#one of the other Hard To Notice Details i like is that the star shade is only shared with one thing: the head of the safety pins

[kittyfrisk9]

IdeaDpxDc: A nice moment with a sleep demon/2

Part 1(?)

Note: Sorry, I don't know English, use a translator. I apologize if you don't get the idea.

Dead On Main.

---

Peace is, without a doubt, a precious commodity.

That was the conclusion Jason came to after a long moment of reflection, observing his cosmic boy: the dream demon who had saved him from that endless nightmare.

They were both in a field covered with flowers in shades of blue, purple and pink, under a starry sky where the stars seemed to shine with an unusual intensity. The same scenario as the last twenty times.

Yes, they had seen each other again. After Jason refused to forget that moment, the demon simply visited him again the next night, without even bothering to hide.

They didn't do much, they just played, had fun and enjoyed sweet moments together, like now, when the demon came up with the peculiar idea of ​​making flower crowns.

However, despite being the one who had the idea, he was the last to finish his crown. Jason found it sincerely adorable how the demon frowned, frustrated at not being able to tie a knot. Her expression was so cute that Jason couldn't help but smile. Sure, he could have helped her, but that would have robbed him of those precious minutes of admiration for him.

He didn't know how much time passed, he just watched and pondered. After all, time in this place was strange.

"I'm done!" Void exclaimed, proudly raising his crown. "Isn't it pretty?"

Jason replied with a simple "Yes." However, he wasn't looking at the flower crown, but at the creator of it. Although Void didn't seem to notice that detail.

"Thank you. It's the same design that Sa-Saiph showed me!" He commented, satisfied.

There it was again. Those little slips of information that Jason had noticed in the multiple conversations they'd had. Jason chuckled; Void wasn't very good at hiding data. He mentally noted it down in the special folder he'd created in his head for him anyway.

Because he'd be a liar if he said he didn't try to find out more about that demon with the information he'd inadvertently given him. Though, to be honest, he didn't try very hard either.

After all, he could see that Void was a nice guy. (And maybe, just maybe, Jason had a little crush on him.)

"One of your friends?" Jason asked curiously.

"Yeah, my best friend," Void replied. "She's a huge plant fanatic. I suspect she's on the level of Poison Ivy."

"Eh, it would be a problem to have another plant invasion," Jason commented, remembering the woman's extremist past. How many times had she invaded the city with her plants?

"Oh no, no, it only happened once, and she was being forced to do it," the demon suddenly stated, as if trying to quickly correct the impression he had given.

"Your friend invaded a city with plants?" Jason asked, incredulous.

"Just once," Void emphasized, as if that made it any better.

What the hell? How had that not reached the ears of the Justice League? Forget it, he decided not to ask. Some things were better left unsaid.

He decided to change the subject instead.

Unintentionally, his vision focused on the hands holding the crown, and then on her arms. The areas on his arms were decorated with a design that reminded Jason of a starry sky, filled with tiny, glowing stars and nebulas against a dark background. It was so beautiful, as if Void's arms were an extension of outer space.

As he looked closer, he realized that some other parts of his body also shared that surreal effect of a universe filled with stars. There were sparkles of light on his skin that seemed to dance with every movement, creating an ethereal and captivating image.

"Your skin… is amazing," Jason said, without thinking. "You look like you're made of stars."

Void smiled, a little embarrassed. "Thanks. I guess it's just part of my nature. I've always loved outer space."

Jason was silent for a moment, enjoying the revelation. "Really? Why?" He asked, genuinely curious to know more.

Void looked at his hands fondly. "I think it's partly because of my older sister. When I was little, she was… gone for a while. It was only a short time, but I was lonely. Then, on a call, she told me that I wasn't alone, that the stars were keeping me company. She said that every point in the sky was a friend watching me." Void then turned his gaze to Jason. "It's a silly story, right?"

Jason shook his head. "No. It's cute." Then, blushing, he added, "I have things I like too for certain reasons."

Void looked at him with interest. "Really? I'd love to hear about it."

However, Jason looked away, visibly embarrassed. "No."

The answer made Void's expression immediately deflate. "Oh, ancients… Why not? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" He exclaimed as he excitedly threw himself at Jason, eager to discover his secrets.

Jason laughed. "Still a no." Then he quickly dodged Void, jumping up and running to avoid being caught. Void, amused and exasperated, chased after him, insisting that he deserved to know.

"Come on! It's not fair!" Void shouted with laughter as he ran after Jason.

Fresh air, laughter, and the feeling of freedom filled the field of flowers. Yes, this was the peace Jason so desperately needed.

…

As dawn came, Jason woke up. His bed was really comfortable, and the little meetings with his sleep demon were truly relaxing. Jason had certainly had a satisfying month.

Stretching out on his bed, Jason wondered what he should have for breakfast, until he saw him.

He immediately sat up cursing the person creepily standing in the corner of the room: the demon brat, still in Robin's costume and staring at him. "Shit, Damian! What are you doing standing there?"

Damian completely ignored his question and, in a serious tone, asked, "Todd, do you do drugs?"

"What?" Jason frowned.

"You laughed a lot in your dreams," his younger brother said, his expression a mix of curiosity and disdain.

Jason looked at him in disbelief. Had this kid been spying on him all night while he slept?

---

Note: Sorry, I don't know English, use a translator. I apologize if you don't get the idea.

One of Damian's hypotheses is that his brother uses drugs. As for Jazz, she had an accident in her parents' basement that injured her arm, so she had to stay in the hospital for a while. Danny felt super lonely without his older sister.

Comment that nobody cares about: I wasn't planning on continuing with this, I know it's poorly written, but inspiration came when I saw this (honestly it's a very weird way to get inspiration)

[dekustowel]

[12: that time she met the parents]

synopsis - in light of a major controversy that causes his fan support to dwindle significantly, katsuki bakugou is forced to do anything possible to garner back the affection of his fans before the announcement of the year's hero rankings. katsuki has two options: either "date" japan's most-adored social media star, in hopes of her amazing reputation bringing up his, or kiss that #1 spot goodbye. it's a no-brainer what he chooses. and it shouldn't matter at all, right? it's a fake relationship. nothing more, nothing less.

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

masterlist | previous | next

*there’s a written piece of this chapter*

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

Your eyes quickly darted up from your phone catching on to something that would leave anyone that bled red speechless.

now to make something perfectly clear - you never thought katsuki bakugou was ugly.

not in school, when you'd see him in the hall. bakugou was unapproachable in his own right - and believe it, your friends tested that theory often. there was an unspoken beauty about him, said in a whisper from lips that knew they would never meet his.

he was not ugly when you lived separate lives and only saw him on billboards and your television screen. there are enough people in japan with bakugou's face plastered across their shirts, their rooms, and their bodies, that you could never deny his beauty had only amplified over the years.

you could always appreciate that the boy wasn't ugly.

'not ugly' isn't how you would describe seeing him today, leaning against the nicest car you've ever seen, with a grimace that would make anyone smart enough turn in the other direction.

today, katsuki bakugou stands tall and striking, with blonde hair that catches the light just right, framing a face carved with sharp, almost ethereal features. his eyes, a vivid and unsettling shade of red, holding an intensity that made it hard to look away. he's definitely a little more than 'not ugly'.

when the fuck did you start noticing details about his fucking eyes?

you pushed down any semblance of a reaction to the masterpiece before you as you wearily approached him.

"you look good," was not supposed to be said out loud, but your body's doing all kinds of weird gymnastics today, so you accept that you've said it and search his crimson eyes for a response.

katsuki doesn't dignify what you just said with a response.

instead, his eyes rake over you in what appears to be fucking disgust, as he opens the car door, feigning any illusion of a gentlemanly bone in his body.

you're barely able to get all your limbs safely in the car before bakugou slams it closed and walks around to the driver's side.

it's going to be such a long afternoon.

the car ride is mostly silent other than the low hum of an unrecognizable artist playing over the radio.

you take a moment to look at the interior of katsuki's car. black, like his fucking soul, and absolutely spotless. leather seats, probably so it's easier to clean the blood of his sacrifices off of. manual, because bakugou obviously wants you to know he's better than you in every way.

he probably never even stalls.

you laugh to yourself before your eyes zero in on his radio.

he listens to music, like the rest of us. this shouldn't surprise you, he's human. but it's an insight into the katsuki bakugou novelty. and your next move lines up with all the other impulsive ones so far for the afternoon.

you reach over and turn up his radio to just about max volume.

I thought that I was dreaming When you said you loved me

"you like Frank Ocean?!" you just about yelled, causing katuski to jerk the wheel a little bit.

"are you fucking insane, don't do that!" he scolds, turning down the radio to a more manageable volume, "and what's it to you?"

"i love Frank Ocean."

"not very uncommon, most people do."

"i guess, i just didn't realize you fell into the category of most people," you look out of the window as the sunset cascades down one of musutafu's nicer neighborhoods, "it's refreshing. you're human."

"get out of the car, y/n." you hadn't noticed the car come to a halt in front of a particularly nice house. it looked like the kind of house that loved poured out of. the sort of house that contains and produces well-rounded, delightful members of society. how katsuki bakugou lived here his whole life, you don't fucking know.

"so, this is where you grew up," you mutter, folding your arms over your chest, and leaning against the car door.

"what's it to you?" he snaps, his voice cutting through the air just as the driver-side door slams shut with a hard thud, matching the edge in his tone.

"nothing," you say, letting a smirk slip as you stand upright. "i just didn't know you were a little rich kid," you add, your tone light but taunting, a crooked smile playing at your lips as you glance his way

"have you realized im god's favorite yet?"

you laugh a little at his comment before mindlessly slipping your hand into his as he walks by. bakugou stops, turning to you with—well, it's hard to place his reaction—you've never seen it before. it’s agitation.. but softer?

it's convoluted, like everything involving katsuki bakugou.

"what’re you doing?" he demands, his gaze fixed on your interlocked fingers. despite the edge in his tone, he makes no move to pull away, his hand staying right where it is.

'holding your hand?"

"why?"

"for your parents, so we look like a couple?" you ask, voice midly irritated as you start to pull your hand away, "do you want me to let go?" But just as you begin to slip free, his grip tightens, holding you in place. suddenly, you’re acutely aware of the warmth and solid feel of bakugou’s hand, more comfortable than you'd expected.

his grip is firm as he drags you toward the front door, his strides confident and unfaltering. meanwhile, your stomach twists with nerves, each step making you more aware of how close you’re getting to his parents’ house. you try to keep up with his pace, but your pulse races, and you find yourself squeezing his hand a little tighter—hoping he doesn’t notice just how nervous you really are.

"callm down," he says simply.

you swallow, the anxiety tightening in your chest. "what if they don’t like me, katsuki?"

he scoffs. "doesn’t matter, ‘cause we’re not actually dating, idiot."

unhelpful.

you don’t even look at him, too consumed by the dread pooling in your stomach.

this was a bad idea. im going to kill Mina. this was a terrible idea.

"hey," he says more gently, an arm slipping around your shoulders. a warmth spreads through you, chasing away the knots of fear. "relax," he murmurs.

you glance up, eyes wide. "everyone likes you. just calm down, all right?"

you're barely even able to process the interaction you were just a part of before the front door comes swinging open, presenting the clear explanation for bakugou's good looks and charm.

she really is a milf. fuck.

"jesus, katsuki! it's fucking cold, you're gonna just stand there gawking at her and let her catch a fever?" the woman, who you can easily assume is bakugou's mother, beckons for you both to come inside.

"the pictures don’t do you justice; you’re absolutely breathtaking," she beams, pulling you into a warm embrace. as you bask in her warmth, her eyes sparkle with mischief. "but why are you with my son? you could do so much better, sweetheart."

"thanks, mom." bakugou deadpans.

"shut it, twerp. im talking to your girlfriend," his mom snaps back, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"matsukawa, come meet your future daughter-in-law!" she calls out, her voice echoing through the room. A deep blush creeps up your neck at the thought, and you nervously scan the space, trying to steady your breathing.

your gaze accidentally locks with bakugou’s, and in that fleeting moment, something in his expression takes you completely off guard. there's an intensity there, a mix of vulnerability and warmth that absolutely floors you.

but as quickly as it happens, he turns away, leaving the moment hanging in the air.

completely unacknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

FUN FACT: Mitski and Matsukawa already googled everything they'd need to know about y/n before Mitski messaged Bakugou. they already liked her! they really just wanted to see their bratty son ;)

thank you for reading!

@teacakes06 @pinxeajin @eitelle @kaldurahms-lover @daughteofaphrodite @sara4uuu @f0und-heaven @azamii0 @vitanicheney666 @twinnintwink @kara062284-blog @astraea-lunar @neoclb @apple9i3 @thekookiecorner @beatr2x @lovra974 @justbepeace @luvrluvrr @kyluskaye @nottherealslimshady @punicorn999 @itgetzweird08 @iamaconfusedpan @yoonights @shotos-angelic-whore @nnnyxie @nachofrien @bakunianadecorazon @spilled-coffee-cup @minetaphobe @y-n1simp @enterdivinity @sweetblueworm @kovu-bunnbunn @gsyche @nerinefy @missmanda511 @m-0ona @bbybubbles @tokeposts @jiyuu-zou @ch3rry-bombb @living-in-a-veil @lainlovelain @prentisswig @marsbars09 @iluv-ace @prentisswig @haychhans @awkardnerd @peachystea @lover-no-lover61 @emma-sometimes-writes @irenne-stans @themultifandomgirl @fuckassinstincts @rv19 @centerhabit @strwbrrykthv

[nyatbinary-81]

i put so much detail in the tags that i hit tag limit. lol

anyway youre absolutely allowed to use this design with credit. either my name (or my main, nyanbinary-87) or a link back to this post works fine.

im really glad you like it!! despite the Ordeal, it was a lot of fun to draw and im super proud of how it turnd out, thank you for the inspiration!

New Sifstem Loop design. Leave them alone long enough and they WILL completely change Siffrins wardrobe. It's about spite.

[yogurtkags]

hello, congratulations on 100! 🫶 could i request bokuto kotaro with the prompt of first dates? sending love! :)

❝��BEGIN AGAIN ❞ — bokuto kotarou

cw. gn!reader, fluff, timeskip!bokuto, first date, akaashi sets you up on a date with his best friend, acquaintances to lovers, implied that bokuto is taller than reader word count. 1.3k

rediscovering love in the form of keiji's best friend, a 6'2.9 (he says 6'3 anyway) ball of sunshine that looks at you like you hung the stars

event masterlist

the boisterous and excitable bokuto that you know is surprisingly mild outside of the court, away from his usual company, with you. he’s very sweet, listening to every word you say with bright eyes and an attentiveness you wouldn’t expect from him.

it's one of the warmest days this week, the sun blazing down on the tree you're sat under, a pseudo little shade to shield you from the glare and bright rays— between the leaves and foliage, a yellow-orange glow seeps into the gaps and paints a beautiful splash of colour across the plains of your smooth skin.

ice cream cones in hand and sitting side by side on the wooden park bench close enough for your thighs to touch, it's a welcome feeling, the warmth of the weather and his presence filling you with a sense of comfort and reassurance despite your nerves.

it’s been a while since you’ve last been on a date, time hasn’t really been on your side lately, and the idea of putting yourself out there again fills yourself with dread. you swore off love and relationships for a while after your last one and honestly? you're scared. but your trust in keiji is unwavering, and knowing how highly he thinks of the ones he holds close to him, you decided to take his word for it, even if you can't deny that you were a little skeptical at first.

keiji decided he has had enough of you lamenting about your lack of action in the love department despite not making any moves yourself and set you up on a date, making some compelling points about how "you already know bo, plus i think you two would be a good fit." "he's literally my best friend, i wouldn't set you up with a weirdo, who do you think i am?" "shut up, i've seen the way you look at him."

you don't deny that bokuto's easy on the eyes— striking hair, innocent features and the most gorgeous smile, paired with his athletic physique and outgoing personality, on the surface, what's not to like?

but really, it's been in all the little details since the day started.

him making an effort to show up early despite being prone to getting lost going to places he's never been to before, he's just bad at directions especially when he's nervous, standing by the side of the cafe twiddling his thumbs and humming under his breath. the way his eyes lit up when he first saw you, bringing a hand up to wave in greeting and instantly putting a smile on your face.

the sudden change in temperature upon stepping inside caused goosebumps to raise on your skin, and he noticed, instantly going to shrug off his light jacket and gingerly draping it over your shoulders, deciding to pick a seat by the window, "so at least a little sun can come through and hopefully keep you warm if my jacket isn't enough." he said this as he pulled your chair out for you and helped you settle in your seat like a true gentleman, and your cheeks warmed bashfully at how thoughtful he's already been in the first few minutes, than how some others have been in months.

you fell into a comfortable conversation, catching up on life since graduating and what you've been doing after that. the two of you didn't particularly keep in contact after all, having just been mere acquaintances and had more of a friend of a friend type relationship. he's hard to miss though, you've seen him on sports channels, having gone the professional route and playing volleyball in the v-league instead of pursuing a college degree or a more conventional white collar job. to be fair, you've never penned him for the type, he was beyond ordinary, and always excelled at the sport even back then, catching the eyes of numerous scouters and teams in the country.

"so," taking a sip of his drink, he locked eyes with you and jokingly asked, "when are you coming to one our games?"

with a mischievous glint and an exaggerated false nonchalance, you playfully suggested with a shrug of your shoulders, "hmm i don't know, i'm not really super into the sport or anything, but maybe i'm just waiting for the black jackal’s #12 to formally invite me to come watch. he doesn't seem too into me though, so i don't know if it'll happen, we'll see."

what came after was the cutest outburst that didn’t fail to bring a matching grin on your face, his head thrown back laughing as he processed your words, "well he's clearly missing out because have you seen yourself? if he won't do it i will."

you hated to admit it but this date was going swimmingly and you didn’t want it to end just yet, which brings you back to the present, a mental recount of the hours that just passed broken by bokuto’s hand reaching towards your face.

your breath hitches as his thumb brushes over the corner of your lip with a featherlight touch, your mind going blank at the sudden contact and warmth creeping up your neck, the tips of your ears mirroring the fresh swell of a ripe apple at your shyness.

“sorry, got a little bit of ice cream on your lip there.” he murmurs as he sheepishly retracts his hand, wiping it off on a napkin and turning to face you again while avoiding eye contact. he's so cute, and you can't decide if the dessert in your hands or the man before you is sweeter.

bokuto doesn't know if he's overstepped by doing that, but all of his worries melt away like wax when he sees you trying to hide a small smile, and completely contrary to what he felt seconds ago, gains a burst of confidence to grab your hand as you both stand up from the bench.

upon finding out that you took the train to meet him, he insists on driving you home, seeing that it was getting late. interlocking your still linked hands and lightly swinging them in the wind, you let him lead you to his car down the block, settling on plush leather seats as he opens the door for you.

the ride home is filled with chatter and silly stories, from reminiscing high school and discussing music tastes, right down to playing 21 questions like little kids and learning the basics like your favourite flowers or colour, and bokuto take down a mental note of this, making sure to surprise you with some next time. next time.

as you peer out at the passing streets and night sky, you notice that he's taking the longer way home, letting out a quiet huff in amusement. you're both on more of a similar wavelength than you initially thought, and it seems like he shares the same idea, not wanting the night to end just yet, even though you've already been together for hours.

sooner than you wanted, your house comes into view and bokuto's pulling up to the sidewalk, getting out of the car and once again opening the door for you, ever the chivalrous man.

standing before him, you look up at his youthful face, illuminated by the golden hue of your dimmed porch lights, and you're convinced he was hand-sculpted and molded by angels themselves, soft eyes overflowing with affection as he gazes down at you, “i’d love to do this again sometime, bo—“

before you can finish your sentence, he interrupts, “koutarou— you can call me koutarou.”

with a giggle, you reach up on your tiptoes, pressing a light kiss on his cheek and heading towards your door, calling out just before closing it shut behind you, “i’ll see you soon okay, koutarou?”

notes. hi anon !! pretty excited to get into this because i've never written for bo before !! this was loosely inspired by “begin again” - taylor swift if you couldn't tell by the title ♡ thank you so much for your request, i hope you enjoy this !! reblogs & interactions are always appreciated !

© yogurtkags. please do not repost, plagiarise, or translate my work.

[kimmie2me]

Footnotes in Fascination

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𓂅⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Midoriya Izuku x AFAB!Reader

.....

It starts innocently enough in the middle of a class exercise at UA, when Midoriya, looking like he’s only half-listening to the instructor, leans over to you, his expression bright and eager.

“I… I hope this isn’t weird, but… your Quirk is really impressive!” he says, eyes wide as he holds out his 'Hero Analysis for the Future' notebook. “If you’re okay with it, could I… take a few notes? I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before, and I’d love to understand more about how it works!”

You're taken aback for a second—he’s the famous Midoriya Izuku, the boy who saved Kota, Eri, and countless others. You’d heard about him from the rumors, how he was genuine, awkward in a sweet way, and a bit of a hero fanatic. Still, there’s something undeniably earnest in his request. You agree with a nod and a quiet “Sure,” wondering what he could possibly want to know.

Over the next few weeks, he comes by every so often, asking about details of your Quirk's mechanics, and you can’t help but find it a little cute how his eyes light up as he scribbles in his notebook. He’s all nerves and polite apologies, but his enthusiasm never seems to waver.

And then, one day, as you’re both talking, you try to glance over at his notes—he quickly closes the notebook, cheeks turning a bright shade of red.

“Ah! Um—n-not that there’s anything weird in here! Just, uh… you know! Hero studies!” he stammers, clearly flustered.

From then on, every time you try to sneak a peek, he quickly diverts the topic, almost as if his heart’s going to leap out of his chest if he lets you see what he wrote. You can’t help but wonder just what he’s hiding in those notes.

Midoriya’s Notebook – Entry on [Your Name]'s Quirk

...

Day One: "Initial observations—her control is incredible. Such fine-tuned adjustments; it’s like she has total mastery over every part of her ability. Would love to ask her more about how long it took to develop that precision."

In the margin: “So cool!!”

Day Four:"Noticed how she combines her Quirk with defensive moves, especially in close combat—seems naturally skilled at adapting to her opponent's style! Her reflexes are amazing."

In the margin: “Amazing reflexes, would love to see more! She doesn’t even look like she’s trying that hard... wow!”

Day Seven: "Today she used her Quirk to protect a teammate during team training. Definitely a strategic thinker. Her reactions are intuitive, not pre-planned. She’s quick to adapt to changing situations—hero material."

In the margin: “Hero instincts! So impressive!!!”

Day Eleven: "I asked her about her training routine—she didn’t give too many details, but I’m positive she puts in extra time to build this kind of control. Will she let me ask again?"

In the margin: “Her fighting style is so unique. I’ve never seen anything like it! Hope she shares more with me.”

Random doodle on the side of the page: (A tiny, slightly lopsided drawing of you mid-action, looking pretty cool but also way too adorable. There are little stars around you.)

Day Fifteen: "Every time we work together, she surprises me with how capable she is. She makes it look effortless. Really wonder how she sees her own strengths… I mean, she’s got to know she’s… incredible, right?"

In the margin: “She’s seriously one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.”

[amitiel-truth]

Ten Babies Part 2 (Vash the Stampede x Reader)

Note: This is my SECOND time writing here, please don't look too much into the details, I made some up, these ideas were prompted from my chat with Vash at Character.AI, lore dump will probably be here (doing the josei format up this bitch).

Warning: ⚠️Smut⚠️

Summary: Was it really a one night stand, Mr. Stampede?

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

stiring awake, Vash sits up from the softest bed he ever laid on as e looked around, the room he resides in looks more luxurious than the one he was given, but it's personalized, trinkets strewn about tables and nightstands, with it's own personal desk with what seem like important documents.

Vash notices that his naked, with an 'eep' he began dressing himself up from the clothes he discarded the night before, looking around for his red coat, but concludes it to be gone, and noticed someone humming.

Walking over to the window, it turned out to be a veranda over-looking the city, and noticed (Y/N), looking at the city, wearing his coat.

"Ms.(Y/N)-" Vash abruptly stopped himself as (Y/N), she's completely naked and only wearing his red coat, making him blush.

"Good Morning, Mr. Stampede." (Y/N) greeted, smiling at the blonde before turning back to the city, Vash realizes that the Mansion isn't on a hill, but on a cliff, overlooking the city that's located on a meteor crater.

"Welcome...to Febrari."

Febrari, a hidden city in Noman's Land that not many know, it's residents are decedents of SEED Ship 14 after 'The Great Fall', the ship specializes in agriculture and has been developing plant matter after departure from Earth.

Head Scientist, Agriculture, Biochemist, and Engineer, Erich Hem Loverose, did try to make contact with the other SEED ships, but an encounter deterred him, using the geological location that SEED ship 14 fell onto, natural walls that surround the area, SEED ship 14 went zero contact for the last century.

"I haven't been completely honest with you, Mr. Stampede." (Y/N) confessed, turning to look at him.

"My name's (Y/N), (Y/N) Loverose." she reveals, smiling at him, her hands in his coat pockets.

"It's quite alright." Vash sweat drops, laughing nervously, suddenly remembering what she said before she fell asleep

"Give me Ten Babies..."

'I don't even know if PLANT DNA is compatible with Human DNA.' Vash thought, turning to the woman who's looking at her city fondly.

"About-" Before he could even start, a knock resided on the door.

"Ms.(Y/N)! Mr. George Jr. from the Water Distribution Sector wishes to speak with you." Aileen said through the door, as (Y/N) shouted that she'll get ready.

"We have only just woken up and I already have a meeting." (Y/N) mutters, a hand on her forehead as she pulled Vash through her room and onto the door.

"Let's talk again later, Mr. Stampede." (Y/N) teases as she removed his coat and placed it over her shoulder, rendering her completely naked, flustering the male before being pushed out of the room.

"There's running water in your bathroom, feel free to get ready!" (Y/N) yells over the door before fading away, Vash still blushing hard from what just happened, then shakes out of his stupor as he processes what he said.

"Running water..." Vash mutters before rushing to his room and heading to the bathroom, turning on the tap, and watching water falling through it.

"Woah..." Vash mutters as he runs his hand through it.

"Just what is this place..."

____

(Y/N) talks with a young man on her porch under the shade of her home, wearing a white sleeveless dress with an accordion piece and plain piece that shapes her figure, dangling fake pearls on her ears, and a golden stars necklace wrapped around her neck, 'laughing' along with the man.

While out of earshot, Vash peeks through a window, looking at the scene before him.

"Who's that?."

"George Shepard Jr., son of the Water Distribution Department Head of Febrari, also one of the most eligible bachelors around here." Aileen informed Vash, jumping in surprise as he turned to look at the woman.

"Water Distribution? I haven't heard of that term before? In fact, it's so scarce to get as much as a drop here in Noman's Land." Vash replies, surprise that there's such a thing as departments for it.

"We're lucky enough to have landed with our ship fully intact, in fact, we haven't had a singled deceased PLANT for the past century." Aileen reveals, surprising Vash even more.

"Not a single one?! In this place? how is that even possible?!" Vash asks, still in shock.

"Because of the Loverose's" Aileen reveals, turning to look at something, turns out they're in the living room, with a mural of the first generation of the Loverose's hung above the fireplace.

"They took care of everything for us, especially Mr. Hem, with his knowledge and guidance, he built a system and developed plants for food that would survive the harsh climate of this planet, it is still under progress but under our current condition, they still work." Aileen informs him, staring at the Mural of a family with a Man in his mid-thirties wearing glasses with (y/hc) slick-back hair with serious eyes, holding a little boy in his arms and a young woman who looks exactly like (Y/N) but with blue eyes and blonde hair(A/N: sorry if you're blonde and have blue eyes), holding an umbrella made out of metal, smiling at the camera with her arm over the man's shoulder.

"and all of that knowledge is passed down to (Y/N), a very sought-after bachelorette, coming from wealth and status." all their attention turned to the woman who continued discussing matters with the young woman.

"I understand you still think that you're a fling, but know this, I watch Ms. (Y/N) grow up from a newborn into the young woman you see today, and not once have I seen her act with this kind of behavior towards a man, if you're uncomfortable at the situation, leave if you like, it's alright to not reciprocate her feelings." Aileen advises as she turns to go to the kitchen.

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave a woman with a broken heart!"

"She's a strong woman, she can take anything you throw at her and she'll stand back up, she'll be fine...unless, your feeling something else, Mr. Stampede?." Aileen pokes as Vash blushes, turning to look back at the two on the porch as (Y/N) turns her body 'bashfully', something inside Vash stirs as he continued to watch the two.

"One night stand my ass."

____

After breakfast, (Y/N) invites Vash to see the city.

"I'm needed to see the progress of our other plants like cabbages and such." (Y/N) informs him, walking out of the mansion holding a very long umbrella.

"What's a cabbage?." Vash asks following her as they approached two Thomas Handlers.

"Your about to find out." (Y/N) chuckles as she opens the umbrella as they get under the three suns, a Handler approached her, handing her usual bird and riding it, placing the umbrella at the custom holder, protecting her from the heat.

"Let's get going." (Y/N) nods her head to the other bird, as Vash blushes and goes to the Handler who gave him the reins and rides it.

"Let's go!" (Y/N) squeals as she snapped the reins, making the Thomas, run with Vash panicking and running after her.

The two Handlers could only look at each other blankly.

"Ms. (Y/N)! Slow down!" Vash yells, matching the Lady's speed who continued laughing.

"Come on! I'll race you there!" (Y/N) challenges as she snaps the reins once again, showing a path as they race through it.

Vash hears (Y/N) laugh once again, turning to look at her he observes as she squeals, her hair gliding through the air as she looks so carefree. Vash turns away, blushing.

Reaching the town entrance, Vash won the race, and they come to a stop.

"Ah! You won! Guess I need to get you something for getting first place." (Y/N) stated, softly shaping the reins on her Thomas as they start to walk as Vash rushes to follow her.

"You don't need to get me anything, really!" Vash insisted, already heavily in debt to the woman.

"It's alright, really, Aileen already ask me to get some things from this store anyways." (Y/N) persist as they continued on their journey, noticing people calling out to her, smiling up to her as she smiles back, waving at them, making Vash pull up his hood to avoid being recognizable.

"You do know your red coat itself gives you away, right?" (Y/N) points out, smiling at the PLANT.

"Maybe they'll think I'm someone imitating me?." Vash tries to defend himself.

"Now who would be able to imitate your handsome self?." (Y/N) flirts making the man hide further into his hood, blushing.

"We're here." (Y/N) stops, and an unfamiliar smell wafts through the air, it smells homely and something fresh from the oven.

"Wait right here." (Y/N) orders as she got down with her umbrella, and walks into the store filled with bread and pastries Vash had never seen before, watching her converse with a few people around her area before walking back to him with bags on her arms.

"I bet you haven't had these for a long while." she guesses, holding up a bag of a certain baked pastry.

"Doughnuts...." He mutters, taking the bag before digging in.

"I'm glad you like it" (Y/N) laughs as she walks back to her Thomas, places back her umbrella, and mounts the bird, continuing on their leisure phase, eating their own pastries.

While stuffing his face, Vash looks around, noticing how peaceful the place is, occasionally there's someone greeting (Y/N).

"You're really well known in this town."

"Well, I did grow up here and came from a very prominent family, would be pretty hard to not be known." (Y/N) replies, waving among the people.

"But how come I haven't seen your parents?." Vash pokes, as she stiffens, keeping her face facing forward

"Oh...uh, they died a few years back, peacefully, might I add." She confirms, keeping herself facing forward.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry for prying-"

"No! It's quite alright, it happened a long time ago anyway." She remarks, but still kept her composure and still faced forward.

silence enveloped the two, occasionally greeting anyone who greets (Y/N) first, before reaching their destination, the area is set up with hundreds of greenhouses.

"Ms. Loverose, welcome to the Farming Sector." a young man greets, taking (Y/N)'s hand and kissing the back of it, right in front of Vash, who glares at the action.

"Oh, Jaime, still sweet as ever." (Y/N) 'swoons'.

"And who might this be?." He asks, turning to the red-hooded man, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, I'm-"

"He's my guard for the day." (Y/N) cuts him off, unmounting the bird with her umbrella with Vash following after.

"Shall I also accompany you inside as well Ms.-"

"It's quite alright, we can look around ourselves." She cuts him off walking to the plastic tarps.

"Understood" Jaimie grumbles as he glares at the blonde who can't help but smile.

(Y/N) mentions to follow her through the tarp and walks in, with Vash cautiously approaching the plastic, before walking in.

Cold air greeted the man, looking around in wonder at the nostalgic temperature, then noticing the leafy green bulbs before him, all in line planted to the ground.

(Y/N) smiles as she looks around, wiping the back of her hand on her dress as she looks around proudly.

"Back on earth, there used to be different climate zones around the globe, and each of them has the perfect temperature for plants, but it's hard to grow anything here on Noman's Land with the three suns and all, and the best that we could do is to mimic their climate and modify the plants to adapt to the planet's soil, though they are mixed with soil back from earth, but atleast they worked" She explains as she knelt down to one cabbage, her umbrella providing shade as she stroked one of them, glistening with water.

"It's not much, but at least it's enough to sustain us." (Y/N) smiles as Vash knelt down beside her, staring in wonder.

"Can you really eat it?." Vash leans down to take a bite as (Y/N) covers his mouth, chuckling at her.

"You need to cook it first before eating it! Unless you want a weird tingling sensation in your mouth" She laughs as she hugs her umbrella handle closer to her, bringing it between her legs, giggling uncontrollably as Vash backs away flustered, embarrassed as (Y/N) remembered something.

"There was a belief about planting back on Earth, when you sing to a plant they'll grow healthy and bountiful. Do you think that'll work here?." (Y/N), asks as she leans closer to the plant and clears her throat.

"Can we just be honest?" (Y/N) starts as Vash watches in amusement.

"These are the requirements If you think you can be my one and only true love You must promise to love me" (Y/N) continues as she closes her eyes, not noticing Vash's PLANT marks are showing, as he began to panic.

"And damn it, if you fuck me over I will rip your fuckin' face apart" Vash was so distraught that his PLANT markings instantly disappeared.

(Y/N) stops, opening her eyes as she looks at Vash sheepishly.

"I don't think plants would like to grow up to that, sorry, just thought of that off the top of my head." she apologizes and stands up, walking to the middle of the field, spinning her umbrella as Vash follows after her.

"Speaking of Love, have you over been in a relationship before?." Vash asks as she looks up thinking.

"I've had a few boyfriends before, but they were never serious, It's just a way to rebel at my parents back then, besides they could never handle me being too much of a woman." (Y/N) smiles in thought.

"Is that so? then what about those guys who's been all around you lately? are they also your past boyfriends?."

"Oh no! No no no! I don't even get near them as a child for how snobbish they acted, they do their jobs perfectly but don't have the right head on their shoulders in treating the common folk." (Y/N) denies, holding up a hand her lips in a tight frown.

"Althouuuuuuugh...If it's okay for them to have 10 children, I don't see why not." (Y/N) blushes, a hand on her cheek, swooning, as Vash watches her. thoughts running through his mind, the thought of her having children with another man...stirs something inside of him.

Vash suddenly pushed (Y/N) behind some tall cabbages, her umbrella flying up in the air, her white dress getting dirty in the process.

"Vash! What are you-" (Y/N) cuts herself off when Vash suddenly pins her to the ground, stunning the girl.

Her umbrella falls beside them facing the entrance, effectively hiding the two, they continue to stare at each other, as Vash slowly leans down to the girl, initiating a kiss, as (Y/N) got out of her stupor and followed him after, holding onto the back of his coat.

Vash hiked up her dress, revealing a pair of red lace panties, biting his lip at the sight as he pushed the lower side of it to the side, slipping one of his fingers in.

(Y/N) gasps as she held onto Vash tighter, biting his neck through his turtle neck, Vash quicken his pace and slid another finger in, prompting the girl to roll her eyes in pleasure, realizing she already cum.

wordlessly, Vash lifted his finger covered in (Y/N)'s slick, making sure she was watching as he sucked on his fingers, making her moan as she bit into her thumb.

After Vash finished cleaning his fingers, he proceeded with pulling down his pants, his cock slapping onto his stomach upon release as (Y/N) watches in anticipation.

lining it up, he looks back at (Y/N) for confirmation, who wrapped her legs around his waist and pulls him in, both moaning in synch at the sudden intrusion, Vash slowly started thrusting his hips onto her, grounding himself onto her as (Y/N) pulled him to her gasp and moan directly onto his ear, egging the PLANT more as he increases his speed.

The girl went crossed-eyed as she held onto Vash tighter, and with a last few thrusts, he spurts his seed inside of her, making sure to ground himself to her as he bit her neck, forcing (Y/N) to follow after, mixing along with his.

The two pants as Vash lifted himself from her shoulder, being face to face with her, as (Y/N) wrapped her arms around Vash's neck and pull him down, pulling him into a rough and passionate kiss, her fingers running through his hair as Vash hugged her tightly.

"Ms. Loverose! Are you there?." The man from before, Jaimie, call out as they both sat up, thankfully being fully hidden by the girl's large umbrella.

"Micheal from the Waste Department wants to talk to you, about the production of fertilizer for the Farming Sector." Jaimie added as they two hurriedly fixed themselves up, brushing away dirt that had gotten onto their skin and hair but (Y/N) her ruined dress and bite mark on her neck.

"Did something happen there? do you need help?." Jaimie asks, getting closer as the umbrella shuffles and two figures burst out from behind.

"WE'RE FINE! COMPLETELY FINE!" (Y/N) confirms, laughing nervously with Vash behind her.

"I just...fell onto the dirt and Vash helped me get back up!"

"Then why are you wearing his coat?." Jaimie points out, as it's true, (Y/N) is wearing Vash's red coat which almost swallows her.

"My dress got dirty and Vash lend me his coat so I won't look like a mess." she smiles nervously, with Vash nodding alongside her, holding her umbrella, as Jaimie observes the two.

"Well, either way, Micheal does still want to talk to you..." Jaimie continues as he leads them back to the entrance.

Vash observes (Y/N) and noticed that there was a wobble on her step, she kept her legs close as much as possible and pulled the collar around her neck, Vash smiles in triumph

____

Chapter 1 basically:

video choreography by @chokem3choso and video format by @thefinalwitness from TikTok

[a-soft-hornytiny]

I just did my nails and since my brain is always in the gutter and thinking about ateez I thought- what would be ateez's reaction to their significant other getting their nails done for them and who's mlt ruin them 😏

- 🍓

Reaction: Getting your nails done for them.

Requested by 🍓 anon

Genre: Fluff, Suggestive

Pairing: Ateez x reader with pretty nails (neutral)

Warnings: none

Notes: Okay this format is a bit weird and new but it works I guess haha reaction and mtl in one

I added some details about what kinda designa you would get for them but im horrible with nail designs so it’s probably bs. Hope its what you wanted hehe

Taglist: under the cut (let me know if you wanna be added)

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Most

Wooyoung:

all day, all tease

“ohhhh you like me so much???” a lot of sighing

he is happy inside but he gotta do his job and annoy you

and he’s most likely to ruin them because he wants to. kinda wants to prove something. probably what an amazing lover he is xD

But he would pay for the replacement.

and because you knew that you had gotten a simple black design with his initials and some of his lines in their songs

Jongho:

he would notice immediately but wouldn’t say anything because.. idk why tbh

similar to Yeosang you would get frustrated abt it but he’d be like “yeah nah I noticed” .-.

but as he noticed it upsets you he’d be really sweet and shower you in compliments, he just has a hard time putting the gesture in context of importance

that is until he googles how much getting your nails done costs

even if its just a purple sky design like you did for him

when it comes to ruining them tho- that man is probably an absolutely beast in bed.. i assume. they wouldn’t survive for long.

Yunho:

puppy eyes, puppy design (or smth blue)

“for me?🥺 really?🥺” i CANT

takes your hands all the time to kiss your nails

cute as fuck but also kinda too much

which may ruin them

and listen: that man will be most likely be ruining them by making you grab the bedsheet to hard if you get what I mean

Mingi:

“are those for me?” you deny it at first to tease him

“oh come on they gotta beeee” whiny man

really full of himself as soon as you admit it, which is why you didn’t at first

maybe some kind of combination of a princess theme with his favourite colour… cement colour.. (i swear he is such a man)

wants to get matching nails 100%

if he ruins them, it was an accident. but since he is clumsy af it may happen xD

San:

happiest bean, so excited

why do I feel like one half of your nails would be like super serious, beautiful gold black designs and the other half is like.. san memes

like a literal mountain or the muscly cat yk

would be careful not to ruin them at first but as the time goes on he wouldn’t have the control to care haha

Yeosang:

wouldn’t notice at first and you’re kinda upset you had to say something

“Your beauty is so distracting y/n, im sorry I didnt see your nails” ironie and shade

but appreciates it, even tho he has a hard time saying it

he’d be proud that you chose a doberman design instead of a maltese one tho (yes i needa be cliche)

would he ruin them? maybe, maybe not. depends on the position👀

Seonghwa:

admires them when you don’t look

he‘s unsure if you really did it for him but as soon as he finds out he is all blushy and happy

definitely either a sakura, strawberry or star design

and he‘s to careful and tidy to ruin them

only if he’s normal hwa tho, horny hwa wouldn’t give a shit

Hongjoong:

he would adore it SO much

would go on and on about how your nails are perfect and that he feels honoured that he was the inspiration to get them done

i think for him you‘d get like a sunflower or music sheet design and he’d definitely want to get some inspired by you too

also least likely to ruin them because they are just too precious to him

Least

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Tags: @jonghoisbabie @multidreams-and-desires @little-precious-baby @yunhofingers-writes @serialee @crimsonbubble @cometoceantrenches @em--ilysm @deja-vux @kawaiiloli00 @ddeonghwva @aaaaajonghooooo @sansbun @cookies-n-joong @plonys @hijirikaww @nari-nim @yunkiwii @mingi-ivity @racheloveyunho @seongsangsgf @jhmylove @lizsvcks @yunhobabygurl @leoninadecorazones @kerra-that-one-random-fangirl @star1117-archives @cheollipop @yeosangsbiceps @euphoric-emily16 @anyamaris @shinestarhwaa @seomisaho @starillusion13 @taemdivez

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[samanthamorley]

The Teal Dragon

A creative writing exercise:

As the last rays of sunlight kissed the mountain peaks, I saw the dragon for the first time. Its wings stretched wide as it glided through the clouds with an effortless grace, shimmering in a stunning shade of teal. Each scale was like a tiny iridescent jewel, catching the dying light and reflecting it in a thousand colors. It was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. How could such a magnificent beast be hunted to near extinction? Who would want to destroy something so breathtaking?

Its lair must be somewhere near the mountain's summit, I thought, but searching in the dark would be futile. I needed to find a place to camp for the night. As I continued toward the mountains, the sound of rushing water reached my ears. I followed the noise until I stood at the edge of a small drop-off. Below, a glistening river, untouched by man, flowed steadily downhill. This would be the perfect place to rest.

I slid down the embankment, letting my pack drop before I knelt by the water's edge. The water was icy cold, and as I drank, the chill seeped into my bones, refreshing and invigorating me. I splashed my face and washed the dust from my hands before returning to my bag and retrieving an apple. After a quick meal, I leaned against a tree, gazing up at the stars, and soon drifted off to sleep.

A sudden rustling jolted me awake. My eyes snapped open, and I froze, my breath catching in my throat. Across the river, the same teal dragon I had seen earlier was crouched low, her massive feet braced on either side of the bank as she drank deeply from the river. I didn’t dare move, terrified of what might happen if she noticed me.

As she drank, I noticed the irregularities in her scales—some were broken, others misshapen, and a few missing altogether. It was then that I saw a sword buried deep beneath her wing. I felt a knot tighten in my stomach. This dragon had already suffered at the hands of humans—what hope did I have of convincing her I meant no harm?

I cautiously leaned forward to take a closed look when my foot slipped on a rock. Before I could think, she lunged at me with terrifying speed, the river exploding into a shower of shimmering droplets as she charged across. I scrambled backward, tripping over my own feet and landing hard on my back. The dragon’s front claws slammed down on either side of me, pinning me to the ground as she bared her teeth inches from my face. Her nostrils flared, and her eyes—cold, intelligent, and ancient—bored into mine.

“You are not welcome here, human!” she roared, her voice thunderous, yet carrying an eerie elegance. “Why have you come?”

“I mean you no harm,” I stammered, my voice weak and trembling. “I—I’ve come to help you.”

She let out a short and condescending laugh. “Help me? What could a fragile human like you possibly offer me?”

“I can remove the sword from your side,” I said, desperately trying to keep my voice steady. “It must be painful.”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed, her gaze scrutinizing me as though she could see right through my words and into my soul. She grumbled something under her breath, then, after a long moment, she spoke again. “Try anything foolish, and I will bite your head off before you have time to regret it.”

I nodded, swallowing hard as she stepped back, releasing me from the ground. Slowly, she lifted her wing, revealing the full extent of her injury. The sword was beautiful—a silver blade adorned with intricate detailing, its hilt encrusted with gems. Whoever had wielded it must have been a skilled warrior, though it seemed they hadn’t survived the encounter.

Carefully, I wrapped my hand around the hilt, feeling the cold metal beneath my fingers. “Three… two… one!” I yanked with all my strength. The sword came free with a sickening squelch, and the dragon roared, shaking the ground beneath us. She turned her head to lick the wound, growling softly as the pain subsided.

“Better?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes… thank you.” Her tone was softer now, almost reluctant.

“I’m ____. Do you have a name?”

She hesitated, clearly unaccustomed to such pleasantries. “____,” she finally said.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said, daring a smile.

Her eyes narrowed again, though not with anger this time—more with suspicion. “What do you want, human? Why have you come here?”

I took a deep breath, my heart still racing from the encounter. “I’ve come to learn about your kind,” I admitted. “To understand you, not to harm you. And… maybe to help protect you.”

The dragon’s eyes flashed with a mixture of surprise and something else—something I couldn’t quite place. “Foolish human,” she murmured, though there was a hint of something gentler beneath the words. “You know nothing of what you ask. But perhaps… you are not like the others.”

She lowered her head closer to mine, her breath warm and tinged with the scent of smoke. “Very well, human. If you wish to learn, I will allow it. But be warned: knowledge comes at a price.”

As she spoke, the night deepened around us, the stars above shining with a cold, distant light. The dragon turned her gaze to the mountains, her expression unreadable. “For now, rest. Tomorrow, we will see if you are truly ready to understand.”

With that, she rose and moved back to the river, her form blending into the shadows. I watched her for a long moment, my mind reeling from the encounter. What had I gotten myself into? But as I lay back down, the fear gradually gave way to something else—a flicker of excitement. This was what I had come for, after all. And perhaps, if I were careful, I might survive long enough to discover the truth about these magnificent creatures.

[aylaaescar]

17, 25, 39, 52, 55 for tysinno and/or lyn!

this is late like all my asks are, since I practically live at my job djfgksgkjsg ty Sasha!! <3 I'll answer for both bc I love them :')

17. What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?

Lyn: the smile of a winner!! 💃 actually, I think what they usually notice (or look at, anyways) is the purple hair in their streaks, to see if it's still good or if it's fading and they need to touch it up. as for what other people notice first, I figure it's probably the heterochromatic green & grey eyes.

Tysinno: probably his eyes, and specifically if he still has any eyeshadow from the night before still on, since he'll fall asleep with it frequently enough lol. with other people, I imagine they'll probably notice the glowing eyes or the white streak of hair before anything else.

25. What subject / topic do they know a lot about that’s completely useless to the direct plot?

Lyn: Shakespeare! one of their dads is an indie film director who's done more than a few movies based on said plays, so Lyn is more than well-versed in the subject. their name even comes from one of his plays: Lyn is short for Lychorida, a character from Pericles.

Tysinno: he knows how to help safely deliver a baby! which I doubt will come up in SHOH proper, but I imagine it's something he did in his backstory during his years on the road. he's also got an interest in astronomy, and could name a lot of stars and their corresponding myths (if any).

39. Would they rather be invited to an event to feel included or be excluded from an event if they were not genuinely wanted there?

Lyn: invited and included, even if they weren't wanted. Lyn isn't lacking in self-love and self-confidence, and would initially have a hard time believing they weren't wanted... before resolving to change minds with their charm lol.

Tysinno: excluded if he wasn't wanted. Tysinno isn't big on most social events as it is, unless it's either a small group of close friends or some really big thing where he could drink in the corner by himself lol. he'd rather stay home and read a book.

52. Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting?

it's definitely a mix of both for the both of them, depending on the situation they're in? with that said:

Lyn: maaaybe acts on their immediate emotions a bit more? they're proud and stubborn, and if they think they're right about something or if X should happen right now, they'll probably act on that feeling. they're pretty big on following their gut instincts about stuff.

Tysinno: waits for the facts a bit more. he doesn't like the idea that something bad could happen as a result of rushing in before thinking things through, and wants to take the time to make sure he's making the right choice.

55. What’s something they’re expected to enjoy based on their hobbies / profession that they actually dislike / hate?

Lyn: they're not an investigative journalist yet. that said, the whole building connections and making contacts part of it all. while they don't completely hate it by any means, they do dislike how much time it can take to find the right people to be able to talk to.

Tysinno: (note that this one is stolen from my sister, as I have the artistic skills of a peanut and she is very good at it) shading his artwork. adding more details and making things more lively should be fun, right? wrong! or at least, he finds it a bit stressful to try and add those extra details to make things look the way he pictures it.

[spandexinspace]

A not-so-brief story inspired by this post. Shout out to @rebootchill for the plot bunny

______________________

Jon isn’t sure what he expects to find upon returning to Earth, barrelling through the rapidly thickening atmosphere as fast as he can push himself to fly, Nat’s message about a potential disturbance rattling around his head a thousand times over. She’d given no further details, but his imagination had been more than sufficient to fill in the gaps, stretching itself as deep and dark as the space around him, fears and ideas flitting by like distant stars. He’d imagined gigantic monsters, gaping holes in reality, evil versions of friends and family. Every possible scenario parading through his mind as he sped through the vast emptiness of space.

Yellow, unending fields spill out beneath him once he breaks through the cloud cover above Smallville, their uniformity broken only by the occasional farm and a large, perfectly circular crater. It sits like a bullet hole upon the land and its ragged novelty almost makes him fail to notice the four small figures at its edge, one clad in unmistakable shades of red and blue and the others in no less eye-catching shades of red, purple and blue. The wind howls past him as he races downwards and his own heart beats like a drum in his ears, preventing him from hearing even the familiar beat of his dad’s heart, much less the conversation he’s engaged in.

Jon’s feet hit the ground hard, the unexpected impact sending him barrelling a few steps further forward then he’d intended. 

“Jon,” his dad says, catching him by the shoulders and stopping his tumble in its tracks.

“I got Nat’s message, is everything alright?” Jon looks up at him, his nerves coiled so tightly he feels he might burst open.

“Everything’s fine, we weren’t sure what had happened at first and Nat wanted to be cautious. I’m sorry you had to rush here.”

“No, it’s fine, I’m just- I was just afraid something had happened.” Something always does, he almost adds. “Or I guess it did? Judging by the hole?” 

“Yeah, yeah, big hole, some people can’t aim. What else is new under the polymer shield. Nice to meet you too, kid,” one of the strangers says. For the first time since landing Jon’s attention snaps to them. The man who’d spoken grins, scrunching up his freckled face as he combs one large hand through his messy, red hair. The other two, a dark-haired man and a blonde woman, sigh almost in unison. They all look young, but still a number of years older than him, and in so many ways so different that it’s not until he glances down at the man’s blue, lightning bolt adorned costume that he recognises him.

“... Lightning Lad?” Jon asks, hesitantly, his eyes darting between the three of them. The three circles, the lightning bolts, the planet, the purple, blue and red costumes. It can’t be anyone else, can’t just be a coincidence. But it has to be. It’s not them.

“Yeah?” the man who is not really Lightning Lad says. His bright, gleaming eyes meet Jon’s own, and it’s like looking into the eyes of a stranger. Superficially nice and warm, yet totally unknowing. A lump starts to form in Jon’s throat, his breathing quickening as a hand grabs his shoulder again, squeezing it gently.

“It’s alright, Jon. They’re from a different timeline than your Legion. I had hoped I’d be able to talk to you about this beforehand, but there wasn’t enough time.”

“What’s happened to my friends?” Jon says, speaking slowly to force his voice to remain steady. He looks to the woman, her hair too long and face unrecognisable, every feature just a little off, and she smiles the gentle smile of someone else. She reaches out towards him and he pulls away, as if her touch could scald him.

“They will be fine,“ she says, soft and unperturbed. Like a mother talking to a scared child. “We have encountered several other Legions who at different points appear to have been connected to this timeline, and we’ve lost contact with it ourselves before. It’s not a death sentence.”

“Yeah, the Legion’s tough, it takes more than some time-sprockery to mess up our day,” not-Lightning Lad adds.

“But what happened to them? Where are they?” Jon clenches his fist, his short nails digging into his palms, as if to ground him.

“We don’t really know,” the last man adds. The circle emblem on his chest is nearly identical to Cosmic Boy’s, but as far as Jon can tell the similarities are only superficial. There’s no trace of the dramatic urgency in his calm and steady voice, nor of the frantic need to prove himself. “They might have been deliberately severed from the timeline or they might just have become untethered by more, well, natural means. Brainy may know more about it, but he doesn’t usually tell anyone else about these sorts of things.”

“I’m going to go find them. I have to,” Jon says, gritting his teeth. It can’t be that hard, he just has to get to the future. The right future.

“Jon, you can’t,” his dad says.

“I have to! I can’t just let them deal with whatever this is on their own!”

“I’m sorry, Jon, I know how capable you are, but this is too dangerous even for you. Or me. Traversing time is dangerous enough on its own, and it becomes even more dangerous when you try to move between different timelines.” His dad shares a look with one of the strangers. “And there are things out there that won’t hesitate to use time itself to hurt us.” Jon jerks his shoulder out of his dad’s grip. He turns to face him, heat rising up along his neck as he does his best to stretch to his full height.

“They’re my friends!”

“I know, Jon, I know. And I understand how you’re feeling right now, but you can’t do that.”

“You have no idea what I’m feeling. The Legion was the first place that made me feel whole again after I came back. I belonged there!” His dad hesitates for a moment, which is all it takes for not-Lightning Lad to break into the conversation again.

“Kid, that’s what the Legion does. Your dad used to come hang out with us all the time too and we’d teach him all kinds of important stuff, like how to save the world and flirt with girls without looking like a total dork, but then one day he couldn’t. We missed him and he missed us, but we were fine. Your friends will be fine too.” His dad nods in agreement and Jon feels a sting in his chest. His dad had never told him about knowing any other Legion.

“But what if they’re not?”

“Then they’ll have to solve that on their own. Ain’t much of a Legion if they can’t even save themselves and have to rely on you instead.” Not-Lightning Lad shrugs. Jon’s entire face feels scorching hot.

“We have a duty to help people!” he spits out. “My Legion would have told me to help someone else in the same situation, because they actually believe in truth, justice and a better tomorrow. But I guess your Legion cares more about your own safety than actually helping people.” Jon takes off, dashing towards the safety of the Kent farm house some hundred yards away. He lands behind the barn, more stable than the last time, and presses his back towards the wall, feeling its rough, unfinished surface even through his costume. Small splinters catch on the fabric of his suit as he slowly slides down into a sitting position. His heart hammers in his ears like it’s threatening to burst and his eyes burn. The smell of dry hay hangs heavy in the air, a small comfort as tears start to stream down his face.

They can’t be gone. Gone, and replaced with strangers not even wearing their faces, but wearing their names and identities like paper mache masks made for a grade school masquerade, deformed and ill-fitting. He curls in on himself, burrowing a scream in the hollow of his chest, scared what it may do if he lets it out. He imagines Imra’s face, sweet and teasing, the way her smile would make his insides bubble and ache in ways he’d never felt before. Her soft hands and gentle teases. Nothing like the motherly figure in the field with her fake kindness and harsh words. He buries his face in his arms.

Footsteps break through the pounding in his head, unmistakable even on the soft dirt of the yard. They stop next to him.

“Jon,” his dad says, his voice sinking as he lowers himself to the ground.

“I’m not going to let them replace my friends. They have no right to.”

“I don’t expect you to replace them, son. No one does. Come here.” His dad puts one arm around his shoulders and Jon, despite himself, leans into his chest, sniffling as he presses his wet cheek against the smooth fabric of his suit. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. I didn’t think it’d happen again so soon, or I would have explained it to you sooner.”

“I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

“Neither did I. Not for real, at least. I spent days out in the fields, waiting for them to show up again. I sat out there the entire night before I headed off to Metropolis too, just hoping I’d get to really say goodbye.” He sighs. “They’ll understand, they always did.”

“You don’t know that, they’re not the same,” Jon says, rubbing at his runny nose with the back of his hand.

“That is true, but from what you’ve told me they’re still good friends of yours, and good friends will stick by you even when things get rough.”

“It’s just not fair.” Even to Jon’s own ears he sounds like a petulant ten-year-old again, but as much as he wants to think of a better argument it comes back to that. “They haven’t done anything wrong, they don’t deserve to be replaced.” Of course he knows that bad things happen to good people. But the Legion had felt different, so large and myriad that he’d never even imagined them as anything but a place to return to when he needed to.

“That’s the problem with the future. It’s never quite as set in stone as you want it to be.” His dad sighs deeply, his chest contracting and expanding beneath Jon’s cheek. “You can love and strive for it, but you can’t count on it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you’d visited the future before?”

“It’s… complicated.” Another sigh, more shallow this time. “My Legion has faced many obstacles, and some of them have altered reality in ways that make it hard for me to remember our time together. I didn’t recall them when you first went to the future, and once I did I wanted to wait for the right time to tell you.” His dad brushes a hand across Jon’s cheek. “I really am sorry that it took this long for you to find out. I didn’t mean to keep it from you.”

“It’s fine, you’re Superman, you can’t always do everything.”

“I’m also your dad, and I ought to be able to do that.”

They fall silent, each sinking into the depths of their own thoughts for a brief moment.

“Are they actually your Legion, then? If it keeps changing?” Jon eventually asks, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth and casting his gaze up into the cloudy sky, as if the ambiguous shapes there might hold the answers to all his questions.

“I don’t know. They’re similar enough and they remember me. Or a version of me, at least. They’re younger than the last time I saw them, but time travel isn’t linear, so that might not matter.”

“Then… will my Legion be changed whe- if I meet them again?” There’s a beat, a moment of silence so brief anyone else might have considered it just a little unusual, but between them it stretches out like an ocean. 

“Yes. They always change. We always change. Try as we might, we cannot stop change, we just have to make the best of it, and hope that our friends do the same for us.”

[enteroctopusdarkysilis]

✨Space ships (and hangars, too !) !✨

(Or, last post for the space station)

<Previous< [4/4]

Under the cut are closeups of (practically) all ships and hangar from the station !

Before anything, the third post is somehow completely gone, even if I do have proofs that I did do it. Well, it was already posted late, and I don’t have the courage to do it again — and it’s not like people would care much anyway, so how this station is holding up will remain a mystery~

Anyway, closeups.

Hangars (groupes by similarities)

This first batch here contains the 'empty' hangars. Left is meant to be a closing/opening hangar, which I usually keep in the back because it's not the most interesting one; while the right one is the bare hangar. There are two of these across the ring, in which I sometimes pluck a ship, though it's hard to keep them in place because of the station's inclination.

Next is a batch of random boxes and other scifi-y grates and boxes. To keep the boxes in place, I use modified 1*1 bricks (because the floor is is made of horizontal pieces, aligned with the outer tiles). Minor variation are present in the middle hangar, where a third of the floor is composed of 1*2 modified bricks to add a tiny bit of texturing. While these might a tad repetitive displayed like above, they actually are separated by three other different hangars, so the repetition is barely visible.

A bit similar to the previous ones, these have (in my opinion) more interesting details. Left is two racks of large barrels, supposedly fuel. Middle had another barrel (made with flowers pieces) and a yellow cable, which was surprisingly hard to add because it pushed the back plate (which holds a lot of the hangar together). The last one is a stack of long crates, and an observation deck (I'm guessing the original sticker comes from a small star destroyer).

Last batch, and probably the best of all, the containers (scaling from not too crowded to very crowded). These are the same size as the big ship's. There are very few attachment points to the ground, as most of them are held by other containers above or bellow, although the middle hangar had two modified 1*4 bricks in the floor. The original plan was to get them all aligned, but it looked terrible, so I went for this more haphazard placement, which works better.

Ships

These first two are the smallest of my little fleet. The top one is two 2*1 plates held by black 1*1 mod plates. It's small, it's smooth, and it works quite well with the station. I'm probably gonna make other of these in different colours someday.

The next is one of the first I made, using some shiny pieces. The two chromatic studs on the reactors are differently shades of chroma silver on purpose because this is meant to be a much older ship (compared to other most of the other, smoother ships).

This is a much larger one. More of a military design, I mostly played with angles on that one (and added big reactors for fun purposes). The transparent light blue used here is the same as the fuel barrels of the station, and are the most used on the ships I have. Lore would say it's because it's the most common fuel used in the universe; pragmatism would say it's because it's the most common transparent colour in my boxes.

More blue reactors ! The top one is my one of my favorite. Only 7 pieces, including an old aquaraiders piece which I had to use as a ship the moment I found it. It's simply ship-shapes ! Given the colours, you could imagine it's an old model (not as old as the small one). The bottom one is a very thin one, with a Y piece which can allow for many cool shapes (like this one) !

Weird alien ships ! The first one is curvy~~ It's a nice concept which is quite common, but I really like the idea, and thus made one. Notice the green reactor this time, because alien fuel. Next one is more organic (or at least trying to), using mostly car pieces (and an orange reactor, wew !). It's also quite compact, with a single mod 1*1 brick as the core. The final one is by far my favorite (and not only because it has a purple trail). While hard to because of my lighting, the three main parts of the ship are separated by clear studs. I originally made it without the in-between studs, but then it fell the the floor, broke, and separated, and it looked much more futuristic. Consider this a very advanced ship of a peaceful species, or something like that.

[fwuitiestfwogiest]

It's been a hot minute, but it's that time again!

1st thing 1st, let me just say I know nothing about Elden Ring...BUT IT KNOW A THING OR TWO ABOUT ART AND THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!!!

I love the hair and how it's shaded! Something about the artist's shading style just makes me smile! Furthermore, this is a WHITE haired character on a WHITE background with rather light skin, and yet, there doesn't appear to be any sort of problem with it all blending together.

I love the glowy eyes and how the red contrasts with the hair! The eyes glowing a bit makes the sword pop out when you're looking at them as the sword is glowy as well.

The lighting on the sword looks so majectic and fantastical! I'm not sure if this is a weapon from the game (it is a game, right?) or if it's created specifically for this character, but if it was created specifically for the character...all I can say is wow. It can be pretty hard to design weapons, especially ones that have that golden middle ground of detail!

I also quite like the clothing design. a lot of similar colors are used but each piece is still clearly distinct from the others.

The sword is not only beautifully highlighted, but said highlight casts light onto some of the character's other items. I noticed it most on the left glove and on the blue cloth (idk what it is exactly). And speaking of that cloth, the line drawn on it really help the viewer imagine the texture of it!

I noticed textures in other places too. The upper left leg for example has a splatter like texture that makes it look kind of gritty like leather. The bottom of the cloak also has some noticeable texture. Above all that, I'm not sure if it's just my screen, but the whole character seems to either have an overlay or to have been drawn on a canvas that has a paper like texture!

The ends of the sleeves have cool designs on them that really help the character feel real (if that makes sense). I, personally, always have a hard time when it comes to not only making designs that blend well with the overall character, but drawing them so they flow with the material of the clothing? IT'S SO HARD! BUT THIS ARTIST DOES IT SO WELL!!

Also, not exactly art related, but...Lord of the Stars? THAT SOUNDS SO FREAKING COOL!!!!

Anyway, this artist's work is really cool and deserves praise. I'm sure there are plenty more little details I'll notice the longer I look at this piece too!

As always, there are simply the ramblings of someone who's just kind of okay at art, so please don't take this post as me looking down on it or anything! I just wanted to point some details I know non-artists, or even artists sometimes, don't always notice. I know as an artist just how many small details we add that often go unnoticed, and just how long it takes to add them, so I wanted to take the time to point some of them out and say not only how important I think they are to the overall piece even if some viewers don't realize, but to let the artist know that they are much appreciated by the audience. It's the little details that really elevate a piece!

lord of the stars

my elden ring oc art i meant to make in time for art fight but didn't get a chance to! I finished the DLC before the new xiv expac dropped and loved it <3

[bottomlouisficfest]

We hope you’ve enjoyed weeks three and four of the Bottom Louis Fic Fest 2022! Every two weeks, we’re compiling all of the fics from that period into one roundup post so they’re easy to find for anyone looking to catch up on fics they missed. Enjoy these amazing fics and give them the love they deserve!

—

The one who stays and the one leaving you

A fic by dragmedown on AO3 | @dragmedown on Tumblr | @inmybloodmv on Twitter

10k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Fuck.

He had just slept with none other than Harry Styles.

⛸️

OR the stolen hoodie and lost panties AU

—

Heart of Sugar, Sweet Temptation of Mine

A fic by pjinkfleur on AO3 | @pinapplouis on Twitter

26k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

The process of courting is seriously outdated nowadays, it's not common anymore; people don’t want to go through the hassle of a proper courtship, dating is easier.

Louis though, he was raised in a very traditional family, every member, down to his parents, had a courting and a mating ceremony. He grew up hearing stories about how wonderful it is, how much deeper the connection gets between a courting pair can get, and he's wanted that for himself since he was a pup, always dreaming of his alpha showing up and sweeping him off of his feet.

His dreams seem to be coming true when he moves into a new building, closer to where he works, and the older alpha living in the flat in front of his own, initiates the courtship process. Everything he's ever wanted is within reach.

Or is it?

—

As you stay in a daydream

A fic by FlourryLTHS on AO3 | @FlourryLTHS on Twitter

15k | Mature | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

“Come on I’ll show you something!” Louis said eagerly dragging him away towards what looks like a cabin. Louis’ eyes shone as he showed him it.

His loved for this place was evident on his face as he told him things he did with it, his sadness was evident when he told him that he would go here to escape his house that never felt like home. He told him who built the small little cabin and he had shyly showed Harry his artworks which amazes him as he never knew Louis was making art.

Harry felt as if his heart could burst with so much love when Louis showed him a portrait drawing of him. Intricate details of him was drawn down on to the paper, the shading was right as the light hit him at the side of his face when he was looking out of the window after being bored listening to Mr. Smith’s lecture. He didn’t know Louis had noticed him with so much beauty he had captured it and decided to lay him on a piece of paper that had know meant so much to him.

—

Like Rabbits in Cigar Smoke

A fic by thecheshirepussycat on AO3 | @the-cheshire-pussy-cat on Tumblr | @Bee_With_Mee on Twitter

26k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Los Angeles 1975

The rules to being a Playboy Bunny are very clear. Keep the clients happy while still protecting the brand. Bunny Louis tries very hard to keep to that, and no amount of longing stares or soft touches from world-wide famous rock star Harry Styles is going to change that. He's not that kind of Bunny, right?

—

what it feels like

A fic by harriblou on AO3 | @harriblou on Tumblr | @harriblou on Twitter

24k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

“Okay, right. Aren’t you straight?” Harry was straight. Unless he somehow lied to the entire internet about how much he likes pussy, he was straight.

“A good time is a good time. A hole is a hole. What does it matter that I’m straight?”

Louis’ knee wobbled. Barely. Everything was fine.

“That doesn’t sound straight to me.”

Harry groaned and tossed his head back. He looked more comfortable in Louis’ office than he did, swiveling back and forth. “What does it matter that I want to have sex with you? You’re pretty, like a girl, and you moan like one, too. It’s your fault, not mine.”

—

feeling peachy, take a bite

A fic by softloubabie on AO3 | @littlefreakblou on Tumblr | @softloubabie on Twitter

26k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Prompt 570: omega louis works at a cupcake shop. he makes the prettiest cupcakes and loves his job. in comes beefy alpha harry who absolutely loves to eat louis’ cake. inspired by louis being a cute baby girl handing out cupcakes. (no a/b/o necessary, but louis has to be feminine)

—

be the artist to my muse

A fic by forthetherapy on AO3 | @forthetherapyy on Tumblr | @forthetherapy on Twitter

10k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

“I think I’m in love,” Harry says, flopping back to lay on the bench again. Nick sighs and pats Harry on the head. “There, there. You’ll forget him in a day or so.” or Harry has been unsuccessfully pining over Louis for a while now, he decides to take drastic measures to get the alluring artist to notice him.

—

dark doom, honey

A fic by outropeace on AO3 | @outropeace on Tumblr | @outropeaces on Twitter

58k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Louis lifted one shoulder, lips slightly pursed. “You are acting like an asshole.”

Harry’s mouth pressed into a thin line, eyebrows knitting together. “I wasn’t being an asshole, I was following my own rules. The ones I always follow when I’m about to start an arrangement with a new submissive. If you don’t want this or are having doubts, we should stop now. But if we do this, I do want to make something clear, I’ll never do anything you don’t want to, but you have to be aware that I’ll never be sweet, I don’t do sweet, you already saw what I do. If you want something different you can go on dates, this is not that. Are we clear?”

It was the perfect way out. Louis could simply say no and their lives would keep on going as they were. So far, nothing was changed beyond repair. But he wanted to be. At some point in his life, way before Harry and the betrayals, Louis lost a little of himself, and had never felt closer to getting it back than in Lair, with Harry.

“Crystal.”

—

let me love you

A fic by leeanndarling on AO3 | @shitavocados on Tumblr | @larriesgayvodka on Twitter

5k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Louis's not expecting to run into his first ever crush while picking up his daughter from school, but fate clearly has other plans. His mum was right.

Harry would always be in his life.

When Harry looks up, his heart skips a beat at the sight in front of him. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. All he can focus on is the adult version of his childhood best friend standing in front of him.

“Um- do I have something on my face?” Louis asks awkwardly, his cheeks flushing under the teacher’s gaze.

“No, no,” Harry stammers after a few seconds. “I just haven’t seen you in so long.”

Louis furrows his eyebrows a bit. “I’m sorry… have we met before? I just moved back not long ago.”

For a moment, Harry wonders if he’s made a mistake. He stares into Louis’s eyes for a couple minutes before he’s completely sure. “Louis, it’s me- Harry. Harry Styles. We grew up together,” he murmurs.

Harry can see the moment it clicks in Louis’s brain. His eyes widen, and he looks over Harry’s body slowly.

—

baby, loving you’s the real thing

A fic by happilyyhalo on AO3 | @happilyyhalo on Tumblr | @happilyyhalo on Twitter

21k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Harry never thought he’d be taking care of a child at the age of twenty-one—well, trying to anyway.

—

To Paint A Symphony

A fic by MyEnglishRose on AO3 | @lwtisloved on Tumblr | @myenglishrose_  on Twitter

41k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Despite being a wedding painter, Louis has never had quite an optimistic outlook on marriage life. Love, sure, he’s a hopeless romantic and he longs for a sweet partner, to feel adored and cherished, but a part of him will forever doubt that love can last forever, a spark never lasts long, after all, so he paints because strokes of paint can remain forever and unchanged if looked after properly, cared and cherished the way he wished he could be, safe from an unsure future. Harry, on the other hand, as a performer and lyricist, indulges in pleasure. He loves love, never wastes a moment, never hesitates, always so sure of what he wants. Songs come and go on the radio, sometimes forgotten, sometimes transcending generations, the way people leave, and others stay. He never thinks of a future because he only ever lives in the present and he never was egocentric enough to think he could make a real impact and his art could outlive him.

At a wedding under summer skies and surrounded by endless sea, two seemingly polar opposite lovers meet, and perhaps one learns to let himself feel and fall, and the other lets himself hope and cling on.

—

i beg you to stop running

A fic by cherryslouwine on AO3 | @cherryslouwine on Tumblr | @narcisistyIes on Twitter

10k | Mature | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

“Congrats. You’re marrying an amazing human being.” Harry found himself saying before thinking about it.

“Oh, I know, he’s truly the love of my life.”

Harry didn’t expect it to hurt that much. Now he realises he had everything with Louis. It was amazing, maybe not perfect but it was more than enough. Louis is the love of his life not this redhead man’s.

or

A Flash (The series) inspired AU ⚡️

—

if it wasn't for the nights

A fic by thepolourryexpress on AO3 | @thepolourryexpress on Tumblr | @exeszouis on Twitter

31k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

“Okay, so. You didn’t fuck. But you’re gonna go hiking with Harry?” Zayn raises an eyebrow. “You don’t even go outside.”

Louis groans, crossing his arms on the table and hiding his face in them. “I know.”

—

Comfort Is Found When I'm the Only Thought on Your Mind

A fic by daydreamlwts on AO3 | @daydreamlwts on Twitter

5k | Mature | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

Prompt 396: Established relationship - very domestic PWP. Louis complains about being out of his favorite moisturizer, and Harry suggests giving him a facial.

—

not afraid of living on a fault line

A fic by maroonmoonlouis on AO3 | @maroonmoonlouis on Tumblr | @maroonmoonlouis on Twitter

55k | Explicit | Louis/Harry | Tumblr post | Twitter post

He had never given mental illness much thought, it hadn’t run in his family and he had barely paid attention to the general psychology course he took during his freshman year of college. No, he distinctly remembers daydreaming about being a rock star and cracking jokes about Sigmund Freud and his mummy issues with his mates.

- or the one where Harry is a depressed and anxious beta who spends weeks at a time in bed, blowing off his band and fans, and remembering when he had something to live for. Enter Louis, the cute omega at his local coffee shop who shows him that maybe the very thing he has to live for is himself.

—

Remember to give these fics kudos and comments, and spread their fic posts!

Week 1-2

[nationalharryleague]

Two for the Show

Summary: Jeff plans for Harry’s new opening act to be more than that. 

Genre: Famous Fake Dating! 

Word Count: 17.1k!

Pinterest Board

A/N: Hey babes!! This is something I’ve been working on since December now and I’m so fucking proud of it and how it turned out!!! It’s the longest thing I’ve ever written and I’m so so so excited to hear what everyone has to say!! Giant thank you’s go out to the incredible soph (@theharriediaries​) and Lu (@meetmymouth​) bc this never would have come to fruition without them and their help!! Please let me know what you think!! More of my writing can be found in my masterlist!! Happy reading y’all :)

***

Keeping appearances in the public eye is a delicate balance.

If Y/N was being honest with herself, everything Full Stop Management had ever suggested to her had worked, and very well. When they suggested her music took a more pop direction, they set her up with a team of fantastic producers and her music sales and popularity skyrocketed. And when they set up an appointment with a celebrity stylist to figure out her signature style, it worked; they turned her into the 1970’s inspired goddess she had always dreamed of being. Even the hours of media training that she had been put through worked, helping her learn how to bob and weave even the most intrusive of interview questions.

But this time, she thought they might be going too far.

“Jeff,” she began with a sigh and a doubtful shake of her head, “I don’t know about this one.”

“It’s just a few months before and during the tour,” explained the man sitting across from her at the long conference table. “You’ll be seen in public a few times to drum up publicity for the tour and your album, maybe do an interview or two together, and some light PDA.”

His expression was honest and earnest. In the time he had represented her, he had never done anything to her that didn’t help her succeed. It was not hard for her to believe that he just wanted what was best for her and her career.

But something kept holding her back.

“I just got my heart broken in the most public way,” she said softly, absentmindedly fiddling with the base of her ring finger where an engagement ring once sat. “Isn’t it a little too soon to be seen jumping back into a whirlwind romance?”

“I don’t think so. If anything, it will make James look even worse than he already does after what he did to you.” She had to admit the idea of a little revenge did perk her ears up a bit. “And it doesn’t hurt that Harry is so universally loved and known for being such a good guy.”

That was another reason she was skeptical of this entire plot. This was Harry Styles they were talking about; Harry fucking Styles. She had only met him once or twice while working out details for her to be the opening act for his upcoming tour, but she had been a big fan of his and idolized him since she was a teen. Just meeting him threw her inner 16 year old self for a loop, let alone trying to pretend she was in love with him.

In all honesty, it probably wouldn’t be too hard on her end once she got over being starstruck; she wasn’t so sure she still wasn’t kind of in love with him, or at least the version the public saw.

“Listen,” Jeff began again, his voice taking on a bluntness, “no one cares about the opening act. No one bought tickets to see you; they’re there to see Harry.” His words stung but she knew it was the truth. “But if they think you are a part of Harry’s life, they care about you too. And they will keep on caring about you after they leave the show.” Her apprehensiveness must have been clear on her face when he put on a gentle smile. “He’s a really nice person. I promise.”

“I know,” she breathed, a small pout finding its way to her lips. “Fine,” she conceded after a moment, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically to signal surrender. “I’m in.”

A triumphant grin spread across his face. “Thank you. I’ll go call Harry and tell him you’re down.” She watched as he got up from his chair and came towards her, pressing a brief and friendly kiss to the top of her head. “You won’t regret this, Y/N.”

“I better not, Azoff,” she chuckled while shaking her head slightly.

Soon she was alone in the conference room, basking in the light from the floor to ceiling windows that sat before her.

“What did I just get myself into?” she mumbled quietly to herself.

***

The answer to that question came two weeks later when she was sitting across a table from the Harry Styles at a small outdoor brunch spot in LA. Their meeting place was strategic, a small restaurant, not too flashy so it didn’t look like they were seeking attention, but outdoors where anyone could see. It was only a matter of time before he was recognized, and the sighting was almost guaranteed to be trending on Twitter only minutes later.

She couldn’t say that she wasn’t nervous. The inside of her mouth had been chewed raw and the bags under her eyes showed she had been having trouble sleeping in the nights leading up to their first appearance together. By the end of the day, she would most likely have countless articles written about her and possibly have millions of angry fangirls coming after her; even though their “relationship” wouldn’t be officially confirmed for a few weeks.

If all went to Jeff’s plan, she would become an A-lister overnight.

She stood in front of her closet for over an hour, trying on and taking off outfits before finally settling on her favorite pair of bright red corduroy flares and a crisp white textured halter top. She paired the outfit with a new pair of heeled leather boots. They were a flashy pair that were split down the middle, bright yellow on one side and white with yellow stars on the other, hoping Harry would appreciate the bold colors.

She meticulously did her makeup, sure to match her lipstick color exactly to the shade of her pants; and spent far too long in front of the mirror fussing with her hair, praying it would lay the way she wanted it to.

She knew that she was going to be photographed in some way shape or form, and with the fashion icon himself. She had to look good. He had been on the cover of Vogue for god’s sake.

When she finally arrived at the cafe, Harry sat quietly across from her. He looked casual, or as casual as Harry Styles gets. A yellow t-shirt, that was tight enough to look as if it was painted on, showed off his muscular chest and arms. His iconic tattoos illustrated his arms and she hoped he wouldn’t notice as she covertly tried to examine closely. He uncomfortably ran his palms down the legs of his high waisted denim flares that had been paired with his signature pearl necklace and ratty, but well loved, white vans.

And she couldn’t forget his rings. His signature gold ‘H’ and ‘S’ looked back at her as he gently grasped his flute filled to the brim with a mimosa, bringing it to his pink lips that were surrounded by the short stubble he had been wearing lately.

The pair sat in a slightly awkward silence, both seeming to down their mimosas quickly just because it was something to do with their hands and could occupy their lips so they didn’t have to talk.

To say she was panicking, wouldn’t be too much of an over exaggeration. She was sitting across from one of the world’s biggest stars, and as one of his biggest closeted fans. The things he could do for her career were astronomical and it was hard to ignore that, but she also had a hard time getting over the way his hair seemed to fall into perfect tousled curls and his dreamy green eyes.

She had been in love with him (or at least the idea of him) since she was 16. She couldn’t help it.

But the bottomless mimosas helped to break her anxiety, and apparently his as well, as they both began to feel a slight buzz.

“So how did Jeff end up talking you into this?” Harry eventually broke the silence, the alcohol lowering his naturally shy inhibitions just enough to kick off their conversation.

She let a playful eye roll take over her face before she began. “Oh Jeff,” she said jokingly, letting out a long sigh. “I was convinced somewhere in between ‘it’ll make your ex look bad’ and a stern ‘no one ever cares about the opening act,’” she chuckled, while sarcastically wagging her finger in the air, dramatically re-enacting his scolds.

He sucked in a breath through his teeth, letting out a dramatic ‘ouch.’ “He’s not always gentle, is he?” matching her chuckle.

“He knows where to hit you where it hurts,” she laughed, while nodding in agreement. “How did he convince you?”

“Coincidently, he also took a low blow involving my ex. I believe his words were ‘You wrote an entire album about her and haven’t dated anyone since and it makes you look kind of pathetic.’” He dramatically used air quotes and did his best impression of Jeff’s American accent. She couldn’t hold back the giggles that erupted from her.

“Oh my goodness,” she let out through slightly buzzed giggles, “you definitely win.”

From that point, their conversation began to flow more easily, easing her anxiety as she learned he was generally easy to talk to. He laughed at her jokes, and she laughed at his. He really did have the calming and disarming quality that people always said he had, like could melt down any walls and convince you to be honest with him, even if you didn’t really want to be. She was shocked to find that she wanted him to genuinely be a friend to her so badly. He was just so nice and such a good listener.

Their conversation took a turn when Harry’s super power of knowing when his picture was being taken kicked in. “Give me your hand,” he said to her, diverting from the pleasant conversation they had been having about their families. “Don’t look but there’s someone across the street taking photos of us.”

His instructions brought her back to the reality that they weren’t really friends and that all of this was for show.

She brought her hand up to meet his, strategically resting on the side of the table that faced the street, giving the camera the best view. The cool metal of his hand full of rings felt good against her skin that had been baking in the hot LA sun and he passed his thumb over her knuckles with faux affection.

She couldn’t help but feel a dishonest weight pulling on her heart. She knew everything was going to plan and this was all for the best, but it also felt slightly wrong. She played with her small heart shaped earring to distract herself from the sinking feeling.

“Harry,” she began, knowing the people across the street were out of ear shot. Her voice brought his attention from her hand back up to her eyes. “Does this feel wrong to you at all?”

“How so?”

“It just feels dishonest, like we’re lying to millions of people, our–well, mostly your fans.” She couldn’t help but correct herself.

His eyes softened at her words, like he was taking in the innocence she still held onto after only being in the industry for a short time, compared to his decade in the spotlight.

“I try not to think of it as lying,” he spoke slowly after a moment of thinking. He nodded along softly to punctuate his words. “When you think about all this as lying, it starts to weigh pretty heavy on you as a person. I try to be as honest as possible in my music and daily life, but that’s not always what people want to see. They want a show that will entertain them, and it is our job to give it to them.”

“I see,” she mused.

They sat together for another hour or so, allowing their small mimosa buzz to wear off enough for them to drive the short distances to their homes. The pair eventually found their way back to a comfortable conversation, but Harry’s comment about being in the public eye still weighed on her.

Suddenly, she wasn’t sure if all of this was worth it. Y/N was a master at dodging a question and turning the charm to 10 when it was needed, but she wasn’t a liar and she definitely wasn’t an actress. She hoped she (or Jeff) hadn’t bitten off more than she could chew with all of this.

Harry eventually walked her back to her car that was parked a few blocks away, and while she was sure he was doing it for the cameras, she didn’t doubt that he would have done it even if they weren’t there. He just seemed like that kind of guy to her; caring and trustworthy.

“Thank you for a very nice date, Harry,” she said, winking and chuckling along with the extra emphasis she put on the last word.

“My pleasure,” he smiled down at her. He moved along with her as she walked to the driver's side door, opening it for her like a perfect gentleman. The two stood close, his body hovering over her’s as they stood inside the open door. Her heart rose to her throat as he leaned down to her and pressed a gentle kiss to her burning cheek.

Y/N  looked back up at him with rosy cheeks and a tightlipped bashful smile. She watched as he walked backward carefully, taking her hand that had been locked with his until he was too far and let it fall back to her body.

She situated herself in her drivers seat and was ready to leave when she heard a knocking on the passenger side window that startled her. Harry had bent himself over and was motioning for her to roll the window down. When she did, he leaned himself in, an honest look in his eyes.

“Before you go,” he said gently. “A word of advice from someone who had been in the public eye for a long time,” he spoke with a tender yet serious tone, eyes locking with hers. “When you go home today, don’t go on social media. People are mean, and it’s just going to hurt.” She nodded along with his words and watched as he pinched his bottom lip. “And when you inevitably can’t resist, text me if you need to talk about it.”

***

They must have done a good job putting on their show because within an hour of her returning home to her apartment, they were all anyone was talking about. Their names were trending worldwide #1 on Twitter. Streams of Y/N’s debut album were up by 800%, and even Harry’s streams had taken a considerable jump. Y/N had gained 40,ooo new followers and views on every interview she had ever done were steadily rising.

All was going according to Jeff’s plan.

Harry’s words circled her brain for hours. “Don’t go on social media,” she heard him say over and over again as she paced her apartment, only stopping to look at the phone sitting on the kitchen counter every so often.

She had taken a shower, done her hair, tried to watch TV, cooked herself dinner, and even tried to sit down and write a song; it all got her nowhere fast. The unknown was eating at her inside.

Y/N broke when she heard the small ding signaling she had gotten a text message. She had all but sprinted to see who it was, reunited with the outside world through her touch screen. Unsurprisingly, it was from Jeff; the message sent to her and an unknown number she assumed to be Harry’s.

Good job, kiddos., was all it read but there was a photo attached to the message. Her heart stopped while she waited for the photo to load, cursing her slow wifi in the process. After a few breathless moments, the photo came through.

It was a screenshot from the website of one of the biggest entertainment magazines in the country. A picture of him kissing her cheek was the front page of the website.

Harry Styles and Y/N Y/L/N Rumored To Be Music’s New Power Couple Ahead of Tour

She was honestly speechless. This was huge.

She would like to say the sheer shock blurred her judgement, but the curiosity just got the better of her. Harry’s words repeated over and over again in her head, telling her not to, even as her finger connected with the icon of the little blue bird.

She was the most talked about topic in the entire world, her name hovering in bold letters on the trending page. She did everything she could to not click on her name, but her fingers did it all on her own.

The first few tweets were nice. Someone said they liked her style and that they looked cute together as a couple. Another said that they had always enjoyed her music and that they were happy for them.

But as she scrolled, it became harsher and just mean. People commented on her weight, said she couldn’t sing, and criticized her personality as seeming fake and forced. Her eyes were locked on the screen, unable to look away, as her heart began to break and few tears began to roll.

It took one final, and the most painful, tweet for her to consider deleting her account completely. She swiped out of the app fast, but the words were still burned into her brain.

Y/N is using Harry, just like she used James before he got rid of her and found someone better.

The words knocked the wind out of her, pouring salt on an open wound that had yet to heal.

She also had the little blue bird for that heartbreak as well. When she opened the app two months ago, the first thing she saw was pictures of her (former) fiance, James, with his tongue down some girl’s throat. At the time she had been devastated, her heart broken beyond repair.

It felt like no one else in the world could understand the way she was feeling. If she was in this position because of another person, they must get it too. The text to Harry was already sent before she had time to think it over.

I looked and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry that I didn’t listen.

His response came only seconds later.

Don’t be sorry. It’s hard not to. Are you alright?

She had to think about his question, unsure if she knew the answer. Tears were still running down her face and she felt like she was a target the entire world had decided it was open season on. Logically, she knew these people never thought she would see these awful things, but it didn’t excuse the hurt she felt when she did.

I don’t know. I just don’t understand how people can be so cruel.

She felt like she was bothering him, even though he had offered to be there for her. He wasn’t her best friend, or a close confidant; he was her fake publicity boyfriend. He had real friends he wanted to talk to or maybe even a real girlfriend underwraps somewhere. Her body was wracked with guilt as she thought it over.

People are just mean on the internet, okay? They think they can say whatever they want without repercussions. I’m so sorry that you are being targeted because of me.

Before she got a chance to think through a proper response to him, her phone dinged with another text. It was from Jeff again.

Really good job, kiddos.

Y/N was confused. They hadn’t done anything else but be seen together today. Her sick sense of curiosity got her again before she opened Twitter again and looked up Harry’s name. He had tweeted for the first time in six months only a few moments ago.

@Harry_Styles: We treat people with kindness.

***

The next time she saw him was two days later at yet another public meet up Jeff had arranged for them. Unfortunately this time, she had become just as famous as Harry seemingly overnight, the flames of her new found fame growing even larger after he had sent that tweet.

While the fame had grown, the hate had calmed since his statement, which most had taken as an official declaration of their relationship. Now, that was not to Jeff’s plans.

She had to fight her way out of her apartment complex, wearing a pair of massive dark sunglasses with circular lenses and shielding her face with her hands the best she could. But she did have to admit that the electric orange fabric of her jumpsuit probably didn’t do much to help her blend in and avoid the attention of the paparazzi that had now found out where she lived.

Harry was sitting at the table by himself facing the back of the cafe when she arrived, two cups of coffee waiting before him to be drank together placed delicately on the table. He had his head down, buried in a book, before she startled him with a hug from behind. Her cheek connected with his warm neck where she buried her head into him and she took in his dizzying cologne.

She felt him jump beneath her as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing a dramatic and cheesy kiss to his cheek, feeling his light stubble prick her chapsticked lips. “My hero,” she joked, trying to bring at least a little humor to the man who had just about jumped out of his skin at her touch.

It felt like she was crossing a boundary, and she was pretty sure she was, but she just needed to thank him and a hug felt like the best way to do that while in a semi-crowded coffee shop. Also, playing up that they were madly in love didn’t hurt.

“Jesus Christ,” he breathed, a hand flying over his chest in surprise to feel his racing heartbeat. “You scared the shit out of me.” Once he settled for a moment, his arm moved across his chest to rest on her arm. His touch was gentle and soft, holding her there gently like he didn’t want her to release him from her grasp. She tried not to think about it too much as she slipped her arms off of him, making her way to the seat that was clearly meant for her across from him.

“I’m sorry that I scared you. A little jumpy today?” she teasingly questioned.

“Hey, watch it,” he playfully threatened. “I believe you called me your hero about thirty seconds ago.”

“I guess I did,” she quipped over the mug she was bringing to her lips. It was sweet but not too sweet, with cream but not too much, and still piping hot; just the way she liked it. “I don’t think it’s too far off,” she smiled before turning back to the coffee. “Good coffee,” she mused. “Just the way I like it.”

“Good. I texted Jeff for your order,” he informed her, the gesture being so thoughtful and sweet she could have melted into a puddle right there and then. “And I think ‘hero’ might be a bit much,” he tacked on.

“Don’t be humble, Harry.” While her voice was still light and held a jesting tone, she meant her words. “You made the entire internet leave me alone, for the most part,” she clarified as there were definitely some nasty messages still floating around Twitter, “in five words.”

“It was the least I could do,” he said while shaking his head slightly, seeming to deflect her words.

“You could have done absolutely nothing.” She reached across the table and grabbed his hand in hers like they had staged at the cafe a few days earlier; but this time, it was an honest gesture, not one for a role they were both meant to be playing. Her words were serious, punctuating each with a gentle nod of her head. “I mean it. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” His eyes held the same truthfulness and honesty she hoped she was mirroring in her own. “I know all of this,” he paused and gestured between them with his free hand, “is for publicity, but I consider you a friend. It was hard to watch it all go down like that. You’re a good person and you didn’t deserve all that. I had to do something.”

There was a warmth that flooded her chest. He called me his friend, she thought to herself, fighting back a big toothy grin. She had been under the impression that all of this was just work for him, something he was doing just to drum up publicity, with no personal connections at all. But him calling her a friend meant so much to her. It meant she was not alone in all this terrifying and overwhelming attention.

“I’m glad you think of me as a friend,” she said, still holding back her smile. “You’re my friend too.” He matched her close-lipped smile that had fought its way onto her face at her words.

They sat in silence together for a few moments. Harry returned to his book and Y/N answered emails; but their hands stayed connected across the small table. This silence was very different from the silence on the day they first met. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence that sat on your tongue, begging you to break the quiet; it was peaceful and safe.

Their silence was broken when a young woman wearing a jittery smile and nervous eyes approached their table. Her voice squeaked out a mouse-like “Hi,” towards the both of them, bringing their eyes up to meet hers and instinctively breaking their hands away from each other.

“I’m so so sorry to be a bother,” she began, cheeks red and hot. “But I’m a really big fan of both of you and I would never forgive myself if I didn’t say hello.” She rambled excitedly, mostly looking at Harry, as she held her slightly shaky hands up to her chest.

“Hello,” Harry said with one of his million dollar smiles. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Emma,” she breathed.

“Well, it’s so nice to meet you Emma.” He spoke gently with her, clearly sensing her anxiety, extending his hand for her to shake. “Thank you for all of your support.”

Y/N watched closely as he spoke with her. He spoke to her like she was the only person in the room, giving her his whole undivided attention, and repeatedly thanking her as she flooded him with compliments about how his music and message of kindness meant so much to her. She was so entranced that she nearly didn’t hear her own name being said as the girl turned towards her.

“I love your music as well,” she grinned, clearly more comfortable after her short conversation with Harry. “And your jumpsuit is just incredible.” Her nervous giggle was contagious, Y/N releasing one as well at the compliment as her cheeks heated slightly. She was shocked she even knew any of her music, clearly being the less popular of the pair.  

“Thank you so much, Emma. It means a lot.”

Emma took a few quick selfies with the both of them (that would be everywhere within a few hours), said goodbye and went to leave the two, but not before she paid them one last compliment. “You two are really cute together. I’m rooting for you.”

Both of their cheeks warmed as they looked back at each other. They were quiet for a moment, unsure how to respond, before Harry turned his attention back to the girl with a coy smile. “I am too,” was all he said.

***

The next three weeks passed in a blur of tour rehearsals, fittings, and public meetings with Harry. And then all of a sudden, it was the night of the first show.

Y/N had never been so nervous in her entire life. She would be the first face seen by just over 19,000 people, tasked to warm up the crowd and prepare them for Harry, which was enough pressure. And then there was the chance that they all hated her guts.

She stood behind the curtain, listening to the loud and inpatient crowd as she paced back and forth. She white-knuckeld her guitar, trying to keep her violently shaking hands from being too visible to the crew around her. Her stomach swirled and her palms were clammy, constantly having to rub them on the pants of her icey blue jumpsuit. It fit her like a glove, the wide legged pants and slight shoulder pads, creating a perfect hourglass silhouette; the only thing she was confident in at the moment was how good she looked in it.

Her heart leapt out of her chest and she almost hit the ceiling when a small voice appeared over her shoulder, whispering “You’re going to do great,” in her ear. If her heart wasn’t about to give out before, it was now. She swung around to face him, almost hitting Harry with her guitar, letting out a small breath of relief when her eyes met his own. They always seemed to calm her down a bit.

“I’m kinda freaking out, H,” she anxiously babbled, using the nickname he had told her to call him. “This is the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of, and they probably all hate me because they think I’m dating you, and I have to make sure I do a good job so they start listening to my music; and I just…” she trailed off for a second, uncomfortably scratching the back of her neck, “I just can’t let you down.”

His face softened at her words, seeming to take pity on her. “Y/N,” he began, resting his hands on her shoulders and looking so deep into her eyes she felt like he could probably see her soul. “We picked you to open because people love your music and the way that you perform. You just have to go out there and do what you do best: sing your heart out and put on a good show. It’s only 25 minutes. I know you can do it.”

Every word that left his lips was laced with honesty and encouragement; just enough for Y/N to relax her furrowed brow and give her lip a break from her constant chewing. “I can do it,” she softly repeated back to him, still not breaking contact with his striking green eyes.

A stage manager passed by them, running to some other important task, but not before tapping her shoulder. “You’re on in 30 seconds,” he spoke, just as she heard the roar of the crowd begin, signalling the dimming of the lights in the arena.

“Go kick some ass,” he winked, stepping backwards from her and releasing her from his grasp. “I’ll be watching.”

Walking on stage, she wasn’t met with ‘boo’s that had plagued her nightmares, or mean looks from the audience, or rotten tomatoes thrown from the crowd.

They were screaming in excitement, screaming for her.

From the second she started playing, the crowd had her back; the ones that knew the words to her songs sang them along with her, and the ones that didn’t, happily danced to her voice. Before long, the smile she had forced onto her face was genuine, and her set passed by with ease. When her 25 minutes were up, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to get off the stage.

She took her final bow as the crowd roared, running off of the stage into the wings, looking for one person in particular. And when she found him, she threw herself into Harry’s open and waiting arms. “I told you that you were going to do great!” He spoke excitedly into her ear and he held her close to his body, his arms wrapped around her waist tight.

She liked the way it felt to be in his arms.

Pulling away from him, she saw the massive grin that he wore for her, noting how adorable his dimples were and how the excited look in his eyes made him look like a little kid. But there was more to his face than excitement, he looked proud.

“They were so nice to me, and they knew my songs, and they were screaming so loud for me, and it just went so well. I can’t believe it!” Her previous anxious chatter had become an exhilarated rambling and she felt on top of the world.

“I can,” he grinned, looking down at his watch quickly. “I have to go get changed.” If she wasn’t so amped up, she might have noticed the disappointment that flashed over his features. “Promise me you’ll watch the show?”

“Pinky swear?” She stuck up her little finger in the air.

“Pinky swear.” He kept their pinkies locked for a moment too long, then released her hand and ran backstage to get dressed.

She kept her promise and watched with excitement as the building shook when Harry took the stage.

She had never heard something quite so loud, sure her ears would be ringing when she snuggled into her bunk on the tour bus that night. Watching him perform was mesmerizing; he knew how to work a stage in every way and make every person in the arena feel like he was singing just for them. He was larger than life while performing and his little dances and mannerisms only got more pronounced the more comfortable he got on stage. He messed with Mitch, who she had only met a few hours ago (he was very nice), and constantly praised Sarah on the drums behind him, while he looked over to Adam and sent him smiles often.

Everyone in the building came for a show, and boy, did he give them one. It was amazing to watch. There was a reason she was a fan.

Bouncing off the stage, full of adrenaline and in a post-show high, he came to find her. It wasn’t hard, as she had never left her spot on the side of the stage, unable to rip her eyes away from the man before her.

“Oh my god, Harry! That was incredible!” she said with delighted amazement.

“I’m glad you liked it.” He was smiling down at her with a big toothy grin, a hand running through his sweaty hair and pushing it off his forehead. “They only get better from here.”

***

He was telling the truth. The shows only got crazier and more exciting as the tour went on, and so did their “relationship.”

About five shows in, Jeff had Harry given her his “H” ring to start wearing. Harry didn’t seem too phased by it all even though she thought it might be too much, saying “it’s like a friendship bracelet.” But it was too big for her fingers, not because she had small hands, but because Harry’s were absolutely massive. She wore it on a chain around her neck from then on and made sure to always be seen playing with it.

Fans took notice and loved it.

A little after that, Jeff sent them off to get matching manicures. Both had a melting rainbow of oranges, pinks, and browns on their fingertips, which looked amazing in the paparazzi photos of them walking around with their fingers intertwined.

The fans loved that too.

But when she “accidentally” posted a photo of Harry on her story, the entire world lost it’s shit. In the photo, he laid sprawled across a bed in only a white hotel robe that was creeping dangerously high up his thigh. He looked sleepy and slightly sweaty, in a post-fuck haze, and clothes that looked very similar to ones she had been seen wearing in public only days before were strewn across the floor. The caption read “I love getting to love you.”

The photo had strategically only been up for about 30 seconds, but by the time it was deleted thousands of people had seen it and screenshots had been taken. They quickly circulated the internet, creating a bit of scandal. But more than anything, people began to love the two of them together even more. Harry looked genuinely happy in the photo, and for most of his fans, that was all that mattered.  

They were creating a fairytale love story for an audience, but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t enjoying her role. She quite liked being his “girlfriend.”

Harry and Y/N had a way of clicking as they grew closer–quite literally as they were crammed together on a tour bus most of the time. They seemed to be able to finish each other’s sentences and always beat the other to the punchline of a joke. The pair had begun to pick up on the other’s mannerisms and habits; Y/N always teasing that Harry was going to rub his nose off one day if he kept rubbing it while he was thinking and Harry always knowing when she got enough sleep by whether or not she had put on eyeliner that morning. They swapped playlists back and forth in their bunks as they tried to doze off and always grabbed a cup of coffee for whoever had decided to sleep in the next day, now knowing the other’s order by heart.

There was only one thing she didn’t know about him that she longed to discover: what his lips felt like against her own. She could never think too hard about it though, or she may just explode.

He had become a calming presence and was currently helping her keep her cool, even though she knew the pair of interviewers across the table were getting ready to grill the pair for every detail they could get. His hand had settled on top of her knee to quell it’s nervous bouncing, but remained after she had stopped, even though no one could see his touch under the table. She watched as his thumb ran itself back and forth along the leg of her flashy orange and yellow patterned overalls and she had a hard time pulling her gaze away when the radio host across the large table began to speak.

“So Harry,” the bald man began. “Fine Line has been one of the biggest albums of the year and I just have to say I love it. It’s truly incredible.” She listened as the man continued on to sing Harry’s praises, going on to list his grammy nominations, sold out world tour, and other accolades. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched his cheeks tinge pink with the praise. She knew anyone watching would pick up on her adoring look and people fawn over it, but she knew her gaze was nothing but truthful.

“Thank you very much,” he said shyly, shaking his head slightly as he spoke into the microphone suspended in front of his face. “You’re too kind.”

“Stop being humble,” she teased him, playfully tapping him on the arm. “All of his music is fantastic,” she said turning her attention back to the man across from them, “especially Fine Line.”

“And there’s Y/N, being the supportive girlfriend,” the man chuckled.

“I support him in everything he does,” she smiled back, not having to embellish the truth at all. “He is an amazing talent and I think Fine Line shows that.”

It wasn’t hard for her to gush about him. It was actually quite easy. She absolutely adored him, as an artist, a friend, and the focus of her affection. She felt an equal warmth in her cheeks as she watched his get even pinker with her compliments.

“That’s actually something we wanted to ask you about,” the blonde woman sitting next to him piped up, a mischievous glint in her eyes that sent nervous butterflies flying around Y/N’s stomach. “One of the songs on Fine Line, Cherry to be specific, actually features the voice of Harry’s ex, Camille. How does that make you feel as his new girl?”

Y/N did her best not to gag at the woman’s question, gritting her teeth as she plastered on a polite smile. “Well, I think Cherry is a really great song and her voice at the end adds a lot,” she spoke as smoothly as she could, refusing to let on that the question rattled her. Harry’s light squeeze on her knee signalled to her that she had answered the question well.

“It’s also been three years since the song was written,” Harry cut in. “Things are obviously a lot different now.” He connected their eyes for a second while he was leaning back into his seat, sending her a short smile, but she knew him well enough to know it was genuine.

“Oh, definitely,” the woman eagerly agreed. “You’re in a great new relationship with a beautiful girl on your arm.”

“Y/N,” he emphasized her name as the woman had referred to her as a possession of his for a second time, “and I are very happy. Thank you.” To an onlooker, he was calm. To her, he was visibly uncomfortable by her words.

Y/N began to notice a clear pattern as the interview went on. Harry was asked exclusively about his music and the tour, while Y/N only became relevant to their interviewers when they wanted to mention their relationship.

When the man asked Y/N if she felt uncomfortable playing to Harry’s mainly female fanbase every night that are “so obviously jealous of her,” something snapped inside of her, sending all her hours of media training out the window. “I’m not uncomfortable at all,” she said curtly. “His music is great and he puts on an awesome show. I don’t think the audience’s gender really has anything to do with the music.” She watched the man’s face fall before she decided to go on. “And I would like to think that at least a few of them are there for me too. You do know I make music too, right?”

An indignant smirk found its way to her lips as the man stammered out, “yes, of course.”

“Okay. I was just wondering since you have only asked me questions about our relationship since we got here.”

She knew Jeff wouldn’t be happy, but at the moment, she couldn’t care less. They may not have really been dating, but the interviewers didn’t know that. All of their dismissal of her and her career was 100% real.

She had been so worked up that she didn’t even realize Harry’s hand had left her knee until it found its way to rest on her back. She leaned into his touch as he rubbed her back softly while she crossed her arms in front of her.

The interviewers looked at the two of them across the table, jaws both lying on the floor. It was quiet until Harry nonchalantly spoke. “She has a point.”

The last few minutes of the interview passed in an awkward blur that felt suffocating. She felt like she could finally take in a deep breath once they were in the back of a massive SUV being driven away from the studio.

“Jeff is going to have my head,” she mumbled under her breath, nose stuck into her phone as she scrolled Twitter to see what people were saying about her outburst. But before she could read any opinions, Harry's tattooed arm blocked her view as he gently pushed her phone down onto her lap.

“Look at me,” he murmured, beckoning her attention to the other side of the back seat. When she connected her eyes with his, his usual calming aura took over her, softening the stressed crease between her brows. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Harry, I just blew my career up into smoke because I couldn’t deal with a rude interviewer,” she huffed at him.

“No,” he disagreed softly, moving the hand that rested on her arms to interlock his fingers with one of hers. “You stuck up for yourself to people who were ignoring your work and whittling you down to your relationship.”

“But it was rude.”

“It was necessary.”

The car ride to the venue for that night’s concert was quiet, but Harry never let go of her hand, brushing his thumb over her knuckles in a comforting touch. She wasn’t sure if she ever wanted him to let go.

***

It was the early hours of the morning by the time the pair returned to their tour bus and went to crawl into their bunks.

Her performance had gone well and Harry was mesmerizing (as always). He was truly hypnotizing to watch while he performed and she hadn’t missed watching him yet, even as they drew close to the end of the tour. It was the best part of her day and she would miss it dearly after the last show.

She was almost asleep, curtain drawn and cuddled under a pile of blankets, when her cell began to ring. Her heart sank, knowing only one person who would know when she had a sliver of free time (even though it’s debatable if sleeping counts as free time). She was going to get scolded like she was a little kid in the principal's office and she knew it.

“Hi Jeff,” she answered with a sigh as she pulled the curtain back and slid from the bunk, the cold air of the tour bus nipping at her legs.

Her gaze was met by a snuggled up Harry wearing a concerned face across from her in his own bed. He never closed the curtain, not even when she asked politely to muffle his snores, always saying something about how it made him claustrophobic. He sent her a tired smile and mouthed “good luck,” extending a hand for a fist bump as she passed. Knocking their knuckles together put a brief smile on her face before she buckled in for the chewing out she was about to get.

Harry watched her intently as she paced up and down the front of the tour bus as she spoke to Jeff, too far away for him to listen in. Her face gradually turned from anxious, to surprised, to something that would have probably been happiness if she wasn’t so tired.

“Alright, thank you for everything.” She spoke softly when she finally returned to be within earshot for him. “Goodnight Jeff.”

“So?” he murmured groggily at her, brows raised in question at her.

“People loved it,” she said shocked, like she didn’t fully believe it herself. “They think I’m some kind of badass for shutting down a sexist. Which is, like, a lot,” she spoke with a disbelieving chuckle, unable to find the right words in her groggy state. “I don’t really know what to make of it.”

Harry seemed to spring up from his spot in his bed, smacking his head on the top of the bunk in the process, prompting them both to dissolve into a puddle of giggles.

“Don’t get too excited for me,” she laughed. “I cannot be the reason that you hurt yourself and have to cancel a show.”

“I was just too excited to say ‘I told you so,’” he smirked, now rubbing the side of his head through his curls.

“Cocky bastard,” she sarcastically murmured under her breath while dramatically rolling her eyes.

She watched with confusion as Harry left his bed, and after a short and frantic search for his pajama pants so he wouldn’t “offend her eyes,” he moved towards the front of the bus. Her eyes trailed him as he bent down to the small mini fridge and pulled out two beers.

“We have to celebrate.”

It was 2 AM and she had been so ready for bed after a long day. But she knew she could never say no to him. She thanked god that they had a day off tomorrow.

After retrieving her massive and lovingly worn Grateful Dead sweatshirt to protect her from the chilly air, she nearly ran to the front of the bus. His painted pink fingers moved with skill as he popped the bottle caps off with one of his rings, handing it to her and gently nudging his bottle against hers.

“Cheers,” he murmured softly as he looked down at her with a kindhearted smile.

“Cheers,” she seemed to whisper back to him, a flutter in her stomach reminding her how badly she wanted to reach out and connect her lips to his. Instead she slid into the small booth across from him, taking a long sip from the bottle as she watched him do the same.

“I want you to know that I was really proud of you today,” he said as he put his beer down on the table. “Rude interviewers are never easy and you handled it like a champ.”

“Thank you, H,” she nodded, suddenly bashful and unable to make eye contact with him. Her cheeks burned hot as she put all her focus into tracing the rim of the bottle with her finger tip.

“Hey,” he called for her attention and her eyes snapped up to meet his. “I mean it, Y/N.”

“I know you do,” she gently nodded at him. “I’m just really happy they didn’t ask about my ex,” she chuckled as she took another sip. “That would have gone very poorly.”

“Oh yeah, I was a little annoyed they brought up my ex but not yours,” he teased. “Not fair if you ask me.”

“Well, then I’m glad no one asked you.”

“Can I ask you?”

“What?”

“About your ex.”

She should have been prepared to talk about it with Harry at some point. Half of this plan had been devised to get back at James anyway. She should be able to talk about it by now, especially with someone she had grown so close to.

“I guess so,” she shrugged, trying to seem casual like the mere mention of him didn’t still hurt her heart a little bit. “What do you want to know?”

“As much as you’re willing to tell me.”

He looked soft like this, eyes slightly sleepy with a tenderness in them as he looked back at her. His hair was unruly and puffy and he was wrapped in the powder blue blanket that lived on the tour bus’ couch. She would have told him anything that he ever wanted to hear if he kept looking like this.

With a deep breath, she began to recount everything that went down.

“I met James while I was still working as a waitress. I recognized him from his movies and started a conversation, and then–to my surprise–he asked me out on a date. I had been in LA for three weeks and this insanely famous actor is asking me to go out with him, so I obviously said yes.” She paused to take a swig of her beer, before mumbling under her breath, “I should have said ‘fuck no’ to that.”

A smile ghosted over her lips as she listened to Harry’s laugh across the table. She swore that laugh could cure cancer.

“But I didn’t,” she continued. “He introduced me to the right people and helped me make the right connections in the industry, which I guess made me feel indebted to him. Does that make sense?”

“Of course,” Harry nodded, eyebrows furrowed and listening intently.

“I should have broken up with him after I signed with Jeff and the label, however awful that sounds. But he just always knew the right things to say to make me feel special and like I was the most important person in the world. Even after I found out he was talking to other girls, he was somehow able to talk himself out of it.” She shook her head as she recalled it. “You wanna hear something fucked up?”

“Always,” he said with a gentle smirk.

“He proposed to me using lines from a romcom he was working on.”

Harry nearly spit out his drink. “Holy shit, you’re kidding!”

“I wish. I didn’t find out until I went with him to the premier a few months later and the proposal scene sounded surprisingly familiar.”

“What a dirtbag.”

“I know, right?” she laughed. “Then a few weeks after that, he got papped with his tongue down another girl’s throat. That finally knocked some sense into me and I ran for the hills.”

“Fuck,” he sighed as he finished his beer. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she breathed. “I don’t even feel hurt by him anymore, ya know? I just feel angry at myself for trusting him.”

“I understand but it’s not your fault he was a piece of shit,” he said as he rose from his seat and traveled to the mini fridge once again. “Another?” he asked, holding the bottle up about his head.

“Fuck it,” she shrugged. “Sure.”

She watched him skillfully pop off the tops again using just his rings, making a mental note to make him teach her how he did that, before he flopped back down in his seat.  

“At the risk of sounding like a Facebook mom, ‘you grow through what you go through,’” she chuckled, taking another long sip as she finished her first. He matched her high pitched giggle across the table and she nearly drooled beer down her front from smiling so wide.

“Amen, sister,” he agreed, raising his beer in the air.

“Oh, that was awful.” She shook her head as she descended into giggles. “Please never say that again.”

“Noted.”

“Anyway,” she began again after another sip of her drink, “I was well prepared to get my heartbroken by untrustworthy men after you, Styles.”

“I’m offended–tell me more,” he spoke quickly, his signature narcissistic smirk settling onto his features.

“I need you to know that Zayn leaving was my first real heartbreak.”

“Were the rest of us chopped liver?”

“You weren’t Zayn, I can tell you that.”

“Ouch!” He let out a loud belly laugh.

“Put yourself in my shoes for a minute, H. So first, the hottest-”

“Rude-”

“-I’m speaking. So the hottest one leaves, and then the rest of you are all like ‘we’ll be back in 18 months,’” she mocked him in a high pitched impersonation with a wave, “and then 6 months later you all mysteriously have solo careers.”

“I do not see you complaining about my solo career now, ya fame leetch.” He spoke with such humor and charisma, she couldn’t have even wished to be offended by his joke.

“Absolutely not, sir,” she said sternly, giving him a dramatic salute. “Deepest apologies from the fame leetch.” The two collapsed into giggles, laughing until their sides began to ache.

“Wait, I have a question for mega superstar Mr. Harry Styles of former One Direction fame,” she announced.

“I believe that’s me,” he bowed his head and raised his hand into the hair. “Shoot.”

She barely could get the question out, laughing too hard at her own joke. “Is Taylor Swift a good kisser?”

“Oh god,” he exasperatedly threw his hands in the air, chuckling while rolling his eyes dramatically before grinning wide as he thought over his answer. “I don’t kiss and tell,” he finally smirked.

“Wait, I have another!”

“Watch it, smart ass.”

“You think I’m smart?” she teased as she feigned flattery. “Have you ever heard of a song called ‘English Love Affair?’” He narrowed his eyes at her, a knowing smirk crossing his lips as he shook his head at her. “Also, when do I get to meet Gemma?”

“I’ll consider it when you stop bringing up her sex life, perv.”

“We’ve been dating for a few months now,” she teased as she continued to prod, emboldened by the liquid courage running through her veins as she was now half way through her next beer. “I think I should be allowed to meet the family soon. They seem delightful.”

“They would love how you have decided to rip into me like this,” he said with a cheeky smile, dimples on full display.

“Rockstars have to get knocked down a peg every once in a while.” She sarcastically shrugged. “Consider it a favor.”

She couldn’t help but think about how right this felt. Their back and forth flowed so smoothly, the banter falling from their lips without effort. Their laughter joined together in a delightful melody and she imagined they could go on this way all night.

Spending any amount of time with him made her so fucking happy; and time spent teasing each other over beers caused her to nearly explode with joy. How much she was enjoying herself was too hard to put into words.

He was safe and he was kind and he made her laugh no matter how bad his jokes were.

He was her best friend.

And for the first time, she was willing to admit that she was in love with him.

“Harry,” she hummed softly as their laughter died down to a comfortable silence. “Thank you for everything. You’ve changed my life forever and I can never repay you.”

“Just remember me when you get famous.”

“Oh shut up, I’m being serious,” she playfully scolded before letting her tone drop back into honesty. “You’re a very good person and I’m eternally grateful for you letting me be your opening act and then agreeing to this whole relationship charade.”

“I didn’t ‘let’ you be anything, Y/N. I picked you myself.”

Her brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I listened to your album when it came out and fell in love with it,” he shrugged, his casual tone contradicting the surprised raise of her pulse. “When I found out Jeff also managed you, I knew I had to have you on the tour.”

Y/N was honestly stunned. She had always assumed that the tour was Jeff’s doing, a careful arrangement pairing Full Stop’s new up-and-comer with their most famous and established talent. Being offered the tour had been the biggest opportunity and honor she had ever been presented with; but she had never considered Harry himself being behind it.

“Oh,” was all she could manage to get out.

It was now his turn to be confused. “What’s so surprising about that?” he asked, reading the shock on her face like she was an open book.

“I just,” she stammered, trying to find the words in her slightly hazy state. “I never would have thought you knew who I was or listened to my music.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” she trailed off. “You’re you, and I’m just... me, I guess.”

He didn’t respond right away, just looking at her intently and slightly amused, sea glass eyes boring into her with a pink lip held between his teeth.

He scanned her frame, from the way her hair sat messily on top of her head and the way the massive sweatshirt swallowed her body enough to where she had pulled her knees up to her chest underneath it. Her shoulders were slumped slightly, making her appear smaller as she held her legs close to her torso and her eyebrows were knitted together in worry, slightly nervous under his intense gaze.

She downed the rest of her beer in an attempt to forget his intense attention. It didn’t work.

“You really don’t know how incredible you are, do you?” he finally asked, the corner of his lips twitching into a small smile.

She felt her whole body burn with his compliment, wanting to shrink into herself and disappear completely from his view. She finally shook her head slightly in an attempt to deflect his words, breathing his name under her breath as if to scold him for being too kind.

“You are,” he insisted, ignoring her objection. “You’re so talented and your music deserves all the attention that it gets. I am honored that I get to play a part in helping expose the world to you and what you have to offer.”

“Thank you.” Her words came out as a whisper.

“You’re welcome, love.”

His pet name made her stomach turn in a nervous excitement and a wide grin involuntarily came to her lips.

“I like it when I make you smile like that.” His words only made her beam further. “You look very pretty when you smile.”

“Stop it,” she said softly, cheeks burning hot and having a hard time making eye contact with him.

“Stop what?” He feigned innocence as he lightly teased her, smirk still prominent on his features.

“Are you flirting with me, Styles?”

“Just practicing.”

His words rang through her mind long after they had left the table and crawled back into their bunks for the night. She wished she could see inside his head to understand whatever thoughts were running around his brain.

But for now she could just peak at him through the gap she had purposely left in her curtain, wondering if she ever popped into his dreams as he slept.

He was always in hers.

***

There was a sadness mixed in with her usually thrilled mood as she took the stage for the last show of the tour. While there was an element of relief as she looked forward to some well needed rest, the adrenaline and joy of being in front of a crowd was something that she would miss dearly. She had grown into a real performer over the last two months as they zig-zagged across the US and this period of time would have a special place in her heart long after it had ended.

But there was another reason why she was so sad to see this chapter come to an end. As far as she knew, a staged breakup was not far away and the thought of being without Harry was heartbreaking. He had become her person and soon their feux falling out would be on the front page of every magazine. She wanted nothing more in the world than for their relationship to be real, but it would be forced to end before it had even truely started.

She got choked up as she sang her final song that night, letting a few tears escape as she took in the thousands of people singing her lyrics back to her, flashlights swaying in the air to the beat of the music. Taking a move from Harry’s own playbook, she took her mic and directed it to the crowd to sing as she cried. The vibrations of the drums and bass behind her nestled it’s way into her bones and the chorus of singing voices in the crowd surrounded her in a bittersweet melody.

The past two months she had been on top of the world, and as soon as this song finished, it was the beginning of the end.

She took her final bow, watching as the small tears fell forward onto the dusty stage below her. She waved and blew kisses to the crowd, then nearly ran off the stage looking for the only person she wanted to see.

Harry was right where he always was, just out of view behind the curtain, holding his arms out for her to fall into.

“Awe, babe,” he hummed sympathetically when she settled her head onto his chest, surely ruining his crisp white t-shirt with her now wet makeup. “It’s okay. Final shows are always tough.” He rubbed her back gently, in a soothing rhythm.

He smelled so good. He smelled like home.

She tilted her head up to connect her glassy eyes with his. “I just don’t want this all to end.” She knew she wasn’t just talking about the tour.

“Neither do I,” he said as his lips curved into a devilish smirk that sent her heart into palpitations. “That’s why I have one last surprise for you.”

“Oh, Harry,” she sighed while wiping the remaining tears off her cheeks. “What have you done?”

“You said you liked surprises!” he defended.

“Not surprises in front of 20,000 people!”

“I promise you’re going to love this one, okay?” His voice was softer now, encouraging and supportive. “You’re going to come out and sing an extra song with me during my set,” he revealed.

“Sing what?”

“That’s the surprise.”

“Do I even know the words?”

“You definitely know the words,” he chuckled.

“I just finished sobbing. I can’t go out there like this.”

“You can fix your makeup. I believe in you.”

“What am I going to wear?” she asked, grasping at straws at this point, doing anything she could to get out of this.

“I had Lambert put something together for you.”

“Of course you did.”

She peppered him with a few more questions, but he had a smooth and charming answer to every single one. He had thought every detail out, and as always, she couldn’t say no to him.

“Fine,” she finally exasperatedly agreed, immediately met with his excited and dimpled smile that she had fallen head over heels for.

“Perfect,” he breathed. “I have to go get ready and so do you. I already put everything you need in your dressing room, okay?” She nodded, still biting her lip anxiously. He held her by her shoulders, lowering his head to match their eye level as he leaned in close, before he spoke. “You’re going to have fun. I promise.”

“Pinky swear?”

“Pinky swear.”

Seconds after they locked their little fingers together, he pressed a quick and protective kiss to her forehead that set her whole body ablaze before running off in the direction of his dressing room. She remained stunned and frozen in her spot for a few moments trying to process what it felt like to have his lips on her for the first time since that very first day they had met.

There was no audience to perform it for or an act to keep up behind the curtain. He kissed her because he wanted to.

She was finally snapped out of her daze when a stagehand bumped into her by accident, prompting her to begin the short walk back to her dressing room. But the ghost of his lips remained on her forehead, an incessant tingle placed there by his touch.

The dress she found waiting for her was one of the most beautiful gowns she had ever set her eyes on. Made of a light purple chiffon, the wrap dress’ long sleeves and floor length skirt flowed freely. A belt cinched the wispy fabric close to her waist and a deep-v exposed her neck and chest. But the most dazzling part of the dress were the red sequined hearts that dotted the fabric and reflected the light of the dressing room like a million little mirrors.

Slipping into it, the light fabric was soft against her skin, opaque enough but still slightly sheer to let light through and show off her legs and the bright red shiny pumps Lambert had left for her. She felt the most beautiful she had ever felt in this dress, boosting her confidence and quelling her nerves about whatever the hell Harry was planning.

“One minute to curtain,” was announced in an ominous voice over the arena’s backstage speakers as she finished fixing her makeup and she all but ran to make it back to the stage in time. She only had one more chance to watch him perform and she refused to miss a second of it.

Harry dazzled as the lights focused in on him, his deep blue and fully sequined suit reflecting the light and turning him into a human disco ball. He stood close to the edge of the stage as the beginning notes of the first song began being played by the band, but he made no move towards his mic stand to sing. His eyes were closed and his arms were outstretched to the audience, taking in every scream, every tear, and the thunderous shake of the building; but also giving himself to them.

Then the show began. As usual, he was electric, but tonight was like he had turned himself up to eleven. Every note he sang was full of his heart and every dance move was done with his entire body, even his bad jokes seemed funnier tonight.

She was so mesmerized she almost forgot about his ‘surprise.’ Almost.

“Since tonight is unfortunately our last show,” he pouted. “I thought I would do something special,” he spoke to the crowd as they roared, but quickly connected his eyes with her’s in the wings. By the smirk plastered on his face, she knew she was in for it.

“I recently found out that someone very close to me was a very big fan of…” he trailed off as he dramatically pretended to search for the right words, “my previous work.” He finished with a smirk and his words prompted the loudest reaction since he had been on stage.

“Now, I told her that she would be coming on stage to join me tonight, but I didn’t exactly tell her what we would be singing and I haven’t performed this song in a very long time, so cut us some slack if we mess up. This is very unrehearsed.” He kept sneaking glances back to her, as her eyes grew wider at the stunt he was currently pulling. “But I know for a fact that she knows all the words. I listen to her sing them in the shower quite often.” He wore a cheeky dimpled grin as he looked back at her once again.

The building was shaking due to the suspense he was creating, and looking down at her hands, she realized she was to. She gripped hard onto the mic a stagehand had just shoved at her, pleading with her hands to stop their tremors.

“Now, I would love it if you could all give another warm welcome to one of my favorite people on the planet, Y/N Y/L/N!” He turned his body to her for a final time, extending his hand out for her to take. Her legs felt like jello as she walked out into the bright lights towards him, interlocking her fingers with his as a way to keep her on her feet.

The audience’s screams were deafening at seeing the two of them together and she thanked god she had her earpieces in to protect her ear drums or they would have surely burst. She could only imagine the articles that would be written about this and the thousands of tweets that were probably already being sent.

“I’m gonna kick your ass,” she mouthed at him threateningly, but she couldn’t even get through the sentence before his dazzling smile began to quell her anxiety.

“The look on your face is 100% worth getting my ass kicked,” he answered smoothly before turning his attention back to the audience. “Everyone, sing along if you know the words,” he commanded their attention. “This is Ready to Run.”

Her jaw dropped and the crowd roared as the band behind her began to play the first few chords of the song she loved and knew so well. She had admitted it a few days ago that it was one of her favorites of his ‘previous work,’ but apparently he already knew that from the few showers she had taken on the tour bus.

“There’s a lightning in your eyes I can’t deny,” he began by himself, her brain still too shocked to jump in yet. He sang the first few lines to her with a giant grin plastered on his face, hand still holding tight to hers. His eyes had a playful glint in them that seemed to say ‘just have fun.’

“There’s a devil in your smile, it’s chasing me,” she finally began to sing, Harry fading his voice out so she could take the next few lines by herself as he admired her.

He did have a devilish smile, but it was one she loved with her entire heart. As she began to sing, she felt her muscles begin to relax into the song she had sung to herself so many times before, letting her body begin to bounce to the growing rhythm as her dress flowed around her.

The stage vibrated as Sarah beat her drums to introduce the chorus. “This time I’m ready to run, escape from the city and follow the sun,” the pair sang together, eyes still locked as their voices combined into the most perfect tune. “Cause I wanna be yours, don’t you wanna be mine?” they continued the lyrics. She felt herself meaning the words leaving her mouth more and more as they went on. She did want to be his, she couldn’t deny that. “I don’t wanna get lost in the dark of the night.”

Her apprehensiveness eased further as the music picked up and the hook went on, finally allowing herself to have a bit of fun. “Wherever you are is the place I belong,” they insisted towards each other, leaning in close before Harry grabbed her hand to dramatically spin her, the beautiful shining fabric of her dress splaying out around her. The next line was mumbled through giggles by both of them, but their laughter only added to the perfect moment they were having.

They danced across the stage together like there weren’t 20,ooo pairs of eyes watching them, both singing their hearts out to each other. It began to feel like they weren’t even there. It was just Y/N and Harry, serenading each other to one of her favorite songs.

“There’s a future in my eyes I can’t foresee,” she sang to him to start the second verse.

“Unless, of course, I stay on course and keep you next to me.” Harry grabbed her by her waist and pulled her into his side as he sang the words, prompting more giggles from her. She loved the way he smiled so wide as he sang, never breaking his eye contact with her and emitting pure joy. His eyes looked honest as he sang, like he meant every word just as much as she did.

The pair made their way through the rest of the verse and second chorus, flawlessly moving around the stage like they owned it. Y/N selfishly decided to let him have the bridge all to himself, needing to hear the way his beautiful voice hit the high notes. “This time I’m ready to run,” he sang passionately, executing the downward moving riff perfectly. “I’d give everything that I got for your love,” he pointed across the stage towards her, beckoning her back close to him. She quickly skipped to him at his request.

Like she had blinked, the song was already nearing its end.

“Cause I wanna be free and I wanna be young, I’ll never look back now I’m ready to run,” they belted the last lines out to each other. The band fell quiet on their last chord and the crowd exploded, but their noise fell on deaf ears as the pair stood so close their heaving chests were almost pressed up against each other. His eyes stared down into hers and she watched as his eyes flickered quickly down to her lips.

The world ceased to exist when he pressed his mouth to hers, even if it only lasted a second. It was nothing more than a peck, but it was everything to her. Her body igniting with heat and eyes full of shock, she looked back at him in simultaneous confusion and adoration, before realizing they had been staring at each other for too long. She needed to get off the stage so he could continue with his show. She walked back slowly towards the wings, letting the hand he had still been holding fall to her side. She waved and smiled to the crowd the best she could in her clouded mind.

“Thank you everyone!” she shouted into her mic as she moved out of their view. She shoved her mic into the first set of hands that would take it as she wobbled her way over to a table with water bottles. She nearly choked as she tried to suck one down, hoping it would ease the dizzy feeling he had created with his lips. Her lips burned just as her forehead had earlier in the night.

He had kissed her. He had sang a love song with her and then he had kissed her. She couldn’t decipher if that kiss was a confirmation that he shared the same feelings for her or if it was just another act for the cameras. But his mouth felt so right against hers. They fit together like a pair of puzzle pieces. She tried to suppress the optimistic hope that rose in her chest, but it began to swallow her whole.

When she heard his next song begin, she made her way back to the spot that had become hers at the side of the stage. She watched him perform the rest of the show in a loving haze, doe eyed and hypnotized, lips still buzzing from his contact.

He gave it his all. By the last song he was out of breath, drenched in sweat, and looked like he was about to pass out at any second. The crowd applauded for minutes after he left the stage and they were still cheering when she finally caught sight of him again. His curls were stuck to his forehead and his skin was shiny and flushed. He was panting, still trying to recover from his workout of a finale show; but he was beaming. His smile seemed to turn him into a beacon, emitting a light and positive energy that drew everyone backstage towards him.

She was so transfixed on Harry as he thanked the crew and accepted congratulations from all around that she just about jumped out of her skin when Jeff slinked up behind her and whispered ‘boo’ in her ear.

“What the fuck, Jeff,” she chuckled as she caught her breath, resting her hand on her chest and feeling her racing heartbeat.

“I just wanted to congratulate you on being half of the best fake couple out there,” he teased. “That kiss was perfect. People are losing their minds over it.”

“Oh,” she said softly, feeling every emotion she was distracted from while watching Harry rush back into her. Her heart sank as she remembered all the questions that continued to haunt her since she got off stage. “Thanks,” she murmured, plastering a smile onto her face. “I’m glad we could make you proud.”

“If you two could convince me, you can convince anyone.” Jeff walked off moments later, leaving her to sit in her confused thoughts as he disappeared into the hoards of bodies waiting for their minute with Harry.

She knew that she didn’t ‘convince’ Jeff of anything on her part. Everything she did with Harry was authentic and truthful. Including the thrilled grin that appeared on her face when she finally made eye contact with the exhausted man across the room. She gave him a shy wave that he sheepishly returned, biting back a shy smile. He pointed in the direction of his dressing room and mouthed “meet me in 15.”

She could never say no to him.

Fifteen minutes later, she was knocking on the large wooden door that had a single piece of paper that read STYLES haphazardly taped onto it. When it finally flew open, she was met by a soaking wet Harry with a towel hanging dangerously low on his hips. Her eyes trailed down his body without permission, taking in the toned torso that was decorated with his beautiful tattoos. Her eyes hovered over the two ferns that sat on his pelvis, too fascinated with the dark ink to pull her eyes away just yet.

She had obviously seen him in various states of undress before. They lived together on a tour bus without much space to exist with privacy, but this was different. He wasn’t rushing to get dressed or quickly changing his outfit. And he wasn’t moving away from her gaze at all.

If she hadn’t been so entranced by him, she would have noticed he was looking her up and down in the exact same manner.

She had changed since she had seen him last. The skin-tight black velvet romper she had brought along for the afterparty now fit her snuggly and held her every curve. The dark fabric was tight and appeared almost painted on, a rainbow racing stripe making its way down either side of her chest. The short shorts of the outfit exposed nearly all of her legs and the deep neckline put much of her chest on display as well. It’s long sleeves were her favorite part, as a strip of fringe dangled from below her arms any time she moved.

“You look great,” Harry finally choked out, his voice pulling their eyes back up to the other’s face.

“Oh, thanks,” she said, slightly awkwardly. “You too.”

“Well, I’m hopefully not going to the after party dressed like this,” he chuckled before stepping aside and ushering her into the room.

His dressing room was much larger than hers and she settled herself on the brown leather couch in the corner as she waited for him to get ready, sneaking glances up from her phone often. She chuckled as she watched him spend far too long fussing with his curls in the mirror, but was quickly distracted by the way his back and arms flexed when he reached up to muse his hair. Once he was satisfied with the way it fell, he disappeared into the bathroom at the back of the room. When he emerged, he was finally dressed, allowing her to take a deep breath and to focus on something other than his bare skin for the first time since he had opened the door.

The black satin suit was simple for him, but the tight white tank top that sat underneath hugged every muscle in his torso. She knew as soon as he got in the hot club, he would lose the jacket, and she would be devastatingly distracted once again.

The narcissist took one final look at himself in the mirror before turning to her and extending a hand. “Ready, darling?”

“You just spent 15 minutes exclusively on your hair and you’re asking me if I’m ready?” she teased as she took his hand, weaving her fingers between his as they exited the room together.

He leaned down close to her ear as they walked down the now mostly empty hallway, lips brushing over the hollow of her ear as he spoke. “I could have done it faster, but you were so obviously enjoying the show.”

“Relax yourself, Magic Mike,” she muttered indignantly, but hung her head in a way she hoped he couldn’t see how flustered he made her. Was she really that obvious?

They walked hand in hand out to the parking garage, now caught in a back and forth about whether or not Harry could be a male stripper. He said yes. She said no, although she did admit at one point that he worked his mic stand like a pole.

“Hey Jeff,” he called when they finally reached the parking garage where Jeff and Glenne had been waiting for them to head to the club. “Do you think I could be a stripper?”

“I think people would pay a lot to see it, but they may be disappointed in your dancing skills.”

“Come on,” he playfully whined. “I have some moves.”

“You have one move,” Y/N cut in with a chuckle, “and it’s the wiggle.” She brought her hands up near her chest, tilted her head back while dramatically biting her lip, and swayed her arms by her sides, earning a chorus of laughter from the people around her.

She hadn’t even realized she had done the move without releasing Harry’s hand first, dragging his arm into her dance as well, until their manager commented on it. “You know, you two don’t have to be holding hands all the time and keeping the show up back here,” he said with a slightly suspicious quirk in his eyebrows.

Her smile had been in the process of fading, like they had been caught doing something wrong, before Harry answered smoothly. “We know. Just practicing.”

There were those words again. Just practicing, she thought over to herself. But was he practicing anymore? How many flirty comments, heartfelt compliments, and warm touches did it take to cross the line of practicing to the real thing?

She wasn’t sure about Harry, but she knew that she wasn’t just practicing anymore.

She knew that the way they sat nearly on top of each other in the large SUV on the way to the club felt more than friendly. And the way he hadn’t stopped touching her in some way since they left his dressing room insinuated far more than something with business-like intentions. And the way he looked at her everytime he caught her eye the entire way to the club, always with a bright smile and adoring gaze that she always returned, pulled at her heartstrings far more than they should have if this was all an act.

A sloppy and cheeky grin settled almost permanently on his features after he had a few drinks in him, his arms moving in a lazy and fluid manner as she took in his many tattoos that he had exposed when he ditched his jacket (just like she knew he would). His butterfly was visible through the tight ribbed fabric of the white tank top and the little birds that peaked out from underneath seemed to be inviting her even closer to him in her now inebriated state.

All she wanted to do was to connect her lips with his as she watched him make conversation with someone from his management, entranced by the way his perfect mouth moved as he spoke. She once again craved the shocks of electricity that were created between them at the contact and could not stop thinking about it no matter how hard she tried. The protective hand that had settled onto her hip and continued to hold her close to his body just wasn’t enough anymore.

The pair had been drinking far too much; martinis turning into vodka sodas that had turned into straight tequila shots. She believed it was tequila shot four that did her in. The last thing she remembered was licking the line of salt off the back of her hand, downing the shot, and being entranced by Harry’s eyes as she bit down on the slice of lime he held carefully with his jeweled fingers.  

***

The next morning, Y/N woke up in a hotel room that she didn’t recognize with a pounding headache and a swirling gut. It felt like she had been hit with a truck and she could barely pick her head up off the pillow.

She had so many questions about what had happened the night before. Where was she? Who let her drink that much? Whose clothes was she wearing? But most of all, what the hell happened after that fourth shot?

But she realized the worst was yet to come when she heard soft snoring coming from beside her. She knew that snoring well. It was the snoring that kept her up half the night for the last two months and the one that had almost driven her to suffocating her bus-mate in his sleep; the snoring that matched the crumbled black suit she just noticed in a ball on the floor.

It took every ounce of strength in her body to pull herself from the pillow and turn around in the bed to have her suspicions confirmed.

There he was.

His dark long eyelashes were fluttered down across the tops of his cheeks and his hair was going in every direction, skin clammy like his body was trying to rid itself of all the poison he had ingested the night before. The crumpled comforter was pushed down his stomach, his bare skin holding a sheen that helped define every dip or curve of his muscles and the tiniest bit of the band of his boxers peaked out to assure her that he at least wasn’t fully naked next to her.

Why were they in bed together? And why did he look so good? Oh my god, she thought as a possibility dawned on her. Did we sleep together?

“Harry,” she murmured softer than she intended, voice scratchy and mouth dry. The soreness at the back of her throat clued her into the copious amounts of screaming she must have done last night. He didn’t stir at her gentle coaxing, the light streaming through the windows making him look angelic as it covered him in a blanket of soft light while he continued to sleep.

It was a hard nudge to his chest that finally made him open his eyes, immediately releasing a groan she was sure she made when she regained consciousness too. He looked at her puzzled, still rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he propped himself up on his elbows. He took an equally confused look around the hotel room before looking back at her. She watched as the gears slowly turned in his head until his eyes opened wide and he spring up into a sitting position to mirror hers.

“We didn’t,” he whispered hopefully. “Oh my god, did we?” he asked, a look of horror crossing his face that matched her own.

“I have no idea,” she anxiously replied. “I was hoping you would know!”

“You don’t remember anything?”

“The last thing I remember was doing tequila shots with you.”

“I remember those.” He rubbed his eyes hard like it would somehow jog his memory. His eyebrows knit together, buried in thought as he searched his brain for a timeline. “I can follow the night up until we did karaoke.”

“We did karaoke?” she repeated incredulously and was met with a somber nod. “Do I even want to know what we sang?”

He shook his head slowly, shame clear on his face, before he finally mumbled. “We did ‘It’s Raining Men.’”

“Oh my god, no,” she whined, holding her head in her hands and rubbing her temples. There were surely videos of them sloppily singing on top of a bar circulating online and she wasn’t sure how Jeff would be able to spin that one in a positive light.

“Where’s your phone?” he asked, a hopeful glint in his eye as he reached for his own. “Maybe there’s something on there that can clue us in.” It took her a moment but she finally spotted it on the ground in the corner of the room. She said a silent prayer that it wasn’t dead or broken.

Forcing her heavy limbs out from under the covers she made her way towards the device, but not before she heard a confused sound coming from Harry. “How did you get my clothes?”

Looking down at herself and taking in the red lettering that read But Daddy I Love Him across her chest, it clicked that the t-shirt and baggy basketball shorts were his. But how they hell did she get into them?

“I think we’ve established at this point that I don’t know anything that happened after about midnight, Harry.” Her words came out laced with slight frustration. She hoped he knew she wasn’t annoyed with him, just their situation.

“Just a question, princess.”

She ignored his quip and began to search through her texts, call history, and photos, hoping to find anything at all that could help trace their steps through the night. She found nothing but a few selfies of them still at the club. One was the pair casually smiling, the next was one of him kissing her on the cheek that made her skin warm, but the final one made her snort out a laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“I have a picture on my phone of you with two martini olives shoved up your nose,” she spoke through hysterical laughter. “Definitely birthday post material if you ask me.”

“Let me see,” he demanded with an adorable scowl.

She passed her phone over to him, still letting a few chuckles fall past her lips. “I’m gonna change your name in my phone to ‘Olive Nose Styles.”

“You're cruel.”

“You’re the one that put olives up his nose and then posed for a picture!”

“Whatever,” he grumbled, turning attention back to his own screen to continue his investigation. “There’s nothing of use on my phone either.”

The two flopped back on the bed, staring at the ceiling in the frustrated confusion. There was so much of their night that had gone up into smoke, completely unaccounted for with no clues as to what they did. Each traced their steps over and over again in their heads as they hoped desperately for a single detail that would lead them down a path to bigger memories, but it never came.

“Are we going to have to call Jeff and ask him what happened?” she finally murmured.

“I think so.”

“He’s going to put us both in client timeout, isn’t he?”

“We’re probably already there,” he groaned as he picked up his phone and hit Jefe Jeff-e in his contact list, putting the call on speaker and resting it on his still bare chest. The man on the other end picked up almost immediately.

“Morning Sleeping Beauty, I was wondering when I was going to hear from you.”

“Hi Jeff,” he groggily started then stopped, searching for the words that would make this all less uncomfortable. “Y/N and I have some questions about last night.”

Jeff let out a strained chuckle. “Yeah, that doesn’t really surprise me after last night’s bar bill.”

“Um,” Harry hummed, stammering but unable to form any real words.

“You sing about sex for a living,” she hissed at the man next to her before yanking the phone off his chest. “Jeff,” she started, taking over the conversation for them both. “Do you know if we slept together?”

“Probably not. You both were pretty unconscious when I put you in the hotel room.” His words prompted a massive sigh from both of them, looking to each other to share a relieved smile.

���Oh thank god,” they mumbled in unison.

“Jinx,” he smirked under his breath, prompting a ‘shut up’ from her.

“How did I get into Harry’s clothes?”

“I stopped by the tour bus when I realized you two probably shouldn’t be trusted not to roll out of your top bunks. I got you some clothes to sleep in before we took you guys to the hotel.”

“But why Harry’s?”

It was Jeff’s term to get squirmy. “I felt weird going through your things.”

“But you were perfectly fine with going through mine?” Harry asked, only half joking.

“Absolutely,” he deadpanned. They were all quiet for a moment before Jeff began again. “You two really don’t remember anything else that happened?”

“Everything after about two is unaccounted for,” she confessed.

“Oh,” Jeff chuckled. “So, you don’t remember when you stuck your tongues down each other’s throats on the ride home?”

Fuck.

Her eyes raced up to Harry’s from the phone she had been staring at like it held all the secrets of the night before. His easily readable features displayed all his emotions that surely matched hers. His pupils had grown in surprise, taking over nearly all the green in his wide eyes, and an embarrassed blush tinted his cheeks in a red hot flush that had reached the tips of his ears. His eyes flashed to the blank wall in front of them, running a stressed hand through his curls, like if he wasn’t looking at her, he would be able to focus better on the newly revealed information.

She couldn’t say that she didn’t relate. Her mind often went blank when she looked at him too. But right now, it was racing, occupied by anxious thoughts and intense emotions she couldn’t quite place, but felt with her entire being.

Her inevitable downward spiral was interrupted when Harry stiffly cleared his throat. “Uh,” he started, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably. “We’ll see you later.”

“Sounds good, love birds,” Jeff replied, a clear snark apparent in his voice. Neither of the pair dignified his teasing with a response, Y/N quickly ending the call.

Silence hung heavy in the air and she let her eyes hover over the phone for too long when she settled it down on the bed, unwilling to connect her eyes with his just yet. Harry always had a way of staring into her and revealing all her cards to him before she even knew them herself. She wanted to hold them close to her chest for a moment, protecting the heart that longed for him more than anything else in the world.

There were no words exchanged between the two for a while as they silently took turns in the bathroom and occupied their hands and thoughts by their phones. They walked on eggshells anytime one neared the other. A tension like this hadn’t existed since the very first day they met, the first day they had begun to pretend.

Maybe that's why Harry was being so quiet. Maybe he never wanted to cross that line of pretending like she did. Maybe she had been blinded by his generally friendly personality and tricked herself into thinking there was anything more than a charade between them. Maybe last night really was just a drunken mistake, no matter how much she wanted it to be more.

“Maybe it’s a good thing that we don’t remember what happened last night,” she finally murmured from the opposite end of the room. She rested the side of her still heavy head and muscles against the wall, arms crossed in front of her as if they could keep her safe from the tension they had created. Her fingers nervously played with the hem of his t-shirt she was still dressed in.

“Why is it a good thing?” he almost immediately responded from the chair on the other side of the room he had settled himself into, running his hands along the satin pants of last night’s outfit he had put back on during their awkward shuffling around the room. He had even put physical space between them since they found out what happened, causing her heart to feel as if it was teetering on the edge of disintegrating.

“Well,” she stuttered, refusing to look at him and continuing to pick at her nail polish. “We’re just pretending so it would be weird if we really remembered it.”

“I don’t think it would be weird.”

“I don’t know,” she tried to maneuver her way around his response. “It might just be embarrassing to think about it.”

He let out a long and frustrated sigh, running his hands down his face. There was so much going on behind his eyes and she wished he would say something, anything, to break down the wall that hadn’t existed between them in months that was slowly reappearing.

“Do you regret it?” he asked bluntly, the abrupt question shocking her body to attention. “Do you regret any of this? Any of us?”

Did she regret drinking too much? Yes. Did she regret making out with him in front of their manager? Yes. Did she regret denying her feelings and pretending they didn’t exist for so long? Of course. But, did she regret falling in love with him? Never, not even for a second.

“No, I don’t,” she let out with a gentle shake of her head, no louder than a whisper.

“Neither do I.”

The words had barely left his lips before he crossed the room and crashed them into hers. The same fire she had felt on stage returned ten times over as his lips moved smoothly over hers, every neuron in her body lighting up like a switchboard. Her fingers reached up to curl into his hair and pull his lips impossibly closer to hers as her heart hammered in her chest with a passionate love she had kept under wraps for so long.

He tasted like the spicy peppermint toothpaste the hotel stocked in the bathroom and smelled like the tiny bottles of shampoo that rested on the side of the bathtub; but there was so much else about him that was completely unique–wholly irreplaceable and indescribable. He was just Harry.

Teeth clashed, lips were bitten, and hair was pulled as they took in every sensation the other created. His lips had been the only thought that captivated her mind since they were on stage the night before and her return to them did not disappoint. If her head wasn’t dizzy and her lungs not screaming at her for air, she would have stayed in that moment forever

When they finally disconnected, they stood against each other in a heaving and disheveled mess of heavy breathing and adoringly dazed smiles. She swore she could feel the pounding of his heart under her fingertips that rested on his chest.

“That was nice,” he eventually murmured down at her through heavy breaths, a love drunk grin finding its way onto his swollen lips.

“Yeah, I agree,” she hummed breathlessly, her anxious thoughts quiet and calm for the first time she could remember since she met him.

“I’m kind of disappointed I don’t remember doing that the first time,” he chuckled softly at her, shaking his head lightly in embarrassment with his pink tinged cheeks on full display.

“That’s okay. We were ‘just practicing’ then, right?” A giggle left her lips as she used the words against him. The same words he had used every time they let a glimpse of their true affections for each other slip past their guarded and friendly facade.

His dimples were exposed when he smiled a giant grin and let out a knowing huff, piecing together that she had caught onto his trail of excuses. “Yeah, just practicing,” he repeated softly, before his tone turned sincere and genuine. “I don’t want us to pretend anymore.”

“Good,” she said softly as her fingers slid up his neck to beckon his lips back down to hers. “I never was.”

“Neither was I.” She watched a soft smirk appear on his lips as they hovered over hers. “Do you want to keep not practicing?”

“Depends,” she quipped, lips brushing over his as she spoke. “Am I better kisser than Taylor Swift?

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!! REBLOGS AND FEEDBACK MEAN THE WORLD!!! 

An extra for our babies can be found here!

[sonjalikestodraw]

“To Nearly Know”, an UNDERTALE fancomic

SPOILERS for all UNDERTALE endings.

Happy 5th anniversary, Undertale. Here’s a snapshot of something I think the characters go through...

Image description under the cut:

Page 1:

During the True Lab/friendship dates portion of the True Pacifist run, Sans sits in the judgement corridor, waiting for the human to show up. We see him from above, sitting on a window sill, brooding. Back against the window. The comic is drawn in nearly only black lines on warm yellow backdrop, 

Now the camera is next to Sans’s profile in the foreground, the Corridor stretching out in the background. His silhouette is black, his eyes dark.

Now the huge figure of the King enters the room, the door gives a “creak”. Sans looks up, away from the audience. He says: ”boss?”

King Asgore paces up to him, carrying a tray with cups, one short blue, one tall purple. Beaming, he greets: ”Howdy, Sans. Would you like a break?”

Camera from Asgore’s general direction. As Sans turns his head toward the King, we see his face in actual detail for the first time. He wears a tired grin, eyelids heavy, both eyes with white glowing pinlights for pupil.

Sans responds: ”heh. sure.”

Page 2:

Closeup on one of the two cups on the tray. This cup is blue, shaped like a cartoony, grinning skull with a bent bone for a handle.

Sans lights up a little, says: ”oh, hey, it’s my cup.”

Asgore, or the King, seen from behind his shoulder shrouded in shadows: ”Now, I would have made you tea, but I know you prefer coffee, so…”

Sans is mildly surprised. He looks small and young from above, as he reaches for the skull cup.

Sans, soft smile, slouching, cradling his cup: ”aw, you didn't have to.”

Asgore, with a satisfied, humble smile, sits down with his legs crossed. Since the King is on the floor and Sans sits on the window sill, they’re on a much more equal level. Asgore says: ”Nonsense, I was glad to. Especially since you are waiting so patiently.”

They raise their cups together. Sans holds his with less strength and steadiness than the King. We se that Asgore’s cup is purple with a golden crown-shaped band around the top, and a curly handle.

Sans: ”thanks, boss. cheers.”

Asgore: ”Cheers.”

Page 3:

Sans hangs his head as he drinks. Under heavy eyelids, he notices Asgore’s armour underneath Asgore’s cloak, glinting in the light.

In a series of mirrored closeups:

Sans, rueful, says: ”geared up, huh.”

Asgore, looking at the floor with a tired frown: ”Yes.”

Sans, eyes closed, passive-aggressive smile: ”you ready?”

Asgore, with a sad smile, turned towards Sans: ”I never am.”

Sans gives a sympathetic/worried look of surprise at Asgore’s words.

Asgore doesn’t notice: instead he looks up, his expression a mixture of worry and relief.

Page 4:

Camera angle from the ceiling, looking down at them. A hint of blue-gray ceiling beams, high above.

Asgore: ”I see you have not prepared... those.”

The camera is now level with the ceiling. Upon the ceiling beams, drenched in shadow, covered in scratches and spotted with some dark liquid, dozens of Sans’ Gaster Blasters lie. Their eyes are dark and blank. Dormant. The area is overlaid with an eerie blue glow, free from the rest of the corridor’s warm golds and yellows.

Back down on the floor, Sans drinks with eyes closed, neutral.

Sans says: ”no need. kid’s been pacifist so far. they’ll be here soon. should’a passed the core a while ago.”

Asgore looks down in his tea with a mournful expression.

Asgore says: Then make sure they do not take you for a true obstacle. That burden falls on my shoulders.

With dark eyes, Sans looks skeptical or frustrated.

Page 5:

Sans looks out the window with a suspecting expression, eyebrow cocked. ”hey. is it just me, or is the kid… late?”

Asgore, with a soft, worried face, responds: ”I know what you mean. It is strange, but it feels as if…”

Asgore frowns like he’s thinking hard, now looking stern and cold. ”They are taking too long.”

Sans grudgingly mutters ”longer than usual.” with his one blue attack eye lit up, the other half of his face in shadow. the word “usual” is written in the font 8bitoperator rather than his usual comic sans.

They look each other in the eye, in a moment of utter clarity. Seen from outside, they are lit up fully, no shadows. Outside the window’s sides, several yellow save point stars from the game loom and shine.

This moment passes. Camera from within again, now from the opposite wall, so that they’re completely black silhouettes.

Asgore says: “But of course, how can they be late if they have never set foot here before?”

Sans, with his standard grin, says: “…yeah.”

Page 6:

Still in darkness, Asgore says: “So how are things in Snowdin?”

They drink and small talk, as the right side of the panel fades into thinning black stripes, to signify time passing.

Then Asgore gets up to leave, tray with his purple cup in hand, and says: “Well, Sans. I shall leave you to it.”

A lays his hand on S’ shoulder. He smiles brightly and wide-eyed in a closeup from Sans’ PoV, similar to his first appearance in the comic. Asgore says: “You have been an excellent Judge thus far. I am very happy with your work.”

Sans, in a mirrored closeup from Asgore’s PoV, is mildly surprised, with a soft face, responds: “oh… thanks, boss.”

Asgore turns and begins walking away. Sans realises he’s still holding his own empty cup, which is shaded so that only its left blue eye is visible.

Page 7:

Wide shot of the corridor, Asgore has almost reached the end: Sans, eyes alight, says: “wait.”

Sans holds up his cup with a questioning grin: “aren’t ya gonna bring my cup back to your place? i mean, we agreed i’d prolly forget it at home—”

With a sad smile, Asgore says: “Ah, no. Please, keep it.”

Asgore turns his face away, his profile hidden in shadows: “I worry that you might not find it.”

Sans stares after him. Asgore exits: the door creaks and shuts with an echoing ”crreak-thoommm” sound.

Same shot, zoom out. Sans is shrouded in darkness, his eyes dark again. He says: ”asgore?”

The End. 

[sadgirlmadgirlbadgirll]

The chalk prince

Albedo x Traveller Reader (gender neutral)

Genre: Fluff

You have been in mondstat for a while now, and there is something you want to do before going to Liyue.

———

A mysterious man, older than time itself, sitting at the top of a watchtower, painting the sunny scenery. The wind kept his flowing hair away from his eyes, a blessing from Barbatos himself. If Mondstat was the city of freedom, then he had certainly found his home. His spirit knew no bound, nor did his abilities. One stroke after the other, he rendered everything so perfectly, from the shiny sun to the flickering sea.

But it’s hard to spy on a smart man, and sooner than later, you were discovered.

“Traveller? Did you need anything?”, said Albedo softly, not looking away from his painting.

“No- well I mean, I just wanted to see you…”, you replied, feeling a bit embarrassed to have been spying on him.

You stepped closer, as he continued to add shades of blue to the sky in his painting. The sun was beginning to set, leaving traces of pink in orange in the sky. You watched his paintbrush get all the details, down to each blade of grass, before speaking again.

“How long have you been hear? You must be hungry.”, you inquired.

“Hm. Worry not, traveller, i do not get hungry like you, or the other knights. I do need food, yes; but not like mortals do.”, he explained.

“Would you still accompany me to the tavern?”, you asked shyly.

“I don’t see why not. This will be an opportunity to study you. You are quite interesting after all.”, he said in a calm tone.

A bit of pink crept up your cheeks as you walked alongside Albedo to Angel’s Share. Diluc was bartending that night, and offered you both fresh grape juice on the house, along with some bread.

At the tables, you saw Kaeya and Venti, both already drunk. You went by to say hi with Albedo, since they were friend of him too. While walking across the tavern, Kaeya noticed you both and came your way.

“Albedo! Traveller!”, he stumbled on a stool as he said those words loudly. “Came to get a drink, huh? Wait… Traveller do you drink?”

You could hear Diluc sigh from where you were standing. He refused to give any alcohol to kaeya after that.

“No, no… i’m actually just here for a bite with Mr. Albedo.”, you explained to Kaeya, who wasn’t really listening. He seemed to think deeply for a while then…

“WAIT… are you guys… you know…”, he muttered as he looked from Albedo, then to you, then to albedo again

Albedo stayed calmed, simply taking a sip of his juice and looking to you.

“What?! Kaeya what are you saying!”, you nervously spoke. Your face was becoming red, and you felt hot and dizzy.

Kaeya laughed, and didn’t seem convinced, but after giving him a death stare, he toned down a bit. Albedo didn’t seem bothered by any of it, really. He even seem weirdly… amused?

———

You eventually got out of the tavern, and went on a walk around the city walls. You made small talk, looked at the stars in the sky, and eventually got back inside the city.

“This water fountain is said to be as old as the city itself… Perhaps that is why the people believe it can grant wishes”, said Albedo, looking at his reflection in the water, grazing the water with his fingertips. You stared at the fountain in the middle of the city, where you saw many citizens make wishes by throwing mora in.

“Do… do you have a wish, Albedo?”, you hesitated before asking.

The boy stopped to think for a while. He observed the fountain some more, then the moonlight sky. He took a deep breath, and took a step closer to you.

“You know, i don’t believe in magic. I’m a man of science, i was born by science, and i will live and die by it as well. But i did come to this fountain once. I threw mora in and i hoped for someone who would understand me”, he whispered.

He turned to you, looking deeply in your eyes, as if he was looking for something in them.

“I think my wish came true, y/k. A week after making this wish, Stormterror raided the city, and a mysterious traveller from another world swiftly saved us.”, continued Albedo.

You blushed, and looked away from his piercing gaze to admire the moonlight night sky.

“And you, traveller? What is it you desire?”, he continued.

“I want to find my sibling, figure out what’s going on in Teyvat, maybe go home one day and… well before that, i wanted to ask you something”, you said, mumbling the last part.

Albedo looked at you, waiting for you to speak your mind.

“I like you Albedo… And i keep wondering if you’d come with me on my trip, see the world together, you know? Would you be interested?”, you asked nervously.

“Conducting my research all across Teyvat… Yes, that would be nice indeed. I am unfortunately bound to Mondstat due to my duties with the knights.”, he spoke.

“But you’re quite interesting traveller. I’m not close to many people, and you were quite the wish come true.”, he unexpectedly continued.

The boy then leaned in towards you, his cobalt eyes shining with the light of all the stars in the sky. His hand reached yours, as his cold lips collided with yours as well.

Both sitting on the edge of the fountain, you shared a long, passionate kiss, before parting a smiling shyly at each other. Albedo tucked a stray piece of hair behind your eyes, not laying his eyes off you.

“I will talk to Jean. Perhaps something can be arranged. I would love to accompany you all across the seven nations, dear traveller.”, said Albedo.

“Thank you, Albedo”, you whispered.

“All the pleasure would be mine, y/k. My research would surely make a great breakthrough. And most of all, it’s not every day your wish comes true. I’d better make sure i don’t let you slip away”, he replied.

He took your hand, placed a gentle kiss on it, and then took it firmly before dragging you back to his quarters to spend the night with you, talking and dreaming about the Akademia in Sumeru, the technologies in Fontaine and the Jade Chamber in Liyue.