

As the minutes tick by, the boy’s initial hostility seems to evaporate. He still doesn’t talk unnecessarily much, but he does talk to Ajax, so that's progress. He is quite quick to finish the puzzles, and his temporary caretaker makes sure to praise the child. They talk a bit more about their respective families, Xiao even introduces him to his dragon companion. And the gingerhead picks the small fox-shaped keychain his elder sister knitted for him to play toy pals.

For another half an hour it manages to entertain the boy, but as the end of the class is nearing, he grows more and more distracted, glancing either at the door or the clock hanging high on the wall. It’s not hard to guess he is missing his father and is anticipating his return, but both Zhongli and Ajax can do nothing to just speed the time.

What professor can do though, is excusing his class ten minutes earlier, quite happy they got to get through all the material he prepared for this lecture. Bidding the students goodbye, he locks the door of the auditorium with his suitcase inside and puts the key in the pocket of his fancy vest to come back in twenty minutes.

When Zhongli enters the teacher’s lounge, he finds the secretary showing his son something on his own laptop. However, once Xiao’s eyes spot his dad’s figure in the doorframe, the little guy is down from his chair and running all the way to the man.

“Dad!” Mr Rex-Lapis barely has time to close the door and scoot down to catch his son, who nearly bumps into his legs, threatening the man’s balance. Finally in his arms, with his own tiny ones tightly wrapped around strong neck, the carbon copy of Zhongli happily smiles and Ajax has to rub his eyes to make sure he is not hallucinating. Wow, this boy can smile like that (sorry, my guy, you are just not his favorite, though now tolerable at least).

“Hello, Xiao,” Zhongli plants an affectionate kiss on his son’s cheek. “I see you’ve missed me,” the words are answered with eager nods. “Did you have fun with Ajax?” At least some of it.

The gingerhead lifts his eyebrow when the boy looks back at him, holds the gaze of ocean blue eyes for a moment, and then turns to his father once more.

“I suppose.”

The older man has to clear his throat with a polite cough so as not to break into a smile at the image of the assistant's slack jaw.

“That’s good, my dear.”

“Are we coming home now?” His son wonders, fingers playing with the longer locks of dark brown. Unfortunately, the answer is a dejected sigh.

“I am afraid we are not yet, sweety. But mommy texted me recently that she’ll be able to come get you after my second lecture. And then I’ll have one more.”

At the promise of you soon arriving to take him home, Xiao’s just building pout quickly disappeared. It’s okay, he can wait for a little bit longer. And that fox-like man isn’t bad, his company is quite nice. He even showed him some pictures of his family - almost all of them are ginger. Oh, and he promised to download some simple games onto his dad’s computer so he could play. And he still has his coloring books back there and he believes he saw you packing a small book - there is plenty to entertain him with.

Only for all these thoughts and motivation to be shuttered when someone knocked on the door and a second later some student’s head pushed through the gap. None of the three people currently present in the room could’ve anticipated what a black hole is about to be opened.

“Good afternoon, is Mr Rex-La- Oh, professor, you are here! We were wondering if we could take the key to leave our bags inside? As always? Oh, hey kiddo- Wait, a kid???”

“Dad, who is it?”

“DAD!?”

Before anyone could do anything, loud gasps break their way into the lounge. It appeared that almost the whole group was standing in the hall and heard everything crystally clear. Of course students are curious. Of course, they know about professor Rex-Lapis’ kid - the news and that cute picture from an online lecture were still the talk of the whole faculty just a couple of months ago. Of course, they want to see those sweet cheeks for crying out loud!

Ajax is the one who has to get everyone who does not belong in the room out and calm them all down as more than a dozen youngsters beg and plead with Zhongli to bring his baby boy to the lecture. And the said baby boy doesn’t help the situation either, looking at his father with those striking eyes, silently asking to stay with him. “I’m gonna sit very-very quiet,” he even promises.

Is it really a surprise that Xiao ends up sitting at his dad’s desk with his coloring books while the man is reading a lecture? (Students almost crumbled when their tall, handsome, enigmatic history professor walked into the auditorium with his son’s tiny hand clasped in his? Look, he even had to bend his body a little to do so!)

And, as much as students want to gush all over their favorite professor’s small-sized carbon copy, they keep their best behavior, because the situation gives the “once in a century” vibes and they’d be damned to destroy the magic of the moment.

Well, maybe a little, because the smallest interactions between Zhongli and his son as the man lets his students finish writing down information from the current slide are mind-blowing. Groupchat-blowing too.

Even cuter the whole occurrence becomes when the boy stops drawing and lifts his head, curious of what his dad is speaking about. He turns slightly in order to see the presentation, golden eyes skimming over the pictures and words, though he does not understand most of it. But it’s alright though - he can listen to his father instead.

Zhongli is pleasantly surprised when no one can answer one of his revision questions and Xiao lifts his hand, giving him the answer he wanted (he misspells the word a little, sure, but he knew the right response nonetheless). Aaaand that’s probably when the students finally lose it.

By the time the lesson is over and Zhongli meets with you in the teacher’s lounge to pass your very happy and very proud son to you so you two could be on your merry way home, the man feels a little drained. Nothing that can’t be fixed by your tender cheek kiss and soft rubbing on his back, but he still exhales heavily and swears that when he comes home, you are in for a new story.

And by what Ajax had time to tell while you’ve been waiting, you're sure it’s going to be a hilarious one.

taglist: @meimeimeirin Cause I remember how you once said you'd love to see more of this AU

[watchmegetobsessed]

GOOD THINGS TAKE TIME

A/N: can't believe i actually wrote this, but yaay!! i did it!!

WORD COUNT: 4.6k

SUMMARY: Harry has been in love with Y/N since forever. Unfortunately the plan he comes up with to win her over leads her to meet the man she eventually would get engaged to...

MASTERLIST | SUPPORT ME!

“This is literally the worst plan I’ve ever heard.”

“No, it is brilliant!”

“Brilliantly stupid,” Niall retorts, staring at his best friend who is standing in front of the tiny mirror they managed to squeeze into their dorm room. Harry runs his fingers through his unruly curls, settling them in a messy, but organized way before grabbing his jacket and phone. 

“Why would it be stupid? It will work out perfectly. These speed dating things never work, we will have a round with each other and I will prove that I’m the perfect guy for her! Easy!”

Niall can’t help but bark out a laugh from his bed.

“Yeah, that’s a cool fairytale, but have you thought of everything that could go wrong?”

“Nope, because nothing will go wrong. Don’t piss me off, I’m about to win over the girl I’ve been in love with my whole life. Why are you being so bitter?”

“I’m just… not sure this is the best way to do it,” Niall sighs.

“It’ll be fine. I have to go now. Wish me luck!”

And with that he is out of the small, cramped room. 

Harry is quick to forget about Niall’s warning, in his mind, it’s the perfect plan. He begged Y/N to come to this speed dating event held on campus for a week before she finally agreed. He’s convinced there’ll be no one he should be worried about and he has thought about what it will be like when he will be sitting in front of her, how he will charm her and finally step over the lines of friendship and head towards something more. 

It all played out well in his head. 

He meets her by the café that’s the location of the event. She is already there, wearing a flowy dress with a denim jacket over, she is not too dolled up, but he can tell she spent quite some time in the bathroom probably before leaving.

She looks breathtaking. 

“Hey there,” he smiles widely as he walks up to her. “Ready?”

“Not really,” she huffs out a short, nervous laugh.

“Come on, it will be fun!” he smirks, opening the door for her, catching the scent of her sweet perfume as she walks past him. 

They come here often between lectures, now the tables are lined up straight, two chairs by each of them with notebooks and pens waiting to be used during the speedy rounds. There are a handful of people lingering around already and soon enough the place fills up and the event starts. Harry and Y/N end up sitting a couple of tables away from each other, so it will take about five rounds for them to meet. The host of the event explains how it works: every round is ten minutes long, either people get five minutes to tell the person across from them about themselves. At the end of a round they can exchange numbers and carry on with the event or they can decide to step out of the line and carry their conversation on. 

Harry is confident as he waits for it to start, while Y/N seems nervous as she examines the men sitting in front of the line of women. The bell that signals the start and end of the rounds rings and everyone focuses on the person sitting across the table. 

One round, two rounds, three rounds go by, Harry tries his best to focus on the girls he talks to, but he is just too excited to finally get to Y/N. She is now just one table away from him, only one more girl before he finally gets to take the chair in front of her. 

The round ends and it’s time to move to the next table. Harry is collecting his notebook and pen when he sees two figures stand up from the corner of his eyes. He turns to his right and sees Y/N standing up from her table along with the guy she just talked to in the last round. 

Harry’s stomach drops and his jaw hangs open for a moment as he watches the two of them move to a table on the side, she is laughing and the guy touches her arm as they exclude themselves from the rest of the daters. 

Harry is frozen, panic settles in the pit of his stomach, then someone nudges him to move and he is forced to carry on while the table she was sitting at before is now awfully empty. 

He was not expecting this. This was not part of his plan, he was supposed to be the one to sweep her off her feet, not some random guy. He forces himself to carry on with the rounds, but he can barely focus, he keeps looking back at Y/N, but she seems quite happy to be talking to the guy. 

It feels like forever until there are no more rounds and everyone is free to chat with whoever caught their eyes. Harry is tempted to go over to Y/N, make the guy leave and claim her to be his. But all he can do is just watch as the girl he’s been in love with forever falls for someone else. 

It’s his personal hell. 

Hours go by and they are still talking, but Harry can’t watch it any longer. He sends her a text saying he’s gone back to the dorm and to text him when she is home as well. When he walks into his room Niall is about to ask how it went, but just one look on his face is enough to figure out the plan did not work. 

He lies in bed wide awake for hours and then her text finally arrives.

Y/N: Back in the dorm :) thanks for asking me to come, it was awesome! I’ll tell you about Oscar tomorrow Xx

Oscar. Harry didn’t want to know who she chose over him, but now he had a name and even though he knew nothing about him, he hated the guy. 

With a heavy heart he drops the phone to his night stand and stares at the wall until the Sun rises. 

Harry has read over the menu at least five times by the time Y/N walks into the restaurant finally. It hasn’t been that long since the last time he saw her, he can still feel that stinging feeling in his chest every time he sees her he’s felt in the past years. 

“Sorry, finding a parking spot was impossible,” she huffs as she reaches the table, he stands and they share a short, but tight hug.

“It’s fine,” he smiles. 

“Have you ordered?” she asks, grabbing the menu Harry’s been staring at the last ten minutes. 

“No, not yet.”

He watches her read through the menu, though they both know she will order the same thing she always gets, no matter where they eat. The waitress comes and takes their order and when she’s gone they are finally focusing on each other. 

Meeting up has been harder since they finished college two years ago, even though they live in the same city. Harry has been working at a label the past year and Y/N secured a great position at a firm after graduation, so they both have been quite busy.

Especially Y/N, because her and Oscar moved in together after school was over. They’ve been dating for almost two years then, so it was a logical move, but it didn’t make it easier on Harry, who’s been silently suffering since that stupid speed dating event he will forever regret asking Y/N to go to, because her and Oscar have been together for almost four years now, happier than ever, twisting the knife in his chest every time he has to see her being happy with someone else. 

“Ah, it’s been such a crazy week,” she sighs, leaning back in her seat. 

“Want to rant about it?” Harry smiles at her softly.

“Well…” Her lips curl upwards as she takes a deep breath before peeking up at him. “It’s not really something I want to rant about, because… It’s quite good news.”

Harry is just about to ask her to elaborate when she holds up her hand in front of him and it takes him a couple of seconds to put the picture together. But when it finally sinks in, he almost throws up.

There’s a shiny diamond ring sitting on her ring finger and the cheesiest smile is stretched across her face behind it. She wiggles her fingers as Harry’s lips part while he silently fights for his life to hold his not too uplifting feelings and thoughts bottled up. He succeeds, because she doesn’t realize just how much he is struggling. 

“It happened last weekend, I wanted to tell you right away, but I also wanted to tell you in person,” she enthuses, turning her hand so the ring is now facing her, the beaming smile should make Harry happy, but he can taste the awful bitterness again he’s been swallowing back for so long. 

She goes on to tell him every detail about the proposal, how romantic it was, from what Harry hears it was just how she imagined, but he is still frozen in shock, his eyes glued to the diamond on her finger. 

“So, now I’m a bride!” She finishes her speech, but as she looks at Harry her face falls. “Oh my God, I’m such an asshole!” She covers mouth and Harry’s stomach drops, thinking that his expression gave him away. “I’m telling you about my engagement when you are probably still not over the whole Wren thing.”

Wren? He almost asks her who Wren is, but he realizes that she is talking about the last girl he dated. Things ended a few weeks ago, but he already forgot about it, because it was the same as before. He couldn’t bear being with someone who wasn’t Y/N. 

“Ah, no, no…” he manages to speak up finally, gulping harshly. “It’s fine. And… congrats!” The smile on his face would probably not fool her, but she is too lost in her pink clouds. 

“Thank you! And there is one more thing. It will sound stupid,” she giggles, before continuing, ���I don’t really have any girl best friends, I’ll have just a few bridesmaids, but… I want you to be my maid of honor?”

Harry is staring back at her with parted lips, her words playing in his mind on repeat.

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but Harry, you are my best friend and I want you there, by my side. So, what do you say?”

Blinking, he fights the part of him that wants to stand up and walk away. Because she is asking him to watch her marry someone from the front line, to assist her on her big day when he has imagined himself being the man she would one day walk down the aisle to. But now this image will be different and ruined forever, because she is marrying someone else. 

For a moment he is back at the speed dating event. He thinks about how he should have just told her how he felt instead of that ridiculous plan that brought her together with Oscar. Maybe she would have rejected him, but at least he could say that he tried. Now he has to put up with the pain of his heart breaking over and over again, all because he couldn’t man up and tell her he’d been in love with her. 

Exhaling slowly he licks his lips before nodding his head.

“Yeah. Sure. I’m happy to… I’m happy for you. I’ll be there for you.”

Harry had nothing against weddings. Up until it was the wedding of the woman he loved and he wasn’t the groom. 

As Y/N’s man of honor he couldn’t exclude himself from the planning process. Choosing decoration, cake tasting…. dress shopping… he suffered through it all while he had to come to terms with his unpleasant fate. 

Now it’s the night before the big day. The wedding is held in a botanical garden, there’s a small hotel connected to it, that’s where the guests are staying. It’s the perfect venue for the perfect wedding. 

Y/N is in her suit with her bridesmaids while Harry is in his own room. His suit is hanging on the door of the closet next to his bed, haunting him about what he will have to witness tomorrow with a smile on his face. He already thought of ways to get himself out of it, but he knows there’s no excuse good enough to miss Y/N’s wedding. 

His phone chimes on the nightstand with a text and when he looks at the screen Y/N’s name appears in the notification bar.

Y/N: come overrrr maid of honor!!

Then another text follows.

Y/N: we have champagne and I need my best friend here!!!

His thumbs linger over the keyboard, trying to come up with a reply, but then she keeps texting him, begging him to go over and he breaks. With a groan he puts on a hoodie and grabbing his keycard he heads down the hall to her suit. 

What welcomes him there is exactly what he was expecting. It’s like a sleepover, the bridesmaids are drinking and dancing around, Y/N is wearing a cheap veil on her head that’s attached to a tiara, wearing matching PJ’s with the rest of the girls. 

“Harry!” she beams when he is pulled into the suit by two girls, right into the middle of their little party. 

Y/N runs across the room and hugs him, she almost loses her balance, but he catches and steadies her with an arm around her waist. 

“How much champagne have you had?” he breathes out a short chuckle.

“Just a little,” she giggles. “Hey, I want to talk to you about something, come on.”

She takes his hand and pulls her into the bedroom, closing the door to have some privacy from the laughter and music outside. Her wedding dress is laid out on an armchair in the corner of the room, an open, pink suitcase by the bed, clothes flowing out of it. Her presence is all over the room and he wishes he could see these traces in his own home too. 

He sits on the edge of the bed and watches her grab a lip balm from her bag. She applies it and then keeps it in her hands, playing, fidgeting with it. 

“You seem worried,” he voices his thoughts. 

“No, I’m…” She sighs, looking up at him. “It’s natural, right?”

“What is?”

“That… I’m scared.”

“Of marrying him?”

“No, just generally. It’s a big step,” she shrugs. “I always dreamed of my wedding and now it’s all happening, I’m just… I don’t know, I’ve been thinking a lot, but it’s all part of the ride, right?”

She is trying her best to sound calm and collected, but Harry knows her better than anyone and can see through the mask. He knows she is having doubts and though these thoughts could be normal, Y/N is never one to doubt her decisions, so her current fears are definitely raising his concerns.

And his hopes as well.

“How long have you been feeling like this?” Y/N just shrugs. “Did Oscar do something to make you question it all?”

“No,” she chuckles, but it’s more bitter than genuine. “He is amazing, really.”

The stinging feeling returns in Harry’s chest, but he just keeps listening to her.

“I just… I don’t know, sometimes I question if we were meant to be. It’s all been so easy and convenient and maybe it’s just all the books and movies, but I imagined… more.”

It’s like the tiniest light is now forcing its way through the dark, thick walls Harry has built up around him, a glimmer of hope that maybe he still has a chance to make it right, that he hasn’t missed his chance. 

“Don’t marry him then,” he says, his heart hammering in his chest. 

“What?” she chuckles. 

“If you’re not sure, then don’t marry him.”

“Harry, I won’t call the wedding off. I love him.”

She turns away, but not before he could catch the look of doubt in her eyes, crystal clear, telling him this is the moment he missed all those years ago. 

He stands up from the bed and there’s a second when he almost changes his mind, but he has to do it or he might lose his mind forever. 

“I love you, Y/N.”

She stills, her back facing him. 

“I love you too Harry,” she says. “You’re my best friend.”

“But I’m in love with you.”

She doesn’t answer for so long he starts to think she didn’t even hear him, but then she slowly turns around with an unreadable look on her face and he decides to continue. 

“I’ve… been in love with you for so long, I don’t even remember what it’s like not to love you. I know it’s not ideal to tell you this right now, but I feel like if you’re questioning whether you should marry Oscar or not, it might… that maybe you’re…”

She’s still silent, just staring back at him, not giving away any emotion or thought. 

“Y/N, you can still call it off. I-I will be by your side and if you want to try and—”

“Stop.”

“I know it’s scary, but I love you and I would do anything–”

“Harry, stop!” she raises her voice and it finally gets him to stop talking. Clenching his jaw he takes a step backwards. 

Y/N exhales shakily, Harry is still unsure what she is thinking and the words are begging to keep bubbling from his mouth now that he started talking, but he swallows them down. Shaking her head she takes a step closer to him.

“You… Harry, I…” She is trying to find the words and Harry starts talking again, but he is cut off rather fast.

“I swear we–”

“You have the nerve to pour all of this onto me on the night before my wedding? Right after I tell you about my deepest fear?”

Now it’s clear to him. She is mad, her eyes are throwing flames, but he’s confused, this is not what he was expecting.

“Y/N, I just–”

“You just thought that choosing this vulnerable moment was the perfect timing to tell me you’ve been in love with me all this time?! What were you expecting, huh? That I would throw myself into your arms giggling and confess my love? Call my wedding off?”

“I-I’m… I don’t…”

“I can’t believe you! Get the hell out of here!” Turning around she wraps her arms around herself, breathing heavily. Harry reaches out and touches her shoulder, but she jerks away instantly. “Get out!” she screams. “And don’t even think about showing up tomorrow!”

Harry is in shock, denial, completely destroyed as he stares at the back of her head. He wants to beg for her to forgive him, to forget everything he said. He would rather suffer by her side than lose her, but he knows he has no choice now. 

He walks over to the door, looks back one more time, but she is still turned away, her body shaking. He opens the door, the music floods into the room from outside and he walks out without a word. 

He returns to his room, packs all of his stuff and under the shining stars, he drives away, barely seeing the road through his tears. 

Anne’s backyard looks magical this time of the year. The blooming flowers, the bright green grass, it’s a beautiful scenery and Harry would love to bask in it normally, but now he is just blankly staring ahead of him. 

It’s been a week since he confessed his love for Y/N at the worst possible moment and lost her forever. He has no idea who ended up being her maid of honor after his departure, he turned his phone off and hasn’t turned it on since. He would rather claw his eyes out than see all the wedding content from their mutual friends. He’s been hiding at his mum’s since then. 

“Tea?” Anne’s chirpy voice asks from the sliding doors.

“No thank you,” he answers. Anne sighs and he hears her footsteps, but he doesn’t look her way.

“You know you can’t hide here forever, right?”

“If you want me out of here just tell me that.”

“You know I love having you here as long as you want, but you’ll have to face reality at one point.”

“I’m hiding for a bit more, thanks.”

Anne sighs again and Harry hopes she would just let him be, but also knows she likes to say what’s on her mind.

“You know she was mad at the timing and not your feelings, right?”

“Mum…”

“Y/N loves you, romantically or not, she loves you. She might have to get over how you chose the worst possible moment to tell her you love her, but she will come around. And when it happens, you better not still be a mess.”

The sliding doors close behind her and he is left alone with his thoughts again. He hates how right she is, but it still hurts. 

Groaning he marches up to his room and digs his phone out from the depth of his suitcase. Turning it on the notifications start flooding in, texts, emails, voicemails, he is skipping most of them until his eyes catch one particular thing. Then another and he slowly starts to put the picture together and he fears he is about to have a heart attack.

The wedding never happened. Y/N didn’t marry Oscar. 

He drops his phone as if it was on fire and starts packing right away. He needs to get to the bottom of this, he needs to know if it was because of his confession. Even if she screams and cusses him out, he needs to find answers. What’s the worst that could happen? He is already on the floor, there’s only up from here.

How is it that no one knows where she is? 

Harry has been trying to track her down since he arrived back from the UK, going from one friend to the other, but no one knows where she’s been hiding since the catastrophic almost-wedding. Everyone is saying the same thing? she packed her stuff from the place she’d been sharing with Oscar, left and no one has seen her since. She just sent a few texts to her parents to let them know she’s alright, but that’s all. 

“Fuck,” he mumbles under his breath as he heads back to his home, completely lost about where she could be. 

He is trying to come up with other ideas as he is climbing the stairs up to his apartment. He slides the key into the lock, too deep in his thoughts to realize that it’s unlocked at first, but when he does, he freezes, then practically runs inside. 

He spots the familiar pink suitcase first, then hears the footsteps and a few moments later Y/N appears down the hallway. 

He is trying to find the right words, but nothing comes out his mouth as he is slowly walking closer to her. 

“I still had your spare keys,” she says quietly. The anger he last saw from her is now gone, she looks so small and broken and all he wants to do is wrap her in his arms and never let her go. But he knows they need to talk first.

“Have you been here all along?”

“Yeah. I promise I didn’t read your diary.” She cracked a joke, but her weak laugh doesn’t fool him.

“It’s fine. How… How are you? I know you didn’t…”

“I didn’t marry Oscar? Yeah. And I feel like shit.”

“Y/N, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have told you then, I was an idiot, you were right. I chose the worst moment, used your vulnerability and tried to use it to my advantage. I am so sorry.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Of course I regret. My timing was incredibly awful and disrespectfu–”

“No, not the timing. That you… That you told me.”

He clenches his jaw, thinking of what to say, but he decides he needs to be honest with her and with himself as well.

“I don’t regret telling you. I’ve been keeping it a secret for a very long time and it needed to be said. I’m not expecting you to forgive me, let alone… consider giving me a chance, but I just want you to know that I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Was there any other moment when you wanted to tell me before?”

“The speed dating event,” he answers right away. “I had this ridiculous plan that you would find me the best match and I would… finally tell you how I’d been feeling. But then…”

“Oscar,” she breathes out.

“Yeah, Oscar happened,” he smiles bitterly. 

She closes her eyes and he wishes he could read her mind, but he is just waiting patiently for her to process everything. Then she looks at him and finally starts talking.

“I thought you wanted to go there to pick up someone. I didn’t want to go, because I didn’t want to see you flirt with other girls.”

“What?” he whispers.

“I told myself I needed to get myself over you, because you’d never want me. Oscar was nice and funny, but… deep down I always kept comparing him to you. I hated myself for that, because he was so amazing, so caring and loving, but… not you.”

Tears start rolling down her cheeks and he can feel his throat closing up as well.

“I was so mad at you that night. You let me… go through with all that just to tell me you’ve always loved me the night before my wedding. I was angry and I felt like I was played with.”

“That was never my intention.”

“I know,” she nods. “When I calmed down I knew I couldn’t get married to Oscar. I went over to your room in the morning, but it was empty. I wanted to go after you, but I also needed some time to think.”

“And… where are you standing right now?” he asks as he walks over to her, but he’s still not touching her, giving her the chance to move back.

She never does.

“Do you still love me?”

“Y/N, I will never stop loving you.”

“Okay, good,” she breathes out. “Because love you too and if you–”

She doesn’t get to finish, he grabs her and kisses her like he should have all these years ago, like he wants to erase all the bad, the almost-wedding, the suffering, the miscommunication, nothing matters now that they finally met each other at the right time and place. 

“Isn’t it funny?” she breathes out against his lips.

“What is?”

“That you wanted to tell me you love me at a speed dating event, but it took you the longest fucking time to actually confess. It was anything, but speedy.”

He can’t help but laugh, because she is right, it’s comical. 

“Don’t they say good things take time?”

“Mhm, sure,” she grins, pulling him down for another kiss.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

[zmbiesuga]

I literally jumped with joy when you fallowed me back omg ily sm. So I was at the doctors and my doctor told me how he proposed to his wife and it was so sweet. He said he was stressed from finals and he had like a dream that his wife died and he dreamed of everything he couldn’t do with her. So when he woke up it was like 2 in the morning and he ran to his room to get the ring he had. He had it for two whole like years but ran to her dorm and begged her to say yes because he couldn’t wait. Could you write a fic of kuroo doing that with his boyfriend?

JUMP THEN FALL — k. tetsuro x m!reader

sypnosis: kuroo has always known that he wanted to marry you, and he's always said that he'll do it when he knows it's right. what's more perfect than asking after he had a dream about you dying?

warnings: mentions of death (nothing too graphic but still), kuroo being a fucking loser dork but i adore him so it's fine <3, fluff, happy ending!, angst if you squint really really hard, kuroo and reader are in their last year of college in this one, but i'm not in college yet so idfk how it works but i'll pretend i do!! use of the petnames 'babe' and 'baby'

notes: okay i'm so so sorry this took so long, i had a really bad depressive episode, i hope you like it, this request is really cute and i had a lot of fun writing it :D and two, that is so nice of you to say omg :( of course i followed you back, you always send me requests, you interact with my stuff a lot and you're just really nice so thank you for that <3

Kuroo has always wanted to marry you, it's the one thing he's been sure of in his entire life.

When you bring up marriage to him, however, he just tells you to "be patient" and that he'll "do it when he knows it's right" which constantly keeps you on your toes in case your dork of a boyfriend decides that the "right time" is during one of your lectures or at any inappropriate time really.

It kept Kuroo on his toes too, because what you don't know is that in the far-right corner of his sock drawer holds a small velvet box with a beautiful band inside of it. Every day he can feel his hand graze over the box, thinking to himself, maybe now is the right time.

But then he shakes his head, and decides it isn't.

And besides, as much as Kuroo loves you, he has finals to worry about. And they're really kicking his ass.

Although most people would peg Kuroo as the focused studious type (which he tried so desperately to be), the truth was that he tried so hard to procrastinate as much as possible. However, was it really procrastination if he needs the sleep?

When it was to avoid studying for finals, yes it was.

"Kuroo, sleeping to avoid studying for finals is not something you should do," your voice rippled out through the speaker of his phone, "especially if it's every single time you have them."

"Babe, you are the one who is constantly nagging me to sleep more," he rebutted, that stupid cocky tone he always had lingering in the back of his throat ever present, "I'm finally listening to you, I think you should take that as a win."

"Kuroo," your voice cracked again through that shoddy android speaker again, a certain firmness to it this time, "please promise me that you'll study, you're gonna hate yourself if you don't."

"Baby, I promise you I will, you know my word to you is good," he replied, you could hear that fucking cocky grin etching itself onto his face, "right after my little nap. I love you; I'll talk to you soon."

After you too bid your goodbyes, Kuroo made himself as comfortable on that dorm room mattress as he could, until his eyes got heavy, and he drifted off to sleep.

Kuroo could have sworn it was real.

The chase, your blood curdling scream, the way his stomach dropped to the soles of his feet when he realized he was too late.

It wasn't until he shot up in bed with that same nauseous feeling sitting in his chest as his breath came out panicked and labored had he realized it was nothing but a fucked-up dream.

Kuroo had never been so happy to wake up.

Slowly, but surely, he had calmed himself down. His breath returning to normal as the nauseous feeling in his chest disappeared, what didn't disappear, however, was that he didn't want to live life without you. He didn't want to graduate without you beside him, he didn't want to start a company without you there cheering him on along the way, and he sure as hell didn't want to imagine having a family with anyone else that wasn't you. Life was too short for hesitation, it was too short for his hesitation.

He quickly rushed out of bed, pulling an old hoodie over his torso, slipping on his shoes, and rifling through his drawer to grab that velvet box that had been sitting there for two years, begging to be let free.

Luckily for him, your dorm wasn't far from his. He hadn't even bothered to check the time on his phone, where the light flashed a large: 2:03 A.M. at him, he didn't care if his frantic speed walking down the hallway woke up everyone on that floor, he was only worried about getting to you.

When he got to your dorm, he rapped his fist against the door so hard he could've sworn that his knuckles would crack open. The door opened to a very annoyed you, but he didn't care if he interrupted your sleep, or your studying, he was just so elated to see you in front of him.

"Kuroo, what the hell?" you seethed, "It's two in the morning, what on earth —"

You were quickly cut off by Kuroo dropping to one knee in the doorway of your dorm room, pulling out that velvet box in all its glory, revealing that beautiful band you had mentioned liking to him once, you couldn't control the way your mouth slightly dropped in confusion, a wave of emotions hitting you like a tsunami.

"(Y/n), please, just listen to me," he blurted out in an almost pleading tone, "I've always wanted to wait until the right moment to ask you this, but recently, I've realized that the right moment was in front of me the entire time."

You tried to get a word in, but Kuroo's word vomit was faster.

"(Y/n), I've realized there is so much I want to do with you, so much that I can't do without you," he said, you swore you could see the tears well in the corner of his eyes, "everything from this point forward is useless if I can't do it with you by my side, so I'm begging you, even though it's two a.m. and we're both in our pajamas with messy hair and dark circles under our eyes, will you make me the happiest man alive, and marry me?"

It was your turn to be stunned, you stared down at your boyf — fiancée, in front of you with stained sweatpants and an old Nekoma sweatshirt barely big enough to cover his torso asking you to marry him at two in the morning.

You stayed quiet for so long, it scared Kuroo. Maybe this wasn't the right time, you two were still in college, this was all so sudden, so impulsive, he should have waited, he should have —

All these thoughts were expelled from his head as he felt your body weight push against his, squeezing him so tight in an embrace that he could barely breath.

"Yes," you whispered against the side of his neck, he could feel the tears from your eyes splashing there as well, "oh my god Kuroo, yes, a million times over."

He smiled softly at you, resting his own head against your shoulder as you held him in your arms. If this is what the rest of his life looked like, then god was he excited for it.

[itsjustmyfantasyroom]

Over your head

It's been a while and most of this is personal to my life. Just needed to little Nick loving.

Warnings: None, just fluffy Nick.

WC: 736.

Enjoy x

You should have said no, but you couldn’t now, everything was in place and you knew it have to be like ripping a band aid off, but you were nervous. When Liv came to you and told you that SVU was going to be getting the funds to have an in-house forensic science lab and suggested that you go and get your degree so you could be the head of the lab, it took you nearly 3 days to decide. Life had not been kind recently and you were in your era of second guessing yourself with everything you had been through and what was still to come in your personal life. Your divorce was finally coming to the final stages of being settled and you had just got the kids in a routine as a single mom, and now you were nothing but crazy taking on a full-time degree study as well as working. It was lucky you lived with your mum and the kids went to the same school as Amanda's girls, so between her and Sonny, when you needed it, they said they had it all under control.

As you walked into the huge lecture hall, you found a seat as far up the back as possible and you sat down, sitting your bag on the seat next to you. You had a little giggle as your eyes scanned around the room at all these “Young kids” doing a course as heavy as this, thinking about everything you had seen after 12 years of SVU.

You were looking down at your phone to a message Amanda had messaged you about her plans with all the kids that afternoon after school when you heard a familiar voice and instantly all your worries melted away, your eyes slowly scanned up and surprisingly your eyes met and you blushed as he gave you quick wink and continued talking,

“Good morning, everyone, I’ am Nick Amaro your professor for the next 12 months. I’ am here to answer any questions you may have. All I ask is no phones during my class, unless an extreme emergency” Nick looked at you with a smirk and you giggled to yourself dropping you phone back into your bag.

If that is what you had to listen too for 1 hour every day for the next year, you would be glad to do it. Listening to Nick talking about all his lab skills and referring to his SVU days and cases he had worked on with you and how it led him to this path, made you feel warm and fuzzy. You hadn’t seen him since the night he told you he was moving to LA, your life was already a mess from the break up and he held you on floor as you sobbed at the fact that you were losing your best friend. You had kept in contact, he calling and facetiming the kids as often as he could but you never would have thought in a million years that he would be back in New York teaching.

You watched as all the other students filed out and then you stood up walking out of the aisle you  were sitting on and you walked down the stairs. Just as you were almost at the bottom, Nick walked from around his desk and made his way towards the stairs, stopping at the bottom step not stepping up. You stopped on the bottom step, looking down at Nick, not taking them off his as you sat your bag down on the chair next to you. It was like a magnet pulled you together, your arms going around his neck and his around you middle,

“I’ve missed you sweetheart” Nick kissed the cheek he could reach.

You lent back, your arms going from around his neck and your hands went straight to his beaded cheeks, his moving to your hips, the feel of his facial hair smooth on your hands,

“You have no idea how much I have missed you. How long are you back for?”

“At the moment 3 years” he squeezed your hips “But I’ am hoping I won’t need to leave again”

“Have something important to stay for Professor?” You grinned.

“Yes actually” he paused for a moment looking down at your lips and then looking back up at your eyes “I ‘am looking at her”

Tags: @beccabarba @ben-c-group-therapy @alwaysachorusgirl @jemmakates

[lexxierave]

When Fate Intervenes- tasm!Peter Parker x Reader Part 1

It was a wonder you and Peter Parker never met each other until you were both forced to attend a mandatory pre-midterm conference with Mr.Hertz, your physics professor for the fall semester, of which you were currently running late for. Then again maybe it was all part of fate's funny game it wanted to play on the two of you. 

You had completely forgotten what day it was earlier this evening and went straight home from work instead of heading in the opposite direction to your college.

You were recently new to New York, settling into a small and cheap apartment on the outskirts of Queens. It was all you could afford after you packed up and moved across states to attend college, preferring to be as far away from your family as you could get. 

You used what was left over from your college tuition to make the down payment for rent. After that you found a job at a small corner store. Just around the corner actually and you happened to find out they needed help by chance when you went there for basic food supplies. It wasn't much but they were willing to work around your college schedule and let you do your homework whenever it got slow.

You had just finished your shift at work and were completely wiped from working all day and thinking about the mountain of assignments and reading you still had to do.

You envied the rich college kids if only for the facts that they didn't have to worry about that. Didn't have to worry about failing or surviving in the real world. While you never had a moment's rest. Never stopping and allowing yourself just to breathe and live.

You didn't come from a happy home. No, you came from a broken home. One that taught you terrible habits, like avoiding your problems. Or people in general so that you don't get attached, get let down and have more problems.

Anxiety was a constant in your life so much that you always wore out. Which was why you decided a nice nap after work sounded better than starting your schoolwork.

You woke up to your phone going off about an hour later.

You looked blinked that sleep away and picked up your phone to see your college's name rolling across the screen.

Puzzled and tired you answered it. The sleep is evident in your voice.

"So it's not just my class lectures you tend to be late for." The voice on the other end spoke after you said your typical greeting. The exasperation evident in their voice.

It was clearly your physics teacher, you'd remember that voice from everywhere. Having been scolded by him multiple times this semester for arriving late for his early morning class but it was challenging when you usually had to work the evening shift at work then stay up late to finish up your course work before the next day.

It was not an ideal balance but it was one you had to manage for the time being. Your job wouldn't give you the morning shift and the college only offers this class during one time this semester and you would rather get it out of the way fast then wait to do it plus it was a prerequisite for a handful of your other classes.

"I am so sorry I thought it was Tuesday for some reason. I'll be there in about 30 minutes." You apologized for the tenth time for letting the meeting slip your mind and lied through your teeth about when you'd be there.

Which is why you were running across campus to one of the buildings in the back to meet your fate.

Meanwhile in another part of campus Peter hand touched down from swing to one of his emergency backpacks that he left for when he was running late for something on school grounds, like right now. 

He knew what time he had to be at the meeting for Me. Hertz but you try to tell that to highspeed bank robbers going in the opposite direction. They'd laugh at him and then blow smoke from their getaway car in his face.

Peter shook his head at the mere thought of it before jumping on his skateboard and jetting over to the backside of campus. 

He needed to get this over with face and get back to patrolling. He knew it was not about his grades, he's one of the smartest students in class. Probably is the smartest but he'd never give himself that much credit with his classroom attendance. 

That's probably what this is all about. He's attendance or lack thereof, especially of late. Peter really only took some easy college courses to get Aunt May to stop worrying about him following Spider-Man around all day long.

His heart and head weren't in any of it. He'd rather be stopping bad guys so no one got hurt like Gwen did or Harry.

If only Peter could save the people he cared about most. It was a guilt he'd carry like a scarlet letter forever.

With all of Peter's thoughts consuming him it didn't take him long to reach Mr. Hertz's office. 

He kicked up his board and reached for the door handle, mentally preparing himself for the lecture he was about to receive. But who can prepare for what fate has in store for them?

Part 2

[pikachu66]

Would you please write Paul getting comforted by Gene or ace after having the mighty worst day ever please? ;O

You're enough, Paul...

❤️, 🚢, Paul x Gene.

Paul's POV:

I walked into my hotel room without saying a word to the guys. Today was the worst day ever. And I mean it. Let me tell you why.

First, Gene has a cold. So, he was snoring all night. I didn’t get any sleep. But, I love him, and he’s sick, so I got over it pretty quickly. I was mostly worried.

Then, the coffee machine wasn’t working, so I didn’t get my morning coffee. And as Ace says, if I don’t have my morning coffee, I’m worse than a “Diva with hemorrhoids.” Perfect.

After that, we had a meeting about tonight’s concert with our manager, Bill Aucoin. And we had a fight. Why? Because Bill told me to try and be more energetic on stage. *Me*. The Starchild. To be more energetic when I already give my everything. And when Gene told me to calm down, we started fighting as well, and I told him to get lost.

Then, an assistant told me that I had a phone call. When I got to the phone, I heard my dad’s voice. And instead of being happy, I was pretty pissed because he called me for only one reason: to lecture me on my lack of visits. So, I insulted him. And now, I regret it.

During the concert, I tried to be “more energetic,” but I kept making mistakes. I broke a guitar string, missed the right notes, and had voice cracks. Meanwhile, Ace was enjoying his life—that idiot was drunk. And his boyfriend, the Catman, was high as a kite. So, I tried to lecture them during intermission and got told off.

After the concert, Gene came to me. He asked if I was okay, and I’m so stupid that I got mad at him. God, I’m an idiot. Even Ace and Peter, who were stoned, looked shocked and told me to calm down.

I felt so stupid that I decided to shut up. Believe me when I say the ride back to the hotel was silent.

As soon as we arrived, I rushed into the hotel without waiting for the guys. I quickly reached my room and entered. I went to the bathroom, undressed, and started to draw a bath. I sat in the bathtub and let the water fill it. *I am an idiot. A brat. I don’t deserve anything that I have. I don’t deserve my friends. I don’t deserve Gene...*

At that moment, I curled up and started crying. *I am an idiot. I just want to make people happy... I just want to make them proud...*

Just then, I felt a familiar and comforting warm hand rubbing my back. I looked up, and Gene was there, smiling at me. He was sitting on the floor next to the bathtub.

"Paul... What’s wrong?" he asked me, calmly.

"I—I’m a bitch—"

"Don’t say that."

"But—"

He gave me one of those stern looks that make me shut up immediately.

"You are not a bitch. You had a rough day, that’s all."

I sobbed as he spoke. He gave me a soft kiss on my forehead and ran his hand through my hair.

"Tell me what’s wrong. Please," he asked.

"I—I don’t know h-how to explain it—"

"Give it a shot. You might surprise yourself." He gave me a reassuring smile. So, I took a deep breath and started talking.

"...Today was horrible. No, terrible. Everything was so bad, I—I even yelled at you... twice... I’m an idiot, an absolute moron... Y-You were just trying to help... I-it just feels so stressful a-and everyone wants me to be perfect and I’m trying so hard..."

I sobbed, and Gene immediately hugged me, rocking me softly. He kissed my cheek and spoke calmly and slowly.

"Paul... You’re enough. You matter to us, and you have the right to have a bad day, to be tired or upset... Everyone has their bad days, you know... I understand that you had a bad day, and I’m not mad at you for that... I love you, and nothing will change that, okay?" he gently wiped away my tears as he spoke.

"O-Okay," I said, more calmly now.

"Now, come on. Let’s get you dressed and go to bed. You need it."

And with that, he helped me out of the bathtub and helped me dry off. He emptied the bath, and I put on my pajamas. We brushed our teeth together and then headed to bed. I lay my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. God, I love him so much. Gene may not seem like the most sensitive guy, but under that rough armor he wears, he’s a very caring guy. Soon enough, I noticed that he had fallen asleep. I smiled a bit and kissed him.

"I love you," I said, before laying my head back down on his chest, not noticing the little smile on his face, as I let myself fall into Morpheus' arms...

---

There! Thank you so much for your request! It was very interesting to write and it made me so happy since it was my first request ever 😊

I hope I respected your wishes!

And with that, have a good day ☀️

(They look like parents when you ask them to pose together for a photo, I swear 😭)

[corporatefrog]

꒦‧₊ ꒷ headcannons: team stan with a careless friend✧.*

✧.* tags: college au

✧.* Characters: kenny mccormick, kyle broflovski, stan marsh, eric cartman, butters stotch

a/n: I usually don't add cartman to these things bc he stinks+loser+annoying+suckmydick but I know he'd take advantage of someone who hod so sense of mortality so he gets a pass this time ig.

masterlist

Kenny

He mistakes the carelessness for spontaneity and immediately assigns you as his go to “lets do something stupid I just thought of” partner

He’s a “try everything once” kind of guy so it’s perfect that you have no sense of self preservation

“Kenny stand on the other side of the field, I wanna see how far I can throw my phone.”

“Okay.”

You both infuriate stan to no end

#annoyingduo in the best way possible 

Do NOT put the two of you in the same room at a party

All of a sudden there’s a 15 person game of just dance happening but there’s no screen?? You’re all just doing moves you saw on just dance

Everyday is a new adventure

Kenny probably has an eye out for you though

He can die doing something stupid and be back the next day but you on the other hand are not 

Gotta keep his partner in crime alive! There’s a bunch of other things on his “before I die (for real)” bucket list that you still need to mark off

Kyle

You just get caught up in the moment! You have such a wonder for life!

Kyle doesn’t get it sometimes seeing as he tries to view everything logically. 

He’s more like a babysitter when you both go somewhere

“You did not just spend $300 on knock off jordans from a random man on the street corner.”

“I did and they’re the comfiest shoes I’ve ever worn. He told me they’ll cure my posture problems.”

“Do you just believe anything someone tells you?”

“Coming from someone who almost cried when I didn’t use his Candy Crush referral code so he could get more lives, that’s really rich.”

Okay so he gets swept up in trends sometimes. At least he understands his own mortality!

After the third time you try to learn how to do a backflip and fail miserably, he has to leave the room to keep from screaming 

keeps a mental count of the things you do every day that should kill you

the current record is 14

Stan

He doesn’t understand how you can just go through your day without a care

Are you not afraid of dying? That’s like 32% of his thoughts during the day

“Fuck I dropped my credit card down the drain. Stan, hold my ankles while I reach down to grab it.”

“I can literally see the used heroin needles down there.”

“Okay and??? Not my fault the city doesn’t have a safe use zone, I need that card!” 

One time you guys were leaving a store and the alarm went off 

Stan turned to ask you if you got the security tags removed but you we’re already sprinting halfway across the mall

Not because you stole anything, but because you saw jimmy, clyde, and tolkien walking out of a store and wanted to say hi

And then you spent the rest of the day being lectured by an underpaid paul blart wannabe

Stan was freaking out because he thought you would get arrested for causing a scene or something (they find any reason to arrest someone in south park) 

But all you did was laugh in that light hearted, careless way you always do

Cartman

Bro will manipulate your carelessness for all its worth

You are now the second person he calls when he has some stupid plot that needs someone who doesn’t understand the concept of death

If kenny’s busy, you’re on speed dial

Honestly, you’re probably the first call because you’ll do something stupid without needing to be paid! 

Free labor!

Wanna work at dicknbaus hot dogs for 14 hours with no pay? It’s free hotdogs! You’re in! 

Hes an exploitative motherfucker 

Thats all im here to say about it

butters 

You’re going to give him a heart attack

One time you purposely kicked a medicine ball to see how far it would go and broke your foot

And he was more worried about your foot than you were!

“Oh jesus, can you move it?”

“Um… no I don’t think so. Lemme take off my sock”

“AH ITS PURPLE!”

“Oh damn, you’re right. That’s a nice shade though, I was thinking of painting my room that color!”

“NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE TALKING ABOUT THIS”

Unlike kyle, he can’t force himself to ignore your careless nature

He’s always worrying about you 

He’ll suggest you both go to first aid classes or cpr training whenever you hang out “just for fun!”

but really he needs to know that you at least have some first aid knowledge if you're going to keep running around like death is a social construct

[juceynightmare]

dating 101 (18+) part 7 - cody rhodes x reader

my masterlist

dating 101 (18+) masterlist

pairing(s): cody rhodes x reader, roman reigns x reader

warning(s): swearing, alcohol and marijuana usage, dry humping, use of pet names, massive pda

genre(s): college!au, slow burn, fluff, some sexual content

|| previous part || next part ||

sprawled out on cody’s bed, comfy and warm under his sheets, was y/n. her phone was in her hands as she mindlessly scrolled through tiktok while cody was getting dressed for the party, and ted was preparing a presentation for one of his classes. she was already dressed and ready to party, a few shots already in her system to get rid of her nerves for when she would eventually see roman again. speaking of the devil, her phone buzzed in her hand as roman’s text appeared as a notification on her screen.

[roman] you ready?

[y/n] yeah, waiting up on cody though, he’s still getting dressed

[roman] alright, when should i head over?

[y/n] we’re pregaming right now, i think it’s fine if you wanna come over now. celadon 314

[roman] alright, i’ll see you soon, doll.

[y/n] see you soon roman <3

she smiled at her phone, her heart jumping in her chest. she shut her phone and reached over to place it on cody’s desk, turning over in the bed so she was laying on her side. roman and y/n had been texting nonstop the entire day, talking about anything and everything. so much so, that y/n had found herself distracted during her lecture times as she’d spend more of her attention on roman rather than the actual class material.

“roman’s coming soon.” she announced, looking over at cody just as he pulled a black compression long sleeve shirt on. y/n quickly averted her gaze once she found herself staring at the way cody’s back muscles had flexed as he put on the shirt, her mouth suddenly feeling dry.

“alright, i’m pretty much ready to go anyway.” cody said as he turned around to face her. “come on, get out of bed, you’re going to ruin your hair, sweetheart.” he said, walking over to where she was and watching as she pulled his blanket over her head.

ted glanced over at the two and rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to his work. “you guys act like an old married couple.” he commented.

cody had managed to pull his blanket off of y/n, and grabbed her hands so he could pull her up and out of bed. he scoffed at ted’s statement, and teased him, “you’re jealous that she keeps my bed warm for me.”

y/n laughed as cody pulled her up, eventually sitting up up his bed and pulling her hands out of his grasp. she flattened her hair and said, “don’t worry teddy, i’ll keep your bed warm!” her innocence in her statement and her gaze shocked the two men, and they were certain she had no idea what the statement implied.

before the two of them could ruin y/n’s innocence, y/n pushed herself up to stand up, reaching for the bottle of tito’s that was rested on cody’s table. she lined up the three shot cups, filling them all up as cody laughed, “you’re gonna be a mess by the time we get there, sweetheart.”

y/n shook her head, capping the bottle and handing ted his shot cup while cody grabbed his own. “i’ll be fine, codes. and if anything, i’ll have roman there” she assured him. she picked up her cup and held it out for the three of them to cheers to before they downed their shots.

y/n’s face twisted in disgust as she set her cup down. she grabbed the can of coke cody had held out to her, quickly chasing down the vodka with a large gulp of coke before handing the can back over to cody. “god that’s fucking horrible, it just gets worse everytime.” she coughed out.

besides her, cody laughed at her disgust, setting down his shot cup and the coke back on the table. he placed his hand on the small of y/n’s back, rubbing his thumb in small circles against her skin. “that means you’re one step closer to being fucked up.” cody pointed out.

ted reached up from where he was sat, pinching y/n’s cheek lightly. “and you’re already starting to turn red, you lightweight.” he teased. she shook her head in reply, leaning into cody’s side and shutting her eyes.

“not a lightweight.” she defended herself, feeling cody pull her closer to him. she turned herself slightly so she could wrap her arms around cody’s waist.

y/n was the touchy type of drunk, always wanting to be touched by, or touching someone else. ted and cody would often find themselves with y/n clinging on to them as if she were a koala, and would have to continue drinking and smoking with her in their lap.

a knock on the door caught their attention, although y/n didn’t budge from where she was attached to cody. she whined as he tried to pry her off, letting out a loud, “nooo why are you pushing me away? codyyy”

ted laughed as he stood up. “i got it codes.” he told his roommate as he walked over to the door and pulled it open.

at the doorway stood roman, jey, and jimmy, roman’s twin cousins. “what’s up uce!” yelled cody from inside the room as ted stood off to the side.

roman, jimmy, and jey all greeted ted and shook his hand before walking in, their eyes widening at the sight in front of them.

cody was still trying to pry y/n off of him, who had decided the best form of defense was to sit down on the floor and wrap both her arms and legs around cody’s own leg. the side of her face was pressed against cody’s knee, facing away from the guests that had just arrived.

“not everyday i see you actively trying to get a girl off of you, cody.” jey mused with laughter.

“is that the shy y/n that big uce keeps talking about?” jimmy chimed in, looking over at roman for his reaction to the situation.

for a second, roman’s expression was almost scary, not liking the way y/n was clinging on to cody and didn’t seem to want to let go. that was, until a loud, “roman!” rang through the room.

y/n had finally turned her head to look at whoever walked in, a wide smile appearing on her face once she saw roman had walked in. immediately, y/n let go of cody and stood herself up, bounding over to roman with a slight bounce in her step. she stood in front of him, swaying slightly. “hi roman!”

roman looked over y/n’s outfit, licking his lips and not even attempting to hide the way he was satisfied that y/n had stopped clinging on to cody just to walk over to him in such a cute manner. “hi y/n.” he laughed, his arm quick to wrap around y/n’s waist to steady her. “how many did she have?” he asked, turning his head to look at cody.

y/n wanted to melt right there, roman’s strong grip on her erupting butterflies in her stomach.

“uh,” cody began, grabbing a sharpie from off the table. he walked over to the two, focusing his eyes on y/n’a shoulder so he wouldn’t glare at the place where roman was touching her. “3 now.” he answered with a laugh as he grabbed y/n’s hand gently. he turned her hand to show the two tally marks that were on her wrist, before using the sharpie to add a third line.

“only 3?” jey gasped out, cody confirming with a nod and handing roman the sharpie.

“lightweight.” every man rang out in unison, much to the dismay of y/n who pouted out her bottom lip.

“i’ll take care of her.” roman assured, his gaze still fixed down on y/n in his arms. the way y/n’s cheeks had flushed a deep red at his comment had left roman content knowing that her blush was so deep because of him.

“good luck with that, she’s a real clingy one. don’t expect to pull anyone else while she’s clinging on to you.” cody laughed as he held out new shot cups to jimmy, jey, and roman.

“i already have my doll in my arms, why would i need to score another one?” roman mumbled under his breath, his gaze flickering down to y/n who had heard what he said. he winked at her, pulling her by the waist so she was tucked and pressed right against his side.

“alright boys, one for the road and lets get out of here!” cody whooped and hollered as he filled up their cups, before setting the bottle back down on his desk.

“let’s have a great night tonight and party hard!” jimmy yelled out, as the men brought their shot cups to the middle to touch before downing their drinks.

y/n didn’t remember how long they’ve been at the party, or even when they got there. her memory was already a blur, only able to focus on the way that roman had kept her pressed right up against him in any way possible since the moment they had met up at cody’s room.

y/n downed another shot of whatever roman was giving her, the cheap alcohol burning down her throat.

the frat house was packed, cody, jimmy, and jey no longer anywhere in sight from the moment they entered. roman was quick to pull y/n into the bar area where there was less people, and the music was loud enough for y/n to sing along to for roman.

currently, y/n’s back was pressed against roman’s front as she swayed her hips innocently to the song playing over the speakers. she felt roman grab her hand to mark another tally on her forearm, and she giggled at the way her skin tingled with sensation where he touched her.

“did i get a chance to tell you how beautiful you look in your outfit?” y/n heard him whisper against her eye, his words slurred from the countless drinks roman had already downed. she leaned back against him further as his arms circled around her waist, a giggle leaving her lips.

“no, no you didn’t.” she answered, tilting her head back to look up at him.

roman brought his hand up to wrap around her throat, using his other arm to turn her around in his grasp. he flipped them around so he could press y/n back against a wall, pressing his hips flush against her front.

y/n gasped, her body suddenly feeling weak as roman pressed her against the wall.

“you look stunning, doll. i know every guy here wishes he could be in my position right now.” roman whispered lowly, removing his hand from her throat to place it behind her head.

the breath was knocked out of y/n’s lungs once roman rolled his hips against her, his hand on her waist guiding her to wrap her legs around his own waist.

she jumped up slightly, wrapping her legs around roman’s waist as he fully pressed his body against her to keep her against the wall.

her breath was knocked out of her lungs once more when she felt roman’s mouth on hers, the man’s hands lowering to grab her ass as he continued to roll his hips into hers.

the kiss was messy, full of tongue, and tasted like alcohol. but the way that roman was grinding against her had y/n moaning into the kiss. her hands got tangled in roman’s hair, pulling and tugging at it and making roman moan against her.

roman pulled away too quickly for y/n’s liking, his lips traveling down the girl’s neck to suck and bite at the skin there.

“roman.” she gasped out, tightening her grip on his waist with her legs and grinding down against him.

“i knew you were a slut under that shy facade, babygirl.” he mumbled against her skin, one of his hands trailing up to cup her breast. roman pulled away from her neck bringing his head back up to kiss her as he fondled her breast in his large hand. y/n gasped and moaned as he roughly toyed with her breast, causing roman to growl against her mouth, “good fucking girl. keep moaning for me while i play with you.”

the two got lost in themselves, the alcohol in their systems further fueling them. suddenly, it felt as if someone had bumped into roman rather forcefully, and forced y/n and roman to pull away from each other. roman turned his head to glare at whoever it was that bumped into them, only for his gaze to soften once he saw cody stumbling over his own two feet in a drunken haze.

“ah shit sorry guys, didn’t mean to ruin it. i’m heading back with lissette here. bring y/n back safe, roman.” cody apologized, his arm wrapped around another obviously drunk girl’s waist that was currently attached to cody’s neck.

y/n pressed her face into roman’s neck, feeling extremely embarrassed that her best friend had caught her in a heated moment with roman.

“go have fun, uce. i already told you that i got her.” roman shoo’d off cody, watching as the blonde man nodded and turned on his heel to leave the area. roman would miss the satisfied smile that appeared on cody’s face the moment his back was to roman and y/n. he’d also miss the way cody had straightened himself out and was able to walk out of the house as if he were completely sober, even with a girl clinging on to him and kissing away at cody’s lips and neck.

roman turned his attention back to y/n, setting her down gently. the nerves had settled in for the both of them, the reality of their situation kicking in to overdrive.

“roman, i feel like i’m gonna throw up.” y/n mumbled weakly as her head began to feel as if it were pounding. she pulled her face away from his neck to look up at him.

“yeah, you drank a lot, doll.” roman laughed, pressing a gentle kiss to y/n’s forehead. roman kept her held against him, his arms wrapped around her waist.

y/n leaned into his touch, bringing her arms up to wrap around roman’s neck as she rested the side of her head against his chest.

“want me to bring you back to your dorm? it looks like the party’s dying out anyway.” roman asked, rubbing circles into y/n’s back with his large palm.

it was as if she was caught in a trance in his gaze, her whole body feeling as if she were floating on the ocean waves. she was reaching the point of being unable to tell if the way her body was reacting was because of how drunk she was, or because of the way roman was touching her.

she nodded her head, and whispered, “pretty please.”

“of course, sweetheart.” she heard him say, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. roman picked her up bridal style, determining that she wasn’t able to walk on her own and carried her out of the house.

y/n could have sworn that for a second, it was cody’s voice calling her sweetheart and not roman’s voice.

|| next part ||

[octuscle]

Hey there, Support for this Chronivac thingy? I have no idea what this is but my flatmate keeps talking about it on the phone with his bandmates , saying weird stuff like needing a new drummer and using it on me or smth? Him and I don't get along? Ive had to work hard doing medicine and he just rode on this music scolarship and gets to laze around and hook up and be a buff menace with his friends (lucky bastards).....They're this mean punk metal thingy and i can barely stand them being so loud and stuff practicing after the gym, whatever they're planning can't be good. Looking it up only led me here.....Any advice?

I am unsure now… There is a Chronivac account with a transformation going on…. Licensee is you. And the licence is also paid for with your credit card. It all looks fine to me…

During the lunch break in the canteen of the university hospital you catch yourself drumming with the cutlery on the edge of the table. Must be some song by your flatmates' band. Cool beat. Gets into your blood. And it's catchy… You don't usually listen to music while you study, but you search YouTube for videos of the band. Yeah, you're jealous. It just looks like a lot of fun. More fun than you're having in the library. And more fun than you'll have in the lectures. Fuck, maybe you should just skip pathology class today. And meet up with your flatmate and his band at the outdoor gym on the sports campus.

Shit, the band members are all well trained. Not a gram of fat on their wiry, muscular bodies. And they're all having fun. Of course they have a boombox with them on which they play their own songs. You have to admit, a great motivation for training. You haven't worked out like this in a long time. And yet you feel fitter than ever after the training. Fuck, you really neglected your body, that felt really good!

Normally you would go home now, tidy up, study a bit. But the boys have a gig at a big club. Wouldn't you like to come along? You feel a bit uncomfortable. The guys are all wearing leather jeans and black tank tops with band logos on them. Apart from your sports shorts, you only have the white jeans and the white polo shirt from the hospital. You are also sweaty from training. You shouldn't worry. Everyone at the concert is sweaty. And when it really gets going, you'll be partying bare-chested like everyone else there anyway. Okay, it's one night. Tomorrow, Friday, there's not much going on at the university anyway. And you're only young once. So let's get into the hustle and bustle.

You party wildly and exuberantly with your friends. Where your tank top has gone, the devil knows. All this time it was still tucked into your leopard print jeans. But at some point during the pogo you lost it. You pull your wallet with the heavy chain out of your trousers and get beer for the boys with the last of your money. You have already drunk a few today. You've had just as many as a beer shower. Your hair is soaking wet from beer and sweat. But the evening is amazing! The main act of the evening is announced to the cheers of the masses. Your buddies push their way towards the stage. You ask where they want to go, they pull you along. As if in a trance, you let yourself be wired up. And then you take your beloved sticks and set the beat for the highlight of the evening.

The tour starts next week. If it goes badly, you have to make up a semester. If it goes well, the university will never see you again!

[spacecasewriter13]

When the Lights Go On Again by @spacecasewriter13

Summary: It is May of 1946, over a year after his fall from the Hydra train and losing his left arm, and James "Bucky" Barnes is struggling to adjust. Working as an analyst at the New York City SSR branch, Bucky tries to put the war and all of its sorted memories behind him. However, try as he might he is plagued by thoughts of Magdalene "Maggie" Ramirez, a Women's Army Corps (WAC) Corporal he met in London and hasn't spoken to since before his fall in January of 1945. Little does he know that Maggie, in her struggle to put the war behind her, has moved to the city and looking for a job with the New York Bell Telephone Company as a switchboard operator. Now, by sheer dumb luck, they are reunited as they both fight come to terms with what they were to one another during the war, and work to figure out how to move forward in a world that was unprepared to deal with the consequences of war in the unsteady peace.

CH 33: Time for Things

Bucky arrives to the Howlie reunion to find Mags already becoming firm friends with his comrades. He, however, and the Howlies have to navigate the evening as they all try to figure out how to address the elephant in the room and move on from what the war did to them all.

Excerpt:

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

Bucky could hear it, the cabbie’s wristwatch ticking away the seconds and minutes of the long drive between Brooklyn and Harlem, each resounding tick like a hammer against his skull, his heart in his throat, racing out of synch with the incessant sound of time passing.

This is why I never wear one of those damn things.

Bucky had never been one to wear a wristwatch, even before the war. He’d always worn a pocket watch, like his father. Then, during the war, he abandoned the practice of carrying or wearing any sort of watch on account of safety. Now, since the war, he’d abandoned carrying any kind of timepiece because he could hear every single tick and tock and grinding of the clock gears. Normally, he could ignore the small sounds--tune them out. It was something he’d had to practice after he’d been freed from the Hydra facility when he’d taken up being the Howlie’s forward observer and sniper. Then, of course, he’d had ample time to perfect that skill when he’d been laid up in the ward surrounded by a hundred other men. However, in the cab’s small, nearly suffocating interior, the tick, tick, ticking of the cabbie’s watch reminded him exactly how late he was and made him feel all the more like a ticking time bomb than a person.

It’s not my fault. Mags will understand. It’s not my fault.

That wasn’t entirely true. It was his fault that he’d dragged his feet all day in the lead-up to getting ready for the evening, but his excuse for being late was a reasonable one.

His mother was ill. The hard turn toward winter was taking its toll. Then he and Bec had had a near shouting match about his going out. He’d been inclined to stay, and Becca’s lecture that he should go out and stop hovering like a mother hen had grated on a nerve that in turn had set off a short fuse. None of this was helped by the fact that he was in uniform and off to see the guys from his unit...all of them together for the first time since Switzerland...since he’d lost his arm.

He didn’t have much recollection of what had happened directly after the fall when they’d found him bleeding out in the snow, but the snippets that he did remember painted an ugly picture. That was how they’d last seen him—screaming as Steve had held him down so they could amputate, helpless and weak and so very, very broken.

But she would be there, Mags. She would be there beautiful and lovely, her dark eyes watching the door expectantly. It was why he’d taken a cab rather than the subway so that he could get there all the faster. He had phoned Steve and the Falcon to ensure she knew he hadn’t abandoned her.

How had she taken it? Had she been relieved or worried? Did she think he was going to stand her up entirely? Was she resigning herself to an evening alone? How were the guys treating her? They weren’t going to gang up on her for information, were they?

A thousand different scenarios swirled in his head as he willed the cab to arrive all the faster at his destination.

To Continue Reading Please Visit Ao3

[butterflyintochains]

On Midnights Like This

I've noticed as I re-read through my Tangerkarlsson fics that the night and night time seems to be such a theme that comes up across my work. I always seem to have a scene of them talking in bed, up at night stargazing, or big chunks of the fic are set at night or with night time being a huge focal point. So, I want to explore something. In my little fic universe for them, they've been together for nearly 14 years. So, here are 14 sleepless nights during their relationship. Seven from each perspective.

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

2011 - Kris.

Is it meant to feel like this? Is he supposed to feel this breathless everyday since that game against Ottawa? Is this how it felt for Sid and Geno back in 2008? Is Kris Letang supposed to be awake with his racing thoughts at 3 AM, not even three months into... whatever this is with Erik? Is this normal? Kris doesn't know anymore, his whole life has been basically upended in two months, and he has no idea what's going on anymore. Dan must be worried sick about him, and he's sure the boys have noticed something shift. Just yesterday, he completely zoned out for ten minutes during a team meeting, and he has no fucking clue why. He's never felt more excited to answer phone calls or texts, or more disappointed when it's not Erik. Those calls or texts like a little shot of ambrosia. He'd ask Flower, but then he'd get the 'I told you so.' lecture. Duper would get all weird and mushy. Kuny is just a no-go instantly, he'd never hear the end of it. Max would just laugh at him. Then, there's the Two Headed Monster, he could ask them if all this is normal, but how the fuck does he tell them this? ''Hey, I hooked up with Erik Karlsson in Raleigh, and now I feel like the world has been turned on its head, is this normal?'' And, no, he doesn't hate this feeling either. He never wants it to stop, actually. He's never been happier. ''Luc, what's happening to me, mon frere?'' He whispers into the still air of his bedroom.

Of course, there's no answer, not that he needs one. He knows what's happening, and how quickly it's happening. Just a few months ago, he was sure this would never happen to him, and now it is, and it's equal parts terrifying and exciting. Here he is, falling head over heels, and enjoying every minute of it. He's seen this from outside, closer than he'd have wanted to, but it took Sid and Geno forever to get off their asses about the elephant in the room. But, love at first sight doesn't exist, does it? Taking a swig of water, and a few deep breaths, he lets this sensation wash through him, and shoots Erik a text.

Kris: I miss you, Erik.

Putting his head down once more, Kris decides to let this happen as it will, something this good hasn't happened to him ever, and he wants to make this work. Whatever they decide to call it, that'll be a discussion for another time, but at least they'll be having it. Too exhausted to be awake anymore, Kris allows himself to sleep, resting in the embers of a flame they lit together.

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

2012 - Erik.

Sure, Erik is almost twenty two years old, his birthday at the end of May, hopefully during the playoffs if his Senators can manage it. Yes, he's a grown man, thank you very much for asking. But, did he get to bed as early as possible like a kid on Christmas Eve? Also yes, thank you for asking. Would Danny and Jason laugh at him for going to bed at ten? Oh, hell yeah, but they're not here. So, this is none of their business. What nobody on his team know is the person who lands from Pittsburgh tomorrow. The week they're about to have together, right under the team's noses. A year ago this weekend, Erik found the best thing that's ever happened to him. Kris is probably fast asleep by now, down south in Pittsburgh. Is he as excited for this weekend as Erik is? The only thing that's going to be annoying is having to shake off Evgeni Malkin to get any alone time, of the quartet, Malkin seems to be the most nosy. Erik rolls over again, trying to find a good position to sleep in, ever aware he'll have Kris to share a bed with this week. 1 AM, and every atom in Erik's body is aching for Kris' arrival, aching for those beautiful hands, his kiss, everything. He's never felt this before, this rush to the head just thinking about someone else. Raleigh turned his life upside-down in all the best ways, and nobody has ever seen him the way Kris has. Giving up on sleep for now, Erik goes for a cold shower, being worked up isn't going to help him sleep. Kris is going to want him rested too.

Once back in bed, Erik checks the clock again; 2 AM. He has a missed text from Kris. Seems like he's not been the only one struggling to get to sleep tonight.

Kris: Can't wait to see you, been way too long.

Erik replies, a massive smile on his finally tired face.

Erik: Still got that key to my apartment that I gave you?

Kris replies quickly.

Kris: Yeah, haven't let the thing out of my sight.

Erik finally gets to sleep, it'll not be long until they're back together for their second All Star Game. A distinct feeling of this being a point of no return for them lingering in his chest, but, Erik sleeps on it, whatever happens, happens.

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

2013 - Kris.

These last nights together before they split off to their teams are never normally this difficult. But, after everything that's happened in the past six months; Erik's ankle, the fallout with Cooke, and the first time they both visited Luc. Those flights have never looked less appealing. This is the last time they'll be together until whenever their first game is. Kris looks at his clock, 2:30 AM. His neck and shoulders are still tingling, those hickeys are going to be a bitch to explain, not that he cares. Erik's arm is draped across him, he's fast asleep. Kris rolls onto his side, and admires his love's perfect face. Erik stirs, and flutters his eyes open. ''Can't sleep, can you?'' Erik asks him.

Kris sighs, pressing a kiss to Erik's cheek. ''Not even a little bit. Sorry for waking you up, amour.''

Erik chuckles, eyes misty from sleep, but clearly he wasn't very deep asleep himself. ''What's going on, hjartat?'' Erik asks, tracing his work on Kris' neck, sending shivers down his back. ''I don't know, I just... don't want to leave you this fall. I guess this season just put everything into perspective for me.'' He confesses to the one person who he can be this vulnerable with.

Erik yawns, and tucks some hair back behind Kris' ear, his hand lingering for a moment. ''I don't wanna leave you either, after everything that's happened. Recovering without you was torture. But, we'll just need to suck it up.'' That's the shit thing about this whole situation, they've had three of these final nights now, and it never gets any easier. And, Kris will need to go back to third wheeling Sid and Geno for eight months. When do they stop needing to suck it up? ''I love you, Erik.'' Kris says, hoping he never forgets it.

Erik says, taking a deep breath. ''I love you, Kris.'' They close the distance between them with a kiss, Kris rolls Erik onto his back, worshiping his lover's neck. Erik gives a contended sigh, digging his fingers into Kris' back. If this is their last chance to do this for ages, they might as well take it with both hands. Savour the last bits of this paradise while they can. They take it gentler, slower, than those feverish and ravenous nights during the playoff series. Over two years, and this passion never dies down, and no one will ever take it from them. Fuck hockey, they were fashioned for each other, Kris thinks. After, they lie in the afterglow, coddled in each other's love. ''Y'know something? I have no idea how I ever lived without this.'' Kris says, finally feeling tired.

Erik laughs, and presses a fatigued kiss to his shoulder. ''Me neither, and somehow we did.'' What a sad life that was, Kris thinks as his eyes flutter closed. Living without this love they found.

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

2014 - Erik.

Erik's bed in the team's hotel hasn't been slept in yet tonight, not even the duvet has been shifted since the bed was made this morning. No, Erik is just fine stationed on the sofa with a bag ready to go, and his phone on the small coffee table. He's ready to go, just in case. He has to be prepared for the call or text from Flower. If he sleeps, he could miss it. If he sleeps, will Kris still be here when he wakes up? That stroke was only a couple of short weeks ago, they caught it early, and discovered a hole in Kris' heart. Erik's head has been spinning ever since, his world in a state of unraveling and putting itself back together all at once. Kris is alive, he's recovering, and he will be okay. But... a stroke... at twenty-six. The thought of it makes Erik sick. The team must think he's gone mad, checking his phone constantly, having a bag ready at all times for a flight to somewhere he'll never tell them about. Does he care? Not even a little bit. He wasn't there, he hasn't seen Kris at all since the stroke, the love of his life could've died, and Erik wasn't there. So, yeah, he's been riled up, and probably difficult to be around lately. Flower said he's doing well, on house rest orders, bored out of his mind, but he's doing well. And yet, Erik rests on the sofa, his bag at grabbing distance on the floor, staring at his phone. Waiting for something he logically knows isn't coming. Needing to hear Kris' voice again, he calls him. ''Sorry to wake you up, hjartat, I just miss your voice.'' He says.

Kris' voice sounds harsh from lack of use, he must've been sleeping, Erik is such an idiot sometimes. ''I miss you too, amour. What's going on? Why aren't you asleep?''

Erik sniffles, how does he admit this to Kris? All this fear he's been feeling lately? ''I'm just worried about you, that's all.'' Kris takes a deep breath, and says, his voice gentle. ''Erik, I'm just fine, my doctors said I'll be back in April. I'm okay.''

Erik says, looking out the window of his hotel room. ''You had a stroke, Kris.''

Kris says, trying to calm Erik down from afar. ''I know, and trust me, I'm just as scared as you are right now. But, I'm getting better everyday, I'm not going anywhere.''

Erik admits, because he's known this for the best part of two years now. ''I just... you mean the world to me, and... you could've died.'' Kris gently says, a vague smile in his tone. ''I'm still here, and not going anywhere that easy. You are everything to me, Erik, and always will be, so, I'd love it if you got some sleep for me.''

Erik asks, the knots of dread slowly untangling themselves. ''Promise me you'll be okay?''

Kris assures him, voice taking that gentle tone it only takes when they're together, Erik has never heard him use it with anyone else. ''I swear on the love I have for you.''

Erik nods, and rises from the sofa to get into bed properly. ''I love you, sorry for waking you up.''

Kris says. ''Don't apologize, not to me, and not for that. I love you too.'' They hang up, and Erik finally gets to sleep, Kris is alive, and recovering, and isn't going anywhere. This was a one-off, a terrifying thing, but won't happen again. At least Erik knows he's not been alone in this fear, even if he hasn't been in Pittsburgh. He'd have hated to be in the Penguins' shoes lately.

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

2015 - Kris.

The first few nights home in Pittsburgh are never exactly easy after summers with Erik in Europe. But, tonight was not one of those nights. Maybe it's the jet lag, or the blood thinners, or whatever, but Kris was out like a light as soon as he got to bed. Fast asleep without a worry in the world, except for training tomorrow. Training on jet lag is never fun, but he'll be okay. The house has fallen silent, and the night eases along outside. Greece seems like so recently and so long ago all at once. He's glad he was given medical clearance to fly at any rate, they'd been planning that trip for months. Somewhere deep in the static of Kris' mind, he hears his phone ringing. Forcing his eyes open, he sees that it's Erik, and answers it. ''Amour?'' He asks, checking the time: 1:45 AM. Erik says, in anxious sounding French. ''Je suis désolé, mon coeur.''

Kris sits up, it must be big if Erik is using French. ''Non, c'est bien, mon amour. Quelle est le problème?''

Erik switches to English, bypassing his own language altogether, this must be massive. ''Okay, so... you know how Jason's leaving, right? He's going to Dallas. And, Ottawa don't have a captain anymore?''

Kris nods, that was a surprise phone call this summer, one of their secret keepers is leaving for a different team. ''Yeah, I remember, what's happened?''

Erik says, sounding like he's going to throw up. ''Well... he's left it to me, I'm the captain of the Senators now.'' Kris' eyes well up with pride, his other half is a captain now! His Erik is a captain! ''Erik, that's great, I'm so proud of you.''

Erik confesses, talking a mile a minute as he does when stressed. That's where they differ in stress, Erik can't shut up, and Kris shuts down. ''I'm scared, Kris. I'm terrified the team won't follow me, I'm not Canadian either, what if I suck at this? Danny said I'm overthinking this, but, I'm just... scared.''

Kris takes a swig of his water, where does he begin to dissect every way his beloved is wrong about himself? ''Erik, I am so proud of you for this, okay? Carry that with you every day, please. Your team love you, your city loves you, you deserve this. Danny and Jason trust you with this, and I couldn't agree more with them. So what you're not Canadian? Neither is Danny, Henrik Sedin isn't either, Sid's not American. Who knows? Maybe you'll be better than Jason?'' Blasphemy, he knows it, especially with Erik's loyalty to Jason and Danny. The same loyalty Kris has to Sid and Geno. But, fuck it if it works. ''You think so, hjartat?'' Erik asks.

Kris says, matter-of-factly as always. ''Of course I do, alskad, I'm your partner, aren't I? I know you best, right?'' Kris yawns, desperate for some sleep again. ''Anyway, Captain Karlsson, you need your sleep if you're gonna be a good captain. So do I. So; je t'aime et bonne nuit, mon amour.''

Erik takes some deep breaths, sounding finally tired, Kris would ask how long Erik's been lying awake for, but he probably knows the answer anyway. ''Jag alskar dig och god natt, hjartat mitt.'' Kris hangs up, and lies back down. Erik is a captain now, and Kris is certain he's going to be exactly what the Senators need. Heaven knows they need the help, however it comes.

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

2016 - Erik.

One would think it would be all but impossible for two franchise defencemen, one a captain, the other an alternate in all but name to disappear on everyone at an All Star Game. But, if you attend enough of them together, you get rather good at it. Finding those spaces of time to sneak off from talking to people who you're bored senseless by. Coming up with that perfect gaze at each other that means 'Let's get out of here.' without actually needing to say it. Nashville isn't only their third of these events together, it's also their fifth anniversary weekend. They left the bar about two hours ago for Erik's room - which has quickly become their room for the weekend. Locked in for the night, and celebrating their fifth anniversary the way they started this whole relationship. Giving themselves to each other all over again. After a shower together, they get ready for bed. Suddenly, Erik remembers something, and goes into his suitcase for Kris' gift. ''What's that, amour?'' Kris asks.

Erik puts the package on Kris' lap, and kisses him. ''Happy fifth anniversary, hjartat.''

Kris opens it, his jaw dropping as he extracts the customized Sochi Team Canada jersey with his name and number on it. ''Erik... it's wonderful... how? What?'' He says, eyes misty.

Erik says, sitting back on the bed, he's been sitting on that since the preseason. ''I remember you telling me how you'd have loved to go to Sochi if you hadn't had your stroke, how upset you sounded about missing it. So... I pulled some strings with Adidas to get that made.'' Kris dries his eyes, and kisses Erik again. ''I love it, I love you, thank you so much.'' He adds, getting up from the bed himself, and going into his own suitcase. ''That reminds me.'' He pulls a rectangular package out of his case, and hands it to Erik with a kiss. ''Happy anniversary, Erik.''

Erik slowly opens it, careful not to upset anything inside. He pulls out a signed and framed photo of Nicklas Lidstrom with the Red Wings' 2008 Stanley Cup. ''Kris... this is amazing... I love you so much. How did you get this?''

Kris just says, drying Erik's eyes for him. ''Pulled some strings in Detroit last time we stopped in. He's your hero, so I had to. Told them it was for a friend.'' Erik can't help the laugh that comes, they sort of skipped past friends entirely. He's friends with Victor and Mark Stone, Kris is his soulmate. They are each other's best friend, but they were lovers first. ''I know, sounded just as weird to say it at the time, but I couldn't just tell them, y'know?'' Kris says, laughing himself.

Erik says, putting the frame on the nightstand. ''I know, I mean; we're sitting on the five year strong best kept secret in NHL history, right? The media would have a field day if anything came to light.''

Kris grimaces, and says. ''Oh, fuck yeah. I can just see the headlines now, and none of them are pretty. Penguins-Senators Love Story, A Blueline Love Affair.''

Erik says, remembering being at Sid and Geno's wedding in summer 2014, and seeing the world's hockey media circling around them like vultures. ''Yeah, and we'd both get more stupid questions than we already do. I have a team to lead, and so do you.'' Erik checks the clock, midnight on the dot. They've got the skills competition in the afternoon. ''We should rest up for the show, hjartat mitt.''

Kris cocks an eyebrow, that devious glint in his dark eyes. ''Are you sure we can't go for round four, mon amour?'' Erik laughs, this man will be his undoing one of these days, and he couldn't be happier for it. ''I'd love to, mon coeur, but we both know if we start, we'll never stop.''

Kris dramatically sighs, five years, a stroke, and a torn Achilles hasn't dimmed that flame one bit, thank God. ''Fine, alskad mitt, I hate when you're right sometimes.'' Erik leans over to kiss his partner's lips, and says. ''I hate being right sometimes. Besides, this is our weekend, we've got more time left to us.''

Kris nods, and adds. ''And our first game back is against each other too. Even better.''

Finally, wrapped up in each other, they sleep. As he drifts off, though, Erik does wonder when they chill out, when they're supposed to mellow out into an older and more stately hockey couple. If it's now, no one ever told them that. He'd hate to become that boring and mellow couple who don't live for the thrill anymore. They lit a fire together in Raleigh five years ago today, and Erik thinks they've done a pretty good job at keeping it alive. Even if it's been hard sometimes.

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

2017 - Kris.

Sometimes things are fine, sometimes things are normal actually. The world is still spinning, the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. The grass is still green, and the sky is still blue. Sometimes this house doesn't feel haunted, and sometimes it does. But, things can feel okay for a while, the world moves along as normal, time ticks by, and so does life. Sometimes Kris can pretend that night never happened, he can delude himself into thinking he had some fucked up dream. Sometimes seeing his brothers be happily married feels like it did before, and others it feels like they're doing it to spite him. Was there anything he could've done that night to keep Erik? Could he have said anything different? He doesn't fucking know anymore, the world stopped making sense to him overnight. He has wondered if there's anything he can do to win Erik back. Nothing that would work is all he comes up with. Short of giving his ring back and asking for his name to be taken off the 2017 section of the cup, then he'd be a pariah on the team. A heads-up would've been nice, though. Living knowing that his last kiss, last time sleeping together, last conversation - were the last times he'd have with Erik, is a unique form of torture. Torture he sees no reprieve from in any future.

What's worse is, he knows the big meltdown is coming at some point. He's been able to outrun his own heartache for the good of the team since they got back from summer eight weeks ago. But, he knows it's coming. He lives with that ticking time bomb every single day. And, he knows there's nothing he can do to diffuse it. So, he kicks the can down the road until it's safe. And, maybe there will be a time where this doesn't hurt, where he doesn't cry every day. But, he still doesn't have Erik, so what's the fucking point of it all? 3 AM, and Kris hasn't gone to bed yet, he's lying on his couch, staring at the ceiling. He's sure the team think he's gone insane, and what if he has? Isn't he allowed to? Six and a half years of his life over in one night. He thought sleeping was getting easier, until he found the Tre Kronor hoodie Erik left here the last time he stayed over. Against logic, Kris is now wearing that hoodie. It still smells like Erik, and feels like him too. Strange, isn't it? How life can change so much in so little time? This was going to be the season where everyone knew about them, they were going to finally have the sit down with everyone over summer. Funny how plans change, isn't it? ''I miss you, Erik.'' Kris whispers to the air in his house, bursting into tears again.

At some point, his system must shut him down. It's not sleep, not really. It's passing out, and Kris knows it. But, who is he to be a choosing beggar when it stops the spiral his mind gets into sometimes? Sure, he'll wake up in tears like every other morning, but that's none of anyone else's business.

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

2018 - Erik.

This move to San Jose was supposed to make things easier, not harder. Some distance to ease his tainted soul of the guilt. He only sees the man whose heart he tore to bits twice a season now, as opposed to thrice. But, it hasn't helped in the slightest. Not really. He still did something both stupid and heartless to the love of his life. He's stuck in a prison of his own making, an entire continent away from Kris, with no way out. There's nothing he can do to make this better, and Kris would never take him back now. Not when he is visibly happy again, taking names out east as part of the new 'Three Headed Monster'. Even fucking worse, Erik is in the pacific, with Marc-Andre Fleury in net for Vegas. One of their secret keepers, who no doubt knows exactly why they now share a division, and is all too happy to remind him four times a year now. Oh well, he made this cell, he rots in it. Who knows? Maybe Kris has someone new out east now? A teammate even? Someone who didn't do what Erik did that night. Who wouldn't want Kris Letang? There's the bitch of it all. For all the pain, for the tragedy of that night after game seven season before last, they are soulmates.

It's December now, he's been on the Sharks for three months almost. He likes the city and the team well enough, but he moved here to escape the guilt, and it probably shows in the numbers he's putting up. Looming large over his head is the team hosting the next All Star Game. What would have been their eighth anniversary weekend. Kris will be coming into town with Sid, that much Erik knows. Kris barely looked at him twice in Tampa last time, keeping to Sid, Flower, and the rest of the Canadians. He remembers 2011 like it was yesterday. Kris approached him first that weekend, as if they'd known each other for years. They kissed on that last night in Raleigh, they lit that fire together. So, eight years later, Erik is going to fix this, he will get Kris back. Or, he'll try to anyway. To any normal person this would sound insane, and what if it is? Wasn't their whole relationship a little bit insane?

Erik finally falls asleep, filled with some divine purpose now, he doesn't exist for just hockey anymore. He has a sin to atone for, and a soulmate to try and win back. How? He has no fucking clue, not idea one as to how he'll convince Kris to take him back. For all he knows, he could be tearing a new relationship apart. But, fuck it, they're soulmates for a reason, right?

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

2019 - Kris.

Sweden welcomed him back happy this summer. He had no plans for this summer at all until a couple of weeks ago. He had planned on hiding out in Montreal, turning his phone off until September, and working out until he got the call home. Just like he did in 2018, and 2017 before. That was until January. The lights came back on in the world on their eighth anniversary. They have each other again, and that's all Kris cares about. Okay, fine, he'd have liked to not get swept by the fucking Islanders. But, the man sleeping next to him is worth a million cups. He must have scared the hell out of the boys after they got back from San Jose, but he's just fine with that. Now, if only he wasn't jet lagged all to hell right now, that'd be great. But, that five hour time difference is rough. So, gently kissing Erik, Kris gets up, and goes to sit outside. This was how it felt in 2011, except this time it's better. They both know what this reunion means, and it makes Kris' head spin. It's still not entirely dark yet, but the night sky is breathtaking. Montreal may have birthed him, Pittsburgh is his home, but Vetlanda is his refuge. Erik says he feels most relaxed in Montreal as well. ''Can't sleep, can you, hjartat?'' Erik asks from the back door.

Kris shrugs, watching Erik join him on the sofa. ''Jet lag. Why aren't you in bed, amour?''

Erik just says. ''The bed was lonely.'' They relax into a comfortable silence. Listening to the night around them. Finally, Kris speaks up. ''Erik, can I ask you something?''

Erik nods, and says. ''Always, Kris, go ahead.''

Kris says, after thinking of how best to word this. ''Your move to the Sharks, was that because of me? Or were you just tired of Ottawa?'' Erik takes a deep breath, eyes glistening in the outdoor lights. ''Both, actually. After... that night, my conscience was eating me alive, and Stone and Hoffman knew it. Things got toxic really quickly. And, having to see you in so much grief, grief I caused, so often. I had to leave.'' Erik pauses, Kris lets him speak, giving him space to tell his story. ''San Jose were willing to take me, so I went.''

Kris asks, because now they'll see each other even less. ''Do you regret it now? We'll only see each other twice a year now, except if we always go to All Star Games together.''

Erik shakes his head. ''No, I don't regret it. Me being a Shark got us back together. Besides, it's not the teams, it's us. We control this, not them.''

Kris nods, they hold their destiny in their hands, teams be damned now. They let the distance dictate things in the past, and never again. ''I think I like the sound of that.'' Kris looks up at the sky, seeing the north star shining bright. ''Any wishes to make, alskad mitt?'' Kris asks Erik.

Erik looks up at the star, visibly thinking of something, but says. ''Not right now, mon coeur, I'm fine. How about you?''

Kris ponders this, because what else can he possibly need right now? His family are well, his team are settled, and he has Erik back. Maybe Flower in the right jersey again? ''I'm good for now.'' And, long may that continue.

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

2020 - Erik.

They should still be playing hockey right now, but they're not. This whole pandemic has been a lot to get used to, but Erik has been willing to shut them both in in their place in Montreal. His partner has had a stroke, God only knows what this virus could do to him without a vaccine. Still, it's weird, all this free time they've had together to do basically nothing. A lot of hurry up and wait, keep an eye on the news, and stay healthy. They've been going for runs late at night lately, half to keep fit, and half to exhaust them enough to sleep at night. Erik does the shopping. Kris walks Buddha and Freya every morning. They've fallen into a nice routine at least, and it's kind of nice like this, a taste of what they don't get to have during the season. They take Zoom calls with teammates once a week in separate rooms, Kris has PA meetings every other week from his office. Despite the weird situation, things are going okay so far. They've not gotten sick of each other yet, not that they ever would. No, Erik had a look at life without Kris not too long ago, and it terrifies him. They get back from a midnight run, and sit outside in the backyard under Kris' maple tree. Kris takes his treasured dogtag off, bearing his initials and number, a gift from Mario after the 2016 cup run. ''You good, sweetheart?'' Erik asks, the English petnames are new, and just sort of... happened.

Kris nods, fiddling with the pendant. ''Yeah, I've just been... thinking a lot lately, darling, that's all.''

Erik asks, curious now. ''About what?''

Kris says, looking him right in the eye, his eyes holding something big in them. ''Sid and Geno's wedding, and how I'd want ours to look compared to theirs.''

Erik allows himself a small smile, sensing something is coming in this. ''Yeah? How would ours look?''

Kris chuckles, and says. ''No media for one, not even our team media. Outdoors as well. It'd be about us, not what we represent.'' Erik smiles wide, he's had the same thoughts of his own since they got back together. ''I'd like a smaller guest list, 150 people is a bit much. It'd be smaller, and then we'd get a honeymoon to just shut off.'' Erik says. He also removes his dogtag, also bearing his initials and number, a gift for his captaincy from Danny. ''We could, you know?'' Kris says.

Erik furrows his brows, they're not even allowed on ice right now, let alone having a whole wedding. ''Kris, I hate to break it to you, but we're not allowed right now.''

Kris corrects himself, giving his head a shake. ''No, not right now. But, next summer or something, when things are better. Do you want to?''

Erik nods, feeling like they're hurtling towards a point of no return, and he fucking loves it. ''Yeah, do you want to?'' Kris nods, setting this in stone, they're actually going to do this. ''Yeah, I do. Erik, will you marry me?''

Holy fuck, that sounded good, Erik nods, tears in his eyes. ''Yes! Kris, will you marry me?''

Kris nods, tears starting in his own eyes. ''Always.'' They exchange the necklaces with a kiss, a symbol of what's to come for sure. They're actually setting this into stone, there will be a wedding, they will be married soon. Sure, they're not teammates yet, but who cares? They're getting married next summer. They get inside, and shower together, before heading to bed. Their Labrador and their Husky curled at their feet. ''So, we're actually doing this, then?'' Kris asks. Erik nods, and kisses his future husband. ''We are, and I'd never marry anyone else.''

Kris kisses him again, another beautiful rush to the head. ''Neither would I.'' Finally, they find sleep together, with one hell of a big day to plan together.

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

2021 - Kris.

If Kris was keeping score, which he wasn't, but if he was, that's day nine of the constant game of 20 Questions since they got back from summer. He loves his family, he really does. More than they'll ever know. But, they've got a season to be getting on with. Surely his marriage is the least of their worries right now. But, here they are. Sully has been good ad redirecting the energy onto the ice at least, and his two new rookies have been great. But, the team are really determined to figure out who he married over summer. The answer would freak them all out. Not everyone gets to be married to Erik Karlsson, do they? Nope, just him, and it's fucking great. That gorgeous force of nature is all his forever. It's half past eleven, and Erik hasn't called yet, they agreed to nightly calls until their first game against each other. Then, every other night until whenever they're able to be together again. Finally, Kris' phone rings. ''Salut, mon amour.''

Erik laughs, and says. ''Hej, hjartat mitt. How's life right now?'' Kris sighs, and takes his night time meds with one hand. ''Interesting, the boys are going feral trying to figure out who put this ring on my finger.''

Erik chuckles, and says. ''Same, I've set them on a little research mission. They'll not figure it out, though.''

Kris laughs, picturing the Sharks compiling a list of every defenceman in this league trying to narrow it down to him. ''Maybe I need to do the same, because they just won't get off my ass about it.'' Sid and Geno, to their credit, have mostly left him alone about this, but they were slightly miffed to have missed the wedding. ''Timo and Burns think Victor and I eloped.'' Erik says.

Kris bursts out laughing at that, Victor was there, but... no, just no. ''Not if Steven and I have anything to say about it, I know that much for certain. My boys think it's Flower.''

Erik laughs down the line, Kris' second favourite sound in this world, second to Erik speaking Swedish. ''I think Max and I would have an issue with that. I'm afraid I'm not good at sharing.''

Kris says, a small smirk rising to his mouth. ''Neither am I.'' Kris thinks, reflecting on their sparkling summer, and how much gossip it's caused. ''Y'know, I am beginning to wonder if we were the only ones who did anything this summer, if this is hot gossip now, how boring was everyone else's summer?''

Erik says, sounding interested in Kris' line of thought. ''Me too, now you put it like that. You'd think no one else did anything, right? Gadjo said he went to Austria, haven't heard anything else though.'' Kris takes a mouthful of his water, and says. ''Sid said something about a trip to The Bahamas, that's all I've heard from him.''

Erik changes the subject to their first game after new year, painfully far off in the season, but they've just got to suck it up. ''Am I crashing with you after our game?''

Kris nods, he halfway wonders how they're going to make it that far, especially with their no-contact rule before games, but they're grown ups, they can lift that now, can't they? ''Of course, and I'm staying with you after our other game?''

Erik says, as if it's the most obvious thing ever. ''Absolutely. We still keeping the rule now that we're married? I'm fine to get rid of it.'' Kris breathes a sigh of relief, he's hated it ever since they got back together. ''So am I, actually.'' Finally, no more no-contact period before games. ''It's late here, Erik, I love you so much. I'll talk to you tomorrow.''

Erik says, voice gentle for him. ''I love you too, Kris, more and more every day. Talk to you soon.'' They hang up, and Kris gets some sleep, watching the moonlight glint off his wedding ring as he drifts off.

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

2022 - Erik.

Well, that was the scariest thing that's happened since 2014, and he'll be damned if he was tempted to never return home to San Jose. Two fucking strokes, two strokes in eight years, added to the myriad of other things Kris has been through. At thirty-five. Erik is ever in awe of the man he's married to, in more ways than just one. But, holy fuck he was scared to leave Pittsburgh two days ago. However, it has given him a wake up call, this arrangement can't continue. He knows fine well Kris isn't ever leaving Pittsburgh, and Erik would hate to drag him west away from his brothers and PO. So, one night when he can't sleep, Erik sits up in his dining room, looking at the terms of his contract. He's got one season left, and a full no move clause. But, he's cautiously optimistic that he can convince Grier to wave it, and he can get something going with his agent for a move east. This will be the trade of the century if it goes well, and is everything they've ever dreamed of. It's the uncertainty he hates, all of this hinges on so many things going right for them. Grier co-operating, his agent convincing the Penguins to take him, and them having enough room for him. The move from Ottawa was relatively simple by comparison. Freya pads over to him, he says. ''Fancy moving in with Buddha, girl?'' Freya's ears pique at that, she always misses her best friend.

Should Erik even be thinking about this halfway through the season? When he's on a Norris campaign? Does this whole thing count as a thought crime in hockey? Does Erik give a damn? Not in the slightest, no. His husband needs him, and they're sick of being apart all the time, so sue him, he wants out of here in the summer. Don't wedding vows beat a logo on a jersey? Erik has loved this city, and Ottawa before it, but he'll always love Kris more. Hockey is complicated, his marriage isn't, so he's choosing his marriage as soon as he can.

It's half past one in the morning by the time he gets back to bed, where did that time go? Freya leaps in beside him, her icy eyes glance at his wedding ring, she is so human sometimes. ''I know, girl, we'll figure it out, promise.'' Erik says, petting her behind the ears. They will, he'll make sure of it. Erik has that dream again, the dream of kissing Kris on the ice of PPG Paints Arena after a goal. He holds onto it, determined to make it happen.

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

2023 - Kris.

The calm before the storm comes quicker than Kris had anticipated. He finishes getting himself ready for bed, and looks on his calendar again. Erik's flight lands tomorrow at eleven, he arrives in twelve hours. And, somehow, Kris is expected to sleep? Sleep in the knowledge that his other half is coming east tomorrow? That this whole long distance bullshit ends in twelve hours. Kris can't remember the terms of the contract, even though he's asked Erik twice now. Does it matter? They're going to be teammates in twelve hours! Pittsburgh is going to have two power couples for the foreseeable future, and they can't wait. Sid and Geno have been rabid in the core's group chat, full of speculation about what the team will look like now. Kris is just happy to have his husband with him at last. After taking his medications, Kris gets into bed, and calls Erik. Their last late night phone call, which will give way to late night chats in bed together. That's a dizzying thought. ''Bon soir, mon amour, how are you this evening?''

Erik says, sounding excited for his flight. ''Hej, hjartat mitt, I'm great. Packed up, and ready to go, so is Freya. My stuff is on the way already. How are you? Shouldn't you be sleeping?''

Kris chuckles, and says. ''I'm great, just looking forward to eleven tomorrow morning. I'll sleep once we're done talking, darling, don't worry.''

Erik laughs, and says. ''I'm your husband, sweetheart, I just don't want you up all night staring at the clock, that's all. This is happening, and we don't need to worry about it anymore.'' That's the best part of this, their shared dream is finally coming true, they get to have a real life together. ''Are you gonna miss it, Erik? Those stolen nights, those feverish games against each other, these calls?''

Erik seems to need a minute or two to think about his answer for this. ''I think some part of me will, yeah. But, the life we're about to have is so much better, breakfasts together, waking up together, I think the games will be just as heated, just differently. How about you, Kris?'' Kris also thinks for a bit, he will miss the dangerous part of this relationship, the stare-downs across the ice, longing for those games. ''A bit, yeah. But, I'm ready for this life now, the life where we can be together every day. But, nostalgia is one hell of a drug. I'm looking forward to telling our story.''

Erik laughs, because they have been sitting on one hell of a story this past twelve and a half years, the best kept secret in NHL history perhaps. ''So am I.'' Erik adds. ''I'll let you get to sleep, I'll see you in ten hours. I love you, Kris Letang.''

Kris beams to himself, ten hours left until paradise. ''I'll see you in ten hours. I love you, Erik Karlsson.'' They hang up as opponents for the last time, and Kris switches his light off, lying down for sleep. His last night sleeping alone in this bed, his last night living alone before everything changes forever. In ten hours' time.

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

2024 - Erik.

That was... something alright. Not the loss, even though that fucking sucked, the Wild deserved the win, Flower deserved the win. Erik is used to fights in this sport, he himself hasn't been in one for about a decade, and Kris is sinfully hot when he fights. But, it's not everyday your kid gets in a fight, is it? Faber was asking for it, but Jack more than delivered. Yes, Erik is proud of him, and so is Kris, but things like that don't happen very often. Their nephews don't fight very often either. As Kris said in the car tonight; the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Jack, for his part, is fast asleep in the guest room, which is basically his room now. Kris is also fast asleep right now, next to Erik. Lucky them, Erik thinks. Kris stirs, waking up from his sleep. ''Erik?''

Erik leans over to kiss his temple. ''Go back to sleep, Kris, I'm okay.'' Kris blinks sleep from his dark eyes, and says. ''No, what's going on? What are you thinking about?''

Erik says. ''Jack's fight, I am so proud of him, but it just... surprised me, that's all.'' The other thing that surprised him was how proud of himself Jack looked in the room after the game, talking excitedly to Drew about the fight. ''Me too, I mean, he's ours, but... I don't know, I guess it's like how Sid must've felt after Jake's first goal? Like, he's arrived, I guess?'' Kris muses.

Erik takes his husband's hand, clasping them together over the bed. ''Yeah, it definitely feels like this was Jack's debut, his name is known now. But, that's what I'm worried about, will anyone have a go at him next?''

Kris, ever rational about these things, and the team's fighter himself once upon a time. ''That won't be his last fight, Erik, I'm not exactly happy about that either, but it's true. But, he'll be fine, trust me.'' That's a no-brainer, Erik trusts his husband over everyone else on this planet. ''I trust you, Kris, but how do you know he'll be fine?''

Kris says, yawning a bit. ''Because I'm still here, and I won all of my fights during the Battle of Pennsylvania days, if I'm fine, Jack will be too.'' Kris also says, after a minute or so to think. ''Besides; he has us, he's got Sid and Geno, and Rusty and Drew. Our house is united, took forever, but it is.''

Erik says, thinking of the future, maybe before it's really time to, but things like that happen at night. ''Do you think it'll be them next? Rusty as captain with Drew and Jack as his alternates?''

Kris says, probably hoping they haven't woken Jack up yet. ''I do, maybe Owen as a third A once he's out of the minors, to complete things a bit.''

Erik needs to think about this a bit, complete things? How? Then, it hits him. ''Oh, two forwards, two defencemen, and a goalie as a core five. The way it should have been for us.''

Kris nods, looking tired still. ''Exactly.'' Erik will forever hate that he never got to play with Flower, that core five would've been unstoppable, but some things never come to be. ''Jack will be fine, we'll make sure of it.'' Kris says, kissing Erik on the cheek. And, for the first time all night, Erik agrees with him. ''Yeah, we will.'' Finally, the two of them get some sleep together. There's a big game against Anaheim to rest up for, after all. Jack will be fine, and so will the team. Sure, they'll always worry about him, but they can relax for now, at least Jack won his first fight. It wasn't even close either.

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

Finally got this monster done, not been well the past week, and for some stupid reason I always get big ideas when I'm sick and can't sleep. So, here it is! A bit of a weird concept, but this was fun to write, and posed a unique challenge. This is my first Tangerkarlsson fic ever where it only features the two of them, while I do mention other players, and one is actively living with them in the last bit, only Kris and Erik actually appear here.

I think this could've been a bit longer, but very satisfied with it, and wanna get it up before I lose energy on it.

Enjoy!

[calm-shy-social]

Scarlet Hollow: Reese x OC fanfic

The moonlight shined on Julia’s blonde hair as she tread through the forest. The eerie silence was disrupted by the rustling leaves of the trees. Julia gazed up as she saw ditchlings’ peering down as she continued to make her way down the path. Julia’s pace quickened as her thoughts began to feel muddled. She was grateful that she was able to advocate for her and Tabitha during the trial. Luckily, they were able to put Charlie to rest tonight. It felt good to be able to help Oscar and Rosalina live peacefully at home now. However, she was very worried about Stella and hoped she was okay after the night’s events. Nonetheless, Julia had snuck out of the estate without Tabitha knowing. She tried to convince Tabitha to allow her to walk home alone earlier, but of course her cousin protested the thought. Julia had really debated on stealing her car keys, but she didn’t want to risk being caught and getting a lecture.

Julia glanced down on her phone as the bright screen illuminated her face. The phone read at 12:08 AM. She sighed and placed it away inside the pocket of her jacket. The real reason she was out walking so late was to go see Reese. While she barely knew the guy, his situation was really troubling to her. Julia had some sinking suspicions about Dr. Kelly and her treatment of Reese. Julia suspected that the doctor was potentially poisoning her son. She had worked as a nurse long enough that she was familiar with some of the signs. However, Julia couldn’t jump to any conclusions yet. 

The house soon came into Julia’s peripheral view. With no hesitation, she sprinted over to the basement windows and prayed that the overbearing doctor wouldn’t catch her out here. Julia peered through the glass to see Reese moving his paintbrush against a canvas as his face remained hyper-focused on his art. Julia gently rapped her manicured fingers against the window glass to get his attention. Reese, startled by the sound, dropped his paintbrush on the ground. He looked up in surprise to see the girl he just met at his window.

“H-hey, what are you doing here?” Reese stammered as he walked up to the window. He didn’t know if he was in a dream currently. This was something that never happened to him at all.

“Hey… I know it’s late. But I wanted to see you and make sure you were okay. Can you let me in?” Julia waved at him as she nervously looked around as she spotted a couple ditchlings in sight.

“Y-yeah!” Reese fidgeted with the window lock and pushed it open for her. 

Julia placed both of her legs through the opening and carefully tried to make her way in. “Umm, can you help me? I’m afraid I’m going to get stuck or fall to the ground.”

“Okay..” Reese nodded and shakily placed his hands on her waist to support her as he pulled her through. He wasn’t used to touching someone else, and he tried his best to ensure she didn’t fall. Suddenly, Julia shrieked as she stumbled and fell on top of him as a result. As they landed on the ground, Reese grunted in pain from the impact. Reese’s face grew red as he realized Julia was directly on top of him and his hands were still around her waist. He swore the pain would have snapped him out of the dream he was in. However, this was actually real. He felt the warmth of her skin against his. It was so comforting.

"I'm so sorry!” Julia said completely flustered and pushed herself off of him, “Let me help you.” She grabbed his hand and helped him onto his feet.

“You’re okay, I messed up.” He blushed slightly as he held his side.

“No, it’s my fault. Don’t blame yourself. Let’s have you sit down.” She led him to his bed, and Reese slowly sat down. “Do you have a first aid kit down here?”

“Umm no, everything is upstairs in my mom’s clinic.” 

“Well, I’m going to examine you just to make sure you’re not hurt.” Julia looked over at his arm and carefully pressed her fingers against the back of Reese's wrist. His pale skin felt cool to the touch, and his heartbeat felt dangerously low. This was certainly concerning to her. She looked into his bright blue eyes and placed her palm against his forehead.

“What are you doing?” Reese asked as he blushed as he looked into her hazel eyes with a hint of confusion.

“Just checking your pulse and temperature. I know your condition is very rare, but..." Julia trails off. She didn’t want to stress him out with her own suspicions. It was best to keep quiet until she got confirmation, “Did you want me to get the first aid kit? I can sneak up there. I snuck out of the house without Tabitha catching me. I think I can hide from your mom.” She gave a wink.

Reese looked up at the ceiling for a brief moment. He wasn’t used to anyone else caring for him like this. It made him feel nervous and undeserving. “No, I don’t want you to get caught. I think I’m fine. The pain is going away now.”

“Well, just let me know if the pain returns.” Julia told him and suddenly felt the pull she felt earlier in the day from the clinic. She desperately wanted to go up there and break in there to find the source. But she pushed back the desire: “You still owe me a movie date.”

Reese blinked, trying to process the word date, “Oh yeah... I guess I owe you a showing of Shi no Chi: Death Blood.” He swallowed and pushed himself off of the bed to make his way over to the television. He placed the DVD inside the player and pressed play. He sat back down beside Julia.

Julia removed her red jacket and placed it beside her. “Sorry, it was getting a bit hot in here.”

“Uh huh..” Reese nodded in agreement as he looked at her. He swiftly glanced back at the TV screen when Julia looked over his way. He didn’t want her to notice that he was staring at her. He was already captivated by her beauty since he met her.

Within thirty minutes of the movie, Julia shifted closer to him and grazed her fingers against his. “This is a really good movie so far.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’m happy to have someone to talk to about it,” Reese smiled at her warmly.

Julia nodded as she continued to watch the film. During one scene, a jumpscare had startled her. She let out a scream and pressed her face against Reese’s chest. Realizing what she just did, Julia looked up at him in embarrassment and said, "Sorry, I get spooked easily sometimes.”

“It’s okay… I didn’t mean to put something on something scary for you.” He told her and hesitantly wrapped his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

“No, it’s okay. I’m still enjoying it.” Julia noticed the subtle move he made. She hadn’t been with someone in a few years after her ex. There was something about Reese that made her drawn to him. Not only his looks but his personality. He was so gentle and kind with her. Julia, within the moment, rested her hand on his cheek.

Reese’s heart rate sped up inside his chest as he felt her hand brush his cheek. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he attempted to speak. He placed his palm on her cheek and slowly leaned in.

Suddenly, the door to the basement swung open, and Dr. Kelly stomped down the steps in a hurry after hearing Julia’s scream, “Reese! What was that noise?" She soon stopped after seeing her son with the new girl in an embrace.

“M-mom, I…” Reese was speechless. He really didn’t know what to say to his mom since they were caught. It was frustrating really that this moment was ruined for them.

“What in the hell are you doing with my son!? Get the hell out of my house!” Dr. Kelly shouted at Julia as she confronted them.

Julia huffed as she grabbed her jacket and started to place her arms through the sleeves. “I was coming by to see Reese to make sure he was okay. We were just watching a movie.”

“Oh, I believe you were trying to do much more than that!” Dr. Kelly lashed out at her.

“Mom! Stop! We were just hanging out! God, is it wrong for me to have some human interaction!?”

“Reese, I’m worried about your health. You don’t need this kind of excitement. Plus, she’s a stranger you just met!” Dr. Kelly threw her hand up in the air and looked at Julia with disdain, “Come on, I’ll escort you out.”

“Whatever.” Julia rolled her eyes as she begrudgingly began to follow Dr. Kelly. She looked back at Reese, who looked defeated, and she gave him a smile and a small wave goodbye.

By the time they reached the front door, Dr. Kelly pushed it open for Julia, “Get out and don’t ever come back here again. I want you to stay away from my son. I don’t want you near him.” The doctor’s tone was cold and sharp with Julia.

“Don’t think I don’t have my suspicions you’re poisoning him! His pulse was dangerously low. I’m in the healthcare field, if you seemed to have forgotten. You can’t pull the wool over my eyes.” Julia hissed at her as she got into her face. This woman had a lot of audacity right now.

“Stay away from my son, am I clear?!” Dr. Kelly snapped back and pushed Julia out. She slammed the door right in her face.

Julia shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and groaned as she saw Wayne in the distance. She walked past him, “Not in the mood right now, Wayne!”

“You need to stay away from him.” Wayne warned as he followed behind her.

Julia placed her fingers into her ears. “La, la la! I can’t hear you!” She mocked him as she began to walk faster.

“I am being serious. It is not safe for you to go back there. You need to stay at the estate.” Wayne continued as he matched her pace.

“Wayne, it is fucking 1:30 in the morning, and I don’t want to hear anything from you! I’ve had a long night, alright!?” Julia snapped at him as she continued down the pathway. She chose to ignore Wayne talking to her as she made her way back with the estate in sight.

“Please, you are putting yourself in danger. I’m trying to protect you.” 

“Wayne, thank you for your concern, but I’m going to go to bed. Good night.” Julia entered the estate and shut the door on Wayne. She breathed a heavy sigh. This was going to continue being one long week. Julia just hoped she would be able to see Reese again.

Notes: I wanted to write an fluffy interaction with Reese prior to the events of episode 4. My character's traits are hot and book smart. I decided to make her a nurse, just to add more to her character. In the game she is a biology student.

[victorianerawild]

I don’t find the time to journal currently. I rarely ever do, but currently it becomes obvious to me every single day.

When I was younger I would fill notebooks, word documents, tumblr blogs and scrapbooks with my thoughts. Every single impression life gave me had its place, scribbled down on a napkin that I later pinned to my wall, carefully framed in between calendar rows or leisurely written down in my diary.

I have lost my excitement for writing the same moment I lost my excitement for noticing what was happening around me. When my curiosity and hunger for life were replaced by such utter, gut wrecking fear, noticing my surroundings became a chore. Experiencing became such a chore. Feeling became such a chore.

I’ve been fighting my brain for years now and I can finally, fucking finally feel myself being in control of it. Not in the harsh way that was never gonna work but in the soft way that leaves room for me to work through my thoughts and let them be at the same time, to acknowledge my feelings but not be drowned by them.

I feel like I’m a tiny seed that’s been making its way through the dirt and is timidly granted the first few rays of sunshine. It feels like the saturation around me has been turned up. I can allow myself to feel joy again and to find emotion in everything that happens.

And I want to write it all down. I want to take screenshots of every single conversation I’m having, I want to take pictures and fill books with them. I want to tell stories about how I cried today because I saw an elderly woman walk out the hospital in tears, I want to write about how I got chocolate from my friend during our lecture, how I was in awe because my roommate showed me Hamilton, how I was hurting for a friend who’s being treated awfully, how I talked to my mum for two hours on the phone, how many cool things I’ve learned in biology. I want to copy paste every single message the beautiful human I’m dating sends me, I want to frame our conversations so I’ll never forget them, I want to write about how I’ve rediscovered oatmeal for breakfast after hating it for 5 years because I ate it too much while backpacking, about how I’m worried for my best friend because she’s struggling so much and I can’t seem to find a way to talk to her properly, about how cold it is outside, about that I started reading again, about our friends moving in next door, about our neighbor’s cats, about how I was woken up by the police the other day because I had parked my car wrong and talked to the officer while period-bleeding through my pants, about enjoying my body again, about my new tattoo, about meeting my friend’s families and loving everything about it, about the beautiful friendship I’m forming with the girl I once dated now, about me finding out how to be honest to myself, about December 25th, about celebrating new years eve in the bathtub drinking wine, about dancing in our kitchen, about walks down to the park, about white chocolate with coconut and almonds, about which parts I still dislike and learned to like about my being.

My lust for life has always been a hunger for stories. And it’s coming back in full force ♥️

[falconcoast]

I NEEDA SEE A TIGHNARI OR SCARAMOUCHE COLLEGE AU IM BEGGING like late night roommate talks

college au | tighnari x reader

masterlist

a/n: i started writing this literally during a round of debate. also, after said debate, i saw the finest debater in my district and swooned so bad i almost fainted. anyways take this and my limited knowledge of college. 

tags: omg they were roommates-to-lovers, sharing a bed, domestic fluff

warnings; brief alcohol mention (none consumed)

tighnari was your first friend in at sumeru university.

in one of your gen-ed writing classes, he happened to sit next to you, right in the middle of the lecture hall

after a few awkward “do you have a pencil i can borrow” and “i was sick do you have the notes” encounter, you formally interacted after being assigned in a group project

tighnari, you learn, is a major in biology with a concentration in plant sciences.

blunt and quick-witted, he is a no-nonsense busy body. after being labeled group leader, he was quick to assign roles and pore over his own work.

eventually, you exchanged phone numbers to study together. the study sessions together slowly became a habit, and at least once a week you meet with him

and from your study sessions bloomed a friendship. study sessions went from being in the library to in local cafes to in one another’s dorm rooms. soon enough, you and tighnari were as thick as thieves.

tighnari is nicer than he lets on, and he shows that he cares in less forward ways.  

sometimes, he drops by your dorm to reprimand you for not getting all three meals with a healthy dish. 

other times, he’ll call you at an ungodly hour, saying “you idiot, i can see your dorm light on, go to bed!” 

and at other times, he says nothing at all, simply highlighting where you’re wrong when doing your gen-ed math work. 

after freshman year, when he asks you to move into an apartment off-campus, you instantly say yes

tighnari proves to be a delightful roommate, and you balance one another out. if you make dinner, he’ll wash the dishes. if you’re going grocery shopping, he’ll do the budgeting and make a list of what you need. if you wake up before your alarm and make coffee, he’ll make both of your beds. 

after a while, you realize that tighnari is more than delightful to you; he’s lovable in a way that best friends shouldn’t think about one another. 

naturally, you do what anyone with a crush on their roommate would do: avoid the issue completely by distracting yourself. dinner together stops. your movie nights on friday are put to a halt. as soon as you get home, you go into your room and work.

tighnari’s well aware something is wrong when you get a single text that says: “hey, if something is wrong, talk to me, okay?” 

but as you look at the desk, you can only sigh and turn back to your work. archons, how you talk to tighnari when the problem was your childish crush on him?!

it’s three AM. 

you’re well aware it’s past your bedtime. in the morning, you’ll be cursing yourself for not getting more sleep. but right now, you could care less. spending less time from the apartment was an escape from having to worry about whether your crush on your roommate, your best friend, is obvious. 

as you shove the key into its hole, you let out a long sigh. after a long night out, your head feels delirious with a need for sleep. you spent most of the night at a house party, brooding about tighnari, in the corner. you felt terrible that you couldn’t truly enjoy your other friends and their company. 

opening the door, you took off your shoes before looking up. instead of the darkness of the hallway, you noticed that a faint, warm glow of light illuminating at the end of it. walking forward, you rubbed your eyes as you entered the common area. there, tighnari’s back was to you. he was curled up on the couch with the reading lamp on. the book was propped up on his knee, with pictures of flowers native to sumeru on it. 

his ears twitched lightly when you stopped in surprise. “i never took you as a party person,” he said aloud, not bothering to look around. “that’s the only reason you’re coming home so late, right?” 

“tighnari? what are you doing awake?” you questioned. “it’s late at night.” 

“i wanted to make sure to be up when you came home,” he explained, flipping another page. “i wanted to make sure you were safe.” 

a heat rushed to your cheeks. “that’s...that’s sweet, tighnari,” you murmured. straightening out, you cleared your throat. “you don’t need to stay up any longer. i’m home, and you can go to bed now.” 

with a quick fluttering of paper, the book shut tightly. “you pulled an all-nighter last night, and now you’re coming home at three in the morning. let’s get you to bed.” 

ushering you to your room, he sat you down promptly at the chair by your desk. as he went through your pajama drawer, he asked, “did you drink any alcohol?” 

“no, i didn’t.”

“good. i would have had to contact the university administration if you did,” he lightly chuckled. returning to you, he handed you a change of clothes. quickly, he turned around and placed his hands over his eyes. “please get changed. it would be uncomfortable to sleep in your formal wear.”

after you changed and tossed your dirty clothes in the hamper, he turned back around. tighnari escorted you to bed, sitting you down. as he began pulling the covers over you, he noticed you shiver. “you’re cold,” he observed. quickly, he pulled off his hoodie.

“oh, no, you don’t need to--” you tried to argue back in your sleep-addled state. he responded by shoving the hoodie over your head and getting your arms through the sleeves. it smelled just like him; fresh with light floral scents and fresh herbs.

afterwards, he pulled the blankets over your body. he tucked an extra pillow under your head. after deeming you comfortable enough, he turned around and flicked the light off. as his hand was on the doorknob, you called out to him. “thank you, tighnari,” you whispered, voice barely audible. 

he turned around, light green highlights in his hair turning harlequin with the light from outside the room. a smile crossed his face, shaking his head. “it was nothing. you’re welcome. y/n,” he said. “in the morning, i’ll order brunch for us. you want extra syrup for your pancakes, right?”

“yes, please,” you nodded. after a beat, you shifted slightly. quietly, you asked your roommate, “um, could you come over here really quick?” 

he obeyed, standing by your bedside. you paused, trying to rationalize what you were about to do. if it all went wrong, you could blame everything on your sleepiness. deciding you had nothing to lose, you looked up to his emerald green eyes. 

“do you mind sleeping next to me tonight?” you requested. “it’s just because...well, these last few weeks--” 

he cut you off, simply nodding. “of course i can. i noticed that something was up with you these last few weeks. you don’t have to say anything more.”

sidling next to you, he tucked himself under your covers. he curled up, legs close to his chest. his warmth radiated next to you, as he was only an inch away from your face. “good night, y/n,” he murmured, eyes already closed. “i hope you sleep well.”

you returned the sentiment after a moment, letting out a little breath. “good night. sleep well.”

silence occupied the air as the two of you laid in bed. you wondered why tighnari was so willing to get in bed with you. you almost entertained the thought that he might like you back, but you shook away the thought. after all, there was no use to building false hope. there was no harm in not letting tighnari not know about your little crush. 

still, you knew you would have to tell him eventually, whether it be next week or next year. looking over at him, his eyes were shut peacefully, and his chest rose and fell in even intervals. you decided that there was no harm in practicing confessing your love to him. 

“tighnari?” you murmured. he didn’t react, continuing to sleep steadily. swallowing, you spoke up a little louder. “thank you. i love you.” 

as you shut your eyes, you failed to notice his blush, or the smile on his face, or the way his ears twitched in delight. 

[royalelusts]

Can I request for headcanons of Obey Me cast (any of your choosing!) with a Teenage M!Reader? (Platonic!!)

Thank you so much in advance, Sam ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ If you don’t want to write it it’s fine! And I know I rarely ever say this, but I love your works so much 💞

im sorry this took a second. school has taken over my life. also thank you :) im glad you like this. it’s nice to hear every once and awhile <33

✰Luke

:O

ANOTHER CHILD

Just don't call him a chihuahua and you will be inseparable

If he isn't hanging around Simeon he’s by your side

Tries to stand up against demons for you

Key word tries

It usually ends up with you defending him

Constant sleepovers

If you have them at the house of lamentation Mammon or Beel will usually join in

If you want it just to be the two of you the best place is purgatory hall

He often comes to you for advice if he doesn't want to go to anyone else

Bakes you little pastries if he notices you’re feeling down

LOVES to listen to your stories from the human realm

Wants to go on a trip there with you one day

A cute little outing together for him to hold dear :)

When you defended him and Beel from Lucifer he could see that you were shaking

You were terrified but you put your life on the line for them

New level of respected unlocked

Made you stay over at purgatory hall for a few days after

✰Lucifer

Oh.

That’s unfortunate.

He can feel Diavolo’s eyes on him but shakes it off

Cause yeah

You both had a rocky start

Part of it was because of uneasy tension between you two for some reason

The main part was the the fact you called him grandpa

He is not that old!

Sure he was present during the celestial war but come on!

If he makes you mad mid-lecture you’ll call him a name

The first time it happened Mammon grabbed your arm ready to run at any moment

Lucifer stared at you for a second contemplating his life

You got grounded by a centuries year old demon

Congrats!

There was a time he was doing his nightly patrol and he saw you weren't in your room

To say he was annoyed was an understatement

Making his way toward the staircase to the attic he noticed the planetarium door was open

Peeping in he saw you asleep on one of the many couches curled into yourself

He felt himself soften a little much to his dismay (or was it?)

Walking over he scooped you up to bring you back to your room

He’ll take that to his grave though

(You know it was him who brought you back but decided to spare his pride)

Won't say it but you’re his son now

Brings you cut up fruit and tea when you’re studying

Looks out for you in his own little way

Eventually you trust him enough to talk about things that are bothering you with him

He offers his own input but mostly lets you talk

You’re the only one allowed in his room while he’s working or if he’s away

✰Solomon

HA-

The other human was a teenager?

Wants to be concerned for your safety but is mostly amused

As long as Diavolo says it fine then oh well

You kind of drifted towards him due to him being a human as well

Took it upon himself to help him out

…on the condition you became his apprentice

Gotta kill two birds with one stone

Partners in crime now!

(much to everyone's dismay)

He attempted to cook for you once

You took one glance at it and told him it was shit

>:0

Who knew his ego could be hurt by a mere mortal teenage boy

Somehow you ended up eating it (maybe he snuck it in or something)

Your stomach was in KNOTS😭😭

It got so bad you ended up passing out

Once you regained consciousness you gave him the silent treatment for WEEKS

Asked Luke to make you some treats cause he lowkey missed having you around

Another one you call grandpa

Instead of getting annoyed (like one demon we shall not name) he embraces it

Convinced you to change his contact name in your phone to that

You two stress everyone out

Well it’s mostly them worrying about you spending time with Solomon alone

But it’s quite nice when it’s just the two of you alone in his room

He teaches you all the basic little spells and tricks

Has a picture of the first time you did a configuration spell

You had the proudest smile on and he’s glad he got to witness it

He also taught you how to cast fire

Gotta add a little chaos into the mix