#other than mine no I didn’t give my groups peeps away

[thenorsiest]

Ps I love my dnd discord. Everyone uses their online handle but then adds their character/s name after it so you get some funky combos like:

Norsy/Juju/Clinkers

Alec/Alabastard)

Zinzen/Sir scoops/Gimilunk/Flem

Wipple/Hide/Jeckle

Josh/Master Lord Pouty Foot the Third

[kkusuka]

Peep this crack idea of mine! Okay so being a pro-hero/hero in training they gotta go through many places for eavesdropping or escaping. So Y/N is with a hero/classmate and the pair see a hole that looks like it’ll fit her. So her partner/classmate’s like “Y/N, you should go through.” And Y/N gives him a blank face and says: Now is not the time for jokes. Does my fatass look like it’ll fit through there?” She’s not wrong, sis is double cheeked up on a Thursday afternoon (even smacks her own ass to further her point). I wanna request head cannons of Hawks, Aizawa, Bakugo, and Shinsou reacting to their crush saying that to them (since theyr’re partners for the mission/task) cuz I think it’ll be hilarious 😂

this took way to long- 

Hawks

I feel like you guys really would make jokes about this stuff all the time

But for the most part, you guys keep it out of your jobs

This time you just couldn't help it!

You’re hero suit just go re-done and you look SO hot in it

He knew it

You knew it

Hell even the villains knew it

Both of you were mostly rescue heroes you were put in charge of getting all the entrapped people out of the rubble

That means getting into all the cracks and crannies of the fallen buildings

And more than often you were the one getting through them, not without a few comments and a look of betrayal

Anyway, you were ready for it this time

You didn't know how many people were in the building, Hawks’ feathers were a bit worn out, so you were almost going in blind

“Alright y/n, do your thing!”

“Ok ok, I know, but do you think my ass will fit through?”

As you said it you gave him a nice view of your butt and the curve of your back

He wanted to say something you could tell, he was practically sweating

Before either of you knew it, a hand was on your ass- it was oh god

It was his hand- uh oh gotta play it off

“Um, yeah it-it should be just big enough, yeah, nice and um squishy-!”

Oh thank god, you were laughing, that could have gone way way worse

Now, he just had to buck up enough courage to ask you out and he’ll be set

Aizawa Shouta

You didn't realize how nice your ass looked, but he sure did

As much as he pretended to be, he wasn't immune to your stupid jokes

Being on rescue was not Shouta’s favorite job to do, but with you, it seemed less dreadful

Getting to the epicenter of the damage, it was almost all covered by debris and huge chunks of the building

There was no way he was getting in there without some help, but you?

“Go.”

There simple all good, not

You just turned to look at him, “look ‘Zawa this is important but.  Do you think my ass will fit through that?”

Uncalled for!

No, don't make him look

He isn't looking, nope, no, no

He was looking

He was totally looking, unashamed he stared at your ass

It was like you know what to say to get him completely off track.

“y/n! This is hardly the time for tasteless jokes!”  

Tasteless jokes? You knew he wasn't talking about your perfectly crafted amazingly hilarious jokes

“I’m serious! I think my ass is too out of this world to get through! Look!”

Oh, he was already looking, trust him.

“Yes yes, you have a very nice ass, go in the whole and help whoever is in there”

There he said it, now leave him alone.

“Ok but I don't really believe you so when this is over you may have to take a closer look”

You were going to be the death of him.

Bakugou Katsuki

Whether it was the way your costume skirt revealed the back of your thighs just perfectly

Or, it was the way you kept bending over near him

Fuck his luck, of course, you were paired up for this stupid rescue exercise

This was stupid, he won't need this literally ever, they should just let them spar, damn he wants to grope your ass until his hands are imprinted on it, he has to work on his quirk so he can be 100x better than that loser Deku

“Sukiii~-” not the stupid nickname “c’mon were up!”

No one should be that enthusiastic about something this stupid

You grabbing his arm and tugging him off wasn't helping

The task was simple enough, get into the building a rescue te stupid dummy without the building collapsing

This kind of task was not made for him, it was in his nature to be extremely destructive

You guys got in no problem, but within seconds you had been met with a blockade of fallen walls

The only hole in the debris was only big enough for you

“Extra! Go through and make a path for me!”

That came out ever so slightly wrong

“Baki! This isn't the time but do you think my ass will fit? You should know you've been looking at it all day!”

………..what…………..

He was NOT looking at your perfectly shaped soft-looking perky- shit he was looking

“What did yoU JUST SAY TO ME??!!!!!”

“Haha, Bakugou! I thought you were smarter than that, come ‘ere, feel”

His hands- and you- laughing at him- his hands- it was soft

“Stupid woman, get through the hole, we’ll talk later.”

Shinsou Hitoshi

Nope, mayday mayday

This was it

In the end, no more, Hitoshi Shinsou was no more

Who even let you get a costume like that?

And what god hated him so much he had to look at you all-day

The exercise for today was to unarm a group of villains from the top of an office building

Yeah it was easy and all but-

He had to walk up 14 flights of stairs, BEHIND you (you dig)

Maintaining his three-step distance was not the best idea considering it was right in his face, and he wasn't even paying attention to anything else but how your hips swayed while you walked

Aaaaaaaaaand you stopped- you stopped?!!!!!!!!

He didn’t have time to react and by the time he realized it, face to ass

Of god face to ass

“Oh god- I’m-” “i-it’s fine shin, there's a blockade of sorts, it looks like we have to try and get through it”

Yeah ok, that made sense.

“You should try to get through it, it seems all clear on the other side, but when you get over there you have to try and open it up for me a bit.”

That sounds like he wasn’t thinking about how good your legs look.

“Toshi, I don't mean to bring this up now but, do you think my ass will fit through that hole?”

Yup, he could respectfully pass away now, there was no need

“I’ll answer that later, just go”

He set himself up.

[atlafan]

Office Neighbors - Part One

a/n: OKAY! this is my new love, professor!Harry x professor!Y/N. This is a slow burn, so buckle up because it’s going to be a longgggg ride. enjoy! (also reblogs/feedback is super helpful) not proofread

warnings:none yet...I suppose some fluff? slight angst?? 

words: 20K

masterpost

You were all cozied up in bed, in a cocoon of blankets. Even though it was August, your apartment had central air, and it was glorious. You loved nothing more than practically sleeping in a burrito of blankets year round. It was a new place to go along with your new job.

Y/F/N Y/L/N, Adjunct Professor, Communication Department: that was your new title. You had your master’s degree, and now you could finally move on to get your PhD. Your specialization was social media and the like, but you also had background in rhetoric and film. The few faculty that served on your search committee were quite impressed with the research you had already started conducting. Your main research was about the pros and cons of anonymity online. The school was a perfect fit. You would be teaching a couple of the intro courses for the major, and some special topics courses.

Today was faculty orientation. You would be given yet another tour of the university, go through some technology workshops, and be shown to your office. You were excited because you hadn’t been able to meet all of your faculty yet, and you’d be going to your first faculty meeting towards the end of the day.

You check your phone and see that it’s going to be in the mid 80’s today. You sigh and get up to start your morning routine. Once your face is washed and your teeth are brushed, you rummage through your closet to see what would be the most appropriate thing to wear. A flowy dress, in theory, would be a good idea, but the idea of sweating between your legs didn’t sound all that great. You settle on a pair of emerald green shorts that fall just above your knee, perfectly appropriate length for school. Plus, they were just a cute pair of shorts in general. You pair it with a white short-sleeve blouse, and tuck it into the shorts to show the shape of your body. Next, you needed to tackle your hair. You could leave it down, but sweat and humidity were not your friends. You had gotten into the habit of parting your hair down the middle more, you were twenty-six now it was okay to go with your natural part. You thought it made you look more adult, whatever that meant. So, you part it, and pull up each side to make pig tails, then you create a bun on each side. You looked professional, but fun. Just the vibe you were going for. You only apply a little makeup, in fear of it melting off of you. You slip on a pair of white tennis shoes for comfort, gather your laptop and other things, and head out.

Rolling through Dunkin Donuts, you treat yourself with a vanilla late instead of your usual, it was your first day after all. You’re not feeling too hungry yet, so you don’t get anything to eat. A college habit that just hasn’t died yet: barely eating anything until the late afternoon. You park at the building where your last meeting of the day will be, always thinking ahead. You sip on your coffee and enjoy your stroll across the beautiful campus to your first meeting of the day. There were a few people in the classroom, and you shyly smile and wave as you take a seat.

Policies and procedures are talked about after everyone in the cohort introduces themselves. You notice that you’re the only CM hire, there were three math hires, two for history, one for CS, two for art, and two for CJ. Some seemed to be around your age, and other seemed older. Everyone was friendly enough. You observed everyone’s posture and body language. You couldn’t help it, you were practically trained to read rooms and people.

The campus tour isn’t anything new. This was about the fifth time you had been walked around by some students to show you where things were, but it was nice to get outside for a good walk. You’re given a break for lunch, and you opt to eat outside at one of the open picnic benches. You notice that most people wanted to eat alone. It was a lot of social time, you yourself didn’t mind the break from talking and sharing.

After lunch are the technology workshops, making sure your account was set up and that you knew how to edit your courses in moodle. It wasn’t terribly difficult, but it was something everyone had to do. Luckily, as a first year professor, you wouldn’t be given any advisees. That you were thankful for. You had taught before, of course, and you loved helping students, but you wanted to make sure you had a good handle on the curriculum before telling students what they should be taking for courses.

Around 3PM a student comes to show you to your academic building, and escort you to your new office before your faculty meeting. There’s a bit of chit chat between the two of you before they open the door to the overly hot building. You cough when you first enter from the humidity.

“Don’t worry, it’s only like this for the first couple of weeks.” She says and you nod.

She guides you straight in where the communication lounge was. Wow, an entire lounge, you think to yourself. There were a few couches and three offices on the main level. A flat screen TV projecting student projects across from one of the couches. She takes you down a spiral staircase where there were four other offices, one vacant for you. There were two computer clusters, a projects and screen, and more couches. You already liked that it seemed to be an interactive space for students.

“Looks like you got the one with the window.” She smiles. “Have a nice day.”

“Thank you so much.” You beam at the student that you’ll probably never see again.

The door was open for you, and two sets of keys were sitting on your desk. The office was bare just waiting for your interior design ideas to be splashed all over it. Your desk was L-shaped with two monitors and a laptop plugged into a docking station. At least you didn’t have to wait to be given your school sanctioned computer. You smile when you see that you were given a Mac as requested. You look at your one window and take a picture so you could find curtains for it. You open and close all of drawers just to make sure there was nothing left behind inside the desk. There were two seats on the other side of the desk for what you would assume would be for student meetings. You could get better ones. You also definitely had room for a small couch, a love seat perhaps.

“Well, look at that, I finally got a new neighbor.”

You jump slightly and turn around. There were a couple of reasons that you were slightly started. Whoever it was that was speaking to you had a deep, gravel-like voice, and they had a British accent. Not totally uncommon at a university, but still something you weren’t expecting. You were also started because no one else was downstairs with you. As you turn around, your cheeks flush when you take in the man with the toothy smile before you.

He was wearing a loose pair of jeans with a couple of rips in them, beaten up white sneakers with different color laces, and a light blue t-shirt. You barely have time to take in his tattoos, or the thick rim of his glasses before he speaks again.

“I’m so sorry, did I startle you?”

“Only slightly.” You give him a half smile. “I’m Y/N.” She extends her hand out to him and he takes it, shaking it gently.

“I’m Harry.”

“Ah! Dr. Styles, yeah. You were away when all of my interviews were happening.”

“Yes, I was away at a conference, but I heard great things. And please, just call me Harry. We’re not a very formal group.” He smirks.

“So, your office is the one next to mine?”

“That’s right.” He nods towards it, and you step out to look at his door.

Dr. Harry Styles, PhD was on his door along with a paper with his office hours printed on it.

“You’re lucky you got one with a window right away, I’m surprised no one wanted to snatch it up. The two across from us don’t have windows, but maybe some people don’t really care about that. I happen to enjoy looking out the window to see what’s happening when my eyes need a rest from the screen.”

You nod your head and peep inside his office. He had put his desk in the back corner of the room. So if students were to come see him, his back would be to them and they could easily see whatever he was doing on the computer, but you notice he also has a corner set up with a few chairs and around coffee table. Perhaps he’s able to discuss things easier this way. Many ideas pop into your head about how you might like to set things up.

“There’s a really great consignment shop downtown with quality furniture for cheap. That’s where I got those that table and chairs.”

“Thanks.” You squint at the three diplomas framed one the wall, and a couple of certifications as well. He had a small shelf with a couple of awards too. “What’s your PhD in?”

“At the base level, Media Studies, but my master’s was in Literary Dynamics. I’m a bit of a book worm as you can see.” He points to the bookshelf full of worn books and you smile. “Got my doctorate here, same as you’re doing, and they offered me a tenure position. Been here about six years total now, I love it.”

You think for a moment to try to put together how old he might be. There was a boyishness to his features, but he also had crinkles around his eyes and a few specs of grey in his hair. Then again, so did you. You greyed early, not that anyone would know since you get highlights in your hair.

“I turn thirty-two in February, if that’s what you were wondering.”

“Oh…I wasn’t, um, I-“

“It’s okay.” He chuckles. “Shall we head up to the faculty meeting? They sent me down here to get you.”

“Yeah, let’s get to it.” You quickly grab your laptop and follow him up the spiral staircase, trying not to look at his butt too much.

He leads you down a hall to a room used for meetings. A large table with people sitting around it casually, a few you recognize from your search committee.

“Y/N!” Lisa, the department chair, exclaims. “Glad Harry found you, come in.” Everyone turns their attention towards you and you smile. You sit down, and Harry goes to sit at the other end of the table. “Right, so let’s go round the table to introduce ourselves to Y/N. Let’s tell her what courses we all teach as well. I’m Lisa, obviously, I teach Game Design and Senior Seminar. I used to teach more, but so it goes when you’re the department chair.”

“Hi, Y/N, I’m Andre, I teach Communication Theory, Digital Media in the New Age, and Journalism.”

“I’m Mateo, good to see you again.” He smiles and you nod. “I teach Tech Comm, Intercultural Communication, and Strategic Communication.”

“I’m Sandra, I teach Global Perspectives in the Media, Film and Video Production Techniques, and basically any other film production courses.” She laughs.

“I’m Harry.” He gives you that same toothy smile. “I teach Communication, Media, and Wellness, Media Effects, Analyzing Screen Media, Literature into Film, and The Craft of Screenwriting.”

“I’m Janette, I teach Philosophy of Communication, Advanced Composition, and Interactive Web Communication.”

“Wonderful, thank you everyone. Don’t worry, Y/N, our admin Lucas will email you all of this info if he hasn’t already.”

“That’s alright, thank you.” She smiles.

“Why don’t you tell everyone what courses you’ll be teaching this fall and spring?”

“Well, this fall I’ll be teaching Communication and Media Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, and Social Media: Technology and Culture. Then in the spring I’ll teach the two intro courses, along with Professional Social Media, and Rhetoric and Semiotics.”

“We’re so happy to have you aboard.” Lisa smiles.

Lisa goes on to explain any policy or curriculum changes. Y/N notices how casual the group is, and also how diverse the group is. It was nice to see.

“Now, I know it’s your first day, and you just moved to the area…feel free to say no, but we’re all headed downtown to the pub for dinner if you’d like to join us.” Lisa says at the end of the meeting.

“That would be great! I haven’t gotten the chance to eat downtown much.”

“Oh, you’ll love the pub.” Sandra says. “Best nachos I’ve ever had.”

You smile and stand with everyone. You notice that everyone just simply walks downtown. You run to your car quickly to drop her bag off, and continues the walk. You all go in and grab a table for seven. You slide into the booth and Harry slides in next to you, followed by Janette and Sandra. Lisa, Mateo, and Andre all sit in the chairs across from you. You weren’t sure if you felt comfortable drinking in front of your colleagues just yet, but you order a vodka-tonic anyways just to be social.

“Sandra’s right, they do have the best nachos here.” Lisa says. “Should we just get a couple of orders of that? We could do one with chicken and one without.”

“I can just pick it off, don’t be silly.” Harry says.

“I, uh , don’t eat meat either, and I can also just pick it off.” You speak up.

“Oh, please.” Lisa scoffs. “We can get one with and one without, no problem.”

“You don’t eat meat?” Harry turns to you slightly.

“Um, no.” He was very close to you, and you weren’t sure how you felt about it. You just met him. You take a sip of your drink so your mouth doesn’t feel so dry. “My doctor told me to cut out red meat, and then I got sick of chicken and stuff, so I just cut it all out.” You shrug.

“Things were sort of the same with me, I just didn’t like how it made me feel after eating it. There’s other ways to get protein. I eat a lot of beans and nuts.”

“Right.” You were curious as to why he was being so open with you.

“Course, I feel like I’m starved half the time, don’t know if that happens to you, but I always keep granola bars in my office if you ever need one.”

“Oh! Um, thank you. Are we allowed to bring mini fridges? I’m really into overnight oats right now, so if I could just leave that stuff in there…”

“We are! It can’t be one of those huge ones though, it’s gotta be one of those ones that looks like a cube.” Harry makes a fake outlines of a box with his fingers. The waitress comes over and takes the orders for the nachos. “Excuse me, love, could I also get a separate order of chicken fingers and fries to go?”

The waitress nods and Harry smiles at her. You raise an eyebrow at him.

“Got someone at home who requested it.” He says before turning his attention to the other conversations at the table.

You wondered whom might me home waiting for him. A wife, a girlfriend…boyfriend? Harry wore a lot of rings, and his nails were painted, but a lot of men were doing that these days so you didn’t want to make any assumptions.

“So, Y/N, where’s home for you?” Andre asks.

“Oh, I’m from Boston originally.”

“Wow! And you moved up here to the mountains. Do you miss the hustle and bustle yet?”

“Not yet, I sort of don’t mind the quiet, although, when I first moved I had trouble falling asleep at night. It was almost too quiet.” You laugh. “But I’ve gotten more used to it. I’m in a great little apartment building, nice neighborhood. I think there are some grad students that I’m neighbors with.”

“Do you going hiking at all?” Mateo asks. “There are some great trails around here.”

“I haven’t gone yet, but I’d certainly be willing to give it a go.”

“We usually all go together before the semester starts.” Lisa says. It surprised you at how close everyone seemed. All different people of different ages. “There’s this really easy mountain about twenty minutes from campus with a beautiful view of the lakes region.”

“Well, I’ll certainly give it a go. Just let me know when.” You smile.

Sandra was absolutely right, the nachos were incredible. Lots of layers of chips and cheese, fresh veggies and guacamole, not to mention the sour cream and salsa. Everyone squares up their checks and heads out. Harry grabs his to go order from the bar. The sun was just barely setting, god, you loved August.

“I parked in the same lot as you, mind if I walk back up with you?” Harry asks after you all say goodnight.

“Not at all.” You smile.

“So, how was the first day? Is your brain ready to explode?”

“Only a little. I think if I take in anymore new information today I’ll pop.” Harry chuckles at that.

“I remember my faculty orientation.” He smirks and shakes his head. “I think I wore a suit, if you can believe it.”

“I’m sure you clean up really well.” You say playfully and he rolls his eyes.

“Well, you’re right about that, but it was super embarrassing at the time. No one told me how casual it was.”

“A little initiation ritual perhaps.”

“Maybe.” He looks at her. “I like your little, um, what do you call those.”

“Oh! My buns?”

“Yeah! Didn’t know if you’d still call them that, or poofs, or something.”

“Poof works.” You chuckle. “I wasn’t sure how humid it was going to be so I just did it up like that. They’re nice for keeping pens or pencils in.”

“Brilliant.” He smiles and reaches his car. “Well, I hope you enjoyed your first day. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I know being new the area and campus can be overwhelming.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.” You nod and get into your own car. You take a deep breath as you drive away. “I can do this.” You tell yourself. You enjoyed how friendly everyone was, you could definitely see yourself fitting in with everyone.

//

Harry gets home soon after he leaves campus, only living about fifteen minutes away. He owned a quaint ranch-style home.

“Andy, I’m home, bud!” He yells out. “Got your dinner.” He walks into the living room and sees his son playing video games. “Please don’t tell me you played all day…”

“Hey, dad.” He pauses the game and takes the to go box from Harry. “No, I didn’t play all day.” He rolls his eyes. “I went to the skate park at with Brandon, and then we swam in his pool, remember?”

“Right, I’ll have to say thanks to his parents.” Harry sits down on the couch and sighs.

“Tired?” Andy asks with his mouth full.

“Yeah, it was just a day full of meetings, then we all had dinner. Being social is draining.” He laughs. “How’s the chicken, good?”

“Mhm.”

“Let me get you some napkins…water?”

“Yes, please.”

Harry nods to his son. Harry usually got to be with his son all summer, but this year Andy asked to stay for the school year. It was a rather large discussion that Harry had to have with him and Andy’s mother, who Harry wasn’t on bad terms with, but he certainly didn’t live the one on one chat.

“I just feel like he didn’t get this idea on his own.” She whispered to him in the kitchen.

“I swear I didn’t put the idea in his head. He just asked me out of the blue if he could be enrolled at the middle school. He’s going into fifth grade, maybe he wants a fresh start. He has good friends here, Paige.”

“He has good friends at home too…” She sighs. “I just…so what, now I only get to see him on weekends? I’m his mother, Harry.”

“And I’m his father.”

“You get him for the entire summer.”

“You know it’s not enough time with him. I miss him a lot during the school year.” He drums his fingers on the kitchen counter. “Do you think…I mean…your boyfriend moved in with you, right? Do you think he feels uncomfortable with the change?”

“I don’t know, when Noah and I spoke with him about it he said he was fine with it. He was used to him sleeping over anyways. He’s knowing him for two years now, it’s not that weird.”

“I didn’t say it was weird, I’m talking about comfort. Maybe he just doesn’t want to share his space. It’s not just Noah that moved in, he has a daughter too…”

“Andy and Rachel get along really well. She’s only a year younger than he is.” She sighs again. “I don’t want him thinking he’s being replaced, Harry. What if he doesn’t want to come back into my life once he’s with you all the time?”

“I don’t think that could happen, I’ll make sure it doesn’t.”

“And you’d be able to handle him all year long?”

“Sure, I’d have to change when I’m offering my classes so I’m home at a reasonable time, but I can make it work.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I could always send him home to you if I can’t be around anyways, like how you do with me.”

“Right.” She looks into the living room where Andy had his headphones in, and then back to Harry. “That’s my little baby in there. How can I let him go?”

“You’re not letting him go, you’re letting him grow up a bit. Why don’t we tell him we’ll see how this year goes, and then we can talk more seriously about custody and all that?”

“Alright, yeah, that seems fair.”

“You only live thirty minutes away, I could always drop him off for dinner sometimes, or-“

“Yeah.” She nods. “Well, um, let’s go talk with him then.”

That conversation happened after the July 4th holiday. Andy went home every other weekend to his mother’s, and Harry always talked with him about how his time with her was. Andy would always say that had a great time. He really did just like his friends better where Harry lived, and he was getting older. Maybe he just wanted to live with his dad.

“Alright.” Harry hands him the napkins and water. “Shall we watch a movie and then get you ready for bed?”

“I’m not a baby.” He scoffs.

“You are though, you’ll always be my baby.”

“Dad.” Andy groans. “Don’t be gross.”

“Can’t help it, you’re too stinkin’ cute.”

“Please stop before I barf up my chicken.”

Harry laughs and switches the TV to Netflix. Andy looked a lot like Harry in that he had curly hair and green eyes. He had his mother’s button nose and freckles. Andy liked dressing in basketball shorts and t-shirts, but he also like using a scrunchie or bandana to keep his hair off his face the way Harry did. It was cute.

“Am I going to mum’s this weekend?”

“You are, my darling.” Harry sips on a beer while lounging on the couch during the movie. “That alright?”

“Course.” He shrugs. “I actually have a new skate trick to show Rachel.”

“Do you to go boarding together?”

“Sometimes. She’s better on her skates, though.” He munches on some popcorn. “I kinda like going there on Friday nights because her and Noah go to temple on Saturday mornings, so mum and I get up late and make breakfast together.”

“Good, I’m glad you get that quality time together. I hope you’re paying attention to the culture that Rachel and Noah are bringing into your life, though. She’ll probably have a Bat Mitzvah someday and you’ll have this big party to go to.”

“Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever…I mean…it’s sort of weird that you like Noah…”

“Is it?” Harry sits up. “I’ve got no problem with him. He’s a nice guy, takes care of your mum.”

“That’s just it, I have friends with divorced parents and they-“

“Well, mum and I aren’t divorced, Andy, you know that. We never got married.”

“Even still…”

“We wanted to do right by you can be good co-parents. I’d be a real brat if I was rude to him.”

“How come you and mum never got married?”

Harry nearly chokes on his drink. He clears his throat and pauses the movie. Andy never really asked questions like this. He never even saw Harry and Paige as a couple, he never knew them together.

“Um…well…we were really young when you were born. I was twenty when we found out about you, and I was twenty-one when you born, I was just barely finishing school when you came along. Your mum was a year ahead of me, so luckily she got her degree before you were born.”

“Were you together then?”

“Yeah.” Harry nods. “Mum and I dated for about two years in undergrad, and then…well…we found out about you, and we were nervous, but excited.”

“But you didn’t want to get married?”

“I asked her, but she said no.”

“Why?”

“She thought I only wanted to marry her because she was pregnant.” He sighs. “Things like that sort of get complicated when you’re older. I also had a lot going on for school, and she didn’t want me to put my career on hold, she already had a full time job and all that. We tried to make things work, but we both realized a relationship shouldn’t be made to work because of…a baby. We both love you very much, Andy, make no mistake about that, but mum and I make better friends than a couple, I can assure you.”

“Oh.”

“Do you wish we were together sometimes?”

“Sometimes.” He nods. “But only because I hate going back and forth.”

“I’m sorry.” He sighs. “We live as close to each other as we can.”

“I know.” He furrows his brows. “I just don’t like when Noah acts like he’s my dad because he’s not, you are.”

“True, but you should still be respectful. Rachel lives there full time too, so-“

“I can’t stand that either, honestly.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know…ugh, she was on the phone with one of her friends and she referred to me as her brother. Not even step-brother, brother! I’m not her brother.” He huffs.

“Andy…come here.” His son gets up and sits next to him. Harry puts an arm around him and holds him close. “You’re going through a lot of change right now, huh?”

“I guess.” He looks up at Harry. “I think Noah’s gonna ask mum to marry her…which I guess is nice for her, but I’d rather just be with you.”

“You are with me.”

“Permanently, though. I’ve felt better just going over on the weekends, it’s plenty.”

“Mum and I said we’d see how this year at school goes, and then we could decide. I want you here, but I have to respect what she wants too.” He smiles down at him. “Poor you, having two parents who just love you so much.” He kisses his forehead.

“Blegh!” He wipes the spit from his forehead away. “What is wrong with you?” He gets up and goes back to his own seat.

“What? A father can’t love on his son anymore just because he’s in the double digits?”

“Exactly, press play.”

Harry laughs and shakes his head as he starts the movie back up.

//

Your semester was off to a great start. You got your office decorated nicely, and you were able to make it a cozy and homey space, which was good because you spent a lot of late nights there. Balancing teaching multiple sections of three different classes while also making time for research was proving to be a little difficult. Sometimes students were hanging out in the lounge while you were working, so you didn’t feel truly alone.

You were on an incredible team. You met bi-weekly with Lisa just for wellness check ins. She knew how overwhelming the first year could be, and she recommended chatting with Harry. He was the last one to go through all of it, so he would have the best tips. Harry was often out of the building by 3PM most days. He held virtual office hours from his home office. You weren’t entirely sure why he always needed to get home so early. Well, you weren’t sure until the answer slapped you in the face.

“And this is my new neighbor, Y/N.” You hear him say as he knocks on your door. “Got a second?”

“Um…sure.” You stand up and see a young boy with Harry.

“Y/N, this is my son, Andy. He had a half day from school today, so he’s hanging out until it’s time to go home.”

“Oh! Hi, Andy. It’s nice to meet you.” You had foolishly assumed the picture of Harry holding a baby on his desk was a nephew or something since he himself looked so young in the photo.

“Nice to meet you too.” He mumbles.

“What grade are you in?”

“Fifth.”

“Oh, so you just started middle school? How’s that going?”

“Okay, I guess.” He shrugs. “Dad, can I go get a snack at the grille?”

“Sure.” Harry fishes for his wallet and hands Andy a ten dollar bill. “Don’t pig out though, I want you to be hungry for dinner.”

“Okay.” He walks away from them and Harry shakes his head with a smile.

“He’s a human disposal right now.”

“I…didn’t know you had a son.” You say awkwardly.

“Yeah! Yikes, have I not mentioned him before now?” You shake your head no. “Guess that means we haven’t spent enough time together then.” You blush slightly and Harry clears his throat, then pushes his glasses up his nose. “He, um, just turned ten in May…sort of had him young.”

“I see.”

“This is his first time being with me during the school year. He wanted to give this school system a try, couldn’t say no to that.”

“Oh…um…so his mom…?” You didn’t want to pry too much. Harry wore a lot of rings so you weren’t sure if he was married or not.

“She lives about thirty minutes away, closer to the lakes. She’s a para at a law office, does well for herself. We were college sweethearts, but it didn’t work out.” He shrugs and you nod. “She’s got a serious boyfriend and he has a daughter a year younger than Andy. I think he felt like his personal space was closing in on him, so he asked to live with me. I usually just get him for the summer when I’m not teaching, it’s been great having him around more.”

“He has your eyes.” You wanted smack your forehead for making such a weird comment.

“He does! One of the first things I noticed about him when they stopped being that weird, dark color babies have when they’re first born.” You simply nod your head. “Well, I’ve taken up a lot of your time…um…let’s plan a lunch or something sometime soon. I’d love to know how your classes are going. I know it can’t be easy teaching the intro courses.”

“I’m doing well with it, actually. I taught a lot of the first-year courses at my previous institution. I’ve just been more bogged down with my research than anything else.”

“I’d like to hear more about that too, if that’s alright. Didn’t get to hear about like everyone else since I was gone during your interviews.”

“Sure, we could do lunch sometime then.” Harry smiles at that.

“Great. You know, we get together to do a monthly game night with the faculty from the English department. It’s in a couple of weeks, I hope you’ll come. A lot of their classes double count within our major, so it would be good for you to meet them.”

“Yeah, just let me know when it is. I enjoyed the hike a couple weeks ago.”

“I was pissed I missed that.” Harry groans. “I had to take Andy-“

“Dad.” Andy comes back, handing Harry his change. He was biting into a BLT.

“Thank you, let’s go into my office, yeah? You’ve got some homework that needs to get done.”

“Fine.” He goes into Harry’s office with a huff.

“Anyways, I’ll let you know when the game night is.”

“Okay, thanks.” You smile at each other and go back to sit down in your office.

He had a kid, a ten-year-old…holy shit. You couldn’t imagine going through your master’s and doctoral program while also raising a child. Good for him, you think.  Andy was a pretty cute kid, a mop of curls, just like his dad.

//

You gave yourself Saturdays off. Saturdays were for sleeping in, doing a quick pilates workout, grocery shopping, laundry and whatever other chores you may have. Saturdays were for curling up on the sofa with a cup of tea and good movie. Saturday nights were for you and Janette, who you have become pretty close with, to go have drinks.

“You need to find someone to bring home with you tonight.” Janette says, as you both begin your second drinks of the evening.

“Oh stop.” You laugh. “I don’t think I have the energy to pretend to be into someone enough to fuck them.” She rolls her eyes at you. “So…what’s this I hear about a game night with the English department?”

“Oh! It’s so much fun. Once a month someone different hosts it. Sometimes we play board games, sometimes it’s card games, one time we even played Heads Up, that was a hoot.” She giggles. “You should definitely come, Lisa’s hosting the next one. Her house is huge and has a beautiful view of the lakes and mountains.”

“I think I might, yeah.”

“Who told you about it? I think Lucas was planning to add you to the email about it.”

“Oh, Harry mentioned it the other day. He said it would be good for me to get to know the other faculty.”

“He’s certainly right about that.”

“I met his son…”

“Andy was in the office! Damn, I try to keep candy in my office for him. He’s so sweet. He was just a little guy when Harry started, can’t believe he’s in middle school.”

“Yeah, he was really polite. Sort of closed off at the same time.”

“Harry seems to think he’s become more self-aware. It’s a big deal for him to want to live with Harry year round.” She sips her drink. “Shouldn’t gossip too much about it though.”

“Right.” You sip your own drink.

“The students seem to like you so far, we’ve all heard good things from our advisees.”

“Really?! That means a lot.”

“Your teaching must speak for itself.”

“Students are always in the downstairs lounge, it’s nice to chat with them sometimes. They always seem to be visiting Harry. Andre and Sandra are down with us too, and they don’t have as many frequent flyers.”

“I know you’re new and all, but I didn’t think you were naïve.” She chuckles.

“What do you mean?”

“Harry perfectly fits the hot teacher trope, Y/N. He’s slightly mysterious with his tattoos and his nail polish, but still totally approachable. He’s dorky, but funny. He’s got a little muscle on him, but he’s not terribly intimidating, plus he’s fucking brilliant. You should sit in on his Literature and Film class.”

“One might think you have a crush on him from the way you speak about him.” You tease her.

“One would have to be straight, my dear.” She winks at you, and you laugh a little too loud. “However, I know an attractive man when I see one. Girls swoon over him all the time. It was really bad when he first started because he was a little closer in age with students, things have calmed down considerably though.”

“He dresses nicely too, I like his style.”

“It’s a little out there, but it works for him.”

“Sometimes I can smell the nail polish remover from my office.” You giggle. “He really hates when they’re chipped, huh?”

“God, you have no idea. Sometimes in the faculty meetings I’ll catch him chipping away at, next time I see him they’re freshly painted again.”

You take an uber home after having four drinks with your friend. You gossiped about some other people, Harry didn’t remain the topic of conversation for long. You get home and strip yourself of your clothes, and wash up before getting into your blanket burrito.

//

Sundays were for getting a head start on the week. Sometimes you worked from your office at home, but today you forgot something at your office at work, so you decide to just grab all your things and work from your office for the day. You were making some progress on your research and you wanted to keep riding the wave you were on.

You had a tie-dye t-shirt on under your coat that had a picture of Goofy on it, and a pair of jeans on. You didn’t need to be super dressed up for some weekend work. No one was usually in the building anyways. You get some up and put some music on while you do some reading and highlighting.

“Hey! Look who it is.”

“Jesus!” You flinch and look up. “Scared the shit out of me, Harry.”

“Sorry about that.” He rubs the back of his neck. “You’re a tad jumpy.”

“Hard not to be when you’re always coming out of nowhere.” You turn your music down and stand up to walk over to him, crossing your arms over your stupid shirt. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, Andy’s with his mum this weekend, and I needed a change of scenery from the home office, so I thought I’d come here.”

“Oh.”

He looks you up and down and smiles.

“Is Goofy your favorite?”

“Huh?”

“Your shirt.” He points to it. “Personally, I’m partial to Mickey Mouse, but Goofy’s fun.”

“This is a really old shirt, I did laundry yesterday so this is what I was left with.”

“Ah…and I suppose you weren’t expecting to bump into your colleague.”

“Correct.”

“Well, I think it’s proper cute, so no worries, I won’t make fun.” He winks and goes into his own office.

You feel your cheek and it’s considerably warmer than it was from before he got there. You shake your head and return to your seat, opting to put your headphones in to not disturb him. Just as you’re getting going in the zone again, he comes into your office and plops down on one of the reupholstered chairs you had on the other side of your desk.

“Yes?” You ask, taking your headphones out.

“I want you to come observe my wellness class this week.”

“Why?”

“Because I think you could use some time to distress. You don’t teach any 8AM’s, right?”

“No…um…what makes you think I need to distress?”

“You just look like you’re carrying a lot of tension. It’s a great class. We chat, we meditate. Sometimes students fall asleep, but I’ve told them it’s okay. If their bodies are telling them they need sleep, then they should sleep. We do a bit of yoga as well. Plus, I just think it would be good for you to observe me.”

“I was told your literature class would be fun to observe, couldn’t I do that instead?”

“And let you get out of a bit of meditation?” He scoffs. “I don’t think so, sister.” You laugh at that.

“Alright, which day should I come?”

“It’s my Tuesday/Thursday course. You can pick which morning you’d prefer.”

“Anything else?”

“Tell me about your research.”

“Are you just using me to procrastinate?” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“Hey, what happens between me and the stack of papers I need to grade is none of your business.” You laugh at him again. Harry was funny, no doubt about that. “Come on, just a few minutes, tell me what you’re working on.”

“I am researching anonymity online, the pros and cons, how social media is mixed into it, stuff like that. People carry themselves different on the various social media platforms, trying to show specific versions of themselves, but when you’re able to remain anonymous, you somehow are truly able to be yourself without fear of judgement.”

“So, what are the cons then?”

“Oh, there are tons. There’s the fear of someone finding this anonymous version of yourself and being exposed. Then there are the people that forget there’s someone else behind the screen and send nasty messages to other anonymously.”

“That’s my biggest fear with Andy. He’s been begging me for a smart phone, but I just don’t feel comfortable with that yet.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I told him when he was thirteen we could talk about it.”

“It’s funny, I didn’t get my first phone until I was fifteen, and it was one of those ones that slid open and had a keyboard. Literally had to use the family desktop if I wanted to go on Facebook.”

“Do people even use Facebook anymore? Feel like it’s just forty-year-old wine moms and Home Depot dads.” Harry snorts.

“No one uses it anymore because it’s not fun. It may as well be LinkedIn.” You scoff.

“Well, I’ll certainly be looking forward to reading what you whip up when the time comes.” He smiles.

“Thanks.”

“I’ll let you get back to it…um, feel like grabbing a bite later?”

“If you don’t disturb me for the next two hours I’ll consider getting lunch with you.”

“Oh, I love a challenge.” He grins and stands up, leaving your office.

You smile and shake your head. Perhaps your neighbor was becoming a pretty good friend.

//

“You’re coming to Lisa’s tonight, right?” Harry asks you as he slings his bag over his shoulder on Friday afternoon.

“I believe so, six, right?”

“Yup! Do you need directions?”

“I have this thing called a smart phone, and get this…it has an app where if I put in an address, it shows me the route!”

“I really hate it when you’re sarcastic with me.” He rolls his eyes. “Get it enough from my son, you know?”

“Will he be joining the fun as well?”

“Nope, he’s with his mum this weekend. I gotta go get him from school and get him all packed up for her.”

“Does she always pick him up?”

“She picks him up on Fridays, and I pick him up on Sundays.” He shrugs. “It just works for us.”

“Makes sense.”

“Right, well, I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.” You smile and wave him off.

After knuckling at your eyes, you head home around 4PM. You wanted to shower and freshen up before heading to Lisa’s. It was a beautiful, chilly Fall evening, so you opt for a light sweater and black jeans, and a pair of boots. You run your fingers through your hair, reapply some makeup, and grab the bottle of white you had chilling in your fridge. You plug the address into your phone, and get going.

It was about a twenty-five minute drive. Lisa lived in a neighborhood with a lot of beautiful homes. Her driveway was long and winding, and on top of a hill.

“This must be a bitch in the winter.” You say to yourself. Maybe that was why she was hosting the September game night. There were a couple of other cars there, so you didn’t feel totally awkward. You walk up to the door and ring the bell.

“Y/N!” Lisa exclaims and hugs you. “Come on in, so glad you could make it.”

“Thank you for having me. I brought some wine.” You hand the bottle to her as you step inside.

“Oh, thank you, dear.”

“Shoes on or off?”

“On is perfectly fine, it’s all hardwood.” Lisa leads you inside. “I’ll get this open.”

You wait for her to pour you a glass, and then she leads you into the living room. Sandra and Mateo were already there. You wave hello and grab a seat.

“Y/N, this is Dan, the English department chair, Alice, Joe, and Fred.”

“Hi, it’s nice to formally meet you all.” You stand up and shake a few hands.

Everyone mingles and eats the snacks Lisa puts out. Her husband was quite the co-host. Janette shows up next, and you end up sitting with her. Harry’s the last to arrive. Lisa gets him a glass of red right away. He looked handsome. A tan cardigan over a white t-shirt and a pair of light wash jeans.

“Sorry I’m late everyone, Paige was over an hour late picking Andy up. There was an accident on the highway and she got stuck behind it, it was a whole thing.”

Paige, it was the first time Y/N heard Harry actually say the name of Andy’s mother.

“No worries, H.” Andre says. “Relax, we haven’t even decided on the game yet.”

“Thank god.” Harry plops down next to you on the couch. “Janette, did Y/N tell you she observed my wellness class yesterday?”

“She did, she told me she fell asleep the second you turned the lights off.” She snickers.

“Please, keep talking about me like I’m not even here.” You roll your eyes. Harry and Janette both lean over you so they can pretend to speak closer. “Okay, okay.” You push them both away. “That’s enough, thank you.”

“Alright, everyone, I was thinking we could play charades, yeah?” Lisa announces. “It’ll keep us limber.”

“English vs. CM?” Dan asks.

“You know it.” Lisa grins.

You were pretty good at charades so you weren’t worried. The couple of glasses of wine certainly helped boost your confidence. It was fun to let a little loose with your colleagues. It was some much needed bonding. Harry was quite competitive, which surprised you because he was usually so chill about everything. It was down to the final points, Harry needed to guess the name of your film correctly.

You put up two fingers.

“Second word.” You nod and he licks his lips in concentration You pretend to open a book and write it in it. “Uhhh, book…” He furrows his brows. You look up like as if you’re reading something, and then you pretend to write the book some more. “Notes…notebook, oh! The Notebook!” You tap your finger on your nose and your team cheers. “Ha!” Harry stands up and hugs you. He lets you go and looks back at everyone. “That was exhilarating. Better luck next time.” He says to the English team.

“Wasn’t exactly a difficult film to guess.” Alice says playfully.

“I had zero control over the slip of paper I chose out of that hat.” You grin.

You all help clean up before heading out. You slip your coat on and head outside after saying your goodbyes.

“Y/N?” You hear Harry from behind you. “You’re good to drive, right?”

“Yeah, of course. Wouldn’t get behind the wheel if I wasn’t.”

“Alright.” He smiles. “Just wanted to be sure.” He walks with you outside.

“It would be pretty bad if I got so fucked up I couldn’t drive home from our department chair’s house.”

“Lisa would actually get a pretty good kick out of it.” He smirks. You get to your car and press the button to unlock it. “Well…I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.”

“Same to you, any big plans while Andy’s gone?”

“Not really, I try to save the fun stuff for while he’s with me.”

“Aw, no hot dates.” You wink at him. Okay, maybe some of the wine was still in your system. He blinks at you for a moment and then he bursts out laughing.

“Right, the ladies are really fighting to knock my door down.” He wipes a tear from under his eye. “Can’t remember the last time I went on a proper date to be honest with you. Not exactly a turn on when you bring someone home and they see kid’s toys hanging around.”

“Oh come on, you’ve totally got the hot single dad thing working for you.” You nudge his shoulder. “Janette I usually go out on Saturday nights for drinks, you should come out tomorrow.”

“Um…which, uh, which bar do you go to?”

“Firefly, little more adult. We don’t really see the college kids there.”

“Sure, yeah, I know that place well. Um, what time?”

“Nine?”

“I’ll be there.” He smiles.

“Great! Goodnight, Harry.”

“Night, Y/N.”

He watches as you get into your car and drive away. It wasn’t until you woke up the next morning that you realize that you essentially asked him out, and that you sort of flirted with him. You text Janette immediately and let her know he may show up.

Jan: Yay! Harry’s so much fun to go drinking with, this’ll be great!

Will it? You think to yourself. It was one thing to have a couple of glasses of wine with colleagues, but you usually got pretty drunk with Janette, always taking an uber to and from the bar. You were a nervous wreck all day, and you weren’t sure why. You were hoping all of your Saturday chores would distract you, but they weren’t.

As you get ready, you decide on a blue dress that showed a tasteful amount of cleavage, pairing it with patterned nylons, and boots. Your hair is down and wavy, and your makeup looks cute, for now. You put on your leather jacket and head out. Well, not before doing a quick shot at home. Your leg bounces the entire time in the uber. Janette is already there at your usual table. She waves you over and you sit down.

“I texted Harry earlier.” She says to you. “Just so he really knew he was invited.”

“I don’t have his number, otherwise I would have. Sorry, I feel like I should have asked first. This is sort of like our girl’s night.”

“Are you kidding?! Like I said earlier, Harry is super fun to drink with.”

After you both guzzle down your first drink, Harry arrives. He’s got a black button up on with the first few buttons undone, exposing the birds on his collar bones. He smiles when he sees the both of you.

“H!” Janette says, getting up to hug him and give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Hello, love.” He gives her a squeeze and a returned kiss. He looks at you and you give him a shy smile before giving him a side hug. “Thanks again for the invite, haven’t been to this place in a while.” He slides into the stool.

“Oh, of course!” Janette says. “I was excited when Y/N said you were coming.”

“Apparently I need to do more fun things when Andy’s with his mum.” He nudges you.

“What do you usually do when he’s gone?” You ask him.

“I usually clean up the house, stalk up on food, wash his sheets…dad stuff.” He shrugs with a laugh. The waitress comes over and smiles.

“Can I get you started with anything?”

“Rum and coke would be great, and I’ll start a tab.” He hands her his credit card and she nods.

“Nother round for you two?”

“Please!” Janette says.

“Yes.” You say with a smile.

The waitress nods and smiles. She walks away and looks back at Harry, blushing.

“Oh boy.” Janette grins. “I think you may get lucky tonight, H.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Our waitress did a double take.”

“She’s probably, like, ten years younger than I am or something. Not my style.”

“Fair enough.” She shrugs.

“What about you? Any ladies you’re trying to take home?”

“Well, if I weren’t in a long distance relationship, sure.”

“You and Sadie are still together?” He asks almost in shock.

“Of course we are! You would have known if we broke up.”

“Doesn’t it get difficult?” He frowns.

“I really don’t mind. When we’re able to be together it’s nice, but I like having my own space.” Janette turns to you. “Sadie is a photographer, traveling for National Geographic.”

“That’s incredible!”

The waitress brings all of the dinks over and you clink your glasses.

“Alright, what’s the gossip, ladies? Who are we shitting on?”

“Hmm.” Jaette taps her chin. “Perhaps Dan? He’s obviously still in love with Lisa.”

“Still?” Your jaw drops.

“Back in the day,” Harry starts, “he and Lisa were quite the item. She met Arnold at a conference. He’s a chef.”

“Ah, that’s why the food is so good.”

“Mhm, he’s retired now, but at the time she had to make this big choice between the two of them, and she chose Arnold. Built an entire life with him. Dogs, kids, big house, you name it.” Harry explains.

“And Dan’s been married and divorced twice. Lisa’s the one that got away.” Janette sighs. “Course, Lisa’s incredibly oblivious, or she pretends to be. You’d think they were simply best friends.”

“I wonder what made her choose Arnold over Dan.” You say.

“Good dick.” Janette says. “Simple as that.”

“Oh, come on.” You roll your eyes.

“You come on! Are you going to tell me you’d give up good dick?”

“So you’re telling me she was seeing both of them at the same time, and she chose Arnold because he hit it better?”

“That’s what I’m inferring, yes.” She sips her drink. “Getting to come every time you fuck is worth it, don’t you think?”

Harry nearly chokes on his drink from laughing.

“I forgot how nasty you can be, I love it.” He says and looks at you. “So, Y/N, what’s your answer? Is an orgasm reason enough to choose one guy over another?”

“Well, considering that I dated some real fuck when I was in college just so I could get some good dick, I’d have to say yes.” You say, enjoying the look on both of their faces. “I mean, it’s hard to remember how much you can’t stand someone when they’re railing you to completion.”

“Very true.” Janette agrees. “Also, Arnold is a really sweet man, sort of the whole package for her. I don’t think Lisa liked be challenged, and Dan, I heard, would challenge her on everything.”

“I’m usually up for a debate, but I get that. I don’t need to be in control of everything, but agreeable people are better.” You say.

“I wouldn’t say it’s because he’s agreeable.” Harry says, finishing his drink, and gesturing towards the waitress for another. “Arnold is smitten, not just in love, big difference.”

“How so?” You ask.

“When you’re…oh, thank you.” He smiles at the waitress brings him a new drink. “When you’re smitten, you walk around with rose colored glasses, to some that can be a bad thing, but I think when you’re that in love, you should really adore the person you’re with too. Arnold adores Lisa, Dan doesn’t. You can tell by the way they both look at her.”

It was nice discussing things like this with people who also observed people the way you did. It makes you wonder, though, what they may have picked up on about you.

After a few more drinks, you knew you needed to stop when your vision began to get hazy. Harry only had his two drinks since he drove himself. He drank some water as the night went on.

“H, Y/N lives not too far from you, help her save a couple bucks and drive her home, would you?”

“Jan…” You scold her.

“She’s right, I could give you a lift, if you want?”

“Um…well…sure.”

You both say goodnight to Janette, and Harry helps you into his car. He keeps the music low as he pulls out of the bar.

“So, where am I taking you?”

“To The Ledges, do you know where that is?”

“Sure do.” He chuckles. “Lived there myself when I first moved to the area.”

“Really?! It’s a great size place. I love it.”

“Got any pets or anything?”

“Nope, just me, myself, and I.” You grin.

“And you prefer it that way?”

“Well, after living at home my whole life, and then having various roommates over the years, I’d say that I’m quite enjoying living alone.”

“Good for you. I’m glad you’re liking it here so much. The person you replaced was such a twat.” You burst into laughter. “I’m serious! He never came to any of the outings. It was like he didn’t even care that we were trying to get him to engage. The second he got his PhD he left. Good riddance.” Harry scoffs.

“I really like it. It’s a lot different than being at a college in the city. I wasn’t sure how I’d do working in a college town, but I’m really enjoying it. I feel safe, you know? I didn’t always feel safe in the city.”

“I’m sorry, that had to have been difficult.”

“On the late nights it was. I usually had UPD walk me to my car. I don’t really have to do that here. I feel like I gained a lot of independence back.”

Harry pulls up to the apartment building, and parks. He turns the ignition off and you raise your eyebrows at him.

“What are you doing?”

“I was going to walk you to the door…”

“Oh…you don’t have to.”

“I insist.”

“Really, it’s okay. Um, thank you for the ride, it was really nice of you.”

“Thanks for the invite, I had fun.” He smiles.

“Me too.” You smile back and get out of the car.

You hear the car turn back on, and you know he waits to drive off until you’re inside.

//

“Paige, I get him for Christmas, why are you trying to change things?”

“You usually get him for Christmas because you don’t usually get him for the school year.” She crosses her arms as she stands outside in the frigid early December air.

“But you just got him for Thanksgiving.”

“You don’t celebrate Thanksgiving!”

“I observe!” He takes a deep breath. “His plane ticket is already paid for, he’s coming with me to London like always, and he will be back to you for New Year’s, like always.” He steps closer to her. “He looks forward to seeing my mum and Gem every winter, please don’t take that away from him.”

“It’s just…we’re hosting a Hanukkah party, and Noah really wanted him to be a part of it…”

“Shit.” Harry rubs the back of his neck. “There’s Jewish holidays all the time, couldn’t Andy be a part of the next celebration?”

“Dad! Come on, the Pats game is starting!”

“One second, just saying bye to mum!” He yells to Andy, and looks back at Paige, eyes pleading.

“Alright…he can still go with you.”

“Thank you.” Harry breathes. “His cousins would miss him terribly.”

“I know, I’d feel terrible doing that to him. I’m just trying to balance all of this. I wanna be a good partner to Noah, and somewhat of a mother figure to Rachel, but I don’t want Andy to feel like I’m favoring them over him. He comes first, he always will.”

“I’m sure he knows that.” He puts his hand on her shoulder. “Have a latke for me, yeah?”

“Yeah.” She smiles and gives his hand a squeeze before getting back into her car.

Harry heads inside and sits on the couch while Andy sits in his usual spot on the love seat, entranced by the football game.

“What was that all about? I heard shouting.”

“Could barely hear each other over the wind outside. Nothing to worry about. We were just confirming plans for your holiday break.”

“I’m still going to London, right?”

“Of course! No question about it.”

Andy smiles at Harry before returning his attention to the TV. Harry was usually very honest with Andy, but he didn’t need to worry him with any of the drama.

//

“You survived your first semester, congrats!” Janette says, popping a bottle of champagne as she walks into your office.

“Not over yet, I have finals to grade.”

“Whatever, the kids are gone, that’s something to celebrate.” She nods towards the plastic cups you keep in your office, and you grab two. “Any plans for the holidays? Going home at all?”

“Oh sure. Doing the Hanukkah thing with my folks, and then doing New Year’s in Boston with some friends.”

“Fun!”

“Wait.” Harry says, overhearing, grabbing the bottle for a swig. “You’re Jewish?”

“Yes?” You raise an eyebrow at him and take a sip from your cup.

“Brilliant. Paige’s boyfriend is Jewish, and I think it’s confusing for Andy. He doesn’t much like asking th guy questions, maybe he could talk to you sometime.”

“Sure.” You shrug. “Any plans for the holidays?”

“Yeah, Andy comes home to London for Christmas, and then I send him back for New Year’s with his mum.”

“You send him on the plane alone?”

“I haven’t always, but they let me walk him right to the gate, and he flies first class, so it’s very safe. They let his mum wait at the other gate too. I like to stay home for a few weeks if I can. I’m afraid I’m a bit of a mama’s boy.” He takes another swig of the bottle. “I am not looking forward to grading these papers. I really should just have each class do a presentation, can grade those right on the spot.”

“Tell me about it.” Janette groans. “My Advanced Comp class is going to be the death of me.”

“Well, clearly this champagne is going to keep us all awake enough to get through it.”

The three of you stand there laughing. You were looking forward to the long winter break. It would give you plenty of time to work on your research, and you wouldn’t be disturbed by any students popping in and out of your office, as much as you enjoyed the chats.

//

It was the beginning of January, there you were, working away in your office. You had a long flowy dress on, for some reason, and your door bursts open.

“Y/N! I’ve traveled across the pond for you!”

“Harry! You’re back.”

“That’s right, darling, I’m back.” He pushes everything off your desk, walks around to your and pulls you close to him. He crashes his mouth to yours.

“Oh, Harry.” You moan.

“Oh, Y/N.” He moans back before laying you on your desk. “I’m going to make you feel so good.” He rips your dress of and kneels in front of you, diving his head between your legs.

You wake up in a cold sweat, panting. Your eyes snap open and you grimace. Your legs feel sweaty, so you kick your blankets off.

“What the fuck?” You say to yourself as you sit up. Harry was attractive, but you never once fantasized about him. You reach between your legs and gasp. “Did I just fucking have a wet dream?!” You lick at your sticky fingers and shake your head in disbelief. “Shower, go shower Y/N.” You were talking to yourself, yes, but it was needed to help you calm down.

You were incredibly embarrassed. Harry was your friend, not someone you wanted to fuck, and certainly not on your desk in your office at work. Most people would be turned off, but doing it in a professional place was a big turn off for you. The idea of getting caught was also not a turn on for you. If you were ever caught you could be fired, and it just wasn’t worth it. Neither was dating a colleague. It wasn’t against the rules or anything, nor was it frowned upon, but dating in the workplace could lead to a lot of problems. You had a PhD on the line. Maybe it was time to just suck it up and go for a one night stand.

//

You had forgotten all about your dream by the time the January faculty meeting hit. That is, until Harry was the last to walk in. Your face flushes immediately. His hair was a little longer, and he had a bit of scruff that he normally wouldn’t have. He smiles and says hello to a couple of people, and then sits down right next to you.

“Hi.” He whispers with a smile.

“Hello.” You swallow and don’t look at him.

“How was your-“

“Can we get started?” Lisa addresses the group. “Much to go over, we need to start talking about the fall schedule.”

You were grateful for the distraction of the discussion, but you felt Harry’s eyes burn into you every few moments. He had to have known you were acting weird, you wouldn’t fucking look at him. Even if you thought to try, you just couldn’t. Two hours later, and the meeting finally ends. You gather your things quickly and head out, and down to your office. Just as you’re able to take a deep breath, you look up and see Harry standing in your doorway, hands in his pockets, squinting at you.

“Are we good?” He asks.

“Um.” You focus on the space behind him. “Yes, why wouldn’t we be?”

“Because you refuse to look at me. Even now, you’re not really looking at me.” He shifts his weight so he’s stand up normally. “Are you mad because I didn’t reach out over break?”

“What? No! I could care less about that, it wasn’t like I reached out to you.”

“So…what is it then? You make eye contact all the time, it’s not like you to not.”

“I…” You suck both of your lips into your mouth. “It’s nothing, it’s stupid, I’m being stupid.”

“If it’s stupid then just tell me.” He comes in and sits down on your loveseat.

“Harry, please.” You shake your head and sit down in your desk chair.

“Come on, Y/N. Clearly something’s bothering you.”

“Ugh.” You groan and get up to close your door. You sit on the edge of your desk. “I…had a rather odd dream a week or so ago…”

“Okay?”

“And you were in it.” You whisper.

“What was I doing in your dream?” He whispers back.

“That’s just it, I don’t know.” You rest your chin in your palm as you cross your arms over your chest.

“Well I must have done something to make you not even look at me. Did I hurt you, do something scary?”

“No…I suppose I wouldn’t call it scary, but I was certainly disturbed when I woke up.”

“What then?” A smirk grows on his face. “Don’t tell me you had a sex dream or something.” When your face stays the way it is his smile fades. “You had a sex dream about me?” You nod yes. “Where were we?”

“Here.”

“In your office?!”

“Shh!” You swat your hands in his direction. “Do you want the building to hear?”

“You had a dream that we fucked in your office?”

“Well, it wasn’t fucking per say…you sort of…I don’t know…it doesn’t matter.”

“No tell me, let’s talk this through.”

“You wiped everything off my desk, ripped my clothes off, sat me on top, and then…” You wince slightly. “You sort of…got your head between my legs, and then I woke up.” You say the rest of it quickly. “And I was utterly concerned when I woke up because I swear I don’t see you that way, Harry. You’re my friend, just my friend. I forgot all about it, and then I saw you and got all embarrassed again.”

He stands up from his seat and gives you a shy smile.

“It was just a dream, you don’t need to be embarrassed. We’re adults, yeah? Let’s act like it.”

“I just don’t want you thinking I’m some…sex maniac or something.”

“I don’t.”

“Okay…I’m sorry if I worried you during the meeting. It really is good to see you, I’m glad you’re back. We could have lunch soon, I’d love to hear about London.”

“Yeah, maybe.” He smiles, but you can tell it’s fake.

He heads out and goes into his own office, closing the door behind him. For whatever reason, your words hurt him. Just my friend rang through his mind. It wasn’t as though it were a lie, you were just friends, but you made it clear you didn’t want him to be the one between your legs in a dream. At first he was flattered, but now…well, now he just felt sad. Was he not good enough to be the one to get you off? Even if in a dream? He hears a knock on the door.

“Yes?”

You open it slowly.

“I hurt your feelings…”

“A little.” He admits. “Not sure why, though.”

“I just didn’t want you to think I was objectifying you.”

“It was a dream, Y/N, you have zero control over it.”

“But I must have been thinking of you subconsciously, right? Isn’t that how that works?”

“Okay, so maybe you were thinking of me and maybe that got mixed in with…whatever else.”

“I just don’t want you thinking I want to fuck you, that’s all.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.” He mumbles.

“You want me to want to fuck you?!”

“Now who’d being loud?!”

“Sorry…”

“It’s just, well, how would you feel if I told you I didn’t want to fuck you, you probably wouldn’t feel too great about yourself.”

“It’s not that you’re not attractive, Harry-“

“This is making it worse.” He runs his hands over his face and looks at you. “It was just a dream, nothing to worry about, okay?”

“Things won’t be weird between us?”

“No.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did in that meeting, then we wouldn’t have needed to talk about it.”

“Did you tell Janette?”

“I resent that, just because I’m close with her doesn’t mean she knows every bit of my business.”

“I just didn’t know if I should be expecting some teasing from her.”

“No, none, and you better not tease me either.”

“I won’t.” He smiles. “London was good by the way…”

“Good, I’m glad.” You smile at him. “Talk later?”

“Yeah.”

//

“Not that I’m not happy to be out with the two of you, but why are the three of us out to dinner?” Andy asks.

“Mum and I thought it would be nice to see what you wanted to do for your February vacation. Usually you come see me and we go skiing, but mum knows how to ski too-“

“You’re canceling our trip?!”

“No! We were just thinking mum could take you this year.”

“But it’s your cabin.”

“And I don’t mind sharing.”

“Andy…I thought it would be nice for the four of us to go together. Noah knows how to snowboard, and Rachel wants to take a skiing lesson.”

“Great, so now this going to be a huge family trip? I don’t wanna do that, Mum.” Andy groans.

“Andy.” Harry sighs. “I think Mum and I have been very accommodating to you this year. Could you please just try to help us out a little? Do you know how many kids would kill to have their parents take them on a ski trip for their breaks?”

“I’m not trying to be ungrateful, I’m sorry.” He looks down at his plate and then back up to Harry. “Can’t you still come? The house is big enough.”

“It’s not a bad idea, Har.” Paige says to him and his eyes widen.

“Would Noah and Rachel feel comfortable with that? I wouldn’t want to overstep…”

“I’ll talk to them, I can’t see either of them feeling weird about it. She refers to you as Uncle Harry as it is, and it’s your cabin, I don’t think Noah would care.”

“Would you be alright with it?”

“Sure.” She shrugs. “There’s that spare room on the other end of the house, so you could have your own space and the kids could stay in the bunk room.”

“Wait, so this is happening?” Andy perks up. “You’d really come, Dad?”

“Yeah, if it’s not weird for anyone, I’m in.”

Andy gets up from the table and moves to hug both Harry and Paige, both of them looking at each other surprised. They give each other mental high fives for being able to figure things out.

“I’m really excited now.” Andy says as he sits back down.

“Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way…” Paige grins and looks back at one of the waitresses, giving her a nod. Happy birthday starts being sung throughout the restaurant.

“Oh my god.” Harry closes his eyes and groans. “This dinner wasn’t about me…”

“Nonsense.” She chuckles. “How often do we all get to celebrate together?”

A small cake with candles is brought over in front of Harry. The singing continues and he feels thoroughly embarrassed.

“Wanna help me blow ‘em out?” He asks Andy.

“Yeah!” He leans over and blows out the candles and the restaurant claps.

Harry looks at Paige and shakes his head. She laughs and thanks the waitresses.

“Andy, go get in Dad’s lap, I’ll take your picture together. I’ve got your gift for him in the car too, I’ll go get it.” Andy crawls into Harry’s lap, and Paige uses Harry’s phone to snap the photo. She beams when she looks at it. “You should get this one printed, it’s adorable.” She gets up and leaves to go get the gifts.

“Did you know about all this?” He says to Andy giving him a squeeze before letting him go.

“She just told me we were meeting you for dinner instead of going straight to your place.” He shrugs.

Paige returns shortly with a few cards and bags.

“Alright, this is from Rachel and Noah.”

“They didn’t have to get me anything…”

“They insisted!”

Harry takes the card out and smiles. Rachel had clearly drawn him a picture, it was cute. His smile grows wider when he takes a nail kit out of the small bag.

“I was due for one of these, I’ll have to text Noah a thank you.” Harry opens the next bag and sees a card from Andy that he also drew. In the bag was a new set of pocket squares for his suits, that he desperately needed, some bandanas, scrunchies, and a gift card to his favorite clothing store. “Went all out son, thank you.”

“Thought your…what was the word you used, Mum?”

“Wardrobe.” She chuckles.

“Yeah! Thought your wardrobe could use an update.”

“Should I be offended?” He says, raising an eyebrow.

“I think you should be happy your son has your keen eye for fashion.” She slides another card over. “That one’s from me.”

“You’ve done enough.” He says before leaning over to kiss the top of Andy’s head.

“Just open it.”

Harry rolls his eyes and opens the card. He starts laughing. There was some joke about being close co-parents, and a gift card to one of his favorite restaurants.

“Thank you.”

“More than welcome.”

Andy hugs Paige goodbye in the parking lot before hopping in the backseat of Harry’s car.

“Were you surprised, Dad?”

“Very! Thank you again for the gifts, it was very thoughtful of you.”

“I’m more excited about going skiing now.”

“Sorry if we scared you. I just wanna make sure Mum gets to see you.”

“I know.” He sighs. “Hey, Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“How come Mum has Noah, but you don’t have anyone?”

“I have you.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I just…I don’t know, I don’t have much time for dating.”

“What do you do on the weekends when I’m not with you?”

“Sometimes I see friends, or I catch up on some grading, I clean up too. You’re gonna start doing more chores, that would be the ultimate birthday gift.”

“It’s okay if you wanna date, you know…”

“I don’t exactly need your permission.” He chuckles.

“I know…but I want you to know I’m okay with it.”

“Well, I appreciate that, thanks.”

//

When Harry walks into his office Monday morning he’s surprised to see a vase full of flowers. There’s a small card with it:

Happy Birthday, H!

-        Y/N

Harry smiles to himself and smells the flowers, he couldn’t believe you remembered. He only mentioned it once when his birthday was. Thirty-two was off to a great start. He hangs his jacket up and gets his computer set up. His first class wasn’t until 9AM, so he had some time to prep and wake up a bit more before heading to the lecture hall. He sees you walk by on your way to your office.

“Oh! You’re here!” You had two coffees in your hands. “My gift wasn’t complete yet.” You walk in and hand him his coffee. “Black coffee.” You smile.

“Thank you, the flowers are lovely.”

“Not that I thought you needed more plants in here.” You joke. Harry had a fuck ton of plants in his office windowsill.

“Well excuse me for enjoying nature.” He scoffs, and takes a sip of his coffee. You sit down on the couch in his office.

“Did you have a good weekend?”

“I did, Paige and I took Andy out to dinner to talk about his February break, and it turned into a little surprise birthday thing, it was nice. Can’t remember the last time we did something like that as a family. I mean, we have shared birthday parties for him and stuff, but I think he enjoys when it’s just the three of us.”

“If you don’t mind me asking…did he ever know the two of you as a couple?”

“No.” Harry sighs. “I think he was almost two when she and I called it quits. Now look at us, we’re all going on a ski trip together, including her boyfriend and his daughter.”

“That won’t be weird?”

“Not really, I’ve known Noah a while.”

“How long have they been together?”

“Well, they’ve been a couple for almost three years, but they were friends beforehand. He’s one of the lawyers at the office she works at. He came on, like, a year after she and I split, they were friends for a while, and I think once he knew she and I weren’t getting back together he made his move.” Harry shrugs. “No skin off my nose, I just wanted her to be happy. His daughter Rachel is as cute as a button too.” He takes another sip of his coffee. “Poor thing, her mum died in a car accident when she was really little. Paige is a great mum, so it was a good fit for everyone I think. The only thing I don’t love is that Noah is, like, almost forty.”

“How old is Paige?”

“Almost thirty-four, so it’s not super weird, but…I think that’s another reason why he waited to ask her out, you know?”

“I’m surprised he doesn’t have his own cabin to take her too.”

“Nope, just a massive house on the lake.” Harry chuckles and looks at his flowers again. “Thank you again for these, it was a nice surprise.”

“Oh, don’t mention it.” She sips her own coffee and gets up to go to her own office.

“How’d you know I’d like these?”

“Everyone likes getting flowers, Harry.” She smiles and leaves.

//

Harry had cancelled his classes during the week of Andy’s February break like he always did. He had forum posts for them to work in in his absence. Going to the cabin wasn’t ask awkward as he thought, and it was good bonding for Rachel and Andy. Harry, Noah, and Paige could hear the two of them giggling as they watched movies at night, it was sweet. Harry mostly stuck with skiing with Andy during the day, and he and Paige took him for a run or two as well. As Andy got older co-parenting got easier, for whatever reason. Any lingering feelings between Harry and Paige had simply fizzled into a normal friendship. There was no malice between them which was good for Andy to see.

“Uncle Harry?” Rachel asks one night at dinner.

“Yes, love?”

“How come you have an accent, but Andy doesn’t?”

“Because Andy wasn’t born and raised in a country where people sound like me. Although sometimes you sound like me when you’ve been around me a lot.” Harry looks at Andy.

“My friends tease me for how I say pasta sometimes.” He chuckles. “I say that like you.”

“It’s true! You say taco like Dad too. It’s pretty funny.”

“Well, those are my two favorite foods so it makes sense.”

“How come you have so many tattoos?” Rachel asks.

“Honey, tattoos can be really personal.” Noah explains.

“It’s alright, I got a lot of them when I was younger. Think my last one was when Andy was born, got his initials my forearm.” He extends his arm out.

“Harry.” Paige clears her throat, nodding towards his mermaid tattoo and shakes her head no.

“Oop! Sorry.” He blushes. “Sometimes I forget she’s there.” He chuckles.

“Can we paint nails after dinner, Uncle Harry?” Rachel pleads.

“Sure! Brought that nail kit you and Dad so nicely got for me.”

“Yay! It’s okay, right, Daddy?”

“Of course, princess.” Noah says lovingly towards his daughter.

After dinner, Harry sits with Rachel at the kitchen table, to not make a mess, while Paige, Noah, and Andy sit in the living room watching TV. On the outside looking in the scene may be odd, but this was working well for all of them. Andy was having a good time and that was all Harry cared about.

//

It was a Thursday night, you both swiped right, and you met him at a bar. After a few drinks you climbed into the backseat of his car and before you knew it you were bouncing up and down on his dick while he pressed hot kisses to your neck. His name was Gabriel, and he was just what you needed right now. Or he would have been if he had been able to last a moment longer. You were so close, and he came into the condom before you had a chance to have your own release. He didn’t even ask if you got yours, he just kissed your cheek and lifted you off him.

“Care to take this back to my place?” He says.

“Think I’ve had enough for one night, thanks.” You say as you button your pants back up.

“Let me at least drive you home.”

“No, that’s okay, I can take an uber.” You get out of his car and slam the door shut. He gets out and looks at you, you turn around and look at him.

“Another time?”

“No, I don’t think so.” You say bluntly and his face falls.

“Thought we just had a nice time.”

“You had a nice time because you got to finish.” You huff as you fix your jacket. You take your phone out and order your ride.

“Thought you did, my bad.”

“Right.” The car pulls up, and you get in.

This is why you hated doing things like this. Men on these dating apps just wanted to get theirs. They just wanted a place to stick it and they didn’t care if you were left satisfied or not. You take a nice, long shower when you get back, scrubbing the smell of Gabriel away from you. You grimace when you see the kiss mark he left on your collar bone. Luckily a shirt and scarf would cover it, and it didn’t look like it would last longer than a couple of days anyways.

//

“Well, were you being vocal about what you needed?” Janette asks you as she sits on the edge of your desk Monday morning.

“I said things like right there or like that…he didn’t even warn me that he was coming, he just did. Then he wanted me to come back to his place with him…”

“Maybe he would have put on a better show for you.”

“The previews certainly didn’t leave me wanting to see more.”

“Preview for what.” Harry says, peeping his head in. He had a slight tan from skiing, and it was sort of cute.

“Y/N saw a really bad preview for this movie about this loser, that’s all.” Janette says. “How was your week away?”

“Actually, not too bad. I think it was good for us to all do something together. Andy had a great time, that’s all I cared about. He even agreed to be with his mum for the entire April vacation.”

“Oh? What’s she going to take him to do?” You ask.

“They’re gonna go to New York to see some shows, I thought it was a great idea. It’ll be good for him to get some real culture.”

“And that’s not a trip you wanted to join in on?” Janette smirks.

“Hmm, large cabin where I have my own space or cramped hotel room?” He weighs his option. “I’ll take the bitter cold and the cabin, thanks.”

“What do you think you’ll do while he’s away?” You ask.

“No idea, I’ve got time to figure it out. Honestly, it’s perfect timing because that’s right during advising weeks so I’ll actually be able to help my students without him sitting in the corner complaining that he’s bored.” He rolls his eyes. “I don’t what’s gonna turn my hair grey first, him or the college students.”

“Oh please.” Janette groans. “Men look so much better with a little grey, makes you look distinguished, it’s us who look like old crones when we let our greys out. I don’t wanna hear it.” She shakes her head and looks at her watch. “Gotta get ready for my next class, so you later.”

“Is it true?”

“What?”

“Do men look better with a little grey.” He runs a hand through his hair.

“Depends on the guy, I think. I mean, I’m twenty-six so a little grey wouldn’t scare me away, but I’m not exactly looking for a silver fox.” You laugh and so does he.

“I missed your sense of humor last week. As good of a time it was, I felt like I had to be very careful about the jokes I cracked.”

“Well, no need for a filter here.”

Harry nods and goes into his own office. He thinks for a moment and then peeps his head back into yours.

“So, what movie preview did you see that you didn’t like?”

“What?”

“When I first came in, you and Jan were talking about-“

“Oh! Um, it was so bad I don’t even remember the name.” You tug slightly at your scarf out of nerves.

“Too bad, I could’ve searched it and had a good laugh.” He shrugs and leaves again.

Sometimes you wondered what Harry’s dating life was like, not that it was any of your business. He had mentioned a couple of times he didn’t make a lot of time for it, but what about one night stands? Did he make sure women got theirs when he was with them?

//

“I’m going to look like a fucking idiot compared to all of you.” You pout as you get your robe and hood on.

“You will not. Sort of miss the master’s robe, honestly, they’ve basically got pockets. You’ll have your doctoral one soon enough.” Harry says, putting on his own robes.

“I can never get this thing right, could you help me?”

“Of course.” He steps behind you and adjusts the blue hood for you.

“Do I need the cap? It’s just an honor’s ceremony.”

“You certainly do, and get used to it. This is one of three times a year you’ll need to put this on.”

“Three?”

“Grad commencement and undergrad commencement are separate ceremonies.”

“And we have to go to both?”

“We do.” He sighs. “You’re also not the only professor on this campus that isn’t a PhD yet, so don’t get down on yourself, yeah? You’re working towards it.” You turn towards him and his hands place gently on your shoulders.

“Thanks, Har.”

He smiles at the nickname and lets go of you. You and the other CM professors head over to the CM Honors Inductee Ceremony. It was a nice event for the honors students within the major. As soon as it ends you rip your cap off. You didn’t enjoy wearing it at all. You mingle with a few parents and take pictures with some of the students that wanted you in their photos.

“Y/N?” One of your students, Kayla, says.

“Yes?”

“I was wondering…for our final assignment, instead of writing you a paper about signs, could I make you a video instead?” She was in your Rhetoric and Semiotics class.

“Hmm, I think that could be really interesting. What would a video entail?”

“Well, I thought I could go to the grocery store and show unwritten rules, like how someone will put a divider down on the belt without having to be asked, or how when you go up to the deli you just grab a ticket, how branding works, stuff like that.”

“As long as you still send me a references page I think that could be fine. Of course, I’d have to show it to the rest of the class.”

“Deal.” She smiles. “Thanks.” You nod and then she walks away.

You head back to your office to hang your robe and hood up in your closet. You grab your back and smack right into your Harry.

“Jesus.” You say and back away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even see you.”

“No, that was me, I was walking too fast.” He unzips his robe and hangs it up same as you in his own closet.

“Why were you in such a hurry?”

“Single mum at the ceremony got a little too liberal with the hugging, had to get out of there.” He chuckles. “You hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“Wanna go down to the pub? I don’t have Andy’s still in New York…”

“Sure! That sounds great, actually. Let me just drop all this off in my car.” He nods and you both walk down to the parking lot before walking the rest of the way to the pub.

You both sit down at the bar and order drinks. You both end up getting Mediterranean wraps, not feeling quite hungry enough for nachos this time around.

“Any summer plans yet? I know it’s early, but-“

“Paige and I need to sit down with Andy to figure all that out. He got to stay with me all year, so it would be make sense for him to be with her for the summer, but I have a feeling he won’t like that. School gets out in June for him so I’ve got some time…but I have a feeling it’s not going to be easy.”

“Why do you think he wants to be with you so much more?”

���I just think he’s at an age where maybe he feels more comfortable being with me. He’ll be eleven soon, changes are starting to happen.” He chuckles. “Maybe Paige and I could split up the summer or something.”

“How have his grades been? Wasn’t that part of the deal?”

“His marks have been great, he’s doing well. He has some great friends and he loves his teachers. He really enjoyed playing basketball this winter in the town league too.”

“Not that I’m an expert on custody agreements, but couldn’t you do what you’re doing now? Wednesdays and every other weekend with Paige, and the rest of the time with you?”

“He hates the back and forth in the summer, that’s why we agreed on summers with me. I mean, she still sees him in the summer, obviously, but he usually doesn’t have to go every other weekend. We’ll see.” He sighs. “We try to give him what he wants to not make waves, but at the end of the day we’re the parents and he’s the child and what we say goes.” He finishes off his drink and asks for another. “Need a refill?”

“Sure, I could probably handle two.” You shrug.

Two turned into three, then, four, and finally five. The sun had gone down and it was dark outside. You two had split a chocolate lava cake. The bar was starting to fill with college students.

“Holy shit, it’s almost ten!” You say. “Should probably go before some of these kids try to buy me a drink for a passing grade.” Harry laughs at that and agrees. You split the bill, and nearly lose your balance as you hop off the bar stool, clutching as his bicep.

“Wanna split an uber? I can’t drive, and I don’t think you can either.” He chuckles.

“Yeah, good idea. I’ll order it.”

“No, I’ve got it.” He takes his phone out as you both head outside. The car pulls up after a couple of minutes and you both get in. “We’ll drop you off first.”

“Alright.” You smile. “This was fun tonight. I like when we get to hang out.”

“Me too.” He smiles at you. “Can’t believe your first year is almost done.”

“I know, it’s really flown by.” You crane your neck from side to side and sigh. “Maybe now that I know the area better I’ll feel more comfortable trying to really meet someone.”

“Meet someone for what?” You look up at him, making a face as if the answer is obvious. “Oh! That’s cute you think you have time for a relationship.” He laughs.

“Excuse me?”

“Y/N, you spend all your free time on your research.”

“I just spent some free time with you, didn’t I? Janette and I go out, and-“

“Janette travels with Sadie in the summers.”

“Guess that leaves me stuck with you then.” You nudge him. “Actually, I’m hoping to go to Boston for a bit, visit friends and family. I’m hoping to get to the beach too. I love summer.”

“You should come hiking with me. Despite the black flies, May is great because it’s not humid yet.”

“Might have to take you up on that, I really enjoyed it this fall.” The car pulls up in front of your house. “Have a good night, Harry.”

“You too.” You both reach over and hug each other. “See you Monday.”

“See you Monday.” You smile and get out.

//

Once the school year was over, you sat with Lisa and went over your course evaluations. Overall you did really well, and she reaffirmed how happy she was that she hired you. She wishes you a happy summer, and that’s about it. You ask if you’re allowed to use your office in the summer, and she says yes but it gets really hot so it’s not as great as you may think.

Saturday night as you’re having your last girl’s night with Janette you get a text.

Harry: Hey! Know it’s last minute, but I’m taking Andy up Rattlesnake tomorrow morning, care to join?

Y/N: sure! As long as he doesn’t mind…

Harry: got his permission already, we’re all set ;)

You bite your bottom lip and smile, and Janette peaks over your shoulder to see what you could be smiling at.

“God, what a gift it would be if I come back in the fall and you two are dating.”

“Oh, stop.” You nudge her. “We’re friends.”  

“Would it be bad to be more?”

“I don’t really think it’s a good idea to go out with someone you work with…”

“Good luck finding anyone else who’s decent around here then.”

“I could meet someone in Boston, do the long distance thing.”

“That gets old.”

“You’re doing it!”

“Yeah, but I’m more of a free spirit. Sadie and I don’t care about marriage or kids or a house in the hills. You, my sweet friend, would like all of those things.”

“True…” You finish your drink. “Well, if I don’t want to puke on this hike tomorrow I should probably get going.” You both stand and hug and kiss and wish each other fantastic summers.

You get a restful night’s sleep, and get yourself ready in the morning. You had invested in a pair of hiking boots in the fall, so you were feeling prepared. You put on a pair of spandex shorts, and put on some mesh shorts over those. You opt for a sweat resistant short sleeve shirt, and pull your ponytail through a baseball cap. You get everything in your small pack that you’ll need: sunglasses, sunscreen, water bottle, granola bar, rag, and bug spray. You drive out to the trail and park, lathering your arms and legs with sunscreen. You see Harry’s car pull up, and Andy hops out, bandana and clip keeping his hair back, just like Harry’s. Harry had a sleeveless shirt on and you could really see the definition in his shoulder muscles. You put your sunglasses on and head over to them.

“Morning, boys.” You smile.

“Morning.” Harry smiles back.

“Hi, Y/N.” Andy mumbles shyly.

“Hi, Andy. Dad told me you’re doing well in school. Bet you’re about ready to be done, huh?”

“Yeah, only a few more weeks.”

“Can’t believe he’s going into sixth grade. Makin’ me feel old.”

“You are old.” Andy giggles.

“Mhm, thanks.” Harry rolls his eyes. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

Andy walks a few paces ahead of you and Harry.

“His birthday is soon, yeah?”

“Yeah, next weekend, actually…um…Paige is hosting his party this year.” Andy looks back at Harry making a face, and Harry makes a face back at him.

“That’ll be fun.” You say, not noticing the exchange as you look at the various trees surrounding you.

“Yeah…it will be. Um…it’s Saturday afternoon…”

“Weather looking good?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s great. Probably still cold to swim at the lake, though, right?”

“Yeah, but the kids will still have a water balloon fight.”

“Dad, just ask her!” Andy groans as he turns around again.

“Ask me what?”

“He wants you to go with him to the party.”

“Andy!” Harry snaps at him. “Keep walking.”

Andy rolls his eyes and continues to walk ahead of you.

“Is that true, you want me to come?”

“Is that weird?”

“Not really.” You shrug. “Although, I’d only know you and Andy.” You chuckle.

“See…it’s just…Paige’s parents will be there, and that’s fine, but Noah’s parents are coming too, and it would be nice to have a buffer other than my son. He’ll be off playing games and eating junk good, I don’t want him to think he needs to babysit me…”

“I totally get it. I don’t think I have plans, I could go for a little while.”

“Really? I’m not asking too much?”

“Not at all, what are friends for?” You smile and he smiles back.

You walk a few paces ahead of Harry, but still behind Andy, giving Harry the perfect view of your bum in your shorts. He wasn’t staring, but he certainly wasn’t not looking. When you get up to the top your jaw drops. The view of the mountains and the lakes were even better in the late spring. You snap a few photos, taking one of Harry and Andy, Harry taking one of you looking out, and then you all sit down for some water and snacks.

“Andy, do you enjoy hiking with your Dad?”

“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. We go a lot over the summer.”

“Andy’s hiked two of the 4,000 footers, hoping to get a couple more done this summer.”

“Wow! That’s incredible.”

“You should come with us, Y/N. We’re going to camp overnight at one of them.”

“Oh, you don’t wanna go camping with me, I’m a real snob. I need running water and indoor plumbing.”

“It has that.” Harry says, taking a sip of his water. “There’s bathroom, no shower or anything, but working toilets. You bring all your own camping gear. It’s pretty cool.”

“I’ll consider it. Think I should probably go on hikes that are longer than a mile up.” You laugh.

“You guys can do during the week now that school’s over, right?” Andy says.

“I wouldn’t want to exclude you, Andy.” You smile.

“Don’t worry about me.” He crunches down on his granola bar. He shares another look with Harry, but again it goes unnoticed by you, too busy looking out at the beauty of the mountains and lakes.

You all hike down the mountain in not time and say your goodbyes. Harry tells you he’ll text you with more details about the party later in the week.

“I told you she’d say yes.” Andy says from the backseat of the car.

“I wish you had let me work up to it a little more.”

“You were taking too long. Sometimes you just need to pull the trigger, Dad.”

“Is that so?” Harry laughs. “Things are a little more complicated at my age. Sort of awkward asking a colleague out on a date.”

“If you two are friends does that make it a date?”

“Well, she’ll be attending with me, so that makes her my date.”

“Does that mean you’ll kiss her goodnight?”

“Andy!” Harry looks back for a moment and then gets his eyes back on the road. “No, I’m not going to kiss her. You heard her, what are friends for, that’s all she sees me as.” He sighs to himself.

“That’s why you need to step up your game.”

“Son, do me a favor?”

“Yeah?”

“Just, shut up for the rest of the drive home.”

Andy bursts out laughing, but does as Harry asks, knowing he’s being a bit annoying.

//

It was a beautiful day on Saturday, but you were worried about being cold out by the water, so you opt for a pair of high-waist jean capris that flare a bit at the bottom. You find a sleeveless white blouse and pair it with a blue cardigan. You put your hair up in your two buns, and throw on a pair of wedges.

Harry: I’m outside

“Shit.” You say, just finishing your makeup. You run around, grabbing your purse, and the box you had wrapped for Andy’s gift, and head out.

You open the passenger seat and get settled, smiling at Harry.

“You didn’t have to get him anything.”

“I know, it’s just a new basketball. I saw it at WalMart when I was picking up a card. I hate showing up to these things empty handed. What did you get him?”

“A new bike.” He grins. “It’s in his mum’s garage already.”

“Oh! He’ll be so excited. He skateboard too right?”

“Yeah, I really don’t know where he gets his coordination from. Other than skiing I’m pretty clumsy.”

“Don’t you go to a boxing gym?”

“Yeah, and I look like a proper oaf.” He laughs and looks at you. “You look nice by the way. Your outfits are always so put together.”

“Oh, um, thanks.” You blush slightly. You wanted to tell him that you did your hair the way you did because you know he sort of likes it, but you thought that might be a weird thing to say. “Does, um, Paige know you’re bringing me?”

“She does.” Harry nods. “You’re not, like, nervous to meet her are you?”

“No.” You scoff. “Why would I be?”

“I don’t know.” You shrug. “What did you say to her about me?”

“Well, before I got a chance to say anything last night when she picked Andy up, he spilled the beans.” He rolls his eyes. “So I told her you’re a friend from work…is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s what I am so it makes sense.” You drum your fingers on top of the box to the beat of the music. “None of your family will be there?”

“They’re going to FaceTime in for it. They came for his tenth birthday since it’s a bit more sentimental.”

“Do you miss them?”

“Oh sure, but I love here too much to go back permanently. I like going during winter break, that’s enough.”

“You don’t go during the summer?”

“Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes they come to visit here during the summer too. My sister has two kids of her own so it’s not always easy to travel.” You nod your head. “You know, I’ve known you almost a year and I don’t know a thing about your family.”

“What’s there to know? My parents are still together, somehow, I’ve got an older brother who’s a sous chef at a restaurant in Boston. He’s not married, but he has a partner and he’s just lovely. I usually stay with them if I go home for a visit.”

“That’s great! How much older is he?”

“He’s around your age, actually, so not a huge age difference.”

“And when’s your birthday?”

“Beginning of August.” You grin.

“Wow, so you had just turned twenty-six when you came to us.”

“Pretty much, got hired at twenty-five, not too shabby.”

“Not at all.”

The conversation went on for the entire drive. That’s how it always was with you two, always a lot to talk about. When you get out of the car you’re able to get a good look at Harry’s outfit. His outfits were usually well crafted, you’d call his style dad-chic. He was in a pair of tan slacks that he had cuffed at the bottom, a pair of white loafers to go with them, a white tank top tucked in with a floral open short-sleeve button up. Very handsome. You smile at each other and then he leads you around back to where the party was. You weren’t the first people there, but you weren’t the last either.

“Dad!” Andy exclaims and runs over to you both. Harry picks him up and swings him around before setting him down.

“Happy birthday, kiddo.”

“Thanks! Look, all my friends from school came.” He points over to them. Harry recognizes Brandon and his father out of the bunch.

“That’s great, bud, let us come in and say hi to everyone, can you say hi to Y/N?”

“Hi, thanks for coming.” He gives you a surprising hug.

“Oh! You’re welcome, Andy. Happy birthday.”

He runs back over to his friends and you walk further into the backyard. It was stunning. Grass that led to sand that led to the lake water. A boat parked further down by the docks, and just gorgeous views for miles. The house itself was huge, you couldn’t believe it.

“Harry!” A woman, who you would assume is Paige, comes waking over. She was beautiful. Shoulder length blonde hair, sort of thin, but not quite a stick. She was wearing a yellow sundress. Her and Harry share a slight hug. “He’s eleven.” She pouts.

“He’s eleven.” Harry agrees with a sigh. “Oh, this is Y/N. Y/N this is Paige, Andy’s mum.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” She says to you. “Let me take that for you, thank you for bringing him something. I’ll put this with the others.” She takes the box from you. “There’s wine and beer for the adults if you like, but we also have soda and water if you’re not up for drinking. I certainly had a glass after my folks showed up.”

“Did your mother put her white glove on and see if there was any dust?” Harry teases her.

“She may as well have.” Paige rolls her eyes.

Harry puts his hand on the small of your back and leads you closer into the party.

“This is a lovely home.”

“Oh, thank you. I sort of inherited it. It’s was my grandparents’.” She sets your gift on the table with the others. “There’s snacks inside and outside. Feel free to hangout wherever.”

“Where exactly are your parents?” Harry asks.

“Up on the deck.” Paige points up towards it. “Feel free to avoid them as long as you like. They’re speaking with Noah’s parents at the moment. My sister should be here soon.” She looks at her watch. “I’m gonna go check on some things.”

“Alright, love, thanks.” They smile at each other. You get a bad taste in your mouth hearing him call her love, for whatever reason. “Wanna meet some of the parents. I know that guy, Ed, the best. He’s Brandon’s dad, Andy’s best friend.”

“Sure.” You nod and Harry leads you over. “I never quite understood why some parents stay at kids parties.”

“Well…look around you, wouldn’t you wanna hang for a bit?”

“Got me there.”

“Harry, hi.” Ed shakes Harry’s hand.

“Good to see you, this is my friend Y/N, we work together at the university.”

“Hi.” You shake his hand.

“Great to meet you. Brandon was so excited when he got the invite. He and Andy get along so well.” The three of you watch them and the other kids playing tag.

“Born to be friends I’d say.” Harry says.

“Uncle Harry!” A young girl comes running over to Harry and he picks her up, kissing her check, and then setting her down.

“Hi, Rachel, can you say hello to my friend Y/N?”

“Hello.” She beams up at you, a couple of teeth missing. “My grammy and grampy are here.”

“Are they?” Harry says.

“Mhm, I love them a lot.”

“I’m sure they love you too, sweetheart. Are you having a good time for Andy’s birthday?”

“Yeah! We’re going to have a water balloon toss soon.”

“Oh, that’ll be fun!”

“Daddy said he’d be on my team for it.”

“Well, that’s good.”

She smiles again and then runs off.

“Your ex’s boyfriend’s daughter calls you Uncle Harry?” You ask.

“Yeah…she sort of started doing that on her own. She knows I’m Andy’s dad, but I don’t think it quite registers with her yet how we’re all mixed together.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“A glass of white would be great, thank you.” Harry nods and leaves you standing with Ed.

“So, how long have you and H known each other?”

“Well, I started working at the university last August, so less than a year. We’re office neighbors.”

“Ah, how nice. He’s a really great guy, isn’t he? I coach the boys’ basketball team and he was the first to sign up for snack duty.”

“He’s definitely always thinking of others.”

“How long have you been seeing each other?”

“Oh, um, we’re not.” You shake your head. “He just asked me to come with him, ex in laws, you know?”

“Shit, I’m sorry for just assuming.”

“It’s alright.” You assure him. Harry comes over with a glass of wine for you and a bottle of beer for him.

“Sorry that took a moment, I ran into Noah inside and had to do the hellos. Still managed to not bump into Paige’s parents though, so that’s good.” He chuckles, taking a sip from his drink.

“Bad blood?” You ask.

“Even though things between Paige and I are perfectly fine, in their eyes, I’m always going to be the guy that got her pregnant and didn’t make an honest woman out of her.”

“That’s annoying.”

“Very.”

An hour or so passes and then Paige announces that the balloon toss will be beginning soon.

“Dad, be my partner?”

“You got it, buddy. Mind holding my drink?” He says to you.

“Not at all, have fun.” You smile.

More people had come down off the deck so they could watch. Some parents partnered with their kids, and other kids just partnered with kids. Everyone starts about a foot apart. This should be fun, you think, knowing Harry’s competitive nature.

“Would you look at Harry, he looks like an old man from Florida.” You hear a woman scoff.

“Notice how he’s been avoiding us, always a child.” You hear a man say, and this makes you turn towards them. They must be Paige’s parents.

Everyone playing was further apart now, some balloons had popped, but Harry and Andy were still in the game. The balloon pops at Rachel’s feet and she giggles loudly. There were only a few people now. You watch as Harry lobs the balloon perfectly to Andy, and Andy catches it with ease. It was Brandon and his dad vs. Harry and Andy now. Brandon overthrows it, causing the balloon to pop on the sand.

“We won!” Andy shouts running towards Harry.

“Great job.” Harry jostle’s Andy’s hair. Everyone cheers for them.

“What do you say, honey, cake and gifts now?” Paige asks Andy.

“Yeah.” He smiles.

All of the kids sit around a large glass table while Paige goes inside to get the cake. Harry walks back towards you and you hand him his beer.

“What were you saying about you have no coordination?”

“I had to win, it’s his birthday.” He laughs and then stops when he sees Paige’s parents. “Lydia, Nathan, how are you?”

“Oh, are you speaking with us now?” Lydia says playfully, giving him a hug. Harry shakes Nathan’s hand.

“You know how it is when you first get to a party, lots of excitement. I’d find you eventually.” He clears his throat. “This is Y/N, we work together at the university.”

“Hello.” You smile and they both look you up and down.

“How nice for you to bring a friend.” Nathan says, his tone laced with sarcasm.

“I’m gonna go see if she needs help with the cake.” Harry says to all of you, and you also decide to move away from the rude people you were standing with.

Paige and Harry stand on either side of Andy’s chair as everyone sings happy birthday. After cake the gifts come out. Noah takes Harry into the garage to grab the bike.

“Alright…this one is from…Y/N!” Paige says brightly as she hands the gift to Andy. He tears the wrapping paper off and gasps.

“Alright! A new basketball, thank you!” Andy says looking in your direction and you nod with a smile.

“Okay, Andy, Dad and I got you something really special.” Paige says pointing over to Harry who was wheeling the bike over. Andy’s jaw drops.

“Are you serious?!” He stand up and walks over to the bike.

“Know you’ve been wanting it for a while, and your grades have just been so good this year, we just had to do it. Mum’s got a new helmet, elbow and knee pads for you in the house.”

“Thank you so much!” He hugs Harry and then he hugs Paige.

“You’re more than welcome, baby doll.” Paige says to him and then he squirms away from her.

“Mum.” He huffs.

“Right, sorry, not in front of your friends.”

Paige’s sister helps her clean up the remains of the cake while the kids continue to play yard games. You find yourself sitting in a lawn chair when a man you have yet to meet takes the chair next to you, but you recognize him as Rachel’s father.

“We haven’t gotten to meet yet, I’m Noah.” He shakes your hand.

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” He smiles. “I was happy to hear Harry was bringing someone with him. Takes a bit of the pressure off.”

“Exactly.” You nod.

“How’d you meet?”

“We’re office neighbors, I started working at the university less than a year ago.”

“Oh! Right, you went hiking with them last weekend.” He says in understanding. “Andy told us. He’s quite the gossip.”

You observe Noah as he speaks. His hair has turned to salt and pepper, definitely had crow’s feet, also wore glasses, but he had a warm and inviting smile, similar to his daughter’s.

“He certainly speaks his mind.” You chuckle. “He’s very sweet though, I have to say.”

“Very sweet. He’s a good kid. It’s nice for Rach to have someone to grow up with a little She adores him, definitely sees him as a big brother.”

“That’s good. I’ve always found blended families to be interesting. You all are doing it well.”

“Took us a while to get to this point, but it’s all been worth it.”

“Y/N?” You both turn to look at Harry. “Party’s starting to dissipate a bit, are you about ready to head out?”

“Sure!” You stand up. “It was nice talking to you.”

“Same here.” Noah stands up and gives Harry a thumbs up without you seeing.

You both say your goodbyes, Andy gives you another hug and says thank you again for the gift. Harry tells him he’ll see him Sunday night, and then you head to his car.

“Hope you didn’t mind when I had to leave to chat a couple of times.”

“Oh, it was fine. I enjoyed just hanging out. It was a beautiful day.” The sun was just starting to set.

“Yeah, I’m glad the weather was nice. I think it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.” He looks at you and then gets his attention back on the road. “You really did look nice today.”

“Thank you, Harry.” You smile and give his shoulder a squeeze.

“Am I…taking you straight home?”

You blink a couple of times before looking at him.

“Where else would we go?”

“Well, I’ve got a back deck of my own. We could sit out, enjoy the sunset…if you want.”

“That sounds nice, actually. Yeah, let’s do that.” You smile.

“Great.”

You notice his jaw and shoulders relax. Were you making him tense? You both listen to the music on the radio as he drives you to his home. You smile as he pulls up. It was a decent size ranch. Cream color paneling and red shutters, very cute.

“Here were are.” He says awkwardly as you both get out.

“Do I get a tour?”

“Of course!”

He unlocks the front door and leads you inside. There was an open concept kitchen and living area. The house smelled like fresh coffee. He noticed you taking a whiff.

“I have an automatic air freshener.” He says and you nod.

“I like it, should get one for my place.”

“There’s a full bath down the hall, Andy uses that, and then I have my own bathroom. Three bedrooms totally, and then you can see I technically have two levels, that’s what I use for my office.”

“It’s a huge loft.”

“Yeah, it’s partially why I bought the place. I didn’t feel cramped. Basement’s partially finished which will be great for Andy when he’s over if he wants to have parties or whatever. Uh, and then the deck is this way. Can I get you anything…I only have red wine, I know you like white…”

“Red’s fine, maybe just put an ice cube in it for me?”

“Can do, make yourself comfortable outside.” He smiles.

You slide the glass door open and smile. It was a decent sized deck. There was a small glass round table with chairs, a grill, and some Adirondack chairs as well. You sit in one of those after taking a glance at the flowers and plants he had in pots. You also notice the various flower beds he had in the yard.

“Here you go.” He says, sitting down next to you, handing you the glass of wine.

“Thank you.” You smile and take a sip. You cross your cardigan over yourself.

“Are you cold? I can get a blanket.”

“Oh, no I’m fine, thanks. It’s beautiful out here.”

“Thanks, took me a while to get it landscaped the way I like.” He lights the citronella candle on the small table between you to help keep any bugs away. “I’ve been thinking of getting an above ground pool for Andy, he loves to swim, but it’s a lot maintenance, and his mum as the lake right there.”

“That house is incredible.”

“Noah’s helped her revamp it quite a bit, and the boat’s his.” He takes a sip of his drink and looks at you. “Thanks again for coming today.”

“Of course, I had a really good time.” You smile.

“You’re not just saying that?”

“Not at all. It was nice to finally meet the people you’ve told me so much about.”

“Are you hungry or anything? I could bring some-“

“Harry.” You put your hand over his that was resting on the arm of the chair. “Relax, yeah? I’m all set, thank you.”

“Alright.” He blushes and looks straight ahead. You notice him check an app on his phone. “Are you free Tuesday morning?”

“I think so, why?”

“Weather’s looking good, how about we go on one of those longer hikes?”

“I’d like that.” You smile. “Anything special I’d need to back.”

“Just a lunch, maybe some T.P.”

“You’re funny if think I’m going to take a piss in the woods.”

“Everyone does it.” He shrugs. “Don’t worry, I’d keep lookout for you.”

“You men have it so easy, you can just whip your things out, go quick, and you’re all set. Me, I’d have to roll my pants down, squat, hope none of it got on my shoes, wipe, and then get dressed again.”

“I’ve had to do that before, sometimes you just need to take a shit in the woods.” You burst out laughing at that. “Course that only happened because I went out drinking the night before.”

“Good to know.” You wipe a tear from your eye. “But seriously, I’d love to go hiking with you Tuesday.”

“I know it was more so Andy that invited you on our little camping trip, but you’re welcome to join in on that if you feel comfortable.”

“I would just feel like I’m intruding on your quality time.”

“You wouldn’t be, he likes you…um…I like you.” Your head snaps in his direction and your eyebrows shoot up. “I mean, like, I like hanging out with you, is all.” He was internally cringing at himself.

“I like hanging out with you too.” You swallow. “I’m glad we’ve gotten to know each other so well. You’ve been a great help with my classes. You’re so progressive, not always using the same syllabus and being willing to make things work for the students. It’s refreshing.”

“Please, go on, the narcissist within me is loving it.” He smirks and you roll your eyes. “Don’t sell yourself short, you’re doing really well. I enjoyed observing your rhetoric class. It was a nice refresher. I hope you won’t work yourself to much this summer. I know it’s more time for research and writing, but it’s also time for you to clear your head.”

“Thanks, I’ll try to keep that in mind.” You finish off your wine just as the sun it setting, the light from the candle being the only thing to keep things bright enough to see.

“I can, uh, bring you home now if you want.”

“I could just get an uber so you don’t have to go out again.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s no trouble.”

Harry drives you home, and you find yourself lingering in the car.

“So…Tuesday?”

“Tuesday.” He smiles. “Bright and early.”

“How early?” You raise an eyebrow.”

“How’s six sound? I’ll come pick you up, we’ll get to the trailhead by 6:30. It’s always better to summit earlier in the day.”

“You’re the expert.” You shrug. “Works for me.”

You both lean across the console to give each other a hug a goodbye, like you normally would, only this time…you press your lips to his cheek before getting out of the car. His gaze stays fixed on you, and it’s not until you’re inside your building where he lightly presses his fingers to his cheek to feel where you kissed him.

[reflectionsofneptune]

little things I associate with the Mercury signs.

Little dreamy, abstract things I associate with the Mercury signs in Astrology.

Aries Mercury

Authoritative. When I want something, I make it clear. Crystal clear. No beating around the bush. A forceful way of speaking. Don’t talk about it, be about it. Short sentences. A hint of arrogance. Competitive edge seeping through my words. What can I say, I like to be a winner? At all times. A raspy voice. Adopting a youthful charm when it suits me. Attuned to perceiving danger in my environment. Disliking an over-emphasis of niceties in conversation. Keeping it real. Exercising to clear the mind. Pep - talks. The rev of an engine. Pedal to the metal. Talking to me, I need you to bring your A Game and something new. Conversation needs to be stimulating. 

Taurus Mercury

Savouring. Words need to be savoured. Like beauty, they only get better with age. Listen carefully and hear what I stand for. Slowing down. Something about the handwriting. Cursive. An even tone. Words flow out of my mouth like maple syrup oozes down the height of a stack of fluffy, warm pancakes. Stubbornness. When am I ever wrong? Pictures, or it’s not real. Proof being recognised from what my base senses pick up. Inspiration from nature. A level-head. Choosing to see the beauty in my environment. For better or for worse. Don’t be fooled by my lack of conversation, I peep everything. 

Gemini Mercury

Riddles. I’m not going to tell you the answer but the curve of my lip might reveal itself when you’re getting close. Starting one conversation with one subject. Finishing the conversation with a completely different one. Playfulness. Humour as a tool of deflection. Quick texts. Leading conversations. Making a best friend in the supermarket. Another one, on the bus.  Seeing the duality of things in my environment. Information is like crack. I can’t get enough. Multiple tabs, open. Nervous energy. Fiddling. Mimicking your mannerisms if I like you, verbally ripping you apart if it tickles my fancy. Or not, I get distracted quite easily so you may be let off the hook.

Cancer Mercury

Introspective. Thinking about the past. Sometimes not finding my way back to the present. Emotions filtering through my words. Perceptions are protective. A vintage film, the introduction devoid of colour. An interest in knowing where one comes from, what comforts someone. Needing to cleanse myself of everybody’s emotional baggage. Again. Pathetic fallacy. Finishing your sentences. Promise its not on purpose. Wanting security from my environment. A psychological slant to conversations. A rich inner imagination. A diary, signed, sealed and under my pillow. Withdrawing into the cocoon of my thoughts when I feel threatened. 

Leo Mercury 

Commanding. A leadership position sounds good to me. Confidence in my thoughts. Words that can brighten up your life. Disney movies. Teasing conversations. Class clown. My thoughts are copyrighted. Bluffing. The curve a chest, puffed out to its maximum, makes. Talking loudly so I’m sure you hear me. Describing something in such detail, so you can feel as if you were there. Piping hot tea. Intellect and ego tied together.  Creativity expressed through speech. Seeing my immediate environment as a stage. Conversations in the mirror. The little grooves formed at the corner of the eyes when the smile is genuine. Blowing my own trumpet because if I don’t, who will?

Virgo Mercury

Organised. Seeing flaws in my environment. A to-do list, covered on both sides. Polite but not foolish. The spine of a book, crease free. Stepping back in conversation. The few creases that appear on the skin when a nose is wrinkled. Monotone. Advice given freely. Or withdrawing all help if I see it going through one ear and out the other. Discernment in conversation. Sticky notes. Attuned to see the bullshit in conversation. In life. Helpful suggestions. Take it or leave it. Mind feels like a hamster wheel. How do you turn this thing off?  An upward line of a tick, in red. Not an excuse, but know that the harder I am on you, the harder I am on myself really. 

Libra Mercury

Flirting. Feels as natural as breathing does. A sweet talker. The stem of cherry. A gentle lilt that comes alive in conversation. A fickle mind. Forever weighing up the pro’s and cons. Birdsong, cutting through morning dew. Wanting peace from my environment. Trying to maintain peace in my environment. A white flag fluttering in the wind, atop a hill. Indecision feels paralysing. Waiting for you to finish speaking before I provide an opposing point of view. Feigning innocence. Learning about myself through conversations with others. Sometimes not liking what I see. 3 sides to a story. I am capable of a decision, I just feel better when the internal scales of my thoughts are balanced. 

Scorpio Mercury

Power. Power plays in conversation. Checkmate. Words are comparable to pieces on a chessboard. Not a fan of small talk. Unless it’s for my benefit. Intuition on point. And then some. Probing. Trust issues. Talking to someone for a minute but deducing years of their life from a single meeting. Burner phones in a drawer. The eerie silence that comes around, say 4 AM. Secrets, mine and yours, help me fall asleep at night. Receipts for weeks, days and months. I’ve got it all. Past hurts cut deep in my psyche. Eyebrows pulled together. Pretending to be deaf when convenient. Subject changes. A full stop. Knowledge is power. I am capable of sharing intimate details of myself…..you first though. 

Sagittarius Mercury

YOLO. Sending those kinda texts to the wrong group chat by mistake. Saying what we were all thinking, even if it’s not the ‘right’ time, ‘cos fuck it. Slidin’ in the DM’s. Popping up like it’s nothing. You know me. Is time even real? The underside of a desk, covered with tags, love notes, and condom wrappers. Going off on social media. For a good cause, most of the time. Falling back on spirituality when life gets tough. Thought patterns are expansive and influenced by cultures and theories different than mine. Appreciating the differences in life. In people. Gift of the gab. That person who’s laughing when no one else is. Believing in abundance because that's what my environment reflects back to me. Stretching the fine line between truth and fantasy…….’cos fuck it.

Capricorn Mercury

Blue ticks. Time is of the essence. Thoughts are disciplined. A 3 tier desk organiser, stuffed to the brim with documents. Elocution lessons. Did you know I used to stutter? Deadpan jokes. A raised eyebrow. Judging people. We all do it, it’s innate to us. Keep your friends close. Enemies closer. Voicemail. I don’t need people to like me, but respect me is all I ask. A calculating mind. Always planning ahead. Sudoku puzzles. People give themselves away all the time, you just need to listen. Believing people’s actions over words. Thoughts focused on external recognition became a burden I often didn’t ask for, weighs me down.

Aquarius Mercury

Observant. Seeing the subtle layers that make up human behaviour. People are fascinating. A 360 way of looking at things. Reverb on an electric guitar. Solution-focused. A finger on the pulse of undiscovered knowledge. Static from a radio dial. I’m not afraid to question everything. An outdated statue, tipped. A love and hate relationship with time. Flashes of intuition. Needing time to process thoughts. A cool perspective. Shades of sunglasses, tinted yellow. Including people I’ve never met in my thoughts. In my dreams. My wishes. A Brave New World? I’m still waiting for people to step up and take responsibility.

Pisces Mercury

The red and white swirls of a helter-skelter ride. The path connecting my thoughts and my words is a little beaten. But not many people have bothered to venture this way. Pillow talk during the day. Drifting off in conversation. Overspilling in conversations. Or people, overspilling details of their life onto me. Missing appointments. Two circles merging into one if you stare long enough. Tapped into Source. Weaving you a dream with my words so good, I start to believe it. The afterword in a novel. Doodles in a margin. Sensitivity in conversation. Picking up a million and one signals from my environment. Using music to lose myself and ironically, find myself in the end.

————

| little thoughts about venus placements

| little thoughts about the mars placements

| little thoughts about the saturn placements

[nyxerebus]

Boring Bar - Modern Levi x Female Reader

“Why are we here again?” The raven-haired man asked his friend. “You need to get out more Levi, So this is me dragging you out” Erwin smiled back. Levi just scoffed at him and looked around the bar.

Filthy.

“Hange and some others are coming soon”.

Huh!? “Shitty glasses and her shitty friends are also coming?” Erwin chuckled and nodded. Levi’s mood became even more shittier. If that was possible. They both drank in silenced for a while. Both ordering the same glass of whisky, Erwin on the rocks, Levi with a twist. The music was typical bar music, boring. Some people were dancing over at the dancefloor. Half the booths were filled, but Erwin and Levi were the only two sitting at the bar. “So, how have you been?” Erwin asked. He knew the answer. Not good. Levi and Petra had broken up a month ago, and he was still hung up on it. The breakup was really messy. Levi had caught her cheating on him with her co-worker. The biggest cliché in the world. “You know”, Erwin expected something more, but that was the only thing he got from Levi. “Okay, talking about it clearly isn’t something you want, but do you know what you need?” Levi raised his eyebrows at the blond. “A rebound!”

“A rebound?” Levi repeated. “You need a quick one night stand to get over her and move on, it will clear up your head. I promise” Levi looked at the man with a questionable look, but didn’t push further. They both fell into a silence, Levi still processing his words - was a rebound all he needed?

The glorious silence between the long-time friends was cut short when the bell at the door rang. “Leviiii! Erwinnnn!” Hange’s voice boomed over the bar. Her and Mike and Nanaba walked over to them and hugged Erwin, (Hange tried to give Levi a hug, but ended up with a elbow in the ribs).

A comfortable conversation fell between the four adults. Even though Levi gave them a hard time for dragging him out, he loved just sitting on the side-line and listening to the conversations. It was comforting. “Oh! I forgot to tell you guys” Hange exclaimed. “What’s up four eyes”.

“An old friend of mine is coming over and staying with me the next week! She’s going to meet us here, you guys fine with her hanging out with us?”.

“Of course! Where do you know her from?” Nanaba asked.

“We were dorm roommates back in my collage days!”. Hange smiled. “She is really nice, so you better treat her nice!” She threatened, even though she wasn’t that threatening.

The bell over the door rang again. “She’s here!” Hange waved over a (your height) woman. Hange hugged her and lifted the poor girl up from the ground, her legs kicking in the air. “So good to see you again!” Hange squealed and danced around, still holding the girl up. “Hange, let the poor girl down” Nanaba looked a bit concerned by her mad scientist friends action. Hange, reluctant, let the girl down and introduced her to her friends.

“This is (Y/N) (L/N)! My long-time friend form collage!” The group greeted her and Erwin moved over a bar stool she could sit on, moved it next to Levi. He sent the raven man a smug look. Damn eyebrow freak.

“So, (Y/N), what did you study?” They asked her many questions about her life. They learned that she studied History, (was still studying, but balancing school with working in a flower shop with her brother), she had two cats and her favourite book was Pride and Prejudice. Hange was clearly proud of her friend and showed her of to no extent. Levi noticed the girl, (Y/N) was looking very nervous and would often blush and wiggle in her seat when Hange went on about her life.

Cute.

What was he thinking? He couldn’t develop a thing for Hange’s friend, she was clearly very protective of her and would no doubt rip his dick of if he tried to get with (Y/N). “So, (Y/N), got a boyfriend” This time it was Nanaba that asked. This made Levi perk up, for some reason the idea that she had a boyfriend made his chest tighten.

What was wrong with him? He felt more jealous at the possibility that a woman he had just met had a boyfriend, than when he caught his girlfriend of 9 months in bed with another man.

“No, its just me and my cats at the moment” She rubbed the back of her neck. Levi realised a breath of relief, no one noticed. Well, no one except Erwin, who grinned into his drink.

The conversation drifted away from (Y/N) life to more mundane things. Work, family and what not. To be honest, Levi was only paying attention if (Y/N) was speaking. But sadly, the evening turned into the night. And everyone was suddenly reminded that they had work tomorrow.

“It was great meeting you all! Hope we can meet another time!” (Y/N) smiled at them. “Of course! Maybe for lunch?” Nanaba questioned. They agreed to meet for lunch one day, and split up. But luckily for Levi, he and Hange lived on the same street. So the three of them walked together to the building the two ladies lived at. Hange wouldn’t stop talking about her latest experiments.

Levi tried a few times to ask (Y/N) some questions, but they either came out as insults or as interrupted by Hange. Usually he was smooth with woman, never having to struggle cause most flocked towards him. But when he had to impress her, he became suddenly shy and nervous.

Snap out of it Ackerman! But before he could snap out of it, the stood outside Hanges apartment. “Looks like were parting ways here Clean freak! See ya tomorrow!” And with that they disappeared behind the entrenced to the building. Levi stood on the street for a couple of minutes, thinking over the night. He cursed at himself for not growing a pair and asking her out. He went to bed angry with himself.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The next week past with everyday just the same like the last. Levi would meet you and Hange at 8 am and walk to your respective jobs. Everyone would meet for lunch (sometimes Erwin, Nanaba and Mike couldn’t make it, but Levi would always make it). And everyday, Levi became more and more enchanted with (Y/N).

“I don’t know what to do!” Levi groaned and threw his head back against the coach back. He and Erwin and Mike was chilling at Levi’s apartment. “Sounds like love to me” Erwin replied with his cheeky grinned. Oh, how Levi wanted to smack the grin of off his face.

“How? I have only known her for one week!”

“Love at first sight” Mike spoke up. “That doesn’t exist asshole” Levi grumbled out, chugging back his drink. “I don’t know man, Mike might be on to something”.

“Fuckers”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Levi was driving home when he saw it. ‘Mushrooms and Flowers’, the flower shop (Y/N) worked at. His body reacted before his mind could stop it. And before he knew it his car was parked in front of it and he was halfway between his car and the shop.

A bell rang when he entered the small shop. It was cozy, fairy lights hanging from the celling and the walls were covered in flowers, and by the counter there was a mushrooms display. “Levi!” A familiar voice called from him. “So good to see you” She walked over to him. “How can I help you?”

He was silent. The cold, stoic, gives zero shits Levi Ackerman, was fucking silent.

The hells wrong with you?! Speak!

“I need some flowers” Yeah, idiot why else would you be here?! “You came to the right place! What is the occasion?”

Oh god? Was he going to get flowers for a girlfriend? Of course, he had a girl, a man that gorgeous always have an equally beautiful woman by his side. You cannot compete!

(Y/N) was equally nervous as Levi. The same pang of jealousy raced through her at the thought of him with another woman. “A girl” was all Levi muttered out. Sadness filled (Y/N), but she bit her tears back. Not wanting him to know about her feelings for him. The same feelings that had kept her up at night and made her heart race in a way it never had.

“Well, we have some beautiful roses in many colours! What’s her favourite” (Y/N) tried not to sound disgusted by the mentioned of another woman.

Levi thought back to when (Y/N) mentioned what her favourite colour was. “Orange”.

Good taste, (Y/N) thought. “Well, these are my favourite. They have a nice deep orange colour and gets pretty red at the tips of the flower leaves”. (Y/N) pointed at the flower in the rose’s aisle. Levi agreed that it was beautiful and didn’t hesitate to say: “I’ll take it”.

His apartment smelled of roses. On his kitchen island, four rose bouquets of the orange flowers sat. He had gotten all they had in the store. He was opening a new bottle of whiskey. Not knowing what to do. The glass he filled was quickly swallowed and he filled another.

“I blew it!” He shouldn’t have said it was for a girl. What if she thought it was serious and stopped talking to him? What if she found out that he lied about having a girl and though he was a creep?

A million bad thoughts raced through his head, until he finally decided. He was going to do something about it. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was the alcohol. But a new wave of courage waved through him and he grabbed the flowers and his keys. He knew Hange had a meeting at work, so (Y/N) was home alone.

The walk over was quick. But not quick enough. When he reached the apartment door, the courage washed of and he realized what was going to happened. He was going to confess and she was going to reject him. Why would she not? She has probably heard about his insults and how cold he is from Hange. Why would someone as cheerful as her want someone as dickish like him?

No, he couldn’t do it. He left the building.

(Y/N) heard someone moving around outside the door. She looked out the peep hole and saw no one, but something on the ground caught her eye. The flowers Levi had bought from her. All four bouquets. Wasn’t these flowers for a girl? After a minute of looking at the flowers with pure confusion, it clicked.

She was the girl.

Without thinking she ran after him. Only in her sleeping shorts and tank top, and her slippers, she ran down the stairs and out to the street. After looking around, she caught him walking away.

“Levi!”

He turned around and was met with her body colliding into him. She was out of breath after running down all the stairs after him. “The hell you doing out here brat!”

He looked down at her hands and saw the flowers. He rubbed his hand down his face and sighed deeply. Here comes the rejection.

“Was I the girl?” He looked down at her. Risking it all, he nodded. “Yeah, yeah you are”. Time stood still. The people around them didn’t matter, the rain that was starting to pour down didn’t matter, only them. He looked in her eyes, looking for an answer, but when she pulled him down too meet his lips, he got it. Even though it took a moment for him to realize this was actually happening, when he snapped out of it he kissed her back.

It was like something out of a movie. The rain was pouring down. He was bending her back down a bit and leaning down with her. One hand was behind her back, stabilizing her and the other was on her jaw, holding her close. Her hands were wrapped around his neck. He broke the kiss when he felt her shivering against him. Suddenly he was reminded that they were out on a busy street, it was almost midnight, and she wasn’t wearing clothes fit for the rain, or just being outside in the cold.

“Let’s go inside, yeah?” She nodded her hand. As they walked back to her apartment hand in hand, Levi thanked the gods that Erwin had dragged him out to that boring bar.

A/N: Hope you like it! I'm not too happy with the ending, its a bit rushed but i am writing this at 2 am, sooo hehe. Might write a part 2! Take care :)

[mingoyeob-archive]

omg hey, if not done yet, can we please have 51 + jk? also take your time for part 3, no need to rush and stress about it, you're an amazing writer and good work always takes time 💜

under the oak tree drabble game ⚔️🌳 to make up for my delayed release of part 3 of under the oak tree i’ve decided to do a drabble game!

omg thank you for being so kind 🥲 I wanna end under the oak tree in a good way so I've just been pushing it off until I come up with something thats not a complete disappointment?? but I'm hoping these drabbles give you guys more time to enjoy the characters! hope you like it :)

51. “I can’t help the fact that I’m so goddamn moody all the freaking time” | jjk x reader ft yoongi | word count: 2k

The castle was eerily quiet.

Most days it would be loud with the sound of footsteps and the banging of mugs hitting wood tables followed by the clanking of cutlery. However today, no one seemed to want to make a peep; they were as quiet as a mouse. Unlike everyone else who found the lack of noise peculiar, Yoongi enjoyed it - reveled in it, flourished in it even. Nothing made him happier than being able to sit and enjoy his daily morning, afternoon and evening naps and it made studying all the damn protection spells Jungkook wanted for the castle a hell of a lot easier. But there was one thing that threatened his new paradise, a looming cloud over his glorious fantasy, the grey cloud that he called Jeon Jungkook.

Now Jungkook was never one to be in an especially chipper mood, at least not around most people that is (you on the other hand, seemed to be a completely different story). Yoongi distinctly remembers seeing baby pictures of the lad when he was just a baby with a scowl etched permanently on his face under bushy dark brows. He often found it comical. Here was this lumbering idiot, with a silver spoon practically being shoved in his mouth, the glorious savior of the kingdom, but he was walking around as if his favorite horse had died (which it hadn’t, he checked). It was really starting to get on his nerves.

“Kid, you’ve gotta stop scaring the men. I swore I saw one of them shit themselves the other day.” Yoongi said from beside Jungkook. Currently they sat side by side in the great hall, feasting on bowls of hearty beef stew, the kind with giant chunks of meat and half haphazardly chopped vegetables covered in a thick and glorious gravy. Hmm my favorite Yoongi hummed to himself, eyes slipping shut as he drank up the delicious broth with a loud slurping sound. His spoon made a loud clanging sound against his bowl when he dropped it back down, wiping his mouth to shift his gaze back over to the scowling man to his left. “You know if I were you I would be jumping for joy. You’re filthy fucking rich, whats to be sad about huh?”

Jungkook didn’t even let out his usual grunt in response, opting to continue swirling his spoon around in his stew while glaring down at it as if it had wronged him in some way. But the sudden sound of one the knights from across the hall laughing had him snapping his head up to send a growl over to the group of men which had them instantly silencing themselves, ducking down to continue silently eating their food. Yoongi watched the exchange with amusement, “Yeah you definitely need to get laid.”

Jungkook raised his hand to swing at him to which Yoongi merely stopped with a spell, not even bothering to look at him while he took another spoonful of his food. He knew Jungkook would never try to purposefully hurt him if he knew Yoongi couldn’t protect himself, so this was just considered normal playful banter between the two men. “That’s enough, Yoongi.” He mumbled angrily, dropping his fist to bang against the table. The noise gained the attention of everyone in the dining hall, but none of them dared to turn their heads to look at the commotion, afraid the Duke would redirect his anger towards them. “I can’t help the fact that I’m so goddamn moody all the freaking time.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, you know, that's what tends to happen when you don’t get any for a while.” Yoongi sighed and leaned his hand against his hand, gazing pitifully at Jungkook. He noticed the slight twinge of confusion on Jungkooks face and decided to reiterate himself, “It’s called blue balls idiot.”

Jungkook nearly choked on his spit. Yoongi was never one to mince words and this time was no different, but still his blunt words caught him off guard. “Would you keep it down!” Jungkook seethed, whipping his head around to see if anyone had overheard the topic of their conversation. It’s not like he was scared of anyone mocking him (everyone knew better than that) but still, he didn’t need the whole castle knowing that him and his wife still hadn’t had sex yet since he’d been back.

Yes, you heard him correctly. Jungkook had been back for almost three months and you and him still hadn’t even so much as touched each other intimately. Sure they had a few passionate kisses and lust filled embraces here and there which had left your neck bruised with hickies, but outside of that, neither of you had even dared roaming a hand south of the border. He didn’t know why he hadn’t tried it, perhaps it was because he wanted to make sure you were ready this time, instead of forcing himself on you like last time. He wanted to be positive that you enjoyed yourself as much as he did, wanted to bring you to new heights that made you absolutely euphoric. But until you were comfortable with him enough to let him do so, he would stick to his hand and the dirty images that he had conjured up in his head.

“I know what blue balls are, Yoongi. But I’m perfectly fine with how mine and y/n’s relationship is going.” he mumbled, glaring at the sorcerer. “And I don’t need you meddling in my love life so why don’t you just go and frolic with that stable boy like you do and leave me be.”

Yoongi let out a noise of disagreement, throwing his hands up in annoyance, “How many times do I have to tell you, me and hoseok are not frolicking or whatever the hell you’re into-” Jungkooks foot kicked his leg under the table causing him to let out a hiss but nonetheless he continued, “You can’t keep waiting for her to make the first move. Y/n is a lady and a lady from Aster at that. Those chicks never make the first move.”

Jungkook grumbled and pushed his bowl away from him then sipped at his ale in contemplation. Perhaps Yoongi was right, maybe it was time for him to make the first move. “But how can I make sure she’s ready? What if I fuck up like last time?” he questioned, not bothering to hide the genuine concern in his voice.

The sorcerer just sighed, patting Jungkook on the shoulder, “Trust me, kid. If you fucked up, she wouldn’t still be here. And judging by the noises I heard last time, I’m pretty sure she enjoyed herself.” yoongi shuddered. No more late night walks through the hall he promised himself. “Just try to do something nice for her this time. Don’t just throw her around, take it easy. Try and lighten the mood, understand?”

Jungkook was quiet for a second, the gears turning in his head. When he finally seemed to come to a conclusion, he grunted and nodded his head. The corner of Yoongi's lips tilted up in a satisfied smile and he clapped the man on the shoulder, “Thatta boy!”

Immediately after dinner, Jungkook went to the kitchen to request the finest meats, cheeses and artfully crafted desserts they had along with the sweetest wine the chef could find. The kitchen staff were practically shaken in their boots when the Duke had first walked into the room, afraid they had done something to mess up his dinner. But when they saw how shy yet dedicated the man seemed to be (despite how much he had tried to hide it) they were more than happy to help him, promising him that they would do their best. Jungkook gave them a monotonous thanks and had practically run out the room, up the steps and to the bed chamber. He had a lot to do in a short amount of time.

“I am pooped!” You groaned, complaining to Seokjin about how much work you had done today while walking through the hard stone halls of the castle. You had spent most of today working in the library, learning and going over the finances with Seokjin so you could finally start taking on more of your ‘wifely duties’ and relieving him of some of the burden. “I’m still not sure how the conversion from pences to shillings works. Or is it shillings to pences? Ah, oh well.”

Seokjin merely rolled his eyes as he walked beside you, hands clasped behind his back in his usual gentlemanly fashion. “Yes my lady you did work very hard today. I do believe it is time for you to get a good night's rest so we can start again in the morning.” You whined at his words, stopping as you finally reached the door of your bed chambers. Seokjn just let out a small chuckle at your over the top theatrics, “Have a goodnight Y/n.”

You had returned his well wishes, sending him a beaming smile and wave as he walked back down the hallway. Once he was out of sight you turned back towards the door hand reaching out to grasp the knob. But before you got a chance to even touch the brass door handle, the mahogany swung open in front of you, your tall husband's looming figure instantly coming into sight. “Oh hello!” you greeted, surprised by the fact that he seemed to be waiting for your arrival.

Jungkook just stared at you, is he blushing? You asked yourself. The man didn’t say anything, just stepped out of the way and gestured for you to enter. You thought the whole exchange was weird and cautiously stepped around him, not expecting the sight that awaited you.

You let out a gasp, hand flying up to cover your mouth in shock as you surveyed the room. Almost every inch of the place was covered in the most beautiful and fragrant rose petals, the room lit up from the fireplace he had going across the room. Delicious food and desserts covered the tables so much of it that you had no idea how he expected you to finish it all. “Jungkook, what is all this?” you said, whipping around to look at him as he continued to stand by the entrance, stiff as a board.

He ducked his head, hands coming up to fidget as he nervously looked around the room. “Do you like it?” he asked, finally daring to meet your gaze. “I had Yoongi help me. He said you might like all this...or whatever.”

Your irises were practically lit up with admiration, eyes shining with pure undulated joy. You couldn’t believe he had done all of this for you. “Of course I like it! I mean- I love it! But what did I do to deserve this?”

Jungkook just furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, finally crossing the room to cradle your cheek and stare into your eyes affectionately. “What do you mean deserve this? I love you, y/n. I would give you the whole world if I could.”

His words had your eyes tearing up and you brought a hand up to gently hold the one he had placed on your cheek. Your head turned, placing a peck against the calloused skin of his palm as you returned his gaze, letting your eyes show just how thankful you were. “Jungkook...I love you too.” you whispered, watching as his face seemed to light up with your confession.

The rest of the night was spent dining on the luxurious food the kitchen had prepared, mouths full as you whispered sweet nothings to each other and spilled all of your darkest secrets and happiest moments. And despite the fact that the two of you still hadn’t managed to find your way to the bed or explored the rest of each other's bodies that had laid untouched by one another for quite some time, Jungkook couldn’t find himself to care. He was happy enough to be here at this moment, with you.

Blue balls be damned

[slutsofren]

Danger Days Chapter 4: The Ghost of You

summary: Somehow Tommy and you managed to convince Joel to stay in Jackson for the night, opting to leave the next morning. Things get just ever so slightly awkward between you and that gruff bastard, but it’s fine, totally fine. You’re really not that flustered already.

warnings: none, maybe a little naked Joel nothing nsfw, maybe a tiny bit of eye-fuckin’ but whose to say, not me!

word count: 3,178

Read on AO3 here

The last twelve or so hours were probably the most eventful of your tenure at Jackson, especially since becoming Maria’s right hand gal. The walls of the small community towered in front of you as the four of you approached. Tommy and yourself taking point in the front while the two strangers to Jackson were quiet behind you, either in awe or unease.

Because the sun was still setting, it was difficult to make out who replied but you think you recognized Marcus’ voice telling the others to open the gate. You looked over your shoulder to talk to Joel and Ellie, “We’ll go to the stables first, drop these boys off then take you to one of the houses. You two can get cleaned up there and we’ll bring you food and supplies.”

“Okay!” Ellie looks excitedly at you and Tommy. Beside her, Joel continues to be wary and alert. He surely trusts his younger brother, but you’re waiting for him to start something with you.

It didn’t take much for the whispering and gossip to start in Jackson. No matter how late in the night there was always a lurker, always somebody looking to stir shit, so when you started seeing more and more of the townsfolk peeping out of windows to look at the two new strangers riding alongside two of their leaders, you sent a silent thank-you to the stars that you didn’t have to linger for the whispering to swirl you.

Just the thought sent a shiver down your spine.

Tommy, who rode in front, began to point out to his brother and the girl various landmarks for the small city. The saloon, the community center, the medical building. Making a not-so-subtle attempt to let his brother know he could stay after you’d all return, live a semi-normal life in Jackson during the apocalypse.

Eventually, you fell behind Joel and Ellie making sure nobody pulled any kind of stunt from the back so you got to watch as the gruff brute shifted on his horse, looking only mildly uncomfortable that he couldn’t keep an eye on you. You wondered how his life was on the outside, how much horror plagued his nights, as it did you and everybody else who had to suffer in similar circumstances. Ellie, on the other hand, looked enthusiastic and much as an ordinary child did, despite the glaring obvious.

Approaching the stable, you pulled yourself out of those lingering thoughts, spotting Cherry and Charlie. Cherry ran up to your small group, excitedly cooing at her babies, grateful for their safe return.

Everybody jumped off their horse, handing the reins to a stablehand nearby and Ellie approached the young woman, “I’m sorry I stole your horse. I won’t do it again.”

Cherry held the horses’ bit in her hand, giving Ellie a stern look which you nearly reprimanded the woman for before she burst into a hearty laughter. “I’d never seen Tommy run so goodman fast in my life,” she howls, “I do forgive you for taking dear Lux but please, don’t do that again.”

Ellie looked down at her feet, giving a bashful promise which elicited another bout of relieved laughter from everyone watching. “Okay, yes, I’m not as young as I used to be, don’t mean I can’t run anymore Cherry,” Tommy smiles. “Anyways, let’s get outta here.”

Once again, your small group fell into silence only to be broken by the occasional point-and-see Tommy was doing as he walked beside you, telling his brother and the girl about Jackson, the little traditions the small community developed such as the movie night that fell on this evening, hoping to entice Ellie into persuading Joel to come back. As he would go on to describe the town and the various jobs everyone pulled, you’d sneak back a look over your shoulder to glance at the man every so often.

Only to catch him staring at you. Damn near every time. 

The four of you pulled up to a two story house at the end of a road, just around the corner from the Jackson cemetery. “Why don’t you two take this house for the night,” Tommy said. “It’s got hot water, firewood, pretty much everything you’d need.”

Ellie groans happily coming up beside you as you kneel to the ground and unzip your backpack. “Here,” you dig out some clothes and hand them to Ellie, “Take a shower first. The clothes might be a little big but something’s better than nothin’.”

Tommy nudges his brother, “We’ll bring you some clothes and some warm food. I think Seth has turkey burgers on the menu tonight.”

“Son of a bitch that sounds good,” you say lightly. It was true, Seth’s turkey burgers were one of the best damned things in Jackson. Even if the old man irritated the daylights out of you most days. 

“I’ll go get the food, you go get them clothes and supplies. Be back here in 30,” Tommy tells you. You gave your friend a mock salute and turned away, walking to the community center.

You chance a glance back behind you, Tommy engrossed in conversation with his brother, Ellie already running up the porch to that tempting fresh shower. As for Joel, as soon as you looked at him, it was almost as if he instinctively knew when your eyes would gaze over him for as soon as you did, his brown eyes met you.

The moment took you by surprise and you tumble slightly, catching yourself after tripping on your own damned two feet. Calm down, can’t you keep your shit together, you chide yourself.

You tried to keep your mind occupied, tried to keep various small tasks in the forefront of your head; it wasn’t really easy considering a gruff man with a husky voice danced behind those thoughts. You barely stopped to say a quick hello to people as you passed, not wanting to give them an opportunity to ask you questions about Joel and Ellie. You saw the community center and pretty much ran the last few feet, wanting to get in and out as soon as possible.

Although you knew the pair for less than a day, it wasn’t hard to pick out a couple spare shirts and tanks for them, hoping they’d fit. Joel was easy, he looked like a man who knew his flannels whereas Ellie was more akin to graphic tees and long sleeve undershirts.Tossing the clothes into a bag, you made your way to the exit.

You shot a thanks of appreciation to Max, the man who practically ran the center, and headed out, making a quick stop to your flat. You tossed out all the dirty clothing from your pack into the laundry basket that laid haphazardly at the foot of your bed and switched it out for fresher and cleaner clothes, restocked on ammunition for your dual guns as well, lastly packing some soon-to-be expired food to eat on the road. A rapid mental check and you figured you were good to head out and left your dear little flat for the foreseeable future.

Feet thumping against the porch, you pounded at the door, calling out. “Tommy?”

When nobody answered you knocked again, “Joel? Ellie?”

Only for silence to respond. 

You check the knob and it gives under your hand and you let yourself in, heading up the stairs to check if anybody was actually here or if Joel skipped town without you. Each room you checked was empty, only pushing your worry to be an accurate assumption when you finally peered into the master bedroom. The door opened with a small creak and you were confronted with the naked and wet image of Joel fuckin’ Miller, clad in nothing but a grey towel around his waist as he sat on the bed.

He looks up at you, watching you watching him. Your breath is stolen away, much like your brain has suddenly malfunctioned. A quick furrow of your brow and you remembered where you were, tossing the bag of clothing at the man and turning to leave, slamming the door shut behind you. Storming down the stairs and aiming for the living room, it wasn’t until you hit the final step that you realized you were holding a breath.

How old am I, you whine. As if I’ve never seen a naked man before.

You plopped down on the sofa groaning, mentally reviewing the sight of Joel sitting on the bed looking frustrated- wet hair and tan skin in all his unfortunate glory. Shaking your head in your hands you sighed, waiting for somebody to come rid you of the ever so obvious embarrassment that loomed over your mind like a cloud when the front door opened to the sounds of Tommy and Ellie talking animatedly about using the rifle to protect Joel some time ago.

Bolting from the seat you took not even a few minutes prior, you met your friend and Ellie, quickly taking the bags from them to do something with your hands rather than ringing your neck out. The two continue talking as they follow you into the kitchen, Ellie going on still on how she’s saved Joel’s life from hunters once upon a time.

Together with Tommy, the two of you set out placemats on the table and served the burgers and fries on plates, letting Ellie finish her story. Thankfully being quiet was usually a quality of yours that served you well as Tommy didn’t pick up anything odd from your demeanor.

As the last plate was set, Joel came down the stairs wearing one of the new flannels you had picked for him. A green number, much like his old one but much less ratty and dirty. You refused to look him in the eye as the food was doled out onto everybody's plates, making sure to give him and Ellie extra fries.

Sitting down at the table with everybody as the four of you dug into the food, Ellie and Joel were quiet as they consumed everything they could which elicited a knowing smile between you and Tommy. It was pretty damned clear they hadn’t eaten anything of substance in quite some time. You were only half done with your own as you got Ellie’s attention, “Hey, kid. Want to finish mine off?”

She looked at you and then to the burger in your hand that you leaned towards her. “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Nah, a growing kid like you needs to eat. Take it. I’ll start cleaning up.”

“Ellie,” Joel’s voice hinted at a scold.

You looked at him, “She can eat it. There’s more if either of you want any.” You pushed your plate to the girl and stood, beginning your usual post-meal routine of cleaning up.

“Now you two better not kill each other out there, you hear me,” Tommy started, “Especially you.” He pointed to his brother. You caught out of the corner of your eye Joel tense up, about to argue back.

“Don’t you try to tell me what to do, baby brother,” he emphasizes the ‘baby’.

Tommy put his hands in the air, “I know how you can be, but I also know how she can be.”

This made you cock an eyebrow at him. “Do tell me Tommy Miller, how can I be?”

He stammered for a moment before shrugging, “Hell if I know anymore, you and Maria are gonna be the death of me.”

“Damn right,” you say. You smile and walk over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t you ever forget that.”

As you walk away, you faintly hear Tommy lean over the table and say something to his brother like, “Goddamn Californian girls.”  Which made you throw a rag at his head. He had it comin’.

The trio finished up while you cleaned the kitchen giving your mind some time to go on autopilot, enjoying the opportunity to stay clear of Joel for a moment. You couldn’t figure out what it was, maybe it was that he was one of the first new strangers to come to Jackson. Maybe it was the fact he was the elusive and mysterious older brother to Tommy. Maybe it was just the fact you were fuckin’ horny. Whatever it was was beginning to get on your last nerve and you needed to focus on the task at hand- getting the duo to the University for whatever reason.

Unfortunately you finished sooner than you’d hoped then trotted to the living room and settled on the couch next to Ellie, watching Tommy get the fire going in the fireplace. She shifted in the seat, eager to ask, “So, you’re from California?”

You nodded your head, “Born and raised in the Bay Area.”

“How old were you when the virus hit,” Ellie asked excitedly. “Joel doesn’t like talking about it but it all seems so surreal.”

You shifted in your seat just a bit, feeling all the eyes on you. “I was a little older than you are now, not by much. I was still very much a kid at the time.”

“So what did you do?”

You’re taken back for a moment at the girl's questions. You could tell she meant no harm but you weren’t sure how much you could reveal about yourself to complete strangers, so you compromised with half-truths. At the very least Tommy knew what kind of person you were and you had shit all to prove to Joel.

“Well, after the breakout, I volunteered as a field medic for FEDRA for a few years. I couldn’t take it for much longer so I left. Then, I found the Fireflies, met Tommy there too,” you nodded towards the man.

“And she found her family there,” Tommy interjected. The double innuendo was clear for the two of you.

“He’s right,” you smiled faintly. “Not only did I meet the man who’d become a brother to me,” you jerked your chin towards Tommy and noticed how Joel was trying to pretend he wasn’t listening to you. You continued, “but I found my own brother there along with my uncle.”

Subtlety wasn’t your strong suit but what harm could it do to show that you knew what the hell you were talking about when it came to the militia group.

You sighed heavily recalling some of the darkest moments of your lift. “When the breakout happened, I lost everybody on that first day. The only person who I couldn’t account for was my brother, Regan. Turns out he was able to escape then he joined the Fireflies when they formed.”

“Woah, that’s incredible,” Ellie’s eyes were wide listening to your story. “Was he friends with Marlene?”

“You could say that. Without him, she would have killed me when I approached her in Boston but he vouched for me. His opinion mattered to her.”

“Why,” she asked.

“Hell if I know, hell if I could even guess. Regan was always persuasive, could get anybody to do anything if he wanted,” you said lowly, staring into the fireplace. Your memory swirled with thoughts and worries again, wondering if he was still the same brother you knew or if this world changed him like it did everybody eventually. Sure as shit changed you.

Before any of you knew it, the conversation began to idle down as if they collectively sensed your unease. Soon, Ellie’s head drooped along with her eyelids, coming to lay in your lap as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The silence didn’t stay long until Joel looked at his brother then to you, gesturing between the two of you, “What was that thing you did with your hand? When we were fighting with the hunters?”

“It’s a system we adopted here in Jackson. A bit inspired by the military, a bit from sign language. We developed it to be able to communicate if we needed total silence and it works pretty well, only those of us in Jackson can understand it,” Tommy says proudly.

“I can teach you and Ellie,” you offer. “I’d be good to know if we run into any trouble out there.” You looked down at Ellie, watching as she slept, running your fingers through her hair. She looked peaceful and part of you didn’t want to move, just so she’d get one good night’s sleep but the other argued she’d sleep better in an actual bed.

“Yeah,” Joel mumbled, “Be nice.”

You looked away from the girl in your lap and looked between the two brothers. “I’ll take this one up to bed, you get some rest too,” you told Joel. “See you in the morning, Tommy.”

Rousing the teenager awake, you walked with her to one of the bedrooms and she fell back asleep rather quickly. Seemed to barely be phased by the new scenery. You kicked off your shoes and went down the hall, claiming the last of the spare bedrooms. By the rise of the next morning, the three of you will be headed out to the one place you didn’t think you’d ever see again.

These are the thoughts that plague you until sleep catches up to you only to toss over and see sunlight peeking through the blinds into the room. You let out a small groan, hoping that you didn’t oversleep although what it really felt like was that you didn’t sleep at all and exited the room only to find your new companions talking with Tommy and Maria in the living room.

Maria spotted you as you descended the stairs and she grabbed your hand, pulling you outside. “You sure about this?”

“More than anything.”

She wants to protest, you know she does. Instead she leaves you on the porch to walk down to Cherry who was keeping two horses occupied.

You went back inside, seeing Ellie double checking her backpack, yours beside hers. You grabbed your toothbrush and some paste, trying to make yourself feel clean with running water one last time for a while only to return to Joel speaking softly to his brother.

“You take care of that wife of yours.”

“There’s a place for you here, you know,” Tommy tries to convince his brother to return.

He hesitates a moment, scratching his beard. His Spanish accent comes through the southern twang as he says, “Adios, hermanito.”

Joel looks at you, following you out of the house before mounting onto his horse, Ellie jumping on behind him. Ellie gives Tommy and Maria a small wave before Joel turns the horse around. 

Maria gives you a tight hug before you are able to get on your horse and she whispers, “You better come back or so help me.”

You pull back and give her a parting kiss on her cheek, “Kill Tommy first.” She laughs sadly at the idle threat and you mount up, giving a parting nod to your friends and then to Cherry and pull up next to Joel and Ellie, ready to tackle this next adventure.

[itsjustmyfantasyroom]

Be Mine

For: @sweetcannolicarisi Candy Hearts Bingo. A request from the lovely @beccabarba who requested this:

<Hi beautiful! 🥰 Miguel Galindo would very much like to feature in your Candy Heart Bingo, 'Be Mine' square. ❤ Reader is flirting with him, pushing the teasing a bit far. It's Valentine's Day and she sends him an anonymous card saying, 'be mine.' Next day he invites her to visit in the evening for a drink and asks her if the card was from her, when she confesses, he tells her she can *be his* and then he shows her what that means, in bed... which is what she wanted all along! 🔥>

Hope this hits the spot love x

Bingo square: Be Mine.

Pairing: Miguel Galindo x reader.

Warnings: Roughish Smut. Hair tug, knee humping.

WC: 2072

Enjoy x

When he added you on Facebook and liked your last photo you posted you were surprised that the Cartel Boss had even noticed you in your Uncle’s crowded home. You were Marcus’s niece and he had invited Miguel over when he was having a small get together. Of course you were all welcoming, especially your cousin. But his eyes followed you as you walked through the room, he watched as your black BoHo Mexican off the shoulders dress hugged to your breasts and waist flowing over your body. How your curled hair flowed down on your side pony tail with a red rose clipped in it. He watched on as you showed respect for the older members of the family, your smile lighting up your face, when all your cousin could do was try to stick her tits in his face and run her hand up his thigh under the table.

So, to say you were shocked at the friend request and the private message was an understatement. The messages of course started off innocent and friendly, up until one night when you were out with your single friends and a group of cousins for the night before Valentine’s Day and you were tagged in a photo in a short black leather shirt and a yellow silk plunging neck line shirt tucked in, with black peep toed heels.

No sooner had the photo been posted your phone vibrated with a very flirty message from Miguel, of course you replied. You told your friends about the messages and they pulled you out of the club pulling you to a bodega making you buy a small white card with love hearts around its corners. Your friend had a pen in the car and you simply wrote,

“Be Mine xx”

Your friends drove up to the Galindo house, one of them jumping out putting the card in the mail box and driving away,

“They have camera’s you know. It’s Galindo estate” you rolled your eyes.

“You didn’t get out so don’t worry about it, just invite us to the wedding.” Your friend nudged you.

You woke up the next morning to multiple messages from Miguel, wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day and asking if you would like to come to the estate the following night for dinner and a drink. You accepted his invite glad you had a full day of work ahead that day and tomorrow giving you something else to think about other than the handsome Cartel Boss and being alone with him.

You got home from work later on in the afternoon that next day, a smile stuck to your face after you got a message during your lunch break,

“Looking forward to tonight x”

After showering, doing your hair and makeup you picked a caramel colour skirt that had a wrap bow waist and a black form fitting short sleeved t shirt tucked in and slides. You got into your car making the drive up to the Galindo estate nervous not just because of Miguel, but seeing your uncle as well, wondering what he would think.

You arrived at the gates and they started to open as soon as you drove up. You drove down the drive way scanning for the well known Galindo vehicles seeing none, not even seeing your Uncle’s in the yard. You drove close to the front door putting your car in park and getting out walking to the big wooden door. You pressed the doorbell taking in a deep breath as the door opened and your heart jumped into your throat.

Miguel was in a black button down tucked into grey pants with his sleeves rolled up and his buttons undone down his chest, his neck on full show,

“Y/N” Miguel smiled “How are you? Come in” He stepped aside so you could walk in “You look amazing”

“Thank you” you walked in a little turning to look at him “You look very handsome”

Miguel lent over giving you a kiss on the cheek,

“Thank you for coming”

“Thank you for having me. Mi Tio?” you smiled slightly at him.

“I gave him the night off. He is a good man, he needs rest” Miguel’s hand went to the small of your back guiding you into the large living room leading out to an even larger patio overlooking the hills.

“Wow. What a beautiful view” your eyes were wide looking out the doors.

“Would you like a drink?”

“Water please”

“Water?” Miguel scoffed back playful “I didn’t ask you to come up here for water Y/N”

“I have to drive” you shot back with a grin.

“We can work that out later”

You nodded and watched Miguel walk over to the kitchen whimpering softly looking at his ass in his well fitted pants.  Miguel walked behind the kitchen bench moving around grabbing different things to make you a gin and tonic and a whiskey for himself. He started to walk back over to you, drinks in hand with a confident cocky swagger.

“Come, we can sit outside. Dinner won’t be long”

As you walked outside you saw the beautiful black iron and glass top table. Miguel walked over to a chair putting the drinks down on the table, pulling out a chair for you and then moved to another chair next to you sitting down,

“How was work? You’re a nurse?” Miguel looked over at you.

“Yes emergency, it was good, busy though. A lot of heat related cases today. Your day?”

“Same as any other. Although one thing was different”

Miguel reached into his pocket pulling something out and throwing it on the table. You tried to keep a straight face sitting your glass on the table reaching for the white card with hearts around its edges and reading it again. You giggled slightly and sat the card back on the table,

“Seems like you have an admirer Mr Galindo”

“Seems I do” Miguel lent onto the table “Guess I’ll have to do some digging around”

“I’ am pretty sure you have the man power for that. Maybe you can add them on Facebook once you find out who it is” You grinned reaching for your drink.

You heard the scrap of his chair on the tiles and before you had a chance to take a breath Miguel turned the chair with you on it to face him, his hands resting on the arms of the outdoor chair, his face almost on yours,

“Y/N” his voice was low and face soft but his tone was matter a fact. Your eyes scanned up over his bearded chin, over his pink lips up into his eyes, the glint in them kicking into your centre and you squeezed your thighs together “Is that card from you?”

“N-no” you took in a deep breath and Miguel raised an eye brow at you, his eyes boring straight into you “Yes- ok yes. It’s from me. My friend put it in the mail box on the way home from the club the other night”

Miguel lent forward his lips ghosting yours, his beard almost running along your chin and you gasped,

“As beautiful as you are, being out dressed like that” Miguel nudged his knee between yours pushing your legs apart “Having your pick of anyone at the club” Miguel had brought his knee all the way to the edge of the chair pushing your skirt up slightly “A friend drove you up here to put a note in my mail box” Miguel stood up off you, nudging his knee completely between your legs, your skirt riding all the way up, his knee resting at your clothed core bent on the chair and Miguel seen you bite your bottom lip closing your eyes briefly.

“Yes” you moaned loud when he pushed into your core with more pressure.

“You could have told me over message” Miguel rubbed his knee over you.

“I was trying to be sweet” you breathed out heavy, your hands balling into fists on your lap.

“You don’t need to try hard” Miguel ran his finger down your jaw his knee pushing into your centre again “You didn’t need to ask me to be mine when you already are”

In a heartbeat Miguel pulled his knee away from you, grabbed your hand and pulled you up into him. Your skirt was still up above your hips, his hands going straight to your ass cheeks kneading them through your lace panties your hands threading into his bearded cheeks. Your lips crashed together for a rough and deep kiss. Miguel pulled away his pupils fully blown,

“Show me what it likes to be yours Miguel”

Miguel growled and pulled you upstairs to his bedroom. There was a trail of clothing leading up the stairs into Miguel’s bedroom. Miguel was kissing down your neck as you stood with the back of your legs resting on the edge of the bed, his beard marking you, his lips rested just below your collar bone above your breast and he started to nip and suck hard on the spot, running one hand down between your legs running two fingers through your sleek folds covering his fingers with your wet before they plunged into your warm wet centre, your fingers threading into his hair tugging slightly. Miguel started driving his fingers into you twisting his fingers up so his palm was pushing onto your clit,

“Yes Miguel just like that. Don’t stop” you groaned.

Miguel pulled off your skin with a rough pop, looking at the purple mark he left on you grinning with hooded eyes. You ran one hand down to his long hard cock wrapping your hand around it stroking him feeling his pre-cum coat your hand.

“Show me Miguel” you groaned loud and breathless.

Miguel’s eyes narrowed at you, pulling his finger out of you and he pushed you down on the bed by your shoulders. Miguel walked over to his bedside table opening the top drawer opening and rolling on protection. Miguel as back crawling over you. He grabbed both your wrists in his bringing them together in one hand pinning them up above your head. He then grabbed your thigh throwing it over his shoulder pushing himself forward so your knee was up near your chin,

“Still want to be mine baby girl? Miguel purred, the head of his covered cock at your centre.

“Yes Miguel yes”

Miguel snapped his hips forward hard, your back arching off the bed as he hit your sweet spot first go from the angle he had you in. Miguel pulled almost fully out and then snapped his hips back into you again and you both moaned loud at the sensation.

“Your so beautiful” Miguel grunted out as he thrusted into you hard and deep.

Miguel could see by your slack jaw, the noises you were making and the way your pussy was fluttering around him,  you were close. Miguel dropped your leg he was holding and let go of your wrists getting up on his knees. Miguel’s hands went to your hips pulling you into him as he thrusted into you chasing his own release while he watched your tits bounce around as he slammed into you.

One of your hands groped at your boob while the other rushed down to circle your neglected pearl. You looked up at Miguel his jaw now slack, a sheet of sweat over his solid form, his muscle twitching under his skin.

You came hard and fast, you’re back completely arched off the bed, your moans loud wailing Miguel’s name pretty much breathless. Miguel came undone with a loud roar and a deep thrust. Spanish and your name spilling out of his mouth. Miguel rolled off of you onto his back for a moment and then got up to go and clean himself up,

“Get into bed Y/N”

You moved to get under the sheets and Miguel came back getting into bed next to you. Miguel lent over you, kissing you deeply, laying back and pulling you onto his chest kissing the top of your head,

“I like being yours” you ran a finger down his chest.

Miguel tilted your head back with his pointer finger, licking over your lips  

“I liked making you mine. Guess you don’t need to worry about getting home now? Another drink with dinner baby?”

“I thought you’d never ask”

 Tags: @witches-unruly-heart @thatesqcrush @teamsladsandgents @amorestevens​ @lovebennycolonmiguelgalindo​

[klbwriting]

Pirate’s Heart - Chapter 5

Parade Music Part 1

Fandom: Six of Crows

Pairing: Kaz/female!Reader

Summary: Y/N is saved and Kaz finds something troubling

Notes: so this was originally going to be longer but it was getting to be like 2500 words and I figured I would split it into 2 chapters, also we get to see how Y/N and Kaz met and the flirting is just *chef’s kiss*

Taglist:  @sixofshadowandbone​ @thedelusionreaderbitch​ @itsemy01​ @angelicdanvers​ @marinettepotterandplagg​ @screen-to-stage​ @aysegust​ @sagewrites111​ @lilyoflower​ @hey-peeps​ @starjane312​ @spawn0fsatan​ @myalupinblack​ @ameliathackray​ @moondustmarauder​

​

(its been too long since I’ve seen Milo)

This is parade music

Good grade music

Party like you just paid or got laid music

              Kaz had panicked when they started going to fast in the boat, they all looked shocked as Y/N was just pushing them, moving so fast in the water. Then he felt the boat falter for just a moment and blood was moving behind her legs in the water.  A bullet must have hit her and for whatever reason Kaz felt his heart was in his throat, worried she might stop and they would all be killed, worried that she was going to die.  He wasn’t sure at what point in this little jaunt he had really gotten attached to Lady Heartless but now he was.  They had always been friendly, even as rivals, but he never felt worried about her.

              Just after he was made captain of the Crow their small crew needed money to get more hands on deck so they had decided to hit up a small navy treasury on Port Du Nonce.  They noticed another ship was there, a pleasure vessel that they ignored, assuming it was just for the men.  They were even excited, hopefully most of the guards would have abandoned their posts to go party for the night.  They were shocked to find the guards dead, all of them.  Inside the treasury was a small group of young women, putting the money and gold bullion into bags and barrels.  

              “Can we help you gentlemen?” one of the women, the oldest of the group asked, holding her machete casually at her side, a pistol poised in her other hand. Kaz had considered his options, there were more of her crew than theirs, the odds were not good.

              “Who are you?” he asked, glaring.  He had wanted to make a striking first impression on his first job but clearly this would not be happening.  

              “I am…” the woman paused as if no one had asked her that before.  “Lady Heartless.”  Kaz had laughed at that.  What a dumb name.  “Have you come to steal our treasure?”

              “No, we came to steal Pekka Rollins treasure, but it appears you’ve done that already,” he said.  He didn’t know the moment it happened but something shifted then, maybe it was something he said or did but she put her weapons away and snapped her fingers.

              “Come on ladies, we have enough treasure, let’s leave the rest for the boys here,” she said.  The girls just nodded and grabbed onto what they were carrying.  She picked up a couple full bags of her own.  “There, now we each have some treasure to get our pirate careers going.  Take this half and stay out of my life, I’ve already had my life ruined once I don’t want it happening again.”  Kaz had watched her walk away and in that moment decided he was going to mess with her, fuck up every heist she tried to do if he could, generosity was a weakness he would exploit at every turn.  

              At first that’s what he did, he would do any job that he thought she might be at, noticing her pattern of only attacking pleasure vessels or navy treasuries or mining sights, anything that Rollins had a hand in.  His uncle must have done whatever she had said had ruined her life. They met often at first and finally she had gotten tired of him.  

              “You are ruining my life,” she one night when she had just finished kicking his ass and taking a job out from under him, something he normally did to her. “Now, stay down and don’t make me shoot you.  You’re a boy trying to be a man, grow up a little bit before you try crossing me again.”  

              “I’m not here to ruin your life, only fuck up your night,” he said, moving to stand.  She sighed and shook her head.

              “I really didn’t want to do this,” she muttered.  He lunged for her, ready to take her out with his cane, when she shot him.  It only grazed him really but it was the first time he had been shot and instead of pushing through it and attacking he just grabbed her sleeve, pulling it down and seeing the scarring on her chest.  It was then, as he lay bleeding, that he put together who she was.  

              “Wait…” he had called but she kept walking, yelling for his crewmates to come retrieve him before leaving him there.  

              Kaz touched the scar on his side from her shooting him as he cleaned up from their job.  She had been taken to his medic’s room to be looked at and he had sent the others to clean up.  The ship was in a state of paused motion right now, everything seeming slow as they waited to hear about the other captain.  He knew that the others had questions, but it wasn’t his place to answer them.  He had left them waiting for word on her while he changed and wiped off the blood. He had already been sick from what had been happening but seeing her carried below, pale and mumbling incoherently had made it worse.  He couldn’t stomach going to see her while she was worked on so instead he decided to go through the bag she had retrieved.

              He hid the will and all of Rollins’s identification papers, knowing that the crew did not need to know about any of that.  He counted the heaps of money and bonds finding that there more than he thought before.  This was enough for both ships to function for a year without needing to do another job. He set them aside and started to pour through the business documents, wanting to see what was going on amongst the islands.  He froze when he found a parchment that held plans for harnessing the power of a sea witch to destroy the reef and open them back up to the world again.  That would be a problem.  More access meant more pirates, more competition.  Kaz clenched his jaw, he didn’t like the sound of this. He slid that paper aside to show Y/N later, if she survived.  He was just finishing a rather boring stacks of documents when Jesper came in without knocking.

              “Didn’t I tell you next time you came in unannounced you would lose a finger?” Kaz asked, looking up from the parchment.  Jesper took a step back out the door and knocked on it.  Kaz nodded, not really wanting to get more blood on him tonight anyway.  

              “I just wanted to let you know that Y/N is ok, awake, the medic gave her a crutch to use and why the hell didn’t anyone tell us she could do that? What is she?” Jesper asked.  Kaz glared at him.  “You know what, I will just go and ask her, um, goodnight.”  He closed the door in a hurry.  Kaz let out a breath of relief and sat back, a small smile coming to his face.

                Y/N woke up, sitting up quick and gripping her head.  It ached like someone had hit her with a hammer.  She looked around the small cabin, slowly figuring out that it was the medic’s room.  She looked at her leg, seeing her pantleg pushed up to her knee, a bandage wrapped around it.  There was a crutch leaning on the bed.  She gingerly swung her legs over the side and stood, leaning on the crutch.  She remembered swimming and the pain, she must have been shot during the escape.  She needed to get some seawater and kelp, that should help her heal faster. She pushed open the door of the cabin and walked out.  Inej and Nina were waiting for her.

              “Let us help you,” Nina said, offering her arm.   Y/N took it gratefully and walked to the steps.  “What do you need?”

              “Find out if they have any kelp and seawater aboard, I don’t think I can swim enough to get it myself, it’ll help me heal up faster,” she said.  Inej nodded and went off to do as asked.  “When she gets back I’ll explain everything.” Nina smiled.

              “Its ok, we kind of figured you were a mermaid with the whole finding you in the jungle thing, and you know not aging for 5 years,” she said.   Y/N laughed a little, feeling a great fondness for her ladies.  She wished she could love them, she really did.  

              “Yes, but I didn’t tell you everything and you should know, I mean, I’m sure you’ve pieced together parts of my story, but I should tell you both all of it,” she said.  Nina got her above deck and sat her on a bench near the side of the ship.  She stretched out her leg and saw the rest of the crew eyeing her.  Ah, so everyone knew there was mermaid aboard now, great.  Inej soon came back with some kelp and fresh seawater.  

              “Captain Kaz told them to get it after he knew you survived,” she said. Y/N raised an eyebrow but just nodded, taking the kelp and dipping it in seawater.  “Nina, remove the bandage please.”  Nina did as asked, her fingers quick and concise.  Once removed Y/N handed her the kelp.  “Now wrap that like a bandage.”  Once again the girl did as asked before sitting back.  

              “How does that help?” Nina asked.  

              “Mermaids get their abilities from the water, we are born into it and we spend our lives taking care of it and the creatures in it so it in turn takes care of us.  I’m sure you saw me swimming, it gives us some extra strength and speed in the water and also can help us heal quickly.  That wound should be gone in a couple days.  Send word to the Menagerie to meet us at the rendezvous point at Pirate Island,” she said.  Inej ran off to do that.  Jesper, Matthias, and Wylan joined them soon, offering their regards and telling her they were happy she was alive.  She looked at the stern and saw Kaz watching her.  He didn’t approach so she just nodded to him and he nodded back to her.  

              During the voyage to Pirate Island, the farthest island from Argoes, Y/N slept a lot in Kaz’s room, healing up.  Kaz avoided his room mostly, only sleeping in short bursts so that he could not be around her.  She looked dead still when she slept and he couldn’t handle it.  After Jordie he couldn’t handle someone else he cared about being hurt like this.  He scowled at himself.  Admitting he cared for Y/N just annoyed him, he already cared too much about other people and its not like she could ever really care about him.  She could like him enough to not want him to die, but actually care?  Never.

              He hadn’t meant to be in the room when she woke up but here she was, just a few hours before they would be getting to their destination, sitting up, looking much better, eyes finally focused and sharp again.  Kaz had been coming in to change his shirt but stopped, trying to close the door again but she had seen him.

              “Kaz Brekker get in here and acknowledge that I’m alive,” she demanded. He groaned internally.  This fucking woman.  He entered, glaring at her.  “Don’t be like you’re happy I’m still breathing.”  He dropped the glare but still didn’t look pleased.

              “What do you want?  Aren’t you still resting?” he asked, leaning to his cane.  She leaned down and peeled the kelp from her leg, showing him a scar where the wound had been.  “Miracles seem to happen every day for you it seems.”

              “Not the day I met you cranky,” she grumbled.  This brought out the glare again.  “Why have you been avoiding me?  We should be talking about what we found from Rollins’s desk and how to divvy up the cash.”  Kaz didn’t want to answer her question so he avoided it.

              “There’s enough in there for each of us to live a year without actually pirating,” Kaz said.  Y/N’s face broke out in a grin that rivaled the sun.  “We can do the official split after the party.”

              “Party?” she asked.  Kaz was throwing a party?

              “It’s the biggest bounty we’ve had in years, the men want to have a party. They also wanted me to ask for your ladies to join if they want,” he said.  

              “Yes of course as long as they behave, anyone giving trouble will have body parts removed,” Y/N said.  Kaz agreed to her stipulations before moving on to the next issue.

              “We have a problem, Rollins has plans to harness a sea witch’s power to try and break the reef again,” he said.  Her eyes widened.  “More access to these islands means more competition for us, less loot to go around.”

              “It would mean that Rollins would get unlimited power too, if the sea witch’s power is strong enough to break the reef it could possibly be strong enough to do much more to the rest of the world,” she said.  Kaz looked at her surprised, having not thought about that.

              “What would give a sea witch that kind of power?” he asked although he was pretty sure he already knew.

              “The heart of a rare tail mermaid,” she answered.  “Well, we have the plans, is there a map?”

              “Yes, to a spot near Argoes.”

              “Horus’s home, they probably don’t know how to summon them, shit, now that Rollins knows I’m alive he’ll probably try to find me.  Fuck, I’m going to have to abandon the Menagerie until this is over, I can’t put those woman at risk over my own stupidity,” she said, throwing the useless kelp across the room.  “He knows I’m alive, he knows I know how to summon a sea witch.  I’m sorry Kaz, me just being here is going to put you in danger…”

              “I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about how we’re getting you to this Horus’s home to summon them,” he said.  She snorted a laugh.

              “You think that I’m just going to waltz in there and somehow get their power? They wear their power in a crystal around their neck, it would take a master thief or magician…”

              “Good think I’m both of those things,” Kaz said.  She looked at him.  

              “When do we tell the crew?” she asked.  

              “After the party, let them have some fun before we start putting their lives in danger again,” he said.   Y/N nodded. “Will you…join me at the party?”

              “Are you asking me on a date Kaz Brekker?” she asked, hoping she didn’t bely how pleasing the idea was.  Kaz smirked and shook his head.

              “No, I just know everyone would like to see you there looking healthy after you almost died on us,” he said.  “Morale booster and all.”   Y/N looked at him and smiled, he was telling her half of the truth.

              “Admit it, you just are too nervous to ask me on a date.”

              “Would you even say yes if I did?”

              “Ask and you’ll find out.”  Kaz opened his mouth to speak but they heard the call for land above them so instead he stood and headed out the door.  Y/N smiled after him and for the first time she felt a pang of something new in her soul, she couldn’t identify it but it was something that only Kaz seemed to bring out in her.  

[4haechie]

stuck with you

➵ request: can i request fluff + au #2 + trope #1 "enemies to lovers" + prompt #4 & #19?? thank you 🥰

➵ lee donghyuck x reader | fluff, enemies to lovers au, high school au | 2,760 words | “take off your shirt.” + “can you shut up for just two seconds?”

➵ warnings: cursing and one second of suggestive stuff

➵ a/n: thank u for requesting! i really hope u like it :D i added timestamps to avoid confusion, so this turned out longer than expected oops. if u want a part 2, please let me know!

want to request? check this post out!

present time – thursday, 6:30 p.m. 

you’re starting to wish time machines existed right about now. you’ll do just about anything to go back to two hours ago and avoid this mess.

you glance up at donghyuck, who’s put on his thinking cap apparently, and is trying to come up with a way to get you two the hell out of here. “do you have a hairpin? or a bobby pin?” he asks.

you shake your head, “donghyuck, that only works in movies.”

“y/n, i’m trying to come up with solutions here! or do you wanna live in this tiny janitor’s closet for the rest of your life?” he glares at you.

“if i did, i would’ve chosen someone else to share oxygen with. why would i choose you?” you glare back.

he rolls his eyes, indicating that that conversation is over. “whatever. try calling your friends again. someone must still be at school, right?”

you frown, “donghyuck, we had the student council meeting earlier, remember? that ended at six, and it’s almost six-thirty now. all the sports teams’ practice sessions must’ve ended, too. i’m telling you, it’s just us in school.” you shake a little as if trying to wake up from a crazy dream. no avail.

you’re stuck here–no, wait. someone locked you two in here. you’re going to have to trace back your steps to figure out who.

thursday, 4:00 p.m.

“the weekly student council meeting is in session. today, we’re going to discuss prom! i’ve put up a list on the bulletin board that says who’s going to do what. please take a look at it immediately.” you explained, gazing around the group of students in front of you.

you’re the president and donghyuck is the vice president. you two work together almost every day, you’re in the same classes, you have the same friends. but there’s one minor detail in your guys’ relationship: you two hate each other.

hate might be a bit too strong of a word, but it’s true. you and donghyuck, despite working together and being in the same class since third grade, have never gotten along. maybe it’s your guys’ competitiveness. maybe it’s your strong desire to one-up the other. but as long as you can recall, there hasn’t been a single time when he hasn’t made your blood boil.

anyway, you and donghyuck were in charge of planning your senior prom, and ensuring everything and everyone follows said plan.

while discussing the event, you realised you forgot to check with your school’s janitor if he’s free on the day of prom, or if he’s taking a holiday. either way was fine with you, as you were thinking of making everyone clean up after themselves. but just to be sure, you and donghyuck, unfortunately, decided to stop by the closet after the meeting had ended.

thursday, 6:05 p.m.

“i don’t think he’s here. it is after school hours, so i think he went home,” you said, peeping into the dark closet. it was pretty obvious he wasn’t there–the room couldn’t have been more than five feet by five feet. it’s a storage space, but the janitor keeps his bag here before starting work and picks it up right before leaving school.

“yeah, no shit, sherlock.” donghyuck reached around you to flip the light switch on. the lone bulb suspended from the ceiling blazed to life, setting the room alight.

then, suddenly, a figure pushed donghyuck into the confined space, which caused you to jerk inwards. it happened so fast, you barely had time to react, or identify the culprit. you heard keys jingling and fear danced around in your eyes.

donghyuck was still facing the door, while you were standing with your back against the wall. he tried his best to look out the little glass rectangle fitted in the door, but he turned around and shook his head in frustration.

“what the fuck just happened,” you said; it came out more as a statement, but anger resonated through your words.

“we, er, just got locked in here.” he deadpanned as if you couldn’t have figured.

you groaned and clenched your fists. “i’m gonna kill them. you didn’t happen to see their face, did you?”

he shook his head, “nope.”

“well, we know one thing. that person had the key–and only two people have the key to the closet. the janitor, who’s not even here, and the general office staff. but i’m sure they wouldn’t lock us in here.” you said.

donghyuck tilted his head, “okay, then, who...” he trailed off, allowing you to vocalise your theories.

 “somebody must have stolen one of the two keys.” your brain’s gears started turning, trying to think of someone who would pull something like this.

“it could be the janitor’s keys. the closet was unlocked when we got here.” donghyuck reminded you.

“yeah...but he never leaves the closet unlocked. he’s very responsible, so it can’t be his set of keys. it’s probably the staff’s set,” you countered. “they barely pay any attention to non-admin matters. that person must’ve stolen their keys, unlocked the door after the janitor left, and waited for us to come here, before locking us in. jesus, i’m so angry. this is so fucking childish,” you groaned again.

donghyuck nodded in slight agreement, surprising you. he never agrees on anything you have to say, but he didn’t have much of a choice in that situation. plus, your theory made sense. “do you think this whole thing was renjun’s idea? he was the one who suggested we check with the janitor about prom night.”

your eyes widened in shock. “oh my god...wait, but it wasn’t renjun’s idea. it was mine, actually–he just reminded me to do so.” you slowly dropped down to the floor and held your head in your hands. you couldn’t believe what was going on. the entire situation seemed to just hit you.

you’re stuck in a small closet with lee donghyuck, your number one enemy.

present time – thursday, 6:40 p.m.

“none of them are picking up. donghyuck, what if they’re all in on this together? kind of like a senior prank–except we’re the ones getting pranked.” you say, panic rising in your voice. you’re standing now, leaning against the wall with your phone clutched tightly in your hand.

knowing your and donghyuck’s friends, you’re sure you’re going to be here all night. they’re quite a bunch. you and donghyuck have a common friend group, but your friends find your ongoing rivalry extremely annoying. it makes perfect sense if they locked you two in here.

donghyuck digests your words quickly. “no way. that’s insane! why the fuck would they do that?”

“well, do you have a better explanation? i’m sure you don’t, considering i’m the only one who’s been thinking of possible theories, while you’re here giving me the only suggestion you have–your stupid bobby pin idea,” you say, breathing heavily.

“can you shut up for just two seconds? always telling me what to do, disagreeing with me, arguing and fighting with me. we’re locked in here, and you think arguing like little kids is gonna get us out?” he shakes his head in disbelief. “god, and to think i had a crush on you last year.” he must not have meant to reveal that little secret, because his ears turn red instantly.

you gape at him, “what–what did you say?”

“look at you, getting a big head again–!”

“donghyuck.”

“i liked you! there, you happy?”

“i like–liked you too, idiot,” you say in a low voice.

then, he laughs–a melodious sound, emitting pure joy and rainbows and sunshine. “some type of rivals we are.”

you laugh with him now, finding the situation so pathetically sad that it was almost funny. laughable. something to reminisce from time to time.

“you...you still like me?” donghyuck asks in a small voice you’ve never heard before.

“take a guess.”

“no?”

you bite the inside of your cheek, “take another guess.”

he grins at you, leaning against one of the shelves–which was a bad move on his part. he accidentally knocks over a bottle of...detergent? who knows, but it ends up uncapped and half-empty once it lands on the floor. luckily it was plastic, so the bottle doesn’t break. unluckily, the other of the liquid splashes on you, soaking your entire shirt. your plain, white, shirt.

donghyuck freezes, “um...y/n, i’m sorry–”

you hold up a hand. the god of testing people’s patience must’ve signed you up for some competitive exam today. “save it.”

donghyuck looks around hastily, trying to find a clean rag. he produces a small yellow cloth from the back of one of the shelves and hands it to you, “here.”

you don’t even say thanks. you quickly take it from him, free your shirt from your jeans, and start wiping and drying it to the best of your ability. you manage to make the shirt as dry as possible, but it was detergent that spilt on you. it was soapy–it was not water. 

you groan for the third time today and look at donghyuck, gritting your teeth. “i can’t possibly go out like this.”

he winces, feeling extremely apologetic. “take off your shirt and wear my hoodie instead. i have two layers on,” he suggests.

you give him a double-take, “what the fuck? no! why would i do that?” you exclaim.

“do you have any better ideas?”

you watch as he swiftly takes his hoodie off, revealing a loose tee clad on his body. you hate to admit how good he looks. he hands the item of clothing to you, and you tell him to turn around as you begrudgingly peel your shirt away. you take the rag once again, wiping off as much soapy liquid as you can, and pull the hoodie over your head.

it smells like him, you think. it smells like that expensive cologne he always seems to wear. you show no indication that you find his hoodie soft and comforting, and tell him you’re done. you roll the shirt, squeezing any remnants of detergent out, and stuff it in your bag.

he bites back the smile daring to form on his lips upon seeing you in his hoodie. “okay. now that that’s over, let’s try to get out of here, shall we?”

you nod. “i have our science teacher’s number. maybe i could ask her to help us? she’s always here late, marking papers and assignments.”

donghyuck snaps his fingers, “you’re right! yeah, give her a call.”

you scroll through your contacts till you find the name you’re looking for. you press the call button and set it to speaker mode so donghyuck can hear as well. she picks up after three rings, “hello?”

“hi, miss angela! it’s me, y/n. you see, um, donghyuck and i got locked in the janitor’s closet by someone, and we have no way to get out. are you still in school? if you are, is it possible for you to unlock the door from the outside?”

miss angela hums a little, as if in thought, “i just left, my dear. i could turn the car around if you’d like. i’m sure the office keeps an extra set.”

“yes! that would be great. thank you, miss angela. and we’re sorry for the inconvenience,” you nudge donghyuck with your elbow, who catches on immediately.

“yeah, we’re incredibly sorry. i’ll be sure to submit an extra report–!”

“save it, lee donghyuck. i’ll be there in five to ten minutes,” she hangs up with that.

you pocket your phone and look at donghyuck. “so.”

“so,” he repeats.

“are we going to act like we didn’t just confess to one another earlier?” you ask, biting your lip nervously.

“no, i don’t want to, um, act like we didn’t. i lied, y/n. i had a crush on you last year, yeah, but i never stopped liking you. i still like you. i don’t want to be your enemy anymore.” he nudges you. 

you smile shyly, “i like you too, donghyuck.”

just then, you hear keys jingling–an all too familiar sound. you get excited, thinking you’re going to be met with the face of miss angela, but when the door bursts open, you see the smirking faces of renjun and jeno.

“about fucking time!” renjun pulls you and donghyuck outside.

“what?” donghyuck demands. “it was your idea to lock us in there? are you fucking kidding me?”

jeno grimaces, “i’m sorry, it was the only way you two would confess your feelings for each other and stop fighting for good.”

“i can think of plenty of ways–!”

“wait, y/n, are you wearing donghyuck’s hoodie? holy fuck...don’t tell me you guys did it.” renjun looks back and forth between you and donghyuck.

“what? no, of course not!” you retort.

“then why do you have his hoodie on, dear y/n?” jeno asks.

“that’s none of your damn business, lee jeno!” donghyuck looks ready to pounce on him, but you place a hand on his chest, stopping him. his gaze drops down to your hand and it softens.

“there was a little accident...but the good thing is that we’re out. hooray. now, everybody, go home. i have to call miss an–”

“y/n, thank goodness! what happened?” miss angela emerges into the scene, looking a little worried.

you briefly explain the evening’s events to her, without mentioning the confession part. she doesn’t need to know that. you tell her it was a silly prank. nothing more, nothing less.

she visibly sighs a breath of relief. “well, at least it wasn’t some stranger. jeno, renjun, i didn’t expect this from you two. but i’m glad you’re all okay.” she takes her leave, after ensuring you four are on your way home.

jeno and renjun go home via jeno’s car, and you and donghyuck, living only a couple of blocks away from school, decide to walk the journey.

“all this... just so we could stop fighting,” donghyuck laughs. you’re walking side by side, hands occasionally brushing against one another. it’s like something out of a cheesy rom-com. you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“it worked, didn’t it?” you say.

donghyuck stops on the pavement, turning his body to face you. he stretches out a hand to push a strand of hair behind your ear, making you bump his shoulder shyly. he smiles; he wouldn’t have it any other way either.

“i guess it did. but what do we do now?”

“what do you mean?” you raise an eyebrow.

“like, do i walk you home first? do i ask you on a date? god, with you, it’s just so much more...different. if it was someone else, i would’ve gone with my gut, but with you, i don’t wanna mess it up. you know?” donghyuck finally takes your hand in his, intertwining your fingers. you feel his warmth radiate, you feel his touch bringing you safety and comfort. something way more powerful than a hoodie.

“donghyuck, i’m new at this too. i’m just as scared as you are. and that’s okay, trust me. i’m glad it’s me and not anyone else.” you assure him.

you gather up whatever courage you have remaining, tip-toe, and brush your lips against his cheek. you stay there for a moment, just breathing him in. when you pull away, his cheeks are a dusty pink shade.

“do that again,” he tells you.

“no, i think i’m good.” you start walking again.

“y/n!” he whines.

“okay, on one condition.” he raises a brow, “ask me on a date.”

for a moment, he’s bewildered. then, he gets down on one fucking knee, not caring about anyone who might be watching, and clears his throat. “y/n, i like you so much. will you make me the happiest man alive, and go on a date with me this saturday?” he looks up at you expectantly.

you chuckle at his antics and give him a nod. “i would love to, lee donghyuck.”

he grins, all big and bright, and leaps up to envelop you in a hug. his arms go around your waist and yours circle his neck. he whispers in your hair, “i guess we owe renjun and jeno a thank you?”

“i am not going to thank them for locking us up in a closet. in fact, i’m gonna double their prom duties.” you feel his chest vibrate as he laughs at your comment.

however, you are thankful that it was lee donghyuck you got stuck with. so, forget the time machine. you wouldn’t have had it any other way.

[sometimes-i-write-4-you]

Hi! If you're still taking requests, could you write a steven hyde x reader where the group doesn't know the two of you have been dating for a while but Hyde starts giving y/n his t-shirts to wears because he loves what they look like and there's a small part of him that wants to be able to show y/n affection around everyone else. Eventually they catch on they're basically like okay makes sense but what the hell. Thanks! 😊

T-shirts - Steven Hyde x reader

trigger warnings: cursing probably, but i think that other than that it’s chill.

word count: 1476

I was sitting in Steven's room, waiting for him to return with the promised snacks. "Eric!" you heard Steven says, following by two different footsteps rushing to the basement. "shit" I thought and hurried to the couch. My hand reached to the back of the couch to help me jump over it, I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. "Hi guys" I said as the two boys came into the room. "hi (y\n)" Steven said, his voice "aloof" as usual. "when did you come in?" Eric sighed. "just now, the door was unlocked" I shrugged. "Again? Steven, I told you to lock it at night" Eric said as he took a popsicle out of the freezer. "yeah. And now it's morning" Steven replied. "whatever man" Eric agreed, sitting down by my side. Steven took the free spot next to Eric and placed his hand on the back of the couch. I did the same, sneakily intertwining fingers with my boyfriend. Eric was focused on the TV and didn't notice. "Eric!" Donna called from upstairs, and I hurried to pull my hand back and lean my head on it, pretending that nothing happened. Well. Donna won't be as easy to trick. I'm pretty surprised she's yet to understand that Steven and I are dating.

"hi Donna" Eric smiled and looked up. She rested her hands on the couch and leaned over to kiss him. "you guys are so cliché" I sighed, moving closer to the couches' arm to give donna some space next to her boyfriend. "you'll get it when you're in love" Eric smiled, pulling his girlfriend into another kiss as she giggled. "that's it, I'm gonna go to The Hub" Steven said, getting up. He opened the basement's door. "you coming?" he asked me, and I nodded. "yup".

We made our way to the El Camino and started driving toward The Hub, except Steven missed the turn. "I thought we are going to The Hub" I said, confused. "neh, Kelso might be there, or Jackie, or Fez and I wanna have a normal date with my girlfriend" he replied, taking a turn. The thing is, our relationship was a secret. The thing is, I highly doubt Kelso would be a fan of his best friend sleeping with his cousin.

Later that day, we were back at the basement. "hey guys" Eric says, breaking the silence, "my parents are going away tomorrow and they won't be back by Sunday, so I thought we can all hang out, you can sleep over". "oh! My first American sleep over!" Fez said excitedly. "Fez, you slept over a million times" Steven said. "well, yes, but there weren't any girls!" Fez corrected him. I laughed. "hey fez, will you let me do your makeup?" Jackie asked, and to no one's surprise, Fez agreed.

Saturday came along, and I arrived at the Forman's first.The basement was empty, so I went to Steven's room. "hey babe" he smiled at me, pulling me into the room and shutting the door. His lips quickly met mine, a bit desperate. "never got to kiss you goodbye yesterday" he explained, making me blush. He hardly ever got emotional, so I cherished the moment. "so, you're sleeping here?" he asked, "because you can probably sneak into my room when everyone's asleep" he wrapped his hands around my waist. "yeah, sure, I just don't have pajamas here, wasn't planning to" I said. "you can borrow my shirt to sleep in" he offered. "really?" I smiled at him. "yeah, and feel free to keep it" he answered, pulling a Led Zeppelin shirt from his closet and handing it to me. "thank you" I smiled and got on my toes to give him a small peck his lips, but he wouldn't let me pull away. "Steven, we have to be careful" I laughed, sad to break the kiss. "you know, Kelso can know, I don't mind, if he'll try anything, I'll beat him and you know it" he sighed, even though he was the one to suggest keeping it a secret in the first place. "no, I don't want to hurt my cousins'' eye" I insisted, and he sighed. He knows I'm right. "we just have to wait for bedtime" I whispered, hugging him. "yeah…".

"k, I'll go change into something to sleep in" I said, "Hyde, I'm using your room". "okay" he said. The moment you entered Fez got up, planning to move the picture that hid the hole in the wall caused by Kelso's shenanigans. "no" Steven said, pulling Fez's collar down and slamming the guy back to the couch. "but she is getting undressed, Hyde" Fez said. "dude, that's gross, she's my cousin" Kelso said. "Kelso, you tried to peep on my cousin" Donna said. "well, she was your cousin, not mine" Kelso replied, his tone suggesting it's obvious. "what…?" Donna said but gave up. I re-entered the room, laughing at the conversation I over-heard. "isn't that Hyde's shirt?" Donna asked, looking at the way too oversized shirt that covered the shorts I borrowed from Laurie's empty room. "well-" I was about to make up something, but Hyde calmly admitted it is his and that I forgot to get something, so he allowed it. "you let her wear your shirt but I'm folding it once and you hit me?" Eric says, suspicious. "well, I won't hit a girl" Steven said. "can I borrow a shirt to sleep in, I forgot to bring one" Fez said, searching through his bag. "yeah, Laurie's room had a bunch of clothes, I'm sure you'll find something" Hyde said. "what?" Eric seemed confused, and his eyes met Donna's. I looked over at Hyde. Shit.

The week went by, and Steven developed a habit of giving me one of his shirts every day. A new weekend came by, and I went to the hub to see my friends. I was looking for a shirt to wear, but with no success. I really need to do my laundry. Without any other choice, I took a shirt out of the pile of band tees I now had thanks to my boyfriend. I was wearing Hyde's shirt, this time a Rolling Stones one. Donna looked at the shirt, and I knew she knows. "again? this is Hyde's shirt, what is going on?" she asked. The rest of the gang weren't there yet, so I sat down. "Donna, you cannot tell Kelso" I whispered. "I don't have to tell him. you are wearing Hyde's shirt, that as obvious as it gets" Donna whispered back. I looked at her. "well, he'll figure it out eventually" Donna said. "Donna, let's be realistic" I said. "fine, I won't tell him" she agreed.

Eric, Fez and Steven came in. "hey, (y\n), isn't that Hyde's shirt?" Eric said, "what. are you two like, a thing?". "you two will be a cute couple" Fez complimented, "you're nice and he's angry all the time". "shut up" Hyde said, punching Fez's shoulder. "see?" Fez said, and I laughed. "look, we are dating, but don't tell Kelso" Steven says. "what?" the group and I say in unison. "I get why they are surprised, but as my girlfriend you know that" Steven said, sitting down beside me. "I'm just surprised you told them" I explained, "but look, not a word to Kelso". "not a word to Kelso about what?" Kelso asked, sitting down at the open spot beside me. "that, uh…" I said, my brain empty.

"that (y\n) and Hyde are together" Fez said, and everyone looked at him, surprised. "I know that already" Kelso said, taking one of the fries on the desk. "what?" Steven and I say at the same time. "yeah, I saw you two last week at that restaurant not too far from the hub, and besides, I'm not stupid. Come on guys. Hyde letting someone wear his shirt?" Kelso explained. "and you're not mad?" I ask. "no, that's kinda cool. Hey, Steven, maybe one day we'll be family" Kelso laughs, and Steven's eyes widen in pure fear behind his glasses. "really?" Steven asked, "cool, so now I can do this in front of you". Steven's hand reached for my chin and pulled me closer, lips softly meet mine. "hey, get off my cousin!" Kelso calls, getting up to pull us apart. "no. none of this in front of me, move" he says, looking at me. "move!" he calls once again. hinting at the chair he sat in a moment ago. He seats down where I sat a moment ago. "that's gross, god" Kelso mumbles, taking more fries.

Steven placed his hand on the back of the chair. I did the same, sneakily intertwining fingers with my boyfriend. "they are holding hands behind you right now" Eric says. "what?!" Kelso says, a bit furious, but the rest of us are laughing.

[bakubitch-minusultra]

Not Alone: Chapter Five

-> an apocalyptic series with bnha characters but without quirks because im the writer and i can do whatever the fuck i want :P this chapter has more shit in it lol

-> Word Count: 2.9k

-> Warnings: blood, violence, guns, descriptive shit abt the infected peeps

-> Taglist: @5sosfckss @laudthingcat [if you wanna be added lmk <3]

Hades whined. He never whined much but he sensed it. Y/n couldn’t look back. The sickening feeling that was creeping around inside of her grew with every step she took. The cabin was a parent, a hug, a haven. It was the only thing she had from before. Turning her back on it felt like hurting herself. Every step she took was a betrayal to her soul.

“We’ll come back Y/n.”

Y/n looked over at Mina. She wanted to scratch her eyes out and roast her flesh over a spit. Y/n knew her face expressed that. She knew because of the way Mina winced when she met her eyes. Hades rubbed against Y/n’s side, his back up to her hip bones. She rested her fingers in his coat. She lightly gripped his fur, as if holding onto him would ground her and she would get back to her semblance of her safety.

Fingers brushed her arm and then squeezed and suddenly Y/n is pulled back into an embrace. She wanted to fight against it but the warmth overwhelmed her. She couldn’t fight her tears and Kirishima at the same time so she just let him hug her.

“Y/n we’ll come back one day. We didn’t hide all that food for nothing. It and the wood and the supplies will be here when we come back.”

Y/n pushed his body away and craned her neck to look up into his dark red eyes, “Don’t you see? We can never come back. This is always going to be a place that’s watched. They won’t stop until we’re all working the farms.”

His eyes grew passionate, “We erased all of the signs of life. Give it time. Not that many places have a functioning well Y/n. We can’t afford to just ignore it.”

She wanted to push him away, but a funny thing was happening to her skin when he touched it. It was just like the books she read. He made her swoon and shiver simultaneously. He frustrated her.

She shook her head and tore from his grip, “Look, we need to get going.”

The path down the mountain wasn’t her favorite hike, but today she felt distracted. She walked quickly, listening to the forest sounds. Hades seemed content. His sloppy wolf face was a great indicator of what’s what in the forest.

“Mina, remember the second house your dad hid us at?” Mina ignored him and Y/n wished that she could do the same. “I think it was near here. Remember it had the pool and we swam in it to get clean.” Y/n glanced at her, Mina’s jaw was set. But Kirishima looked oblivious, “God then we found that pantry full of food. Cherry pie filling on toast made on the barbeque was my favorite.”

Y/n imagined the cherry pie filling for half a second before catching a glimpse of Hades in her peripheral. He was crouched with his hackled up and stalked into the long grass. Y/n imitated him and crouched low and Mina followed along. Not from watching Y/n but from seeing Hades. Her eyes haven’t left him.

“What?”

Y/n groaned, “Get down.” Kirishima ducked along with the two girls, but he was too large to actually be able to hide in the grass. She raised an eyebrow at Mina who rolls her eyes. It made Y/n snicker; she’s never actually snickered before.

“How are you still alive?” Y/n whispered.

Mina laughed quietly, “Pure luck. Not even kidding.”

Y/n glanced back at a red-faced Kirishima and smirked.

“Nice to see you have an actual personality Y/n.”

She stuck her tongue out at him until she heard it.

The high moan.

Y/n felt her eyes close in fear and disappointment. She thought one of them were going to die. Whoever couldn’t run fast enough would die.

Hades looked back at Y/n for a second and she could see the worry. He crept forward along the grass and Y/n licked her finger and put it in the wind. The breeze was behind them, meaning it was carrying their smell down the hill. The infected were like survivors that just don’t seem to die. They hunted like animals.

Mina licked her lips and Y/n could see the worry and fear cross her face. Her heartbeat was pounding in her neck and Y/n could watch it increase. Mina looked around and pointed to the trees behind them. But Y/n shook her head. Climbing a tree only puts you a tree surrounded by the infected.

“The river,” Y/n whispered.

Kirishima looked at Y/n with a confused look, “How far?”

“A mile.”

“Y/n your leg and mine won’t make it outrunning the infected for a whole mile.”

Y/n sighed, she knew he was right. But she didn’t have any other ideas. She pulled one of her guns out of her pack and passed it to Kirishima and looked him in the eyes.

“Don’t shoot unless you have to. Don’t shoot me or yourself either.”

Mina took the rifle with the scope, which she had grown fond of, and took the right flank. Hades stalked down the middle of the field and Y/n took left. They left Kirishima on the hillside. His injuries were worse than Y/n’s. The bullet never made its way very far into her leg. The new stitches, lavender and tea tree oil made it heal faster.

She looked back at Kirishima’s red head of hair poking out of the long grass and sighed. He was too big to even try to hide. Y/n was sure that he would be the death of them all. She knew she would leave them if she had to. She forced herself into that agreement. No matter what happened, her father didn’t die so she could waste her life on strangers.

But they didn’t feel like strangers anymore.

She focused her thoughts and scanned the grassy and thin forest.

Bile rose up her throat when she saw them. They were slumped over something. They looked disgusting and diseased, even from the distance Y/n was at. One shoved the other and the high pitch moan shrieked out across the emptiness. Y/n felt the walls of fear closing in on her. She saw a hand come up and down on whatever they had on the group. One of them was striking it. It was still alive. Whatever it was, was sick now, infected like them. They were the closest thing to zombies. They were human but lived with the sickness in a way that could never be considered survival. Their skin was covered in sores, open and scabbed over. Their hair was falling out where sores had taken over their scalps. They cry tears of blood like in the fantasy movies Y/n watched when she was younger. The first thing the virus destroyed was the throat. The high moan was from the scarring in the throat and the brain damage the high fever caused.

She looked toward Mina and hoped that she wasn’t scared. But she quickly forced the thought from her mind and looked back at the infected dinner party. The last time she worried about either of them she got shot.

Y/n pulled her mask from back pocket and slid it over her face. It wasn’t a guarantee but it was better than a gamble.

It was another rule Y/n had. She wore it whenever they were around. The virus should have died out years ago but the ones who got sick after it mutated survived, if you could call it that. They were contagious but didn’t seem to die, no matter how sick their bodies got. There weren’t many of them left but somehow they still managed to ruin lives.

Y/n counted the heads, seven. Not mentioning the one on the ground, if it was human. It could be an animal. The infected had no sense. They attacked anything that moves. Their hunger was too great. Y/n’s seen them attack a bush on a windy day.

Y/n knew that she could take down at least three before they got close enough to make reloading her bow a gamble. She didn’t like gambles. She knew Mina had a pocket full of bullets, but she would be forced to trust that Mina could shoot them before they got to her. That too felt like a gamble when she thought about it.

She felt stuck, like her back was against a wall. She knew Hades could take down at least one. Together they could guarantee four. It still didn’t feel safe enough. She turned back and looked at the hill behind her. She wanted to go home. She wanted to climb the hill and get into her own and lock the world out. Again, she regretted opening the stupid door. She should have left them. She should have left him in that stupid hole.

Y/n was about to run and whistle when she looked at Kirishima once more. He winked at her and grinned. Her stomach started to do the hurting twinge thing. Her lips grin back, she never told them to do that. They seemed to be making choices for themselves.

She pulled the arrow back and sited in the largest one. She felt the gusts of wind and the cycle they seemed to come in. A large gust hit and then left spaces in the air until the next one. She exhaled and released the arrow. He had dark brown hair and a swollen face. He was a man once. But she turned her heart off to him and reloaded instantly.

She felt the next gust of wind and fired, compensating for it. The arrow sliced into a matted head of dark blonde locks. She reloaded, ignoring the ticklish feeling on her cheeks. The infected had noticed two were down. They turned their faces around, searching. Her next arrow hit the milky eye of an older one. The remaining four stood up and began to make the squeal. She cringed, and knew that the sound would haunt her for weeks.

Her next arrow hit the one pointing at her. She dropped the second it slid through her open mouth. She felt a shiver at the sight and reloaded as the remaining three shriek and start their mad dash toward her.

She was able to drop another one before turning and running for the nearest tree. She wanted to run the other way. She wanted to run into the hills and leave them but her feet wouldn’t listen to her. Her legs wouldn’t make it far with a bullet hole in it. The long grass tangled in her feet and pulled at her and the burn in her leg tried to convince her to stop running.

“Y/n. Y/n.” She ignored the voice and continued to run. She could feel the panic rising.

“Y/n they’re all dead.”

She reached the bark of a huge tree and pulled herself up onto a branch just using her arms. She’s practiced this. She looked down at the only two people standing in the grass who were looking at her like she was crazy. But Hades paces. He understood. They’ve run from them many times.

Kirishima approached the tree limping slightly. He put his hands out like he was scared of her, “Y/n they’re all dead.”

“How?”

Mina beamed up at her, “I shot them. I waited for them to run to you and then dropped them all instantly.”

“You? You killed them?”

Mina tilted her head, “You still don’t trust us to help you?”

“I’m stuck.”

Kirishima stood below the huge branch and put his arms out, “Jump.”

Y/n threw down her bow and arrows and looked around. The field didn’t move, except where the wind stroked the dark amber colored grass.

She turned over on her stomach and lowered herself from the branch. She hung there for a second before the strong arms circled her and held her tightly. Suddenly the screaming agony in her leg dulled. Hades nudged her legs and whined,

Kirishima’s breath brushed against her face as he spoke, “You looked a bit like you were going to run away.”

Y/n didn’t realize how close their faces were until she saw herself in his eyes. She bit her lower lip and shook her head, “I panicked. I’ve never been hurt like this when they’re this close before.”

He pulled her close, “I’ll protect you Y/n.” He looked toward Mina, “We both will.” Y/n could see the darkness in her eyes, it was the same look she gave everyone.

“Thanks,” Y/n said just loud enough to be heard.

Mina nodded, “You killed most of them. You have to leave more for me to kill next time.”

Y/n still felt scared and alone.

Kirishima placed her on the ground gently. “Y/n you’re like Robin Hood.” Y/n smirked at the mention of a novel she’s read multiple times during her years of solitude.

Mina sighed, “Kiri don’t get started again on the stories.”

Y/n smiled at him, “I like reading too. I’ve read the same books for ten years. Sometimes I get lucky and find a small paperback that I can fit in my pack. Robin Hood was one that I’ve read a lot.”

Instead of enjoying the feeling of being near him, a heavy disgusting feeling blanketed her. It forced away the joy she borrowed from him. She almost left him. She almost left them. She would leave him. It was her nature.

He frowned at her, “I’d ask a dime for your thoughts but it would probably be more than I could afford.” Y/n laughed but it wasn’t the same free feeling of joy she had seconds ago. She walked away from him and went to pet Hades, who was needy all of a sudden. He rubbed against her and jumped up on his back legs to stand and wrap his paws around her. She hugs him back.

“I love you too,” she whispered into his fur. She glanced at them and nodded in the direction of the farmhouse. “It’s a days walk to the house.” She pointed down the hill.

“We need to deal with him too,” Mina pointed at the beige mass at the bottom of the field and trees.

Y/n squinted, “It’s a man.”

“Great. You get to kill him.”

Y/n laughed bitterly and handed over the bow and arrow to Mina. Mina thought like Y/n and she liked it. She never fired once when Y/n was shooting the arrows. Mina understood conservation. She gave Y/n a wide-eyed smile and took the bow.

“Really? I’ve never done this before.”

“We need to walk closer to him. When you pull the arrow back control every inch of your arms. It feels hard at first but you’ll get used to the tension.

They walked over to where the hill crests. They were near one of the fallen infected and Y/n could smell him. She pointed at a tree further to the right and they all walked over there.

They walked away from the smell of the rotting sick carcass. At the tree Mina attempted to pull the arrow back. Her skinny arms trembled and she looked frustrated.

“I know how you feel right now. It took me two years. It won’t happen on the first try.”

Mina pouted, “Can we make me a bow maybe?”

Y/n nodded excitedly. They hadn’t had much to talk about. She took the bow and arrow and shot the dying man. His body trembled slightly and his skin had chew marks. The infected will eat anything.

“Hold it steady, sight in what you want to shoot and then take a deep breath.” Y/n explained. They were close enough that it made a slicing sound as the arrow entered his temple. “Always exhale when you release.” Y/n grimaced as she looked at the arrow sticking out of his bleeding head.

“Wow,” Mina said in awe.

Y/n nodded, “Yeah it took a lot of practice.”

“Sweet fucking god.”

Y/n turned toward Kirishima’s voice, “What?”

Kirishima was standing behind the two girls, “You guys do realize that’s a person you just shot. These were all people.”

Mina scoffed, “They’re infected Kiri. They’re not like you or me or even the city people.”

Y/n frowned, “City people?”

Kirishima looked down at the grass.

Mina looked at Y/n, “We saw it. We went close enough to see it.”

“Electricity? Running water?”

Mina nodded, “Everything. No cars but a subway and houses and pretty big buildings. It’s on the edge of the desert.”

Y/n felt sickened by the question that popped into her head but she asked anyway, “What about the farms?”

“Up and running still. I think the babies go to the city after they’re born.”

Kirishima sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He seemed bothered by the conversation.

“He’s military.”

“What?” Y/n asked as she looked at Mina who was pointing to the dead man with the arrow sticking out of his temple. She looked at her boots and shook her head. “We need to be far away. Now.”

They didn’t talk. They left the arrows sticking out of the faces of the people on the ground. Y/n never took the arrows from the infected. They walked across the small field and into the forest on the other side.

She watched Hades the entire walk. It stopped her from watching Kirishima. Hades was the best warning system. Kirishima was a distraction.

---

weewooweewoo i smell like poopoo

[pansexualseaanimals]

Chapter 9 Sneak Peeks ‘Cause You Deserve It

Hey guess what? I’m still alive! I haven’t been writing for a while because these past few chapters have kind of been making me face things about my own life that I hadn’t given due time to address and manage (especially Pyxis and Rory’s thoughts on how parents can “love you but not want you”, and stuff said by multiple people in chapter 9, the one I’m still writing) so I kinda just dealt with those thoughts and came to conclusions and stuff in my own mind while I endlessly binged anime and video games. Not that I don’t normally do that, mind you, but I did it a lot more and not much else.

Luckily, I live in a wonderful gorgeous apartment in my favorite town I’ve ever lived in (the only town I’ve ever called home, in fact! At least, in this world!) and it’s super comfortable and I live with my best friend who is way too good of a roommate if I must be frank - I’d rather be Columbia, honestly - and life has been relatively super good, so like. Don’t worry! I’m so happy in my life the way it is! I’m back home in the Midwest, surrounded by beauty and friends who’ve helped me out more than I could ever ask (but I did, let’s not lie lol) and... I still have depression and I’m working on that and planning on getting a doctor soon, but... I’m starting new good habits, getting into things I’ve been wanting to try, and yeah... I’m rambling at this point so I’ll make the rest quick.

I wanted to give sneak peeks because it’s been SO LONG and I don’t know how many people really actually read this thing? Like, “I’m excited that there’s a new chapter” kind of peeps? But no matter how few there are, you guys all deserve something nice, and this was all I could think of. Instead of just posting one scene, I’ll post a few clips from a bunch of scenes. Everything is subject to change as I keep writing, so it might not match the finished product, but... That just means you guys are extra-special! Heehee! ^__^ 

Excerpts are below the read-more cut. Hope it’s enjoyable! 

\/\/\/\/\/

"Oh, I've got twenty-five coins for the sea show clanking in the backseat, whoa-oh. I've got thirty-two seashells lined up in a row..." Caurel happily sang as she covered the turquoise side in pink, pausing and hiding in a corner when she noticed Zebra rising out of the spawn pool. The younger Inkling, hesitant, flung her brush wildly to cover the pink ink and swam forward, repeating the process every few feet. When she dropped down to the valley, she triggered another Ink Mine, this time getting away just quickly enough.

  "Not falling for that again," they sighed... right before Caurel popped out of her corner and slashed her brush at her, sending her floating right back to the spawn point. Unable to keep from giggling, Caurel re-inked the entrance ramp and climbed up to the higher level, brushing quickly down the alley as Zebra respawned again.

  "And I'll swim, swim, swim, to my darling Martha... And let her lay me down in the bay where the warm winds blow~"

  "Are we singing the same song?" Penny shouted from the audience, loud enough to be heard over the stage music.

"'Martha's Bay' by the Seagulls?" Caurel shouted back for confirmation.

"I knew it! Ahhh, I love you!"

"I love you, too, Butterfly!"

"Boooo!" Rocky shouted as he took out Thresher. "Get a room!"

  "But their love for each other is like our love," Ankyr said with a wink.

"You really are a sea turtle."

  "Hey, only Pyxis can call me-" SPLASH! Ankyr fell prey to Bonnet's Heavy Splatling.

"FOR ANKYR!" Rocky jumped up and flung his roller down before rolling toward Bonnet - and getting caught in a freshly thrown Splash Wall.

  "I love it when he does that," Tiger squeaked.

\/\/\/\/\/

"What took you so long? Why did you trade Ankyr for these randos?"

"Rocky," Caurel sighed. "They're the friends we were supposed to meet today, remember?"

"Oh..."

"Guys, this is Rocky, our squad's leader," Pyxis laughed.

  "Nice to meet you," Carina said, stepping forward to shake Rocky's hand. "Don't worry, my 'boyfriend' will be back soon."

  "'BOYFRIEND'?" The entire crowd turned their attention to the charismatic newcomer.

  "It's just an inside joke," Pyxis hastily assured them. "You'd just have to be there."

"Yeah, he kind of saved me a lot of hassle," Carina shrugged.

  "My Sunshine has inside jokes with people I don't know," Moises thought out loud. "Not sure how I feel about this..."

"Well, you know us now," Hans piped up. "She's Carina, I'm Hans, this here is Shera, and the rude guy is Cygnus."

"I haven't said anything rude yet!"

"We all know you will," Shera said as she scooched over to Abbey. "So, what's your name?"

"I'm aromantic," Abbey said between sips of coffee. Their friends howled with laughter in the background.

"Aw, that's too bad... Are you... asexual, too?"

"They're not sex-repulsed, if that's what you mean," Pyxis jumped in. "That's not what asexual means, though."

"Sweet little Pyxis," Cygnus chuckled, patting his friend on the head. "Always here to educate her friends."

"...You mean their friends," Rocky corrected.

  "What? No. You too? Are all Squids okay with the whole fluid-gender thing?"

"You didn't even last five minutes," Hans sighed, covering his face with his palm.

  "Look, she was born with lady-parts, am I wrong or am I right?"

"Here's what I know," Rocky began slowly, stepping closer to the Octoling and staring him in the eye. "This particular group of friends respects what people choose to call themselves. When you're with us, you refer to Pyxis as they/them. If you can't handle that, you can swim back home."

"ROCKY!" Caurel grabbed her brother's arm and yanked him down to sit beside her. "They're our guests!"

"And Pyxis is family," he bit back. "Which is more important to you?"

"Wow, they really worship you around here," Cygnus laughed, turning to leave. "Do they even really know you? Your history? What have you been telling them?"

"Cygnus, get back here and act your age," Carina commanded.

"No thanks, Your Majesty."

  The crowd was hushed for some time, the noises of the audience around them and the battle down below, permeating their silent space.

  "Sorry about that," Carina finally spoke up. "I told him to behave himself. But he's... how do you say... stuck in his ways."

"He's only twenty-two," Shera rolled her eyes. "He's just a stubborn pufferfish."

"You okay, honey?" Hans asked Pyxis, who was too busy processing their own thoughts to realize they should answer.

"...I'm family?"

\/\/\/\/\/

And now, here’s Shera going goo-goo over more Inklings

---

“Vanilla? Is that a brand, or...?"

"Oh no, I just mean, the original one."

"So... Vanilla means original?"

"The basic form of something, yes. Regular. It's just slang."

"Who's the person with the gatling?"

"Ah, that's Pixie with the Zink Mini Splatling. Disruptor and Bubbler."

"Pixie..." Shera turned to where Pyxis was seated. "PIXIE!"

  "Yes?"

"I can never call you Pixie again! That's the name of my new future wife!" Ecto and Thresher couldn't help but laugh.

"...Glad to hear it?"

"She's actually dating Ty right now," Tandy pointed out. "Sorry, you'll have to look elsewhere."

"Darn."

"Great Overseer," Carina sighed. "Why are you so thirsty today?"

"I dunno, Queenie," Shera shrugged and shook her head. "Look. I had no idea Squidlings could be so attractive, okay?"

"I mean, she's not wrong," Hans laughed. "The first time I saw Ankyr..."

"YOU CAN DO IT, GUYS!" Pyxis suddenly stood up and cheered as loud as they could.

\/\/\/\/\/

And now for some good parents! Specifically, Ecto’s dads. Well, one of them. The other is busy playing Pokémon with Caurel and co. in the living room at this moment. They haven’t been mentioned much so far, but they’re great friends with the Waters (Waters’? Waterss?) ever since all the families met, and Rocky and Caurel hang out with them a lot.

---

"That's because you can look back on the past, apply your knowledge of the present, and cook up a better future for yourself. A new happiness. Again, one that won't last forever. And maybe it's not perfect. Maybe you burn your tongue. Maybe you let it go cold without realizing. But there'll always be more soup."

"You just have an answer for everything, don't you?" Rocky scoffed, throwing more tomatoes into the pot.

  "Not quite. There's one thing I've always wondered."

"The secret of life?"

"Nah, figured that out in college."

"What? No. Shut up." The two shared a laugh. Mister Plasma reduced the burner's heat and placed a lid on the pot, before turning to Rocky.

  "Back when you were in Coral Reef's boat... Why didn't you say anything?"

  "Well..." Rocky took a moment to continue. "Figured there wasn't any point, I guess. Can't help it if the person you have a crush on is gay. Like, if Pop was het, you wouldn't have the love of your life."

"Well I'm glad that's not the case," he said with a short laugh, before frowning and patting Rocky on the head. "Sorry, hon."

"It's fine. That's one of those 'just move on' parts in life. So I did."

"Ah..."

"Happened with Ankyr, too. But that was back when we were super tiny. Like.. That's a different kind of love. Baby love, I guess. But then again, we thought Ankyr was a girl back then. That was easier to move on from."

  "You just can't catch a break," Dad laughed. "Anyone on your mind these days?" Rocky thought a while before answering.

"I... Not really. I don't know, Oji. Guess I'm kind of giving up for now. I just wanna cook and take care of the ocean. Those are my loves. Well, I'll never get tired of Turf War either. I guess... that's it."

"And that's A-okay," the adult Inkling nodded, before yelling "COME AND GET IT!" There was a multitude of shuffling sounds from the living room as the young adults made their way to the kitchen. "Come see us any time," he said again. "We'll always be here for you."

\/\/\/\/\/

And that’s all I have for you here today, I wanna stop myself before I give away more than I might have given away... But yeah, working on that slowly but surely now. I was already about halfway-ish done with the chapter before I fell off, I think? Depends if I think of adding any more scenes than what’s already planned. So, look forward to that soon! Catch you on the flip side~

P.S.: As a reminder, this is the second-to-last chapter I’m writing; after 10 is over, we’ll be moving on to the second book in the series, which will hopefully have much better pacing and will definitely be a lot different, but still be about the lives of Pyxis, Ankyr, and their loved ones - that will never change. Some of your favorite characters might not be around as much in book 2, some might get a spotlight where they hadn’t before, and of course we’ll meet lots of new friends, and you’ll just have to decide what you think of each of them. :3 But I hope you have fun. Regardless of anything, thanks for reading. If you’ve read any of Look Alive, Sunshine, you have my Heart Containers, and my eternal gratitude. Please let me know what you think, if you’ve got the time. Love & hugs!

[aro-throughyourchest]

An Unfortunate Meeting

WORD COUNT: 885

WARNINGS: None

Also known as, “Procrastination the fic.”

Hugo peeked through a bush mission impossible style as he tailed Yong and Varian (without their knowledge of course.) They continued down the path, and Hugo followed behind them through the chaotic forest, stepping over tree roots, bushes, and tall grass. He finally found a small path that he could easily walk through and still remain inconspicuous.

He threw and caught the totem in the air quietly, counting to himself angrily as he caught. His emotions got the better of him, and he stopped, clenching the totem in his fist with a growl.

Stupid Donella and Cyrus, he didn’t want to do this. These idiots would drive him insane! But, if it’s for the mission, it’s for the mission. He sucked in a breath angrily and turned his eyes up to the sky as if saying, “Why me-“

A tiny noise peeped up, and Hugo looked its way. Cheese chattered anxiously on Hugo’s shoulder, tugging at his shirt to alert him of something. Hugo arched an eyebrow. “Cheese, what-“

He then proceeded to trip down a cliff, yelling the way down. So much for not getting caught. (Not to mention, ow.)

Cheese crashed out onto the dirt floor with a flop and glared at Hugo, as much as a mechanical mouse could glare. He glared back at the mouse, seemingly for not warning him, but it could’ve just been stubbornness. Grumbling, Hugo pushed himself up off the ground as the sound of two voices drew nearer.

Yong and Varian made their way through the trees’ clearing quickly, and the blonde groans, brushing the dirt out of his hair. Alright, guess joining the group was going to come a little earlier than anticipated.

He picked up Cheese and slipped him in his pocket before they could see the mouse. Varian shoved his way through the bushes, hoping no one was hurt. He saw Hugo and immediately his eyes widened in outrage.

“You!”

Nice to know he made an impression.

The blonde sighed and gritted his teeth. Arghhh, he really didn’t want to do this!

After he brushed himself off, he shrugged.

“So, we meet again!” He greeted.

Varian looked from the path Hugo took back to Hugo. “Were- Were you following us??”

Hugo dodged the question.

Kicking up some dirt, he smiled (albeit a false one.) “So, how’s your week been? Mine’s been-“

The expression on ol’ Hairstripe’s face told him to shut up. Varian folded his arms and snarled, “Heh, cut the pleasantries, what do you want?”

Hugo pretended to sniffle and wipe away a tear. “Not even gonna treat me with a sliver of kindness...”

 He faked a solemn sigh and shrugged. “Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot last week but-“

A mini-rocket sped right by his foot, and he nearly fell over avoiding it.

‘It’s for the mission, It’s for the mission-‘

“Yong!”

“Well, he said on the wrong foot, so I put him on the right one!”

Varian glared at him, and Yong sheepishly laughed at his joke. Hugo nervously laughed as well and gulped, settling down.

“Yeah, ha, um... I- I wanted to return the totem!”

The two boys exchanged a glance while Hugo stood apprehensively below them.

“Why?” They said in unison, knowing something was up.

“Well, is it so hard to believe I had a change of heart-“

“Yes.”

“...OK, fine. I wanted to join the group. Besides, I thought I should give it back; you earned it, I didn’t! But anyway...”

He tossed the totem up to them, despite the gap from the cliff. Varian caught it, nearly dropping it, and cleared his throat bitterly.

“I’m sorry, did you say, ‘join the group?’ “

Hugo tried his best attempt at an innocent smile. “Yes! I mean, I saw how you were floundering back there in Koto, whatever-your-name-is!”

“Varian.”

“Ah, Varian! I’m Hugo! Anyway, it was rather easy to tell you didn’t know what you were doing; I mean, you got robbed on your first day out in the big city!”

Of course, Hugo was the robber, but Varian didn’t need to know that. The expression on Varian’s face lowered, and Hugo knew if he continued he’d be gold.

“And then you got lost in an alleyway and had to be saved by a child!”

He motioned to Yong, who still looked ready to shoot another rocket his way.

“My point being, you clearly don’t know what you’re doing. And I don’t think your 10-year-old travel buddy knows what he’s doing either-“

Yong immediately took offense and shouted, “I’m not 10!! I’M 12! Hmph!” As if it was the highest offense Hugo could bestow.

Hugo chuckled, his eyebrows furrowing frustratedly, and he responded, “Alright... 12. Anyway, I’m your best bet to getting through these kingdoms. You know, without getting mugged or worse. So, what do you say?”

Varian sighed. “I say...”

He stuffed the totem in his bag and bolted the other way, Yong copying him.

“HEY!!”

Hugo tried to chase after them, but the steep cliff face made it hard to climb and keep up.

So, this was gonna be a little harder than he anticipated. And he just lost the only thing he could hold against Yong and Varian. Alright... If it was a challenge they wanted, it’s a challenge they’ll get.

[wwhbtsjin]

Idol Lovers

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Majority Fluff, but also a bit of angst and smut in there. (Supportive Jungkook, Jealous Jungkook, Loving Jungkook, Seductive Jungkook, you name it!)

Word Count: 6.6k

(A/N): Again my love for Vixx comes out. This is an AU where Vixx has one female member and it's you, the maknae of the group. You had caught the eyes of many fans and idols alike, but one idol already had your heart, and you had his as well. But dating in secret was a bit of a challenge, especially when your Vixx Oppas didn’t know.

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

Being an idol was certainly not an easy life. But it was the life you chose, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. You weren’t in it for the fame, you were in it because of your love for the arts, the love for the music. This was the way you expressed it, and what better way to do it then next to some of your best friends now. You were the group Vixx’s maknae, and the only girl of the group. The bond you guys had was so strong that your performances were always really powerful. You treasured them and they treasured you, they were the brothers you wish you had.

Every time a male idol expressed that you piqued their interest, they intervened because of one, you didn’t feel the same way, or two, they didn’t think they were good enough for you. But they didn’t know that you already belonged to an idol, the one and only Jeon Jungkook of BTS. You two had met back in high school, but it was just recently he expressed his feelings for you. You accepted them, and your relationship has been strong ever since, but the only thing is, you kept it a secret from your Vixx Oppas while he kept it a secret from his BTS Hyungs.

~

“Yah! (Y/N)! Who said my little sister could look this good! Nobody can take their eyes off of you!” The familiar voice of N, the leader of the group shouted from the chair as he got his hair done. You had just emerged from your dressing room, you get one separate from the boys for obvious reasons, but you all get your makeup and hair done at the same place.

Today was the MBC Music Festival and you guys were going to be performing Shangri La, one of your hits from 2017. The theme for this year was old hits so you and the boys had decided on bringing back Shangri La. The boys were dressed in the black floral silk men's kimonos while you were dressed in a black and cherry blossom decorated kimono. All of the biggest stars of the year were present, including your boyfriend, Jeon Jungkook from BTS. They were just two doors down in their dressing room and you were able to hear them screaming and shouting at each other playfully.

“Oppa,” you chuckled and plopped into the open make up seat next to him to get your hair done and makeup ready, “You flatter me, but have you seen you guys? You six look like literal princes!” 

“I am prince Hyukie!” Hyuk was sitting behind you playing a game on his phone, “But our little sister looks like a Princess!”

Your stylist began working with your hair while you were on your phone, “Stopppppp,” you blushed and in the back of your mind you realized Jungkook was going to see you like this, “If I didn’t have my amazing stylist Unnie,” you looked up at her and gave her a cheeky smile, “I wouldn’t be getting this flattery!”

As soon as your stylist left you, the boys and you were just relaxing in the room. Ravi and Hongbin were knocked out, Hyuk was still playing a game on his phone, N looked like he was texting someone while Leo and Ken were watching videos. 

You were scrolling through instagram when you got a text message on your phone, the sender had the contact name “🐰”. It was your nickname for Jungkook on your phone. Since your relationship was practically a secret from everyone, you guys had to resort to that just in case if one of your members felt extra nosy. His nickname for you in his phone was, “🐷”. You hated it, but he loved it because you can eat just as much as he does.

2:30 P.M 🐰.- Jagggiii~

2:32 P.M. 🐷- Yes Oppa?

2:33 P.M. 🐰- I want to see you :( Are you ready? Can I see you for a little? I’m done and the Hyungs and I are just chilling now doing nothing.

2:34 P.M. 🐷- I gotta figure out how to escape for a little bit :( I’m currently sandwiched between N and Ken Oppa right now. We’re going out to our seats in about 20 minutes.

2:35 P.M. 🐰- Then spare me 10 please? I wanna see my beautiful girl ;-;

2:36 P.M. 🐷- Alright fine, I can never turn you down, where do I go?

2:37 P.M. 🐰- The staircase at the end of the hall. Nobody goes in there so meet me a floor above the entrance <3 Be there at 2:40!

You closed your phone and sighed, “I’m gonna go for a walk okay?” You looked up at N and Ken.

“Are you okay? Do you want us to go with you?” N looked concerned. It wasn’t surprising though because he always cared about the wellbeing of his members. That’s what made him such a mom sometimes.

“I’m okay. I just need to stretch my legs,” you stood up and smiled, “I might go peep and say hi to Ailee Unnie while I’m out. I won’t be long. 10ish minutes probably.” And before anyone else said anything, you began to sneak away. When you got into the hallway, you noticed the door to the staircase closing and Jungkook was right, nobody was on that end. You made a break for it and then successfully snuck into the staircase. You went up one flight of stairs just as Jungkook instructed and sure enough, he was standing right there with open arms.

“My god,” he took your hands into his and leaned in to give you a soft kiss, “You’re stunning. Absolutely gorgeous. You look like a goddess,” He kept on pecking your cheeks and your lips with soft kisses, “Man every male idol is going to have their eyes on you, I guarantee it. But little do they know, you’re my girlfriend and mine only.” Jungkook was dressed in a long bright orange jumpsuit with a white hoodie under. They were performing GoGo and this was the outfit that he used to wear with it.

“Hi my bunny,” you giggled and kissed his cheek, “I missed you. By the way, you are a literal hunk, you know that?” You wrapped your arms around his neck and looked into his eyes that seemed to always sparkle 24/7.

“I missed you too,” he soon had you in his warm embrace, “I can’t get over how absolutely stunning you look right now. Let’s take a picture!” He took out his phone and held it up. The two of you were close together in the frame. You held up a peace sign while Jungkook gave his iconic, award winning, smile.

“Send me that please Oppa~” you kissed his cheek as he wrapped his arm around your waist.

“Already on it,” he quickly opened up your message thread and sent it, “This 10 minutes went by way too fast, but we both have to get back now.”

You looked up at him, “Have a great performance okay my bunny? I’ll be cheering you on!” 

“And I will be cheering you on my princess,” he leaned in and gave you another soft peck on the lips, “Now you go first. I’ll see you later. I love you.”

Everytime he expressed his love for you, you squealed on the inside. It was still unbelievable that the Jeon Jungkook of BTS was in love with you and you loved him. “I love you too bunny,” you let go of him and began to walk towards the stairs, “I really do.” And with that, you began making your way back to the room with your members.

When you got back, Hongbin and Ravi were just barely waking up. N saw you come back and he smiled warmly at you, “Are you good now?”

You flashed him a thumbs up, “All good Hakyeon mommy!” You plopped down on the couch next to him and leaned your head on his shoulder, “How much time do we have before we have to go out?”

The 93 liners were fully awake by this time. Ravi stretched and then looked at you, “I hope soon, cause that was a really good nap and I didn’t want to wake up yet.”

“Yeah I could tell,” you chuckled, “You and Bin Oppa were drooling”.

“Yeah...it was a freaking pool.” Hyuk was in the same position you left him in, still playing games on his phone. All of you burst into laughter when there was a sudden visitor at your door. 

Your eyes widened because it was your boyfriend and his members.

“Oh Jin my friend!” Ken jumped up to embrace his friend in a hug.

“Brother!” Jin cheered in return.

The friendship that Jungkook’s hyung had with your Ken Oppa was really strong. Whenever those two were together...it was definitely a show. Especially because those two are on their own level in terms of...weirdness.

“Hi guys!” N waved from next to you, your head still on his shoulder. But then you saw Jungkook’s eyes behind Namjoon’s shoulders eyeing you with an eyebrow raised. You sat up straight taking your head off of N’s shoulders before smiling at him warmly. His eyes softened and you knew he wouldn’t be mad at you for that.

“(Y/N)-ah!” Hoseok smiled at you, “You look absolutely stunning! Like a Princess!”

Jungkook’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. This was the first time one of his members complimented you on your looks. You’ve had other idols do it in front of Jungkook before, but his members are a whole different story.

“T-thank you Hoseok-ah.” You smiled at him. You were more timid and shy than usual and Hyuk was able to notice.

He sat next to you and placed a hand on your knee, making Jungkook’s eyes widen, “Are you okay Princess?” That was Hyuk’s nickname for you. Out of the boys, he was the closest to you because of age.

Jungkook nudged J-Hope, “Yah, don’t make her uncomfortable.”

“Hey!” N’s eyes lit up, “Our schedule is actually free tonight after this, would you guys like to come over for some dinner if you guys are free?”

Namjoon nodded, “We surprisingly have a day off tomorrow and are free after this too...so sure! We’ll just go home and change and head over to you all! Would you like us to bring anything?” 

“Well…” N looked at you, “Our little sister has been craving chicken so we’ll take care of that. Would you guys like to take care of the drinks?”

“Alcohol!” Jimin cheered.

“Soda!” Namjoon hit him on the back of the head.

You giggled making everyone's heads turn towards you. Jungkook had the most loving look towards you.

“W-what?” you cocked your head to the side innocently.

“You literally have the cutest laugh.” Jin smiled at you.

“Doesn’t she?” Hyuk cheered and put an arm around your shoulder, “She’s too precious.”

You glanced over at Jungkook and he had an expression on your face that you’ve never seen on him before. He raised an eyebrow at you and also glared at his hyungs. Was he possibly getting jealous? 

“Well,” Jin smiled, “I’ll text Ken when we’re on the way later! Have a good performance!”

And soon enough you guys were left alone again. This would be the first time Jungkook would be coming over to your place. Granted you lived with the boys, but how were you two gonna do without exposing your relationship to everyone else.

“Well, let’s get out to our seats shall we?” N gestured for everyone to get up. You all walked together onto the stage and saw idols already sitting in their respective rows on the sides. You quickly scanned around for Jungkook and saw him looking at you. He smiled warmly and secretly gave you a little finger heart. You flashed one back to him before being led to your row. You and the boys were on the opposite end of them, both on the rows that are equivalent to stage level. 

You sat in between Ravi and Hyuk and yawned, “Is anyone else sleepy? Because I am.”

“I’m not cause I napped,” Ravi chuckled, “You decided to go out and see your secret boyfriend I bet.”

Your eyes widened, “W-what?” Did your members know about you and Jungkook?

“I’m kidding,” Ravi laughed, “I know you’d tell us even if you had your eye on someone anyways.”

You glanced across the stage and saw Jungkook being teased by his Hyungs. His iconic bunnylike smile blessed your vision and you smiled warmly at the sight. You sighed and then looked up at Hyuk, “I am so taking a nap before the BTS Oppas come by later.”

“I’m with you on that one.” 

Soon enough the show began, and you and the boys were backstage getting ready. It was a commercial and a break time, so the stage crew was hustling on the stage getting it ready for your performance. Your stylist was doing some last minute touch ups on your makeup. Scanning your surroundings, you saw Jungkook flash you a thumbs up. You gave him a finger heart back before Hyuk looked at you.

“Who was that for?” He raised an eyebrow at you.

“Nobody Oppa,” you smiled at him, panicking a bit on the inside, “Let’s do this.” 

The lights dimmed down and you got in your places for your performance. This was always your happy place. No matter how tiring it is, you loved it. You forgot about the world around you and got lost in performance. That’s what made you such a great artist.

By the time Shangri La was done everyone was up and out of their seats, giving you and the boys a standing ovation. Starlights were cheering, waving the lightsticks and chanting your names. The show had gone to commercial and you guys had the opportunity to say something to Starlights. 

“Our Starlight babies!” N cheered into the mic, “We hope we put on a great performance for you guys!” That caused the crowd to erupt into screams.

The mic was then handed over to Hyuk, “We worked hard to put this together, and we’re very glad to have all of your support.” He held up a finger heart.

Then you had the mic to close out Vixx’s time on the stage, “We thank Starlights for being so supportive of us. We’ll continue to work hard for you all. We love you Starlights!” That had caused the whole crowd to erupt into cheers. You and the boys waved goodbye and headed backstage. As you pass BTS’ seats, Jungkook gives you a finger heart and a kissy face. You blushed lightly and waved to him secretly before you guys got ready to go back and prepare for their whole group coming over for dinner.

~

You and the boys flooded back into your dorm and you made your way back to your room. Hyuk followed behind and tapped his shoulder, “(Y/N)-ah? Can I ask you something?”

Right as you opened the door, you peaked your head over your shoulder and saw Hyuk twiddling with his thumbs. You smiled softly at him, “What is it Hyuk Oppa? Can I take off my makeup first?”

“Ah yeah go ahead, I’ll come back when you’re ready.”

You nodded and then closed the door to our bedroom. You sighed as you plopped onto your bed, did Hyuk want to talk to you because he possibly saw you and Jungkook earlier? That couldn’t have been it...could it?

“Bangtan Boys are on their way! I ordered chicken!” You heard N yell from the hallway.

“Bunny is coming…” you muttered to yourself and then your eyes widened, “Oh my god bunny is coming.” You were panicking because 1, your boyfriend is coming over, 2, nobody knows he’s your boyfriend...at least to your knowledge and 3, you didn’t want to look embarrassing in front of him.

You began scrubbing off your makeup. As you were doing that your phone lit up indicating you got a text message from Jungkook.

8:01 P.M. 🐰-How in the world am I going to keep my hands off of you tonight?

8:03 P.M. 🐷-I have no idea. I’m freaking out knowing I might expose something? What happens if we’re found out?

8:04 P.M. 🐰-I mean eventually everyone will know...but if it were to be tonight we’ve just gotta be prepared. I’ll do my best though to make sure it won’t be hard if it comes to that point.

8:06 P.M. 🐷- Me too bunny :) How far are you guys?

8:08 P.M. 🐰-...coming up the elevator...see you in a minute my piggy.

8:09 P.M. 🐷- 😐

You quickly put your hair up into a bun, changed into a pair of leggings and one of Jungkook’s hoodies, which was fairly big on you. You stared at yourself in the mirror and your eyes widened, “I can’t wear this… his hyungs might recognize this hoodie.” But before you had a chance to change, the doorbell rang and you heard Ken running and screaming to get to the door. Him and Jin were definitely an interesting pair…

You were reaching into the closet when Ravi burst into your room, “Let’s go outside and see everyone!” He dragged you out and you saw your members all sitting around the living room with BTS. 

“There’s the Princess of the evening! The one that stole the show!” Jimin patted the empty spot in between him and Jungkook for you to sit with them. You glanced at Jungkook and he just raised his eyebrows at you.

“Jungkook-ah,” Jin looked over in your guys direction, “Don’t you have that same hoodie?” 

Well shit, that came faster than you thought…

“I do.” Was all that managed to come out of his mouth.

“This is my brothers,” you chimed in, “He left it last time he visited and I just keep forgetting to give it back to him.” Saved it...well at least you hoped.

“The chicken got delivered in the lobby!” N jumped up, “Hyukie, (Y/N), do you guys want to go get it?”

You nodded and walked to the door with Hyuk. You were glad to get away from that situation, even though you didn’t want to leave Jungkook’s side, things got awkward real quick.

When you and Hyuk got in the elevator a sigh escaped your lips.

“Can I ask you something that I’ve been meaning to ask you earlier?” Hyuk said out of the blue.

“Sure Hyukie Oppa,” you smiled at him, “What is it?”

“How do you feel about me?” He stared at you seriously, “I’ve grown to really like you more than my best friend (Y/N). I want to know how you feel about me.”

Your eyes widened, you thought Hyuk had suspected you and Jungkook...but this wasn’t what you were expecting. “H-hyukie Oppa…” you looked up at him, “I-,” you sighed, “I don’t have the same feeling back...I’m sorry. I’ve only ever seen you as my best friend. That’s it…”

“It’s because you’re already seeing someone isn’t it?” He looked away from you and then down at the floor.

“H-huh?” the elevator doors opened revealing the lobby. You and Hyuk made your way to the empty front desk.

He rang the bell then looked at you, “I know your dating Jungkook-ssi,” he got the chicken from the receptionist then looked back at you, “I got curious, and I know it was wrong of me, but I followed you early when you secretly met with him in the staircase. My feelings about you are true...but I just wanted to see if the reason you’d say no was because of Jungkook.”

“Hyuk Oppa…” you stared at him as he walked towards the elevators.

“Why didn’t you tell any of us you were dating him?” He pressed the button waiting for the elevator to arrive back at the lobby.

“I-...I just really really do love him.” but before you could answer completely the elevator doors opened.

“Let’s go back up before they all wonder where we are...your boyfriend is probably worried sick.” He walked into the elevator with you following.

“Oppa, I’m sorry...I truly am. But please, Bunny and I aren’t ready to tell anyone yet, so can you please keep this a secret?” You looked at him with pleading eyes.

“You guys have nicknames for each other already,” he chuckled to himself, “Guess he beat me to it when it comes to your heart…” 

“Oppa are you mad at me?”

“No… I’m just heartbroken… but I can’t do anything about it. I just hope he’s treating you like the Princess you really are.” The doors opened and soon you were back in front of your front door.

As you reached for the handle you could hear N and Namjoon talking.

“Hyuk-ssi and (Y/N)-ah seem like they would be a cute couple.” Namjoon’s voice boomed on the other side of the door.

“We’ve been wanting them to date for the longest time, but as much as Hyuk-ah likes her...I don’t think she likes him back.” N sighed and looked at the other leader.

“I feel like one of my members will snatch her up if he doesn’t soon. She’s a literal Princess.” He chuckled and both their voices soon disappeared from the door. Hyuk looked at you in a concern then opened the door.

You quietly helped him carry all the food onto the table laid out in your guys living room. But you just didn’t feel like eating anymore. You sat in between Jungkook and Jimin. Jungkook’s eyes quickly looked down at you, full of concern for his secret lover.

“Are you okay, jagi?” he asked you quietly without getting much notice from anyone. Except for Hyuk who was sitting across from you looking at you with concern also.

You nodded in disagreement. You felt tears starting to build up.

You stood up, “I-I’m not feeling well right now,” you smiled at everyone through your tear brimmed eyes, “Please have a good dinner, I need to close my eyes for a bit.” And before anyone could answer, you scurried away to your room. You closed the door behind you and plopped on your bed, tears streaming down your face.

You were bent out of shape because of many reasons. Both Namjoon and all of your members think you and Hyuk would be good together. Heck, Hyuk even has feelings for you. How would everyone feel when they found out you and Jungkook were dating? Would it cause tensions within your group? Would his hyungs get mad at him? You didn’t think it would get this conflicting.

When you scurried away to your room, all the boys looked confused, well except for Hyuk. Jungkook was full of worry and concern, it was heavily visible on his face. He wanted to run after you, see what was wrong, why you were bothered. And he wanted to hold you in his arms. But he knew he couldn’t do so just yet.

“Is she okay?” Yoongi asked out of concern.

“I may have upset her…” Hyuk sighed and leaned his head back, “Someone should go check on her.”

“Should I?” N stood up being the mom he is.

“I think Jungkook-ssi should. Those two are high school friends after all.” Hyuk looked at Jungkook and nodded approvingly. 

He got up and made his way to your bedroom. Jungkook knocked softly, “Jagi?” Luckily he was far enough that nobody could hear him call you that, “I’m coming in okay?” Jungkook opened the door and saw you curled up on your bed crying, back towards him.

You turned around hiding your face in your pillow, “Bunny…”

He smiled softly at the sight and sat on your bed with you. He helped you up and straight into his arms, “My piggy,” his voice was so comforting to hear, “What’s wrong?”

You wrapped your arms around him and buried your face into his chest, “We’ve been found out bunny…”

His hands soon found themselves playing with the bun on your head, “Found out? How so? Was it Sanghyuk Hyung? He said he upset you.”

You heard Ken and Jin playfully screaming animal noises in the background, “It was Hyukie Oppa...the way he just came out with it was so overwhelming...he told me he likes me, but he also saw us earlier in the staircase. What if our members aren’t happy when they find out? I don’t want to ruin any of the bonds we have with our own groups. What if they get mad at us and then fights erupt or there’s tension like in those Kdramas? I don’t want that to happen with any of us!” You looked up at him, tears were staining your cheeks.

Jungkook kissed your forehead, “Your heart belongs to me right? Were you honest with me, Sanghyuk Hyung and most importantly yourself?”

“I told Hyukie Oppa how much I really really love you. My heart does belong to you bunny oppa, I know how much I love you. It’s so much.” You cried holding him.

“You’re silly you know,” he placed his hand under your chin and looked up at you, “I love you so much too, and regardless of how our members react to the news, I still love you as much as I did 10 seconds ago.” He planted a soft kiss on your lips.

“Will this night end with all our members knowing that you and I are dating?”

“That might be the case, but I think it’s time that we tell them too. I’ll take care of it, but we won’t tell them right away, but they will know before we go home okay? I think hiding it has gone on long enough,” he looked down at you and poked your cheek, “I don’t like when my piggy is sad.”

“Why do you still call me piggy,” you pouted, “I’m not a piggy. I just have a good appetite.”

“If you can eat as much as me, then you’re a piggy. But you’re my piggy.” Jungkook started pecking kisses all around your face and even down to your neck.

You started giggling, “Oppa that tickles, but what if someone sees us?”

He started pecking kisses on your collarbone, “Even dressed like this you're irresistible. Babygirl you’re beautiful in anything you wear.” Your collarbone was a newly discovered weak spot as a small moan escaped your mouth. You quickly clamped your lips shut, “S-shh, you’re gonna make me make noises I’ve never done before!” You glared at Jungkook playfully.

Jungkook laughed and gave you a small love bite on your collarbone, “I’ll take note of that sweet spot for later!” He smiled at you warmly, “But there’s that smiling face I’m in love with. Come, let’s go back out because you need to eat your dinner.”

“Are we going back out as a couple? Or still hiding it?” 

“Sanghyuk Hyung is the only one who knows right?” he stood up and wrapped his arms around your waist.

You nodded, “Just Hyukie Oppa.”

“Then we’ll wait for the right time to tell them,” he kissed you, “but for now we just gotta make sure you eat your dinner. Okay?” 

You nodded and hugged him before walking to the door, “I love you Bunny.”

“I love you too my piggy.” He followed you out of the room and you guys both made your way back...to the chaotic mess in the living room. Ken and Jin were making weird animal noises while Namjoon and N were drinking together. Suga, Hongbin and Ravi were all in front of the Tv playing video games while Jimin, Taehyung, Hoseok, Leo and Hyuk were just sitting at the table talking.

“My princess!” N cheered, “Are you feeling better?”

“I am Hakyeon mommy!” You ran and sat next to him, “I’m hungry.”

Jungkook plopped down next to Hyuk and you raised an eyebrow at him. Then he immersed himself into conversation with that group.

“Namjoon-ssi was just telling me how good Jungkook is at comforting people, it seemed like it worked with you.” N looked down at you as you ate your chicken.

“Mhm,” you nodded as you held a drumstick in your hand, “Jungkook Oppa is really sweet, kind, caring, it’s always nice being with him.” You smiled at the thought of your boyfriend. He truly did care for you, and you couldn’t be more grateful for him.

“The way you talk about him (Y/N)-ah, sounds like you’re in love with him!” Namjoon teased you playfully, completely unaware that what he said was true.

Your eyes widened and you started blushing. You almost choked on the chicken you were eating, “I-...Namjoon Oppa, you almost made me choke on my chicken.” N handed you a glass of water laughing.

“You take good care of your members Sunbae,” Namjoon chimed in, “My members say I’m destructive.”

“Well this is my princess,” he wrapped his arms around you, “and Hyukie is our baby, I have to take care of my children.” The conversation with N and Namjoon really began to lighten your mood.

Meanwhile Jungkook sat with Jimin, Taehyung and Hyuk, their conversation was on a much more different level. 

“Taehyung-ah would not get off of his games all night,” Jimin whined, “Sanghyuk Hyung, do you ever have that issue with your members? Is (Y/N) a gamer?”

“You know...I don’t know what she does behind those closed doors of her bedroom,” Hyuk chuckled, “She loves sleep so I don’t think so.”

“(Y/N) isn’t a gamer,” Jungkook chuckled, “She sucks at games. She always dies.”

“I didn’t know you and (Y/N)-ah were so close.” Taehyung raised an eyebrow at him.

“They are high school friends after all,” Hyuk chuckled, “Jungkook-ssi, would you like to see my Overwatch themed set up?” Hyuk clearly didn’t have a set up like that, he was just trying to get Jungkook away because he wanted to ask him some questions.

“Oh boy do I?!” Jungkook jumped up and followed Hyuk, sounding like a little kid. You smiled at the scene of Jungkook, it made your heart flutter.

Jungkook and Hyuk went into Hyuk’s room and Hyuk closed the door, “I don’t really have an overwatch set up, I just wanted a chance to ask you some questions about (Y/N)-ah.”

“Oh,” Jungkook leaned against the door, “I will answer everything honestly. You guys are her big brothers and I want you guys to trust me with her.”

“She told you about my feelings for her?” Hyuk sat down on his bed and looked at Jungkook seriously, “How does that make you feel?”

Jungkook sighed, “I respect you Sunbae, I really do. And I can’t stop you from having feelings for her, that’s all on your own,” he peeked his head around the room and saw a polaroid of you and Hyuk on Hyuk’s nightstand, “And I trust (Y/N)-ah that her feelings are strong for me. I trust both of you to respect all of our feelings towards everything...if that makes sense?”

“I get what you’re saying,” Hyuk noticed you looking at the photo, “That was our Christmas movie marathon last year. I realized then that I liked her more than just my best friend.” 

“You liked her before I did,” Jungkook looked down, “Sunbae I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“It’s okay Jungkook-ah, it really is, what matters to me is her happiness, doesn’t that matter to you too?”

“Of course it does,” Jungkook smiled at the thought of you smiling, “Her smile literally lightens up everything.”

“And you’ll take care of her? Love her? Care for her? Protect her?” Hyuk looked up at Jungkook, “I could only do so much, but you’re her boyfriend so you have more of an impact than I do now.” 

“Sunbae, I have no intention of stealing her away from you. You’re her best friend and that’s a spot that’s made just for you only,” Jungkook was wise knowing his place, “You guys have been through much more than her and I have been through so far. You’re her best friend and I’m her boyfriend, but regardless we’ll both be loving, caring and protecting her no matter what. And I hope to be doing that for the rest of my life.”

“You two are some of the biggest stars right now, are you prepared to deal with paparazzi? Word will get out that you two are dating eventually or our labels will say go public with it,” Hyuk sighed, “She gets overwhelmed easily, so can you be there to make it easier for her?” 

“Of course Sunbae, I don’t want anything to be hard for her, so I will do my best in everything.” 

“I think it’s best that you guys let everyone know before the end of the night that you guys are dating,” Hyuk walked up to Jungkook and put his hand on his shoulder, “But just take care of her okay? I care so much about her and don’t want to see her get hurt. Especially by you.”

“I promise Sunbae.”

“Call me hyung.” And with that, Hyuk left the room.

Jungkook followed and saw you laughing, he smiled at the sight of you with N. He felt relieved knowing you were surrounded by people who genuinely cared for you and protected you when he wouldn’t be able to.

“Hyuk-ah!” Ravi called out, “We were just wondering, what were you showing Jungkook-ssi, you don’t have an Overwatch set up? Did you confess your love for the golden maknae or something?”

“I-...nevermind.” Hyuk pouted.

Jungkook noticed there was an empty spot next to you so he decided to sit next to you. He smiled at you warmly and couldn’t take his eyes off of you.

“Yah! Yah!” Yoongi shouted, “Look at the way Jungkookie is staring at (Y/N)-ah!”

“Look at how (Y/N)-ah is blushing!” Ken pointed out too.

Your eyes widened hearing both of your members point out all of that. Jungkook scratched the back of his head and chuckled embarrassingly. This was all coming at you too fast again you started panicking. But you relaxed because Jungkook placed his hand on top of yours and held it tightly to reassure you that he’s there.

“Is there something you want to tell us Princess?” You heard N’s voice in the background, you couldn't hide things from your Hakyeon mommy, it wasn’t right.

“Yeah Jungkook-ah! Something you want to tell us?” Hoseok wiggled his eyebrows at the two of you.

Jungkook sighed, “(Y/N)-ah and I have been dating...for the last 6 months.” He held the two of your hands that were intertwined up together.

“Why didn’t you tell us Princess?” Rather than N sounding mad, he was more curious. You expected mad or sad, not curious.

“I…” you sighed, “I was just scared that you guys wouldn’t have approved. Every male that has come my way expressing their feelings for me, you guys always stood up for me because I didn’t feel the same way. But bunny oppa was different. I actually had feelings for bunny oppa but I just didn’t want you guys to disapprove of him.”

“How you didn’t tell us Jungkook-ah?” Namjoon asked his maknae.

“I would tell you when (Y/N)-ah was ready to tell her members. I trust you hyungs 100% but I just didn’t want to risk anything getting exposed without her knowing. I didn’t want her to get overwhelmed.” Jungkook gripped your hand tightly under the table.

“We’re sorry we kept this hidden from you guys,” you bowed your head down, “We really are.” You expected members to start getting mad, but instead you got complete silence.

“Well Jungkookie beat me to it,” you heard Taehyung break the silence, “I was gonna try to go for you (Y/N)-ah.”

“Wait,” Jimin’s head popped up, “S-so was I! She’s a literal princess!”

“She’s so adorable! I was going to try!” Jin shot up too causing Ken to shoot up.

“Yah you idiot!” Ken playfully smacked him, “That’s my little sister!” 

“Not biologically…”Jin chuckled.

“None of you guys are mad?” You looked up shocked.

“I mean, we wish you guys told us, but there’s nothing we can do from stopping it.” N chuckled.

“I kind of sensed that JK had a girl.” Yoongi laughed.

“B-but, Hakyeon mommy I heard you talking with Namjoon Oppa about how you wanted me to be with Hyukie Oppa!” You looked at the two of them then at Hyuk, “You’re okay right Hyukie Oppa?”

“I am,” he smiled at you warmly, “I talked to Jungkook, and as long as he takes good care of you and makes you happy and treats you like the Princess you are, that’s all that matters for me.”

“Not a princess hyung,” Jungkook smiled at you, “I’ll treat her like the queen she is.”

“Jungkook-ah,” N’s voice turned serious, “When the public knows of you two dating, it will get harder, but will you protect her to the best you can? We all want nothing but happiness for you two, and especially our Princess.”

“I will do my best Sunbae. I promise. I love (Y/N)-ah way too much that I would hate to see anything hurt her.” Jungkook was rubbing your knuckles with his thumb, your hands have still not separated from each other.

“Then that’s what we want to hear,” Leo chimed in, he may be stoic but he cares for you greatly, “If you hurt her we will find you.”

“We will find you too!” Jimn chimed in glaring at Jungkook, “And we’ll swoop in!”

Jungkook wrapped his arms around you tightly, “I don’t know if this is a test...but she’s my girl! I will protect her as best as I can!”

You bursted out laughing, “Bunny you’re suffocating me.”

“Oh one rule though,” Namjoon and N both chimed in, “No making out in front of any of us members!”

Your face heated up while Jungkook laughed, “Then don’t come in my room whenever sh-” You smacked Jungkook to make him shut up.

“We’ll follow the rules!” You giggled. That wasn’t nearly as bad as you had anticipated it to be, but you were sure glad your members approved of you and Jungkook. Now you guys wouldn’t have to go around hiding anymore.

“I love you piggy.” Jungkook whispered in your ear as members of both groups were fooling around again. 

You looked at him and smiled, “I love you too bunny.”

[writingwithbella]

Old Scars/Future Hearts: Salty Like A Summer’s Day

series summary; one summer. one tour. six people. touring with your older brother and the band he manages is supposed to be fun. you get to be with all of your favorite people, go to different cities, and jam out to shows every night. so why is pope so set on making your experience a living hell?

pope heyward x routledge!reader 

2.4k words (👁👄👁we really went off with this first chapter ngl)

a/n: yay! first chapter in @bricksatanakinswindow​ and I’s new fic! We are both very excited to share this with you and would love to hear what you have to say on the first chapter! this fic is definitely going to be a wild ride, but one we hope you enjoy as much as we do!

JJ Maybank sees you first.

He’s booking it across the parking lot, his hat close to flying off his head and his backpack slapping violently against his back as soon as you step out of your car. You’re too focused on tugging your charger from the port to realize he’s barreling towards you at full speed. When you finally look up, you have less than ten seconds to brace yourself before JJ is slamming into you, squashing you between him and the car.

“y/n!” he shouts, nuzzling his face in the crook of your neck. “JB said you were coming but I said I wouldn’t believe it ‘til I saw it. You know how flaky you can be, right?”

You roll your eyes and shove JJ off of you, a grin making its way onto your face. “Fuck off, Maybank. I always keep my promises.”

Before he can answer you, another voice sounds from the other end of the parking lot in the same tone of elation as JJ. “Thank god!”

Kie’s making her way towards the two of you, a radiant smile on her face. She looks as beautiful as ever, her hair falling behind her shoulders in curls. Her skin is glowing, and her eyes are bright. You move from JJ’s grip in favor of pulling Kie into a bone-crushing hug, a small giggle escaping your lips when she gasps.

“If I had to suffer through this tour without you or Sarah, I’d go insane,” she says, moving to drink you in. “You look good, y/n. When did you start wearing so much black?”

You laugh a little, shaking your head at her. The last time Kie had seen you, you were going through your pink phase. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, really, except for the fact that it wasn’t your style. You had experimented different styles over the past few years, deciding that a mixture of pretty much everything suit you. “Just recently. I decided it’s the right vibe for now.”  

“Well, I, for one, don’t care about clothes. Let’s go back to the bus,” JJ says, grabbing two of your bags. “John B. says he misses you. Surprising, right?”

“Shut up, JJ!” you and Kie say at the same time, falling into a fit of giggles as he rolls his eyes at you.

Kie links her arm with yours, guiding you towards the tour bus that would house you for the next four months. You had been excited when John B. had called and asked you to help him manage to band on tour. Your summer was originally going to be spent in your hometown, pretending your brother wasn’t traveling the country while you worked a minimum wage job.

But this option was much, much better.

You see John B. and Sarah before they see you. You can tell right away that your brother is smitten with Kie’s best friend. His attention is fully on her, a smile brighter than the sun painted on his face. You knew your brother like the back of your hand, having watched him fall in love with girls time and time again.

“Ah, so JB is already making moves?” you ask teasingly, resting your hands on your hips.

“Sarah Cameron does have that effect on people,” Kie comments.

You snicker, shaking your head at your brother. He is a hopeless romantic through and through. You could only hope Sarah possessed some of those traits.

“I was hoping JB was lying when he said you were coming along for the ride.”

Pope’s voice turns your blood into ice. He was the last person you wanted to see – the person you were dreading seeing. Pope wasn’t nice to you. There was no way around it. For some god-awful reason, Pope Heyward fucking hated you. And because you weren’t one to back down, you reciprocated those harsh feelings.

It was exhausting being around him, always being so angry and rude. But you weren’t going to let him push you around.

You turn on your heel, catching Kie’s eye. She sends you a pleading look, one begging you to be nice. You can hear her voice in your head; C’mon, y/n, it’s the start of the tour. Let’s not do this right away.

“I promised,” you say stiffly, your eyes raking over him lazily. You ignore the tug at your heart when you see him. He always looks attractive, but today especially, he seems to have turned up the heat. He’s wearing ripped black jeans, a Nirvana tank top, and his hat backwards. He looks like a tall glass of water, begging to be drank on a day as hot as this one.

But then he opens his mouth.

“We all know how hard it is to keep your promises,” Pope says dismissively. “Kie, did you see where JB left the keys? I want to get the AC going so we don’t all heat case.”

“I don’t know, why don’t you ask him?” She replies offhandedly, gesturing towards the love-stricken boy. Pope rolls his eyes, but not frustratedly like he had with you. Rather, he seems amused, humored by the older boy’s antics. You scoff, but rather than begin the argument again, you turn to face Kie and JJ who are trying to ignore the obvious tension in the air.  

“This is gonna be so much fun!” JJ mocks, to which you and Kie laugh raucously, catching John B’s attention and breaking him out of his Sarah-Cameron-centered trance.  

“Alright, alright, calm down kids. Let’s get on the bus, I feel like I’m dying.” He pulls the keys out of one of the pockets of his cargo shorts and begins walking towards the bus. The rest of them follow after, lugging their suitcases and duffle bags behind them as if they had been walking for miles. Under his breath, Pope mutters.  

“That’s such a great idea, John B. I wonder who literally said that not ten seconds before?” You can’t help the snicker that you make at his words. He looks over at you, but before he can make whatever snarky comment had come to his mind, John B interrupts, opening the door to the bus and gesturing to the ample space within.  

Note your heavy sarcasm.  

“Welcome to your humble abode for the next four months. There’s a living room, a kitchenette, and in the far back, behind the curtain, the bunk space. Bunks are first come, first serve, so if you want a top bunk, I suggest you claim it now.” His words spark a race within the group and the six of you push and shove each other out of the way to claim your ideal bunk.  

You are reaching to seize the top bunk for yourself when a dark arm moves past you and places an olive green duffle bag on the undressed mattress. You turn to look at the owner of said arm and, unsurprisingly, find it attached to Pope, who is smiling innocently.  

“That’s my bed.” He laughs slightly, to which you cross your arms and stare him down with your most intimidating look. He laughs harder.  

“Really? I didn’t see any stuff on it saying that it was yours. No sign, no luggage. In fact, the only stuff on there is mine, so I think this is my bed. Sorry.” You can tell by the smile on his face that he is in no way sorry. But, it doesn’t matter. JJ and Kie are giving you both wary looks as if waiting for a fight to break out and this is going to be a four-month long tour. You will have plenty of time to annoy and argue with each other later.  

For now, for them, you’ll just grit your teeth and bear it.  

“Fine. I’ll just take this one. But, if I hear a single snore from you, I won’t hesitate to smother you with a pillow.” You place your stuff on the next bunk down, ignoring Pope’s looming presence behind you.  

“Fine, but one peep from you and I won’t hesitate to push you onto the floor.” You scoff.

“Fine.”  

It’s hours later that you find yourself alone with Kie, JJ and Pope having left to get either groceries or something they’d forgotten to pack, while John B is still attempting to woo Sarah by taking her to some park nearby. A sort-of goodbye to the Outer Banks before they depart for their four-month venture.  

“It’s so weird,” Kie mutters, sipping on a can of beer she’d pulled from the minifridge. The boys may not know how to pack the basics like a toothbrush or enough socks, but they’d remembered to stock every cool place in the vehicle with alcohols of all types from cheap beers to hard liquors.  

“What’s weird?” You reply, sipping on a cold beer of your own and staring out the tinted windows into the nothingness of the parking lot beyond. There really isn’t much to do on the bus when it’s just the two of you, resigning you to talking or staring—you at the outer world and Kie at her phone.  

“I feel like, I don’t know, we should all be at a dinner, celebrating us leaving for tour. Instead, we’re just sitting here, doing nothing, while everyone else does whatever. Just feels like a shitty start to tour.” You shrug, looking away from the window, and turn to face her, who hasn’t looked up from her phone in the entire time she talked.  

“Well, there’s still time for us to do all that. Maybe not a celebratory dinner, but we leave at 11 o’clock tomorrow. We could have a nice breakfast send-off.” She scoffs lightly, jokingly, and finally looks up from the screen to meet your eyes.  

“Very funny. I’m just saying, I thought tonight would be going differently, that’s all. I thought maybe we would all be sitting around a table and drinking and laughing and talking about all the things we want to do on tour. I thought we’d be trying to keep you and Pope from killing each other and be separating John B and Sarah so they didn’t try to fuck right there in front of us all. Instead we’re all separated and we’re drinking and I don’t know. I just thought things would be different.” You could definitely see where she was coming from. This isn’t how you thought tour would be starting off either, though you couldn’t say you were surprised. The group had never been very well-organized, so the idea that they are all on different pages doesn’t surprise you.  

“Well, there’s still enough time left in the day for me and Pope to start arguing again, so don’t discard that idea yet. But seriously, if you want to have a celebratory send-off, I can goad my brother into a breakfast thing tomorrow. I’m sure they’d all love to eat before the four-hour drive to Raleigh.” Kie shakes her head amusedly, looking down at the can in her hand.  

“Nah, I don’t want to force the boys to do anything they don’t want. If they want to start on a low note, that’s on them. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of group meals on the road, it’s kind of inevitable. Speaking of low notes, what the fuck is up with you and Pope?” You suspect that this was the motive behind the entire conversation—to get you to talk about Pope, but you can’t find it within yourself to be surprised.  

The tension between you and Pope has always been a point of contention within the group. No one within the group seems to know how it started, not even you. All you can remember is Pope meeting you and immediately treating you with hostility, which you returned because you didn’t know what else to do. Now, because you both possess deep friendships with every other member of the group, you are forced to tolerate each other's unbearable existences. But your friendships with the others doesn’t mean you won’t still make comments and pick fights with each other every chance you get.  

“Nothing new. He’s still an asshole and I still don’t know why. But I’m trying to be nice, for you and JJ. He just makes it so difficult. He keeps making little digs at me and stealing my bunk? He just keeps acting like a child! I don’t get it, what did I ever do to him?” Kie shrugs, but before she can reply, the door opens and the topic of your conversation enters with JJ, carrying multiple bags. At the sight of you, Pope’s expression sours.  

“Hey, so we got some basic needs for the road so we aren’t just eating junk all the time.” JJ tosses a bag to you, which you examine with an amused expression.  

“This is exclusively gas station junk food. There’s not a single healthy item in here.” JJ laughs, swiping the bag from your lap as he and Pope move past you and Kie to the kitchenette. Pope refuses to look at you.  

“Okay and? Fresh fruits would rot so fast, it doesn’t make sense to have them. At least these things will last.” JJ says, pointing at you.  

“Yeah, but my waistline won’t. We have to eat healthier, even if it means buying fruits and veggies and eating them within the day,” Kie speaks. Pope rolls his eyes, but jokingly, like he’s amused by what she said. You’re sure that if you had said the same thing that he would be going off on you or making comments. It’s frustrating to you that he held you to a different standard than his other friends.  

“I’m going to bed, guys, you all have fun,” you mutter, chucking your empty beer can into the trash can in the kitchenette and maneuvering past the confused boys. You just don’t have it in you to deal with Pope at the moment and it makes more sense for you to just remove yourself from the situation entirely rather than listen to Pope make snide remarks towards you all night.  

You dress quickly for bed and ensure the curtain is closed before you slide into your bunk, covering yourself with the blanket you had packed, not realizing the beds wouldn’t come with any sheets. You’d have to buy something soon if you were going to survive the next four months.  

As you lay still in the bunk, eyes open despite your pleas for sleep to come quickly and easily, you hear Pope’s voice cut through the silence of the bus despite its hushed tones.  

“What’s her problem?” It’s said jokingly, a mockery at your expense, but the reply you issue within the depths of your mind is serious: you are.  

taglist; @sarahcxmeron​ @northcarolinanative​