#oh I also ate dinner at my cousin’s house which was nice

[ghosts-and-blue-sweaters]

grace grace grace how are you doing today

HELLO HELLO HELLO!!! MY FRIENDDDD :D

Today has been a bit strange 😅 It took me a while to get schoolwork done, but the work itself was fairly easy so that was nice :D

I went to the storeeee with my mom + siblings which was pretty fun! I love going to stores so so much oh my goodness.

I LISTENED TO SO MUCH MUSIC IN THE CAR!!! OH MY- YES!!! Mostly Wilbur Soot songs because we’ve been talking about his music today aksgajsgajg

I’m starting to feel a bit on-edge because of moving/upcoming life changes, but I’m trying to stay calm about it because overreacting will Not help; but overall I’ve felt pretty alright :) Despite the nervousness, I’m also excited about moving!! It’s a very confusing batch of emotions XD

I watched a tiny bit of a DSMP stream and a whole bunch of a Wilbur stream earlier tonight!!! THE WILBUR STREAM HAS MADE ME LAUGH SO MUCH!!! WHY IS HE THE WAY HE IS (affectionate)!!! ALSO SO MUCH SANDDUO CONTENT IT’S WONDERFUL!!!

[sgiandubh]

But first, time to say good-bye

It was to be a late departure (bureaucracy will someday kill us all...) from Athens, an endlessly diverted way North through a very early summer and some fitful sleep near the border, where poppies were already in bloom and elusive to the camera:

I promised to share with you my story with Mycenae the day I would leave Greece for good. Yesterday was the day, so here goes.

I first went to Mycenae on a horrendously rainy day, in November 2018. The place struck me as a haphazard settlement of sorts in the wake of some ancient apocalypse, which was absolutely correct. We stayed in my colleague from Culture and Press' car, munched on some horribly stale koulouria as all hell broke loose outside, when she finally told me: ' you know what, I am happy we made it here: in Mycenae, you can only hear and tell the truth, you know'.

I have to say I ogled in suspicion. I was wet, hungry and completely unused to the Greek way of dressing everything up in mythology. She spoke Greek as I speak French and knew perfectly well what she was doing. She was casting a spell - an unbreakable one, for which I will forever be grateful. Oh, and as all myths would have it, the Lion Gate was closed, by the time we arrived.

It took me almost two years to go back there, during the pandemic, scared summer of 2020, when everything was empty and glorious to fully take in, like a big gulp of colors and sounds and life. My digs were to be always the same: unassuming Petite Planète, the last B&B in town, a stone throw away from Agamemnon's treasury, owned by the Dassis clan of archaeologists.

Their story begins in Constantinople, around 1875, when Konstantinos, a young orphan, begged Heinrich Schliemann to take him along to wherever he was traveling. He quickly became indispensable and helped with the first digs in Mycenae. He was the one who found Agamemnon's mask:

When the digging was over, Schliemann bought him a tiny house for two pence and a half and told him to stay there. 'Many people will come to visit and they will need food and a roof. Make sure you do your best and it will make you a rich man.'

And they came. In droves. If you ask nicely, V. will show you their reception rosters, safely tucked away in a bank vault, in Argos. I had the privilege to see Virginia Woolf's signature and I was stunned. Schliemann's two pence house is now doubled by a garish modern addition you can see from the main road as La Belle Hélène B&B ('my cousin Agamemnon is a greedy idiot', says V), but Schliemann's room is piously kept as it was when the strange German gentleman left them to their fate. As is, they did not become rich, but that does not matter. You will always find a place at their wonderful table, where Mamma Dassis cooks the same food they ate back in Constantinople and they would not have it otherwise. The new, bigger and better B&B is called Petite Planète because of V's father undying passion for Saint Exupéry's Little Prince. It permeates everything without being obtrusive, because sometimes 'the essential is invisible to the eye'.

Back in 2020, they were worried. Very worried. The Lion Gate was open again, but the 'cretins at Google' wouldn't have it and kept on listing it as closed, on their maps. People were canceling their bookings. The village stood unusually quiet and forlorn.

I made no promises. But I did phone some people at the Greek Ministry of Culture. The least person I expected to be of any help, H, a transparent, mousey freeloader, who was always the last to leave all of our events in the hope we'd take her to dinner in town, happened to be some sort of underling at the Archaeological Sites Department. She immediately understood what I wanted her to do.

Three days after I left Mycenae, on my road trip to the Mani peninsula, I received this message in my Booking inbox:

This started it all. And from that moment, all my Greek roads will lead there. It's also been a long time since I have trouble forcefully paying them for my monthly stays (booking and paying in advance helps, though), something they adamantly refused last time I went there:

'G., the girl wants to pay.'

'This is ridiculous, of course. This girl is family.'

Someday, I just know I will be back. For good.

After five years and a half, many more fabulous stories (Mycenean potter and poet, anyone? mad postman? Kyria Stamatoula and her goats? Kyrios Pandelis and his jams?) the only thing I know about Greece is that, for all its (many) misgivings, this land is about two things:

Friends and Heroes.

[so-am-smyme9540]

Little Talks (a Lackadaisy fanfiction)

Hey ya'll, this has been sitting in my drafts, half finished, so I decided to just bite the bullet and finish it. I call Freckle Calvin in this, because it feels kind of weird to calling him by a nickname only Rocky amd sometimes Ivy use. Anyways, enjoy the fic!

It was one of those rare, calm days at the Little Daisy Café, soon to open into the Lackadaisy speakeasy. Calvin was in the garage, elbow deep in the car’s engine, fiddling with this and that, trying to fix that awful raddle it’s had lately. His older cousin, Rocky, sat a few feet away atop a couple boxes, nose deep in his journal. Everyone who knew him knew of his penchant for poetry, but only few knew that he also liked to draw in the journal, occasionally. Calvin knew, because of the doodles all over the letters he used to receive.

He tightened a loose bolt inside the hood, despite knowing that wouldn’t fix it, nothing was ever that simple. He moved his attention to the radiator, next. With his hands occupied and his mind on the topic of his cousin’s letters, he realized one of the only ones without a drawing was the one asking if Calvin had heard from his father. He hadn’t, he’d never even met the man. Not that he could tell Rocky, of course, what with him travelling all over the states, hopping from one job to the next, trying so hard to outrun their shared family secret.

Calvin knew it was none of his business, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little curious about Rocky’s father. His cousin had never really mentioned him, he didn’t talk much about either of his parents, really, but Calvin supposed he had a good excuse for at least one of them. Although, then again, he’d never asked about them. He looked up from the car’s innards, and over at Rocky, who seemed to have gone back to writing. He didn’t really want to break the comfortable silence, it was such a rare commodity when it came Rocky, but he was curious.

“Hey Rocky?” His cousin looked up with a soft hum, pen still in hand. “What’s your dad like?” Rocky hesitated, which was odd for him, though he tried to pretend he has simply thinking over his answer. Calvin knew him better than that.

“Well, he used to work on the railroad. I’m not sure if he does anymore.” Rocky replied, though it didn’t really answer the question. Calvin knew he hadn’t seen his father in ages, but surely it couldn’t be that hard to remember him.

“Okay, but what was he like?” Calvin pressed, now wiping the grease on his hands from the engine on a rag. “Was he nice?”

Rocky actually seemed to think about that, as he fiddled with the pen in his hands. It was a nervous habit he’d had since childhood, though sometimes he himself didn’t seem to realize he was even doing it. “I think so. He was never mean, at least. I didn’t really see him much, he worked all the time and I was at your house a lot.” They both knew the reason why. Thick silence filled the air, making Calvin wish he had never broken it in the first place. Such as with most times, he should’ve stayed quiet. Rocky, on the other hand, was never opposed to disturbing the peace. “What was your dad like?”

Calvin was caught a bit off guard, but he supposed it was only fair. His father was also somewhat of a sore subject, given their shared family secret, but the two of them had silently agreed somewhere along the way to pretend it didn’t exist. So that’s what Calvin would do. “Well, he was definitely nice, if a little distant. He made mom laugh.”

Rocky nodded, about to reply, when Calvin suddenly remembered a moment from his childhood, before Rocky was staying with them. “Oh, one time, he decided he would make dinner, to give Mom a break. He tried to make spaghetti, but he forgot to boil he water… so we ate sandwiches instead.”

Rocky laughed, setting his journal on the box beside him. “I bet he got an earful from Aunt Nina!”

Calvin laughed a little too, smiling at the memory. “Yeah, when she was done scolding him she gave him a pat on the head and thanked him for trying.”

They fell into another silence, but this time, it was much more comfortable. But there was still another question Calvin had wanted to ask for a while, but never knew how. Rocky seemed to be in a sharing mood, and he didn’t want to ruin that, but… Well, curiosity killed the cat, after all.

“…What was your mom like?”

At first, he didn’t think Rocky could answer. He almost hoped he wouldn’t, that he’d get mad at him, because staying quiet and taking it was always easier. But Rocky had other ideas. “Oh, Mama was an angel…” He said, a smile on his face despite what happened to her. “She would never say things like “Roark don’t do that,” or “Roark don’t you dare eat that.” He exaggerated an Irish accent, just to drive the point home. “No, she’d say stuff like “Eat this instead, Rocky! It tastes much better than dirt, and it won’t hurt your stomach.”

Calvin snickered a little at that, eating dirt was definitely something Rocky would do. “And,” he added, with a sort of side eye, “She didn’t get mad when I made her mudpies.”

“You have to admit, those were gross.” He tried to reason with his cousin.

“They were presents!”

“They got all over my bed!” Waking up covered in mud was… not pleasant, to say the least.

“Whatever. You’re just ungrateful.”

Calvin shook his head, letting another lull into the conversation. Ungrateful was a good word to describe him, even if he knew Rocky didn’t mean it seriously. At horrible as it was, he couldn’t help but feel jealousy creep into his thoughts. Definitely ungrateful, Rocky’s mom was dead, what did he have to be jealous for? If anyone, Rocky should’ve been jealous! But he wasn’t. He never was. Not even when-

“Freckle?” His eyes snapped up, meeting Rocky’s concerned blue ones. “You good?” He asked, climbing off the boxes, journal long forgotten.

“Yeah, yeah, I just…” He hesitated, looking back into the car’s engine to avoid his cousin’s concerned gaze. “Your mom sounds great.”

Rocky didn’t smile, he looked down at his hands, closing them into fists. “She was. It’s honestly kind of difficult to imagine her and Nina being sisters. Though I’m sort of- terrified, because I think I’m starting to forget her.” His fist tightened, ever so slightly. Calvin looked back at him, feeling it safe to do so. “Sometimes I… I really have to think, about what she looked like. I-I can’t even remember what she sounds like anymore!” His voiced raised in desperation, his fists opening back up. “…I don’t want to forget..”

Calvin frowned, and he opened his mouth to answer, when the trapdoor suddenly opened. “Hey Rocky?” Zib’s head pocked in, “we’re on stage in 30 minutes, the guys want to practice some.”

“Oh, right!” Rocky’s demeanor suddenly went right back to normal, as if he’d never said anything. Calvin knew him better than that. “Sorry, I’m coming!”

————————————————————————————————

Rocky walked through the now dark garage, violin case in hand, tired from a successful night at the Lackadaisy. Well, successful by their standards. He opened the car door, ready to put up his violin and collapse into the seat, when he spotted a note admits his belongings. Curious, he picked it up.

‘I know you won’t forget. But if it makes you feel better, Mom said she sounded like Mary Pickford. -Calvin’

Under the note, was a small picture of his mother, before she got sick and looked so tired all the time. Rocky smiled, not one of his too wide, faked smiles, but a genuine, grateful smile. He tucked the picture and note inside his violin case, and went to bed knowing he had the greatest cousin in St. Louis.

[curlyy-hair-dont-care]

Floral Pistachio

“We have to go there, Papa. It's grandma and my favourite,” Scorpius cried excitedly, dragging Draco by the hand. “That’s the shop right there,” he squealed and made a dash for it.

Draco jogged the last few feet and entered the shop called L’etoile . He leaned against a counter to catch his breath but the sight in front of him stole it away once again.

There was Scorpius, seated on a table top chattering away with none other than Harry Potter himself.

“Scorpius! What have I told you about running on the streets!” Draco chided, finally finding his tongue.

“I’m sorry, Papa,” the five-year-old pouted before resuming munching on a chocolate éclair.

When did he get that? “What are you eating, Scorp?”

“Chocolate éclair,” he mumbled, cream and chocolate smeared around his little mouth. “Harry always lets me try the specials of the day.”

Harry laughed and gently wiped the boy’s face with a napkin as Draco gaped at them.

“That’s not polite, Scorp,” he sputtered.

“Grandma doesn't mind, and I always thank Harry,” he said indignantly and Harry hid a snort.

Draco huffed and made a mental note to have a word about all of this with his mother. But not today. Today was her birthday and they needed to get back on task, which was buying her favourite cake from her favourite bakery as per Scorpius.

“I’m sorry, Potter. Please allow me to pay for this.”

“Please, it’s on the house. I can’t charge my little taste tester and critic here!” Harry grinned. “So what can I get for y’all today?”

“We’re looking for the ‘Floral Pistachio?’” Draco fumbled glancing at Scorpius who nodded effusively.

“It’s grandma’s birthday and she likes pistachios.”

“Great choice!” Harry beamed at Scorpius. “I just baked one this morning!” he turned and smiled at Draco. “It's got pistachios – obviously – cardamom, rosewater, a hint of lemon, balsamic-soaked strawberries and refreshing rose buttercream.”

Harry brought out a beautiful cake frosted in baby pink and pistachio green, topped with beautiful piped roses. “I just finished piping these before you arrived,” he proudly displayed his creation as Draco looked at it in awe while Scorpius eyed it hungrily. He had evidently inherited his sweet tooth from his dad.

“It’s also known as the Persian Love Cake,” Harry continued, “The story behind the name is that once upon a time there was a Persian woman madly in love with a prince. To make him fall in love with her, she baked him this cake, filled with magical love powers,” Harry said wistfully before remembering his audience. “I’m so sorry, I get carried away sometimes,” he blushed. “So, ‘Floral Pistachio’… I’ll pack it up.”

While Harry packed up the cake, Scorpius dragged Draco to the display case and showed him all his favourite confections.

“Will that be all?” Harry asked.

Draco hesitated. “Could we also have a box of the éclairs Scorp was having? They looked delicious.”

“Of course! These are on the house for my favourite customer,” Harry said as he handed over the items.

“Oh, no, Potter, we can't –”

“I insist! And please wish Narcissa a happy birthday from me.”

Draco nodded as Scorpius piped up, “We’re having a party for Grandma tonight, you should come, Harry!”

“Oh, I wouldn't want to impose,” Harry mumbled.

Draco’s not sure what made him do this, but he added, “You should come. I’m sure Mother would like that. Andy and Teddy will be there, too.”

“Yesss, pleaseeee, Harry,” Scorpius pleaded.

“Okay,” he relented.

Scorpius cheered as Draco gave him the time and Floo details before leaving the store.

Draco spent the rest of the day in a daze. Harry Potter was coming over for dinner tonight.

Harry spent the rest of the day with a smile on his face and a skip in his step.

At 6 pm sharp, Harry stepped out of the Floo at Malfoy Manor. He had left the bakery early, requesting Luna to cover the last few hours for him. After a quick change of clothes, he’d nipped to Grimmauld Place’s wine cellar to select a bottle of wine and picked up a delicate bouquet of blue agapanthus, white oriental lilies and large white roses.

Teddy and Andy were already there and Narcissa greeted him warmly. They made small talk, drank, ate and laughed. Harry was seated next to Draco during dinner and they chatted about Scorpius and Teddy, Draco’s job, and Harry's bakery. It was an unsurprisingly comfortable evening.

After dinner, they all retired to the living room. Draco played a few songs on the piano before cutting Narcissa’s birthday cake.

“Oh, this is simply gorgeous, Harry!” Andromeda gasped when the cake was brought out.

“Absolutely divine as always!” Narcissa raved after taking a dainty bite.

Once Scorpius had finished his second slice of cake, Draco decided it was time for bed. “Come on darling, you’ve had a long day, it’s time for bed,” Draco cooed and gently lifted his son off the sofa.

“Oh sit, Draco, I’ll put him to bed, it's Teddy’s bedtime as well,” Andy said as she took Scorpius from Draco’s arms.

The teen looked like he was about to protest but a look from Andy had him shutting up.

“Can cousin Teddy read me a bedtime story? He does the best impressions!” Scorpius asked cheerfully.

“Oh yes, Nan, can I, please?” Teddy asked, his hair turning a shade of platinum blond to match Scorpius.

“Oh alright, but just one story and you must brush your teeth and change into your jammies first,” Andy relented. “Now say goodbye to everyone and head upstairs.”

After a series of goodbyes and goodnights and I love yous and hugs, the kids went upstairs.

“I should get going too,” Harry said.

“Oh,” Draco replied. Did he sound disappointed?

“Why don't you stay for a cup of tea, Harry dear. I’ll just put the kettle on,” Narcissa said and left the room.

After a few beats of awkward silence, Harry spoke. “Thanks for inviting me, Draco, I had a lovely time.”

“Thanks for coming, and for the lovely wine. Oh and that delicious cake!” he moaned.

Harry flushed. “I meant what I said, by the way. You can come by Grimmauld Place whenever and I can show you the wine cellar. I’m sure you’d appreciate it more than me!”

Draco smiled, then snarked, “Of course, I’m an oenophile. But only if you promise to feed me some sweets as well!”

“It’s a date,” Harry laughed and Draco had a pleased blush on his face.

And if they heard some squealing and shushing coming from behind the kitchen door, they chose to ignore it.

It was past 6 pm on Saturday when Draco stepped out of the Floo at Grimmauld Place as instructed by Harry in his letter.

The house looked cheerful and airy, with large windows, light walls and comfortable furniture. It looked homey and inviting, unlike the house he had visited as a child with his mother. Harry had definitely worked on it.

“Draco, is that you? I’m in the kitchen, come on through.”

Draco followed the sound of the voice and found Harry in the kitchen icing a cake while wearing an apron that said ‘I cook as good as I look.’

“Hey, nice apron,” Draco smirked as Harry broke into a grin.

“Hi, make yourself comfortable. I’m just finishing this up.”

“What is it? Looks sinful,” Draco said.

“Our conversation the other night gave me an idea and I began working on it this morning,” Harry said as he piped the cake with concentration. “It’s a champagne cream and fresh strawberry cake. Perfect for a sweet toothed oenophile!” he declared.

“Here, taste it,” he said, cutting a slice and feeding it to Draco, then popping the rest of the piece in his mouth.

“Mmmm,” they both moaned. “This is gooood! Potter, cut me another piece.”

Harry did as told and fed the piece to Draco then peered at his face for a reaction.

“Is the balance alright? Do you think the strawberries overpower the champagne? I obviously can’t give it to my regular taste tester, Scorp, so you’ll have to do,” he rambled, then saw Draco staring at him intently and blushed. “Sorry, I get carried away sometimes.”

Draco grinned. “It’s cute… You’re cute… I mean, uh, your enthusiasm...” he petered off.

Harry stared at him with an indecipherable expression, then raised his hand to wipe off a smear of cream from the corner of Draco’s lips.

Draco’s breath hitched.

Harry hoped he’d read the situation right and whispered, “I’d like to kiss you.”

Draco nodded and closed the distance between them.

“That was amazing,” Harry panted as they broke apart.

“Strawberries and champagne are my new favourite flavour,” Draco declared, drawing out a laugh from Harry, who pressed their foreheads together.

“Mine is ‘Floral Pistachio’, it most certainly is ‘the love cake’."

This is my Wheel of Drarry Exchange gift for the lovely @hbee. I hope you enjoy this ball of fluff!

A big thank you to @crazybutgood for all the valuable help! You're a star!

[atlafan]

Office Neighbors - Part Six

a/n: here we are, and it certainly won’t be over after this! didn’t have time to proof read sorry, hope you enjoy! (reblogs and feedback are super helpful!)

warnings: fluff, smut, minor character death

words: 15K

masterpost

The semester was in full swing, and you were counting down the days until Thanksgiving break. It was time you could dedicate to grading, and your brother always cooked this gourmet meal for your family, so all in all, you were just ready to for the little time away. You just needed to get through another two weeks.

It was also time off for Harry. Andy always spent his Thanksgiving break with Paige since Harry got him for Christmas in London. Typically, you ate at Harry’s house for dinner twice a week, and then when Andy was at Paige’s for a weekend, Harry would either sleep at your place, or you would sleep at his. Sometimes you would go to the library together to work. He really helped you find a work-life balance. Now, Harry usually went to Lisa’s for Thanksgiving, but he wasn’t sure if those plans were set to change. He was sort of hoping to go to Boston with you, but he didn’t want to invite himself.

“I think you should just ask her.” Andy says as he helps Harry set the table.

“I don’t want to impose, it’s rude.”

“But you’re her boyfriend, she should want you to spend Thanksgiving with her.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that.”

“You say that all the time.” He rolls his eyes.

“It is! It’s not just her and I having dinner, I’d be meeting her whole family, that’s a big deal.”

“Why?”

“Because…well…it’s one thing for her to like me, but I’d want her family to like me too.”

“Dad, literally who has ever met you ever likes you. Even Noah’s parents like you.”

“Thanks.” Harry chuckles. The doorbell rings and he smiles. “Go open that for her, will you?”

Andy races over to the door, and opens it for you.

“Hi, Y/N.” He smiles.

“Hi, Andy, how was school?” You smile as you come in and kick your boots off. “Getting cold out there.” You shiver as you take your jacket off.

“School was good.” He shrugs. “My health class just started and it’s really awkward.”

“Oh, I bet.” You walk in with him and the dessert your brought. “I brought cookies, couldn’t help myself.” You say to Harry, kissing his cheek.

“Thank you.” He smiles and takes it to put on the counter. “We’re having chili tonight, thought it would be nice for a cold evening.”

“Definitely, it smells amazing.”

Everyone makes a bowl, and adds what they want. After chatting about something funny one of Harry’s students says, Andy jumps into the conversation.

“Man, I cannot wait for Thanksgiving break. I know it’s only a few days, but I can’t wait.”

Harry slowly turns his head to look at his son, knowing exactly what he was doing.

“Yeah? You go to your mom’s right?” You say.

“Mhm, my grandparents and aunt come, and so does Noah’s family. It’s actually pretty fun. My mum and aunt cook everything together. What do you usually do for Thanksgiving, Y/N?”

“Well, when I was growing up we always hosted at my parent’s house, but my brother tends to host now since he’s the one that does that cooking.”

“He’s a chef, right?”

“A sous chef, but yeah.” You smile. “Although, he doesn’t cook everything. I tend to make the more Jewish dishes, and then he makes the more traditional Thanksgiving things.”

“Noah’s mum makes a brisket, do you guys have that too?”

“Mhm! My brother makes it, although I don’t eat it anymore.” You shrug and take another bite of the chili.

“Dad goes to Auntie Lisa’s.”

“Oh, you do?”

“Yeah…”

“That must be so much fun! Her husband is such a good cook. At the last game night there he made this spinach puff things, and I think I ate the whole tray.” You laugh.

“It’s usually a good time, yeah.”

“I’m surprised you don’t do Thanksgiving at Paige’s.”

“Nah, we tend to keep holidays separate. Her family doesn’t really understand the co-parenting.”

“Gram and Gramp are kind of snooty.” Andy says. “I love them, but I usually cap the convo at five minutes, and then I find an excuse to walk away.”

You burst out laughing and so does Harry, and Andy ends up laughing too. After dinner, and the cookies, Andy goes off to start his homework, which leaves you and Harry to clean up in the kitchen.

“He’s a lot like you, you know? He’s very smooth.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bringing up what we all do for Thanksgiving, almost seemed like he was hinting at something.” You smirk. “It’s cute you talk to him about me, honestly.”

“What…I wasn’t-“

“Did you really think I wasn’t going to invite you?”

“I…well, it’s a couple of weeks away and you haven’t mentioned it, so I just figured you weren’t ready for me to meet your family.” He runs a hand through his hair.

“I was going to run it by you tomorrow…I took me a minute to work up the courage to tell my family I was going to invite you, I’m sorry.”

“No! It’s okay, so, you want me to come?”

“I do, would you?”

“Yes.” He puts his hands on your hips and kisses you. “I’d love to.”

“Great!” You wrap your arms around his neck. “I was thinking we could drive down Thursday, and then spend the night at a hotel in the city, and then Friday we could, like, do a ton of touristy Boston things before driving back up.”

“That sounds amazing. Um, let me pay for the hotel though.”

“Oh, please.” You scoff.  

“Come on, it’s gonna be really expensive because of the holiday.”

“Julian, Phil’s partner, manages a hotel in the city, he said he could cut me a deal. It’s really no problem.”

“Oh…well, alright then.” He smiles. “I’m excited.”

“Me too.”

“Do you think they’ll like me?”

“I think so, yeah, but I have to warn you…when I first told you about them they had a lot of concern that I was getting involved with someone who has a kid, so they may ask a lot of personal questions. I told them not to, but they tend not to listen to me.”

“Guess it sort of comes with the territory. Nothing I can’t handle.”

You kiss goodbye before you leave, and Harry nearly squeals. He goes down to Andy’s room.

“Guess who got invited to Thanksgiving?”

“Are you serious?!” Andy stands up and gives Harry a high five. “That’s great! You should bake a pumpkin pie, you make the best pumpkin pie.”

“I do, don’t I?” He smirks. “I’ll ask her what I can bring. We’re gonna be going over night together, wow.”

“Is it that big of a deal? You have sleepovers all the time.”

“Andy…”

“I’m not stupid, Dad, she leaves…girly things here.”

“Okay, so we have sleepovers a lot, but going away with someone overnight is, like, next level.”

“You went camping together before you were even together, and then you went to that conference.”

“We didn’t share a room at the conference. It’s…it’s just different, okay? A good different. It’s gonna be great.”

“How come she doesn’t stay over when I’m here?”

“We haven’t really been together long enough for that. I don’t think she really feels comfortable just yet.”

“Why? You’re just sleeping.”

“Right…”

Andy gives Harry a weird look, and then his eyes widen.

“Oh, Jesus, Dad, don’t be gross!”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“You’re so annoying, get out!”

Harry puts his hands up in defense and walks away. He really didn’t mean anything by his response, but Andy was smart, and sex was still an awkward topic. He wouldn’t even watch a movie with Harry now if there was a kissing scene in it. Things were okay with Brandon, and that was all Harry cared about. He was sort of hoping health class would help.

//

Andy had a half day at school on Wednesday, so Harry had to pick him up and bring him back to the university. When he was picking him up he noticed him saying goodbye to Brandon. They were hugging…for a while.

“See you Monday, have fun at your mom’s.” Brandon smiles as he lets go of Andy.

“Thanks, have a good time in Connecticut.”

“Text me if you need me…I know it’s a lot for you over there for so long.”

“I will, I’ll probably need to call you Thursday night.”

“Works for me, it’ll give me an excuse to get away from cousins. I really don’t feel like staying up to play Barbie’s with them.” He rolls his eyes.

“You’re the best.” He looks over and sees Harry’s car. “My dad’s here…bye.”

“Bye.”

They hug one more time and then Andy walks over to Harry’s car, getting in the back seat.

“Hey, how was the half day.”

“Good.” Andy shrugs. “We just ate food and watched a movie.”

“Are you still hungry? I brought some extra snacks to my office this morning.”

“Yeah, I’m hungry. Did you bring anything good?”

“Cheese sticks and grapes.”

“Guess that’s fine.”

“You’re gonna eat a lot of junk this weekend, couldn’t letcha eat a bad snack with me before Mum comes to get you.”

When Harry gets back to his office with Andy, he sees you laughing with Andre. Now, Harry knew he had nothing to worry about with Andre, but he was definitely curious to see what was so funny.

“Hi, Y/N!” Andy says, hugging you.

“Oh! Hi, Andy.” You smile and hug him back.

“What’s so funny?” Harry asks coolly.

“Oh, Y/N was just pointing out how students just skip class all week to beat the traffic, but we don’t have that luxury.”

“I mean, I know all classes after three are cancelled, so we can sort of leave early, but come on. At least let me know you’re not gonna be there.” You say. “Whatever, just need to teach one more class.”

“Can I go?” Andy asks.

“Andy…Y/N’s teaching a class about rhetoric, it’s a little high level for you.”

“I don’t have any homework or anything to do, and I don’t feel like just sitting around.”

“He can come if he wants.” You shrug. “Gotta go now though.”

“Okay!” Andy runs into Harry’s office to grab his snack and then joins you.

“He really likes her, huh?” Andre says to Harry.

“Yeah, he does.”

//

What you were talking about in class was way over Andy’s head, but what he did understand was when you put an episode of The Office. You wanted to show different persuasion tactics used while making a sale, and you thought it would be relatable for the students. Andy thought you were the coolest person in the world for showing it.

“Alright, I hope you all have a great few days off, I’ll see you Monday.” You say at the end of class. Andy gets up from the back of the class and comes towards you. “So, what did you think?”

“I liked the part where you put on The Office.” He giggles.

“I thought so.”

“I didn’t understand a word you said, but I sort of got some of it when you put the show on. It’s sort of cool how, like, a sow you could watch just for fun could have a deeper meaning.”

“It’s very cool.” You smile and walk with him back down to Harry’s office.

You stop short when you see Paige sitting on the edge of his desk.

“Mum?”

“Hi, honey! I came to surprise you. I had a half day today too.” She smiles and hugs him. “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi, how are you?”

“I’m good, thanks. Dad already helped me put your things in my car, so we’re good to go.”

“Oh…alright.” Andy gives Harry a hug goodbye. “Have in Boston.”

“Thanks, buddy.” Harry stands up and puts his hands in his pockets.

“Boston?” Paige raises an eyebrow with a smile.

“He’s coming home with me.” You say.

“That’s great! Well, safe travels.”

“Bye, Y/N.” Andy hugs you and out the door they go.

“Did you know she was coming here to get him?”

“No, she texted me, like, two seconds after you went to class, sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, I just wasn’t expecting to see her.”

“You know, she mentioned a while back that she’d like to get together with you sometime…I think it might be a good idea for you to get to know her better.”

“Harry, no offense, but I don’t need to be best friends with your ex.”

“I’m not asking you to be, but you’re in Andy’s life, she wants to get to know you better.”

“Just a one on one thing?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll think about it.” You say and leave his office. He follows you into yours and you sigh.

“Do you have a problem with Paige?”

“No, of course not. I just don’t feel super comfortable getting together with her so she can grill me.”

“That’s not why she wants to meet up with you.”

“So, it wouldn’t be a couple of hours of her asking me a bunch of questions?”

“Well, you’d ask her questions too. I did the same with Noah, and I get along great with him.”

“I get along just fine with her.”

“You’ve been around her, like, four times.”

“And it’s been great every time, why rock the boat?” You shrug.

“Y/N…she’s the mother of my kid, she’s not going anywhere, and it would mean a lot to me if you got to know her better, alright?”

“Alright…maybe once the semester is over she and I could get together for lunch or something.”

He smiles at you and kisses your cheek.

“You’re the best.”

“Someone has to be.” You sigh and it makes him laugh. “Did you want to just stay at my place tonight so we can leave from there tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sounds good. What time do you want me over?”

“Seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

//

Harry: what should I pack for clothes, how fancy is dinner?

You: I’ll just be in jeans a blouse, wear what makes you comfortable

You thought it was sweet that Harry was a little nervous to meet your family. They weren’t scary people, but you were the baby, and you knew that came with a lot of questions. Harry comes over a little after seven in some joggers and a long sleeve shirt, and a couple of bags.

“Mm, smells good in here.” He says, kissing your cheek.

“I just finished baking what I need to bring.”

“I made a pumpkin pie to bring, could I stick it in the fridge?”

“That’s so sweet! Of course, go right ahead.”

You take his bags and bring them into your disaster of a room. You hadn’t been very good at putting your laundry away once it was folded, nor were you good about getting your dirty laundry in the hamper. You sigh and start running around to tidy it up.

“I thought you did chores once a week?” Harry chuckles as he stands in the doorway.

“I…haven’t been making much time for it with all the work I need to do. And then I come in here and it’s just too overwhelming. Everywhere else is fine though.”

“You know, having a messy room can cause just as much anxiety before you go to bed because you get reminded of the stress-“

“Har?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t need a lecture from you on my messy bedroom, okay?”

“Wasn’t giving you one.” He raises his hands in defense. “Don’t feel like you need to clean it just because I’m here either.”

“No, I don’t wanna come back to a mess, just…go watch TV until I’m done in here, it’s mostly just laundry.”

“I can help if you want.” You make a face at him. “What? I could throw a load in for you, or help you put things away.”

“You can help by just giving me a minute. I’ve been trying to reconfigure things, I may buy a larger dresser soon.”

“Why? You could just go through get rid of what you don’t need. Perfect time of year to do it.”

“I did that already…” You bite your bottom lip. “I was thinking…well…you come over a lot, and I’ve been trying to clean out a couple of drawers for you so you could just leave some weekend clothes here if you wanted.”

“R-really?” He looks at you like a wide eyed puppy.

“Yeah, we’ve been together five months, I think it makes sense to give you a drawer, I even made room in my bathroom for you, come look.” You tug him into the bathroom “I put up this rack so you could leave some shaving stuff or whatever you usually bring. If you’re comfortable with it.”

“You won’t mind my stuff crowding you?”

“No, if anything it’ll be like you’re here when you’re not here.” You say quietly and look at him. “I leave things at your place, I want you to leave things here.”

Harry tilts your chin up to look at him and he kisses you. He never had a relationship like this before. Well, he sort of did this with Paige, but it was different. He thought it was so sweet that you wanted these pieces of him around, and he knows he should do the same for you.

“Next time you’re at my place, there will be a drawer and some closet space for you.” He smiles. “I’ll go watch some TV while you do your thing.”

“Thanks.”

Around forty-five minutes later you plop down onto the couch next to Harry, and sigh. He throws an arm around you and kisses your temple.

“What are you watching?”

“SNL’s Thanksgiving clip show.”

“Oh fun!”

“What time do we need to be on the road tomorrow?”

“Not terribly early. Today’s the big travel day, I didn’t hit any traffic last year. We can leave around eleven.”

“Amazing. I don’t mind getting up early, but it’s nice to not have to sleep in on our days off.”

“I agree.”

You both shift so you can lay on top of him. He rubs your back, and you both giggle over the funny sketches. You pull a blanket over the two of you, and just get really cozy.

“I’m excited to be going overnight with you in the city. Where are we going Friday?”

“I thought we could take the T to Faneuil Hall and do some shopping, and then we could go to the North End for food.”

“Sounds good to me. Is there anything specific I need to know about your family before I meet them?”

“Not really…my parents can be sort of abrasive, but they mean well. Phil and Julian are pretty chill.”

“How long have they been together for?”

“God, like…six years I think.”

“That’s nice.”

“They’re a great couple. I think everyone will like you, Harry, nothing to worry about.” You lean up and kiss his forehead.

He cups your cheeks and pulls you closer to kiss your lips. You skootch up his body, and his hands slide down to your ass. You bite down on his bottom lip briefly before pulling away.

“Can we be lame and just go get really cozy in bed?” You say.

“Not lame at all, I’m pretty tired from all the grading I did this afternoon.”

You get off him and you both do your nightly routines before getting into bed.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Why is your bed so warm already?”

“Oh! I turned my heated blanket on before I came out to watch TV with you. Nice and toasty, right?”

“Very.” He chuckles. “Now turn over so I can have that booty.”

“Harry.” You laugh, but do as he says, and adjust right into him. His leg goes right over your hip like always, and he holds you nice and close.

“I’m so glad you like sleeping like this, I don’t know what I’d do.” He chuckles into the back of your head.

“I know, could you imagine if I wasn’t to feel crushed while I’m sleeping?”

“Y/N.” He laughs.

“For real, I sleep so well with you.”

“Me too.” He nuzzles in closer. “Maybe when I get back from London you could try sleeping over on school nights.” You turn over to face him immediately.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah…wouldn’t be so weird, would it?”

“How would Andy feel about it?”

“He asks all the time why you don’t just spend the night when you have dinner with us. We could try it out and see how it goes.”

“With you in London for a few weeks, what does he do for school?”

“Oh, Paige just drives him back and forth.”

“That’s not annoying?”

“She really doesn’t mind it, it’s just extra time to spend together. It’s only two weeks for him to deal with it.”

“I could…help with rides if need be…or if he misses the house at all I could always stay over there with him.”

“Oh, so you’ll have sleepover with him without me?”

“I’m just saying, I can be helpful.”

“I appreciate that.” He kisses you. “So, will you try sleeping over some night when I get back?”

“Yeah, as long as he’s okay with it, we can give it a try. I wouldn’t mind carpooling.”

You kiss again, and you turn back over so he can spoon you. Five months together, and things were going so well.

//

The next morning your alarm goes off at 8:30. You turn it off quickly, and when you try to get up Harry clings to you tighter.

“Harry.” You giggle. “I need to shower.”

“But you’re so cozy.” He groans.

“You know how long it takes me to blow dry and curl my hair, please let me get up.”

“Alright.” He sighs. “But I’m going in there with you.”

“Oh, you are?” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“Mhm, gonna fuck you in there.” He grins at you. “If you want.”

“Hmmm.” You pretend to mull it over, but you grin back at him and nod.

Now, typically, you wouldn’t just let a guy stick it in, and trust his pullout game, but condoms in the shower never felt good, so you and Harry may have agreed that shower sex was the one time he didn’t need a condom. The first time you did it like this, not too long ago, you nearly cried from how good it felt it really feel him inside you.

“Oh, fuck, right there, Harry!” You moan out as he thrusts into you from behind, his skin slapping against yours. You reach back to squeeze at his arm as you come undone, and he pulls out shortly after to come on your ass. You both sigh with relief.

“Feel like horny teenager with you sometimes.” He chuckles as he starts to lather up his body.

“Me too.” You start washing your hair.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“I know you said you got off the pill because it didn’t make you feel good, but…are there other birth controls out there that don’t fuck with you?”

“Yeah, they’re called condoms.” You say as you put some conditioner in.

“Y/N.” He rolls his eyes and steps into the water once you’re done rinsing your hair.

“I mean…I know there’s an IUD that doesn’t mess with your hormones, but the procedure is a tad invasive, and it probably wouldn’t even be in there that long.”

“Why’s that?” He scrubs his own head so he doesn’t see your face flush.

“I just mean, like, I don’t know, what’s wrong with what we’re doing?”

“Nothing…I guess selfishly it would be nice to do it like this all the time, and not have to worry.” He looks at you. “You done?” He asks as he reaches to turn the water off.

“Yeah.” You pull the curtain and get toweled up, and hand him his. “I get where you’re coming from with that…I just…selfishly I don’t wanna compromise on it. If you’re worried about pulling out, then we don’t need to fuck in the shower like this. We can just go back to what we were before.”

“But I like fucking you in the shower like this.” He pouts and puts his hands on your hips. “You won’t even think about going on something?”

“I’m sorry, Harry…I don’t want to.”

“Alright.” He sighs. “I get it, I suppose. Condoms it is.” He kisses your forehead and leaves you to do your hair.

When you finish with your hair, you don’t see Harry in your bedroom. You go into the kitchen and see him fully dressed, getting some peanut butter on toast.

“Here, a light breakfast.” He smiles.

“Thank you.” You kiss his cheek, and take a bite of the toast. “You look handsome.” You smile at him and he smiles back.

“I’m gonna go call Andy while you’re finishing up. Do you mind if I use your office?”

“Not at all! Go right ahead.”

You finish up the toast and then go back into your room to finish getting ready. You put on a pair of black jeans, and a blue long sleeve blouse, and then go into the bathroom to put a little makeup on.

“Y/N?” Harry pops his head into the bathroom.

“Yeah?” You giggle.

“Andy wants to wish you a happy Thanksgiving.”

“Oh!” You reach out for the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi, Y/N!”

“Hi, Andy, happy turkey day.” You smile.

“You too! You and Dad are going to Boston for a couple of days, huh?”

“That’s right! Want us to bring you back anything special?”

“That depends…where are you going?”

“We’re going to be where a ton of Italian restaurants are, which means Italian bakeries. Would you like a fresh cannoli brought back to you?”

“I think I’d like you forever if you did that.” He laughs and so do you.

“Then I think that can be arranged.”

“Okay! Sorry, Mum wants to talk to Dad…”

“Oh! That’s fine, it was nice talking to you.” You hand the phone back to Harry. He was smiling ear to ear.

“Hey, yeah, he is polite isn’t he?” Harry chuckles and steps out of the bathroom. When you come out to the living room he’s sitting on the couch reading.

“All set?”

“Yeah, was just waiting for you. You’re good to go?”

“Mhm, would you carry the food down to the car for me?” You say, putting your jacket on.

“Yup, I’ll grab our bags too.”

“Thank you.” You give him a quick kiss and out the door you go.

You didn’t have an automatic start on your car and you wanted to warm it up a bit. Harry brings everything down to the car, and off you go towards the highway. He keeps a hand on your thigh as his other hand’s fingers drum along to whatever music you’ve put on. You liked that even when you were the one driving he still had a hand on you.

“I can drive us back tomorrow if you’d like.” He speaks up.

“That’s okay, it’s really not that long of a drive. Hour and twenty, max.”

“Takes me two hours to get to Boston…”

“You, my darling, drive like a grandma, that’s why.” You smirk.

“I do not!” He laughs. “I’m careful.”

“You don’t go over seventy…”

“That’s the speed limit! And you know as well as I do the state police up here pull everyone over.”

“You know what’s funny? I got pulled over before I got my NH plates, now I never get pulled over. I do eighty on the highway up here, and that’s perfect.”

“It’s too fast.”

“No, going ninety would be too fast. Just wait until we’re really driving in the city, you’ll be amazed at my swiftness.”

“You mean at your aggressiveness.”

“It’s called being a defensive driver. Maybe when Andy gets older I should be the one to teach him how to drive, or else we’ll have two grannies on our hands.” You throw him a cheeky grin and he just rolls his eyes at you.

“He’s never going driving with you unless I’m there too.”

Harry would never admit it, but he really liked it when you’d drop little hints that you were in this for the long haul. It would be years until Andy would be able to get his permit, and yet, here you are, thinking ahead about it. It was something you did once in a while, even this morning, Harry picked up on it when you mentioned how pointless an IUD would be. It was too soon to talk about kids and stuff, but he knew that was where your head was at, and it made him feel really good.

“You teach him how to park a car, you’re way better at that. I’m such a nervous parker.” You laugh. “One time I had to drive my boss to a conference we were both going to, and I had to park in a garage, and you know how narrow those spots can be. I told him I was nervous at parking, and he covered his eyes so I could park the car. He was such a sweet man, had kids my age at the time.”

“Would you like for me to do that from now on? Cover my eyes so you can park your car?” He chuckles.

“I wouldn’t hate it.”

“Why do you get so nervous?”

“I have my dad to thank for that. He’d watch me back out of the driveway just to make sure I didn’t run over the grass, it was so annoying.”

“Ah, a very dad thing to do. Grass is really important to us, you know? If you’ve got a shitty lawn it reflects poorly on you.” He smirks.

“Oh, shut up.” You roll your eyes. “You both can bond about going to Lowe’s on the weekends and looking at planks of wood.”

Harry bursts out laughing because that is definitely something he’s done before.

“I don’t just look at planks of wood, I also often go and look at the different types of mulch.”

“Do you ever bring a tape measure with you?”

“Keep one in my trunk, actually. Never know when you’ll need to take measurements for something.”

“Jesus.” You laugh and shake your head. “When you become a dad is there like an initiation ceremony where you get a bunch of that stuff?”

“Oh, sure, but it’s top secret. I’ve said too much already.”

You giggle at him. You were happy long car rides were never awkward with Harry. You could joke around, and then also sit in a comfortable silence. Today was going to be a good day.

//

Phil lived in a really nice condominium in the newly renovated areas of Southie. Harry was impressed that a sous chef could afford such a nice neighborhood.

“It’s kind of sad because this used to be where more of the affordable housing was, and then it got really gentrified. In their spare time, Phil and Julian try to help out and volunteer their time to help the people that got pushed out.”

“Wow, good for them.”

Harry helps carry the food as you key into the building, and lead him towards the elevator. You knock on the door before going in.

“Hello!” You say brightly as you both walk in.

“Hey!” Julian says, giving you a hug and kiss. “Come on in, Phil’s just basting the turkey. Hello.” He smiles at Harry.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” They shake hands, and Julian takes the food from him.

“Oh! A pumpkin pie, just what we needed, thank you.”

“No problem.” Harry smiles. You hook your arm around his waist as you walk further into the home.

“Hey!” Phil says coming over to the two of you. He gives you a hug and shakes Harry’s hand.

“This is Harry.” You say.

“Nice to meet you, man. Heard a lot of good things.” Phil smiles.

“Nice to meet you too. This is a great place.”

“Thanks! Been here for, like, what…three years?” He asks Julian.

“Yup! Almost three and a half. Got for a steal at the time.”

“Are Mum and Dad here?” You ask.

“Yeah, in the living room. Go and get comfortable, everything’s still cooking. They’re watching the parade.”

You nod and lead Harry into the living room.

“Mum, Dad, we’re here.” You say and they both get up to say hello. “Harry, this is my mum, Rebecca, and my dad, Richard.”

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you both.” He shakes both of their hands.

“Finally!” Your mom nearly squeals and throws her arms around Harry, and gives him a nice, wet kiss on the cheek. “It’s so good to meet you, Harry. We were starting to think you were made up!”

“Mum…I’ve shown you pictures.”

“You’re awfully good at that photoshop nonsense, could have just been edited.” She scoffs. “You’re very handsome.”

“Um…thank you.” His cheeks were incredibly red.

“Where’s your son today?” Your dad asks and you want to smack him for diving right in.

“Oh, he’s with his mum and her family today. She’s not from the U.K. like I am, so she actually celebrates Thanksgiving, I just observe.” He jokes, but it doesn’t land, so he clears his throat. “It’s just part of our custody agreement, I get him for Christmas.”

Your parents share a look, and then both smile at Harry.

“Your brother put out some munchies until dinner’s ready.” Your mom says. “Come, sit, I know the drive was long.”

“It wasn’t too bad, not much traffic to complain about.” You say as you stick a carrot into some dip. “Can I get you a drink, Har? Phil’s got beer and wine.”

“Just a beer would be great, thank you.”

You smile and go into the kitchen. He almost wishes he followed you because your parents stay looking at him. He was wearing a nice button up, so his tattoos weren’t overly exposed, so it couldn’t be that.

“So, how old is your son?” Your mom asks.

“Eleven, he’ll be twelve in May. His name is Andy.”

“Is it short for Andrew, or is it just Andy?” Your dad asks.

“It’s short for Andrew.” Harry smiled. “Andrew Jacob Styles.”

“What a lovely name.” You mom smiles. “Is he named after anyone?”

“Um, Jacob is a family name on his mum’s side, and Andrew was just a name with both really liked.” He shrugs. “Nothing more to it than that.”

“You’re still close with her, his mum…” Your dad notes.

“Sort of. We do the co-parenting to the best of our ability. Living close by helps with that.”

“I think it’s nice you can get along so well. We have some friends who have divorced, and they can’t stand each other. I feel terrible for the kids, they get caught in the middle, unfortunately.”

“Well, my ex and I were never ma-“

“Here were are.” You say, handing Harry a beer, a glass of red in your other hand. “How’s the parade?” You ask sitting down next to Harry.

“Y/N, you interrupted our conversation.” Your dad says. “Harry was just explaining to us how his co-parenting works.”

“Dad…I don’t think Harry really wants to talk about that right now, okay?”

“It’s alright.” Harry says. “I know it must be a tad odd for your daughter to be dating someone with so much baggage, I get it.” He takes a sip of his beer. “I was young, accidents happen, but I wouldn’t change a thing.” He puts his arm around you and sits a little more comfortably.

“Well, we hope to meet little Andy at some point.” Your mom says. “Maybe this summer we can come up for a little visit, Y/N.”

“Yeah, maybe.” You smile and lean into Harry. “He’s so sweet, and funny. He’s a really talented painter too. He’s decorated some things in my office for me.”

“Wow, that’s a big deal. You wouldn’t even let me help decorate.” Your mom chuckles.

“Because your taste is terrible, Mum, no offense.” You grimace.

“She’s right, Becky.” Your dad laughs.

“Oh, what do you two know?” She stands up. “I’m going to see if Phil needs help.”

You and your dad laugh a little.

“Good, now I can switch it to football. I actually don’t give a fuck about the parade.” Richard says. “Pardon my French.”

“No worries.” Harry says. “I don’t give a fuck either.” He grins and it makes your dad laugh.

Okay, despite the bit of awkwardness at the beginning, this was actually going pretty well. You knew your parents had their reservations with Harry, but they didn’t seem too put off. After an hour or so of watching football, everyone is called to the dining area for dinner. The spread looked incredible, your brother outdid himself. He and Julian sit at the heads of the table, and then you and Harry sit across from your parents.

“Before we dig in, I just want to say how thankful I am that we could all be together today.” Phil says. “This is the first year I didn’t have to work, so we were able to do this at a normal hour like other families. It’s nice having to wait until nearly eight o’clock.” He smiles. “Two is much better. Enjoy!”

Everyone hums in agreement, and take what they want. Phil made plenty of veggies and other meatless options for you and Harry.

“Harry, how long have you been a professor for?” Julian asks once everyone has what they want.

“Um, like, ten years I’d say. I taught while I was getting my master’s, so I count that. Got my PhD a little over four years ago, though.”

“Very cool, and did you know you always wanted to be a teacher or…?”

“Honestly, no.” He chuckles. “But I really liked what I was studying and researching, and I knew I wanted to keep doing that, and so when I was getting my master’s and became a TA, I fell in love with teaching. I don’t think I could do it at a K-12 level, but I really like teaching at a collegiate level.”

“That’s exactly what Y/N always says.” Phil says.

“It’s true! I don’t think I could teach young kids, but I really like the college kids. Especially the upperclassmen, they’re a tad more mature.”

“Harry, how did you end up over here in the states?” Your mom asks.

“Ah, well, I was looking to study abroad. I went to a school in London my freshman year, and I liked it, but I really wanted to branch out, so I ended up in New York for school. I loved it.”

“And…now you live in New Hampshire?” Your dad asks.

“Yeah, so, when I was looking for master’s programs I was looking for schools in that area because, um, my ex’s grandparents lived in the lakes region, and we needed a bit of help. Her parents live in Connecticut, and there weren’t any schools I wanted to go to out there, so I ended up at UNH for that. The drive to Manchester every day wasn’t fun, but it made things easier to have her family closer by. It was a decent compromise. I almost moved to that area full time, but her grandparents passed away, and she had to take their home over, so I ended up at our university for my doctoral program so I could stay close to my son.” He takes a sip of his drink. “I fell in love with area. I got into hiking and some of the other outdoorsy stuff there is to do. It’s home now.”

“And your family, they’re in the U.K.?” Phil asks.

“Yeah, my mum and sister both live in London. Mum’s retired and lives with my sister. She’s married with a couple of kids, so she may as well be a live in nanny.” He chuckles. “I bring Andy home to see them for Christmas, and sometimes they come to visit in the summer.”

“So, do you have dual citizenship or just a work visa?” Julian asks.

“He wouldn’t need that since he married a U.S. citizen.” Your dad says.

“See, I was trying to explain earlier, we never got married.” Harry explains. “Um…so, yeah, I have dual citizenship. I was here on a school visa for a bit, and then I got the work visa, but I knew I was stayed so I went through the citizenship process. It was a real bitch, I have to say.”

The table laughs and agrees. The conversation turns to politics, only briefly, and then goes back to light chatter. Once dessert is out and eaten, everyone is stuffed. You and Harry help clean up, and then your parents leave shortly after. Everyone feels like they can take a deep breath now.

“So you two are staying at Julian’s hotel, yeah?” Phil asks.

“Yup, why?” You raise an eyebrow.

“How about we meet you guys in the city, and we go to that bar we all like?”

“That sounds great! Meet us there around eight?”

“Works for me.”

“That work for you?” You ask Harry.

“Yeah, sounds like fun.” He smiles.

//

Once you’re checking into the hotel, you head to the elevator, and go up to your room. Harry notes how nice the hotel is, and you agree. Julian was a really good manager, and did well to make sure that the place ran smoothly. You key into the room, and you both plop down on the bed with a big sigh.

“I’m stuffed.” Harry says with a slight chuckle.

“Same here.” You look over to your bag and tug it towards you, rummaging through it and pulling out a small purple bottle. “Um…so…usually we each have two different bathrooms to use when we have sleepovers, or maybe…we don’t tend to use the bathroom in a certain way, but that’ll be different tonight so I brought this.” You show him the small bottle. “So…we can just use the bathroom and not feel embarrassed.”

Harry smirks and takes the small bottle to read it.

“Poo-perize…” He looks at you.

“You just spray it before you go, and it’s like you never went at all.”  

“Ah, well, good thinking. I wouldn’t want you knowing that I took a shit.”

“Harry.” You groan and snatch the bottle from him.

“Are you telling me you’ve never shit at my house in the five months we’ve been together?”

“I…have…just not a lot. I don’t know, I’m not good with other people’s bathrooms. I’m just gonna go stick this in there.”

You get up while he shakes his head and laughs at you. You come back out and lay down next to him on the bed.

“I’m gonna tell you something I told Andy when he was about two years old.” He says to you.

“What’s that?”

“Everybody poops.”

“Gah!” You exasperate. “I know that, obviously, I just don’t want you thinking about me doing it…”

“It’s not like my ear’s gonna be pressed up against the door!” He laughs. “Lighten up.” He pulls you to rest your head on his chest and he kisses you on the top of your head.

“Did you have fun earlier? I hope my parents weren’t too invasive.”

“They were fine, I totally understood why they were asking what they were asking. I know it’s odd for someone my age to have a kid in middle school.”

“I just don’t want you to think they were judging. I actually think they really liked you.”

“I’m glad to hear it. It’ll be nice for them to come visit in the summer. Maybe we could all go to the cabin.”

“God, they would love that, babe.” You snuggle further into him.

After resting for a while, and using the bathroom, you both head down to meet Phil and Julian at a bar down the street. You all grab a booth and start a tab for drinks.

“So, this is where you all go when you visit?” Harry asks you once the drinks are on the table.

“Sort of, this is where I come with them.”

“Y/N has probably been to every bar in this city.” Phil laughs.

“You’re gonna make me sound like an alcoholic!” You laugh. “When you go to school in the city, you gotta find the good places to go. All trial and error.”

“You also had a really good fake ID.” Julian smirks. “Remember when we took her out for her twenty-first, and the bartender practically scolded her?” He laughs.

“Oh my god, he was so mad at me.” You take a sip of your drink. “There was this one place I had been sneaking into for years, and I wanted my twenty-first birthday party to be there, and I had been pretty friendly with the bartender, right? So I had him my new ID, and he, oh my god, I thought he was gonna flip his shit.”

“He gave you free shots though, so he couldn’t have been too mad.” Phil winks at you and you just shake your head.

“Yeah.” You roll your eyes.

The reason the bartender had not flipped out, thrown you out was because you promised a very a good blow job in the bathroom on his break. You had delivered, and then he gave you free shots all night, and you ended up going home with him to further explore after said blow job, but you weren’t about to expose yourself to Harry like that. You didn’t want him to think you were immature, even if it was something that happened years ago.

“Must be nice to have grown up in a place where the legal drinking age is eighteen.” Julian says to Harry.

“Yeah, it was pretty sweet that last year before going to uni. My friends and I would go to the clubs, get in a bit of trouble.” He chuckles after taking a sip of his drink. “I’m kind of glad I came to America for the rest of school, I think it helped me settle down a bit.”

“I studied abroad for culinary school,” Phil starts, “mostly in France, but when I would go out with my friends it would definitely get wild. It was a culture shock to start the evenings so late! We wouldn’t leave until midnight sometimes.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly how it is, and we’d stay out until after four in the morning most times.”

“That was the first time I saw hard drugs being used so casually. People just doing lines in the bathroom and stuff. It happens here too, but it was way less taboo over there.”

“Phil, did you ever…?” You ask him.

“God no, I mean, I smoked share of weed, but I never did anything more than that. I was too afraid of being fucked up while chopping something in the kitchen.”

“Did you?” You ask Harry. You were more curious than anything.

“Yeah.” He says casually with a shrug. “Like I said, I’m glad I came here to finish school.”

“Holy shit, what did it feel like?” You gaze up at him. “I’ve never done anything like that, I’ve never even gotten high…”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He gives your hand a squeeze. “It was so long ago, I don’t really remember, honestly. You just sort of feel happy and out of it.”

“Y/N, you never smoked or did an edible or anything?” Phil asks, almost shocked.

“I mean, I’ve been hot boxed before, but that’s it. I just stuck to drinking.” You laugh. “I was too scared, I didn’t know if I would be one of those people that would freak out or have a bad trip or something.” You finish your drink and so does everyone else.

“Does everyone want the same thing? I can go up and get the next round.” Harry offers.

“That’d be great.” Julian says, and you and Phil nod. Harry gives you a quick kiss before getting up to go to the bar. “He’s dreamy, Y/N, I don’t know how you get any work done.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what type of guy I was expecting, but I’d let him leave marks on me too.”

“Phil!” You giggle. “I’m glad you both like him so far. He’s amazing.”

“And things are still good between you and his kid?”

“Yeah! Andy really likes me. I think it helps that he had time to get used to me a little when Harry and I were just friends. Something tells me Harry had mentioned he had a little crush on me to him though because there was this one time Andy texted me from Harry’s phone to ask me to come get ice cream with them.” You giggle again. “It was so cute.”

“Little wing man, that’s sweet.” Phil nods.

“Sometimes I feel bad because you can tell he prefers to be with me and Harry, as opposed to his mum and soon to be step-dad…I don’t really get it.”

“He’s eleven, right?” Julian asks and you nod. “I get it. I was a total momma’s boy, and then when I started middle school, I wanted nothing to do with my mom, and it killed her. We fought all the time, and I found myself wanting to be with my dad more. Not even to talk, just being in his presence, you know? I think it’s puberty. I have a great relationship with my mom now. It’s just a phase.”

“Yeah, plus, it must be weird to have two father figures in your life. One’s telling you what to do, but you also wanna respect your actual father. Must be confusing.”

“Alright.” Harry says as he sits down with the four drinks. “What I miss?”

“Nothing, babe.” You smile and kiss his cheek. “These two were just swooning over you, that’s all.” You grin at your brother and his partner.

“Really? Well, I’m flattered.” Harry jokes.

“I have to know, do students, like, throw themselves at you?” Phil asks.

“Um, not so much anymore, when I was younger they did. A lot of them also know I’m spoken for now, so that helps.”

“It’s so awkward! Some of the senior boys I advise have tried flirting with me in our meetings, and I’m like…you’re kidding right? Keep your shrimp dick to yourself.” You take a large sip of your drink and sway your head to the music in the bar.

“I’d love to know what some kid could possibly even say to you in that setting.” Phil chuckles.

“They think they’re so adult, you know? It’s all in the body language. They adjust themselves, trying to get me to look down, and they’ll bite their bottom lips to be sexy, it’s repulsive really. But my problem is I bite my lip when I feel nervous so then they think it’s working, and then they’re shocked when I’m like actually you deserved a D on this.”

Phil and Julian laugh, but Harry doesn’t really like the sound of anyone flirting with you.

“You know, you can report that if it gets aggressive.” He says.

“Oh, it’s fine. They realize when I don’t give in that it doesn’t work, and they should just put the work in.” You see the concern on his face. “Don’t worry, if it was that aggressive I’d call H.R. right away.” You put your hand on his thigh and give it a squeeze.

“You know what I think we should after this? Go to an actual club. I feel like dancing and working off all that food.” Julian says.

“Ugh, I knew you were going to say that.” Phil groans. “I’m exhausted.”

“Can’t help it.” He shrugs and looks at you. “Y/N?”

“Fuck yeah.” You look up at Harry. “What do you say? You’ve never really seen me dance before.”

“That’s true, I could be up for that, although, I probably won’t do much dancing.”

“Good, I’ll have someone to hang back with while these two pop their asses.” Phil says and it makes everyone laugh.

//

Phil and Julian order an uber to take you and Harry to one of the lgbtq+ friendly clubs they knew of in a different part of the city. You had been there with them before so you were excited. You were also excited that Harry was being such a good sport.

You get into the club easily since the bouncer knew Phil and Julian well, and you all go up to the bar to get drinks. You decide on something fun and fruity while Harry opts for a gin and tonic. Wannabe by the Spice Girls comes on and Julian yanks you onto the dance floor.

“It’ll be hours before we see them again.” Phil chuckles and takes a sip of drink.

“You never dance?”

“Sometimes I do, but it’s not my favorite. I’m not very coordinated.”

“Neither am I! I look like an idiot whenever I dance.” Harry laughs. “But I suppose that’s half the fun.”

Harry peers into the crowd and smiles when he sees you and Julian shouting the words to the song to each other, and giggling. He watches as the two of you dance together and it makes him smile more.

“You two have been together a long time then?” Harry asks. “If you both took her out for her twenty-first?”

“Yeah! That was around the time we made things official. We met right before I went to Italy to do some more studying, and then when I came back we decided to really be together. He’s amazing, an incredible partner. He’s brilliant, honestly.”

“Are you two married, or…?”

“We’re in a civil union.” Phil shrugs. “We’ve talked openly about it, and neither of us really feel the need to get married, you know? We know we wanna be together, we don’t need a court or a piece of paper to lock it in. We each wear these rings.” Phil holds up his left hand. “See the one on my middle finger? That’s a promise ring he gave to me, and I gave one to him. That’s enough.”

“That’s really sweet.” Harry smiles.

“You have a lot of cool rings.” Phil takes one of Harry’s hands to look them over.

“Thanks! Started collecting them basically when I was nineteen. I’ve always really liked rings and bracelets.”

“And perfectly manicured nails?” Phil raises an eyebrow at him.

“Started doing that in uni. The crowd I hung out with was into black nail polish, I got into it too. It’s actually what helped me snag my ex.” He rubs the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Really?”

“Yeah, we were friends for a bit, and one night she got really drunk and she started crying because her nail ripped and she just wanted to take all the polish off and start over, and I told her I had stuff back at my room to do that, so I took her back with me and basically did her nails. I let her sleep in my bed and I slept on the floor, and then the next morning before I could even say anything she kissed me.”

“Oh my god, that’s like out of a movie.” Phil swoons, letting go of Harry’s hand. “But I think I like the story of the camping trip with my sister better.” He takes a sip of his drink. “Actually, I think I like that you casually brought her to a family party, and then brought her back to your place to watch the sunset.”

“Told her I liked her that night too, but I back peddled.” Harry chuckles.

“She picked up on that, but I think she chose to ignore it at the time. I’m glad she came to her senses.”

“Me too.” Harry smiles.

After a few songs, you come back to Harry, throwing your arms around his neck. Your fruity drink hitting you much faster than your others.

“Maybe just one more.” You slur.

“Or, and here me out, you could start drinking some water.” He tucks some hair behind your hair to keep it from your sweaty forehead.

“But-“

He dips his mouth to your ear to whisper.

“I’d like to have a little fun when we get back, and we can’t do that if you’re sloshed, babe.” He moves back to look at you with raises eyebrows and you nod. “Great, I’ll go get you some ice water.”

He returns shortly and you guzzle it down. Once you’re all set you make your way back to Julian. Harry taps his foot along with the beat of the song.

“Hey, handsome, can I buy you a drink?” A guy slightly shorter than Harry says to him brightly.

“Um, I’m so sorry, I’m here with someone.” He points over to you.

“Why aren’t you dancing with her then?!”

“He’s got a point, Harry.” Phil teases him.

“You’re not dancing with Julian!”

“Fair enough.” Phil finishes the rest of his drink and strolls over to join you and Julian. You both hoot and holler with excitement.

“Go on, pretty boy, go show your girl a good time.” The man winks and then walks away.

Harry sighs and makes his way over to you. Your eyes light up and your smile says it all. You’re absolutely delighted that he’s come over to you. You wrap your arms around his torso and press your cheek to his chest, swaying back and forth with him. His arms go around you and he rests his chin on the top of your head. It didn’t matter that the song was fast paced, you were happy to just be pressed up against him the way you were. You look up at him, smiling.

“What?” He smiles down at you.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

//

It was a wonderful night out with Phil and Julian, but it had to end sometime, so you and Harry uber back to the hotel around one in the morning. You didn’t want to be too tired for whatever fun he wanted have with you.

“That was fun.” He says to you in the back of the car. “I like them, they were really welcoming.”

“I’m so glad! I figured you’d get along well since you’re around the same age.” You shrug.

“That club was fun too, got hit on by a guy.”

“You did?!”

“Yup.” He says proudly. “Called me handsome and asked me if I wanted a drink, but don’t worry, I told him I was there with someone.”

“Well, thank god, otherwise you’d be in an uber with someone else right now.” You say facetiously and he laughs.

“Should I be offended that you think I could so easily be swayed to leave with someone else?” He nudges you playfully.

“Nah, I’m just teasing. I know you wouldn’t do that.”

“Besides,” he leans in closer to your ear so the driver won’t hear, “the only tight, little hole I wanna fuck is yours.”

Your eyes grow wide and you feel a shiver go down your spine. You know that he’s referring to your other hole. His mouth had been on it enough times now for you to know he definitely wanted to have anal with you, but you weren’t sure of how you felt about it exactly. You could see him maybe using a finger or something, but his entire prick? Your thoughts are broken when you feel his lips on your temple.

You get to the hotel and head up to your room, hand in hand.

“Oh!” You say as you get inside the room. “I brought something to wear to bed, and I really wanna put it on for you.”

“You never wear anything to bed, though.” He chuckles.

“I know! I brought it special for the trip. I didn’t think we’d be out as late as we were. Please? It’s really cute.” You pout.

“It’s just gonna come off a minute after you put it on, but sure.” He smiles and sits on the edge of the bed. “I’ll humor you.”

You grab your bag and bring it into the bathroom with you. This also gives you a chance to just freshen up since you were sweating on the dance floor. You touch up your makeup, apply some fresh deodorant, and spritz a little bit of perfume onto your wrists, and dab a bit behind your neck. Next you take out the garments you wanted to wear for him. It wasn’t incredibly special, but cute nonetheless. It was a pastel purple set of silk pajamas. The top was tank top style with a little bit of lace where you cleavage would sit, and the bottoms were shorts that just show your under-bum. Class, but sexy. You brush your hair out so it looks less frizzy, and then peak your head out of the bathroom door.

“Ready for me?”

“Ready, babe.”

“Close your eyes.”

Harry sighs and closes his eyes. He had already taken his glasses off and put them away. His palms are pressed behind him on the mattress. You tip toe out of the bathroom and come to stand in front of him.

“Okay, open.”

His eyes flutter closed and then they widen when he looks you up and down. You twirl around for him and giggle.

“What do you think?”

“You look…lovely, Y/N.” His hands come up to rest on your hips. “When did you get these?”

“Not too long ago. I’ve been saving it for a night away where I’d maybe have excuse to change into something else.”

“S’very pretty. I love the color on you.”

You smile down at him and get yourself situated so that you’re straddling him. His hands slide down to your ass and he squeezes you. His hands then move up under the back of the top and then he drags his nails down your soft skin and your head rolls back. He takes the opportunity to sponge wet kisses up your jugular, and around to the crook of your neck. He licks up to just under your earlobe, and sinks his teeth into your skin. You gasp from the sensation, loving the way it feels. Your hands move to clutch at his shoulders as he creates a nice, purple mark on your neck.

“Fuck, Harry.” You breathe after he detaches himself from you.

“To match your pj’s.” He smirks.

A slight whimper leaves your lips, and then you start unbuttoning his shirt furiously. He helps you get it off him, and then you run your hands up and down his torso, making scratch marks of your own. You loved the way his stomach would tighten from the feeling of your nails. Your fingers work next to undo his belt and button on his jeans.

“Need you naked.” You kiss him. “Now.”

He nods quickly and you stand up to help him get his pants off. He kicks them to the floor as he works to get his boxers off as well. Once they’re throw somewhere you kiss him again, and work your way down his body. He opens his legs up more you and you plant kisses up and down his hard dick. You move to tease him a little, nipping at his inner thigh the way he would do to you. He cards his fingers through your hair, and makes a makeshift ponytail for you with his fist. You lick up his shaft with the flat of your tongue and the moan his lets out just eggs you on further. You kiss his tip before taking it into your mouth and you sink down on him, taking him as deep as you can before popping back off him.

Not that he ever thought of her while he was with you, but times like this Harry couldn’t help but compare you to Paige. She never did things like this for him. He always had to ask her to do it, and she’d only do it for a couple of minutes. She’d give him a hand job no problem, but she rarely would put her mouth on him, which made him sad because he had no problem doing it for her. You, on the other hand, would often initiate with him, and he loved that about you. Sometimes you’d be lounging on the couch or even just reading in bed together, and you’d look at him. He knew the look very well now, and he would just nod, and all of a sudden your mouth would be on him. Times like this it was just more confirmation that he was with the right person.

Blow jobs were things you didn’t particularly enjoy unless you really liked a guy, which is exactly what you told him when you first gave him one. If you were going to make a guy feel good, you wanted to make sure that guy was going to make you feel just as good, and Harry passed that test. Now, you loved pleasuring him like this no problem. Even when you were on your period, you didn’t care that you couldn’t have much in return unless you got in the shower.

You lick over his slit and moan from the taste, which you didn’t particularly love, but just the fact that he was already leaking for you was enough for you to make the noise. You smear your bottom lip along his tip because you know he likes it sloppy, and you know his precome his bound to dribble down your chin. You look up at him and see he’s already watching you, chest heaving. You bring your face away, a string of spit keeping you attached to him before you lick over your lip and smirk.

“What?”

“Well…it’s just…I’m a little tired.” You look away and then back up to him, your grin growing. “So, what if I just put my mouth over you and you do the work?”

“Are you asking me to fuck your mouth?” He was being very serious.

“Yes, Harry.”

“Are you comfortable on the floor or do you want to get on the bed?”

“Maybe just hand me a pillow for my knees?”

He nods and quickly grabs a pillow from the head of for you. You get it situated to get yourself more comfortable, and you nod. He tightens his grip on your hair as you lower your mouth back around him. He starts by just easing you on and off, up and down. Your eyes flutter closed so you can focus on breathing through your nose. He bucks his hips up carefully to get a little further down your throat, and to help you adjust. You widen your throat as much as you can. You keep one hand on his thigh, and the other you keep in a fist, squeezing your thumb. An old trick you learned in college to help suppress your gag reflex. A placebo at best, but it worked.

“Oh my god, baby.” He groans as he really gets a rhythm going, bobbing your head up and down for you as he moves his hips. “You’re so fucking perfect.”

Your eyes flutter open and you do your best to look at him through your lashes, but all you can see are the ferns on his hips and love handles. You had drool and precome dripping down your chin, and you knew he had to be loving it. He was panting as he looks down at you, biting furiously into his bottom lip as to not disturb whatever neighbors were on either sides of the walls.

He was being extremely careful of you, which just turned you on more. It showed how much self-control he truly had to not just be ramming and thrusting his dick down your throat. Your nails are digging into his thigh, and you do choke on him at one point, but you’re okay. Eventually he has you come fully off of him.

“Don’t wanna come in my mouth?” You ask as you catch your breath and wipe your chin with the back of your hand.

“Not if you want me to fuck your cunt later.”

“Oh.” You blush. “Yeah, I want that.”

“Alright then.” He chuckles and helps you up. “Felt so good, baby.” He kisses your now swollen lips.

He lays you down on the bed, your head comfy on the pillows. He reaches between your legs and groans when he feels how wet you are through the silk shorts.

“Christ.” He breathes. “Taking this all off now.”

You nod and lift your arms up. He gets you fully naked and spreads your legs open. Just as you did with him, he kisses down your body, nipping where he pleases, and starts leaving more love bites on your inner thighs, causing you to squirm.

“Stay still for me, baby.”

“M’trying, sorry.”

You give him a soft smile and he gives you one back before he licks around your folds. You feel yourself almost go cross-eyed from the sensation. His teeth nip at your clit before he sucks on it, and he has to use one of his arms to hold you down because you’re just extremely sensitive tonight for whatever reason. His thumb replaces his mouth on your clit so he lick into you.

“Oh, god.” You moan. Your hands fly to his hair to tug on. “Harry.” You whimper and it’s music to his ears. It just makes him fuck you harder with his tongue. His thumb rubs perfect circles into where you need it most, and you feel your legs shaking around him. “Fucking, Christ!” You cry out as you start panting. You could feel your orgasm already approaching. He just knew exactly what to do, and it was incredible.

He pops up briefly to get some air, and then he looks at you, furrowing your brows.

“Wh-what is it?” You ask innocently.

“Would you…” He holds up his index and middle finger.

“Oh! Mhm.” You smile and open your mouth for him. He smiles back at you and brings his fingers to your mouth to suck on. You make eye contact as you lap and suck around him.

“Thank you, darling.”

Your heart flutters as he works his way back down between your legs. His fingers slide inside you while his mouth finds your clit again. His fingers curl up inside you, and you grip at the comforter on the bed. They pump and twist and pet you, and it’s all too much along with his tongue flicking at your clit.

“Ah! Fuck, Harry!” Your back arches off the bed, and your eyes roll into the back of your head. When he retracts his finger from you, you look at him, your eyes growing dark with lust. “Get the condoms.”

He nods and rummages through his bag for them, tearing one of them open, and sliding it onto his hard, throbbing dick. You put your hands onto his shoulders to brace yourself as he thrusts inside you. He buries his face into the crook of your neck as he rocks in and out. You get a fist full of his hair and rock your hips along with his.

“Fuck, Y/N.” He groans and looks at you, peaking his tongue out. You take the signal and let your mouth fall open so he can kiss you. It’s a searing kiss, needy, like he hadn’t kissed you in weeks. That was the thing with Harry, he always kissed you like he hadn’t seen you in ages, like he hadn’t touched you in ages. It was fucking fantastic.

“Harry, I’m gonna come again.” You whine. It was from the way you were grinding against him, otherwise you don’t think you would have had one again so quickly, not that you were complaining. He keeps everything the same so you can get there, and boy do you get there. He puts his hand over your mouth so you can cry out how you need to. You catch your breath and then you look up at him. “Let me ride you.”

He nods and pulls out, flipping on his back. You grip him to line yourself up once you’ve swung your leg over his lap. You sigh with relief once he’s inside you again. His hands work their way up your body to knead your breasts as move around on him in large circles. He looks up at you and starts chuckling.

“What could possibly be funny?” You ask, giggling.

“Nothing, I just like you a lot.” You pout at that. Since you said your I love yous, neither of you had made your like you a lot statement, and it filled your heart.

“I like you a lot too, Harry.” You lean down to kiss him, sucking on his bottom lip before returning up right.

“Gonna fuck me, baby?”

“Mhm, gonna fuck you so good.”

You start to raise and lower on him, his hands coming down to squeeze at your hips. Usually he would even up taking over, but he wanted to let you do it. He knew you wanted to do it, and you were so kind as to let him fuck your mouth earlier the least he could do was let you control the pace just this once. It also inflated his ego immensely to look up and watch your face like this. The joy you were getting from riding him was so delicious to him.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous like this, Y/N.” he squeezes harder at your hips, sure to leave bruises later, but you don’t care.

Your hands plant onto his thighs behind you as you continue to bounce up and down on him.

“Rub my clit, Harry, please.” You nearly whine.

He does so without question and you let out a loud moan. He could feel you squeezing around him and it was bringing him nearly over the edge. He could feel the ecstasy bubbling at the base of his spine.

“Baby, I’m not gonna last much longer.” He groans.

“Good, want you to come, let go, Harry.”

You feel his warm come fill up the condom, and the sensation along with his fingers rubbing on you guide you to your third release, causing you to collapse onto his heaving chest. He tilts your chin up and he smears his lips over yours.

//

After the long day and night you both had, neither of you were upset to have woke up at 10:15. You shower together, without any funny business, and get ready for the day. Harry furrows his brows at the booties you put on.

“What?” You ask him. “Don’t like ‘em?”

“No, they’re cute, it’s just…won’t your feet hurt walking around in them all day? I know you lived here and everything, but-“

“I promise, Daddy, if my feet hurt I won’t complain and if I do, you can say I told you so.”

“Y/N.” He sighs. “I hate it when you call me that so condescendingly, my express of concern isn’t me being fatherly, it’s me being your boyfriend who would feel terrible if your feet got all blistered.”

Your features soften, you didn’t realize how much your little joked bothered him.

“Oh…I’m sorry, um, these are actually pretty good for walking in. I wouldn’t wear them if I knew they’d hurt, but I appreciate you looking out for me.”

You give him a kiss on the cheek, and he grabs the bags. You check out, and grab a coffee from the complimentary section of the breakfast area, and put everything in the car.

“Julian said we could park here for the day no problem. We just need to talk to the green line stop, and we’ll be good to go.” You explain after locking the car back up.

You make your way to the green line station, and you just use your Charlie Card to get the both of you through, and onto the train that would get you Government Center. You were happy to be traveling with Harry. Sometimes when you were in town with people who didn’t understand the hustle and bustle of the T it could be frustrating, but Harry had the tube back in London, so this was second nature to him.

You almost feel giddy after coming off the train, and see The Quincy Market sign come into view. You tug at Harry’s hand to get him to walk faster towards the shops.

“There’s a Ray-Bans store here I wanna go to. They’re bound to have a sale right now. Oh! And there’s this store that sells really hot sauces I think you’ll like. Does Andy like graphic T’s? There’s a Newbury Comics here and I’d like to get him a gift from there.”

“For what? Thought you only promised a cannoli?”

“I did, but it would be for Christmas. Is that alright if I wanna-mph!” His lips were on yours, his hands cupping your cheeks. He was just overwhelmed with how much you cared about his son.

“Yeah, he likes graphic T’s.” He says it like he didn’t just shove his tongue down your throat, gently intertwining your fingers as you continue to walk.

You clear your throat and nod, giving his hand a squeeze. You go in and out of the shops. You note the sunglasses that Harry pays special attention to so you know which ones to get him for the holidays. You go into Sephora for a bit to look at the expensive makeup on one end of the store, and he looks at the foundation and concealer he would typically use. So much was on sale, you end up buying a ton of new brushes and sponges, and he gets the remover wipes he likes using. You go into spicy sauce store, and pick out a couple of bottles of things you’d each like to try, and then off to Newbury Comics.

“Do you shop at any of these clothing stores?” He asks subtly.

“Not really, I do StitchFix, why?”

“No reason.” He shrugs. Damn. He literally had no idea what to get you for the holidays. You bought yourself a new pair of sunglasses, and pretty much whatever else you needed. He was at a loss.

“So, what shows does he watch? I’d like to get him a shirt that’s relevant.” You say as you both make your way to the clothing section of the store.

“He’s really into Spongebob reruns at the moment, it’s been driving me nuts.”

“Seriously? That show is over twenty years old…”

“I know! He discovered it a few months ago, and he thinks it’s hilarious.” Harry sighs. “He also likes The Simpons, The Office, oh! He’s really into Malcom in the Middle right now.”

“How does even know about that show?”

“He found it on Hulu one night and he asked if he could watch it and I said okay. He loves it.”

“Hmm.” You tap your chin for a second. “I may need to go on Etsy then. I think I know of a shirt he would like, but I doubt they have it here.”

“You don’t have to go to so much trouble, Y/N. He’ll like whatever you give him.”

“That’s just it, I don’t want him to like it, I want him to love it.”

Harry thought his heart was going to burst as you looked around. You come to the section of the store with all of the different card games.

“Is he too young for Cards Against Humanity? Could be fun for him and Brandon.”

“Wee bit.”

“Alright…oh, what about What Do You Meme? That’s age appropriate, no?”

“Oh, he’s actually been asking for something like that. It’s a good stocking stuffer.”

“Perfect!” You snatch a pack. “This will also be from me.” You wink at him and keep looking around.

“What do you usually do for the holidays, anyways?”

“Well, whenever Hanukkah falls, I usually do something with my family, and then I lay low on Christmas.”

“Maybe during one of the nights of Hanukkah you could come over and the three of us could do something traditional with you.”

“I’d love that, Har.” You smile at him. “I could show you how to make homemade potato pancakes.”

“That would be a lot of fun.” He kisses your cheek.

Eventually you both walk over to the North End to get some Italian food for a late lunch/early dinner. You each enjoy raviolis and lots of bread. You make sure to stop off at one of the bakeries to grab some cannolis.

“You can just put these in your freezer, they should still be good when he gets home.”

“Sounds good, he’s gonna be so excited.”

You make your way back to the hotel garage and get into the car.

“Babe, let me drive, you’re tired.”

“No, I can do it.”

“Y/N.”

“Let me just get us through the city, and then I’ll pull over at the rest stop in Londonderry.”

“Fine.” He rolls his eyes.

You end up doing just that. You zip through the city, staying in the left lane the whole time, and then you pull over at the rest area. You let Harry drive the rest of the way, and he drives back to your place.

“Did you wanna stay over tonight? I could come to yours tomorrow, or if you’re sick of me we can-“

“Why do you always say that?” He chuckles. “I could never be sick of you.”

You beam at him, and you both get up inside your apartment. After you unpack your things, you both get into bed, and fall asleep quickly. It was the perfect Thanksgiving.

//

“Dad, these are so good.” Andy says, mouth full of cannoli Sunday night. “Y/N is the best.”

“I’ll pass the message on to her.” Harry smiles. “Listen, uh, how would you feel if she started staying over sometimes when you’re here?”

“I’d be okay with that, I don’t really care.”

“I just wanna make sure you feel comfortable with it. It’s okay if you don’t.”

“Dad, I really don’t care. I’d like it if she stayed here. I feel bad that she thinks she can’t. Then we could all have breakfast together in the mornings, that would be fun.”

“Yeah, it would. I’ll let her know you’re cool with it, thanks.”

“Thanks for asking first.”

“It’s your house too, not gonna make any big changes without consulting you.”

Later that night, as he’s crawling into bed, Harry texts you.

Harry: got the okay from the head of the house, you’re good to spend the night any time you feel comfortable doing so…he loved the cannolis btw

You: oh well, glad I was able to butter him up with those, lol why don’t we give it a try tomorrow?

Harry: are you just saying that because you know Mondays are baked ziti night????

You: what?! I’m offended! I want to come spend the night with you, it in no way has anything to do with your delicious, amazing, incredible, mouth watering baked ziti

Harry: god, you know what complimenting my food does to me 😈 😈 😈

You: goodnight, Harry

Harry: no!

You: yes

Harry: don’t do this

You: I’m so tired! You barely let me leave your bed this morning…need to catch up on sleep

Harry: everything we did today you wanted. I know because I asked and you said yes

You: very true! And now I’m telling you I’m going to sleep, I love you, I’ll see you tomorrow

Harry: alright, I love you too, sweet dreams, baby

//

The next morning, Harry gets up at 5AM to do his yoga in his bedroom, and then goes into the kitchen to get zome ziti boiled. It wasn’t a difficult dish to make, especially since there wasn’t meat in it, but Harry did use three types of shredded cheese, and he had a homemade marinara sauce. Once the ziti is cooked, he layers it all in a glass dish and sticks it in the fridge. It’ll go in the over to bake when he gets home later.

His next task is to shower, and get dressed before waking Andy up.

“Buddy, time to get up.” Harry comes in and sits on the edge of Andy’s bed. “Come on, sun’s up and everything.”

Andy groans like he does most mornings.

“Don’t gimme that. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Scrambled eggs, please.” He mumbles.

“Can do, now get up.” He takes the top blanket away and Andy groans louder, but it wakes him up enough to get out of bed.

Harry whips up some eggs for Andy and some peanut butter toast for himself, and sets it on the table. Andy comes out in jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt.

“Basketball’s gonna be starting in a bit, you must be excited.”

“Yup.” Andy smiles. “And winter program starts this Friday, I’m really excited for that. Do you think you’ll chaperone?”

“Probably. I’ll find a Friday to come out and help.”

“Y/N should come too.”

“I don’t know if she skiis…”

“How could she not in this area?”

“It’s not for everyone.” He shrugs. “I’ll ask her if she wants to come up to the cabin some weekend or something before having her help out with a bunch of kids.”

“Okay, fair point. Oh! You could teach her to ski, you’re a good teacher.”

“I’d have her take a professional lesson, Andy. It’s not as easy for adults to learn this kind of stuff as it is for kids.”

“You could still show her the basics.”

“Eat your eggs.” Harry rolls his eyes. “By the way, she’s coming for dinner tonight.”

“Of course she is.” Andy giggles. “It’s baked ziti night.”

“That’s what I said! Anyways, she’s gonna try staying over with us. Want you on your best behavior.”

“When am I not?” Andy scoffs.

“Hmm, let’s see…” Harry holds his hand up to start counting on his fingers.

“Okay, okay, I promise I’ll be good.”

“Thank you.”

//

It was a busy work day since it was the Monday after a short holiday break. You barely saw Harry, but you decide to leave him a little love note on his desk while he was teaching. You notice he left his phone on his desk. Something he rarely does, but it happens once in a while. You see it light up with a news notification, and you do a double take. His lock screen was a picture of the two of you. You pick it up and hold it closer.

“When did he…?” You trail off as you smile. It was a picture of you from one of your hikes. You’re looking up at him, smiling and sweaty, but smiling nonetheless.

“Y/N?” Harry says coming into his office. “What are you doing with my phone?”

“I…I was just leaving you a note, and it lit up…and…I didn’t realize I was your lock screen…” You hand him his phone.

“Of course you’re my lock screen, you have been for a while…”

“I guess I never noticed.” You look away. “I have a picture of the two of us as mine, see.” You show him your phone. “It’s from when we made that mess making waffles from scratch. Makes me smile every time I look at it.”

“Can’t believe I never noticed either…” He looks at the screen and then to you. He steps towards you. “You were leaving me a note?”

“Yeah, I…we barely saw each other today, and I know you need to get home soon, so I was just leaving you a little love note.”

“Oh.” He sets his things down on his desk and comes even closer to you. He tucks some hair behind your ear, his tell for wanting a kiss.

You lean up and he leans down and your lips press against each other. It doesn’t last long, you’re at work after all.

“Okay, well, I have some work to do.” You blush. “Um, I’ll be over by 6:30, does that work?”

“Works great.”

He watches you leave and he sighs dreamily as he gathers his things. He zips home and helps Andy with his homework before getting the ziti in the oven. You get over there around 6:30, with your overnight bag slung over your shoulder.

“Hi, boys.” You say as come inside after Andy answers the door.

“Y/N, those cannolis you got were so good. Thanks again.”

“Oh! I’m so glad you liked them, Andy.” You ruffle the hair on the top of his head and go to put your things down in Harry’s room before coming into the kitchen to give him a kiss. “It smells so good in here.”

“Just took it out of the oven, sit.” He smiles.

After dinner you’re itching to change into come comfier clothes, so you do. You put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, one Harry gave to you, and you come out with your laptop to the living room.

“You don’t mind, do you?”

“Nope, Andy?”

“Do your thing.” He shrugs as he flips the TV to Hulu to put Malcom in the Middle.

“Remember, two episodes and then you can go read before bed.” Harry reminds him.

“I’m fully aware, thanks.” He rolls his eyes.

“When I was your age, my bed time was 9:30, but CSI, the Las Vegas one, was on at nine, and I used to watch TV with my mom in bed every night, and CSI was on Thursdays, and so every Thursday we’d have the same fight because I had to see how the episode ended, you know? And then my mom would get so tired that she’d just let me stay up and finish it.”

The boys both look at you with wide eyes. You had a tendency to talk really fast when you had a story to tell.

“Dad says I can’t watch TV right before bed because then I won’t sleep well.”

“He’s right about that! I could never sleep after watching TV with my mom. She’d watch Date Line and scary shows like that.”

“If you were scared, then why would watch with her?” Andy asks.

“Well, my mom worked until eight most nights and I just wanted to spend time with her, so getting into bed and watching TV with her was my way of doing that.”

“That’s sweet.” Harry says, putting his arm around you.

After Andy goes to bed around nine, making sure to give you and Harry a hug, you both decide to get ready for bed as well. You do your routine, and chew on your bottom lip.

“What is it?” He asks he slides into bed with his book.

“Can I still sleep naked? Does he ever come in here?”

“Hmm, how about just a t-shirt? Grab any one of mine from my dresser.”

“Okay, fair enough compromise.”

You change quickly, and get into bed with a book of your own.

“This is nice.” He says, smiling at you. “Having you here on a Monday night.”

“Yeah, feels right.” You kiss his cheek and open your book to the page you dog-eared.

Even though Harry just wanted to ravage you, he knew that would probably have to wait until you showered in the morning. You did look awfully cute when you passed out with your book still in your hand. Harry takes it, saved your place, and sets it on the night table closest to you. He takes his glasses off and turns off the lights, then kisses your forehead before wrapping himself around you. You adjust into him and drift off fully.

You’re woken up abruptly around midnight by Harry’s phone buzzing. It goes off a few times so he finally turns over and grabs it.

“Oh, shit.” He says.

“What?” You mumble.

“Paige called three times, hold on.” He swipes his phone to call her back.

“Harry?!”

“Hey, what’s going on, is everything alright?”

“No…everything’s not alright.” She sobs.

“What happened?” Harry sits up fully. “What’s wrong, darling?” When he says that it makes you sit up. He was clearly trying to calm her down, but you didn’t like him using the term of endearment.

“My…my father died.”

[pedros-mustache]

mr. grinch

summary: javi was never going to be the all-out-for-the-holidays type, was he?

word count: 2.7k

warnings: borderline soft!javi (the heart wants what the heart wants), specifically related to the christmas holiday, a disgusting amount of fluff, x fem!reader

a/n: wrote a post about this concept and decided that wasn’t enough. my forte is angst and pining, not fluff, so forgive me if this is trash.

also: this will be repeated in the future, i’m sure, but if you have at all interacted with/commented on/reblogged/liked any of my previous fics thank! you! i would reply to each and every comment however that would require exposing my main (as this is a side-blog) and that’s not gonna happen. please know that i see and feel your love! xoxo! 

you long for the day after thanksgiving more than thanksgiving itself. 

sure, you enjoy the november holiday; it’s not like you hate it. especially since getting married, since having kids, you find thanksgiving means a little more to you now than it did prior to adulthood.

you enjoy packing the kids up and traveling across town to your mother’s house for thanksgiving breakfast and then packing the kids up again and going to javi’s father’s house for thanksgiving dinner. you enjoy sitting beside your husband, your hand on his thigh, as you watch your children play with their cousins or be passed around by distant aunts and uncles. you enjoy knowing that you’re safe, that javi’s safe, that the babies are safe. you enjoy knowing that you’re loved.

really, thanksgiving is nice, a good reminder of all that you have to be thankful for. but it’s just that: nice.

the day after thanksgiving, though... that’s when the real fun begins.

since childhood, your family has waited to decorate for christmas until the day after thanksgiving, and you’ve brought the tradition to your new household. javi tells you that your excitement for christmas overshadows thanksgiving, and maybe it does, but you really don’t care. not when christmas is ten times more cozy and festive than thanksgiving could ever dream of being. 

this year, you rise early on the appointed day and wake javi with a firm shake to the shoulder. he groans, rolls over to his stomach, and slips his head beneath a pillow.

“too early,” he mutters.

you exit the ensuite bathroom, rubbing your lotioned palms together as you prepare for a long day of unwrapping dusty boxes and fragile decorations. with a grin, you tap javi’s foot beneath the bedcovers. “get up before i sic the kids on you.”

he mumbles something under his breath, but the weight of the pillow muffles his words, so you leave him to his sulking. he’s never been a morning person, not in all the years you’ve known him. in a few minutes he’ll be up; you just have to give him time.

you find your son, tomás, awake and raring to go. six and a half years old and responsible as ever, it is his greatest joy in life to make his father proud. and though javier is a man of few emotional words, there’s a soft spot in his heart for both his children. today marks the first year tomás is old enough and capable enough to help his father with the outdoor decorations, and he’s already halfway dressed, his small feet shoved in tiny boots and his unruly hair snug beneath a baseball cap.

leaning against the doorframe, you watch as tomás struggles to get his arms through the sleeves of his sweatshirt. “you’re up bright and early,” you say, arching an eyebrow.

“wanna”—he bites his lip in concentration—“wanna help daddy today.” he drops his head with a heavy sigh. one elbow in particular remains stuck in the sleeve of his shirt, caught at a ninety degree angle.

you cross the bedroom to kneel in front of him and gently tug on his shirtsleeve. the arm once stuck at an uncomfortable angle flops to his side, and you smooth your hands over his narrow shoulders. “i’m sure you’ll be a big help, tommy. you just have to promise to do as daddy says.”

“yeah, i promise.”

with a squeeze to his arm, you cock your head to the open bedroom door. “go run downstairs and pour yourself some cereal while i get your sister up. daddy will be down soon.”

boots heavy around his ankles, tomás dutifully makes his way to the kitchen, his steps slow as he descends the steep stairs. his shoes clomp on the hardwood, and you hesitate, waiting to hear the cabinet doors open and shut, before moving to wake your daughter. you know by now that, though tomás thinks himself a fully grown boy, his legs often move faster than his brain, and you’ve had one too many tumbles down the staircase to show for it. the last thing you need today is a split forehead or bonked chin. 

like her brother, julieta is awake when you enter her dimly lit nursery. she gives you a gummy smile when you reach down to lift her from the small mattress, and she gurgles happily as you change her diaper and dress her for the day. her arms flap against her sides in joy as you enter your bedroom and place her on your bed. with practiced effort, julieta crawls her way up the bed and presses her tiny fists against javi’s shoulders. 

“come on, javier,” you say, pulling the covers away from your husband’s body. he groans in response, head still tucked beneath his pillow. “tommy’s already downstairs waiting for you.”

with a huff, javi turns to his back, drawing julieta with him, one broad hand splayed across her entire back. “getting up this early the day after thanksgiving is cruel and unusual punishment.”

“no—you’re just dramatic.”

“i think i ate too much pie yesterday.” he sits up with a frown. “i’m gonna have a beer gut like my uncle before you know it.”

“maybe, but i reckon you’ll still look cute.” you grab his wrist and tug him out of bed. he keeps julieta firm against his chest as he moves. “you know i don’t like to waste time, so please move that cute ass of yours downstairs. it’s past eight-thirty already.”

javi tosses a surprised look over his shoulder as you shove him out of the room, plaid pajama pants and all. “you think i have a cute ass?”

“shut up,” you grumble. 

tomás sits at the kitchen table, bowl of cereal on his plastic placemat. he grins when javi enters the room, and a line of milk dribbles down his chin, which you are quick to wipe away with a stray napkin.

“hi, daddy.” rising to his knees, tomás swivels in his seat and braces his hands on the back of the chair. he watches as javi deposits julieta in her high-chair then sets about making his morning pot of coffee. “we’re gonna put the lights up outside today?”

without turning away from the coffee maker, javi nods. “yeah, champ. but, you know, i was thinking.” his eyes slide to yours as he shuts the coffee maker’s lid and flips the on button. “what if we did something... different this year?”

you still. julieta makes grabby fingers for the half of the banana that still hasn’t been sliced for her, and she kicks her legs against the high-chair. “different?” you narrow your eyes. “different how?”

“oh, i dunno.” javi leans back against the stove and crosses his arms over his chest. he has all the air of nonchalance, but you know this is a calculated attack. if you know anything about your husband, it’s that once he gets an idea in his head, he’ll work his way forwards and backwards to bring it to fruition. “just different.”

“so no lights?”

javi shakes his head in reassurance for both you and your son. “no, tommy, we’ll still have lights. just different lights.” for the crescendo of his argument, javi crosses the kitchen and crouches beside your chair. he squeezes your thigh, his brown eyes soft and pleading. “come on, mi vida, let’s spice it up a little bit. i’ve got it all worked out, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

you toss your head back on a laugh. “oh, i’m sure i won’t!”

“trust me, baby,” he whispers, brushing a lock of hair behind your ear, and, for a moment, focusing more on the patterns of your face than his end goal. 

you feel your resolve soften. how can it not? javi is decidedly undomestic, even with a wife and two kids. oh, he loves you; he adores his children. but it’s been a long time coming to get to this moment—him on his knees with his own holiday decoration plans. you’d be a fool to turn him down.

you shut your eyes and give him a nod. “okay, fine. i trust you.”

javi pops to his feet with a loud clap and equally as loud, “alright!” he points to tomás. “finish your cereal, kid, ‘cause we got work to do.” 

dropping a kiss to the top of your head, he makes for the stairs. his socked feet slide on the linoleum, which causes to tomás to laugh in amusement, but you’re too stunned by javi’s sudden change of mood that you can’t help but feel like you’ve been duped. 

spice up christmas decorations? you can only pray that whatever he has in store won’t get you a stern letter from the homeowner’s association. 

***

before beginning his mysterious outdoor decorating project, javi pulls all the boxes labeled christmas down from the attic. he helps you assemble the artificial tree in the corner of the living room, and he, though with a good measure of grumbling, adjusts and readjusts the garland draping the front door. 

but as soon as you give him the go ahead, he pushes you inside, makes you promise not to peek until he’s finished, and, like schoolboys up to no good, hurries away with tomás.

as the door slams in your face, effectively cutting you out of the fun, you glance at your daughter and roll your eyes. “men,” you say, and she coos in agreement.

it’s easy to get lost in your work for the remainder of the afternoon. there’s tens of ornaments to put on the tree and the little village to set up along the front windowsill. julieta follows as you move throughout the house. she crawls, or scoots on her bum, or rolls behind in her baby walker. she’s primarily a happy baby, and after tomás and his terrible twos, you’re thankful for a reprieve from the incessant crying and surly attitude. 

christmas tune after christmas tune drifts from the record player in the foyer, and you bump along to the music, finding the work of unpacking boxes and artfully arranging decorations is not so much work with a good playlist and a giggly baby on your hip.

after pausing for lunch, you resume with the finishing touches. the house looks cozy, you have to admit. the tree sparkles in its corner, and the quaint ceramic village display on the windowsill reminds you spending the holidays with your grandmother as a child. there’s miniature, stuffed snowmen in the kitchen that tomás made in school and papier-mâché carolers that javi’s aunt crafted in the hall. an advent calendar hangs from the back of the closet door, and a spring of faux mistletoe dangles over the dining room doorway.

you’re proud of your work, but more than that, you’re proud of the life you’ve made alongside your husband. when he’d proposed all those years ago (a dreadfully unromantic proposal of a ring simply slid across the table at a restaurant), he’d promised life with him wouldn’t be easy. he hadn’t been lying. still, you’ve made it this far, and you wouldn’t go back on your vows for the world.

it does surprise you that you haven’t heard a peep out of the boys for most of the day. tomás hasn’t so much as run inside to use the bathroom or grab a drink of water. either javi’s spicy christmas decorations were more labor-intensive than he’d originally planned, or he’d jaunted off to his father’s house to escape the responsibility, taking tomás with him. you can’t decide which possibility you’d prefer.

before you can pick up the phone to call your father-in-law, the garage door opens. javi sticks his head into the hallway, a wide grin on his face when he sees you.

“okay, we’re ready.”

you put a hand on your hip. “are you sure?”

“yeah, i’m sure.” he steps inside long enough to lift julieta from her place in the bouncy walker. he sets her on his shoulders, and she squeals as she grabs fistfuls of his hair. “i thought you trusted me?”

you place the phone on the receiver and grab your jacket. “don’t throw my words back at me, javier.”

he taps your ass when you brush past him into the garage. “you’ll love it,” he says. “but you have to close your eyes.”

“really? just how different are these decorations?”

“oh, it’s like nothin’ you’ve seen before, hermosa. now shut your eyes!” with an exaggerated sigh, you close your eyes. javi squeezes your shoulder, and you start to walk forward into the driveway. “tomás, keep a watch on your mother. make sure she doesn’t peek.”

javi maneuvers you until you feel the driveway beneath your feet give way to soft grass. he places julieta in your arms then squeezes both of your shoulders. you can feel the excitement in his fingers, feel it in the way he practically bounces with anticipation behind you. you have entirely no idea of what to expect, but if putting up christmas decorations has made javi this excited, no matter what the decor is, you’ll let him do it every year.

“ready, tommy?”

“ready!”

javi presses a kiss to the side of your neck, his arm winding around your stomach to pull you back against his chest. he is firm behind you, the solid foundation on which your family stands. “ready, mi vida?” his voice is low, and even after all this time, it still sends a shiver down your spine.

in lieu of answering aloud, you simply nod.

“okay. tomás, in three... two... one.” he squeezes your hip. “open your eyes.”

the air in your chest leaves in a giant whoosh as you take in his decorations.

“oh my god, javier,” is all you can say as you stare in dumb-founded shock.

javier laughs—a real, hearty laugh—as he watches your face. “isn’t it great?!”

it—it being a wooden cutout painted to look like dr. seuss’s the grinch.

it being that cutout pulling down a strand of illuminated colored lights from the gutter. 

it being the most half-hearted christmas decorations you’ve ever seen. 

“where on earth did you get that?”

“eddie from two streets away. i saw it in his yard and knew i had to have one, so he got another from his guy and gave it to me.” he shakes his head as he looks on in pride. “best forty bucks i ever spent. it’s been in the back of my truck for weeks!” 

“you are so lucky that i love you, javier.”

he laughs again, squeezing you tighter against his chest. “hey! i put lights on the bushes for you. that’s gotta count for something?”

dropping your head against his shoulder, you nod. “it does. and the more i look at the grinch, the funnier it is.” you hold up a finger. “but i’m not laughing yet.” 

you glance at your neighbor’s house, at the cookie-cuter lights lining the frame of their two-story, at the mechanical reindeer bobbing their heads up and down. you look back at your... grinch, at his twisted smile and tip-toed stance and the sad string of lights wound from his hand to the gutter. you snort in amusement.

“i’ve got to hand it to you—this is the most javier peña thing you’ve ever done. i’m almost proud.”

“i knew you’d love it.”

turning in his arms, you shake your head. “no, i just love you.” 

javi smiles and lowers his head to kiss you softly. it’s his way of returning the sentiment, and you preen under his affection.

but then you pull away with a frown. “wait a minute.” laying a finger against his chest, you tilt your head toward tomás. “where have you been all day? this set-up couldn’t have taken more than half an hour.”

javi cringes and glances at his son. he rubs a hand across the back of his beck. “yeah, about that...”

tomás appears from his place plugging in the outdoor extension chords. “daddy took me to the shooting range!”

gaping, you sputter to form a coherent sentence. “you what?!”

“tomás,” javi whispers, swiping his palm over his son’s hair. “you weren’t supposed to say anything.” he looks up through his lashes with a wry smile. “we did—yeah, we did go to the range for a bit.”

“oh, javier peña, you are so lucky i love you.”

javi grins, captures your chin between his fingers, and kisses you again. “yeah, i am.”

***

taglist: @insideafictionaluniverse​ @ladytrashbird​ @generaldamneron​

[bbugyu]

hi can i request a wonwoo friends to lovers!!

abso-fuckin-tutely! since you were a lil vague, i asked my friendly neighborhood wonwoorideul for a prompt and she shouted out the song nothing by bruno major (aka one of the sweetest songs on wonwoo's spotify playlist)!

nothing + jeon wonwoo

moving in with your best friend was the best idea you ever had, even if he claimed it was his.

wc.3707 | fluff, angst, roommates/friends to lovers au, gn reader, like one swear and it barely counts bc it was hoshi, slowburn pining, wonwoo sees you and his mind is full of poetry, happy ending! (jp ver.)

thank you so much for my very first request! i tried to post this quickly, so i’m sorry if it’s not as polished as my other pieces. i was so impatient to get this out hahah. i love me some domestic wonwoo

*

wonwoo wasn't just your roommate, to be perfectly frank. the lanky guy had wormed his way into your close circle when you had worked part time together at a grocery store fresh out of high school, and when you both decided you needed to be closer to the big city, it just made sense to go together. you had never lived alone before, and your mother had said she would feel better if you had someone she knew around, someone to take care of you for her, even though you insisted you would be fine. she tried to get you to move in with your auntie, and while eating her food would be a definite plus, you absolutely despised the idea of living under the same roof as your chaotic cousin. so, when wonwoo mentioned wanting to get out of your podunk village, you excitedly told him you wanted to move to seoul.

"okay," he had said, looking at you over his comic book as he lounged on your family's couch. "let's go, then."

two months later, his dad was helping the two of you move into a tiny two bedroom apartment in a neighborhood of seoul that housed mostly old married couples, but you liked that it was a little more quiet than downtown. it felt more like home, but busy enough to give you your fill of the city. you could walk down the street to a cafe every morning on your way to the station, headed to your shitty temp desk job that you had just to pay bills. wonwoo was able to transfer to the main seoul office of his existing job as a software engineer, and was even able to work from home most days. you were forever jealous that he could hop onto remote meetings wearing a tie and button up over a pair of sweats. on days that he had to go into the office, though, he would walk with you and point out shops that you had yet to visit in your few months of living in the city.

"since when are you a flowers kinda guy?" you asked, gaze following his finger to the florist shop he pointed out.

he shrugged, adjusting his backpack straps over the blazer he wore. "might be nice for the apartment."

you eyed him. despite knowing him for years, sometimes he still surprised you.

on days that he didn't ride the subway with you, you would come home to find him sitting on the couch, swinging around a digital new york city from a web on the tv. you noticed the potted plant on the kitchen counter when you dropped your keys off in their designated tray. they were red, with tight round petals. you thought they almost looked like roses, but you knew that wasn't right. peonies? begonias? you didn't know enough about flowers to recognize them, but you figured he went to the florist in your neighborhood while you were at work.

he paused his game after landing on a roof somewhere. "how was your day?"

"good," you said, pulling off your light jacket and standing by the couch. "what's with the flowers?"

wonwoo looked around you to the yellow ceramic and red blooms, both colors that suited the other few colorful items in your minimalistic (mostly from having only lived there a few short months) white kitchen. "camellias. i thought they looked nice."

you nodded, thinking that he had more to say, but decided not to press. "have you eaten?"

he stretched on the couch, hands falling to the back of his beanie clad head as he let out a strangled noise. "do i ever eat without you?"

that made you smile. "any thoughts on dinner?"

wonwoo shook his head, settling back into the couch. "what do you feel like?"

"i'm craving pizza."

wonwoo pushed his glasses up his nose and adjusted to fish his phone out of the pocket of his favorite track pants. "go take a shower, i'll order."

you grinned. "you are such a good roommate."

"correction, i'm the best roommate. oh, also," he pointed towards the fridge in the kitchen. "soonyoung came by with side dishes from your aunt."

"oh, thank god," you said, walking over to wash your hands quickly and check the haul. "i was worried we were gonna have to buy kimchi this week. he wasn't annoying, was he?"

wonwoo shook his head, chuckling at the way you talked about your cousin as he tapped through menus on his phone. "he was fine. complained that you weren't here."

"doesn't he have a job?" you opened a plastic container and popped a sweet braised potato into your mouth. your voice was muffled as you chewed. "he knows i get off at five. if he wants to see me he should come when he knows i'll be home."

the small smile on wonwoo's face never left as you rambled about soonyoung, then your fantastic chef of an aunt, and then the new guy that sat at the desk next to you that microwaved fish for lunch. seriously, who microwaves fish? in an office?

wonwoo commiserated with you, then told you to hurry and go wash up, because he had just submitted the pizza order, to which you responded "okay, okay, i'm going. i'll be back in a minute."

after a steam filled shower, you left the bathroom while toweling your damp hair, sporting a plain black v-neck with your, similar to wonwoo's, favorite track pants.

wonwoo looked up and laughed, tugging on the hem of his shirt. "we match."

you eyed one of the several black muscle tanks wonwoo sports regularly and giggled, pulling at the stripes down your pants. "we do. you want wine?"

"hell yeah. friday night, baby."

you laughed, returning to the bathroom to hang your towel before making your way to the kitchen, pulling a couple of stemless wine glasses out of your cabinet. they were the only glasses in the apartment because, as wonwoo had said, your priorities are notoriously bad. but, you reminded him, they worked just fine with water too, so you convinced him that buying real glasses could wait until you were both slightly less busy. you grabbed the bottle of red wine off the counter and looked at the seal. "wonwoo."

"yeah?" he paused his game and looked at you over the small kitchen cart that acted as an island. you held up the wine.

"new bottle."

he sighed dramatically. "what would you do without me?"

you grinned happily as you got the wine opener out of a drawer, holding it out for him. he snatched the bottle and opener from your hands and made a face, but began twisting the corkscrew into the cork nonetheless. you planted your elbow on the wood topped cart and watched him as he tugged out the cork, decidedly ignoring the fact that he was wearing a sleeveless shirt and he definitely looked like he had taken a trip to the gym today. 

"you pour, i always miss."

you laughed, pulling at the shrapnel of the seal that wonwoo always refused to cut away before removing the cork. "maybe if you didn't make the neck such a mess it wouldn't go everywhere when we pour it."

"unnecessary step," he retorted, watching you as you poured the wine into the two glasses. he took the one closest to him as you finished. "cheers."

"cheers," you repeated, clinking your glass against his and taking a gulp. you let out a noise of approval. "happy friday."

wonwoo was smiling as he took a sip. "happy friday."

"where's the pizza?"

"uh," he patted his empty pockets, then put down his wine glass to retrieve his phone from the couch. "down the street."

wonwoo had to shove his feet into a pair of slides to meet the delivery person at the entrance of your building, and when he returned, you were giggling into your glass at your sns feed. the wine hit maybe a little too hard, but you hadn't eaten in too long for you to have almost polished off a glass already.

wonwoo gestured for you to join him on the couch, so you grabbed the bottle of wine and tucked it under your arm, carrying the two glasses over to where he was shutting off his game.

you ate merrily, and then you talked. about nothing and everything all at the same time. this happened more often than you ever thought it would, but a week into living in the city, wonwoo had come home from hanging out with some old friends to you crying on the couch with a show on that was far too comical to be the source of your tears. that night, he stayed up with you until the sun was peeking up over the buildings, listening to your worries and struggles. he shared his own fears. you were a blubbering mess. he kept sniffling his nose, acting like the tears welling up in his eyes weren't there when you laughed, despite yourself. wonwoo and you had always been close, or as close as past coworkers that had the same friend circle could be, but this was different. you couldn't remember the last time you had cried like that in front of anyone, much less someone who wasn't your mother.

when you woke up on the couch past noon, your sunday to a late start, your arms were wrapped around wonwoo's torso as he slept, one hand tucked behind his head and the other on your back. his face was inches from yours. your cheeks were pink and you suddenly felt hot, trying as gently as you could to escape without waking him. he stirred, but only to readjust as you snuck away.

he said nothing about the cuddling when he woke to the sound of you closing the front door, and you smiled as you held out the iced americano you got him at the cafe down the street. he squinted at you and scratched his head, taking the drink and sipping it before even testing his voice.

"thanks."

he looked at you, eyebrows furrowed. "what? you bought coffee. thank you."

you sat next to him and swirling the straw in your own drink. "no, i mean for staying up with me. sorry i was a mess."

there was a pause, and your heart almost stopped when he put an arm over your shoulder. "you weren't. and i'll stay up with you whenever you want."

wonwoo sipped at his drink again, giving you a light squeeze when a tear fell down your cheek.

living together meant you saw a side of him you had never seen before. the little things he did throughout his day, when he wasn't even particularly conscious that you were in the same room as him. he always bit at his thumb when he was working, and he had a habit of leaving the milk carton open in the fridge. he always made you smile when he emerged from his room with his headphones loud enough for you to hear them from across the room, and he cluelessly bobbed his head to whatever he was listening to while he refilled a water bottle, waving and smiling before he returned to his room. when your mom asked you how living with wonwoo was, you told her he was great. clean, respectful, and quiet. that you had never been closer. that he made you feel safer so far from home. you didn't, however, tell her that you discovered that he liked running home from the gym at 2 pm on the weekends, laying out on the floor with his shirt over his head before he convinced himself to take a shower.

you had always thought wonwoo was cute. how could you not? he was a handsome guy, but you had accepted your place as a friend to him and happily let it progress no further. but, now that you spent your afternoons off arguing with him on whether or not showering was even worth the trouble, you couldn't help but stare at him. watching his toned chest rise and fall as you thought about how he had admitted his crippling fear of failure to you at three in the morning when your face was puffier than a padded jacket.

you never noticed, but wonwoo watched you closer than he did anything in his life. that night, when he found you crying, he felt his heart clench as you told him all your insecurities. when he had pulled you into his chest and held you tight as you questioned whether moving so far from home was a mistake, he patted your hair and told you that it was going to be fine. you had him, afterall. he had you. the two of you could make it out here. and if you still wanted to go home when the lease was up in six months, he would be there to help you move back.

he didn't stop holding you until your breathing settled, your shoulders stopped shaking. he leaned back into the couch, bringing you with him, and you didn't protest when he ran his hand up and down your back, coaxing you to sleep.

since then, every time you spoke to him, he couldn't help but stare at you intently. he watched your eyes light up while you talked about something you loved. he watched you scrunch your nose as you talked about your new desk neighbor. he watched your lips push into a pout when he said he should go get some work done. he wondered if anyone else noticed the way you sucked on your teeth while you thought up a witty comeback, or the way you carded your fingers through your still wet hair. or the way your eyes creased into a laugh, your hand coming up to block your open mouth. or the way you chewed on your red wine stained lip while he tried to form a sentence in response, when all he wanted to do was put those lips on his.

wonwoo had been stewing with these feelings far longer than he thought bearable, but stuffed it down in fear that he might lose you altogether. he didn't want to lose you altogether. he had gone on a walk halfway through his workday at home, feeling antsy for no particular reason, though if he thought about it long enough he would have realised it was because you had said something about feeling lonely lately that morning. he saw the florist he had pointed out the week before, and his feet brought him through the door.

"hi!" he looked up from the colorful display by the door to the person behind the counter and smiled politely. "did you need help finding something?"

"um," wonwoo blinked and looked around for a moment, then moved towards the counter. "i need a gift, i think."

the florist's eyebrows quirked curiously. "you think?"

he nodded, eyes flicking down to the nametag on his chest. he wondered if he was a foreigner with his three character name, but didn't mention it. "yeah. housewarming. for my, uh-" wonwoo paused, catching himself not knowing how to describe his relationship to you. roommate? wannabe lover? he bit his cheek. "my friend."

joshua nodded slowly, watching wonwoo's eyes as he worked his way through the sentence. "just friend?"

wonwoo stared at a flower arrangement to his right. "something like that."

"got it." joshua walked around the counter and gestured for wonwoo to follow him deeper into the store. "since it's a housewarming, how about a potted plant? something to brighten up the space for a long time. they'll think about you every time they see it."

wonwoo nodded, not saying anything about how funny he thought it was that he said he was getting his own roommate a housewarming gift. "that sounds nice."

"now, i'm not gonna claim to know you," the florist started, putting up his hands to exaggerate his words, they kept moving as he pushed and pulled pots, looking for one in particular. "you've said, like, maybe a full sentence to me, but those were some complex emotions when you called them a friend, so i'm gonna assume i know the situation. i think you should get camellias. specifically red ones."

wonwoo looked at the sunshine yellow pot in the soft featured man's hands. the petals of the flower were round and delicate, and he thought about how you said the color yellow made you happy. "why's that?"

"i think you should look up the meaning when you give them this," joshua said, and for some reason, wonwoo trusted him.

he came back to the apartment thinking about how he might have just gotten scammed into buying the potted flowers in his hands, only to find soonyoung about to hit the buzzer to call your unit, a far too large cooler bag sitting on the bench by the entrance of your building.

"is y/n around?" soonyoung asked, trailing behind wonwoo as they walked up the stairs, struggling slightly with the overpacked bag. "they didn't respond to my kakao."

"they're at work," he replied, flipping his keys over in his hands to find the one for your front door. "they'll be home around six."

"ah, shit," soonyoung laughed. "i always forget you guys have adult jobs. i would kill for a monday through friday."

wonwoo almost laughed, but left the smile on his face. "weekends are kind of overrated, anyways."

the shorter hoisted the bag of dishes onto the kitchen cart while wonwoo closed the door. "who're the flowers for?"

wonwoo stared at the pot in his arm as if it was the first time he had seen it. "oh, uh. just the place."

"for y/n?"

he looked at soonyoung, who had his chin in his palms, elbows planted on the counter as he smiled. he knew he was right when wonwoo didn't respond.

"i think they'll like them," he said, unzipping the top of the bag and starting to unload his mother's packaged dishes for his cousin. "they like the color yellow."

wonwoo just said "i know," before he opened the fridge and started rearranging things to fit the new food.

according to soonyoung, wonwoo was painfully obvious. when he had come by a couple weeks prior, you were arguing with him about some ridiculous childhood memory at your grandparents' home, and while soonyoung laughed, he noticed the smile on wonwoo's face when he watched you. he also noticed the way he instinctively put a hand on your back when you sighed about your newest temp gig, and soonyoung pulled on his ear as he looked at the ceiling, leaning against the kitchen cart much like he was today as he told wonwoo about how oblivious his cousin must be.

you pulled your knees to your chest as you sipped at your wine, the pizza box almost completely polished off by the two of you sitting on the floor in front of your couch. you stare at the pot of flowers.

"they're pretty," you said finally.

you too, wonwoo thought.

"camellias, right?" you turned back to him. "i like them."

i like you, wonwoo thought. "i went to that place down the street. the guy working was nice."

you nodded, sipping again. "any reason in particular?"

"i-" wonwoo paused, staring at his glass. he finished the last gulp in it and put it on the floor next to the pizza box. "you said something about being down recently," he said, folding his fingers together as he leaned back against the couch. "i wanted to get you something, i guess."

you watched his fingers as they pushed his glasses up his nose again, and your heart fluttered at the idea of wonwoo thinking about you when you weren't around. "really? that's so nice," you pouted, shoving his knee.

he laughed, pulling his knee onto the couch to face you. "the guy there - the florist, i guess? his name was joshua. he seemed to really know flowers." he knitted his brows together when he realized he was procrastinating on saying what he was nervous to. he put his arm on the back of the couch, rubbing his eye with the heel of his palm before continuing. "he said i should look up what they mean when i give them to you. red ones, specifically."

you perked up, heart racing. "what they mean? they have meaning?"

"y-yeah, i guess so," wonwoo said, then cleared his throat. 

"hey google!" you looked over to where the device sat by your tv. "what to red camellias mean?"

wonwoo stared at your profile as you watched the device think before its automated voice piped up.

"camellia flowers are available in white, pink, and red, with each color having its own unique symbolism."

you looked over to him, excitedly putting your glass to your lips as the voice continued.

"pink camellias symbolize a longing for someone, and is given to people who are missed."

wonwoo swallowed hard, fingers fidgeting against his temple.

"red camellias symbolize love, passion, and a deep desire."

your eyes widened slightly as the device shut off, glass still to your lips and eyes still on wonwoo's. he stared back at you, and you wondered if he meant it. but he never claimed that he didn't feel those things for you.

before you could think, you clumsily put your glass on the floor and moved. you didn't stop moving until your lips were on wonwoo's, pushing him back into the arm of the couch as you practically crawled into his lap.

his hands found your hips and he helped you settle into him, your fingers tracing his jawline as it worked against yours. you sighed into his lips as his hand slid up under your shirt, placed gently on the small of your back. pulling you into him. when you paused for a moment, you thought about waking up to this exact same view, that day after you had cried all night. but this time, his other hand pulled your jaw back to kiss him again, and you happily complied.

[thedefinitionofendgame]

two under two

Amelia X Link multi-chapter | Rated T | Canon-divergent after 7x11

A/N: Just some Amelink (and others) fluff for y’all! After all the potential wedding talk in 17x11, I decided I just had to work on my Amelink short multi-chap fic. I’m just so glad Amelia’s found someone who is absolutely crazy about her. I am so happy for her and the little family she’s made. *SPOILERS FOR SEASON 17*

•

You can read this work on ao3 and fanfiction.net as well

Written & cover by @thedefinitionofendgame (aka me)

chapter 1 - big news calls for bigger reactions

It was now or never, and even though never sounded fine to Amelia, she knew now was the best time to say whatever she wanted to say. Clearing her throat, she felt Link’s fingers intertwine with hers under the table, which kept her calm. There’s no time like the present, Amelia thought to herself. Rip off the bandaid and get on with it! So by opening her mouth, she did just that. “We, Link and I, have something to tell you guys,” Amelia said, shifting her gaze to everyone seated around the outdoor dining room table. They were outside because the weather was finally nice enough to enjoy a meal in the outdoors, without fear of being rained on.

Everyone stopped chattering and turned to look at Amelia. There was a big crowd tonight in the backyard, as get-togethers were allowed now that all the adults had their COVID vaccines. Besides Meredith and the kids, Winston, Jo, Teddy, Owen, Leo and Allison had come over as well. Oh and of course, Jo’s adopted daughter, Luna Ashton who had been renamed Luna Ashton Brooke Wilson, to honour her birth name and her forever mom. It was definitely a full house, which made for the perfect time to announce Amelia and Link’s news; the news that they had been dreading to announce for the past couple months. Not dreading the actuality of the news so much as the reactions it would bring. Just like the time before, Amelia braced herself for the responses of her friends and sisters that telling this news would bring.

Amelia paused a heartbeat too long. While Zola, Bailey and Ellis were quiet at their kids table next to the main one, Meredith was the impatient one. “Well, out with it!” She said, raising an eyebrow at Amelia. Despite Meredith’s terrible health scares earlier in the year, the blonde had bounced right back and was as high spirited as ever. She still had to take it easy, especially when it came to heavy-breathing exercises, but for the most part Meredith Grey was back to normal.

Amelia looked at Link, who nodded encouragingly. He hadn’t forced her to announce their news in front of everyone today, and had actually suggested only telling Meredith and Maggie to start. However Amelia said she wanted to tell everyone at once, to avoid any questioning or whispering that might happen at the hospital. “Link and I are pregnant again. Tada, that’s the surprise.”

The entire table fell silent, while everyone processed the news. Maggie was the first to recover and jumped up out of her seat to give Amelia a hug. “Oh my gosh!” She squealed, engulfing Amelia into her embrace.

“That’s awesome news! I’m so happy I get to be Auntie Mer again,” Meredith said. It only made her a little sad to know that last time Link and Amelia had announced they were pregnant, Andrew had been with her and heard the news firsthand. She quickly shook her head to clear her mind of those thoughts. This was not the time nor place to think about Andrew DeLuca.

Next to Amelia, Link was receiving a fist bump from Winston and Jo smiled happily at her best friend. “I’m really happy for you, you’re gonna make a great dad times two.” Jo bounced Luna in her lap. “Are you excited to have another baby friend? Maybe it will be a girl this time.”

Link opened his mouth to reply, when Zola popped up between the new parents’ two chairs. “I can’t wait for another cousin! Can I say hi to the baby?” Nodding, Amelia pushed back her chair so that Zola could place her hands on her Auntie’s belly. Amelia was a bit overwhelmed by the well-wishes; she hadn’t expected so much attention. When she had started telling people about Scout’s coming, it was only Maggie then Link then Meredith and Andrew. People found out gradually. Oh god, Link was right! Cursing herself about her baby daddy being right about waiting, Amelia tried to drag herself out of her own thoughts.

The squeezing of her hand in Link’s brought her back. Zola had moved on, and was now happily talking about the new cousin on the way to Bailey and Ellis. Scout was napping just inside, which at least dialled back the noise. If one baby was loud, Amelia was scared to find out what two would be like.

Although she was excited. Goodness, she was over the damn moon about it. The first time Link had gotten her pregnant, she had been just scared, until Mr. Atticus Lincoln had turned her whole though process upside down. He had told her he would support her no matter what she decided; would love their baby unconditionally or drive her to the clinic if she chose to have an abortion. Amelia hadn’t ever felt that type of love before, the type that didn’t matter what she chose. It only grew with the pregnancy, at least after the whole “who’s the daddy” fiasco got cleared up. At least this time Amelia was one-hundred percent sure this baby was Link’s. She loved the baby they had made together the first time, and would love their second baby just as much.

While most of the people around the table seemed surprised, Link was very much not. When Amelia had told him she was pregnant, he had raised an eyebrow at her and laughed, before telling her he loved her and that he was the happiest man alive. With all the “athletic and aerobic” sex they had despite having four kids in the same house as them, it was no wonder he managed to get Amelia knocked up a second time in less than two years. It was more like one and a bit years, because what everyone else didn’t know was that Amelia was already five months along. They’d gotten pregnant around Scout’s half birthday. Good timing on their part...not. Both Link and Amelia weren’t against having more kids but had not wanted to discuss or try for a second for a while longer. Baby Amelink #2 was a bit of a surprise just like their older brother had been.

Owen and Teddy were the last to offer their congratulations. "Well I’m pleased for you both," Owen said, speaking for the first time since the bombshell was dropped. He didn't look at Teddy, because he knew what her face would convey. They had been wanting to add to their growing brood for the past couple months, but nothing had happened. Owen didn't think of himself as infertile, all previous mishaps had proven that, so he wasn't quite sure why he and Teddy hadn't gotten pregnant yet. Although he wasn't going to complain, especially when Amelia and Link seemed to just come to terms and that's why they chose to wait so long to announce it. He had been waiting for them to come out with their secret for a while now, after accidentally overhearing a conversation between them both in the pit post-consult. Like the good ex-husband-more like friend and fellow doctor-Owen was, he kept quiet and didn’t even tell Teddy. Now that their news was out in the open, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about slipping up ever.

Chatter continued amongst the friends, and Amelia relaxed now that the focus was off of her. She leaned back in her chair and placed a hand on her growing tummy. “You’re already a hit,” she whispered to the baby inside of her.

“Damn right she is,” Link leaned over and whispered in Amelia’s ear, sending shivers down her spine. Why did that voice always make her think dirty thoughts? Probably the hormones, and also the fact he used that exact tone in the bedroom. God Amelia, get your head out of the gutter, she thought to herself.

Amelia glanced at Link. “Are you calling girl on me?”

Link shrugged, not totally willing to admit it, but he was definitely thinking it was a girl. “Maybe. Jo said it first.”

“Oh sure, that’s what sparked it.” Amelia rolled her eyes but internally, she was smiling really big. “We already have a name regardless of their gender though.”

“We do.” Link smiled and pressed a kiss to Amelia’s temple. “Best name ever.”

“Even better than Scout?” She smiled back at the man she loved more than anything else in the world, maybe even more than Scout. Amelia loved her son very much, but it was his daddy that made everything in her life good. Every single moment, no matter how upsetting, Link somehow made it worth it. Made it worth all the hard nights and the crying sessions and the struggles to stay sober. He was her everything, and always would be. Together, they would be there for Scout and the new baby. It was always going to be them, until the very end.

Link thought for a moment. “Nope, but tied though.”

Laughing, Amelia nodded. “Alright, I can live with that.” They were quiet for a moment, then Link nudged Amelia with his elbow. She turned and saw Ellis standing beside her chair. “Hey Ellie-Belle, what’s up?”

“I wanna sit with you and the new baby. Where is it?” Ellis looked around, as though she magically expected a baby to appear outside in the backyard.

Meredith raised an eyebrow at her sister, as the youngest Shepherd pulled her niece into her lap with only minor difficulty. “If you have a girl, all I gotta say is that they’re clingy and ask a lot of questions. Such as,” she turned to Zola who was standing beside her patiently waiting to ask a question. “Yes, Zo-Zo?”

“When are we going to have dinner? Bailey’s hungry and we ate lunch over five hours ago.” Zola stated matter-of-factly.

“And with boys, you get the always hungry factor,” Meredith sighed.

“Know all about that,” Amelia said, with a pointed look at the baby monitor on the table. “I swear this kid never stops eating. He’s almost getting more action than Link is,” Amelia blurts out, forgetting there was a child in her lap and four others nearby. Well, more like 3 because Allison was inside napping with Scout.

No one really paid close attention, except Link who let out a chuckle. “Always telling like it is,” he said with a smirk. Link waited until Meredith had gotten up and headed inside with the rest of the adults and the other kids, minus the one in Amelia’s embrace, before he said anything else. “I love you,” he whispered, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

Amelia melted and wrapped her arms tighter around Ellis. For a minute she pretended that the small body in her lap was her own daughter, the girl’s older brother chasing after the food Bailey sought as well. “I love you too. Everyone took our surprise a lot better than I thought.”

“Of course they did. Because they love you, they love Scout and I guess they love me too,” Link added.

“They love you probably more than me. I’m the former drug addict, remember?”

“Hey, you’re still keeping your promise about not getting high. That’s all that matters.” Link placed one of his hands on Amelia’s belly, right where their baby was growing. Ellis twisted in Amelia’s lap and did the same, amazed by whatever her Uncle Link was doing. With a smile to both the girls present, he messed Ellis’ hair and then looked over at the woman he loved. The woman he had unashamedly surrendered his heart to, the woman who he would fight forever for. He had almost let her and their beautiful son slip through his fingers, but thank god his best friend told him to not mess what he had with Amelia up. She was his ever after, and it was true that before Amelia, he didn’t tell people he was in love with them often. Hookups were a thing of his past, after the gorgeous brown haired-blue eyed girl walked into his life. She had walked in, stolen his heart and stayed because they were going to be each other’s forever. They were each other’s forever.

A forever as a family of four. Because they already had Scout and a baby on the way which made them a family of four. Four was a number Link could work with, a number he sort of wanted to increase but only if Amelia wanted. He would do anything for her and vice versa. His girl was strong and brave and worked miracles everyday. If it was anything Atticus Lincoln was proud to do, it was call Amelia, his.

posting chapter 2 & 3 soon!

[schrijverr]

'Till Death Do Us Part

Part 10 out 13

When Alex has to bring Philip to work, he and Thomas discover that they both have something in common: they lost their love. They form an unexpected bond and connection about this that grows into something more.

A medium burn with parental feelings about Philip and flowers.

On AO3.

Ships: Jamilton

Warnings: mentions of death and loss.

~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 10: Virgin’s Bower Means ‘Filial Love’

The three of them were sitting around the dinner table eating, when Philip asked: “Are you my dad now too?”

Both paused and Alex looked at Thomas with wide eyes, clearlynot sure how to explain that question while Thomas was frozen in shock. After a moment of finding his wits he choked: “Why are you asking, Pip?”

“When I was talking to Theo about how you guys love each other now and then she says her cousins have parents who don’t love each other anymore, but they have new people they love and they are her cousins parents now too, so since you two love each other now does that mean your my dad too?” Pip explained his thought process.

“Well, uh- I- Thomas?” Alex said, not wanting to make decisions for him.

“What do you-” Thomas started to ask Alex why the fuck he was shoving this conversation on him, before cutting himself off and taking a calming breath. This was not how he had imagined his evening to go when he said yes to dinner.

Philip just watched the two of them with a confused expression, not sure why they were being so weird about his question.

“I don’t know, Pip,” Thomas finally answered calmly, “I can never replace your Daddy, John, and I can never tell you how you should feel about me. It’s honestly up to you.”

Alex mentally thanked Thomas so hard for coming up with that answer, which saved them both from answering.

Sure, he would love to not be the lone parent for Pip, but he would never ask that of Thomas. He knew the other loved his son and Thomas had assured him often enough that he enjoyed taking care of him, but being a dad was a whole other step.

A step that was more commitment, both to Philip and Alex. So Alex could never ask it, Pip however…

“Up to me?” Philip asked.

“Yeah, kiddo,” Thomas nodded, “If you’re more comfortable with me being your Uncle that is totally fine, but if you want me to be your dad, then I’m up for that.”

Alex hadn’t known that, it seemed like Thomas had thought about it a bit more than him. He had suppressed the thought every time it came up, not wanting to get his hopes up only to be disappointed.

Thomas, on the other hand, had had the thought in the back of his mind ever since it had gotten serious. He knew that if this was long term, one day this decision would come. The only reason he’d never brought it up was because he didn’t want Alex to think he wanted to replace John and because it would make them that much more serious.

And he didn’t want to scare Alex off bybeing more intense, so since Alex hadn’t said anything, neither had he. Until Philip had brought it up.

Both watched Philip as he thought about Thomas’s words. Alex was glad that Philip seemed to take this serious and was actually contemplating it, instead of just rushing into making a decision. A skill he had picked up more from Eliza than him if he was honest.

“I’d like for you to be my dad,” Philip finally broke the silence.

Alex was both relieved and tense at the revelation. Would Thomas really be okay with it? Was he just pretending and was it now going to be awkward? But- but what if Thomas meant it? What if he wasn’t going to leave?

Thomas smiled and held out his hand for Philip to shake: “Then I’m honored to be your dad. Here, we’ll shake on it.”

Philip shook his hand enthusiastically, then said: “But I can’t call you Papa or Daddy, I already have those, but dad sounds boring.”

“Well,” Thomas offered, “I call my mom, Ma, so you could call me Da, if you want.”

“Da,” Philip tried it out, then grinned toothily, “Da is good.”

And with that it was apparently settled for Philip, who went back to eating his dinner as if he hadn’t just made a big change in their life.

Alex eyes searched for Thomas and when they met, he frowned concerned, then quirked a brow to ask: ‘You okay with this?’

In return Thomas did the smile that made his eyes crinkle and nodded, even doing a small thumbs up. Alex received the message: ‘Yes.’

With the confirmation Alex allowed himself to smile back. Though he had hoped, a small cynical part of his brain had never believed Thomas would agree to this, had never believed he wouldn’t be alone.

He knew he was selling his friends short, God knows he wouldn’t have been able to raise Philip the way he had if they hadn’t stepped up the way they did. All the times they picked up Philip, watched him, took him out for fun days, had saved him so many times, but they would never be John.

Not that Thomas could be.

It was just that Thomas came close, he was so different from John, yet in all the places Alex needed him, wanted him. He fit.

When Alex was tired, Thomas got up. When Alex was busy, Thomas made time. When Alex couldn't handle it, Thomas stepped up.

The dynamic was vastly different to what he and John had and Alex didn’t think he would ever find something like that. But that didn’t matter. Thomas wasn’t the same, but Alex wasn’t the same as he was back then either.

They worked well together and Alex would never want a new John, because no one could be a new John. Alex wanted a new chance at living the life, they wanted and he could see himself living it with Thomas.

Philip might be oblivious to how much he just did, but neither mind as their – their– son happily ate his dinner while telling them about the haunted slide at his school.

Later that evening, when Philip was tucked into bed, Alex checked in again: “Hey, I don’t wanna make things awkward and I am totally on board if you are, but I do have to ask. Are you truly okay with being a dad to Pip?”

Thomas paused to think. This calmed Alex more than he would think, but Alex appreciated it when people actually thought about his words before responding that way he knew they actually meant it when they replied, which was great when it was about emotional things. Which he was bad at.

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to be a dad, honestly. And Philip is the best kid I could hope for,” he responded finally, “I also meant it when I said I don’t want to replace John. I’m gonna be me and I’m gonna try to do my best for Pip, if you let me.”

“God, every time I think I can’t love you more, asshole.”

“The insult and statement are really messing with me, du-” he got cut off by a kiss and when Alex broke he said: “I’m going to ignore that you tried to call me dude there, bro.”

“I hate you.”

“And I live to please,” Alex smirked, a smirk that fell ashe sincerely said, “I’m very grateful for what you do. With Pip.”

“I do it with love and I mean that,” Thomas dropped a kiss on his head, beforechangingthe subject, “Now Angie told me during lunch that you once claimed Money, Money, Moneywas ABBA’s best song and I’m going to need you to defend that statement, because that is clearly incorrect.”

“Oh and what do you think it is then?” Alex challenged.

“Waterloo, duh.”

“The historical bullshittery in that song alone is enough to disqualify your position, try again.”

“And your opinion is so great because…? Eh, riddle me that.”

“Money, Money, Moneyradicalized every young queer person who watched Mamma Miaand you cannot convince me otherwise.”

“Says nothing about the quality of the song, baby. Waterloois and remains superior.”

They squabbled while they cleaned up the kitchen, finally ending up in playing the songs, which then developed into a karaoke and dance party, but they will never speak of that again.

When they got to the office the next time, Alex stopped by Angelica’s office and leaned against the door. She looked up, unimpressed, and said: “What?”

“You know, if you gossip about my relationship behind my back, you really gotta learn how to pick your dates,” he told her condescendingly.

“What?”

“Developments happen when you’re away, sweetheart,” he started to walk away with a smirk.

“Alexander come back here and tell me,” she flew out her chair and hurried after him, “Alexander Hamilton, don’t you dare set another step without telling me everything.”

Thomas heard the ruckus and poked his head out of the door: “Are you terrorizing Angie again, Alex?”

“Nah, just extorting a cookie and free dinner out of her,” Alex smiled sweetly.

“Are those your demands?” Angelica asked sharply.

“Yeah, Philip’s eating at Eliza’s tonight, hope you have time,” Alex blew her a kiss before sashaying down the hall, when he passed by Thomas’s office the man rolled his eyes: “Menace.”

“Come get your cookie at coffee time,” Angelica called after him.

Alex saluted, before settling down in his office with a satisfied look on his face as he got to work.

The day passed by as Alex typed his documents, went to his meeting, ate lunch with Thomas, before driving to Angelica’s place where he told her everything that had happened yesterday.

At the end of the night he bid her goodbye: “Bye, Angie. It was nice to catch up again.”

“Yeah, the same, ‘Lex, don’t be a stranger,” Angelica hugged him and kissed his cheeks, before telling him to say hi to Eliza and Maria from her and to tell Eliza she’s rude.

The drive to Eliza and Maria’s home was uneventful, but when he pulled up to their house, Eliza was already waiting for him in the doorway. She had her arms crossed and when Alex was close enough to hear, she said: “Why did I get a text from Angie reading: ‘One of Pip’s dads is coming your way’ winky face, she typed a winky face, Alex.”

“And you really think I’m not here to tell you and pick up Pip, you think so lowly of me, ‘Liza,” he grinned.

“Oh thank God, thought I was going to force you to tell me,” she sighed with relief, Eliza was never one for forcing people. Though she could be scary if she wanted to.

“Didn’t Pip say anything? I’m surprised, he’s usually a talker,” Alex said, stepping inside.

As if on cue, Philip came running. He threw himself into Alex’s arms and said: “Papa! We had dino nuggets for dinner and I drew everyone, wanna see?”

“Of course I wanna see, buddy,” Alex smiled.

Philip bounded away to get the drawing and Eliza asked: “So what could he have said?”

“I think he will already tell you, did you ask about the drawing yet?” Alex replied.

“No, not yet. He’s been working on it ever since he got here, but he wanted to finish it first,” she said as she led him to the kitchen table.

“Ah, how are you and Maria, by the way?”

“Good, Maria is at the orphanage today, so it’s just me here. We’re doing a drama program in the weekends currently, so that’s a lot of fun,” she told him.

“Oh, wow, sounds fun. Are the kids enjoying it?”

“I think so. We got a few actors running around, that’s for sure,” Eliza smiled.

“Well, I’ll be sure to keep an eye on movies in the future,” Alex grinned back, “Angelica says hi to you both, by the way, and I had to tell you you’re rude. She’ll kill me if I forget.”

Eliza’s smile turned exasperated and she replied: “I’ll call her tonight, haven’t spoken to her in a while, you know how she gets.”

Alex chuckled at that, but didn’t get to reply, because Philip came back with the drawing. He put it on the table and climbed into the chair next to Alex, so that he could show his Papa the figures. It weren’t stick figures anymore and most of them were pretty recognizable.

Pip pointed at first figure and began to explain: “This is Grandpa George and Grandma Martha and they’re holding hands and next to them is Uncle Laf, he’s annoying Grandpa George, but he doesn’t mind.”

Alex saw that the drawn Lafayette had a speech bubble with senseless scribbles in it.

“And then on the other side you have Uncle Herc and then Auntie Maria and Auntie Eliza, Auntie Maria is giving Auntie Eliza a kiss, like she does whenever she leaves.”

“Is she going then?” Alex asked.

“Maybe, I don’t know yet, maybe I’ll add a portal behind her,” Philip answered, “Next to Auntie Eliza is Auntie Peggy, she’s poking you. You see Papa?”

Alex studied the figure that was meant to represent him. It was a green blob with his beard and long hair in a messy bun, who was holding hands with the figure he assumed was Thomas. The Peggy figure was indeed poking his cheek. He smirked: “I can see that, Pip. Very well done.”

“Thank you, I was gonna make Auntie Angelica next to you, but she is now standing next to Uncle Laf and being tired about his actions,” Pip explained, making the both of them laugh.

“Who is that?” Alex asked, spotting a figure in the sky.

“That’s Auntie Martha, Da said she’s dancing with the stars, so I drew her with the stars and here is Daddy with angels,” Pip told him.

Alex now recognized the colors as one of the dresses Martha wore in the pictures in Thomas’s house, then also the outfit John wore in the picture on the mantle piece.

He was a bit chocked up about it and was luckily saved from replying by Eliza, who repeated in a questioning tone: “Da?”

“Yeah, Da’s here,” Pip pointed to the magenta figure with big hair holding Alex’s hand, “He’s holding Papa’s hand and I’m in between them.”

“Do you mean Thomas?” Eliza asked, giving Alex a look that meant ‘you could have at least given me a bit of information’. She was piecing it together along with Angelica’s text.

“Yeah, he’s my dad now too, isn’t that cool, Auntie Eliza?” Pip answered excitedly.

“Very cool,” Eliza smiled, “When did that happen?”

“Yesterday,” Philip informed her with a smile, “I asked if he was my dad now too during dinner and he said I got to pick and I said yes, so now he’s my Da.”

“Oh wow,” Eliza glared at Alex. The message was received: ‘We’ll talk about this later.’

Alex just rolled his eyes and just focused on letting Philip explain the drawing in more detail, before getting them home.

While that was all happening, Thomas ate dinner by himself for the first time in a while. The house didn’t feel that much like home anymore and Thomas didn’t really want to acknowledge it, so when he had finished his dinner, he decided to call his Ma.

“Hello, this is Jane Jefferson speaking,” she picked up.

“Hi, Ma, how are you?” Thomas greeted her warmly, ever since his call after his birthday they’d been calling more and Thomas found their relationship improving despite the distance.

“Ah, Tommy, I’m good, I’m good, how are you?” she replied, then cheekily added, “How’s your loverboy?”

“Ma,” Thomas whined.

“What you never tell me anything, I can ask.”

“I do tell you almost everything,” Thomas refuted, “I’m actually currently calling you to tell you things.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I- uhm, I guess, I’m a dad now,” Thomas decided to start there.

“What?”

Thomas expanded: “Philip calls me Da, so that happened.”

“Oh my God, I officially have agrandson, how exciting,” his Ma gushed.

“I guess so,” Thomas chuckled.

“Am I meeting my grandson and my future son-in-law anytime soon or are you still not asking them?” she inquired.

“They’re also coming to Monticello this summer,” Thomas was glad he could answer that question this time, “And can you please not refer to Alex like that when we’re there.”

“And why not, is it not true?” Thomas could practically see his mother’s amused look.

“It’s embarrassing, Ma,” he was also not above pleading and whining.

“I’m not embarrassing.”

“You are very embarrassing.”

“We’ll see that when you get here, will you and Alex be sharing a room?”

“Yeah.”

“No funny business under my roof.”

“Ma!”

And they talked like that for a bit more. Thomas was both excited and extremely nervous to go home again that summer. He didn’t know if Alex and Philip being there made his nerves better or worse.

A while had passed between that call and the summer break. Thomas and Alex had worked a bit longer and Pip had spend a good chunk of time at the orphanage and his other Uncles and Aunties until it was time to go.

When the day came to drive down, Philip was brimming with excitement. It was a six hour drive, so they left in the morning, but that didn’t stop Philip from pointing out everything he saw that he rarely saw otherwise.

Thomas thought it was kind of adorable and listening to his kid’s rambling calmed him as did Alex’s even breaths from where he was napping in the passenger seat.

About an hour and a half into the drive Alex woke up with a small yawn: “H’w lon’ was I out?”

“Not that long,” Thomas assured him, while Pip said: “It was soooo long Papa, you missed so much by being boring. We drove past horses a while ago.”

“Ah, maybe we’ll see more horses later and I can see them too,” Alex smiled, “Want a snack?”

“You have snacks?” both asked in a different tone, Thomas curious and Pip excited.

“Of course I have snacks,” Alex got boxes with sliced apples out the bag by his feet as well as juice boxes and a water bottle. He handed Philip a few slices, twisted the cap off the water and handed that to Thomas, before giving Philip a juice box once his hands were empty.

They switched two hours into the drive, then again two hours after that, so that Thomas was the one driving the last part. As they drove they played word games with Pip and sang music.

It felt a bit like a road trip movie and Thomas cheeks hurt a bit from the smiling by the time they pulled into the driveway.

Alex gaped at the building and said: “I knew your family was loaded, but holy fuck.”

Thomas snorted, he was kind of used to that with the mansion they lived in. It was built in colonial style and old, he didn’t even know how it had gotten into the family, but it had. The sides were covered in small white flowers and on the porch an older lady sat in a rocking chair, waiting for them.

“Da does your Ma live in a castle with a dragon?” Philip asked as Thomas unbuckled him, while Alex grabbed their bags.

“No dragon, I’m afraid,” Thomas chuckled. Then turned to his Ma, who was coming to meet them, he pulled her into a hug: “Hi Ma.”

“Tommy,” his Ma replied, holding him tight, before letting him go and saying, “Aren’t you going to help your boyfriend unpack. I didn’t raise you like that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Thomas rolled his eyes, taking a few bags from the back, smiling comforting at Alex. He knew that if he had unpacked first, she would have scolded him for letting her stand there. His Ma showed affection through toughness, it had taken a long while for him to see that.

Philip stared at this new lady with interest. She was older and darker than his Da, but she had the same eyes and grace to her. When she saw Philip staring she smiled: “And who is this young gentleman here?”

“I’m Philip, Philip Hamilton, it’s nice to meet you, Ma’am,” he stuck out his hand.

“How polite,” the lady smiled, “I’m Jane Jefferson, but you can just call me Mawmaw.”

“Mawmaw Jane,” Philip nodded to himself, “It’s nice to meet you. Do you own the house? Da says it doesn’t have a dragon, but it looks like it has a dragon.”

She chuckled: “No dragon, no. The most fierce beast you’ll find in there is Sir Poof, the cat.”

Philip pouted while Thomas grinned: “I take it none of my sisters are home, then.”

“Don’t get cocky, young man. Mary’s coming later. Now, I think there is someone you have to introduce me to, hm?” she replied.

Alex had been keeping himself on the background. No matter what he had said to Thomas, he was pretty nervous and wanted Thomas’s mother to like him, to like Pip. So he startled slightly when Thomas said: “Yes, Ma, this is Alex. Alex, this is my mother.”

“Hi, Ma’am,” he greeted, voice a bit higher than normal, “I’m Alexander, Alexander Hamilton, it’s an honor to meet you.”

“Jane Jefferson, same to you,” she smiled, she could see that the man was nervous meeting her, but she noted with amusement how both father and son had introduced themselves the same. It was clear who had taught the boy that.

“We got you these, Mrs. Jefferson,” Alex handed her the bonbons they had gotten her. Alex had wanted to buy flowers, but those would have gotten ruined during the ride, so instead they had gotten bonbons.

“How sweet, but none of that Mrs. Jefferson stuff. Call me Ma or Jane, alright?” she told him, taking the bonbons, “These are nice, thank you.”

“It- I- Thank you for your hospitality, Jane” Alex rubbed the back of his head.

Thomas watched quite amazed at this Alex. He had never seen this version of his boyfriend before. This Alex was awkward and unsure of what to do next, while also painfully polite. He decided to step in and save him: “We really appreciate the invitation, Ma.”

“Of course, of course it’s good to see you again, here I’ll show you where Philip can sleep, you two will share your old room,” Jane picked up on Thomas’s action.

They gathered their stuff and brought it to their rooms. Thomas’s old room was at the end of the right hall and Philip was staying in the guest room opposite of it, which Alex was grateful for as they set down their bags.

“You okay?” Thomas checked.

“Yeah, just more nervous than expected,” Alex admitted, “What if she doesn’t like me?”

“She will, I promise. You’re great and Pip is a sweetheart, she’s been excited about you two ever since she heard about you,” Thomas assured him.

“You think so?” Alex asked.

“I know so,” Thomas replied, hoping he wouldn’t have to come back on that, “Come, I’m sure you’d like something to drink.”

“Lord help me through this,” Alex sighed taking Thomas’s hand and allowing the soft squeeze Thomas gave to calm him.

“It’s gonna be fine.”

“Sorry, I know, I know, just scared it will go wrong, but I’ll be fine, really,” Alex said, unsure of who he was trying to convince, “Let’s just go drink something.”

Thomas held his hand all the way to the front porch, where Jane was sitting with Philip, cat on her lap. Alex could see from the way he sat that Philip was telling one of his many fantasy tales, while also trying to drink from a huge glass of lemonade with a straw in it.

Alex nodded a greeting to Jane when she noticed him, then ruffled Philip’s hair: “Hey, buddy, have you been nice?”

“Yes, Papa, I’ve been telling Mawmaw Jane about the Ranger Apprenticethat me and Da have been reading and aboutGeorge the Glitter Glue Man,” Philip told him with a grin.

“How nice Pip, have you thanked your Mawmaw for the lemonade?” he asked.

“I have,” Philip assured him.

Jane confirmed: “He has, you’ve raised such a polite young man.”

“Thank you, it helps that he’s a sweet kid,” Alex smiled, talking about Pip was easy, he could do that in his sleep.

“He sure is, ain’t you, Philly,” she smiled to the boy, “Really, I’m afraid what Francie and Kitty’ll do to him.”

“Francie and Kitty?” Philip asked.

“My nieces, my second oldest sister’s twins,” Thomas explained, “She’s the only one of my siblings who had kids and they have been spoiled into oblivion by all their Aunts and Uncles.”

“They’re lovely ladies, don’t let Tommy get into your head,” Jane assured him, “They just have active imaginations.”

Alex didn’t want to blame two little girls for how Philip would act, but he also didn’t want to paint Philip to be a bad kid, so he just said: “Well, Pip has a very active imagination himself, so they’ll probably get along.”

“Am I going to meet them?” Philip asked.

“Probably, Mary said she’d come,” Jane assured him, “Now while my son gives our guest something to drink,” it was a bit pointed, “why don’t you tell me more about this Glitter Glue Man. What was his name again?”

“George,” Philip supplied helpfully, before retelling his heroic death by glitter bullet and his subsequent confetti revival by Theo.

Thomas took Alex to the kitchen and poured him a glass of lemonade as well with a small: “Homemade, Ma’s famous for it.”

Alex took an appreciative sip and said: “It’s delicious.”

“Ma’s lemonade is the best,” Thomas told him proudly.

“I get why,” Alex smiled, relaxing somewhat.

They returned to the porch and sat with them, Alex softly complimenting the lemonade, before listening to Philip talk. Alex felt slightly bad about clinging to Philip’s charms, but he cut himself a bit of slack.

When Philip had finished his story, he took a pause to drink some more and Thomas took that opportunity to ask: “Who’s coming?”

“Well, Mary and her girls are coming, her husband couldn't make it,” Jane said, then she went down the list, “Small Jane said maybe, but she had business,Martha, Peter probably not, Abby said no, Lucy maybe, Anna most likely, Randolph yes.”

“So only Randy and Mary are coming?” Thomas summarized.

“Yeah.”

“Wait, is there another Jane? Why is she called Small Jane?” Philip spoke up.

“It’s a family name, we call her Small Jane to keep track of which Jane we’re talking about,” Jane explained.

“That’s funny,” Philip said.

Alex was about to say something about the commentwhen Jane chuckled: “Ain’t it, Philly. Don’t you know someone who’s been named after someone else. Family does that from time to time, so that they can point and say; ‘hey that’s your namesake, ain’t that cool?’”

Philip thought for a second, then said: “Auntie Angie says Theo’s mom is also called Theo, but when I asked Theo, she says her name’s just mom. It’s confusing, but she can push really well on the swings.”

That made Jane laugh and she ruffled his hair and said: “We have a swing in the tree there.”

She pointed at a big tree and Philip’s eyes lit up and he looked back to Alex with big eyes. Alex smiled and said: “You can go swing if you want, just be careful. Want me to walk with you there?”

“I’m big, I can do that on my own,” Philip protested, but as he got off the bench, he did say, “Thank you, Papa.”

“Stay in sight?” Alex asked.

“I will,” Philip promised.

The three adults watched Philip bound over to the swings, then Jane turned her focus to Alex: “So, has my Tommy been treating you right?”

“Ma!” Thomas exclaimed, he had told her not to be embarrassing, not that he had expected her to listen, but still.

“Uh,” she shushed him with a finger, “I asked Alex a question, Tommy. I wanna know if you’re treating him right. So, Alex.”

Alex had expected a lot of questions, but not that one, so he floundered for a moment, before he found his words: “Yeah, yeah, it’s- it’s been good, he’s been good.”

“Yeah?” Jane nodded along with sharp eyes.

“Yeah,” Alex confirmed, “He’s a huge help with Pip and a great cook, actually. He also gets me flowers,” he couldn't have helped the smile on his face if he tried, “And I feel like we have great conversations.”

“Ahw, you love me,” Thomas grinned draping himself over Alex, it might have been an embarrassing question, but having Alex list off his good qualities in front of his Ma was an ego boost if he ever saw one.

“Like you didn’t know that, dork,” Alex attempted to push him off, but the push was light enough for Thomas to know that he didn’t mean it.

During the exchange Jane got an approving and pleased look on her face, before she moved on to the big hitters: “And what are your intentions with my son?”

Thomas gave her big ‘what are you doing?’- eyes.

However, Alex had gotten over his initial awkwardness and his usual way of words came back: “If I am honest, I would say grow old at some point. Though currently I am just enjoying spending time with him, figuring out what makes him smile, where I can step in like he does for me. Mostly, I just want to have the time to give him all flowers he deserves.”

It was quiet for a moment as Jane sized him up, then she grinned: “I can see why Tommy likes you, he’s also the wordy one around here.”

Alex chuckled, feeling a bit more at ease with that response: “The amount of wordy we both are has made our boss very tired on numerous occasions.”

“You can’t admit you’re wrong, that’s different, darlin’,” Thomas felt the need to point out.

Did Alex know he was sitting in front of his maybe one day mother-in-law? Yes. Could he let Thomas win this argument even though responding would prove his point? No.

“I know when to admit defeat, you just don’t have sound arguments. There’s a difference, okay?” he shot back, “And no, I will not side with you on the chicken-egg debate, picking chicken is stupid and you’re just saying it because I think it’s egg.”

“It’s chicken, cause it lays the egg, Alex, it’s just nature.”

“Other animals lay eggs. Fish lay eggs and fish were the first living beings almost ever,” Alex told him, unable to let it go, “Dinosaurs laid eggs too, they were before chickens.”

“But we’re talking about chicken eggs, only chickens can lay those, therefore there has to be a chicken to lay it.”

“One, saying therefore doesn’t make your argument better. Two, you never clarified we were talking about chicken eggs, therefore you can not suddenly introduce that as a rule for the discussion and your argument falls away.”

“What was that about therefore?” Thomas grinned.

“Okay, gentlemen, chicken, eggs, interesting,” Jane cut them both off, she’d had to sit to too many Christmases when Martha was still around for her to know that Thomas wasn’t going to stop.

“Sorry, Ma’a- Ma,” Alex corrected himself last minute.

“Which side are you on?” Thomas had never not involved everyone to get on his side and he wasn’t letting his Ma off the hook.

“Alex’s, your argument is stupid,” she deadpanned, noting Alex’s shit eating grin to Thomas as she did, “What I’m more interested in is how you’ve been. The last time I saw you was last year during the summer and I appreciate the calls, but face to face, talk to me. How have you been? Your job okay? DoI need to have words with Washington?”

“No, Ma, Washington is still a good boss,” Thomas assured her, “And I’ve been doing great, I picked up reading poetry again and I have just been enjoying the small things, they make life great, you know?”

Jane smiled at the last part: “Good to see you finally having a bit of joy in your life. You always had that weight on your shoulders, it’s nice to see it gone for a change.”

“It’s nice to have it gone, Ma,” Thomas agreed, while Alex contended himself with listening, “But how have you been Ma? Not lonely out here?”

“Nah, Mary and the kids visit often, they at least do,” she said, “It’s good to have some life in this house, you know. Keeps me young. And I’ve been going to the market. Joe from the farm down by the church says hi along with Father Adam.”

“And the knitting club?” he asked.

“You know how that is. Though last time Janet brought store bought cookies, so we don’t know if anything’s going on there, but we’re keeping our eyes on her.”

“Nothing too bad, I hope.”

Jane leaned in conspiratorially and said: “Nah, Dixie saw her in the park with a handsome looking man. We think she’s having an affair.”

“Oh no, really? Janet?” Thomas gasped and Jane nodded in return: “Uh-huh, let me tell you,” then she caught up the both of them on the local gossip with names Thomas nodded at and Alex had never heard before. After that they moved on to just daily life stuff.

At some point Philip came back from the swings, confidently stating: “I think there are fairies living in the tree, the leaves speak.”

“Really, buddy?” Alex asked, hoping Jane wouldn’t judge him for indulging his son’s imagination, since he said other – weirder –stuff like this.

“Yeah, just like in that book Auntie Eliza always reads to me,” Philip explained.

“Well, I never noticed them, but maybe you can tell me more about them while we cook,” Jane told him, getting up, “We’re making fried chicken and I hear from your Papa that you’ve been helping him out in the kitchen. Would you like to learn a bit more?”

“I would love that!” Philip exclaimed, clapping his hands, before taking Jane’s and following her into the house.

Thomas turned to Alex with a big grin and sparkling eyes. Alex looked confused and asked: “What? What does that look mean?”

“She likes Pip,” he explained, “Her asking help with cooking is the number one compliment or acknowledgment you can get from her. We’re killing this.”

“Really?” relief flooded through his system.

“Yeah, welcome to the family, darling.”

~~~~~~~~~

A/N:

I made up the nieces, bc I’m not researching family trees for a fic that has gotten too far out of hand already, okay, not doing it.

As for the others I didn’t try and figure out any of the family’s personalities or actual lives, if you’re looking for accuracy a fanfic is not the place to find it. Same forin the next chapter, have no expectations on that front.

Also, yes, I am passionate about the chicken-egg discussion and I am pro egg, you can fight me.

[harryskalechips]

It’s all about connections

A/N hello! I’m sorry about some other pieces being delayed. I’m working on it right now. Here I have a little angsty piece for you that an anon requested! enjoy

Y/N and Harry have been happily dating for three years except when Y/N’s cousin Olivia, comes back from America. Everything turns into a hell that Harry has been running from. 

word count: 2370

“So you’re sure you’re free to come tonight?” Y/N bids Harry goodbye at her front door as he puts on his coat.

“I promise baby, I’ll be here by 6.” He tries to reassure her.

“I really don’t want to drag you back here for dinner but my mom wanted you to meet Olivia’s parents too since they’re so interested in us.” Y/N rolls her eyes. She missed the way Harry’s cheeks flushed a bit.

Olivia, Y/N and Harry went to the same high school but Olivia ventured off to the States for university leaving Harry and Y/N to attend their local one in the city. At first, Y/N never thought she would end up dating Harry but after having a few mutual classes in first year and having mutual friends, the pair clicked off and they’ve been dating for 3 years now. There’s no wonder why Olivia’s parents want to meet the man. They are a very close family and since it’s spring break they decided to take a flight back to Canada to see what’s been happening. Olivia couldn’t be more excited.

“Maybe because they just want to see who’s been keeping you happy.” His hands pull Y/N closer to him. “I love you. I’m just going to run some errands for my mum and I’ll be here okay?”

“Mhm.” Y/N pouts as she watches him walk off her pathway and into his car. Harry was hoping that she couldn’t hear the anxiety in his voice. How his heart was beating so fast. Did Y/N know he used to be in love with her cousin? No. Was he over Olivia? I mean… he had to be… right?

~

“Oh my God, Y/N you’re so pretty!” Olivia runs into Y/N’s arms as they hug one another so tightly. Since they were both the only child of their parents, they practically grew up as sisters until Olivia had to leave.

“You’re really pretty too! Wow, look at this tan. Olivia, I’m so jealous you’re living in Florida!”

“Pshhh, I rather be here. I miss you and Canada so much. It feels so different being in the States. Do you know how many times I got corrected by the way I spell things?” Oliva was radiating. Her volumized curly blonde hair. Her thin hips. Her pretty smile. Y/N always felt like she was 2nd best with her but after Oliva left. Her parents stopped comparing her to her all star cousin. Plus, she had Harry. The man of her dreams. He’s everything she wanted and she can’t be anymore thankful that he loves her just as much as she loves him.

“Oh look who’s here, Harry come in!” Y/N’s mom opens the door. Harry’s eyes light up as he sees Y/N but the moment his eyes caught on to Olivia’s, he started to feel things. Bad things that a taken man shouldn’t feel. Maybe, it was a bad idea for him to come tonight but he wanted to prove everyone wrong, most definitely himself. He doesn’t like Olivia. Y/N is here. Olivia lives in the states!

“Harry!” Olivia squeals as she untangles herself from Y/N to hug Harry.

They were a bit close in high school. They had many of their classes together and Harry was always helping Olivia with her homework. In return, Olivia would help him study too. She used to drag Y/N with her to come watch his soccer games. “I missed you so much! Wow, your hair! It’s so different. I love it!” Harry wraps his arms around her as he makes eye contact with his girlfriend. Y/N didn’t seem to mine but Harry felt like there was no oxygen in his tank anymore. Why the fuck is his heart feeling like this?

Dinner was already placed on the dining table thanks to Y/N and her parents. After Harry left, they focused on every little detail in the dining room. Y/N’s father sat at the head while Y/N’s mom sat with Olivia’s parents. Y/N sat in between her boyfriend and her cousin.

“Harry, it’s so nice to meet you. Olivia here mentioned your friendship with her back in high school. It’s amazing how destiny led you to Y/N.” Olivia’s mom spoke up as they ate their meal. Tonight, Y/N’s mom was serving spaghetti.

“Um, yeah. I think so too. I’m very lucky to be with Y/N.” he looks at Y/N which she smiles back and holds his hand underneath the table.

“Hopefully, you guys will be able to help Olivia settle in your University when she comes back next year.”

“What?” Y/N speaks out in shock. Harry pulls his hand away from her so he can take a drink of water after choking a bit. As Y/N looked around, nobody else was in shock, meaning her parents knew the whole time.  “You guys knew?” She looks at her mom and dad.

“Surprise sweetie!” Y/N’s mom smiles widely with  jazz hands in front of her chest. Y/N’s dad just nods. He knew it wasn’t the best surprise, he noticed that his daughter was quite insecure about her cousin. Harry just looks down at his plate for the rest of dinner, staying silent as the family catches up. It felt weird. He felt weird.

Dinner was finished and since Y/N’s family was hosting, she had to help clean up while Olivia and her parents spent time talking with Harry. The conversation was light but after Olivia’s mom went to help in the kitchen and her dad went on a smoke break, he was sadly left with Olivia. The girl he used to be so in love with. He used to be her little puppy back in the day and to see her again, he knew he was about to fall down that little rabbit hole once again.

“Your hair is still as soft as it was 4 years ago.” Olivia playfully runs her finger around his short hair since they sat on the couch together. Okay, the thing about Olivia is that yes, she’s smart and pretty. Every man’s dream but she also comes off in a flirty way when it comes to boys even though it may not be her intention. You understand right?

Well, Harry didn’t. It’s the reason why he was so head over heels about her before. Probably, why he is right now. “Yeah, I still use the same hair routine. Y/N also has this hair serum that smells really good and I started using it.” He tries to move away a bit so he can play with his hair himself. Just an excuse to create some distance.

“You know, you two are really cute.” Olivia looks down then looks at him. “It’s so weird for me really. I see all these pictures of you two on social media and I just never expected you guys to start dating. I mean you were a popular athletic guy and she was just chilling in high school. I don’t know.” Olivia begins to ramble as Harry just stares at her. While she was talking, everything went through one ear and out the other. He was looking at how pretty she was. How she never changed. She was still the girl he fell in love with. The girl who still had her hair tied up. Who had the most pretty blue eyes. Y/N had brown eyes but that wasn’t the point. Olivia was his dream girl.

“It’s crazy. I used to have a big crush on you in high school! I used to drag Y/N to your games!” That statement just made Harry come back to earth.

“What?” His eyes were practically wiped out as Olivia looked at him. He just had question marks swarming around his head and as she looked at his eyes, she could tell she caught him off guard. She never thought it was a big deal.

“I used to like you in high school.” There was a brief moment of silence until Harry just had to say it. Maybe, it would make him get over her. Give him that little push to let the feelings out. Plus, it’s been four years, can anything really happen between them?

“I used to be in love with you, Olivia. Like madly.” But Olivia’s eyes weren’t focused on him as she hears the sudden clash of bowls filled with Ice cream crash on the wooden floors. Y/N heard.

She was walking into the living room after being instructed to bring dessert to the guests. The moment she walked in though, she heard her boyfriend practically confessing his feelings for her cousin. Of fucking course, her cousin! Her cousin who can have anything she wants. Her cousin who practically gets to do what she wants. Want to study in America, honey? Yes. Want to move back to Canada, honey? Yes. Want to steal your cousin’s boyfriend, honey? Oh my fucking god, yes!

“Y/N.” Harry gets off the couch immediately as he chases Y/N out her front door. It was midnight and there was a cold breeze but that didn’t stop Y/N from running her heart out. She was just confused why this man was chasing after her. Harry’s head turned a bit as he caught eye contact with Olivia’s dad who was just about to crush his cigarette.

“Shame on you.” He tosses the bud and walks inside the house as Harry speeds up again to chase Y/N on the streets.

“Why the fuck are you chasing after me, Harry!” Y/N looks back as she stops running and begins walking. A girl can run a block probably more, but Y/N can run for 15 seconds then call it a day. Since she knew Harry loves to run, there was no point wasting her energy trying to outrun him. Want to follow me? Fine but fuck off a bit mate.

“Y/N listen-” The audacity this man had to follow her out here. Y/N turns around and stops in her steps.

“No. I really don’t want to hear it H.” She wipes away her tears and looks at the streetlights behind him. She couldn’t look at him. “You were in love with her and you never fucking bothered to tell me.”

“I knew you were insecure about her!”

“Fuck you!” Y/N screams. “You’re a liar! You’re a user! You have the audacity to chase me after telling my cousin you were madly in love with her!”  She laughs sarcastically. “You know after dating for 3 years, I figured we would tell each other everything.”

“I’m sorry, baby please.” He tries to approach her but she takes a couple steps back.

“Were you using me to see her again?” Y/N blurts out. She knows he wouldn’t do that but a part of her just needed to be sure. Harry just sighs as he runs his hand through his hair. “You fucking asshole!” She cries out. With the need to leave, she brushes past him on her way back to the house. “Don’t fucking follow me. I don’t want to see you ever again!” Harry speeds up and finally grabs her hand to keep her placed in front of him.

“Please Y/N. In the beginning when we first started dating sure. But I promise you I fell in love with you! I love you please!”

“You don’t fucking get it!” She pulls her hand away as Harry frowns. “Your intention in the beginning. Your lies. I can’t fucking take it. I don’t want to. You were in love Olivia!”

“I was in love with her fine okay, I admit that! I don’t think it matters anymore. I'm with you now.” He’s trying so hard to convince her. He’s trying so hard not to let her slip through his fingertips all because of a stupid confession.

“No, you’re not because we’re over Harry.”

“No, don’t say that. Don’t say that!”

“What do you want me to say?” Her eyes widened. “Do you want me to say, it’s alright baby. Thanks for letting her know before me? Thanks for dating me so you have a better chance of seeing her again!”

“No.” “Harry, why did you have to date me? Why did you have to make me go through this!”

“Because I fucking liked you! God dammit!” He finally explodes. “I was in love with Olivia and when you and I started seeing each other more, I was attracted to you and I don’t know what happened. I guess I started pursuing you because you’re close with Olivia but at the same time, I wanted to know you more and spend time with you.”

“I don’t know what to do!” Harry watches the girl in front of him break down. He takes his flannel off and puts it on her. Thankfully, she gladly accepted it.

“I’m sorry, baby. Please I’m sorry. I was scared if I told you, you would get mad and then more time went by, and it was no longer right to tell you.” “I don’t feel good right now.”

“Can I walk you home?”

“Yeah.”

The walk home was excruciating. They were 3 feet apart just walking along at night. They were no longer Harry and Y/N but just Harry and Y/N. It felt weird to be honest. At least on Harry’s end. A part of him was doubting how he felt about Olivia and Y/N but now after seeing Y/N this way, he knew who his heart belonged to. It was the girl who thought of herself as average. Who was pretty quiet but very outgoing in the same way. It was the girl who accepted him and gave him all the love he could ever ask for. Maybe, it was a bad idea confessing to Olivia tonight but one thing is for sure, if he was madly in love with her, he is irrevocably in love with Y/N and there was no chance in hell, he’ll be letting her go anytime soon.

Part 2 here

[elysiashelby]

In Another World - T. Shelby Imagine Ch. 2

Paring: (Eventual) Thomas Shelby x Aliena Welsh (OC)

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Word Count: 2, 522

WARNINGS: Cursing

Summary: Aliena Welsh has been living in the universe of the show Peaky Blinders for 2 months now. She’s beginning to make a life and a home for herself, but she’s been avoiding calling Thomas by his name. And he wants to know why.

MASTERLIST  CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER THREE

A/N: So, I forgot to add something very important. I am not from Liverpool. I do not know the proper way scousers talk. I’ve done some research and watched movies, but I will not advocate that it’s perfect. I’d love to get my readers’ opinions on it, and if enough responses come back saying that I shouldn’t show her accent in the writing- it will be gone! Also, this is the pronunciation of Aliena ( A Lee ay nah ). Thanks for reading!

So, I've been with the Shelby's for two months now! It has definitely been something! I mean Polly is very strict and for the first couple of days I was taking care of John's kids, she was watching over me like a hawk. I mean I didn't mind and I totally appreciated it. I dealt with me own family members, meaning I could've dealt with them however I wanted but these weren't me kids to punish. So, that's where Polly helped me out. She set me boundaries. 

With the cooking, I learned a lot of things. Like how to make eggs and bacon and sausage for breakfast. I can basically make anything Polly has taught me for the past 2 months. I also clean the house regularly. I do the sweeping, moping, the trash, and the laundry. I honestly don't mind. What's fun is that Polly found out that I didn't know UK currency and how it worked and she taught me it along with Finn. But, Finn actually already knew how to count money. He was 10, of course he did! He was there so that Polly could keep an eye on ‘em. 

I'm currently working on buying our weekly groceries for the main house, and for John. For the main house, Polly helps me out, but for John's house, I have to figure it out on me own.   

I was doing the kids' laundry as I watched over them. Katie, the eldest at 7, was helping me along with her sister Ilsa, who was 6. Robert, who was 4, was playing with his younger brother John, who was 3. I found out that John had knocked up Martha when they were 16, resulting in little Katie. They had Ilsa a year later, waited 2 years and had little Robert, and then baby John Jr. was a result of John Sr.’s vacation days during the war. 

I was scrubbing harshly against a stain when I noticed things had gotten out of hand. "Robbie, don't hit your brother so hard! You'll regret it when you're older. Katie, dear, you need to space out the clothes more! Ilsa, you need to scrub that spot harder." I shouted at them. 

Ilsa huffed. "Aliena, I want to go play! Why can't I?" 

"It's not that you can't, sweetheart. It's just- I need your help. I have to take care of all of your clothes along with your father's, along with your uncles’ and aunt's clothes. I would have your brothers do the same if they were any older, but they aren't. They would just mess the clothes up or not wash them right. So, as much as it pains me to prevent you from playing, I need your help, alright?" 

She groaned loudly. "Fine! But only because you need me." She muttered while sporting a big pout. 

I chuckled at her and reached over to pinch her pout. She flinched at it. 

"Aliena, why would I regret it?" Robbie shouted. 

"What?" I asked with my eyes squinting as I tried to get a good look at him. 

He ran towards me, which made Johnny follow. "Why would I regret hitting this annoying bugger?" He repeated while pushing his brother's head. 

I tsked at his antics. "You'll regret it because he'll grow bigger one day and give you a beating back. Mark my words, he'll learn to get you when you're weak!"

"No, he wouldn't!"

"Oh, but he would! It's what siblings do you see. I'm not telling you to never hit 'em because I know that's how you both play, but just don't make each other cry. Okay?"

Robbie tilted his head as if in deep thought before agreeing and running off with his brother. 

I sighed knowing that he probably told me a blag. 

Speaking of blags, you know that story I fed Thomas when I first arrived here was total bullshit, right? The truth is me whole family, nieces and all, are back in California in one house. Me da and ma aren't dead. Me sister doesn't have a husband, but does have a daughter. Me brother doesn't have a wife, but actually has 4 kids. Me da's brother is not mental, but lives with me gran. I forgot the reason why. And me mum still talks to her family all while maintaining the mentality that they are jealous of her because she's a stay-at-home mum. Also, I was dead-on about me body being younger. I had to have been 16, at most, because when I was 18 me features began to be more defined, and now I was stuck with this baby face again. 

When we were all done with the laundry, it was late afternoon. I made us all lunch, and then let them all run abar with their friends with the expectation of little Johnny. Him and I were going back over to Polly's. He once asked me about this decision, and I told him it was because he was too young. He pouted and groaned, but accepted it nonetheless. 

I opened the door to the house and he bolted right in. I laughed at the sight. I went straight away to the kitchen and put on an apron. I had to, ironically, make sandwiches for the boys. Finn probably found something to eat or Polly made him something, but it was my responsibility to feed the older Shelby brothers. 

"Finn, take care of your cousin while I go 'n feed your brothers!" I shouted as I finished making the last sandwich. 

I put a plate on top of the other holding two sandwiches and I had the third one set on its own plate, ready to be served. I opened the door by hitting it with me bum. I was instantly overwhelmed by the yelling and shouting of countless men that were in the betting shop. I had to weave me way through clumps of men as well as maintaining awareness of all their movements, so that they don't bump into me! 

John was closest even though he was actually the farthest. But he was the only one out of his office. Always near the blackboard that one.  

"John, I have your lunch!" 

He smiled at me while taking the plate. "Thanks, love!"

I nodded in return. Then, I went for Arthur's office. I knocked, he saw me, and told me to come in. 

"Here's your lunch, Arthur." I separated the plates and got one of the two sandwiches to place on the plate. 

"Ah! Finally, some fuckin' food! I swear Aliena, you make a mean sandwich. Thanks, doll." Arthur said before taking a huge bite. 

I said "you're welcome" with a rather embarrassed smile and left. I walked out of the room and closed the door behind me. Now, I was holding one plate in my hand. I inhaled largely and puffed my cheeks as I exhaled. 

'I swear I'll never get used to 'em.' I thought.  

I walked over to Thomas' office, knocked, and was allowed to come in. I turned the knob and took in the sight. Thomas Shelby kept his head down, inspecting his documents while nursing a ciggie that was in-between his two fingers resting there with his arm bent on the desk. 

"Your lunch, Mr. Shelby." I whispered as I set his plate down. 

He didn't even lift his head as he muttered "thank you." So, I just left. 

I wiped my hands on me apron, walked back into the main house, and closed the doors behind me. I walked back into the kitchen and tossed me apron on a chair. 

"Finn, is your cousin still alive?"

"Yeah!"

"Good! Keep him that way for the next two to three hours!"

"Okay!"

After serving lunch to the boys, I had to start cleaning the house. I beat the dirt out of rugs, I swept away dirt, and moped the floors afterward. When I was done with that I was taking down clothes that I've just washed yesterday. Then, I got ready to start ironing them, but mid through it was around 4 o'clock. 

I had to stop and go find the rest of John's kids. I got little Johnny and walked back to the flat, but when I got there, I found all three of them waiting outside of the door. I was able to start dinner with ease that night. Katie helped me make chicken soup. She was always so adorable. It took little over an hour. I ate with them, and then told Ilsa it was her night to wash the dishes. 

She’s so stubborn, reminds me of meself. I bet she’ll be a boss feminist when she gets older. I can imagine her now, marching for Women’s Rights. 

Anyway, I ran over back to the main house and helped Polly finish making their dinner. It was basically chopping and peeling. When she didn't need me anymore, I had to go back to the kids. I was up with them 'till 8:30 and then I had to tuck them into bed. I got done by 9, but little Johnny came out abar three times before settling down. When I was confident they were all asleep, I tidied up the house a little more. I just put away a toy or two that they'd missed. 

It was 11:37 in the night when John got home. He thanked me and gave me a pound before sending me on me way. With a pep in my step, I trod over back to the main house. 

I got me key to unlock the door, stepped in, and then locked it. With a key still in me hand, I rested against the door. Me hand with the key was clutching on the doorknob for dear life, me body thudded softly as it collided with the door. I closed me eyes and let out a heavy sigh. I rested there for what seemed like an eternity. But I got meself back up. I took the pins out of me hair that finally managed to form and maintain a proper bun. Me cheeks puffed as I exhaled and I shook out me hair. I put me pins in me coat pocket as I made me way to the couch. Me body just plopped down and I just relaxed. 

Me feet and back soon started to ache. So, I took off me shoes and socks, and started massaging me feet and rolling my ankles. I followed up by cracking me back, and then going upstairs to me room. I started placing everything nicely and where they were supposed to be. I changed into pajamas, which was just a dress. I attempted to fall asleep in bed, but ended up failing. Instead, I went downstairs, grabbed the tub, heated up some water, and drew meself a bath in me own room. 

The only way we could cleanse ourselves here was in a tub. It wasn't installed into the house, oh no! It was quite literally a grey tub, and I have to use another tub for me hair. When I was done, I poured me hair water down the kitchen drain, and then worked me way with the water I used for me body. Afterward, I settled down in front of the fire that was in the living room. I sat in front of it while wringing the water out of me hair. The crackling of the fire as well as its heat was comforting. So much so that I found meself dozing off. 

It was during that allotted time that a hand suddenly shook me. Frightened, I gasped, rolled on to my knees from leaning on me thighs, and tried to focus on the person who jolted me awake. 

"You know, you'll end up catching a cold if you go to sleep with wet hair right away?" Thomas said while kneeling down beside me. "And your hair will be a pain to deal with if you don't brush it soon." 

I nodded while looking at him with hooded, unfocused eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Shelby." My voice sounded hoarse like I actually had been just awoken from a nap when in reality all I did was close me eyes for a second. Me eyes kept wanting to close. I chose to rub me arms to keep me awake. 

"Do I make you uncomfortable, Ms. Welsh?" He asked while properly sitting down next to me. 

I squeezed me eyes shut, silently cringing. I knew I was making it obvious, but I figured that he was used to it. Hell, even Arthur and John don't talk to him without minding themselves. 

With a tight grip on me arms and an equally tight smile I said, "No, not uncomfortable, Mr. Shelby. But I am intimidated by you." 

He nodded silently. "Intimidation is often used as another word for fear."

I giggled at his words. "It's actually a synonym for frighten or terrify, but also overawe. Which means to be impressed by someone to like the point of speechlessness." Me hands were now an active part in our small conversation.

Only reason I knew that was from searching up the word so much! 

"So, am I correct to assume you're telling me you're impressed by me, Ms. Welsh?"

I pursed me lips while leaning me head to the side, resting on me arms that had been crossed on top of me bent knee. "I guess. What I'm really trying to say is that… I don't know actually. I just don't want to cross a line with you, in all honesty. If I were to say something wrong- like a mispronunciation! Arthur and John would 'ave a laugh and a joke, but my expected reaction from you is silence. Silence can be the most daunting thing."

Thomas hummed while looking at me silently. 

I couldn't stop a giggle and pointed at him. "See! Like that! Are you just being understanding, or are you judging me?" I laughed even more afterward, and then I yawned. 

Through squinted eyes, I saw Thomas smirk. It was small. I'm sure it was really a half-assed smile. 

 "I see that you call my brothers by their names. Even though I insisted from the moment we met for you to call me by my name, you don't. Is this the reason why?"

I hummed. "I guess. I mean, well, you're my boss. I figure you have to use, you know, the proper terms. It's my first job 'n all! I didn't want to do anything to mess up." I said while tracing over the patterns in the carpet. 

"Well, from the way I see it, I am your boss and your boss is giving you an order." 

I tried to stifle my giggle and hide me smile, but it didn't do much since he had eyes and ears. "Fine. Thomas."

"Aliena."

After that, he went up to his room. Me fatigue was oddly gone yet at its worst at the same time. It took me another hour before I managed to drag meself up and sleep on the couch.

TAG LIST: @amirahiddleston @nemesis729​

[lovelyirony]

Hey, would you be open to IronAgent (Phil x Tony)? If yes, from the angst list (because /of course/ I look there first lol) 19: "Why did you wait until I moved on?" If you feel like it. Thanks! <3

never done this one before, but i like it! 

Tony isn’t used to heartbreak. He’s kind of an asshole like that. Or maybe he is used to heartbreak, but he’s not quite used to people admitting that they don’t like him like that. 

Phil Coulson was someone he met while at an orchestra with Pepper and showing up late and getting the wrong seat and falling asleep. 

He was the one who jabbed him awake and explained why the orchestra was so important, and Tony saw how much he could appreciate it, and he wanted more of it. 

So he asked. Phil said yes. And their first date was to a diner where Tony had to give Phil, like, eight quarters for the jukebox. 

He was different from anyone Tony usually saw. Different as in decent, different as in he wore a white button-up shirt nearly every single day, and Tony liked it, but he liked it more when it was a bit wrinkled and Phil broke down and unbuttoned the top two. 

They dated for eleven months and thirty days. They broke up in July. 

In retrospect, Tony can see why. Phil was always interested in specialized security and was one of the best people to stay calm under stress. (Tony joked that it was because of him.) 

Phil calls him in July. Tony is in Malibu, and Phil lives in Chicago, and he won’t allow Tony to pay for a plane or train ticket. 

Now he knows why. 

The phone call is short, mainly because Tony knows that he’s bursting with questions and Phil won’t answer them, because it’s considered rude to ask someone why they don’t want to choose you anymore. 

Tony says okay. He says okay on the phone, which sucks, and it’s...

He calls Rhodey next. 

“You okay?” 

“Probably. Maybe.” 

“You’ll be fine,” Rhodey says, in that tone of voice that Tony usually always trusts, but this time it’s different because Rhodey isn’t with him right now, he’s with his cousin in Florida trying to learn how to handle different beach-themed cocktails. Call it scientific research. 

“Listen,” Rhodey says, “I gotta go. Ben’s taking me to dinner, but call me when you need me, okay?” 

“Got it.” 

He’s not going to do that. 

- 

Phil joined SHIELD. You can’t have personal connections, not really. 

And Tony was as personal as they got, but he was also beneficial. Phil knows that if SHIELD ever caught wind of Tony being his, there would be talk. Talk about “why don’t you convince your boyfriend to get us weapons?” 

“Why don’t you bring Tony Stark over? Let us in on some secrets?” 

He can’t do that to him. 

And relationships...

Best not to think about it. 

- 

It takes longer than thought possible for Tony to get over Phil. In many respects, he might not be. 

But he goes out the next week and makes headlines dancing with all sorts of people and socializing and proving that he can move on. He will move on. He’s already moved on. 

He bitterly hopes that Phil can see it. 

(Phillip Coulson is busy fighting bad guys in a grocery store, but as he dodges a can of peaches being thrown at his head, he sees an overturned magazine rack. And there Tony is, smiling at a girl and-) 

- 

Tony keeps tabs on him, sometimes. He doesn’t often pop up. Tony doesn’t really look into security, because he knows that if he finds out where Phil is, what Phil is doing, it’s all he’s going to think about. And he can’t keep him safe, he can’t keep him protected. 

So he focuses on weapons and business and making sure that Pepper isn’t too pissed off, because it’s like Pompeii 2.0 if that happens. 

-

Coulson is in the office when the break-room TV is turned on and the news is up, and agents are crowding around. 

“Back to work, everyone,” he says, but he stops when he sees the headline. 

Tony Stark Declared Missing after Weapons Demonstration Gone Awry 

He can’t breathe. He feels everything slam down, and he can’t let anyone know it’s all coming down over his head, so he turns off the news. 

“Get focused,” he says. “I know at least one of you is supposed to be talking to our agents stationed in Liberia about a potential 084. Get it done.” 

He goes into his office and stares at a framed picture of a Ferris wheel. 

Just below that, folded up, is Tony kissing his cheek while he laughs. 

And it might be done. 

He wishes it wasn’t done, he wishes that he had never broken up with him. He’s always wished that, every single time he comes into his apartment and Tony’s plans for decorating their apartment when they both came back to Boston (Phil never did) were the talk of the night for many a night. 

He can’t request any special information. He can’t risk it, doesn’t want to risk it. 

Maria still catches him, because she’s Maria. She knows everything. 

“You got personal history with him,” she says over a mutual dinner. She invited him to her house. She didn’t seem like a house person, but then again she also has coasters with embroidered flower bouquets on them, so there’s that. 

“I’m not going to tell you anything about it.” 

“Wasn’t expecting you to. Just wanted to let you know that I know.” 

“And how would you know?” 

Maria smiles, biting into the pizza that she has ordered and Phil hasn’t touched, but still paid half for. 

“Because I’m smart and observant, Coulson.” 

“You can call me Phil, you know.” 

“Nope, rather not. But if you’re not discussing it, then it must have been romantic. I’m surprised you guys dated. For long, if I’m right.” 

“Under a year,” he says. 

“And you’re still this affected?” 

“I broke up with him,” Phil says. “You know why.” 

“You’re the dumbest ever,” Maria says. “You were dating the son of one of the best-known men of all time, and you think that you were putting his life in danger?” 

“When you put it like that, it makes me sound stupid.” 

“You’re not,” Maria says. “You’re smart. But Tony Stark isn’t exactly a saint. He knows how to fight dirty.” 

- 

Tony Stark just flew out of a cave and his first thought is the fact that he really wants a nice burger, and the second thought is that he’s wondered if he’s just invented something revolutionary. 

It’s about two weeks after everything and he’s still finding trouble with his standard mattress that he gets a visit. 

Strategic-Homeland-Whatever. 

They call themselves a private security firm. Tony knows better, has seen better liars. 

But Agent Barton is insistent that security is all they do, and they want to make sure that Tony Stark isn’t a danger to himself. 

(What he really means, most likely, is that SHIELD has caught on to the little fact that his flight suit exists.) 

-

Phil met Obadiah Stane exactly once, and exactly once is the only meeting you really need with a man who is the physical embodiment of an oil spill. 

Barton calls him, says that he needs to get there now, the mission is going wrong. Coulson’s his handler, and as much as he’d like to send Maria or Natasha or literally anybody else, he is worried. 

He finds Dum-E waving frantically, with Tony hunched over a counter and breathing hard, a blue light emanating from his chest. 

“Tony?” 

He turns around wildly, freezing as he looks at Phil. 

“I don’t have time to deal with you,” he pants out, breath ragged. “Move out of my way, and stay out of my way.” 

- 

Phil witnesses Tony in his element. He’s always flown above the rest, but never quite so literally. 

Pepper clutches Tony’s hand and he holds her close, and oh. 

Oh. 

Phil knows he shouldn’t have expected anything. He knows that it’s been years and years since they were dating, since they were each other’s everything and a half. 

But it still kind of hurts when you’re not a choice. 

They turn to look at Coulson. 

“I assume that Clint is yours?” Tony asks. 

“One of them, yes.” 

“He needs to get better about lying, he clearly ate my leftover sandwich.” 

“I’ll...talk to him about that. Everyone okay here?” 

“For now. Need to tie up some loose ends.” 

“I can help with that.” 

“I don’t need it,” Tony says, and Pepper follows his gaze carefully before speaking. 

“We would love the help,” she says, and Phil can tell that she doesn’t know. 

Somehow-and Phil’s not quite sure how-that burns. Tony didn’t tell her about them. It’s egotistical of him, sure, but he kind of wants to be known as a part in Tony’s life. 

SHIELD gets involved. They clean up Stane like he was never there, and there’s a press release about him having a heart attack in his sleep that is clearly not the case, but there are enough pictures of him eating unhealthily that it can kind of make sense when people look at some shitty news source. 

Phil makes flashcards. 

Reminds him of studying days, when he used to quiz Tony on Captain America trivia. 

He stumped him, once. 

- 

Tony doesn’t like that Phil’s back in his life. He doesn’t have to like it. 

But really, it just...

They used to be together. And they didn’t end because it got bad, they ended because Phil had a job and he didn’t want to be a couple because that would somehow ruin things. And Tony got it, really. The board wasn’t exactly pleased that Tony wasn’t hush-hush about his activities. 

“What’s gonna happen, they’re gonna sue me? Ask me to stop?” Tony had asked, laughing. “I don’t give a shit what people think. They rely on me too much to afford to have an opinion cloud their judgment.” 

Phil isn’t like that. 

They danced together. He still remembers Phil’s order for food. 

(Lo Mein with veggies, but he would never eat all of the veggies that were in there. Plus egg rolls.) 

-

“If you just read the flash cards, you should be fine,” Phil says. “Trust me.” 

“You waited to tell me that until I moved on or something?” Tony asks sardonically. 

- 

Tony listened to Phil twice in his life and trusted him. 

The first was six months in, when he said “I love you” while they were lounging on the worst couch that Tony had ever sat in, in an apartment with a leak during rainy days. 

The second was when Phil told him to live his life to his full potential on a short phone call. 

Fool me once, fool me twice, and never again. 

“The truth is...I am Iron Man.” 

[purplesurveys]

1281

survey by chasingghosts

Who?

Who was the last person you had an intelligent debate with? Not so sure - maybe Angela and Reena. Our group chat will occasionally veer towards serious topics.

Who was the last person who cooked something for you? Dad, I believe; but I can also hear my mom preparing breakfast downstairs so she will be the next last person haha.

Who was the last person who you heard singing? Other than me, my co-worker Dev’s sibling when we had our weekly ~fade-out-slash-bonding call with the rest of the team last Friday. She had left her mic on while we were all doing the last remaining bits of work for the week and I could hear her sibling humming in the background.

Who was the last person you kissed and it meant something? My ex.

Who was the last person you were upset with? Myself.

Who was the last person you danced with? I don’t really dance with other people unless...like, drunk. But I guess my swaying and bouncing with Angela when we watched Sowoozoo counts.

Who was the last person you felt awkward around? The food delivery rider who was bringing food my aunt wanted to send over to us yesterday. He seemed very confused for reasons I’m still very confused by lmao, so it all made for an awkward encounter. 

Who was the last person who borrowed something from you? My mom went into my closet last week to grab something of mine, but I have no idea what it was since I had been half-asleep when she walked in.

Who was the last person who showed you how to do something? My dad taught me how to make coffee that wasn’t from a 3-in-1 sachet lol.

Who was the last person you went shopping with? I don’t really go shopping, much less with other people.

Who was the last person you had a crush on? I haven’t crushed on anyone since my ex, and the people I find attractive nowadays are all celebrities haha.

Who was the last person who made you cry? Myself.

Who was the last person you shared a bed with? Oh, that’s been a while. Still Gabie, I’m pretty sure.

Who was the last person you got drunk with? We were quite a bunch at Angela’s place two weeks ago, but I’ll name a few - her, Reena, Pia, Hans, Al.

Who was the last person who touched your hair? Not sure. Maybe my dad.

What?

What was the last pair of shoes you wore? It was a pair of adidas sneakers.

What was the last birthday party you attended? The last birthday celebration (not necessarily a party) I went to was Angela’s. I darted to her house straight after work that day cos there was no way I was going to miss out on her birthday.

What was the last thing you said to your mother? I think it was just to bid her goodnight last night.

What was the last song you listened to? Seesaw by Suga.

What was the last thing you thought about before going to sleep last night? I was thinking about my headache and how I wanted to fall asleep immediately.

What was the last fun thing you did with your family? We had a Zoom party yesterday to celebrate my cousin Bree’s 12th birthday! Her family sent over takoyaki, milk tea, and pizza to all the households who went and we watched the birthday clips we sent for Bree. It was a lot of fun and it was a super nice break from how monotonous my weekends could be.

What was the last thing you borrowed from someone? My sister’s microfiber cloth so that I could clean my glasses.

What was the last vegetable you ate? I’m blanking out...which is weird because my dad puts veggies in most of the dinners he makes hahaha. Probably something like lettuce or pechay??

What was the last thing you bought online? My friends and I pre-ordered the second season of In The Soop so that we can watch it when it premieres later in the month. We’ll also have to purchase our tickets to BTS’ next online concert that’ll be happening this month too...thanks for reminding me I have to raise it with them haha.

What was the last thing you had to drink? I haven’t had to drink anything recently but the last thing I took a sip of was my coffee.

What was the last reason you went to see a doctor? Continued from yesterday morning. I had had a fever all week long and we couldn’t figure out how to lower my temperature, so we needed to go so I could finally be diagnosed with whatever it was. It turned out to be a UTI.

What was the last non-food item you purchased? Pre-order slots for a pay-per-view series.

What was the last type of yoghurt you ate? Ooh, I don’t like yogurt. I’m blanking out on the last time I had it.

What was the last fast food place you ate at? I haven’t dined in at a fast food place in a while – I think it may have been Jollibee, when Angela and I met up back in February. But I did get KFC for delivery a few weeks ago.

What was the last thing that bothered you and kept you awake? Doesn’t really happen to me nowadays. I get knocked out most nights.

When?

When was the last time you embarrassed yourself? I guess yesterday? I went to Starbucks to work for a little bit but since I hadn’t done dine-in for a couple of months, I had no idea the government modified the rules a bit and required people to bring their vaccination cards if they wanted to dine in. The barista explained the new rule and I ended up profusely apologizing because I didn’t have mine on me, and I also offered that I could just do take out; but she was nice and let me off the hook and just confirmed with me if I’ve had my shots.

When was the last time you watched a movie with someone? Just myself. I did watch Squid Game - binge-watched all 9 episodes straight - with my sister last Saturday, though.

When was the last time you charged your phone? Earlier this afternoon.

When was the last time you were sick with a cold? I dunno. 1 or 2 years ago, maybe? I rarely get colds.

When was the last time you spoke to a family member on the phone? Yesterday when my mom called me up.

When was the last time it rained where you live? Earlier today. Explains why it’s been humid the last few days.

When was the last time you laid awake, unable to sleep? Like I said, struggling to fall asleep doesn’t really happen to me anymore. I usually exhaust myself until I feel like I can pass out the second I close my eyes.

When was the last time you met someone new? I want to say two Fridays ago when I pitched a presentation to a new set of people but still within a client brand we manage.

When was the last time you filled up your car with petrol/gas? I don’t drive a lot, so it’s been a few months.

When was the last time you ate popcorn? Don’t like popcorn so I honestly can’t remember. My mom makes them occasionally though so I may have grabbed one or two just to have something to chew, sometime within the year.

When was the last time you went to a school event? March last year. A school event that had been held on a Friday was literally the last place I was at – by the time that very next Monday rolled around, classes were already suspended.

When was the last time you took the trash out? I’m not normally in charge of that chore so I haven’t done it.

When was the last time you did anything to change your appearance? Like...10 minutes ago? I just fixed my bun since my hair had started to look disheveled from being up all day.

When was the last time you cooked at home? Sometime in like November last year when I tried to make a sandwich. Anyway, my dad just left today to finally head back to his work for the first time in nearly two years, and I told myself (and him) that I should try to learn cooking at least one meal so that I can manage well while he’s gone haha.

When was the last time you had a sleepover? Maybe January of last year.

Where?

Where did you last go shopping for clothing? Not sure about physical spaces but I did open my Zalora app recently to look for cute bucket hats that I’ll probably never buy anyway hahaha.

Where did you last go on a date to? I don’t even remember. I deleted all photos a long time ago.

Where was the last wedding you went to? Manila Cathedral, if I’m not mistaken. This was well over a decade ago, though. I haven’t been to any other wedding since.

Where did you last park your car, other than home? Angela’s house when I visited a couple of weeks ago.

Where did you last leave your keys? Dining table.

Where did your last kiss take place? By my ex’s car when I was bidding her goodbye.

Where did you last go for a walk to? The mall, yesterday.

Where did you last take a vacation to? It was a staycation more than anything, but we stayed at Tagaytay for a night at the start of this year to celebrate my dad’s birthday.

Where did you last go to celebrate your own birthday? We stayed at home. I reported to work that day then just had a huge dinner with my family haha.

Where was the last place you had dinner at? No clue. I want to say Ramen Nagi? when I ate there on my own last February.

Where did you last go to exercise? Rooftop since it’s open-space and no one can see me.

Where did you last take public transport to? I don’t take public transport.

Where does the last person you hung out with live? A city close to mine.

Where did you last visit for the first time? A Korean restaurant close to Angela’s place.

Where did you last take a photo? Just my room.

[thanxxskz]

ateez joining your family BBQ - maknae line

san

We all know how excited San can get by the smallest things, so you finally inviting him to your family barbaque was something that he wasn’t expecting.

He wanted to make a good first impression, so he dressed really nicely, bought some flowers for your mom and a bottle of wine for your father. He hoped he had chosen well.

You both entered your house and San was amazed with how natural the house looked. It was made from wood in the inside, and it gave a cozy feel, which he loved.

“So San, y/n has told us that you work as an idol?”, your mom asked.

“Oh, yes, I am. I’m in a group with seven other members, we just started but we’re really happy.”

“I listened to your songs”, your father said, “they’re not my style, actually, but you do a really good job, and I hope it all goes well for all of you.”

San thanked him dearly. He was scared that because of his job, the party wouldn’t go well, but he enjoyed every bit of meat that he was offered and they even invited him to the next barbaque!

mingi

He was on cloud 9. He was invited to your family barbaque? What was he supposed to do? What clothes would he choose? He was nervous as hell.

“Don’t worry Mingi, my parents will love you. Plus, I already told them that you love every type of meat, so you won’t have any problem with them.”

Your words were pretty much true, your parents and the rest of the family that came loved him the moment he stepped a foot in the house. Also, he ate and had conversatios with everyone, even played with the family dog -something your little cousin Yunhee loved.

“Look! Everything went well! You worried for nothing baby!”

wooyoung

You expected Wooyoung to be stressed as heck when you told him that your parents wanted him to go to the family barbaque, but he was pretty chill. You were more nervous than he was. Not because your family was close-minded or anything, just... it was the first boyfriend you introduced to the family.

“It will be fineeeee, y/n. They’ll love me, I love you, and if they don’t love me, we can escape.”

“What are you even saying...”

With that last comment, you drove to your house, with a cake on your lap that Wooyoung personally made.

“Oh, you didn’t have to, Wooyoung! But thank you, I’ll put it in the table! Hmmm, it smells amazing.”

You were surprised your mom hadn’t made any weird comments.

The barbaque went smoothly as well, you thought that nothing could go wrong at that moment but oh God, you thought wrong...

“Wooyoung! Want to see y/n’s baby pictures?!”

Even when you were telling him not to, he got up.

“Do you really think I am gonna miss this chance?”, he said laughing.

jongho

You knew that Jongho wouldn’t have any problem with your family. He was nice, kind... and that’s the kind of boy your parents wanted for you.

The only thing is that Jongho can be a bit awkward as he is an introverted person, but that wasn’t a problem at all.

In the middle of the barbaque, your parents started asking him some questions; what did he do in his free time, if work was really hard... but Jongho really didn’t give long answers because he was shy.

“Jongho, dear, let yourself free. We really like you, if that’s what you’re asking yourself. And even if we didn’t, it’s our child that has to love you, and they seem happy with you!”

After that comment, Jongho opened up a little bit, and he had really funny experiences of the group that your family loved. It went so well, that you even stayed for dinner!

----

hi! omg, i can’t believe i have really finished this prompt someone gave me. i hope it meets your expectations! you can keep requesting, but it doesn’t have to be for the whole group, if you want a member in particular, just tell me who + what do you want it to be about!

hyung line | maknae line

[floralguccistyles]

Hello all! While I am very happy to share this chapter with you, I am also aware that a lot of my social media feeds and timelines have stopped highlighting the BLM movement, which is so much more important. This fight is not over. It will not be over until there is justice for every single black mother, father, sister, brother, cousin, aunt, uncle, friend that has been killed by police brutality and violence. Please don’t allow the people we follow to sweep this under the rug. If you do not have the means to protest, there are several other ways you can donate and raise awareness to this issue. Here is a Twitter thread of donations that still haven’t reached their goals. Here is a compiled list of petitions you can sign, numbers you can text, and causes you can donate to. Here is a Twitter thread of Youtube videos you can watch that gain ad revenue and donate all money made to the BLM movement. Please do what you can, especially my fellow non-POC users, to help with this issue. It is so, so incredibly important.

wildflower :: chapter two

...and stays up with you all night

There was a tradition between the Horan-Fairbrough clan that once a month, we would all try and get together and have dinner. It usually ended up with Greg’s son Theo falling asleep while I held him and Violet spewing on about something she learned in college before we all settled down to watch a movie. We had an ongoing rotation on who picked the movie, and this month it happened to be Niall’s turn.

Which was why I was so shocked that it was a horror film.

I didn’t like scary movies. And neither did Niall. But when he sat between Lily and I (on the floor since our parents took the couch while Greg and Theo took the loveseat), I realized his intention. Lily hated horror films even more than I did. And when the first jump scare came around, Lily hid her face in Niall’s side and squealed a little.

Smart boy, that Niall.

“You’re an asshole for picking this film,” I told Niall as I held the popcorn bowl between us. Niall and I hadn’t spoken since last Monday, when he’d dropped off his stuff at my house. Everything had been in a nice neat pile except for my necklace. When I had inquired about it, he had told me that he hadn’t seen it, but he would look again. I think the look of panic on my face told him how serious I was about that particular piece of jewelry.

“Why would I give up a chance to hold both my Fairbrough girls while they scream bloody murder?”

He wasn’t wrong. I found myself jumping right alongside with Lily whenever something frightening happened, so Niall just grinned at me, called me a baby, and then offered his hand for me to hold. 

I gripped it like it was my lifeline. 

The day had started off normally, waking up in Lily’s bed to her arm strewn across my neck, quite close to choking me. Though I may have snored in my sleep (according to she and Niall, I was still doubtful), Lily tried to kill me in hers. Her alarm went off approximately three minutes after I untangled myself from her comforter and I went to work on making us coffee and breakfast while she took a shower. I was expecting Niall to show up at around seven-thirty, since that was normally the time Lily was done taking a shower and I was expected to keep him entertained. When the door opened and I saw him in a salmon-colored dress shirt, I smiled.

“Morning,” I said, blinking against the bright smile he gave me. “Want a cup?”

“God, you’d be an angel.”

“I’m always an angel, what are you talking about?” I stuck my tongue out at him, but started to work on his coffee. The eggs were frying in the pan, so I quickly added some garlic salt to them (because I knew Niall liked it) before I poured his drink into a to-go cup. I watched him sit at the barstool, tossing his sunglasses on the counter as he watched me make breakfast. “So, it’s your pick for movie night tonight. Any contenders?”

He shrugged. “Hadn’t thought about it much, to be honest. I’ve been dealing with some stuff at work.”

Rummaging through some drawers, I found a Sharpie and uncapped it. “What’s up?”

He sighed. I didn’t like this look on Niall, the defeated kind of look that made him look at least three years older. He looked like he was carrying the weight of something heavy on his shoulders. “Hey,” I said quietly, reaching across the counter to grab his forearm in what I hoped was a comfort. “What’s wrong? Tell me.”

His other hand reached to grab my fingers, moving my touch on his arm to hold my hand. His fingers interlaced through mine, examining them for a moment. “One of my boys...a girl came forward and made a sexual assault claim yesterday.”

I tried not to freeze. I wasn’t sure if he noticed when my hand suddenly went limp, but his eyes were still locked onto our hands as if he were contemplating much more than just how large his were compared to mine. “Oh. Shit, I’m sorry, Ni. What...what’s happening?”

His nose wrinkled. “They’re getting him off the team, that’s what. I’m not going to have someone like that representing our team. He’ll go to the dean next week to talk about expulsion.”

“And the girl?” I asked softly.

“I don’t know, Rose. She’ll have to...Christ, she’ll carry this around for the rest of her life. I’ve assured her that his place on the team is nonexistent, but she didn���t look like she believed me.”

“So you didn’t think...she was pathetic or anything?”

“Pathetic? Jesus, Rose, no. I just feel like shit that she was even put in that position at all.”

I squeezed his hand tightly. He didn’t know why my fingers turned from a caress to a grip, but he squeezed my fingers back even so. 

The truth was, his words meant more to me than he’d ever know. But it also made me sad. For the girl, for me, and for anyone else who ever had to deal with something like that. I knew I didn’t deserve to place myself on the same caliber as the girl Niall was talking about. She’d been assaulted, and all Kent ever did was corner me in his office to exchange a promotion for sex. Still, knowing how Niall felt about it made things a little easier. There was no question on whether the player would still be on the team. He would just be...gone. No questions asked.

“You’re a good guy, Niall,” I whispered softly.

“It’s not a matter of being a good guy or not. It’s a matter of being a decent human being.”

Lily appeared in the kitchen before either of us could continue with our conversation, which was probably for the best. “Morning. Smells good, Rose,” Lily commented, coming over to stand by Niall. She wrapped her arms around the back of his shoulders and gave him a squeeze, kissing his cheek. “You smell good,” she mentioned to him.

He didn’t blush, which was weird because Niall always blushed when someone complimented him. He just grinned and let out a little chuckle. “Thanks, Lil. You’re dripping all over me.”

Lily usually let her hair air dry while she ate breakfast and then ran the dryer over it. It locked in enough of her curls to make it stylishly wavy, but not dry it enough so that they straightened out. She had it down to a science. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly, pulling away and lovingly wiping off a bit of water droplets from Niall’s shirt. The salmon color darkened to a burnt coral with the water, but it would be dry in a matter of minutes, so Niall didn’t look like he minded terribly. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Eggs, coffee, and I was going to cut up some of that fruit,” I announced, grabbing said fruit from the fridge. Lily usually kept her fridge pretty stocked with fruit, so she had several berries and a couple of assorted melon slices. 

“Where’s the bacon?” Niall groaned.

“We have some microwaveable bacon, but I doubt you want that.”

He wrinkled his nose. If there was one thing Niall hated, it was the shitty pre-cooked bacon Lily bought. I didn’t mind the taste of it, personally, and appreciated its convenience. Niall was a firm believer that bacon should take time and love. “I’m fine with eggs and fruit.”

“That’s what I thought.” Cutting the fruit and not cutting my finger proved to be a task, but I accomplished it and put all the berries and melons on a plate. The eggs, which had been taken off heat during my fruit-cutting, were still warm, so I put them onto individual plates and handed them off to Lily and Niall. “Bon appetit.”

“A meal fit for a king,” Niall exclaimed. He was always too generous when describing my cooking. I wasn’t terrible and my food was almost always edible, but I wasn’t going to become a chef anytime soon. “Thanks, Rosebud.”

The morning continued on as usual, with Lily leaving Niall and I to keep each other company while she went about her morning routine. There was no more discussion on the girl that had come forward about Niall’s student athlete, but I could tell by the duller color of his eyes that it was still weighing heavy on his mind. Which was why when he was looking away and getting things situated for his day at work, I took the Sharpie and scribbled out “you’re a great role model for the students” with about a thousand x’s and o’s underneath it. He grinned and pressed a kiss to my hair when he saw it, and claimed “he’d keep the cup until the end of time, Rosebud.”

But Niall couldn’t hide his disappointment and sorrow. Which, in retrospect, might have been the reason that he had chosen a horror movie. It was probably a last minute decision.

I wasn’t sure what the title of the movie was, but it was some gory and bloody thing with demonic possession. Our families had varying reactions to the film. Greg was falling in and out of sleep, while his parents on the other side of him were cringing at the film. My parents, who had grown up with horror films, seemed to be genuinely enjoying it, letting out little ohs and ahs when something interesting happened. Violet just stared at the screen with the indifference of a Gen Z child, typing away at her phone whenever the plot got too boring for her to handle.

It was only about forty minutes into the movie when Violet nudged my foot with hers and gestured towards the kitchen with her chin. Things had been back to normal between the two of us, the vulnerable night of sleeping by her side long forgotten. I was honestly thankful for the usual attitude. If she started treating me like some frail thing, I might have burst into tears. I had always prided myself on being a strong person, and I was obsessed with Violet and Lily seeing me in the same light. So when we had woken up the next morning, Violet with drool down her chin and my hair in a wild disarray, I wished she would say something normal.

I believe her exact words had been “Jesus, you have bad morning breath,” before she had promptly rolled over to face away from me.

Still, I followed her to the kitchen, Niall’s eyes on me questioningly when Violet and I walked away from the family. I shrugged my shoulders, unaware as to what Violet wanted as much as he was. Unlike Lily and Niall’s apartments, my childhood home had a kitchen separated by a thick wall, so maybe Violet wanted some advice on Selma and Eric and needed privacy. 

When we arrived to the kitchen, however, I did not expect the turn our conversation took.

Without saying anything, she walked to her purse and pulled out a slip of paper, handing it to me. 

“Am I supposed to know what this is?”

“It’s the health specialist at my university. She has a practice outside of the school, so I asked for her office number.”

I stared at it, a little more than confused. “Alright. Cool. What am I supposed to do with it?”

“She’s a psychologist.”

The paper suddenly felt like a weight in my hand. I gaped at her, mouth open like a fish as she stared at me, almost daring me to give it back to her. Which I tried to do almost instantaneously. “I don’t need this, Violet. Save it for someone who actually does.”

“Seeing a therapist isn’t a bad thing, Rose. She can help with the whole Kent thing. She’s been helping me a lot and I really like her, so I think you will too.”

“I’m sure she’s a wonderful lady, but I don’t need to see her.” I crossed my arm over my chest, only after setting the unwanted phone number on the countertop. “This was a little invasive of you.”

“It wasn’t invasive. It’s me trying to help. You’ve got some shit you need to deal with, as do I, and she can help. I mean, she’s no miracle worker, but it would be nice to talk to someone about what happened.”

My mouth went dry. “Violet, nothing happened. People have had it much worse than I have.” I thought about this morning, about Niall’s defeated face when he told me about the girl at the college. “He didn’t...he didn’t assault me or anything. He just made some lewd comments. It isn’t enough to see someone over, trust me.”

“Rose, you’re nearly twenty-five and you have to sleep with someone else in the room.”

I knew deep down that Violet was coming from a place of love, just like all her other jabs and pokes did. But this felt too personal for me to brush off. I had opened up to her that night at Lily’s, and she was throwing it back in my face. “You didn’t have to come into my room that night,” I said defensively, and I wondered if she could tell my voice was ten times icier than it had been before.

“I’m not trying to attack you or anything—”

“That’s what it feels like.”

Lily must have sensed that Violet and I in a kitchen alone would stir some trouble. She came in only seconds later, raising an eyebrow at the two of us. “Having a party in here without me?”

“I gave Rose the therapist’s number and she’s refusing to take it,” Violet commented. 

“Keep your voice down,” I hissed.

“You gave it to her in the middle of the Horan-Fairbrough family night?” Lily asked incredulously. I was happy that she seemed to be as confused as I was, but then her words actually caught up to me.

“You knew?” I asked, turning to face my big sister. “Did you tell her what a bad idea it was?” Lily looked at me, her lips pressed together in a thin line. When she didn’t speak for a few moments, I knew. Maybe it was stupid to feel the stab of betrayal, but I did. “You told her to do it.”

“She was mentioning how much her therapist has helped her with college and I thought it might be beneficial to you. I didn’t know she was going to give it to you during family night.”

Lily never went behind my back. About anything. She and I were always open books with one another. So hearing that she had gone out of her way to ask Violet do this made me feel like shit. “I thought you were fine with me staying at your place?” I couldn’t keep the childlike whine out of my voice. I had never thought that Lily disliked having me in her apartment, but maybe she did. Maybe she had asked Violet about this because she wanted to get rid of me.

“Of course I am, Rose! That’s not the point of this,” Lily was quick to assure me. “I just think talking about it might help.”

I felt like someone had just pulled the rug out from under me. They were asking me to see someone, like I was a giant burden. I would have expected this from Violet, who was always blunt and truthful, but I would have never expected it from Lily. Lily would have sat me down, brought it up, asked my opinions, and then let it go when it seemed like it was something I didn’t want. “Right. Well, I don’t think it will, so let’s drop it and go watch the rest of the movie.”

“Okay,” Lily said, reaching out to rub my shoulder comfortingly. “Yeah, we’ll go back out.”

“No,” Violet mentioned, her posture hard and defiant. “I’m not letting you walk back out there until you take the phone number. Lily may baby you about this, but I’m not going to.”

“Violet,” Lily chastised.

“You let her get away with so much shit, Lil. And then the one time we dare request she do something to help herself, you act like her word is final. You’ve got some serious shit going on, Rose. You need to let it out before it eats you alive.”

“Right now, all I need is to exit this conversation. A conversation, might I remind you, that our parents and Niall don’t know about,” I snapped angrily.

“What don’t I know about?”

Perfect. When I turned, Niall was standing in the kitchen, hip leaning against the counter with the empty bowl of popcorn in his hands. His hair was tousled, most likely from Theo running his fingers through it playfully earlier on in the dinner portion of the night, and he was wearing a flannel that looked soft to the touch. He also looked adorably confused at our conversation.

“Nothing, Ni,” Lily commented, sending a quiet look towards Violet to remind her to keep her mouth shut. Violet huffed impatiently, but luckily shut her mouth. “Need me to get more popcorn?”

“Yeah, Greg’s fat arse ate most of it.” Lily took the bowl from him and got another bag from the pantry, placing it in the microwave. “What are my favorite girls discussing?”

“Rose’s job,” Lily deflected, sending a blinding smile towards Niall, as if that was going to stop him from asking questions. “The hotel’s offering her a couple of free rooms and she was going to use them for our parents’ anniversary. She wanted it to be a surprise, so you can’t tell them, got it?”

“That’s sweet of you, Rosebud. I won’t tell them, promise.” 

“Thanks, Ni,” I breathed out. Violet rolled her eyes.

I knew this conversation was far from over. Violet was glaring at me and Lily was looking at me like she was apologetically about to burst into tears, but all I wanted to do was curl back up on the floor and finish the stupid movie. I knew there would be no more getting scared tonight, due to the fact that I wouldn’t be paying attention to the rest of the film, so I was safe from any nightmares I might have had about a possessed demon child. But the tension hung from the three of us like albatrosses, and it continued as we slowly made our way back to the living room.

“Need me to hold your hand again, Rosebud?” Niall joked. I mustered up a small smile, putting the popcorn bowl between us again. I ignored my sister as they sat back down, Lily for once not cuddling up to Niall’s side. He stared back and forth between the two of us. “Something wrong?” he whispered towards me.

“Nope.”

“That wasn’t very convincing.”

“Drop it, Niall.”

He seemed taken aback by my shortness. His jaw ticked, a sure sign that I knew he was either embarrassed or annoyed, and nodded at me, leaning back against the couch. He didn’t look in my direction for the rest of the film, and while I felt shitty about being so snappish, I couldn’t bring myself to stop. My sisters had somehow ruined my night in one fell swoop.

There was a reason I didn’t talk about what happened at Barkley’s. On top of me being completely done with the situation emotionally, I was also incredibly embarrassed. How had I not noticed that Kent seemed to favor me simply because he thought I was cute? All of the times he had complimented my work ethic, made me feel like I was one of the best employees, and the consecutive months of being employee of the month (which wasn’t a feat because there were only three of us and the other three hardly made their goal sales), he had just been doing it because he wanted to have sex with me.

It made me feel useless.

And if there was one thing I hated most in the world, it was feeling useless.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Niall, trying to keep my voice soft so my parents wouldn’t overhear. “You caught me in a bad mood, and I shouldn’t take it out on you.”

“No,” he agreed, “you shouldn’t.” But he held up his palm, an invitation. I relaxed immediately, threading my fingers through his and cuddling up against his side. 

He didn’t let go the entirety of family night, his little reassurance that we were okay.

~

I was willing myself not to leave my bed. 

Like usual, I had woken up about three hours after falling asleep. The apartment was quiet and a little chilly, so cuddling up next to Lily’s side would have solved all my problems. But my head continued to revolve around the conversation with Violet and Lily, and now I felt like I was just going to be a burden if I went into her room and bothered her.

The ride back to the apartment from the Horan-Fairbrough family night had been quiet. Lily had kept the volume low so I could talk to her if I wanted to, but there hadn’t been anything to say. Knowing Lily as well as I did, I knew she was feeling guilty. But I couldn’t bring myself to talk about the night’s events with her.

Now, sitting alone in my bed, I wished I would have. 

I shifted my weight, moving so I was laying on my side and facing the door to my room. In the year that I’d been here, I’d made it my own. I had pictures and plants on my shelves, I had brought in a bookcase, and there was art hung on my walls with command strips so I wouldn’t have to put a nail through the wall. This room was my safe space, like nothing bad from the outside world could ever get me when I was in here.

Violet’s words rang in my head.

My hands were on my phone before I could really process what was happening. I scrolled through the Facetime app until I came across Niall’s information, clicking on the silly little photo I’d set as his contact photo. On bated breath, I waited for Niall to answer the phone call. I should have known better than to feel nervous. Niall was the type of guy to always answer, no matter what time of night it was.

Which was why I was staring into a grainy version of his bright blue eyes only seconds later.

“Rosebud,” he grumbled, groggy from sleep. His hair was mussed, his eyes half closed, and he was shirtless. I couldn’t see much because the blanket covered most of his chest, but I still grew a little warm. “What time is it?”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, shaking my head, feeling incredibly foolish. “I shouldn’t have woken you up.”

There was something in the tone of my voice that had him sitting up, eyes opening a little wider. A cute yawn escaped his mouth, but he looked more awake than he had when he had initially picked up the phone. “Don’t be stupid,” he said softly, “what’s up?”

“Has...has Lily ever talked to you about not being happy I’m at her place?”

Niall’s eyebrows furrowed. “No. She loves having you there.”

“You don’t think I’m a...a burden?”

“Rosebud,” he said, and his voice was so soft and sweet that it made me want to cry. “You could never be a burden. Where is all of this coming from?”

The tears came faster than I thought they would. I hated crying in front of people. I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times I’d done it and all of them had been in front of Lily. Lily, who I knew wouldn’t judge me for it. Niall wouldn’t judge me either, of that I was sure, but I still felt like a stupid little kid when the first tear spilled over.

“God, Rose, please don’t cry. I can’t handle it when you cry.” At the look on my face, he let out a small laugh. “Not because you’re a burden, Rose. Just because seeing you cry honestly breaks my heart.”

“I’m sorry,” I managed to stutter out.

“Don’t be sorry, Rose. Just dry those big brown eyes and talk to me. What’s going on?” I couldn’t answer for a few moments, still trying to stifle my cries so I wouldn’t wake Lily up. I saw Niall start to move on his bed, before I heard his voice. “I’m coming over there.”

“No,” I said immediately, shaking my head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t call to bother you.”

“When are you going to get it through that thick head of yours that you aren’t a burden to me?” he asked, rolling his eyes. “I won’t come if you don’t want me to. But I’ve got to know what’s going on, Rosebud. You’re worrying me a little.”

Once I calmed my tears a little, I sniffled so I wouldn’t look like a complete fool with snot dripping down my nose. “In the kitchen earlier, Violet made a subtle dig that Lily might not like having me here. Like I’m a burden to have. I just...I know you know her better than anyone, and maybe she felt like she couldn’t share her real feelings with me. So I wanted to ask you and see if she’d said anything. You know Lily. she wouldn’t tell me to my face if that’s how she felt because she’s too nice.”

“She is too nice. But she wouldn’t lie to you about something like this, Rosebud. I know for a fact that she doesn’t hate having you there, though. You’ve got to know that.”

I nodded hopelessly, rolling my eyes at myself. “And I just feel so stupid because I can’t sleep unless I’m with someone. That’s why I asked you to stay at your apartment. The idea of sleeping alone terrifies me. But Violet has me paranoid that Lily doesn’t want me here, so I don’t want to wake her up and bother her.”

“Lily won’t mind,” Niall said softly. He was leaning back against his pillows. Sometime during my crying, he had turned on his lamp and basked in the soft yellow light. No one looked good in that awful yellow light, but somehow Niall managed. “But I could stay on the phone with you until you fall asleep, if you want,” he continued. 

“I don’t want you to pity me or think I’m pathetic, either.”

“Rose, I don’t think I’ve met anyone stronger. You take everything in stride and still have a smile on your face. It’s more likely that I’m going to be in complete awe of you.”

My breath caught in my throat, stuck in the center like I needed to swallow it down. His words filled me with the kind of reassurance and comfort I needed at this exact moment, and I sighed when the warmth of his words hit me. “You always know what to say, Niall.”

He laughed. “Not true. I feel like I’m a bumbling mess around you most of the time.”

Frowning, I shook my head. “You’re one of the most eloquent and well-spoken people I’ve ever met. I always value your opinions and advice.” I moved myself back against my pillows, laying on my side and propping my phone up on my nightstand so I didn’t have to hold it up while I conversed with Niall. “You’ll make someone a very happy girl someday.”

I saw the way his eyes softened, like he was lost in a memory. They were the color of the sky in the morning, right when the sun was rising and it was cast in a warm yellow glow. “I don’t know,” he said, raising a hand to the back of his neck. His cheeks, like they normally were when someone complimented him, were an endearing pink. “There’s...there’s really only one girl’s opinion I care about.”

I wanted to sit up straight and demand he tell me more, but I refrained. I knew that acting suddenly might spook him into not telling me. “I didn’t know you liked someone.”

“Like…” he trailed off, shaking his head and letting out a little laugh. It sounded like the word wasn’t sufficient enough for what he was feeling. “Yeah. Yeah, I like her.”

“Tell me about her,” I encouraged, my voice as soft as I could make it.

“You don’t want to hear about this, Rose.”

“I always want to hear about what’s going on in your life.”

He groaned, running his hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t have even said anything.”

“Don’t make me pull the Fairbrough puppy dog eyes.”

“Not the Fairbrough eyes,” he gasped dramatically, clutching his hand to his chest as the both of us let out small laughs. Then, he sobered up, his smile turning a little more soft and caring. “She’s great. Driven, strong, stubborn. She’s got this crazy loyalty to her family, like no other. And she’s probably the most gorgeous fucking girl I’ve ever seen in my life.”

He was describing Lily almost perfectly. I felt the smile growing on my face. As Lily’s sister who wanted the absolute best for her, I knew that Niall was it. He was kind, almost to a fault. He would never hurt her intentionally. The way he revered her...it was how I’d always wanted someone to look at me. “She sounds incredibly special.”

“She is.”

The question was burning on the tip of my tongue, begging to be asked. But these things took time. I didn’t want to scare him away from his feelings for Lily by discussing them, so I let the subject drop. “She’d better get ready to be a babysitter for Horan-Fairbrough family nights. I think Greg passed Theo onto me the second I walked through the door. How that man became a father, I’ll never know.”

He laughed, but there was something off about it, like he was disappointed in the subject change. “Must be because you’re so good with kids.”

“I’m shit with kids. Greg’s just fucking lazy.”

That seemed to bring the smile back to his face and he let out a chuckle that sounded like melted chocolate and sunshine and everything else good in the world. Lily would never be lacking in the husband department when she and Niall got married (because let’s be honest, it was an inevitability). He was the entire package, gifted in every area. He would be the kindest, the handsomest, the funniest. 

I didn’t expect the pang that went through me.

I’d always wanted what Niall and Lily had. The easy friendship and the fiery passion (I imagined there was fiery passion, I’d never personally seen it) and the desperate longing. I wanted someone to look at me the way they looked at each other and talk about me the way Niall talked about Lily now. It was how Patrick and Niamh looked at each other. It was how my mother and father looked at each other.

It felt so impossible, so far away for me, that it made my heart curl in my chest. 

“Tell me what’s going on in that head,” he whispered, and he must have thought I had fallen asleep by the look on my face. I blinked, giving him a soft smile.

“Just thinking.” I heard another voice, something grainy and staticy and narrowed my eyes. “Are you watching TV? I didn’t know my company bored you so much.”

Niall shrugged. “It’s Dawson’s Creek, Rosebud. You’d do the same thing.”

I laughed, snuggling up further against my pillows. “What episode?”

“The one where Joey and Pacey kiss for the first time.”

“Okay, but the car kiss or the fireside kiss?”

“The fireside, obviously.”

“That’s not technically their first kiss,” I pointed out.

“It’s the one that matters,” he countered. “Can you believe there are some idiots who would prefer Joey with Dawson?”

“The horror,” I agreed, rolling my eyes. “Say some of the lines for me so I know what’s going on.”

“I’m not going to talk over one of the best scenes in television history.” He took one glance at my pleading face and groaned. “I hate you, you know that?” 

“No you don’t. If it’s the fireside scene, I have this one memorized. You be Pacey and I’ll be Joey.”

He rolled his eyes, but turned back to the television. His voice came through just seconds after Pacey’s did. “The only reason that you don’t have the answers is because you’ve been too scared to ask yourself the right questions.” I recognized the line right away. 

“What are you talking about?” I replied, grinning when he gave me a look, as if asking do I really have to do this?

“Look!” he suddenly exclaimed, making me laugh and stifle it into my pillow so I didn’t wake up Lily. “I know how I feel. You know how I feel. That much is obvious by now. But during this whole process, we’ve managed to miss the point. Because the point is not how I feel, it’s how you feel. So how do you feel?”

“It’s so obvious she loves him back.”

“Oi! If I have to do the lines, you have to do the lines too.”

“Awful!” I copied his exaggeration and heard him chuckle. “That’s how I feel Niall—”

“We’re supposed to be Pacey and Joey!”

“I’m adding flair! That’s how I feel Niall, I feel awful.”

“So do I. When I was kissing you tonight, I don’t think I’ve ever felt better and worse in my entire life. I mean, the very idea that...who should be Dawson and Andy?”

“Patrick and Niamh.”

He raised a brow. “Hopefully Niamh and Patrick aren’t cheating on each other with the two of us.”

“Just finish it!”

“The very idea that Niamh or Patrick could find out about us is killing me. It is tearing me up on the inside to have these feelings for you, but I can’t get rid of them. I can’t keep on kissing you, Rose.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean just that. I can’t keep on kissing you. Alright, I’ve done it twice now! I can’t be the one who’s always initiating this. I can’t be the one who’s always giving you all the answers. Look at me, Rose.”

“Shit I forgot the next line.”

“What a shit Dawson’s Creek fan you are. I thought you knew all the lines.”

“Shut up,” I laughed, pausing the Facetime so I could look up the exact scene lines. “I can’t,” I said dramatically, finding the lines easily and returning to the Facetime so I could see Niall giving me a deadpan look. 

“Please,” he recited. I went to go find the script again but he protested. “You’re supposed to be looking at me! You’re not a very good Joey.”

“It’s your line anyway.”

“If you felt even one shred of what I feel for you...then we wouldn’t be standing here having this conversation.”

There wasn’t another line for me to reply with, as Pacey and Joey had finally kissed, so I looked at Niall with a grin on my face. He was staring at me, something unreadable in his eyes. I knew that our game of reciting lines was over in the way that his eyes burned and his mouth turned downwards at the corners. I wished more than anything that he was here so I could reach out and embrace him, reassure him that there was no possible way that Lily didn’t love him back. He didn’t have to be heartbroken anymore.

“Unrequited love is a bitch,” I said in a whisper.

“I thought you said it was obvious that Joey loved him,” he replied.

“It is. I just meant...in general. It’s a bitch. But we should still tell the people we love that we love them. Life’s too short.”

He swallowed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

It was silent between us. I didn’t ask Niall to recite any more lines and he didn’t ask me to join in. He just sat and watched his TV and I just sat and watched him. Eventually, my eyes slowly closed and I drifted off into sleep.

I heard him whisper a “goodnight, Rosebud,” before I completely fell.

~

I woke up, for the first time in the past year, alone in my bed. 

When my eyes opened, I blearily glanced at my clock. If waking up by myself hadn’t surprised me enough for one morning, then I would have been surprised at how late I had slept in. Most days I was up around the same time as Lily, since I could never go back to sleep if she started making lots of noise. Looking at my clock now, my eyes widened a little bit when I saw it was just four minutes past nine, which meant Lily and Niall had already been at work for an hour. 

I allowed myself only five minutes to stay cuddled in my blankets before I stood, rubbing my eyes and making my way to the kitchen. The coffee was still out, though it was probably cold. Since I usually didn’t eat much for breakfast, I just popped bread in the toaster and poured myself a cup, shoving it in the microwave to heat it up.

Since Lily and I hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk about what had happened, I regarded the little pink Post-It note with hesitance. I knew that she was apologizing. But I still felt a little sad. The betrayal and anger had left me last night, as I was falling asleep with Niall humming something in the background. I was still furious with Violet and probably would be for the foreseeable future, but it was hard to be mad at Lily when she meant so much to me.

Dinner on me tonight. We’ll hang out and talk. Stopping by the bundt cake place after work and getting white chocolate raspberry. Your fave!! Love you.

I set the note back on the counter and retrieved my cup of coffee. I didn’t have much to do today since it was one of my days off, but I felt too antsy to stay in the house. Deciding to get ready for the day and see where it took me, I headed back towards my room with my plate and coffee cup in my hand.

I wondered how Niall was doing. Today was the day that they were meeting with the dean to discuss the expulsion status of the sexual assaulter. Knowing him, he would be incredibly stressed and worried about the whole ordeal. 

Which was why I found myself standing in the donut shop thirty minutes later.

“Rose!” The owner, Matilda, said. She was a larger woman with pretty dark skin and incredibly white teeth. “Nice to see you. Day off?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“You here for Lily and Niall’s favorites?” 

“Just Niall today. I’ll get four of his favorites. He’s meeting with the dean at his job about a student and I thought he could use the pick me up.”

Matilda grinned at me. “You are too sweet. Niall’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m the lucky one,” I responded. And it was true. I was so incredibly lucky to have Niall in my life.

She walked back towards the display cases, grabbing a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting donut, sprinkled with coconut shavings. Niall could devour three of them in a minute. As she loaded up the to-go box with the donuts, she added in a maple bar for me. “How long have y’all been together?”

It took me a moment to process her question. I blinked at her, giving her a confused smile. “Oh, Niall and I aren’t together. He’s in love with my sister, Lily.”

Matilda’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “No shit? I could have sworn he was all moon-eyed over you. When you used to come in here with him back when you in school, he would stare at you with the most adorable look on his face.”

I laughed. “Knowing him, he was looking longingly at the donut I was holding. He and Lily are soulmates. Our whole family has a bet on when they’re going to get together.”

She handed me the box, accepting the tenner I passed over the counter. “You know, my David just got married. Nice girl. They moved to New York, so they’re too far away, but I just found out she’s pregnant.”

“Grandma Matilda. It’s got a ring to it,” I joked. 

“I could have sworn he was going to end up with his childhood friend, Zoe. They did everything together when they were younger. They’re still super close. In fact, she and Clarissa, the new wife, hit it off. Zoe was the maid of honor.” I didn’t really realize the point of her story, but I didn’t care. I could listen to Matilda talk for ages. She was just someone you wanted to listen to. “If I had made bets on Zoe and David, I would have lost.”

“I might lose because of the timing,” I countered, shuffling with the change she handed me, “but they’re definitely getting together.”

Matilda shooed me out of the shop with a wave of her hand and a threat that if I didn’t come visit her soon, she’d drag me out of the apartment by herself. I just grinned and got another Uber to take me to the college. 

Niall’s coworkers knew Lily like the back of their hands. They were always wondering who it was that Niall was taking out to lunch. However, they didn’t know me. Which was why when I walked into the athletics building of the college and asked to see Niall, the secretary looked at me a little strangely. 

“Sure,” she said hesitantly, like she didn’t think Niall knew anyone else besides Lily. “Just fill out this sign-in sheet and let me print you out a visitor sticker.” I filled out the sheet and handed it back to her. The second she saw my last name, she understood. “Oh. Fairbrough. You Lily’s sister?”

“Guilty.”

“He might still be in the meeting with the dean, but feel free to wait in his office. If he is still in the meeting, it won’t be long. Ten minutes tops.”

Offering my thanks, I made my way through the building. It was decorated with sports jerseys from the college, as well as professional jerseys. I realized I had never been in Niall’s office before, so when I walked in, I was a little surprised to see how open and spacious it was. Obviously I didn’t think he worked in a tiny little cramped space, but there were large windows on one wall and his desk only took up a quarter of the room, meaning he still had a good amount of space for filing cabinets and things of the like. I sat in one of the chairs on the opposite side of the desk, admiring the pictures and little knick knacks that littered his space. Just like in his room, the frame he had next to his computer had pictures of he and his family and my sisters and I. 

The door opened and slammed shut. Niall hadn’t noticed me yet, but he was pinching the bridge of his nose and looked like he had the headache of the century. I heard him let out a tiny curse before he opened his eyes and all anger melted away from his face, leaving only confusion.

“Rose?” he asked softly, like I was a figment of the imagination.

“Hi Niall!” I greeted cheerily, ignoring how wrong it felt when he didn’t call me Rosebud. “I brought donuts.”

He ignored the proffered white box, instead marching forward with purpose and wrapping his arms around me. A surprised grunt left my mouth, but he clutched me like I was a lifeline and I immediately wrapped my arms around his back. I let him cling to me, sensing it was something he needed. Honestly, I probably needed it too. It was nice to be held and know that Niall wanted to keep me safe from any harm.

“That bad?” I whispered into his shoulder.

“They had us talk to the girl afterwards. She had a meltdown. It was horrifying to watch.” His grip on my waist tightened.

“I figured it would be bad. I brought donuts,” I said again, weakly. 

“Don’t need donuts,” he stated, “just need you.”

“I’m here.”

I couldn’t begin to fathom the moments we stood there, just gripping onto one another. Occasionally, his hand would move from my waist to my hair, tangling there and drawing me even closer, like he couldn’t believe I was there. My forehead pressed into his shirt, a pretty lilac color. One of the many things I loved about Niall was that he wasn’t afraid to wear color. The purple soothed me a little bit, even though I hadn’t come into his work wanting to be soothed.

Eventually, he pulled away. His eyes were red and he looked on the verge of tears. “What’re you doing here?” he asked gruffly, his voice low from emotion.

I reached out and grabbed his hand, not wanting the contact between us to end. He laced our fingers together immediately. “I knew today would be tough. And you were so supportive and...there for me last night that I wanted to do the same for you.”

“You don’t have to pay me back for last night, Rose. I wanted to.”

“And I wanted to help today,” I argued, shoving the box of donuts at him once more. He smiled and took them. “Matilda has threatened to come hunt us down if we don’t come in more often.”

“I don’t need to be seeing Matilda on a daily basis unless she wants to roll me out of the building.” He sat at his desk, across from me, and dug into his donuts. I wondered if he had been too nervous to eat anything that morning, despite the fact that Lily made them breakfast. 

“I realized I’ve never been in your office,” I commented as he ate. “I love it. It’s bigger than I expected.”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty decent setup. I can give you a tour of the campus later, if you’d like.”

 I nodded enthusiastically. Though I’d known Niall nearly all my life, I’d never really been around the campus he worked at. I’d been once or twice for a class that they offered when spots at my own college were limited, but that was it. 

He reached into the  box and handed me my maple bar, along with a couple of napkins so I wouldn’t get his desk sticky. We ate in comfortable silence, him looking over some documents and me just enjoying being in his presence. Once I had taken my last bite and he had shuffled his papers around, he cleared his throat and gestured towards the door.

“C’mon, we’ve got a pretty decent coffee place and I know the pot was probably cold when you woke up. Microwaved coffee is shit.”

“It was fine.” I shrugged. I hadn’t minded it that morning, more focused on my plan to comfort Niall. 

“Bullshit,” he said, giving me a grin that for some reason did weird things to my heart. Holding out his hand, I laced our fingers together as he led us out of his office. The secretary’s eyes nearly popped out when she saw us together, leaning over to whisper something quickly to a coworker that was sitting at the front desk. It made me a little uncomfortable, but Niall pulled me along quickly so I didn’t have time to dwell.

The college was gorgeous. I could admit that. It was even prettier than the own college I attended. When Violet had been applying for colleges, this had been one of her main contenders because of how gorgeous it was. Ultimately, it didn’t have a veterinarian program like the college I attended. Therefore, she was at my alma mater. Still, as Niall pointed things out with the hand that wasn’t holding mine, I made sure to comment on how pretty the layout of it was.

“Hey, Mr. H!” I heard someone shout when we started walking towards the little coffee stand outside of one of the buildings. Niall blushed a little at being called “mister” in front of me; it was as endearing as every other time he blushed when he was complimented. The kid walking towards us waved his hand enthusiastically.

“What’s up, Jordan?” Niall asked, grasping Jordan’s hand and pulling him into that guy hug I’d seen him do many times before to his brother. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Styles’ class right now?”

Jordan was a muscular kid with shoulder-length brown hair and pretty dark brown eyes. “Nah, he cancelled today. My girlfriend and I were going to get some coffee and then see a movie. She’s technically got Payne in twenty minutes, but they’re just doing an optional extra credit quiz.” I saw his eyes wander over to me, wondering who the girl with Mr. H was.

“Jordan, this is my friend, Rose. Rose, this is Jordan. He’s probably one of the best baseball players this college has seen in a while.”

I didn’t know shit about baseball, but I smiled. “Nice to meet you, Jordan.” His hand engulfed mine comically when he shook it. “I’ll give you a tenner if you call him Mr. H again. He got so red.”

Jordan laughed. “We call him Mr. H until he tells our coaches to push us harder. Then we call him names behind his back.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Niall said, waving off Jordan’s comments. “What are you and Poppy getting? I’ll buy.”

“Mr. H, you don’t have to!”

“It’s pointless arguing with him,” I told Jordan, shrugging. “I usually just relish in the free stuff.”

Jordan laughed. “In that case, just a vanilla latte and a caramel macchiato.”

Niall didn’t bother asking me for my order, since he knew how I took my coffee. He stepped forward to the cart to order, leaving Jordan and I a little ways back. “So, what’re you studying?” I asked Jordan.

“Kinesiology,” he responded. I was impressed. I could never get into the big sciences. “You?”

“Graduated a couple years back with a business major and marketing minor.”

“Cool. You’re lucky to be such good friends with Mr. H. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve met. Told me he’d give me a letter of recommendation for my masters program in the fall.”

“Sounds like him,” I agreed. And it did. Niall wouldn’t hesitate to help his athletes. Plus, I imagined for Jordan’s sake that a letter of recommendation from the athletics director of the school was nothing to scoff at. 

Niall returned with our coffee, handing Jordan his two drinks. “We’ve got to take off, but come visit me sometime, yeah? Have fun with Poppy.”

“Thanks, Mr. H. I’ll see you later.”

Jordan walked off, leaving the two of us to enjoy our coffee as we made our way through the courtyard of the school. “You really make an impact in these students’ lives.”

He shrugged. “A lot of directors are removed from the teams. They let the coaches do all the work. I want to be involved in the careers of the athletes. Feel like I helped them in some way.”

I grinned, taking his hand and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He squeezed me into his side. “You help everyone in every way. It’s pretty much impossible to meet you and not be affected in the best of ways.”

That blush came again and I smiled at the sight of it. “You’ve got to stop complimenting me. It’ll all go to my head.”

He wasn’t expecting the shove, but after he finished being dramatic about how I could have killed him, he wrapped his arm around me again and I caught him smiling.

I realized I hadn’t thought of the situation with Kent, my lackluster job, or my sisters once.

[minervahopebeyond]

Blood Petals.

Hello!! I hope you like this one! I’m sorry that I couldn’t respond to you comments in the last chapter, I was really busy... but I loved reading them!!

Enjoy!!

Ps. Sorry if you find grammatical or vocabulary errors in this one!

Chapter 18: God save the Queen.

Draco corroborated his theory about how all things nice seemed to be at Grimmauld Place, when Sirius gave him all his vinyls for Christmas.

He honestly couldn’t understand how he lived so long only listening to the Weird Sisters, when something like Led Zeppelin even existed. The muggleborns must’ve think that wizards just had awful taste in music.

There were a lot, Draco couldn’t listen to all of them... He chose what he was going to listen to without even looking at the box, he closed his eyes, took one vinyl out and put it on. Randomly: he found Queen.

It was a Saturday, there were a few more days until New Years. The four of them were drinking some hot chocolate near the fireplace. He asked if it was alright to put some music and everyone agreed.

Draco got up from the couch and crossed the room to get to the record player. The box was right next to it; the blond boy closed his eyes and chose one. He opened his eyes. ‘Queen. A day at the Races.’ Draco looked at the cover, curious. There were animals surrounding a Q with a crown in the middle. He took out the vinyl and put it on the record player.

The blond boy also chose the song that he wanted to hear randomly. He would look at the grooves on the vinyl and chose the one he wanted, and it was a rule that he could not look at the titles of the songs. Potter teased him for it, said that he was the most weird person ever; Draco tended to ignore his comments on the matter.

He chose the groove and placed the needle on it. Suddenly, a man’s voice with the sound of a piano filled the room. Mr. Potter gasped.

“Listen to this,Padfoot. I feel sixteen again.” The man said with a bright smile.

They had been having this moments, Potter and him noticed them (which was a big thing because scarhead never noticed anything). The green-eyed boy looked at them, Draco could swear that he was smiling a little. Mr. Potter stood up and offered his hands at Sirius.

“Dance with me. We haven’t dance in so long.”

His cousin widened his eyes and turned to look at the two boys sitting next to him. Draco extended his arm and pushed him off the couch, as Sirius glared at him.

Mr. Potter took his hands; and placed one on his shoulder, while the other kept being intertwined with his. Then, Potter’s father put his other hand on Sirius’s waist.

Draco could see that his cousin was nervous... Sirius kept looking at Potter, who was still sitting on the couch. The green- eyed boy raised his mug up in the air like saying ‘cheers’ before taking another sip.

Ooh let me feel your heartbeat (grow faster, faster)

Ooh ooh can you feel my love heat, ooh

Come on and sit on my hot-seat of love

And tell me how do you feel right after-all

I'd like for you and I to go romancing

Say the word, your wish is my command

They started to dance. Given the fact that Potter was a horrible dancer, the blond boy was rather surprised when Mr. Potter began to move his feet marvelously. Sirius followed him, there was this complicity... He could tell that it really wasn’t the first time that they had danced like this.

Draco loved it all. The smile on both of their faces, how they mouthed the lyrics the whole time... From that day on: he adored listening to Queen.

The following day he discovered ‘A night at the Opera’ and cried while he listened to ‘Love of my life’. Potter found him out right sobbing on the couch, as he stepped out of the floo, when he returned from the Weasleys.

“Malfoy...? Do you want me to call someone?” The blond boy shook his head. “You are crying... a lot.” And Draco just snorted, trying to clean his tears with the back of his sleeve.

“It’s just this bloody song.” He took a deep breath and ended up coughing (again), petals falling on his lap (again). “Fuck.” He took his wand and vanished them. He looked at the boy standing in front of him... Potter had a worried face on. Draco sighed. “You asked me what does it feel. It feels like this song, the lyrics, the music... It feels just like this.” He said as a tear coursed down his cheek.

Potter sat next to him, and rested his head on the back of the couch, looking at him. His eyes were so green, so beautiful. Draco looked away.

“I know I’m pathetic-“

“You are not.” The boy interrupted him. “It’s special. I don’t think that everyone loves like you do. I wish I could love someone that way, someday at least.” He said with a soft smile on his face.

“Believe me, Potter, you don’t want this.” And he got up before he started to have a coughing fit next to the boy.

————————

Given the fact that Potter had spent Christmas’s Eve with the Weasleys, Ron was spending New Year’s Eve with them. This was really good news, because Draco missed him immensely.

Weasley arrived to Grimmauld Place on the morning of New Year’s Eve. Mr. Potter must’ve greeted him and guided him to the kitchen, because Sirius and Potter were still sleeping, which wasn’t new, they always slept in.

Draco was baking a cake, he had asked at the begging of the break if he could be in charge making the desserts for the holidays. ‘Killer Queen’ had just began, when the weasel found him in the kitchen; singing while he cooked.

She keeps her Moet et Chandon

In her pretty cabinet

"Let them eat cake", she says

Just like Marie Antoinette

A built-in remedy

For Khrushchev and Kennedy

At anytime an invitation

You can't decline

This song always reminded him of Pansy. Since the last days he had listened to Queen non-stop, he almost knew all the lyrics to every song he liked.

”Extraordinarily nice...

She's a Killer Queen”Draco sang as he turned around to look for a clean bowl. That’s when he saw Weasley standing there, smug smile on his face. The blond boy put a hand on his chest. “For Salazar’s sake, weasel! Announce yourself, you almost gave me a heart attack.” He hissed.

“Harry told me that you were spending all your time listening to some muggle band, I thought he was having me on.” Draco grabbed the bowl as he responded.

“They are amazing. I only have the albums from before Sirius moved with the Potters; but maybe when Mr. Potter can claim his old house again, I could listen to the rest of them.”

They talked for a while. Ron told him that he wrote to Granger a few times, they still were a little mad with each other but still, it was progress.

Draco was finishing the cake when Potter and Sirius entered the kitchen. Tired and narrowed green eyes were looking at them. Potter was still on his pajamas, his hair was more of a mess than usual. He heard him mumble something like ‘coffee’ as he sat in front of Ron. He clearly wasn’t a morning person, Draco huffed.

“First you should say hi, Potter, that’s your best friend.” Said the blond boy as he passed him and Sirius their mugs and the jar of coffee.

Sirius poured himself some coffee and asked were Kreacher was. Draco explained to him that he needed the kitchen so he was probably cleaning upstairs.

“Isn’t a little too early to be listening to this?” Potter said and the blond boy snorted.

“It’s eleven a.m, Potty.”

——————-

Remus came to have dinner with them too. They spent the entire time laughing, The Marauders told them some of the pranks that they did at school, and even though Draco already had heard some of them, he enjoyed listening.

Potter seemed happy and that was enough to make him feel happy too. The daffodils were making him ticklish, but in a good way, which was a relief because he was fucking tired of coughing petals.

They got to that awkward conversation about Draco’s situation, because Remus knew little about it. The blond boy was hoping they would stop talking; this days, it seemed like it was the only thing he talked about. The questions were always the same ones. ‘How can you be sure?’ ‘Does he know?’ ‘Is he from school?’ He was half listening to the conversation when Weasley spoke to him.

“What about Parkinson’s comment the other day?” They looked at Draco, expecting an answer. He arched his eyebrow.

“What comment, weasel?” His friend pulled a smug smile.

“The one about your Prince Charming, ferret.” The blond boy tried to fight the blush on his cheeks. If Mr. Potter or Sirius saw him like this they would tease infinitely. He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Are you blushing, little cousin?” The man asked in an amused voice. Then, he looked at Ron and Potter. “Who is it??”

Potter crossed his arms and huffed before answering.

“It’s no one. Ron is just being an idiot.”

“Are you kidding me?? You thought it was Blaise! My theory makes much more sense.”

Draco frowned at that. Theory? Oh for fuck’s sake. He groaned at his friend.

“Is this what you write in that stupid notebook? Candidates?”

He was so mad he could curse him. He didn’t need to be fucking saved by anyone.

“Well, yeah, you won’t tell us and I want to help. Sue me.” The redhead responded.

“We are still waiting to know who this Prince Charming is.” Said Remus as he ate a pice of the cake that Draco baked.

“Ron is talking about Nott but I think it’s bullshit.” Said Potter in an annoyed tone. Sirius raised his eyebrows and Mr. Potter smiled.

“The one that woke you up!” Said Potter’s father and Draco passed his hands over his face; tired.

“It’s like no one listens to me. He didn’t do anything to wake me up, I just did .” And then he turned to look at Weasley. “It’s not fucking Theodore! I don’t even know why you thought that.”

“See??” Said Potter. “Cross him off that stupid list.”

But Weasley didn’t drop the subject.

“For a bunch of reasons!” And Draco wished to die when the weasel started to list them. “You are close to him, you defend him; I’m sorry but if he didn’t do anything and you woke up that just proves my point, and also...” He saw the doubt in Weasley’s eyes. Draco new he wouldn’t like to hear the rest. “Well, you did put him on your list with the highest score (10/10)... and you wrote straight and then put questions marks right next to it.”

His face was on fire. He wanted to kill Weasley right there. This was probably the most embarrassing moment of his life. The Marauders were looking at him, trying to restrain their amused smiles, because they saw that the blond boy was angry. Weasley was still looking at him, waiting for him to answer. Draco looked at Potter just for a moment; the green-eyed boy was looking at him, disappointed.

The daffodils got upset really fast and Draco couldn’t contain the coughs. He covered his mouth with his hand to prevent the petals from falling on the table. He vanished the daffodils and looked up. Now, Potter had this disgusted pained look on his eyes.

“Bloody hell, I’m right! It’s Nott!” Said Weasley, with a triumphant laugh. Draco was about to call him a clueless idiot, but Potter spoke first.”

“How is that a good thing? Are you stupid?” The green-eyed boy was livid. Then he turned to look at Draco. “What the fuck do you see in him?” And he just couldn’t find the words, his emotions were too mixed up... He was angry at Ron, amused by his stupid theory, happy that Potter defended him. The flowers were like crazy; he couldn’t stop them, he coughed again.

Potter excused himself and left the room. Weasley sighed.

“Don’t worry, ferret. We are going to help you with this. He’ll come around.”

He just kept looking at the door... worried. Then, he heard Remus talk.

“I think you might have a chance with this. I remember you two being the little terrors on my class, partners in crime.” Then he turned to look at Sirius and Mr. Potter. “They reminded me a little bit of you two... but in a Slytherin version.”

Draco couldn’t understand how everyone had come to the wrong conclusion