#now if i could just keep the meal DOWN that'd be GREAT

[munsonthings86]

sunshine

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

summary: a love-struck steve cooks you dinner for the first time

warnings: cursing, alcohol, bit of backstory, oversimplified summary, steve's parents kinda suck (when do they not), best friends to lovers, mutual pining, fluff, soft!steve

an: i think this is my favorite thing i’ve ever written. i'm so in love with these two. i hope you all enjoy this one as much as i do. * don���t copy my work * (also pretend there's a big city near hawkins for the sake of this pls)

wc: 6.0k

“Ow!” Steve hissed, nicking his finger yet again as he made his best effort to dice pesky onions. The knife was razor-sharp as it was fresh out of its packaging, having never been used yet. Frustrated, he squeezed the band-aid he'd spent a solid ten minutes looking for, tighter on his finger, earning a harsh sting.

"Goddamned knife," he whispered, tightlipped, but as soon as the complaint left his lips he wished to yank it back in. It was the chef's knife you'd bought him along with many other thoughtful housewarming gifts to celebrate Steve moving into his first apartment. Steve had insisted that you return some of the gifts, noting that "one gift was more than he could ever ask for".

In spite of his pleas, you didn't return a single gift. Of course, you didn't. You had bought items you knew Steve would need but would ultimately forget to buy for himself. Just to name a few, you'd gotten him a trash bin for his bathroom, a record player, and the best utensil set that the rest of your Family Video paycheck could buy.

Peering at the odd assortment of household objects you'd lugged into his barren apartment with a bright smile pulling at the corners of your lips, an expression of gratitude and bewilderment claimed his face. Steve's round, chestnut-brown eyes ogled yours as you ranted and raved, explaining your thought process behind each purchase.

The record player was for nights like these. Peaceful nights indoors, simply enjoying each other's company without the tense presence of his parents who would shout for him to turn that damn music down if he even thought about letting the needle hit the groove of the record.

"Now we can play music as loud and as much as we want to," he remembered you saying, blushing at your use of the word "we". Though you two were only best friends and have been since grade school, Steve couldn't help but fantasize about a life with you. You, drowning in one of his bigger-than-you t-shirts, prancing around the apartment as you listened to some your favorite records.

He'd begun pondering on how he would rearrange the bit of furniture he had, that'd allow for space for your belongings as well, before you lured him out of his thoughts, defending the bin.

From what he gathered, you bought the garbage bin due to his burning inability to keep his bathroom clean. Steve was someone who took great care of his appearance, always well-kempt and attentive to even the smallest of details.

His bathroom did not reflect this, whatsoever. He had a bad habit of harboring empty cans and bottles of Farrah Fawcett spray that littered the already limited counter space he had in his en suite bathroom.

Steve was such a boy when it came to tidiness.

Everyone knew that about Steve, though. What they didn’t know, however, was how skilled he was in a kitchen. After being left to his lonesome whenever his parents would venture off to one of their many business trips, Steve spent his nights learning to cook after his allowance dwindled and he couldn't afford pizza delivery anymore. The second he'd clock in for his shift at Family Video, he'd make a beeline to where you stood, stocking VHS tapes, and instantly began buzzing and bustling about the new recipe he tried the night before.

You had begged him to let you come over one night to taste one of his home-cooked meals, but his response was always the same. "You can't rush perfection, sweets. But I promise, when I'm ready to grace the world with my master chef skills, you'll be the first to know."

You would roll your eyes dramatically at him but admittedly, you felt a sense of pride wash over you whenever Steve would tell you about his cooking endeavors. It may not seem like a big deal to others, but you knew how much his parents being so negligent, so often, bothered him.

Though they were never the most warm and affectionate, there seemed to be a colder chill and heavier sense of loneliness in the house when they were gone. That's why you never denied Steve whenever he'd call late at night asking if it was okay to spend the night at your house.

He always felt at home there.

Steve learning to cook for himself meant that his parents' absence was finally beginning to help him grow; no longer craving validation and tenderness from his family. He got that when he was with you. That's what the utensil set was for. A silent sign saying that though his parents weren't there, you were.

"Don't get me wrong, sunshine, I love the gift, but why's this knife so funny looking?" Steve asked, squinting his eyes at the sharp object that looked like it was from some alien universe. It had three square-like holes infiltrating the blade, and the tip came to an up-turned point that split in two. The handle was the only average looking part about it.

"That, my friend, is a cheese knife," you answered matter-of-factly, gazing at the box that had all of the included utensils neatly labeled.

"They make knives specifically for cheese?"

"Apparently, yeah," you snorted, tossing the empty box off to the side of the room with the other discarded cardboard that you made a mental note to move to the recycling bin on your way out. Steve never recycled. Bad habit he picked up from his parents, you figured.

"Well, I can't wait to use my weird new knife. Thank you. Seriously," Steve smiled softly as he watched you with those big brown eyes that voiced his gratitude and sentiment louder than his words ever could.

"The best weird chef has to have the best weird equipment. You're welcome," you grinned, toying with the loose thread dangling from your distressed band tee, as your eyes collided with Steve’s.

Looking at Steve was hard.

In the midst of quiet and almost intimate moments like these, the nerves bolting through your body screamed at you to look anywhere else, but the greed of your heart yearned for you to keep drinking in the deep chocolate pools that were Steve Harrington's eyes.

The two of you gazed at each other for another second, though it felt identical to a blissful eternity, until Steve furrowed his eyebrows after registering what you'd just uttered. "Did you just call me weird?" He asked, hand on his hip as if he's offended, though he truthfully isn't because he's positive you're infinitely weirder than he is, and he's more than willing to debate with you for hours on that topic.

"Nooo," you sang, quickly turning away to distract yourself with some unpacking that Steve had called you over to help him with, which you happily agreed to. A little extra time with him was time well spent.

"Yeah, okay," he rolled his eyes. He happily tucked away the flashy silverware he'd poached from his parent's kitchen into the darkest corner of the drawer, leaving the less flashy but much more appreciated utensils you bought him, front and center, ready to be shown off.

"Oh those? My best friend got them for me. Aren't they nice? Did you know they make knives for cheese?" He imagined himself saying, hoping he'd get the opportunity to boast about them to his guests some time soon.

Steve smiled to himself at the memory, angling the cutting board that harbored a pile of diced onions that he'd at last conquered, into a bowl, sliding them off with the blade of a knife that was a lot less odd shaped compared to his trusty cheese knife. It didn't even have to be that specific memory. It could've been any imagery of you being the effortlessly sarcastic, intelligent, breath-taking person that you were, and it would be the warm light to inevitably guide him out of whatever dark mood that dared to plague him.

Steve was so helplessly in love with you.

April 14, 1978, he could never forget the day, was particularly dreary. So dreary it made Steve begin to question why the spring time was thought to be such a radiant, pleasant season when all it ever did was bring rain and provoke people with allergies. Steve slammed his blaring alarm off with a groan, never bothering to pry open his tired eyes.

The sky was dark and dreadful, concealing the golden rays of the sun he yearned to see. As he trudged through the house, reluctantly gearing himself up for yet another torturous day of middle school, Steve silently prayed for some unorthodox happenstance that would call for the canceling of school.

But much to his dismay, that wasn't the case.

When the bell pierced through the classroom speakers, alerting the beginning of Steve's favorite class, P.E., he rushed to the locker room, jumping into his gym uniform, as he was determined to continue his unfaltering streak of dodgeball victories.

Steve was in the zone, taking out his opponents left and right as if it was nothing. If dodgeball was an Olympic sport, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he could've won multiple gold medals.

Then you came.

Sauntering into sixth grade gym class, adorning a lengthy, bright yellow dress with your hair done up, looking as anxious as can be. It was your first day at Hawkins Middle and you'd just transferred halfway into the semester, all thanks to your parents decision to move to the small town, leaving New York City and all your friends behind.

Everyone turned their curious heads to peer at you, whispering amongst each other, prompting you to clutch your books tighter to your chest as if to shield yourself. Your soft smile as you looked around at your new classmates instantly made Steve's chest and stomach warm and gooey inside, making him want nothing more than to walk up to you and convince you to be his friend. Steve hated how gossipy his classmates were, as it clearly made you uncomfortable, but he couldn't bring himself to look away either.

The way the illuminous medallion hue complimented your skin tone was nothing short of art. To him, you were the sun personified. The sun he was so eager to see.

Due to your lack of sports attire, Coach Daniels had you sit on the bleachers, watching as the other kids resumed their game of dodgeball after mumbling a "warm" welcome to you, per Coach's request.

Steve lost his first game of dodgeball that day. He just couldn't seem to focus when you were perched just a few feet away, thumbing through your withered book, looking like one of the prettiest girls he'd ever laid his adolescent eyes on. Steve, or the boy with the hella good hair as you dubbed him in your diary later on that night, was too enamored with you to be bothered by the taunts coming from his friends. He jogged over to you, offering to keep you company until fourth period began, which you happily accepted.

And ever since then, the two of you have been as thick as thieves.

"Hawkins PD, open up!" Steve recognized your muffled voice, though you deepened it, to imitate a police officer. Your signature three knocks followed, urging butterflies to erupt throughout his stomach, as he longed to see you. It couldn't have been more than twenty-four hours since the two of you had last seen each other, but even one hour without you was an hour way too long for poor Steve.

"It's open", Steve called, tossing a hand towel over his shoulder, setting the stove ablaze, planting a pot over the flame. Right on time, he thought.

"Hey, Harrington," you smiled as you struggled to enter, cradling two bottles of rosé wine and your purse in your arms, pushing the door open with the help of your hip.

"Hey, sunshine. Lemme get those for ya," Steve offered, stowing your bearings on the counter gently, while you kicked your shoes off, mumbling a "thanks".

A warm amber light casted from the ceiling of the kitchen spilled into the shadowy living room a few feet away, like a neglected can of paint. The only thing that remained un-melted by the darkness was the quiet record player, as if the generous light knew you'd be looking for it the minute you walked in.

"How was your day?" Steve smirked as he watched you rush over to the object he swore was the only reason you liked to come over, sifting through the vinyl's searching for your favorite one. What’s Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner. Steve spotted it before you did. Absentmindedly, you responded, “Not too shabby, ya know? How was yours?”

“Yeah, it was alright.”

You crouched down to the two tier storage table, running a finger across the spines of the records, searching for your beloved song. It quickly became the song you most adored when you'd bought the tape for your Walkman a few years prior. Your days weren't complete unless you played the song at least twice, so much so that Steve found himself quietly humming the song to himself whenever he'd miss you. He even caught himself doing that dumb little finger dance you normally did whenever you listened to a song you really liked. He'd never tell you that, though.

Much to your dismay, you couldn't seem to spy that sneaky record. You dropped your hand disappointedly, faintly fearsome that it'd been misplaced. Steve's apartment wasn't huge, but it wasn't exactly tidy either. “It’s right there, sweets. To your left.” So you diverted your attention to the left. No Tina Turner. “No, your other left.”

“Here?” you pointed. Steve hummed in confirmation.

“Well, that’s not the left, Steve. That’s the right,” was your response that you punctuated with a roll of your tired eyes. Apart from knowing how to get to Skull Rock with his eyes closed, the boy had zero sense of direction. It was something you found both endearing and infuriating. It depended on the day, really.

“Potato, potahto.” Oh, Steve. Melting butter into the burning pan in front of him that he almost completely forgot about, all thanks to your beautiful presence, he began sautéing his diced onions along with some fresh garlic. "Well, speaking of 'potahtoes' you need to be cooking some, 'cause you promised me dinner tonight," you smiled tight-lipped, cocking your head at an angle.

You felt the unpleasant sensation of your stomach growling, cursing you, at the heavenly thought of food as your shift at Family Video earlier today was unforgiving to your non-existent breakfast. You fumbled with the vinyl a bit as the mouthwatering aroma of home cooking stormed your senses and Steve spoke once more. "Feisty today, aren't we?"

"Just a tad," you laughed quietly.

"Well, I hate to disappoint you but tonight we're not having potatoes. I'm making your favorite," he pointed, shuffling the pan to give it a gentle stir. He made sure to turn to face you in time to see your hopefully delighted reaction. "Alfredo?!" you spun around with a glittering grin, almost knocking over Steve's plant. A fake one, of course. A real plant was a bit too much responsibility for him.

At the nod of his head, your cheesy smile soften to a smaller, less toothy one as you watched Steve while he resumed cooking. What you failed to share with your best friend was that the last phrase you'd actually use to describe your day was "not too shabby". Besides waking up almost an entire hour past the start of your shift (Keith made sure to give you an earful about that) and everyone and their mother in town deciding to be at Family Video today, it seemed like your day was never-ending. The only thing keeping your mood from turning stink to sour was the idea of going to see Steve.

Steve was kind of magical in that way. Anger, sadness, anxiety, you name it, it was no match for Steve. Though he was no poet, he had this way with words that would never fail to make you feel so comforted. So safe. Any instance where Steve had to talk you out of whatever mental turmoil you were enduring, it felt you were being endlessly wrapped in a cozy, tight blanket, sheltering you from all the darkness.

How Steve knew you were having a shit day and needed your favorite meal along with your favorite boy? Lord knows. His ability to read you without even needing to be near you was nothing short of wizardry. But like you said. Steve was magical.

"You're the best," you proclaimed, prompting a mumbled sly remark from your chef for the evening, before the music began. Being here, along with the divine sound of Tina's ethereal voice and pasta boiling in water, was more than enough to make you feel like you were right at home, though your true address was miles away. When the time to depart would make its cursed arrival, it was never easy to leave, especially with the way Steve begged for you to stay, using those unfairly adorable puppy dog eyes that paired beautifully with his lengthy lashes, against you.

And it always worked. Well, not always. You had some degree of self-control. But more times than not, you couldn't help but to cave in to his protests. How could you resist? It was Steve.

With a satisfied grin that carved deep smile lines into his blushing cheeks, he'd tuck his sheets snug around your body, repeatedly asking you if you were comfortable enough. His bed was cloud-like, plush and doughy and his pillows smelled like his shampoo and conditioner, a hint of cologne on his comforter. It was like you were trapped in a cocoon of Steve. You wanted to tell him you were beyond comfortable, that there, in his bed, you were in just about your favorite place on Earth but, habitually, you concluded that a simple nod would suffice.

Crawling onto the empty space beside you, he made sure to face you, leaving a soft squeeze on your shoulder before humming "G'night, sunshine," closing his eyes and tucking his hands under his head. And like always, Steve was a perfect gentleman, dead set on never getting under the covers himself when you'd sleep over.

Guilt would disrupt your relaxation at the sight of the brisk night chill building little hills on his freckled arms, though you selfishly loved the way he'd cuddle up to steal some of your body heat. His plump lips would part as he drifted into a peaceful slumber, light snores and chirping crickets being your lullaby.

You hoped to have another night like that soon.

In the midst of times like those, storms of wonder and doubt raged on. Was Steve like this with everyone else? Were you being silly thinking that you and Steve could be more than friends? Being Steve's best friend for nearly a decade, you knew he wasn't exactly a prude. His King Steve era was honestly one of your least favorites. Though he reserved his usual tenderness and affection all for you, you've witnessed a whole slew of girls enter and leave Steve's life, and none of them looked like you.

You wanted nothing more than to be one of the girls he'd have leaned up against his locker, arm resting next to their head, cheeks fanned by his minty breath as he whispered honeyed words. You craved dates at the drive-in theater in Steve's burgundy 1983 BMW only to neglect the movie and end up making out, like he did with other girls.

When Steve would bring his latest lover around, desperately, you did your damnedest to bury your jealousy and and fill its grave with merriment for him, because if anyone deserved to be happy, it was Steve. But the girls at school only wanted to be with Steve because of his status and all the flashy things he could buy them.

The flashy things were dull to you, though.

You wanted to be with Steve because you wanted to hold his hand and press soft kisses to his cheek. To hug him a little tighter and little longer than a best friend normally would. To run your fingers through his fluffy hair whenever he would grow stressed because you knew it calmed him down. To make him breakfast in bed when he was sick and even when he wasn't. To love him your fullest potential.

But you had to settle for this. Calves tucked under your thighs with a blanket draped over your legs as you stared off into space, longing for someone you thought you couldn't have, not knowing he was stealing glances of you wondering what was running through your pretty little head.

Resting your arm against the back of the sofa, holding your head up, your lips were downturned in a pout, eyebrows pulled together as you studied the throw pillow a few inches away from you. A little pillow can't be that interesting, something has to be bothering you, he thought. He was unapologetically curious to know if pressing his lips against your own would make that frown melt into that sweet smirk you usually had.

Steve hated when you were unhappy. It made his mind race. Did someone say something to you? Did someone do something to you? Did you eat today? How was your shift? Why did you lie when you said your day "wasn't too shabby"? Obviously it was shabby. Look at your face. That tired and troubled, cute little face. What can he do to fix it? You were his sunshine, you deserved to be happy, always.

Giving the pot a final stir and turning the flame off, Steve carelessly tossed the grease-stained hand towel flopped over his shoulder, down by the sink, strolling over to where he'd earlier set down the two bottles of wine. White Zinfandel. Neither you or Steve were wine connoisseurs, but when you called Nancy panicking about how extensive the selection at the liquor store was, she swore by it.

Balancing two glasses and a single bottle of the rose-tinted alcohol, Steve took an extra glance at your face, deciding to scoop up the second bottle into his arms. By the looks of it, it was gonna be one of those nights.

You tried to hide your smile as you noticed he was coming over, a slight grin on his face as he set the glasses down. You and him both knew he was only coming to cause trouble. He set the delicate haul down on to the thrifted wooden coffee table in front of you, slipping you one of those comforting 'Steve smiles' he usually did.

Like the forgotten towel, he threw himself down on the couch next to you, warm hand having a much softer landing on the plush of your thigh; a familiar and welcomed touch. Habitually, you curled up closer to him, no longer able to hide your smile.

"Why so glum, chum?" He tilted his chin down, slightly poking his bottom lip out, as he looked at you through batting eyelashes.

Laughing through your nose and subsequently parading a grin that displayed nothing but teeth and hollow happiness, you remarked, "What do you mean? Don't you see me smiling?"

You were fooling absolutely no one. Steve knew you were sad. And, goddamn it, he was gonna get it out of you.

"You know exactly what I mean, you weren't smiling just a few seconds ago until I came over. You're welcome, by the way, I'm flattered that I have such an effect on you," he smirked, placing a hand on his chest in gratitude.

"Okay, now I'm glum again," you roll your eyes at his not-so discreet cockiness. You hid your face in your hands, resting your forehead on Steve's shoulder. It was hard with muscle, but soft with tenderness and safety. "I was smiling at the wine, for your information."

The palm of your hand that pressed against your face muffled your words, but Steve could still understand what you said, it was evident in the way your tone was laced with satire.

"Ah, yes, that makes way more sense" Steve replied, monotone. His thumb began coasting along your skin as he urged you, "Alright, jokes aside. How are you really feeling?"

Hoisting your head up, you almost answered before he continued, "And don't give me that 'not too shabby' crap 'cause that frown you had going on earlier already snitched on ya."

When the hell did he get so observant? Steve was no idiot, but sometimes things needed to be spelled out for him. But come to think of it, you never had to spell things out for Steve whenever it came to you. He just always had a way of knowing.

"I don't know, Steve. Honestly. Some days are just a bit tougher than others. Today was one of those days," you murmured, avoiding the attentive gaze he was burning into your shifty eyes.

He slowly nodded as he processed your words, head falling on top of yours as you again found comfort on his shoulder. His eyes fluttered shut as you began mimicking the affection he was giving you on your thigh, rubbing his arm through the creamy cotton material of his crewneck. You hadn't seen it before. This one was new. So were the jeans he'd paired with it.

"Why're you dressed so nice, Harrington?"

He laughed more to himself than to you. "Well, the food can't be the only thing that looks good, you know? Wanted to look nice too. It's our first dinner together, after all," he mumbled the last bit.

Steve felt the skin around your eyes tighten against his shoulder as your eyebrows scrunched together. "We've had dinner together before, though."

"This one's different," he replied, almost instantly. You'd hoped Steve's eyes were still closed so that he wouldn't see the bashfulness you were weathering, plucking the corners of your lips into a soft smile.

A silence fell between the two of you. Not unusual. Not awkward. Never unusual or awkward. There was a mutual cherishment of moments like these. Shamelessly invading each other's personal space on the couch as if it was made to only fit one person, music playing lowly the distance, but preferring to listen to the sound of the other's breathing.

"How can I make you feel better, sunshine?" Steve questioned, voice still hushed. The volume of your voice wasn't much louder as you responded, thoughtlessly, "You don't have to ask me that. You make me feel better without even trying."

"Oh yeah?" He craned his neck so that his head was impossibly closer to yours, awaiting your confirmation. Steve knew that you enjoyed his company, as he did yours, but he was only joking earlier when he gushed about having such an effect on you. It was now his turn to hide his blush, when you hum, nodding your head fervently.

These were the warm moments that confused you so much more than any subject in school ever did. And unbeknownst to you, it messed with Steve's head too. He'd never been this close with anyone before. Especially not with any of his "girlfriends" in the past. Sure, they'd cuddle and talk about their feelings. But it never felt the way it does with you. Steve was in love with you. It was hopeless.

And he had to make it known. Soon. If not, he swore he'd explode.

"Ready to eat?"

"Mhm," you buzzed, untangling yourself from the envelop of Steve. As he pressed his knuckles into the sofa, willing himself up, you reached for the bottle of wine and a glass, but your hand only made it so far until it felt the sting of a petty swipe from the boy next to you. "Ah ah, missy, dinner first. Lord knows how many hours its been since you last ate."

You snorted, "Relax, it hasn't been that long."

"Oh yeah? When was the last time?" He looked at you with raised eyebrows and an expression that said he already knew your answer was going to be ridiculous. And if there was anything you learned tonight, it was that Steve was highly skilled at knowing when you were lying, so instead, you left him with a goofy smile and giggle that told him he was absolutely right in his assumption.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," the spot where he sat went cold as he left to the kitchen, fixing two plates for the both of you. You moved the drinks and glasses over to the dining table, using a nearby lighter to ignite the accompanying lavender and vanilla scented candles. Tina Turner's vinyl was replaced with Tears for Fears' album Songs from The Big Chair instead, as Steve used his elbow to dim the kitchen lights, hands full with heavy plates of pasta.

"Oh my gosh, this looks so good! Good job, Stevie," you cheered, as he set your plate down in front of you, pouring you a much needed glass of wine. Your hands shook with hunger or excitement, or both, as you picked up your fork, ready to dig in. "Yeah, don't get too psyched yet. Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks."

"I'm sure it does."

His knee rests against yours as he sits adjacent to you, gathering food on his fork, though his eyes are peering at you, awaiting your verdict. The mouthwatering smell of garlic, butter, cheese and other heaven-sent elements overwhelm your nose and you feel like you can't eat it soon enough. You pause for a beat and so does his heart, hand over your messy mouth as you chew. Steve's hand twitches as he contemplates wiping the sauce from the corners of your lips and licking his finger clean.

"Steve," you begin, eyes flickering shut. "I'm gonna need you to cook for me every night. This is so fucking good." The tension in his face eases at your palpable delight, mission well accomplished. He was proud of himself. Very proud. Almost as much as you were of him.

You throw your head back, the purest form of satisfaction consuming you. "I'm glad you like it, I've been trying to nail it for weeks," Steve laughs, finally taking a bite for himself.

"Well, you've succeeded," you beam, washing it down with a sip of wine. Everybody Wants to Rule the World begins playing and you smile at Steve, knowing it was his favorite song at the moment. You nod your head along as Steve hums. A truly peaceful pocket in time.

Through the large windows opening the living room to the rest of Hawkins, you had the perfect view of the bright lights and mountainous buildings from the neighboring city. It was like the sky had flipped on its axis and the stars weren't in the sky anymore, they were among the trees and high rise properties.

"Steve, look how pretty," you point towards the window as his gaze shifts from you to raindrop-riddled glass. "I love being able to see the city so close. Sucks that we can't see the stars, though. I've always wanted to go stargazing."

"Yeah, I remember you mentioning that a while ago. We gotta go one of these days," he replied, shoving a forkful of alfredo into his mouth.

"Oh, did you wanna go too?"

He shrugs his shoulders, chewing before speaking, "Eh, I'm not really a big stars guy. Besides, if I wanna see a pretty little light, all I gotta do is look at you," he says inattentively, going right back to eating as if he hadn't just said the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to you.

"Shut up, Harrington," you roll your eyes, letting out a half-hearted laugh as you take your last bite. How could he flirt with you so easily? So carelessly? Couldn't he see that you loved him and that whenever he says things like that it does something to you? Clueless boy.

"I'm serious. Why do you think I always call you sunshine?" He replies, not a hint of irony in his face.

"Steve," you warn, sitting back in your chair. You didn't know where this conversation was going, and you'd be damned if you got your hopes up for what you always got whenever you did: absolutely nothing.

"It's why I love when you wear yellow. Reminds me of the first time I ever saw you," he pressed. He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Clueless girl.

"Steve," your voice wavered. "What? Why do you keep saying my name like that?" He laughed, dryly.

He grew worried that he was saying too much. Saying things that a person shouldn't say to their best friend. He took a sip of his wine. Then another. Then another. He was considering just downing the whole glass. Maybe he was saying too much.

Screw that, he was in love with you.

"What're you saying to me right now?" You charged, voice a little harsher than what you'd intended, but you demanded an answer. A straightforward one. "I'm saying that I'm done hiding it."

"Hiding what?"

"That I love you."

The revelation yanks your parted lips shut, unsure of what to say next. You had dreamed for what felt like a lifetime for Steve to say those words to you and at last, it was no longer a dream, but instead reality. The rapid pace of your heartbeat could be felt in your chest and ears, and the butterflies in your stomach were more wild and untamed than ever before.

Steve's eyes didn't leave yours, though the stillness from you was killing him. The silence between you two that was once never awkward or unusual, was now painful and nearly unbearable.

Your dilated pupils scanned over his face, relentlessly. The jokey, teasing grin that he often sported when he was messing with you was unaccounted for. Holy shit. The gate to your thoughts opened once more. "You're serious," you whispered.

"How could I not be?" Steve watched you with adoring eyes, the warm light of the candle giving the melted chocolatey pond the sweetest infusion of honey.

"Kiss me."

Forks and butter knives fall to the ground with several, loud unpleasant clanks as Steve leans over the square dining table, hungrily pressing his lips against yours. His lips are garlicky and a little chapped, as yours probably are as well, yet the kiss is nothing short of perfect.

His mouth does a passionate dance against yours as you follow his lead, embracing the plush little pillows with your own. It was both everything you've imagined it'd be and nothing like you'd thought at the same time. You already knew Steve was an amazing kisser. Anyone who went to Hawkins High knew it. But experiencing it for yourself was completely different and new. It was euphoric.

The two of you have to reluctantly pull yourselves off of each other to catch your breaths. This moment was a long time coming.

Steve's hands are still holding onto to either side of your face, unwilling to let you go just yet. Truly savoring every second of the present. His breath fans across your cupid's bow, as he smiles against your lips. "You drive me crazy, you know that?"

Giggling, you wrap your palms and fingers around his wrists, rubbing your nose on his. "Sorry," you shrug, feeling his thumbs caress your warm cheeks.

"Don't be," he shakes his head, engulfing your soft lips into another kiss.

message from jojo: pls comment and reblog if you enjoyed! it means a lot <3

[everythingisromant1c]

It's Always Been You - Chapter 12

james potter x fem!reader

summary - Things hadn't gotten much better with James, and you knew you could only go so long without talking to him—after all, he was still your best friend. But, considering all that'd happened, along with some encouragement from your friends, you knew the time had come to finally admit you wanted more than that.

wc [6.2k]

a/n: alr guys ... very happy and also sad to say this is the last chapter of it's always been you!! :( i've loved every minute of writing this series as well as sharing it (its become my baby atp), and it is definitely because of all the love and support everyone reading has given it. thank u to everyone stuck around to this point, & i hope u guys enjoy this last chapter!! i send all my hugs and kisses <3 - e

all chapters | <- Chapter 11

It'd been another hour or two until everyone had fully returned from Hogsmeade and dinner was being served in the Great Hall. You finally changed out of your dress and into your everyday clothing again, already feeling better, but that didn't mean you felt good. You didn't think you could feel good when both your brain and heart were hurting like they were. And worst of all, the one person you'd go to in times like these for comfort was the same person you couldn't go to. Not now.

The girls had been doing their best to get your mind off of everything that had happened that day, aside from when Marlene profusely apologized to you for letting Potter hear her outburst in the common room.

"Although, I have to say," she admitted afterward. "I'm not completely sorry for him that he had to hear it. I may be brutal but I never tell a lie."

That fact didn't leave you as you sat with her and Lily in the Great Hall for dinner, a number of seats away from the other Marauders. You recognized with a skip in your heartbeat that James was with them, surprisingly enough since you knew how he was accustomed to skipping meals in the dining hall when he wanted to be alone, a habit you both unfortunately shared. But that didn't mean he was enjoying himself either.

You could see even from your seat down the table that he wasn't saying much, mostly keeping to himself quietly, something so out of character for him yet you'd seen him do it constantly the entire week. You wanted to yell at him and shake him silly, but you also wanted to hug him. When you caught yourself in the midst of those thoughts you turned back to your own spot at the table shamefully.

You tried to force yourself to eat, catching your friends' concerned looks at your full plate, but you didn't feel much like it. Especially not when you still felt maybe a dozen pairs of eyes on you from every corner of the Great Hall.

Even with all that'd happened since just that morning, the rumors and whatever else people had come up with to talk about had not yet been forgotten about by the school like your friends said it would be. Then you thought about whether news had spread of your disastrous date in Hogsmeade, and prayed that nobody had caught wind of that incident either. You didn't think you could handle any more of the staring.

Immediately after you had that thought, you spotted a fifth-year in Ravenclaw robes walking past your table, watching as he blatantly pointed at you as he spoke to his friend, and you looked down at your plate with hardened eyes.

You heard Marlene scoff from next to you. "Hey!" she called to the boy. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to point?"

The fifth-year didn't respond to her but looked to his friend, hurriedly taking a seat at his own table, his whispers being drowned out in the loudness of the dining hall.

Marlene fumed from next to you. "I can't believe these people. Are they really that bored with their own lives that they're so obsessed with a bloody rumor?"

You shook your head toying with your fork. "Just ignore them. That's what I've settled on doing."

She sighed from beside you and you thought that'd be the end of everything, until you heard gasps from down the table. You looked up and followed the sounds and were met with a sight not even the magic of Hogwarts could've prepared you for.

James—your James—had stood up on the bench he'd once been sitting in, and you thanked Merlin he wasn't standing fully on the table; though you had absolutely no idea what he could possibly be up to, you knew it couldn't be anything good. He cupped a hand to his mouth as your heartrate picked up.

"Can I have everyone's attention?"

He didn't have to ask twice for it. His voice boomed out loudly, something that seemed to come naturally to him, and the noise in the Great Hall had died out in a mere second until it was almost completely silent—quiet enough for you to hear the beating of your heart in your chest as you looked up at him. Your throat went dry.

"Not that it's any of anyone's business," he started confidently to the hundreds of eyes now looking at him, tone nothing but sober. "But nothing happened in the broom closet. Or in the locker room."

You felt the churning in your stomach claw up into your throat, then felt it drop back down, keeping you stationed in your seat. He didn't give much context to his declaration, but with the popularity of the topic amongst the school, it didn't seem like he needed to. His voice almost seemed to echo, all other noises drowning out as everyone stared up at him. James looked around the entire room appearing completely unafraid and you didn't know how the hell he did it; you probably looked more fearful than him.

"So," he began again, "I don't want to see or hear anyone talking about those rumors any longer. And if anyone has a problem with that, they can answer to me. Alright?"

Of course, nobody said anything then, but you could see in their eyes that they were going to listen to him. Or at least, they'd make sure they didn't get caught going against him. Maybe it was from his impenetrably confident voice or his respected status around the school, you weren't sure, but he had that unique effect on people in an almost effortless way.

When it was clear he'd gotten his point across, he scanned his eyes over the sea of students until they found yours. In a dizzying way, it felt like you were the only two in the room for a moment, as cliché as the thought sounded in your head.

You didn't know what had motivated him to do what he did, but you could see in his eyes something fragile that juxtaposed the self-assured look they'd had only seconds ago. He looked away again and stepped back down to floor level once more, not taking a moment before striding out of the Great Hall, his form disappearing seconds after.

Even without his physical presence, his action seemed to linger over the room for a moment more before chatter broke out once again. You were still frozen in place, not knowing if moving would finalize the idea that whatever just happened was real and not just part of some wild dream.

Marlene had confirmed that it definitely had happened, however, when she turned to you with her jaw dropped, an amazed but delighted sparkle in her eye. "Someone tell me you saw that too."

"Oh we saw it," rang Lily, who also looked much too happy about that fact, probably just relieved James's antics weren't centered on her for once. You could see them both staring at you expectantly, waiting for you to react. You could also see the boys in your peripheral, the three of them remaining at the table searching your face for a reaction.

Yet, all you could do was stand up and walk hurriedly towards the exit. Dozens of conversations rushed past your ears as you did, a blur of remarks ranging from "Potter's lost it" to "He's so bloody fit." Whatever they were saying, you noted with gratefulness in the back of your mind that none of the conversations were about you.

You reached the doorway and stopped once you were a safe distance away in the hallway, heaving breaths in for a moment to yourself before finding that you weren't alone. All of your friends had followed you without blinking an eye, and you didn't know whether you found it endearing or inconvenient. Though, to be fair, you didn't know where you were going. You just knew you couldn't sit there and pretend as if nothing had happened.

You blinked at the three boys who neared you with puzzled looks on each of their faces. "Did you guys know anything about this?"

"No," promised Sirius. "In fact, James has hardly said anything to us since this morning."

You shook your head to yourself, feeling breathless. "I can't ... believe he would do that."

"Really?" Lily stared at you. "I mean, it's Potter we're talking about. It's exactly something he would do."

You couldn't fight the smile that tugged on the corners of your lips even as you shook your head. You ran a hand over your hair as the blonde from next to you hit you in the shoulder.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" You frowned over at her as she stared at you expectantly. "Go to him."

You stilled, gaping at her. "What?"

"Go to him. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

You tipped your head at her like it would help you understand her better, parting your drying lips. "I thought you said he was a selfish git." You heard Remus snort from beside you.

"I did, sure," reasoned Marlene, not without a hint of pride. "But only because I thought he was ruining your chances of moving on now that you were over him. But seriously, I can see your face when you look at him." She shook her head. "That's not the look of someone who wants to move on."

Your eyes flickered over her face as she spoke, an infinite number of thoughts overtaking you. In the silence of your thinking, a Hufflepuff boy walked past the six of you in the hallway, staring all the while.

"What are you looking at?" snapped Marlene, turning to him without missing a beat. "Did you not just hear Potter?"

Like he'd heard him loud and clear, and also like he was scared of Marlene, he hurried away with his head bent forward. Satisfied, the blonde turned back to you. At your conflicted expression, she asked, "Well?"

You chewed on the inside of your cheek. "It's just that," you began, not even knowing where you were going with your rambling. "I've spent so long trying to get over him. It's not fair to myself to just forget all of that, and it definitely wasn't fair to Sebastian-"

"For Merlin's sake," cut in Lily, to your surprise. "You keep talking about what's fair and what's unfair, but what about you? What do you want?"

You stared at her, beginning to feel breathless under the eyes of all your friends. "It's not just about what I want. It's not that simple."

"But what if it is?" she questioned. "I know how difficult this has all been for you. And I know you said Potter doesn't just get to realize his feelings for you and suddenly be with you, that it doesn't work like that. But what if it does?" She raised her hands at her sides. "Not everything is a perfect story to tell. Especially not when it comes to you two. It's not every day you fall in love with your best friend and he finally sees that he's fallen for you too. Are you seriously going to let him go because of some made-up system of rules?"

Your breath was becoming staggering now, and you didn't know what to think, because everything they were telling you sounded so right.

"I don't know," you began unsurely. "Of course, I don't want to lose him. Not talking to him for the past week has been harder than I ever could've imagined. I don't even know what it would feel like to have to do it for longer than I already have been." You blinked down at your shoes, truly realizing those things at the same rate you said them. "I think I just ... miss him."

"Of course you miss him." Marlene looked at you sympathetically. "That's why I think you should go tell all this to him."

You felt bile rising in your throat. "I don't even know if he'd want to see me after all we've said to each other."

"Are you joking?" Remus butted in exasperatedly. "Prongs is bloody in love with you. Can't you see that?"

"Remus," you warned softly because you didn't know how much more of this hope you could take before you did something you'd regret.

"I'm telling the truth." His voice was heavy with meaning. "Maybe it took him a while to realize it himself, but the rest of us have had to sit back and watch you both act like you don't have feelings for each other for years. Believe me, the only reason he's in his room right now and not with you is because he thinks that's what you want."

Your brows pinched. "You can't truly know that."

"Really?" he laughed. "What do you think we talked about that night Vance asked you out?"

Your expression faltered and you forced yourself to think back to the night James had begun acting distant from you, though it wasn't difficult to, the storyline of it all clicking into place in your head.

"You," breathed Remus. "We talked about you."

"Not to mention," Sirius added, "we're the ones who've had to spend every night in our dorm listening to him bitch and moan about Vance this and Vance that." You swallowed at your friends' words, but they didn't quit.

"And we know James was being a right idiot today," Sirius insisted honestly. "But you should've seen him this morning right after you two argued. He was heartbroken. More than he'd ever been over Evans." He turned to the redhead in question. "No offense, Evans."

Lily rolled her eyes lightheartedly. "Trust me, Black, none taken."

He nodded and turned back to you swiftly. "So for you to think that James would want anything other than to fix things with you and just be with you is bloody mental."

You stared at all of your friends who were looking so determinedly back at you that you didn't think you could tell them 'no' now. But still, your feet didn't budge.

"It's not just that," you almost whispered. "I guess I'm just ... scared. What if it goes wrong and we get into some ridiculous fight again? What then?"

Marlene took a hold of your shoulders, slightly scaring you in her resoluteness. "Potter just stood up and yelled at the entire bloody school and you're trying to tell us you'rescared?" She shook you a little, and your friends smirked from behind her. "Be a Gryffindor for Godric's sake! Go to him!"

Before you could say anything more, she was turning you around and shoving you a little until you had the momentum you needed to take steps toward the Gryffindor common room. You made it all the way up the nearest set of steps before you paused, turning back to your friends with a grateful smile.

"Thank you, you guys." You expected them to share the sweet moment with you, but they only rolled their eyes.

"Go, woman!" Sirius groaned, and you rolled your eyes back at them, but it lacked any real annoyance.

You didn't know exactly what you were planning on doing, but you didn't have time to think about it because your legs were carrying you speedily through the halls in your anxious state and wouldn't let you stop until you reached the portrait entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Taking a steadying breath in, you said the password and entered the room.

With everyone else still being at dinner in the Great Hall, it wasn't exactly difficult to find James. He sat in the common room, his brunette head of curls visible to you in the low light. They covered the majority of his face that you could see, his head tipped downwards with his elbows resting on his knees. That changed within the blink of an eye as you entered the room, his head swiftly lifting until he locked eyes with you, and you had to fight a shiver at the feeling it sent shuddering through you.

He seemed to think you were just going to go to your own dorm and ignore him, and he averted his eyes to look somewhere else, maybe the fireplace, until you left—but you didn't. You only walked closer to him until you were separated by only one of the couches, the distance still small enough to make your breathing quicken.

At the soundlessness of your stilled footsteps, James looked back up and met your eyes again, and he swallowed. Clearly, he hadn't expected you to make any move to talk to him that night, even after the scene he'd made in the Great Hall. The problem was that you hadn't expected yourself to either, and now you didn't know what you wanted to say first, because there were certainly a million things you had to make sure he knew.

"Thank you," you said, because you figured it was a good place to start. He nodded up at you, his eyes not revealing much of anything, but you didn't let that sway you. "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Of course I did." His voice was stubborn, but too sincere for how little his expression gave away.

You looked down at your feet, letting a moment pass before speaking again. "Well, now it seems like everyone is going to be talking about you from now on."

"That doesn't matter to me." James's voice cut through the air richly, and when you looked back up from the floor he was staring at you meaningfully. "They can say whatever the hell they want. As long as they're not talking about you."

Your shoulders dropped at his words, and the way he held your eyes as he said them made your heart beat faster in your chest. It hadn't even been a full day since you'd last spoken to him, but you already missed him.

"They wouldn't leave you alone," he said concretely, his tone beginning to fill with emotion. "And then, I heard what Marlene said in the common room, about some girl harassing you in the library? I-" he shook his head frustratedly, rubbing at his forehead with one of his hands. "I'm just mad at myself that I've let it go on for this long. Or that I didn't even know that happened."

You already felt too emotional for your liking, the feelings inside of you swirling more aggressively at every word he said to you. "It's not like it's your fault, James."

"Well it's not like I did much to stop it, did I?" He seemed genuinely angry at himself now, and you didn't know what you could do to help. A painful lump was rising in your throat, but you stayed rooted in your spot behind the sofa. "And I'd ask you why you didn't come and tell me, but that'd be a bloody stupid question."

He shook his head, eyes becoming wistful like he was recalling a memory, one that pained him. "Earlier, when Marlene was defending you in the common room, the look on your face was ... I don't know. Crushed. Sad."

You swallowed at the memory, because that had been exactly how you were feeling, amongst thousands of other ways. James looked down at his lap.

"I just wanted to try and help, do anything to make that look on your face go away, but I couldn't. So I just kept replaying how you looked in my head, and the more I thought about it, the more I hated myself because I realized you were only hurting because of me. And that was the worst part. Realizing that it was all my fault."

You felt yourself wanting to take a step towards him, wanting to just reach out to him as the tips of your fingers teemed with the longing you felt in your chest. "James," you began, your voice hushed. "It's not all your fault."

You meant it. To try and say to yourself that you had no part in all the confusion between the two of you would be a blatant lie, one that you couldn't let James go on believing, especially not with the pained look on his face.

He only shook his head at you. "It is," he insisted. "And here you go, being perfect towards me when I don't deserve it." A muscle worked overtime in his jaw. "Marlene was right. I was being selfish, and petty, and a lot of other things, but most importantly, I wasn't being a good friend." He paused, a grieving confliction tugging at his brow. "That's ... that's not what friends do."

You went still then too, the word 'friend' hanging in the air between you with a weight that only made you tired. The truth was that cobwebs had grown in the house where you'd fostered that unforgiving title, and it felt like some intangible force had locked you both inside with it blindly.

"Yeah, well," you began, your voice small, "we've been doing plenty of things that friends don't do, lately.Like you said, we kissed, right?" You let out a breathy sound like a laugh that lacked any joy, and the way James's eyes flickered up at you knocked the rest of the air right out of you.

"About that," he began hesitantly, and you could tell he was thinking about both the night it'd happened and that morning when you'd fought, just like you were. "I know you don't want that to mean anything, so it- ... it doesn't have to. Even if I want it to. Because it doesn't matter what I want—what matters to me is you."

You were thankful you had the couch next to you to brace a hand on, because you'd never felt so swept up by a conversation and you weren't sure how much longer you could stand the way your heart was nagging at you.

"You were right," swore James, but the slight shake of his eyes back and forth on your face didn't look as adamant as he sounded. "It's not fair for me to expect something from you when you already got over me."

The words you'd shouted at him in Hogsmeade that morning sounded foreign and wrong coming from his lips, and you knew the months of dishonesty that laced them like you knew the back of your hand.

"And it's too late now, I get that." His voice went from deep and determined to on the cusp of breaking, and it killed you. "I just want to know that you're happy, and if being happy means being with Vance instead of me, then ... I can deal with that."

You watched as he swallowed, like he was forcing the words to come from his lips even if it pained him. The way he hadn't broken eye contact with you the whole while was starting to make your head spin.

Your blinking sped up, maybe holding back the emotion you knew you was fighting to come out, and you whispered, "James."

Maybe you hadn't been loud enough, or maybe he just knew you'd try to disagree with him again, but he only continued determinedly at you.

"I know I probably went and ruined your chances with Vance, like an idiot, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to get you another date with him." He nodded at you once firmly, and within a second he was standing up, taking an intentional step forward. "Hell, I'll even go talk to him right now and-"

"James," you called again, louder this time. "Stop."

You put a hand out and it landed on his arm softly but firmly, and all you could was pray you could find the right words to say to him as he stared at you, level with you now in an unsteadying way.

"You didn't ruin my chances with Sebastian. It wouldn't have worked out regardless, even if I'd wanted it to. Because being with him isn't what I want." You shook your head, recalling back what James had said to you only moments before. "He wouldn't have made me happy." You sounded desperate now. "He's not you."

James stilled, his glistening eyes the only thing showing movement as they danced across your face intensely, though you saw them widen with something bright like hope. "What?"

The confusion of the word that he'd practically whispered out unspeakably attested to how you felt yourself, the terrain of the land you were exploring right there and then with James uncharted and rocky. You pushed on, knowing there was no going back now.

"Marlene wasn't completely right, James. She only said all of those things because I'd spent all this time trying to convince her—and myself—that I didn't still have feelings for you. But I do, clearly." You tipped your head down for a moment in exasperation and exhaustion, willing yourself to keep going. "Everyone can see it. All of our friends. Hell, even Sebastian could see it." You laughed, though your eyes were growing blurry. "So for me to try to push those feelings down any longer would just be lying to you and to myself." You let out an exasperated breath. "And I'm so sick of lying."

Your shoulders sunk as you stood there, a steadily shrinking distance between you and James that was both comforting and daunting to you. You couldn't do anything but watch as James's face stilled and then shifted as he thought, studying your own face in a way that made you conscious of every shift in your expression.

"I just," he began, and then raked a hand through his hair. "Why did you feel like you needed to hide how you felt in the first place?"

You felt your mouth go dry at the question—one you knew came only out of a desperate curiosity and nothing else—and your mind began spinning. The last few years of your friendship seemed to swirl in your head, flickering in and out of focus as you tried to come up with an answer.

"I-" you began, willing yourself to say something, anything at all. "I was scared." The words rang true so much that they made your heart pinch. "Scared that you wouldn't feel the same and I'd go and ruin everything. That I'd lose you."

James's hands lifted up from his sides like he wanted to reach out to you, and he did. He took your hand in his, grasping lightly at your fingertips in a touch that steadied you and made you feel lightheaded at the same time. He shook his head at you with a firm hold in his brow.

"You could never lose me."

His lips were parted, and his hazel eyes glistened over in the low common room lighting like the thought of your suggestion was painful enough on its own. Looking at him then, his face lined with years of a comforting, steadying familiarity, you knew deep in your chest that what he said was true. But that didn't alter all that you'd felt for the past number of years.

"It's not just that," you said, looking down at his hand that held yours and blinking away the guilt that crept into your stomach, because it wasn't James's fault that you had felt this way. "Even in Hogsmeade, James." Your voice was becoming unsteady again and it only frustrated you more. "What if everything you said you felt for me was just some spur-of-the-moment thing from some kiss? What if you didn't feel the same way a week from now? Or a month? I knew I wouldn't be able to get over that fear. Especially when I'd been hiding how I felt from you for years. And then there were your feelings for Lily to think about and ... I don't know."

You trailed off, finally able to stop yourself. You felt petty, so petty, because you were so close to getting what you knew your heart wanted, but you felt the insistent need to ruin things for yourself and think of every way things could go wrong. You'd never felt closer to James then, but also never farther away. All you could do was stand there and wait for him to say something, anything.

James stayed unmoving for a beat staring at you, wordlessly taking everything in with a fragility in the air that hallowed your labored breathing. Then he started to shake his head like he was in disbelief. He ran a hand through his brown hair.

"For Merlin's sake."

His voice was low, a mutter, and he stared at the ground for a moment in thought before dropping the hand that once held yours, turning and walking away from you, leaving up the steps to his dorm room. You watched his back as he disappeared, your fingertips feeling cold and empty.

You felt your blinking speed up in a dizzying confusion. You didn't know what had come over you, not even sure exactly what you'd said in all of your desperate rambling that had made him decide to leave, but your vision started to blur even more than it already had until you recognized the wetness forming beside your eyes.

Nothing made sense. Not then, and not in the last twenty-four hours. You moved until you were sitting down on the couch in front of you, feeling lightheaded as the fireplace crackled a few feet away. The light from outside had left with the sun and the room had a comforting kind of warm lighting, though even that did little to soothe you as you sat there with all the unresolved feelings within you.

You were confused and lost and wanted nothing more than to just fix things, but you were even more at a loss for words when you heard quick footsteps coming from the staircase James had left from, and then saw his returning form making its way down the steps.

You turned your head to him swiftly in confusion, following him and his soft but energetic steps as he came to sit next to you, and that was when you noticed he was holding something—a box. One that was tattered on the corners, its black fabric aged and dusting over.

You wiped at your eyes quickly, brows tugging in all your bewilderment as you waited for James to explain.

"I-" he began, and stopped as soon as his eyes focused more on your face. You must've looked as broken as you felt, and at seeing the look on your face, he held one of your hands in his before swiping across your cheek gently with the pad of his thumb.

You felt like wilting under his soft touch that you'd missed more than anything in the confusing weeks, mentally and physically exhausted from everything but still wanting more than anything to understand.

When you looked perhaps more stable, he looked back at the box that he'd set down beside him and placed it on his lap delicately as he spoke, his words echoing out slowly.

"I know you think I've just realized my feelings for you a week ago, and that they came from some kiss at a party. But, you have to believe me when I say that they're so much more than that." He placed the box in your hands, and you took it from him with a note of fragility, resting it atop your legs. His eyes bore into yours, like it would break him if you couldn't understand the words leaving his lips. He took a shaky breath in. "I need you to know, more than anything, that you're everything to me. You always have been."

Your lips began to shake at the earth-shattering words coming from your best friend's lips. "James, what-"

He stopped you with a gesture of his head that told you to look inside the box, and you did. Carefully, you lifted the flimsy cardboard top and placed it to the side, brows pulling together tight and something loud and hearty threatening to pull from your chest. You shook your head as tears began to well over your eyes again as you recognized what James had given you.

The box, the measly and old mess of cardboard and paper, was full of all the letters you'd written to him over the years—all the thank you notes, the letters you'd sent him from that summer and all the past ones—every single one of them. Your eyes raked over each of them when you felt too stunned to use your hands, but your heart still felt touched by the memories of each one all the same. It took everything in you not to release the sob you felt rising in your lungs.

"It's you. It's always been you."

James's eyes never left your face as you took everything in, the look behind them never having seemed so determined, so desperate. But there was something behind the way he looked at you, something so warm and honest, so familiar that you felt ridiculous for never noticing it before. And when your gaze flickered downward for a second in contemplation he tipped his head to follow it endearingly.

"Always," he promised. "Not Evans, not anyone else. I know I'm a bloody idiot, and I know I haven't been great at showing my emotions when it comes to you, but that's because it's you, and you mean everything to me and have since we were kids, and if this can't make you see that then I promise I'll spend every day trying to make up for it, and-"

"James." You stopped him, not knowing how much longer you could take sitting next to him and not getting rid of the frustrated crease between his brows, or how much longer you could ignore the thrum of your heart that called out to him so clearly now.

"Yeah?" he asked, and his eyes were like a deer in headlights. The warmth in their color reflected the simmering warmth from the fireplace, but that didn't compare to the fire that lay behind his gaze.

You placed the box, his box of the last six years of your friendship and then some, atop the couch next to you, and didn't wait another second before engulfing him in a hug. Your body crashed into his as he leaned back against the couch, his hands coming up to embrace you right away, and you heard him breathe a smile by your ear before he laughed, a perfect noise.

You felt like laughing then too, and crying, and everything else, because you couldn't remember the last time you'd gotten to hold him like this without the fear of revealing too much to him nagging at you. Your cheek pressed against his neck, his curls fanned against the top of your head, his hands held you tight, and you never wanted to leave the safety of his arms. Except to do one thing.

You pulled away from the hug and so did James after a second, his eyes wide and glistening but truly happy. He was smiling widely, his lopsided grin appearing after days like the sun after a storm, and you loved the sight more than anything, locking it away in the back of your mind as a memory you'd keep forever, like the box that sat next to you.

You laid a hand on his chest, another on his cheek, and James grasped the one that was flattened on his chest in his own, quickly glancing down at your hand in his like he couldn't believe he was holding it. He pulled you into him with it and leaned his head on yours.

"It's always been you, too," you whispered, and his eyes glanced down at your lips as you said the quiet words that'd been lingering on your lips for much too long. You had to push away your smile because you were aching to just kiss him like you'd wanted to for years. With a courage that could've only come from Godric himself, you finally did.

You leaned in until your lips met, a flutter of skin dancing shyly together until you leaned into him even further, and suddenly it felt like the crash of a wave, and sounded like the earth was moving beneath your feet, the sound of something right—and this time, you knew it felt the same for him too, because you could feel his boyish grin that you'd spent years admiring tugging against your lips.

You were kissing your best friend. For real this time. It felt so impossible for your mind to imagine such a thing, but luckily it didn't have to.

James moved his hands but they never left you, one sliding through your hair smoothly and one delicately holding your waist like you were something fragile. Butterflies fluttered through you at his touch, something familiar but foreign, wrong but also right, and somessilyperfect. You couldn't believe you'd spent all those years just a few words away from getting to feel it, getting to be surrounded by it.

You pulled away after a moment, your lips feeling puffy and burning with the heat of his kiss, but all you could think about was how free you felt, how happy you were that he was finally yours.

James looked down at you, his eyes dancing all across your face and stopping on your lips, and then somehow growing even warmer when they met yours again.

"I can't-" he began with a slight disbelieving shake of his head, voice coming out breathless and dazed as heat flushed into your own cheeks at the sight. "I can't believe..."

You laughed, feeling out of breath too, and adjusted the glasses that now perched crookedly on James's nose in an agonizingly cute way.

"Me neither," you finished for him, because you knew just how he felt, a secret the both of you shared; it was the only secret you still wanted to keep.

And it was a feeling you never wanted to have to live without again. Though now, with him in your arms and his familiar chocolate curls still brushing against your forehead, you knew you would never have to.

taglist!!

@hisparentsgallerryy @msmk11 @garfieldsladybird @empath-bunny @urmykindofwoman @bambi-jp @babyclea @kenjikishimotoswifey @cloudroomblog @the-marauders-mapp @mooonyxoxo @imgondeletedis @moon-flowerrs @fruticake @arey0usirius @marauroon @swiftsgirlfriend @jamieolivia27 @magicwithaknife

[ratsoks]

If it's no problem, could you do a Villain Deku x reader where reader has Depression and anxiety and gets triggered by loud noises that sound argumentative or like said person is disappointed in them? And they overthink things & think they are a disappointment and they aren't enough and can't do anything right, all that good stuff. They also struggle with remembering to drink water and sometimes skip a meal. The loud noises could just be people yelling at each other or at them. If you could do something like that and it be a fluff that'd be amazing <3

Oh, and of the things that help calm them down is listening to music and they have a very slight shake in there hand and they also appogize A LOT. They also have very shitty memory so, sometimes they forget things and scold themselves for doing so.

Srry if this is all confusing or unspecific. I was just jotting ideas for this down 😅 I hope this made sense and it would be amazing if you could do it, no pressure and you don't have to if you don't want too-

a/n — SORRY IVE DISAPPEARED FOR MONTHS uhh has it been a year........ blinks BHWAHGAH burnout is crrazzyzyy BUT IM ON SUMMER BREAK NOW so hopefully ill be able to write more thumbs up emoji anyways TY FOR REQUESTING ANON!!!!!! i love details pls don't apologize for specifying what u want :) gender — neutral (no pronouns mentioned) warnings — depression, anxiety, mentions of breakdowns, mentions of medications, mentions of forgetting to eat, mentions of yelling

bro THIS MAN growls barks howls at the moon

he's fucking WHIPPED

he would do anything for you anyways, but????? you crying??????? he just???????? combusts?????

whether you cry a lot or you don't, midoriya is always there to wipe your tears away with gentle gloved hands. a warm drink of your preference would be pressed into your palms, and the man would never pressure you to tell him what was on your mind unless you wanted to SNIFFLES

he himself has never liked loud noises—the loud explosions coming from bakugou's hands has always unnerved him ever since he was four—but it never got to the point where he was triggered by it

in some way, when he first encounters you getting triggered, he feels mildly prepared on what to do, but at the same time, comfort differs for everyone.

he knew what he liked when he got upset, but the same couldn't be said for you

he didn't want to trigger you any further

tldr MY MAN WAS NERVOUS HBWAHAH

if you're not touch-averse during times of distress, he would take your hand in his and gingerly stroke the back of your hand with his gloved thumb

if you don't like touch, he'll hang back and talk to you softly, whispering encouraging words and maybe even humming a gentle song in order to calm you down

when it comes to self-deprecating thoughts, izuku is always there to help you

constant reassurances are made, and izuku vehemently stamps out any sort of thought that nobody likes you

while he doesn't want anyone to like you except for him, he can make some exceptions for his precious angel

depression often makes it hard for you to be able to do anything, such as brushing your teeth, drinking water, or even getting out of bed

izuku is able to coax your sheet-encased form out from the bed and into a warm bath with him, lighting some candles and pouring some bubbles in the water

depression also fucks up your sleep schedule; you either sleep way too much or not at all, but no matter what, izuku makes sure that you don't mess it up too bad

he wakes you up when you've slept for at least seven hours (will occasionally let you sleep for more but too much is bad for u) and will sing/soothe you to sleep when you can't

you feel terrible for keeping him up at night bc like!!!! ur such a nuisance!!!!!! dawg what why would you stay up w me im such a bad person!!!!!!!!!

and he's like >:(((( babe >:(((((( tf do u mean ur a bad person >:((( honey UR GORGEOUS and then he will proceed to pepper u with kisses all over ur face bc he's a great boyfriend :)

he will rob every single bank in japan just to get u a decent pair of headphones and i will stand by this fact until the day that i expire

since listening to music calms you down, headphones are a must in his eyes!!! even if you don't use them a lot, or even at all, deku always likes to be prepared :))) it never hurt anyone :))))))

if meds are prescribed to you, izuku will make sure you take them whenever needed

all in all he's like the best boyfriend ever mwa

he may be a villain but he's not evil!!!!!!! god!!!!!!!! get with the times broski

[aubreysheadspace]

hii first time requesting!! could i rq the omori main cast w an artist reader who is usually very quiet and dislikes talking but who occasionally expresses their emotions by their art (painting, drawing and maybe even music)?,, like, they're very skilled in painting and drawing so just by their art you can see how they're feeling or what they're wanting to say?? bonus points if their art is actually really deep and meaningful 😈😈..

(ps. if i could be 🪷 anon that'd be perfect!! if not then 🍰 is fine ^^)

MAIN CAST WITH A READER WHO EXPRESSES THEMSELVES THROUGH ART

this is SUCH. A cute request!! thank you for specifying as well <333 welcome to the anon list, 🪷 anon!~

SUNNY

SUNNY doesn’t mind if you don’t even talk or express anything, he’s literally the same! both of you just sit in comfortable silence all of the time

while SUNNY is an artist himself, he finds comfort in your art way more than he finds comfort in your own. he finds your art spectacular and more meaningful, he loves it

you’ll definitely get a "wow…" from him, his own romantic partner is a talented artist! how could he not feel so special about it? if you also make music, SUNNY would absolutely listen to it or add it to a playlist.

he’ll silently watch you paint, watching your hand as it moves through the canvas with a paintbrush and paint on top of it. he wonders and tries to guess in his mind what you’re expressing in your next drawing

AUBREY

although she may not show it, AUBREY is a big fan of your works. she can just stare and admire how pretty you and your art is. she knows she can’t top that but at least she’s got a partner who can draw.

like SUNNY, you guys can sit in comfortable silence. she knows you don’t like talking, and sometimes she doesn’t either. the quiet and silence make it super peaceful for her.

she doesn’t understand the meaning of your paintings right away, but when she does, she thinks it’s super cool! you don’t gotta express yourself facially, drawing how you express is even cooler!

if you make music, AUBREY will check it out and see if she likes it. spoiler alert, she does! now she listens to it a few times every night before she goes to bed, but she NEVER mentions it because of how dumb and corny she thinks it sounds.

KEL

KEL is a supportive boyfriend, so of course he would love how you draw or paint! he’s not sure what the whole meaning is behind some of them if it’s really complicated, but once you tell him, it makes much more sense now!

he knows how much you dislike talking and rather stay quiet, that’s why he’ll do the talking instead! he could chat away about how his entire week went while you’re busy drawing or painting. unless you tell him to stop, he’s gonna keep talking!

once you’re finish with any new art, he’s gonna show it off in the most embarrassingly but adorable way possible! he’ll first show it to his friends, but then he shows it to his family, and even talks about how amazing you are to a stranger!

if you made music or anything, then he’s gonna do the exact same thing and forces his friends and family to listen to how great it is! KEL loves you and your talent, and wants to show it off to the world how amazing you are!

HERO

like the rest of his friends, HERO loves your artwork and all the meanings behind them. he’s a more chilled down version of KEL when it comes to showing it off to others, but only if you get his consent first!

he doesn’t mind if you don’t really like to talk, so he might as well be talking to a wall. as he watches you paint, he can bring up a few things about his family or something happening while he was at college.

he would love it if you made a painting just for him! he’d love to frame it and put it in his side of the bedroom. while drawing/painting, HERO could also stop by to give you something he made, like a nice little meal to take a break from drawing/painting!

if you make music, then HERO would think you’ve mastered in the skill of arts! just kidding, he could find your music relaxing and probably listen to it just before he goes to bed. the next day, he would tell you how relaxing your music sounded and how it’s helped him sleep! he’s thankful for you

BASIL

BASIL isn’t really an artist and more of a gardener himself, he can’t help but be amazed by your artwork! he thinks it’s super pretty and meaningful, even if he can’t quite understand the meaning behind it at first.

he likes to watch you paint and knows you don’t like to talk, but it kinda makes him anxious and gives him time to overthink. what if you don’t like talking to him specifically? what if he’s bothering you just by being here? is he not really a good boyfriend?

maybe to reassure him, you’d draw or paint something to express how much you love him. show it to him, and he’ll be extremely thankful! …once you get passed all the flustering he’s doing first.

if you make music, he’ll definitely listen to his while he’s watering his plants or adding new flowers in his house. after a few times of listening to the same song, he could be humming it occasionally by himself!

MARI

MARI thinks you’re super adorable and even finds it cute if you rather express yourself through art! occasionally, she does the same on the piano if she’s by herself. like KEL, she’s such a supportive girlfriend and gives you much needed motivation.

if you have art block, she could be your new idea of a painting/drawing! she doesn’t mind sitting with the same pose for about an hour as you sketch her. she would love to see how you end up drawing her, even if it’s just for reference

like with HERO, she’d also stop by to give you her best chocolate chip cookies incase if you ever needed a break or two. she would also love to watch you make more of your fantastic art!

if you create music, she’s gonna be listening to it all the time and could even compose it on her piano if it already hasn’t been! she’s gonna be thinking how amazing you are whenever she listens to any new song you’ve created, and gets more HAPPY if you made it specifically for her!

[thewritingofspencerrose]

A Grid Thanksgiving

Logan Sargeant x OC

"And that closes up this wrap up for Vegas, we'll see you all next week in Abu Dhabi," an official closes, glancing around the room for someone to take the microphone from him, Logan Sargeant of all people being the one to do so, stepping on to the stage in an unusual move.

"Uh, if the grid could stick around for just a couple minutes that'd be great," the Williams driver requests, drivers left and right sharing looks.

And they wait, the crews and principles exiting the room before Logan, now without the microphone, has everyone crowd around.

"What's up kid?" Daniel is the one to ask, one brow raised at the American driver.

"I actually was sent on a mission from the missus-"

"You have a missus?" Max asks, the idea setting in over the last few races that he may not be all that young anymore.

Logan chuckles, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck with a nod. "Yeah, I'm going to try to not take that as an insult."

"That's not what he meant," Charles corrects, waving his hand. "You just do not seem as the type to settle down young and we haven't seen any woman with you around the paddock or online."

Logan knows they're right, but that doesn't change the fact that he's tired of always experiencing these assumptions.

"Welp, for eight months now we've been married, her names Brooke, and she sent me to work today with one request."

"Which was?" Oscar questions, expecting something outside the box from the woman who somehow manages his close friend.

"If you all out be available and on location next Tuesday, we've rented a rental apartment rather than a hotel room, and she was hoping you all and your significant others may be willing to join us for Thanksgiving."

"Isn't that typically on Thursdays?" Lando asks, already knowing the answer but hoping for something more.

"It is, but with the race and everything we won't be able to make it home to be with our families, so she got her heart set on cooking a traditional thanksgiving meal for all of you," Logan explains, knowing the request may be a stretch in a lot of places. As much as they respect one another, they are also all still competitors, even if Max and Red Bull had already won. "Its just an open invite, she just really loves the concept of taking a day to appreciate what you're grateful for and keeps saying she's grateful for all of you, even though she only knows you two," He finishes explaining, gesturing to Alex and Oscar. "And none of you have to come, absolutely don't feel like you've got to."

"When will you need numbers by?" Max speaks up, giving the boy a rare grin for a competitor. "I'll have to see if Kelly and P will be traveling with me."

And Logan beams, because at the very least, at least a few drivers are considering the offer.

"Sunday or Monday, Brie isn't planning to shop for anything until Monday."

Max nods, a simple gesture to wrap up the impromptu meeting.

——————————————————————————————————

"Baby, you said to invite the grid, why are you so surprised?" Lo questions with a chuckle, making me want to throw my whisk at him/

"Because I wasn't expecting a good chunk of them to text saying yes! How does Lewis Hamilton even have my number?!"

"He asked me for it so I sent it in the driver's chat," He explains simply, taking a finished dish from my hands to the kitchen island that we set up as a buffet. "Who ended up being available?"

"Carlos, Charles and Alex, Lando, Oscar and Lily, Lewis, Max with Kelly and P, Pierre and Kika, Yuki, George and Carmen, and Alex and Lily," I list smiling brightly at how bustling this home will be in no more than half an hour. "Valterri and the Haas men texted saying they would love to come but they were going home for a beat instead of straight here," I explain, scooping the whipped topping into the bag and twisting it shut.

"Wow, half the grid, good job Baby," Lo compliments, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my temple.

"You're just lucky I didn't invite your boss just to get more baby snuggles," I can't help but jest, but he doesn't look remotely upset at the idea, smiling with a look in his eyes that I just can't place. "What's that look for?"

"You act like I wouldn't love to see you wondering around with a baby, although I'd prefer it to be ours," He admits, making my heart soar. It's before I can answer however that the doorbell rings, calling him away from a conversation we've had many times.

"Brie!" Lily exclaims as Oscar quietly follows her in, Lando following his teammate.

"Lils, it's been too long," I greet her with a hug, pulling both of the Mclaren drivers into hugs as well. "You need to come to more races, I'm always lonely."

"And what am I, chopped liver?" Kelly asks, announcing her little family's arrival, Max clapping Lo on the back as her little girl runs into my legs.

"B!"

"P! I've missed you sweetie," I coo, pulling her onto my hip and kissing her cheek, hugging Kelly and Max.

"P, what do we say to Brie and Logan?" Max prompts, smiling softly at his little girl and I.

"Thank you for inviting us to your American holiday!" She thanks, kissing my cheek before fist bumping Lo.

"I am so happy you all could come," I assure, looking around the progressively filling kitchen. "I love that we're all able to be together for one of my favorite holidays."

She smiles brightly, Max coming up to take her from me with the reasoning that I should be greeting guests as Alex and his Lily walk in, the Lily's being introduced.

And I can't help but smile around me, my heart warm as Lo joins me, wrapping me in his arms.

"Is this everything you wanted?" He asks, words whispering in my ear as he leans on my shoulder.

"Everything and more Lo, everything and more."

[meowjaa]

✧ waiter ✧

context: levi ackerman x fem!reader, bad date, accidental meeting, tea shop date, modern AU.

a/n: I've been getting nice comments and omg my heart can not take it but thank you for reading my stories it means so much because I really be making these at like 2am anyways excuse any spelling or punctuation errors enjoy my loves <333

Y/N sat awkwardly across from her Tinder date, Tyler, trying to make conversation but finding they had little in common. He kept checking his phone and seemed distracted as they waited for their food at the upscale restaurant.

"So…do you like living in the city?" Y/N asked, attempting another topic.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, it's fine," Tyler said dismissively, eyes glued to his phone screen.

Y/N sighed, regretting agreeing to this date already. Just then, the waiter arrived with their meals, placing each dish down gracefully. Y/N glanced up and was met with striking steel-blue eyes contrasted against jet-black hair styled in an undercut.

"Let me know if I can get anything else for you," the waiter said politely in a cold and stoic tone that most certainly sent a shiver down Y/N's spine. His name tag read "Levi."

"Oh, um, thank you!" Y/N said, not noticing she was staring in awe of the total stranger.

As Levi walked away, Y/N realized Tyler was still absorbed in his phone. She cleared her throat loudly and he finally looked up.

"Huh? Oh the food's here, cool," he said nonchalantly, immediately digging in without another word.

Y/N ate slowly, her appetite diminished by her rude date. She kept stealing glances at Levi as he delivered food and took orders at other tables. His handsome profile and graceful movements were mesmerizing.

After they had finished eating in near silence, Tyler quickly asked for the check, not even bothering to feign interest in Y/N anymore. When Levi came by, Tyler brusquely asked to pay and left cash on the table before getting up abruptly.

"Keep the change," he said to Levi, already heading for the exit.

"Wait, Tyler!" Y/N called out, but he was gone. She sat there, stunned and embarrassed "Asshole, wasting my time actually" Y/N shook her head.

"What a jerk," Levi said, collecting the money from the table. "If you want, I could always take you to this tea shop down the street" Levi added on as he reached for a napkin and wrote his number down sliding it to me.

"That'd be great, thanks" Y/N nodded her head as she smiled and stood up grabbing her purse as a group of older woman about the age of 40 or higher waving at Levi and holding up their wine cups.

"Hot waiter me and my girls need some more red wine! the expensive one too" The woman winked as she eyed Levi up and down and then turned to her girls and laughed.

I awkwardly stared at the woman before turning to Levi and nodding as a goodbye then walking out of the resturant.

At 3pm, Y/N walked into the cozy tea shop and immediately spotted Levi waiting inside.

"Hi Levi!" she said brightly.

"Y/N, glad you could make it," he greeted her with a small but warm smile.

They ordered their drinks - a black tea for Levi and a hibiscus blend for Y/N - and sat down at a table by the window.

"So how long have you worked at the restaurant?" Y/N asked, wanting to learn more about him.

"About two years now," Levi replied. "It helps pay the bills while I'm in school."

"Oh what are you studying?"

"Literature and creative writing. I've always loved books and hoped to write them someday," he shared.

"That's amazing! I was an English major too," Y/N said excitedly.

The conversation flowed easily as they discovered their shared interests in books and writing. Levi told her about his favorite authors and stories that inspired him. Y/N confessed her dream of writing a novel one day and Levi was an eager listener, asking thoughtful questions.

After talking for over an hour about their favorite books, Y/N said, "I feel like I could chat with you about literature all day, but tell me more about you! What do you like to do for fun besides reading and writing?"

Levi revealed that he enjoyed going to museums and art galleries whenever he had the time. Y/N said she loved that too and suggested they go to the new modern art exhibit together.

As they sipped their second cup of tea, their conversation shifted to movies, art, music and even a lively debate about the best tea flavors. Time passed quickly in each other's company.

Too soon the tea shop was closing. As they stepped outside, Levi turned to Y/N. "I had a really great time getting to know you today," he said, a hint of shyness in his voice.

"Me too, I'm so glad we did this," Y/N replied, cheeks flush.

"Could I see you again soon?" Levi asked hopefully.

"I'd love that!" Y/N said with a bright smile.

They exchanged numbers and Levi promised to call her to plan their next date. As Y/N walked home, she marveled at the unexpected delightful turn her day had taken. She couldn't wait to spend more time with the intriguing guy she had met over tea.

[thessalian]

Faerun!Alisaie vs Cazador Szarr

On the way to the ramparts

Astarion: Wait. I thought we were heading for the House of Hope via that diabolist. This is--

Alisaie: Well, we can do that if you want, but I kind of figured you didn't want that whole thing with Cazador hanging over your head for longer than necessary. Whatever mix of dread and anticipation you've got is as much a chain as anything else you're struggling with, so I figured getting it over with?

Astarion: ...You're right. Yes! We can do this!

Shadowheart: Are you sure we should actually bring him along to this? I mean, if Cazador wants to do that ritual and Astarion is integral to that, isn't that just ... aiding and abetting? Also us potentially having to fight what you keep calling an UberVamp?

Alisaie: Nah. Astarion's a sneaky little shit, and Cazador can't enritual what he can't see. And if he does manage to spot Astarion, we'll just yank him out of whatever ritual circle's kicking around.

Shadowheart: ...That sounds like a lot of extra effort.

Wyll; Alisaie: He deserves to face his former master!

Shadowheart: ...Right. I forgot. Heroes with a need for narrative synchronicity.

Astarion: It means I probably get to stab Cazador into mince, so I am perfectly alright with this.

Alisaie: You should be even more alright with the fact that I couldn't find any sewer entrance to Cazador's manor so you get to skip being knee-deep in sewage. Unless you know of one.

Astarion: Alisaie ... he's a vampire. What on earth would he have to put in a sewer?

Alisaie: I assume he has thralls? And thralls have bodily functions? And there's ... erm ... the 'meal containers'?

Astarion: What a charming way to describe a corpse.

Alisaie: Also, maybe an underground escape route in the event of someone lighting his whole fucking manor on fire?

Astarion: ...All right, now I'm wondering why he didn't put in a sewer. Or a ... a catacomb or something.

Alisaie: Maybe he did and you just never went there. Anyway, I know you're a little on a hair-trigger about this, but let me at least talk to the guards--

Astarion: Thralls. They'll be fairly brainless.

Alisaie: Then lying my way past them shouldn't be too hard, should it?

Astarion: ...Probably not, no. Do I get to feed from any of these people at any point?

Alisaie: If they try for your blood, you trying for theirs is nicely reciprocal.

Astarion: *grin* Oh, goodie.

And into the manor we go

Alisaie: I talk my way past them and get a key ... and the door just gets unlocked for us. That's just aggravating.

Vilhelm: All must be perfect for the master's ascension! ...Wait. Astarion. Why aren't you downstairs for the ritual?

Astarion: I-- Oh, I'm not explaining myself to you. What is wrong with this door?

Vilhelm: The master is not to be disturbed! His ascension is at hand! You're too late!

Shadowheart: So if we just ... go away and let him try, and fail because Astarion's not there...

Astarion: I. Want. To. STAB HIM.

Alisaie: What he means is that he obviously needs to get down there. For the ritual. So if you could do something about this door, that'd be great.

Vilhelm: Only Dufay has the key, and then there's the spells on it, and we left the dictionary in--

Astarion: Oh, wonderful. The one person we might actually have to fight in here and he's not even someone I can bite.

Alisaie: He means 'thank you for the information; we'll go talk to this Dufay ... person'. Later!

Astarion: He is a literal skeleton, Alisaie.

Alisaie: That just means that if I have to literally shake him down for the key, it'll be nicely resonant!

One barrage of threats and lies to a skeleton and another sort of scavenger hunt later...

Alisaie: Why ... does he have a cursed corpse ... in a bedroom?

Astarion: Clearly to keep people from ransacking the place. Though I'm now starting to understand why you keep dragging around all those scrolls. They do come in handy.

Alisaie: Yeah, it was that or the teleportation arrows. Anyway, that's not what I meant. Fine, curse an object and let it fill a room with necrotic ow-ow-ow, I get it. But why something that's going to fucking decompose?

Astarion: That's ... actually a good point. But something to ponder later, perhaps. Let's see about this ritual.

Alisaie: *opens the door*

Throne Room: *is not full of ritual*

Throne Room: *is instead full of bats, rats, wolves, werewolves, and a lot of dead people*

Werewolf: Hey! You're meant to be downstairs for the ritual!

Astarion: I will not be ordered around by one of Cazador's new mongrels in my own house!

Alisaie: What he means is--

Astarion: No. What I mean is that you are in the way of me giving Cazador a final death and that is not a thing you want to do right now! I-- Wait. There actually is a downstairs?

Alisaie: *low murmur* Shadowheart? You gonna be okay with fighting wolves?

Shadowheart: Actually, given that I wasn't actually saved from wolves by the priestesses of Shar, I'm looking forward to murdering a few.

Alisaie: Good, because our normally silver-tongued vampire just kind of started a fight--

Vilhelm: Waitaminit. You said you wanted to stab the master! I--

Shadowheart: *stabs Vilhelm very, very hard*

Astarion: Oh, come on. I wanted human blood! I've fed on enough vermin, thank you. And yes, you canine bit of filth, I was referring to you!

Wyll: I'm not sure whether you've been a good influence on Astarion or a bad one? But he's definitely taking a few pages out of your sheet music, Alisaie.

Valderola: Hey! Stop stabbing up the master's nice clean throne room! All must be clean for the master!

Alisaie: It was already full of corpses and blood and-- Oh, fuck it; hey, Astarion! You said you wanted human blood?

Valderola: waitwut--

Astarion: *FEEDS*

Alisaie: Thank you. As for you little buggers-- *grabs lute, aims, begins Thunderwave-divebomb*

Wyll: I got these! *Misty Steps into line of fire*

Alisaie: ofuck-- *THUNDERWAVE*

Werewolves; Bats; Wyll: *go flying*

Alisaie: Sorry!

Wyll: My fault! Sometimes I forget you do magic!

Stabnation: *ensues*

After a fair bit of wandering around

Astarion: He said the ritual was downstairs. Why have we spent this much time wandering around the attic?

Alisaie: Ritual notes, and an awful lot of money.

Astarion: Oh. Right. Yes. Thanks for that.

Alisaie: Anyway, info-gathering over, let's see what we-- Oh. Hey. This looks like some of those lifting things we saw in the Shar temple.

Astarion: There really is a downstairs! I wonder what's down there. ...And honestly why, if there's a convenient catacomb, he didn't just keep all his treasure down there.

Alisaie: Well, we're about to find out. Maybe he just needed room for other things.

A surprisingly long time later...

Alisaie: *porting back to the oddly convenient teleport point* Okay, I'm back. Sorry about the wait.

Shadowheart: You fired a transposition arrow down a hole, and then you were gone for at least ten minutes, and now you're back and-- Where did you go? Anything could have been down there!

Alisaie: *holds up Pelorsun Blade* Pretty nice 'anything', huh? I figured if the githyanki creche had shiny radiant weapons in the basement, why shouldn't this place? Also, from what I know about Arcana, this thing works extra-specially well against undead. Which is about what we need right now.

Astarion: So ... the 'other things' Cazador needed room for down here included the means of his own destruction. That ... does not scan.

Alisaie: If it helps, I did find a route into the sewer tunnels. Probably way easier for someone who can turn into mist to get to than ... well, me, but it's a useful thing to know just in case.

Astarion: Still, again, what is he keeping down here?

Sebastian: ...You.

Astarion: Wait. You were-- but you-- you were...

Alisaie: Cazador's DoorDash order?

Wyll: Alisaie!

Astarion: Frankly, yes.

Wyll: ...oh.

Astarion: He told me he fed on you! Just that! Why are you all still alive? ... Well. For varying definitions of the term, anyway.

Alisaie: ...Yeaaaaaah remember that thing that was all about "every thrall of Cazador's dies to fuel this ritual"? I kind of thought that eight wouldn't be enough for UberVampdom.

Sebastian: ...How long have we been down here?

Alisaie: Look, just ... sit tight. We're going to go murder the master vampire that did this to you and then we'll ... see what we can do.

Shadowheart: I'm ... conflicted. On one hand, that's a lot of vampire spawn to free. On the other hand...

Astarion: I ... I owe them more than this, after what they went through because of... But ... if I want to ascend, they die regardless. So I suppose we can't kill them yet, anyway...

Alisaie: *facepalm* Dead vampire first. Everything we need to decide right now depends on dead vampire. Can we all just please agree on dead vampire?

Wyll; Shadowheart; Astarion: YES.

Alisaie: THANK you. Now. Here's the plan.

One short planning session later

Shadowheart: *from the shadows* *casts Daylight*

Cazador: OW OW OW wait what?!?

Astarion: *Sneak Attacks a werewolf stone dead from the shadows*

Wyll: *Misty Steps into the middle of the ritual stage* *Eldritch Blasts several of the bats into mush* COME GET SOME, UNDEAD GROTESQUERIES--

Fallen Gur: *takes a fairly big chunk out of Wyll*

Wyll: ...maybe don't come get that much...

Alisaie: *much-better-aimed Thunderwave getting two fallen Gur and a werewolf away from Wyll and killing two bats outright*

Shadowheart: *annihilates a couple of more enemies and takes a good chunk of Cazador's health with Spirit Guardians*

Cazador: WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE?!? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?

Alisaie: ELFSONG TAVERN SAYS HELLO, YOU FESTERING SACK OF COWARDICE AND STOLEN BLOOD!

Cazador: ...Right. Come here, you-- Oh.

Astarion: Shit.

Cazador: Right, you. You've brought this to my door; INTO the ritual circle.

Astarion: Shit shit shit shit SHIT--

Wyll: ...where did his armour go?

Alisaie: Let's just pray it comes back. *Misty Steps over to Astarion; yanks him out of the ritual circle*

Astarion: Thanks for that.

Shadowheart: *facing off against Cazador* Ow ow ow ow STOP THAT I AM TRYING TO KEEP FOCUSING ON SPIRIT GUARDIANS OW--

Alisaie: *Misty Steps back over to there and stabs the everliving shit out of Cazador*

Cazador: *turns into mist and hides in sarcophagus*

Alisaie: Wow. He really is a festering sack of cowardice and stolen blood.

Astarion: Right. He dies.

Yet More Bats: *attack Astarion*

Alisaie: Clear. The field. FIRST. Whatever satisfaction you get out of him dying will be ruined if you do it with bats taking chunks out of your ass!

Astarion: ...*sigh* Oh, fine.

Stabnation: *continues*

After clearing the field

Astarion: NO HEALING SLEEP FOR YOU! WAKE UP AND SMELL THE IMMINENT DEATH!

Cazador: Back off, worm!

Astarion: Right. Ritual time!

Alisaie: ...Are you really sure you want to do this?

Astarion: Yes! I'll have all the power, and I can be of so much more help with this whole tadpole thing. I'll stay at your back, I swear it!

Alisaie: ...Astarion. I thought you wanted to be free. Power's just another cage. You have to keep feeding it. I thought you wanted to be ... well, you, not what Cazador made you.

Astarion: ...I...

Alisaie: *holds out Astral Tadpole* The Emperor gave me this. It's supposed to ... change me. Or whoever I give it to. It grants power ... but the cost is it making me part-illithid. Note I have not used it, nor have I offered it to any of you. Power at the cost of changing yourself that much? It didn't seem worth it. You are all yourselves, and I wouldn't have you any other way.

Astarion: ...You're right. I can be better than ... this. *punts Cazador* But I'm not such a bastion of virtue that I won't really enjoy this. *messily murders Cazador; then has himself a little breakdown*

Controller Person: *searches in vain for the dialogue option to hug the poor sod*

Astarion: ...All right. What do we do about the spawn?

Alisaie: Well, they've been badly mistreated and are probably a little feral, and that's a problem when blood-drinkers are involved. But...

Astarion: I can handle that. *releases spawn* Petras. First ... I suppose I'm sorry about calling you a little shit and burning you with the sun and everything. Just ... take those thralls down to the undercity - hells, take them to the Underdark if you have to - but keep them in line, all right?

Petras: Um ... I ... I guess that's an answer to the whole 'what the fuck do we do now?' question, so I guess...

Alisaie: Oh, and if you see a little tiefling girl down there? Run in the opposite direction. She is not the easy snack she appears to be, I promise you.

Petras: ...You people are weird, but okay.

Various Vampire Spawn: *exit, stage undercity*

Astarion: Right. That's that. Can we please get out of here with a minimum of looting? If we're going to destroy those tadpoles and everything, I want to enjoy the sun while I can.

Alisaie: Well, that's part of why I did most of the looting before we came down here, but Gale will like this, annnnnd ... ooh. Oh, look at that pretty sword...

Astarion: *little smile* Well, I got freedom and revenge and satisfaction out of the whole thing. I suppose you're owed something as well.

Alisaie: Oh, I got it. You're free. You don't have to fear him anymore, and can just ... live. The Emperor made a damn good life for himself with hiding himself and only feeding on shitheads; I bet you could do the same, and that's plenty 'something' for me. ...But the blade's a nice bonus.

Astarion: ...Soppy sentiment belongs somewhere with a bit more natural sunlight, Alisaie; we--

Gur Warriors: Did you just release a bunch of vampire spawn into the sewers?

Alisaie: We also murdered a vampire lord who was about yay close to fucking ascending, so I think the words you're looking for are 'thank you'. Also, we've got them being looked after. The crime rate and vermin population is going to go way down after this, I can tell you. Plus I figure at worst, some are bound to die to Bhaal cultists down there. And they'll take some Bhaal cultists with them, so great for everyone all around, honestly.

Astarion: Yes, and also ... I know we took some of your people and we might have been misinformed about them just being ... erm ... food. So your people might be down there too. They might not be in wonderful shape, mind you, but they're still people and not beholden to Cazador anymore. Just make sure they have access to very rare meat and you'll probably be fine.

Wyll: Did he just suggest reuniting those spawn with their families?!?

Alisaie: *elbows Wyll very hard in the ribs*

Wyll: *wheezing* ...sorry...

Gur Warrior Lady: ...Well, then I guess thanks are in order. When you have need of warriors to fight this Absolute, we will be with you.

Alisaie: ...Wasn't expecting that, but thanks...

Wyll: *slowly recovering* Elfsong Tavern and drinks?

Alisaie: Elfsong Tavern and bath. Might want to sneak through the sewers for that, though, since I'm getting a little tired of walking through Baldur's Gate covered in gore.

Astarion: I mean ... I'm mostly numb to everything right now, as that was ... A Thing, as you put it, but ... honestly, I'm still living for how it's just accepted. Had I known I could swan around the lower city covered in blood without attracting attention, the last couple of hundred years would have been very different.

Shadowheart: Anyway, yes, bath sounds like a fine idea. I'll scrub your back if you scrub mine.

Astarion: *opens his mouth*

Wyll: *elbows Astarion very hard in the ribs* Shutupandletmehavethisorsohelpme...

Alisaie: Sounds fantastic. We'll have to let the boys have the tub first, though, since we'll probably want some time to ... luxuriate. I'm sure they can hurry it up a bit. Unless they decide to share--

Wyll; Astarion: ALISAIE!!!

Alisaie: Aaaaaand now that I've lightened the mood, let's get gone.

((Controller Person's Note: Seriously, I had Shadowheart cast Sunlight on the middle of the ritual place from stealth, Astarion stayed stealthy for two solid rounds, and it took another two for Cazador to get close enough to kick off the cutscene that locks Astarion into the ritual. Which meant the field was half-cleared and Cazador fairly damaged before that was even a thing.))

[pxtitxrosx]

"That would be a great idea if it wasn't so dangerous. I'd hate for anyone to get hurt trying to get me more recipes." There was no way she'd even be able to live with herself if that'd happened. "The yeast is the most important stuff, and it can last for like two years if you freeze it, and months on the shelf after it thaws." Which was so lucky for them.

His confirmation on her thoughts about the hot food they provided put her a little more at ease, pleased that through all the strife and uncertainty that she could provide some sort of comfort. Sure feeding people was important, but good food went so much further than scraps. Thankfully for all of them, Rosie's had just received their holiday food delivery just days before everything had happened, meaning the food was not only at it's freshest when they all got trapped inside, but at slightly larger portions. "Really, what I'm excited for is Christmas when we get surprise everyone with more hot turkey. There's a big frozen ham in there, too, but we'll be saving that for future meals." Really, all the protein they could get was probably good.

Smiling softly at his insistence, she nodded her head and took the other half of the sandwich, placing a little piece on her tongue with a little chuckle. "It's so funny that I cook all day, and work in a kitchen, but I don't really sit down and eat much." Then again, how often she was tasting her food as she cooked, it was maybe no wonder she never had an appetite for plated meals. "I do have one request maybe the next time you guys are out already? Some cigarettes for Jer? They'll really help keep him level, especially once we runs out of weed." Thankfully he'd been past the hardest part of his attempt to quit the harder stuff, a fact that she was so proud of, but she knew by now he must be losing his mind with cabin fever.

"I didn't even know you could have bread without egg and dairy, maybe we should take a trip to the library for more recipes," Ash thought out loud but spent most of the time eating as Charlie explained, not hiding the hunger as much as he used to. He had to admit he probably missed a good loaf of bread. He was pretty sure he had mourned the lost of all fresh food like milk and meat and bread. He scoffed down the sandwich, sneaking a glance up to meet Charlie's before laughing at the scene of them here in the diner.

Ash had always usually push her offers for food away in the past month, other people would need it more. But tonight, it's just been a long, tiring two days since the ship trip, and perfects comforting food was something he didn't know he needed. He'll probably go back to his ways by tomorrow but for tonight, with the exhaustion in his bones and ache in his shoulder, he'll indulge. "More than enough," Ashton nodded as he finished his half of the sandwich, "we can't underestimate the power of food bringing people together." Even within the army, breaking fast and eating together had always been a bonding joy, even if they were eating stale biscuits and MREs.

He picked up a cookie for himself and insistently pushed the plate with the other half of the sandwich and cookies to Charlie, seeing her only nibble a small bite, "have some with me? You deserve it too. It's not fun eating alone."

[boxofbadaddiction]

A Reason to Smile

Fred Weasley x Reader

This Story is inspired from a request of my Movie Lines Prompt List.

Prompts: 4, 10 & 16

"Let's put a smile on that face."/"Go ahead, make my day."/"Yippee ki yay, Motherfucker."

Warnings: Swearing. Umbridge.

Y/n woke up in a foul mood. With less than 3 hours sleep after having spent the whole night in detention with Umbridge and just can't seem to find a reason to smile. Even the thought of spending the day with her best friends, Fred and George, fills her with somewhat dread.

She doesn't want to see anyone. Do anything. Or go anywhere. Which is totally unideal for a Saturday. If things were to go her way she'd just roll over and stay in bed.

But she's starving so there's just no avoiding the inevitable.

Begrudgingly she pulls herself from her bedsheets and readies for breakfast.

As she arrives in the Great Hall she keeps her eyes trained to the floor, bee-lining for a place far enough away from the other students in her House to simply eat in peace before disappearing back to her dorm for the day.

But of course, with Fred and George as your best friends, how could she have possibly expected that to go to plan?

"Hey, y/n/n!" One of the Twins shout as they made their way over to her House table for breakfast. Their typical peppy demeanour mocked her, as it seemed impossible to draw herself from her current bad mood. Unable to even muster a fake, courteous smile for the sake of conversation.

"What happened to you last night?" spoke George as they sat either side of their dishevelled appearing friend. "Popped out to hand in some homework and we never saw you again. What'd you get lost?" He teased, nudging her shoulder in the process while his brother chuckled at the remark.

"I'm sorry I disappeared but please guys not today. I'm not in the mood."

"Woah, what's with the tone, love? And not in the mood? Please! You're always in the mood for us" Fred goaded pulling y/n into his side by her waist. A guesture which would usually have her leaning into his touch but not today.

She shook herself from his hold with a huff, leaning onto the table she propped her head up by the palm of her hand.

Neither Twin knew how to react, she'd never been so put off by them before. "Y/n...are you okay?" Fred asked sincerely. Both boys were eyeing her concernedly.

Y/n avoided eye contact, staring fixedly at her, now cold, bowl of porridge as she stabbed at it with her spoon. That's when Fred noticed it. The pink discolouration on the back of her hand. His heart dropped at the sight. She'd obviously been with Umbridge last night.

"Y/n-" his voice was firm as he spoke, drawing her and Georges attention immediately, his eyes flicked briefly to hers before focusing solely on the forming scar. "Your hand."

"It's nothing." Y/n straightened herself tucking her hand into her lap with a slight wince as the fabric of her clothes caught the still tender surface of her wound. Her other hand came to grip at its forearm to distract herself from the dull throbbing pain which now coursed through her hand.

"It's not nothing!" Fred snapped harshly, but as a whisper so not to draw too much unwanted attention.

George delicately reached across her lap lifting her injured hand into the light, his own eyes near shaking as they searched desperately between hers and his brothers expressions before inspecting the words she'd been forced to carve into her own flesh all night.

"I will obey the rules" he read the words aloud, the very phrase causing a sick bile to rise in each boys throat.

"I was busted on my way back. She told me I need to 'be more aware of the company I keep' less something like this happen again" y/n mumbled with distaste, her eyes locked determinedly onto the tables edge.

There was a moments silence between the three, all seemingly afraid to speak, before George stood abruptly, storming from the hall. An action which caused y/n to close her eyes tightly, drawing a sharp breath in, attempting to distract from the tightness that'd formed in her chest in knowing the effect her words had on the pair.

She never intended on telling them about the detention. They'd surely blame themselves for her being out past curfew as it was their idea to meet up in the first place. But it's not like she didn't understand the risk of what she was doing when she did it.

They knew those few words all too well. Umbridge had spoken them to her before, countless times by this point.

The first time, the Twins had been pestering y/n in the courtyard when she approached. They were lounged about one of the concrete benches under the courtyards largest tree. Freds head was in Y/ns lap, as she read, poking her cheek in an attempt to gain her full attention whilst George sat on her otherside, all his weight pressing against her as he sighed boredly.

Umbridge had deemed their behaviour 'not school appropriate' and 'not in compliance' with Educational Decree Number 31; as Boys and Girls are not permitted to be within 8 inches of each other.

The Brothers had laughed at her, a poorly timed 'you're kidding' thrown her way as Fred swung his legs off the bench now sitting upright. A few more cheekily placed comments landed the pair in detention for the night.

She highly disapproved of y/ns relationship with the Twins and had no issue voicing the fact and so before parting she'd issued that very same warning to y/n, stating matter-of-factly; "You should be more cautious of the company which you keep. Such a promising young witch, it'd be a shame to see your talents go to waste or future be tarnished for that matter by the carelessness of others whom are less gifted." She'd uttered the words with sharp glares thrown down her nose to the two Weasleys.

From that moment it'd become somewhat of a catch phrase for her everytime the threesome caught her attention.

Y/ns head dropped, mumbling a soft "I'm sorry, Fred."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, love." He rubbed small comforting circles on the lower of her back before pulling her waist as he had done so earlier. Inching closer so their legs were pushed flush together as he rest his chin atop her shoulder nestling into her neck. A touch which, this time, she did not shy away from - rather craning her head back to rest against his.

"I just don't think I'm someone you'll want to be around today." She admitted sadly, "I can't bring myself to enjoy anything."

"Well that just won't do" Fred pulled his head back to look into her eyes with a cheeky knowing expression. But even that wasn't enough to bring a rise to her saddened features. "Come on," he nudged her shoulder, "let's put a smile on that face." He spoke with a smirk.

"Reckon you can?"

"Of course!" Fred nodded with a tone of absolutely certainty.

"Well go ahead, make my day." Y/n challenged, which brought an excited smile to Freds face. He jumped from his place at the table holding an expectant hand out for her to take which she accepted a little hesitantly.

"Should we go find George? See if he's okay?"

"Nah, he'll be fine. Besides, this way I get you all to myself." Fred squeezed her hand a little tighter as he all but dragged his friend from the Hall.

A few hours had past and Fred were still relentlessly determined to make today one of the best days possible for y/n. Surprisingly he'd started off small with a just few well timed jokes and casual strolls around the Castle simply trying to keep her occupied on anything other than those toxic thoughts that kept her from enjoying the day.

As lunch approached he'd upped his game. Grabbing a few snacks from the kitchens and taking her down to her favourite place by the Lake where they spent the time talking together; sharing various stories while Fred told countless jokes to make her laugh and spoke of their newest inventions for the joke shop.

Y/n was sure she hadn't stopped smiling since the moment they'd left the Hall. Fred just had that effect on her but with every small guesture and tender smile thrown her way there was just no stopping the butterflies that erupt in her chest or the warmth that spread to her cheeks from his flirty comments and kind words.

By this point she'd nearly forgotten the whole reason he were so determined to make today so memorable.

But Georges absence and the light stinging in her hand was a nagging little reminder at the back of her mind which stopped her from falling wholly into the moment.

"Alright, Miss." Fred shot up from his place on the grass, dusting his hands on his jeans as he did so. "Onto grander things!" He held his hands out for her to take, pulling her giggling figure from the ground. "What could you possibly have planned now?" "Oh just a little mischief." He grinned as his tongue grazed his bottom lip before threading itself between his teeth, eyeing her closely. Y/ns eyes narrowed at his words untrusting of whatever plan his brain had suddenly cooked up. There were no time to question however as she were promptly being pulled to the Castle as the Sun fell below the horizon.

"You dragged me back to the Castle like a man possessed for dinner!?" Y/n questioned as they entered the Great Hall alongside countless of the other Hogwarts residents.

"Well yes and no. Yes; because you need to have a proper meal today aside from a couple sad mouthfuls of porridge and a dozen sweets. No; because for my next trick we will in fact be needing our beloved Georgie." "Do you think he's okay?" "One way to find out isn't there? OI! George!" Fred pushed through the dawdling individuals in the aisles between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, pulling y/n along behind him to where his Twin were currently seated for dinner.

"Hey Georgie" y/n began in a sad tone as she sat beside him. "Are you okay?" She stroked his arm reassuringly as she spoke. "Yeah I'm fine. Sorry I took off this morning I-" "ah-ah!" Fred piped from her otherside, "no morning talk. Look you're ruining all my good work!" He commented pointing to the concerned frown which were now upon y/ns features. "What?" "Dear Freddie here has been spending the day trying to get my mind off things." "Right right...Ginny mentioned something about Fred dragging you around the school all day." "Yes, and until now it'd been working so just...perk up. Which shouldn't be hard once I tell you my plan" Fred rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Plan?" "Know that thing we've been dying to try but haven't had the occasion?" he stated vaguely which had concern growing in the pit of y/ns stomach. Concern which only worsened as she watched how Georges features shifted swiftly from one of slight disinterest to immediate excitement. "Really? You wanna do that tonight?" His smile was wicked and a little frightening in y/ns opinion as he questioned his brother who merely hummed in response. "Reckon I can name a few select members of a certain 'club' who would make excellent guinea pigs." Continued George in a whisper over top of y/n "You've read my mind." Fred took a sip from a drink y/n had just poured, for herself mind you.

Y/ns focus was shifting worriedly between the two brothers who sat on her either side sharing an unspoken understanding.

"Stop doing that you're freaking me out!" She snapped which caused the boys to laugh, George mumbling a simple "You're in for a treat" as he turned his attention back to his dinner with a sly grin.

Y/n looked back to Fred hoping for some kind of hint or reassurance but he just smiled, wrapping his arm round her waist and pulling her into his side as he began to eat.

"You really think you're going to get away with this?" Y/ns voice rang throughout the empty corridor. "Only one way to find out" Fred wiggled his eyebrows at her.

The pair were currently hiding around the corner of the 7th floor main corridor. It were past curfew as the Twins plan fell into play.

"Explain to me again what exactly these things are?" Y/n asked as she fiddled with a small cylindrical canister. "Paint bombs." Fred answered excitedly. "Similar to Dungbombs just-" "with paint?" "Pretty much, yeah. You pull this little tab, then you have about 7 seconds before it goes off. This one in particular is my favourite so far." "And whys that?" "You'll see" Fred smiled brightly down at her before the sound of approaching footsteps put an end to their conversation.

George barrelled down the hallway, throwing himself into the pair very much out of breath but with a smile as wide as Fred's had been moments ago.

"All set?" "Yeah. They should be coming through any minute now." The three craned their necks around the walls edge, waiting for their unsuspecting victims. It didnt take long before the sound of several pairs of agitated feet came stomping through the corridor.

Filch followed by a handful of the Inquisitorial Squad were huddled together in shared annoyance by the antics of George which were leading them directly into their trap. Various curses and angry grumbles could only faintly be heard over the distance between them.

"Right" Fred whispered as the three ducked back behind the wall, he gave George and y/n a quick nod before tearing the small tab from it's place. "Yippe Ki Yay, Motherfucker." He spoke dramatically as he stepped out, throwing the Paint Bomb like a grenade towards the befuddled group of Slytherins and accompanying Caretaker.

Quickly shooting himself back behind the wall where all three waited with baited breaths and backs pressed flush to the cold stone wall.

"Not a day goes by that I don't regret showing you Die Hard." Y/n mumbled, a comment which brought a wide smile to Freds face as he looked down to her. A few more seconds past before a loud crack and angry shouts echoed through the Castle.

Y/n looked in amazement to see the Hall covered in multicoloured, sparkling, paint as well as orange and gold confetti. There was something beautiful about it she thought. All the vibrant pinks, blues and purples caught the eye like a giant canvas painting. Aside from the ugly squabbling creature, that had once been the Inquisitorial Squad, at the pieces centre of course.

She was in tears from laughing at the sight when Fred leant down to speak in her ear "whataya think?" "I think it's brilliant!" She smiled up at him, "that's the messiest one we've got." He nodded in the direction of the chaos currently unfolding before them.

The group were slipping over themselves and wiping hands down their faces in disgust over the thick liquid which coated them all, as well as the ceiling and walls.

"It was also the only one." George scowled though clearly very amused. "Worth it though wouldn't you say?" "Absolutely."

Freds eyes turned back to y/n, admiring her laughing figure beside him.

"We'll count that one a success heya, Freddie?" George nudged but his brothers trance was not so easily broken. "Definitely" he smiled not turning away from her.

"Shit!" Y/n exclaimed suddenly. "Yeah, I'd say it's time to go." George stated as he watched the very colourful and very angry group now charging after them.

George took off in a sprint but it weren't till y/n began running, taking a hold of Freds hand as she did so that he fully registered what was going on and started to run too.

Fred and Y/n had ended up in her common room after losing George. Luckily it were late enough that not many people were still hanging about so the two pretty much had the place to themselves. Spending a few more moments just being together and reliving the day by the fire, it weren't till the clock struck 12am that Fred admit he should be getting back to his dormitory. Not that he wanted to but y/n needed to sleep after her restless night prior, he hadn't meant to keep her up this late to begin with.

Pulling her from the couch he walked her to the bottom of her dorm rooms staircase where she stood a couple stairs from the bottom to match his height.

It'd slipped the pairs notice that they were still holding one anothers hand until their joined laughter faltered and the warmth in their palms caused realisation to strike. Fred dropped the hold clearing his throat as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Thank you for today, Freddie." Y/n smiled warmly. "Pretty memorable, aye? Told you I'd get you smiling." He rocked confidently on the balls of his feet. Y/n shook her head slightly as she absent-mindedly stroked his arm. "Don't know what I'd do without you." "Probably nag George" he joked.

"As much as I love Georgie, it wouldn't be the same" Freds eyes studied her face the whole time she spoke. He could feel his heart begin to race inside his chest. If only she knew how much he wished he could hear her say she loved him.

"Goodnight, Freddie" y/n placed a light kiss to his cheek, grip tightening ever-so-slightly on his bicep before turning slowly to leave.

His heart was thundering now. Breaths rapid as his body urges him to speak. To tell her everything.

How he's in love with her and he's sure she feels the same way.

How she's the first thing on his mind of a morning and the last thing at night. How his whole family has been pushing him to just pluck up the courage and ask her out already. How nothing makes him happier than seeing her smile. How he never wanted to go to the Ball as 'just friends'. How he smells her perfume in Amortentia. That the sight of her at breakfast this morning, so down and distraught, broke his heart. How for the last few hours it's taken near all his strength to stop himself kissing her with as much love and passion as he can to show her how much she means to him.

But how do you convey all that to someone who has been your best friend for the past 5 years? No clue. But he has to try and he knows he'll never get this kind of opportunity again.

"Y/n, wait-" he grabs her arm, taking a step towards her he pulls her into his chest. Before he can process it his hand is cupping her cheek and he's kissing her with such intensity y/n can feel the air leave her lungs as she melts into him. Her arms snaking over his body. A hand running itself along his shoulder, fingers entangling themselves in the locks of hair at the base of his neck, whilst the other wraps tightly around his torso.

When they finally break apart Fred's on cloud nine. Nothing had ever felt so good or so right. But at the same time, he's panicking. God, he hopes she truly does feel the same way and he didn't just completely misread everything about their relationship. Their foreheads are pressed together as y/ns lips form a wide smile.

"If you wanted to give me a reason to smile today...you could have just started with that."

[softjaehyvn]

strangers | l.ty

— angst ; 5k

— mentions of cancer

He loved to work anywhere. It did not matter if it's at home, in a café, or just outside on a bench close to the ocean, if there was one.

Since he traveled a lot, he always had new places to go and continue what he was doing at that moment. But that also meant he had no one who could appreciate his hard work.

No one, until he saw her in that restaurant.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He wanted to talk to her, as soon as he heard her sweet voice talking to a man in front of her, softly asking if he was the man she wanted to meet.

As soon as the other man nodded, she smiled so brightly and in Lee Taeyong's eyes, it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. And it hurt that this smile was not for him.

He was ripped from his thoughts as someone placed a plate with delicious food in front of him. "I hope you enjoy your meal", the woman said, smiling friendly as Taeyong looked up at her. "Thank you", he answered and started eating.

But he could not stop thinking about her beautiful smile.

Lee Taeyong was back in South Korea. After spending a weekend in Venice and a whole week in Stockholm, he was finally back. writing in other countries always made him feel better because he never got out of his apartment or the studio.

"Hyung, are you back?", Jaemin, one of his best friends asked. the younger male had a spare key just to check-in, just like the rest of his group. Whenever they wanted they could go inside and get something from Taeyong's fridge or whatever they wanted. It was kind of a shared apartment, but the other boys slept at their parent's house since Taeyong's apartment was pretty small for all those people.

"Yeah, finally got back. And I’m so tired", Taeyong whined and got up to greet his friend.

"Then stop working and go to sleep", Jaemin scoffed and let go of Taeyong, just to see the filled pages Taeyong had written in the last week.

"You wrote all of this in just a week? Hyung, I guess I’ve always underestimated you", Jaemin said while reading a bit through the lyrics.

Taeyong started to laugh. "Jaemin, you know I’m always like this", he said. "I can't stop writing when I’m somewhere else. Stockholm and Venice did something to me."

"Venice? You didn't tell me you wanted to travel there! Hyung, I’ve always wanted to go there", Jaemin exclaimed as he continued reading.

"One day we'll go there together, yeah? We all together. It's really beautiful there", Taeyong said and chuckled, he found it adorable how mad Jaemin seemed to be simply because Taeyong had not told him, he would be going to Venice.

"I'm sure you're going to love it there. There were so many places to visit, but I only spent the weekend there. The rest of the week I was in Stockholm as planned", Taeyong explained. "I think of going to Berlin soon. You wanna come, too?", Taeyong asked the younger.

Jaemin nodded. "Yes, of course, hyung. I'll tell Mark, too, then we can go together", he answered.

"That'd be amazing. I missed traveling with you guys", Taeyong smiled, then he yawned. "I think I’m going to bed. If you want to, you can try to work on the lyrics I wrote. We need to hand something to pd-nim soon."

"Yeah, I'll get to it right now. Do you want me to call mark, too? I thought I wouldn't invite him since you're really tired and you know how he can be sometimes “, Jaemin chuckled. "Yeah... thanks for that", Taeyong grinned. "Get to work, Jaemin-ah."

"I. will, hyung", he promised, but then he seemed like he got an idea. "Did you eat something?", he asked. Taeyong just shook his head. "I thought I'll order something when I wake up again", the elder answered. "Forget that, I'm ordering pizza now. You can sleep after you ate", the younger protested and took out his phone, laughing at the elder groaning. "Are you serious? I just want to sleep", he whined.

"Stop being a baby and wait for half an hour. It's not going to kill you. At that time, we could read over your texts", Jaemin said and took out his phone to order something to eat.

"Yeah, okay. that's a good idea, too", Taeyong said and sat down on his couch. They worked on Taeyong's lyrics, Jaemin was impressed by how much Taeyong had written in just a week. Taeyong loved his work. he loved being able to travel around.

Suddenly he remembered you. He remembered your soft smile at that one man and started smiling. he could not stop thinking about you. He remembered your sweet voice, asking the man if he was the one she wanted to meet.

"You okay, hyung? Why are you suddenly smiling?", Jaemin asked. "I'm fine, just thought about someone I saw in Venice", Taeyong answered. "Was it some girl?", his best friend grinned and laughed at Taeyong's panicked look. "Tell me about her. How did you meet her?"

So, he started talking. He told him everything about you, telling his best friend about how much you inspired him to write more love songs. That was something Taeyong always wanted to do but he could not do it since it did not fit the style of songs he usually wrote.

"You're cute, hyung", Jaemin said grinning. "You have a crush on a girl you couldn't even talk to. Who knows, if you're ever going to meet her again."

"I don't care. she inspired me a lot without even knowing", Taeyong chuckled and pointed at his lyrics. "That's the proof."

"I know, hyung... I know", Jaemin only said before he got up to get the pizzas and enjoyed his time with his closest friend.

They just had booked their flight tickets to Berlin and smiled brightly. It had been a long time since Taeyong, Jaemin and Mark had traveled somewhere together and Taeyong had to admit that he missed traveling with his two best friends. He had wanted to do that again and finally, they would do it. 

"We got the tickets and booked our hotel. I hope there will not happen anything bad", Taeyong said. "Don't be such a pessimist. Nothing will happen, okay? We'll fly to Berlin and enjoy our time together. We needed that", Jaemin said smiling and opened a new page on Taeyong's laptop. He looked for something to eat. Taeyong stopped him right away. "No, don't. I went grocery shopping today just to be able to cook something for us", he said. 

Well... Taeyong tried. but as Mark was able to distract him, the food burned and they couldn't eat it. So, they had to order take out. But no one cared. They liked to have their free time and spend them together as best friends. And finally, they were able to spend more time together. Taeyong was excited. In a few days, they would be on the plane to Istanbul, then Berlin. 

"Guys? What do you think about this?", Jaemin asked. he showed the other boys a few lines he just had written. 

The lyrics Jaemin showed them were emotional, full of love. It was completely different from what he would write usually.

"That sounds good", Taeyong commented and smiled.

"Since when are you so emotional?", Mark giggled. He groaned as Jaemin hit him.

"I don't know... probably since I'm dating Seoyeon", Jaemin laughed. The other two boys widened their eyes. They didn't know about Jaemin dating one of the producers of SME, the entertainment they all were working in. 

"Since when are you two dating?!", Taeyong blurted out.

"Oh... I didn't tell you, right? Seoyeon and I are dating for almost two months now. I kind of forgot to tell you about it", Jaemin laughed a bit and his cheeks reddened as always when he got shy.

Long flights were always a little problem for Taeyong. But if he took his medication, it wouldn't be a problem at all. Him having cancer had been a reason to even fire him from his job since there always was the risk of something happening to him. But SME loved him. They loved his lyrics. That's why they would keep him in the company.

Taeyong was truly a genius when talking about song lyrics. Not only the company loved them but the fans of the artists he wrote for and his fans did as well. He enjoyed the reactions and speculations as they were trying to figure out what deeper meaning the lyrics had.

As usual, he had his notebook open and ready to write something down if he would get something in mind that he could work on. But it seemed like his mind was empty. He couldn’t even get one line together that sounded good to him.

“Sorry, you’re sitting on my seat!”, someone said and Taeyong looked up. His eyes widened as he saw you standing there.

“O-oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t notice it”, he hurriedly got up and tried to make space for you. You smiled and stepped back a little so he can get out of the tight spot. When you tried to get to your seat, you tripped and he put his hands on your waist, stopping you from falling.

“Careful”, he said and held your hand until you sat down.

“Thank you”, you answered and tightened your belt as Taeyong sat down next to you.

“You’re welcome. I’m Taeyong by the way. Nice to meet you”, he smiled as he also tightened his belt. His heart started beating faster as you also smiled when you told him your name. He couldn’t believe that you were there, in the same plane as him, and seated right next to you. Was it luck? He honestly didn’t know.

“You kind of seem familiar to me? Is it possible that I saw you somewhere before?”, you then asked him. He nodded.

“I saw you in Venice. It was at that restaurant, what was it called?”, he murmured as he tried to remember the name. “Right! Ai Mercanti was the name.”

„Right! It was such a great place though!”, you said and the moment he saw your smile again, his heart stopped a beat before starting to pound in his chest. He was in love with your smile.

“Where are you traveling?”, Taeyong asked you. He sort of was disappointed when you told him that you would stay in Istanbul for a while before heading back to Seoul for your work. During the flight, Taeyong didn’t even write a little bit into his notebook. He was either sleeping or talking to you.

You thought Taeyong was cute, a passionate person who loved his work over everything. He had shown you a few of his lyrics and surprised you by telling you that he wrote a few of the songs you loved to listen to.

“I didn’t think that I would meet the person who wrote my favorite songs”, you giggled and read over a few drafts he had written down in his notebook.

“Well, you did”, Taeyong answered smiling before he yawned. He checked the time, noticed that you both had been talking for over an hour and he noticed that it was late.

“I think, I will try to sleep. You should, too”, he said and put the blanket he had brought with him over his body. You only nodded, also trying to cuddle yourself into your blanket. Eventually, both of you fell asleep.

“Hyung”, someone was shaking his body softly but it was enough to wake Taeyong eventually up. He looked around confused and noticed that the plane already landed. “We’re in Istanbul. We have to get out and go to our next plane”, Mark said and Taeyong looked to the seat next to him. It was empty. But there was a small piece of paper which he picked up and read it. There was a small text saying that you loved talking to him during the flight and you wrote down your number.

“Who was that?”, Mark asked him curiously, trying to peek on the note. But Taeyong folded it and hid it in his pocket. He only brushed it off with a small “No one” and grabbed his bag where he had put his notebook and other things in. He hurried to get out of the plane and breathed in as soon as he finally was able to get fresh air.

“Now I kind of regret that we didn’t stay here for like a day or something. We could’ve eaten that thing Yuta had recommended us”, Taeyong pouted. 

“Are you sure that it isn’t because of the girl?”, Mark asked him, causing Taeyong to widen his eyes but also shook his head immediately.

“Of course not! She has nothing to do with this. I only spoke to her today. It was the first time I ever talked to her. And I probably won’t ever see her again, so it doesn’t matter”, Taeyong answered. It was a big lie, but he didn’t want to tell the other two boys that he would be meeting up with her as soon as they were back in South Korea.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep on lying to yourself, Taeyongie”, Jaemin laughed and they both finally entered the huge airport. At first, it seemed like the three boys were lost but they were lucky to find someone who spoke fluent English so Mark and Jaemin could ask them for help. It took them around half an hour to finally arrive at their next gate where they would be going to their next plane to Berlin.

All of them were already exhausted. It would take around three more hours on a plane until they would finally in Berlin and would go to their hotel. Taeyong decided to work on his notes for a few songs his manager asked him to write. Soon, there would be a new group debuting and they needed good songs.

While he was thinking about you, possible lines for songs (to be exact, they mostly were love songs) were written in his notebook and he was proud of all the paragraphs he managed to write in only two hours. For the last hour, he decided on sleeping and was woken up by Jaemin as they landed.

His medication was really heavy so he always slept over. One of the boys always had to come over to his place to wake him up so he could at least show up at the company for once. Sometimes, the boys even thought he was dead because he didn’t move at all or even woke up, no matter how hard they tried to wake him.

That usually had been in the beginning after the doctor diagnosed him with his tumor. Now his body got used to the heavy medication and he didn’t pass out a lot anymore. It still happened that he just fell asleep somewhere or even just lose his consciousness when they were on their way home from a long day at the company.

“We landed. We’re in Berlin”, he was all smiley and happy and Taeyong was grateful that he still could see his best friends who were like a family for him happy.

Taeyong got up and took his bag, going to the exit with Jaemin. Mark already was out, waiting for them. The youngest of the three was impatient, wanting to go to their hotel and just sleep. Taeyong put his arm around Mark and smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll be at the hotel soon and you can sleep as much as you want to. We all need it”, Taeyong said and Mark nodded.

“I’m just exhausted because of the flight. But anyway, how are you feeling? Are you too exhausted?”, Mark asked him worriedly. Taeyong shook his head.

“I’m good. The medicine wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be. I’m doing okay. I will be able to make it to the hotel without passing out”, he joked but he knew his illness was a sensitive topic to his friends. Taeyong always took his illness way too easy than he actually should.

“If you tried to be funny about your illness, you know I hate that. I’m sorry Taeyong Hyung”, Jaemin said and sighed.

“I know. I shouldn’t take it as easy as I do but I… I try to make the best of it. I’m here with you guys now, I’m living the life of my dreams. I just try to enjoy it. And I know exactly that this whole thing is super sensitive. I get that. But I just try to forget it for a while…”, Taeyong said while they were walking into the airport.

“I also get that. Let’s have a great vacation here, okay? Don’t think about work, don’t think a bit about lyrics. I want you to have your time with us, yeah?”, Jaemin said and Taeyong only smiled when he nodded.

Jaemin might be two years younger than him, but he was truly more mature than someone would expect. He was a dork, yes, he always managed to make the others laugh, but he knew whenever there was a serious moment, he should back off and try to help.

“We should go. I’m getting tired”, Taeyong then said and both Mark and Jaemin kind of panicked as they rushed a little to get out of the airport as soon as possible. Soon, they were in a cab, the driver was luckily speaking a little English, so Mark and Jaemin were able to communicate with him.

No matter how tired he was, Taeyong couldn’t go to sleep without checking the paper you had given him. He smiled as he noticed the small heart next to your number and he immediately took out his phone to save your number. Before he actually texted you, he decided to get ready to sleep.

When he finally was ready to sleep, he took his phone again and opened the still empty chat with you.

“Hey it’s Taeyong ^^”

It didn’t take long until you answered.

“I thought you’d never text me. Was your flight okay?”

“Yes… We just arrived at the hotel. I’m really tired and I will go to sleep now. How is Istanbul?”

“I didn’t go around much yet but the place I’m staying in is so beautiful”

You and Taeyong texted for almost an hour. It didn’t take long until he finally noticed that he actually should sleep. That is what he texted you. You only answered that you were sorry for keeping him up for so long. He smiled at your answer.

“It’s okay, I’ll sleep now, yeah?”

“good night, yongie”

His heart fluttered at the nickname and he couldn’t stop smiling. Taeyong put his phone away and eventually, he fell asleep while he was thinking about you.

“did you sleep well?”

Taeyong looked on his phone as the message arrived. He smiled a little which didn’t go unnoticed by Jaemin and Mark. The boys currently were at a “Who was it?”, Jaemin asked grinning. “Is it the sweet girl you were seated next to?”

“Yes, it’s her”, Taeyong admitted. “Also… do you remember the girl I saw in Venice?” As both of them nodded, Taeyong continued talking. “It’s her.”

Jaemin widened his eyes, he couldn’t believe the luck Taeyong had. He was happy for his best friend and smiled. “I’m so happy for you, Hyung. Seriously, it actually so unbelievable but I’m so glad that you found her and even talk to her now. If it makes you happy, I am happy, too”, Jaemin spoke and Taeyong couldn’t help but smile even more.

“Thank you so much, Jaeminie.”

That evening, you and Taeyong talked on the phone. Neither you nor him were tired since you slept over the whole afternoon to evening and now had time to just talk. He told you about how much you had inspired him to write love songs which weren’t his strength, no matter how often his company asked him to write a few.

“That’s so sweet, god I can’t with this”, you whined and he grinned. “Can you read them out for me again?”

And he did. He just read them, smiling as he imagined your beautiful smile. He truly fell for you before even knowing you and he was sure as soon as he finally got to know you better, he’d be highs over heels in love with you.

“The texts are so beautiful. Which group do you think they will let them record them?”, you asked him. “Only… tell me if you’re actually allowed to. I don’t want to get you in trouble or something.”

“No, it’s okay. I just write too much and sometimes they don’t even use the texts. Then I’m just uploading them on SoundCloud with Jaemin and Mark, my two best friends”, he explained. “I feel like this song might not fit to any group so it might end up being recorded by a few other friends.”

“You sing, too? God, is there anything you can’t do?”, you asked him and giggled. Everything you did made him smile like an idiot. He never thought he could ever fall for someone like this.

“Well, Mark and I are usually doing the rap but some people say I should sing more”, he laughed.

“Could you maybe sing something for me?”, you asked him shyly, not sure if he would do it.

“I’m not so confident with my singing, actually”, he said. “But one day, I will sing for you, promise.”

“You don’t have to, Yongie. It’s okay if you’re not comfortable with it”, you said. “Hey, umm, I need to sleep now, if that’s okay for you? I got an appointment with a salesman early tomorrow and need to rest properly.”

“Of course, angel, I need to sleep now, too”, he said. “Sleep well, Y/N”.”

“You, too, Yongie”, you called him by the nickname again and again, his heart was pounding in his chest. As you hung up, he couldn’t stop thinking about how it would be to see you again. It made him happy that he was able to talk to you, to get to know you. In the moments you two were talking, he seemed to forget about his illness. He seemed to feel healthy and strong while he was actually weak and sick.

It didn’t take him much time to fall asleep again. He slept peaceful and well, better than he had before, ever since his doctor had diagnosed him with cancer. Taeyong didn’t know what made him feel happier when he woke up the next day.

During the small vacation, Taeyong enjoyed his time with his two best friends and… he was happy. He was satisfied with how his life was at the moment.

On the flight back, they were also stopping once in Istanbul, making him question if you already had returned to Seoul since you didn’t have your return tickets yet when Taeyong had called you for the last time two days ago. He didn’t want to bother you as you were there for work and not for vacation.

If he only knew that you were waiting for him to call. You had already finished all your work there and had a few free days which he didn’t know. Also, you were shy, that was enough not to call him.

After the long flight, they were picked up by Johnny; the young Korean-American male was the only one who had a driver’s license and had agreed to pick the three men up as soon as they were back in Seoul. First, he dropped off Mark and Jaemin. When they arrived at Taeyong’s apartment, he smiled and got out of the car, Johnny following him to carry his luggage.

“Thanks, John. I appreciate that”, he said as they were in the elevator.

“Of course, Yongie. If you need help with something else, just ask. I’ll try to help you as much as I can”, Johnny answered and got out of the elevator as it stopped.

Johnny let the bag fall on the ground as he noticed that Taeyong was still in the elevator, held his hand at the door, and stopped it from closing. Taeyong was holding his head and his eyes were closed.

“Did you take your medication?”, Johnny asked him which Taeyong only answered by shaking his head as a no. He forgot to take the pills, causing him not to sleep enough on the flight. “Where are they?”

Johnny helped Taeyong to get out of the elevator and escorted the weak male to his apartment. He helped Taeyong with taking his medication, all of the boys knew about how many pills he had to take so they were able to help when Taeyong wasn’t in the state to help himself.

It took him a little until he felt better and was able to change his clothes on his own. As he looked at his pale body, he noticed a few bruises. At this point, he was used to getting random bruises on his body, they were everywhere now.

“Do you want me to call someone?”, Johnny asked. “I need to go to the studio, PD-nim said there was an emergency with one of the trainees and they need me.”

“No… I’m fine. Wait, no, call Y/N”, Taeyong then said. “I really hope she’s back here...”, he then murmured to himself. Taeyong told him not to say anything about his illness before he handed his phone to Johnny who pressed on the ‘call’ button as soon as he found your contact.

“Yongie?”, you yawned, making Johnny smile.

“It’s Johnny. I’m a friend of Taeyong. He isn’t feeling well after the flight and I would stay at his place but I have to work. Could you come over and maybe stay here until I’m back?”

“Of course. Would you text me the address? I’ll be there as soon as possible”, you answered without even thinking.

“I will. Thanks for doing this, Y/N. I’m looking forward to meet you soon”, Johnny spoke before he hung up and looked to Taeyong who was still scrunching his face in pain and was lying in his bed. “She will be here in around ten minutes. Do you think you would be able to stay awake?”

“Mhm, I think I’ll make it. You should go. The company is also important”, Taeyong said. As soon as Johnny was out, he started to let out all the coughing he was trying to hold in the whole time. He didn’t want to let Johnny see in what kind of a bad situation he was.

He was coughing with no pause, couldn’t breathe properly and he looked up in a panic as someone knocked at the door after a few minutes. Taeyong tried to get up from his bed and walked to the door, he was coughing badly and was weak.

He opened the door and… collapsed.

It was such a surprise for you to see him collapse right in front of you. You panicked and didn’t know what to do for a moment. You tried to pull him up and did everything you learned in a first-aid course, your whole body was shaking because you were scared. What was going on with him?

Meanwhile, you were talking to the emergency.

While you were waiting, you looked through his apartment, walked around but still stayed close so you can watch him. You found his phone and unlocked it by using his fingerprint. As you went through his contacts, you saw the names Jaemin and Mark, remembering how he told you that he’s going on his vacation with them.

Immediately, you called Jaemin.

“Hyung? What’s up?”, he said with a groggy voice. Probably the man was already sleeping.

“It’s Y/N. I…”, before you were able to continue speaking, you burst into crying. “H-he coll-apsed”, you stuttered out. You finally got yourself together and spoke with a much more stable voice. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

While you were talking to Jaemin and tried to calm down, you were walking around the small apartment. And then, you gasped in shock as you saw a little bit of blood. Maybe he coughed out blood as he was trying to open the door.

“I’ll be right over. Or wait, did you call the emergency? If yes, just text me which hospital you’re going to, I’ll go there directly”, Jaemin then said and you only answered him with a ‘yes’ before you hung up.

Soon, the paramedics arrived and after questioning you about who you are and what you were doing in his apartment and all that, they finally brought him to the ambulance and you got into the car as well, driving to the hospital as fast as possible and you were crying, still didn’t know what was going on in there.

“You didn’t know about this?”, Mark asked you. You looked up and shook your head as a no. “I thought he might’ve told you already. You were talking a lot when we were in Berlin.”

“No. He never mentioned it. I was so surprised when he suddenly collapsed after opening the door. At least, he was able to open the door”, you told him then.

“It surprised me. Seriously. He always talked about you when he was back from Venezia. Talked about how beautiful you were for him. If we didn’t stop him, he even might talk for hours about you even though he only saw you for a second. He truly lo-“

“Where is he?!”, Johnny interrupted Mark in his small speech, not allowing the younger male to tell him that Taeyong loved you.

Before Mark could answer him, the doctor arrived. He seemed sad, disappointed in himself. You felt the fear of hearing bad news about Taeyong’s current state.

“I’m sorry”, the medic said, making your heart beat faster.

“He is currently in a coma.”

taglist ;; @wownajaemin​ @n8dlesoupguk​ 

[punkscowardschampions]

Jude & Jac

Jude: [post rave] Jude: you can stop your 1 woman campaign now, freshers looks fun, I admit it Jac: That's why they give out free shit and throw these things Jac: convince people like you, good to know you've fallen for it 🎣😏 Jude: I'm convinced enough to crash Trinity's 😜✌ Jude: here on out Jac: good luck, jailbait Jac: the two years you've got left in school show 👶 Jac: you can't even grow unconvincing facial hair like the boys in my year Jude: nah they don't, why ma & da get so stressed every time I leave the house 💋👗👠 Jac: Predators enjoying the fact you think so is another issue entirely Jude: 🙄😏 Jude: can never just have a nice chat with you Jac: What do you need to chat about? Jude: what do YOU need to chat about? Jac: That was an...attempt, I'll give you that Jude: alright, here's the nudge, her name starts with S & last time she was ranked she was at like a 4 Jude: but I'm willing to bump her up in light of recent events Jac: You've reconnected and + 1 up, have you? Jac: That's nice Jude: taking a decent 📷 is good for a few points Jude: probs should lose 'em again when it's dad 👍 but whatever Jac: Very generous Jac: do appreciate you keeping your 👍 to yourself Jac: what do you wanna ask then? Jude: ikr I'm in a generous mood Jude: I'm not forcing you into a q & a Jude: I just think it's good you're mates again Jude: be a bit weird having her there & not Jude: some girl isn't gonna be there 📷 to turn her into a headless 👻 whenever shit gets awkward Jac: That your professional opinion, captain obvious? Jac: well, cheers for your blessing, like Jude: I could tell you were waiting for it so Jac: Clearly Jac: the little you think about has always been my GREATEST concern 😏 Jac: and she'll be up and over the 🌙 at her new score, of course Jude: all I REALLY wanna know is if she has a 🌾🐄 accent now, like? be honest Jude: it's still silver 🥄 yeah? Jac: Err, come on, it was NEVER Southside Jac: and even if it was, that'd count for NOTHING here Jac: so posh some of 'em it's a speech impediment Jude: so you're saying she don't fit right in with the 👸🤴 & qualifies as a bit of rough instead Jude: gutted for her Jude: her ma'd be even more 💔 wonder how she is Jac: That isn't funny, Jude Jude: not about her mum, that was well sad Jude: posh boys not thinking Sav is, is a bit though Jac: Have you ever tried engaging your brain before you speak Jac: not being completely insensitive should not be this hard for you Jude: ?? Jac: Don't ?? at me Jac: you say it's 'well sad' but you're the one that cracked a joke in the first place Jude: I didn't Jude: not about that Jac: I'm not pulling it from nowhere, it's still on my screen Jac: I don't think you realize how badly you come across half the time Jude: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come across like a massive dickhead Jude: I think Sav's alright, I'm not trying to take the piss out of her Jac: Well it's alright this time 'cos you only said it in front of me Jude: be going a bit far to check in with her Jude: not weird at all Jac: you're saying I SHOULD put it past you? Jac: you are weird Jude: I'm saying I'm not about to say it front of her as I don't talk to her, am I Jac: doesn't mean getting into the habit of saying every 'hilarious' thought that enters your head out loud is a plan Jude: yeah alright Jude: fair enough Jac: Anyway, Sav isn't interested in any boys that look like they came from 🐴s not 🐒s Jude: 🤣 Jude: you wanna be careful saying 👦🏽👦🏾👦🏿 look like 🐒 but I get you Jac: She hasn't got a boyfriend of any colour so I weren't saying that Jude: I didn't reckon so, not unless she got a lad to follow her to uni Jude: but who wants that? Jac: Her ex was holding her back hardcore but he's given that up, thankfully Jude: he sounds like a right laugh & not at all like a prick Jac: That's boys for you Jude: 😜 Jude: when do they grow up? 40s or what? Jac: Have you met our father? Jac: never Jude: oh great Jac: 🤷 Jude: it's alright for you, you can get all the 🤓 lads when you're done studying or whatever Jude: least they'll be smart Jac: smart boys are worse Jac: they want to explain everything to you Jude: really? Jude: fuck that then Jac: dumb but kind are the lofty heights you can shoot for Jude: like a 🐶 Jac: yep Jac: loyalty too, forgo the collar Jude: yeah you're right that is lofty heights Jude: maybe when I'm 40, I can find a lad that don't need one Jude: stop him going over the road & 💔 me Jac: shitting where you eat is gross but convenient, that's boys Jude: 👍 Jude: Jess is so lucky he can pick a lad or a girl Jac: Most people are undesirable Jac: gay lads will only touch him if they think he's straight and that's their type Jac: and girls are a whole different beast altogether Jude: that'll be why he's so 😒 Jac: as a rule or more than usual right now? Jude: we all know why he's 😒 right now Jude: you pissed off somewhere more fun without him Jac: I think he's just fine Jac: and he did it first, every weekend, like Jude: speaking of, his latest gig was not the one Jude: so he's probably 😒 about that Jac: like, he was shit, the crowd weren't the right one or the equipment weren't? Jude: he needs a better 🎸 but that ain't news Jude: seemed like he didn't wanna be there to me Jac: Hm, a fight with one of his girlfriend or boyfriends then Jac: meant to make him better so he's fucked up there Jude: relatable Jac: 🙄 Jac: alright Jude: don't be 🙄 @ me Jude: your dating history ain't spotless Jac: I've never dated anyone so it is Jac: 📑 definition Jude: your hook up history then, you know what I mean cos me either Jac: I don't fall in love with them like an idiot, it's entirely different Jude: I fell in love with the one, who I was dating for a bit Jude: I'm not going about falling for 'em all Jac: Still did, didn't you Jac: I can't even remember any of mine Jac: nothing came into play but proximity and timing Jude: 🏆🥇 if you want Jac: take it over your 💔 obviously Jude: yeah Jac: 🙄 I repeat Jude: whatever Jude: I was stupid, it was ages ago Jac: you brought it up Jude: it was my mistake, I can Jac: not a sounding board for your whining Jude: alright, my bad Jac: used to you Jude: you've got your own room now, get over it, like Jac: unfortunuately, that doesn't stop us sharing a family so I don't think I will, thanks Jac: unfortunuately, that doesn't stop us sharing a family so I don't think I will, thanks Jude: it's a part time one for you now, don't have to see this face til 🎄🎅☃️🎁 Jac: Unfortunately, can stay over Spring though, but there's no catering in the Xmas hol 💔 Jude: 👎 - 1 point to St Andy's Jude: is Sav going to her mum or dad for the hols? Jac: better than home, get all my meals and room cleaned for me every week so Jac: literally only just got here, who's thinking about leaving Jac: some other halls you can stay, so maybe she'll find someone there, so she only has to do actual Xmas day or whatever Jude: me now, maybe I should bother going to uni if they're gonna clean for me Jac: only if you get into a good one Jac: and pay extra, hence most people are self-cater, but what else do I need my grant, loan and scholarship for, may as well Jude: 🤔 I hear you, that's unlikely Jac: you have time Jac: two years can change everything Jude: not my 🧠 it can't Jude: my concentration ain't there unless I'm doing 🎨 Jac: you could try harder, and you know it Jude: at what? Jac: concentrating on enough subjects to get you into a decent Uni Jac: you don't need every one, just enough to boost your points Jude: sounds easy that 😤😏 Jude: if I'm only in it for the 🧹🧺 🧼🧽 & I ain't 🤓 enough for one of 'em, ain't much point Jac: It's not about being nerdy or naturally intelligent, it's about being smart with the system Jude: yeah but it's probably also about going cos you wanna learn stuff & be there not just cos you wanna leave home for a bit Jac: most people never use their degrees, so you tell me Jude: that's true Jude: what subjects then? Jac: Depends what you want to do, Art in some form, assumedly? Jac: Fuck Irish and Spanish and PE, duh, knuckle down with your rest to up your points as much as you can then absolutely ace Art Jude: Alright, I'm decent at PE anyway Jude: that'll be easy points Jac: Exactly, no need to purposely fuck them up, but focus harder on the rest, especially the ones you are less decent at without trying Jude: please tell me you've left your notes here Jac: Of course Jac: under my bed, if you haven't lit it on 🔥 Jude: it's only been a week, gimme chance Jac: well, don't reckon they'll let you get a double yet Jac: I still need a place to crash in the holidays and it certainly won't be beside you snoring your head off Jude: might do if I steer clear of lads for a bit Jude: not that I've done half as much with 'em as everyone reckons I have Jac: People find shit to chat regardless, not worth paying no mind to, no more mind to stupid lads either Jude: I don't care if people don't reckon I'm a virgin still even though I am Jude: it's not like it matters Jac: Yeah, those people will all be irrelevant before you know it Jude: loads of people are well jealous of your uni btw Jude: reckoned you'd wanna hear that Jac: Of course Jac: x2 Jude: 😏 Jac: It's more of a flex than Trinity even, and only a handful of people got in there Jude: when did you work out what you wanted? it feels like you've been going on about it forever Jude: but like actually Jac: 🤔 Jac: I can't remember a point where it wasn't my plan, honestly Jac: more abstract when I was little and didn't have the titles and disciplines to put to it but Jac: I always liked murder mysteries and shit, what makes us tick Jude: right Jude: you love a true crime podcast Jac: 😏 Jac: but I'd rather deal with the living murderers than the corpses of their victims so Jude: well yeah Jude: 🦴🦷 bit gross Jac: 🧠 are much better Jude: long as you're not cutting into it Jac: I won't be Jac: if I'd combined biology, and gone that route Jude: I won't be either, tah Jude: science is proper hard Jac: Psychology has a shit load of it involved anyway, but I can blag it Jude: you're SO excited, I can tell Jude: 🤓💕 Jac: Of course I am Jac: it's everything I've ever wanted Jude: it's weird you're so far away though, it don't feel like you are Jac: Glad my prescence and now abscence had/have such a huge impact on you Jac: we both know why though so Jude: yeah Jac: it's different now Jude: good Jac: alright then Jude: give my love to Savannah, I know she'll have missed me Jude: that's the impact I have Jac: 👌👌 Jude: 😝 Jac: Do you really have a problem with Savannah? Jude: course not, I told you I think she's alright, it's just bants Jude: why does she have a problem with me? Jac: yeah, it's a massive grudge she took all the way to Sligo and back Jac: 🙄 Jude: you know what I mean Jude: has she said that I come across as a massive dickhead too or something? Jude: I don't wanna upset her, like Jac: you haven't come up a load in conversation, like Jac: oddly enough Jac: it's that Jac: she's like my girlfriend alright so you can't be a dick about her anymore, alright Jude: alright then Jac: is that all you're gonna say Jude: I won't take the piss out of her no more, like I said, I didn't mean it anyways Jac: you can react, you know Jac: it's big news on multiple counts Jude: it makes sense Jude: I get it now, why you were like that after she left Jac: Good Jac: I want you to know that Jac: don't change how it was, but still Jude: you could've just told me you rated her 10/10 Jude: is that why she left? like her family always seemed a bit off but I didn't think they were that bad Jac: I couldn't, though Jac: no, her mum wasn't coping Jac: as we all know now, and then the Isabelle stuff went down, so their dad stepped in Jude: yeah, but I mean, that's not part of why she slit her wrists, is it? Cos Sav doesn't need that to carry Jac: it was because the dad left and then took them, to put it as bluntly and without nuance as possible Jac: but that's all on him, not the girls, her mum isn't like blaming them, their relationship is getting better Jude: at least she was alright with you too dating then, nobody needs that dark ages mentality shit Jude: she's got enough going on Jac: well, she doesn't know about that yet Jude: but you were together back then, yeah? Jac: no, it's a new development Jac: as in, like, the other night new, no one really knows, I barely do Jac: things were complicated before Jude: oh okay, soz for backtracking so hard, I just thought Jac: yeah, that was the problem Jac: shit was assumed or it wasn't Jude: what a headfuck Jude: you're okay now though, right? Like the other night went alright Jac: I guess for context, before she left, I did kiss her and it went horribly Jac: I loved her then but she didn't and then she was gone Jac: I see how it sounded like pining there but no Jac: it's good now though, things have changed, we both have Jude: I knew something happened that night when you came back early, you were like a 👻 or like you'd seen one Jac: Yeah, that was what it was Jude: it won't happen again if things are different so Jac: not as bad Jude: I'm glad Jude: that this is the ending you get, cos it's not one, it's more like a beginning or whatever Jude: you don't have to be just excited for uni Jac: I know Jac: not that there's anything wrong with just being excited for Uni, tah very much Jac: whatever happens, I think we'll be able to stay friends this time so Jude: or you'll just marry her & have all the kids she obviously wants Jac: let's not get carried away, shall we Jude: 1. you never said I couldn't have bants with you still Jude: 2. there's nowt I don't know about her life plan, she talks LOADS Jac: You only have a problem with that because you want to be the one talking Jude: course I do Jac: it cannot be overstated how much I'd rather listen to her, is the point ❤ Jude: it'd be a bit rude if you were already like nah tah 🤐 it, babe Jude: probably don't do that Jac: That's your top tip and people really think you're not a virgin? Jac: Interesting Jude: it don't work out well for the lads who TRY it with me 😏 Jude: people reckon I'm not cos I'm that 🥇 yeah Jude: & cos lads have loads to say for themselves, most of which is bollocks Jude: but you're not a sounding board for my whinging, I remember Jac: 'Bants', dear sister, 'bants' Jude: 👍 Jac: anyway, I've got to go Jac: there's this variety show that is apparently hilarious, either actually or in how bad it is so Jude: & I've got loads of 📝📚📖📏📐to do if I'm gonna have my own freshers Jude: top quality entertainment like that, literally how could I not? Jac: sure you'll want to be in it yourself 😏 Jude: you're correct Jude: 👋 then

[starry-eyed-skz]

Jisung and Jiwoo Han ~ The Twins Epilogue : Pride and Joy

Haha wow, we've reached the very final of The Twins! Thank you to those of you who have read this story, and I hope you enjoyed the chapters. I would also like to say happy birthday to our one and only Jisungie, I can't believe he's 19 now 😫 Anyways, enough talking. Let's get into this epilogue!

Bold = memories, beginning & ending of chapter | Italics = thoughts

prev | epilogue

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

~~~Jiwoo’s POV~~~

“Jisung!” A loud squeal leaves my mouth as my twin brother picks me up bridal style out of my bed. "Put me down you jackass!" I smack my hand against his chest, him just rolling his eyes with a smile on his face. "Stop flailing or I'll fucking drop you." Jisung's laugh is still so relieving to hear, keeping my heart at ease. I pout and just lean my head on Jisung's chest. My body instinctively leans in closer to him as he starts walking down the stairs, not wanting to fall.

"You're fine JiJi, I'm not gonna drop you." His tone is teasing, making me send a slight glare up at him. I don't know why I'm even surprised, he does this every damn morning. I'm ripped out of my thoughts when I'm thrown on the couch, whines of annoyance coming from me and two others. Jeongin and Minho. "Jisung how dare you make me hurt my son?" I sit up hastily and wrap my arms around Jeongin, pulling his head towards me. "Excuse me," Minho's face is that of faux annoyance as the words leave his mouth, "I got hurt too!"

"Yeah but you aren't my son." I reply sassily as I play with Jeongin's hair, seeing him send a smirk Minho's way. My eyes drift to the floor where Hyunjin, Seungmin and Felix are sat playing Mario Kart on the big tv, their playful competitiveness making me smile fondly. Changbin is curled up on the chair next to the couch, just barely staying awake as he scrolls through his phone. Cute. Chan and Woojin aren't in the room, but judging from the aroma coming from the kitchen, they're making breakfast. In my half-asleep state, I had forgotten what today was, suddenly standing up and tackling Jisung in tight hug.

"Woah!" We almost tumble to the floor before Jisung catches himself against the wall. "Happy birthday doofus!" I yell in his ear and give him a cheeky grin. "If I could have one birthday without you making me temporarily deaf, that'd be fantastic." He says sarcastically but his smile gives him away. "Happy birthday to you too loser." His arms lazily wrap around me and he rests his chin on my shoulder, laughing as Felix loses the current round of Mario Kart. A sudden knock on the front door makes me peel myself away from Jisung and walk over to open it, a smile instantly taking over my face.

"Shua!" I immediately wrap my arms around his neck and nuzzle my face into his chest. "Hi baby.." Joshua's voice is so quiet and sweet, making my heart calm down from what happened earlier. "Close the door please, it's raining!" Woojin calls from the kitchen, a small giggle leaving me as I pull Joshua inside to close the door. Chan peeks his head out of the kitchen, smiling gently when he sees Joshua. "Sup, Hong." Josh gives a polite nod as I drag him to the living room where he greets everyone else that's out there, Woojin yelling a greeting from the kitchen.

"Happy birthday Jisung, you too baby." Joshua kisses my forehead and goes over to give my twin a hug, giving him one of his birthday punches in the process. Well that makes ten. A laugh leaves my mouth before I get one too, having both of us Han twins whining and rubbing our arms. "Sorry, you guys know the normal birthday traditions." Everyone laughs with Joshua while me and Jisung pout at each other. "Speaking of which, which member of your group is sitting out of their birthday punches this year?" Minho asks as he runs his hand through his silver hair. "Probably Jeonghan, I don't know. They were discussing it when I left."

"Wow, great to hear that the boys are fighting over who's gonna drive their fist into mine and Jisung's arms today." I roll my eyes but laugh a little, not surprised about it at all. "I swear Jihoon is going to break my arm one of these years.." I mumble and slump my shoulders, shuddering while remembering how much his birthday punches hurt. He really doesn't know when to go easy.

Later that night all 23 of us are at a reservation that was planned by Jeonghan and Woojin, so many stupid but memorable conversations taking place over dinner. The past two years have been part of a long healing process, which has been very successful. After the universe had turned on me and ripped away three years with the people I call my home, I had finally successfully got back to them. The first best moment since being home was sudden, but not unexpected..

Hyungwon's arrest:

~~September 20, 2019; Jiwoo's POV~~

"JiJi, come here now!" Jisung's yell reverberates off the walls, making me jump in my skin. I instantly spring up from my desk chair and run down the stairs into the living room. "What?! Who got hurt?!" I frantically yell, my eyes scanning the room. "No, no! Your dickbag kidnapper is on the news!" My heart stops in my chest, my feet moving quickly to sit down next to Jisung on the floor. The other eight boys run into the living room as soon as they heard Jisung's words.

We all watched in silence as the news reporter was explaining why Chae Hyungwon is being arrested. I become uneasy in my spot when I'm mentioned, twiddling with my fingers in my lap. "He is the confirmed kidnapper of Han Jiwoo, twin sister of Han Jisung of Stray Kids. The words from the man himself has lead to one of his many charges." The reporter on the screen is gone as the footage from the scene of his arrest is played full screen with audio.

"I will find her! None of you can fucking stop me! I'll have all of you pathetic wastes of space slaughtered before you even get the chance to put me away!!" He continues struggling against the officers, eventually ending up handcuffed and in the back of the police car. I can't help the dry laugh that passes between my lips as the policemen continue to restrain him to stop him moving or trying to escape.

That day had made me beyond relieved, knowing I'm completely safe from him now. I still have all my scars from the times Hyungwon had hurt me, but I just try not to pay attention to them. Jisung and I have been going to therapy together, working through our trauma and problems side by side. My train of thought is suddenly derailed as someone taps my shoulder, making me look at Vernon to my left who's looking at me in concern. "Hey, you okay?" I just nod at him with a genuine smile, my eyes turning into crescent shapes. "Perfectly fine Hansol, just thinking back on stuff."

He nods his head and once again everyone is engaged in conversation. All of us are extremely happy and comfortable in this very moment, it seems so serene and unreal. The night slowly comes to an end after Chan and Woojin's "happy 21st birthday" speech. Seungcheol pays for the meal and we part our respective ways.

Almost instantaneously when I'm in mine and Jisung's room, I'm peeling off my dress and replacing it with my much comfier pajamas. Jisung is near his bed doing the same with his dress pants and shirt, opting for sweatpants and a simple t-shirt. I turn around and give him a certain look before grabbing my phone, him knowing exactly what I'm doing. As if on instinct my finger taps on the Instagram icon and I look for a picture of Jisung to post, writing a quick but sweet caption. The only noise that fills the room is the sound of our fingers dancing across our screens.

Jisung finally looks up to meet my gaze after having stared at the side of his face for a little bit, ready to post them. We count down from three together, pressing 'post' at the exact same time as our posts now enter the ether.

I smile at Jisung as I finish reading his caption, no words being able to do any justice for how much I love and cherish my twin. He gets up and walks over to my bed, sitting down next to me and wrapping his arms securely around me. "I'm so happy you're here JiJi.." His voice is slightly muffled into my hair, but I still hear it nonetheless. "Me too Sungie, me too.." I wrap my arms around his, leaning into Jisung's warmth. "Hey Jisung?" My voice breaks our comfortable silence, making his eyes drift to me. "Yeah Jiwoo?"

"I'm proud to call you my twin brother."

~~~~THE END~~~~

I hope you all enjoyed this series! I had so much fun writing it and receiving everyone's feedback :) This is also my first completed book, so I'm proud I stuck with it! Thank you so much to those of you who truly loved my series as well as being patient in between chapters, it means sososo much to me!

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you all next post for another series or stand alone 😄😙

[fragmentedink-archived]

Idk if you're taking prompts rn but feel free to leave this until you feel inspired but I just saw a prompt that was like "am I your lock screen?" "You were not supposed to see that" and I just thought that'd be super funny for cam and nik. Anyways love you keep up the great work

im always up for prompst!! (more or less) it just might take me a bit to get to them!

Nik had been looking for his phone for the last twenty minutes. He had to call his mom to cancel dinner plans for… reasons. They were good reasons, honest reasons, even if the reason he gave her was a blatant lie. 

But her chilaquiles were disgusting and he didn’t want to risk food poisoning becuase she couldn’t learn how to cook a decent meal. He’d rather eat the day old pizza in his fridge.

At least he would, once he could find his damn phone.

“Cameron!” he yelled as he started through the apartment.

it took a few seconds before he heard the annoyed “What.”

Nik pushed open the study door and found Cameron sitting in his chair by the window, doing a crossword with pen. He bit back his disgust as Cameron lifted his eyes to look at him. He lifted a brow in silent question. 

“Have you seen my phone?”

Cameron snorted derisively and looked back down at his book. “It’s not my day to babysit your shit, Nik.”

Nik whined. “Come onnnn. I need to call my mom. Can I borrow your phone?”

“No.”

Nik moved to the back of Cameron’s chair and looked down at the book. “Please?” 

“No.”

“Pleaseee,” Nik murmured, putting his chin on Cameron’s shoulder. He bit at the skin peaking out of Cameron’s collar. “I can’t find my phone. It’ll just take a sec.”

“No.”

Cameron flicked at his pen lid and Nik brushed his hands down Cameron’s arms. “What if I asked really, really nicely.”

Cameron loosened just slightly enough NIk took that as permission to keep going. “Nikolas.”

He slipped his hands down Cameron’s sides. “Fine,” he said. “No phone.”

Cameorn huffed and marked in his book. Nik brushed his fingers until he felt the cool rectangle, and he grabbed it from Cameron’s pocket before he could stop him. “Ah ha!” he said, in victory. “Works every time!”

Nik pulled the screen up and he stared at the screensaver. It was a picture of him playing the acoustic guitar, his hair in his face and a small smile curling on his lips. He didn’t feel the air crash out of his lungs as he propelled backwards onto the floor, the phone sliding under the chair. 

“Of course it works,” Cameron grumbled, now sitting on Nik. “Using your whorish ways to get what you want has worked on everyone since the beginning of time. You’re not that special.”

“Your screen is me,” Nik wheezed, looking up at him. “Am I your lock screen?”

Cameron sighed. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“Who would have thought you could be romantic?” Nik asked, hooking his hands behind his head. “You do have a heart!”

Cameron rolled his eyes. “You’re hot and I like looking at you. It’s not that deep.”

“You ruin everything. You jackass.”

[kyvir]

Hello Tyy! Thoroughly enjoy your work on ff, so I have a request! I'd like a canonverse night change on the night Sasuke gave Naruto his message for Sakura and have him go home instead. If you'd be so kind as to write the reunion that'd be amazing! Thanks!

Thanks so much for the request! I love and enjoy your work as well, Blu.

I hope you enjoy Sasuke’s decision to drop by his home… If only for the night.

.

.

The Brief Reunion-

Rating: M

.

Though it may have been a clone, Sasuke found himself slightly bothered by having to meet Naruto. He’d been waiting a while and it annoyed him because he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. It had been a while since they’d met and though he had to meet him now for some information, it was hard for him to do so.

Naruto reminded him of home. Reminded him of his family. His wife and daughter, who he never got to see.Actually, he thought of them on a daily basis and that wasn’t the hard part, no he enjoyed thinking of them. But, when he thought of being so close to them, and yet so far away… it hurt.

Once Naruto finally showed up and called out to him, Sasuke turned to look at him.

“You’re late.”

Naruto annoying tried to explain himself and even took the time to complain a bit. Typical of him, but Sasuke wasn’t interested on wasting his time on such blabber.

“I don’t even know my way back home now, damn it!” He whined. “Where are we anyway?”

“Don’t ask me.” Sasuke muttered and then went to change the subject quickly. “So, where’s the scroll?”

Naruto seemed taken aback and somewhat annoyed by Sasuke’s eagerness, but he handed the scroll on over nonetheless.

Things weren’t looking good. It seemed that no matter how hard they tried to maintain peace, there was always something to worry about. Sasuke wanted to finish his mission, to get rid of these threats and know that his family, his home, was safe.

After discussing a bit of the scrolls contents with Naruto, Sasuke stood, feeling confident that this new information would help him a great deal. Though he’d never expected Danzo to have any information on Kaguya, he was happy to have any information he could. Pretty soon, this would all be over.

“I didn’t get it at all.” Naruto admitted. That didn’t surprise Sasuke, and this wasn’t Naruto’s mission, it was his.

“But with this,” Sasuke said as he got to his feet. “I should be able to get closer to the Time-Space where Kaguya existed.”

“Hey, you’re leaving already?” Naruto asked with disappointment. “What’s wrong with coming back to the village for a while?”

Sasuke turned to Naruto, his brows knitted together. Naruto knew his reasons for keeping a distance well enough, and he didn’t take too lightly to Naruto’s suggestion, even if he did mean no harm.

“Naruto…” He chided him before looking away, his mind going to his wife. She was a saint for putting up with him and all his baggage. “Give Sakura a message for me.”

Naruto frowned, feeling saddened by the way things were. He’d always regret things turning out this way for his friends. Neither of them deserved this. Neither of them could ever be completely happy, when they couldn’t ever even see each other.

“Tell her, I’m sorry for everything.” Sasuke told him, and then he was gone, leaving Naruto to mull over his thoughts alone and he couldn’t help feeling, that it wasn’t Sasuke who should be sorry at all.

…

Cursing under his breath, Sasuke leaned against a nearby tree, feeling more torn than he had in the longest time. Sending a message through Naruto, to his wife, was pathetic. He felt like shit. He knew Sakura understood. Knew that she missed him, but would always wait for him. She loved him that much, he knew it, but still, that’s not how he wanted things to be. He worried about her a lot, having to raise Sarada alone, without him every being around. Hell, his own kid didn’t even know him.

Meeting with Naruto truly hadn’t been good for him, because as much as he knew he shouldn’t do it, he was going back. He had to see her, to tell her himself, if only to know that she really did understand. Did she forgive him? Would she welcome him home with open arms, or send him packing, which in his eyes would be what he deserved. It was true that he was only trying to protect them, and Sakura knew that, but still, they were his only family and he was never there for them.

He almost turned around when he arrived at their home. It was late. He shouldn’t be doing this, he really shouldn’t… But, he had to.

Before he could stop himself, Sasuke walked inside and silently closed the door behind him. He took a moment to look around, taking in his home for the first time in years, though not much had changed.

It was quiet in the house and for a moment, he feared that Sakura may have been sleeping. He knew Sarada would be, having academy the next morning and all, but he hadn’t thought if Sakura would be or not. If she was, he’d wake her because he’d come this far. There would be no leaving until he saw her, spoke to her, and showed her just how much he truly missed her.

A loud crash and the sound of something breaking, followed by and even louder, “Shannaro!” told him that she was actually more than awake. The sound was enough to draw a smirk to his lips and he found that his feet had no intention of letting him stall any further. It would probably be hard to leave, in fact he was certain it would be, but he couldn’t stop himself.

He only hoped he was making the right decision.

Sasuke felt guilty for many things, but he refused to feel guilty for a leisure night and seeing his wife. Nobody was following him, though he was still taking a risk in coming here. He had to believe if he deserved nothing else, he deserved one night… and if he didn’t, Sakura did.

Their bedroom was where he found her. The door was wide open, so he could see her instantly. She was on her hands and knees, picking up several pieces of broken glass, that had once been a picture frame. She was biting her lip, looking quite conflicted and deep in thought. Sasuke wondered idly if Naruto had delivered his message, if that’s what had her so shaken.

Once each piece of broken glass was gathered into her grasp, she stood with a sigh, taking only one step before she noticed him in the doorway, watching her. Lips parting in surprise and green eyes widening considerably, she dropped the already shattered frame and once more it clashed to the floor, all around her feet.

“S…Sasuke…kun.”

Instantly, he was before her, gazing down at her adoringly. He’d missed her more than she’d ever know. More than he’d ever admit.

“Sakura…”

Overwhelmed with emotion, tears welled in her eyes and Sakura flung her arms around her husband. My, how she’d longed for this day, and not only her, but Sasuke as well.

It felt good to see her. To hear her voice. To feel her against him.

He wrapped his lone arm around her in return to her embrace, and rested his chin atop her head.

“I’ve missed you.” She grumbled into his chest, but he was still able to make out her words.

Sasuke said nothing in return, but when she leaned back to gaze at him, he released her to bring his hand to her face instead. His fingers ghosted over her cheek tenderly and as she met his eyes, she noted the pain that was there.

Usually, Sasuke wasn’t an easy person to read, even for her. But at that moment, she could see the confliction he felt, the concern, the guilt, and it only made her hold him tighter.

“How long do we have?” She asked, knowing by the look on his face alone that he wasn’t home for good.

That didn’t matter to her though. Just knowing that he’d come to see her, if only for a moment. For her, it was enough.

“Just the night.” He murmured quietly in answer, his hand now cupping her face as his thumb stroked her cheek affectionately.

Sakura nodded in understanding, but Sasuke frowned. His wife was strong, he knew it better than anyone and though he admired her greatly because of it, he resented himself for putting such a heavy burden on her. He’d been doing it his whole life. When would he ever be able to make her truly happy?

“You should have a nice meal while you’re here… Oh, and a shower! I’ll-”

“No.” Sasuke cut her off.

Food was the furthest thing from his mind and he’d stopped to bathe not long before meeting Naruto, but it warmed him to the depths of his soul to see how much she cared. She would always worry about him before herself and this annoyed him. He loved it, he adored her for it, but things should have been the other way around. He didn’t deserve her kindness, her love and affections.

She’d always been far too good to him.

“Is everything okay?” She asked worriedly then. “You’re not injured, are you? You should rest-”

Sasuke cut her off once more, though this time by sealing her lips in a kiss. Astounded by the abrupt kiss and even more-so by how quickly it ended, Sakura gaped at her husband with pinkening cheeks.

Sasuke smirked at this and casually ran his thumb across her bottom lip, his eyes softening.

He really had missed her.

“Uh… Um…” Sakura averted her eyes nervously, having never anticipated this happening to her tonight. For a moment, she felt as if she must have been dreaming. But then, this was far too real and too amazing to be a dream.

“Thank you, Sakura.” Sasuke told her meaningfully. When it came to her and all she’d done for him, and continued to do, he’d always be thankful. No words could express his gratitude. She looked back to him timidly, her heart pounding.

“I mean it.”

“Sasuke-kun,” She whispered, gripping her hands into his cloak. “You don’t have to thank me. Ever.”

Fingers slipping into her hair, Sasuke tugged gently, forcing her head back at the same time he leaned down and kissed her again, this time much more passionately. Sakura kissed him back desperately, holding onto him for dear life.

Things were heating up and moving rather quickly. Before either of them knew it, they’d shed all their clothes and ended up on the bed together, an eager Sasuke on top of an equally eager Sakura.

“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura gasped as he pressed himself against her, his long and thick member prodding against her entrance before he filled her completely and so suddenly that she lost all her breath.

It hadn’t taken long (seconds really), for her to be more than ready to accommodate him, but it had been so long that she nearly forgot how it felt.Sasuke had almost forgotten himself, or rather, he remembered well enough, he just missed it; and nothing compared to pleasing his wife because it was so… pleasurable.

He moved slowly, enjoying the feel of her as he held himself up with his only arm and trailed hot, wet kisses from her lips, down her throat and to her breasts. His tongue laved at her skin, and the longer his stuck to one spot, the more forceful his mouth became. He nipped at her skin and suckled it too, leaving marks behind that she could heal, or enjoy until they vanished on their own. Honestly, he hoped she’d leave them.

When they were together like this, nothing else existed and Sasuke found himself more vehement and affectionate in those moments than he usually ever would. Sakura moaned loudly, her hands digging into his raven locks as he had his way with her body. Though it was the first time in such a long time, he reminded her easily of just how strongly he could make her body react to him.

Sasuke was close, so close he’d had to stop completely for a moment to collect himself and remember just who he was here to please. Himself, yes, he wanted to please himself but he wouldn’t forget about his wife. She was building towards her own orgasm, and though he was prepared to stop moving for a bit and tease her body until it begged for release, as he laid still, most of his weight rest on her body and his length throbbed inside her, he felt her body convulse.

Eyes rolling in the back of her head, Sakura groaned loudly and Sasuke kissed her hard to keep her quiet. The last thing he needed was Sarada waking up and coming to find out what her mother was moaning and groaning about in the middle of the night.

It wasn’t easy though, even keeping himself quiet as he moved again, thrusting himself inside her only a few more times before they both fell apart together. Sakura’s entire body trembled with aftershocks of her orgasm and Sasuke laid on top of her, completely breathless and at a loss.

How he’d ever gone so long without her, he’d never know.

…

“It’s been so long… and yet… with you being here now, it almost feels as if you’ve never been gone.”

Sasuke sighed and turned his face to kiss Sakura’s forehead. They’d gotten more comfortable in bed and were now under the covers, laying together. Sakura was halfway on top of him, much like he remembered her being when they’d used to sleep together. He hated to have to leave her at all, but he was thankful for what time he could have. He made himself believe that Sakura was looking at it the same way.

“I really am sorry, Sakura.” He wanted her to know that, to understand how sorry he was, but no words would ever be enough to explain his feelings, and he wasn’t good with words anyway. Luckily, that was something else she seemed to understand.

“Don’t say that.” She tipped her head back a bit to glare at him. “You know you’re only gone for good reason.”

“I know.” He muttered. He did know, but that still didn’t make it any easier.Sakura frowned but snuggled up to him again. Oh, it was heaven. She wished they could have this moment forever. “I’m the one who is sorry. You shouldn’t have to bear this burden alone.”

“I’m the only one who can.”

Rolling her eyes at this, Sakura found herself smiling in reminiscence. “You never change, do you?”

“Hn. Neither do you…” He smirked. “Annoying.”

She giggled then. How she wished he was around every day to call her annoying. “I miss you, so much.”

“I know. In time though, I’ll be home. For good.”

“Sarada asks about you. She looks just like you, you know…”

Sasuke flinched then. Though he was sure Sakura was doing an outstanding job of raising their daughter, with love and care enough to drown the child, he still feared her turning to hatred because of him and the last thing he wanted was for her to ever end up like him.

“She’ll never forgive me.” He muttered, more to himself than to Sakura and that was when she sat up in bed and really glared at him.

“Don’t say that!” She scolded him, pointed her finger into his chest. “Sarada loves you very much, even if she can’t see you right now. She’s a very kind child and once she can show you, you’ll see for yourself. She will always love you, just as I have.”

If there was one thing he truly hated, it was getting in his feelings. That was way out of his comfort zone, though he supposed with Sakura… it wasn’t the first time… she’d love him anyway, “I can only imagine how much she’d grown.”

“Oh, so much. She’s brilliant, and beautiful.” Sakura grinning broadly, it was easy to see how proud she was. Sasuke was proud too. He wished Sarada would know that.

“Of course she is.” He sighed and pulled her down, back against his chest before wrapping his arm snuggly around her.

Sakura rested her head on her husband’s chest and yawned. She was tired but she never wanted to sleep with Sasuke here. She only had so much time before he’d be gone again and there’d be no telling when she’d see him again.

“Sleep,” He told her with a yawn of his own. “I’ll wake you before I go, I’ll take a short nap as well.”

“Okay, Sasuke-kun… I love you.”

“I love you too, Sakura.”

Loved her, respected her, cherished her. He felt certain that she’d never be able to grasp how much she truly meant to him and her knew, he didn’t deserve her, but he was damned glad he had her.

…

“I wish you didn’t have to leave.” Sakura pouted and Sasuke knew she was really struggling to keep it together.

He knew it’d be hard to leave, for the both of them. “I know. I’ll be back though.”Sakura nodded. “I know… you always come home.”

Leaning down, Sasuke kissed her hard, savoring the feel of her lips against his. She was blushing scarlet by the time he pulled away. “Take care of yourself, and Sarada. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

“Easier said than done.” She scoffed. She’d always worry about him. Taking care of herself and Sarada was just second nature to her.

She hugged him tight, wishing she never had to let him go but she did, and she didn’t want to make it any harder on him. So, after a moment, she pulled away, forcing herself to let go. It wouldn’t be forever. It would be time for Sarada to get up soon and she knew he’d want to be long gone before daybreak.

“But don’t worry, we’ll be fine too, as long as you are. We’ll be here waiting for your return.”

Sasuke nodded, knowing that they would be. He hoped to be back sooner, rather than later. After coming home, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay away. Years was something he wasn’t willing to waste. He’d already wasted too many. This mission was important, his family’s safety was of the upmost importance, but he wanted to be home with them. He couldn’t though, as long as he was putting them at risk to his enemies.

“Thank you, Sakura. For everything.” He gave her a soft smile, tapped her forehead and then he vanished in a puff of smoke, as if he’d never been there at all. It wasn’t easy for either of them, but he had to go.

He had to go, but he had so much to look forward to when he finally would be able to come home. He couldn’t wait, and with that to think about, he found himself in a much better mood as he headed towards his next destination. Soon, his travels would be over.

.

.

[punkscowardschampions]

Nancy & Rio

Nancy: Not to be weird, because I obviously don't mind if so, but are you wearing my clothes in your latest insta pics or have I lost my mind? Rio: Oh my God, sorry! Shoulda said before putting that up Rio: casual single white female situation Rio: I was in London and I had to stop by yours to avoid a real walk of shame... whole 'nother story, assumed it'd be alright 'cos you know, you weren't using 'em? Shipped back fully dry cleaned, swear down Rio: Not to drop him in it but shamelessly will, Buster said it'd probably be alright too lol Nancy: Well we have the brunette and redhead thing going on, already. Just don't murder me like Nancy: It's more than okay. They look great on you and they are just sitting there Nancy: Keep them if you want Nancy: I'd rather you than one of Buster's 'guests' Nancy: Did you talk to him? Rio: Last time I check, no feelings of murderous jealousy towards you Rio: Even if you do have a killer clothes collection Rio: You're too sweet! I'm nowhere near statuesque enough to rock it for serious but it was fun playing dressup, not gonna lie Rio: A little bit, yeah, as much as you can with him Rio: Has he reached out to you yet? Nancy: We should go shopping then. I'm not flooded with other offers or compliments right now Nancy: He did try but I didn't answer the call. I didn't know what to say, you know Nancy: Do I want to know what he said about me, if anything? Rio: Absolutely, always up for a style update Rio: and I promise to stay away for the red box dye Rio: Rihanna 2010 I ain't Rio: That's fair, I remember he mentioned that too Rio: He said a lot of things, some of 'em stupid which don't bear repeating but I could tell he was worried about you, checking you were okay, like Nancy: Oh god Nancy: I should've answered I just couldn't Nancy: I've already broken my own heart there's no handling if he decided to do it for me too Nancy: It was like I already hear what he was going to say Rio: No one is judgding you for not Rio: He's been guility of being unavailable for less Rio: You're more than entitled to take your time with this Rio: Let him cool down too, I put him right where I could but Rio: He's stubborn Nancy: And he thinks I'm as cringey as everyone at school does, right? Nancy: I knew it Nancy: I can't blame him really Rio: But that's nothing you don't know, you feel the embarrassment, I don't get why people think they're being clever pointing out as if its not your first hand experience Rio: He asked if you were coming back Rio: which he clearly wants, even if he's not gonna outright say that Nancy: I thought he might be on my side since he always goes after what he wants Nancy: Maybe he is though, if he does want me home Rio: Yeah, there's definitely hypocrisy otherwise Rio: I'm not gonna commit him to either side from a conversation relayed but I don't think talking to him soon will make it any worse Rio: Hoping he said all the dumb shit he needed to me instead, like Nancy: Was he such a prick to you? I'm sorry Nancy: I can't go back until those girls are far away at uni Nancy: Do you think we could convince him to come here? Team effort to get a visit? Rio: Not all bad Rio: and nothing I can't handle Rio: Yeah, reckon I might've met some of them last night Rio: and I feel you Rio: Worth a shot, I threw it out there that maybe if he came it'd make your 'rents coming less of a shitshow Rio: try and hold him to it Nancy: The ringleader is Chloe, with an accent over the e. You'd remember her if you did Nancy: It wouldn't surprise me if she was still hanging around him and his friends, she always did fancy him Nancy: Okay. I'll try Rio: Oh my God, her?! Rio: If she gave me daggers any harder I woulda been bleeding Rio: Such an unlikely candidate, no offence Chlo hun but total Rio: always the girls with the least going for them, honestly Nancy: That's her specialty Nancy: What's it say about me that I used to think we were actually friends once Rio: She looks like she can play nice when she wants to Rio: with your Brother, like you said Rio: Ugh Nancy: Yeah. She didn't want to play nice after I came out but she did a convincing enough job before Rio: Bet she thought you were in love with her and everything? Rio: What a cliche mean girl Nancy: Oh she went one better and told everyone I made a move of her, which even I wouldn't Rio: Oh, don't flatter yourself Rio: What a cow! Yeah, she's not changed at all then, obviously I avoided her best I could but she was way too happy about my drama Nancy: Like I know what I did with Sian was bad but Nancy: Please, I do have some standards Nancy: What happened with you? I didn't even ask. What a cow I am Rio: Yeah, she's not a catch, whatever way you're swinging, sorry to be a bitch but you were first gurl and that's always gonna be a turn-off Rio: Oh nah, nothing major, well, it was very dramatic but over it whilst it was happening so I'm not bothered Rio: Curtis went with me and then decided to get all huffy and try and make me leave early 'cos I was 'dancing too sexy' or whatever Rio: when I wouldn't he literally left me there, considering he drove us over, he had the hotel key Rio: Cue mad rush trying to find a place to crash and a way back Rio: Safe to say he's chucked Nancy: Oh my god! There's no words for how out of order that is. What an utter prick! Nancy: Buster better have offered you my bed Nancy: I'll kill him if he never Rio: Oh yeah, he did Rio: Offered to pay the way back but I thought that was too far Rio: Between taking your bed and clothes, like, need to at least try and sort half of it myself, like! Nancy: At least he's not a total prick himself ALL the time Nancy: Remembering some of how he was raised now Nancy: Are you in London rn still? Rio: Yeah, I'd say we can give him that Rio: Will go to his head but what you gonna do Rio: I am Rio: Toying with staying for a bit but I'll defs get in more shit for doing that for going with Curtis in the first place so Rio: Should probs get the soonest flight back now Nancy: My bed and wardrobe are yours if you are staying Nancy: Did you see my mum and dad? Nancy: While we're mentioning being in lots of shit, like Rio: I appreciate it, Nance Rio: I did my best to avoid then, and succeeded, thankfully, not really the vibe I'm looking to give out to the olders like Rio: Buster didn't seem keen to talk to them either, so they may very well be on the warpath towards Dubo and you...Soz to confirm Nancy: Care to teach me some of your ways before they end my life? I'd REALLY appreciate it tbh Nancy: Fantastic. That sounds accurate Rio: Umm, get them drunk and they'll be sleeping as you sneak about like Anne Frank? Rio: ORRRRR, whilst they're mid-air, come back to London, ha Nancy: Get mum REALLY angry Nancy: Nice subtle nod to my gayness with the Anne Frank ref though Nancy: And you're definitely onto something with getting dad a drink Rio: Say you're coming to rescue me, I can be FAR more dramatic about this breakup than I'm really feeling Rio: edge of fucking tower bridge like Rio: of course, all bisexuals are upheld in the highest esteem in my household Rio: especially brave little jewish girls Nancy: Good plan, if I can be this dramatic about a non-break up then we can make this believable I'm sure Nancy: Take the heroics from my brother too, always great Nancy: I see the bed and clothes gesture and I raise you Rio: Everyone loves a bit of sibling rivalry put to use Rio: get us both off the hook in one fell swoop Rio: Only flaw in the plan is Chloe with the accent Rio: Going to have to work on that so she's outta the way by the time you get here Nancy: I'd suggest taking her to the bridge and pushing her off but I don't need to go to prison Rio: If you thought the gay jokes were bad now Nancy: Exactly Nancy: And nobody needs a rebound that badly, least of all me Rio: They say some people go to Prison for the roof over their head and three meals a day Rio: wonder if anyone has ever gone in purely for the pussay Nancy: As a vegetarian I feel I'd have to Nancy: If only casual sex was my thing. Wouldn't have got here Rio: Yeah, it ain't for everyone Rio: at least you didn't get to fuck her, THEN catch feelings Rio: that'd be even shittier like and what happens to so many girls in our year when they do the 'casual' thing Rio: no wonder they're being salty little bitches about it Nancy: But that way it wouldn't have been all in my head Nancy: Maybe they have a point, I don't know Rio: It wouldn't make this bit any easier Rio: the actual heartbreak shit Rio: the people being cunts, less so Rio: but they'll find any reason, someone else will be the target next week, like Nancy: I know you're right Nancy: And I don't want her life ruined so Rio: Yeah, but you gotta think about you and your life too Rio: She's fine Nancy: Don't rub it in, please Nancy: I feel like my life's over Rio: I know sweets Rio: but it ain't Rio: you'll just keep going Nancy: I know I will, but I don't want to. Like I know she couldn't love me but I still want her too Nancy: It hurts Rio: Its going to Rio: for a while yet Rio: revel in it Rio: how unfair it feels Rio: 'cos its not a sexuality thing, if you were straight or she was gay or whatever the fuck, when you feel like you love someone and they just don't back Rio: that's gonna hurt regardless of the how you got there Rio: its not just because she was a teacher, everyone's been there, like Rio: Promise Nancy: I wish everyone saw this how you do Nancy: You're the best Nancy: June too but he doesn't get this bit yet Nancy: Though he can appreciate the wonders this will do for my art Rio: Gotta suffer, might as well get paid for it Rio: or A's Rio: at the very least Rio: I don't know, Junior is so guarded, I wonder if he ever will, not that I wish that bit on him but you've gotta go through it so its better to get it over with really Nancy: Especially because my Irish grades are gonna take a dive Nancy: I think he will Nancy: He just needs the right one to fall for Nancy: I appreciate how that sounds coming from me rn but Rio: Oh the awkwardness of that first lesson back is gonna be Rio: I'll deffo come Home by then Rio: I hope so, I know he's not happy hiding who he is, so I don't think he's content being alone forever, like, either Nancy: Oh god please do. I'll need all the help I can get Nancy: He won't be. He's a catch. I keep telling him Rio: Pretty sure push it any harder and I'm being dragged back by my hair lmao Rio: Totally, he just needs to get a lil confidence Rio: Not a complete personality change but just enough to give him that push Nancy: We're working on it Rio: Yay! Shame we can't be real speedy about it, get him getting a man to distract all the attention from you like Nancy: That's okay I wouldn't wish it on him Nancy: I can handle it. Sort of Rio: Yeah you can Rio: You've got this Nancy: So our brother keeps saying. But he makes it we because he's everything Nancy: *your Rio: Y'all are cuties Nancy: If you could use your influence on my brother to make him bearable I'll be your best friend Rio: I definitely cannot make promises there Rio: He goes out of his way to be un Rio: but he's alright really, I think lol Nancy: I'll have to take your word on that Nancy: Until I talk to him myself Rio: Let me know how it all works out like Nancy: Definitely