#she is cozy thank you and has employees

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

batch one of some concept sketchies for potential characters, and also to test out certain traits/looks for different locales - and also testing how i want dragons to age

[doomedmoth]

Not fast, just furious

Pairing : Daniel Ricciardo x Reader

Warnings : use of y/n, smau, unhinged behavior, alcohol and cigarettes consumption, kys joke, suggestive texts, chaotic fluff, grumpy x sunshine, lando getting bullied

Synopsis : During his winter break in Australia, Daniel meets a barmaid with a big heart and a bigger mouth. When she starts following him during the races, fans are a bit unsure of how to deal with her unhinged behavior and total lack of media training. Daniel loves it.

Moth’s prophecy💡: Hi friends ! Pls be kind, it’s my first attempt at a smau and I’m on mobile, so the formatting might be weird. Also sorry if your name is Malva, it was the first one that came to mind lol.

[Instagram] yourusername just posted a photo

yourusername Walking in the club like we regulars

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yourbff leaving the club like an overworked mom

Liked by yourusername

melbournemirage our favorite employee 🤩

Liked by yourusername

yourusername wouldn’t mind a raise then 🤪

user1 gorggggg

yourbrother stop drinking on the job bitch

yourusername get a job before judging me bitch

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[Twitter] f1.driv.updates just posted

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[Instagram] yourusername has added a story

[Instagram] yourusername has added a story

[Instagram] daniel3.jpg has added a story

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[Messages] Daniel has sent you a text

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[Instagram] wagupdates just posted a photo

wagupdates New wag alert ?? Daniel Ricciardo has now been seen a few times with an unknown woman around Melbourne and Perth during his winter break. At first thought to be a childhood friend, sources say they met at the bar where the young woman is working, and they have been getting quite cozy 👀 What do you think ??? 📸 via Australian celebrity press

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danyfanclub she looks cuuuute

user1 anyone got her @ ???

user2 apparently he been hanging out at melbournemirage so maybe she works there ???

malva she looks messsyyyy, doubt it’s gonna last till the season starts…

danyfanclub stay mad

*****

[Instagram] daniel3.jpg just posted a photo

daniel3.jpg Aussie adventures before going back to vroom vroom

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maxverstappen1 honey come home the kids miss you

Liked by daniel3.jpg

user1 what camera do you use ???

wagupdates do we spy the new girl on the 4th and 7th slide ??? 👀

user2 THANK YOU I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE

user3 sneakyyy

danyfanclub can’t wait to see her in the paddock ‼️

landojpg we missed you at karting mate 🥺

daniel3.jpg sorry, too busy drinking cocktails 🤪

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[Messages] Your coworker has sent you a text in Charlie’s Angels

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[Instagram] melbournemirage just posted a photo

melbournemirage Today we mourn the loss of our best bartender, yourusername . She had been with us for a little over a year now, and was the light of Melbourne Mirage, our pride and joy. She always won employee of the month, and not just because she created and awarded the title herself. A gathering in her memory will be held tonight at 9pm, everyone who knew and loved her is free to attend 💔

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yourbff LMAOOOOO

yourusername WHY THE FUCK DO YOU MAKE IT SOUND LIKE I’M DEAD I JUST QUITTED ???

melbournemirage sometimes we can still hear her voice… 💔

daniel3.jpg don’t worry I’ll take good care of her 😇

yourcoworker you better 🔪

user4 DANIEL ???

danyfanclub finally we have the @ !!!

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[Instagram] yourusername has added a story

[Instagram] yourusername has added a story

[Instagram] daniel3.jpg has added a story

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[Instagram] yourusername just posted a photo

yourusername last month stuff

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yourbff damn girl, money suits you well 😍

yourusername right ???

malva wow, gold digger much…

danielricciardo thank you for getting Max to fly us around babe 🥰

maxverstappen1 as if I was not offering after every race…

landonorris why don’t you offer me after every race ???

maxverstappen1 you can walk

landonorris TO SILVERSTONE ???

user1 from barmaid to wag, girl is living the dream life

user2 smoking is not cool girl…

yourusername minding your own fckn business is tho

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[Twitter] paddockwags just posted

[Twitter] yourusername just posted

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[Messages] my sun 🌞 has sent you a text

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[Instagram] daniel3.jpg just posted a photo

daniel3.jpg Sorry my cat bites, I found her in the streets. She’s a good girl irl.

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yourusername don’t reveal my secrets 🙄 (love you)

daniel3.jpg the world has to know ❤️‍🔥 (love you more)

lilymhe I can confirm the good girl part

yourusername I’ll be the best for you 🥵

alex_albon HM EXCUSE ME ???

danyfanclub ppl love to hate on her because she’s not trained like a nepo baby but honestly relatable queen !!

user1 boy is simping so hard

user2 she looks so fun to be around, finally a wag that doesn’t look fake

malva yeah she definitely got the street cat look…

user3 OMG GET A FUCKING LIFE GIRL

danyfanclub being this salty won’t make him like you go get a grip

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[Instagram] yourusername has added a story

user1 replied to your story :

Did you and Daniel break up ???

malva replied to your story :

fucking finally, so looooong

danielricciardo replied to your story :

have fuuuun, I’ll call you when my plane lands 🐶

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[Instagram] yourusername just posted a photo

yourusername Back where everything started. I know I sound like a bitch sometimes, but to my love, my sun, my pup, I am so glad I met you 6 months ago. You turned my life around and I can’t wait for more shenanigans with you. You make any place feel like home. I love you. To everyone else, especially those who thought we broke up because I had the audacity to go home two days before him : Fuck you all ❤️

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melbournemirage we were so happy to have you back, even for just a night ! Soon a #speeddating night at the Melbourne Mirage everyone ? 👀

Liked by yourusername

yourusername stop promoting yourself on my account

maxverstappen1 glad to have met you this year bro

yourusername #mates4life

user1 I didn’t know they were so close !!

danielricciardo my love ❤️‍🔥

yourusername my sun 🌞

user2 highway looking pretty good for a nap rn

user3 goooosh they are so cute I’m gonna kms

danyfanclub FROM THE MAIN ACCOUNT TOO ‼️

malva still not buying it

This user has been blocked

yourbrother you did not have to come back so soon

yourusername jeez 🤡 at least pretend to be happy for the gifts you little shit

yourbrother thx I guess

yourusername you’re adopted

landonorris can you bring me back some Tim Tam ? 🥺

danielricciardo no ❤️

yourbff no ❤️

yourusername no and kys ❤️

landonorris damn 🥺

[circeyoru]

Love love love unwanted soul soo much. I really wonder, does the rest of the residents NEVER ask anything about reader and alastor's relationship?? Like even if they're scared of him and that he always insisted that they just have a normal boss-employee relationship, they're way too close. Mostly because reader has passed all of Al's personal space.

I think Husk would be the most suspicious about it, since he is one of the souls Al owns. And the way reader casually orders and asks Al to do lots of things. But Vaggie would be braver to confront Alastor. Maybe Charlie would probably also ask more, because she wants reader to participate more and Al to not give them too much work load even though they don't look tired at all. And more suspicion would arise because how does reader have connection to Lucifer as well??

Thank you for your love!!

Haha~ Curious about others' reaction huh? They asked. But I only did minor parts about their involvement because the focus was on the Reader/you and Alastor.

An ask similar to this one has been answered, but this is them knowing your relationship.

Everyone notice you being extremely close to Alastor, even when it's strictly labelled as boss and worker. They know it's not normal because you were too chill with Alastor and Alastor was too lenient to you as well.

They questioned and got suspicious of your sudden appearance. Even more when you had a connection with Lucifer. The King of Hell's former informant is working for Alastor? What's going on???

The only one to see you before your introduction was Husk. He saw you in the room Alastor claimed as extra, that room was already decorated like you lived there for a while. It was way too cozy. He is also the only one to see you directly ordering (asking) Alastor to do something and he went as told. He would have labeled you to be the one holding Alastor's leash, but you said Alastor was the one to bring you here. (technically it's not a lie) Then there was your weak aura and power levels. No way someone like you can bring down Alastor. When you had a former business relationship with Lucifer, he was pointing you to be the owner of Alastor's soul, even when it was unlikely.

Husk can read people like an open book, right? He can do the same to you and he knew you were a wild card, perhaps another worse case like Niffty's. But, he doesn't question it. Because if you were to feel threatened by Husk, Alastor would do something to him. It wasn't worth it.

Niffty doesn't question it at all. More demons in the hotel! That's it. A friend of Alastor's a friend of hers.

Angel also doesn't question it. Though he does mimick what you do to get Alastor to react the same. When it's different, he whines about it and makes a scene. Only for Alastor to say you have more leniency because you were his employee and he had his duty as employer to keep. That mostly shuts Angel up.

Vaggie is the one to voice out her concerns for your lack of presence to Alastor without fear. Demanding that you work out in the open and not behind closed doors. Mostly, you weren't there to hear this and heard it from Alastor. On the rare moments that you were, you'd say it's up to Alastor to assign you where you work and not her or Charlie. Alastor handles from there on out. He puts the employer and employee card on the table and always got Vaggie to back down. She can't do much when you didn't object to Alastor's words and nodded along. When Vaggie questions what Alastor does, you step in to tell Vaggie it wasn't her business, as long as it wasn't to harm or threaten the hotel and Charlie's dream. Last resort, Alastor (through your approval) threatens to leave the project and bringing along Husk and Niffty too.

Charlie is another one that's questioning too much. You were the newest member but you were barely around. Even though Alastor doesn't join and he's under no obligation to. You can join. I mean, Husk and Niffty joins too. One loophole though, you weren't like those two, you were to work under Alastor as his assistant of sorts. You weren't under Charlie's command. So she had no power over where you were stationed. You and Alastor used this little detail to your advantage. Charlie always bring up new ideas and excuses to get you to join them, but you were rare present and Alastor was a wall she can't overcome. Too perfect for the two of you.

The fact that you were that close with Alastor raises a lot of questions, and Alastor doing things for you? Even more questions and suspicion as well. But Alastor is capable of protecting you from prying eyes and nosy demons like this group. You staying in the hotel wasn't a must, but an interest. Anymore annoyance and you'll be gone. So will Alastor.

[purplekissinger]

hmm…hey, dear! I saw that your requests are open and I would like to know, can I get a fluffy (if that's possible) Voldemort, but as Voldy and not Tom (I mean with his snake form and not human) and wife fem reader (ambiguous appearance) in which he introduces her to his followers(with the right of him calling her his lady or queen or something like that) and despite the regrets and what everyone thinks, he is really devoted to her (even a little yan ) and the reaction of the diners seeing the way the dark lord treats his lovely wife (who is a magnificent witch, by the way) please? keep this wonderful fanart (https://www.tumblr.com/snake-queen7/730095728446291968?source=share) credits to the original author

Death and the Maiden

“why, I am growing quite sentimental... But look, Harry! My true family returns...”

Hiii anon!! Thanks for such a cool idea :3 Look, there is fluff here, Voldemort being nice with reader and all that, BUT!! I accidentally added some pretty dark themes. Like, really dark. Y/N uhhhhhh revives the Dark Lord, no less than that. There are not many details here, but the description of the ritual is sort of the same as in the fourth book. TW: blood, mention of cuts, morally grey reader, Voldemort and Y/N being a disaster couple.

Oddly enough, the most difficult part was finding the grave of Merope Riddle.

She died as Tom Riddle Sr's lawful wife, you now knew this for sure, because you rummaged through a thousand decayed documents in search of the name of the cemetery in the ground of which her poor bones lay. The archives of the hospital, the morgue, three Confunduses and one Imperio led you to Tottenham Park, to the old cemetery, where the poor were buried at that time, where on a tiny piece of land the unfortunate woman finally found peace. The peace that you were now about to disturb.

“Bone of the mother, taken with respect, you will renew your son!” you said in a whisper. And, looking at the ground that had parted under your feet, you thought that it’s good that they didn’t think of cremating Merope.

***

He has many names and so does Y/N.

“Y/N” — he’s the one who calls you that when no one can hear. This name is for him only, like a password, like a key on a chain hidden under a shirt, like a secret door in a solid wall. “Y/N.” "Tom".

“Mistress of the Riddle Manor” is a little cheesy, but you like it. It was you who persuaded him not to huddle at Malfoy’s, but to take the house that rightfully belonged to him, it was you who remade and altered everything here to your taste, it was you who turned an abandoned mansion into a cozy fortress on the border of the forest, it was you who caught a smile on his lips when he saw a tapestry with the Slytherin coat of arms on the wall. “My lady, you have impeccable taste,” he said then, and you bowed playfully.

“She Who Remained Faithful” is not something anyone among the Death Eaters actually calls you, but Voldemort likes to mention this epithet at meetings to emphasize what they should all strive for. When Bellatrix hears this, there are angry tears in her eyes. You are the eternal employee of the month. If there was an honor roll at Riddle Manor, it would have a full-length photo of you on it.

Newspapers are not so kind. In the headlines of the ‘Daily Prophet’ first pages, you are always “She Who Should Not Be Remembered.” The soft “should not be remembered” looks touching in comparison with the stern “must not be named.”

“You should call my wife “Mistress” or “My lady,” Voldemort says softly, looking around the room. “No other way. Although I do not recommend kissing her hand because it could cost your life”.

The Death Eaters gathered around the table nod uncertainly. You smile slightly, touching his palm under the table. His long boney fingers are cold, but only you know that they are also very, very gentle.

“Perhaps,” he adds thoughtfully, looking sideways at you, “such a kiss should be worth your whole life.”

At the wave of a pale hand, they rise from their seats, take turns approaching you and bowing at a respectful distance, and swear allegiance.

“Thank you for your invaluable help...” Snape says rotely. He is the only one who fully understands the incredible level of witchcraft you achieved by performing the ritual. He is the only one who understands how dangerous the mistress of Riddle Manor is, who has not a single murder to her name, but only one revival of the Dark Lord.

“... and I swear eternal fidelity...” Peter whispers. His small eyes sparkle and he tries not to look at you, but he can’t. Not even the fear of getting Crucio'd stops him.

“...my lady,” Bellatrix spits. In her eyes there is resentment, envy, longing... admiration?..

***

Tom Riddle had no friends. Voldemort neither. But, since you convinced him to do the most risky experiment in the world ever, to change the ritual of “Flesh, Bone and Blood”, then you had to go all the way.

You needed to sneak into Hogsmeade under the cover of darkness, which in itself is not an easy task, slip into the castle, find the Chamber of Secrets and allow Tom to possess you so that with your lips he could say the cherished “Open.” You had to jump into the cold darkness, you had to walk through the damp tunnels, you had to close your eyes when, rustling its scales, a huge creature approached you and, sniffing the air with its terrible nostrils, emited a bubbling hiss, in which any Parseltmouth would recognize the delight of a long-awaited meeting. “Why, you recognise me, after all,” Tom said tenderly, without leaving your body, and your arms wrapped around the thick snake neck. “Well, hello, Susie. Long time no see". A quiet, gentle hiss was the answer. "Thank you. Listen, there's something I really need you to do now...”

In one motion, you knocked over the fogged diamond vial over the cauldron. The blood of Susie the basilisk, the only creature in the world that Tom Riddle had ever considered a friend, turned the potion golden.

“Blood of the friend,” you said, breathing in, “given willingly, you will ressurect your ally!”

You understood Susie perfectly. Knowing Tom meant being willing to do anything for him.

***

“Do you want to celebrate our wedding at the Ministry or at Westminster Abbey?” Voldemort asks casually.

These quiet mornings are just for the two of you. When the fog over Little Hangleton had not yet cleared, and a cool freshness reigned in the garden, you, slowly, hand in hand, walked through the garden, and you proudly showed him the new flower beds, and he listened very carefully and admired both the flowers and you .

“We’re already married, Tom,” you reminded him and with a graceful gesture you raised your left hand, as if to show him a thin ring with an emerald. He quickly grabbed your hand and brought it to his lips.

“No,” he answered seriously. “It was a formality. I want a celebration for all of London, all of England. I want everyone to see you and know whose wife you are”.

Means a lot coming from someone who can throw the Cruciatus curse at any insolent person who dares to even look at you.

“Oh, aren’t you ambitious, my lord,” you laugh, running your finger along his pale cheek. “Is there anything else you might want?”.

“Of course there is,” Voldemort says with no hesitation, but for a brief moment you think that he’s trying to joke. “I want you to wear the crown of England.”

You hide your smile, turning away.

“Then we’d better get married in the London Tower.”

***

The potion hummed impatiently in the cauldron as you hurriedly unbuttoned your shirt with numb fingers. The third ingredient was too easy, a simple task. It has always been with you, from the day you and Tom looked into each other's eyes.

‘Flesh of the beloved!’ you gasped, breaking into a scream, when the dagger made the first cut on your left shoulder, ‘Given lovingly!.. You... will revive!..’ a little bit more, just a little! ‘Your loved one!"

Will is what is important. Intention is what is important. You don’t need to throw your entire arm from shoulder to hand into the cauldron, just a small piece of flesh is enough, which is worth more than thousands of Galleons, more than unicorn blood and basilisk venom. The will and intention of Her-Who-Remained-Faithful.

***

“You are the most precious thing I have,” Voldemort says quietly when the meeting is over and the two of you are sitting by the fireplace, hand in hand, your head on his shoulder. “I never expected to find such a treasure. And now it is not only with me, but also inside of me… Oh, how are you so loyal to me, my lady?”.

“I would throw my heart into the cauldron if necessary,” you say honestly.

“Don’t you ever say that,” he hisses angrily. “for it's mine”.

[fujoshirat]

+Strawberry Magic! ♡ 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!♡+

Chapter 5: Winter Gala Cinderella

Summary: When virgin Pro Hero Shouto turns 30, he gains the magical ability to read the minds of people that he touches. After finding out that his personal assistant has a crush on him, everything changes and Shouto finds himself lost in the stressful game called love.

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Warnings: Aged up characters, slight cursing (not a lot), both Shouto and reader POV (3rd person POV too), slight anxiety attack

"Oh! Please come in, Todoroki-san!"

Taking his shoes off at the entrance, Shouto looks around. Y/N's apartment has a homey feeling to it; cozy colored lights, warm wallpaper, and the gentle smell of vanilla fill his senses. Turning back to his assistant, he notices that she has already somewhat put on her dress.

"You came just in time, sir! I managed to zip it up a little bit, but I still need help."

"Of course, I'll help you."

Finding the zipper, Shouto quickly zips it up. 'No more zipper incidents.'

"All done."

"Thank you!"

The dual-toned man watches his assistant twirl around in front of the mirror, admiring the expensive outfit.

After wrapping her boa around herself, Y/N takes Shouto's hand. He leads her out of the apartment and into his car.

...

If you had to describe the gala in one word, it would be majestic. Upon entering, you notice that the entire ballroom is elegantly decorated with crystal chandeliers, gold accents, and floral arrangements. The guests are pro heroes and employees, no doubt top-tier and elite, all dressed to the nines. In the corner, there is a live orchestra performing softly. Shifting your boa around yourself nervously, you look up at your boss.

"Todoroki-san, this gala is incredible! Thank you so much again for inviting me!"

"It's no problem at all, L/N-san. You look stunning, and I'm glad that you accepted the invite."

Being complimented by THE Shouto Todoroki felt like a dream. Even if he was your boss and you saw him five out of seven days of the week, it still made you feel elated to be noticed.

♡♡♡

Shouto makes his way through the crowd, his assistant's arm looped with his. He could feel the stares and curiosity from the onlookers, but that didn't matter. All he could focus on were Y/N's thoughts.

'So many pro! Oh my gosh!! Is that Froppy? Uravity? I wonder if Dynamight is here too?? I should get an autograph or something! It's not every day that I have this chance to meet them- oh? Is that shrimp cocktail and steak over there?'

Shouto chuckles quietly to himself. 'So L/N-san is a secret hero fangirl, huh? That's cute.'

-Huh? Snap out of it!-

Shaking his head, he makes his way to his closest friends. Izuku notices him and waves.

"Shouto!"

Katsuki simply nods, but his gaze hardens when he notices the woman behind Shouto.

"Hey, it's good to see you both again." Shouto looks at his assistant and puts a hand behind her back. "This is L/N-san, my assistant. L/N-san, these are my friends, Midoriya and Bakugou."

'OH MY GOSH!! IT'S DEKU AND PRO HERO DYNAMIGHT!! I knew they would come, but I didn't realize that Todoroki-san would introduce me to them!! Omg!!' In contrast to her exhuberant thoughts, Y/N smiles and bows politely.

"It is an honor to meet you two, Midoriya-san and Bakugou-san."

Izuku smiles. "Oh, you were the lady who I Shouto's birthday gifts to!"

Shouto notices the sparkle that grows in Y/N's eyes.

"You remember me?"

"Mhm!"

"No way!!!"

While his assistant and best friend converse, he looks at Katsuki, who quirks a brow at him. The blondie gestures for him to come closer, and Shouto follows. Lowering his voice, he speaks up.

"This is her?"

"Yes."

"Why's she yer plus one?"

"...I don't know."

Shouto genuinely didn't have an answer. All this time, he thought that he did not reciprocate the feelings that Y/N fostered for him, yet... these past few weeks, ever since finding out about her crush on him, he's been... conflicted.

After a period of momentary silence between the two guys, Katsuki scoffs.

"It looks to me like you're stuck. Don't be leading her on."

Letting out a sigh, Shouto replies.

"I know."

...

After having a friendly conversation with his friends and greeting the higher-ups who organized the gala, Shouto leads his assistant to a quiet table to dine at. The food was opened after some remarks by the president of the Japan Heroes Association Board, and everything was fine.

However, once they had finished their food, Shouto heard a camera behind him.

CLICK.

Whipping his head around, he notices a man holding up a reporter's camera at the other side of the room. The flash from the shutter also seemed to have alerted other guests. Security bolted towards the mab, but it was too late, he began running around like a chicken with its head cut off, snapping pictures of the other guests. A woman screamed when another flash went off. Suddenly, there was a group of cameramen at the entrance.

"Why are there reporters?"

"Wasn't this supposed to be a private event?"

Shouto looks at Y/N with concern. Her face is filled with worry. "Sir, what's going on?" "Some reporters must have snuck in. This was supposed to be a private gala."

FLASH.

A reporter snaps a picture of him and his assistant. Flinching, Y/N shielfs her face with the expensive fur.

"Pro hero Shouto! Are you dating this woman?"

Before he can respond, a security guard drags the reporter out. Shouto hears a sigh escape Y/N's face, though he notices her quaking legs and shaky breathing.

"Would you like to go somewhere quieter?"

...

Once the elevator door opens, Y/N gasps. The rooftop garden was beautiful; fragrant flowers, orchestral music playing softly on the speakers, the vibrant city lights.

Everything seemed magical.

"It's... so beautiful and peaceful here. Thank you, Todoroki-san."

Shouto smiles, relieved that she is no longer displaying signs of anxiety.

"Considering what happened in the ballroom, I thought you might appreciate the peace here. Sorry, this is the first time that the paparazzi has been so desperate that they've had to sneak in.

Taking a seat on a bench, Y/N speaks up.

"So, Todoroki-san-"

"Shouto."

"Hm?"

"Call me Shouto."

"Are you sure?"

Was Shouto sure? Y/N wasn't his lover or family, she was his assistant. But, in the moment, Shouto was absolutely sure.

"Absolutely."

"Well then, call me Y/N."

"Y/N."

"Shouto."

The corners of his mouth threaten to curve up when he hears his assistant call him by his first name. Her sweet voice, the way his name rolled naturally from her tongue, it all felt so... tender.

"So, I can imagine that you attend fancy events like this often."

Shouto nods, "Yes. Even since high school, I've had to attend events."

"You seemed so natural in there! I was so nervous, there are so many people that I look up to!"

"Really? Pro heroes?"

Y/N's smile widens as she nods.

"Mhm! I saw so many! Froppy, Uravity, Earphone Jack, Chargebolt... you even introduced me to the famous Midoriya-san and Bakugou-san!"

"All those people you mentioned, I actually attended high school with them." Shouto laughs when his assistant gasps.

"Really?!? Oh my gosh, that is so crazy but makes so much sense!"

As she rambles on, Shouto notices the stray strand of hair covering a small part of his assistant's face. Gently, he tucks it behind her ear.

'She's... gorgeous.'

And then, he hears her voice.

'I have to say it.'

"Todor-Shouto, I like you."

.

.

.

'Did she jus-' 'Oh shit.'

Y/N stands up abruptly, the boa falling off her shoulders and onto the bench.

"I'm sorry sir, I have to go!"

She runs off as fast as she can in her heels and enters the elevator. Shouto realizes what is going on and snaps out of his stunned trance. He grabs the boa and runs to her.

"Y/N, wait!"

The door shuts before he is able to stop it. Looking at the boa in his hands, he curses.

"Damn it!"

A/N: Sorry for the late update, but here's chapter 5!! It's a little different from how I usually write (in my opinion), but I hope you still enjoyed it >w< I apologize if the anxiety attack scene was not very good, I personally have not experienced such an attack nor have a written one into a story.

As usual, thank you for reading Strawberry Magic!! Chapter 6 may also take a week to be posted, but I won't abandon the series. School has started once again and I have extracurriculars, so I apologize in advance for the inconsistency! If you want to be added to the taglist, just lmk <3

~entire fic and notes written by me: fujoshirat!

Taglist (tysm <333): @boogiemansbitch, @bleedingwhiteroses222

[cwritesforfun]

The Bear: Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto x Fem!Reader: The Walk

Part One is linked here!!!

Part Two is linked here!!!

Masterlist

(YES, the plot has changed. I do not own The Bear characters.) Y/N = Your Name

Y/N’s POV

You throw on your cozy walk outfit and walk outside to meet Carmy. He should be here any minute. What he doesn’t know is that you packed a small little picnic for you both.

You wait on a bench until you see Carmy’s car pull up and he walks toward you. He’s holding two coffees and he exclaims, “I didn’t want to show up empty handed, so I brought you a coffee the way you like it.” How does he know what coffee you like?! You reply, “That was sweet of you, thank you.” He opens his arms to hug you and you hug him back. He’s so warm right now and he doesn’t smell like smoke. He smells really good. Shut up brain this is your boss that you are thinking about.

You both start walking around the park and you reach the area near the pond. You ask, “Fancy a picnic?” Carmy says, “Sure.”

You both sit on a bench and give Carmy a food haul from your tote bag. He seems excited about the burritos and after he takes a bite, he exclaims, “Holy shit. I swear if you were not employed already, I would hire you. This is so good.” You reply, “Thank you, Carmy. I don’t like cooking for more than like 4 people though. It really stresses me out. When I cook or bake, I feel more in control when I do smaller portions.” He replies, “I used to feel that way. Then I kept practicing and cooking, so it’s a way of life. If you ever want it to be yours, then it could be.” You reply, “Your way of life? Haha! I’ve always wondered, do you ever get super burnt out cooking for yourself because it’s your job every day.” He answers, “Haha wow we’re getting deep now… I do get burnt out cooking for myself. If I don’t want to cook, I will make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich then call it a day. I also have several quick recipes I know how to make in under 10 minutes if I am still in the mood after work. It depends on the day.” I ask, “What was yesterday?” He answers, “2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with milk.” I answer, “You’re getting a little crazy there.” He laughs then says, “Thank you so much for yesterday. I feel like I didn’t thank you enough for how you helped me. You really helped me not have a complete mental breakdown and ruin my relationship with my employees. I appreciated it and needed it." I reply, "I believe you said and I quote the light in the darkness of my mind. If I'm ever not at work, I'm only one call or text away. I do work and have class, but I also have time where I can be on my phone." He replies, "Thanks." You both talk about your anxieties for a while then sit in silence staring out at the pond.

You turn to Carmy and ask, "Random question, what did you tell Sydney that made her give you my address so willingly?" He asks, "She didn't tell you?" You answer, "No, she refused to answer it. She seemed really nervous about it though. I had to reassure her that it was okay that you visited and that you brought me a dessert." He nods and asks, "So it was okay that I came over? I didn't know if we were crossing some kind of boundary or if it was okay. I was also worried at what you might think, but I wanted to make sure you were okay." You reply, "And for that, I am very grateful. That caramel tart was all I ate that day besides an apple." He replies, "Then I guess let me know if you ever need a caramel tart any other night you get really bad anxiety. I can always drop it off after work." You reply, "Ok, yeah I might just take you up on that offer." He smiles. He has a cute smile and it makes you smile. You say, "You should smile more, Carmy. You have a nice smile." He smiles widely and says, "It's only for you these days, Y/N." Is he flirting with me or being nice to me?!?!??! You ask, "What do you think of the walk and the view of the pond?" He smirks and says, "I can think of a better view." OMG OMG OMG is he flirting with me again!?!!?!??! You laugh and say, "Oh... thanks." He exclaims, "I think I should tell you what I told Sydney. I told her that I cared about you and I wished I didn't because you're my employee. She gave it over once I told her that my feelings for you weren't going anywhere anytime soon... When Richie made that workplace romance joke yesterday, I was worried it would wreck anything we could've had together. I didn't want it lingering in your mind without knowing for sure. So, yes I like you. I know we just started bonding and we're both dealing with a lot of anxiety, so I'm okay if we wait to date. But, when you want to, I would like to be your first choice if you like me too." HOLY SH**!!?!??!!??!?! I'm freaking out on the inside. You say, "You're my first choice to date too. I'll admit that sometimes the thoughts of what we could be have come across my mind at work. I try to not focus on how attractive I find you while I'm working as the host or talking to Sydney in the kitchen as you cook." He smirks and says, "I find you attractive too, for the record." ok ok teehee this is it!!! LMK if I should write more of their story like the first date? first kiss? idk... also... pls be gentle with yourself and ily

Masterlist

[sailortongue]

As YOU Wish

pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

wc: 1.1k

summary: on the search for a particular book, you have a brief encounter with the owner of a local bookstore. But perhaps the ex-FBI agent also finds himself in search of something more after meeting you

cw: based on the netflix show You so Spencer is a red flag here

an: my cousin wrote the summary and it sounds so cute i had half a mind to rewrite this to just be an innocent meet cute

--------

The bell above the door chimed, signaling to Spencer that a customer had arrived—the first of the day, actually. He glanced up from the register to see a young woman about his age enter. Beautiful, he thought. He was taking in every aspect of your appearance as quickly as he could. The way you styled your hair, the color of your eyes, the worn-out pair of Converse that rivaled his own pair. He shook his head once to clear his thoughts, not wanting to embarrass himself before he even had the chance to ask for your name.

He plastered a smile on his face and greeted you with a “good morning”.

“Good morning,” you said, returning the smile.

Spencer watched you roam around the store, seemingly browsing more than looking for anything in particular. He noticed the way you gently ran your fingers over the spines of some of the books before pulling them from the shelves to read their summaries. Definitely cherishes her books. But no matter what book you pulled, it was always returned to its place. Spencer began taking notice of the way your eyes roved the many titles available, a small frown becoming more and more prominent the more you looked. Maybe you are looking for something. He voiced his thoughts aloud and called out, “Can I help you find anything?”

You turned to face the admittedly very handsome employee. The smile you gave him this time was one of embarrassment, feeling unreasonably foolish that he’d noticed you struggling to find what you were looking for. From Spencer’s point of view though, that embarrassment looked an awful lot like shyness, which was easily interpreted as interest. Hopefully as much as he had in you.

“Yes, please. I’m trying to find The Princess Bride,” you answered.

Spencer thought about it for a moment, trying to remember if it was in the fantasy, adventure, or romance section. “It is . . .” he started, dragging out the last syllable as he walked farther into the shelves with you following close behind. “right here,” he finished, gesturing to the book in question.

“Thank you!” you exclaimed excitedly. Just before you were going to reach for it, an idea struck you. You hoped and prayed that he’d understand, otherwise you’d just be embarrassing yourself again. Should that happen, you'd simply never come back to this store and would probably dwell on it for the rest of your life. You decided to take the chance anyway. “Fetch me that book?” you asked him.

Spencer looked at you incredulously. Is she serious? The shelf is barely above her head, she could reach it with no pro— 

He chuckled as he realized what you were referencing. He grinned down at you as he pulled the book from the shelf. “As you wish.”

You giggled as he handed it to you. “So happy you understood that. I think I would have died of shame if you didn’t.”

That got a true laugh out of the handsome man.  “I’ll admit it took me a second to get it, but that was perfect. Have you read it before or just watched the movie?”

“I’ve read it before, but my copy has up and vanished. It’s one of my favorites, so it was imperative that I get another one.”

He nods as if in understanding but his expression is one of confusion. “If it’s one of your favorites, then how did you lose it?”

“I just moved here recently. Went through all of my boxes but still can’t find it, so I’ve chalked it up to it getting lost in the move.”

“Well then, I’m glad to have been of assistance. Is that all you were looking for today?”

“For today, yes, but I’ll definitely be back. I don't think I’ve ever been in a bookstore as cozy as this one.”

Spencer beamed at you, pleased with your praise of the shop he’d worked so hard to establish. “Thank you. I worked very hard to make it that way.”

You looked at him quizzically. “You designed the shop?”

“No, I own it,” he said humorously. “Spencer Reid, owner of Reid’s Reads. It’s nice to meet you,” he introduced himself, even going as far as to offer you his hand, which ordinarily he’d never do. But the thought of initiating any kind of skin-to-skin contact was too thrilling to pass up.

“I’m Y/n, it’s nice to meet you, too,” you said, shaking the hand he’d offered.

“If that’s all you need then I can go ahead and get you checked out?” His eyes were wide and expressive as he looked to you for confirmation.

“Oh. Right.” Heat rose to your cheeks unbidden and you tried your best to keep your emotions in check. But unbeknownst to you, Spencer was a former FBI agent that specialized in such things, not to mention a certified genius. How cute. She’s blushing again. He also took note of the poorly hidden upturn of your lips. Why so shy? Just smile at me, sweetheart. 

He gestured for you to walk ahead of him. “Ladies first.”

He followed behind you to the register, glad for the opportunity to check you out in more ways than one.

You placed the book on the counter, and Spencer resumed his position behind the register. He scanned the book and read out the price to you. Pay with a card. Pay with a card. Pay with a card. he chanted mentally. 

Bingo. You pulled the piece of plastic from your wallet and handed it to him. He read the name as subtly as he could. You’d given him your first name, but a first name wouldn't be enough to find you online. He swiped your card and bagged your book, making sure to let his hand brush against yours as he handed the items to you.

“It was nice meeting you, Y/n. Do come again.”

“Oh, I will. Have a good day!” you said as you were leaving, giving him a small wave. The bell chimed as the door was opened again, and his eyes remained on your figure as he watched you through the large windows at the front of the store until you were out of sight.

With your full name now committed to memory, he planned on finding every trace of you online that he could as soon as he was home from work. He was no Penelope Garcia, but this wasn't something he particularly wanted the FBI involved in.

And so, for the rest of the day, his thoughts were consumed with only one thing: you.

[watchmegetobsessed]

❄️HOME THIS CHRISTMAS❄️

A/N: hope you uys have been having an amazing christmas so far! for this fic i want to say special thanks to @futurecherry !

WORD COUNT: 5.6k

SUMMARY: Harry Styles is back in town and all eyes are on the two of you, because everyone knows how much he broke your heart when he left.

MASTERLIST | SUPPORT ME!

This fic is part of ❄️ FANFICmas 2022 ❄️ Read more about fanficmas here!

You always thought the saying ‘talk of the town’ wasn’t real, not in the way movies loved to portray. The whispers behind someone’s back, the stares, the looks, it all seemed way too dramatic to be real. Right until you became the person it happened to.

December is by far your favorite time of the year. You hate to be a cliché, but it truly is the most wonderful time of the year. The town turns into a cozy winter wonderland, every shop and home is decorated, lights are guiding the way through the streets you know better than the back of your hand, the smell of mulled wine and hot chocolate puts a spell on you every time you walk past the square in front of the town hall, there is nothing that could ruin this time of the year for you.

Or so you thought. Because the returning of Harry Styles just made you the talk of the town and ruined the festive mood for sure.

Who would want to step out of the house just to see everyone looking at them with pitiful looks, whispering about the poor girl who now has to face the guy who broke her heart? No, that’s not even expressive enough to describe what Harry did to you when he left town five years ago, never even looking back to see the mess he left behind him.

Word spread across town fast when he was first spot at his mother’s house, picking up some old stuff of his. Mrs. Cromwell saw him through her kitchen window. She phoned Mrs. Adler who was just about to leave to the grocery store. She told the news to everyone she ran into and in a matter of hours everyone in town knew that Harry was back.

Including you.

It’s been a week since the first sighting and your life has turned upside down since then. Everyone wants to know what you think about his return, how you’re doing now that you can practically run into him anywhere and anytime.

Well, you’re already over that.

The first meeting went just as awkward as one would expect. He came into your bakery on a Tuesday afternoon, you were shocked to be face-to-face with him at first and he seemed just as speechless as he stared back at you while everyone else around you were dying for the scene to unfold.

When the two of you recovered, the conversation went something like this:

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve moved back.”

“No, what are you doing in my bakery?”

“I came to see you.”

“But I don’t want to see you.”

“Can we talk? Please?”

“No.”

And with that, you rushed back and locked yourself into the closet sized office for an entire hour. He was gone by that and so you ignored the curious stare of your employees and carried on like nothing happened.

Since then, you’ve been avoiding him at all cost and you realized you can do that the best if you just never go anywhere. His return is nerve wrecking enough already, but he has managed to ruin your favorite time of the year for you too. You can’t enjoy the Christmas market, the decoration, the festive vibes because every time you step out you’re afraid you might run into him again.

You’re convinced you wouldn’t survive it.

Looking at him last time was painful enough, mostly because you clearly see the version of him you were in love with and who broke your heart and left without looking back. You could notice the changes on him, his hair, his face, it wasn’t the same and yet… you were still stuck in the past.

There’s just way too much hurt in you after what happened, lots of questions and even more anger towards him that you’ve kept bottled up all these years and you fear you might snap if you have to face him again.

“Are you gonna hide in the back today as well?”

Willa, your student cashier gives you a look as you walk past her when you finally arrive in the afternoon. She’s been working for you for almost a year, she’s trust-worthy and very hard-working, but she also has a tendency to speak her mind quite openly. She is never afraid to call you out when you’re acting ridiculously.

“I’m not hiding,” you hiss at her. “I have… some billing… stuff to do,” you mumble and you wonder how you got to the point where a seventeen years old girl is telling you off when you were supposed to be her boss.

“Whatever you say, boss,” she shrugs as an elderly woman walks in and she busies herself with serving her.

“Kids these days…” you mutter under your breath before locking yourself up in your office.

Running your own business luckily usually has your hands full when you’re at the bakery, so you forget about Harry’s existence as you dive right into work. Unfortunately, it seems like today won’t be the day when you can escape through work.

“Boss?” Willa appears at the backdoor right after you finished a call with one of your suppliers.

“What’s up?” you smile at her, but then see the worried look on her face and you just know already what this is about. “Don’t say—“

“He’s here. Asking for you.”

“Damn it,” you groan, burying your face in your hands. “Tell him I’m not here.”

“That’s not gonna work.”

“Why not?”

“Because I already told him you’re here.”

“Fuck,” you whisper. “Okay, then tell him—“

“Or maybe you could just talk to him.”

Harry’s voice startles you. You both look at him, he’s standing a few feet away from you and you feel heat rushing through your veins, which is kind of useful since you’re not wearing a coat and it’s quite freezing out here.

“I’ll be… in my spot,” you hear Willa say before rushing back inside, leaving you alone.

“I’m sorry, but I’m really busy and whatever you want—“

“I want to talk, Y/N. You can’t just avoid me forever, I live here now.”

“The town is not that small, we can just live next to each other without crossing paths.” You turn to head back inside, but he grabs your hand and pulls you back, the sudden touch of his hand on your skin sending jolts of electricity through your whole body. You yank it back as you turn to face him.

“Y/N, don’t you think we should at least just talk it over?”

“You wanna talk? You wanna talk about how you fucked me over? How you broke my heart and left me when I needed you the most? How you said you’d love me forever, but you didn’t even love me enough to stay when I put all my money into starting a business and a life here?”

“Y/N—“

“I never wanted to do it alone! I explicitly told you that I don’t want to go into it on my own and you said you’d be here and that we could do it together. And then you lost your mind, said you can’t handle being tied down here and that you needed freedom. You threw me away like you didn’t promise me forever a million times before. So you want to talk about that?”

Your sudden outburst is a surprise to the both of you, but it also feels liberating to unload it all.

“I think we are way past the talking phase, Harry. You wanted to leave, me and the town, whatever! You can do whatever you want even if it destroys other people. But don’t be surprised when said people don’t want you in their life.”

This time he doesn’t try to stop you when you storm back inside. He doesn’t come after you either.

You think about your encounter nonstop for the next few days. He is all you think about and you hate him for that. You also ponder whether you were way too harsh with him or not, but you always get to the same conclusion. Your words do not compare to the pain he caused you when he left.

The twenty-third is the last day the bakery is open, but seeing the heavy snowing in the morning you ring in to tell the shift that you’ll be in soon and they can leave early, have the rest of the day off. It’s a little past ten when you arrive, you help them close and prepare the place for the few days off. You stay after everyone is gone, doing some last minute paperwork and barely even notice how time flew by.

And how much snow has fallen.

“Shit,” you mumble under your breath when you see the whole street covered in inches of fresh, white snow and it’s still heavily falling. The wind has picked up too, it might soon turn into a whole storm so you better get going.

You parked down in front of the bakery, so you easily get in, but as you try to start the car, it refuses to do anything.

“Come on, come on!” you groan, turning the key in the ignition over and over again, but it wouldn’t start. You’re forced to walk home, which means about 45 minutes out in this weather.

You zip up your jacket, pull your hat on and brace yourself for freezing to death before getting out of the car and you just start walking, hoping for the best. The first few steps are not that bad, you let yourself believe you’ll be home in no time, but by the time you reach the corner, you’re thinking about just turning back and waiting for the end of the snowing in the bakery. You’re eyes are watering up, but the cold wind is practically freezing it onto your cheeks. There’s snow everywhere, your feet are slipping on the ice underneath the fresh snow and you know it’s just a matter of time until you land on your ass.

And then a car pulls up beside you.

“Y/N? What are you doing out here?” Harry calls out over the passenger seat.

“Having a grill party, what do you think?” you scoff, pulling your jacket tighter around you. “My car died.”

“Get in, you’re gonna get pneumonia!”

“No thank you, I’m totally fine!” you stubbornly say and start walking again.

“Y/N, please! I’m not letting you walk home, you’ll never make it on foot!” He drives slowly beside you as a harsh wind blows right into your face, almost pushing you off your feet. “Just get in the car!”

You clench your jaw as you think about your choices: freezing to death on your way home or spending a few minutes in a car with Harry to get home safely. It’s a hard one.

“No talking, okay?” you say as you get in his car, the warmed up seat immediately melting up your frozen muscles.

“Okay,” he nods as he starts driving, but the silence lasts for about five minutes. “You really thought it was a good idea to walk home in this weather?”

“Where’s the no talking?”

“I’m sorry, but you just… You’ve always been so stubborn, it’s good to know you’re the same,” he chuckles softly, but it just gets your blood boiling.

“I’m not the same and you know nothing about my stubbornness. Now would you just drive me home and not talk to me like you promised? Though promises don’t mean shit to you, that I know.”

Your words cut like a knife, but at least he goes silent. Staring out the window you watch the snow fall, it’s unusually thick, you haven’t seen anything like this in years around here. It mesmerizes you so much you don’t even notice where you’re going, only when Harry kills the engine and you see an unknown building instead of your home.

“What? Where are we?” you ask, looking around, trying to see what part of town you’re at but you can’t make out because of the snow.

“My place,” he answers.

“Why? I don’t live here, take me home!”

“Y/N, your home is another at least fifteen minute drive from here, but I can barely see the front of the car in the snow. Just wait it out at mine and then I’ll take you home.”

“Hell no! I’m not waiting for anything!” you protest.

“I bet Clement Road is already blocked, we wouldn’t even make it to your place!”

“You planned this whole thing out, didn’t you?”

“What?” he chuckles in disbelief. “Oh yes, I ordered the snowstorm and killed your car too.”

“Wait, you did?” your eyes widen. “I-I mean the car, did you do it?”

“Oh my God, Y/N, I did not!” he throws his hands into the air. “I did not mess with your car, I was coming from my grandma when I saw you. Now please just be rational for a minute and wait until the snow stops. I promise, I will take you home as soon as the roads are drivable.”

You hate to admit that he is right, that it’s your only and best choice if you don’t want to walk home and freeze to death. So, true to your stubborn self you get out of the car without a word and march up to the front door of the house he parked in front of. Moments later you hear him get out of the car too.

“The no talking rule still applies,” you mumble under your breath as Harry keys the two of you into the townhouse. He nods, pushing the door open and lets you go inside first.

It hasn’t processed that you’re now entering his private space, a place that’s his home, but you’ve never been to. He was still living with his mum when the two of you dated, you knew that house like the back of your hand, it was a second home to you. You haven’t been there since the breakup. 

“How wet are you?” he asks and your eyes snap wide.

“What?”

“Your clothes,” he adds with a cheeky smirk hiding in the corners of his mouth. “How wet did they get? Do you want a change?”

“Um… My pants are kinda saggy. And my socks.”

“I’ll get you a full change. Make yourself home,” he says, before disappearing down the hallway. 

For a few seconds you don’t move, feeling odd to be here, but when you recover, you wander into the living room that’s on the right from the front door, looking around curiously.

He still hasn’t packed out fully, there are a few boxes lying here and there, but the place looks cozy already and most importantly a lot like him. You see pieces of him everywhere, decors and furniture that just screams Harry, or at least the Harry you know from years ago.

He returns with a pile of clothes in his hands and he has already changed as well into sweatpants and a shirt.

“Here, the bathroom is on the left, throw your wet clothes into the dryer. I’ll make us hot tea.”

He hands you over the clothes and his signature smell hits your nose right away, nostalgia washing over you as you nod hazily and leave to the bathroom. You strip out of your wet clothes and put on the sweatpants and shirt he gave you and suddenly you’re back in time when you used to spend days without end at Harry’s and you had to wear his clothes because you’ve run out of yours. You loved stealing his hoodies and shirts, they felt like his warm embrace, but now… it confuses you.

Walking out you hear him on the phone and judging from the conversation, it’s probably Anne. He has put the kettle on, two mugs set on the kitchen counter as he stands by the window, staring out while talking to his mother. You don’t want to invade on the private conversation, so you return to the living room and snoop around a bit.

What caught your attention first thing when you walked in is the fireplace. He used to tell you about how much he wanted one so he could drink tea and read in front of it. You wonder if it’s what sold him the place when he was looking around.

On top of the fireplace there are a bunch of memorabilia, picture frames, gifts he has gotten over the years. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but as you scan over it, you find more and more things that are connected to you.

First there’s a candle you bought for him after a fight as your peace offer. Then there’s a photo framed from Anne’s birthday, it’s got her, Harry, Gemma and you on it. The more photos you look at, the more you’re met with yourself. You would have never expected him to showcase any pictures that has you in it, but he clearly doesn’t mind looking at you every day. Reaching into the little wooden box that sits on the left edge of the fireplace, you find movie and theater tickets, most of them he used with you on dates. He has a whole stack, probably with every movie and play you two have seen and there are a lot.

“I kept them all.”

His voice startles you, you were so busy snooping around you didn’t notice he finished his call. Shutting the lid of the box you turn around and fold your arms over your chest to stop you from touching anything.

“Why?” you question.

“Because they are memories. Good ones.”

He sets down two mugs on the coffee table, hot tea steaming from them, but they get ignored as he walks up to you and grabs the box. Digging into the tickets he grabs one and hands it over to you.

“Do you remember this?”

Taking the piece of paper you look at the title. It’s from the old cinema in town you used to go to almost every month. They always had some of the old gems playing and you loved having the experience of being in the movies, watching a film that can’t be seen elsewhere.

This particular ticket was for The Breakfast Club, one of your biggest favorites. You missed the few times they played it in the theater and you were bummed. So Harry got them to add one more date, on your birthday. It was the sweetest thing someone has ever done for you and you’d be lying if you said it doesn’t fills your chest with warmth.

It’s a happy memory you share with him.

“I remember it. Yeah,” you say, clearing your throat as you hand the ticket back, knowing you have it saved at home too.

“You’ve seen that movie so many times, you were mumbling the lines next to me,” he chuckles, as he places the box back.

“Why do you have all these?”

“Told you, they are good memories,” he shrugs, ignoring what you really meant by your question.

“You shouldn’t be holding onto them,” you shake your head, taking a few steps away from him to put some distance between the two of you.

“Why?”

“Because you left me,” you snap at him. “These memories weren’t good enough for you to keep you here. With me.”

Spite is dripping from your words, words you’ve been meaning to get off your chest, but you kept them buried deep inside you.

“Y/N, I didn’t leave because I didn’t want to be with you or because I wasn’t happy.”

“Oh, so you just woke up one day and decided you had better things to do?” you scoff.

“Jesus, would you stop belittling our relationship and my feelings for you?”

“Feelings?” you can’t stop yourself from laughing. “What feelings did you have that made you leave me, huh?”

Whenever you thought of having this conversation with Harry you imagined yourself staying calm and collected, not letting him show how much he hurt you, but you’re more like a deranged mess.

“I panicked, Y/N, okay? I was… I was young and for a moment I felt like I was running out of time. I was wrong, but by the time I realized, it was too late.”

“Trapped? You felt trapped in our relationship? Well, that’s just great to know.”

“I had no reason to feel like that, it was a momentary craziness. Have you not gone through that? Have you never questioned your decisions before?”

“Of course I did, but I didn’t move across the country or left behind the people I said I love.” It’s a hit below belt, but you can’t help it.

“I made mistakes, I’m human! But I’m here to make things right!”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“That I’m here to earn your forgiveness. I hurt you, caused you a lot of pain and I want to make up for that.”

“That’s very noble, but I’m not a partner in that.”

“I’m not asking you to take me back, I know I fucked up big time. I’m just trying to do the right thing and earn your forgiveness.”

“Stop saying that!” you growl.

“What?”

“That you want to earn my forgiveness!”

“But it’s the truth!”

“You wouldn’t need my forgiveness if you loved me enough to stay!”

“Would you stop refuting my feelings?!”

“Don’t lecture me about your feelings! I’m only seeing the facts, that you didn’t love me enough not to leave! So if you want to get me to believe you still love me and want me back, I can assure you, it’s not enough now! You left me when we had so much at stake, when I spent all my money on a business we were supposed to start together! I was all alone, I lost my lover, I lost my faith in a future we planned together! If you loved me, you wouldn’t have done that!”

“You think I don’t love you?” he raises his voice, clearly short on his patience as well.

“Oh, I know you don’t!” you scream at him.

For a few heartbeats he just stares at you and you have no idea where this is about to go. Then, without a word he storms back into his bedroom and you stand there, stunned with your chest heaving.

When he appears a few moments later he is carrying a big cartboard box. He throws it to the floor in front of you and opening he reveals a big collection of… everything that has anything to do with you.

“I kept every tiny thing that reminds me of you. Everything! All of our polaroids!” He grabs the dozens of photos the two of you took over the years and throws up into the air like confetti. “I have every gift you gave me, every clothes you got me, everything!”

He keeps throwing things out, laying them in front of your feet as you stare at him with your lips parted.

“These,” he continues, holding up a stack of papers, “are letters I wrote to you since I left. Over eighty letters, Y/N! Every time I wanted to run back to you begging for you to take me back, I remembered that you probably hate me, so I wrote you letters I never sent!”

He throws the letters into the air too and you watch them fly around in the room as Harry stands up.

“Wanna know why I still have these? Why I’m here? Why I came back? The only fucking reason I came back?”

Blinking you feel a tear rolling down your cheek.

“Why?” you whisper.

“Because I love you! I never fucking stopped loving you, Y/N!” he screams at you and this time you. “And if I have to spend the rest of my life paying for what I did to you, I will fucking do it, because you’re my everything and I would rather atone forever than live a moment knowing I didn’t try everything to make up for what I did!”

He’s breathing heavily and so are you. The intensity of the moment is swallowing you in whole and you feel like you could just collapse any moment. His confession has broken everything you’ve built up in you in the past years and now as you stare back at him, you go fully blank before…

You move before you could even think and Harry mirrors you the same moment, the two of you meet halfway and unite in hard, demanding kiss you’ve fantasized about so many times, beating yourself up about it.

You lose every ounce of self-control, you both do. Everything you do is so primal, just wanting to fulfill this burning need inside you for each other. You push against Harry, fingers grabbing onto his hair hard while his hands dig into your waist, he is making you walk backwards, stumbling and stepping on his letters and polaroids, but nothing matters.

It’s tug of war as you head to the bedroom without stopping the hungry, almost violent kissing and you tear your clothes off of each other as if they were poisonous. When he presses you against the wall at one point, pushing his erection against you, a loud cry bursts out of you, grabbing onto him even more desperately.

By the time he throws you onto the mattress you’re naked and he’s ridding himself of his last piece of clothing. You moan as you see his hard cock springing free, begging to be buried in you finally. He climbs on top of you and the weight of his body presses you into the mattress heavenly. You don’t even notice that you’ve started crying as you cling onto him as if your life depended on it.

He stops for a moment, brushing the tears off of your face.

“Hey,” he softly says, kissing the corner of your mouth and lifting himself up. “We don’t have to do this if you—“

“Please!” you gasp, pulling him back. “Please stay here,” you beg, linking your arms behind his head to keep him as close as possible. “Please stay here,” you repeat and you both know your words have a meaning beyond just wanting to keep him in your embrace in this moment.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m yours forever,” he assures before thrusting into you. “I’m yours forever.”

Harry seems to be asleep beside you when you finally decide to get out of bed and get yourself a glass of water. He stirs gently when the mattress moves underneath you, but doesn’t open his eyes. Quietly, you make your way to the kitchen and grab his shirt from the floor, pulling it on. You grab a glass and fill with tap water and stare out the window while sipping on it.

The storm has stopped, everything is covered in fresh, thick snow, right in time so you’ll have a white Christmas.

You repeat what happened tonight over and over again, trying to figure out how you truly feel about it. When you had Harry pressed up against you, you clearly wanted him in any and every way possible, but now that the lust as died down, momentarily, you’re finally using your brain to think.

You might have jumped at him too fast, it doesn’t mean that everything is smoothed out and there are no hard feelings. There are still questions and fears in you that you won’t be able to bottle up anymore.

“Everything alright?”

Harry’s voice startles you again and as you turn around you see him padding closer to you, wearing his sweatpants and a sleepy look on his face. He stops a few feet away from you, assessing your expression and he sees you the worry etched onto your face.

“Talk to me, Y/N,” he whispers, taking your face in his hands and you hold onto his wrists.

“We got a little carried away.”

“Do you regret it?” he asks and you can see panic rising in him.

“No,” you say without hesitation. “But… I can’t do this if you’re gonna leave again.”

Tears dwell in your eyes. You’re not angry anymore, but scared, that you’ll get hurt again, because you fear you wouldn’t survive it.

“I meant what I said, Y/N. I’m not going anywhere. Unless you want me to leave. I’m never making the same mistake again, I paid for it too.” Leaning down he kisses you softly, painting his promise onto your lips. “I promised myself I would be home this Christmas. But it’s not the town. You’re my home.”

You breathe in his words, let the relief settle in your chest as you nod and rest your forehead against his. Minutes pass by and he just holds you, ensures you silently that you’re not about to make a mistake by starting over with him.

“You must have heard how popular the bakery got, huh?” you joke with a chuckle.

“Ah, absolutely,” he grins, kissing the tip of your nose.

“I’m not letting you get into the business though.”

“So I can’t be a kept man? Damn it!” he laughs and you giggle against his neck. “I’ll prove you that it’s not a mistake, okay? I’ll earn your trust back.”

“Okay,” you whisper with a nod.

“Come on, let’s get back to bed. We can talk more in the morning.”

You follow him back into the bedroom and you gladly settle in his embrace, cocooned in his arms, knowing that this Christmas you’ll be home too.

Harry’s arms are clinging onto you when you slowly wake in the morning. His hands have sneaked underneath your shirt, the warmth of his palms coating your naked skin underneath the layers.

He has always been a clingy sleeper, you learnt that early in your relationship. All those mornings you spent tangled up in each other, soft, lazy kisses, Harry’s hands all over you, because he could never get enough of you.

“I love you, my Y/N.”

“My sweet love, good morning.”

“So soft, so warm, all mine.”

He was always the sweetest in the morning. And he was the same the day he decided to leave. You felt his touch on your waist, stomach and chest, he hugged you tight, his body pressed up against yours in bed as the morning sunshine beamed through the window. It was like every other morning, only that he didn’t go to bed with you that day.

You stretch blindly, enjoying the feeling of Harry wrapped around you, but slowly, you feel like you’re tossed back in time to the day he left, reliving the possibly worst day of your life.

“Mm, morning,” Harry murmurs behind you, his lips pressing to your shoulder before he gently turns you in his arms and he kisses your pouty lips once. Twice. But before he could go for a third one, he realizes something is off. “Babe?”

“I’m… S-sorry, I just…” you sit up in bed, looking around, taking in your surroundings as sleep wears off of your eyes. You’re in Harry’s bedroom at his new place, yet you still feel like you’re in the past, stuck with the version of Harry that will leave you. Again.

“Hey, it’s alright. Just breathe for me.” He gently rubs your back as your breaths are rapidly heaving through your chest. “It’s alright, baby.”

“Are you gonna leave?”

The words roll down your tongue before you could even think twice and you want to take them back, afraid that they might hurt him, but they also root from your fears you’re still struggling with.

Harry stares back at you for a moment and you expect him to walk out on you, but it never happens. Instead, he cups your face in his hand and leaning closer he brushes his lips softly against yours.

“I’m not leaving, Y/N. Never. I know it’s hard to see anything other than the past, but I will work hard to change that.”

“It’s just… so many things remind me of what was before,” you whisper, almost embarrassed, but you just can’t help this feeling that keeps crawling up your spine, into your mind.

“I know. It’s okay, I don’t expect you to change so fast, I know I have to work for it and we’ll get there, to the point where I earn your trust back. Okay?”

“Okay,” you nod shortly as he rests his forehead against yours.

“I love you. We’ll get through this.”

“I love you too,” you coo and crawl to his lap, letting him wrap in his embrace as he lies back in bed, pulling you with him.

“Do you remember how we used to spend Christmas?”

“Yeah,” you nod. “We got a Christmas tree together just before Christmas, made gingerbread house and exchanged gifts on the twenty-fourth, because we were too excited to wait till the morning,” you say with a tiny chuckle.

“What if we did everything different from now on? Make new traditions?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well, we could decorate the tree earlier, look for a different recipe to bake and wait till the morning with the gifts.”

“We could attempt to wait… But we might fail.”

A laugh rumbles through Harry’s chest from where you lift your head to look at him.

“I’m sorry I freaked out on you.”

“Don’t be. Just let me be there for you when it happens.”

“Okay,” you whisper and push yourself up so your lips could meet his and this time, it finally feels new. It’s your fresh start.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Once Upon a Time 4

Warnings: non/dubcon and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Characters: Andy Barber

Part of the Bookstore AU

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

Your morning begins lazily. You're not used to functioning without a sense of urgency but it's nice. You take your time having your coffee and nibbling on toast in front of the television. You finally find the motivation to get dressed just after eleven, intent on hitting the country store before you let another day off fade into oblivion. You've been saying you'd go for months and it always turns into 'just don't have the energy.'

You take the train downtown then find a bus to the edge of the city, just a ten-minute walk from the country store. The commute alone is an hour, the temperature dipping even lower without the shield of the urban sprawl. You shiver as you finally reach your destination, like a warrior cresting the drawbridge of a mythical castle.

Inside, there's a cozy atmosphere. The smell of cedar wafts through the air as you marvel at the vast expanse before you. As you browse the signs denoting the contents of each aisle, you set off towards the wool section, hoping to finally teach yourself to knit. Just before the confection area, there's a small table set up and woman greets you before you can reach the crafts. She offers you a sample of chestnut cocoa. Sounds interesting, but somewhat unappetizing. The chill in your bones cozens you to the promise of liquid warmth.

You blow over the top of the cup, smiling awkwardly at the employee. The store is somewhat bustling but that area seems to be a bit dead. You taste it and give a wobbly hum. Not bad, actually. You'll at least be able to finish it.

"Oh, it's good," you say.

"If you would like to buy some, you can take a coupon," the woman offers.

"Oh, sure," you accept out of kinship for your fellow retail worker. You take a coupon and thank her again.

"What's this?" A voice has you quickly stepping out of the way as the rattle of a cart rolls close.

"Good afternoon, sir," the woman puts on her best chime, "would you like to try a sample of our hot chocolate?"

"Hm, I guess," the man drones and you freeze in the spot. No way.

You keep your head down as you sidle away but hit the cart parked behind you with your hip. You apologise without looking up but your name reels you back. You cringe at the store and go rigid, slowly turning on your heel to face Andy.

"Oh, hi," your voice piques, "what are you doing here?"

"Shopping," he says as if it should be obvious. He pauses and accepts the small cup from the lady at the booth. "Aren't you supposed to be working?"

He tweaks his brow and you look away guiltily, "uh, yeah, actually, I... switched shifts with Chelsea so... yeah."

"Wow, that's... interesting," he says, "well, interesting seeing you all the way out here."

"Yeah, very," you agree, almost genuinely. What are the odds?

"My friend recommended the place," he sniffs the hot chocolate but doesn't drink, "you come here a lot?"

You bounce on your feet impatiently. You glance over at the employee awkwardly watching the interaction. You've been there before.

"First time," you answer, "anyway, I... I'm just gonna keep going," you look at the worker, "I don't want to clog up the area." You wave a palm at Andy awkwardly, "nice running into you."

"You too," he returns quietly.

You swallow and back away. This is so weird. Coincidences happen, sure, but it's not like this place is a Target. You clutch your cup tight as you walk away, keeping your eyes forward as a shudder stays trapped in your ribcage. Something's just not right. Or maybe you're thinking too much.

You veer down the aisle of yarn and blow out the breath caught in your chest. You stop amid the various shades of pinks and purples and peer down into the cup. Your stomach is churning violently and you don't think it's the drink.

You try to shake off the encounter and linger amidst the needles and threads. You wander down the next aisle and browse the paints. You're not very artistic but you could probably manage a paint-by-number. You click your tongue and continue on without purchase. You're not sure you want to waste the money.

You end up near the checkout at the rack of handmade sweaters. You like the patchwork on the one, even if it reminds you of a 90s sitcom. You slowly turn the rack as you weigh the value of the sweater. You peek up and see Andy just on the otherside as he rolls his cart by. Before you can dodge his look in your direction, he waves. You have to wave back but quickly go back to searching the rack.

You take the off the bar and dally by the card stand, waiting until you see Andy leave before head up to checkout. You toss your empty cup in the bin at the corner of the counter. You go to the till and pay, taking your time as you dread the walk to the bus.

You accept your bag and receipt and zip up your coat on your way out the door. You check your phone for the bus times. You'll have to move fast to catch the next one or wait an hour for the one after that. You hurry past the parking lot, head down against the cold, and head up along the unpaved path parallel to the road.

As you get to the stop, you tuck your hands in your sleeves and face the road, peering longingly down it. You didn't see the bus drive by so you should be on time. You chatter as you hear gravel mulching in the other direction. There's a honk as the car slows and you grimace as you watch it take a U-turn and come up on your side. You wobble on your legs as the window rolls down.

"Cold out," Andy calls over the empty passenger's seat, "need a ride?"

You shake your head, "no, it's fine. I got other places to go."

"I don't mind. I figure since I'm out here."

"Really, I can't accept," you offer a vacant smile, "thanks, though."

"It's really not safe for you to be out here--"

"The bus is on its way," you argue, a bit more terse than you mean to.

"I know, I'm trying to be nice."

"It is nice, okay? But I don't want a ride."

He idles there, quiet, waiting. You have nothing else to say so you once more look down the road. He sniffs and grips the headrest on the passenger's seat.

"Why not?"

Your smile falls away completely as you look at him. Something about his expression adds to the frigid chill. You wet your dry lips and sway.

“To be honest, I don't take rides with strangers.”

“Well, I'm not a stranger,” he puffs out.

You shrug and shake your head, “I said no thank you.”

“Right, got it,” he huffs, “see ya, I guess.”

He rolls up the window as you stare at your boots. He drives away, swerving to reverse direction once more. You flinch as the gravel mulches and wait until the hum of his engine dissipates.

His last words echo, as much a threat as a promise.

[mysterious-moonstruck-musings]

Destiny & Deliverance: Chapter 21

Destiny & Deliverance Masterlist ||| Dieter Bravo X OFC Some Smut & Language- Minors DNI New as of 9/21/2023

SUPPORT YOUR CREATORS. REBLOGGING & COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED.

Series Rating: Explicit (18+)

Series Summary: Natalia Cohen is experiencing major life changes, beginning with leaving an emotionally abusive husband. She is learning how to navigate life on her own while dealing with high functioning anxiety, depression, and mild PTSD. Everything is looking up for her. She is a highly respected consultant for a major LA firm, has her best friend, Lauren, by her side, and is on her path to healing. Everything changes when she meets a handsome and broken stranger on a work trip. He turns out to be a well-known actor, with a heart-breaking past. They quickly develop a connection that will forever alter their lives. 

Warnings: Themes dealing with mental health, emotional trauma, alcohol use, and discussions about suicide. There will be fluff, tears, spicy language, and smut. This will be a slow burn type of story. Read at your own risk.

Chapter Quote: "Dieter. Don’t do this…please."

A/N: Chapter 21 is finally here! It's a beast coming in at 9k words. I have to give a massive thank you to @for-a-longlongtime for taking on the challenge of cleaning this mess up. Make sure you thank her for it! She worked some serious magic on it for me. Just a fair warning, this takes a super angsty turn. Get your cozy blanket and chocolate ready, because you might need it.

I was not prepared for how hard Dieter's absence would hit me once he had left to film in Canada. Spending time alone had never bothered me at any point in my life; but now without him, it felt like a piece of me was missing. I did my best to keep busy. When I wasn't working remotely, I continued the home improvement project at Dieter’s house or worked on various projects in my craft room. 

Aside from two incidents, I had managed to avoid the lurking paparazzi. There were a few photos that had been snapped from a distance while I was out running errands that popped up on some fan pages; it was annoying, but the best way to handle it was to take it in stride and just remind myself that people were always watching. Luckily, no one had approached me directly; the public knowledge that Dieter was currently on set in Canada probably took a lot of the heat off me.

Fortunately, I had people in my life to help me cope with Dieter's absence. I spent several evenings with Lauren, catching up on gossip as we watched movies. The shop had been keeping her busy due to an employee shortage, and she was also exploring options to expand into the vacant unit next door. While I could see how that took up a lot of her time, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was holding things back from me. But whenever I asked her about it, she would wave it off and say everything was fine, as her phone continued to beep with a steady stream of text messages.

Gabby must have noticed that I had been feeling lonely, as she made a point to extend a longstanding dinner invitation at her house. While I enjoyed spending time with her and went to see her often, it didn’t do anything to dampen my feeling of loneliness. No one could fill that void except for her brother.

Communicating with Dieter brought on a new set of frustrations that I hadn’t expected. The remote location turned out to have a lot of signal issues, so it was hard for us to connect by texts or calls as often as either of us would have liked. I could tell that he tried to stay positive, but during the times that we were able to Facetime it struck me how tired he looked and sounded. Things were slowly wearing him down.

Two weeks into filming, during one of our few facetime calls, Dieter admitted that he had been feeling a little down and wasn’t getting enough sleep. The side effects of the medication had lessened, but so far it didn’t seem to offer him any relief from the issues that he struggled with. A local provider that he was referred to suggested that he start taking antidepressants. When he told me, I noticed how distant his eyes seemed as he spoke. “It’s fine. I’ll take them”, he said after a beat, his fingers absentmindedly tugging at the label on the bright orange container with pills. “I’m just dreading more side effects.” He had been unusually quiet during our call that evening. I could see weariness sunk into the lines on his face and couldn’t help the gnawing feeling that things were not all that fine.

The last few days before I was scheduled to fly out to Alberta passed by painfully slow. It made me restless, and I couldn't focus my energy on anything but the trip. I lost count of how many times I went through my packing list. Dieter seemed to be feeling the same way, sounding giddy during the times we were able to catch up over the phone. He had made sure to arrange a car that would pick me up at the airport. So, when I finally I landed at Edmonton International after a three-hour flight, I was relieved that I didn’t have to deal with the anxiety of transportation to get to the set.

As we drove several hours to get to the filming location, I saw the landscape changing from city views to remote swatches of land. Lush forests and more than a few wild animals caught my attention. With so few people, stores, and even power lines around, it wasn’t surprising that there had been such problems with getting a cell signal.

By the time I made it to their filming location, my back was absolutely killing me. I was happy to be climbing out of the vehicle. I was in the midst of stretching when Rylee came jogging over. Her hair was now black mixed with a deep purple color, which threw me for a minute. She gave me a wave and wide smile as she approached.

“He’s gonna be so fucking happy you’re finally here,” she announced as she pulled me in for a quick hug. “Actually, I’m fucking happy you’re here because I’m tired of his whining.”

I gave her a chuckle in response.

“What do I need to do with my bags?”

“We can put them in his trailer for now. Come on, I’ll help.”

As small as the trailers looked from the outside, I wasn’t expecting much. But I had to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. It was like a mini home on wheels.

“So, is he the only one who uses this trailer?” I asked as I looked around on the inside. The bed toward the back had caught my eye, because of course that’s where my mind immediately went to. Rylee gave me a knowing smile.

“I mean, do I need to put my bags out of the way or anything? I don’t wanna take up someone else’s space.”

I tried to recover. I’m not sure she bought it. I could feel my cheeks burning.

“He’s one of the stars of the show. So, yes, he’s the only one who should be in here aside from you or I, unless invited.”

I nodded, still trying to play it cool.

“Don’t worry, I’ll knock before I come in,” she added with a wink.

“No, no, that’s…that’s not why I was asking.” I shook my head as I spoke, feeling even more embarrassed.

“Don’t play coy, I’m not dumb.” A wide teasing grin spread across her face.

“Ok, ANYWAY, what now?” I interjected, trying to change the subject. That caused her to laugh harder. Once her laughs subsided to a manageable level, she responded.

“Now we go find your man and surprise him. I haven’t told him you’re here yet. He’s filming right now. They should be wrapping for a break soon.” 

I followed Rylee down a long trail into a wooded area. We ended up near a large opening next to the river. I could see a lot of commotion up ahead where they were filming on the edge of the riverbank. We got close enough to watch, but far enough out of the way that I couldn’t be spotted. I didn’t want my sudden appearance to throw Dieter off.

They were filming a scene that included a heated exchange between several of the characters. It was amazing to watch him work. To see him turn the character on and off between takes was interesting. He could go from joking around and laughing to angry within seconds. I didn’t understand how he could do it so convincingly. On their third try, I noticed Dieter’s face shifted slightly mid-way through as one of the other male actors was speaking. It was an actual look of annoyance. He turned looking towards the director while everyone else looked confused. Someone called cut from the group behind the camera. Dieter looked back over at the other male actor, clearly frustrated.

“Can’t you just stick to the damn script? They told you to cut that shit out,” he said loudly to the other male actor.

It sounded like the guy responded with a comment about the lines feeling out of character. I couldn’t fully hear him since his back was facing our direction.

“If you have a problem with it, discuss it with the boss and the writers before we film. You're holding everyone up here.”

It looked like the guy may have flipped Dieter the bird, and I don’t think he meant it in the joking with your friends kind of way. Rylee looked at me and rolled her eyes, “That’s Tom. That guy has been a total douche. He thinks he’s more important than he actually is. He’s driving Dieter crazy with this stuff.”

“Yeah, he looks like a douche. Is Dieter always that direct with people?” I hadn’t noticed this before, but then again, I hadn’t been around him when he was working.

Rylee shook her head. “Can’t say I’ve witnessed it before, though I don’t blame him in this instance.” She hesitated for a moment. “He hasn’t been in the best mood though.”

We watched as they shot three more takes before a dinner break was announced. Everyone started to clear out of the area, except for one of the female actresses who approached Dieter. She was a petite brunette, and clearly attractive. She reached out to touch his upper arm as she spoke, obviously flirting with him. I couldn’t hear what she said, but Dieter looked at her with annoyance as he pulled his arm away and walked off. She didn’t look happy about his response, giving him a slight glare as she walked away with a huff.

I knitted my brows together over their exchange. Rylee noticed my expression.

“That’s been a whole thing. Chloe just won’t take a hint. Don’t worry, he’s been nothing but a dick to her.”

I laughed, “Well, maybe she’ll take the hint now that I’m here.”

I watched as Dieter wandered over to the edge of the riverbank, looking frustrated with his phone in hand. He seemed to be talking to himself, occasionally walking a few steps one way or the other with the device up in the air, like he was looking for a better signal. Rylee bumped her shoulder against mine.

“What are you waiting for? Go get your man before he loses his damn mind again over his phone not working.”

I chuckled before walking off in his direction, approaching him from behind. I could hear him muttering about his phone being a “piece of shit” as he tapped on the screen harder than necessary.

“What did that phone ever do to you?”

“It doesn’t fucking work half the time,” he replied curtly, his head bowed down as he continued to fiddle with the object of his frustration. A beat later, his fiddling paused as he raised his head, quickly turning toward me.

The instant his eyes locked with mine, he was moving, taking quick long strides over to me as the relief swept over his face. Before I knew it, he had wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and lifted me, spinning in a circle as he pressed his lips into mine with urgency. “Hi.” His voice croaked, somewhere between a gasp and a moan. I hugged him back around his neck as I returned the kiss with just as much enthusiasm. He lowered me to the ground, our embrace continuing with kisses between whispers of how much we had missed each other.

He pulled back, looking over my face as he reached to run his fingers through my hair. A small smile tugging at his lips.

My thumb traced the faint darkness under his eyes. I could see it even under all the makeup and dirt. My chest tightened at the thought of him not being able to sleep. I really hoped he wasn’t still having bad dreams, but I didn’t think he would tell me if he was.

We were brought back to reality when a few of the remaining crew members and Rylee started whopping and whistling at us, someone even yelling at us to get a room. We both burst out laughing but were also slightly embarrassed. I could already tell that being on the film set with Dieter was going to be an interesting experience.

He leaned into my ear, “How about we go somewhere a little more private?”

I nodded with a mischievous smile in return. We made a beeline for his trailer. Several people attempted to get his attention as he passed by, but he was having none of it. He waved them off and kept going, gently pulling me along as he held my hand.

We had barely made it into his trailer before he was kissing me and reaching for my belt buckle. I had to make him stop to shut the door properly behind him. It bounced back open twice before he finally gave it a couple of good tugs to fully latch it. He cursed at it under his breath while I laughed at him.

We undressed each other in record time before falling onto the bed in a mess of tangled limbs. Dieter settled in between my thighs as he reached down to rub between my folds. I grabbed his hand, stopping him as I shook my head.

“No, I need you now.”

He gave me a cocky grin as he moved to line himself up at my entrance. “As you wish.” He rested his forehead against mine as he entered slowly, giving me the opportunity to adjust to his size. Once he was in all the way, his movement briefly stilled, and a small whimper escaped his lips.

“I’ve missed you so fucking much, missed this, missed us.”

He kissed me deeply, his tongue tangling with mine as he started his movements again. His pace quickened, turning the sweet moment into one of raw need. Our sweaty bodies slid against each other as our movements became more frantic. We held on to each other tightly as his thrusts grew harder. We heard voices outside of the trailer, which briefly pulled our attention away from our activities. Dieter shook his head as if to dismiss it, then buried his face into my neck, muffling the noises he was making as he briefly covered my mouth with his hand to quieten the sounds still escaping my lips. I pulled his hand away and wrapped my legs around him as he resumed his quick, plunging movements. I could feel the tension building before coming undone around him. It took everything in me to stay quiet as I felt the rush of tingling electricity throughout my body. His thrusts grew more erratic as he felt me tighten around him. He soon spilled into me as he was rocked with his own orgasm. 

He collapsed beside me, trying to catch his breath. I rolled over and cuddled into his side as he wrapped his arms around me and buried his face into my hair. We sat in silence. Within minutes, his breathing started to deepen as he fell asleep. I didn’t dare move. I didn’t want to wake him.

Thirty minutes or so passed when I heard crackling over a radio from somewhere in the trailer giving a twenty-minute warning for filming to resume. The sound didn’t disturb Dieter in the slightest. He was out cold. I hated to wake him, but knew I needed to. It took several shakes, but he finally woke up grumbling as he hugged me tighter. He finally rolled out of bed, and I followed. We quickly got dressed and attempted to make ourselves presentable.

“You look like a hot fucking mess,” I said as I eyed the smeared makeup on his face. It looked more like he had smeared and streaked the dirt on his face with his fingers rather than just being naturally dirty. He looked in the mirror and sighed.

“Oh well. Shit happens,” he shrugged before pulling me in for another kiss. A ten-minute warning crackled on the radio, followed by a knock on the door. Dieter moved to open it, allowing Rylee inside. She entered, then stopped, looking us both over with a smirk on her face.

She started laughing and shaking her head as she looked at Dieter more closely. She turned to me, “I think you may be hair and makeup’s worst nightmare.”

We all shook with laughter at her remark. There was no hiding it at this point, might as well laugh about it. Once we contained ourselves, Rylee held out a small bag.

“I figured you wouldn’t make it over to eat, so I grabbed some food for you. Dieter, walk and eat please. We gotta go.” 

We thanked her as we headed out the door with sandwiches and drinks in hand. 

Rylee was right, Dieter was swarmed by hair and makeup as soon as he got back to the filming location, and they were giving him a hard time about it. I made a mental note to avoid his face and hair in the future, or at least try to.

Filming went well into the early morning hours. I spent most of my time either watching them film or with Rylee showing me around. Once they wrapped for the night, we briefly stopped in at Dieter’s trailer to grab my bags, then a car took us to the secluded resort about thirty minutes away where the cast and crew were staying. We showered to rid ourselves of the outdoors which led to our second and third rounds of sex before crashing. Dieter didn’t seem to have any trouble falling asleep that night as our naked bodies lay tangled under the fluffy down duvet.

The 7AM alarm came early when you only managed to get about four hours sleep. We spent a few minutes in bed, just enjoying each other’s company and showering each other in affection. That was soon interrupted by Reylee’s call to make sure Dieter was awake and not “dicking around” because our car would be there soon. She held nothing back. Her filter worked about as good as mine.

We had to scramble to get ready to leave but managed to make it on time. Rylee met us in the lobby with coffee and muffins, which I was thankful for. Dieter’s muffin set untouched during the ride as he looked over his script. Rylee reminded him at least three times to eat. I eventually grabbed the muffin and shoved it into his mouth, which took him off guard.

“Well, that’s one way to do it!” Rylee said as we both snorted through laughter. Dieter didn’t seem to find it as funny. He looked slightly annoyed but took it from me and ate while he continued to look over his script.

Once we arrived, he immediately went off to hair and makeup. I wandered around to find a decent cell signal so I could use my mobile hotspot to get a little bit of work done. I found a nice spot at the top of a hill where I had a view of everyone at work filming. The cell signal would come and go, and I could now understand Dieter’s earlier frustrations. It seemed the remote area we were in was in the middle of a dead zone.

During the lunch break, I sat with Rylee as Dieter spoke with the director and producer about some scenes they would be filming soon. He was in pure chaos mode, a bundle of hyped-up energy, talking a mile-a-minute about an idea he had.

“He seems to be in better spirits now that you’re here,” Rylee said to me as I watched him gesture wildly with his arms.

“He actually got some sleep last night; I think that’s helped.”

“Yeah, and got rid of some of that pent up tension too, I’m sure.”

Rylee smirked as she took a sip of her water. I raised an eyebrow as it took me a minute to realize what she was referencing. Once I caught on, I rolled my eyes at her.

“You’re incorrigible. You know that? I think your filter might be more broken than mine.”

She beamed, clearly proud of herself. She glanced down at her watch, checking the time. The break was almost over, and he was still talking while everyone else around him finished up lunch.

“I swear, if he doesn’t start eating, I’m gonna choke him. I’ll be right back.”

I watched as Rylee went over to grab a plate of food and deposited it in his hands, giving him a chastising look as he took it from her. It didn’t faze him, he held it as he continued to talk.

She came to sit back down beside me.

“Has that been an issue with him, not eating?”

“Oh yeah, he gets wrapped up in the ‘creative process’ and forgets to eat.”

“Has that always been a thing?”

“Yes and no. He seems a little worse than normal this time around. I just figured he was trying to keep himself busy, so he doesn’t think about being away from you.” 

I gave her a small smile but didn’t say anything. It bothered me that he was skipping meals because I knew how much that man loved food.

“He’s been fine otherwise though…right?”

I’m sure she could see the concern etched on my face.

“Yeah, I mean, I know he hasn’t been sleeping well, which isn’t really new. He’s been a little moody, but otherwise ok.”

I felt bad for even asking, but I had a feeling he wasn’t going to be completely honest with me if he was having a hard time.

Dieter finally ended his conversation and came over to straddle the bench seat facing me on my right side as he set his food down on the table. His left hand immediately came up to rest in my hair at the base of my neck to pull me in for a quick kiss. Rylee again reminded him to eat because he only had fifteen minutes left. He rolled his eyes and stuffed half a sandwich in his mouth with his right hand, giving her a sarcastic look. I leaned my head over onto his left shoulder while he continued to run his fingers through my hair. He carried on eating with his other hand, occasionally speaking to Rylee between bites. For the first time that morning, his chaotic energy finally seemed to ease down slightly.   

I was able to spend more time with Dieter that afternoon. He had a few breaks while they filmed scenes he wasn’t part of. We spent those breaks alone in his trailer. While a lot of that time included more intimate activities, we were perfectly content to just be in each other’s company while he went over the script or napped. Both of which he did while cuddled into my side as I ran my fingers through his curls and lightly scratched his scalp with my nails. He complained when I let him fall asleep because that meant he was losing time with me, but we both knew he needed it.

My third day went much like the previous. It was a routine we had settled into. Dieter’s overall mood seemed to have improved, and he looked more rested than he had when I first arrived. Rylee seemed happy about that since he was less grumpy and more compliant than he had been.

That evening, filming wrapped early. The cast and crew were planning to hit up a local bar to blow off some steam. Dieter wasn’t planning to go, but Rylee encouraged it. Mostly because she didn’t want to go alone. We humored her and said we would make an appearance, even though we both would have much rather been alone in our suite for the evening.

When we arrived, we found an open space at the bar. Dieter and Rylee took the two open bar stools while I opted to stand for a bit. Dieter sat facing me, with one arm leaned on the bar. I stood in between his open legs, leaning against his shoulder as his hand rested on my hip. Rylee ordered some sort of fruity mixed drink while we both asked for water. If he wasn’t going to drink, then I wasn’t either. Rylee surprisingly didn’t question it, which I appreciated.

There was a steady flow of cast and crew that came over to chat with us. They all seemed nice enough and were very welcoming toward me. Then there was Chloe…We had been there for about an hour when she made her way over to chat with Dieter. She was clearly a few drinks in as her speech was starting to slur slightly. She came up behind him, slowly snaking her arm around his shoulders while saying “hello handsome” in the best sultry voice she could muster. She did all this, even though he was sitting there with one of his arms around me. I felt him lean forward into me as he reached to remove her arm from his shoulder. I turned to meet her gaze, confused by her brazen actions. She stepped away, giving an obvious pout as she finally realized I was standing there. She tilted her head like she was trying to sort out a puzzle, then reached out her hand to shake mine.

“I’m Chole, I don’t think we’ve met. Are you like his sister or something?”

The look of shock and confusion that Rylee, Dieter, and I gave her had to be almost comical. Was she really that dumb or just being a bitch? Based on the clueless stare she was giving me; I was going with dumb.

Rylee muttered, “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” just loud enough that I could hear her over the loud background music. Dieter leaned forward, trying his hardest not to laugh.

“No, definitely not my sister. That would make all the sex we’ve had the last three days a little weird. She’s actually the love of my life and the only woman I’m currently interested in.”

He gave her a wide smile. It took everything I had in me to control the laughter that was threatening to burst out. Rylee nearly choked on her drink and made no attempts to hide her giggles.

Chloe’s eyes grew large as she took in his response. Her cheeks tinged with red. She gave a tight smile, nodding in understanding before she awkwardly turned to walk away. All three of us burst out laughing.

“I cannot believe you said that to her,” I said to Dieter through my chuckles.

“Just trying to get the point across. The girl is not good at picking up hints.” He sighed, still looking amused, but it was clear that her behavior had been bothering him for a while now. “She probably won’t remember it tomorrow anyway.”

Dieter got up to go to the bathroom, so I took his seat. Rylee and I continued to chat as she turned her back to the bar to look over the crowd, expressing her dismay over the lack of suitable options for a one-night stand. I sat facing her, leaning on the bar with my head propped on my hand, laughing at the disgusted look on her face. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Tom and a group of guys at the end of the bar. They were very obviously looking our way, their lingering eyes occasionally being a bit too blatant. Internally, I was rolling my eyes and hoping they didn’t cause any trouble. I was startled by Dieter speaking up loudly from behind me, his voice tense and words clipped.

“The fuck you looking at?”

I turned to face him; he was clearly looking in the direction of Tom’s group. I didn’t see their reaction, but Dieter seemed satisfied after a moment as I reached to grab at his shirt and pull him over to me. I was attempting to distract him to avoid any further drama.

“Don’t pay any attention to them, they’re clearly drunk.”

He couldn’t stop a huff falling from his lips as his arms slid around my waist, eyes focused on mine. “Yeah well, they don’t need to be staring at you two like that,” he muttered.

“Don’t worry about it D., I think we can handle them,” Rylee added with a serious tone.

After a short while, the group got up and left the bar area. Dieter followed them with his eyes as they retreated to the upstairs area of the establishment. Once they were gone, he visibly relaxed within a few minutes, seeming to have forgotten about the exchange. He continued to chat with some crew members sitting close to us as Rylee pulled me out to dance. I felt a little out of my element. I was typically a few drinks in before I ever took to the dance floor, but I tried to let loose a little and have fun with her. I could see Dieter still seated at the bar, keeping a close eye on us, and occasionally smiling at our antics when our eyes met.

We were a few songs in when I felt someone come up behind me and wrap their arms around my waist. I immediately stiffened because I knew it wasn’t Dieter. When I turned to push them away, I saw it was one of the guys who had been in Tom’s group earlier. This was not going to go well. I tried my hardest to get rid of him before Dieter noticed, but he absolutely would not go away and only continued to get more handsy as I continued to resist. Rylee stepped in to intervene and he pushed her away, before grabbing onto my ass. I pushed away again, more roughly this time as I moved to walk away. When I turned, Dieter was right there in front of me, his eyes blazing with anger. Rylee and I had to step in to block him as he was about to throw a punch at the guy's face.

“Hey, hey, hey. Stop. Stop it!” I yelled as I hooked my arm around his when he was mid swing. There was no doubt in my mind that he could take the guy, but a fight was the last thing he needed. Especially with how short his fuse already seemed to be lately. Rylee was pushing backwards on Dieter’s chest while he yelled obscenities at the guy, who just stood there with a smug look on his face. It clearly only enraged Dieter more, causing him to keep pushing back against us to get to the guy.

“Dieter, stop it! It’s ok, I’m ok.”

“It’s not fucking ok. He has no right to touch you like that.”

“No, he doesn’t but we can deal with it another way. Just not like this, please.”

“You can kiss your fucking job goodbye. Don’t even show up tomorrow,” Dieter yelled toward the guy who shouted a quick, “Fuck you,” back at him.

Rylee and I pushed him toward the exit. Once outside, she called for our driver to pick us up. Dieter took off without a word and headed down the street, taking long strides as he seemed oblivious to his surroundings. The set of his shoulders was tense and tight, and I noticed his hands clench into fists repeatedly as he got further away from us. I moved to follow him, but Rylee stopped me.

“Just give him a minute.” 

I bit my lip as I watched him disappear from sight. I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. “Does he always fly off the handle like that?” I knew the answer before I had finished asking the question. During the time we had spent together in the past several months, I had never seen him respond in that way. He had never attempted to hit anyone or verbally attack them with anger. As pissed as he was when we ran into Justin, he stayed perfectly calm through that entire exchange.

“Like that? No. But I assume it’s just because it had to do with you,” Rylee responded.

A few minutes later our car pulled up and Dieter still hadn’t returned. We instructed the driver to head in the same direction he had walked earlier, hoping that we would find him. I spotted him sitting on a bench with his head in his hands and told our driver to pull over. Once the car was parked, I got out and walked over to the bench, taking a seat next to him. When he didn’t look up, I started rubbing slow circles on his back with my hand.

“You ok?”

He shook his head from side to side before sitting up straight, inhaling deeply as he looked around at nothing. His face was tense. I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or distress. He wouldn’t look at me.

“Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

He shook his head from side to side again while trying to control his breathing. His leg started to bounce as he continued to stare, unblinking, the dissociation palpable in the air. I felt like he was fighting off a panic attack. After hesitating for a moment, I stood up and climbed onto his lap, my legs straddling his thighs. I forced him to look at me, grabbing one of his hands and holding it to my chest as his eyes locked with mine. With my free hand, I reached for the hair at the base of his neck and rubbed him gently, just like I had done after the Anna incident. Immediately his body language changed, and I felt him lean into my touch, a barely audible sigh escaping from his lips.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

He shook his head slowly, searching for words. “I just… couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. I dunno. I think I blacked out for a minute.” He looked away as another sigh broke free from him. “I don’t even know what just happened.”

I pulled him in and hugged tightly around his shoulders. He buried his face into the crook of my neck as his breathing slowed. He held onto me tightly. I could feel the occasional twitching in his right hand.

“I’m sorry, I know I could’ve handled that differently,” he said eventually, his breath warm against the curve of my shoulder. “I just kinda snapped when I saw him grab you like that.”

I pulled back to look at him, running my fingers through the side of his hair.

“You’re fine. I understand why you were upset.” I leaned in, giving him a lingering kiss on his lips, then rubbed my nose against his.

“How about we head back to the resort and forget about this mess.”

He let out a small sigh before nodding in agreement. He stood as he kept his hand pressed against the small of my back, lifting me with him before gently depositing my feet on the ground. I took his hand, leading him in the direction of where the car had parked. 

True to his word, Dieter made a few calls the next morning before we got to set. The guy, whose name turned out to be Craig, was fired. They didn’t want someone like that around, for obvious reasons.

We fell back into our routine after the incident at the bar. My remaining days with Dieter were passing by quickly, which only seemed to bring his mood down. He was spending less time preparing for filming and more time with me during his breaks. We never spoke of how much time we had left, but I could tell it was always at the forefront of his mind. It was clear in the way he would cling to me when we were alone, how he would also avoid any conversation about when I would eventually be flying home. I had given up on getting any of my remote work done during the last two days; the work mattered, but faded in importance compared to being present there with him. On top of that, the cell signal issues persisted, so I opted to take some time off for those days instead. It meant I got more time to watch Dieter in action. I was able to be near him, just off camera the entire time. He took full advantage of my presence between takes, coming over for an affectionate touch or kiss when he was able.

On the morning of my flight to LA, he woke me before either of our alarms went off. I had barely opened my eyes before I felt his hands roam over my body, his lips soft and warm as he trailed kisses down my neck from behind. Once I turned over towards him, his motions turned near frantic almost immediately as he met my lips for a deep kiss, his fingers sliding between my thighs where he found I was ready for him. Our kisses were urgent, our touches insistent. It was almost like we couldn’t get close enough. With the quick pace that he set from the beginning, neither of us lasted long. As soon as he felt me coming undone, he followed. He stayed propped above me, with his elbows on either side of my head, kissing me in between brief moments of letting his eyes dance across my face. I could feel him lightly threading my hair through his fingers. 

“I’m not sure how many more times I can tell you goodbye like this. I fucking hate it.” His brows knitted together as he spoke. The emotion was clear on his face. He looked like he was about to break. I reached up to tangle my hands in his messy curls.

“I know baby, I do too. It’s just for four weeks though, then you get to come home for a few days.”

I tried my hardest to sound positive, but every fiber of my being was screaming in protest. Something felt off. Something was telling me to stay with him. I felt a tear slide down the side of my face while I fought with those emotions. I knew I was just being irrational because I didn’t want to be away from him. He wiped the tear away with his thumb and leaned down to kiss me, gently.

We were interrupted by the alarm on his phone going off. He reached over to grab it from the nightstand with a protesting groan as he pulled out of me. He turned the alarm off and set the phone next to my head as he settled above me again, continuing to kiss me deeply. But once again we were interrupted by his phone; it was Rylee with her usual morning call to make sure he was awake. He finally sat up to answer it. I could hear her reminding him of my flight details before he cut her off to say we had it all under control and he would see her later. He wasn’t usually so terse with her, so it surprised me a little. After he hung up, he let out a loud sigh and got up to go toward the shower. 

I sat in bed a little longer before joining him, taking a moment because I could feel the panic rising in my chest. The little voice in my head kept screaming at me to stay with him. I needed to pull it together, for him. Me being upset was only going to make him more anxious. I finally drug myself up out of the bed to go shower. We both rushed to get ready. He had to leave before I did, but I still needed to pack up.

When I came out of the bathroom after drying my hair and getting dressed, Dieter was sitting at the edge of the bed with his elbows propped on his knees and palms rubbing at his eyes. When he looked up at me, his eyes were red and glossy.

“My car is here.”

I inhaled a deep breath and gave him a nod as I walked toward him. I pulled him into a tight hug.

“You’re gonna be so busy, the time will fly by. You probably won’t even notice I’m gone,” I said into his neck. He scoffed.

“I think we both know that’s not true.”

I gave him a tight smile as I pulled away to look him in the eye, “You call me when you’re having a hard time, yeah?”

He looked down and away from me as he gave me a small nod. His phone pinged, no doubt it was Rylee telling him to hurry it up. He leaned in for one last kiss before leaving.

I stood for some time, staring at the door I had just watched close behind him. I kept having a feeling in the pit of my stomach that this might be the last time I would see him, and it was freaking me out. It took everything in me to push those thoughts away so that I could focus on packing and making my flight.

In the days that followed, he called every time he was able, but most of our communication was done via text message. Which I knew he absolutely hated. About a week after I got home, there was a full day that I didn’t hear from him. I started to get a little worried, until I got a text message from Rylee later that evening saying that Dieter’s phone was broken, and he would call me from her phone later.       

It was near midnight when my phone finally rang. I had been lying in bed for an hour, wide awake, hopeful that he was going to call. I know the relief had to be obvious in my voice when I answered.

“Please tell me you didn’t throw your phone into the river because it wouldn’t work.”

Dieter laughed, “No, actually I threw it at a stone wall because it wouldn’t work. It’s in pieces.”

I was a little taken aback by his response. I had only been joking.

“Dieter, that’s a little excessive.”

“Yeah, but it made me feel better for a few minutes.” He cleared his throat, voice slightly hoarse as fatigue laced through his words. “Until I realized I couldn’t text or call you at all after that.”

I wasn’t sure how to react to that. It seemed a little out of character for him.

“Rylee ordered another phone for me. It should be here tomorrow.”

“Well, at least you’ll get a replacement quickly.”

“Yeah, I’ll try to not break this one,” he said with a small laugh.

His voice sounded off. I wasn’t sure why, but it did.

“Are you doing ok?”

He took a moment to respond and I heard him gulp down something to drink. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I’m fan-fucking-tastic.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

“No. I’m fine.” More drinking sounds, then a sigh. “I mean, I miss you and I’m tired. That’s nothing new though.”

The phone disconnected with a beep. I got a text a minute later.

DIETER: Sorry, lost fucking signal again. Talk to you tomorrow. Love you.

“This fucking sucks,” I huffed out loud to myself. I sent him a quick goodnight text and tried to go to sleep. 

In the weeks that followed, I could tell something was going on with Dieter when he would call. He always insisted that he was fine, and it was just all the usual things bothering him. However, he seemed to be growing more distant. The calls and texts were becoming fewer and farther between. It was making me beyond anxious. I was having a hard time focusing on anything, including work. I spent a lot of my time alone, staring at the tv without having any idea what was happening on the screen. I avoided talking to Lauren and Gabby because I knew they would sense something was up, and I wasn’t sure where to even begin explaining my concerns without violating his privacy.

After going a day and a half without hearing from him, I called Rylee to see if he was ok. She said he was normal during filming. Maybe even a little more excitable and obnoxious than usual. She added that he did seem somewhat withdrawn when it was just the two of them though. I asked her to call me if things didn’t improve with him. He was due to come home for a break in one week, so I was hopeful he would snap out of whatever funk he was in.  

Around 10 PM that same evening, my phone lit up with an incoming call from Rylee. I suddenly felt sick. I knew something was wrong.

“Rylee?”

It took a moment before I heard her voice, as static and background noises seemed to drown her out at first. “Ummm, so Dieter is absolutely losing his shit on Tom right now. Do you think you can try to calm him down?” I had never heard Rylee truly agitated, but this time her voice was tense, laced with panic and concern.

My heart felt like it was beating in my throat as I gripped the phone tighter. “I can try- yes, of course. What happened?”

The screaming of two men in the background became louder, as if the phone was turned towards their direction, and I wondered if that was Rylee’s way of offering some further insight.

“Why can’t you just do what you’re fucking told? You’re gonna get someone fucking killed doing that shit,” Dieter yelled, his voice loud and distressed, the sound of it immediately conjuring up a visual of him with clenched fists and dark eyes like he had been that night at the bar.

“Fuck you man, go have a drink and calm the fuck down,” Tom spat back at him.  

“Fuck you dude, she just almost got hurt because of you. You’re an asshole,” Dieter said with indignation.

“Guys! Stop yelling. Take a break,” a third male voice interrupted.

“I don’t know, something about a stunt that didn't go well. I didn’t see it, so I’m not sure. Hold on.”

I could hear Rylee trying to get Dieter’s attention away from Tom, telling him I was on the phone.

“Did you fucking call her?” He sounded pissed and combative, which was not a tone he normally took with her.

She didn’t answer his question. “Talk to her please.”

I could hear the phone jostling around before he answered, his voice still sounding gruff, “Yeah, what is it?”

“What is it?” For a moment I was stunned and didn’t know how to respond at how he snapped at me. “That’s how you're answering? What’s going on?”

He ignored my question and instead fired off one of his own, tension in his words. “Did she call you?”

I hesitated. I didn’t want to get Rylee in trouble.

“No, I called because I haven’t heard from you in almost two days. I wanted to check in.”

He scoffed. “Check in? I’m a grown ass man, I don’t need you two babysitting me.”

“Whhaa? No. That’s…that’s not what I…”

“Look, I’m busy,” he interrupted me before I could say more. “The stunt coordinator needs me. I’ll call you later.”

I was shocked into silence. I didn’t know how to respond. He had never spoken to me like that before.

Rylee got back on the phone, sounding clearly uncomfortable as she must have overheard Dieter. “Heeeey, umm. I don’t even know what to say. That was weird.”

“I don’t know what to say either. I think… I’m gonna come back up there. Maybe it’s because he’s not sleeping.”

Rylee seemed to sigh in relief, but quickly recovered. “I’ll get a flight set up for you.”

“No, I can do that. Just, keep him out of trouble. I’ll see if I can get one for tomorrow.”

We hung up after that. I had to take a minute to pull myself together. I couldn’t let myself fall apart right now. Once I had a minute to gather my thoughts, I walked to my home office and fired up my desktop so I could start looking at flights. It was near 1:30 AM when my phone started ringing on my desk, it was Dieter. I was honestly surprised that he called.

“Hello.”

“Hey.”

“Hey.”  

I wasn’t sure what to say to him after our earlier exchange. I was hurt and upset with him. For a moment there was silence between us, but then Dieter cleared his throat as he finally spoke.

“I think we need to talk.”

I had that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt like I was going to be sick. Those words were never good.

“I just booked a flight”, I said, trying to not grip the phone even harder than I was already doing, just to have something to hold on to. “I’m gonna come back up there tomorrow.”

“I don’t want you to do that.” His voice was tight as he strained to get the words out. It almost hurt me to listen. He didn’t sound right, not like this. Not like the Dieter I had known over the past months.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t think this is working. It’s…”, he seemed to search for words. I could hear him moving things around; something scraping over a hard surface, the sound of ice cubes in a glass. “It’s a burden and it's inconvenient. Just don’t waste your time.” His speech sounded slightly slurred.

I took a deep breath to calm myself as I leaned my forehead against my hand that was propped on my desk. “Dieter. Don’t do this…please. Have you been drinking?”

“That doesn’t matter. I told you; I don't need you to babysit me.”

“I’m not, I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on with you.”

He took a deep breath as if bracing himself. “Look, where we’re filming, you’re not gonna be able to work,” he said, words rushing this time. “Aubrey isn’t gonna keep putting up with you taking time off. It’s not gonna work. It’s just not working.”

“What does that even have to do with anything?”

“Nothing, it just compounds the problem.” I could hear ice clinking against glass followed by him swallowing gulps of a beverage.

I shook my head, frustration and fear both thumping hard within my chest. “And what is the problem exactly?”

“We’re incompatible. We shouldn’t have to rearrange our lives to be together. It’s not fair to either of us.”

“What happened to doing whatever it takes to make this work?”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure I said I’d do whatever it takes to make you happy and I am,” he nearly snapped at me, following it up with some words in Spanish that sounded like a curse. “You’ll thank me for it later.”

“No, you said you were all in for this. You’re just gonna give up because it’s hard? Because it's a fucking burden to you?”, I said in disbelief. I leaned back in my chair, shaking my head. I could feel anger bubbling to the surface at his comment. “You think it’s been easy for me? I thought we were in this together. Why do you think you get to choose for me? Let me come up there so we can talk through this.”

“You’re not listening, I don’t have time for you right now.”

“Are you using drugs or something?”

“Why does everyone keep fucking asking me that?!?!”, he yelled in frustration. I could hear him throwing things around in the background. “No, I haven’t used drugs in a long fucking time. I’m completely aware of what I’m doing and saying.”

“Maybe it has to do with the way you're acting. Did you ever consider that? And I’m sorry for fucking caring.”

“Look, I don’t know what else to say. It’s not working, ok? We tried and it didn’t work. There are better options that are less work. No more burdens or inconveniences.” He sucked in a deep breath. “I need you out of my mind. There’s too much going on with it. It’s a burden.”

He just kept talking in circles. Half of it sounded like nonsense.

“What are you even saying? You’re not making sense.”

“I’m saying we’re done,” he interrupted me, his words sharp and feeling like they were stabbing right into my heart. “I can’t do it anymore. Does that make sense?”

I inhaled sharply, realizing he was set on his decision. My head was pounding, too many moments flashing through my mind as I tried to hold it together. I tried to sort out my thoughts to understand how we suddenly had gotten to this, and how to get through to him without being pushed away.  

“Why did you have to find me? I would’ve been fine if you’d just let me fucking go after New York,” I finally whispered.

My voice shook as I spoke. The tears started to fall from my eyes in a way that I had never before experienced. My vision was completely blurred by it. Dieter had gone silent on the other end of the phone, so quiet that I could barely hear him breathe. The line hadn’t disconnected, so I knew he was still listening. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of hearing me fall apart, so I hung up.

I stood, making my way to the bedroom. I crawled into bed and bawled my eyes out. I did so until the early morning glow started to show around the edges of the curtains. When I realized the new day was making itself known, I felt livid that I stayed up all night crying over him. Determined to find sleep, I got up and went to the kitchen in search of alcohol. I knew I had a few bottles hidden away. I found what I was looking for shoved to the back of one of the upper cabinets. I went straight for the hard liquor. Taking a few swings as I headed back to bed. I didn’t plan on getting wasted, I just wanted enough to knock me out so I didn’t have to think about him anymore. I settled back into bed and shot Aubrey a quick text to let her know I was going to take a few days off. I gave no explanation, and she didn’t question me. Once the alcohol had time to kick in, slowing my racing thoughts and helping me relax, I finally fell asleep.  

A/N: All right ya'll... so that happened. Our sweet Dieter is officially in full spiral mode and it's about to get a little crazy for both of them.

Questions to consider:

What do you think is going on with Dieter?

How are we feeling about his behavior?

How long do you think this spiral has been building?

How do you think Talia is going to handle this turn of events?

How are you feeling about the new characters? (Rylee, Tom, Chole)

Predictions?

Once you have had a minute to digest and share your thoughts for this chapter, jump on over to this post for part one of Deconstructing Dieter Bravo. This is a companion series I plan to do for the remaining chapters so that we can get a little more insight into what's going on in that mind of his. 😉

The chapter playlist and mood board are included below.

Next Chapter

Tag List: @rhoorl @bitchwitch1981 @readingiskeepingmegoing @runningmom94 @for-a-longlongtime @hisandsnakes @chaoticfestninja @survivingandenduring @partyofone3413 @cakipy-blog @pedrostories @titlee78 @poodlebae @guelyury @weho2kcmo

Let me know in the comments below if you would like to be added to the tag list.

[gloster]

FAVORITE FANFICS OF 2023

We did it. We made it. We made it through the end of 2023, and BOY AM I HAPPY AS HELL TO SAY GOOD-FUCKING-BYE TO IT. I don't know about you guys, but this year- particularly the last quarter- have been a lot to say the least. A lot of headaches, a lot of mental breakdowns, a lot of emotional gymnastics, and more.

But thanks to good friends, good shows, good music, and of course good fanfics I managed to see it through the end.

One of my favorite New Year's Eve's traditions where I do my annually fanfic recs/favorite fanfics of the year. This marks a whooping 5th year doing it, YAY 🎉💃🏿 If interested, check out 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 lists.

Please know there's no real ranking, despite the number ordering. Loved all these stories listed. Loved all the fanfics writers featured. And of course highly highly highly recommend

Without further ado, here are my favorite fanfics of 2023:

1). Something Good by @no-net-ensnares-me (kathony/kanthony)

Summary: Eager to earn a wage that would provide a more suitable life for her family and prepare for Edwina’s debut in a couple years, Kate accepts a position as governess for the Bridgerton family and moves to London, where she finds herself thrown into the chaos of living with the severe yet handsome Viscount Anthony Bridgerton and his seven siblings.

or

The Sound of Music AU

The Hills are aliiiiiiiiiiiiive with the sound of music/and the feels are FEEEEEEEEEELT with each new chapter. LOL, but all jokes aside, yes it's been a year since we saw our dear Viscount and Viscountess yet I still ride hard for them like it's their season premire all over again. Thanks of course to the awesome fic writers who keep us well-feed as we wait for season 3, such as this gem right here

Seriously, I cannot stress how insanely good this was. A good retelling where you see elements of Sound of Music while also being its' own thing. The longing, the longing between Kate and Anthony is so good. READ IT.

2). A Devil's Love by FormerlyIR (Irony_Rocks), Irony_Rocks (kathony/kanthony)

Summary: When Kate's sister goes missing, she gets herself a waitress job at the Pebble Lounge to track her down, working under London’s seedy underbelly to find the only person she has left in this world to love. And Anthony Bridgerton? No matter how alluring and distracting he may be, he’s just a means to an end, his life defined by his family business built on corruption.

Kate won’t dance to that tune. She’s just trying to find her sister.

Two in a row. A win for kathony/kanthony. Where the first one for the most part is cozy and light, this one is dark. Not surprising since this story, according to the author, was inspired by the 2022's The Batman, focusing on the electric dynamic between our favorite Bruce and Selina Kyle. Or rather in this AU, the dynamics between a dangerous mob boss and a woman going undercover as a waitress to figure out what happened to her sister.

It's got everything. Protective/possessive Anthony. Stubborn, witty Kate. Great sexual tension. Fair warning, there is an unplanned pregnancy so keep that in mind. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride

3). Intent to Cherish by iffervescent (kinn x porsche)

Summary: A mouthy beta runs off with Kinn's watch. He goes to get it back.

4 chapters this story is. 4 chapters of hilarious back and forth. 4 chapters of Porsche keeping that stubborn streak in tact with Kinn trying to chip his way through. 4 chapters we get to watch Porsche go from intriguing thief, to Kinn's employee, and finally intended.

This story checks off so many boxes. ABO AU, which is always a favorite. Sugar Baby and Sugar Daddy dynamic- never get tired of that. And of course Porsche being spoiled rotten. What more could you want?

4). burnt cotton series by taetaehland (taekook)

Summary: here's a series featuring your favorite bratty taehyung and his whipped husband, jeongguk (plus their adorable pups)

Once again, we got ABO and we so far have 11 stories of it featuring our favorite BTS as they grow more of their little family, grow more in love, and of course Tae growing more crafty and poor Kookie growing more insane. I love it.

Not to mention seeing all the ways Jungkook becomes more and more whipped for his husband is just the icing on the cake.

5). 'Tis a Far Better Thing by @the-sinking-ship (drarry)

Summary: 'Tis a far, far better thing doing stuff for other people — or however the Muggle saying goes — because Potter is in need of professional help, and Draco is just the man to give it to him.

A Drarry Clueless AU.

Sometimes you come across two things, such as two fandoms that on the surface seem so far farfetched until one ambitious fic writer creates a story that combines elements of the two and creates a wonderful gem of a story. Which is exactly what happened here.

Draco Malfoy and Cher Horowitz are so much alike, it's not even funny. Thus enhancing my enjoyment for this story to outright love love loving.

Again, elements to a famous story that brings on the nostalgia and enjoyment while also being it's own fresh spin. Plus FASHION. Draco as a Fashion Designer with Harry being his newest client. Along with Draco massively simping- always a win in my book.

6). Tracklist by Mia_Moon (sukuita/sukuIta)

Summary: Singer Sukuna x Fanboy Yuuji

Where they do kinky stuff together first and then get to know each other later.

Sometimes you have that fandom with an OTP that's set and your loyal ride or ship. Then there are other fandoms, where you love most of the characters, see the chemistry between them, love the dynamics, and it's fair game for shipping season. Jujutsu Kaisen is one of those fandoms, and sukita/sukulta was one of those ships that I just ended up falling in love with it.

Listen. Listen. Listen. I know the synopsis just give smutty smutty good time, but you get that and MORE.

What more you say be asking? Well, for starter our dear boy Yuuji who gets spoiled rotten, pampered, and yes, also gets sexed up 7 ways to Sunday- featuring some of the hottest smut I've read so far might I add. Mia_Moon did their thing, and I definitely will be reading more of and more of their works.

I don't know why to explain it, but there's something about a celebrity AU, where we have one half of the ship be this famous celeb and the other being this outsider getting pulled into their world. I ate it up every single time.

7). I'm Only Going to Heaven (If it Feels Like Hell) by stereobone (eruri)

Summary: "Are you saying you want to be my sugar daddy?" Levi says.

This story, I kid you not, came at the best timing, especially as I still try to untangle my very tangled feelings regarding the final season of Attack of Titan. But one positive that came outta it was my ulitmate love for Levi Ackerman, along with rekindling my love for eruri.

Good to note, one of the quickest quickest ways for me to immediately read a fanfic is if I see the keywords: Sugar Daddy.

What can I say? It gets me everytime. And this one was no different. This story not only came to my radar at the perfect time, but it also was just so damn perfect. So damn good. And of course had me looking through whatever other eruri stories the writer had under their belt.

8). Minor Family Supremacy by @yoonmoonbii (vegaspete, kinnporsche,payurain, prapaisky)

Summary: Like Vegas, Venice Theerapanyakun was born into a dangerous world of crime and power plays. And unlike Vegas, he is well protected by his family who shelters the little boy and spoils him to the core. However, in a day like every other, Venice is kidnapped.

Oh dear lord, where do we begin with this one? Well, much as 2023 was a hot flaming mess, it also became the year of Love of the Air (my new comfort show) and Kinnporsche. For not only me but also for my dear friends @littlenightdragon & @kila09. And what does one do after getting into a new show/fandom? Find fanfics to satisfy the fangirl cravings.

Minor Family Supremacy, or as me and @littlenightdragon often like to call it, the Minor Family Saga was the fanfic for us. And deliver what we needed after finishing Kinnporsche and wanted more of Vegas, more of Pete, and see the other side of the Minor Family.

This one, massive massive props, praise, and all the kudos for @yoonmoonbii for putting this series together because wow. Series starts off with Payu aka Venice as a kid, best friends with his cousin Prapai, being protected by his loving parents until one day changes their dynamics forever- and further widen the gap between the two . But quickly as each story goes on, the two find themselves being more aware of their positions, the complicated histories of their families, and how to stay on course of their own lives without falling into the trappings of Korn's narcisstic chesse game.

It's that good. Each story is like a TV season to the vegaspete spin-off we were so badly owed and sadly weren't granted.

9). Haute Couture, Mon Amour by @goldentruth813 (sheith)

Summary: When a scruffy stranger walks into Mamora Designs, personal shopper Shiro decks him in finery instead of sending him away. Little does Shiro know there’s more to this man than meets the eye and while trying to give him a picture perfect moment he just might find his own instead.

When it comes to @goldentruth813, you can count on several things. Amazing sheith stories. Incredible moments that will make your heart swoon or flutter (depending on the rating). And of course for Shiro to be spoiled rotten and given more depth than the show did.

This one, one word: FASHION. Fashion, fashion, with a lot of a Cinderella-ish vibe, only slightly if you catch it.

Honorable mention:

Wishing on a Frat Boy

10). He's The Bride by @sashadistan (tododeku)

Summary: Fae Prince Shoto has been waiting his whole life to marry his betrothed. As it turns out, a few interesting details were lost in translation, but Shoto still thinks his bride is worth the wait.

Oh @sashadistan, how I adore thee. For the way you just drop these amazing stories for us peasants, feeding us with wonderful content one story at a time. I always love your stories whether it's sheith, tododeku, and more.

This one was no different. This story has everything I could want: Fae Shouto, possessive Shouto, body worship, Izuku being his stuttering and flustering mess, and arranged marriage.

If y'all told me 5 or so years ago, I'd get into arranged marriage, I would have been dumbfounded. Or wonder if you were trying to be funny. Now? I love it. Just goes to show that sometimes it takes a good writer to make something you don't like a win in your eyes.

And now for the Honorable Mentions that were insanely good but due to time & length, couldn't go into full depth:

Just Breathe by @icecream-suga (2 part series w/1st part focusing on yoonmin & the 2nd on taekook; gangsters, drugs, gunplay, OH MY. So goooooood)

Right at Home by cmere (firstprince, alex x henry; grad students in a non-royal AU, fake-dating, and hijinks)

Hair Ribbons and Silk Ties by writer_of_passion (tiana x nanami/tianami; loving husband goes bonkers seeing his wife's curls loose and it GOES DOWN, so so so good)

Bedroom Hymns by Writcraft (drarry; daddy kink w/dom & sub undertones, insanely HOTTT)

Like, Comment, and Romance by @xskyll (tododeku; Youtuber Deku, pro-Hero Shouto, mutual longing and pining wrapped in a insanely fun read)

And there you have it. As usual, thanks to the awesome fanfic writers who do what they do. Fanfics, literally, is the only thing keeping us sane. And please check out all these stories.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS

[imshii-kin]

Echoes of Devotion’

A Ninjago Story

Yandere Kai Smith x Male Reader

A sneak peek into something I’m working on. This is a rough, rough draft.

Summary: An over worked traveling doctor who just moved back into the trouble infested city named Ninjago because of a job offer with Borg Tech. meets fiery hot headed ninja while a random villain attacks the city?

What could possibly go wrong?

Yesterday, today, tomorrow, They are not consecutive. They are connected in a never-ending circle, Everything is Connected

- The Stranger

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The sound of traffic filled the night air, a strange calmness settling over the usually rampant city. M/n sits outside on the apartment fire escape, his legs dangling over the edge as he gazes at the sleepless city.

It was late summer, the air was hot with excitement and life, no one could sleep on nights like these.

M/n had heard all kinds of stories about Ninjago City since he moved, from snake attacks to Overlord takeovers, this city has been through it all. Resting his head on the fire escape railing, M/n allows his eyes to close, peacefully enjoying the night air.

Nights like these temporarily make M/n forget about his troubles, a moment of escape before he inevitably gets dragged down again by the reality of his situation.

A soft buzzing interrupts M/n's thoughts, pulling him back to reality. M/n pulls his phone out and flips it open to check the caller.

"Dad..." M/n's expression softens a bit as he sees the familiar face of his father, an older gentleman with peppered hair and a wise old look in his hazelnut eyes.

M/n accepts the call, gingerly putting the phone up to his ear. "Dad? What are you doing calling me at this hour?" M/n's voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

He patiently listened to the call, nodding now and then.

"I don't mind, I'm right next to the coffee shop, I can pick up a few pastries for you and Mom for tomorrow." M/n reassures his father. "I'll let you go and start heading over there now."

M/n hangs up the phone, silence blessing him once more. He pauses momentarily, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, before standing up and leaving the fire escape.

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜

M/n travels down the street, making his way to the local coffee shop. Eternal Espresso Emporium was its name, it was open 24 hours, which was something M/n could appreciate.

Reaching the small cafe, M/n quietly enters the shop, the bell atop the door ringing softly, announcing his presence. There was no one there except the barista, a young girl by the look of it.

Approaching the girl, wallet in hand, M/n's eyes glance over the pastries on display. "...I'll take three Pain au Chocolat please." He softly spoke, "And a lavender latte." lazily, his eyes drifted up to the girl, who was staring at him with a faint blush in her cheeks.

"Is something wrong?" M/n asks. The barista jolts in surprise, "Oh-! Um no- sorry," her cheeks glow red from embarrassment as she quickly turns to prepare his order.

M/n raised a brow but lets it go, deciding to take a closer look around the shop instead. The place was small but cozy, warm lights hung from the ceiling which was decorated with fake leaves, all of which were some shade of orange, yellow, and red.

The place sort of gave a cozy autumn feeling. The tables were made from wood, resembling tree trunks, and couches with yellow and copper color schemes accompanied the tables.

"Here's your order sir." M/n looked back over to the barista who was now holding a small box and a well-decorated coffee box. "Ah, right, thank you." He takes the box and coffee out of the employee's hand.

There's another ring, alerting everyone that someone else has entered the shop. M/n looks over, curious about who else was here this late at night.

A dark red hoodie was the first thing M/n saw.

The boy had warm brown hair that was spiked, it was odd but strangely fit him. His eyes were a reddish brown around his pupil with a darker chocolate brown color surrounding it. He had a scar on his eyebrow, giving him a rough look, as well as a few other scars on his hands.

"I'm here for a pickup under Kai." The boy in the red hood announced.

[teaberrii]

Chapter Two: All it Takes is a Kiss

Alhaitham has the looks and the smarts. He will also be the stand-in CEO for his grandfather's company for a year.

But, he's been mysteriously cursed to turn into a cat every night since his eighteenth birthday… until he meets you, an employee at his grandfather's company, who rescues him as a cat and changes him back with one kiss.

Alhaitham/You

Notes:

Cross-posted on AO3

Female reader

Chapter index at the end of chapter one

You return to your apartment, and Alhaitham becomes cautious about his actions. You gently set him on the couch; he sits and looks around. He isn’t sure what he’s expecting, but from your decor and belongings, you like to live a simple life. Minimalistic. Not a lot of colour. Cozy. Homey. It seems like you live on your own.

He’s still taking in his surroundings when he sees you walking toward your bedroom. But what makes him immediately turn away is when you start taking off your clothes for a shower… he thinks.

You leave your room with your pyjamas draped on your arm, wearing nothing but lingerie. You see the cat with its butt facing you on the couch, and you raise a brow in amusement. Alhaitham slowly turns, but as soon as he sees you again, he turns away.

What a strange cat.

But then again, you aren’t sure if this behaviour really is strange. You never had a pet, let alone a cat, before.

When you come out of the shower, drying your hair with a towel, you see that the cat hasn't moved from the spot. Instead, he's grooming himself with his uninjured paw.

Alhaitham almost jumps out of his skin when he feels you grab his butt. Then, he immediately sits up, turns around, and sees you sitting on the floor before him with a smile.

“Are you hungry?”

He blinks once… twice… he’s never seen someone’s eyes sparkle. Or is it just the trick of the light? Whatever it is, you have very pretty eyes.

Alhaitham meows. He shakes his head, and you raise a brow. “You… aren’t hungry?” He lifts his injured leg and looks at it. That’s when you take his paw, and he immediately looks at you. “Does it hurt?”

Alhaitham blames the fresh scent of your shampoo. It compels him to step toward you and nuzzle against your cheek. He isn’t sure why he’s suddenly being affectionate, as he typically doesn’t like people touching him. This is his way of thanking you, he concludes. Nothing more.

You're slightly surprised by the sudden display of affection, but you welcome it. You've been thinking of a pet for years. You stroke the dark gray cat. Is this a sign? They say it's the animal who chooses you.

When your stomach growls loudly, Alhaitham steps away from you, his tail swishing upwards. That’s right. You haven’t eaten dinner yet. You stand and walk toward your kitchen. Alhaitham cautiously jumps from your couch and follows you. That’s when he sees the empty fridge and hears a soft sigh.

Do you not like to cook? Or… can you cook? Maybe he should teach you… you know, as another way of showing his appreciation.

As soon as you close the fridge, a buzzer goes off. He watches you answer the system and sees a young blonde girl with light brown eyes on the screen.

“Hey, sis!” she exclaims. She holds up a bag. “Did you eat yet? I picked up food! Thought we could eat together!"

When the front door opens, the blonde girl immediately gasps upon seeing Alhaitham. She puts the takeout on the table and leans down.

“How come you never told us you got a cat?” She extends her hand, but Alhaitham remains rooted in his spot. “What happened to its leg?”

“Oh, well, it’s not mine.”

After talking about your fated meeting, the blonde laughs. “If only you had such luck with guys!”

“Don’t start, Lumine,” you say, putting the food on the kitchen counter.

Lumine puts her messenger bag on the bench beside the front door and pulls out a pamphlet. "Well, there's another reason why I'm here…." She puts it on the table just as you walk over with two plates of food.

You don't even have to look at the pamphlet to know what it is. The bright pink colours and large heart logo speak for themselves.

“I’m not going,” you say dryly, sitting on the couch.

"Figures. But you don't have to come home with someone!”

“Isn't that the point of matchmaking parties? If I don't plan on getting to know someone, why go? Just to please mom?"

Lumine sits on the adjacent couch and picks up a plate. “She just wants to see you happy.”

“I am happy!" You swallow your food before you say, "I have a job I love. I'm going to move into a bigger place. My latest project has one of the highest ratings on the Sumeru Entertainment Channel... in history!"

"You know how mom is… she doesn't want you to be doing things on your own all the time. It would be nice having someone look after you, right?"

You pick up the pamphlet where the phrase 'Destiny awaits…' is written in cursive. You almost scoff. This isn't the first time your mother has presented you with one of these 'scams.' You're her only biological daughter, and she has always wondered when you would get married. You find it ridiculous that she's not putting the same pressure on Lumine and Aether, the twins she adopted when they were young.

Maybe it's because they want to get married and have kids someday. You, on the other hand, want to live in the moment. You don't want to think about kids and marriage because you like how your life is going. Besides, it's not like you have a man in your life. You haven't ever since your first and only relationship in university… and you really don't want to talk about the hellhole of that experience.

Maybe that’s why your relatives and some close friends have dubbed you the 'professional bachelorette,' as you’ve been single for almost six years.

“Everyone’s different, Lumine. I’m more than satisfied with where I’m at right now. Man or no man. No one is going to tell me to live otherwise.”

"But is it really that bad if you go? Mom will be happy just to hear that you went, at least! Again, you don't have to come home with someone." Your younger sister nods toward the pamphlet. "Just so you know, the men in this one are much more… refined than the other ones you've been to."

You open it out of curiosity. You aren’t sure if you will use refined to describe these men. Entrepreneurs. Managers. Directors. Leads. Their professional titles are in bigger fonts than their actual names.

Lumine picks up Alhaitham and puts him on her lap. She hugs him tightly and kisses the top of his head. “Who’s a 'lil cutie?” she coos. “Did you name him yet?”

“Not yet.”

Lumine makes Alhaitham face her and squeezes his cheeks. You toss the pamphlet on the table.

“Still not interested?”

“I guess their theme this year is to marry rich,” you say. You take another bite of your food. “Put him down and eat. Your food is getting cold.”

Lumine puts Alhaitham beside her. “Well, truth be told… who doesn’t?”

That's true. You'd never bought the idea that people shouldn't care about backgrounds when choosing a partner. People need standards, but the person's character is still the most important.

As you and Lumine start talking about other things, Alhaitham thinks he shouldn’t overstay his welcome. The rain has let up, so it should be okay now. Alhaitham slowly jumps off the couch but meows softly when you suddenly pick him up.

"He sure likes to jump around even though he's injured," Lumine says as you put him on your lap. When he feels your chest press against his back, he immediately jumps away… only to land on his bad paw.

Alhaitham doesn’t lie on the floor for long. You pick him up and ask jokingly, “Did I scare you”

“Maybe he's someone else's cat.” Alhaitham meows at Lumine and shakes his head. She immediately looks at you. “It looks like he just understood me or something.”

So, it’s not just you who gets that feeling.

You gently pat Alhaitham’s head. “Stay the night, at least, you naughty kitten.”

Stay… the night?

Lumine sighs dramatically. “If only you could say that to a guy... mom would be over the moon."

Alhaitham looks to the side. He’ll think of something. He has to.

◆◆◆

You're getting ready for bed later that evening as Alhaitham sits on your bed. He's wrapped up in a fuzzy towel because you just bathed him. It's an experience he'll never forget. He kept looking away as you wore shorts much shorter than normal. Your shirt was also soaked. In the end, Alhaitham closed his eyes and just let you wash him as he continuously heard how you think he was the "weirdest cat ever."

By now, he has a good idea of big your place is. He's also narrowed his escape route to the front door and the long, narrow window in the washroom. Escaping using the front door seems like a lost cause. What is he going to do after he gets out? If he's lucky, maybe jump high enough to call an elevator all the way to the first floor. But he needs a keycard for that. It literally sounds like mission impossible. But, if he can get out through the washroom window, he's a free man… or cat, in this case.

Alhaitham feels the mattress shift, and he sees you beside him. You scratch him behind the ears. “...You aren’t going to run away from me in the middle of the night, are you?”

Alhaitham's dreading the mission. Yet, he bumps his head against your cheek. Why did you sound… sad? Maybe he’s overthinking it.

“Well, ready for bed?”

Ready… as he’ll ever be.

Alhaitham slowly slips out under the covers in the middle of the night. You'd let him sleep next to you on the bed, and his heart was beating unexpectedly fast as you stared at him. Then, you scratched his tummy and slowly fell asleep… while Alhaitham stayed as stiff as a board.

As quietly as he can, he sneaks past you. But when you shift on the mattress, he immediately stops and turns toward you, ready to abandon the mission until he sees you’re still sound asleep. His heart is about to jump out of his chest as he resumes his journey across your bed.

He's about to step over your legs until you suddenly turn, your feet knocking into his back legs. You awake with a start upon the sudden contact. When you sit up, you see your furry friend frozen in place as if getting caught doing something he shouldn't.

You turn on the light, and Alhaitham meows softly when you pick him up and lie back down with his front paws beneath your chest.

“Where are you sneaking off to, hm?” You lean forward and kiss his nose.

And that’s when it happened.

A puff of smoke.

A sudden, unexpected weight on top of you.

And then you're staring into the eyes of a handsome stranger with his hands on either side of your head. Your eyes widen; he does the same. It's as if his surprised stare freezes you in place as the words are lost on your tongue.

“...Please don’t scream.”

His low, quiet voice snaps you out of it. You're not dreaming. This is real. The dark gray cat that had captured your heart is now a tall, naked stranger on top of you. You immediately push him away and jump off your bed. Then, you grab a slipper and hold it as if ready to play whack-a-mole.

“Who the hell are you?!”

“I”—Alhaitham pulls your bedsheets over his lower half—“I can explain.”

How in the world can he be so fucking calm? You’re obviously still reeling that a cat has just changed into a human as you slowly leave your room without taking your eyes off of this stranger in your bed.

"I won't move if you don't want me to," he says as calmly as before.

Like hell, he won't. You bump into your coffee table, and you wince as you turn around. But as soon as you notice him move, you immediately turn back.

“What are you doing?” you snap.

“You looked like you were in pain.”

You’re holding the slipper with both hands now. “Don’t. Move.”

"Can I sit up, at least? It's a little difficult to show you that I mean no harm if I continue lying on your bed like this." Without taking your eyes off him, you grope the coffee table for your phone. Once you find it, you're about to call the police when he says, "Could you give me a little time to explain before calling the police? I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

“W-who are you?”

Alhaitham slowly sits up, ensuring that he doesn't accidentally flash you. But, damn. The guy works out, and you would be lying if you weren't… impressed with his physique. But wait! That's not what's important here. He raises his hands as if surrendering, and you see a large bruise on his left wrist.

“My name is Alhaitham. It’s… nice to meet you.”

“You… you were a fucking cat.”

“Yes, I was.”

…That’s it? That’s all he’s going to say?

“Anything else you’d like to add, pervert?”

“Pervert? I am anything but. I’d watch what you call other people before you get to know them.”

You scoff. “Don’t tell me you don’t know how we got ourselves into this… utterly bizarre situation here.”

“You invited me to your bed.”

Your jaw almost drops how casually he says it. “That’s because I thought you were a cat! You know… a REAL cat!”

“I am a real cat,” he deadpans. “You took me to the vet, got me tested, and took me home. If I wasn’t real, what was I?”

“A cat in fucking disguise.”

“It’s a curse.”

“...A what?”

“It started when I was eighteen. I don't know why and how it happens. It just does, and I have no way of stopping it.”

You narrow your eyes. “And you didn’t think of telling me?”

“Miss, how am I supposed to tell you? By meowing it to you? I never knew you understood.”

“...You said you have no way of stopping it. But you must know how the hell you turn back! Yet, you—”

“That has never happened before. I always turn back early in the morning,” Alhaitham says sternly. “You cannot imagine the lengths I went to stop and also change my transformation.”

You raise a brow. "I'd think it would be pretty obvious. Have you not read any fairytales? A kiss breaks a curse."

"I'm sorry, I do not believe in such childish cures without scientific explanations."

The sarcasm makes you roll your eyes. “Well, now you know!” Then, quietly, “Why did it have to be me?”

“That’s a good question.”

You’ve only looked away for a moment, but as soon as you turn back, he’s standing beside your bed with the bedsheets still securely around his bottom half.

“Get back.”

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

"That's what they all say!" So Alhaitham gets back on your bed, and you say, "Raise your hands where I can see them."

He raises his hands, though his expression looks mildly unimpressed. "If I wanted to do something to you, I would've done so by now. Don't you think?"

That’s… true. But still!

“And”—the corners of his lips curve into a small smirk—“I’m naked. What are you expecting me to pull out? Unless you’d like to check—”

Your cheeks instantly grow warm. “Don’t change the subject!”

“I am just saying how ridiculous this situation is,” he deadpans.

“You’re telling me.”

"Well, Miss Bachelorette, how long are you going to hold me hostage on your bed? Surely, we can't continue this standoff forever."

Dread washes over you as you realize that Alhaitham must have heard your entire conversation with your sister.

“I… I can’t believe this,” you mutter.

“Neither can I.”

“Shut up.”

“But, I guess I must thank you.”

You raise a brow. “For… what?”

“You changed me back. I don’t know how or why… but your kiss worked.”

Did… did your heart just… race? Of course, it's only for a second, but you were truly at a loss for words.

“Great,” you say. “Now, please go find someone else to kiss.”

“Well, I think I need to leave your bed first for that to happen.”

“Not like that, you aren’t.”

Alhaitahm looks down. “You make a good point.” You roll your eyes. “I assume you don't have any clothes—”

“No.”

“We're in a pickle, aren’t we?”

You cautiously walk past him and open a drawer. Then, you toss him a large towel. “That’s all I have. You’re on your own.”

Alhaitham sighs as he swiftly switches the bedsheets with the towel. You’re looking away until he says, “You can look now. I appreciate the privacy, Miss Bachelorette.”

You look back and see that he’s standing beside your bed. Upon seeing him, you almost look away again. Why does he have to be so attractive?

"So, you say I'm on my own…."

You raise the slipper in your hand when he steps toward you. “What are you doing?”

Alhaitham takes a step back. “I’m sorry. I thought we would be on… better terms after knowing so much about each other now.”

“You know nothing about me.”

Alhaitham puts his hands on his hips. “You were so kind to take me to the vet due to my injury.”

“It looks like you’re fine now.”

“I never thought you’d be so cruel to leave an injured person to fend on his own.”

“Fend on his own?” you ask incredulously.

“You’re asking me to walk out of your apartment in nothing but a towel… with a sprained wrist.”

“I wonder who got himself into this situation.”

“I wonder if he had a choice.”

The two of you hold your stares in silence. You’re the first to look away. Yes, he’s a handsome guy. That’s why you’re a little flustered right now. Oh, and the cat thing. Of course, it’s the cat thing.

“Okay,” you sigh. “I… I have an idea.”

Chapter Three

Tag list: @suoshiii @lordbugs @seirenspinel @lxry-chxn @ashtree-and-the-cats @sakiimeo

[usoppinggg]

Ships Ahoy Chapter 3: Introducing... Zeus!

[read on ao3]

Nami and Usopp are on the upper deck, the redhead enjoying the shade of her mikan trees while Usopp tends to his pop greens. When the sniper comes over to take a rest beside her in the shade, Nami sits up, adjusting her sunglasses to sit on her head as she looks at her friend. She grins at him and he grins back, excited by her happiness but wondering what brought it on so suddenly. 

“What is it, Nami?”

“Usopp, I’d like to introduce you to somebody.”

The sniper’s brows furrow in confusion. “Introduce me to somebody? Who could you possibly introduce to me here on the ship in the middle of the ocean?” His eyes widen in excitement as an idea comes to mind. “Did you finally get a cat for the crew like I wanted? Yes! I knew you’d cave, eventually. Where is it? I wanna pet it!”

“I didn’t get a cat! Or any other animal, for that matter, so get that through your thick skull.”

“Aw…”

“Stop pouting. They’re way cooler than a cat. Heaps more useful, too.” The curly-haired man watches with intrigue as Nami reaches under her seat to grab her Clima-Tact. “Usopp, meet my new friend and ex-servant, Zeus!”

With a wave of the baton, a fluffy, white cloud emerges from the device. That sight is not novel in the slightest, but what is, is the fact that this cloud has a face, with drooping eyes, rounded cheeks, and a lazy smile. It’s wearing a hat and–

“Oh, hi, Nami. What’s up?”

It talks! The cloud is talking!!!

Usopp’s eyes and mouth are impossibly wide as he looks at Zeus, who peers down at him curiously.

“A… a talking cloud?” Usopp stutters, when he manages to find his voice. “There’s a sentient, talking cloud living in your Clima-Tact?”

“Yup! Zeus, this is my friend and crewmate, Usopp. He’s the one who invented my baton and built it all on his own.”

“Wow, really?” The cloud drawls. “Hey, thanks for making such a cozy place for me to stay.”

“You’re… you’re welcome.” The hesitation and fear begin to seep out of Usopp’s posture, replaced by curiosity. “It’s nice in there?”

“Oh, yeah! It’s nice and dark and cold, just like a storm!”

“That’s… good, I guess. How did you come to be with Nami, anyway?”

“Well, it’s a long story…”

“I love stories!”

Nami grins as Usopp lowers his guard, grabbing his ankles and watching as Zeus floats closer, settling himself in Nami’s lap.

“Okay, then. I used to work for Big Mom–”

“WHAT!!!! Nami, how could you bring a Big Mom employee on board our ship? Quick, throw the Clima-Tact into the ocean!”

Usopp groans and holds his head after getting a good whack from Nami, who shakes her fist at him.

“Shut up! Do you really think I’d bring anything on board that would hurt us? Hurt me? Just calm down and listen!” Nami quits glaring at Usopp to coo at the cloud in her lap, petting him gently. “Sorry about him, Zeus. He’s the type to go straight to the worst-case scenario. Go on.”

Usopp listens raptly as Zeus tells him the story of his life, and how he came to be with Nami. By the end, the curly-haired man is in tears. “I can’t believe Big Mom just abandoned you like that!”

Zeus floats over to Usopp, and the marksman gently accepts him into his arms. “Aw, it’s okay. I’m happy where I am now. Plus, Nami always feeds me the yummiest snack. Can I have some now? Pleeeeease, Nami?”

Nami laughs and adheres to his request, using her Tact to call forth some thunder balls. Usopp watches with intrigue as Zeus munches on his favourite snack.

The cloud lets Usopp poke and prod at him as he eats, preening as the sniper oohs and aahs while Nami recounts some of the cloud’s abilities. She can tell by the look in his eye that Usopp has a million and one ideas going through his head, and she’s excited to see what he’ll conjure up.

“This is amazing!” Usopp exclaims once he’s done his assessment. “You’re amazing, Zeus!”

The cloud’s cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink. “Aw, you think so?”

“Definitely! When I invented the Clima-Tact, I thought of plenty of possibilities for its capabilities, but I never could’ve imagined that anyone or anything could fuse with it. Sounds like you’re powerful, too, so you’ll be a great ally to the Great Captain Usopp. And don’t let Nami keep you all locked up in there! You’re a part of the crew, so you should hang out with us and enjoy the ship!”

Usopp’s words cause Zeus’s eyes to sparkle as he gazes at him. “Really?”

“Of course!” the sniper turns to glare at the navigator, hugging the cloud close to him. “Nami, I knew you were evil, but this is another level of cruelty! How could you hide Zeus away?”

“He was resting!” Nami fumes. “I’m not going to pull him out to meet your stupid whims.”

“Don’t worry, Zeus, I won’t let that evil Nami hold you hostage any longer! You’re gonna play and have fun with the rest of us starting now!”

The cloud grins, looking more excited than Nami has ever seen. “Okay!”

Usopp peeks over the railing of the upper deck, a mischievous smile growing on his face as he spots Zoro snoozing below.

“Zeus, have you ever played a prank before?”

“No, never.”

“Give me a ride and I’ll show you how.”

With a cheer, the sniper jumps atop the cloud. Nami watches as Usopp directs Zeus to hover over Zoro and drench the sleeping swordsman with a sudden downpour. She laughs along with Usopp’s obnoxious cackling as Zoro sits up with a startled gasp. When Zoro curses at him and starts to give chase, Zeus and Usopp make their getaway, flying across the ship and over the open ocean. 

The calm melody of Brook’s violin morphs into a fast-paced tune, serving as an amusing backing track as his crewmates chase each other.

Luffy and Chopper run out on deck to watch the commotion, pointing and cheering at the sight of Usopp atop the cloud and demanding their turn to ride. Sanji strolls out of the kitchen and is immediately amused by the sight of a soaked Zoro, further angering the swordsman with his petty jibes. Usopp’s laughter is cut off as he is plucked off of the cloud by a plethora of disembodied hands and dropped right in front of Zoro, who grins wickedly at the sniper.

The remaining crew members laugh as Usopp flees, yelling and crying as he pleads for his life, going to hide behind Franky and Jimbei. 

Up in the sky, with Luffy and Chopper on his back and watching the antics play out below, Zeus truly feels like part of a family for the first time in a very long while.

[lostiolite]

I’m so glad to find another writer who wrotes skeptic content.

If it’s alright? Maybe as a good starter and my first ask form you, a sort of office enemies to lovers. Reader was recently transferred and tomo and them do not get along. But overtime they started to get close.

I’ll let you run wild with the rest of you like

🫶

I dont think i ated with this one sorry cw: OOC!!!! 600?ish words

You were apprehensive to say the least. Being transferred to Feelgood inc. gave you the jitters. Being such a meek person meant taking a long time to warm up and get comfortable. And for some reason the moment you got cozy at your old office you were transferred. Life was a joke, and you could only hope your boss wasn’t a prick.

The lady who filled you in on the job was rather nice and accommodating. She reassured you that if you were in need of assistance to go and seek her out, making you feel much more relived. Though, that peace was disturbed when you hit a roadblock and sat there stumped for a bit. Deciding after a while to go look for her. Walking around such an ornate and maze-like building only made you feel more anxious by the minute. You couldn't find her and you may or may not have gotten lost. Panicking you stand there, at a loss for words but your mental gears running at such a fast speed you fear you may overload.

“You there, what do you think you’re doing?” the voice kicks you out of your thoughts. Turning your attention to the visibly displeased long black-haired man. You (attempt to) let out a jumble of words. Unfortunately you couldn't get farther than a simple “I”. It seems the man grows even more unpleased at this. He lets out a sigh and you swear you could feel him roll his eyes. It seems like you’ve been graced when the ginger man accompanying him smiles.

“Oh Tomoyasu, don't be like that, they’re clearly new”.

“Since when did we hire such incompetent employees?” His voice a mummer, but tis clear he doesnt care wether or not you hear. It makes you feel shameful.

That man, you learned turned out to be the ceo of feel good inc. Wow, how lucky were you to make such a horrible first impression to your fucking boss. You ended up working overtime to make up for it, you cant loose this job afterall. The job was actually pretty easy once you got the hang of it, despite being a newbie you were on par with people who had been there for a while. People even started asking you for help! But, whenever that man comes by… hes just so condescending it angers you. He doesnt take you seriously and belittled you. If it werent for Rikiya, you would’ve been fired. How reassuring.

You decide to butter him up, or try to at least. It seems that prick always has a stick up his ass for whatever reason. You try and offer him coffee whenever your free, which he accepted quite reluctantly at first. And the conversation (if you could even consider it one.) was very awkward, considering it was him bashing your brewing skills. . However, it became routine. Thank god, because his attitude did tone down, just a bit. Unfortunately walking to and from his office was a hassle especially because you were constantly being called on. So your trips decreased and eventually just kind of stopped. Who knew that setting high expectations and trying to keep up with them was so draining?!

Youre tired, so tired you could fall asleep. But, you cant, so you try to power through… very slowly, and drowsy. Your co worker asks you for help, to which you oblige. Helping them took a while, mainly because you were fighting the urge to just pass out. But, you persevered… and fell asleep at your desk once you sat down.

You find yourself awake in the middle of the office, the atmosphere is noticaly darker, then y up ou realize its fucking night. You jolt up awake, taking awhile to process it all. You rapidly blink a few times hoping this is just silly dream and that you didn’t sleep the whole day away. You bury your face in your hands. Sighing, your fucked. You look around and face a tall… tall black haired man that may or may not be your boss. Is he just getting off work? Does he know?-

“How was your nap?”

You shuffle a bit, before apologizing. Getting up and bowing, preparing yourself to get berated. Only to be surprised when he just gruffs and walks away.

The next morning you arive to the office much earlier than usual, hoping to get a head start on yesterdays missed work. You slam down on your desk, shakey with every move. Clearly sleep deprived. You almost miss the knock of a coffee cup on your desk. You're very surprised to see him looming over you for while, before he promptly turns around and head towards his office, speeding by Yotsubashi.

[lauronk]

hi @freetobeyouandmichi-me love, thanks for the ask!

in my happy little streetlights world, by the time ellie miller is 18 and they’re celebrating christmas, they’ve got four years of figuring out traditions and they’ve got it pretty settled by now:

they do Christmas Eve dinner with tommy and maria and open their gifts to each other

maria (lovingly) coerces everyone into pajama sets for a picture. She got ellie’s size wrong the first year - she got the correct size but ellie likes them a size bigger for extra coziness - but has made sure to get it right every year since

(this is the year maria is pregnant with TJ, which they’d shared before Thanksgiving)

Christmas morning is just ellie and joel. He drinks coffee and she drinks cocoa (with an absurd amount of marshmallows), even when it’s 75 degrees out, because texas y’all

they do stockings first, just little knickknacks and funny gifts (one time they gave each other pet rocks, which they each still have). joel gives ellie scratch offs and then tries to claim a “purchasing fee” when she wins more than $5

The first Christmas joel went a little nuts on gifts (it’s a big deal, their first Christmas, sue him) but it made ellie a little uncomfortable because a) she only had like two things for him, both of which were homemade and b) she’s never really been on the receiving end of so much positive attention at the holidays. So joel makes sure to tone it down in subsequent years even when his brain is screaming at him to spoil the fuck out of her

they do just a couple gifts for each other now. this year it’s just little useful, thoughtful things: guitar strings and good quality art pencils and silly socks.

joel gives ellie the full charcoal art set she mentioned offhand one time over the phone, and ellie gives joel a new toolbox to replace the one that finally bit the dust (and she puts some silly mushroom stickers she found on Etsy on it)

after presents, it’s movie time

ellie gave up two years ago on arguing that Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie and now she watches it without complaint (and loves it, not that she can tell him that)

joel is more tired than he can say of the first two Home Alone movies but those are ellie’s picks, so they watch and he always finds himself laughing when the Wet Bandits step on ornaments and get hit with paint cans

(he says “why the hell’d you take your shoes off?” to ellie a lot and she automatically responds with “why the hell are you dressed like a chicken?”)

they stay in their pajamas all day, the ones maria got them this year, and eat leftovers from yesterdays dinner plus whatever candy they’ve accumulated

ellie always falls asleep by the end of Muppet Christmas Carol, like clockwork, head on a pillow on joel’s lap

ellie’s on break from school till the new year, and joel takes Christmas through New Year’s Day off so he and his employees can have a break. So it’s a week of lazy pajama days, visiting other friends, just enjoying occupying the same space before life starts up in earnest again and it goes back to quick hellos and goodbyes in the morning

anyway I just had a couple thoughts about it 😅