#please just give us online peeps a break

[nobleclover]

Kinda strange how I've seen this happen in a good few controversies online. 🤨

[fastandcarlos]

The Chosen One : ̗̀➛ Charles LeClerc

summary: as part of the f1 media team you get to meet a lot of the drivers, however there’s one driver who seems to take an extra special liking to you

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by lancestroll, carlossainz55 and 79,302 others

ynusername: another fun week at the paddock, look out for some AM content coming your way on race day 🏎️💚

13,382 comments

username1: we love new yn content!! 🫶🏻

lancestroll: thank you for being the perfect partner to have with us this weekend!

ynusername: @/lancestroll it was awesome to spend some time with you 💚

carlossainz55: excuse me come and film some ferrari content asap

username2: cannot wait, i've been dying to see you in the aston martin garage 🤩

username3: now this i just know is going to be hilarious

lewishamilton: you're such a traitor...last week you were all over mercedes 🙄

username4: i always thought that green was your colour yn hahah

danielricciardo: it's been too long, come back and film with me kiddo 😭

ynusername: @/danielricciardo gimme a time and a date and i'm there

username5: the queen is back 👑

charles_leclerc: still waiting for you to hurry up and come and visit ferrari

ynusername: @/charles_leclerc blame my bosses not me

username6: everyone spam f1 until they let yn and go and film with c2 pls

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by leclercgirl101, ferrarifan7 and 1,482 others

f1content: rumours continue to swirl as charles and yn are spotted enjoying their downtime together in the miami heat ☀️

796 comments

username7: if this is true i swear i'll throw a party and everyone is invited 🙏🏻

username8: surely i can't be the only one thinking they look so well suited together

username9: is this why yn's been avoiding the ferrari garage??? 🤔

username10: two people do not colour coordinate for no reason fyi

username11: peep how comfortable they look to be together 🥺

username12: i refuse to accept that these two gorgeous humans are not dating

username13: yn is the only person i will give charles up for ngl 😂

username14: it's about time yn found happiness...praying charles is the man

username15: yn isn't even working this weekend and she's there, charles must be hella important to do that 🥺

username16: if this isn't true prepare for the sound of my heart breaking

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by pierregasly, estebanocon and 89,301 others

ynusername: another week = another garage. thanks to alpine for a great couple of days 🥺

13,694 comments

username17: my favourite creator and my favourite team, thank you f1 gods 🙏🏻

landonorris: fuming!! remember when you told me mclaren was your favourite team

estebanocon: don't think i've laughed like that for a long time, you're the best!! 😂

ynusername: @/estebanocon all thanks to the talented driver who joined me

georgerussell63: i swear these days you're more popular online then the actual drivers

username18: another week of impatiently waiting for yn to film with ferrari 🙄

charles_leclerc: EXCUSE ME WHAT ABOUT ME!?!? 🤯

username19: poor charles is gonna have a breakdown if yn doesn't appear soon

pierregasly: can't believe you refused to take the alpine shirt that i gave you 🙂‍↔️

ynusername: @/pierregasly do you know how many drivers would never speak to me again if i accepted???

username20: i wish the drivers adored me as much as they adore yn ngl

lancestroll: heartbroken that you've already left aston martin for the opposition

username21: how can one person be wanted by so many teams??

carlossainz55: i'll give you a million dollars to come and save my teammate 😂

username22: not charles being publicly thirsty for yn omg

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by charles_leclerc, olliebearman and 89,492 others

ynusername: apparently this is the only garage im allowed in these days 🤷🏻‍♀️

21,706 comments

username23: according to who yn wtf??? please tell me this is charles' doing 🙏🏻

carlossainz55: i always thought that red was your colour anyway

oscarpiastri: btw papaya definitely looks better than that!! 🧡

lancestroll: no way, green is definitely more your style yn! 💚

maxverstappen1: excuse me no one can compete with yn in navy blue thank you 💙

username24: not all the boys fighting over yn like she belongs to any of them

username25: clearly no one has ever seen yn in baby pink *chefs kiss* 🩷

charles_leclerc: it's about time you finally listened to me...

ynusername: @/charles_leclerc i'm yet to be fully convinced...

username26: the mic in hand...does that mean...content?? 🎤

username27: yn in red and charles in red seem like the perfect pair ngl

danielricciardo: just ignore them all and come and interview me instead, we'll have the best time 🥺

ynusername: @/danielricciardo omw now 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by carlossainz55, landonorris and 101,486 others

ynusername: the interview you’ve all been waiting for, see what I got up to with the men in red during race weeekend 🏎️❤️

27,492 comments

carlossainz55: the best time with you, we love you yn!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻

username28: about time i can't believe it

landonorris: as much as i hate to admit it, you three are a pretty funny trio 😂

ynusername: @/landonorris i'll take that as a compliment coming from you!

username29: now THIS is the content that we've all been waiting for

username30: my heart just stopped for a moment to make sure that this is true 🥺

danielricciardo: i still confidently argue that we'd have a better time

username31: not me watching this on repeat for the whole weekend

charles_leclerc: my belly still hurts from laughing so hard...i hope you're proud of yourself 😂😂

ynusername: @/charles_leclerc ngl feelin' pretty smug rn

username32: screw the race, this is the content we came to see

arthur_leclerc: don't tell charles but he's not stopped talking about how great you are since this interview 🤭

charles_leclerc: @/arthur_leclerc you know this is a public comments section, right??

username33: do you know how long i've been waiting to see a post like this??

username34: all my christmasses just came at once

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by pierregasly, ynusername and 2,593,706 others

charles_leclerc: KING OF MONACO 👑🏎️

103,584 comments

username35: we're so proud of you charles congratulations! ❤️❤️

ynusername: such an awesome drive, couldn't be happier for you 🏎️🏁

charles_leclerc: @/ynusername thank you for coming to cheer me on!!

username36: about time...bow down to the king 👑

maxverstappen1: congrats brother, i'll catch you next time

landonorris: i can see how hard you you're trying not to cry here hahah

username37: you deserve this more than anyone else in the world 💕💕

oscarpiastri: no one deserved to win more than you today, thrilled for you bro

username38: enjoy the celebrations, they're so well deserved king 💞💞

carlossainz55: the only time i'll ever say that i'm happy to lose to my teammate hahah

charles_leclerc: @/carlossainz55 just call me the smooth operator lol

username39: someone please stop the tears from falling now 😭

georgerussell63: damn that was a pretty good drive charle

username40: i've never been so on the edge of my seat in my life

lewishamilton: enjoy the monaco celebrations tonight!! 🍾

username41: i'm not even driving yet i feel like all my dreams have come true

pierregasly: we're all so proud of you, all the hard work was worth it my friend

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by charles4life, ferrarifanforever and 1,707 others

f1wags: is this the proof that we needed? during the summer break charles and yn have been seen lapping up the french sun on a local private yacht 🤔🏎️

username42: nobody speak to me i am officially deceased 😭

username43: surely no one can argue with this now

username44: thank you f1 gods for listening to my prayers 🙏🏻

username45: look at those smiles, they're perfect for each other

username46: obsessed obsessed obsessed 🤩🤩🤩🤩

username47: it doesn't feel right to be so happy for two people who don't know who i am

username48: i hope they know just how happy all us fans are for them

username49: my heart is so happy rn ❤️❤️❤️

username50: just hope that all the fans can get behind them and help them see how adorable they are

username51: it's my birthday today, and now my wish has come true!!

382 comments

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by ynusername, lewishamilton and 3,592,103 others

charles_leclerc: shout-out to my biggest fan, thank you for always cheering me on 🫶🏻💕

193,605 comments

username52: not charles coming at us with the hard launch like this ❤️❤️

landonorris: at least now i'm not the only one who has to listen to you gush about yn

username53: i was not prepared for such an adorable set of photos 🥺

pierregasly: oh you have a girlfriend?? you should've mentioned it hahah 🙄

username54: how did these two ever think we wouldn't find out about their relationship

georgerussell63: excuse me, double date is when? 🤔

carmenmmundt: i second what george just said 🫡

ynusername: @/carmenmmundt i'm all yours whenever you want me

ynusername: couldn't be prouder of you...you never fail to blow me away 🩷🩷

charles_leclerc: @/ynusername i try my best just for you my love

username55: did i mention how obsessed with these two i am yet?

username56: my heart is racing a thousand miles an hour seeing these

carlossainz55: can't believe you tried to pretend that you two weren't dating to the whole team, as if it's not horrifically obvious?? 🙄🙄

username57: i'm so happy to see charles with someone whose rooting for him like yn does

username58: btw if there was a competition for cutest couple these two would definitely win 💯

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

liked by charles_leclerc, oscarpiastri and 104,684 others

ynusername: I could get used to all this romance stuff with you 🥺💞

21,597 comments

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

˗ˏˋ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ! ´ˎ˗

[yelenasdiary]

okay. i don’t send requests but i do talk to you a lot but i was wondering if i could request a wandanat comfort fic of just being worried about everything (and i mean everything) like every bad thing will happen. and r sees something on social media and digs deeper and freaks out even more

if you aren’t comfortable with this just delete it amd move on 🫶

Little Worry Pot

Pairing: WandaNat x GN! Reader

Summary: Wanda & Nat come home to find you stressing out. 

Tiny Angst, Fluff

Warnings: None, I don’t think? | 1.1K

Translations: Detka (baby),

AC: I hope it’s okay I used a personal experience for this! I used to get myself so worked up things like this, thank you for sending this! I hope you enjoy! x 

When Nat and Wanda came home, Wanda’s first chore was drying the soaked umbrellas before putting them away. The TV was left on, the local afternoon news report giving a weather update that both women ignored. Nat quietly went upstairs and knocked softly on the bedroom door before entering. She expected to see you taking a nap but instead, she saw the bed frame. 

“Wands!” Natasha called out before she wandered over to the ensuite bathroom. 

“Yeah?” Wanda called back. 

Slowly, Nat opened the bathroom door to an unexpected sight. There you were, in the bathtub with the mattress from the bed covering you. “Detka?” Nat questioned with a confused look, standing in the doorway. 

“Huh? Oh, Hey!” You peeped your head out from under the mattress with a slightly crazed smile. 

Nat did her best to bite back the chuckle she wanted to let out, “W-what, uh, what is this?” She asked just as Wanda entered the bedroom. 

“Did you guys not see the weather warning? I thought that’s why you guys were late home” you replied, slightly confused as to why your girlfriends weren’t worried about the worrying warnings you had read on Twitter before turning on the TV. 

“Darling, it’s just a thunderstorm” the red head did her best to assure you. Wanda stood beside her, looking at you with the same confused look that Natasha had. “My love, did you do that thing again where you dig deeper into a headline and scare yourself?” She asked. Your eyes shifted to Wanda, “no, I promise! This is serious! We could get a hurricane warning at any moment! You both should get in here, come on!” You replied, shifting in the bathtub to make room for your girlfriends. 

Wanda lightly chuckled, “you’re too adorable, but sweetheart, we live in New York City. We are more likely to get a hurricane than a tornado” 

Natasha gently nudged the brunette, “probably not a good idea to say that” she whispered. 

“Well, don’t just stand there! Get in!! A hurricane is much bigger than a tornado, please just get in the tub!” You begged. Natasha wandered over to you and kneeled down to meet your eyes, “how long did you spend online researching tornados?” She asked. Your eyes dropped slightly, a loud crack of thunder making you jump slightly. “A couple of hours” you admit. 

“And what is the rule we have when you start researching things?” 

“To stop when I start to stress myself out” 

Nat smiled softly and placed a soft kiss on your forehead, “this is just the same old thunderstorm we usually have” she reminded you. “B-but all the signs were there” you added, looking into her eyes. Gently, she cupped your cheek and stroked your skin softly with her thumb, “I promise you detka, if there was going to be hurricane, you would be the first person we kept safe. We would never let anything bad happen to you, ever.” Natasha assured you, not breaking eye contact. 

“Do you mean that?” You asked, just wanting to be completely sure. 

Wanda smiled softly as she kneeled down next to Natasha, “would it make you feel better if we sat down and came up with a safety plan in case such a thing were to happen?” She asked in a comforting tone. You nodded slowly, “I think that would be a good idea” you replied, pushing the mattress up. Nat helped you out of the tub before Wanda took you by the hand gently and took you into the kitchen.

She made you a hot chocolate as you sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen, listening to the rain hitting the roof while you twirled your thumbs around one another to try and ease your thoughts. “Honey, it’s okay” Wanda said softly, your eyes looking up at her, “we all have fears” she added, knowing what you were thinking. 

“Yeah but you and Nat don’t go crazy and convince yourself something bad is going to happen” you sighed. 

“That doesn’t mean we don’t think about it” the brunette replied. “Anytime we have to go on a mission without you, we worry so much about your safety. Even if you are with us, we can’t stop the millions of thoughts of ‘what ifs’ we just have different ways of dealing with them” she adds. 

You took a small sip of your hot chocolate as you listened to her words just before Natasha joined you both, taking a seat next to you. “Wands is right detka but let me tell something I’ve never shared with anybody before” she says. Wanda slightly tilted her head in confusion, her mind racking for what Nat could possibly be talking about. 

“Never? With anybody?” You looked at the red head. 

“Not a single soul” Nat assures you. 

“I’m curious” Wanda adds making Nat chuckle lightly. “Well, I have a massive fear of a mouse plage. Anytime I see a mouse, my mind goes to the thought of a plage” your girlfriend confesses. Your eyes slightly shifted to Wanda then back to Nat, “hey, unless you have seen the videos I’ve seen, don’t judge!” Nat quickly inserts herself. 

“Oh, I wasn’t judging Natty” you smiled ever so softly, “I’m just a little amused that tiny little mouses are your biggest fear” you added. 

“Just a heads up, I wouldn’t go into the garage, I think I saw a mouse in there the other day” Wanda teases, causing both you and her to chuckle. Nat didn’t take any offense to the little teasing that was just thrown at her, she got to see your smile once more and that made confessing her fear worth it. “Well, if I see it, it’s dead” Nat commented, chuckling along with you and Wanda. 

“Since we’re on the topic, I should confess that I have arachibutyrophobia and claustrophobia” Wanda says. Natasha slightly frowns, “you have a fear of having peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth? But you eat my sandwiches?” She asks. You couldn’t help but burst out laughing thinking about all the times Wanda pretended to eat a peanut butter sandwich and instead would use her magic to make it disappear.

“That’s what you think” Wanda smirked, then it hit Nat, “oh come on! I could’ve eaten them!” She replied. “I didn’t want to hurt your feels, I am sure your peanut butter sandwiches are amazing!” Wanda commented. 

Hearing both of your girlfriends open up to you about stuff you honestly never knew, really helped ease the worries you had given yourself. Going from being scared to worried that your partners would be tired of you doing this to yourself to being here and helping you, really showed you how much they love you. The kitchen was filled with light bickering and laughter before the three of you decided to go out for pizza for dinner.

Taglist: @boredandneedfanfics | @music-4ever | @karmasgxrl | @marvelwomen-simp | @swaqcenix | @mostlymarvelsstuff | @scarlettbitchx | @mallyka-blog | @itsalwaysskorpioszn | @angel68104 | @natashamaximoff-69 | @evilcr0ne | @caporal-nino | @boredandneedfanfics | @teganmiller | @ihavezeroclue13 | @tobiaslut | @cigarsandscotchallday | @nuianced-tck-enby | @springsheep | @prentgarcialuvr | @stayevildarling | @mommysgoodlittlebrat | 

If you want to be on the taglist for my work, please click HERE.

[letrune]

Why I don't like the "X is perversion"

So, let me give you the short version. I am a polyamorous transgender furry woman, likely asexual (jury is still out on that one), coming from Hungary. Every single one of these was called a perversion in one time of history, but especially now, they are treated like being either, like just being a furry, is to be at best ashamed of, and most a reason to isolate people like me from society forever - and that I should be thankful for nobody calling for my extermination at the government levels.

Except, you know. Some do. Some US and Russiand jerks had been calling for building what amounts to be gulags for being queer and furry and foreigner, and stuff people in for that alone; simply because "you are a pervert and want to harm the women and children because you are queer or a furry".

So... What do these people actually think? Someone likimg cartoonish anthro characters is to be throw into prison? Asexuals to be throw in some cell in a panopticon? Asexuals to be sent to a forced labour camp? All of us to shut up forever and never even peep online?

Because I heard thrse proposals and yes, actual ideas on how to exterminate us. To have death squads like it's Pol Pot's Cambodia. To round furries up and shoot them. To break into homes in the middle of night and drag people away for public executions. You know, this is like "let us murder anyone who likes Star Trek!".

Back in 2017 if I recall correctly, maybe 2016, I was at a protest. LGBTQ+ people wished to be tteated equally. A man from the government came over and told us: "Come on. Stop it. Be happy you are not shot into the Danube.", which is like telling anyone wishing queer equity "be happy you are not sent to Dachau.". That same sort of "just shut up and be happy we are not murder you, secondary citizens" attitude came out again a lot of time.

Furries who want to claim being a furry is inherently perverted, some queer people wanting to throw the rest under the bus to secure themselves some secondary citizen rank, and so much more...

Just feels like these people want to go "please Mr. Government, let me kill people you don't like as long as I can keep my life, I am happy to be beaten up if I step out of line but please do not hurt me, I am willing to beat others up, please just spare me". You know, quislings. People who happily handed out blindfolds and then realised there was one for themselves and got pushed to the wall too. People who happily rounded up others to be shot into the Danube, or stuffed into a cornhopper to Dachau, or called the secret police on.

This puritanical "destroy them, because being X is perverted" is obvious when you consider that they said the same of homosexuality, trans people, furries and asexuals. That they are inherently a danger and should be removed from society, any means necessary, just like how they also wanted to remove people of other countries, religions and skin colour.

These people are a danger to society and themselves, as they want others dead for simply existing. They want everyone else to fall in line to some cis-het-compulsory, patriarchal, no-creativity allowed, it-is-all-about-me world.

Furries and being queer predate agriculture. Being a xenophobe is relatively new, especially xenophobes who think the only solution is "kill anyone in this group".

[whynotjust-die]

i’m honestly really on the fence about taekook being actually real.

don’t get me wrong. im a huge fucking shipper, but somehow i always end up with doubts about their relationship being real.

hear me out:

1. obviously they have moments where it seems like there could be no other explanation but lets face it, so do so many other ships.

2. owing to their situations right now, where they live separately and (publicly) meet up pretty rarely for an actual couple, i’d say they either never dated or they actually dated in the past and now are broken up and that breaks my heart to even think about so no.

3. even though they have gotten a fuckton amount of exposure, they are still korean. and, well, i’m not saying that there are no lgbt idols or people in korea but it greatly reduces the probability as compared to them being artists in america i’d say.

4. these boys fucking worked so fucking hard to achieve their dream from the start. i doubt ANY of them had the time to start a relationship.

on top of that their dedication shows that they would try to minimise anything they could that would lead to them having problems achieving their dream. dating within the group, i think, would definitely make things harder for them and they would probably want to avoid that i feel.

because obviously if any of them are in a long term relationship with each other, they’re gonna have problems, they’re going to fight, and that absolutely changes the dynamic. plus the threat of them breaking up is too huge.

5. sometimes when you believe something, you try to find it even in the most irrelevant things. with taekook, sometimes stuff that would seem platonic otherwise tends to make me feel like there’s something more behind it. i’m sure many shippers face that.

6. they have been in the same band for 10 fucking years, as friends, as family. OBVIOUSLY they’re very close. and sometimes being this close makes it seem like a romantic relationship but i’ve always believed that you can have that kind of closeness in a platonic way too.

7. they’re in the kpop industry. they have been taught to please the audience and there has been a lot of taekook content i’ve seen online that could easily be a part of the fan service they have been taught to give. i won’t give you the guarantee that it is, but i’d say it most likely is.

saying all this makes me very sad to be honest. because i’ve ALWAYS loved taekook. and believe me when i say, i’d be so fucking happy if they’re actually together, but even if they are, i doubt we’d ever know.

also in no way am i saying that they’re not close. i detest that thought and for sure know that can’t be true. i’m just trying to say that there is less chance of taekook being real.

i too get so confused because of some instances and that really makes me believe that they have to be real.

if in the future, these beautiful people decide that they want to tell us about their relationship being real, i’d jump to the moon and back i swear.

okay enough for now, i should free you from my rant.

goodbye peeps!

[miekasa]

do you have any cute (or h-word) bf headcanons for the Aot boys mie?

Of course I do, I have an ever-expanding list of headcanons for all of them, from how they react to you sitting in the backseat when they pick you up, down to whether or not they would rip your bandages off after your get a shot (spoiler: Eren, Porco, and Levi fucking would)

EREN sfw

He really likes holding hands, though it’s more of a calming habit for him. Holding hands keeps him grounded, and acts as an anchor for his anxiety; so he’ll grab and/or fidget with yours periodically.

He’ll steal your skincare if he’s over at your place, but honestly he just starts… copying it lmfao. Like, he’ll take notice of your face wash when he’s over he’s like “Oh, this is nice” and then a week later, he buys a bottle for himself. Then he buys your toner, and your moisturizer, and you stay over at his place and gotta do a double take bc he’s got damn near the same of everything at this point.

He doesn’t know if he believes that classical music actually helps him to concentrate, but he does know that he’s grown to like it, so it’s become his studying music of choice. He’s got favorite composers and everything.

He’d be upset if you didn’t steal his hoodies. That’s what they’re there for. He’ll make you steal them if he has to.

He hates standing in line. For anything. If he likes a restaurant that gets super busy at lunch, he’ll order ahead for pickup (and he feels special skipping the line). At amusement parks, he pays for the fast passes. If it’s shopping, then he’d rather just do it online.

On that note, he sucks at returning things that don’t fit/he doesn’t like when he shops online, so he honestly just keeps them, or gives them to his friends—it’s much easier than going through the hassle of printing a return label, according to him.

nsfw

He likes the idea of recording you guys during sex, but he’s honestly a little too nervous to do it—nervous about being recorded himself, and about it potentially getting out somewhere.

Likes it when you look him in the eyes when you cum. In fact, he somewhat demands it.

Similarly, he’s always watching you during sex. Mostly your face, for indications of how he’s making you feel and when you’re close to your orgasm (which is why he’s got a thing for you looking at him).

He used to hate masturbating, until he tried masturbating to the idea of you, and now he fucking loves that. He takes his time with it too—if he’s gonna jack off, he’s gonna make a moment of it: sit on his bed, turn the lights off, make sure he’s all alone and can go for as long as he wants.

Threesomes are fine with him, and he doesn’t even have to be the sole one in charge, depending on who’s joining you.

ARMIN sfw

He air-dries the majority of his clothes because he doesn’t want his sweaters and knitwear to shrink. Also, he likes the smell of his fabric softener permeating the room while the clothes dry.

On a similar note, he’s got sensitive skin—not to the point where a shirt less than 75% cotton irritates him; but he is conscious of fabrics and products he uses. Because of this, he takes extra care with his laundry, his pillowcases and bedsheets are satin as are the majority of his pajama shirts, and he never ever walks around without house slippers or he’ll irritate the bottom of his feet.

He’s scared of bugs, but he doesn’t like to kill them either. Honestly, he just kinda hopes spiders and stuff will crawl away without him intervening 😭😭

He likes board games, and has a thing for The Game of Life. He cannot play chess, even though most people would guess that he could, and he’s begun to practice by playing online versions against computers to learn.

He knows everyone’s gossip because everyone comes to him to gossip. And if he’s the therapist friend, then you’re the person who receives the summary of all the tea from him at the end of the week. And man can this boy throw a bitch fest when he’s in the right mood.

nsfw

He’s got a bit of an oral fixation, so he really likes having your mouth occupied; with his fingers, with your panties, with his dick—he’s not really picky.

Likes sex with the lights on. Claims it’s because he wants to “see all of you” (it’s really because he’s nervous he’ll fuck something up if he can’t see properly 😭😭)

He really likes making out. Like, a lot. Though it’s not something that happens often—so he builds up a lot of frustrating thinking about it, and it all comes crashing down, and ends up with you guys damn near dry humping each other on the couch for two hours.

That’s something that applies to him generally, too—he tends to let himself get very frustrated and worked up, whether he means to or not. He also thinks about sex quite frequently, and it only fuels his frustration; so when he snaps, he snaps hard.

He’d let you choke him back if you asked. Just ask nicely.

JEAN sfw

Loves studying in cafés and adores when you study with him; peeps up at you periodically when you sit across from him. He always pays for your drink, but sometimes you guys share, and he likes making a game out of reaching for the cup at the same time as you.

He’s very chivalrous, but he hates when you call him out for it, or make any kind of deal of it. He knows it’s chivalry, but he also knows it’s the bare minimum, plus he’s easily embarrassed—especially in public.

Loves having his hair played with, absolutely adores it. If you’re just holding his face, or resting your hand on his cheek, he’ll move himself further into your touch to maneuver your palm closer to his hair.

He really really really likes back hugs—giving and receiving them. If he’s standing behind you, he’ll most likely reach for a hug at some point (sometimes he won’t let go and you’ve gotta waddle with him on you). His ears get red when you give him a back hug but he always uses a hand to rest over your arms to tell you that he doesn’t want you to let go.

He can play the piano, but he doesn’t tell a soul about it. The only reason you found out it through his mom. He’s got stage fright, so he gave up on performing, but he’s really talented, and can almost play any song by ear.

nsfw

He loves the feeling of your hands on him, particularly if you’ve got long nails. Please scrape your nails against his back, or even just dig them into his biceps while he’s fucking you, it’ll drive him insane.

Along with liking having his hair played with, he adores having it pulled on—the attention and desperation in your actions goes straight to his ego and his dick.

One of his biggest fantasies is getting a lap dance from you. He’d never ever fucking say it out loud or dream of asking for it, but the idea of you stripping in front of him, down to lingerie he’d picked out for you, and teasing him until he can’t take it anymore and jumps you is something he thinks about… far more often than he should.

If you’re wearing his clothes (especially one of his t-shirts to bed, or around his apartment), he’s gonna fuck you in it. Jean has a lot of self control, but that’s one thing that’ll make him snap in an instant. And if you wear his shirt or hoodie out, he’s fucking you when you get home, it’s as simple as that.

CONNIE sfw

He studies with children’s shows playing the background. He doesn’t remember how he discovered that his method works for him, all he knows is that something about Paw Patrol makes for excellent background noise for writing his research papers.

He’s quite touchy with PDA, but if you guys are in a crowd then forget about it—because Connie might forget about you. He’s definitely left you at the grocery store before.

He eats cereal for breakfast every morning, and he’s kind of got a collection of them in his kitchen. He claims there are upscale cereals that he doesn’t just let anybody eat or even touch; so, if he offers you a midnight snack consisting of a bowl of his favorite (and very rare) cereal, then be honored.

He almost always pays with cash, but he hates change. If he gets back coins, he either tells the cashier to keep them, puts them in a tip jar if there’s one in sight, or just pours them into your coat pocket. He understands that its money, but he’ll be damned if he’s just got a sack full of nickels clanging around in his bag.

nsfw

He claims he doesn’t have a thing for exhibitionism, but with the way he’s down to fuck damn near anywhere, he might be a bold faced liar. Changing rooms, music festivals, airport bathrooms, the little corner of the multilevel parking lot that he’s oh-so-certain is in the blindspot of the security cameras... there are so few things off-limits with him.

Car sex on his bucket list… just not in his car lmfao (because trust and believe that’s something that already happens pretty regularly). Maybe his real kink is vandalism and destruction of property.

He is not above begging you to sit on his face. He will get on his knees and pant like a fucking dog for you to do it, he’s so serious. He’ll do it laying down, he’ll do it with you standing up/against a wall, he’ll do it on the couch. Break his neck please he’s fucking asking for it.

He doesn’t mind sharing and he definitely doesn’t mind watching. Honestly, he’d egg you on to kiss someone else at a party, or go as far as to seduce you into seducing someone else just so he can watch it go down.

PORCO sfw

He sends you iMessage games but only the ones he’s good at because he doesn’t like to lose. But also, if he is losing, he doesn’t want you to be supportive about it and tell him “it’s okay uwu” lmfao he wants to either cream you, or have you kick his ass; competition is the name of the game, don’t be soft on him.

He’s a morning person, and he likes going on runs or even just early-morning walks when the weather is nice. He will wake you up occasionally to join him—and if you’re a homebody, you will be joining him. He won’t be responsible for watching you decompose on the couch.

Very picky about his pizza. It’s not a calorie or grease or health thing—he just really fucking likes pizza, and he won’t excuse a bad slice.

Always pulls you closer to him in a crowd or when a group of people are walking by. He doesn’t have to, but he likes to. Tease him about it and he’ll push you right back tho, probably into a shrub if there’s one near by.

nsfw

He’s such a “No, no—answer the call” kind of mf; a sadist, if you will. He lives for torturing and embarrassing you, and that applies to sex, too.

Loves the way his hands look on you, particularly splaying his hand over your stomach when he’s fucking you. Likes the heat of your body against his, when he positions himself just right to feel the outline of his dick against you, and squeezing the sides of your tummy when he gets lost in it.

Loves blowjobs, and loves to cum on you or over your face. His favorite thing tho is pulling away just before he’s about to orgasm, and jacking himself off with your tongue sticking out, ready to swallow.

Okay with threesomes, too; but he wouldn’t like to do much to or with the third person. It’s okay if they touch you—maybe even fuck you, depending on who it is—but he’s not there to get them off.

LEVI

sfw

When he cooks dinner, he always makes sure to make enough for you to have leftovers to take with you for lunch the following day. Especially if it’s a dish you’ve been wanting or try, or specifically asked him to cook.

He’s got a specific tote bag he brings with him to the grocery store/farmer’s market, and separate one for when he’s running other light errands.

He hates soda, not even just because it’s not the healthiest thing to drink—he just doesn’t like the feel of carbonated drinks; the only exception being when they’re mixed with liquor, but even then, it’s not his preference.

After a while, he just starts lying and says you’re married at places where it benefits you both, or to curb a longer conversation about the status of your relationship to people who are inquiring. He thinks it’s fucking weird that marriage is what shuts people up, but if it works, it works; less people prying in your guys’ business.

He likes giving you forehead kisses, and if you do it back, he’ll learn that he doesn’t mind receiving them either.

He’s such a sucker for you rubbing your thumb against the back of his hand when you guys hold hands. He might not act like he notices, but he always does; and somewhat craves little touches like that the longer you guys are together.

nsfw

He would never admit it to anyone, but birthday sex is up there for his favorite kind of sex. He never cared much about his birthday… until he realized he could get that as a gift. He knows it’s not different, but he likes it, nonetheless; one the few times he doesn’t mind having all the attention on him.

King of aftercare, though some of his methods usually lead to another round—in which he teases you for cancelling out his work, when you know he was just as willing and eager.

He likes edging himself and overstimulating you; and with his self-control, that makes for a pretty dangerous combination.

He’s strong and he knows how to use it to his advantage: maneuvering you with a single arm, holding both your wrists above your head with one hand, pushing your head down into the sheets when he’s fucking you from behind.

Sex is one of the few times Levi doesn’t mind making a mess—and in fact, he likes it messy; watching you drip onto the sheets, making you spit on his dick and fucking your face until you drool. He always goes on about how sloppy you are, how you can’t keep anything clean, but he fucking loves it.

[tsukishumai]

pairing: sakusa kiyoomi x gn!reader genre: fluff, slice of life wc: 1.2k

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

There were a lot of things Sakusa wanted to do on his day off.

In fact, if one were to open the notes app on his phone, one would find a neatly compiled list of things he had planned in anticipation for this said day-off.

First on his list was to clean his apartment — his schedule is soon to be ridiculously packed with practices, games, interviews, and events, and who knows when he’ll get the next chance to tidy up his space?

Then, he thought, perhaps he could finally make a dent in the pile of books that were slowly accumulating dust on his night stand.

He even saw a movie he wanted to watch on some streaming service Komori downloaded into his TV. He read the reviews online, and it looked great.

Maybe he was gonna make himself a fancy snack. He might have gone to the grocery store to stock up on food and household items.

He had an entire day off — one that he wouldn’t be getting for maybe another three months, with season in full swing. He wants to make the most of it, and be productive.

So the last thing he ever wanted to do was to be sitting in a dusty waiting room of a dentist’s office, tapping his shoes impatiently on the linoleum floor. The reception attempted to usher him into a seat, but one look at the dark gray linen seats made him shake his head with vigor.

He’s been waiting for nearly forty five minutes, and the sharp scent of the antiseptics had started to singe his nose hairs. The TV that hung from the corner of the ceiling played the same news program in an endless loop, and no matter how many times he checked, his reception gave him zero bars.

Just as he was about to hang his head back and groan in frustration, the door into the exam rooms buzzed open, and a dental assistant peeps her head out, visibly sagging with relief at the sight of Sakusa.

“Are you Omi?” she asks Sakusa, and the black mask strapped across his face had successfully hidden the frown of irritation.

“That would be me,” he begrudgingly answers, and the young woman nodded before turning back inside.

As soon as the door opens, Sakusa nearly falls over in shock when the dental assistant emerges with you in a wheelchair, two ice packs wrapped against both sides of your cheeks with a white bandage tied with a bow neatly on top.

Though, that wasn’t the only part of your appearance that was jarring. He had thought you might be a little loopy, but he never expected for you to be wheeled out a sobbing, blubbering mess.

“Where’s Omi?” You said in between shaky breathes, your words muffled by the cotton that had been stuffed against your bleeding gums.

“He’s here, he’s here,” the poor young woman tried to console you with soft pats on the shoulder, “This is Omi, right?”

You groggily turn your head towards him, eyes lighting up once you recognized the figure standing in front of you.

“Omi!” You shrieked, making Sakusa wince at your voice. You held your arms out to him, but he gently pushed your snot-covered fingers away.

“Uhm, why are they crying?” He deadpans to the assistant behind your wheelchair, who just gave him a sheepish look as she shrugged her shoulders.

“The anesthesia can make some people emotional,” she says, before handing Sakusa an orange bottle, “These are their pain medication. Give them one tablet every four to six hours. Once the numbness wears off, they might be in a lot of pain.”

Sakusa nods at the instructions, still trying to push off your messy attempts at wrapping your arms around him. He sighed as he reached into his pocket to pull out sanitation wipes, opening the package to grab two. He takes the first one, and wipes them all around your hands and fingers. The second one had been used to gently wipe the snot bubbling around your nostrils.

He tosses the wipes away before looping your hand around his arm, and standing you up from the wheelchair.

He nods his thanks to the dental assistant, before guiding you down to the parking lot.

You were still crying as he strapped you into the front seat of his car, a task that normally should have taken just five seconds if you hadn’t been claiming he was trying to kidnap you.

“Weren’t you just looking for me?” He grumbled, finally buckling your belt seven minutes later.

“No,” you slurred, “I was looking for Omi!”

Sakusa rolled his eyes. “I am Omi,” he states before slamming the car door in your face.

Your attitude had completely changed when Sakusa had taken his mask off. You had been attempting to pull your lips into a smile, but the swelling of your cheeks from the missing wisdom teeth had proved it to be difficult.

Sakusa complained the entire car ride back home, scolding you to sit still in your seat, and grumbled whenever you would start crying again. He tried his best to decipher the nonsense that was spewing out of your mouth, but one “what would happen if the earth just decided to fall??” later, and Sakusa decided it be best for him to just keep his mouth shut altogether.

You had dragged your feet on the walk from the parking structure into your apartment, stumbling and blabbering for fifteen minutes before Sakusa just picked you up on his back and carried you the rest of the way.

His day off was meant to be relaxing. It was meant to be about the things he normally couldn’t do on a day to day basis, to catch up on his rest, and give himself a bit of a break.

It was not meant to spend an hour trying to force feed you the soup he had made you for dinner.

He wiped the sweat off his brow after having given you your first dose of pain medication, tucking you gently into your bed.

“I’ll leave a glass of water here, and your meds are on the counter,” he says, standing back and crossing his arms as he looked down at the cocoon he made of you with your comforter.

You nodded softly at him, your eyelids beginning to droop down as the medication takes effect.

He nods his head one last time. “Well, good night.”

He moves to shut off the lamp on your bedside table, stopping when your fingers reach out to grasp on his sleeve.

“Sleep over? Please?”

He looks down at you with softened eyes, trying hard not to laugh at your puffy face and the fresh ice packs he had wrapped against your cheeks.

He lets out the hundredth sigh of the day, saying nothing as he crawls into your blankets with you.

You settle into your sheets, letting out a content murmur.

“Thanks, Omi,” he barely makes out your words before you drift off into sleep.

He waits until the pattern of your breathing changes into a steady rhythm before he responds, “Anything for you.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

BONUS:

a/n: prompt request for @mariyeahh <333 hope u like!

rbs v appreciated <33

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Melissa Leaving the Spinoff

I just had to open my big mouth, didn't I? I said yesterday that I didn't have anything to post about. And Gimple and AK were like, "oh really? Let us help you up out with that." LOL. Thanks for that, guys.

But seriously. Let's talk about Melissa exiting the spinoff.

Let me start by saying that we don't really know much for sure. Actually, we know exactly one thing for sure. Please keep that in mind. The rest is all speculation. I’ll give you my opinion on things, but I'm probably going to repeat that—that we simply don't know—a bunch of times in this post.

Just like I'm sure all of you were, I spent most of the evening discussing with my fellow theorists and looking at comments. Some of them are absolutely ridiculous. Most of them are groundless. Again, we know exactly one thing. We don't know anything else about the deeper reasons for why. And we won't, until they either tell us, or more of the show unfolds. With that said, let's dive into some discussion points.

Is this real?

Yes, I believe it is. My peeps and I did discuss the oddness of how we haven't heard from any of the major players, such as AK or Gimple oriented or even Norman or Melissa. But the 100% radio silence also tells us that they know about it and they're just waiting for the backlash to blow over. The news was officially broken by one of the many online publications that reports TWD news. And it's been well established that the higher ups, often Scott Gimple himself, is the one who feeds them things to report. So, I do believe this is real and came from the highest levels.

When I talked about the rumors swirling around the Caryl fandom several days ago, I said that I wasn't going to take it as truth until we got confirmation. This is pretty much confirmation.

So, is Melissa leaving the show for good then?

Well, that's where things get a little murky. What it actually said is that she's not doing the spinoff. And maybe that means she's retiring from the TWDU altogether. Could be. But we don't know that for sure. It really could be that she's just not doing the spinoff and she’ll be incorporated elsewhere or else just take a year off and then show up in one of the other installments somewhere in the universe. On the other hand, maybe they’ll kill off her character in11c. Your guess is as good as mine.

In my opinion, killing her off is less likely. As I said, I do believe that she's out of the spinoff as the articles say, but I actually think it's much more likely that she'll simply show up somewhere else because, for various reasons she didn't want to do the spinoff and so they’re reshuffling things. I could be wrong, but we won't know until we get through 11c and see how things end there with Carol's character.

My peeps and I even discussed that it would be cool if they sent her to Fear or something. She and Morgan have been adversaries and foils to one another before, so that would actually be really cool. Just head canon on our part, though. No way to know if that’s what they’re planning.

They're citing the reason for Melissa not doing the spinoff as being a location issue, since apparently there no shooting spinoff in Europe.

Europe? Where did that come from? When did that happen?

One question at a time. I'll get to that in a minute.

It's well known that Melissa suffers from severe anxiety, especially when it comes to crowds. And that may be anxiety of people, but the fact that it's crowds, and she can still get up on a stage in front of a fairly large cast and crew and perform, tells me that it's probably more about people pressing in on her. Therefore, it's closer to claustrophobia than anything else. So you can see that international travel might be difficult for her.

And of course, we don’t know that's the reason. She could have personal reasons that we know nothing about and, quite frankly, aren’t our business. It's been said that she has elderly parents that she's very close to. She may not want to leave them alone. She truly may just need a break and I'll talk more about how much they've been filming in just a minute. Then there’s all the crazy geopolitical stuff going on in the world. I don't fault her for not wanting to make such a big jump. Everyone's gotta do what they gotta do to keep her own health and sanity in check, right?

Side note: Can I just say how proud I am of our fandom? Of course there are a few nasty Bethylers. Because every fandom has a few. And it's unfortunate because they make us all look bad. But yesterday as I looked through posts in social media, the biggest thing I saw was people worried about Melissa and wondering and hoping that everything is all right with her, and this is an about her health or anything. Of course that’s all speculation. We have no reason to think that. But I didn't see many people taunting or being nasty or crass. Even though that's what this other ship would probably do in our place. Good job on the humanity guys!

So yeah. Bottom line, the articles say that Melissa leaving the spinoff. They don't say what she IS doing or what the show will look like moving forward. So, anyone who tells you anything more is just speculating at this point. Please keep that in mind.

But what about people saying TWD did Melissa dirty?

If you get online, especially on Twitter, there's all kinds of mudslinging and vitriol going on. Apparently, it's Norman's fault. It's also Gimple’s fault. Melissa is the victim. People were even blaming Diane Krueger. Seriously, they need to get over that now. El Niño happens and they blame Diane. (eye roll)

Look guys, I'm honestly kind of disappointed Melissa won't be in the spinoff, too. But a lot has changed over the last few years. Just because this is happening doesn't mean that everybody connected the show just became a narcissistic douchebag. It means that things change and if you are a mature, professional adult, you find a way to roll with them. We definitely get the sense that this was Melissa's decision, more than anyone else's. And if she really is leaving the TWDU for good, I’ll miss her, but I wish her well.

Could it have always been planned this way? You've always said the spinoff will be about Beth and Daryl. That the Daryl/Carol thing was misdirection. Was it a total lie from the beginning?

Probably not. I maintain that while they use a lot of slyness to tell us about the show, mostly because they don't want to give spoilers, I've never found a time where Gimple has looked straight into the camera and lied. Misdirection? Yes. Hyperbole? Often. Vagueness? Pretty much every episode. But not bald face lies.

If anything, I think that originally, they probably planned to simply shoot in Georgia. But something changed, we don't know what, and they decided to change the location. That was a problem for Melissa. So, they had to shuffle things around and do some restructuring. Yet another reason why I think it's likely that she's not actually leaving the universe, but just the spinoff. Of course, that remains to be seen.

The other interesting thing is that most of the major players are completely silent right now. That's understandable, given that they know there would be drama over this. They probably wanted to drop the news, and they give everyone at least a few days to digest it before they come out with anything else.

My peeps and I dug through social media accounts, and we noticed this in a big way. Not only is everyone silent, but a lot of the major players are either out of country or haven't posted anything for several days. Norman seems to be abroad; Melissa is quiet. Nothing from AK or Gimple.

I even noticed how quiet Emily's being. And now, of course she wouldn't comment on this publicly. That would be, um…kind of obvious? But the thing is, she hasn't posted anything for about 10 days. Not since Albuquerque. And I find that vaguely suspicious. Because you all know I believe this very much concerns her, and she's not even posting the normal stuff we often see from her. Like her and her dog or coffee. Just silence.

There was also this somewhat snarky post last night from the official TWD account. Just the fact that they're being snarky tells this was a planned release of this announcement and they’re just doing the best they can to weather the storm.

So…Europe?

Right. I'll admit that Europe came completely out of left field. No one knew anything about Europe. It is kind of bizarre. Why would they suddenly pick up the production and take it to Europe?

Well, we don't know. But let me put a few considerations forward.

For one thing, that's a very expensive move. They wouldn't do it lightly; they wouldn't do it for no reason; and they definitely wouldn't do it just because one actor, who doesn't make financial business decisions for the entire production, asked them to. No matter what the trolls on Twitter say.

I would assume it has something to do with the CRM, and perhaps the France mentions that we saw in the coda of TWD 2×10. (If you haven't watched that, you should get on YouTube and find it. The coda has to do with two people, probably in France, and a super walker. I don't think it can possibly be any coincidence that we saw that fairly recently and now the production is heading for Europe.)

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjtUKz1LBo8

Of course, we don't know for sure that it will be France. In 11a, at the Commonwealth, but also quite a few Italy references. Like Yumiko looking at a book of Italian villas. So, we don't know the exact location, just that it's Europe. But the France mentions from Jenner, the doctor from season one, in that coda make a pretty compelling argument for this having to do with France. And if that's the case, it also most definitely has to do with the CRM. I mean, we figured that anyway about the spinoff, but this is sort of confirmation.

Oh, and one more thing? Emily was very recently in Paris. I’m just saying.

So TWD will just be in Europe now?

Possibly, but I’m not sure I think that’s what’s happening.

I’ve said this once before, but we've always assumed the Daryl/Carol spinoff would be the new "flagship show" for the main series. But we also have to consider that maybe that's not the case. It's possible that when the flagship show ends, they’ll do a series of spinoffs to tell different stories in different places, and then end up bringing everyone back to a central show that we haven't even heard about yet.

What I mean is, there’s the Maggie/Negan spinoff, and what was the Daryl/Carol spinoff, and then there will be the Rick Grimes films or Richonne spinoff, whichever it ends up being. And then after telling all the side stories, maybe they will start a new series which will be kind of the central one, where the main conflict between TF and the CRM will take place.

Of course we don't know that's what they're doing, but we don't know it isn't. It's just another thing that we don't know yet.

My point in bringing this up is that everyone is assuming the entire production is picking up and going to Europe permanently. Like, the entire TWD universe. But from what we know thus far, that's not actually the case. It is only this Daryl spinoff that's going there. We haven't heard anything about Fear moving, or about where the Richonne story might be filming. So, it's very possible that the spinoff will be filmed in Europe, but then Norman and everyone associated with it will return to the States to film whatever comes next. And Melissa simply didn't want to go to Europe for personal reasons.

So again, we don't know what the future of the show will look like. The Europe thing has got to be expensive, and I can't see them staying there on a permanent basis. I think they just had the opportunity to film on location and decided to take it.

This actually fits in with what I keep harping about when it comes to shutting down production in Georgia. It's like they really, really want us to believe that, and I feel like they're pushing it a little bit too hard for casualness. Now, we find out they’re filming in Europe, which they specifically haven’t told us up until now. And it very well may be that they won’t go back to the Georgia location, but it makes me think that this all kind of a tactic to make us believe one thing when you have something else entirely in mind.

And yes, this next part may be my TD bring the brain being somewhat ridiculous, but they have such a huge separation and reunion theme on the show, that it wouldn't surprise me if they took that to a literal level with the production. Daryl and Carol separating as though it's the end, but then coming back together at some point. Even saying that they’re done with Georgia and making everyone believe that, but in a few months or a year coming back and using the same location again.

Again, I get that that might be reaching, but my TD brain can help itself.

The other thing I wanted to throw out there is that the radio silence from tptb reminds me a lot of the radio silence we got after Beth was shot in Coda. Sure, they talked a lot about her leaving the show, plenty of "goodbye, Beth/Emily" stuff. But no one closely connected to it directly addressed Bethylers’ concerns or the fact that our fandom was pretty much flipping out on social media. They were just silent, sitting back and watching and planning. I feel like that's what they're doing now.

It’s even very much like what they did with Rick. When Rick left, they didn't actually say he was dying, but they definitely implied it because he was leaving the show, and they showed us clips of when he's walking along the bridge dripping blood. They definitely want us to think he was dying. And then he didn't, and we know he'll be back. So, if you like something similar might be going on here with Melissa.

But will this affect some of the symbolism?

It might. I don't think that it's really going to affect anything very heavy with Beth. After all, Carol is not Beth, and we’ve always believed the spinoff would be about Daryl finding Beth anyway. With Melissa leaving, I kind of think they're going to need to put another character in her place. Because, while they can put Daryl alone out in the woods by himself for an episode, I don't see them being able to do that for an entire spinoff.

They may even just cast a new a new, temporary character, so that he has someone to talk to them play off of. Ultimately it was always going to be more about Daryl and Beth than Daryl and Carol, in my opinion. So, Carol leaving isn't going to shift things overly much.

So, you said something about the actors working a lot?

Yes. I do want to talk about how much they smashed into season 11. I think that may be relevant to this discussion. From the beginning, we wondered why they decided to do an extended season 11, rather than just doing the season 12. I mean, especially with the S10 bonus episodes, it really wouldn’t have been hard to just push it out a little bit and make normal-sized seasons for 10, 11, and 12 rather than just having a 10c and 11c. Now of course, a lot of it has to do with what they recently came out and said about technology and streaming rights. I get that only having 11 seasons versus 12 might actually make a big financial difference for them. I can totally accept that.

But I started wondering about this again recently because, with the wrapping up of the flagship show, several of the actors have talked about how hard they'd been working. They didn't work for a bit during Covid, but after that, they came back and had to film bonus episodes for 10c, and then all season 11 which is 24 episodes rather than 16. It was like doing 2+ seasons all in a row without a break. So, I've seen interviews with several of the actors where they basically said, "don't get us wrong, we love our jobs and are sad the flagship show is ending, but we’re definitely ready for a break."

And I once again I wondered why they're doing that. Why work the actors so hard when most of them are staying for spinoffs anyway? And, overall, I think there's a lot of reasons, rather than just one. Financial, logistical, and business reasons that we’re probably never going to totally understand.

But I also wonder if Melissa leaving plays into it. Because here's the thing. Obviously, I don't know how things are going to play out or what the timing will be, but based on templates I've looked at, and symbolism I’ve analyzed, the thing that made the most sense to me was that Carol and Daryl would jump on his bike and go somewhere together at the end of S11. Then, sometime during the spinoff, they would have some sort of major falling out between the two of them and go their separate ways. This is what is foreshadowed in Diverged. But I really didn't think the split between the two of them would happen until the spinoff. Again, no way to know for sure, but it's just my best guess based on what I've looked at.

But in the TTD after ep 11×16, Norman said that there were some heartbreaking moments coming up between Daryl and Carol. Looking back on that now, I think the split between them will actually happen before the end of 11c. And that makes sense because Melissa's not going to be in spinoff.

All of this is just to say that they probably ended up having to take some of what was going to be in spinoff and cram it into 11c once they realized Melissa wasn't going to Europe. That may be part of why they extended the season the way they did. They literally had more to film before going to Europe to produce the spinoff.

Again, just me conjecturing about things. Trying to put all of these clues together into something that makes sense.

Anything else?

I think that's most of what I have to say right now. I just want to reiterate that the only thing we know is that Melissa is not going to be in spinoff. That's it. We literally know nothing else for certain. Even what I've said above is pure conjecture. And I prefer to reserve judgment on anything else until we know for sure.

I would advise you all to do the same. There's a lot of rumors and vitriol going around on the Internet right now. No one, and I mean absolutely no one having to do with the production deserves any kind of hate. Things like this happen. And while they sometimes suck, that doesn't mean it's anyone's fault. Please don't participate in negativity. Hopefully someone close to the show will come out and make a statement eventually.

Do you think in a few days, tptb will give us more details?

Unfortunately, that might not happen. Don’t get me wrong: I hope it does. But Gimple didn't explain about Rick until after we saw it 9×05. So it could be that, if, for example, Melissa is staying in the universe, but just not doing the spinoff, after we see the end of 11c or whatever the final episode about this is (maybe the heartbreaking one Norman was talking about) then they’ll give us some idea about plans for Melissa's future with the franchise.

Or, if she really is leaving, if they kill her off or something, they'll probably come out after that and explained that she asked to be written out. That happened with numerous other actors such as the actors who played Dale in S1/S2, Sophia, Nick in Fear, and more recently John Dorie, Jr. All they wanted to leave the show and asked to be written out, but of course no one wanted to spoil that for viewers.

As soon as the deaths happened, the actors came out and said that they had asked to leave. So, my point is, whatever is actually going on, we may not know the reasons behind it for a while.

But like I said, I'm reserving judgment. I don't think this will affect Beth's return overly much. They may need to shuffle things around a bit, which may skew the symbolism and foreshadowing somewhat, but I'm not worried that the entire show is tanking because of it, or that the story they're going to tell will be significantly different than what they’ve planned. I just think there's a lot of restructuring going on.

Thoughts?

[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.

[zukkoxx]

online school with the boys!

w/ bakugo, kirishima, denki, shoto

bakugo 💥

honestly, shifting from in person to online school was hard for bakugo in the beginning.

he was used to the classroom atmosphere, and hated having to look at a screen for hours a day.

but...you made it a little better.

bakugo insisted on you doing school in your dorm with you.

he claimed it was so he could help you focus, but honestly, he didn’t like the idea of being away from you for hours when he didn’t need to.

so everyday at 7 AM, he’d barge into your dorm like the morning person he is and forcefully wake you up,

usually having a small bowl of fruit or a granola bar for your breakfast.

he’s make you sit at your desk, saying laying in bed would be bad for your back

you two wouldn’t really talk to each other during most of the class time, only occasional glances here or there, and asking for extra pencils or paper.

but if bakugo saw you on your phone or dozing out while your teacher was talking, he’d yell at you instantly.

“PAY ATTENTION DUMBASS! THIS IS WHY YOU’RE FAILING!”

if you happen to have the same class one period, you’d do your work together.

he helped you stay productive, and it was honestly like a homeschool type of vibe.

bakugo was a strict teacher.

but your were grateful he stuck with you during all the online bull crap.

and he was grateful he had his love to entertain him during the gruesome hours.

kirishima 🪨

kirishima didn’t really like online school.

having to be away from his friends who made his day 10 times better and not being able to talk to people like the social butterfly he is didn’t really sit well with him.

but the real deal breaker not being able to see you for seven hours a day.

he could barely go one hour without talking to you. how was he supposed to go a whole seven?

so with that, you always had random visits from kirishima while you were in class.

he knew online was hard, so he wanted to make it easier for you.

every hour he’d peep into your dorm with a snack, or just his happy self, grinning ear to ear with dazzling eyes.

“hey babe! want some chips? water?”

“you good y/n? not tired, are ya?”

“does your back hurt? you need your man to give you a massage?”

he just couldn’t stay away from you and checking in was his only excuse for seeing you.

it was also a lot harder for him to pay attention during online school. so expect many tutoring sessions.

bakugo was fed up with his endless questions about the material he learned just that morning, so he stuck you with tutoring duty.

not that you were complaining, especially when kiri kissed you out of happiness when he got a question right.

and when school was finally over, expect kiri to be in your dorm at an instant, dragging your body towards your bed for daily cuddles and naps.

denki ⚡️

denki did not like online school seriously

as soon as they announced he didn’t have to go in the building, he threw away his books and planned to go out everyday.

but you forced him to at least log onto to class and try to pay attention.

and he would do anything for his love

that doesn’t mean he would be good at it.

it was impossible for denki to pay attention in class without having you “monitor” him, so you’d have to go to his dorm and make sure he wasn’t goofing around.

only problem? this dude would not wake up for online school. even with you dragging him to his computer and logging into class for him, he’d fall back asleep the moment you walked away.

drooling over his keyboard and all.

and no matter how many times you’d wake him up, he’d pass out again in the next five minutes.

so...you decided to take notes for his first two classes which he always slept through.

please someone get you a best s/o award you deserve it baby.

anyways, when denki finally woke up for the day, he was as energetic and hyper as ever.

he was attached to your hip at all times, and even though he hated being in his class, he insisted on joining your zoom meeting because he was so interested in what you were doing

he also made you turn your camera on for a few minutes every class, smushing himself into the screen with you and showing everyone how great your relationship was.

he’d use the chat saying,

“hey everyone! joining my baby’s class today. don’t mind me :)”

you’d be so embarrassed but he looked so cute, all happy, wrapping his arms around you as he actually payed attention to whatever your teacher was saying while his class went on in the background.

he definitely had to go to summer school after that year.

shoto❄️🔥

surprisingly, shoto suggested you both stay in your own dorms during school hours.

but he had a pretty good excuse.

“as much as i’d love to do class in your dorm, i think we’d be too distracted with each other to actively participate as we should.”

“but shoto, we used to be in the same room together during class all the time-“

“please y/n. us, alone, in a room with a bed sounds like the perfect disaster to me. and i have a habit of mistakingly unmuting myself during class. i don’t wish that embarrassment on anyone.”

“.....okay shoto.”

so as much as he longed for you during the day, you both stayed in your dorms until school was over.

but shoto memorized your schedule, so expect him to peek in during your lunch break for a quick conversation or...whatever you two have in mind.

he’d text you all day, asking about what you were learning and telling you how much he missed you.

and since it was a little harder for you to grasp the material you were learning without having the teacher right in front of you, shoto always helped you study for upcoming tests and important assignments

shoto wasn’t really vocal during class, only using the chat every now and then,

but when you two had the same class, he’d answer almost every question, making sure to use his mic so you could hear his voice.

he just wanted to impress you— you were the only person’s opinion he cared about.

when school was over, he’d meet you in the common room to take you out for soba, and tell you things he might’ve missed in your text convos.

he was honestly fine with not having to go into the building to do school, content with the sanctuary of his own dorm,

but he missed you all the time

and that was enough to hope all this would be over soon.

hopefully you liked this my loves! and if anyone is having trouble with this online school stuff, just know YOURE NOT ALONE. i’ve been doing horrible with being productive and keeping my grades up. it’s normal. there’s only a little bit of school left so keep fighting and my inbox is always open if anyone wants to talk

send a request here please!-> 🥀

[6ad6ro]

there's a lot of posts about piracy going around rn. so here's mine:

anti-piracy arguments are almost always classist. you shouldn't need to be rich to be happy. we were all born into capitalism. it's not voluntary. many of us don't have parents or other support networks keeping us afloat. poor people still deserve to have nice things. i could care less about keeping a system running smoothly that keeps most people poor and only few people rich.

if you work a shitty, low-paying job, then a simple monthly streaming service fee is YES actually too much to ask. no i don't care if your fav big company loses "potential" money from people who couldn't afford to buy them to begin with.

if there wasn't such a thing as "poverty"? if people could generally AFFORD to go out and easily get the things they want and need? obviously piracy wouldn’t be much of an issue at all. it's always frustrating to hear anti-piracy arguments from people who ignore how CRAZY expensive cost of living has become. again, usually the biggest anti-piracy peeps are either naive rich kids (who have things paid for), rich ppl who STAY rich by keeping things broken like they are, and the poor people they’ve brainwashed into being submissive hosts to their parasitic behavior.

in a world like this, where people are overworked and tired? with very few tangible goals available in their future? people NEED entertainment to stay sane. it's literally a mental health issue. yes, in a way, you NEED that funny show to inspire yourself to keep going. that game you can't afford otherwise? will help you relax after a hard day. don't let some disney mouthpiece tell you shouldn't download lion king if it'd help calm you down, especially when the people running that company could probably afford to have a private zoo in their backyard.

there's ALSO the big issue of control. as companies move further and further into streaming and cloud technologies? ownership has become a huge issue. greedy companies are finding more and more ways to nickel and dime people over long periods of time rather than get a one-time fee. it makes them more money, they don't have to actually GIVE customers anything (copies of data are free to them). and customers are left with nothing to show for it after-the-fact. this means that even though entertainment is being produced way more than the past? i’d argue people have LESS access to the entertainment they want for how much they’re paying. because it’s all temporary.

drm and limited use is becoming a norm. meaning? it's harder and harder for people to "own" their favorite things even if they COULD afford it. your favorite movie might simply cease to exist in 20 years. your favorite game might become nothing but a fragmented memory.

"piracy" solves this. backups. ownership. it takes control away from companies who abused that power. and puts it back in your hands. when nintendo stopped making their back catalogue available? and went around shutting down all the emulation sites? i was thankfully in the clear. because i download and archived many of my favorite things. in many cases i own cartridges of my favorite games already? but those can break, or in my case, get caught in a flood. but due to piracy, i can still play "mario 64" to pull myself away from suicidal thoughts. and i'm not limited by nintendo randomly deciding to remove it from the switch store and take the cartridges off of store shelves? in order to drive up their yearly profit via copycatting the methods used for the "disney vault" scam (look it up).

i am someone who tends to enjoy things from other countries. but it can be INCREDIBLY restrictive to try to go through "official" channels attempting to pay for them. if i want that old, relatively unpopular 80s japanese prog rock album? i'm just stuck. i HAVE to hope someone is sharing it online. but this often applies to new things as well. "licensing" is generally INCREDIBLY stupid, especially when it comes to other regions. do you REALLY want simple licensing issues to stand between you and your potential new favorite anime? and in many cases, the distributors just don't care enough to make the thing available globally. and no, i don't think this should mean we all just "miss out".

one of the biggest issues we are experiencing online at the moment? is one of censorship. governmental censorship, religious censorship, and maybe worst of all? corporate censorship. i'm not talking about "bring back racist imagery" etc (but that DOES play a part). i'm more talking... rewriting history. edits. removal. for example, it shouldn't be left to some corporation to decide whether or not a sex scene in a movie is deemed "too racy" for today's audience. if somebody creates an amazing album, but then commits some awful unrelated act later, that shouldn't mean that album should be made unavailable. in many cases, old media can even TEACH us what NOT to do. we gain nothing by erasing history. and corporations are never doing it to be moral. they're only following required guidelines in order to maximize profit. “fake showings of morality” to keep up appearances and keep all potential buyers buying. piracy can give you the OPTION of access to unedited works, or things that have been removed from circulation.

piracy can negate corporate control and artificial-scarcity. create opportunities for absorbing other culture's art without having to deal with availability issues in your country. it circumvents corporate and governmental censorship. and helps you archive the art that makes your life worth living.

finally... the "but it's stealing and stealing is wrong" argument is invalidated by the fact that, by ANY moral compass? these companies are STEALING from US. constantly. by a LOT. look at the way any big company is run. the way it leeches off of it's customer base. the offshore tax havens... does THAT seem okay to YOU?! if someone went around stealing all the food and locking it up, would you REALLY consider "breaking in" to get some so that u didn't starve as "stealing"? don't pretend that you don't NEED escapism and entertainment to get by. you know that you do.

the only people that piracy COULD hurt? is small, independent artists. who, if you actually listen to them, would rather you send them money directly? or buy merch. etc. because companies usually take SUCH an awful cut that it’s better to find alternate ways of supporting them. if you use reasonable context with what you decide to download and share? it’s fine! like i might buy a depeche mode vinyl or two? or a shirt. or go to a concert. but i’ll pirate that $1000 rare box set. because i just can’t AFFORD that kind of excess. and my income doesn’t dictate how big of a fan i am of their music. as long as you chip in when you can to your favorite creators? it’s actually fine. if i didn’t pirate, i wouldn’t be into 95% of the artists i’m currently into. i’ve spent so much on media that it’s almost embarrassing... my argument might not be entirely black and white? but i can safely say that piracy’s positives GREATLY outweigh it’s negatives. most research done has shown time and time again that it doesn’t really hurt creators. if anything, it’s the way greedy companies REACT to the idea of file sharing that hurts those creators. it really is an argument of big corporations trying to make sure they keep ALL the money. and it has almost nothing to do with art or artist’s rights. so please keep sharing everything. download away. for the sake of your own sanity, and generations down the line. because corporations don’t care about you. they don’t care about artists. and they don’t care about maintaining easy access to the art. they just want money, regardless of the cost to everyone else’s happiness. and if you can afford to PAY for it regularly? you should consider yourself very lucky. so maybe stop shitting all over poor people who unfairly have less access to what you already have. everybody deserves to be happy.

[phckingusername]

GUYS!!! HEXBUG AU

Connor and Nines are a form of robotic aliens there ship in danger and their bodies inactive, they and their crew have escaped the immediate threat but uploading themselves into what we know as hexbugs made for smaller and more efficient travel when necessary. the two brothers escape pod lands on earth on the roof of the DPD. Making their way to the main floor, they observe the planet and it's organic inhabitants. Gavin finds the little robotic on his desk while Hank is unaware of Connor for now. Gavin looks it over in his hand and puts it down on his desk where Richard/nines decides to move around in a bit of a panic. It looks random to gavin and he is entertained by the toy. He's not sure where it came from or who's it is or why it's on his desk, but he's keeping it. Maybe it's a new toy that's coming out for Christmas. Maybe he can hand it over to his brother to look at. Make sure it isn't some kind of military spy tech. Most likely he thinks he just might be out of touch. He puts it in his pocket.

In Richards view he is scared of being broken. After all this is his last link at life. His soul is stored in this small weak form if it breaks he dies. Connor is talking to him but when Gavin leaves for home they get to far and their signal Is lost.

At home gavin empties his pockets and basically forgets about Nines due to his hunger and work tired body. Gavin is in the other room watching TV while he eats when he hears the buzzing on the table. What is that? Getting up he remembers his new toy.

It's on its side wedged between his keys. Nines view he is panicking again being unable to get up and under the attention of the organic alien. He is unsure of the species temperament. He doesn't want to die. Not like this. Gavin picks him up and looks for a switch. There Is none. 'dont handle me like that' Richard thinks

He puts he down and Nines stops buzzing. "What happened? Is it broken?" He taps his finger on its pointed back.

'oh ra9 it's angry now' nines thinks and he takes his chances to escape the organic alien and vibrates away from gavins hand again.

He trys to leave the table but gavin catches it before it falls. "the fuck is wrong with this thing?" He asks holding it in his open palm

The light inside turns bright red and the buzzing seems to convey a trembling. Gavin gets a silly impression that it's afraid.

"What are you?" He asks confused about the objects purpose.

He continues to shake.

When Gavin has the free time he takes it to his brother

"I've looked online and I can't find anything about it. Not sure if it's broken or something. Doesn't have a on off switch and it has different lights and shit in it. What is it?"

"I'm not sure. Where did you find it?" Eli asks casually looking it over.

"On my desk."

Nines begins to shake again and the transparent parts of his body glows red.

"See there it goes again. Is it low on battery?"

"Doesn't look like it."

"Well it's not important anyway. Just thought you might know something about it. Given you're into tech and all." He takes it back and his light turns yellow.

'no disassemble.' (lol)

They hang out and Gavin eventually goes home

Nines learns not to move when the organic known as Gavin is near. But his light still turns yellow when he enters the room.

Gavin pays it very little mind. And Richard wonders how his brother is doing.

At some point Gavin notices the way it moves is like it's being controlled by someone rather than random movement and he is highly suspicious that it is a kind of spy ware.

He busts it moving around and he decides to talk to who ever is listening in. And first it doesn't move or respond in any way. But Gavin gets it to blink yes and no questions.

He grins and is satisfied with himself at having figured out a fly in the wall. He is convinced that it is being controlled by an fbi agent or something and continues to talk to it. First asking it questions but then simply talking about whatever. He knows he hears him, and the government is listening in to everyones conversation anyways, but it's kind of nice knowing someone is on the other side, even if they don't want to listen or care, it serves them right for spying on Gavin.

Meanwhile Richard listens, and listens, and responds in what ways he can asked something. Apparently Gavin is under a false impression but it still helps take the edge off. Richard learns a lot about Gavin and his own little piece of the world and his life. Organics are not so different from his own people.

(You ever read a romance story between a human and an alien Hexbug? Lol)

Is the little Hexbug getting feelings for the human? Did the drunk human forget about the little spy and please himself in bed? AtTrAcTiOn???????

Alphabets on paper. Snarky replies, "geez didn't know you were such a smart ass." Ask for help. "I'm not gullible." Reluctant Acceptance, realization.

Connor is chilling under a ded bonsai he is more than concerned about his brother. He is back in range and is infact coming right towards him. Gavin snatches Connor from the desk but Hank is pissy about Gavin taking something from his desk. Eventually Gavin convinces Hank he didn't take anything.

Goes to his brother Eli where he is laughing at Gavins little joke. With both Connor and Richard together they manage to link their internal thought into glitchy text on one of eli's computer screens.

With this they manage to convince Eli and give him the information to the means of helping them and their ship. While Eli is working on that Gavin can actually have conversations with the thing now. Learns it's name is Richard and all about his sarcastic sassy, snarky, smart ass, genuine, gentle personality. He gets along with his new little robo friend.

It takes a little over a year for their ship to get to earth.

When they step inside everyone is on the floor with their chassis exposed. They look odd and dead. Gavin is and isn't surprised by this. Which one is Richard?

It takes even longer to figure out what happened to them. And longer still to fix them. But Connor and Richard help Eli understand and fix the problems they physically can't.

But one day it happens. One day Gavin wakes up and the Hexbug is not glowing at all. He's not sleeping, if he were the light would be a dim throbbing (oof maybe not that word. Slowly going on to off to on again) white. But the light is just off and Gavin is afraid he's ded. He runs to find his brother when he bumps into a broad chest.

He thinks it's a human man trespassing in his brother's home, but Richard clears up Gavins confusion.

"But you didn't look like this on the ship."

"Our synthetic skin was deactivated along with everything else. We, do not like to be seen that way."

AtTrAcTiOn!!!!! "This is your body?"

"Yes."

Lol gavin has the hots for a robo man who used to be a Hexbug. And the robo man has the hots for the organic bag of meat flesh. The feck is this story.

Its time for the brothers to collect the rest of their people across the cosmos. You know what that means!!! Ask the two organics to go with them!!!!!! And they both say yes! Out in space Gavin stands in awe at the view and he's flustered about his feelings for the former Hexbug. Richard is not so stand off ish. He's a lot more bold with his approach. "I can read you vitals and I've come to understand them." Mentions the time Gavin gave himself some loving and how richard uses that for reference for when Gavin is aroused. Along with other regular moments he used as a base line.

Guess who ends up naked in the same room? Lol. Gavin is surprised at the display

"I told you before, we are not so different from each other. Perhaps we share our point of origin."

"You don't know?"

"Do you truly know your beginning?"

(~Let's get physical, physical. Come let's get physical~)lol I can't even

Hey yo explore space get the peeps back and safe and the. Decide to return to earth.

"My brother and I would like to explore your planet. It is new and awful. I can not stop thinking about the place you call home."

"Do you want to be a part of it?"

THE FUCK IS THIS STORY. I FUCKING CAN'T. OH MY GOD. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. HOLYSHIT.

[writing-frenzy]

Airplane Crossing Over Plots~

Like it says on the tin, these were ideas I had for crossovers involving our fav writer~ (EDIT: Thank you @guiltycorp for inspiring this a bit XD)

Now, I’ve mentioned before, with Airplane choosing the go home option, he ends up still with a golden core in all this mess but he needs to cultivate his body really carefully because of it. (come on, he put in all the time and effort to be an immortal master, he should be able to still have his bad ass skills; not to mention with it being a soul thing, because a golden core is just as spiritual as it is physical, so he will definitely still have it.)

So, sealing his core and having his Nascent Soul outside his body to relieve some of the pressure on it, (having it look like a little chibi SQH that usually hangs out in hoodie pockets or hiding in Airplane’s hair with an aura of disguise around it), Airplane has to go and actually work out, which isn’t too much of a hardship for him at least, seeing as he’s had years to get into a routine and survival instincts kicking in to help him out there.

And, he may have actually started taking school seriously again, actually applying himself, maybe even getting an online accounting job to help supply his income. When he’s steady with that, he finishes PIDW the way he had been leading up to, the ending that makes the most sense and satisfices the writer the most (and if it gives him some closure, he isn’t saying anything about that.) Now that he is finally free from PIDW, and has college and work to worry about, he writes whenever he damn well pleases, and whatever he wants to fuck what anyone says.

(He might or might not write some absolutely filthy porn whenever the mood hits him, and cackles how his fans both greedily read it and cry because his newer works are so tragic, even if they have happy endings at times. Yes, Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky is a porn writer, but first and foremost is he an angst writer more~ His fan’s tears and cries just make him stronger kind of writer~)

(I just honestly want Airplane to write what he wants to now, that is one of the biggest motives behind all this honestly)

So, we have the set up :D let’s get to what we can cross over here~

First Up: ~Cutivation Group Chat~

Come on, how can one resist this? Plopping good old Airplane into this wild ride is one of the few things that makes me so happy in life. The thought of it makes me grin, especially since it can go two ways in my opinion~

First way: Airplane replaces Song Shuhang; like, just seeing Airplane, who was an Immortal Master and Teacher in those situations would be so funny, yet intriguing as well to see how he handles it, because you know he’ll be able to, just in ways no one ever expects. (Besides, that werid luck of Shuhang’s would be perfect for him, tho he won’t seek death like the other would~ :D Airplane still has a lovely sense of self-preservation~)

Second way: Airplane is one of Song Shuhang’s roommates. (for this, I’m going to say their Dorm was big enough for five peeps, because I want Airplane to have more friends damn-it.) Just... the imagery of the two neutral disasters getting into so much mayhem and hijinxs together, giving Song Shuhang not only a friend/brother in arms he can always depend and rely on, but also a steady source for learning and cultivation as well :D

(Also, Airplane and Gou Moumou being writer friends, the two of them able to bounce ideas on to each other (oh god, now you have inspired me, how dare you make me write this./hahahaha, you know you want too/ bitch turnabout is fair play/ ah fuck.) also: just the image of Airplane meeting Senior White and being completely unaffected because not only is his survival instincts going in overdrive, but also:

Airplane: ? He’s not my type.

Everyone: *jaws dropped*

:D Anyways~

Second Idea: Card Room (Rebirth)

Now First, for those who don’t know Card Room (Rebirth), this is an action/survival/mystery thriller BL Unlimited Flow type of novel; it follows one Xiao Lou, a medical professor who specializes with examining the dead, and his journeys through multiple rooms after having died in reality, the difficulty of each of these rooms measured with Playing Cards from 2 to K and with different types of rooms being sorted by their suits of Hearts (Mystery), Diamonds (Puzzle), Spade (Survival), Club (Luck/Money). The Goal of the story is to beat all the rooms and return back to the world of the living once more. To aid in this, people can get special cards to help them fight/ take care of their health/ or even just daily life essentials to be able to actually get through places. 

So... this means after getting all used to living once more and getting into his grove in the modern world... Airplane unfortunately kicks the bucket, yet again! Thing is, this time it happened after he played a card game with some of his roommates, I’m going to say poker, and they were betting who would do what chores. Aiplane managed to make out pretty well, and was pleased with it, so was very much bummed when he ended up dying yet again.  He goes through the room, some by the skin of his teeth, but with his cultivation abilities still usable (can’t stop something on a soul level here) he gets by okay. Though, all his cards either deal with writing, supplies, and the rare cultivation one at times.

He gets by at least.

Now, because this series gives me some emotions, here is one thing I will say: Airplane and Liu Ying end up partnering up and break through together, because damn it, Liu Qiao and her sis deserve some damn happiness ;-; Maybe Airplane and Liu Ying meet by chance, Airplane impressed by the young woman’s intelligence and Liu Ying can in turn be grateful for Airplane’s resourcefulness. Maybe even include the original girl that Liu Ying teamed up with, So we have three people already in your team to survive! (because surviving the rooms 2-4 is already damn amazing considering how hellish they get :D ) 

This is a fun crossover for me to imagine honestly, because it would be perfect to showcase Airplane’s skills in logic, reasoning, and pure survival our boy is known for; let that resourceful and logistic riddled mind out to play as he fights to get the fuck out of this world, even if The City of the Moon is beautiful and all.

:D So, those were the ideas I would like to really see, but here is some more for anyone curious:

Honorable Mentions: These are ones I would love to see Airplane accidently going into, and just going yikes, or nope! or even ‘Really?’

Lord of End of World:

... This story, it concerns me greatly; I like the worldbuilding, even has a few really cool girls in it, and I find the protagonist rather curious (to an extent, blackened Gary Stu that he is...) but does it make me cringe at times with the underage theme to it; it’s part of their cultivation and all, but god damn does the way this story push some of it really sqink me out, I had to drop it because it made me so uncomfortable, so just a heads up there. this is one of those stories that makes me want to write spite fiction, but also make me cringe at the thought of remembering it at times.

Anyways, so, how it boils down to it is that this poor guy, known as the Young Master of the Unground Palace, was abused in all the ways one can practically be abused, just so their Master can get stronger themselves by forming the perfect cauldron to absorb, but who manages to kill their master only to die as well. He ends up transmigrating into Gong Lixin, a 16 year old wealthy young master about a year (I believe) before the apocalypse happens... (Like I said, I have so many damn issues with this damn story, I cry.)

Just, on one hand, imagining Airplane in this world also makes me laugh (and maybe hope), because maybe here Gong Lixin could actually learn a cultivation style thats not only suited to him, but also doesn’t need him to dual cultivate all the time and rely on cauldrons (maybe get some needed therapy as well, Airplane knows some peeps; I can dream~), he can have a stable, reliable teacher here who will have no lust or attraction to him, Airplane helping the kid out at first because they look like they’re recovered from a really bad Qi-Devitation and the teacher in him can’t leave that alone. Airplane can also relate with the youth about transmigrating, maybe even telling him about his own time with that. (And Airplane can use his own cultivation to smack around any bitch looking sideways at his student, because fuck that shit, he is only seventeen and traumatized.) Just, turning this story into a cute mentor and discipleship and emotional healing would make me so happy.

Monster Inn Rectification Report

So, this is another Transmigration story~ MC transmigrates as a poor canon fodder son, who would have ended up in a vegetable state after being neglected in favor of the super amazing awesome adopted son. He then goes on to accidently inheriting a supernatural end for Monsters~

Like, this idea makes me grin evilly; though things will change up a bit, since both of Airplane’s parents have already split up and have their own families? Just, the Former An Ding Peak Lord running an Inn? :D Building it from ground up from bascially nothing? :D Oh, man, this man has run worse things, and even a Demon Kingdom, he got you~

Supernatural Movie Actor App

Its a BL about a guy with a split personality who does realistic (as in for real) horror movies through an app, to get his wish to come true.

This actually goes really good with my idea of Airplane wanting to be an actor and all, only to have his dreams crushed :D He doesn’t at first realize what he is getting into when he gets the app, thinking it might be a chance for him to still be able to do his dream, only, surprise, surprise, he ends up entering a real life Horror movie environment~ I’m really curious about what he would dream about~

I Have Medicine

:D Airplane and Gu Zuo interactions make me smile~ these two would be so fun, seeing them bounce off each other would be a treat.

So What if You’re Reborn

.... hahahahahaha, oh, the chaos that could be unleashed in this timeline would be glorious~

Running Away From the Hero

:)

[kissjane]

Anon asks, I provide

Dear anonymous asked if I read Elu fanfic and the answer was an obvious YES.

There are shitloads of fics out there and making a list is dangerous because there WILL be authors/fics I forget, but here goes. All of these people are enormously talented and horribly generous (one of the dangers of both reading and writing is that you constantly go “oh, fuck, they write so much better than me, why would I even still post my stuff”), so go check them out if you haven’t.

I’ll just add a break here because this will probably get long...

[I don’t really have a favourite trope or anything and I’ll generally try everything (except maybe real kinky shit, and I’m not too much into mpreg so I usually skip those too), but I have to admit that I don’t like to get into unfinished works that have been left lingering for months. I’m always afraid they will never be finished and my poor heart can’t handle being left in the middle of all that angst! And I’m not a big fan of RPF, so those will not figure in this list either.]

First, the person who kinda convinced me to give tumblr a second chance, @pinkplanetaries. She writes hilariously funny stories with usually a good deal of smut in there. I would suggest you you check out all her work here, but if you only have time for one I’d suggest Lemonade - includes social media!

One of my favourite Elu fics of all time is For want of gold by @lallemanting. I love soulmate aus and this one is just really beautiful, well-written, just the right amount of angst and enemies-to-friends-to-lovers-to-soulmates, paced perfectly, and the characters are all so easy to connect with. So yeah. I just love it. Her WIP Wandering tides has got me hooked, so, uhm, yeah, update pretty please?

I’ve talked about this one before, but A measure of stars by @lepetitepeach is just amazing! Pride and Prejudice is such an awesome classic to start with, and the way she ran with it just blows my mind. She has a bunch of other fics too, so go browse through them here.

A great author who obviously puts great care in to her stories is @surrealsunday . Her stories feature the whole SKAM cast, and she paints them all just so spot on it’s crazy. I can only imagine how much time and effort it must take to find the right photo’s to accompany the stories for the social media part of it, and don’t get me wrong, the stories would work great without them but the way they add to it is just insane. I haven’t started on her latest story Mood tattoo yet, which only makes my life more difficult, I can tell you, because everybody seems to love it, but yeah, go check out all her fics here if you like. If you don’t have time for a long multi-chaptered read, I can warmly recommend Spark to flame too.

I have recently been following the social media au Online love by @livvyblxckthxrn here on tumblr. I applaud the way she’s weaving a story just through text messages and pictures.

Even though I don’t like asmr I did enjoy the story about it by @greathalesonfire called You’re already the voice inside my head.

If you’re in the mood for sad Elu fiction, I have to point you to All you have to do, is kiss me ‘till I’m blue by @bluronyourradar. I can only hope her artist & muse au From stone, we sculpt symmetry will have a happier ending (can’t wait!) - either way, I like how she describes the setting and the characters in this one.

A very productive writer on AO3 - and I don’t know if they are on tumblr - is herilaveur. They have some imaginative aus so give it a go here.

Because I’m a sucker for bookstores and libraries I have to add The book I read was in your eyes by @kritiquer to this list. I know I missed a bunch of others - feel free to add them to this list! And while you’re at it, @kritiquer has a lot of other works posted which are all worth a read, find them here. 

@briallenko has quite a few stories posted here, they are very diverse so read the tags because some of them are rather heavy, but I did like the exploration of Vendredi 19:34 in Not afraid anymore.

Did you know that the evil mastermind prompter @nachtumringt has (half-) written an excellent fic in German called Consacré à Jupiter? For those of you who aren’t lucky enough to read German, try Dis/connected for some great non-linear storytelling.

Okay, on to A rose, by any other name by @flying-elliska. I admit, I was unsure about the premise at first, but I’m utterly hooked now! The world-building, the almost casual weaving in of the mythology aspects, the appearance of the whole gang and crew, the GORGEOUS descriptions, the spot-on characterizations... Count me in, please. Check out the rest of her stuff too, it’s all here.

Another story I’ve recently read and enjoyed and that also includes social media (seriously peeps, I feel like I’m lacking by just *writing* stories when I see all you talented authors using all these extra media) is One call away by AO3 user nutriscii - I’m sorry, I think they have a tumblr too, but I can’t remember? Help me out here, everybody. UPDATE: They do! The url is @demaury! Thx @sandalwoodhusbands for letting me know.

Pining Lucas and secretly in love Eliott? Yes please. If I can recognize real by @tawmlinsun has it all.

Just another sweet little secretly-in-love story by @eliottdemmaury, We’re just friends.

[Okay, so maybe I do have a favourite trope and it is secretly-in-love. Sue me.]

Shit, I know there are so many more stories I have enjoyed... so if I missed you, I’m so sorry. I am notoriously scatterbrained when it comes to things like this. This is where the fact that I don’t use bookmarks comes back to bite me, I guess. I think 15 is a good number for now, I could easily do another 15 though. Another time, I promise!

[stripper-patrick]

Status report 📇 Steve Rogers

Warnings: language, dom!Steve, shield kink (kinda), fighting, flashbacks, masturbation

Tags: @rebellious-desires @mrsbanreswillseeyou

Relationship: Steve Rogers x black plus sized reader

I’ve been staring at her profile all day. Her name is YN YLN, she’s 25 from Atlanta, Georgia and she’s gorgeous. Only issue is she works for SHIELD and we are kinda enemies with them right now until we get the Tesseract which will be tomorrow. Meaning I’d probably have to fight her which I don’t wanna do.

“Like what you see hot shot?” Tony says coming out of his bedroom and turning on the Keurig for some tea. I’ve still never learned how to use that thing.

“Ugh whatever. What time are we starting this mission”

“Tomorrow morning at 10 sharp” I nod continuing to look through her profile. She’s 5’8 210 lbs, rosewood with an undertone of brown pressed hair, brown eyes, and cinnamon brown skin. She was truly beautiful. This paper lists some distinctions to be able to know that it’s her and not someone else like the sunflower behind her ear, and a butterfly with half of its wings being roses on the back of her bicep.

Tony peeps over my shoulder “huh I see why you’d like her”

“What’s that supposed to mean”

“Well she’s stunning” he chuckles walking away and I roll my eyes going to my room.

.....

I’m in the shower letting the warm water run over my face. Flashbacks of what she’d look like gagging on my dick. I sigh wiping the water from my eyes and pulling my hair back.

“Steve” I can hear her moaning my name and my hand moves to my growing dick just aching to be touched. I give it a couple strokes and I notice my hand just doing its own thing. I’m really jerking myself to the thought of a woman I’m supposed to fight tomorrow. I press my hand against the white tiled wall bracing myself letting the water run on my neck and back. I open my eyes watching my hand move at a quick pace.

My breathing gets heavier as my grip tightens wishing it were her pussy. I stroke harder watching the veins in my arms become more visible. My eyes close again and my mouth opens pulling my bottom lip between my teeth. My body jerks and my breathing gets heavier. I would’ve definitely had an asthma attack doing this before the serum.

“Fuck” I let out a shaky breath feeling my cum drip down to the drain. I keep stroking myself until I can’t take it anymore. I stop breathing wildly and pull my hair back. I roll my eyes and grab my loofa and soap rewashing myself.

.....

“Steve bring your ass” Tony yells. I come down suited up and see everyone else waiting for me “what?”

“Why were you so late?” Tony asks

“Because I was taking care of some business” I roll my eyes. Truthfully I woke up hard again and that’s the business I had to take care of but they don’t need to know that.

“Mhmm. Ok find the Tesseract and take down anyone in your path. Even the pretty girl” he glares at me. I roll my eyes at his comment “let’s do this”

....

I walk into the building and we all break up heading in different directions “cap I see the Tesseract on the 5th floor but I can’t get to it”

“Copy” I register. I make a left to the closing elevator and my breath gets caught in my throat when I see YN. I didn’t think she’d really be this close to me.

“Oh Captain America it’s such a pleasure of you and Mr. Stark to speak at our seminar today” she holds the door for me smiling and I jog catching it. I smile at her “pleasures all mine” I glance at the view of the city behind us

“So you’ll actually be coming with me on the second floor which is where the conference room will be”

“Oh I’ll have to take care of something on the 5th floor and then I’ll be with you” she walks to the floor panel and presses the red ‘stop’ button stopping the elevator. She turns around with a smile on her face “you’re not going anywhere near the Tesseract”

“Y/N I don’t want to hurt you so let’s save the bullshit and you just let me off easy”

“I like hard things” she drives her fist near my face but I dodge it pulling it arm around her neck and her back to my chest “Y/N don’t make me do this please”

“I like the way you say please” she elbows my in the gut breaking out of my hold. She throws a left hook again but I catch her and push my shield against her neck. I small moan graces her lips and it’s just like I imagined. I’m so struck that she Move the shield in our lives for onlin move the shield planting her lips on mine tangling her fingers in my hair.

She jumps on my waist forcing her skirt to ride up. Y/N’s soft hands undress my bottom half finally wrapping his fingers around my dick. I pull her panties to the side and push myself in. Both of us moaning deeply.

She wraps her legs around my waist and I pull her hands above her head keeps a steady fast rhythm. My face drops to her breasts and her moans sounds so sweet in my ear. Essentially making me harder.

“Harder Captain” she moans. I let go of her hand and she drops them to my shoulders as I place both of my hands on her hips thrusting by deeper and harder per her request. The pretty brown girl locks her lips on mine. Her heel and my ear piece falls off in the process.

“You better than I imagined” I moan. My grip on her hips tighten. I press her against the wall with my hand around her neck thrusting harder than ever before trying to get us both to our climax.

Her moans are much louder and I’m sure whatever floor were on they can hear us as they walk by. “Give it to me baby I want it all”

“Steve” her hands move to my forearms as I’m practically bouncing her on my dick with such force that each time I pull her down her eyes roll to the back of her head.

“What? Hmmm? Can’t take it?” I coo in her ear “you have no choice but to take it”

“Oh fuck” she moans

“That’s it I feel you tightening up on me. Cum in my dick. That’s it sweetheart” she taps my arm and a silent moan and heavy breaths fall from her lips are she finally releases herself around me

“Please cum inside of me” she begs trembling in my arms “I want it”

I’m next to feel that euphoria run through my body with ease. She kisses me making it hard for me to kiss back. I press my hand against the metal coated wall finally starting to slow down. I have to force myself to stop before my legs give out.

I pull out and she adjusts herself. I do the same pulling up my pants and zipping and bucking them tight. I watch Y/N pull something out of her bra. It’s a key. “5th floor South supply closet” she hands me the key and I smile pressing the resume button on the elevator. The door dings on the second and she looks at me with a smile. I pat her ass watching her walk away.

....

I open the door to the compound and have a seat on the couch along with the rest of the crew.

“So are we not gonna talk about how Cap had sex in an elevator and we all heard it?” Tony says

“Nope” Clint answers. I smile to myself thinking about her.

[zephyrthesolitary]

Offering Free Tarot Readings // Serious Inquiries

Hi all! I know there’s probably a lot of people already offering it, but I choose to jump on that bandwagon as well! I am open and offering Free Tarot Card Readings. However, if the reading resonates with you dearly, is conducive and enlightening, I always welcome donations. I’ll elaborate below. Keep reading, please! :)

First things first...

Guidelines for Free Tarot Readings

I will always happily volunteer my services to those in need; especially those who feel lost or astray, in need of light, love and support. I am in harmony with the purpose that I exist in this lifetime as a guide to those who seek direction. I am in harmony with the purpose of elevating and teaching those who seek me out or those I may cross paths with. That being said, I also have boundaries that I MUST set.

Please: Think thoroughly about your inquiries. Be sure that the question(s) you want answers for are readily receivable. One thing about the Universe I feel is when it is time for you to SEE something, you cannot unsee it. No matter how big or small the message is, it is just as important for you to be receptive because outcomes and answers can go either way. Do not shy away from it because you dislike the answer. The reality of life is there is duality EVERYWHERE. For every good, there is a bad. For every shadow cast, there is light present. One cannot exist without the other. 

I promise confidentiality at all TIMES now and forever! I will not reveal any client’s details, inquiries, reading results or information WITHOUT consent. And even then, I still wouldn’t do it. I am a firm believer in being mindful of the energies you let into your space, growth process and discovery process. One bad apple spoils the bunch. 

Honesty, Honesty, Honesty! I will interpret all readings to the best of my ability and intuition. I trust myself. I listen to my inner self. Sometimes, I may fish. I may ask questions, I may say ONE word. That is because that is what Spirit is telling me. It may be random to you or like I’m unsure. It is me talking us both through the process of information and spiritual download coming through to me. It starts like a ceiling leak and then the water breaks through. Go with the flow, with me. IF I have difficulties, interpreting, I will inform you. If I am unclear or unsure, I will tell you. I will also respect your boundaries. If you tell me you do not want to know, then I will not speak on it. 

Expertise! I will not give advice in areas I am not qualified in. If it requires a physician, psychologist, lawyer, financial advisor, accountant or any other professional service and I am NOT qualified, I will encourage that the licensed and appropriate party be sought out for advisement and guidance. 

Be respectful! I do NOT believe in SPYING on others psychically. Questions such as, “what does this person feel about me” or “what does xyz think of me” are not appropriate. You are violating another human being’s PRIVACY. Would you like if someone unknowingly peeped into your window everyday and watched your day to day activities? Instead: try asking questions that allow you to SHAPE and MANIFEST a new reality such as, “How can I positively impact xyz’s feelings or perception of me?” or “How can I grow and develop my relationship with this person?” I habitually change these questions into advisement questions when I read for someone asking me to spy. 

Be independent. This simply means, I will not allow overdependence on my services. There is always a pending message waiting to be received, a lesson to be learned. However, readings are guidance and progressive. You check in over time. You want feedback on direction and growth. You have an unresolved issue, you had a confusing dream and need clarity. They are not something you do for every single moment of your life. Don’t become dependent. I say this from experience; I witnessed someone personally close to me, become so dependant on her cards that the very heavy energy she put into the meanings, she started to manifest them -- self-fulfilling prophecy. It is up to you to create your own reality. It is also up to you, to nourish and grow your own intuition! Do. The. Work!

Responsibility. My goal as a Tarot Reader is to allow my clients to take responsibility for their OWN decisions and actions which guide their lives and to act accordingly to their own conscience for the greater good of all who are concerned.

Empowerment, Healing and Uplifting. I try to let my clients know that the future is not set in stone. We are all Magicians. Power to create from resources available, drawing from the reservoir from within and manifesting our desires and reality. We all have the power to change our future. I strive to leave every person I cross paths with more empowered on their journey. I allow myself to be a conduit through which the Divine Spirit heals my clients and refreshes their mind, body and spirit and environment based on insights gained from the readings.

I reserve the rights to refuse to do a reading for a question that I feel I cannot answer or one that violates my ethics. All of my readings are non-judgmental, and I welcome all clients from different cultures, religions, spiritual paths, sexual orientations and gender identities. I constantly strive to improve and strengthen my connection with the self and oneness; my intuition.

Lastly, time frames for readings to be completed:

This is a schedule, for me, set for you. We all have lives, activities and things that we set time aside to do. This applies to me. IRL Me: A Pharmacy Technician and a Pharmacy Trainer. I work 8 to 13 hours a day. 5 days a week. I also work a Part Time Job in a Car shop for 8 hours 1 day a week. I work SIX DAYS A WEEK. Saturdays are my off days. I also am building a Spiritual Goods shop online with 2 other women. A lot, right?

Monday Through Friday - IF a reading request is submitted BEFORE 3 PM EST, it will be returned to you with pictures of card drawn and results send to you by the END of the DAY which is anytime between 5 PM EST and 10 PM EST.

IF a reading request is submitted AFTER 3 PM EST, there is a slight chance that depending on the complexity of the question, it may be done by 10 PM - 12 AM. However, more than likely, it WILL POP UP IN YOUR INBOX IN THE EARLY MORNING (btwn 4 AM EST and 10 AM EST). 

Saturdays - IF a reading request is submitted BEFORE 12 PM EST, you will have it by 6 PM - 8 PM EST. IF a reading request is submitted AFTER 12 PM EST, you will have it by 10 PM EST - 12 AM EST.

Sundays - IF a reading request is submitted BEFORE 12 PM EST, you will have it by 11 PM - 12 AM EST. IF a reading request is submitted AFTER 12 PM EST, you will receive it EARLY MORNING (btwn 4AM EST and 10 AM EST next day. 

IF for some reason, you need something sooner, please let me know. I am generally very prompt with reading deliverance. I am also very flexible and open to discussion. I will also let you know if I cannot meet your request. 

Deck Used for readings commonly: The Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans as shown in the above attached photos. 

Q: Donations, were mentioned. Do I have to?

A: No. Follow your spirit. If the reading resonated with you, the message was for you, the shoe fit, and you are generous, feel free to donate. YOU set YOUR price. I believe we should PAY the service based on the quality of service we received. Even feedback is payment. 

But if you wish to donate anything at all, my cashapp is: $ZephyrX29. Again, feedback is highly recommended and accepted.

How Do I Submit a Reading Request?

You can inbox me directly or submit an “Ask” if that’s your type of thing. Readings will be responded to according to the schedule, the same as if you inboxed me!

When you submit your question, provide me with your name initials and or your astrology sign (Sun Sign). You can also provide me with your Sun, Moon and rising signs if you know. The more, the better.

Q’s? Just ask! I’m here for you! 

-Love, Zephyr :)