#sadly i left it at a beach hotel when i was four and never saw it again </3

[losingmymarbelles]

an original story i wrote for school lol

Chapter 1: In my house

I woke up. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw through the window that it was still dark out, so I checked the time. It was 1:30am. Huh. I've never woken up this early before. Or maybe I had, but I don't remember it.

Anyway. Since it was so early and no one else in the house was awake, I figured I could go out to the kitchen and maybe treat myself to a midnight snack or two. Or a midnight feast, depending on how long it would take for me to get sleepy again. Or how long before I would get caught, which was unlikely, but not impossible. Also depending on how much food, good food, I could find in the kitchen. Or-

Thankfully, my train of thought was broken by the fact that I suddenly really needed to use the bathroom. Guess I was going to get that midnight feast after all. And probably a glass of water too, i thought as I realised how dry my throat felt.

As I began to sit up from my bed, I heard the world's tiniest creak. I fell back on my bed in an instant, my arms lying stiff by my sides as I felt my heart rate speed up. I pulled the blanket back over myself as I stared at the vaguely person-shaped silhouette sitting in my chair a short walk away from my bed.

I shut my eyes tight, abandoning all thoughts of leaving my bed until I felt the overwhelming dryness in my throat. I calmed myself down, assuring myself that ghosts, monsters and other fiendish entities weren't real and therefore not watching me sleep while sitting in the chair across my bed, neither were they hiding in my kitchen waiting for a delicious human to pounce on.

I sat up again and left my bed, walking past what turned out to be a pile of clothes and pillows on my chair and chuckled. That's right. Monsters aren't real. I was safe here, in the comfort of my own home. And I was going to get that midnight feast. I opened the door and walked out to the kitchen, and my heart stopped.

Chapter 2: The thing in my house

I did not manage to get a close look at the freaky creature rummaging through the fridge, but the mere sight of it was enough to send me running back to my bed.

I locked my bedroom door and pulled the covers over my head, beads of sweat running down my face as I heard the creepy being fiddling with the doorknob. To my distress, it managed to unlock the door and so it sluggishly began to approach my bed. I heard the thing's rubbery feet dragging against the floor, torturously slow. My breathing and heart rate speeding up by the second, I shut my eyes tight as I felt it towering over me and braced myself for whatever was about to come.

I let out a surprised yelp as suddenly a soft log-like thing that felt like a stuffed toy was clumsily brought down on my face.

“Oh, th-there you-you are” A soft - but surprisingly muzzy and cheery sounding - voice said from beside my bed. “Hel-ello!”

It pulled the covers that covered me so that my face was visible, and I was now able to take a closer look at the creature beside my bed. It was tall, scrawny and slouching like a limp stuffed toy, as if it lacked a spine. Its skin an unnatural shade of flamingo, it had ears that were big and round with the ends being slightly pointy. Its eyes looked like huge googly eyes, the left one much farther down their face than the right, as if it were about to slide off at any moment. The thing appeared to have thin brown bits of string as a mouth and eyebrows, and an upturned nose. It donned a long and baggy faded turquoise turtleneck. A dingy straw hat perched upon its head.

I blinked. Once, then twice. “Uh. Hello.”

“Hi! Hi-hello!” The thing greeted me again, laughing slightly.

I didn't see the point of greeting it back again, so I cut to the chase. “Are you going to eat me?”

The thing raised its eyebrows. “Huh? Nuh-no?” It said, sounding surprised that I thought a non-human being in my house at 1:30am would even think to slaughter me mercilessly. “Why'd- why you ask-asking?”

I felt my eyes widen. “Uh. Well. Um. You're. Not human. And in my house. At 1:30am. While no one's awake. With no obvious way where you could have gotten in. Oh, speaking of, how did you get in, actually? Probably should've started with that. Most normal people would. Anyway, how'd you get in here?”

“Oh. Oh yeah, I. Um.” It shut their eyes tight in concentration, as if trying to remember, “Oh! Yes, I c-climbed through the big metal uh- hole- tunnel! Thing. Yes. Yeah, where all the trash goes” It replied, triumph in its voice.

”Oh wow!” I said. “That's disgusting!”

“Th- Thank-Thank you” The thing smiled proudly. “I th-think it was very smart- very smart. Of me. It was-wasn't t-too bad e-either. I even found a-a banana peel stuck in-in th-there, and-and s-some spaghetti s-sauce? Did-didn't taste too-too bad. I liked the-the spaghetti sauce-sauce. A lot-lots. Liked it a lot.”

“Huh.” I tried not to gag. “Sounds like you had fun. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I'd ask you why you came here in the first place, but I really need to use the bathroom.” I sat up and started to walk out. “Maybe we can continue this conversation after l'm done, if you're still here. And hopefully not turning on me and try to eat me.”

“Hmkay” the thing agreed cheerfully as it followed me as i made my way to the restroom. I heard it dragging its feet against the floors again. Its head jankily swayed from side to side as if listening to music only it could hear.

Chapter 3: The friendly thing in my house

When I left the bathroom, the thing was waiting for me on a dining chair, staring blankly into space.

"So," I said, hands on hips as the thing snapped back to reality and turned to me. I was about to ask it what it was doing in my house when I realised that I didn't know what to address it by.

"Uh. Wait, what's your name?" I couldn't just refer to it as 'thing' could I?

"My-my what?”

"Your name. How do I refer to you?" I paused for a moment. "Like me. I'm Clovis. My name is Clovis. So what's yours?"

"Oh." The thing softened. "C-Clovis."

"What? Your name is Clovis too? Huh, that's wild."

"N-no. Name's- m-my name is-is not Clov-Clovis. I don't think-think so."

"Oh." I said, realisation dawning upon me. "You don't have a name, do you?”

"Mm. No. Don't-don't remember."

“Huh. Alright. Well, do you want one?”

"Wha?"

"Do you want a name? You can give yourself one if you do. Something you like."

"Someth-thing I like?"

"Yep."

There was a short silence.

"Spaghetti sauce."

"No.”

"Aww." Spaghetti sauce pouted and gave me the best puppy eyes they could possibly manage, which were impressive given the fact that they had googly eyes for, well, eyes. "Why n-not?"

I stood my ground despite their pitiable expression. "Because that's not a name. Not for… living. things anyway."

"Spa-spaghetti sauce has-has tomatoes and-and. Uh. Stuff …veggies! In them." Spaghetti sauce started grinning wildly and puffed out their chest in pride. I scoffed at it. "Veggies are-are plants. P-plants are liv-living. Th-things. Th-they're alive."

"Not when the plants are in the spaghetti sauce they're not." I retorted smugly. Spaghetti sauce visibly deflated, seemingly disappointed by my quick comeback. "Though, I'm surprised that you knew plants were living things at all." I added quickly so as to not hurt their feelings too badly. "I had no clue until I was nine, and that was only because my science teacher told me. Good job."

Spaghetti sauce's face lit up again, starting to kick their legs happily. "Th-thank you." I felt a smile creeping upon my face.

A short pause. "So-so can i name myself sp-spaghetti sau-sauce?"

And just like that, my small smile was replaced with an exasperated expression. "No.”

"B-but I want to be- to be named spag-spaghetti sauce!" Spaghetti sauce whined childishly.

"Well you can't, okay?! Because I said so! Also because it's illegal. Oh, speaking of, did you know that in 2015 a couple was sent to court in Valenciennes because they wanted to name their daughter 'Nutella'? The judge said no and they ended up naming her Ella instead."

Spaghetti sauce stared at me blankly.

"Can-can I be named Nutella-?"

"NO, you can't-" I stopped and sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"You know what, why don't I name you instead." I said before I could stop myself.

Nutella perked up. "Oh! Y-you will?"

"Uh." I hadn't exactly thought my idea through before blurting it out, but it wasn't like I could turn back now. "Yeah, sure. If you want."

"Okay!" Nutella crossed their legs and leaned forward slightly, waiting.

I squinted my eyes at it for a while, studying it as I racked my brain for the first suitable name that came to mind.

"Fred."

"Huh?" Fred questioned, seemingly dumbfounded. "Wha-What's that?"

"It's a name. A real, proper one. And guess what? It's yours now." I straightened up proudly, before slouching down again, suddenly embarrassed. "Why? Do you not like it? Sorry, I've never named anyone before. Well, not real living beings. Besides Mushroom. That's my cat. But it's not like he can actually say anything because. Well. He's a cat. Sorry, it's fine l'Il just-“

"Fred." Fred interrupted, zoned out as I realised that they hadn't been listening at all to my panicked ramble. "Fr-ed. Fred Fred Fred Fred. Fred." They tested the word on their tongue, before grinning up at me, eyes twinkling.

"I like it. L-like it lots. Thank-th-ank you." I smiled back at Fred, going to sit next to them. "You're welcome, Fred."

Chapter 4: Fred, the friendly thing in my house

"So. Uh. We got very off topic." I started. "Why did you come here in the first place?"

“Ah. Uh. Ye-yes, I- um-“ Fred squeezed their eyes tight and rubbed their temples. "Uh… oh! Yes. Cause of thi-this."

They lifted up their arm, showing me the tear on their elbow where bits of stained green cotton stuffing was falling out. "D-don't re-member how I got i-got it. Just wak-waking up, and-and it was there. Fou-found some cloth, but can-can't tie a knot-a knot. Cau-ause I-I don't. Don't h-have, uh, fingers. J-just a-uh- thumbs. Mitt-mitts." Fred held up both their hands at this which, to their word, resembled a pair of flamingo coloured mittens.

"So-so I found this-this p-place. Went in stinky metal-metal tun-tunnel. Found a-a bana-na peel and some spaghetti-spaghetti sa-sauce. So th-then I ate-ate the-“

"Ate the banana peel and spaghetti sauce?" I cut in.

"Yeah. H-how'd you-you know?"

"You told me."

Fred put their hands down with a tilt of their head. "I did?"

"Yeah. When we were in my room. About-" I turned to look at the nearby clock on the wall. "Fifteen minutes ago.

"Huh. Okay." Fred paused. "W-where was-was I?"

"You ate the banana peel and spaghetti sauce."

"Oh yeah." Fred grinned. "I di-did. Th-then I came he-here. And I saw the sew-sewing kits-kits. On th-the fri-the fridge." Fred gestured to the magnetic sewing kits on the fridge as it spoke.

"Ah." I now knew why it had been standing blankly at the fridge when I entered the kitchen. "And then I came in?"

"Yeah." Fred confirmed. "And-and th-then you came- came in. Which is-is go-good, be-because now yo-you can h-help me sew-sew back my… arm. Elbow!" They exclaimed triumphantly.

“Oh…" I trailed off, feeling sheepish. "But I don't know how to sew."

“Wow, r-really?" Fred said, surprised. "Bu-but I thought you-you were smart!"

“I-" I stuttered, taken aback. "W-well, I'm not that smart. Just average. Probably.”

"You g-gave me my-my name!"

"O-oh, well, Fred isn't a very, uh, complicated name, it just came to mind and I thought it fit you. So."

"You knew I-I ate th-the banana peel-peel and spaghett-spaghetti sauce."

“Yeah. Because you told me."

“And you-you remembered!"

“Because you told me fifteen minutes ago.”

"Wow. You real-really are smart!” Fred beamed at me, seemingly in awe, before turning to go. "Well, I-| guess I'll go-go now. Nice to me-meet you, Clo—“

“Wait!” I called. Fred turned around. "Don't go yet. Stay here. I got an idea."

I left to go to the living room and fished around in the cabinets. I then went back to the kitchen, roll of yellow tape in hand.

"This probably won't hold as well as it would if I sewed this, but it's better than letting you leave without getting this fixed." I gingerly wrapped the tape around Fred's elbow. "After all, you came all this way, didn't you?"

"Th-thank you. Lots." Fred smiled, clutching their wrist when I was done. "It's o-okay. I'll j-just c-come back-back here when I need-need new t-tape. "Oh! You will?”

"Yeah." Fred beamed. "You are sm-smart. And-and nice. I-I like you."

"Well then," I attempted to swallow the lump in my throat. "You're welcome here anytime, Fred. Preferably not in the middle of the night though. Or at 1:30 in the morning.”

“Mkay." Fred stood up and stared awkwardly. "Th-thank. You. For-for everythin'.”

I smiled at it, choosing not to point out the fact that they had thanked me several times already. "No problem, Fred.”

Fred stood there for a few more seconds, then turned to go. "B-bye. See-see you."

"See ya." I cringed and put my hands over my ears as Fred clumsily opened the rusty trash chute door, which let out a loud, high-pitched groan. I sat for a few moments longer, listening as Fred climbed in the trash chute. They closed the chute door shut, more gingerly this time. The sounds of Fred crawling through the metal tunnel grew softer and softer before fading into the darkness.

I smiled and made my way back to my bed, falling asleep in an instant as all thoughts of a midnight feast slipped my mind, long forgotten.

[magics-neptunes-things]

Is tusa mo cheann eile

Hi guys!

This a McFoord one, from a request that you can find here :)

Once again, it's just a fiction and no hate towards anyone!

And please enjoy ♥

TW: Injury

“Katie, I’m hot, sticky and I can’t even breath” Caitlin says softly smiling.

Katie groans, tightening even more her arms around Caitlin’s hips. They are tanning on a beach in Mallorca, where they are enjoying their holidays together, before going back to camp. They are having a good time honestly; the hotel is amazing and there is a lot of things to do. Even if Katie’s principal want is to tan as much as possible.

“You will have tanning marks” Caitlin smirks.

The Irish sight dramatically and roll on her back on the lounge chair they are sharing. Katie has always been cuddly with Caitlin since the beginning, bit several days before they had that stupid rumor about Katie cheating on Caitlin in front of dozens of people. The forward didn’t really understand what was happening when she received a call from her girlfriend at 8 in the morning, with that said girlfriend freaking out so much that none of her words was understandable.

With a lot of patience, she managed to unravel Katie’s sentences and understand what was going on. There are pixelized pictures of Katie in a Nightclub with some of her friends and people are saying that she kissed two of them, but she swears that it’s not true and Caitlin has to believe her because she would never do a thing like that even if she’s on the other side of the world and – that’s when Caitlin interrupted her.

She believed her and when she was facing those pictures later, she knew she made the right decision. We literally can’t see anything, apart from Katie leaning in the direction of her friends to be able to hear them correctly. Sadly, they received so many messages from everywhere that Katie needed to post a video to ask people to stop being shit.

It broke Caitlin’s heart to see that video, Katie looked so tired and done with everything and she wasn’t here to hug and comfort her. She had things to do in Australia and that’s why she stayed, while Katie needed to go back in London.

The next time they saw each other, except for multiples FaceTime, it was when Katie came to take Caitlin and her sister and her girlfriend to the airport. Jamie, Caitlin’s sister, and her girlfriend were clever enough to stop to a shop to buy something only to let Caitlin and Katie alone for a little bit.

Caitlin can’t remember if Katie already hugged her so hard, but she only understands the distress of her girlfriend when she faced her. Katie will admit to Caitlin several hours later that she was scared that Caitlin would change her mind and that she will finally not come here.

It was four days ago, and Katie seems to be way more relax, but she’s still glued to her girlfriend every single minute of the day.

The Irish finally sits to look at the sea while Caitlin was peacefully sipping her drink. They are alone today, Jamie and her girlfriend left for an excursion early in the morning.

“I think I want to learn how to surf” Katie suddenly says.

“Do you?”

“Yeah. Maybe I’ll go ask to the teachers right there” she add, pointing the said people.

“Hell to the no.”

Caitlin sits in the chair too, looking very upset with that idea, much to Katie’s misunderstanding.

“Your girlfriend is Australian my dear, do you really think I would let those clown teach you how to surf?”

Katie chuckles softly, looking at Caitlin.

“You want to teach me?”

“Of course I will. The only think you will ask those people is if they will be ok if we borrow one board and two surf wear.”

********

Later this afternoon, they are somewhere on the beach with a board and both wearing surf wears. Caitlin is teaching her the basics, stand up on the board, on the sand.

Thanks to Katie’s sporting abilities, she manages to make the right gestures in the right time pretty easily. She was already glad to have Caitlin as a teacher because she was really patient and seeing her molded into her suit is pretty amazing. Even if she’s able to see her with way less clothes.

But when Caitlin decides to correct Katie’s position on the board, Katie is even happier.

“Ok now” Caitlin says, taking her by her waist from behind. “You have to turn your body like this.”

With a smirk, Katie let her move her body likes she wants, looking at her over her shoulder. Caitlin was concentred on her task, but she feels her girlfriend’s gaze immediately.

“Don’t start” Caitlin says with a smile.

“I haven’t said anything.”

The Australian girl rolls her eyes but keeps her hands on Katie’s waist, positioning her body like she wants. She tries to keep Katie’s flirty teasing at bay at first, but she soon let it go and decide to play too. Her hands stayed on strategic but unless place, like Katie’s bum.

They ignore the potential fans around them, or the curious people watching them. Katie seems happy and that’s all matter for Caitlin right now.

“That’s the real reason why you wanted to be my instructor isn’t it?”

She smiles when she sees Caitlin’s guilty face. The girl is pretty calm and thoughtful in everyday life, but she definitively has a possessive side who comes out from time to time. Katie loves it, Caitlin never accused her of anything or never shout at her. She just makes sure that no one is looking or touching Katie in a way that is reserved for her.

“People don’t have to touch you like that” the Australian growls.

Katie smiles and kiss Caitlin’s cheek softly, taking advantage of their position, Caitlin is standing right behind her, her arms on her waist.

They manage to keep the flirting down after that to let Katie learn anything needed before going in the water. Caitlin has to admit that her girlfriend isn’t bad. She managed to stay on her board for several seconds when they tried to go in the water for the first time.

“You were definitely Australian in another life Katikat” Caitlin shouts just before her girlfriend falls on the water, splashing water around.

********

Several weeks after, they were back in national camps. For an unknown reason, Australia decided to attend a game against Ireland just before the Olympics, a game to try some combinations and things for real. A game is always different from training, everyone knows that.

Of course, the fans went crazy and looked forwards to see another complicated moment between Katie, Caitlin and Ruesha. Katie managed to avoid Ruesha as much as possible during training, even if it means that she can’t be as much as she wanted with some of their teammates. But the McFoord couple didn’t talk about this reunion, deciding to just ignore it.

Last time Ireland and Australia played against each other, Caitlin and Katie weren’t out for the rest of the world, even if Ruesha behavior kind of out them. Now though, they don’t hide anymore even posting pictures of themselves during their holidays or free time. They both appear in each other photo dump, but they are always together so it would be hard making thing in another way.

And some paparazzi and fans catch them during Katie’s surfing attempt during their holidays.

Even Katie’s mom started to post pictures of Katie and Caitlin on her Facebook page. Which always amused Katie so much because her mom is the caricature of people about her age and social media.

“How are you feeling?” Mackenzie asks Caitlin the day of the game.

“Fine” Caitlin shrugs, leaning against the wall of her cubby.

“Fine to fight against your girlfriend and her ex-fiancée?” Macca smirks.

“I’m not afraid of her” Caitlin answers honestly. “She can bark all that she wants, it won’t change things. And for Katie, we talked about it. We will fight for our teams, not against each other.”

“You are wise women”

Caitlin rolls her eyes with a smile. She knows that Mackenzie doesn’t want to be mean and that she’s just checking on her. Which Caitlin appreciates really much, even if people say that she’s thirdweeling Alanna and Mackenzie’s friendship, they both care for her.

“Just scores and I’ll take care of the rest” the goalkeeper says, before pinching her cheek.

Caitlin slaps Mackenzie’s hand playfully. It was a friendly game without any important issue. They were using their Olympic team though, wanting to have time to make some adjustments.

Ireland wasn’t already here when the Matildas came to line up before entering on the field. Caitlin distracts herself by remembering the last recommendation of her coach, moving softly to stretch and keep her muscles warm. She was still doing it when she hears a bunch of conversations full of Irish accent and she instinctively turns herself to them.

Katie smirks at her when she passes next to her and Caitlin smiles back. Being in camp means not to be able to see her girlfriend during long days, but at least they were on the same time schedule this time. Australia is training in Greece this time. They don’t say anything to each other, but Caitlin can’t help but look at Katie’s silhouette in front of her several times.

She completely ignores Ruesha, even if she feels like she can feel her eyes burning her head from behind. She chooses not to put the most interest on this information.

She hasn’t thought about shake Ruesha hand or not but decides to go for fist bump with everyone. She smiles at Katie’s teammates she knows better than the other and when Ruesha ignore her fist, she just bumps her arm. Alanna saw it and teases Caitlin about it when they go in their part of the field.

“She’s resentful” the blonde comments.

“I don’t care. I know I have done nothing wrong about the whole situation” Caitlin shrugs. “Her not being ok with it won’t change the fact that Katie moved on from her”

“Cheeky.”

The Arsenal’s girl rolls her eyes with a smile, before being called for the picture. Katie and Caitlin exchanged a last smile before switching in full game mode.

The game went pretty great for Australia, they are winning from one goal, but the different issues have been working in for the second part. The first goal was scored by Mary with an assist from Caitlin, taking advantage of Ruesha.

She can’t help but smile during a freekick, when she feels Katie’s presence behind her. It reminds her about the scene from the World Cup.

“Keep your hands for yourself, Captain” Caitlin teases while Steph was getting ready to shoot.

“You’re hot. Can I have your jersey, your number and your body after the game?”

Caitlin laughs softly. She can hear Katie’s smirk in her voice, she doesn’t even have need to turn to know it. Katie’s lame flirting always makes her cry laughing, but she needs to stay focused for now. She knows that it’s a teasing tentative from Katie to distract her.

They don’t score from the corner, but around the seventy minutes, Caitlin is running almost alone to faced the goalkeeper, after receiving a great ball from Kyra. She just have to pass the goalkeeper, which she does easily. It made 2-0 for them and she smiles at her teammates when they come to congratulate her.

“Ruesha is getting pissed” Mini comments.

Caitlin throws a look at her. Mini is right, but it’s not her business, right? It’s the second time that Caitlin passes her pretty easily, the first time she managed to assist Mary’s goal. Katie seems pretty gutted too, but not as angry as Ruesha.

The Australian’s girl keep focused on the game though, playing and wanting to test every things they tried during the training sessions. The Olympics were really important for each girls in the team.

Almost five minutes later, almost the same scenario is happening. Caitlin’s running to catch a long ball from Michelle this time with only Ruesha covering her. She’s faster than her, Caitlin knows it.

The next actions went pretty quick, she was running a second before being tackle from behind, Ruesha’s studs trapping her ankle between them and the ground. The pain is so strong that she can’t even shout, only able to grab her ankle tightly and hide her face on the grass.

She’s not aware of what was happening above her, Alanna grabbing Ruesha by the collar of her jersey to push her as far as possible from Caitlin, nor Mini and Hayley screaming at her, passing in full protective mode.

Steph is kneeling next to her, her hand on her back, saying things to her that she doesn’t really understand. Caitlin’s scared. Her ankle hurts like hell and the Olympics are in only several weeks. She groans when she feels someone touching her feet and slap their hand away. Kyra chuckles makes her come back a little on earth.

“Let the medical team look at it, Girl” Kyra comments.

Caitlin rolls on her back, trying to keep her breath steady. She hides her face in her arm, letting the nurse working on her feet.

“Should I let Katie kill Ruesha or are you against the idea of going to meet her in jail with oranges?”

Steph’s voice is calm, but there is a hint of amusement behind it. Caitlin turns her face in the field’s direction, just to see her girlfriend roasting Ruesha. Their others teammates look to scared to intervene.

“She doesn’t like oranges” Caitlin mumbles.

“Mh. I’ll go then.”

Steph gets up and Caitlin sights, closing her eyes again. She wishes Katie could come to her, but she feels a little stupid about it too. She feels like a kid wanting her mum when she’s hurt to bring her comfort. Kyra’s arm stroking is nice, but she’s not Katie.

“Can you look at her feet out of the pitch?”

The referee came after several minutes while Caitlin’s foot is now outside of her socks and boot.

“I’m almost finished” the nurse answers, before looking up when the referee left. “Your girlfriend is looking at me with some intensity” she adds.

Caitlin turns herself this time, searching Katie. She’s closer than she thought, standing only two meters away from them.

“She’s worried” Caitlin mumble, wincing when the nurse turns her foot in an uncomfortable position.

“Right. I don’t think there is something broken but it would been better for you to get sub of.”

Caitlin sighs and nod. It was a friendly after all and she already scored during the game. She gets up with the nurse’s help, trying to put some weight on her foot. After having hesitate for longs minutes Katie finally decides to come for her.

“You alright?” she asks quietly, escorting Caitlin out of the pitch.

“I will be.”

They share a look and Katie nods, sighing softly before going back in her place in the pitch. Caitlin goes sit on the bench to watch the end of the game and when she comes back on the pitch, she’s with crutches.

Katie goes straight for her, congratulating opponents and teammates on her way, but her eyes are on Caitlin every second of her journey. She passes a protective arm around Caitlin’s waist when she finally reach her. Katie searches for Caitlin’s eyes, scared to find some anger towards her.

“Hi” Caitlin just says, and Katie’s eyes automatically goes for her ankle.

“What did the doctor say?”

“Nothing is broken. It’s probably sprain, I have to get some scans in the morning.”

Katie nods and they are soon joined by Steph and Kyra, their teammates at Arsenal. If they were alone, Katie would most certainly have wrapped Caitlin in a protective embrace, but they aren’t. Other people came to join the small group that they formed, and all this little people talk happily.

“Katie” calls suddenly Caitlin.

The Irish woman look away from the conversation she wasn’t listening at all to put her attention on her girlfriend. Caitlin’s blue eyes are looking straight at her, and the exchange last several seconds before Caitlin talks again.

“Come on, we need to talk.”

Katie feels her stomach dropping somewhere in her feet, but still nod and follow quietly Caitlin. The Tilie takes her in the tunnel to go to the locker room, Caitlin walking slowly because of her crutches.

But, unlike what Katie was expecting, Caitlin doesn’t start the conversation with hard words. She’s in fact so surprise about the hug Caitlin gives her that she needs several seconds to pass her arms around Caitlin’s frame in return. The Australian is holding her tight, her face in her neck and the Irish is a little lost.

“I’m not mad at you” she finally whispers.

Her breath makes Katie shivers and when she looks at her again, Caitlin can see how much relieved Katie is.

“It’s not your fault. I don’t even know if Ruesha did it deliberately.”

Katie shrugs, not knowing it either. She can’t say that if her ex lost her mind at some point, if she meant it or if it was bad luck.

“I can look for the answer if you want to” Katie frowns.

“Nah. If I have the right to be possessive a little bit, I would rather you being as far as possible from her.”

“You have all the rights you want”

Katie has the time to see Caitlin’s smirk, before she passes her arms around her neck to kiss her.

“I missed you” the Aussie whispers against Katie’s lips.

“I missed you too”

They know they won’t be able to be at home together soon again, Caitlin needs to go to Paris for the Olympics. But right now, they are together and that’s what is the most important.

“Do you think I could come tomorrow for the scan?”

“I don’t see why you couldn’t” Caitlin shrugs. “Don’t you have training or team meeting?”

“No, we are free until Monday”

“Just like me” Caitlin smirks “Can I maybe sneak in your hotel room tonight?”

Katie makes a slight grimace, making Caitlin arch an eyebrow, until Katie talks again.

“Maybe it’s better if I am the one sneaking in, don’t you think?”

There is a beam of silence, before Caitlin smiles softly.

“Yeah, you might be right here.”

They hope not to be caught, but if that’s happen it’s probably better if it’s by someone like Sam Kerr or even Kyra than Ruesha. The girl left the pitch as soon as the game was finished, not wanting to talk to anyone. She received a yellow card for her tackle on Caitln, depriving her to play the next game.

They didn’t have to face her, even when Katie hurry to go take her shower to be able to go back to her girlfriend as soon as possible.

She will be able to go to the scan with Caitlin, where they learn that the Aussie will be able to start playing in two weeks again. A miracle in Caitlin’s opinion. But at least she will be able to see Katie wearing her jersey during every game and she doesn’t think that already she find her so attractive.

[calm-and-wine]

(I’ll give you) the best years

part I (moodboard)

Hello lovely people! Here is the start of a little drabble series about Nulu’s future (you can catch up on Down the line here). The biggest thank you to Anna @silverrank​ for editing and giving the best tips. Please come talk to me about those two anytime of day or night!

April 2022

“My mum’s been busting my ass with questions about the wedding. She’d love to help us plan things,” Niall said between bites of his breakfast.

They were in his house in LA, Niall had been putting finishing touches on his new album, while Lucy had a week off before going to Europe for clay season.

“Umm sure, I mean I’d love to have her help, but it’s not like we have a date set or anything. We haven’t even really talked about what we want it to be like.”

They had been engaged for a few months, but had yet to breach the topic of their wedding at all. Lucy quite enjoyed this phase of their relationship. Of course she wanted to take the relationship to the next level - hence the engagement - but after Australian Open, they hadn't spent more than two weeks together. The worst part of it was that those two weeks hadn't even been consecutive, thanks to Niall being busy recording his album and Lucy with playing.

“I know. But I think she’s just excited. And she assured me she doesn’t want to make decisions for us, just help with the organisation, since we’re both busy.”

“She’s honestly the sweetest soul. I love your mum.” Lucy sighed longingly, because she really did; Maura was an angel who had welcomed Lucy into the family with open arms, even when they hadn’t been dating that long. Because of that, she made a mental note to call her, as it’d been too long since their last chat. “Well, how about September next year? I could probably take a bit of a time off after US Open, skip a couple tournaments. I mean, it’s the end of the season anyway…”

“I’m gonna be done with touring by the end of July, so yeah, that’d work. Did you have a location in mind?”

“London,” Lucy said without a second of hesitation

“Really?” Niall looked at her surprised. “No destination wedding? Like a beach or something?”

“Nope,” she said, shaking her head. “London’s home and I’d love to do it somewhere there. Would you prefer somewhere abroad?”

“No, London’s good. I would be okay with a destination wedding, but it would be a pain in the ass with all the guests flying in and stuff. And some people wouldn’t come, so that would be a shame. Look at us, we already have a venue and a date!” Niall said with a big smile on his face. Apparently planning a wedding wasn’t that hard, all you had to do is have a chat with your partner and voila, everything was set!

Lucy laughed. “We do not have a date and a venue, we have a month and a whole city area.”

“Okay, party pooper.” Niall stuck his tongue out at her. “What about people? How many are you thinking?”

“I don’t know, about a hundred?”

A concentrated frown made Niall’s eyebrows scrunch together. “A hundred people for each of us? I guess I could make it work…”

Lucy made a face. “I meant a hundred altogether, actually.”

Niall looked at her with surprise. “Wait, what? A hundred people total?”

“Well, yeah. How many were you thinking?” Now Lucy was the one confused.

“I don’t know, around three hundred or something,” Niall mumbled, picking at his food like he was embarrassed.

“Are you serious? I wouldn’t know even half of them!” Lucy raised her brows and waited for Niall to raise his head, but when he did, he just shrugged. Lucy sighed. “And you wouldn’t even have enough time to talk to three hundred people.”

“So you want a small wedding, then?” he said after a minute.

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I mean, I’d rather have fun with the people that are closest to us than spend half the night wondering if I talked to everyone and if no one feels left out or annoyed I’m not giving them attention.”

Niall hummed, but stayed silent for a moment, thinking it over. “Maybe you’re right. I think we should start making a list, see how many people we come up with.” He had his phone in his hand in a second, ready to type. “What?” he asked, when he looked up at Lucy only to see a wide smile and bright eyes.

She shook her head slightly, but the smile wouldn't leave her face. “It just kinda hit me that we’re really doing this. We’re actually getting married.”

“Are you regretting it already?” he asked with raised brows, but with a smile that matched hers.

“No, but I might, if you actually want to invite three hundred people.”

Niall’s laughter filled the place and she joined him, thinking that she might even endure a night in the company of three hundred people or more, if it meant hearing that laugh and making a man she loved happy.

February 2023

Lucy went dress shopping with her mum, Niall’s mum, Laura, Mia and Natalia. The latter was Mia’s girlfriend of almost a year. Lucy always had limited time in London, so instead of going to a variety of different stores, she looked through an online catalogue of the one they were in, now presenting the five dresses she’d chosen. The first one had gotten mixed reactions from her company, so it was a no. The second was beautiful, but Lucy found the narrow, mermaid style bottom of the dress a little too constricting.

The minute she put on the third dress, Lucy knew her mum wouldn’t like it. And she was proved right as soon as the dressing room’s door opened.

“Oh no, this one brings too much attention to your arms and shoulders and you don’t want that, honey,” said Megan right away.

Lucy didn’t even bother making her way to the mirror in the room, nor did she grace her mum with a response. They’d been through similar situations so many times she’d lost count. The rest of her help committee was rendered silent and she didn’t want to make the atmosphere even more awkward, so she just went and changed into dress number four, losing hope of actually finding one everyone would like, herself especially.

Two out of the pre-picked dresses were nice, the first and fourth one, but none was amazing. Not one made Lucy go, ‘Wow’. Maybe she just expected too much, she always thought that she would just know, she would try it on and just feel that it’s the right one. She wanted to fall in love with her wedding dress; was that too much to ask?

“Let’s maybe look around for a bit? Maybe something will catch your eye, it’s always a bit different than browsing online.” Mia stood up as soon as she saw her cousin’s disheartened expression after looking at her reflection in the last dress.

Lucy smiled with gratitude before stepping down and heading towards the racks full of all types of wedding dresses. The other women joined them, spreading around the room to look through the garments. The group worked quietly, the main sound in the room being the scraping of hangers and background music. Lucy’s attention was brought to whoever called her name to show her one of the dresses, but she mostly replied with a shake of her head. Diana, the shop assistant, was observing the scene, ready to bring whatever was needed or take a dress to wait for Lucy in the changing room.

“What about this one?” Natalia spoke up for the first time since they started looking. Lucy looked up, and she felt her eyes instantly starting to sparkle when she looked at the dress in Natalia’s hands. It was so beautiful and delicate, breathtaking, yet not too much, all at once. She was scared to like it too much right away, before even trying it on, but the thought that this dress might be the one made her heart do a little jump.

“Yeah, I kinda love it.” She gave Nat a wide smile before turning to Diana. “Do you have my size?”

~~~~

After the visit in the bridal shop, Lucy, her mum, Maura and Mia went to lunch. Laura had a meeting about one of her new work projects, while Natalia had a photoshoot location to look at. It was nice to actually spend time with her family and friends and Lucy was relieved that most of their conversation topics weren’t about her wedding. Obviously she was excited about the whole thing, but she had been the centre of attention all morning and it was nice to get away from the spotlight a bit.

After lunch she had a session with her psychologist. They’d been working together for a few years now to make sure she had the right mentality on court, as well as helping with general mental health. As soon as the appointment was over, she had a proper training session with her coach scheduled.

It had been a good day, but when evening came, she was more than happy to be back home, enjoying a quiet evening with a steaming mug of tea and catching up on some tv shows. And when her phone finally rang with an incoming facetime call, she didn’t even try to contain her growing smile. She loved being back in London, but it was always a bit bittersweet if Niall wasn’t around. It didn’t feel completely like home.

“Hi, love.” Niall’s smiling face filled her screen and her heart instantly warmed.

“Hey. Are you leaving for the venue soon?” She could see he was still in his hotel room, shirtless as always and it looked like his hair was wet. He had a show tonight, though - in Chicago if she remembered correctly - so he should be heading out soon.

“Yeah, but I wanted to chat with you for a bit before. Did you have a good day?” He was lounging on his bed, his attention focused solely on Lucy. It was one of the things she loved most about him, especially because sometimes he found it quite hard to focus on one thing, but never when he talked to her.

“Really nice day. It was so good to see everyone and spend time together. I do miss you, though.” She pouted, an action Niall mirrored.

“I miss you, too, Lulu. I’m counting down the days for that week and a half together before clay.” He smiled sadly. They had a few small visits planned, but it was usually for two or three days; they had to wait until the beginning of April for a longer visit.

“48 days,” she said with a smile; she had an app counting the days.

As if to change the subject before the mood became too sad, Niall asked, “How was the dress-hunt?”

“Terrible, at first,” Lucy laughed. “But it got better.”

“I heard your mum made some comments…” Niall said, a bit tentatively.

“Did Maura tell you that?” Lucy asked, at which he nodded. “Yeah, she hates my arms and shoulders, but what else is new. Well, those arms and shoulders got me a spot in the top 10 best female servers for a few years now, so I really don’t care if my mum thinks they’re not feminine enough.”

“I love you, Lulu,” Niall said with a fond look in his eyes. She was appreciative that those were the words that left his mouth, not that she was beautiful; somehow it made her feel better and it was like he knew she didn’t really need that boost of confidence.

“I love you too, baby.” They stared at each other through the screen for a while, giving each other gentle smiles and supporting looks. “I hope Maura didn’t have a terrible time today.” She had to ask... well, indirectly, because she always had this creeping fear that maybe people didn’t enjoy her company as much as she enjoyed theirs. And with her mum making it awkward for a bit and the dress search taking longer than expected, she’d hate to think that maybe Niall’s mum became irritated at some point or would rather spend her time differently.

“Don’t be silly,” Niall said instantly. “She called me today as soon as I’d woken up and wouldn’t shut up about how great you are and how lucky I am to be marrying you, like I didn’t know already. You know she adores you and she felt very honored that you wanted her there. I’m pretty sure she actually texted me the minute you invited her.”

Lucy laughed. “That woman is so cute. Did she tell you about the dress?”

“Oh, you found the dress?” Something in Niall's tone made Lucy raise her eyebrows. A beat of silence followed, before Niall broke it with a sigh. “Well, she didn’t say much, refused to give me even the smallest description, but she did say you look absolutely stunning in it. She also said I’m gonna be completely speechless when I see you in it. I might not be able to say ‘I do’ if that’s the case. Do you think a nod will do?”

Lucy looked at him very unamused, while he cackled to himself. “Why, oh why, have I agreed to marry an idiot?” she asked.

“Oh please, you love my jokes. You think I’m hilarious.”

“I don’t think there’s a person on this planet who’d ever use that word to describe you,” she retorted, though without heat or malice.

They just leveled each other with a daring look until Lucy broke and started laughing, with Niall following suit.

“I really can’t wait to marry you, Lulu,” he said when they calmed down, with smiles still painted on both their faces. “Why haven’t we decided to elope?”

She snickered at that. “May I remind you that not so long ago, you actually wanted a wedding for three hundred people?” She raised her brow daringly, at which he laughed and shook his head.

“Well, good thing I’m marrying such a smart woman; at least she’ll always get my head on straight.”

Lucy let out a soft chuckle and silence engulfed them for a split moment before another thought hit her. “Oh, I told Mia we’re gonna come do the tasting in the week after Wimbledon, she said Monday would be best, cause they’re closed then, so they’d just come in for a few hours for us. You’ll be back then, right?”

Mia was a sous chef at one of the best restaurants in London, so of course they wanted to hire that team for their wedding. Obviously Mia herself wouldn’t be working as she was the maid of honour, but her colleagues would be just fine without her watchful eye.

“Yup, I’m flying back Sunday afternoon, shouldn’t be home too late, so Monday works for me.” Lucy nodded while Niall took a minute to consider something before speaking again. “I’m going to sound like a dick, I know, but is it extremely awful that I kinda hope you won’t become a Wimbledon champion this year?” he asked sheepishly.

She wasn’t offended at all, just looked at him softly, with a little tilt of her head. It just so happened that he was playing this tour’s last concert the day of the women's final at Wimbledon.

“Well, a part of me is kinda hoping I’ll lose early on, so I can come see you at least for the last show,” she said. “Maybe even a couple, if I lose in the first week.”

They shared a look with which they tried to transpire an unspoken message of ‘I miss you’ and ‘I love you’. This was their normal, not being able to experience all of the big moments together, having to make tough choices, knowing when you could be selfish and when to put the relationship first. Some may think that was too much trouble, but through their years together they learned to navigate it somehow. Sure, they still made mistakes and were torn between decisions, but as cliche as it sounded, communication was the key. And neither of them would ever exchange their relationship for something easier. After all, Lucy was a firm believer of working hard on things to truly earn them. And working on her partnership with Niall might actually be the most pleasurable work ever.

September 2023

“Man, you’re actually getting married, that’s so wild!” said Mully clasping a hand on Niall’s shoulder with a big smile on his face. “I mean, it feels like you two has been together forever, so no one really had a doubt that you’d be endgame, but just… You’re actually settling down, that’s crazy.”

“You’re one to talk… Should I remind you that you proposed to Jordan three months ago?”

“Touché,” Sean laughed.

“Can you go see how everything's going out there? And get me some water, please,” Niall said to his childhood friend, mostly because he wanted a minute to talk to his father.

“I’m on it.” Mully gave a salute and left the room with a laugh.

The rest of his groomsmen were out there as well, making sure their partners and plus ones didn’t feel abandoned and giving Niall a moment to breathe.

“Why are you so nervous, son? I thought you were a million percent sure she’s the one,” said Bobby, noticing Niall’s bouncing knee and unfocused gaze.

“I am, I mean I’ve never even been in love like that. I want to spend my life with Lulu, of course I do, but, like, what if things don’t work out? What if we actually won’t last? How can I know that?” he asked.

He loved Lucy with his whole heart and soul, he’d never been more sure about anything, and he knew she felt the same way about him. But some part of him was worried, because sometimes things just didn’t work out, right? Things happened and feelings could change. He was sure his parents were in love when they got married, yet their marriage didn’t last. And so did so many others. Maybe love wasn’t everything and marriage wasn’t the road they should take? Just thinking about losing Lulu was making his insides churn and if he focused on it for too long, he might just throw up his breakfast. 

“Niall.” Bobby came closer and looked at him with a soft, but sure look. “There are simply no guarantees. That’s just life. But let me tell you that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a relationship as strong as yours, or two people so determined to make it work, just because of the love they have for each other. Sure, life will throw all kinds of troubles at you, but I think you’ve worked through a lot of the hurdles already. As long as you’ll stay like this, honest and open and wanting to make it work, you’ll be fine. I’m pretty sure of this.”

Niall looked at him with glazed eyes. His father wasn’t one for inspirational speeches like that, which made it even more meaningful.

“And I hope you know how proud we are of you, me and your mum. For everything you’ve done and what a beautiful life you’ve built.”

“Thanks, dad,” he said, enveloping Bobby in a tight hug.

He didn’t doubt Lucy and their love, he doubted life and happy endings. He doubted just how much goodness and happiness one could get from the universe. His life had thrown so many good things his way already, there was so much luck involved in all of his successes, and he just felt that someday it’d have to turn around and some gloom would take over. And maybe not seeing Lucy since yesterday and spending the night without her brought a bit of self-consciousness and worry. After all, she was usually his voice of reason. They lifted each other up. And deep down he knew it’d always be like that. They wouldn’t let each other fall, and together they wouldn’t hit the ground, because there would always be one to hold the other up.

~~

“I need to see Niall,” Lucy said, when her hair was finally perfectly arranged and she was left in a room with her and Niall’s mums, Mia, Natalia and Laura, who were her bridal party.

“What?” asked Megan, brows drawn together in confusion. 

It was less than an hour until the start of the ceremony. Lucy hadn’t seen her soon to be husband since late afternoon yesterday, as they’d decided to follow that bit of tradition and spend the night apart, with him staying at home, while she was at the hotel with her parents and Mia. She was very much regretting that decision now. They’d texted and talked on the phone before falling asleep, but she still missed him, it was different knowing he was so close, yet they weren’t together. It didn’t feel right. And now, when she was so stressed, not about the whole marrying him thing, but just about the whole ceremony and having all eyes on her throughout the day. At least she was glad that they’ve managed to wrap up the guest list just under hundred and fifty people.

Her and Niall were not supposed to see each other before the big walk down the aisle, but she needed his presence to calm her nerves.

“Can you please ask him to come meet me?” she asked Maura.

She looked at her a bit surprised, but nodded and brought a small smile to her face, even though her eyes looked a little worried. “Of course, sweetheart.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad, I just need to see him,” Lucy assured before Maura left the room.

“We’ll give you a moment,” said Mia, squeezing Lucy’s shoulder as she passed, ushering everyone out of the room. Megan gave her an unnerved look, but left the room.

While waiting, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing her perfect dress, her hair was done just the way she wanted, part of it pinned up and part left down in soft curls, her face adorned by quite delicate makeup. Everything was just the way she imagined, even better.

There was a quick knock on her door followed by a nervous, “Lulu?”.

She took a deep breath before saying “come in”.

Hearing that Lucy wanted to see him and then standing outside her door, Niall thought his heart might just beat out of his chest. But when he walked in and saw her, standing there, a mirror behind her, a soft glow coming from the window and lighting up all of her best features, he felt like his heart just left his chest. He felt nervous and suddenly calm at the same time. His mum had been right - he was very much speechless, because Lucy looked like a vision.

“Is, um, is everything alright?” he asked, searching for any signs of distress in her eyes.

“Yes, of course. I’m about to marry the most wonderful man in the whole world. I’m a bit nervous, though, and just needed to see you,” she said a little sheepishly. She hadn’t really thought about how it might look to Niall when his mum showed up and said his fiancée wanted to see him, hadn’t considered how panicked he might get.

He took a step closer, not being able to stand the distance between them any longer, especially since he was sure she wasn’t about to call the wedding off or anything like that. When he was close enough, he noticed her hands were shaking and instantly engulfed them in both of his.

“Nothing to be nervous about. It’s just people we know out there. And I’m gonna be there, waiting for you at the altar and then be by your side the whole time. Plus, I have to say, just… wow. You look so incredibly beautiful, Lulu. I knew you would, you always do, but this... this is just a different level. And knowing you’re gonna become my wife today, somehow it just makes you even more stunning.”

When she finally looked at him, her eyes were already starting to water. “You look incredibly handsome as well.” His face finally lit up with a big smile and she almost launched herself into his arms. “Can we share our vows now?” she asked quietly into his ear.

Out there, in front of everyone, they’d decided to go with the traditional vows, to try and not make each other cry. But they both wanted to do their own, special ones. It was agreed to exchange them sometime later, probably late at night, when the wedding festivities were over, but she didn’t want to wait. As they were standing in this small room, both ready, wrapped up in each other, she wanted to be his already. Even if it wouldn’t be officiated, she wanted to have that promise between them already. She wanted to walk down the aisle with his vows playing in her head. She needed the confidence that his words would give her, the reminder of his love and devotion.

“Of course, whatever you want, love,” he whispered. “Do you want me to start?” Even though he didn’t see her because of their embrace, he could feel her nod. He planted a soft kiss on her cheek, right by her ear, before slowly pulling away, but keeping his hands around her waist.

Lucy felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest. It was fluttering around her ribcage, when she looked at the man in front of her, ready to soak up his every word. Even though her heartbeat might say differently, she wasn’t nervous.

“My Lulu,” Niall started, looking straight into her eyes. He’d use her full name out there for their proper vows, so now, as it was just the two of them, he really wanted to call her by his favourite nickname. “I promise to love and to cherish you every second of every day, no matter what’s going on or where we are, together or apart. I promise to not let you lose yourself, especially not in my own life and dreams. I promise to always be your number one fan and supporter, to always believe in you, always let you shine and remind you how bright you are. But most of all, I promise to be your partner, through thick and thin, no matter what life throws at us, to stand by your side, hold you tight and lift you up. I love you, Lulu and I promise to try to be the best husband possible.”

About halfway through his speech, Lucy’s eyes not only sparkled, but full on watered, tears eventually spilling down her cheeks. Niall quickly wiped them away with a soft smile and a look that said he’ll always be there to do just that. He didn’t even need to say it out loud, she already knew.

Before she started speaking, Lucy reached up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss right on his lips. “Niall, baby, I knew I should have gone first, cause you’re better at words than I am,” she started, at which he chuckled and squeezed her waist encouragingly. “I promise to always make sure you know how much I love you, through words and gestures, to always make you feel secure and confident, just like you do for me. I promise to always have your back, cause we are a team and together we can do anything. I promise to always try to understand you and consider your feelings. I promise to be open and honest, just like you want me to. I promise to never lose sight of how amazing you are and not let you to, either. I promise not to let you sacrifice yourself too much for me, even if you want to. I promise to make you laugh, just like you do with your stupid jokes, and to play with your hair and rub your back when you’re tired or can’t sleep. And I promise to always strive to be exactly what you need. Even though I can’t promise to be the perfect wife, I promise to try my hardest and always be the best for you.”

Just as she was saying the last sentence, a tear rolled down Niall’s left cheek, which she wiped with the tip of her finger, just like he’d done to her a few minutes earlier. She’d barely finished, when he pulled her closer and enveloped her in a tight hug while planting kisses all over her face and neck. This moment was just so blissful, they both wanted to stay in it forever.

Neither of them could even say how long they’d spent alone, after their vows they just stayed in each others’ embrace, sharing kisses every other second, inhaling one another, swaying back and forth on their feet, even though there was no music playing. They were wrapped up in their little bubble of love and excitement. Until there was a knock on the door.

“Please stop mingling in there, you’re supposed to get married in twenty minutes. I can’t believe you couldn’t even keep your hands off each other for one day.” Mia’s voice was slightly muffled through the doors, but her words were still clear. Niall and Lucy shared a shocked look, not even thinking of what anyone might think they were doing (they truly didn’t care), before erupting in laughter.

~~~~

When Lucy was coming back from the toilet, someone pulled her hand before she reached the main room. She turned her head to see it was her husband. He had a wicked smile on his face and put a finger to his lips as a signal to keep quiet, even though she was pretty sure no one would hear them over the loud music coming from the dancefloor anyway. He laced their fingers and led them into a corner of the hallway passed the kitchen.

Niall propped her against the wall, but put a hand around her waist to soften the hit.

“I’ve missed you,” he said, quietly bringing his body closer and leaning in to kiss her cheek before moving on to her neck.

Lucy let out a lovely laugh. It was a sound that he wanted to hear for the rest of his life. “We got married today, baby, we’ve been around each other for hours.” Despite her words, he kinda had a point. Sure, they were always together, holding hands or wrapping an arm around the waist to keep the other by their sides, but they were constantly around other people, listening to congratulations, well wishes and just making conversations with their guests. It was lovely, it was a part of the whole wedding ordeal, and it was their family and friends, who they were so happy to share this moment with, but she did want a minute alone with her husband as well.

“Yes, but I want you just for myself for a moment. You’ve been my wife for hours now and I’ve barely even kissed you. It’s a bit outrageous, don’t you think?” He whispered it all straight into her ear, nibbling on a skin once he was done.

She hummed. “Very much so” she agreed. She grabbed the back of his hair to pull him away from her neck and finally bring him in for a proper kiss. Both of them were hungry for it, their mouths working hurriedly, like anyone could interrupt them at any given moment, which was kind of true in this situation. Niall’s hands were rummaging around her dress, sneaking from around her ribcage to her waist and then travelling down and in this moment Lucy was both glad and mad at herself that her wedding gown was floor length, because she missed the warmth of his skin on her, even though this definitely wasn't the time and place to be doing that. She wanted to do nothing more but rake her fingers through his soft hair, but it was still perfectly styled and she didn’t want to ruin it, especially since it would probably create quite a buzz between the guests.

“Man, I can’t wait until the party’s over” he sighed, throwing his head back, when Lucy pulled away with a groan to force them both to catch their breath. “Is it really awful that I’m saying that about my own wedding?”

“Nah, I kinda feel the same right now,” she admitted with a giggle. At this moment, when they were sneaking around the party for a bit of a make out session, she felt like a teenager with butterflies in her stomach, not an adult with a husband. But there was a certain beauty in that, how Niall could make her feel giddy and excited with the simplest things, no matter how long they’d been together.

“Should we sneak off to the bathroom or something?” he asked with a glint in his eyes.

Lucy chuckled, knowing, well, hoping at least, that he wasn’t actually being serious. There was no way she was having sex with her husband for the first time in some filthy bathroom at their own wedding. Well, maybe not filthy, cause the whole place was very nice, but the sentiment was very much the same. It was not the place (nor time) to engage in marital sex. She and Niall had slept together too many times to count, but both of them wondered if this next time would be different, because of the official commitment marriage brought, if anything would change in their connection. Lucy had a gut feeling it’d be better than any time before and that they’d feel close and connected like never before, although that’d never been an issue for them. Their intimacy always brought not only their bodies, but also their minds and souls as close together as possible.

“Absolutely not,” she said, planting a kiss on his lips to soften the blow. “But we should get back. Theo looked pretty sleepy and I promised him another dance. Also, Harry made me swear to save one for him as well.” She smiled at the memory of sharing a dance with Niall’s ten year old godson not even an hour ago, and at the conversation they’d had with his former bandmates, which involved a lot of teasing of her husband.

“No,” Niall whined languidly. “Why do I have to share you? I’m fine with Theo, he’s a good kid, but Harry can suck it, he has his own girl.” He pouted to emphasize his words, at which Lucy laughed and reached her hand to smooth his features.

“Well, you could dance with Meave or another of the boys’ girls and then we can swap to get back together. I’m the bride, baby, a hot commodity, nothing we can do about it.” She shrugged her shoulders with a smile.

He sighed and pulled her closer to hide in the space between her neck and shoulder, which might just be his favourite spot on her body. “Okay, let’s go, I want to get it over with,” he said after a minute, standing straighter up. The smile on his face and the kiss he gave her before pulling away and lacing their fingers to head back to their party told her what she already knew, that he wasn’t actually grumpy and he did enjoy the night, even if it meant sharing her the whole night. Because in the end, she was his and he was hers and they had a whole lifetime together ahead of them.

Right before they entered the room where most of the guests were gathered, he pulled her to her chest once more and whispered a simple sentence right into her ear, but that few words sent a thrilled chill across her whole body: “Can’t wait for our honeymoon.”

[hollyxqx]

PLAYING WITH FIRE  //  YOONGI  //  05

↪PARING: Min Yoongi x Reader ↪ GENRE: angst » smut » idol!au » enemies to lovers ↪ SUMMARY: Yoongi hates you. Or at least he thinks he does. (AKA the one where you work for BigHit and Yoongi is bad at feelings). ↪ WORD COUNT: 6k ↪ WARNINGS: heavy angst | sex | secret relationships | jealousy | mild possessive behaviour a/n: don’t hate me too much for this chapter lol i promise its for a reason.

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX

Yoongi could barely control the toothy grin that spread across his face as you practically skipped down the hallway, hand firmly encasing his. It was 1am, the perfect time for a secret rendezvous with someone he wasn't supposed to be with. Talk about taking control of the situation and being smart. People say it all the time but he literally couldn't help himself when it came to you.

Where you were taking him he wasn't aware; Yoongi was happy to be led as long as it was with you. You urged him on further with an encouraging smile thrown over your shoulder. He couldn't control how his heart skipped a beat.

"We can't go in here!" He hissed when he realised what you were up to.

"Be quiet." You reprimanded, holding a finger to his lips for a moment before you pushed open a fire escape door. He was almost certain this was at the very best was frowned upon and at worst - illegal. Left and right he looked up and down the deserted corridor double and triple checking that you were absolutely alone. The coast was clear.

Disobeying every instinct inside that was screaming this is not a good idea he followed you through the open door into the cool air of the concrete stairwell. You kept your grip on his hand tight as you dragged him up the flight of stairs.

"Where are you taking me?" He questioned aloud.

"Almost there." You ignored the question, panting a little from the exertion of this many steps. "It's worth it, I promise."

To his absolute horror you pushed open a door marked 'rooftop: do not enter' as if it was nothing. A thousand terrible images flashed through his mind of him getting caught doing something so wild and then being kicked out of BangTan and having his home country hate him. You could sense his reluctance.

"Yoongi, it's fine, I promise. The night manager of the hotel is a friend of mine. We're not going to get in trouble." You assured. He shot you a confused look.

"Wha - ? How do you know the manager?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Friend of my dad's. I lived in LA during the summer when I was younger you know."

He didn't actually know that. You hadn't really disclosed much about your life before moving to Korea to him and he hadn't asked, hesitant to pry too much assuming you'd tell him if you wanted him to have that information. "Oh." He muttered dumbly.

Now that you were outside the chill air of the summer night felt refreshing and he inhaled deeply, taking it in along with the view of the city below. He looked up at the sky, disappointed that the LA pollution hid the stars in the sky. Turning back to you, Yoongi watched as you wedged the metal door open with a wooden doorstop so it didn't close behind you both.

"The view is great huh?" You asked as you strode over to him.

He looked at you. "It is." He swallowed thickly.

You gently nudged him over to the furthermost concrete edge of the building. He wrapped an arm around your side and  held you tightly against him. "Do you see that tower over there?" You pointed somewhere to the left and he squinted, nodding when he saw what you were talking about. "That's where my father used to live. When my parents divorced that's where I would stay when I came to visit."

"How old were you when they separated?" He asked quietly, a gentle hand stroking your side comfortingly.

"Eleven." You hummed softly. "It was a lot, going back and forth between here and Britain alone but I'm thankful for it now. It made me brave enough to go to new places. Hence Korea."

"I had no idea." He felt a little foolish for not asking more about you sooner. It always seemed as if there never was enough time when you were together, every moment was stolen. He was thankful for the opportunity to learn now however. "I just assumed you were brave. Or stupid. One of the two." He teased, squeezing your hip affectionately.

You rolled your eyes, swatting him on the chest playfully. "There's a fine line between courage and stupidity but I'm going to assume there's a compliment in there somewhere."

Unable to stop himself he placed a tender kiss against your brow, feeling closer to you emotionally in that moment than ever before. Your eyes fluttered shut at his touch. "We're leaving tomorrow." He said quietly, wrapping his other arm around your waist. "This will be the last time we're in each other's company for a long time."

"Yeah." You sighed sadly. "We're both at that point in our lives where our career's are taking off and taking up all of time."

"Timing has never been a strength of mine." He quipped. "When I moved to Seoul I promised myself I would work as hard as possible, with zero distractions. Then I met you."

"Kiss me, Yoongi." You pleaded faintly. He was planning on doing that anyway. Dipping his head he slowly leaned forward, eyes flickering from your mouth to your lips and back again. His lips pressed to yours delicately, carefully, ever so slightly sucking your bottom lip as he pulled away. If this was going to the last time he did not want to rush.

This was a moment he wanted to remember.

"Thank you for bringing me here and sharing more of yourself with me." He murmured against your lips. "I like getting to see more of you."

The way you blushed didn't go amiss and it only made him kiss you harder this time around. Fingertip under your chin he tilted your head upwards for him so you were at the perfect angle, allowing him to gently slip his tongue into your mouth. You rotated in his arms so you were chest to chest and pressed yourself against him.

When you eventually broke apart, you stood on your tiptoes and pressed your foreheads together, smiling like love drunk fools at each other. "You are the best kisser." You giggled.

"I think you bring it out in me." He grinned.

You stood normally again and hugged him, burying your face in his neck. He held you close, just savouring the moment, enjoying having you in his arms. Minutes passed and he felt like he could stay like this for hours. "Yoongi?" You asked, voice muffled by his skin.

The tone of your voice had changed suddenly and it made him nervous. "Yeah?" His throat felt dry.

"What happens now?"

The million dollar question, the one he often asked himself in the quiet hours of the morning unable to sleep and unable to stop his overthinking brain spiral with the 'what ifs'. Truthfully, he didn't know. The only thing that seemed to work for your relationship was taking every moment as it comes. No expectations; no disappointment.

"I don't know." He answered honestly.

"We've been so lucky this far. If people find out - "

" - I know."

It goes without saying. Everyone has seen the articles and the vitriol that spreads like wildfire whenever an idol is caught being anything less than perfect. A relationship is certainly out of the question. A relationship with a staff member, absolutely never.

"I don't want to say this." You began. His stomach dropped and all he wanted to do was kiss you into silence so he didn't have to hear the words that were about to follow that ominous sentence. Everything was perfect right now and he didn't want it to be ruined. It had been a long, arduous road to this point.

"Your career is important to me." You continued. "Just because I don't work for you anymore doesn't mean I don't care. I do. Tremendously. That's why I want to see you do well, well all of the boys obviously. Which is why," You lifted your head to look him in the eye. "I don't think we should continue whatever...this is."

He'd be lying to himself if he hadn't expected this at some point, considering everything had felt like some sort of dream so far. He swallowed thickly, trying not to show you how your words had made him almost feel winded. "If that's what you want."

"No!" You protested, shaking your head frantically. "You misunderstand. I don't want that. Not even a part of me wants that. There is so much going on for both of us and we're young enough that we can be a little selfish and focus on work for a bit. Unfortunately we're in an industry where we can't exactly be open about being together. And we're both so busy is it really fair?"

He sighed.

"I think I get it." He said eventually. "It just fucking sucks. I wish I could date you. Y'know, properly. It's funny, when I was a kid I was so shy I never would have spoken to a girl like you." He laughed at himself. "I'd probably be too nervous to date you if you hadn't started working with us and I'd gotten to know you."

"You? Shy?" You scoffed. " No way. I've seen you onstage don't forget. That is not a shy boy, that's a god damn sexy man."

"It's true!" He contested, wide eyed. "I never wanted to perform. I just wanted to make music."

"Yeah? I didn't know that." You smiled fondly. "Where would our first date be do you think?"

"We've already had it." He smirked, thinking back to the concert you went to together and how he'd spent most of the night watching your reactions.

"Please - that doesn't count. I'm talking about the hypothetical world where I meet shy Yoongi."

He laughed a little. "For our first official date I'd take you for dinner somewhere nice," He hummed pausing in thought. "Then maybe a walk along the beach afterwards. I think something out of the city would suit us."

"You're so cute." You kissed his nose. "I agree, away from the city is better."

"Then, I'd want to kiss you at the end of the date. But I'd probably bottle it at the last second and do something awkward instead."

The two of you shared a genuine laugh. "I would have liked to meet him."

"You'll have to settle for me, sorry."

"He's okay I guess." You smiled, kissing him again. "Nice Yoongi."

"So after tonight we're definitely not doing this again?" He asked to confirm. It felt terrible even saying the words aloud.

"It's for the best. Not forever, just...until we're settled. Then we can do it properly right? No sneaking around?"

His stomach lurched but he nodded anyway. That sounded a lot like forever to him. It wasn't fair, he wanted this to run it's course naturally and once again, being an idol was interfering with his life. As thankful as he was for his career, sometimes he yearned for a little normality.

***

Yoongi's not entirely sure how it happened but it doesn't take long for him to be pushing you roughly up against the concrete wall of the stairwell, sliding his hands up and underneath your shirt. It wasn't his intention but he couldn't help himself. If this was the last time he was going to make it count. You had tried to leave but he'd pulled you back to him, desperate to have you once more.

"Not here," You told him breathlessly. He grunted in agreement but didn't stop, shoving a muscled thigh between your legs to give you something to grind on and guided your hips for you. He just wanted to hear you moan for him and you did. "Seriously, not here. Let's go to my room."

It's easy to slip back to your hotel room unnoticed given the lateness of the hour. He's careful to keep his hands off of you until you're safely behind a locked door.

He laid you down on the bed and hovered over you. The bruise he'd sucked into your skin the day before had darkened over night. As he kissed it he smirked. He was going to leave more tonight wherever he could, purple marks that said I was here, here and here. Maybe you'd remember for a while that you were his at one point, in some way shape or form.

"You're going to think about the way I fuck you tonight for months." He smirked into you skin with a smile and he meant it. You groaned out loud at his words, clutching desperately at him. "I promise." He assured, nipping at your ear.

"I do that anyway." You breathed a laugh as he kneeled on his haunches to have better access to rid you of your skin tight jeans. "The amount of times I've touched myself thinking of you..."

Yoongi froze. He peered up at you through the dark hair that hung in his eyes. "Tell me more." He urged. "What do you think about?" Your jeans were gone and your panties soon followed. He slowly ran his hands up the inside of your thighs before spreading them open for him. "Better yet, show me."

He guided your hand between your legs, encouraging you to masturbate for him. The way you shyly bit your lip as if you were nervous made him weak. His thumbs rubbed circles on your inner thighs as he watched your fingers move intently. "Tell me what you think about." He repeated. He wanted to hear it so badly.

"Mostly I," You took a shaky breath, thighs flexing slightly underneath his palms. "I think about you eating me out. A lot."

"Yeah?" He laid down on his stomach and licked a stripe up your cunt next to your working fingers. "I love eating you out." You stopped for a moment but he placed his hand on yours, telling you to keep going so he could watch how wet you were getting for him.

He rested his head on your thigh, gently sucking a bruise on the tender flesh, making you moan out loud. He kissed the forming bruise a few times after he was satisfied, throwing a smirk your way when you realised what he had done.

"Remember the first time we fucked? On the bus?" Yoongi nodded. "I think about that a lot too."

"Why?"

"Because you're so much dirtier than I thought you were." You both laughed a little. "I love it when you fuck me open with your fingers, feels so good. Honestly I just love it when you just hold me down and fuck me, Yoongi."

He tried to hold in the groan that was bubbling in the back of his throat. Right now he had the patience of a saint, because that's all he wanted to do too. He rid himself of his clothing and hovered over you slowly stroked his aching cock as he watched you, desperate for even a little bit of relief.

"Yoongi I want you." You moaned, back arching off the mattress so much so that your breasts pressed against his chest. "Please."

He wanted you too but was only delaying himself so this moment in time could be frozen a little longer. As soon the sex was over, everything was over.

Lacing his hands through each of yours he pressed them down on the bed next to your head as he pushed his stiff length inside of you. It was so warm and tight and wonderful he stilled completely as soon as he was sheathed, just to commit this moment to memory.

He attached his lips to your neck to distract him from the overwhelming sensation that was already beginning to build. "You're so fucking pretty, baby." He mumbled into your skin. He could smell you; your perfume, your natural body scent and he wanted to drown in it, commit it to memory forever. "I'm lucky I ever got to have you like this."

His hips moved of their own accord, thrusting into you. You keened and moaned, squeezing his hands at the sensation. He always loved how responsive you were to his touch. "It feels amazing. So good Yoongi. You're so perfect."

There was too much he wanted to say. He was afraid of spilling every wonderful thing he'd ever thought about you in that moment. This was an ending. A goodbye of sorts. He couldn't. So he focused all his energy into making you feel as good as possible and not on the things he wanted to say.

He touched your clit with his thumb, just how he knew you liked, feeling you tighten around him. There was a sense of pride every time he made you cum, getting to see you at your peak, just for him. He doubted you were had been like this with other partners before.

"Let me see you cum," He husked, gazing down at you. "Just one more time. Cum for me pretty girl."

You responded to his encouragement by whining his name as you clamped around him. He kept going, stimulating you into over sensitivity and only stopping when you clutched at his wrist, signalling you'd had enough.

Yoongi hoisted you up so you were pressed chest to chest, resting back on his haunches. Desperately he kissed you, tasting some of the sweat that had formed on your upper lip. His hands slid down your body, encouraging you to wrap your legs around his waist. He almost felt as if he couldn't get close enough to you.

"You think you can go again?" He breathed against your lips.

"I don't know but I'm happy to try." You smiled breathlessly as you clung to him.

In a flash he had you on your front, knees straddling your thighs as he entered you again. He leaned down, caging you in with his body and pressing you into the mattress. As his hips slapped against your ass he kissed your shoulders sloppily. He wasn't going to last much longer. You felt too good.

"Fuck me just like that Yoongi." You gasped, hands curling in the sheets, gripping them tightly. "Please, please, please."

Fuck, he was going to cum. Before he could he pulled out and squeezed the base of his cock delaying his impending orgasm. You looked at him, brow furrowed in confusion over your shoulder. You tried to push back on him but he stopped you.

"Turn over baby." He groaned. You rolled onto your back, reaching for him. "Don't want to come too soon." He exhaled, pushing back into you. You whimpered.

Yoongi pushed both of your legs together and rested them over his shoulder as he leaned into you. The angle was much deeper than before and he went as hard as he could. "I'm close again Yoongi, I might come like this." You panted.

"Come like this." He almost begged.

"Yoongi." You almost cried. "Yoongi."

It only encouraged him. He wanted you to come without having to touch yourself. The pace he kept was relentless. "Baby, please. Let go for me."

You did. He followed shortly after, holding himself with a hard thrust inside of you, holding himself as deeply in you as possible. "Fuck." He swore against your skin when he came.

You pushed some hair off of his face. "So good." You murmured, nuzzling into him. "So good."

When both of you reluctantly had cleaned up, maintaining some sort of distance you walked him to the door. Kissing him deeply as a depature was a surprise, but he welcomed it nonetheless.

"Yoongi, this isn't goodbye."

He frowned at your words.

"Yoongi this isnt goodbye. It's see you later. I promise."

***

Blearily he walked back to the room he shared with Namjoon, a little worse for wear and a lot exhausted. Normally after a night with you he would be feeling pretty great about now. There was a heavy emptiness he carried with him this time. Everything would be fine, he knew that having been through much worse in his life, but that rationale still didn't stop him from feeling shitty.

He slipped into the room to find Namjoon already up and on the phone, ordering some room service. He nodded to Yoongi in acknowledging hello. Yoongi shrugged off his jacket and shoes, throwing himself on to his twin bed with a long yawn and closed his eyes. Maybe he could have a quick rest before his turn in the shower.

"I ordered you breakfast, I figured you'd be back in time." Namjoon spoke. Yoongi hummed, unable to open his eyes. "Did you sleep at all last night hyung?"

"Nope."

"You're an animal." Namjoon laughed, correctly assuming what his friend had been up to.

"I'll sleep on the plane." Yoongi yawned again, mentally counting how many hours until the flight. If he could make it through the next six he could rest. He needed coffee urgently.

"Do you mind if I shower first?" Namjoon asked.

"Go ahead. If I'm asleep wake me up when you get out." Yoongi rolled onto his side, curling into a ball. He desperately wanted to quell the ache in his chest, chastising himself for being ridiculous. He found himself dozing off as he heard the soothing sound of the shower start to run.

It felt like thirty seconds had passed when Namjoon shook him awake, but one look at the clock told him it had been close to thirty minutes. Even though he'd requested the wake up call he still grumbled as he groggily sat up. "I'm going to shower."

"Breakfast will be here in about five."

Yoongi nodded and went to the bathroom. He washed and brushed his teeth quickly, eager to get to the coffee that was due imminently. When he returned to the room Namjoon was setting up the food for the two of them.

"Need coffee." Yoongi muttered, going straight for a mug and the pot.

"You're so grouchy when you're tired." Namjoon teased. Which in all fairness was true, but he was grouchy for more reasons than lack of sleep. He was going to have to explain to Namjoon sooner or later, the prospect of which made him feel embarrassed.

They said nothing else as they ate. Yoongi looked at his phone, caught up on some messages and emails he'd missed while with you.

"Y/N ended things with me." Yoongi eventually said. Namjoon looked at him in surprise he went to speak but Yoongi stopped him. "It's for the best. Yes I'm fine, no I don't want to talk about it."

"I..." Namjoon hesitated, confused. "Okay."

"I don't really feel like telling everyone else so if you could, yknow if it comes up. It's not a big deal."

"Sure." Namjoon was still looking at him peculiarly. "Whatever you need."

"It really isn't a big deal."

"I know, you said so."

Yoongi didn't know who he was trying to convince, himself or his friend. He couldn't wait to be on the flight and unconscious for twelve hours.

***

It was business as usual when he landed in Seoul. They had the afternoon off before a night time practice session. Yoongi was thankful to be thrown straight into the deep end with work, it was a welcome distraction. If Namjoon had told the others about you and him, he didn't know. Either way no one mentioned you and for that he was grateful. In time he'd forget and move on.

He didn't entirely trust nor believe you when you said this was on hold, not over. It would be in his best interests to assume it was done for good, he told himself. He'd pined and lusted after you for so long now, he wasn't going to do it anymore. He couldn't allow himself the luxury of that interference. Music came first now, always.

You promised to stay in touch but he wasn't going to hold his breath. Not because he assumed you disliked him but because he knew first hand how busy you were at the moment. A new boy group to manage doesn't leave a lot of free time for a social life, especially with someone who was as busy as yourself. So for now, being your friend was good enough. He wouldn't go back to being cold to you, he'd be the nice, shy Yoongi he promised you he was.

***

The first time he heard from you was through text. Roughly one month after LA. He wasn't expecting it.

from: y/n i'm watching your live stream ;-) nice sweater vest, you look like my dad

He didn't normally look at his phone during his solo lives, so he only received the text after he'd already turned off the connection. He laughed at the text before sending you a reply, defending his taste in fashion. You didn't reply to that text.

The next few weeks turned into months and you remained in contact solely through text.

from: y/n a little birdie @ bighit told me you're going to be blonde for the comeback send me pics!

from: yoongi who spilled?  [ i m a g e  s e n t ]

from: y/n cute cute cute i love it

from: yoongi your turn to send me a pic not bc i miss your face.  I just forgot what you look like

from: y/n [ i m a g e  s e n t ]

from: yoongi there she is now i remember

from: yoongi: you're going to be at the MAMA's?

from: y/n yup

from: yoongi if u get time come say hi

***

"Let me get this straight. You went from hating her, to sleeping with her, to sort of dating, then not dating and now you're constantly flirting with each other through text? My head hurts."

Yoongi looked at Seokjin and shrugged, as they both towelled the sweat off their brows after performing. Waiting in the wings of the stage until it was time to return to their seats. He didn't really have a good explanation for it either. In his mind he was just being friendly. Not that he would speak to every one of his female friends like this. Yoongi double checked to make sure no one could overhear them.

"We're just friends. You all talk to her as well." He defended.

"Not like that I don't." Seokjin smirked. "As if she sends me selfies. Don't think I didn't clock that one. Come on, Yoongi hyung."

"It's complicated." Yoongi sighed, accepting defeat. "I don't think her and I can be just friends but I'm trying."

"It's complicated because of all the loooooove." He laughed, nudging Yoongi with his elbow, who then proceeded to swat at him like he was a pestering insect.

"Shut up." He grumbled.

"She's here tonight, I passed her earlier but she was on the phone." Jin informed him. Yoongi knew that already. "I bet you end up in bed together again. Both of you are fooling yourselves."

Yoongi rolled his eyes and took that as his cue to leave the conversation. A tiny, deeply hidden part of him hoped that would be the case but he wouldn't dare allow himself to feel that. Hope was a dangerous thing.

He wonders if you're feeling as much anticipation and trepidation as he does. Even that thought creates a knot in his stomach.

"Hey blondie." He knew it was you before he looked, turning on his heel to face you. You ruffled his newly blonde locks with a grin.  "You were amazing tonight."

"Thanks." He broke out into a genuine smile, fixing his now mussed up hair. "How've you been?"

"Busy. Good." You answered, returning his smile. It had been months since he'd seen you and he cursed himself for getting so excited just being in your general vicinity. He was supposed to be moving in the other direction. The getting over you for good direction. You waved at Seokjin over his shoulder before your phone chimed with an incoming message. "I've got to run, but we'll be at the BigHit building later? See you there?"

"Yeah, sure."

You're gone as quick as you had appeared, leaving Yoongi dumbstruck in your wake.

Yoongi never saw you that night after everything. Bangtan had won a total of five awards, so he was on a high and looking to celebrate with everyone. He texted you but was left on read with no response. At the very least he had expected a response of congratulations, but his inbox remained empty.

Seokjin was wrong about you ending up together, and Yoongi was disappointed. He should have known better.

*** Time off is a rarity, so to have five entire weeks of schedule free days ahead of him had Yoongi excited. Personal projects that had taken a back seat were now finally able to be a priority for him and he was looking forward to holing himself in the studio for a few days and making some progress. Namjoon and Jimin were going travelling while the rest of the boys were going home to their families.

He had only vague plans to visit his own family but when his mother sent a guilt inducing text, Yoongi made those plans concrete. Nothing like a mother's disappointment to motivate you. He knew he needed to make more of an effort.

Daegu still always felt like home, no matter how long he had been away. Even just the smell of his house (usually whatever his mom was cooking combined with fresh laundry and flowers) made him feel comfortable. His mom gave him a bone crushing hug the instant she first saw him. He definitely had left it too long this time. Yoongi made a mental note to visit more.

It felt good to have a family meal. He remembered sadly that the last time he had shared a table with his parents had been his grandfather's funeral. It wasn't often that Yoongi thought he worked too much or too hard, but he certainly wondered now.

He forced his mother to relax while he washed the dishes, knowing how tirelessly she worked to provide for her family. He just wanted to do something nice for her, however minor or insignificant it seemed to him he knew she would appreciate it.

Yoongi's mother essentially pushed him out the door when he tried to clean the entire kitchen. He had plans with some childhood friends (not that he was particularly excited about them) and his mom knew. She yelled at him with a laugh to go enjoy himself and stop re-arranging her kitchen. Somewhat reluctantly he trudged to the bar he'd agreed to meet at.

They'd been coming to this place since Yoongi was sixteen. As soon as they realised they could get away with buying beer and not having to show ID it became a regular hang out spot for him and his friends. It's not the most amazing place he's ever been to but there's a sense of nostalgia here now that keeps them all coming back.

A quick scan of the room enabled Yoongi to spot Jongdae, sat in the back right corner of the somewhat busy bar. He weaved through the tables, greeting his old friend with a hug when he reached him.

"Even though you're so famous now you haven't changed a bit." Jongdae laughed, patting him on the back. Yoongi merely shook his head with a smile. "There's something I have to tell you - Ara's coming tonight."

"What?" Yoongi frowned, confused. "Does she know I'm - ?"

"Yeah. She knows."

Ara was Yoongi's one and only official girlfriend he'd ever had in his life. They had met in school and dated on an off for years before going separate ways. There was never any animosity between them, but there certainly was no love lost on his part either. He couldn't even remember the last time he spoke to her. He could remember her crying her eyes out when he ended things however. It still made him feel like a total dick, even to this day.

Ara was an adult who just happened to be a part of his childhood friend group. Yoongi was sure she'd moved on. He wasn't in the mood for a stifled awkward evening.

When she arrived she had Jonghyun and Jun in tow. Jongdae beckoned them over to the table. Ara gave Yoongi a polite hello and he relaxed, tension of anticipating an awkward arrival dissipating.

Most of the conversation was centred on him, much to his dismay. Yoongi was an idol and his friends found joy in playfully mocking him.

"He isn't even wearing makeup for us, guess we're not that special." Jongdae teased, squinting at Yoongi's face and pretending to look for traces of non existent foundation.

"Ah, fuck off." Yoongi couldn't help but grin. "You don't understand how irritating wearing makeup is."

"You would know." Jun laughed. Yoongi didn't miss Ara's laugh either.

"Idol life isn't easy." Jongdae mocked. "Just being rich and adored all the time. God, how awful."

"I wish," Yoongi scoffed. "At least you can have a girlfriend without everyone hating you." He said before he could think, alcohol loosening his tongue. Ara looked at him curiously.

"True, true." Jongdae agreed. "You must date a little though? On the down low?"

"I did for a while. It's hard." Yoongi sighed, cursing himself for putting a damper on the conversation. He needed to stop talking before he revealed too much.

"You're single now?" Ara asked, taking him by surprise.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I'm single."

***

He was an idiot for ending up in this situation. This is why I don't drink went through his head as he followed Ara into her home, her fingers laced through his to guide him where she wanted him. He wasn't drunk, he knew what he was doing, he'd just had enough alcohol to lower his inhibitions. Ara was a warm, willing body who wanted him and Yoongi was lonely.

Thoughts of you were creeping into his subconscious and he shook his head, as if to clear his mind. No. He couldn't and wouldn't think of you now. You didn't want him and Ara did. He'd be a fool to even consider you in this moment. Yet he couldn't help himself, memories flashing before his eyes. Like reverse psychology. The more he didn't want to think of you the more he did.

When Ara's lips touched his cock his eyes squeezed shut, willing the image of your lips around him away.  A horrible, gut wrenching thought entered his mind - the idea that you might be doing this with someone else right now and he felt sick. He gripped on to Ara's hair as if to anchor himself to reality. The reality that it was not you who he was in bed with.

It took him forever to cum, despite the enthusiasm Ara gave to the blow job. He was too much in his own head, drowning in memories. If she was offended she didn't show it, much to his relief. Yoongi did his best to get her off as well, not that he had much desire to but he wasn't selfish.

He snuck out of her room before sunrise, feeling a mixture of shame and remorse. All he wanted to do was go home and shower.

He thought about you several times on the walk to his house and wondered if the feeling was mutual. Maybe you were just better at compartmentalizing than he was. Yoongi was a textbook overthinker. He was struggling and admitting it to himself as he stumbled through the streets at 5am felt pathetic. Maybe he should have fought harder for you.

MASTERLIST

[stellar-alley]

Everfalls

•Chapter 18•

This is based off of the artwork by oceanteeeth on Instagram!

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

(Summary: Does Stanley's sickness interfere with the Ancestors getting to the bus on time? Will they make it home in time for the full moon? Well you'll have to read and see! )

~

“He’s been sick since tuesday, we went out after school and he was all congested and sneezy” Richie filled the Losers in as they sat in a circle outside the room where Stan was.

“And you didn’t tell anyone?” Mike asked, disappointment tainted his voice.

Richie’s shoulders sagged, “come on guys, we know Stan, he always gets a little sick, brushes it off then recovers! How was I supposed to know it would end up being a big thing”.

“No one could’ve known. Don’t beat yourself up Rich” Ben put a comforting hand on the wolf’s shoulder.

“Thanks haystack” Richie nodded his head slowly.

The click of a door opening caught The Losers attention. They all turned to watch Mr Brock emerge from the room, they caught a single glimpse of Stan through the door crack before it shut completely.

“What’s the status doc?” Riche put on a voice which got him an elbow to the ribs from Eddie.

“Beep Beep” he grumbled. Eddie’s hands were tense, up by his chest, anxiously fiddling with his compass.

“Well, he is sick. We tried contacting his parents but the storm that rolled through last night knocked out the phone lines” Mr Brock explained.

Richie cast Eddie a glance, he remembered how he couldn’t call his parents previously.

Beverly stepped forward,“What’s gonna happen?” She asked with her arms crossed.

“Well we-“ Mr Brock started when the sound of another door bursting open stopped him mid sentence.

Mrs. Stuart stepped inside, “Everyone on the bus, the tide is rising ahead of schedule, we do not have much longer” she informed them.

“We aren’t leaving without Stanley” Bill stated as he straightened his posture. The rest of the Losers nodded in agreement.

“Well if he is still throwing up then we can’t have him on the bus” Mr Brock shook his head sadly, “there’s nothing I can do”.

“I-I am fine” Everyone turned to find Stan had dragged himself from bed and had leaned up against the doorframe behind them. His face was pale, the bags under his eyes were darker than previously and his usual straight posture was unusually low.

“Stanley I don’t believe that that’s a good idea” Mr Brock worried.

Stan sharply inhaled, tierd of the bullshit, “I said I was fucking fine so lets just get on the damn bus, alright?”. He was tired but also worried, Stan knew Eddie and Richie needed to get home before the moon rose.

After the rest of The Losers got in on it, and they were all able to force them to allow Stan on, as long as he had a garbage bin in range the whole time. He agreed so they shoved a dollar store garbage bin into his arms and rushed the group onto the bus. They barely had enough time to get settled before the bus driver hit the gas and began on their way to the main rocky road.

~

“Shit” The bus driver cursed as he raked his hand through his thinning hair. “Brock? We’re too late” he sighed as Mr Brock rushed from his seat to the front of the bus to inspect the road. Which wasn't really a road anymore as it meshed perfectly with the ocean around it.

“Shit” Brock repeated.

“Language!” Richie shouted from the back seat.

Mr Brock had to withhold the urge to flip off his student. Instead he curled his fingers into tight fists and sighed.

Eddie elbowed Richie as a means of telling him to shut up as he shot him a look of daggers. Richie laughed lightly before he met Eddie’s gaze, that’s when it dawned on him, what this meant.

“Oh shit”.

~

“Okay guys so good news! We were able to get rooms for everyone in the castle’s hotel!” Mr Brock tried so hard to sound excited but everyone could tell he was stressed.

The two Ancestors snapped to face each other. “What the hell are we gonna do?” Eddie demanded, voice low and tense.

Richie’s face scrunched up in confusion, “How the hell am I supposed to know! I’ve never done this before”.

“Get a room you two” Stan groaned in his sick nasally voice from the seat in front of them. Without another word Stan turned, sat on his knees and leaned over his seat to face them. “Why don’t you two just fucking sneak out of the hotel and shift on the beach?” Stan suggested.

The other two shared a look of confusion, “You could hear us?” Richie quirked an eyebrow.

“Yes I'm pretty sure my cousins in Hawkins could hear you. So next time you plan to discuss your full moon activities, keep it down” He advised before turning back around and sliding down into his seat.

“It’s not a bad idea though” Eddie contemplated the idea as Richie shoved his hand up into his snapback and ruffled his hair while still keeping his hat securely on his head.

Richie looked around then responded, “Okay fine, plus I bet it’ll be just us in the room so it’ll be easy as hell to sneak out-“.

~

Mr Brock stood in front of the class in the lobby of the castle “Sadly there were only a limited number of rooms left so four people per room, everyone group together”.

The Losers looked between each other. That’s the one thing that kinda sucked about their lucky number, seven is an odd number, which meant that whenever they had to split up, the numbers were always off.

Richie and Eddie immediately stood together. Stan glanced at them and shuffled beside them, knowing they might need his help. Bill caught on and stepped beside them, because he wanted to keep an eye on those two, but also because Stan was his bestest friend after all. But in the end all The Losers just stood in one group.

Eddie leaned towards Richie, “We cannot room with Bill”.

“We’ll figure it out later, just act normal” Richie hushed him. Though he put on a relaxed face, he couldn’t help but check the time on his phone. It was 4 pm, the time they were supposed to be home at. The moon rose at 8, so they had a couple hours before they had to get out.

Slowly but surely Mr Brock and the other teachers approved and handed out keys to different rooms. When he finally reached The Losers he haulted with a sigh, “Sorry guys we said four per room, and Beverly, you need to room with people of the same sex” He said semi apogoltically.

Beverly groaned and tilted her head to look upwards, “Fuck my life” She rolled her eyes. “Welp looks like Imma go sleep in the bushes, peace” She held up a peace sign then walked a couple steps away backwards before turning and heading off on her way.

Before she could get very far someone who was vaguely familiar to Beverly walked up behind her and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. Bev turned around and saw a girl from her grade, someone she’s pretty sure she’s seen with Eddie before.

“Hey uh- Sorry I just saw you didn’t have a group and I was wondering if you wanted to join my group. We uh- just need one more person” She smiled warmly. She had brown hair that fell just below her shoulders in soft curls. She wore a shirt she swore she picked up herself at Hot Topic once, it was a black button up with cute line art of crystals on it.

“Sure… Yeah” Beverly slowly nodded then continued, “thanks-?” She questioned carefully.

“Alley” She supplied happily, “My group is over this way” Alley said as she showed Bev over to where he group was standing.

Sadly Ben and Mike were put into a group with two guys they didn’t know very well, Boris and Theo, they seemed oddly familiar but they kinda kept to themselves.

After everyone was shown their rooms, which all consisted of two queen beds, a couch, a tv, and a desk. Nothing too fancy but it was enough. The one thing that sucked was that the rooms didn’t have their own bathrooms. If you needed to go, then you’d have to go to the one that your floor shared. Since no one had any clothes to unpack, since they didn’t plan to stay the night, the four just kinda sat on their beds as Stan cradled his trash bin.

At 5 they were called down to have dinner in the dining hall. The table clothes were white lace and their silverware had exquisite floral designs on them. It was obviously not meant for a group of highschoolers.

While they ate there was some soft elevator like music that played in the background which was mixed with the sounds of low murmurs from the students. The kids spoke in hushed voices as they were slightly intimidated by how underdressed they all felt compared to the decorations of the room and the outfits of the staff.

“Yo would it be bad if I just let one rip right now?” Richie asked the Losers. Eddie rolled his eyes. Stan’s stomach turned at the idea of what that would smell like. Ben, Bev and Mike giggled to themselves while Bill focused on the food on his fork.

~

Bill was aimlessly channel surfing when Richie did a small backflip, rolling deeper back onto the bed before leaping to his feet and jumping on the bed.

“What? What are you doing?” Eddie questioned as he tilted his head back to look at Richie.

“Jumping!” He said simply.

Eddie rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone from his pocket, typing up a quick message before sending it off.

Eddie: WTF are we supposed to do about Bill?

Richie felt his phone vibrate in his pocket so instead of bouncing again he fell on his butt and checked his messages.

Richie: Wait a minute, I have an idea.

A couple moments passed before Richie abruptly got up from the bed and rushed out the door, firmly shutting the door behind him.

“S’he okay?” Stan mumbeled from where he sat hunched over the bin on the other bed.

Eddie shrugged, “Dunno”. He turned his head just in time to catch the weird glare he was getting from Bill. He quickly snapped his gaze down to his lap where his hands were aimlessly playing with the chain of his compass. With his anxiety levels high, and the fucking full moon rising, hsi viens had turned black again. He shoved them into his pockets and hopped Bill didn’t notice.

Richie waited in the bathroom for about 10 minutes before he left and made his way back to the room. He opened the door with a sigh and made sure he walked slowly up to the others.

“Guys I’m sorry but Eddie and I gotta go” Richie pulled his pants up uncomfortably.

“W-Why?” Bill stood up.

“Well… Last night I had mexican food, and the trash stomach isn’t happy about it. So I-uh, gotta be in a room closer to the bathroom” Richie informed them with an embarrassed tone.

“Why the hell would you do that? You know Mexican doesn't agree with you” Stan played along with the act.

“Right…” Bill nodded. “Then why do-does Eddie have to go?” He added.

“I-I need… support. Yep, that’s it, I need emotional support” Richie lied on the spot.

Eddie withheld a sigh, mentally face palming. But either way, he got up and stood by Richie’s side.

The wolf’s face fell “Sorry guys I feel another wave coming-” he announced before fleeing the room, Eddie in tow. The door closed with a slam and they didn’t stop until they were in the bathroom. Richie locked the door behind them with a sigh.

“Yeah cause this doesn't seem weird” Eddie commented.

“What do you want from me? This is the best I could come up with on such short notice” Richie looked down at his hands, they were the same as Eddie’s, black veins and all. He ripped his snapback off and started fanning himself, “Is it hot in here or is it just me?” He asked.

“Nope, it’s the moon” Eddie checked the time, 7:30. “We gotta get out of here, and fast” His ears were sweating from underneath his beanie which seemed to make his head way too hot at that moment.

Richie laced his fingers with Eddie’s then hovered his other hand over the doorknob, bracing himself, “Lay low alright? Anyone questions us, we say you need air because of your asthma”. Eddie nodded.

The werewolf squeezed his boyfriend’s hand with one hand and ran his other hand through his hair. His wolf ears immediately perked up. He closed his eyes and listened, carefully, he tried to pick up any sounds from behind that door and in the hallway ahead of them. The soft shuffling of foot steps filled the air, soon followed by the click of a door shutting. Richie waited a minute before he slid his hat back on, opened the door and stepped out. The two quietly tiptoed on the plush carpet that lined the floor of the castle’s hallway.

Halfway to the stairs, Eddie halted and clutched his abdomen. “Fuck” He gasped.

Richie reached a hand out but it was slapped away by Eddie.

“I’m fine. Just hurts. We need to hurry” He whispered through gritted teeth.

Richie squeezed Eddie’s hand but continued on. When they reached the metal door to the stairs Eddie stepped in front of Richie and with a swift flick of his wrist the door magically opened just enough for them to slip through, closing quietly behind them.

Rushing down the stairs they shared the same pain that shot through their bodies every time their feet hit the floor. They burst into the main lobby, relieved to see that no one was at the main desk desk and the lounge area was empty. They rushed past the fancy leather seats and the artifact cases. Eddie held his hand out to open the door when the sound of a lady clearing her throat stopped them dead in their tracks.

“Well well well, someone out for a late night stroll?” Elizah’s british accent sent shivers down Eddie’s spine. He’d heard her give speeches countless times in the past but her voice never failed to bring goosebumps to his arms. “Please turn around, it’s very disrespectful to not face someone when you’ve been spoken to, epssesually an elder” Her voice was like an ice dagger, cold and lethal.

Hesitantly the two Ancestors turned to face her. Immediately she scanned the two boys. A faint smirk spread over her lips but she spoke before either of them could examine it further. “See if I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed that you were one of our runaway Ancestors.” She paused to think, “Eddie Kaspbrak was his name… But oh no, that simply cannot be, as he’s supposed to be dead”.

Richie tightened his grip on Eddie’s hand.

“But as I said, he was a runaway.” She took a couple steps towards them, hands behind her back then moved to settle them onto her hips. “Runways always find their way back, don’t they, Edward” She sneered.

Eddie’s eyes widened as his jaw fell slack, unable to properly respond. He could feel Richie growl as it reverberated throughout his body. It began in his chest and spilled out from his mouth.

She continued before either of the boys could speak up, “And who might you be, a young were-“.

“Boys?”

The rabbit and the wolf turned to the familiar voice.

“What’s going on? You two are supposed to be in your rooms” Mr Brock stepped out from one the shadows of the various hallways. Confusion covered his face as he approached the boys.

“Eddie’s asthma was acting up, he needed some fresh air a-and our window didn't open” Richie spit out, a nervous sweat breaking out under his hat, that unsettled feeling suddenly turned up a notch.

“Oh well is everything better now?” Their teacher worried.

Eddie still couldn’t speak, his mind was running a mile a minute. She knew, the council knew. Suddenly all of his worst nightmares were becoming a reality.

“Yes, yes. He’s much better. But uh, sir would you mind escorting me and my dearest friend back to our room. We seem to have forgotten the key, we left in a hurry” Richie almost slipped into one of his voices. But with all things considered, he opted to keep things mature and serious. He anxiously grasped his key in his pocket. He hadn't forgotten it. It never left his pocket since the moment they entered the room, but he knew that Elizah wouldn’t make a move in front of Mr Brock, their teacher, a human.

Mr Brock seemed taken aback by Richie’s new tone, “Oh, of course” he nodded, extending an arm for the boys to follow him.

Without missing a beat the two left Elizah in the lobby and followed their teacher back to their room. The walk was quiet, Mr Brock kept up a steady pace a couple feet ahead.

Richie carfully rubbed his thumb over the back of Eddie’s hand as a way to sooth him as their inevitable transformations would have to wait a little longer. When they reached their room, they thanked Mr Brock as he opened the door. He also closed it behind them, they quickly locked it behind them.

Bill had been sitting on the bed, his foot hadn't stopped tapping against the carpeted floor of their hotel room since Richie and Eddie left.

A quiet knock interrupted whatever show they weren’t watching on TV. They both stood Before the door opened, surprised to see their two friends, and their teacher standing at the door.

“H-Hey” Bill said as the two entered the room.

Stan placed the garbage bin on the ground beside him, “Is everything alright?” questioned.

Richie started, “Yep, all is fine-”

“How the hell can you say that?” Eddie ripped his hand from Richie grasp, he shook his entire body as if it would rid himself of the past 10 minutes.

Richie sighed, his temper rising “Eddie can we not right now? We need to get the hell out of here, now”.

“W-Why? What’s guh-going on?” Bill stepped towards them.

“Not now” Richie growled, his yellow eyes practically pierced Bill’s soul, sending shivers down his spine.

“Hey” Eddie grabbed the wolf’s wrist, grabbing his attention. “Let’s go,” He demanded. He nodded his head towards the window.

Without another word the Ancestors stepped up to the window. They opened the latch but the window was sealed shut, Richie barling had to focus to use his strength, opening it with ease while Stan and Bill watched nervously. The moon’s raw power coursed through his veins, the power simply sat at his fingertips now, begging to be used.

Stanley spoke up, concerned about his friends “Wait where are you going-”.

“Stan, cover for us? Alright? And whatever you do, do not talk to Elizah Brightmoon” Richie explained before he stuck his head out the window, the drop was about 20 feet from their second story hotel room. “We can make it,” He said to Eddie who nodded.

Stan’s brow furrowed, “Wait what? Why? She’s the-”.

“She’s the leader of the council” Eddie put it simply, watching Richie stick his legs out the window and sit on the ledge.

No more questions were asked cause right after Richie dropped out of the window. The cool night air rushed past him before he landed on his feet. He took a second to regain his balance. Then he walked away from the hotel to make room for Eddie he watched as his boyfriend lingered momentarily on the window ledge before leaping down and joining Richie.

“What’d they say?” Richie asked as they began walking together towards the beach, away from the town.

“Just Bill being Bill” Eddie sighed, shaking his head.

When Eddie jumped, Bill and Stan rushed to the window and watched as their friend landed on his feet. They studied Eddie and Richie who began walking towards a location they didn’t know.

“They better make it” Stan muttered under his breath, but Bill heard.

“D-Do you know ab-about them?” He turned to face Stan.

“Umm, no?” Stan shrugged, really not wanting to lie.

“That’s such bullsh-hit Stanley and you know it” Bill snapped, he pointed a finger at Stan’s chest.

Stan refrained from meeting Bill’s gaze, instead he looked over his shoulder, out into the property surrounding the town. He caught something out of the corner of the window, someone. “Shit” Stanley cursed. He pushed past Bill to stand in front of the open window.

Bill didn’t wait to find what Stanley was looking at, his brows furrowed as he watched a lady in a long trench coat follow in the same direction that Richie and Eddie went. “Is that-“.

“Yes” The curly haired teen confirmed.

Bill twisted around to face the other, “We need to help them” he said, determination written all over his voice.

“What? But Bill you-“

“They’re still our friends. And they need us” There was no stutter in Bill’s voice.

Stan nodded a little, “Assemble the Losers” He declared.

Word Count: 3524

Guys I cannot believe there are only like 4 chapters left to everfalls, I think- I uh suck at math so enjoy that. But seriously next chapter- the rest of the chapters are all amazing. I mean they're all amazing but the next chapters are the final so they're just insanely better. So be excited for that!

Don't forget to like and comment, it really shows you care and wanna see more! But seriously thank you all for the support I've already gotten cause it means so much to me. Also go check out my new one shot Bubble Baths and Wet Cats, if you like tooth-rotting fluff and cats then that's the fic for you!

That's all from me y'all, so until next time,

So Long and Goodnight!

~

[Taglist]

@richietoaster @s-onora @that-weird-girl-blog @beproudtozier @ghostnebula @bellarosewrites @s-s-georgie @lermanslogan @iamcupcakefrosting @madidraw @gazebobullshit @thoughtfullyyoungduck @aangzukos @ambitiousskychild @reddieonwheels @breadheadscorpius

Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list!

[splendidlyimperfect]

Sting’s entire life changed when he was eleven years old and his best friend Rogue told a secret that he’d promised to keep. Taken away from the father who abused him and the best friend who’d tried to save him, Sting tried to start a new life with his uncle. But the trauma wasn’t easy to escape, and eventually Sting turned to drinking to forget the things that hurt. 

Now he’s an adult, and he hasn’t been sober in years. But when drinking nearly kills him and a near-stranger saves his life, Sting has a chance to turn his life around, and maybe become the man that Rogue deserves to love.

Chapter Summary: Sting meets Gray and tries his best to help.

Chapters (18/?): 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Rogue Cheney/Sting Eucliffe, Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel & Sting Eucliffe, Gray Fullbuster & Sting Eucliffe, Sting Eucliffe & Weisslogia   Additional Tags: modern au, childhood friends, angst, emotional hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, child abuse, alcoholism, drug use, recovery

**TW for discussion of abuse and past self-harm/suicidal thoughts

-----

help \ ˈhelp verb : to give assistance or support to

.

xviii spring age twenty-four

.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Natsu flops down into the booth across from Sting, tossing his bag into the corner and running a hand through his messy hair. His eyes are red, and he looks like he’s barely slept.

“You look like shit.”

“I know,” Natsu mumbles, rubbing his eyes and gratefully taking the cup of coffee that Sting pushes across the table at him. He grabs a handful of sugar packets and rips them open all at the same time, dumping them in the cup and stirring it. “It was a late night.”

Sting nods. He’d only received two short texts from Natsu after the first one – His name is Gray now, and I need to talk to you; tmw at 1? He’s about to ask what happened when the server appears at their table. “Good afternoon,” he says. “Welcome to…”

Continue reading on AO3

The man trails off, staring past Sting at Natsu with wide eyes. Sting immediately recognizes him from the picture on their old fridge – his hair is shorter, and his face is leaner, but he’s definitely the same person that Natsu has been desperately in love with for years.

Natsu looks like he might say something, but then the man – Gray – turns to look at Sting and his eyes widen further, this time in fear. It takes Sting a second to realize that Gray is staring at the badge on his uniform. An unsettled feeling creeps into Sting’s stomach as he starts to take in more details – the dark circles under Gray’s eyes, the way he’s clutching the menu with fingers that are turning white, the faint red mark on his cheek.

“You must be Gray,” Sting says, giving him his best warm smile and reaching out his hand. “I’m Sting – a friend of Natsu’s from college.” The relief on Gray’s face is obvious, and Sting’s heart aches as he quickly puts the pieces together. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Gray says, voice soft as he shakes Sting’s hand. He’s like a rabbit, skittish and ready to bolt, and Sting wishes that he didn’t recognize himself in Gray’s eyes.

Natsu leans forward and starts to say something, but Gray quickly interrupts him.

“Sorry, I, uh—there was a mistake, I…” He sways unsteadily and Sting’s ready to reach out again, but Gray catches himself on the table and stares down at the floor. Before Natsu can say anything, Gray turns around and runs.

“Fuck,” Natsu whispers, rubbing his face with both hands as he watches Gray retreat to the kitchen. “Shit, he probably thinks I’m stalking him. I swear I didn’t know he worked here.”

Sting doesn’t answer, just stares at the kitchen door as it swings back and forth. His stomach is twisting itself into knots, trying to push away memories of anger and fear and hurt. He knows exactly why Gray ran away, and he wishes he didn’t.

Another waiter appears quickly, a young girl with blond hair who is friendly and sweet. Once she’s taken their order, Natsu takes a handful of coffee creamers and starts to stack them into a tower.

“What happened last night?” Sting asks, even though he’s pretty sure he knows the answer.

The tower of creamer cups falls over and Natsu starts to stack them again. “We were…”  

“Drunk?”

Natsu winces. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize. Was he with somebody?”

Natsu shakes his head. “He was alone, and he—god, I was so excited ‘cause I finally found him, I haven’t… I haven’t seen him in five years. He looks so different. I missed him so fucking much.”

Sting can tell that Natsu is fighting tears, and he reaches across the table to squeeze his hand. “I know you did,” he says softly.

“We both had too much to drink,” Natsu says. “I didn’t know… we were making out, I don’t remember who started it, and he came back to my hotel with me, but then he was… he seemed so upset. And he told me he had a boyfriend and left, but he forgot his jacket, so I went to look for him and I found him throwing up in the alley and crying, it was…”

Natsu lets go of Sting’s hand and rubs his face with both hands, then runs his fingers through his hair, groaning in frustration.

“He was so scared,” Natsu says, looking down at the table. “I paid for a cab to get him back home, but he was terrified. I’d never seen him like that before.”

Sting’s heart aches. “Someone’s hurting him.”  

“I know,” Natsu says sadly. “It’s his boyfriend, but he won’t admit it, and I don’t know what to do.”

~

They spend the rest of the meal talking quietly, but Sting can tell that Natsu’s heart isn’t in it. He keeps looking over Sting’s shoulder, searching the restaurant for another sign of Gray. Sting sees him a few times in another section, but he pointedly avoids them for the rest of the meal.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sting says gently when Natsu contemplates asking the manager to talk to Gray. “I know you want to see him, but if you’re right about his boyfriend, that could make things worse.”

Natsu’s jaw tightens and he looks like he’s going to cry. “I know that, I just…”

“Here.” Sting hands him a pen. “Write him a note, let him know you’re gonna be at the beach later. Then it’s up to him if he wants to come meet you.”

Natsu nods and quickly scribbles something on the paper, then folds it a few times and writes Gray on it. He tucks it into the sleeve of the credit card holder, then looks past Sting once more toward the kitchen.

“Natsu,” Sting says gently as they head out the restaurant and back into the spring afternoon. “You have to think about this. What are you planning on doing?”

“I don’t know,” Natsu says. “I just want to talk to him. I missed him so fucking much, I don’t want to lose him again.” He looks down at the scuffed toes of his shoes. “Can you—is there anything you can do?”

Sting sighs. “Not really,” he admits. “He’s an adult, he’s legally allowed to make his own decisions. And involving the police – if he’s not ready to leave or admit something’s wrong – can make it worse a lot of the time.”  

“Fuck.”

“I’m sorry.” Sting’s chest aches at the helpless expression on Natsu’s face. “I can keep an eye on him. This place is pretty close to the precinct, it wouldn’t be suspicious.”

Natsu nods, staring back at the restaurant. “I wanted to find him,” he says quietly, “But I didn’t want it to be like this.”

~

Sting keeps his word and visits the restaurant as often as he can. Gray works most days, and while he’s wary of Sting at first, eventually he starts to relax and talk a little. They never talk about Natsu – Sting can tell that Gray wants to ask, but he doesn’t know how to bring it up.

Over the next few months, Sting starts to learn things about Gray. He’s smart – he wants to be an engineer one day – and he’s kind. He has a Rottweiler named Bella. He likes his coffee black and his eggs over easy, and he’s definitely being abused.

“You don’t look so great,” Sting says one afternoon as Gray refills his coffee. Gray’s eyes are red, and his hair is a mess, and he looks like he hasn’t slept in a few days. Sting’s pretty sure he saw a bruise peeking out from under the collar of his shirt earlier.

Gray doesn’t answer and Sting frowns. “Gray? You okay?”

Gray stares at Sting for a few seconds, then quickly shakes his head.

“Yeah, it’s… I’ve just been sick.” The words are hollow, and his smile is forced. “I’m fine.”

You’re not, Sting thinks, guilt and frustration welling up inside him. It doesn’t have to be like this, please let me help you.

“Rogue came down with something last week, too,” he forces himself to say instead. Then his police radio crackles and Gray is so startled that he jumps back from the table. Before Sting can ask anything else, Gray gives him a quick smile and backs away, then turns and heads toward the kitchen.

Sting runs his fingers over the bill and stares down at his forearms. He’s wearing his long-sleeved uniform today and his scars are hidden, but he has every one of them memorized. His skin carries so many memories – bruises in the shape of his dad’s fingerprints, a burn from one of Ryan’s cigarettes, self-inflicted marks that will never disappear.

I’m fine. He’s ten and his teacher asks why he doesn’t have a lunch, and how he got the bruise on his arm.

I’m fine. He’s eleven and Uncle Wes keeps asking him how he’s feeling.

I’m fine. He’s fifteen and the school counsellor asks if he’s been sleeping okay.

I’m fine. He’s seventeen and a woman at the bus stop wants to know if he needs money for the ride home.

I’m fine. He’s nineteen and his coworkers are asking why he’s hungover every goddamn day.

But he was never fine, and Gray isn’t either, and there’s nothing Sting can do.

~

If you need help and you can’t tell someone, ask me if I want decaf coffee next time I’m here. I’ll know what you mean and do what I can to help. People care about you. ~Sting

~

That evening Sting gets a text from Natsu.

 Natsu [17:23] he texted me.

 A wave of fear rushes through Sting and he sits down heavily on the couch, holding his phone in both hands. Rogue frowns, looking up from his crochet project and setting it down on the coffee table.

“What’s wrong, love?” he asks, shifting closer to Sting and wrapping an arm around his waist.

“I’m not sure,” Sting says. He leans into Rogue’s embrace as he replies.

 Sting [17:24] Is he okay?

Natsu [17:24] no but i cant fucking do anything. he said i cant text him or call him. that fucking asshole is hurting him and i just wanna drive out there and take him away.

 Rogue reads the message over Sting’s shoulder, making a sad sound and pulling him closer.

 Natsu [17:25] i gave him your # and said if he needed help to text u. im so scared for him. this is his # but u can’t text him or call him.

Natsu [17:25] Shared Contact: Gray <3 (G)

 Sting saves the number, staring at it for a minute and wishing he could just call it and drive over there and bring Gray here, where he’ll be safe. He knows Gray isn’t ready, though, and it hurts.

 Sting [17:26] I’ve got it saved. I told him today that if he needs help he can ask me if I want decaf when I’m there. I’m sorry I can’t do more.  

Natsu [17:27] its ok. i hope he texts me again. i miss him so much.

 “I’m sorry,” Rogue murmurs as Sting sends a quick reply, then sets his phone down on the table. He turns to Rogue and curls up against him, pressing his face into the crook of his neck. Rogue smells like coffee, and he’s warm and comforting – Sting’s safe place.

“I just want to help,” Sting says quietly. Frosch, their new kitten, hops up onto the couch and meows at Sting loudly before curling up on his stomach. He sighs, stroking the soft fur behind her ears.

“You are helping,” Rogue says. “Maybe just knowing that he has people looking out for him is enough right now.”

“Maybe.” Sting nudges Rogue until he’s lying back against the couch and Sting’s curled up in his arms. Sting’s wearing a t-shirt now and can see every scar, and when Rogue notices him staring, he takes Sting’s arm and kisses the marks. “It’s weird,” Sting says quietly, “being on the other side.”

“What do you mean?”

“Trying to help instead of refusing it.” He tips his head back until he can see the photo of him and Uncle Wes hanging on the wall. Rogue took it a couple years ago at the pride parade – they’re both wearing rainbow t-shirts and Sting’s cheeks are covered in glitter. “Is this how Uncle Wes felt?”

Rogue doesn’t answer, just kisses Sting’s forehead and holds him closer. A lump grows in Sting’s throat and he tries to swallow it down, but a few stray tears escape. Rogue brushes them away with his thumb and leans in to press a soft, gentle kiss to Sting’s lips.

Sting returns the kiss, then rubs his eyes and says, “I need to go see Uncle Wes.”

~

As soon as Uncle Wes opens the front door, Sting pulls him into a hug.

“Are you all right?” Uncle Wes asks, voice filled with concern as he returns the embrace. “Are you hurt? Where’s Rogue?”

“He’s at home, I’m fine,” Sting reassures him, pulling back and rubbing his face. “I, um… needed a hug.” Now that he’s here, the idea of driving an hour and a half just for a hug seems silly.

“Of course,” Uncle Wes says without hesitation. “You’re always welcome here. Come in.” He holds the door open and gestures for Sting to come into the living room, then settles down next to him on the couch. “What’s wrong?”

“One of my friends is… in a shitty situation,” Sting says, curling up in the corner of the couch. Uncle Wes still has the same knitted blanket that he’d grown attached to after moving here as a kid, and Sting pulls it off the back of the couch and drapes it over his legs.

“What kind of situation?”

“His partner is hurting him,” Sting says quietly, “And he’s not ready to leave.”

“Ah.” Uncle Wes nods. “And you know how hard that can be.”

Sting sighs, tugging at one of the pieces of yarn that’s coming loose from the blanket. “Yeah,” he says. “I want to help, but I can’t, and… is this what you felt like? For all those years?”

Uncle Wes doesn’t answer right away. Instead he looks over at the side table where there’s a picture of the two of them on Sting’s twelfth birthday. Sting remembers it like it was yesterday – the first time in a long time that he’d felt safe and entirely at peace. Right before everything had fallen apart.

“It was hard,” Uncle Wes admits. “I wanted to make it better for you – to take away all the things that hurt you and make them disappear. I felt helpless, watching you have nightmares, and cry, and get so angry.”

“I’m sorry,” Sting says, but Uncle Wes shakes his head.

“You were hurting,” he says. “And your friend is, too. But you can’t take those things away for him. You can’t fix it.”

“I know,” Sting says miserably, thinking about the way Gray had jumped at the static from his radio earlier. His mind drifts to days with Ryan, to the blur of shouting and drinking and wanting to die.

“You found your way eventually,” Uncle Wes says. “And so will he.”

“But what do I do?” Sting asks. “What can I do now, to make it better?”

“All you can do is love,” Uncle Wes says, reaching out and squeezing Sting’s knee. “Love, and have hope.”

[daemyiel]

Seaside Rendezvous

A/N: this is a one shot and has nothing to do with the series I've started.

WARNING: ONE SWEAR WORD

But that's it so enjoy

Taglist:@hersked

Roger was sat in the flat he shared with Freddie alone. It was one of the rare occasions he had some spare time. He sat sideways in the arm chair, feet hanging off the edge almost kicking the mug over on the coffee table that previously held his coffee, and a music magazine folded so he could hold it in one hand, while the other played with a lock of his blonde hair. His eyes had begun to hurt a bit so he had started wearing his glasses, he hated them but he was alone so there was no one to be embarrassed in front of. He had been in this position of a couple of hours and he could feel his feet growing numb, and his legs being to cramp.

Suddenly, Freddie burst through the door and waltzed into the living room. Roger snatched the glasses from his face and tried to hide them before Freddie realised. “Don’t even bother hiding them, I saw you wearing them.” Freddie said with a smirk, watching the drummer pointlessly trying to wedge the glasses between the arm chair and his leg. “you’ve got to come with me anyway.”

“What? Where?” Roger huffed. He was planning on lazing about for the rest of the day, between school, work and the band he hadn’t had much time to relax.

“The Nags Head, band meeting.” Freddie answered, turning around rest to leave, expecting Roger to follow.

“No, Freddie. Today is my day off. From everything. I don’t want to go to the pub.” Roger whined remaining seated.

“Oh, come on!” Freddie grabbed Roger’s wrist and pulled him off the armchair. “Brian said you’d be happy with whatever it is he has to say.” Freddie continued to pull Roger out the door and towards the pub.

Brian And John was already at The Nags Head with a round in when Freddie arrived, dragging their drummer behind him.

“Brian this better be important.” Roger moaned as he slid into the booth next to Deaky and opposite Freddie, who was sat next to Brian.

“we’ve had an offer to play next weekend, twenty quid each, per night.” Brian started.

“What? Where?” Freddie repeated the drummer from earlier, but his words were full of excitement.

“Norfolk.” Brian replied, watching Roger’s reaction. The drummers pout faded and his eyes grew wide.

“Where in Norfolk?” Roger asked with urgency.

“Kings Lynn.” Brian smiled back.

A wide smile grew on the blondes face “Really?” Brian nodded in response.

“Yes!” Roger shouted in excitement, earning a few funny looks from a few other people in the pub.

“I don’t get it what’s so great about Kings Lynn?” John asked, confusion all over his face.

“”Its where Roger grew up.” Brian answered.

“I thought you said you were from Cornwall.” John was now even more confused.

“I am, we moved from Kings Lynn when I was seven, but when we can we go back to visit family. God I haven’t been in so long. In taking you all to the best places. We’re going a little bit earlier, and I’m driving.” Roger was so happy the other three could see how much this meant to him.

Roger was in a really happy mood considering how early in the morning it was. It was a long drive from London to Kings Lynn and Roger wanted to get there with most of the day still ahead of them. They had, slept, ate and stopped for the occasional toilet brake. But finally they got there. They checked into a hotel with John and Freddie in one room and Brian and Roger in another to save money. As soon as they dragged their luggage into their rooms and just started to settle Roger was up and ready to go, wanting to take the boys all around the town.

The first thing the band did was stop for breakfast since none of them had anything proper to eat apart from the few biscuits shared between them on the drive up. “So what exactly are we doing, Roger?” Brian asked taking a sip from his tea.

“Well a walk around town, which won’t take all day, and then maybe a surprise after.” Roger mumbled the last part, which caught the full attention of the rest of the band.

“What are we doing Roger? Oh tell me please, you know I don’t like surprises.” Freddie pleaded.

“No, you do like surprises, just when you don’t know about them. You just don’t like not knowing, especially something like this.” Roger smirked taking a sip of his coffee.

After breakfast Roger and Freddie took the lead going into almost every shop and looking at anything and everything. They didn’t buy much but Freddie found a nice black and white shirt that he insisted on wearing for the show.

The town of Kings Lynn was small in comparison to London but Roger remembered walking along these streets with his mum dragging him around while he whined about not wanting to go shopping.

It was just past one o'clock when they started walking back to Roger’s old van having already walked all around the town. The hot July sun was nearly at it’s hottest, and Brian, John and Freddie was starting to moan about it.

“Shut up.” Roger told them, growing tired of their childishness, “you're getting your surprise soon anyway.” This ceased their complaining and made Freddie walk a little bit faster to the van.

Hunstanton, the place that Roger was taking the rest of the band wasn’t far at all, but with the boys constantly asking where they were going it felt like forever. They it stopped when Roger drove into the car park, and they saw the beach.

“we're at the beach!” Freddie smiled.

“I haven’t been to one for ages.” Deaky smiled too.

“I haven’t got my swimming trunks.” Brain said sadly.

“neither have I.” Deaky’s smiled turned into a slight frown.

“Roger, you could have told us to buy some while we were at the shop.” Freddie lightly smacked Roger’s arm.

“sorry, I didn’t think. Well we probably won’t have much time for the sea, I want to show you guys the pier ” Roger then jumped out the van and the others followed.

Roger started walking right out the car park, then stopped when he realised the rest didn’t follow. “To get the beach is that way.” Brian said pointing straight ahead.

“Yeah, I know, but the arcade is this way.” Roger pointed in the direction he was going and continued that way, this time the boys followed.

The arcade was illuminated by the bright light of the machines, the majority of them being Penney pushers. They boys changed a few pounds up into 2 pence pieces and had the time of their lives, running around trying to win prizes. Roger managed to knock two keyrings off in one. Brian and John also won one each, but Freddie ran out of money before he could knock on off the ledge. “Here.” Roger said as he tossed one of his prizes to a pouting Freddie. For the rest of the day Freddie fiddled with the keyring that had a small turtle attached to it. Roger immediately put his on the keys to the van.

After the arcade Roger took them to the fair opposite the beach. They went on everything they could, even though four men in their twenties running around like kids earned a few strange looks from the public, they didn’t care and neither did the ride attendants, they were nice to them. Deaky even managed to win a stuffed toy of one of the games.

After the fair they were all getting hungry, so Roger lead them to a small fish and chip shop, that he claimed was the best north of London. Although Deaky argued that there was a really good one in Nottingham. They ordered two large portions of chips two battered sausages for Roger and John, a fishcake for Freddie, and a pot of mushy peas for Brian. Roger and John had a ton of salt and vinegar on their chips, while Freddie and Brian had a pot of gravy and a pot of curry sauce.

After they had ate they took their shoes off and walked on the beach for a bit. They wasn’t planning in going in the water but Roger chased Freddie in. They only went deep enough so that they wouldn’t get their shorts wet. However, Freddie’s was shorter then Roger’s so Roger couldn’t go in deep enough to get Freddie. But while Freddie was teasing Roger a slightly bigger wave ripped through the sea and splashed half way up Freddie’s shorts. He stood, frozen in his spot as Roger nearly pissed himself laughing. After that they walked back towards the other two and let the water go up to their ankles.

The temperature was slowly dropping and the beach was emptying out so the boys decided they better start heading back. They started walking when Roger stopped in front of a kiosk selling all sorts of sea food. The boys didn’t realise until he jogged up to them holding a big crab with an even bigger smile on his face. Freddie looked at him wondering why Roger was so happy with the crab. “crab meat is so good.” Roger explained. “c'mon Fred, it’s not like you’ve never ate a crab stick before.”

They were getting close to the car park when Roger dragged them into one final shop. It was a lovely little sweet shop had shelves upon shelves of brightly coloured, sugary sweets. Roger bought them all stick-o-rocks. Freddie was fascinated by them having never tried one before. Then Brian noticed an ice cream counter with about ten different flavours, each a bright colour and treated the boys to some.

They ate the ice cream whilst walking to the van, Roger devouring his quickly so that he could drive. Once everyone finished they were already on the road. Freddie couldn’t wait to taste his stick-o-rock and started handing them all out. Roger also didn’t want to wait for his so he ask Freddie to unwrap it and held it in his left hand, every time he had to change gear he would leave it hanging out of his mouth.

When they got back to the hotel they all ended up half asleep in Roger and Brian’s room. Talking about anything and everything until John and Freddie retired to their room.

Roger lay in bed with a small smile on his face. He had a great day with his favourite people, in his favourite place. He was happy.

[amnachil]

The College Society Chapter 3 Part 6

And we continue. So much things are happening ‘-’ I must say put a trigger warning here for one part of the plot. Yes it’s about Nate. And yes it’s sad.

Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey Wednesday February 6

It was wrong. Illogical. Pure stupidty. It was 1 am. Tomorow, he had lessons to attend. So why the hell was he helping Liam ? Why they were in a hotel in another town ? And it wasn't for sex ! I'm Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey. The gifted hunter. Feared as a god, venerated like one, desired like one. I shouldn't be here. But everytime he looked at this baboon, this fuckin' dummy freshman, his boyfriend... Everytime he looked at him, he knew his place was right here. It doesn't make any sense. Liam had finally fell asleep. He had been so stressed the whole day ! The blond's lad didn't want to see him like this. I'm not supposed to care. I mean, he's just a prey. But I feel concerned. I guess I just don't want the product to be damaged. Yeah, that's it. Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey went into the bathroom. He didn't know why; but a feeling prevented him to take advantage of Liam's situation to have sex with him. Instead, I have this urge to help him. Such a pain in my ass. He dialed Nancy's number.

"Sir." she answered quickly. "Why are you calling so late ? You're not putting this awesome dick of yours in someone ?"

"Sadly not. Look, I need help to find someone."

She remained silent for a bit. It's my tone. He had sounded more stressed, more worried than he wanted to. But for real, where the hell this Nate went ? He had just vanished from Earth !

"Gimme all the information you have. I'll see what I can do." she eventually replied.

"You're not asking for payment ?"

"Look Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey, I know you for a long time now. More than most people. I can tell when it's important for you. And as much as I love see your ass getting rounder, I think it's not necessary this time."

The blond lad froze a moment. Did she mean she felt... weakness ? Damnit, why everything is different when the baboon is here ? Why I can't bang him like all the other prey I chased before ? He reluctantly told her what he knew. Nothing much in fact, because Liam and him never really talked about their respectives lives. They spent most of the time watching movies, walking in the park and obviously, eating.

"I have something you may found interesting." announced Nancy after a while. "It's a video posted by a girl who's friend with another girl named Gwendoline who's friend with Nate Hudson. It show him walking towards the sea heavily drunk."

"When ?"

"One hour ago, approx. He looks very weird in that video..."

"Thanks Nancy. I'll send you a home-made chocolate cake later."

"Hell, you have to. Good luck sir."

Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey decided to let Liam sleep, and went to the beach. Himself was used to rest only a little. But it's because I'm usually fuckin' one person. Or more. Not because I'm searching my boyfriend's bestfriend. For fuck sake. He was turning completely crazy. It was a descent to hell for the hunter he was. For almost two hours, he ran along the ocean, but found no one. Nonetheless, when the blond lad was ready to give up, he glimpsed him. Finally. When he came closer, what he saw wasn't good. Wasn't good at all. Nate Hudson was a short and a bit tubby lad. He had black short hair, and a childish figure. He looks 15, no more. Liam already seemed young, but his bestfriend... Anyway, it wasn't the problem. Nate had brown eyes, but they were strongly dilated and reddened, probably because of the alcohol, maybe even some drugs. He had vomit all over his body. And what a body... His clothes were torn apart, with some blood. Himself looked hurt, like if someone had scrathed him. He released a putrid smell, a mix between beer, weed, sweat and blood. I saw this before. Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey came closer.

"Hey bud." he whispered. "Are you awake ?"

Nate grunted. His breath was a real torture. Man it's not good. Drunk, high and with blood all over him ? His trousers were open. As an expert of the question, the Dean's grandson could guess he had ejaculated not that far ago. This is bad. Really bad.

"I'm... Dami. Can you get to your feet ?"

He supposed Liam had only called him "Dami" anyway. The drunk guy grabbed him a bit aggressively.

"Liam can't see me like this." he said with a desesperate but angry tone. "He doesn't need to know."

"Dude, it's not the most important. Come here."

Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey helped him to stand up. Damn, he's heavier than he looks. And he stinks... It was barely bearable. I don't even know why I'm doing this. Well, he knew. For a baboon called Liam.

"Don't tell him." insisted Nate. "Nothing."

"Okay, okay. Man you need a shower. Come, I'll help you..."

It's not good at all...

When Liam woke up in the late morning, Nate was clean and deeply asleep. Hopefully, he'll just have an hangover and no physical damage. He wasn't hurt that much... Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey could only imagine what happened during the night... And it wasn't something he liked at all.

"Where did you find him ?" asked his boyfriend once showered and dressed. "And how ?"

Needless to say, he was extremely relieved. He had kissed the blond lad with so much passion this one almost fainted. And I liked it so much. Not good either. I want more, it's a fuckin' disaster.

"Look baboon. All I can say for sure is : he needs you. I think he's waking up. Go talk with him."

The Dean's grandson waited a very long moment. His projects for today were all wrecked. With four hours of journey to do, they wouldn't be back before the evening. I wanted to bang Gabriel at least once... And why not a prey or two... In order to spend the time while his boyfriend talked with Nate, Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey played with his phone. He masturbated in his ferrari with his tape of his name. And he called some people for phone sex. Eventually, he related the last day to Zack. This one said he was proud of him. I don't know what the fuck he can be proud of ? I mean, I crossed half the country and I don't even know why. Damn, I hate this Liam boy. Stupid boyfriend and his cute face. Anyway, afterwards, Liam came to see him, with Nate right behind him.

"Hey Dami, thank you for being so patient."

"No problem." assured quickly, too quickly to his own opinion, the blond lad. "You guys get everything clear ?"

Nate looked him straight in the eye. I get it. Liam can't know what happened. It wasn't good.

"He had been beaten by some idiots." mumbled the chestnut lad with angriness. "And kicked out of the university for some reason. We need to bring him with us. He'll stay with me."

Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey hesistated. You want to play it this way ? To lie ? Nate nodded to his silent question. Whatever. It's not my problem right ? I'm not even sure about what happened. I don't care.

"Okay." he said. "Get in the car mates."

Liam Friday February 8

Three day after their little trip across the country, Liam had only one certainty : the forces of evils had struck again. Nate was different, even a half-minded like him could saw that. He was sullen, shifty and distant with everybody except maybe Liam. (They were quite a pair : the absent-minded and the crabby). (Maybe it would make a good title for a movie). At least the unicorns were happy. Nick had agreed to let Nate settle for a while. Thus, Liam bedroom became their bedroom. His bestfriend hadn't much stuff, only some clothes. He had left everything behind, even his car. He had warned his parents, but hadn't given any detail. And now, he was just stayin' there, wandering in the flat. He's playin' videogames, smilin' and all but I know the forces of evil took his joie de vivre. I see it in his eyes. Maybe the unicorns'll be able to help him... To be honest, Liam didn't know what could cheer up Nate. (He had always been the happy one in their relationship). So he just decided to be there. For now, his bestfriend had been maintening he had been assaulted by some bastard after the university had expelled him. He had made himself drunk and had just lost track of time. I know there's more. But I can't force him to tell me, so I'm gonna be patient.

"Dude, earth calling you again." whispered suddenly Nick at his ear.

They were in the mathematics lecture, but Liam had been gawking since the very beginning.

"How's the space today ?" asked his roommate. "Is it attacked by aliens while a magical pony helped you to ride the rainbow ?"

"It would be cool." accepted the chestnut lad. "But the unicorns don't want me to ride rainbow. They said it's dangerous."

"Okay, whatever." replied Nick, astonished to see his joke taken so seriously. "I was asking you, do you know what's Nate's plan ? I mean, I don't care having him around, and he's welcome as long as he wants to, but he seems a bit... odd. Does he expect to just stay in the flat forever ?"

"I don't know." confessed Liam. "Listen, I can't tell you much but I think he needs time. Can you be patient with him ?"

Nick nodded.

"Of course. It's just... I know him for a while, and he acts... different. I'm worried, that's all."

"We all are."

After the classes, Nick and Liam headed towards the pool for the lesson with Theo. It was the third in a row, and the dark-haired lad hadn't made any progress. The only thing Liam noted was how his belly had grew bigger since he was sleeping with the junior. But I guess I can't speak since I gained a bit of weight myself. They were at the pool when the lad glanced Dami.

"I'm going ahead." whispered Nick. "Take your time, I'll be fine with Theo."

Liam thanked him and joined his boyfriend. He had this particular look when something bothered him. His eyes were even scarier than usual.

"Hey Dami. Want somethin' ?"

(There's a secret everyone should know : Liam had decided to play it cool with his boyfriend, but in truth, he was so prude and shy...) (He was doing his best to be Liam the hero in front of Dami, but often, he was just Liam the virgin). (Even if he wasn't virgin).

"Not really." said Dami. "I'm waiting Laura for a little chitchat. How's Nate ?"

"Fine. I guess."

There was a blank. Liam felt a bit guilty about their trip. I asked him to drive me on the other side of the country. He paid the gas, rented the hotel, and it's him who found Nate eventually. (For Liam, it was a real proof of love, even if in the same time, Dami was having sex with other people). But when they were over there, Liam had been pathetic. I did a panic attack and I almost insulted him.

"Stop fuckin' dreamin' like that baboon." demanded his boyfriend, who was blushing.

They ended up both blushing. (It was a natural reaction for the freshman, each times Dami became red, he did too).

"By the way, about Theo." mutterred Dami.

He was blaming him for what happened last week. Liam knew that.

"I think he'll stop whatever he's doing with your roommate. I hope Nick isn't too attached to him ?"

"Not really. He said they were just havin' sex, nothing more. But why would he left him ? Did he find another lover or..."

"It's not that. D.R. gave him an order. Don't try to understand you baboon."

"Okay...By the way I don't like it when you call me baboon."

"Really ? And whatcha gonna do about it baboon ?"

"I want pancake for our next date this monday after my session with the shrink. You can do it ?"

Dami just slapped him gently.

Liam went inside only to find Nick alone. This one looked at him with weariness.

"Theo said he can't continue." he revealed. "Both the sex and the lessons. Apparently, it was becoming too sentimental, and he can't make Laura suffer."

"Oh. I'm sorry about this."

It's exactly as Dami said. His boyfriend was a psychic. So cool. (It was plausible. Once, a clairvoyant had told Liam he would lose money, and then the poor lad had paid him and had lost money !)

"I think it's better this way." he confessed. "Theo is with Laura, he shouldn't have sex with other people."

"Man, I agree. But when we started.... wow. He's good ya know ? For a virgin bisexual like me, it was kind of amazing."

Liam blushed. I don't wanna know. They were about to head the locker room when suddenly, Rebecca showed up with another girl. When she saw them, she smiled.

"There are some other swimmers." she informed her friend. "Liam and Nick. Well, the lattest is not really a swimmer. I guess ? What are you doin' in trunks tubby ?"

The dark-haired lad frowned.

"Somethin'."

"You should swim with us." she continued.

Liam was naturally dull-wited. (Mean people would say retarded). But he could sense the disaster incoming. Nick declined, and Rebecca suddenly burst into laughter.

"I knew that. The truth is, you can't swim, can you ? Are you scared of the water ? But you have such a great life preserver here."

She pinched his lovehandles. Nick was about to do a huge mistake, realised Liam. He wanted to punch the star runner athlete in the face. I need to stop this. He started to imporivse a song. And then, he grabbed his roommate and they ran as far as possible.

Barbara Saturday February 9

They all applauded. It was such a pleasure. Barbara was proudly looking at Summer. My first real victory. It was bound to happen. Yesterday, someone had degraded the football lockers, exactly like the sciences facility before. And she arrested him. Well, the spacegoat she had prepared to. Roberto and her had done a great job. No one could get to the root of this case.

"My grandfather thank you all." declared Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey. "Most of you are completely retarded but congratulations ! You stopped a dreadful threat."

It was easy to see he didn't care at all. He certainly wanted to bang someone. It's his way to reign... They all respect the hunter he's, and they all want him in bed. Honestly, Barbara was curious. He must be really gifted...

"I can't agree more." added Summer. "Well done team."

She glared at Barbara with anger. Yeah, that's it. You're losing your people. The next queen is here.

When she left the building, the petite girl ran into Oliver, from the football team. The person I wanted to see. Since Theo had failed, she had looked for other allies. Apparently, Liam was now quite a legend among the hunters, because neither Theo or Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey had succeeded to have sex with him. But the king will, I'm sure of it. He probably acted distant in order to attack later.

"Thank you for the guy you arrested." complimented Oliver. "The team's glad, because he could have damaged some important stuff."

"It's not a problem. That's why I want to be the next head of the student." she smiled.

"Yeah, about that... My boss wants to meet you."

"Your boss ? I thought you were the captain in charge ?"

"Well, technically, I am." he explained. "When it's related to football. But my quarterback is leading the team in the inside and not only on the field. And he's kinda bossy and presumptuous so behave yourself in front of him."

"Okay."

She followed him, a bit perplexed. He must be the hunter. She had understood each club had at least one leader hunter, a guy feared and respected by all. She had thought it was Oliver, but apparently not. In fact, when she entered in the football locker room, she almost wet herself. Footballers were of course impressive, especially when you were a short girl like her. But when she faced around twenty of them... And it wasn't the worst. They had made a special space in the room. They had regrouped all the lockers in a corner, and in the middle, there was a kind of throne. The quaterback was lazily sat onto it, a leg across the armset. Next to him, a poor guy was on his knees with a tray of foods. Another was shaking a fan. This's so stereotipical. But so scary in the same time. The hunter himself was only in briefs, while his teammates were in sportwear. He had a ripped body, pretty hot. She realised he was carbo-loading because they had a game tomorow. His hefty belly was well bloated.

"You must be this Barbara the captain talked about." he said with a smirk. "I'm Archibald Fabian, but you can call me Archie."

What an attitude. His tone, his body language, his smile, everything was exhaling a sexual aura. She could guess he had already fucked every single footballer in the room. Probably all the club member and their coach too. He was a more impressive hunter than all the other she had encountered, except maybe Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey. But this latter at least looked civilized.

"Nice to meet you." she smiled prudently. "You wanted to see me ?"

"I was getting curious." he answered after he devoured a big spoonful of pasta. "I mean, I'm only a sophomore and I never saw anyone except Summer at the head of the student union."

"You'll be happy to know it won't last." she assured. "All I need is some support from..."

"I don't know girl." he interupted her. "She managed to kick the old president out, and Damian likes her. Now that the bet with Theo is over, the best hunter will be less focused on the hunt and he'll take notice of this little war you're both doing. I gambled for him because I knew he would win. He always does. So I'm gonna wait to see for who he's rooting."

Barbara nodded. So this quarterback's on the king side. Never expected him to be a follower...

"You can go now." Archie continued. "I only wanted to see what kind of girl was ambitious enough to fight Summer. Don't disappoint me please, I'm always up for a good show."

Barbara spent the rest of the day a bit disappointed. She had expected more support after a victory. Ms. Weber had called her, as for Steve Callagan. Both were with her now. But I wanted the football team. Oliver looked convinced, but Archie... She hadn't expected a sophomore to rule the club like this. He was powerful, and dangerous. And this Theo who had lost ! I wonder what he's thinking now ? According to Javier, he had withdraw from the bet. But why ? There are still to many impoderables. All these gray areas prevent me to act fast. But the quarterback had given her an idea. She had to meet the old queen, the one before Summer. Maybe they could plot something together. That was why she went to see Javier at his dormitory. She knocked at his door with energy. The raven-haired lad opened after a while. He was shirtless, and apparently about to sleep.

"Barbara ?" he was surprised. "Whatcha doin' here ?"

She entered without a second thought.

"I need information. I want the name of the previous head of the student ? Who was she ?"

"Sorry. I'm not answering against nothing."

The blonde girl looked at him. He was a typical college student, who had faced the freshman 15, or maybe 20 in his case. Not tall, average face, nothing remarkable. He's a power hunter, like me. But he's too chicken-livered.

"You know what I want." he mumbled. "Please, we did it one time. You enjoyed it right ?"

Absolutely not. But it was the university rule. Sleep to succeed.

"Fine." she conceded. "But first, the name."

"Well, it's Irina Peskov. Rumors say she's the first person who had sex with Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey when he arrived at the university, three year ago. She had been the head of the student for one year, but then..."

Javier stopped and looked at her. Barbara sighed. He was waiting a move. She slowly took her shirt off.

"Then, she did something bad. I think D.R. and Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey punished her. She's studying biology now, but she lives out of the campus."

"D.R. ? What's that ?"

"I don't know, I just heard the name. Nothing important I guess, the man just ditched her when Summer started to sleep with him to my opinion."

"Yeah, looks like it."

This Irina would be more than glad to get revenge...

To be continued

Sorry not sorry but yeah sorry. What happened to Nate will play a role in the story, and impact all the characters. This is also the good time to introduce Archibald, who is kind of important.

Liam is lost and confused, Damian is angry and confused, Barbara is evil and a little bit confused. Everyone is confused. Things will get better I swear ! At least for now !

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #180

“why don’t presidents fight the war, why do they always send the poor?”

Do you study anything? If so what? Not currently.. Listening to music? What’s the opening and last lyric of the song? "From her throne of skulls rules our queen of endless might / and lead us the the kingdom of chaos where the dark hearts forever dwell" ("Dark Mother Divine" by Dissection). Are you a fan of sci-fi? Neutral. What’s your favorite musical? Musicals make me cringe. Have you ever taken an underwater picture? No. What was your favorite color when you was little? Has it changed? Red, and then pink when I learned it was its own color. It's still pink. Are you a fan of cheesecake? Omfg no Ever been on a ride and hated every second? I don't believe so. When was the last time you jumped? And why? biiiiih I have no idea. What color is the floor in your bedroom? Tan. Who’s the last person that slept over at your house? Sara. What color is the hair on your arms? Very light brown. Favorite color eyeshadow? Black is the only way to go. Do you have any friends that you’ve known for 10 years or more? Yeah. Who was the last person that cried in front of you? Did you do/say anything to comfort them? My niece or nephew, because we were leaving, and yes. Who was the last person you cried in front of? Did you feel embarrassed about it? Mom, probs. No. What was the last compliment you received from someone of the opposite sex? My psychiatrist said I was doing well with improvement or something. Does the person you love/like have any pets? Yes. Are you satisfied with the way your life is right now? No, things need to begin changing. Do you wear socks to bed? Who the fuck does that. Do you actually love your parents? Yeah. Do you like being in a relationship? Yeah. Do you prefer the tanning bed or the sun? I don't tan. Are you taller than your mum? I think she's like, a half inch taller than me? What’s something you want to purchase next time you’re at the mall? If it has a Hot Topic, some band or graphic t-shirt. Do you prefer regular or diet soft drinks? Regular, as the artificial sweetener in diet inevitably gives me a headache. Tastes awful, anyway. How long do you need to get to know someone, before you’d think about having a relationship with them? I think this depends on how quickly and deeply you click. Would you ever consider going to meet up with someone you started talking to online? Already have, would meet more. Have you ever wanted to be on American Idol? When was this? No. Do you have any friends you’d trust completely with your life? Sara. Are you failing any classes you’re taking in school? N/A Name one song lyric from your favorite song of all time? "In school, I would just bite my tongue, and now your words, they strike me down. The flags are false and they contradict, they point and click which wounds to lick." Do you know anyone who owns a pet chinchilla? Are they fun? No. Do your parents trust you alone with members of the opposite sex? Yeah. What is the most visited website you have listed right now? I'm sure it's YouTube. Do you enjoy singing? Why or why don't you like it? Sometimes, but I suck at it. Have you ever been in a talent show? What was your talent? No. Do you have a best friend who is of the opposite sex? No. What’s one song you’re definitely getting sick of at the moment? I don't listen to such songs once they get old. Do you know the full anatomy of the human body? Why or why not? No, because I've never specialized in studying it in its entirety. Have you ever cheated on a significant other before? No. Does your boyfriend or girlfriend have a pretty smile? ACTUAL SUNSHINE What is your favorite past-time or hobby? Why is this your favorite? Gaming, 'cuz it's the best escape from reality imo. Are you committing a sin at the moment? Which one? Sloth. Always. What do you consider being the worst curse word? I don't believe in "curse" words. Do you like kissing lightly better than just making out? I mean I'm pretty sure anyone would reply with "it depends on the mood." On average, how many songs do you listen to in a day? No clue. Sometimes many, sometimes none. Do you ever buy your pet(s) birthday or Christmas presents? Yes. Do you still own any VHS tapes? Do you ever watch them? Mom probably has old home videos. Otherwise, no. One thing you promised yourself you’d never do and then did? Not trying at all to be dramatic, but I seriously did promise myself I'd never risk loving someone again after Jason. Have you ever had to call 911? No. Have you ever rolled off your bed in your sleep? No. Do you get along with your significant other’s friends? I only know Tiffany, and she's great. Do you enjoy board games? No. What is the most expensive gift you have ever given someone? A promise ring. Describe your socks. I'm not wearing socks. I hate them. Do you believe in yourself? Sometimes. Do you feel bad when you kill bugs? Usually no... sadly. I should. If it was like a butterfly and insects of that sort, I'd feel awful. What is your favorite planet? Saturrrrrn. Do you have any pets that you had since you were born? No. Do you own anything that you had when you were a baby? Yes. Are you one of those people who are always cold? No, I'm like, permanently hot... Do you enjoy Mario games? Not especially. Things like Mario Kart though are fun to play with friends. Describe your signature: Legible but written waaay too slowly. What are some of your favorite card/board games? Battleship, Scattergories, Clue, Magic: The Gathering, uhhh... Do you own a gaming console? Which one? PS2, Wii, broken PS3 that I wanna get repaired, GameBoy, Nintendo DS Lite. What is the name of the last bar you went to? Never been to one. Do you follow any sports teams? No. How old were you when you attended your first concert and what was it? Ummm 17-ish? Alice Cooper. Which one of these words describe you the best: stubborn, impatient, hot-tempered, lazy, arrogant? Lazy. How about these: compassionate, forgiving, altruistic, honest, open-minded? Compassionate. If you had to choose one activity to do for 10 minutes, would you rather jump rope, hula hoop or hopscotch? My knees are baaaad, so all I really could survive is hula-hoop. What's the last TV show you watched, and do you relate to any of the characters? Ash had Naked and Afraid on at her house, but I related to neither contestant very much. If you had to compare yourself to one character from Friends, who would you say you're most like? Never really watched it. What is one movie you saw only once because you hated it so much? None solely for the reason of not liking it. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged? THAT WOULD BE MY MOTHER UM LEMME THINK NO. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? None. Nightmares ruined my dad to a degree I don't think I can completely recover from, even with how close we are. Out of absolutely nowhere, I had another one that resulted in me jerking awake and literally giving out a short scream. I feel in my heart I should fully trust my dad and that his image is wrongly affected by my own fears, but I'm not very sure how to change that. Ever used a bow and arrow? Not a real one. Favorite Taylor Swift song? Fuckin FIGHT me "Picture To Burn" SLAPS. Give me a song that is underestimated/not well known: "Possession" by Otep. Otep songs in general. Does everyone in your family have a job? I'm the only one who doesn't. Name a reason you would most likely go to jail for: Probably killing someone when defending a loved one from being physically attacked, and there won't be enough evidence to show that I did it as defense or that going that far was justifiable. I have actually worried about this lmao. What kind of car did your parents have while you were growing up? A blue and then tan van, and Dad had a series of old, tan cars named Frida the Cheetah I-III. :') Do you tie your socks together or roll them up? Roll them up. What was your last bad date? I don't think I've had a bad one... Do you ever wish your birthday was on a different day? Yup, 'cuz it's occasionally Superbowl Sunday. What holiday would you want to have your birthday on? BITCH HALLOWEEN. Have you ever gone snorkeling or scuba diving? No. If yes, what’s the coolest thing you’ve seen? N/A What’s your favorite filling in chocolates? Fudge. When’s the last time you had a s'more? Some time after Sara's visit in June when we had some stuff left over. Does your best friend have any phobias? ... How am I blanking. I know some of her fears, but they're rational. Do you prefer the taste of lemon or limes? Lemons. What would you name your firstborn son? Probably Damien, or Severin. Do you cook anything you don’t like eating? I don't cook. What’s the last picture you colored? One I drew. What is the cheesiest way a guy could propose marriage? M'kay, it's always a man who proposes, I'll take note. But regardless, idk. What’s the first instrument you ever played? A recorder. Do you have an attic? A small one. Have you ever lived in the country before? My whole life. Do you drink coffee every day? No, I hate coffee. Have you ever stayed in a suite? No. Do you take good pictures? Sometimes, though I suck at manual mode because it's hard for me to tell when things are *perfectly* in focus. Have you ever been in a tornado or hurricane? Hurricanes. Do you have any bookmarks in your internet browser? If so, how many? Four. Do you know anyone in the military right now? I believe so. What’s your favorite show on Comedy Central? Don't watch it. How old is the oldest person you know? Uhhhh... late 80s? Early 90s? Do you usually go to sleep before or after the people you’re living with? Varies. Which band has the best name, in your opinion? Cradle of Filth is badass. Which one of your exes do you feel like you have the most chemistry with? Have, none, had, Jason. Do you like where your house is located? No. What’s the best hotel you’ve been to? One right by the beach. Are you into designer clothes? Nope, forget those prices. The only I plan on buying something from sometime is Cloak out of relentless support for The Man and The Apprentice. Have you ever done any internship? No. What’s your favorite store? (other than Hot Topic) Do not attack me like this. But anyway, Rebel's Market. What do you think about tattoos on women? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA fuck you. Have the cops ever gotten onto you for anything before? No. Do you have a Myspace? And if so what is your screen name? It probably still exists, and idk. Do you have a YouTube? Yeah. Facebook? Yeah. Gaia? Idk what that is. Bzoink? No. What email thingy do you use? (yahoo, gamil, rock) Hotmail and Gmail. Do you own a cellphone? If so what kind is it? A Shitty Samsung™ Do you have a digital camera? What kind is it? A Nikon D3200, but I'm hopefully getting a new Nikon or Canon soon. This camera's just about toast. What is your most common typo? Ummm. Idk. I don't make many now as I have to type slowly on this annihilated keyboard. What happens now is just not pushing down hard enough, so I wouldn't really call them "typos.' What kind of computer do you have? My actual one is a Sager, but the one I currently have to use is an Acer. Do you have an iPod/MP3 player? Yes. Literally had it since the beginning of middle school. What is your favorite video game of all time? Silent Hill 2 for story, Shadow of the Colossus for gameplay. For overall, they're pretty much tied. Have you ever played Call of Duty? No. Do you play games on the computer? When I get the Sager fixed... How many doors are in your house? Windows? Doors leading outside, I'm guessing? Two. Windows... at least eight. Nine? Most are small, though. Do you have any posters on your walls? Of what? Metallica, a unicorn at therapy being told "you need to believe in yourself," Homecoming-styled Pyramid Head, Marilyn Manson, Illidan from WoW, Silent Hill 3, Jack Skellington, a music one, and meerkats. What kind of bed do you have? (fouton, twin, bunk) Queen. Is your bed comfortable? Eh. Where is your computer located? I only have a laptop. Other than a closet, do you use a dresser/wardrobe to keep your clothes in? I have a dresser. How many mirrors do you have in your house? (other than hand-held) Uhhh two? Do you have a garage? No. Should you be doing anything right now? What? No. Do doctors or dentists make you more nervous? Doctors. Did you ever think you were about to die before? Ha, in the fourth grade when I was writing my DARE paper and I accidentally stabbed my freshly-sharpened pencil into my left palm... I thought it was lead so I ran SOBBING to my mom about how I was going to die lmao. Then after I ODed, I acknowledged there was a possibility, but I didn't care to think about whether I lived or died to like... think either one. Have you ever really had a near-death experience? Was it cool? "Was it cool." Fuck off. There's no such thing as a "cool" way of almost dying. Anyway, I got in a car accident when I was young, but Mom's driving saved our ass. I don't know if you'd classify the OD as near-death... I apparently didn't take enough to where a certain ingredient became heavily toxic or something, plus I was fucking drowned in fluids to counteract the amount I did have in super quickly (or something like that), so I didn't really experience an "I'm dying right now" fear like I did when I saw the wreck coming. How often do you brush your teeth? Once a day. How often do you shower? (Come on, tell the truth) Every other day, or if I'm being lazy, I go an extra day and regret my decision. What body type do you have? Um not skinny help. What kind of nose do you have? It's kinda little. Are your eyebrows thick? Normal. What color eyes do you wish you had? A more sapphire blue. Do you have fat lips? I'd say they're normal. Do you have a long neck? No. What are your views on abortion? Ultimately, when all things are considered, pro-choice, but I believe in avoiding abortion as well as you can. Like, just getting one solely because you were being sexually careless is a no from me, but like, if pregnancy and/or bearing a child would be an incredibly difficult feat for you emotionally and/or physically, you have the right to put yourself first. Gay marriage? All for it. What different types of churches have you visited? Catholic and Christian. Who would you want to be the flower girl at your wedding? Aubree, buuut I doubt her dad would allow it considering there's a high chance I'm marrying a woman, and he's homophobic as all hell. Do you want to be married within the next ten years? Ideally. What group are you most active in on Facebook? I'm only in one, a WoW group. I rarely comment on anything tho. Are you ashamed of anything? Yes. What were your favorite Disney rides as a kid? I don't really remember them. What were your favorite rides at Cedar Point? Never been. Have you ever owned a succulent? No. Favorite type of tea to drink in the fall? I hate tea. If a brand were to sponsor you, which brand(s) would you prefer? *shrugs* Have you read the entire Bible? No. Do you make bucket lists for each season? No. What is the next hobby you want to start? I'unno... I guess I'd like to get back to reading. Do you dye your hair regularly? No, it's not something I can afford, especially because I want complex color combos. What makes you depressed? Thinking too much about my current life issues, above anything else. My brain confuses depression and boredom a lot, and I'm bored plenty. Loved ones being hurt or upset, and sometimes thinking about the future. Do you think you could ever be famous? Nooooo, I absolutely do not want that. Do you think you have what it takes to make it big in the entertainment biz? Definitely not. What industry is it that you want to go into? Art. Do you have a job now? If so, what is it? No. What are some jobs you’ve had in the past? Sales clerk/associate. What are some jobs you want to or would like to have? List five. Photographer, zoologist, archaeologist, meerkat biologist, artist. What are some jobs you have considered? Archaeologist, vet, movie director, game designer, movie editor, and now zoologist and photography. What are some health problems you have had in the past? That I don't still have? Lots of ear infections, high cholesterol, insomnia, and talk about embarrassing, but last year I had this random span of premature nighttime incontinence... that fucking sucked. What are some of the best medications you’ve ever had? The Latuda + Lamictal combo is one of the biggest reasons I'm still alive. What is your favorite vitamin? I don't have one. Have you ever made money off of YouTube? No. What was a video you watched over and over as a kid? OH MY GOD so Nicole and I watched "Before He Cheats" covers (why idk????) and she found this one of a girl lip-syncing along to a super sped-up version and we found it stupid funny. Have you ever experienced depression as a side effect? Yes; I have both bipolarity and depression, but taking anti-depressants while also bipolar ramps your bipolar symptoms the fuck up, so of course my times of depression were soooo much worse than they were supposed to be. Have you ever been suicidal as a withdrawal symptom? No. How old were you when you started wearing glasses (if applicable)? Some time in middle school, I think? Have you ever been told you have an accent? As a kid I really did; when seeing my NY relatives, they would always point it out lmao. Now I think I only super faintly do and it's only slightly noticeable with some words. Actually at the reptile con in Illinois, after a bit of talking, a girl I met asked if I was from the U.K. because apparently she detected a faint trace of B r i t i s h? Describe the last situation in which you had to give up on an individual? I've gone back and forth with Colleen so many times that I feel anyone who reads these knows the story. What are some things that cause you to abandon association with someone? Shoving opinions in my face, arrogance, disinterest in our relationship, closed-minded, just to name a few. When was the last time you made a new friend? Ha. What is the most unusual thing within your general vicinity? Ummmm I'm not sure. Maybe my python, as she's a morph? What are some things you enjoy that not many others do? Writing, reptiles and amphibians, conspiracies, looots of snow, foreign music, watching others play games, uhhhh. Are you one who considers preserving your past important? In some ways, sure, but not a lot. Focus on the present and aim to create a future better than your past. When was the last time you had some sort of a meltdown? I'm not sure. Some time last month, I think. When was the last time you were super busy? Psh. I'm never busy. Not always a good thing. What is a quality someone might not assume you have? Serious impatience. I don't think I hint towards that weakness until like, you see me in a doctor's office. What was the last thing you did that was healthy? Got a good night's sleep. What was the last thing you did that could harm your health? Drank soda oops. Do you know anyone who self-injures? Not in the present, I believe. Have you ever had to reside with an individual who had a mental disorder? Mom has depression.

[marlmckitten]

CLOSER

I didn’t mean for this to turn into smut but idk what I was expecting. Anyway, every time I listen to Closer by The Chainsmokers I love it because there is so much history there and I just think it has so much potential so I put that towards a Blackinnon story. Muggle AU. One-Shot. Smut. Fluff.

Marlene McKinnon was sitting with a group of her friends, laughing and throwing her hair behind her shoulder. She was sitting there, perfect and beautiful as always. She smirked before letting out a howl of laughter, her head leaning back at whatever had just happened and her blonde locks waved perfectly as her head came back up to whisper something into one of the other girls ears. She was in the middle of whatever her secret message was when her icy blue eyes met his.

Sirius could swear her could feel his heart tighten when their eyes locked and her teeth bit down on her plump lips ever so slightly before blinking a few times and eventually gesturing him over. He stood up and made his way closer to the small group of girls, nodding his head slightly as means of any sort of greeting.

Marlene looked up to him and smiled, a real sincere smile and he felt his heart sink. She had a smile that could bring you hope and break it all at once. Her attention wavered from him and to his friends, “This is Sirius Black, we went to high school together,” she introduced easily, followed by all her friends names that left his mind the second she said them. He didn’t care much about her friends, he was still entranced by her.

They engaged in a few minutes of small talk, before Sirius let his hand slide down Marlene’s back and onto her arse where it squeezed ever so slightly and she looked up at him, her eyes twinkling mischievously. It had been years since they last saw one another, but right now it felt like they were 17 again, just finishing up high school and eager to disappear to another room.

She wrapped up with her friends and led Sirius away from the bar and upstairs to her room. “What are you doing here?” She questioned.

Sirius laughed, “I just answered that to your boring friends, you can tell them what you want but I couldn’t even recognize their faces if I saw them again.”

Her blue eyes rolled annoyed in her head, but her lips still formed a small smile, “You haven’t changed one bit have you?”

Now his eyebrows raised, “I haven’t changed? Do you remember when we met?”

He watched her eyes sparkle at the memory, they had met at a party, Sirius was drunk out of his mind and had tried hooking up with her, but instead ended up throwing up most of the night. To his surprise though, Marlene had stuck around until he felt better. When he finally managed to fall asleep, she write her number on his arm and disappeared. He didn’t have a lot of memory of the evening, but the image of this beautiful blonde goddess kept appearing so he called her and took her out on a much deserved date. Of course, at the time as a high school kid, with parents that refused to help him in any sort of way, his only choice was to take her out for some corner store coffee and a walk, but somehow his charm had managed to win her over.

“You knew what I meant,” she corrected him, “You haven’t changed since I last saw you and now?”

“You have,” he commented back, his eyes taking her in, the pang in his chest from when they had broken up coming back quickly. Nothing about this evening seemed like a good idea but after not seeing one another for four years, how was he suppose to stay away. “I live here now, what are you doing?” Sirius asked again.

“Right,” she replied almost sadly, he could remember it although it was yesterday. They had gotten in a fight, his parents had kicked him out and all he had was an old car he had managed to fix up for himself. He took it and left town after she said she was done with him. He regretted it almost every day since, but leaving his family was the best thing he ever did for himself, leaving her may have been the worst. “This is where you ended up then?” She questioned. “London to Edinburgh?”

“Better than home was,” he replied simply, and he could see that Marlene agreed with him. She may have never known the full details of his home life but she knew it wasn’t good. There had been many occasions where he showed up at her place, bruised and broken and she always tried to convince him to leave. But he was stubborn, and he couldn’t bring himself to leave his younger brother. It wasn’t until his brother made a stance about not wanting Sirius in his life any more than the rest of the family did, that Sirius finally acted out. He lashed out at everyone, including Marlene. It had everything to do with why they broke up. But at this exact moment, it all seemed irrelevant. “You’re stunning,” he complimented her as they continued up the flight of stairs to her hotel room.

She scoffed in response, “You want to get into bed with me, Black?”

“Isn’t that where we’re headed?” He retorted plainly, earning a small smirk from the blonde’s lips.

“I could change my mind if I wanted?”

He wouldn’t let her, his body moved and pinned her against the wall in one swoop, his lips only inches from hers, “It’s up to you, but then I won’t get to show you how much I missed you,” his eyes looked her up and down and he could feel her heart racing in her chest as his body pressed against hers.

She tilted her head up and kissed him first. He grunted as their lips met and their tongues collided. Sirius’ hands were all over her body, grasping at her ass again, then moving up and groping her full breasts between his fingers. It didn’t matter that they weren’t even in her room yet, he began pulling at her dress, desperate to feel her skin against his and she almost succumb to it, but pulled away from him, “My room- is right over there,” she said between deep breaths, walking ahead of him and pulling her dress back up.

He noticed a small tattoo on her shoulder of a sun, his hands grazed over it as he whispered into her ear, “That’s new?”

“I got it about four years ago actually,” she replied, finally getting to her landing and walking in the hallway. She fiddled with a keycard before opening the door and letting him inside. “Someone once told me that I was the sun and not let others cloud me, so I got this,” she shrugged nonchalantly, but it made Sirius freeze in his tracks. He could pinpoint the exact moment when they decided to skip their last class for the day and go to the beach instead. They had some weed and were passing it back and forth while they talked about their lives, their dreams and their futures. It bothered him when Marlene talked lowly of herself. She didn’t do it often, but sometimes she would make it out that others were more important than her, or she would put someone else’s needs before her own. That was when he told her that she was the sun and not to let anyone else eclipse her. “Why didn’t you ever call?” She asked him bluntly turning to face him before sitting on the edge of the hotel bed.

“Why didn’t you?”

They were both valid questions, but they both knew it was simply pride getting in the way, neither of them wanting to admit that they were wrong. Marlene never would be the type to beg a man to come back to her. And Sirius was not the boy who would call a girl who broke up with him, sobbing for him to take him back.

"I still think about you sometimes,” she admitted, “And worry. No one knew where you went. And you didn’t have much...”

“I made it work,” he answered plainly, but watching her talk, he never thought about how it might break her heart when he ran away from everyone. Now he felt guilty about it. But four years was a long time, much too long to correct the mistakes of a seventeen year old version of himself.

She looked up to him again, “If you live here, what were you doing in a hotel bar?”

He didn’t have an answer for her, because he did not want to admit that he was passing by when he saw her get out of the taxi with her friends. He followed her, completely bewitched into the hotel and sat there, working up to courage to say hi, attempting to drink enough to convince him it was a good idea. But she saw him first and saved him the effort. So instead, he took a step towards her, his hand reaching out to tug the sleeves of her dress down again.

She knew him well enough to know that pushing him wasn’t going to get him any answers. So he watched as she stood up and slowly dragged the dress from her skin, letting it eventually fall to her feet and she stood there in only her plain black bra and panties in front of him. And damn did she manage to take his breath away all over again. He stepped towards her and pushed her gently back onto the bed, before climbing over her, “You’re breathtaking,” he commented sweetly in her ear, before nibbling down on it. His hand wandered around her back, easily unclasping the bra and pushing it off her shoulders. “You’re beautiful,” he went on, teeth grazing her jaw line and nipping at her throat. Now is hand palmed her perky breast and she let out a deep sigh. “As you always have been,” he finally finished, his mouth taking over for his hand, biting at her nipple and his hand fell further down her body, fingers grazing over her panties and her grinned when he felt her, already wet for him.

His teeth bit down harder on her nipple and she let out a little yelp. It was adorable. Then his hand massaged her clit through her panties and her moans filled the room. They could be seventeen again, time meant nothing as he got off of her just for long enough to discard his own clothes and watch her as her hand took over for his, slipping under her panties to pleasure herself while he was pulled away from her. He watched for as second, saw her head fall back in pleasure and her other hand grab her breast and knead at it. The sight alone was enough to have his cock spring to life. Damn she was perfect.

Sirius got back on top of her, and pressed his lips into hers, biting on the bottom lip before pulling off of her, watching them go plump and red with the stimulation. He took her hands away from herself and pinned them above her head while he slowly licked down her neck and across her shoulders, eventually biting down hard on that pretty little tattoo she had, enjoying the noises that elicited from her, a clear mix of pleasure and pan. He looked her in the eyes and let go of her hands, “No more touching yourself, that’s my job now,” he demanded, and she nodded obediently.

The twenty-one year old man went back to letting his mouth explore her body while his hands worked to pull that last piece of flimsy material off of her. While his lips trailed kisses down her chest and stomach, his fingers slid through her slit and pushed inside her ever so gently, just enough to make her breath hitch and her back arch, before pulling back out and getting a whine from Marlene that he decided to ignore. His mouth was lower now, and his tongue flicked out to touch her clit and her fingers gripped at the sheets on the bed. He watched her tug at them as he continued applying pressure at the bundle of nerves, her whole body twisting each time.

“Please Sirius,” she begged him and he grinned, parting her lips and pressing her tongue inside of her.

“OH. Fuck. Yes,” she encouraged him and he continued working with his mouth until she was writhing under him, wanting more. So he instead pulled his mouth away and watched her face as he inserted two fingers inside of her, scissoring them to fill her more fully, his thumb barely touching at her core as he did so.

He saw her mouth make an ‘O’ and her eyes scrunch up while his name rolled off her tongue. Sirius licked his lips, before taking her right breast into his mouth and she shrieked. He missed the noises she made during sex and he moved his fingers in and out of her, faster as she instructed him to. Eventually his mouth left her nipple and he leaned up into her ear, “I want to watch you cum for me, darling.”

He knew her well, he knew that a whisper in her ear was enough to send her over the edge and her body tightened around his fingers just as he pushed down on her swollen bud with his thumb. “Say my name,” he said into her ear again and she obeyed, stringing his name with as many curses as she could, her body contorting with her orgasm.

Once she finally came down from her high, and her eyes fluttered open again, hw was smiling down at her, taking her mouth again for only a moment, “Good girl,” he told her, earning an eye roll from Marlene, but he knew that she enjoyed it.

Now he positioned his body on top of hers, “I hope you’re ready to do that again, doll,” he winked to her, before lowering his rock hard cock into her entrance and watching her face form that perfect ‘O’ all over again. He could never get tired of that look, but once his body remembered just how tightly she hugged his member, his own eyes shut as he concentrated on not coming within the first few thrusts.

This time it was Marlene teasing him, “Fuck me, baby,” she asked him, “Harder.” The blonde’s hips were moving in unison with his as he slammed his body against hers, pulling out ever so slightly before thrusting back inside of her. Marlene wanted more though, she always did. “Faster,” she asked this time and he did the best he could. Her hands had pulled the sheets completely off the bed and they moved to grip his ass, pushing him deeper into her as her legs spread as far as they could, legs wrapping around his as if she could get him to sink any further into her.

“Fuck,” he muttered, feeling his body nearing his climax.

“I’m almost there,” she promised him between pants, “Almost there,” she repeated, this time her voice was raspy with need.

He continued pulling in and out of her, pressing their bodies together as hard as they could, their hips grinding against each other as he tried his hardest to hold off for her. His hand moved to her throat, applying slight pressure and she let out a wanton mewl for him.

Finally he heard what he was waiting for, “I’m coming, Sirius,” she told him, her voice was enough to have him cum inside her right then and there as her breathes tightened and at last he felt her tighten around his cock, pulling him into her orgasm. He continued to ride her through it, until she was reduced to a nothing but desperate grasps at air and he collapsed on top of her, a few messy kisses against her neck.

“I missed you, Marls,” he said eventually.

She laughed, he knew that she meant in more than just a sex sort of way, but Marlene always had to have some sort of snappy comeback, so he just moved his hand over her mouth, “If you don’t stop talking I’ll shove my dick on your mouth to shut you up.”

She giggled, “Hm, you’re forgetting how much I love having it in my mouth.”

He groaned, wondering how he ever let a girl like her get away from him. “I’m sleeping here tonight,” he informed her.

She shifted in her bed, forcing him to finally pull out of her and she looked his way, “I know,” Marlene replied, infuriatingly. A few moments passed and Sirius could feel himself drifting off to sleep. At least until he felt Marlene’s head curl into the crook in his shoulder and press a gently kiss on his cheek, “I missed you too,” she whispered to him.

His lips twitched into a smile and his arm automatically wrapped around her. He wasn’t sure what they were doing or what this was right now, but he did know that he would use any means necessary to keep her with him this time.

[hari-writes]

Little Louis Dupain-Cheng - Chapter 7

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Pairings: Adrien/Marinette Summary: In the seven years since Hawk Moth’s defeat, much has changed. Adrien Agreste PhD returns to Paris and is reunited with his friends. Marinette has a degree in Fashion Design, a thriving boutique and a son, six-year-old Louis. Louis is like his mother in many ways, except for green eyes and a familiar smile… Will Adrien do the maths?

Read on A03 ★★★ Buy me a coffee?

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Mon coeur aime Adrien

Adrien was just getting his head around the fact that Alya had been a miraculous holder when he arrived at her and Nino’s place, only to find Chloe waiting at the door. At least that explained why she knew about his and Marinette’s identities.

“Trixx.” A glass was held aloft.

“Pollen.” Another joined it.

“Wayzz.” A third glass.

“Tikki.” Marinette added hers.

“Erm, uh, Plagg?” Adrien added, lifting his glass to the others.

Alya, Chloe, Nino, Marinette and Adrien clinked their glasses together and drank deeply.

Marinette had arrived last. She was reading Louis a bedtime story before she left her house and, apparently, he’d chosen a particularly long one. Adrien chuckled at that, he used to do the same thing with his mother. She was perched on the arm of the sofa next to him and, now, she squeezed his hand. Her look was pure concern.

“Is this ok?” She asked.

“I guess so?” He replied. “To be honest, there’s so much to take in that I’m not sure how I feel yet. “

“You know we always included Plagg in our toasts? Even when you weren’t here.” Marinette said.

“She’s not kidding, dude. We had to have a plate with some Camembert on it at the table every time we met. It stunk the place out, but Mari claims it was a perfect tribute.” Nino shook his head.

Adrien grinned at the memory. “He would have loved it.”

In the weeks following Hawk Moth’s defeat, Marinette had noticed her friends showing signs of stress. The same sort of stress she was feeling. She recognised her emotional turmoil reflected in Alya, Nino and Chloe. She already knew who wore the fox miraculous, and now that she knew Chat Noir’s identity, it wasn’t difficult to figure out who he’d trust enough to wear the turtle bracelet. A visit to Master Fu revealed Queen Bee.

Marinette asked Fu if it was safe for her to know the citizens behind the superheroes. She explained that she strongly suspected that her friends were suffering from the same post-traumatic stress that she was and wanted to support them through it. She started the OT5 (-1) gatherings as a form of talking therapy.

“It worked,” Chloe admitted. “Knowing we weren’t alone through it all.”

“And it gave us an outlet. We could shout and cry, or bitch and laugh and it was okay. It brought us through the hardest times.” Alya explained.

“And now?” Adrien asked.

“Mostly, we toast our kwamis, then eat Alya’s world-famous Jambalaya while watching reruns of Le Bachelor,” Nino admitted.

“Hey, don’t judge us!” Marinette laughed, seeing Adrien’s amused expression. “It’s still a sort of therapy.”

»»★««

“Thank you.” Adrien squeezed Marinette’s hand as they left Nino and Alya’s apartment building.

“What for?” Marinette looked at him, her blue eyes searching his face.

“For keeping everyone together when it all ended, for arranging group therapy sessions for the others.” He said, waving his hand in the general direction of the apartment. “You kept on being Ladybug, even after you gave your miraculous back.”

She smiled sadly. He knew the aching gap in his life left when he said goodbye to Plagg and knew the feeling of constantly missing his kwami. He had weekly visits to an expensive psychiatrist to help him deal with the loss. Now, he wanted to take away the grief she felt, help her the way she helped the others.

“The nightmares are back?” He asked, already knowing the answer. “Louis told me.”

Marinette snorted through her nose, “What else did he tell you?”

“Don’t be upset with him, he was only interested in the man whose name you shout in your sleep.” He said.

Marinette’ head dropped, “Oh, God. Can I die now, please?” She groaned.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “No, My Lady! Don’t do that, I’ve just got you back in my life.”

“The nightmares started back after I saw you at your welcome home party,” Marinette said from behind her hands. “I don’t know why, but I’m reliving the fight again. The fear comes back to me and you… your reaction when we took the butterfly miraculous from Hawk Moth. I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to hear this.” She shook her head.

“I spent four years in therapy to get over that moment and many others. I can talk about it.” Adrien reassured her, “I’m worried that you spent the past seven years making sure everyone else was coping and nobody was looking after you.”

“I’m okay, Adrien, I promise.” Marinette rested her head against him. “Thank you for caring, though.”

They walked on in silence, unasked questions swirling around Adrien’s head. He wanted to help her, but she was so used to looking after that others that he wasn’t sure she could ever accept his assistance. He saw it all too often as Chat Noir; Ladybug had the weight of Paris on her shoulders. She felt personally responsible for every last citizen and cared deeply about each of them.

“This is me.” They had reached the hotel. “Are you sure I can’t see you home?”

“Ever the gentleman,” She giggled, “Honestly, I’m fine, it’s not far.”

He didn’t want her to go, was already missing her touch even though she was less than a metre from him.

“Why don’t you come up to my room and have a drink with me, then I’ll call a taxi for you. Deal?” He tried to be casual, grateful that Chloe had somewhere else to be after they left Nino and Alya’s.

“That’s fair.” She smiled, “Lead the way, kitty.”

»»★««

Once they reached his room, a knock at the door distracted Adrien so Marinette took in her surroundings.

Chloe had done a great job on the rooms, she thought. The furnishings were luxurious without being ostentatious (she talked Chloe out of garish gold and black Brocade curtains and convinced her that a mocha Damask would match the mink satin wallpaper far better). The room came with an espresso machine, phone speaker dock, bureau and two plush tub chairs and a low coffee table. It was cosy and she could see how Adrien was able to live here long term.

“Monsieur, Miss Chloe instructed me to bring this to you,” A male voice spoke, but Marinette couldn’t see who it belonged to.

“Oh, wow. Tell Chloe, thank you.” Adrien sounded pleased.

“And, ahem, Miss Chloe also said if you ever brought the dark-haired girl to your room, to give you this.” The other voice sounded uncomfortable.

“I… Tell Chloe, I hate her,” Adrien said seriously.

“I apologise, monsieur, I am just doing what I’m told.” The door closed.

Adrien returned, cheeks pink, carrying a tray containing a bottle of whisky and two crystal glasses. Marinette raised a quizzical eyebrow.

“A gift from Chloe.” He explained.

He set the tray on the coffee table before palming something small into the drawer of his bedside table. Marinette didn’t ask.

“I got into whisky while I was in Cambridge. One of the guys in my halls of residence, his father owned a distillery and he educated us on it. This,” He gestured to the bottle on the table, “Is Chloe’s way of showing off. It’s a fifteen-year-old Islay single malt that must cost at least €150.”

“She’s incredibly generous, isn’t she? Has she always been that way?” She asked, wondering if Chloe’s generosity was a newfound trait.

“She’s always bought gifts, but it used to be more proprietorial, I guess. It was like she was marking her territory if she gave you a present, telling you that you belonged to her. So, I don’t know, I suppose the selfless gift-giving is a new thing.” Adrien said.

He poured two generous measures of whisky into the glasses and added a splash of bottled water into each. He passed one to Marinette and put his nose in his, inhaling deeply. She did the same, unsure what she was smelling for. Adrien looked at her expectantly so she closed her eyes, blocking out one sense to focus on another.

“It smells like a bonfire on the beach.” She said.

He smiled in encouragement. “You have a good nose.”

He took a sip so she followed. She winced at how strong it was and the way it burned her throat when she swallowed. It wasn’t unpleasant, though, so she took another drink.

“It’s smooth,” She noted, “Sweet, a little spicy and… woody?”

He clinked his glass against hers, eyes twinkling. “You’re practically a connoisseur already.”

She liked it when he was animated like this. Since his return from Milan, she noticed that he was more restrained than usual. Never aloof, but he was definitely more guarded. Talking about whisky, in this moment, she saw a twinkle in his eye that she recognised from all the times she saw it behind a black mask. This was his freedom, pursuing simple pleasures, finding joy in the little things.

Her phone trilled and she flexed her fingers in response.

“Do you need to check that?” He asked.

“Sorry, I texted maman to let her know I’d be later than I thought. Do you mind?” She reached for her mobile.

He settled on his bed, curling his legs under him. Marinette checked her messages.

Maman: Of course, dear. Louis is fast asleep and your papa and I are off to bed too. Stay out as late as you like, just don’t be too noisy when you come home! Have fun x

She grinned and switched her phone to silent, slipping it into her bag. She perched on the bed, next to Adrien. He might not be a model any more, but he retained the effortlessly perfect posture from those days. There was a cat-like grace about him that was relaxed and accessible. These days, he was the perfect mixture of Adrien and Chat Noir; charismatic and flirtatious, but thoughtful, reserved. His fun side showed when he was with friends and it made his face glow. If possible, she loved him more now than she did in her teens.

His hair was lighter now, with flecks of grey just beginning to show and the cool tones in his hair made his eyes seem even more piercing than before. His green eyes searched her face and she felt him look into her soul. It was disconcerting.

“They’re not all nightmares.” She heard herself say. Where did that come from?!

“They’re not?” Adrien looked surprised at this outburst of honesty.

“No,” She cringed internally, why was she telling him this? His eyes were acting like truth serum on her as the effects of the alcohol hit and she couldn’t help herself. “I have… other… dreams that feature you.”

“Other… dreams?” His jaw dropped a little at this.

She chewed her bottom lip nervously, then swallowed more whisky for courage. She looked straight into his eyes.

“Other memories. More… pleasurable memories. Some… fantasies.” She prompted him.

“That leave you shouting my name? ...Oh!” He got it. He took a large gulp of whisky, too, and Marinette figured he was buying time to consider his response.

Wordlessly, he took her glass from her and set both on the dressing table. He sat closer to her now and cupped her cheek in his hand, stroking her face with his thumb. His gaze had become so intense, Marinette was worried she might melt into a puddle under it. Like the sun, it wasn’t wise to look directly at it.

“I have those dreams, too.” He was close enough that his breath warmed her face, it smelled sweet and smoky, like the whisky. “And… fantasies... about you.”

“You do?” She whispered.

Marinette tilted her face towards his, lips slightly parted as she felt him draw closer. Their mouths met hungrily and her eyes closed, once more blocking out one sense to focus on another. Their tongues clashed insistently. His hands raked through her hair, tugging slightly, pulling her into him. Urgency grew within her and she climbed into his lap, trailing kisses along his jaw until she reached his ear. She nibbled his earlobe and heard him sigh breathily.

“Wait,” He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled back.

“What’s wrong?” She bit her lip, worried that she had done something to upset him. Had she gone too far?

“Nothing,” He moved his hands to her face, “I want this. It’s just that, I need you to know how I feel. I still love you Marinette. This isn’t a fling. I want to have a relationship with you, if you’ll have me.”

“I love you too, Adrien,” She smiled at his earnest expression, “I want you in my life.”

Adrien grinned at that, his face looked younger and brighter when he did and she felt another swell of affection for him.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, would you like to be my girlfriend?” He asked, cheeks flushing a little as he did. It was adorable.

“More than you know, yes.” She couldn’t stop a happy giggle from slipping out.

He leaned back on to his elbows and she followed, resuming their kiss. It was less urgent than before and, somehow, more intense. In saying the things they’d been wanting to since Adrien returned to Paris, they were able to relax and enjoy each other.

One of his hands moved to her waist and the other cradled the back of her head. His kisses paused for just a beat as he flipped her so she was laying on the bed and he was on top of her. His tongue traced her collarbone, hands unfastened the buttons of her blouse, hips ground into her. She sighed and the sound came out as a moan. She pulled his shirt from his waistband and pushed her hands underneath, running her nails down his back.

They broke apart momentarily to remove their shirts and Adrien unclasped her bra, slipping it reverently from her arms.

“Adrien, wait. I don’t have any protection.” She said, putting her hand on his chest. The realisation arrived with a healthy dose of disappointment. Adrien, however, looked sheepish.

He reached over to the drawer of his bedside cabinet and yanked it open. A small blue square box sat in the otherwise empty drawer, the words ‘Extra-Safe’ emblazoned in bold. Condoms.

“Another gift from Chloe.” He grimaced.

[midwesternwebslinger-blog]

Vacation w/ The Avengers!

Hi, internet!

Since this is my *first post* to this blog, thought I'd introduce myself! I'm midwesterwebslinger, but you can call me anytime 😉☎️ Just kidding, just call me May. It's just easier that way. I'm a dancer, up-and-coming actress, and of course, a lover of all things marvel. I probably sound like an idiot right now. Since I've never written anything before, I decided to start off with a simple headcanon. If you like it, hate it, love it, or even don't care, please give me some feedback! I'd love to actually know what I'm doing on tumblr lols :') Without further ado, here's this adorable fanfic filled with avengers goodness!! PS- this is kinda long and I didn't edit it AT ALL😬

avengers x reader

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

You had been a member of the avengers for what, 11 months now?

Even though it hadn't even been a year yet, the team was family to you

And what do families do?

GO ON VACATION

Steve and Tony decided that, after a very long and hard mission, you guys deserved a little break.

You and Peter almost flipped the table over at dinner when Tony said that the lot of you would be going Florida for a month

[fast forward to after the entire packing and traveling process had ended]

Steve would wake up first every day around 6:30 am to eat some cereal on the porch and listen to the waves

Nat would get up second and make an omlet for herself

You would get up third, joining Steve on the porch in your PJs and glasses with a glass of milk and peanut butter toast

You and Steve would have the best conversations on the porch every morning

It was great bonding time

You guys would talk about lots of random stuff like America, the dinosaurs, music, freedom, school, science, and life in general

After you guys finished up talking, both of you would go get in your swimsuits, put on a cover up, and walk up and down the beach

Sometimes Nat would join and it was great

You noticed how peaceful the beach was when the hoards of hotel guests weren't around

Your usual morning activities with Steve would end around 9:30, when you went to go see who else was awake

You knew Wanda was awake, because you would see her doing yoga every morning when you walked back into the house

That witch it surprisingly flexible

The only other avenger awake at 9:30 would usually be Bucky, sadly not your partner in crime Mr. Parker

So, you and Steve and Bucky headed down to the pool

Steve and Bucky would sit on some pool chairs with their hats and sunglasses while you switched between sitting between the two grandpas and floating around in the pool

Around 10:30, you would hear the screams of Clint at Peter to wake up and get off of the couch

Classic Peter

About 5 minutes after you hear Clint scream, Peter comes stumbling out of the house with a cup of yogurt in his swim trunks

"Look who's awake!" Says Steve, glancing up from the newspaper

"What a shame" replies Bucky

"You guys are funny! Hey Y/N, wanna jump in with me?"

*cue the two of you cannon balling into the pool, getting Steve's newspaper wet*

Steve gives you crazy teens an over exaggerated look of shock

"I wish I didn't have to do this, but I'm going to have to eliminate the other of you"

You saw your life flash before your eyes as Steve ran at full Cap speed towards the pool and launched himself into the artificial paradise that was the pool

Waves. Huge waves. It was a tsunami of Captain America sized proportions.

Bucky would join in the fight on Steve's side, and obviously team super solider best team teenager

The four of you would have some intense chicken fights

You on Bucky's shoulders, Peter on Steve's

A true battle of the teens

"Come on, Y/N! You can beat Parker!"

"Come on Peter! You can win! But don't be too rough on her! She's smaller than you!"

:') Steve looking out for the little guy makes me want to cry

You surprisingly beat "Team Super New Yorkers"

Bucky was just as surprised as you were

"Give it here, Y/N! Ya sure deserve it, doll!"

The three of you would be in the middle of yet another splash war when a window opens and Tony yells,

"Can you be quiet? I'm on a conference call!"

Peter immediately feels guilty and apologizes as fast as he can

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark we'll try to play softer next time"

Steve could care less about Tony's call. For Pete's sake he hadn't had this much fun since 1943!

"Lighten up a little Stark, it is vacation after all!"

Around noon, Clint would emerge from the house to join Nat on a bike ride to a fish place down the beach

"I'll be back whenever. Never, preferably."

Steve would make sandwiches for you, Peter, Wanda, and ocassionaly Bucky

Possibly the best sandwiches you ever had

You guys always spent the second half of the day on the beach with the rest of the avengers

Tony would be sitting in an overly-priced beach hut, Clint sitting next to the hut in a tiny plastic chair, Natasha sitting next to Clint on a beach towel, Wanda floating around in one of those donut floaties, Steve and Bucky standing in the water, and you and Peter causing chaos

If you can't tell, you and Peter are super close

After you, you guys are the youngest by far AND the same age

On the first day at the house, you and Peter did a little investigating and found 2 PADDLE BOARDS

You and Peter claimed one of them for yourselves, and let the rest of the team share the other one

Peter would usually paddle while you sat up front, on with your toes in the water

Pretty relaxing if I do say so myself

TBH if Peter didn't have super strength he probably wouldn't be able to paddle lols

Sometimes you would paddle and Peter would rock the board back and forth so you would lose your balance and fall into the ocean

The little DORK wouldn't fall off bc of his stuPID SPIDEY SENSES

On one particular afternoon, you and Peter had gone farther out than ever before

Not too far cause you guys are lowkey scared of the ocean

Peter turned the boat towards the shore and you guys waved to Steve and Bucky, and they waved back

Bucky was a jokester

"Don't come back, Parker!"

Silly Bucky

The first time you saw Sam all day was dinner, apparently he had been out running the entire time

Speaking of dinner, Clint is surprisingly good at barbecue food

You guys had ribs, pulled pork, Wanda's legendary brownies, Nat's lemonade, Tony's classic summer salad, and a fruit salad Steve picked out from the store

Lots of stories and laughing really tired you out

Tony, being the dad he is, sent you and Peter to bed before the rest of the group

"Alright minors, I think it's time for you guys to go to bed. Let the adults talk."

Peter went to his couch and you went to your room, saying goodnight to Peter as you shut the door

Another day, another breakfast with Steve, another walk on the beach, another yell from Clint, until Tony called all of you in for lunch

Tony announced that there was a situation in Cuba and the team needed to go in and eliminate Hydra immediately

Of course, the team minus you and Peter

These Hydra agents were different from the rest.. way more hardcore

Of course, Tony couldn't just leave you guys all alone at the house! The two of you would definitely blow it up

So, he kindly offered to stay home and babysit

The next morning, around 4 am, the team left and the three of you gave hugs and waved them goodbye

You all went to bed again, and were woken up by the sound of Tony's music

Since Tony hadn't had a lot of time with just you youngins this trip, he called today, "Super Fun Tony Bonding Day"

Apparently, he had planned a surprise for you guys today and told you two to hurry to your rooms (or couch) and get your swimsuits and coverups on and meet back in the kitchen in 10 minutes

10 minutes later you were in the kitchen with Peter when Tony came walking in with a giant bag filled with who knows what

"Part of the surprise", as he called it

After a two hour ride in Tony's car, you sitting in the passenger seat, the three of you arrived to the inner coastal marina

APPARENTLY Tony had a boat here and decided to take you guys on some light boating in the inner coastal

It was great. The stuff in the bag was a picnic.

You did generally the same activities for the rest of the month: breakfast with Steve, walk, pool, relaxing w/ the soldiers, playing with Peter, eating Steve's sandwiches, paddling with Peter, floating with Wanda, ocassionaly running with Sam, relaxing with Clint, working on tech with Tony when you were too burnt to go outside, and always ending the day by gathering the team together for a dinner under the stars and waves in the background

You loved dinner the best. Having everybody together was the best. Whether it was Steve ranting about America, You and Peter ranting about school, Sam telling the same stories, Nat trying to hook up Steve, Clint bragging about his farm, and even Tony and Steve arguing; you always went to bed with a full heart.

You learned more than how to properly chicken fight a super soldier at this house; you learned that vacations aren't made by the destination. Vacations are made by the people you travel with, and the memories you make with them.

[makinjakenpancakes]

Can you write a fic where all the Rangers share a Apartment together. (P.s Jason and Kimberly share a room)

The four bedroom townhouse in Angel Grove was probablyhaunted because the rent wasn’t too high; well for California. Trini alwayskept her door closed and they all made sure to respect her space. Jason and Kimshared a room and only closed their door at night. Zack normally left his dooropen and Billy was usually working on something in the living room.

Seeing that their connection to the Morphin’ Grid waspowered by their connection to one another they thought it would get strongerif they lived together. Maybe they could unlock new abilities if their love foreach other grew stronger.

Plus they wouldn’t have to hide their constant disappearancesto any parents. It had become quite a challenge as more aliens tried to get theZeo Crystal. There were a few snags as well as fights. They all were differentpeople so it was meant to happen but they usually always got passed it.

Trini and Zack would bicker the most but it was usuallyBilly or Jason that calmed them down. Jason and Kim had become the townhouseparents and made sure the place was clean and the fights were ended.

***

“Who’s eating my protein bars? I need them for pre-workout!”Trini yelled as she trashed the empty box.

“No clue,” Billy said with a screw driver in his mouth as hetinkered with something.

“Jason wouldn’t do this; he labels his food. I bet it wasZack,” Trini said.

Kim came from her room with a protein bar half eaten. Shefinished it and paused when she saw Trini. She had forgotten to refill the box.She normally did but it had been the last one. She swallowed and wiped her faceas she tried to explain.

“I always fill it back,” Kim said. “I forgot, this is thefirst time in months.”

“Months? As in you’ve been doing this the whole time?” Trinisaid and her right hand was shaking. “Why don’t you just buy your own and keepthem in your room?”

“You normally never notice,” Kim said.

“You owe me like a months supply now,” Trini said.

“Yeah,” Kim said. “I deserve that.”

Zack came in from outside and he looked around. He needed toassess the situation. He looked to the girls and he grinned. He knew exactlywhat had happened and he hadn’t even heard the fight. Zack laughed,

“She finally found out?” Zack said.

“You knew?” Trini said and gave him the look.

“No,” he spat out.

“You so knew Zack, you caught me a month back,” Kim said. “Ihad to bribe him to shut up.”

“Guys, GUYS!” Jason said as he came from the bathroom inonly a towel. “We need to get out of the house today or someone is liable to bemurdered. As leader and as your friend, what do we need Billy?”

“A cliché anime beach episode?” Billy said as he looked up,having not been paying attention the screwdriver fell from his mouth.

“Exactly,” Jason said. “We need sun, sand and some Sea-breezes.”

“How about beer?” Zack said.

“I was alliterating,” Jason said. “And it was awesome.”

***

The gang left their townhouse to get away from it all. Theywould use this time to forgive and mend any wounds. Once they had their towelsthey went to get snacks, sunscreen and sadly no Sea-breezes. But they did getsome hard liquor for cocktails and reserved a few hotel rooms by the beach.

“I feel better already,” Trini said as the west coast seabreeze tickled her face.

“I told you,” Jason said.

[youmightaswell]

Die!

Lord of the Flies vs. Lord of the Fliers

 I have often said that domestic air travel is like Lord of the Flies. But never have I felt that reinforced so much as on my last trip home from Vegas.

My flight was at 12pm so I arrived at McCarren at 8:45am only to be told the flight had been delayed an hour due to weather conditions. I settled in for my 1pm departure figuring I’d catch up on reading and podcasts. 

By 12:15pm the gate crew had arrived and announced that the flight was further delayed to 3pm. A collective sigh of annoyance rang out through the Gate D34 area. 

By 3:45pm we were seated on an overly hot plane and ready to roll. Or not. Another 30 minutes and the very loquacious pilot -- he said he had been in Vegas for nine days and need to get home NOW, assuring us that no matter what he would not time out -- told us there was a mechanical error and we needed to wait for mechanics to board. Over the next few minutes he explained it was not anything that would impact the safely of the plane, but rather just a signal that he needed to override. 

The plane was so hot all I kept thinking of is that I was going to die, like a dog left in a parked car while it’s owner runs into Burger King. 

He then announced it was fixed (yay!) but that sadly two of his flight crew stewardesses had now timed out and needed to leave. This meant we needed to deplane and they’d have to find stewardesses to replace the originals.

At the gate we were told that they were flying in two new ones who would arrive at 5:30pm. Groans. 

They realized that getting on the plane, getting off the plane and waiting was not the type of bizarro aerobics anyone wanted to do so they send over Quiznos sandwiches, chips and water. (Think: the pig eaten on the beach in Lord...)

We collectively chowed down on our food oblivious to what horror was about to befall us next. Watching the clock tick, counting off minutes until we could board at 5:45pm I tried to calm myself. Boarding time would be soon enough. Relax, breathe...

And then we all got a text from Delta at the same time  with a notice the gate agents had not yet gotten: The flight was now delayed till 10:45pm. But how could that be? The stewardesses were confirmed to be arriving at 5:30pm from Los Angeles, the plane was fixed, weather was no longer a concern, the pilot assured us he was flying this plane back to NYC because he, too, needed to get there. 

Turns out the next announcement was that the pilot had indeed timed out. Or rather he would at 6pm. It was already 5:20pm. How had they not thought of this? Why had they not let us board and sit on the plane so the minute the attendants arrived at 5:30 we could be on our way and avoid the 6pm cut off? 

Everyone started screaming at this point. Many people had already missed once a day connections and had to take taxi and hotel vouchers to try this mess the following day. But the remaining 120 passengers or so were stuck in Limbo. 

And we were told our luggage would stay on the original plane, so even if we tried to get another flight on a different carrier that might leave earlier, we would still have to go back to JFK the following day for luggage and anyone who was still trying to make a connection would not have their luggage re-routed. 

Obviously if the plane was delayed to 10:45pm the original two stewardesses would then time out and this would be a neverending process. 

People lined up to scream. No one knew what was happening. There was utter chaos. Even Quiznos sandwiches wouldn’t fix this debacle. 

Finally the flight manager, Marilyn, came out -- a sassy black women with a can-do attitude -- and announced she is a New Yorker and she gets shit done. That if we could very quickly board in 10 minutes and be ready on that plane at 5:45 we could take off before the pilot timed out. One stewardess was going proceed boarding by Zone number in an orderly fashion but that would take far longer than 10 minutes. So Marilyn let people board quickly regardless of Zone. No time to worry about seat assignments, overhead luggage or anything else. Just get on that fucking plane. 

By 5:45pm we were seated, belts locked, the two LA stewardesses were all ready and the plane doors closed. We all breathed a sigh of relief. 

And then... then we sat. And sat. And sat. 

WTF? What was the issue NOW? 

Turns out the pilot didn’t get his paperwork approved in time. Ah, the paperwork! Somehow paper is always the real killer. Think Seinfleld and the envelopes. Twice.

So at 7:15pm we had to deplane again. And now we were told the plane is out of service. So our options were to stay overnight at the airport hotel and try to get on a morning plane although the 6am and 10am were all sold out, or try to get on the 11pm to JFK just a few gates away but the caveat was there were only 5 seats, one of which was in First Class.

Don’t know how I did it because I had been seated in the back of the plane but I ended up first at the gate line. I told the agent that I wanted the 11pm to JFK. She said, “Well we’ll see if there are any seats left.” No sense of urgency whatsoever. I, however, had already pulled up the seating chart and knew what seats were available. I told her she would be giving me seat 2C. She said she didn’t think she could give away a first class seat to a coach ticket holder. Fuck that shit! I was like well I’m not leaving this line until I have it and there are about 119 people behind me that also want to kill you. She was like well with that attitude I may not help you. WTF? 

Needless to say this is where I went from being a starring member of Lord of the Flies and instead turned into Lord of the Fliers. 

I ran away to the new gate with my first class ticket before there could be any changes. No backsies is not a phrase Delta understands. 

Anyway I sat alone at the new gate with about 3.5 hours to spare. My ears hurt too much to read and I was too anxious to listen to my true crime podcast. I knew that I was in panic mode and about a step away from exploding and starring in a true crime podcast myself.

I visualized getting on that plane in a big comfy seat with actual blankets and pillows and glorious a/c and snacks, popping a Xanax and peacing the fuck out, arriving into JFK more than 12 hours after I was supposed to land.  I also said a silent prayer my bag would be there but at this point I didn’t even care about never getting my stuff back again. My bag was loaded with sequins and fringe, so maybe what’s worn in Vegas stays in Vegas. 

I began to wonder what happened to all the other passengers. Surely at least four should be at the gate with me, snatching up the remaining seats. I suspected the others were headed to a hotel, but why weren’t those four seats given out -- I still saw them on the Delta.com site. 

About 10pm there was an announcement for my original flight: Flight 2371 -- which we had been told was completely canceled, hence my first class replacement. But the announcement said that all passengers for this flight, they got a new plane and crew and it would be departing at 12am. WTF? This plane came back from the dead? The Revenge of Flight 2371 was not something I wanted to be trapped in. Did this mean my ticket for the new flight was now null and void?

I headed all the way back to my original gate and lo and behold all the passengers were still there. Turns out after the attendant dolled out my first class ticket a manager stepped in and said they would not be paying for hotel, food and taxi vouchers for 119 people nor would they be giving out first class tickets. That everyone in that line now needed to sit and wait and were stuck on the original flight no matter how long it took to get a new plane and crew. 

I’m so happy I was first in line. I had really been officially moved to the 11pm flight, which boarded early, took off without a hitch and I only recall taking my Xanax, closing my weary eyes and waking up in JFK, my luggage the first down the ramp. 

When I turned my phone back on there were a series of texts from Delta about further delays to my original flight. Those poor people were finally in the air but wouldn’t be landing for another three hours. 

As I headed to the taxi line I could only equate it with what the boys at the end of the Lord of the Flies felt when they ran on the beach to the naval officer. Ordeal over. Finally saved. 

Epilogue: The following day, still traumatized from my experience, I got one final message from Delta, acknowledging how brutal the flight issues and subsequent delays had been. In compensation they sent us all 15,000 miles. 

[lethaderr-blog]

I really didn’t know what to expect from my trip to . On road trips as a kid, I remember always driving through on our way to the USA, but we never stopped on the way. is known for its manufacturing and industrial heritage, and it’s called the “Automotive Capital of ”. So, would I be able to find unique things to do in that fit my interests? Is eco-friendly even possible in the country’s historic car capital?

is a city that will truly surprise you. Everyone that I met was really proud to call home. I could really feel the community vibes through every place I visited. It seemed as though everyone knew one another, even in a city of 200,000. There’s a lively vegan scene that even has its own VegFest (I sadly had just missed it). So, what are some places to visit in if you love outdoor adventures and eco-friendly activities? Here are my top five choices for a fun and memorable weekend in .

Spend the Night on a Sailboat (the Boatel)

I got to check an item off my bucket list in , : spending the night on my own private sailboat. You can book your stay at the “Boatel” through Airbnb (if you’re new to Airbnb, you can sign up through this link to receive an awesome discount!).

This 27-foot sailboat is aptly named, “Take-A-Chance”, and it seems rather fitting. I’m always taking chances on new opportunities as I find myself saying “yes” to adventures as much as possible. You’ll certainly have experiences at the boatel that you won’t have anywhere else. It’s certainly one of the best things to do in , and one of the most unique places to stay in the country.

The sailboat is owned by Chris and Danielle, an energetic couple who also own Urban Surf, an outdoor adventure company. Urban Surf is just steps from the boat, so you’ll easily be able to take advantage of the rentals, excursions, and classes at Urban Surf, if you choose. More on that shortly.

What It’s Like to Stay on a Boat

Back to the boat itself, you’ll feel right at home in this docked boat in the marina at East Pike Creek. In fact, I got to chatting with several local homeowners/boat owners, as they wondered what the experience was like staying in a rented boat hotel. If you’re expecting a luxurious, five star hotel, look elsewhere. However, what you’ll find here is an experience like no other.

The interior of the boat is decked out with bright decor and colorful throw pillows. There’s a bohemian, artsy vibe, complete with its own coloring book and crayons should you wish to relax and create some art of your own. I loved the little, thoughtful touches on the boat. There’s an air diffuser with essential oils, and a Fuji Instax Camera with a journal so you can leave a photo behind to memorialize your stay.

Amenities on Board

There’s a boat toilet on board, in case nature calls. However, it’s easiest and best if you walk up the block to Urban Surf to use their restroom facilities. While there aren’t modern amenities like Wi-Fi or air conditioning on the boat, there are several fans and a little port to open above your bed so you can gaze up at the sky. Even on the hottest days (and boy, was it hot when I visited!), it gets quite cool at night between the screen door and the fans. You will need the blankets that they provide!

The boatel has a cedar, outdoor shower, as well as a private deck with a bonfire and a picnic table. There’s ample space on the back of the boat to sit with your partner or your pals. While the boat ideally sleeps one or two people, families of four have stayed on the boat in the past.

An Eco-Friendly Accommodation Experience

It’s a fabulous opportunity to unplug, enjoy nature, and gaze up at the night sky. I saw so much wildlife sitting on the back of the boat. As paddle boarders drifted by, families of geese and swans paddled around the water, too (the baby swans were adorable!). When I was taking photos, I heard a little commotion in the water. I looked down and there he was: a little otter with a fish in his mouth, doing a mad doggy-paddle right past my boat. I didn’t even know that otters lived in our lakes!

Your stay includes two rentals: stand up paddle boards (SUP), kayaks, or canoes, so you can get out there and enjoy the lake. You’ll also receive a smoothie per person from Maverick’s Cold Bar (at Urban Surf), as well as complimentary bike rentals. It’s only fitting that an eco-friendly accommodation also offers adventures that are equally as kind to the environment.

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at this sailboat in Tecumseh (), . It’s truly a one-of-a-kind accommodation, and I’d take that over a run of the mill hotel when given the opportunity. Spending the night on a sailboat was one of my favorite things to do in . I loved very calmly drifting back and forth as I fell asleep at night. It was so quiet and peaceful out there. Book your stay on the boat today, and don’t forget my savings link for new Airbnb members!

Take a Sunset SUP Tour

Right on the edge of Lake St. Clair, it’s easy to enjoy water activities in . Every day in the summer, Urban Surf offers a Sunset Paddle at 7:30pm from Pike Creek to Lake St. Clair. They’ll get you outfitted with a stand-up paddle board and they’ll also let you borrow a waterproof bag for your phone throughout your journey. It’s certainly a good idea, just in case you fall in the water!

The sunset paddle is great for people of all ages and abilities, even if you’ve never tried SUP before. The creek is extremely calm, and you can paddle at your own pace. Two guides will paddle out to the lake with you, so you can always ask them for tips and advice on the way. It’s fun for families, friends, couples, and even those traveling solo, like myself.

Once you reach the lake, the water gets slightly more choppy. And there really aren’t many waves at all. Our group paddled out to the lake to watch the sunset together. At this point, feel free to sit down on your paddle board and relax. It’s all about soaking up the beautiful surroundings as you watch the sun go down. There’s nothing like taking in the views of an unobstructed, gorgeous sunset.

We paddled back before the sun went completely down, as it was best to have some daylight left as we navigated our way back. The sky was awash in pink, red, and purple. It was a calm and peaceful paddle back to land. After your paddle, why not try a treat at Maverick’s Cold Bar? They’ve got vegan ice cream and other snacks!

Urban Surf also has other special events in addition to their nightly sunset paddles. You can register for “Boards & Brews” to enjoy paddling, beer, and a bonfire at night. There’s also the “Light up the Night” event, which begins with a bonfire and continues with a moonlight paddle (spoiler alert: glow sticks are involved!). No matter what time of day you try it, a SUP trip is one of the best things to do in .

Go Cycling on Bike Friendly Paths

A bike ride along Lake St. Clair is one of the perfect activities in the spring, summer and fall. If you’re looking for what to do in , add bike riding to your list. Don’t have your own bike with you? You can rent a cruiser bike or even an electric bike at Urban Surf. I was thinking about taking the electric bike out for a spin. But, with thunderstorm clouds looming ahead, I decided it might be a bad idea to ride one of these for the first time through the rain. So, I opted for a cruiser bike instead.

On your bike ride in Tecumseh from Urban Surf, you can catch glimpses of spectacular estate homes, panoramic lake vistas, and hidden lighthouses. Enjoy the green spaces around the region as you bike along the trails, encountering small parks and even a sandy beach. Exploring the city by bike is one of the best things to do in .

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Tip: If You Get Hungry

From Urban Surf, you can ride your bike along the paths for 15-20 minutes before reaching Healthy Mama. They’ve got smoothie bowls and healthy eats: the perfect fuel for your journey. Continue reading to check out the best vegan eats in !

With miles of trails and paths to explore, be sure to check out the Cycling Tourism Map on the official TWEPI website. There are six highlighted routes throughout the region, with gorgeous lakeside trails in Tecumseh and the Riverfront Trail in the city. There’s nothing like taking your bike out for a spin, feeling the wind in your hair without a care in the world. Whether you decide to ride an electric bike or a regular bike, cycling is one of the great things to do in .

Indulge in a Little Self Care

Now that you’ve embarked on cycling and SUP adventures, it’s time to relax and take care of yourself. Enter ShopEco. It’s an independent retail store with two locations in , focusing on clean and sustainable beauty products. I visited their location in Tecumseh and was immediately greeted by their knowledgeable staff.

Alright, I’m going to get real with you for a moment. Time flies and I’m not fresh out of college anymore. I’ve recently entered my late thirties, and I hadn’t given much thought to developing a skincare routine (aside from applying makeup before I go out, and removing it when I got home). I think it’s about time to start taking care of my skin properly.

Shop Local in

ShopEco specializes in local, Canadian products, which use the best ingredients that are also kind to the environment. The staff at ShopEco helped me develop my own skincare routine that will restore and rejuvenate my skin. Most of their products are also vegan, and they’re all cruelty-free and not tested on animals.

Shopping for beauty and skincare items can sometimes be overwhelming. There’s such a massive variety of products, and you don’t know which ones are actually good for your skin. There’s really so much marketing and you might be throwing your money away on products that don’t work, test on animals, or contain harmful chemicals and carcinogens.

You don’t need to worry about any of that when you visit ShopEco. Their staff will choose products that work perfectly with your skin type, and they only sell eco-friendly, clean beauty brands. The entire experience was relaxing, enjoyable, and one of the best things to do in . There’s such a peaceful and calming atmosphere in their retail store. So, indulge a little! As their sign says, “Self care isn’t selfish” and there’s nothing wrong with taking care of yourself.

Eat as Much Delicious Vegan Food as You Can

When you travel, do you plan your activities first, or do you plan the activities around your meals? One of my favorite things to do in was simply to eat all of the yummy food. I traveled a few hours away from home for the attractions that I mentioned above, but also for the amazing vegan food scene. has quite a few plant-based eateries or restaurants with vegan options. I was ready to sample as many of them as possible during my stay. Here are my recommendations for vegan food in .

Nooch

Nooch is a vegan restaurant in offering comfort food that both omnivores and vegans will love. They’ve got all of your favorite meals made from plants. You’ll find items on the menu like Buffalo bites (made from seitan), jackfruit tacos, poutine, caesar kale salad, a Reuben sandwich, and a Philly cheesesteak.

I opted to try the Detroiter hot dog (which really pleased one of my friends who lives just across the border in Michigan). It’s a Field Roast frankfurter topped with the most delicious chili ever. Then, there are mustard and onions on top of the chili. It was served with a mountain of fries. Seriously, I don’t think any more fries could fit on my plate!

They also have tons of desserts (I went away with a slice of their famous carrot cake), so you’ll have to save a little bit of room for something sweet.

Carrots n’ Dates

Carrots n’ Dates specializes in wholesome, gluten-free and plant-based food made with the freshest ingredients. Established in 2012, they now have two restaurants serving the area. I visited their location in Tecumseh, which also happened to have live music when I visited on a Friday evening. That was a lovely touch!

You’ll find healthy and delicious vegan meals here, like salads, soups, bowls, and burgers. It was really difficult to choose just one menu item for dinner as everything sounded so yummy. I tried the Buddha Bowl: warm brown rice, greens, grilled smoked tofu, red peppers, carrots, cucumber, sesame, and tahini dressing. Paired with a kombucha, it was absolutely delicious. I happily munched on my tasty Buddha Bowl while listening to live music in front of a colorful mural wall. It was blissful!

Healthy Mama

Healthy Mama is a relaxed, plant-based and gluten-free bistro in Tecumseh, . They’re also a small retail shop with many frozen meals, grab and go items, and interesting packaged foods that I hadn’t seen before. Everything is vegan and gluten-free, which certainly makes my dining and shopping experience a breeze because I can eat anything on the menu!

This restaurant and shop has such a warm and welcoming vibe from the staff. You’ll certainly feel right at home here, as I could tell that this establishment has many repeat guests. There’s a wonderful patio outdoors, perfect for warm, summer days. I visited Healthy Mama for breakfast, and couldn’t resist trying one of their smoothie bowls. I chose the Pink Pitaya Smoothie Bowl, basically for the fact that it was pink, but it also happened to be satisfying and delicious.

I’d love to return someday for lunch or dinner to try more dishes. Spicy sushi bowl, Crab Cake Po’ Boy, Mexi-Mac N Cheese? Yes, please! I feel like I’ll have many tough decisions ahead of me.

Thyme Kitchen

Thyme Kitchen is a chef driven restaurant, inspired by local ingredients, in the heart of . While they aren’t exclusively vegan or vegetarian, they do have plenty of options for those following vegan or gluten-free diets. It’s the perfect spot for weekend brunch, and I actually had a difficult time choosing which vegan meal to order.

I asked the staff for their recommendations, and they informed me that the Tofu Crunch Wrap was one of their most popular items. I was definitely not disappointed with this choice. The ingredients included: brown rice, tofu, tomato, avocado, peppers, spinach, vegan cheese, and crunchy tostada, wrapped inside a wheat tortilla. It was paired with a delightful chipotle aioli, as well as two sides of your choice (I selected potato hash and the pineapple coleslaw).

If I could eat this everyday for breakfast or lunch, I’d be so happy! The combination of the fillings with the crunchiness of the tostada, dipped in the chipotle aioli was absolutely divine. The side dishes were super yummy, too!

BONUS: Get Your Name Spelled in Donuts

Plant Joy also belongs in the vegan section of this article, but I thought it deserved some special attention. Yes, you can actually get your name (or any word or phrase, really) spelled out in DONUTS!

Plant Joy is the first vegan doughnut shop in . Its storefront only opened three weeks prior to my visit, though its owner started making donuts in April 2018. Jordynne couldn’t find a vegan doughnut in , so she decided to make her own. Plant Joy was born, and the city clearly cannot get enough. When I visited Plant Joy, there were an endless stream of customers, looking for their donut fix.

Plant Joy has many flavors of donuts. Some of them are around all the time, and some are seasonal. I was overjoyed that Jordynne spelled my name out of donuts! Not only did it look super adorable, but it also meant that I got to eat six doughnuts. I tried lemon lavender, chocolate, cinnamon sugar, strawberries & cream, raspberry, and vanilla frosted. It was hard to choose a favorite, but I think I’d have to go with the strawberries and cream. Yum!

You’ve simply gotta try these award-winning donuts. They’re light, fluffy, flavorful, and almost the size of my head, I kid you not. Plant Joy uses fair-trade, organic, and locally sourced ingredients wherever possible. When you travel to , you must stop by Plant Joy for one…two…or however many doughnuts you’d like. Surprise your loved ones by spelling out their name in doughnuts. It really brought so much joy to my life to see my name in donuts!

Getting There

I had a comfortable and relaxing journey from Toronto to aboard VIA Rail . Their trains travel from Toronto’s Union Station to . It’s definitely less stressful and more eco-friendly than driving down to on your own.

VIA Rail: Business Class

I was fortunate enough to experience Business Class travel on VIA Rail between Toronto and . As I arrived a little bit early to Union Station, I took advantage of the Business Class Lounge. Help yourself to complimentary coffee and beverages before your trip. Sit back and relax with free Wi-Fi in their spacious lounge area. When it’s time to board the train, someone at the front desk will announce it over the speaker. Then, when you walk down to the boarding area, you’re able to skip the line and board first.

On the train, I enjoyed a luxurious experience in their spacious and comfortable seats. As I wanted to work on my laptop computer, I sat at a large table and spread out all of my work and belongings. There’s free Wi-Fi on board, as well as places to plug in and charge your devices.

Business Class comes with a complimentary meal, which was breakfast in my case. I didn’t request a vegan meal ahead of time, though they can accommodate this request. Thankfully, they were able to cobble together a vegan breakfast without any difficulties: fresh fruit and a bagel with jam. Coffee was continually flowing while I was on board, too. All in all, I had a safe and relaxing trip with VIA Rail , and I highly recommend that you choose the train for your adventures.

Getting Around

When I arrived at the train station in , a representative from Enterprise Rent-A-Car picked me up. It’s nice that they offer this service. You don’t need to worry about how you’ll get to the rental car office when you arrive in the city. We went to their office to sign a few papers, and then I took off in one of their vehicles for the duration of my trip. Renting a car with Enterprise was so easy, and the car was practically brand new.

I do recommend renting a car, as you might find that your favorite attractions are across town from one another. It’s also wonderful to have a car, especially in those situations where you accumulate bags and boxes with all of the goodies you found shopping in .

.kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap {background:rgba(206, 249, 248, 1);padding:20px 20px 20px 20px;border-width:0px 0px 0px 0px;} .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover {border-color:rgba(238, 238, 238, 1);background:rgba(206, 249, 248, 1);} .kt-blocks-info-box-media {color: 0px 0px 0px;padding:10px 10px 10px 10px;margin:0px 15px 0px 15px;} .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover .kt-blocks-info-box-media {color:#444;background:#cef9f8;border-color:#444;} .kt-blocks-info-box-title {color: 0px 0px 0px;margin:5px 0px 10px 0px;} .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover .kt-blocks-info-box-title {color:#444;} .kt-blocks-info-box-text {color:#444;} .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover .kt-blocks-info-box-text {color:#444;} .kt-blocks-info-box-learnmore {color: 0px 0px 0px;padding:4px 8px 4px 8px;margin:10px 0px 10px 0px;} .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover .kt-blocks-info-box-learnmore {color: <div id="" class="wp-block-kadence-infobox"><div class="kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap kt-blocks-info-box-media-align-top kt-info-halign-center"><div class="kt-blocks-info-box-media kt-info-media-animate-none"><div class="kadence-info-box-icon-container kt-info-icon-animate-none"><div class="kadence-info-box-icon-inner-container"><span style="display:block;justify-content:center;align-items:center" class="kt-info-svg-icon kt-info-svg-icon-fas_camera"><svg style="display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle" viewbox="0 0 512 512" height="80" width="80" fill="currentColor" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M512 144v288c0 26.5-21.5 48-48 48H48c-26.5 0-48-21.5-48-48V144c0-26.5 21.5-48 48-48h88l12.3-32.9c7-18.7 24.9-31.1 44.9-31.1h125.5c20 0 37.9 12.4 44.9 31.1L376 96h88c26.5 0 48 21.5 48 48zM376 288c0-66.2-53.8-120-120-120s-120 53.8-120 120 53.8 120 120 120 120-53.8 120-120zm-32 0c0 48.5-39.5 88-88 88s-88-39.5-88-88 39.5-88 88-88 88 39.5 88 88z"><div class="kt-infobox-textcontent"><h4 class="kt-blocks-info-box-title">Want to see more photos of ?<p class="kt-blocks-info-box-text">You can see all of our photos in one place at our travel photography album. You can browse and even buy prints, housewares, and more – all made from our pictures!<div class="kt-blocks-info-box-learnmore-wrap"><a class="kt-blocks-info-box-learnmore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=125747X1586856&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftravelphotos.justinpluslauren.com%2F%2F%2F-2019&sref=rss">Learn More <p>If you’re looking for a weekend getaway in southern , needs to be on your radar. Using the Via Rail, it’s easy to get to from Toronto or any other city in . There are so many things to do in , especially for those who love outdoor adventures, eco-friendly activities, and delicious vegan eats. I know I only scraped the surface of what has to offer, and I’d love to explore the city even more in the future. <ul class="wp-block-gallery columns-3"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img src="https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest3-683x1024.jpg" alt="5 Unique Things to Do in : An Eco-Friendly Guide to an Epic Tips Plans" data-id="18425" data-link="https://justinpluslauren.com/?attachment_id=18425" class="wp-image-18425" srcset="https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest3-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest3-200x300.jpg 200w, https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest3.jpg 735w" sizes="(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img src="https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest2-683x1024.jpg" alt="5 Unique Things to Do in : An Eco-Friendly Guide to an Epic Tips Plans" data-id="18424" data-link="https://justinpluslauren.com/?attachment_id=18424" class="wp-image-18424" srcset="https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest2-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest2-200x300.jpg 200w, https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest2.jpg 735w" sizes="(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img src="https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest1-683x1024.jpg" alt="5 Unique Things to Do in : An Eco-Friendly Guide to an Epic Tips Plans" data-id="18423" data-link="https://justinpluslauren.com/?attachment_id=18423" class="wp-image-18423" srcset="https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest1-200x300.jpg 200w, https://justinpluslauren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/-Pinterest1.jpg 735w" sizes="(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /> <p style="text-align:center">PIN one of the above images to Pinterest for future reference. Click the top left corner. <p><em>Thank you so much to <strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=125747X1586856&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ontariossouthwest.com&sref=rss" target="_blank">’s Southwest and <strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="http://go.redirectingat.com/?id=125747X1586856&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvisitwindsoressex.com%2F&sref=rss" target="_blank">Tourism Essex Pelee Island for hosting my visit. This post contains affiliate links. If you click one of them, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. <div class="kt-simple-box" style="background-color:rgba(232, 232, 232, 1); min-height:1px; padding-top:15px; padding-bottom:15px; padding-left:15px; padding-right:15px; "><div class="kt-simple-box-inner"> <center><strong>Did you find this post useful? Show your appreciation with a small tip! <div id="JPL01" class="quid-slider" align="center" quid-currency="CAD" quid-product-id="JPL01" quid-product-url="https://justinpluslauren.com/things-to-do-in-windsor-ontario/" quid-product-name="Justin Plus Lauren" quid-product-description="A Tip for Justin & Lauren" quid-text="Tip Us!" quid-text-paid="Thanks!" quid-amount="1"> <h4>What would you like to do most in , , ? <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://justinpluslauren.com/things-to-do-in-windsor-ontario/">5 Unique Things to Do in : An Eco-Friendly Guide to an Epic appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://justinpluslauren.com">Justin Plus Lauren.

[anotherlikeyou]

tagged by @damnmalec! Thank you so much this is so sweet

rules: you must answer these 83 statements and tag 20 people

THE LAST 1. drink: coca cola 2. phone call: a scout friend 3. text message: friends’ group chat 4. song you listened to: Breaking Down by Florence + The Machine 5. time you cried: abt a month ago i think

HAVE YOU EVER… 6. dated someone twice: no 7. kissed someone and regretted it: i?? dont’ usually kiss people if i don’t mean it?? 8. been cheated on: yes 9. lost someone special: yes 10. been depressed: i like to think i’m in a happy place now 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: yeah, ugh

FAVOURITE COLOURS 12. pink 13. light blue 14. pastels in general

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU 15. made new friends: yes 16. fallen out of love: i’ve fallen out of love at least like 3 years ago thankfully 17. laughed until you cried: so many times lmao this year has been good so far 18. found out someone was talking about you: yes and it was ugly 19. met someone who changed you: absolutely 20. found out who your friends are: yes 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: uhm no

GENERAL 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: a lot but not everyone, mostly bc back when i was an otaku like…8 years ago? i compulsively added anyone, so now i have like 32 japanese ppl in my friends list lmao 23. do you have any pets: my doggo Lea, my kitter Murphy and two tortoises, Harry Qui-Gon and Eggsy Obi-Wan 24. do you want to change your name: naaah, i like it 25. what did you do for your last birthday: i was still living in London so i skyped with my family and friends and then went to dinner in this bbq restaurant with my roommates, man that meal was delicious 26. what time did you wake up: 6.30 am 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: listening to my friends shouting abt conspiracy theories and robots and technology 28. name something you can’t wait for: JURASSIC WORLD 2 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: at lunch 30. what are you listening to right now: the tenants splashing around in the swimming pool while i’m here drowning in my own sweat 31. have you ever talked to a person named tom: uhm yes?? what a weird question lmao 32. something that is getting on your nerves: idk racism, sexism, queerphobia and what the heck is the term to describe the hate towards othere religions?? anyway, that, and deforestation, abuse on animals, people who don’t use the blinkers…there’s a lot of stuff, i’m just a salty person overall u know 33. most visited website: i’d say tumblr but i actually use the phone app, does that count 34. hair colour: brown (used to be pink sigh) 35. long or short hair: sadly short 36. do you have a crush on someone: i do 37. what do you like about yourself: i have a very nice voice and my boobs are big lmao also, people say i’m good at listening and giving advice but idk 38. piercings: fam earrings are more than enough for me  39. blood type: i think b? idk really 40. nickname: chia, chiageyama, totò 41. relationship status: single 42. zodiac: a proud aries 43. pronouns: Queen/Her Majesty 44. favourite tv show: I SOLD MY SOUL TO SHADOWHUNTERS 45. tattoos: four! a salamander on my right foot, an elven word on my right hip, an ugly thing i desperately want to cover on my right forearm and a tiny enkeli on my left wrist 46. right or left handed: right  47. surgery: never 48. sport: i used to play tennis and i quite liked it, even though i sucked at it lol haikyuu has made me riconsider volleyball, but mostly i just enjoy watching sports more than playing them 49. vacation: USA and the entirety of Europe 50. pair of trainers: i have this really comfy pair of black sneakers i bought in primark, i think the brand is Atmosphere? 51. eating: sadly nothing atm, but my favourite foods are pizza, cherries and my mom’s chicken curry 52. drinking: rn nothing, but i’d live solely on coca cola if i could 53. i’m about to: GET FIRED BC I’M USING THE BUREAU’S COMPUTER TO DO THIS LMAO 54. waiting for: my shift to end so i can go to the beach, take a bath and then soak in the sun while watching Shadowhunters 55. want: a sphynx kitten, they’re absolutely adorbs ashdashkkjlkdfg 56. get married: yay i love the idea of getting married, the commitment and the eternal love…ah who am i kidding i just want a beautiful princess style wedding dress 57. career: well idk?? i started as a waitress in a restaurant and now i’m a receptionist in a three star hotel…i guess i’ll just keep climbing the food chain ahahahahaha

WHICH IS BETTER 58. hugs or kisses: hugs are amazing and i never get enough of them, someone come hug me right now 59. lips or eyes: lips 60. shorter or taller: shorter, i’m salty towards people taller than me (aka almost everyone) 61. older or younger: younger/same age 62. nice arms or nice stomach: honestly the first things i usually notice in someone are their face and The Booty™ buuut…stomach, i guess 63. hook up or relationship: relationship 64. troublemaker or hesitant: i’m the most hesitant bitch you’ll ever meet

HAVE YOU EVER… 65. kissed a stranger: not that i remember 66. drank hard liquor: yes 67. lost glasses/contact lenses: i once lost a pair of round john lennon style sunglasses…i still mourn the loss 68. turned someone down: yes 69. sex on the first date: no 70. broken someone’s heart: i’m very ashamed to say yes 71. had your heart broken: yeah 72. been arrested: uhm not that i remember 73. cried when someone died: yes 74. fallen for a friend: yes, rn

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 75. yourself: i’m getting there 76. miracles: nope 77. love at first sight: not exactly 78. santa claus: i’ve never actually believed in santa claus, our parents never fed us that shit lmao 79. kiss on the first date: yes 80. angels: kinda

OTHER 81. current best friend’s name? Vittoria 82. eye color: brown 83. favourite movie: do people actually really truly expect there to be only one (1) favourite thing of anything?? RocknRolla, the Batman trilogy by Nolan, Stardust, Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks in general, Howl’s Moving Castle

TAGGING, HERE IT GOES (u obv don’t have to do this if u don’t want to

@eversall, @fangtasticsaphael, @deliriumkitsune, @alberto-rozende, @softshumjr, @malecsbiscuit, @claryfightwood, @jace-whats-his-name, @meliorn, @raphaelsantiagosavedhimself, @simonlewis, @softmagnusbane, @grayacejace, @samspurpletoothbrush, @alecblushed, @maiiarobertss, @claryslays, @raph-bane, @ineffable-vellichor, @izzybabewoods