#she's got an eight pack she's got amazing hair she's got a fucked up face and most importantly she's got the audacity

[tes-trash-blog]

Asking you 2, 5, and 6 on the TES OC ask game! ✨

2.) What is your OC’s birthsign? Does it affect the way they live their life?

Under the modern zodiac, Imerae was born under the Lover; the Falmeri zodiac was a little more complicated, but the long and short is that she was born under Syrabane's charge. Those under the Hand of Grace were said to have a certain, undying compassion, be selfless without being self-sacrificing, and be deep, emphatic lovers.

This may have been true for her as a child, as she was something of a blabber mouth and a crybaby, but the war changed her. Still, some glimpses of Syrabane's divine empathy occasionally falls through the cracks. And she did love. Gods, did she love.

5.)What is your OC's first language? Do they know any others?

Her first language is, naturally, Falmeris. She picked up some Ayleidoon in her brief interactions with ambassadors, and can make out some Dwemeri writing, but she has a very hard time speaking Dwemeris coherently. She'd never admit it, but she knows more Atmoran than Ayleidoon and Dwemeris combined.

She slowly picks up Imperial Common in the 4th Era, but never fully grasps some of the idioms. Of Dovahzul, perhaps the less said, the better. No really.

6.) Does your OC have any formal education? Via what organization, if so?

Most of Imerae's education came from the Falmeri Soldiery, and training only lasted a few years. She only truly became literate after the Miracle of Auransel, during her months-long recovery. It wasn't structured, but she made the most of it once she regained her eyesight. She even wrote in this time, but no writings survive.

In the 4th Era, Imerae becomes an honorary instructor at the College of Winterhold. This is partly an effort to make reparations, partly because she does have valuable knowledge to impart regarding Falmeri society, language, and magic, and partly because the College be damned if those hoity toity fuckheads at the Mage's Guild get first dibs on an on-god Snow Elf.

[sleekervae]

Yoü & I [2.2]

A/N: Heyy, I'm trying a new format link for my master list. Here's to hoping it works 🤞

Warnings: Swearing, slice of life mostly

--

"Why does Luke call you 'Shorty'?" Michael asked Charlotte. They were all packed onto the bus, some ways away from Berlin. Within the next week they would close the European leg of the Sounds Live Feels Live tour and take another break before heading back for a cross-country tour of the States.

The young songstress turned to him, his hair faded back to a bleach blonde to take a break from the dye, "He never told you?" she replied. 

Michael shook his head, having paused his Nintendo game "I always assumed it was 'cause you're a dwarf," he glanced at his mates who were enthralled in a tense game of Uno.

Charlotte rolled her eyes "A: fuck you. B: no. When we first started hanging out together we went to this cafe for coffee and they had these really amazing shortbread cookies -- the kind with the little cherry in the middle. I bought like six or seven of them -- and I really love shortbread -- so he just started calling me 'Shorty' because of it," 

Michael smirked, "So, if I put a shortbread cookie in front of you, you'd lose your shit?" he chuckled.

"No," Charlotte replied, "I have a sweet tooth is all. And yes, he also makes fun of me because he's a giant and I am not," 

"That's actually kinda' cute," he grinned, "I'm hungry, now," 

"We'll be in Berlin soon enough, and you can have all the Schnitzel you want," 

When they reached the hotel, the girls were all set for a couple hours of sight-seeing before they'd have to head off for soundcheck. Unfortunately, they were instead treated to a barrage of calls from Terryn.

"Oh, brother," Maria sighed when her phone started to ring, "It's the Terror!"

"What does she want now?" Kimberly asked.

"Maybe she was driving Harry nuts so he blocked her number and she's bothering us now?" Chloe grinned.

"Isn't it sad how we all shit on the one person who got us to where we are?" Charlotte thought aloud. 

Kimberly shrugged, "Hey, I'm not knocking her, but the woman's a little control freak. I get heartburn whenever she's within six feet of me!"

"You think we don't know the pain?" Chloe replied as Maria picked up the call, "I get a migraine when the old bag starts screeching,"

The three girls turned to Maria when they heard Terryn's familiar screeching, just as Chloe had described. She placed her cold hand over her forehead, feeling a pain coming on, "Oh! Here it comes!"

Maria's face was drawn in confusion and horror, trying to understand what their manager was crying about in her hysteria, "T-Terryn! Terryn! Slow down! I can't understand a word you're saying!"

Charlotte glanced at Kimberly, "I wonder what's wrong?"

"Probably isn't happy with record sales or something," Kimberly shrugged. 

"We didn't do anything! What are you talking about?" Maria hollered into the receiver. The more Terryn talked, the paler Maria's face became as she relayed the terrible news, "What? How?"

The girls were curious now, sensing that this wasn't some over-dramatizing feat from Terryn, "We didn't do anything, I swear!" Maria said. 

"What is it?" Chloe whispered.

"Yeah? What didn't we do this time?" Kimberly added.

"Hold the line, Terryn. Take a Xanax for crying out loud!" Maria pulled the phone away, "You guys aren't gonna' believe this but our song's been leaked!"

"Which song?" Charlotte asked cluelessly.

"Doctor Doctor!" Maria replied, "The one you wrote about dickwad!"

After that, any sound became white noise to Charlotte. She whipped out her phone and logged onto Twitter, and sure enough, their band was trending with news of a leaked audio for 'Doctor Doctor. Charlotte couldn't believe it, feeling like her diary had just been raided and someone aired out all her dirty laundry for the public to feast upon. That song wasn't meant to be released for months, and whoever had grabbed the audio clip had just flushed eight months of work and prep down the proverbial drain. 

She played the clip and sure enough, she could recognize her voice and Maria's guitar tinkling quietly as she sang. The clip already had thousands of listens, the edge of surprise for the new album had been blown, "Fuck my life,"

"How is that possible?" Kimberly cried as she listened to the clip, "How -- I mean... what the actual... I mean -- what the fuck!?" her fists clenched tightly.

"We got ripped off!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"There goes single number one," Chloe huffed.

Maria was still on the phone with Terryn, "I don't know how it happened, Terryn! We haven't shown this song to anybody! I swear! I swear on my abuela no one has heard the song! You think we'd jeopardize our careers like that? Look -- I... I'll call you back!"

As if it wasn't any more possible, Charlotte began to feel sicker, "Girls, we played it in the studio weeks ago -- with the guys," she admitted.

"And anybody could've passed by and heard us," Kimberly gasped, "The doors aren't exactly sound proof and we don't know who works the switchboards," 

"The migraine just got worse!" Chloe exclaimed, clutching her head, "Oh, my God! What do we do?"

"Nothing," Charlotte shrugged, "What can we do? The song is out!"

Kimberly scrolled through Twitter on her own phone, "At least the feedback is positive," she mumbled. 

"Oh, goodie!" Chloe chided, "Everybody loves a stolen song! The public is sick!"

The girls' outburst had drawn some considerable attention in the lobby, especially from the boys. They came wandering over, sensing the thick throes of panic.

"Hey," Ashton greeted them, "What's happening?"

"Somebody leaked our fucking song!" Chloe exclaimed, loud enough for passing hotel guests to stop and stare at them. Maria grabbed her.

"Lower your damn voice!"

"My head hurts!"

The boys were visually and understandably just as gobsmacked at the girls, "Somebody leaked your song? Which one?" Calum asked.

"The one we played for you guys. 'Doctor Doctor'," Charlotte replied soullessly.

"Who the fuck would do that?" Luke asked. 

"If we knew that, would we be in the middle of a crisis?" Kimberly snapped.

Harry then came over to calm the crisis, "Alright, girls I understand you're upset, but let's move this upstairs. People are staring at us,"

"Being photobombed is the least of our worries right now," Maria chided back. 

Nonetheless, they hauled their things up to their rooms and reconvened together, trying to piece together how the audio was stolen and what their next game plan would be. Releasing 'Doctor Doctor' as the lead single was now out of the question, the anticipation was ruined. Charlotte's tongue tingled with dread as ideas were passed back and forth, anxiety overtook her when they all came to a solid conclusion.

"What if we replaced 'Doctor Docter' with 'You & I'?" Maria finally suggested, staring nervously at Charlotte. The younger brunette was at a crossroads, having sworn the last thing she wanted was to release something that -- if interpreted correctly by a handful of people -- would become more destructive than she would like. 

Chloe crouched down in front of her, placing her hands on Charlotte's shaking knees, "Char, nobody is ever going to know who you wrote it for. Hell, we were kinda' thick the first time around, too," she tried to smile.

"And until we get the rest of our songs recorded and produced..." Kimberly shook her head, "It's a beautiful song, Charlotte. I think it'll be received well," 

Charlotte placed her head in her hands, her chest felt as though it would burst at any moment, "I -- it'll take weeks to get done. We're on the road, we have to edit, record, track everything --"

"We're back in LA next week, babydoll," Maria said softly, "If we put the pedal to the metal... we could have it out by December,"

"A little later than Terryn would like, but screw her. These are extenuating circumstances," Chloe said.

"I don't know what to do," Charlotte said, her voice cracking. 

Maria nodded slowly, she felt for Charlotte but at the same time they were under a wire for time. Charlotte didn't have an eternity to figure out whether she was ready to tell the world how she felt about Luke in a song that people may not even interpret it as being for him. She had to grow up.

"Charlotte, it's a song," she said sternly, "It's a silly little love song that you could've written about anybody at any time. Nobody is ever going to know it's about Luke and if someone tries to steer down that path we'll find a way around it, but 'You & I' and 'Doctor Doctor' are the only concrete songs we have prepared. So, I'm sorry, but you need to get over yourself," 

It hurt and angered Charlotte to hear those words, but she knew Maria was right. Nobody would ever know; she even played part of it for Luke and even he didn't get the hint. But it wasn't so much Luke's reaction she was worried about.

"What about Melody?" she asked, "What if she figures it out?"

"Let her figure it out!" Kimberly exclaimed, "That bitch has been nothing but cruel to us from the moment she came charging in like a bull at Indianapolis. Who cares what she thinks? This is your song, your story,"

"And if she has a problem, she'll get her hands on you over my dead body," Chloe assured, "And ya'll know I'm crazy enough to whack a bitch before I let anybody get their hands on you," 

Charlotte tried to smile a little. Maria folded her arms over her chest, "So? What do you say, Charlotte? We got your back no matter what," 

Charlotte was quiet for a long time, trying to will her voice box to make some sort of affirmation noise. This was personal risk she'd take, but it was for the good of the band. The band, her livelihood, her friends were always going come first. She knew what she had to do.

"Alright," she finally agreed, "I'll do some last edits and we can start tracking next week," 

The other three let out a collective sigh of relief, knowing that this wasn't easy for Charlotte to do but they appreciated her taking the leap. And they'd back her up no matter what. 

"I love you!" Chloe praised, throwing her arms around the singer, "I love you! I love you so damn much! I'm gonna' buy you so many gifts for your birthday this year!"

Charlotte chuckled but hugged her back, "You don't have to do that but thank you. I love you too, Crazy Person," 

Maria stood up and grabbed her phone, "I'll call the Terror, let her know what's going on," 

"I'll order us some room service," Kimberly decided, "I'm starving," 

"I think the guys want to have lunch with us," Charlotte said.

"Well, they can go on their own. We have shit to carpé," Maria said, dialling Terryn's number.

The entire afternoon the girls worked on rehearsing and perfecting the song, editing and rewriting so it became a collective Caper song. It was beautiful and desperate and Charlotte couldn't help but emotionally triggered as though it was the first time she penned it down. They would only have about two and a half weeks to get the first demo completed. 

Charlotte couldn't help the tingles that coated her tongue, all throughout the day and into the evening when they were minutes away from playing their Berlin show. And she still for the life of her couldn't figure out who would steal their song and leak it on the internet. Who could be so cruel and detrimental?

And then on stage, as Catch the Caper broke into their song 'E.V.O.L', the conclusion slammed into Charlotte like a brick wall. It hurt so much to think about, but it angered her too. And it made a lot of sense. 

There were five people in that studio that heard their first acoustic demo: four of them were young men who would never dare break the unspoken oath of artistic secrecy. But there was one person who would be brazen enough to do so. 

Charlotte couldn't even admit it to herself aloud but she kept the conclusion in the back of her mind. And as they stage was packed up for the night her eyes fell on Luke, on the phone probably with his little devil's angel right now. She couldn't point the finger, namely because there was no proof and Melody would just deny it. Not to mention it would probably drive a wedge between she and Luke -- as though her feelings for him weren't complicated enough. 

♛♛♛

Luke sat across from Charlotte, both of them silent on the long-winding bus drive from Cologne to Barcelona. She had her earplugs in as she listened to the hasty recording of 'You and I' she made on her computer, something to guide her and the band when they'd go into the studio. The girls worked in any spare moments they had to compose the right bass beats, guitar chords and drum spreads that turned simple words on a page into a rough concept for a beautiful work of art. 

Luke could hear small echoes of the song leaking from Charlotte's headphones. She didn't talk about the song much, even when he asked. He figured she was still upset about 'Doctor Doctor' having been exposed to the world with no warning. At least the girls were moving on to the next, perhaps she didn't want to talk about the song simply because she wouldn't dare let the opportunity for a leak arise anywhere.

So, Luke busied himself with his own guitar, trying to twang out the same melody he had playing in his head all day. He envied Charlotte in that it took her a simple chord and she could write out a full verse in a matter of minutes -- with the right inspiration, of course. What he would give to be as artistically gifted as she was. 

Charlotte felt the opposite when she heard Luke's music. His work was much more optimistic than hers, taking a more positive outlook on life rather than her cynical and bittersweet approaches. The sound of her own voice permeated through her ears and she couldn't help but cringe at some parts, but if Luke heard it he'd tell her that her voice was perfect, no slip of error. 

Her eyes flickered to him for a moment, and she blushed when she saw he was staring right back at her. She mouthed 'what' at him, to which he shrugged and raised his eyebrows up and down, the creepy way which always sent a shiver up her spine.

"I hate when you do that," she said, pausing her song and pulling out her earphones. 

He only chuckled, "How's it coming?" he asked.

"It's okay," she said, confident in her answer. It seemed the more she listened to the actual melody, as opposed to focusing on the words' context, she found she enjoyed it more. It made it easier to work, "What're you working on?"

"No bloody clue," he sighed, sinking back into the chair, "I wish we weren't driving,"

"You don't like staring out the French countryside?" she asked.

"I do," he nodded, "But if we took a plane, we could've been there by now. Maybe get some sleep," 

"I don't mind so much," she said softly, looking out over the lush produce orchards and fields filled with colourful wildflowers, "I do have to admit, it is a little strange how the booking agencies have us zig-zagging all across Europe. We've been to Germany three separate times in the last month," 

"I don't know why they do it like that, maybe it keeps us on our toes?" Luke replied. 

"It keeps me annoyed, if anything," she chuckled, "Maybe after all this touring shit is over I'll fuck off to Bali for a couple weeks, do some exploring. You're welcome to join me if you want,"

Luke smiled, "A trip to Bali with my best mate? I'd be honoured," he said.

"Somebody has to drive me nuts with his lame jokes," she cocked her head to the side, "Besides, I feel like it would be fun; traveling with no schedules or shows. Haven't done that in a while,"

"It's a date. Next summer: you and me, two weeks in Bali," Luke declared. 

"Done," she smiled, "God, what are we even gonna' be doing next year?"

Luke shrugged, "Hopefully, still out on the road, doing what we love. Still have you with me, causing mayhem,"

"If anyone causes the mayhem in these bands, it's Chloe and Michael. Pinky and The Brain," she said.

"They keep it entertaining. Chloe with her fucking phrase books," he snickered. 

"She means no harm," Charlotte assured, leaning over to see his guitar, "You writing a song?"

"I have no clue," Luke shook his head, "I think I'm just bored,"

"Well, in boredom there's always something to entertain us," she said.

Luke licked his lips, contemplating quietly to himself, "I was thinking about that song we wrote a few months back. What do you want to do with it?" 

Charlotte raised her eyebrows, "How do you mean?" 

"Well -- I mean, do you want it? You did most of the brainstorming so I'll give to you if you want it," he said.

Charlotte stifled a laugh, "Luke, we wrote it together. It's our song. We can both have it. It's the ultimate culmination of what two crackheads come up with when they're sleep deprived and filled up on shitty pizza," she grinned, "You think we should sing it?"

"Together, yeah," he nodded, "Have we ever sung together?"

"Not in public," Charlotte felt a lump grow in her throat. It was one thing for her and Luke to sing and goof off on the privacy of her apartment, but it was another for this side of their friendship to blossom over a stage in front of fans, "I mean -- if you want to, I'm down. Maybe when we get back to the states we can work on it," 

"Sure," he nodded, "We can help with your next album too, if you'd like. I know, the whole leaking thing was a bit of a thorn but --"

"It's okay," Charlotte forced a smile, "Things happen. I'm not going to focus on past fuckeries from inept assholes," she wouldn't dare give away her accusations.

Luke smiled at her, oblivious to her conclusions, "That's the spirit, Shorty,"

[mackenzielovee]

Hi bestie, your writing is just 👩‍🍳💋. If possible to do a y/n with Rafe where they fight and reader sleeps in the guest room. When Rafe realizes y/n is not in their bedroom goes and sleeps in the guest room with them.

a/n: hey baby! thank you so much for requesting this. it was fun to write. I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: swearing, smut (fingering, kissing), mentions of drug use/abuse

Word Count: 2.4k+

my writing

apologies - rafe cameron

You stop pacing Rafe's bedroom to check your phone once again. The time keeps ticking by, and Rafe keeps not calling you back. He was supposed to be home hours ago; the two of you had plans to go out to the dock and eat dinner, hanging out and watching the sky. He had told you to be at his house at eight. It's now nearing midnight, and you haven't heard a peep. You pick up your phone to dial him again just as his door knob turns and Rafe slowly peaks his head in the room.

When he brings his eyes up to yours, he smiles quickly and sweetly, knowing he's in trouble but trying to soften to you up. You throw your phone back down on his bed and turn around, setting your hands on your hips and taking a deep breath. At least he's fine.

"Hey, baby," Rafe speaks, his voice sickeningly sweet.

You turn back around and watch as he carefully enters the room and closes the door, putting his back up against it. It's like he's trying to take up as little room as possible.

"Well, now that I know you're alive, I'm just gonna go home," you sigh, picking up your phone once again from the bed. Rafe takes a step forward, then another, then sets his hands on your arms to try and stop you from moving.

"No, baby, please don't leave," he says. Your eyes flicker up to his, and you instantly notice how bloodshot they are. You take another deep breath and close your eyes, ready to ask him the question you know you don't want the answer to.

"Rafe," you start, your voice calm, "Please tell me you are not high right now."

"I'm not high right now," Rafe says too fast. You look up at him again and can tell instantly that he's lying.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Rafe?" you raise your voice, squirming from his grip, "You're almost four hours late, you come back high, and then you lie about it?"

"Don't fucking yell at me, all right?" Rafe says, even though he raises his voice at you in return.

You roll your eyes and start grabbing your stuff, shoving it into your bag. You just want to go home and not deal with all of this right now.

"Where are you gonna go?" he asks you, his voice thick and accusing.

"Home," you mutter. Rafe scoffs, earning your attention.

"It's midnight and raining out. Just fucking sleep here and we'll work it out in the morning."

You roll your eyes at him and continue stuffing shit into the bag. Rafe comes over and grabs onto your wrists, stopping you from packing.

"Baby," he says, his voice softer, "Just chill for a second so I can explain, okay?"

You shrug and nod, telling him silently to go ahead and try to explain himself. He swallows before he speaks, so you know this will be good.

"Okay, well, I was out, y'know, with Topper and Kelce, right? We were at the Club. And Barry came by and started saying some shit to me and it just turned into a mess, okay? I had to handle shit with my sister and her dumbass friends and Topper's all pissed off because she's with John B now-"

"Rafe," you stop him, "I'm missing the part where you forgot to call for four hours and then got high."

He stares down at you, looking almost blindsided by the fact that you're asking him that, then nods his head.

"Okay, yeah," he says, more to himself than to you, "I uh, I lost my phone for a bit."

"You lost your phone for a bit?" you repeat, "Like, it died?"

Rafe considers that for a moment, then ultimately shakes his head.

"No, I just lost it at the Club."

You laugh and nod your head, finally understanding, "Oh, so you were too coked out to keep track of your shit? Nice, Rafe. I'm really glad you felt the need to get high out of your mind before you spend the night with me. That makes me feel really good."

You side-step him and continue to collect your things while Rafe throws his hands up in the air out of frustration.

"Jesus, that's not what it's about," he groans, "Barry showing up just threw me off and it fucking stressed me out-"

"You don't have to do coke every time you get stressed out, Rafe!" you turn and scream at him. He moves his head back and stares at you, clearly hurt by your outburst.

"Okay, look, I apologized-"

"You didn't, actually," you interrupt him, watching as Rafe replays this whole interaction over in his head and realizes he, in fact, has not actually apologized.

"All right. I am so sorry that I wasn't home on time and that I didn't call. Some shit just came up and I had to handle it but it was shitty of me not to call. If the tables were turned, I'd be mad, too. So, I'm sorry, baby."

Your shoulders fall as you start to melt under his term of endearment for you. Even after being together for so long, him calling you 'baby' still makes butterflies go crazy in your stomach.

"I accept your apology," you say quietly, watching his eyes shoot up to yours and a grin erupt on his face, "But I'm still gonna go home. You wasted my night, Rafe. I just want to be by myself."

His eyes fall to the floor again as he speaks, "It's pouring. Please just stay. I'll drive you home in the morning."

You stare at the boy, the man, you love so much and give in. Him worrying about you is always enough to make your heart melt, no matter how mad you can get at him.

"Fine," you mumble, dropping your bag onto the floor of Rafe's bedroom.

Rafe comes over and wraps his arms around you, pulling you close and holding you tightly. He pretends to not get upset when you don't return his hug. You're still mad, annoyed, and frustrated.

"I'm gonna go shower," you tell him as you pull away.

He wants to ask if he can join you, but he knows you're not in the mood for him to be playing around. So, he lets go of you and watches as you walk over to his bathroom door and close the door behind you.

You take a long shower. The warm water feels so good on your stressed muscles and Rafe being in the other room and not with you is comforting as well. Of course, you love him, but you also love your space and need to not be around him sometimes.

When you come out of the bathroom, only wrapped in a towel, you find Rafe fast asleep on his side of the bed. You try not to be upset with him because you know he had a stressful day and hr's exhausted, but you're also mad because of everything plus the fact that he's high and pretty much just passed out on you.

You pick up one of Rafe's shirts from the floor and then slide a pair of his boxers on, then grab your phone and head for the door. There's a guest room down the hall from Rafe's bedroom that you are going to sleep in, because you want to be alone and you really don't want to listen to Rafe snore all night after he's already irritated the shit out of you.

Your bare feet scurry across the hardwood floor and over to the guest room door, quietly pushing it open and slipping inside. You pull the covers back on the bed and crawl inside, relieved to be cuddling into a bed even if it isn't your own. The sleep is already trying to take over your body, so you don't even have time to browse your phone. It's time for sleep.

Almost the second your head hits the pillow, you're out. All of that worrying about where Rafe had been and if he had been okay had really worn you out.

You're waken up from your sleep when you hear the guest bedroom door creak open. Everything in the Cameron house is ancient, so everything creaks and cracks. You turn around in the bed and face the door, seeing your boyfriend's face squished in the doorway. He smiles softly when he sees you, but you can still see the sleep lining his eyes.

"Rafe," you grumble, pulling the sheets over your head.

"Baby," he says back, a playfulness in his voice.

He comes into the room and closes the door softly behind him. You feel him try to pull the sheets up from your grip, so you pull them tighter.

"Scoot over, baby," he whispers, so you sigh but obey.

Rafe breaks the sheets from your grasp and dives into the bed beside you, quick to wrap one of his arms around you and pull you close.

"I was worried when I woke up and you were gone," he admits to you, staring at the ceiling, "Why are you sleeping in here?"

You sigh, not really wanting to talk. You just want your sleep. Clearly, Rafe has other plans.

"You were already asleep when I got out of the shower," you say, attitude present in your voice.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he says quickly, "I just crashed."

You want to make a comment about how, of course he crashed, because he was high when he got home. Instead, you move your head down to his chest, making him relax.

"It's okay," you barely whisper.

Rafe sighs, knowing it's not, "I'm going to do better."

You don't respond. You can feel yourself starting to get emotional at his promises, because he's made them before.

"I mean it, baby," he tells you when you don't answer, "I really fucked up tonight. I know that. I never, ever meant to skip out on a date with you or make you angry with me. I made a really bad judgment call and it will never happen again."

You bury your face into his chest, finally allowing yourself to completely breathe him in for the first time tonight. Although Rafe screws up a lot, one thing he does well is apologize. He's said absolutely everything that you have wanted to hear since he ran late tonight.

"Promise me," you say against him, feeling your tears start to come up again.

"I promise you."

You look up at him in the darkness, then crawl up against his body to leave a kiss on his lips. It's gentle and sweet, leaving Rafe wanting more when you pull away.

"I forgive you," you tell him, bringing a hand up to play with his hair. He closes his eyes under your touch, grateful to have such an amazing woman by his side.

"I love you so much, baby," he whispers.

"I love you, too," you reply, then sit up in the bed.

You crawl on top of your boyfriend, feeling him sit up so you can have a better seat on his lap. You straddle him and bring your lips down his cheeks and to his neck, knowing you're getting to him when he moves his head to the side to give you more space to work with.

"Mmm," he hums, his hands falling all the way back to shamelessly grab your ass.

"Just because we missed our date doesn't mean we have to skip out on the best part," you whisper in his ear, purposely trying to drive him crazy. It works, because he lets out a moan at your words.

"Holy shit, that's right, baby," he nods, leaning forward and kissing you. He bites your bottom lip and pulls it back before he let's go, knowing you love when he does that.

"You're gonna take care of me, right?" you ask him, keeping your voice low.

He brings one hand around from your ass and starts to rub you through his own boxers you have on, smirking when he realizes why the fabric feels so familiar.

"Don't I always?" he asks, "You were so mad at me earlier, and still put my fucking boxers on, huh?"

You grin but bury your head in his neck so he can't tell. Rafe's smirk just widens when you don't respond, so he slowly and carefully brings his hands up to the top of the boxers, then bringing his hands down to your core. You know he's going slow on purpose to tease you, and it's working. He always drives you crazy.

"Rafe," you finally whine, wanting him to do something other than graze your center.

"Hmm, baby? You want more?"

He smirks when he can feel you get even wetter as he speaks. He knows exactly what turns you on.

"Yes, please," you nod, doing your best to not sound impatient.

"So polite, baby," he grins, bringing his lips to your cheek and down to your neck as he pushes his fingers in you.

You moan as two fingers enter you, feeling Rafe start to move them in and out immediately. His grin only widens as he watches you, even being able to see you with your mouth open through the darkness.

"Keep going," you tell him, moaning once again at how good he feels.

He starts to go faster, then brings his other hand up to your mouth and sticks two of those fingers in your mouth.

"I want to hear you," he says quietly, "I know how loud you can get. But I don't want to get us in trouble. Okay, princess?"

You nod, sucking on his fingers in your mouth. He moans and moves his fingers in and out of you even faster. He feels you clench around him, so he knows you're ready. He looks up into your eyes and then pushes his fingers back further into your mouth.

"Come for me, baby, I've got you."

You nod and clench again, then come only a minute later. He smirks as he removes two separate sets of his fingers from your body, bringing the ones that been buried inside your core up to his lips.

"Jesus," you groan, watching him as he licks his fingers clean through the darkness.

"You better not be exhausted, I'm not done with you yet," he warns you.

You smile and lean forward, kissing him roughly and moving your hips against his. He moans in your mouth, not being able to contain himself.

"Shit," he swears when you pull away, "I'm gonna fuck up more often."

[maraudersftw]

Break My Heart

Since Retribution is currently with my amazing beta, I thought I’d write a little something for @petalstosarah’s Tuesday Training Prompt: “Go ahead, break my heart, you can break it a thousand times if you so desire. It’s been yours to break since the day we met.”

Read on AO3

“You know, I’m sick and tired of this, Potter!” 

He looked up at the irate tone, hands still caught on the papers he shuffled. “Evening to you too, Evans,” he said. Lily breezed past, all flying red hair and flushed cheeks, and dropped her bag onto an empty chair. “Should I even ask?”

She turned around, hands on her hips. “Well, I’m gonna tell you either way.” James pressed his lips together to hold back the amusement, and leaned on the table with his arms. Once she knew he was paying attention, she nodded. “So, I was walking down from the tower, right? And at least four—count it, four—students stopped to ask me whether I’m shacking up with James Potter, and is it true that he has eight packs under those school robes?” 

He didn’t even bother suppressing the laughter this time, heart pounding as he rounded the desk, crossed his arms. “And what did you tell them?”

“Obviously that they shouldn’t believe in rumours quite so easily,” she huffed, face pink still.

“And?”

“And that they were wrong. You actually have a huge belly that could rival Professor Slughorn’s under there.” She tried to keep her face straight, but he still spotted the barely held twitch of her lips. “Sorry, Potter, I’ve officially turned you unattractive.”

Excitement bubbled, and he pushed off from the table, sauntered closer to her. Lily’s eyes flashed, thrill evident, the green turning something dark. 

Merlin, she drove him mad.

“Good,” James said, reaching out to twirl a strand of red hair between his fingers. Her breath caught somewhere in her clavicle when he pressed closer still. “I don’t much care about what they think. Just as long as you like the belly.”

She half-laughed, half-sighed; a sound he wanted to swallow. The urge to do so was overwhelming, and he was bowing forward, hand pressed into her hip. “James.” She stopped him, eyes on his mouth even as she shook her head. “The prefects will be arriving soon.”

A weight clamped around his chest; the disappointment as familiar as it was unwelcome. He pulled back dutifully, but a look at the longing on her face, mirroring his, had the words tumbling out. “What if I said that I didn’t care about that either?”

Lily started, gaze rising to meet his. “What?” she breathed.

“What if—” he paused, “what if we admitted that the rumours were true? What if I asked you out, for real? Now? No more sneaking around, or making excuses, or trying to...not be loud. I’m tired, Evans. Aren’t you?”

She blushed a little, as he knew she would, but then her lips parted with a blank expression that infuriated him. “I am,” she whispered, “of course, I am, but—”

When her voice halted there, James sighed, the weight on his chest heavier, and expelled a humourless laugh. “But. Hate that word. Go ahead, break my heart—you can break it a thousand times if you so desire.” He waved a hand, took a few steps back. “It’s been yours to break since the day we met.”

Lily frowned, teeth biting down on her lower lip. “Don’t be dramatic, that’s not what I—”

“‘Lo, Evans! Potter!” Cassidy Cooper, sixth-year Ravenclaw, entered the room, effectively putting an end to their conversation. Lily shot her a greeting, but her eyes remained trained on him, looking no less irritated even with an audience in sight. It only got worse when the rest of the prefects pooled in within the next few minutes, and soon, they had no choice but to start the meeting or risk regressing to their fifth-year public debacles.

“Okay, so the patrol schedule will be up on the board by next week, as usual,” James announced about fifteen minutes later. “And really not much else to discuss this week. Does anyone have anything to report?”

A wave of mumbled negations rung out across the room, and then the prefects were leaving.

“Prongs.” Remus stopped in the doorway. “You coming?”

“Actually, he’s not,” Lily replied, not unkindly. Her eyes were narrowed at James. “I have something to discuss with him.”

Remus looked between them curiously, but shrugged and left them alone.

“Okay, look, Evans,” James started when she walked to the door and closed it shut. He waited for her to turn around before continuing. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, and it wasn’t an ultimatum, but I—I mean, you’ve always known what I’ve wanted, haven’t you? I love what we have, but I still—”

“Shut up, shut up,” she snapped, collar flushed, and he was so stunned by the vehemence of her tone that he could do barely more than blink before she crashed into him, lips instantly on his, angry and firm and devouring all thought. 

James staggered only slightly at the attack, but had his arm around her waist the next second, mouth opening to the familiar taste of her, one hand buried in hair smoother than silk. “Merlin,” he groaned against her lips. “Is this you being mad? I knew I loved you being mad.”

“You, tosser!” Lily shoved him away, chest heaving, but he didn’t let her get far. “Break your heart?! What the fuck was that? You’re so stupid. I don’t wanna do that—”

“But?”

She smacked his shoulder, glowering. “No buts! I don’t wanna do that, so I’m not gonna. You just sprung it on me out of nowhere. You gotta give a girl some time to...to…”

“To?” he asked, eyes flitting between both of hers.

“To say yes.”

James felt his heart swell, a grin so wide blooming on his face that he couldn’t even reign in its stupidity. “Say yes to what, Evans?”

She cocked a brow, rolled her eyes, but gave him what he wanted. “I’ll go out with you, Potter.”

“Well.” He leaned down, whispered the words against her neck, “Only fair that we get a secret-snog farewell.”

“Mm, only fair.”

[cherryatiny]

𝐀𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳: 𝐒/𝐎 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦

𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑜ℎ𝑜𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑖'𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔), 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑓𝑓, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡𝑦

𝐺𝐼𝐹𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠

⩥ 𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠

„Y/N pass me the bottle.”

Said the stern voice of your best friend Hongjoong, you were at a bar, with your other friends, celebrating Hongjoong's career success.

He finally got the chance to join a musical company and fulfil his dream of becoming an artist and a song producer.

Seeing your best friend happy that his dreams came true made you sincerely happy of course, but a small part of you was kinda sad about that.

Hongjoong has been your crush since you two were kids and now, that he is going to become a well-known artist, he'll for sure find some hot idol-model girlfriend and your love will go in the drain.

Maybe it was the alcohol in your blood, maybe the pent up rage and courage that made you confess.

„I have a confession to make... I-i love you Kim Hongjoong.”

Everyone looked up at you in disbelief, it was until you felt your stomach tightening from embarrassment, urging you to vomit, running out of the room to a restroom to push it out, without knowing Hongjoong was following you.

As he saw you scrunched and hugging the toilet he came to you, to hold your hair from falling into your face.

„I may like you too, but that's something we'll talk about once you are sober."

⩥ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚

„Oh, come on, it would be fun, trust me.” Bullshit.

Going out with your best friend Seonghwa and his crush "to support him" was never a good idea.

Not only did you have to observe the cringiness of Seonghwa's love blind actions, but also see his crush treating him so poorly since she clearly did not have any interest in him.

As the movie ended and it was time for you to go home, you stood in front of the cinema with Seonghwa as he bid goodbye to the girl.

„Bye, be careful on your way home and have sweet dreams, I hope we could go out on another date soon.”

„Ah yeah, sure, bye."

You sighed softly, how could he not see the disinterest. As he turned to you, to thank you for helping him overcome this evening, your words stopped him before he could even start.

„Seonghwa, please stop hurting yourself by loving someone who's clearly not interested, when I've been showing you affection and interest for two years."

„What? Yo-you like me?”

As you realised what you've just said, earlobes and cheeks turning red from the embarrassment.

„I mean... kind of.”

⩥ 𝐉𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨

„Y/N, I'm waiting outside the house, come on, let's go.” said Yunho over a phonecall.

You were celebrating the end of the semester with your classmates, and since you've had some drinks in you and despite that, you didn't know how to drive, you had to call your friend and deep-down also crush Yunho either way.

Rushing out to finally see your crush, you were met with the breath-taking sight of Yunho leaning to his car, one hand scrolling through his phone, the second one chilling in his pockets.

„Yuyu, my love, you’re here.”

„Gosh, Y/N you’re so drunk, I’m glad you called me and didn’t try to go home on your own. I don’t want to imagine what could’ve happened.“

„But nothing happened since I called that handsome guy I love.“

Yunho shook his head at your drunk talk, were you talking about him? Not knowing the sincerity of your words, but in the depth of his soul, he hoped the words that came out of your mouth were true...

⩥ 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐠

„Happy Birthday dear Mr. Kang, happy birthday to you.“

Handclap noisier than the song of celebration for your boss, Kang Yeosang.

Although being a CEO, he was really warm-hearted and kind, not like the basic CEO type who’s cold and arrogant.

Being his secretary helped you to get to know him better over the years, but also made you grow feelings for him. You sometimes just zoned out and stared at his handsome face for hours, just like now.

„Y/N, can you please follow me to my office, I need to talk to you.“

You had no idea what Yeosang wanted to talk about, feeling only one emotion. Fear. Did he find out you like him? Did you do something wrong? Is he going to fire you? As he closed the door after you two, you couldn’t even look him in the eye, rather observing your high-heels.

„Y/N, what’s with you these days? You seem... different. Your mood’s been down lately, you’re impercipient. You know you can tell me anything, i want my most important employee to be happy.“

Employee. That’s all you were.

„I know you’re probably gonna get mad and I fully understand, feel free to fire me, but truth to be told, over the years I’ve been working for you, I grew feelings and I just can’t get over it... I-I love you, Mr. Kang.“

Yeosang’s face went pale, absorbing the words you’ve just said, mind going blank from the sudden confession.

„I don’t know what to say, Y/N. I mean... you’re a nice, young, hardworking girl, but.. I-I might need a few days to let it sink and think it over.“

⩥ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐧

San's hips moved to the rhythm of the music, his hands on the waist of some random girl, their sensual dancing just irritating you.

It wasn't like you and San were dating or anything, but you still couldn't stand the thought of him being with anyone else. An annoyed groan coming out of your mouth as you picked your glass and took a shot to drink away those thoughts. San taking the girl by her hand and coming your way.

„Hey Y/N I just wanted to say goodbye, since I’m leaving with Sora to my place, if you need anything you can call, but I don’t think I’ll be able to pick up, since my hands will have other work to do, so rather try Seonghwa.“

„Yeah, I thought so, just don’t forget to wear a condom when you get your dick wet, cuz it looks like you’ll end up with STD.“ you responded, rolling your eyes at him.

„Why are you so rude and foul today, are you jealous because I get some pussy and you’re left with no dick because no one wants to approach you since you’re so mean? Get your act together and we can talk tomorrow.“

„No San, you want to know why am I so cheeky? It’s because I have to watch the man I love fuck around with a random hooker. Go enjoy your dick appointment now, you must be busy.“ Without thinking of it any more, you left him there, your aura for sure full of pure rage.

⩥ 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐠

„Ew fuck no, Yeosang that’s nasty, I wish I could go back in time to five minutes ago when I didn’t hear this confession“ laughed Wooyoung at Yeosang’s confession in the game truth or dare.

Wooyoung took the bottle from Jongho’s hand, ready to spin the bottle and let it pick another victim of his stupid asks and dares. Spinning the bottle, it landed on you. Wooyoung's eyes already glistening from the excitement of daring or asking you something.

„So, Y/N, truth or dare?”

„Dare” a playful smirk finding its place on Wooyoung's face

„I dare you to kiss the person in this room, you have feelings for.”

You immediately started to regret telling him, that you like Mingi, the look in your eyes scolding him.

„Okay, but you all have to close your eyes.”

The 8 boys and your other 3 girl friends closed their eyes, as you hesitantly got up, making your way to Mingi, your crush of 5 months. Sitting on the ground next to him, your fingers landed on his jaw as your lips met his. Mingi’s eyes shot open as all your friends started applauding at your confession.

„I-I think i have feelings for you too Y/N...“

⩥ 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠

You were currently in the changing room, packing your belongings, to take from your workplace. You decided to leave your job as a makeup artist and stylist for the group ATEEZ. The reason was the fact that you liked one of the members and didn’t want to cause any problems to the groups, you knew it was inappropriate to like him, but it was irresistible.

You attached feelings for Wooyoung when you first started to work with them. All eight boys were absolutely amazing, but Wooyoung was just... different. He sparked a flame of interest in you, his personality, his talent, his looks, all those drew you to Wooyoung.

As you cleaned all your makeup brushes, the door to the changing room opened, as the figure of the aforementioned boy stood there.

„What are you doing Y/N? Why are you packing your things, are you going somewhere?“

„I’m leaving, Wooyoung.“

„What, why?“

„That is none of your concers.“

„It is, you’re my stylist, but more importantly, you’re my friend.“

„Yeah, that’s the problem Wooyoung, I’m your stylist - your colleague, that’s why I have to leave.“  

„Why would you have to leave because you’re my stylist, what ar-“

„Because I like you Wooyoung, okay?! That’s why I can’t keep on working with you and mix my feelings into my job, it’s inappropriate, now if you excuse me, I’m leaving.“

The boy stood there as a column, without any movement. Should he go after you, accept your feelings and then you’ll keep on working with him and being his friend, or should he stay there and not go after you? Either way, it was already too late...

⩥ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨

„So, what’s new in your life, Y/N? We haven’t seen each other for a long time because of our busy schedules.“ Jongho said as he sipped on his boba tea.

„Well, not that much happened in my life. You know how it is, a lot of work and stress, and lesser free time and sleep. I’ve bought a new notebook since my old one broke down and uhm... yeah well... I’ve been catching feelings for this boy lately.“

„Wow, really? I’m so happy for you Y/N, tell me more about it, I need to know what kind of a boy owns my bestie’s heart.“

„Well, he’s a really talented singer, he’s kind and funny, he’s more of an athletic type, hmm... and he’s really really strong. But he’s for real one of the nicest and best persons I’ve ever met, I like him, but I don’t know whether to tell him, because I'm not certain of his feelings...“

„Wow, he seems to be a nice guy, but don’t be blinded by your feelings, if he doesn’t like you, let it be, I don’t want you to get hurt, because of some stupid boy who won’t acknowledge the feelings such a beautiful and amazing woman like you has for him. Anyway, do I know him or who is he? I’m like really really curious right now.“

„It’s you Jongho.. you’re the boy i like.“

[atlafan]

Office Neighbors - Part Four

a/n: alright, the angst in this is...ANGSTY, so please be careful lmao, I think the smut and fluff makes up for it though, but you tell me. enjoy! (reblogs and feedback are helpful!) (not proofread, I’m sorry) 

warnings: fluff, angst, smut

words: 17K

masterpost

You were in a large t-shirt, underwear, and a pair of socks, getting your things packed for the conference. Harry would be picking you up around eight to hit the road for New York so you wanted to make sure you weren’t scrambling in the morning. You had your A/C cranked as you were running around so you wouldn’t be sweaty before bed.

The buzzer for your door goes off, and a shock goes through your system. You look out the window towards the street and you see Harry’s car lit up by the street light. You rush over to your door to buzz him in. You don’t even have time to consider putting something cuter on by the time he’s coming in through your door.

“Harry, what are y-“

He drops a small bag he brought with him, and pushes you up against the wall crashing his lips to yours. His hands drag down your hips and to your thighs to hoist you up. You instantly wrap your legs around his waist and tug at his hair.

“Wh-what’s happening?” You breathe.

“I didn’t want it to happen at the hotel.”

“What?” He gives you an almost pained look. “Oh!” You look down at yourself. “I looked so much cuter for you the other day, though.”

“I can’t tell you how cute I think you look right now. Can I please take you to your bedroom?”

“Yes.” You kiss on his neck while he walks you down the hall to your bedroom. “I want you so bad, Harry.”

“I know, I want you too, I was being silly the other night.” He gets you onto your bed and kicks his shoes off before settling on top of you. “I want this…with you.”

“Me too.” You arch up to kiss him.

“You’re okay with all this? Me being here right now?”

“Yes, Harry.” You reach for the hem of your shirt and lift it off, revealing your breasts to him.

“Do you have condoms?” He says as he licks over one of nipples.

“Y-yeah, in my bathroom.”

He hums his response as he kisses down your stomach. Everything felt hazy. When he looks up at you to speak, a buzzing sound comes out of his mouth.

“Huh?”

Your eyes flutter open to the sound of your alarm, and you nearly start crying from anger.

“Oh, for the love God!” You groan as you kick your blankets back.

It had been a couple of days since you were intimate with Harry. He called you the next morning to see how you were, ever the gentleman. He had a chance to see Andy before the conference, so he took it, not that you blamed him, but you were sort of hoping he’d come by and rail you.

You take a very quick shower, and make sure your things are together before he comes to pick you up. You had been up late getting everything packed, and clearly the stress from that had gone into your dream, and dream Harry came to relieve you of that stress. You just wish the real Harry would. Not that the other night wasn’t amazing, because it was, you were just sort of hoping to fully have sex with him. You understood him and you didn’t at the same time. What was the difference between having his dick in your mouth or having it in your vagina? You knew have sex was serious, and he probably had to be careful about who he got into relationships with because of his son, but he’s known you almost a year…doesn’t he trust you?

You’re taken from your thoughts when you hear your buzzer. You perk up a bit, and grab your backpack, and rolling luggage, and head out the door. Harry’s waiting outside his car with his trunk open. He looked really handsome. He was wearing a pair of light blue shorts, a white t-shirt, and a pair of sunglasses.

“Morning!” He says. “Got coffee and a breakfast sandwich for you in the car, I stopped off at Dunks.”

“Thanks, you’re the best.” You kiss him on the cheek and he puts your luggage in the trunk. You keep your backpack with you in case there’s anything you may need.

“So, it’ll be roughly four and half hours. We can stop anytime you want, don’t be afraid to speak up.”

“Do you…drive through the city often?”

“Not really, why?”

“Well…it’s just…do you mind if I do the first half of the drive? I’d like to gets us through Boston.”

“We don’t need to go that way. We’re going to take 93 to 293 and go through Manchester, and then eventually we’ll switch to 95, no need to go through Boston at all, love.”

“Oh…alright then.” You get the passenger seat and buckle up. He gets in the driver’s side, and pulls onto the street.

“That’s not to say you can’t drive, we can take turns. Or I can drive there and you can drive back, it doesn’t matter to me.”

“I just…sometimes I get road rage and I can be sort of a back seat driver, especially when it comes to driving in the city, but if we’re not going through Boston we shouldn’t have a problem.”

“Don’t forget, I do go to London quite a bit, people drive like wankers out there just the same, so I know what I’m doing.” He smirks at you.

“Mhm.” You nudge him.

“Did you sleep well? I feel like I never sleep well before big outings like this, no idea why.”

“Yeah, um, I slept alright.” Your face flushes a little as you remember your very vivid dream. “Slept like a rock, really.” You clear your throat. “What did you do with Andy?”

“I took him up to the cabin for some alone time. Went kayaking, made a little fire, it was fun.”

“Oh, that’s great!”

“Yeah, he says hello by the way.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

“He asked a lot of questions about you, he’s so nosey.” Harry chuckles.

“Probably just wants to make sure you’re not going out with a crazy person.” You laugh and open up your breakfast sandwich. You take a bite, and then have a sip of coffee. “Thanks again for breakfast, so nice of you.”

“Oh, don’t even worry about it. I have a little cooler in the back seat as well with other snacks if you get hungry.”

“Gee, thanks, Daddy, did you pack capri-suns? Those are my favorite.” You grin at him as you tease him.

“Make fun all you want, but when you get hungry or thirsty, you’re gonna be happy I prepared.” He side eyes you. “I have a tough time taking my dad hat off sometimes, alright?”

“No, no, it’s nice that you think ahead. I appreciate it.” You put your hand on his shoulder and give it a squeeze. “You just make it very easy to tease you sometimes.”

“Glad I can be a source of entertainment for you.”

“Hey, someone has to be on this long ass ride.”

“Long ass ride.” He chuckles.

“Yeah, it’s mad long.” You say as you look out the window.

“Mad long kid.” He says in a horrible Boston accent and you slowly turn to face him.

“Was that supposed to be me?” You laugh. “I don’t think you want to play the accent game, pal.”

“I think it’s cute when you let it out a little. I think you said ‘wicked’ in one of the classes I observed and I had to try not to laugh, or like any time you say ‘pissed’.”

“Everyone uses those words! It’s not like I’m sitting there going, ‘that’s wicked pissah, guy’, give me some credit.”

“See, again, I just think it’s cute.” He smiles. “Say more super-Boston words, what’s another good one?”

“Umm, god, I don’t know.” You giggle. “Is dungaree one?”

“What in the fuck is a dungaree?” He laughs.

“It’s another way to say blue jeans.” You laugh. “My parents and grandparents used to say it all the time. I don’t know if it’s a Boston thing though. Umm, spuckie is like a sub sandwich…sort of an East Boston thing though, so not everyone says it.”

“I notice you dropping your R’s a lot towards the end of the day. You don’t really have much of an accent otherwise.”

“I sort of trained myself not to have one because it’s fucking annoying. You sound like a moron. I think it just comes out more when I’m tired.” You shrug. “Do you mind if I connect my phone to the Bluetooth? Listening to NPR the entire time doesn’t sound like fun…”

“Not into morning radio, huh? Sure, you can just use my phone since I have the GPS going.” He grabs it out of the cup holder and unlocks it for you.

“Thanks.” You go into Spotify and slightly snoop at his Daily Mixes. You didn’t listen to a lot of the same stuff, but you did some similarities.

“Anything but top-40 is fine with me.”

“Don’t like pop?”

“No, I do, I just hate listening to the same shit that’s always on the radio.”

“Fair enough.”

“Put on…put on music you would have listened to in college or something.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to expose myself like that!” You giggle. “I listened to a lot of degrading RnB.”

“Ha!” He shakes his head. “Please, find a playlist and put it on, I’m dying to know.”

“Alright.” You find a playlist with RnB songs from the later 2000’s and figure that will suffice. Rude Boy by Rihanna plays first, a great start. “Ugh, love this song.” You say and put his phone down.

“This is what you’d party to?”

“Sometimes.” You shrug. “It’s just a good song in general. I like Rihanna…do you?”

“She’s not bad.” He shrugs. “I probably wouldn’t let Andy listen to her.”

“Oh, but that’s half the fun! Being a kid and listening to really inappropriate music in your room, pretending like you know what they’re talking about. Used to do it all the time with Eminem.”

“Same here, actually.” He chuckles. You sing softly to yourself and he smiles. “Don’t be afraid to belt it out, I sing in the car all the time.”

“Really? Because you haven’t done it once since I’ve known you.”

“Good point.” He turns the music up and sings along with the chorus and you start laughing. “Come on, Y/N!”

You start singing with him, and that continues on a lot throughout most of the car ride. Around the halfway point, you stop at a rest area to use the bathroom and freshen up. You both grab a slice of pizza for an early lunch, and then head back to the car.

“Do you want me to drive, Har?”

“No, I’m fine…unless I’m making you car sick…”

“No! I just didn’t know if you needed a break.”

“I’m really all set, but thanks.” He pecks your lips quickly and then you both get into the car. “What do you feel like listening to now?”

“You pick.” You smile.

“No I want you to…I like knowing what you’re into…” He blushes.

“Do you like rock music at all? My mom used to listen to all those 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s bands. Might be night to take a break from the profanity.” You chuckle.

“Rock works for me.”

“Eddie Money?”

“Crank it.”

You both giggle and you put on some music. You feel like the two of you have been putting on a concert, and it’s been so much fun.

//

You arrive at the hotel for the conference, and head right into the garage to park it. Harry gets a ticket that he’ll be able to get validated inside. He helps you with your things, and then you both head inside to check in.

“Harry Styles.” He says to the woman at the desk. You go to the person to her.

“Ah, Dr. Styles, great to have you for the CMT conference. Did you take a ticket for the garage?”

“Yes, here it is, thanks.” She takes it and stamps it.

“Right, and you’ll be here three days, correct?”

“Yes.”

She types on her keyboard and makes some rapid clicks.

“Alright, you’ll be on the twenty-fifth floor, here are two room keys, Wi-Fi is included, and there’s complimentary breakfast every morning.”

“Wonderful, thank you so much.” He looks at you and steps back to wait until you’re given everything. “What floor are you on?” He asks as you both head to the elevator.

“The twentieth, you?”

“Twenty-fifth…I think they gave me a suite or something.”

“Oo, fancy.” You smile. “I asked for a room with two beds so I wouldn’t be shoved into a closet sized room.”

“Smart.”

You both head into the elevator, and Harry follows you out once you’re on your floor. You raise an eyebrow at him.

“I just wanna get you in your room in case there are any creeps watching through their peep holes.”

“Harry…I’ve been to a hotel alone before.”

“I’m sure you have…it’s just for my own peace of mind, humor me?”

“Alright.” You shrug. You key in and he comes in with you. “Still tight, but definitely more floor space with two beds.” You hoist your luggage on top of one of the beds and sit down on the other. “I think I’m gonna relax, get settled for a bit, but do you wanna get dinner later? We could just go to the hotel bar.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Wouldn’t mind a quick nap, honestly.” He yawns. “See you soon.” He leans forward and kisses your forehead before heading out.

You end up falling asleep for a bit, and then you put on a bit of a nicer outfit for dinner. Harry tells you he’ll meet you outside your room for dinner. He looked a lot nicer too.

“Hey.” You smile and hug him.

“Hey.” He kisses the top of your head, and holds your hand on your way to the elevator.

“Are you happy you get your presentation over with tomorrow?”

“Oh, definitely. Then I’ll be able to enjoy the rest of it.” You both find a spot at the bar and order a couple of drinks while you look over the menu. “Did you want to split something? I’m not starving.”

“Me neither, yeah, that sounds good.” You furrow your brows at the menu and gasp. “Har! They have vegan Buffalo wings, can we please get that?!”

“Yeah, that sounds like it’ll really hit the spot.”

“And curly fries, gotta have curly fries.”

“Agreed.” He smiles.

You both order the food and clink your cocktail glasses once they come to you. The Buffalo wings really did hit the spot because you both scarfed the down.

“I wonder if we’ll run into anyone we know here. I’ve been to this conference once before, but it was a couple of years ago.”

“We all sort of go to different ones, like, our faculty. Plus, not a lot of people go to ones in the summer because they don’t want to think about work, but I like it. I feel like it keeps me fresh for the school year, you know?”

“Mhm.” You smile and just listen to him talk for a little bit. Harry was so incredibly intelligent, and you always liked listening his thoughts on things.

After a couple of drinks you both decide to call it a night since Harry would need to be up early in the morning to prepare for his presentation. He walks you to your room, just as he did earlier.

“Well…goodnight.” He says.

“Did you want to come in?” You nod towards your door.

“I do…but…I probably shouldn’t. I need to get to sleep…”

“Okay.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s really okay, I don’t wanna be the reason you’re tired tomorrow.” You wink at him and peck his cheek. “See you for breakfast?”

“Definitely.” He smiles and waits for you to go inside before walking back to the elevator.

//

You wake up feeling refreshed the next morning. You take a quick shower, and put on a pair of grey slacks paired with a pink blouse and navy blazer. You liked looking nicer at these types of things. You put your hair up into your buns, just so you still looked a little fun, and head down to breakfast with your laptop bag slung over your shoulder. Your jaw nearly drops when you see Harry down at the breakfast restaurant. He was wearing a suit…you had never seen him in one before. It was brown, and he was wearing a purple button up underneath it.

“Y/N!” He snaps you out of your trance as he waves you over.

“Hey.”

“Morning.” He smiles and kisses you quickly. “You look nice.”

“Thanks…so do you, I mean…you look…so handsome.”

“Oh, stop.” He swats a hand at you. “It’s just dress pants and a matching jacket.”

“No…it’s more than that. I mean, look at all the other people. Blue or black slacks, white button ups. You’re very fashion forward.”

“You’re just now realizing? Well, how nice of you to come out from under your rock.” He winks at you, and you put your bag down so you can go up to the buffet with him.

“Yours it at ten, right?”

“Yup. Which session are you going to first?”

“There’s a working session about advising that I wanna go to, just to get some tips since I’m advising this year.”

“That’s a great idea.”

“What about you?”

“I’m not going to anything this morning, just so I can focus. I’m gonna practice my presentation again.”

“I’m excited to see all of your data. I hope more schools will see they should be offering wellness courses.”

//

Your first session was extremely eye opening for you. You head to bathroom quick, and then go to where Harry’s lecture will be. You weren’t sure where to sit. You knew he hated when people sat in the back of his class, so you knew not to sit all the way in the back.  You decide on the fourth row. Not too far back, but not right up front either. You didn’t want to make him nervous. Seats were filling in here and there, which you were happy to see. Harry loved an audience.

“Y/N, is that you?”

“Dr. Pierce!” You gasp and stand up to hug your old friend.

“Please, you know you can just call me Arthur.” He chuckles.

“Old habits, would you like to sit with me?”

“Not saving it for anyone else?”

“No, the person I would be is going to be presenting.”

“Ah!” He says, sitting down next to you. “You know Dr. Styles?”

“I do, we’re colleagues actually. Office neighbors, in fact.”

“Good for you, he’s very bright. I’ve read a lot of his work, it’s refreshing.” He looks you up and down. “You look wonderful, your new institution is treating you well?”

“Very well! Thank you.” You smile. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

“You’re just saying that.” He runs a hand through his hair. “This kids today are turning my hair white.” He laughs. “That’s why I wanted to check this out. Maybe if I can find a way to make them less stressed, I’ll be less stressed.”

“You’ve definitely come to the right place, Harry is the king of no stress.”

Harry could see the audience filing in from behind a curtain. He smiles when he sees you, and then squints when he sees you speaking with the man next to you. It was clear you knew each other and it wasn’t some stranger sparking up a conversation. He could tell because you nudged him after he made you laugh, something you would only do with a friend. He sighs and pushes his glasses up his nose. He can hear himself being introduced, and then he walks out. The room claps and he nods his head once he’s at the lectern. He was given a lapel mic to wear so everyone could hear him, and a remote to turn his slides. This was he could easily walk around the stage.

“Good morning everyone, I hope you enjoyed your first sessions…or an extremely long breakfast, whichever.” He shrugs and the crowd laughs. “I’m Dr. Harry Styles, and I’m so happy you’ve decided to spend your time with me this morning.”

You smile as he says this. You remember him saying this to his wellness class when you observed it. He said it to them everyone morning.

“I say this to my students every time we meet because even though, much like you, they’ve paid to be there, they still have to make the choice to get up and come to class.” He changes his slide. “I teach a class called Communication, Media, and Wellness, it’s just one of the few I teach, and I only offer it at eight in the morning.” He hears some people make comments and he grins. “My attendance rate is one-hundred percent throughout the semester, wanna know how I do it?” He changes the slide, and shows a picture of his classroom with students, desks in a circle, heads down on the desks. “We take the first ten to fifteen minutes to meditate, and then we do the same with the last five minutes. I give them time to settle in and clear their minds. Some fall asleep, some work on their breathing, and some just listen to me speak.” He changes his slide. “We talk about a lot of things in this class. We talk about what we see on the news, social media, and everything in between. We talk about how those things make us feel. We talk about tactics to help ease our anxiety, and if I’m noticing a particular energy, we break out the yoga mats and do some stretching.” He changes the slide again. “Students today are anxious about everything. They’ve grown up during some really tough times, never truly feeling safe. I’m here to help them learn how to cope.”

Harry goes over some data he’s collected over the last few years. He sends surveys to his previous students every semester until they graduate, and then twice again after they graduate. Everyone that’s taken his class thus far has graduated, and those that haven’t graduated yet all had high GPA’s. He shows comparisons of their GPA before the class (it’s only offered to sophomores and up right now), and their GPA after taking the class. There were only improvements.

“These students are able to take what they’ve learned with me and apply it in other classrooms and in their lives outside the classroom. The biggest thing I explain to them is to not be on their phones before bed, to not even watch TV really. It’s too stimulating, and sometimes it causes anxiety and then you can’t fall asleep.” He changes the slide and the crowd laughs. It was a picture of students presenting Harry with a sign that says ‘NO SCREEN BEFORE BED’. “This group made me this because I must have said it a hundred times that semester. I keep it hung up in my office.” He changes the slide to show students in their place of work after graduation. “Many of the results I got from my graduated students are that they’ve taken things with them. I have students have fallen in love with reading before bed, or they listen to a podcast, or use some type of app that tells them a story at night to help them fall asleep. They they’re able to wake up refreshed and ready for the day. Many of them even wake up and mediate to help them really become alert.” He changes the slide again to a picture of him giving a yoga lesson outside on the quad. “I know this may seem silly, but it really does help these students. Offering a class for credit on this allows them to already build it into their schedule, rather than offering classes at the gym that they really have no obligation or incentive to go to. This is a CM course, but it also counts towards our school’s general education requirement. We call it a Wellness Connection, so any student can take this course. I’ve had such a mix of students take this course, and they’ve all come out better for it. Offering something like this in today’s age is extremely important for our students who are facing so many hardships. I hope you’ll consider implementing some of this into your classrooms.” He looks out to everyone and smiles. “Thank you.”

Everyone claps, and someone else comes out and tell everyone that there’s about fifteen minutes for questions. Harry gets a few and is able to answer them best he can. Once it’s all done he takes a deep breath and sits on the stage. He knew some people would want to come up to him afterwards.

“Will I see you later?” Arthur says to you as you both stand up.

“I’m not sure…I doubt we’ll be at all of the same sessions.”

“Maybe at the bar later then?”

“Maybe.” You smile. “If not…it was really good to see you.”

“You too.” He hugs you again. Harry sees this and furrows his brows.

You grab your things and walk over to him.

“Excuse me, Dr. Styles, I have a question.” You grin.

“And what might that be?” He says, taking his suit jacket off and rolling his sleeve ups.

“How are you so incredible?”

“Y/N.”

“I mean it! I was floored. What incredible data, and it’s all true! It’s all things we notice in our classrooms. I really need to implement that no screen thing into my own life, to be fair I tend to read on my phone, but-“ You realize how fast you’re talking when he raises his eyebrows at you. “Sorry…just a little excited.”

“I’m glad you got a lot out of it.” He smiles. “Who, uh, who was that guy you were sitting with?” He asks as you both walk out of the room.

“What guy? Oh! That was Dr. Pierce, he teaches at my previous institution. It was a nice surprise to see him. He spoke really highly of you too. He said he’s read a lot of your work, which is incredible because I’ve never once heard him say he likes anyone’s work but his own.” You laugh.

“Was he one of your professors?”

“Not necessarily…he was, um, a colleague…” You blush slightly. “I’m headed to the session on…what?”

“Was he the professor you-“

“Harry, now really isn’t the time, okay?” You say quietly. “It was before you and I even knew each other, it doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter when you were sitting with him.” He frowns.

“He’s just a friend.”

“A friend that you-“

“Not the time.” You snap. “You’re not my boyfriend, check yourself.” You huff and walk away from him so you’re not late for your next session.

His mouth falls open, silence coming from him when he tries to call after you. He shakes his head and heads to his next session.

You were so pissed you skipped lunch and went for a walk outside instead. You were barely able to concentrate during your session, and you didn’t answer any of Harry’s texts. Were you acting childish? Maybe, but you hated when men got like this. What the fuck did it matter if that was the professor you slept with? It was so long ago, and the two of you were friends. You didn’t want to sleep with anyone but Harry, couldn’t he see that?

By the end of the say you had calmed down, and you finally answer his text. He had asked you to come up to his room before dinner so you could talk. You knock on his door and he lets you in. He had changed into a pair of jeans a t-shirt, you were in still in your nice clothes.

“Harry, I-“

“Let’s get something straight.” He cuts you off, and you’re a little shocked by his tone. “You were right earlier, I’m not your boyfriend. In fact, I think it would be too soon for a label like that considering it’s only been about a month since we started all this.” He steps closer to you as you had backed away when he started talking. “But what I am is the person that you’re seeing, right? I’m the one who had their head between your legs just a few nights ago, so I don’t wanna hear it. It’s a stupid fucking word that people use to put some type of seriousness on their relationship, and I’ve never really understood it. You’re either with a person or you’re not, plain and simple.” He looks at you. “You acted like a fucking teenager earlier, you realize that right?”

“I was upset.”

“So you ignored me? You said something purposefully hurtful and then walked away? Is this how you handle things? You don’t like when someone says something to you that you don’t like so you shut down?”

“I didn’t shut down! We’re at a fucking conference and you were starting something with me that I told you wasn’t the time to start. We each had a session to get to! Unlike you, I paid to come here, Harry.”

“You still acted like-“

“Do you know much you disrespected me back there? Do you even care? There I was, amazed by you, and all you could care about was the fact that I used to sleep with someone, and I was polite to them. He asked me when he’d see me again and I totally brushed him off because I came here with you and I wanna spend my time with you!”

“You don’t even think it’s a little weird that a guy that much older than you wanted to sleep with you?”

“That’s society! Older men like younger girls, what can I say? Is it sickening at times? Sure! But at the time, when I was twenty-three, I wanted it. I was attracted to him, we got along really well, and I made a move, okay? Me, I made the first move.”

“He should have told you no.”

“But he didn’t! I rode that dick for an entire semester, and then summer happened, and he went across the country to go on sabbatical. It was a brief stint, okay?”

“You’re being vulgar.” He shakes his head.

“That shouldn’t be new to you. You’ve been out with Janette and I enough times to know how I talk. You’re making a big deal out of nothing, and for what? Are you jealous? Is that it? He’s fucked me and you haven’t?”

“I’m not jealous of that.”

“Oh.”

“I’m not jealous of anything, I just didn’t like watching you flirt with him from backstage.”

“I wasn’t…” Your eyes start to water. “I wasn’t flirting with him…I was just being nice…cordial.” You blink a few tears away. “I…need to go, I’ve lost my appetite.” You brush by him as you walk towards the door.

“Y/N.” He sighs. “Don’t go, we can work this out.”

“You basically just said having sex with me wasn’t anything special, so…yeah, I’m leaving.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You said you weren’t jealous of it!”

“Because I’m not! It would be a stupid thing to be jealous over. I may not have fucked you with my prick, but I got in there, I made you orgasm – twice! My main problem-“

“Well, I hope you enjoyed getting in there because it’s not happening again.” You were livid now. “Here I was, putting you on a pedestal for so long, but you’re just like every other guy. You’re an asshole!” You huff and turn towards the door again. “And if I’m acting like a teenager, then that makes you the tallest fucking baby I’ve ever seen in my life!” You leave and slam his door shut.

//

“You said what to her?!”

“Don’t yell at me! I called for help, Paige, not-“

“No, no, I will yell at you. Where do you even get off getting upset that she was talking to an old colleague?”

“I told you, they used to hook up, and he’s like fifteen years older than her, it’s gross, and I see it as him taking advantage of a young girl.”

“Harry…” Paige sighs. “It doesn’t matter how you see it, it’s how she sees it. She clearly didn’t think anything was wrong with it at the time, you can’t get mad at her for it. It was before you even knew each other. Ugh, this is just like when you punched Ryan Green at that party when you saw him talking to me.”

“Because he was the guy that dated you before me! He shouldn’t have been talking to you in the first place, he knew we were going out.”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s about trust, and not jumping to conclusions. I don’t think I had ever been so mad at you.”

“Yeah…but…you forgave me…”

“And nine months later we got Andy, I know, I know.” She sighs. “You said some real hurtful shit to her. What happened to deep breaths before speaking?”

“I couldn’t help it…”

“You and your green eyed monster.”

“I have to apologize…I feel terrible. I put up a front, and it was like I had no control over anything I was saying. What if she doesn’t want to date me anymore?”

“Then it looks like you’ll have a really awkward drive home in a couple of days.”

“Not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be, that’s the reality you’re facing. Now, from what you told me she said…it sounds like you both have some sorry’s to say. I agree she shouldn’t have ignored you all day, but maybe she just needed to cool off.”

“True…fuck, I really hope I didn’t fuck this.”

“You won’t know until you go down there and talk to her. Bring a peace offering, she’s got a sweet tooth, right?”

//

Harry taps on your door with one hand, and a boxed Oreo cheesecake in the other. You were in your pj’s already, just a large t-shirt and shorts. You sigh when you see him through the peep hole. You open the door, but only enough for the chain to stay latched.

“Hi.” You say softly.

“Can I come in?” He says just as softly. “I know it doesn’t make up for anything, but I brought cheesecake…”

“What kind?”

“Oreo.”

You close the door and at first he feels defeated, but he hears you slide the latch and you open the door all the way, letting him in.

“Thanks.” He hands the box and the plastic fork to you. He sits down on one of the beds, and you sit across from him, taking a bite.

“Is this from downstairs?”

“No, I went one of the restaurants close by and got it.”

“Oh…thank you…it’s delicious…”

“Good.” You take another bite and set it aside. “You’ve been crying?” Your eyes were red and puffy.

“Balled my eyes out, actually.”

“I’m sorry, I feel terrible.”

“So do I.”

“It was my fault…I did disrespect you, and I lied…I was jealous. I know I have no control over anyone you’ve slept with previously, I just didn’t think I’d be in the same room as them with you acting all buddy-buddy. Why should a guy like that have the privilege of knowing you?”

“Why should you?” You scoff.

“Touché.” He smirks. “Suppose I don’t really deserve that privilege right now.”

“I didn’t know you could say such hurtful things to someone…is that how you are when you’re angry?”

“Not when I’m angry, but…I’ve sort of always had this problem with jealousy. I’ve tried everything to work on it. Believe it or not, I’m way better than I used to be. One time I punched one of Paige’s ex-boyfriend’s right in the face because he was talking to her at a party.”

“Yeah? And how’d she handle that?”

“Um…” His face flushes. “Well…she has her own issues so…uh…well…we got Andy out of it, let’s just leave it at that.”

“Aggression isn’t exactly a turn on for me. I don’t like macho guys who need to assert their dominance like that.” You look down. “I’m sorry I ignored you all day, I’m sure that didn’t feel good, and you probably didn’t like seeing how bratty I can be.” You sigh. “And I cried more so because…I don’t want this to be over, and…-“

“I don’t want it to be over either…it’s barely started.”

“Were you really just trying to look out for me?”

“It was a mix of that and being jealous. I mean…I can’t wrap my head around a forty-one year old guy being able to rock your shit.”

“Harry.” You chuckle. “He was in his late thirties at the time, give him some credit. Besides, who said I was getting my shit rocked? Maybe I was rocking his.” You smirk.

“Y/N.” Harry sighs and lets his head fall back.

“You need to know something, you’re, like, all I think about.”

“Really?” He looks at you again.

“Yeah…I don’t want anyone else, I don’t even know who else I could want, honestly.”

“I really am sorry for how I acted earlier.”

“Me too.” You bite your bottom lip. “But…I don’t wanna be spoken to like that again. I’m not your kid, Har.”

“I know that.” He says defensively.

“You, like, had your dad voice on.”

“I was just speaking sternly so you’d take me seriously.”

“I felt like I was getting a lecture from my father, I don’t need that from you. I think if something goes wrong we need to try to find a way to properly talk about it. It’s not just on you, it’s on me too, obviously. It’s something we can both work on.”

“Okay.”

“Do you wanna get cozy and split the rest of this with me?”

“Thought you’d never ask.” He perks up.

Harry kicks his shoes off and gets on the bed with you. You had some random movie on the TV, and you cutely feed him bites of the cheesecake off your fork.

“Just so you know, sweets can’t buy my affection.”

“It was a peace offering.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah…Paige gave me the idea.”

“What?” Your eyes grow wide. “Harry, you told her we had a fight?!”

“I had no one else to call for help!” He pouts. “Please don’t be mad.”

“I don’t want her knowing anything bad about me…I her want her to trust me with Andy.”

“She does.” He shrugs.

“She does?”

“Yeah…because I trust you.”

“Oh…well, I don’t want you running to her every time we have a disagreement.”

“Well, I was thinking this could be the only one we have.” You laugh at that and so does he. “Sorry, she’s still, like, my best friend, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to call my sister about this.”

“And notice…I’m not all jealous because you’re best friends with your ex.”

“It’s a little different, I’ve got a kid with her.”

“Most people I know who are divorced with kids aren’t as nice to each other.”

“We’re not divorced, we never got married, didn’t I tell you that? Maybe that’s why we don’t hate each other, nothing on paper that legally needed to be divided up.”

“Oh yeah…you did mention that once I think.” You set the box aside since there were only crumbs left, and look up at him. “I think I prefer when we disagree as colleagues better. I feel exhausted.”

“Same here.” He chuckles. “It’s also been a really long day. I should let you get to sleep.”

“Can’t sleep now, I just had all that sugar!” You laugh and crawl into his lap. You sigh as he starts to rub your back. “Can we just stay like this for a little while?”

“I’d like that.”

You nuzzle into his chest, and he rests his chin on the top of your head. You hear him take his glasses off and you look up at him again. You both slowly lean in, lips ghosting over each other, and then you’re kissing softly and slowly.

“Mm, you taste like Oreos.” He smiles against you and then bites down on your bottom lip, sucking it gently. You groan into him and he holds you closer.

“Please.” You breathe. “Can we-“

“I’d like to wait until we get home if that’s alright…we have another day of sessions, and then we’re heading back…we’ll get back late…and I might too tired to even get back to my place, so…”

“So then you’d have to come up to mine, just to be on the safe side.”

“Exactly.” He grins. You groan and then give him a lip smacking kiss.

“Okay, get out of my room.”

He laughs at you and you get off of him. He kisses you again before leaving. He was going to be the death of you.

//

Things were much better the next day. You both even went to some similar sessions. Luckily, Dr. Pierce was nowhere to be found, so you didn’t run into him. You both decide to skip the awards ceremony since it was mostly for board members anyways so you could hit the road.

“Alright, I’m driving.” You say. “You good with that?”

“Go for it.” He hands you the keys and you get into the driver’s seat.

You didn’t lie when you said you had road rage. Harry nearly had a heart attack every two seconds watching you weave in and out of lanes as you got out of the city.

“Get out of the left lane you fucking asshole!” You yell. “Look at this guy, can you believe it?” You look at Harry. “Let’s go!” You yell before he can say anything.

“Babe! Babe, relax, there’s no rush.” He says, putting his hand on your thigh.

“Wh-what?” Your features soften.

“I know you’re eager to get back, but let’s get there in one piece, yeah?”

“I…” You look at him quickly and then back to the road. “Yeah.” You swallow. Had he not realized that was the first time he called you babe? “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He chuckles. “Didn’t realize how badly you wanted to fuck me.” He smirks.

“Shut up.” You roll your eyes as he gives your thigh a squeeze. “You just called me babe…”

“I know.” He nods. “Is that alright?”

“Yes.”

He leans over the console to kiss your cheek and then he sits back. He was really glad nothing got too fucked up between you. He liked you so much, he wanted to keep seeing where this was going.

//

It was dark by the time you pulled up to your apartment. You had stopped off at the same rest area and had a quick bite. You were sort of shocked that Harry let you drive the whole way, maybe he was saving his energy. You turn the car off and swallow.

“So…you’re coming up?”

“You want me to?”

“Yes.”

He nods and you both get out of the car. He opens the trunk to grab yours and his bags and then he locks the car. He follows you up to your apartment.

“If I could just have a second to go, um, freshen up…feel free to use the hall bath if you need it.” You were blushing, perhaps a little flustered at the prospect of what was to come. He simply nods at you before going to use the other bathroom.

You rush into your own bathroom with your things. You weren’t sure what you should do. Should you bother with a fresh pair of underwear? It was only going to come off…was Harry the type to even care about that sort of thing? Something tells you probably not. So, you just freshen up your deodorant, and put on a little perfume before going back out. He was bent over one of his bags putting his glasses away. You come up to him and slide your hand up his back. He stands up straight and looks down at you.

“You want this?” He asks softly.

“I want you, Harry…”

You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him down to you. Your lips find his and his hands find your hips. He nibbles on your bottom lip, getting a soft moan from you. One of your hands slides up to his hair as he starts walking you back into your room. You both get on the bed and he hovers over you.

“I had a dream sort of like this the other night.” You smile up at him and he smiles back.

“Yeah?”

“Mhm, but I’m already liking this better.”

“Why’s that?” He asks as he takes his shirt off.

“Because this is real and not something I can wake up from.” You run your hands up and down his torso and it sends a shiver up his spine.

He tugs at the hem of your shirt and you sit up so he can take it off. He immediately unhooks your bra to let your breasts free and attaches his hands to them. As he leans back down to kiss you, your hands work to undo his jeans, and you toe them down his legs so he can kick them off. He kisses down your chest, licking over both of your nipples, sucking on one, before kissing his way down your stomach. He undoes your shorts and tugs them down your legs, leaving you in your underwear. It wasn’t your sexiest pair, but he didn’t seem to really care as he started kissing you over them. Your hips buck up. No one had ever really done that to you before. You watch as he watches the wet spot become more damp and he presses his thumb into it. He looks up at you when he hears you gasp.

“I know, you want these to come off, right?”

“Please, Harry.”

He nods and hooks his fingers into your underwear to drag them down your legs. Once you’re fully naked before him he licks his lips like you’re a buffet ready to be devoured.

“There’s something I’d like to do…if you felt comfortable with it.” He says and your eyes light up. You were sort of hoping he was a little freaky.

“What?” You bite your bottom lip in anticipation.

“I’d like to eat you out from behind, can I do that?”

Okay, not as freaky as you thought, but definitely not something guys offered to do often.

“Sure.” You shrug, and roll over onto your stomach. You get up on your knees and elbows and look back at him.

He comes closer to you, holding you close as he kisses on the back of your neck. He works his way down your back, biting you occasionally to get you a little riled up. He bites into your left ass cheek and you grunt. You feel him spread you apart, and you buck forward when you feel his tongue slide between you folds.

“Stay still for me.” He says as he grips your hips, diving back in for more.

You grip at your blankets as you feel his tongue sliding up and down your slit. He adjusts you a little so he can briefly suck on your clit. You moan out when he does so, not wanting him to stop, but he does. His tongue enters you, going in and out, only briefly. You feel his fingers start to rub on your clit as his tongue slides back on your slit, back further, and up to your other hole. Your eyes widen when you feel his tongue there, he doesn’t enter you this way, but he was certainly getting a good lick. You couldn’t find it in you to care because his fingers were sliding into your cunt.

“Oh, fuck.” You groan as he pumps them in and out of you.

You couldn’t remember ever feeling so stimulated before, everything he was doing felt incredible. His tongue stays lapping around your other whole while his fingers fuck you from behind, his thumb rubbing circles into your clit.

“Oh my god, Harry.” You moan. He grunts against you, not letting up for a second.

Your body starts to feel warm all over, and you feel your stomach start to tighten. Your breathing is getting heavier, and you could feel sweat forming on your forehead. He was getting in so deep with just his fingers, and what he was doing with his tongue was sending you.

“H-Harry, I’m gonnaaaa-“ You couldn’t finish your sentence. Your eyes roll into the back of your head as you come around his fingers.

He retracts them and brings his tongue back around your folds to lick you clean. He sucks his fingers into his mouth as you slowly turn around to face him. You were shocked.

“Good?” He smirks.

You grin and tackle him down onto the bed, pinning him down and crashing your mouth to his. You sponge kisses to his jaw and neck and down his chest. He groans when you start grinding over his still covered cock.

“I think these should come off now, don’t you?” You say, already tugging at the band of his boxers.

“Yeah.” He lifts his hips to help you as you tug them the rest of the way down. Just as you’re inching your way down his body he grips your hips and pulls you back up.

“What are you doing?”

“M’not done with you yet.” Yup, he was definitely resting up in the car earlier. You get the gist and raise yourself over his mouth, and lower yourself so his tongue can be on you again.

“Fuck.” You breathe as he sucks on your clit.

You reach behind you to pump his hard dick, and he bucks up into your hand. You use your other hand to tug at his hair. He was moaning against you from the way you were jerking him off and it just added to the sensation on your core. His tongue slips inside you and you essentially start riding it.

“Fuck! Oh my god.” You groan. No one had fucked you like this in a very long time, and he hadn’t even put his dick into yet.

You have to use both hands to grip at your headboard when he starts sucking on your clit again, and slips two of his fingers inside you from behind. You were a mess above him, crying out and whining about how good it felt. You release onto his tongue and he sucks on you until you’ve ridden it out completely. You slowly get off of him and sink down onto the bed. You look at each other for a moment.

“You’re wild.” You chuckle.

“I told you…I can get a little excited.” He leans forward and kisses your forehead. “Do you have any condoms handy? Mine are all packed away…”

“You packed some?” You look up at him with wide eyes.

“Well…I just wanted to be prepared in case anything happened…and then I went fucked it so-“

“Hey.” You cup his jaw. “It’s all good now, okay?” He leans into your touch and kisses your palm.

“Okay.”

“I keep them in the bathroom, just give me one second.” You get up and wobble slightly. Your legs felt like jelly after all that. You rummage through your cabinet below the sink and grab a few…just in case.

“How come you keep ‘em in there?” He asks as you come back out.

“I…don’t need them as often and I keep other things in my night tables.” You shrug and get back on the bed.

He cups your cheeks and brings you back down to him to kiss you. You hand him one of the condoms and toss the others on the night table. You lay on your back and lick your lips as he rolls it on.

“Is this the only form of birth control you use?” He asks as he shuffles to hover over you.

“Yeah…I got off the pill last year.”

“Oh, how come?”

“I just didn’t like the way it made me feel.” You clear your throat. It was the truth, but you also got off it so that if you met someone and got serious you would have an easier time getting pregnant when the time came, but you certainly weren’t going to say that to him. “Is it okay that we use condoms?”

“Yeah, I don’t care, I just don’t know if we had a backup is all.”

He slots his lips over yours and opens your legs up. He runs his fingers over your slit to make sure you’re still wet. He looks down to line himself up with you, and you push his hair away so he can see better.

“You sure?” He asks.

“Yes, Harry.”

He smiles at you and slowly start to push in. Your mouth falls open at the feeling. He was thick, obviously, but holy shit. Not only is he really good at eating out, but his dick felt amazing. How any woman could have ever let him go was beyond you. He grunts once he’s all the way inside you. He gives you a second and then he starts to thrust in and out of you. He props himself up with one arm, and uses the other to hook under one of your legs to drive in a little deeper.

“Oh! That feels good.” You moan as your head rolls back. Your nails dig into his biceps.

“Yeah? Like feeling me this deep? You feel so good, Y/N.” He says into your ear and it makes your eyes roll into the back of your head.

“God, keep talking.” You tug at his hair.

“Could barely concentrate during my presentation the other day.” He says between kissing on your neck and shoulder. “You looked so beautiful.”

“Your confidence up there was so sexy, I was about ready to find a closet or something to blow you in afterwards.”

“Jesus.”

“Would you have liked that? If I just tugged in you somewhere discrete and made you feel good?”

“Yes.” He grunts. He sits up and puts both of your legs over his shoulders and fucks into your hard and fast.

You look up at him wide eyed and reach to scratch at his stomach before your hand lands on your clit. You rub circles into yourself as you both continue making eye contact. With each thrust you could tell he was looking for your g-spot, watching your features to see what feels good. When he hits it you gasp.

“Ha! Right there?”

“Yes, keep doing that, I’m close.” You whine and rub yourself faster.

“Should make you wait, you already had two, greedy.”

“Don’t be mean.” You pout. “Please, Har?”

He grins at you and continues to hit the spot over and over. He could feel you tightening and squeezing around him. You definitely were close.

“Oh! Oh my god! Harry, Harry!” Your back arches and squeeze around him especially hard. When you become too sensitive you pull your hand away from yourself. You thought he wouldn’t be much longer but there he was…rocking in and out of you.

He comes closer to you, burying his face in your neck, slow, precise thrusts. You dig your nails into his ass and he groans. Alright, he liked feeling your nails, this was something you knew for sure now.

“Can I get on top?” You nearly beg.

“Yeah.” He breathes.

He pulls out of you carefully and gets on his back. You swing a leg over him and sink down with ease. You raise and lower on him until you get a groove going. His hands slide up to your breasts and he kneads them. You were surprised he was letting you just ride him and that he wasn’t thrusting up into you, but you appreciated having the control. His hands move your hips and ass, squeezing at different locations. You smirk down at him.

“Can’t decide where I wanna touch you most.” He admits.

“Wanna feel you all over.”

His hands move up to your back and he pulls you down to him so your chests are flush together. He bends his legs at the knee and digs his feet into your bed so he could thrust into you, moving you up and down on him. You kiss on his neck and move to his mouth as you grind on him. You both were moving in sync, and you were getting the best friction against your clit. You weren’t sure if you’d be able to come again, having never had four in one go, but you both were up to the challenge. He moves you faster and faster on him. You have to detach your lips to breathe when you start panting.

“Shit!” You cry out when you feel your release. You rest your head on his chest, and gives you a moment to regain yourself before pulling out. “You…you didn’t come yet.”

“I know, we’re not done.” Your eyes widen at him. “Don’t tell me you’re tired, babe.” He smirks.

“Nope.” You shake your head and grin. “Gimme all you got.”

He flips you onto your stomach, and has you lay flat as he slides in, almost his full weight on top of you. You almost sigh with relief because this was something you had been craving for what felt like ages. Just feeling him full on you, almost crushing you, but in the best possible way. He rocks in and out of you slowly and kisses on your neck and shoulders. It was needy at first, but now things just felt sensual. You feel a little bad he can’t really feel how soaked you are around him.

He slides an arm under your chest to grip one of your breasts, and his other hand snakes just under your pelvis. You gasp when you feel his fingers on your clit. You were overly sensitive now. He was just pressing down, not moving, and applying pressure. His hips move in circles and your mouth falls open. He was really stretching you out now. Your hips move with him, and he starts moaning softly.

“Love feeling you like this.” He says into your ear.

“Me too.” You whimper. Now his fingers rub circles into your clit with same motion as both of your hips, big and slow. “Harry.”

“Shh, I know you’ve got one more in you. This time we’re gonna do it together, how does that sound?”

“Sounds good.” You groan.

Between his breath in your ear, his fingers on your clit, his other fingers tweaking your nipple, and his cock working wonders inside you, you had no idea how you hadn’t melted into a puddle on your bed and evaporated into thin air.

“H-Harry, I-“ You squeeze around him and he bites hard on your shoulder.

This sends you over the edge you cry out loudly. You practically scream his name, which helps him meet his own end. It was so hot, you could feel his come through the condom. He kisses down your back as he pulls out, and you wince.

“Sorry.” He mumbles as he gets off your bed. “M’just gonna take care of this in the bathroom.”

“Be my guest.” You breathe. You push yourself up and waddle to the hall bath. Your shit hadn’t be rocked quite like that in a long time, if ever.

When you come back into your room he was grabbing a fresh pair of boxers from his bag and sliding them up his legs. His glasses were back on his face, and he was rummaging for his toothbrush.

“You have toothpaste I can use?” He asks, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

“Mhm.” You nearly squeak. Your voice was hoarse. “Just let me do my thing and then it’s all yours.” You sounded like you had gravel in your throat it made him beam at you.

Harry goes into the bathroom after you, and you throw a large t-shirt on and get into bed. You were nervous, a guy hadn’t stayed over with you in this apartment yet. And you had been living there a year! He comes out and slides into bed with you.

“It’s alright I’m staying?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You’re as stiff as a board.” He chuckles. “Here I was thinking I loosened you up.”

“Harry.” You breathe. “Please, I’m exhausted.” He laughs at that and leans over to turn your light off. He pulls you to lay on his chest.

“You don’t do this often, do you?”

“No…I get nervous sleeping next to people.”

“Why?”

“Because, like, what if I roll over too much and wake you up, or snore, or talk in my sleep, or what if I…don’t look cute when I wake up.”

“Y/N.” Harry laughs. “You’re talking about things that all people do, it’s okay.”

“I also really like to get wrapped up in my blankets…like a burrito.” You mumble the last part.

“Well, you know I like holding onto something, so why don’t I be your burrito tonight?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, let me wrap you up, we’ll get all snug.”

You smile and peck his lips before turning over. He spoons you nice and tight to him, his limbs slung over yours, blankets cozy around the both of you. You sigh happily.

“This is nice.” You whisper.

“I agree.” He whispers back.

“You…have a lot of stamina.”

“Surprised?”

“A little.” You chuckle. “Good surprise though.”

“Did you like everything I did?”

“Yes, very much.”

“Even the stuff at the beginning.”

“I was very surprised by that, but it felt good with everything else you were doing.”

“Good, so you weren’t freaked out?”

“Nope.” You adjust closer to him. “I’m pretty open to trying things. I would have told you if I didn’t like something.”

“Everything just felt right with you.” He nuzzles his face into the back of your head.

“I feel the same way.”

Everything would be different now, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. You had never connected physically like that with someone before. You were falling for him, hard, to say the least.

//

You wake up just as you did the night you went camping with Harry. His body pressed close to yours, and his breath on the back of your neck. You could hear light snores coming from him. The clock on your bed side table reads 9:30. You sigh and adjust against him, hoping to maybe fall back asleep. His arm pulls you closer to him, and you turn onto your back to look up at him. He blinks a few times before looking down at you. He smiles and opens his mouth to speak, and as if on cue, his phone starts buzzing.

“It’s Andy.” There’s a slight sigh. “Do you mind if I take it?”

“No, go ahead.” You giggle. That kid sure had impeccable timing.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Dad!”

“Hi, buddy, why you calling so early?” He knuckles at one of his eyes and sits up.

“Says the guy that gets up before sunrise every day.” Andy scoffs. “How was New York, did your presentation go well?”

“It was good, yeah, a lot of people showed up, I was surprised. Got asked some good questions.”

“Did Y/N come?”

“She sure did.” Your jaw drops and you smack Harry’s chest. He chuckles softly.

“So, is she your girlfriend yet, or what?”

Harry’s face loses all color and he clears his throat.

“Uhhh, I don’t know yet, um, could I call you later, Andy?”

“Why, are you busy?”

“A little.”

“Doing what?”

“I’m just tired, we got back late last night, and then…I didn’t fall asleep until later. Not really awake enough for a full conversation.”

“Fine.” He sighs. “Call me later, love you.”

“Love you too.” Harry puts his phone down and looks at you. “Sorry, he doesn’t understand how this stuff works…”

“What stuff?”

“Like…dating timeframes. You know how kids are, they think you go out on one date and that makes someone your boyfriend or girlfriend.”

“Labels really scare you, huh?” You sit up and look at him, covering your upper half with the blanket.

“No, that’s not it, I just don’t want you to feel rushed or pressured.” Your features soften at that.

He was right, it had only been a month, it was probably a little soon to rush into the boyfriend/girlfriend label. You shuffle over to sit in his lap, and you lay your head on his shoulder. He holds you close and rubs your back. You start laughing.

“What?”

“I can’t believe you said that to him.”

“Oh, he didn’t pick up on the innuendo, s’fine.” He kisses the top of your head. “Sleep alright?”

“Mhm, did you?”

“Yeah, like you a lot better than my body pillow.” You both laugh at his dumb joke. “What are you doing today?”

“Hmm.” You look up at him. “Laundry for sure, grocery shopping…I’ve got some reading to catch up on, you?”

“Bout the same. Could we have a shower and some breakfast? Then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“That sounds great.” You kiss his cheek. “But no hanky panky in there, I’m throbbing and not in a good way.”

“Sorry.” His cheeks grow red.

“No! It’s okay, I just...you had me all over the place, and your dick is really big. Not complaining at all, it was just a lot all at once.”

“I…may have been a little excited.”

“No skin off my nose, I’d rather have it like that anyways.” You kiss his nose and get off of him. You extend your hand out and lead him to the bathroom to start your shower.

//

“You bitch! You can’t just say he spent the night and not give me details!” Janette says over FaceTime later that evening. “I’ve missed everything!”

“When you get back we can go out for drinks. I don’t think he’d like it very much if I spilled the beans. I’m not sure what we’re telling people…if we’re telling people.”

“It’s been about a month, right? You could tell people you’re seeing someone.”

“Other than my brother you’re the first person I’ve told.”

“Please, just tell me this…did you go to sleep happy?”

“Very.” You smirk and she squeals.

“God, I’ve missed you.”

“I miss you too.”

//

A few days pass, and you end up going to Boston for your birthday. You and Harry have spoken, of course, but you haven’t been able to see each other. He was really bummed because he wanted to take you out to dinner.

“Can I take you out for a night on the town when you get back?”

“I’d like that.”

Harry was one of the sweetest guys you had ever dated, and you felt really lucky. Your parents and brother and Julian were all taking you out for dinner at one of your favorite Chinese food places in the city.

“How was New York, honey?” Your mom asks.

“It was great! I learned a lot. I’m really glad I went, there were so many good sessions.”

“And you went with one of your colleagues?” Your dad asks.

“Mhm.” You say, sipping your drink. You and Phil make eyes at each other and you swallow hard. “We’re…well, we’re sort of seeing each other.”

“Oh?” Your mom gasps and then she smiles. “Where the hell is he then? You didn’t invite him o your birthday dinner?”

“Mum…it’s a bit soon for him to meet the family, it’s only been a little over a month since we’ve started going out.”

“How long have you known him?” Your dad asks.

“Almost a year. He’s my office neighbor, so we’ve been friends a while.”

“Well, I’m just tickled pink! It’s been ages since you’ve had a boyfriend.” Your mom beams.

“He’s not my boyfriend, not officially, anyways. We’re just dating, seeing how it goes.”

“What’s the problem? He should want to snatch you up.” Your dad says.

“He needs to be really selective with who he gets serious…he sort of has a kid…” You mumble.

“A kid?!” They both say.

“How old is this man?” Your mom asks.

“Only thirty-two, Phil’s age.”

“How old is the kid? Must be young.” Your dad says.

“He’s eleven, actually…they had him young. I’ve met his mom, she’s really nice. She has a serious boyfriend who has a daughter. Harry’s son’s name is Andy, and he’s very sweet.”

“So, you’ve met him?” Your mom asks.

“Oh, sure. Harry has to bring him to work sometimes. I’ve gone hiking with them too.”

“Yeah, Y/N went camping overnight with them.” Phil says with a grin. “Think that was when he finally had the balls to ask her out. Shared a tent and everything.”

“I’m never telling you anything ever again.” You groan.

“I think next time we come up for a visit we should meet this man. I mean, you really want to get involved with someone with a kid in middle school? What if things get really serious, and then you find out he doesn’t wanna deal with having a baby again? I know it’s your choice, but you’ve always said you wanted a baby, I don’t want you wasting your time with someone who won’t give that to you.” Your mom says.

“Wow, a lecture on my birthday, what a gift.”

“We just want to make-“ Your dad starts but you cut him off.

“Look, I get I’m the baby of this family, but I’m not stupid, I know what I’m doing. It’s taken me a year to open my eyes and heart up to him, and I can’t believe the time I already wasted not being with him. He’s…he’s amazing, and kind, and exactly what I want in a guy. If things get more serious then I’m sure the topic of babies will come up, and we’ll talk about it then. I’ll let you meet him when I think it’s time, not when you do.” You huff. “Now, can we please enjoy this lo mein? It’s delicious.”

Phil invites you to spend the night at his place after dinner, which you’re thankful for. You didn’t want to be lectured anymore. Just as you’re crawling into bed you get a FaceTime request from Harry.

“Hey!” You say a little too excitedly.

“Hey, birthday girl. Have I said happy birthday enough times to you today? How about one more: happy birthday, Y/N.” You bite your bottom lip as you smile.

“Thank you, Harry. You’re so sweet.”

“I can’t wait to see you, I think you’ll like what I have planned.”

“I can’t wait too.”

“Andy made you a card, I saw him today and he gave it to me to give to you.”

“Aw, he’s so cute. He’ll be home with you pretty soon, huh?”

“Yeah, couple more weeks.”

“Listen, um…I sort of told my parents about us tonight…I hope that’s alright.”

“You did?” He perks up.

“Yeah, they wanna meet you soon, is that weird?”

“I don’t know, is it weird that my mum and sister are dying to video chat with you?”

“You told them about me?” You swoon.

“Course I did…a little while ago, when I was still keeping how I felt to myself…think it was after Andy’s birthday party.” He rubs the back of his neck.

“You’re so cute, Harry.” You smile. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Noah asked me to lunch…for some reason. Should be interesting. What about you?”

“Phil’s cooking for me all day to try out some new recipes.”

“Lucky duck.” You giggle at that.

“I’m tired so I’m gonna go to sleep, but I’m really happy you called. It’s nice to see your face.”

“It’s nice to see yours too. See you in a couple days.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

//

Harry met Noah at a casual seafood place for lunch. They sat outside, and both ordered a beer with their lunches.

“So…not that I don’t like hanging out, but usually we do it with the kids around. What’s this all about?”

“Getting right to it, huh?” Noah chuckles. “Well…I guess, how do you feel about me, H?”

“How do I feel about you?” Harry laughs. “Well, if I were a prick I’d say you annoy me because you’re the guy fucking the mother of my kid, but I’m not so I won’t say that.” He smirks as Noah’s face falls. “Jesus, relax, mate, I’m teasing. I like you, obviously. You’re good to Andy, and to Paige.”

“You scared me for a second there.” He clears his throat. “We all have a nice thing going, this blended family thing.”

“Yeah, I’d say it’s all working out as well as it can.”

“Paige and I have been together for three years now, and we live together, and Rachel loves her to pieces, Andy too.” Harry hums his response and takes a sip of his beer. “We’ve chatted a bit, I know what she wants, so…I’m planning to propose next week.” Harry nearly chokes on his drink just as the waitress comes over with his food. “Sorry…”

“No, uh, no, uh, you just caught me by surprise.” He clears his throat. “Why are you telling me this? You want my blessing or something?”

“Sort of…look, after my wife, well…” He tears up slightly. “I never thought I’d fall in love again, and I love Paige so much. She’s been a great mother figure to Rach, not that I would let her forget her actual mother. If I’m going to be Andy’s step-dad, I wanna make sure his actual dad is okay with it.”

“Y-yeah, I’m okay with it.” Suddenly the food he was starving for made him feel sick. “Um, thanks for letting me know.”

“Of course!”

“Have you talked with her father?”

“God no.” He scoffs. “Would rather ask for forgiveness instead of permission with him. Besides, I think your blessing would mean more to her than his. I know how much she cares about you still, H.”

“Right.”

Harry does his best to make it through his lunch, but he gets most of it wrapped up, assuring Noah he just wasn’t that hungry. When he gets home, and puts his food in the fridge, he grips the counter and starts crying. He wasn’t sure what suddenly came over him, but there he was, alone in his kitchen, sobbing. It wasn’t that he wanted to be with Paige in that way, it just felt like a kick to the gut. He knew she would say yes to Noah, but she had said no to him. She didn’t love him enough to stay. She loved Noah more than him. Harry had you now, sure, but what if you’d never love him, or if you did, would you love him enough to stick it out?

//

You were very excited for your night out with Harry. You weren’t sure where he was taking you for dinner, but you wanted to look nice, so you go with a black dress that flows around your thighs. Your hair is down and wavy, and your make up is just on point tonight.

Harry: I’m here

You’re a little surprised that he didn’t ring your buzzer like he’s been doing, but you shrug it off. You’re even more surprised that he’s sitting in his car. Since you started dating he’s been waiting for you outside. You open the car door and get in.

“Hi.” You say brightly and kiss his cheek.

“Hey.” He gives you a soft smile.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, why?”

“No reason…”

He pulls onto the street and heads towards the local movie theater that wasn’t really used for normal movies. It was a place for live bands, dinner and a show, sometimes they’d show old black and white films and someone would come to play the piano live, that sort of thing.

“We’re going to the Flying Elephant?” You ask excitedly.

“Yeah, I thought it would be fun to eat and listen to some music.” He mutters.

He was off, you could tell he was trying to seem happy and excited, but something was definitely wrong. What could have happened in the last twenty-four hours? Your eyes widen you remember he had lunch with Noah yesterday, did they get into an argument?

Harry parks the car, and this time he opens the door for you like he usually would. He gives you a peck on the lips and smiles.

“You look really nice.” He says.

“Thank you.” You smile.

He leads you inside and one of the workers scans the tickets he got for the show. You follow him up to the small balcony where your table was. You had never been to an event at the Flying Elephant, but you had mentioned a couple of times that you would like to, so you thought this was very thoughtful.

“What kind of music is it tonight?”

“Jazz I think, but, like, the fun kind, big band style.”

“Oh, fun!”

A waiter comes over with your favorite bottle of white, two glasses, and a basket of bread. He says he’ll be back soon to take your order. Harry had clearly planned a lot of this out, so what was his problem?

“Got your favorite.” He smiles as you clink your glasses. “Happy birthday.”

“I see that, thank you, Harry.” You each take a sip, and then look at the menu. “Oh! They have a tofu marsala, that sounds nice.”

“I’ve had that here before, it’s really good.”

The waiter comes back and you both end up ordering the same thing. You take another sip of your wine and look around at the other people filling in. Harry’s quiet more than usual, so you decide to speak up.

“How was your lunch with Noah yesterday?”

“Huh? Oh…um, it was good.” He shrugs. “Nothing really to report.”

“So, did he just wanna hang out or something?”

“Yeah.”

“Harry…” You reach across the table and take his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Are you sure everything’s okay? We didn’t need to come tonight if something’s going on…”

“No! No, everything’s fine…I’m just in a funk I guess, I’m sorry. It has nothing to do with you, but I don’t really wanna talk about it.”

“Alright.” You sigh.

“I’m glad we’re here tonight, together.”

“Are you nervous about classes starting soon?”

“No.” He chuckles. “That’s, like, the least of my worries right now. Really, it’s fine, I’m just in my head about something stupid.”

“Well…if you feel like talking about it I’m here for you.” You smile softly.

“Thanks.” He gives you’re a hand a squeeze.

Luckily when your food comes out the music starts, and the tension breaks a bit. The band sounded incredible, and you both were having a wonderful time. A couple of the performers told jokes between sets, which had everyone in the audience hollering. Harry had the waiter bring a cupcake over to your table with a little candle in it for dessert. Birthdays weren’t really a bid deal to you, but it meant so much that he put so much effort in. You blow your candle out and split the cupcake with him.

“That was so much fun, thank you so much.”

“I’m glad you had a good time, babe.” He puts his hand on your thigh as he drives you back home.

You relax a little at the pet name. You desperately wanted to know what was bothering him, but you didn’t want to push him since he said he didn’t want to talk about it. He pulls up to your building and turns the car off with a sigh.

“If you don’t feel like coming up you don’t have to…”

“No, I want to. I wanna spend time with you.” He smiles and gets out of the car, and opens your door for you.

“Can I get you anything?” You ask as you get into your place.

“Just a glass of water would be great.” He says, sitting down on the couch. You fill a glass for the both of you and him his when you come to sit with him. “Thanks.” He says as he takes a sip.

“The band sounded great, I’d like to do that again sometime.”

“Definitely. They show film festivals there sometimes too. I usually give my classes extra credit if they go.”

“Fun! I love a good film festival, what do they show?”

“All of the shorts nominated for Oscars usually. All of the animated ones too, it’s great. Although, usually they’re all really somber for whatever reason.”

“People probably figure sadness will get them the nom.” You roll your eyes. “I think it takes more skill to make someone laugh, but that’s just me.”

“A lot of the comedies I’ve seen have had some of the darkest or saddest moments.”

“That’s what I’m saying! Comedies can be really gut-wrenching.” You sip your water and set it down on the coffee table. He does the same, but twiddles his thumbs.

“Har, you’re killing me.”

“Why?”

“Because something’s wrong and you’re making me nervous.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with you…”

“I know, but you’re here with me now, and you’re not all the way here. Just talk to me, please?”

“I…it’s stupid.”

“It’s not if it’s making you feel bad.” You put your hand on his shoulder. “Whatever it is you can tell me.”

“At lunch yesterday Noah told me that he’s going to propose to Paige. He invited me out to get basically get my blessing or some shit.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Apparently they’ve spoken about it, so she’s going to say yes, which is good, they make a great couple.”

“So…what’s the problem?”

He looks at you, eyes glossy.

“I don’t know.” He whispers and shakes his head.

“Are you…sad that things are going to be so official between them?”

“Maybe…I mean, I don’t want her in that way, you have to know that, Y/N. I’m not sad because I’m in love with her or anything, those feelings have long since left, but…it just sucks, like, it’s just a reminder that I wasn’t worth sticking it out for or something. It brings back to such a shitty time in my life, you know?”

“Oh, Harry.” You rub at his back. “I’m so sorry…”

“it didn’t work for a reason, we were both really young, and she…she told me she wasn’t in love with me anymore, for whatever reason, I mean Andy was a total accident, I don’t know if she and I would have lasted with or without him. It’s not like we were a perfect match. I think we were always better as friends, but I was stubborn about it. When we hooked up those few times after things ended, that was me going to her, not her coming to me. I was so lost, you know? Look at me, it’s been over ten years, and it feel likes it happened yesterday all over again.” He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“I get it, this is a big change that’s going to happen.” You chew your bottom lip. “I had a high school sweetheart, the kind that I thought I was going to be with forever and marry and have kids with. But when it came time for us to go to college we ended it to give ourselves some freedom. Well, about a month into school I go on Facebook and see he’s in a relationship with this girl that he had started talking to over the summer while we were still together. It crushed me. Now he’s married to her or whatever. It sucks when you thought you were someone’s number one, and it turns out you weren’t…but I also believe that things happen for a reason. I wasn’t meant to be with him, and maybe you weren’t meant to be with Paige. I think we all go through things on journeys that lead us to the person we’re supposed to be with.” He looks at you and blinks. “Sorry, I hate when I’m feeling like shit and someone tries to use their own story to relate because we all know that doesn’t do anyone any good, and I know I could never really know the feelings involved with having a kid with someone, but-“

He cups your cheeks and brings you close to him. He slots his mouth over yours and your eyes flutter closed. He gently sucks on your bottom lip and you groan into him. He lets go of you and smooths some hair away from your face.

“Thank you.” He smiles. “What you said did make me feel better.”

“Your feelings are valid, Harry, don’t discount them. I know it’s sort of awkward to talk to me about, but I don’t want you to feel like you’re going this alone.”

“The more I talk about it, I just feel silly. I’m happy for them, truthfully. He just sort of sprung it on me, but it all makes sense now looking back on it, like, why he’d wanna meet up alone.”

“Pretty respectful of him, not everyone would check in with the ex.”

“I know, it was really kind of him to consider my feelings. I’m sorry it put me in such a funk, I hope I didn’t ruin our evening.”

“You didn’t, it was really nice. Clearly you put a lot of effort in.” You cup his cheek and rub your thumb over his cheekbone. You peck at his lip and smile. “I think I’m too full to do anything, but if you wanna stay and cuddle…”

“I’d like that.” He smiles. “Sure you don’t mind?”

“No, I want you here. We can get cozy, watch a little TV, and pass out.”

“That sounds amazing.”

//

A couple of days later.

Andy stood there inside with Rachel watching through the glass door as Noah got down on one knee and proposed to Paige. He grimaced as he heard her squeal and nod her head yes as he slipped the ring on her finger.

“Can you believe it?! Now we’ll really be brother and sister.” Rachel beams at Andy before running outside to congratulate the two.

Paige looks around and frowns when she sees Andy walk away from the glass and further into the house.

“I’m gonna go talk to him, one second.” She says to Noah and Rachel. She goes upstairs and taps on his door before entering. “Hey.”

“Hi.” He was sitting on his bed hugging a pillow to his chest. Harry used to do the same thing. She sighs at the sight, and sits on the edge of the bed.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on? You’re not happy for me?”

“I just don’t understand how all of this works.”

“How what works, honey?”

“Being in love. You didn’t wanna marry Dad, but you wanna marry Noah? What’s wrong with Dad?”

“Oh, Andy, nothing’s wrong with Dad. I love Dad, but…we were so young when we had you and-“

“You say that like you were sixteen, you were twenty-two mom, almost twenty-three, it’s not that young.”

“When you get to be that age maybe you’ll see that it is actually a really young age to have a baby.”

“Whatever.”

“Andy.” She sighs. “I don’t really know how to explain it, I just didn’t see a future with your Dad. I didn’t wanna be the wife of a college professor. At the time, Dad put his studies over everything and I just couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I became resentful, and I fell out of love with him. I wanted something else. Noah and I have a much better connection. Dad and I are good friends, which is great and helpful when it comes to you, but I haven’t seen him as anything more in a long time. Did you think we were going to get together?”

“No, I knew you and Noah would end up getting married, I just didn’t think so soon.”

“It’s a big change, I know…but really not a lot is going to change. He’s just gonna be my husband instead of my boyfriend.”

“He’s gonna be my step-dad.”

“Sure, but you can still just call him Noah. He doesn’t expect you to call him Dad or anything.”

“Good, because Dad is who I call Dad.” He huffs. “Rachel refers to you as Mum sometimes.”

“Does that bother you?”

“It doesn’t bother you?!”

“No…I told she could call me whatever she wants. I don’t mind it. I mean…I am sort like a mom to her. Is this why you like living with Dad more? You think we’re becoming a family without you?”

“No.” He mumbles. “I like being in school with Brandon…and Dad…like, Dad knows how to do my hair the way I like, and he takes me on fun trips, and he helps me with my homework.”

“I help you with your homework.”

“Yeah, but you’re not a teacher. He knows how to explain things to me better than you, and as much as I’ve liked swimming all the time, it’s boring just going to the lake every day. I’ve barely been hiking this summer.”

“You could have told me, I would have had Dad come get you for a weekend.”

“Yeah, just for a weekend. I hate going back and forth, Mum, I hate it so much. I just wanna live in one place.”

“Well, I’m sorry, that’s just not an option. I’d miss you too much. I missed you so much last year only seeing you on weekends.”

“Yeah? How do you think Dad felt before I got to live with him?”

“Andy, don’t speak to me like that. I’m trying to-“

“Well, stop. Just stop trying.” Tears well up in his eyes. “I wanna go home now, I don’t wanna stay here for another two weeks, I wanna go home now.” Tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“Honey…I don’t know if Dad can-“

“Then call him.” He wipes tears from his eyes. “I don’t wanna be here anymore.” He looks away from Paige and it breaks her heart.

She wasn’t sure what to do. Should just give in and let him do his thing, or should she just give him what he wants. She didn’t want him to resent her, or make him think he was held hostage here.

“Okay, I’ll call your father.”

She stands up and leaves the room. She goes downstairs where Noah and Rachel are.

“Where’s Andy? I thought we could all go get ice cream to celebrate.”

“Andy wants to go home, I need to call Harry.” She grabs her phone off the counter and goes down the hall to the office.

You and Harry were out for a walk by the river to watch the sunset. It was really romantic. You had stopped to kiss each other when he felt the buzzing in his pocket. He sighs and rests his forehead against yours as he fishes his phone out of his pocket.

“It’s Paige, do you mind, babe?”

“No, go ahead.”

“Thanks.” He swipes to take the call. “Hello?”

“Hi.” She sniffles.

“Hi…um, are you alright?”

“No.” She swallows. “Andy wants to go home, to your home. He doesn’t want to wait two more weeks.”

“What happened? Is he alright?”

“He…he’s not happy with me. Um, Noah proposed…and I said yes.”

“Congratulations.” He says it sincerely, but he rolls his eyes.

“Thanks.” She sighs. “Andy and Rachel saw from inside the house, and he went right up to his room, and then he started saying all these things, and then he started crying and now I’m crying, and I…I don’t know what to do Harry, he hates me!”

“He doesn’t hate you.”

“It’s like he doesn’t want me to be his mom anymore. He doesn’t want me.”

“He wants you, he just…might not want everything else.”

“That’s not fair. I deserve to be happy too. Ugh, you should have heard him. ‘Dad’s better at helping with homework. Dad takes me on fun trips’. I felt like a piece of shit.”

“You do plenty of fun things with him. He’s just…it’s a lot that’s changing.”

“Not really. The living situation is staying the same, I’ll just have a husband instead of a boyfriend. God, I wonder if he’s scared I’ll want another baby…”

“I mean…do you?”

“No! One was plenty, I’m too old.”

“You’re only thirty-four.”

“The store’s closed.”

“Okay, Paige.” Harry rolls his eyes again. You find a bench to sit down at to give him a little more privacy. “What do you want me to do, do you want me to come get him?”

“I guess so, I’m not gonna make him stay here if he doesn’t wanna be here, but I can’t not see him, Harry. We have to keep the weekend arrangements.”

“And we will. Maybe once he’s with me for a bit he’ll calm down. He’s a preteen now, maybe his hormones are starting to act up.” He runs a hand through his hair and looks over at you. “I can be there in like forty minutes, tell him to get his shit together. He’s gonna get a stern talking to, I can tell you that much.”

“Don’t angry with him.” She sniffles again.

“I can’t have him making you cry.”

“But he was crying, and-“

“You just got engaged, he could have acted better. He’s too old to be acting like that. I’ll be there soon.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

He sighs and comes over to you.

“I’m so sorry, I have to go pick up Andy, do you mind if we go?”

“Of course!”

You and Harry jump into his car and make your way to Paige’s house. When he pulls up he leaves the car running.

“Do you mind just waiting here a moment?”

“Not at all.” You smile and he nods.

He goes up to the front door and rings the bell. The door flies open and Andy practically flings himself onto Harry.

“Start putting your things in the trunk, I need to speak with your mother.”

“About what?”

“Andy.”

“Great, so you’re mad at me to?!”

“No one’s mad at you.” Paige says as she comes into view.

“Go put your things in the trunk, and then come back into the house the three of us are gonna have a chat.”

“Here, I’ll-“

“Let him do it, he wants to come home so bad, he can load his shit up.” Harry huffs and goes inside.

Andy was stunned, but he does as his dad says. When he opens the trunk he grins.

“Hi, Y/N!”

You turn around and give him a smile. A smile that says it’s good to see him, but he better not lollygag. Once Andy gets all of his things in the car, he goes inside and down to the office where Harry and Paige were waiting for him. Harry was leaning against the desk with his arms crossed, and Paige was sitting on the couch.

“I’m very disappointed in you.” Harry starts. “Your mum just got engaged, and you couldn’t even say congrats?”

“Right, because you look thrilled.” Andy scoffs. Harry and Paige look at each other and then back to Andy.

“You better check your attitude, or you’re gonna wish you were staying here. You can’t run from your problems, Andy. I’m glad you’re coming home, but it doesn’t change anything. Mum’s still marrying Noah. He’s gonna be your step-dad, and Rachel’s gonna be your step-sister. That’s just the way of it.”

“Noah loves you, Andy, and so does Rachel. I don’t understand, I mean, it’s been three years…”

“He’s not my dad, and she’s not my sister.” He huffs, crossing his own arms. “I don’t love them.” He could feel tears forming in his eyes again.

“I think…” Harry starts. “Maybe it’s time you start seeing Dr. Gardner again.”

“No!”

“Andy, you clearly have things going on that you can’t articulate to us, maybe talking to someone else could help.”

“I agree with Dad.” Paige speaks up.

“Of course you do, you’re always quick to pass me off so I don’t have to disturb your perfect life!”

“You said you wanted to go to Dad’s!” She stands up. “What did you want me to do, say no?”

“I don’t know! Even when I said I wanted to live with him you just let it happen!”

“Because you put up a fight when I even thought about saying no!”

“Whatever, I like living with him better anyways. I had the best year at school I’ve had in a long time, I have way better friends, and I can actually have a conversation with him.” He hands ball into fists. “I…I…I ha-“

“Don’t, Andy.” Harry interjects. “If you say that, there’s no taking it back.”

“God, fuck this!” Andy storms out of the room. Noah had taken Rachel for ice cream, so luckily they weren’t witnessing any of this.

“Andy!” Paige and Harry say at the same time.

“Hey!” Harry grabs Andy’s arms. He tries to yank it free, but Harry’s much stronger. “We don’t speak like that, do you understand me?”

“Stop talking to me like I’m a baby!”

“Then stop acting like one!”

“Harry.” Paige says. “Stop yelling at him. It’s not going to solve anything. Andy, you can’t speak like that to us, it’s not right. Dad and I have been breaking our backs trying to do everything we can to make you happy. We haven’t asked for much in return. I really want to marry Noah, but I won’t if it makes you that upset.”

“What?” Andy’s features soften and Harry lets go of him.

“I won’t marry him if it upsets you that much.”

“Paige…” Harry says.

“But…then you’d be unhappy, Mum.” Andy says. “I don’t want that.”

“We should have talked more about what it would mean if he and I got engaged and all that, I’m sorry I didn’t include you in those conversations.”

“I’m just confused about a lot right now…” Andy looks away. “I’m sorry for how I acted…it’s great that he wants to marry you.” He looks at Harry. “Can I still come home with you?”

“Yes.” Harry sighs. “Go get in the car, I’ll be out in a minute.”

Andy gives his mother a hug quickly, which surprises her, and then out the door he goes. Harry and Paige look at each other.

“What else do you think is going on with him?” Harry asks.

“I have no idea. I wish I did. I try to talk with him, get him to open up, but he’s very selective.”

“I’ll see if I can have a more relaxed chat with him. He’s only going into sixth grade, he shouldn’t be this moody.”

“Let me know when he wants to come back next…”

“I will. I’m sorry he spoiled everything.”

“He didn’t, they’re bringing me back a big old sundae, and I’m gonna stuff my face.” She smiles. “Look.” She holds the ring up. “Got my style just right.”

“It’s beautiful.” He smiles. “You know, Noah had a chat with me about all this, wanted my blessing and everything.”

“Really?” Her eyebrows raise. “Well, thank you for telling him it was okay.” She says facetiously. “Do you know if he spoke to my father?”

“He did not.”

“Good.” They both laugh. “Thank you…I don’t know how I’d handle him without you sometimes.”

“What are co-parents for?” He hugs her. “I’ll call you in a couple days, yeah?”

“Sounds good.”

Harry comes out to the car where you and Andy were sitting in an awkward silence.

“Sorry bout that.” Harry says as he buckles up.

“No worries.” You smile.

“Do you mind if I drop you at your place, need to have some alone time with that one.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

Harry looks in the backseat, and sees Andy with his chin resting in his palm. He sighs and faces forward again. He pulls onto the street, and makes his way home. Harry drops you off, and walks you to your door.

“I’m sorry about all this.”

“Hey, it comes with the territory.” You shrug. “Shit happens.”

“I’ll have less time to spend with you sooner than I thought…”

“Harry, don’t worry about me. Once school starts we’ll see each other every day. We’ll make time for date nights later, go take care of things with him. Seems like he really needs you right now.”

Harry kisses your cheek and gets back in the car. It’s silent until they get home. This time he helps Andy with his things. Once it’s all settled, they both sit in his room to chat. They each sit crisscross, holding pillows to their chests.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Harry says softly. “I know there’s gotta be more to all this.”

“There is.” He sighs. “It’s just…I feel like everyone around me is finding their true love.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mom has Noah, you have Y/N now, and…Brandon, ugh, Brandon started dating this girl Molly…she’s in our class, and they go to the same camp, and he told me they, like, kissed, and…now I feel like he’s never gonna make time for me anymore. I always thought relationships were for adults…I didn’t know he liked girls…I don’t like girls like that…not yet anyways.”

“Oh, Andy…it’s okay that you don’t like anyone yet, and this Molly girl isn’t Brandon’s true love. Odds are they won’t last long. You’re only eleven.”

“When he called me to tell me he was so excited he had his first kiss…and I felt…sick.”

“Sick?”

“Yeah, like, my stomach felt weird like I was going to throw up, and my chest started to hurt. I thought it was my asthma, so I took my inhaler, but it didn’t help.” Harry’s eyes grow wide. Andy was describing heartbreak.

“What did you say to him when he told you?”

“I told him that it was cool or whatever…but that was a lie.”

“It made you feel achy, huh?”

“Yeah, but I don’t really know why…”

“That’s okay, you don’t need to have it all figured out right now.”

“But what if when I see him next he wants to talk about her, or he wants to invite her everywhere?”

“You just need to tell him that you’re not comfortable with it, and that you’d prefer the one on one time. If he’s really your friend he’ll understand.”

“I just wish I knew what was wrong with me.” He starts sniffling. “I hate that I’ve been so mean to mum, I feel like I’ve been taking things out on her, and I know I hurt her today.” He starts crying, and Harry pulls him into his chest.

“Come here.” Harry lays him down with him, letting Andy cry into him and so he could cuddle him easier. Arms wrapped around him tight. “When you feel up to it you can call her to apologize.”

“She must hate me.” He hiccups.

“She doesn’t, I promise.”

“I don’t want her to know about why I’ve been upset.”

“Okay, it can stay between us.” Harry rubs Andy’s back with one hand and scratches his scalp with the other. “When does Brandon get back from camp?”

“In a few days.”

“Is that why you wanted to come back here? So you could see each other?”

“And because I missed you.” He snuggles further into Harry, and it nearly breaks his heart. He couldn’t remember the last time his son let him hold him like this.

“I missed you too.”

“Are things with Y/N going well? I feel bad, I know I messed up your date.”

“Things are good, and it’s okay. We were just out for a walk by the river, nothing special.”

“Is she your girlfriend yet?” Andy yawns. Poor kid’s had a long day.

“Not exactly, but soon I think.”

Harry lays with Andy until he’s in a deep sleep. He goes to his own room and texts Paige that Andy will call her tomorrow to talk some things through. Just as he’s about to put his phone down your name pops up.

You: I know it’s none of my business, but I hope Andy’s alright…is he?

Harry: thanks for checking in, he’s doing fine. We had a good talk, he even let me lay with him a bit. Poor kid felt bad about cutting our date short

You: you’ve raised such a sweet boy, honestly

Harry: maybe you could join us for dinner here some night, I think he’d like that

You: I’d love to, just name the night and I’m there

Harry sighs happily. Other women he’s dated in the past always thought it was cute he had a kid at first, but none of them ever understood that Andy came first. You were so cool about it, and he adored you even more for checking in.

Harry: hey…I like you a lot

You: hey…I like you a lot too

[fizzychocolatemilk]

You've Got a Friend in Me (You've Got Troubles. I've Got 'em too.) (A Bakudeku Tropetember Fic)

Another Tropetember thingy (this one is a little late though...oops). I classify this one as a fic because it surpassed 1K. This one is for day eight:  5+1 / 3+1 (Five Times + One Time). AO3 link is here. It’s slightly angsty...so beware of feels.

tw: use of the f slur, homophobia, unsupportive parents, bullying

(1.)

“You’ll always be nothing but some dumbass, lightning-bolt faggot! You should just pack up and quit the hero course now. You’re too stupid to ever make it further than some lowly sidekick position,” the boy finished his abuse before dissolving into obnoxious laughter. 

 Said boy was one of Denki’s middle school classmates. Denki had accidentally run into him because he was texting Eijirou. The boy had looked over his shoulder and seen Eiji’s name (along with a heart) and started making fun of him for being “a faggot”. Denki knew he shouldn’t take what some asshole said to heart, but the things that he said reminded Denki of other times when he had been put down similarly. Lots of people seemed to think he was an incompetent dumbass who could never do anything right unless he had help, and, while sure, he was a little slow in academics...he definitely had other skill sets that made him a kick-ass hero! That didn’t mean that it was easy to convince himself of that.

 “Denki-kun! Hi!” a voice broke Denki out of his spiral.

 Denki turned toward the voice and, low and behold, it was Izu-kun. Denki gave Izuku a weak smile and a wave as he stood tensely next to the bully.

 “Denki! Who’s this? A friend?” Izuku asked as he walked up to the two. His voice sounded dangerous, and Denki could hear the “or foe?” that came after his words. At 17, Class 3-A knew that Izuku was dangerously protective of his friends, and they all did their best not to provoke his fury in any way. Because a feral Izuku was terrifying. 

 The bully didn’t know this though, and he simply laughed before “greeting” Izuku, “Ah, guess we’ve got another faggot. Or did you not know that Lightning Dolt here was a twink?”

 Izuku’s aura darkened several degrees at the boy's statement but still he shot the boy a bright (but fake) smile, “I’ll give you three seconds to run before I fucking destroy you.”

 The boy’s face dropped and he blinked, “Uhhh...what?”

 Izuku continued to smile, “One.”

 The boy’s eyes widened in panic, “Wait, man!”

 “Two.”

 The boy started running, “We can talk about this!”

 “Three,” Izuku immediately gave chase—or he would have if Denki hadn’t given him a small shock and held him back. Izuku struggled for a second before sighing and turning to Denki, “Denki-kun, you are more than just a brainless idiot and more than just a...a...you know. You’re amazing and talented in your own right and I’m proud to call you my friend.”

 Denki blinked in surprise before blushing lightly, “Thanks, Izu. I really appreciate it.” He smiled genuinely at Izuku.

 (2.)

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Momo,” the dark-haired woman stared harshly down at her daughter, “You may feel like this now, but one day you’ll find a nice, upstanding gentleman that captures your heart. Not some...punk-rock freak-girl.”

 Momo stared down at her feet and sighed softly before replying, “Yes, mother.”

 However, as she turned to make her way into the dorms, and her mother turned to meet with the chauffeur, she heard a very familiar voice. “Excuse me, ma’am! Yaoyorozu-san! May I have a word with you?” Momo turned to see Izuku-kun coming down the dorm steps and speed walking down the lawn to meet with the two women. He had a slightly dangerous aura (someone outside of Class A wouldn’t even notice), but Momo stood rigid as her friend stood up to her mother, “Yaoyorozu-san. I think you should consider taking your daughter more seriously. 

 “You might not know me well personally, but Yaomomo-chan and I know each other very well and I would consider us good friends. She’s smart, resourceful, and talented, and I think we can both agree that she will make a fantastic hero. But Yaomomo-chan is also responsible and mature, definitely mature enough to make her own decisions about her relationship choices. 

 “My own mother is very protective of me too, but I think that part of being a parent means accepting and supporting children through their choices and the consequences of those choices (good or bad), even if they aren’t choices that you, yourself, would make. I hope that you can come to respect Yaomomo-chan’s decisions about her own future, and find comfort in the fact that I, and everyone else in Class A, will always offer her our full support. Thank you for your time.” Izuku bowed politely before turning to Momo. “Kacchan made dinner. You should come eat it before it gets cold,” he smiled before heading back inside.

 Momo’s mother looked surprised for a second before saying a quick goodbye and hurrying away. Momo smiled after her before whispering under her breath, “You are a marvelous friend, Izuku-kun.”

 (3.)

Hanta was in a rush to get to class. Usually he was pretty punctual, but today he missed his alarm so he wasn’t feeling the best. Anxious and rushed, he accidentally ran into the worst person reasonably possible.

 “Ahah, if it isn’t the plain-faced tape dispenser from Class A!” Monoma laughed, “Late to class, I see! Tsk, tsk, yet another reason Class B is superior! At the very least we’re punctual!”

 Hanta deadpanned at the slate-eyed boy, “You know you’re late too, right?”

 Monoma’s jaw dropped for a second before he regained his composure. He huffed and took another angle, “Well, at least I have a personality! You’re so boring that it’s a wonder anyone pays attention to you at all. You’re almost more invisible than the invisible girl in your class! Not to mention that you’ll probably never get a girlfriend, hah!”

 Hanta rolled his eyes, despite the pang in his heart, before maneuvering himself to speed-walk past Monoma. “I’m literally dating Shou. It’s been the hot gossip for the past few days, and you’re definitely shallow enough to keep up with the gossip mill.”

 Monoma guffawed, “How did a plain-faced peasant like you end up with someone as high class as Todoroki? It’s a wonder, isn’t it? But, of course, I’m sure you’ve been hearing that for the past few days, haven’t you?”

 Hanta knew that he shouldn’t take anything that Monoma says seriously, but he’d been hearing how “unworthy” he was of Shouto for the past few days (since their relationship became public knowledge). The scathing words got to him and it made him doubt himself a little. He sped off towards his classroom, ignoring Monoma’s jeers in the background.

 That day, during a joint training session, Izuku requested to be paired with Monoma...and maybe Izuku went a little harder than he usually did. Maybe Monoma ended up in the infirmary before class ended, but it was training so Izuku couldn’t really be blamed for accidentally injuring his classmate, could he?

 Hanta smiled as he now had an explanation for the flash of green he swore he saw out of the corner of his eye as he was rushing to class after the encounter.

 (+1.) 

Katsuki slapped Deku on the back after training. “What the fuck was that, nerd?! You fucking beat the hell outta the Copycat Freak! Why can’t you ever go that hard when we train?”

 Deku’s face flushed as he turned a blinding smile at Katsuki. Cute. Katsuki shook himself from his thoughts as Deku started talking to him. “I guess I just got really into the exercise, Kacchan!”

 Katsuki could tell that Izuku’s words weren’t the whole truth but he decided to gloss over it for now in favor of focusing on a topic that had been bugging him. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with Mochi Head lately. Skimping on our training. Any specific reason, Deku?”

 Katsuki watched as Deku’s face flushed again, but this time it made a pit grow in his stomach. The pit grew as Deku stumbled over his words for a few minutes before answering, “We’ve just been helping each other study, Kacchan.” 

 “You’re fucking lying, stupid Deku,” Katsuki scoffed as his heart started cracking, tiny pieces falling into the void. “But it’s fucking fine. If you’d rather waste time with your girlfriend like a dumbass then I’ll take the number one spot all the more easily,” he said, but the words felt ashy in his mouth, empty and non-fulfilling.

 He started walking away when there was a sharp tug on his wrist. “Kacchan!” It was Deku. It was always Deku. Katsuki stopped trying to pull away, but he didn’t turn around yet. “I love you! No one else! Ochako-chan has just been helping me work through my feelings for you! She has feelings for someone else!” Katsuki turned sharply to see Deku staring intensely at him. “You are my symbol of victory. My hero. My Kacchan. It’s only ever been you, so please. Please allow me to stand by your side!”

 Katsuki sniffled before completely breaking down in tears from the emotional taxation of the last few minutes. Being the empathetic crier he is, Deku broke down with him and they held each other and sobbed. After a couple more minutes, Katsuki had pulled himself together enough to respond, “Y-yeah, dumb Deku. Keep your eyes on me.”

 Katsuki stood and extended a hand to Izuku to help him up. Izuku stared at him fondly for a split second before taking his offer. They walked back to the dorms side-by-side and hand-in-hand.

[elysianightsss]

It’s just Business - three

Werewolf Steve Rodgers x reader

Warnings for the series: fluffness, Bucky and Sam bickering like five year olds, smutty smut, bad language.

After coming back from my ruined peaceful walk, I didn’t have the motivation to do anything other than just sitting and reading. I spent most of the afternoon and evening doing that too. It kind of brought back the serene feeling from this morning but not the same. By the time dinner and then sleep rolled around I felt unproductive.

Making a mental note to talk to Bash tomorrow, I pulled back the covers ready to get into bed when I heard a howl just like the night before. The noise caused my breath to hitch in my throat, my hands to grip the sheets. Like a siren call I walked towards the glass door in a daze. Standing out on the balcony now, I heard the howl again but it was closer this time.

The noise made my chest tighten. A pricking sensation familiar to how you’d prick your finger when learning to sow. It got stronger and stronger, almost like something was getting closer and closer.

“Alex?” I jumped screaming when a hand placed itself on my back.

“Oh Bash, sorry, you scared me. I didn’t hear you come in.” I explained.

“I haven’t scared you in years. Last time I did we were little. You seemed to be the one scaring me now.” He grinned, a smile slipping onto my face too.

“Seems that way doesn’t it?” He eyed the lake and trees with a suspicious eye.

“Do you like it here?” He asked coming to stand next to me on the balcony.

“I love it. It’s so freeing.” I stared out at the view.

“I’m sorry for what Dad had done. And, well I’m sorry for leaving you in that house to begin with.” He cleared his throat, I reached out a patted his back. I knew it was hard for him to admit his wrong doings, even if technically he didn’t do anything wrong here.

“It’s not your fault. Mother and Father would have never let it happen. And besides maybe being away from them for eight months will be good for me.” I let out a dry chuckle at the thought. Eight parent free months. Sounded amazing.

“When I was your age, that would have sounded like heaven to me.” He poked my side with a laugh.

“Bash, I spent four months trying to do this task, and I’ve already failed. How did you and JJ complete it in under a month?” I asked astonished, more about JJ than Bash really.

“When Father set us the task, I thought it was easy. And applied to every college in the world, a lot of people wanted the ‘Mayor’s Son’ on their campus, but two sons that was like a dream to them and their scouts. So when I finally picked the college I wanted, they asked if JJ would be joining me. Which he did.” Bash shook his head remembering the trouble JJ caused that university.

“Nobody wants me for my title or my grades. They just want money. How am I supposed to do this? The task is to get into a college without financial help. So far getting a scholarship from every place in the world has failed. Because they said and I quote ‘your parents have too much money’.” I pushed and hand through my hair angrily.

“I have a friend at Hitchend Uni, I called and asked if he could do something. He said he’d see what he could do and call back soon.” Bash looked over to me seeing my sad eyes. “Little sister.”

“I just wish my life wasn’t like this. I wish it were different. That I didn’t have to worry about this stupid task or the fact that if I fail they’re going to kick me out without any financial support. They won’t even let me get a job to support myself, so what money will I have to fall back on?” I tried to relax staring out at the lake. A howl sounded over to the left of the forest.

“You know that Lara and I will take you in. We could never let you be homeless.” He placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Thankyou Sebastian.”

“Ooo using my full name. You must be serious.” He chuckled pulling me into a hug. I gladly accepted the warmth.

“Now come on time for bed.” He encouraged me inside and I listened. Slipping under the covers as he shut and locked the door.

“Goodnight little sister.”

“Goodnight big brother.” He smiled and closed the door. I rested a little easier that night, knowing that when everything goes to shit I have someone to turn to. I’m not alone.

Two more days. Today and tomorrow and then the freedom is gone. My head started to hurt more and more, the closer it got to leaving. New worries hitting me at every point throughout the day. I couldn’t stop thinking about all different kinds of problems that could happen. Soon enough, the last day rolled around.

A knock on the door had Bash’s head flicking in the noises direction. We were in the middle of breakfast, I was far too busy chowing down my Frosties to care who was at the door until I heard who Bash was talking to. He’d gone to get the door and now was conversing with whoever was there.

“Of course man, come in. We’re just having breakfast.” I went to leave, for now I was beyond pissed.

“Alex.” Lara shook her head at me, but I didn’t listen. Getting up from my seat only to run right into the person I wanted to avoid.

“Good morning Alexandra.” His voice was like honey, his sweet smile pushing me to stay. Dark blue graced his upper body again. Mustering up the best glare I could and sending it his way. I left, going back to my temporary room upstairs. Only a few seconds later he was stood in the door way.

“I want there to be no misunderstanding Alexandra. I no way want you to dislike me or be uncomfortable. However we will be spending the next eight months together and I have specific instructions from your father in terms of a schedule. It would be best if we got along don’t you agree?”

He had some fucking nerve. I grit my teeth taking a deep breath before turning to him and speaking.

“And I want there to be no misunderstanding when I say I have one more day left of freedom. And I would very much prefer to spend it without you, errand boy.” I wasn’t going to be told what to do by my father’s errand boy. Well, man.

The clench of his jaw, the raise of the eyebrow, the spark in his eyes gave me a sense of pride. I had just managed to rile up a grown man and he couldn’t do anything about it. It was in that moment I decided to spend the next eight months making his life as hellish as mine.

He left the room quickly, I couldn’t help the grin that grew with each passing second. For some reason, I didn’t know what that reason was but, I really liked getting him riled up and I couldn’t wait to see what happens when I push him too far and he snaps. I wonder what it is that he’ll do.

I felt my entire body heat up, I figured it was just the adrenaline rush that came with the situation rush. But the longer I stood and pondered, I felt like I was yearning for something? Heat shot through me again, it felt like when you get too hot and the waves of hotness just keep coming until you take off your jacket.

Shaking the feeling off, I made myself determined to go back to being normal for a day. That was ultimately the goal until Mr rugged showed up at the front door. Wonder if he’s still here? I tilted my head with the thought, trying to listen and see if I could hear any talking downstairs.

“Yeah, you idiot.” Lara laughed.

“Ah my loving wife, how ever did I deserve such a glorious mate that showers me with affection daily.” Bash’s sarcasm dripped with each word he spoke.

“Eww sloppy kisses!” Lara scream playfully.

That’s a new one. Never heard someone refer to their partner as a mate before. Strange but with my family stranger things happen every day. Not wanting to take my chances that he hadn’t left I stayed in my room for the rest of the day.

“Wish I could stay.” I huffed flopping down on my bed. Tomorrow was the day I left and I wasn’t ready.

This is it. No. It can’t be.

“Alex!”

It is. Pulling the sheet above my head, I let out a groan at the thought.

“I’m leaving today.” I said to myself, as if trying to ready myself for the journey ahead.

I got dressed and packed as slowly as possible. Didn’t have the appetite to eat anything. Felt like my stomach would lurch if I did. Couldn’t bare the thought of going away from the first place that had made me feel peaceful.

“Love you lots and lots and lots and lots and lots.” Lara repeated hugging me tightly.

“Okay Lara, let my baby sister breath.” Bash chuckled.

“Our sister.” She glared not letting go.

“Love you too” I smiled pulling away and walking to Bash. He enveloped me in a hug.

“You can do this.” He whispered, squeezing me before letting me go.

I got in the car that had pulled up twenty minutes ago. I didn’t mind making him wait. I waved goodbye to the happily married couple, mustering up the best smile I could. The gorgeous fir trees passed by not helping my solemn mood. Soon the mountains came into view, seeing a few houses dotted here and there on a few of them.

The car passed by the big village. Strings of houses here and there. There was a huge house in the middle of it. People walking about, looking my way, kids playing outside and others farming the land. We pulled up to a house that was slightly away from the village and a bit bigger than the other houses. The driver opened my door for me, smiling in thanks.

“Rustic.” I quipped looking at the house.

“Thanks.” My head snapped to Steve who had been walking my way, behind him was a trail going into the forest that I assumed led up to the mountains.

“Welcome to your new home for the next eight months.” He smiled and somehow, it seemed sincere.

Oh joy.

[erodasfishtacos]

Take a Hike

Prompt: When Harry and Y/N take the baby for a hike and end up being followed by fans.

word count: 2.2 k

contains: language, sexual content

Harry was furious. He just wanted to go on a hike  - like a normal family on a warm June day in a beautiful foreign country.

You were currently in Madrid - on Harry’s European leg of the tour.

While Harry had been doing press - you and Sasha had taken to the hotel pool where she could splash and enjoy the water all day.

It wasn’t without a eagle-eyed security guard who lurked in the background for shady characters and overzealous fans.

Fans - they wanted picture with you because you were Harry Styles’ wife. Not inherently famous on your own.

It was a bit odd, but you didn’t mind occasionally stopping to snap a pic with a excited fans. 

However, when you and Harry were out with the baby - it was completely off limits. Neither Harry nor you would stop for fans and paparazzi if you were toting around your little love.

She didn’t like the crowds and shouts that came along with swarms of people. She would slap her little hands over her ears, dig her face into her parent’s neck, and whimper.

Harry had always been protective of you when it came to these situations. One of the major downfalls of being so famous.

Harry had nearly gotten arrested when a clumsy pap had nearly push you over while you were eight months along. 

**

You and Harry had loaded up all the necessities for the five-mile hike on one of the trails right outside the city.

Sasha had a generous amount of sunscreen on and a little hat to protect her face. She refused to wear the sunglasses.

Harry had a pack for her - so you helped him load your two-year-old onto his back. He knew it was going to ache like a motherfucker but she was a bit too heavy for you. You opted for the backpack with everything in it.

The trail was semi-busy. Both of you donned sunglasses and hats to attempt to disguise yourselves a little bit.

Harry had even pulled on a hoodie - despite the heat - to cover his very recognizable tattoos.

You made it the two and a half miles in without any interruptions. 

Sasha falling asleep halfway through the trek with her cheek smushed against her father’s shoulder blade.

You snapped a few pictures in front of the waterfalls and beautiful rock structures. But you had decided not to wake your daughter from her nap.

You and Harry had taken an obligatory kissing selfie that would likely be your new Lock Screen. 

You both had made the mistake of taking off your sunglasses for the picture because you can hear muted whispers from other tourists.

“Is that fucking Harry Styles?”

“Yes. Oh my god! That’s his wife and baby!”

“Snap a video, Emilia!”

Harry’s noticeable tenses as he slides his sunglasses back onto his nose. Protective papa bear was in full-force around strangers who knew who he was.

The most important thing in Harry’s mind was his family’s safety.

“Let’s go, lovie,” Harry murmurs softly. His British accent surely giving him away if they heard it.

You nod anxiously - pointedly not making eye contact with the fans and small group that was gathering.

As you begin the journey back down the small mountain - you notice the group trailing behind you. Following you guys.

Jaw clenched, you want to scream at them to stop taking pictures of your sleeping baby. But you attempt to keep your cool.

It wasn’t more than ten teenage girls but it didn’t really matter who it was.

The girls are getting louder, more excited. When one of them squeals in joy of seeing her celebrity crush - who she had ticket for his concert tomorrow as did the rest of the group.

The noise startles the curly-haired baby on Harry’s back awake. She immediately starts crying - her hands coming to grip frantically in her fathers matching curls.

“Daddy,” Sasha sobs, grabbing at him as the girls keep snapping pictures and cooing.

Harry’s face is stone - attempting to keep his anger at bay. He was about to lose his shit and you couldn’t blame him.

He couldn’t always treat people with kindness.

“Down, want down,” she lisps, no longer wanting to be confined in her pack. It was also most likely time for a diaper change.

“Not right now, sweetheart. Please be good for mumma and I,” Harry rasps, reaching back to give her leg a comforting pat.

You look at your husband, “Please - let’s just try to make it out of here as soon as possible.”

Harry sighs, “I’m sorry, love.”

You brush his shoulder lightly, “it isn’t your fault people act this way. I just can’t stand when this happens around her.”

Harry’s slight smile from your reassurance turns into a glare when he realizes the nosy fans were trying to talk to his upset baby - who notably did not like strangers.

He’s quick to unstrap the toddler and shuffle her into your arms. You cradle her and turn you back away from the group. 

“Mumma, no cameras,” she whines, her words a little jumbled but you understood.

“I know, baby. Daddy’s going to take care of it,” you coo assuringly. Her fingers finding their way into her mouth to soothe her.

Harry slides her carrier off his shoulders and tosses it next to your feet. He’s trailing over to the jumpy, overly-excited fans.

“Listen,” he states firmly, speaking loudly over their giggles, “y’need to stop following us and takin’ pictures. You’re scaring our baby.”

They chatter a bit, begging from picture and then they promise they’ll leave us alone.

“Absolutely not,” Harry states, trying to stay level headed with these immature teens who adored him.

With that, he’s headed back to you guys. The girls shouting unflattering things at him like “asshole” and “douchebag.”

He decided to ignore it and quickly allows you to strap the baby back into her carrier. His eyes study your face to make sure you’re alright and you give him a calm smile, squeezing at his bicep.

—- 

The girls trailed off after a few more minutes of following us. Harry hummed and sang a few nursery rhymes to Sasha to keep her calm but she was still fussy.

Back the hotel, Sasha was freshly bathed and laid down for a nap in the second bedroom. A baby monitor sat on the bathroom countertop as you two showered off the sweat and dirt.

Harry was still upset about the incident so you decided upon a good cuddle in a warm shower. His cheek was rested in the top of you head and his arms holding you to his wet chest.

“Just want to be normal - for one fuckin’ day,” he huffs with frustration.

“We had a totally normal, fun hike. It wasn’t ruined, I promise. It’s our reality so they’re is no use in being upset about it.”

Harry loved how level-headed you were to balance out his irrational, impulsive feelings and actions.

“You’re t’good to me, I love you.”

“At the end of the day, I knew what I was signing up for when you and I got married. I also knew when we had Sasha that paparazzi would still hound you.”

“Didn’t sign up to be harassed constantly though. I just feel so bad about it sometimes. It scares Sasha and it makes me feel like a bad father.”

You knew he was about to throw himself into a downward spiral if you didn’t distract him. 

“You know what else I signed up for when I married you?” I murmur into his neck, letting my lips ghost over his hammering pulse.

“Wha’s that?” He asks genuinely, a little slow on the uptake because of how deep in thought he was.

“That you would fuck me whenever I wanted,” you nearly purr, landing a not-so-gentle nip to the vein protruding on his neck.

“Is tha’ right? Put a ring on your finger and now I gotta give you my cock whenever you please?” He grunts at your teeth pinching his sensitive skin.

It’s amazing how it takes little to no effort to get this man in the mood.

“Mmm, if you want to be a good, dutiful husband,” you taunt - knowing he’ll take the bait.

“Am I not a good husband, pet? I fuck you any chance you let me. Give it to you anytime time you wan’ it. You know that.”

His hand is tugging your thigh up roughly, making your centers align with delicious pressure as he slips right between your folds.

“Harry,” Y/N groans, your head falling down to watch where he’s teasingly grinding his cock against your entrance and clit.

“Want me t’put it in, love?” He drawls like he has all the time in the world. The water pelting on his back making him pink.

“Ple-please,” you choke out, nipples harden against his chest even in the warmth of the shower. Sensitive with every brush against his smooth pecs. 

“You know what else you signed up for when y’married me?” He asks, his voice as deep and smooth as honey.

“What?” I reply, whining each time he teases at pushing in.

“That when you beg for my prick - you’ll be a good girl and take it.” 

With that, he’s thrusting up into you with full force. His sharp hipbones meeting the plushy, soft skin of yours.

“Ooh, oh fuck,” Y/N gasps, wrapping an arm around his neck as he presses brushing marks into your thigh where he’s holding you for leverage.

“C’mon, you can take it,” your husband goads, relentlessly hitting the spot that send licks of flames of your spine.

Your legs are feeling weak with how hard he’s pounding into you. He is so intuned with your body that he moves his hands to you backside.

He lifts you up easily, your legs wrapped around his waist, and his presses you back into the cold tile wall. 

He was so fucking good. How’d you manage to marry him? Unexplainable. 

“Am I good husband? Fuck you well enough?” He hisses against your open mouth as you pant heavily.

“So so good, H. Best husband ever,” you whimper, welcoming the friction from his pelvis against your swollen bud.

“Sweet girl,” he murmurs happily, “I think you deserve to come”

You throw your head back as he speeds up, fingers reaching to flick at your nerves - just on the right side of painful.

It’s just what you needed to climax. He always somehow knew what you needed. His fingers are consistent as he lets you ride it out.

It is only a few more rough thrusts before he’s cursing and coming as well. His hand grasping harshly at your jaw to bring you into a searing kiss.

“Never gonna get sick of watchin’ you come on my cock,” he chuckles, carefully placing your feet back on the ground but keeping a tight hold of your hips.

You lean in to give him a quick but meaningful kiss before going about cleaning your body again after the mess you two created. 

It takes a little longer than necessarily due to you constantly having to bat his wandering hands away from your body.

—-

It dark out now, the city of Madrid illuminated through the large windows of the high-rise hotel.

Sasha was exhausted after the hike and full day at the pool - despite napping twice. She was always out like a light around eight-thirty

You were tightly tucked into Harry’s side, head resting on his shoulder. Your eyes becoming bleary from drowsiness. 

Your toddler was sprawled out on Harry’s chest, fast asleep with one of your husband’s large hands resting on her back. 

Harry was scrolling aimlessly through his phone when he chuckle softly, handing you his mobile to see what was on the screen.

It was a video-recording of an Instagram Live. 

The video forwarded by Jeff. The volume low to not disturb your daughter.

It was a teenager girl who looks unpleasantly familiar.

“Um - yeah. So we saw him and we were hiking freaking out. ‘Cause like we’re going to his concert tomorrow.”

Then girls eyes flick to the commenters to answer questions.

“He had his baby. His wife was there too.”

“No, so he was so unfriendly! He flipped out because we wanted an autograph!”

The girl was mimicking Harry’s thick accent, “when we asked for a picture - he legit said ‘absolutely not.’”

I shake my head at the girl’s antics, “how dare you not take a photo. You’re such a dick.” You tease.

Harry smirks, taking the phone back and tossing it on the cushion. His hand rubbing gentle circles on his sleepy baby.

“None of tha’ matters,” Harry says softly, “I don’t care what anybody but you thinks ‘bout me. At the end of the day, as long as I have you and the bab - I’ll be happy.”

[fairyoftbz]

Retrouvailles | l. hyunjae

💐 pairing: florist!hyunjae x fem!reader  💐 genre: cliché fluff 💐 word count: 2.6k 💐 tw: i think i swore once or twice? 💐 synopsis: you are back in your hometown after living in paris for years with your family and a special encounter won’t make you regret your decision. 💐 requested: yes from kyu! i hope you’ll like it!! 💌 💐 a/n: i am so sorry but i absolutely love writing for florist!au, i promise it’s the last one ! (of this series) constructive feedback is always appreciated!!

╰☆☆☆☆╮

Looking around you as you got off the bus, you scoffed in utter shock as this neighbourhood hadn’t changed at all, even if you left eight years ago. All the shops and cafes remained the same, just two new ones got added to the ones that you always found welcoming and cute.

You got a weird sensations when you came back from school a few years ago, your parents stopping you in the entrance and asking you to follow them in the living room. Your siblings were already there, and they all looked down, your little sister on the verge of crying. You were fourteen at this time, and you had imagined the worst.

“Mom, Dad, what’s happening?” you worriedly asked, trying to catch your older brother’s gaze, but his head remained low, a visible disappointed look on his face. “It’s a bit complicated, sweetie, but Dad found a job in Europe. We are going to receive more money and live more comfortably, but we have to follow him,” your mother tried her best to explain you the situation without hurting you, but it was to no avail. You couldn’t control the tears submerging your eyes and cried uncontrollably, your mother rushing to take you in her arms.

“When are we coming back, Mom? Are we going to keep the house? I don’t want other people to live here,” your mother soothingly rubbed your back, trying to ease your pain, and she nodded. “I don’t know baby, but your grandparents are going to live here, it’s better than the house they currently have,” you pouted as you kept on crying, your mother resting a reassuring hand on the back of your head as she drew you closer, but immediately abandoned her arms as soon as your little sister started crying, rushing to hug her instead.

The move was hard, packing all your stuff had you feeling extremely sad to leave all your memories behind, unsure about the future years. The next day, you bid farewell to all your friends, hugging them tightly as you spent your last day at school trying to find solace in your friends and classmates’ presence before leaving. You cried in your best friend’s arms right in front of your mother’s car, and waved at her until she disappeared from the rear-view mirror.

Paris was a wonderful city, not quite like in the movies, but it was still charming. French was a tough language and you kind of struggled go get yourself understood because the other students didn’t really speak your native language, but with many months that turned into years of trying, you managed to now have a decent level in the language of love.

Despite your passion and admiration for this city, creating landmarks in the surrounding neighbourhoods as well as making friends were not easy tasks. However, with the help of your siblings and your parents, you had managed to make a bunch of friends, and that did you good when you didn’t have to think too much when you were talking since you were conversing in your native language.

Your time is France was amazing, you created great memories with awesome friendships, but you couldn’t help feeling nostalgic sometimes. You missed your neighbourhood, your grandparents, and your other relatives, only being able to see and talk to them via Skype or FaceTime. Years passed, and finally, at 22 years old, you decided to let your family in France, where your siblings had already constructed things with people, and come back where you grew up, where you felt like your heart truly belonged.

The shock on your face had to be very visible since some bystanders threw you a weird look as you stood stoic in the middle of the pavement. Spontaneously walking inside the kiosk that was as old as you remembered it, you warmly greeted the owner, an elderly woman that hadn’t changed a bit. Still the same hunched shoulders, long, white hair secured in a tight bun by a flower pin, her wrinkled smile was still as warm and as wise as you knew it when you were buying sweets from her.

You exchanged a few words with her, giving you a pack of the sweets you used to buy and the prepaid card you asked for. You still had your French number, so it’d cost you a kidney if you ever decided to call your relatives with it. The old woman looked extremely happy and somewhat pleased to see you, because she admitted that she got worried when you suddenly stopped passing by and buy sweets.

“And you decided to come back, how wonderful,” she said with her shaky, warm voice while handing you what you just bought. You smiled at her and nodded, eyes slightly widening when she grabbed your wrist. “If you need anything, my husband and I will be happy to help. I’m glad to see you back by us,” she said, and you felt your heart flutter. It was truly where you belonged. “Thank you, I really appreciate it,” you answered as she winked, wishing you a great day.

The fresh air welcomed you once you got out, feeling it clear your lungs from the slight more polluted air from Paris. You opened the bag of sweets and munched on a few, feeling the memories rushing back in your mind as you started wandering around the neighbourhood. You quickly texted your cousin that you were near their house, but he was probably too busy playing video games or napping, so you decided to go grab something more consistent to eat and wandered around, walking further into different areas.

The beautiful, light colours of a shop window caught your attention, not remembering its existence when you were younger. You got near the window and observed inside, discovering a jungle of beautiful flowers arranged by species. A manly back was working behind the checkout, assembling a bouquet of what seemed to be roses. You were tempted to go inside the shop to know more about this new place, but you quickly hid from the window when the man turned around. His face looked familiar, a tingling sensation appearing in your stomach as you tried to remember him. You knew him from somewhere, you were sure of it, but you just couldn’t put your finger on it.

The young man inside the shop slightly frowned as he saw someone suddenly disappearing from the window, the hems of their long brown coat lingering in his gaze. He slightly shrugged with a smile and petted the cat at his feet, who was demanding cuddles and attention. His hands were occupied with the order he had just finished preparing and he wrapped the flowers in some brown paper craft before placing it in the back office, where all the other orders were ready to get delivered by his co-worker Juyeon. He finished his cup of now cold coffee that was forgotten on the main counter, hearing the bell above the door chime.

Much to his great disappointment, it wasn’t the young lady that vanished before his eyes, it was Juyeon’s mother, who was here to pick up flowers for his sick grandmother. Hyunjae hid his dismay behind a warm smile, quickly pacing back and forth to give her the bouquet and bank her total.

A middle-aged woman walking out of the shop looked at you from the side as you still hid, tugging on your lower lip, rummaging your mind in order to find who this man was. You were getting frustrated as you stomped the floor with your foot, getting tired of your brain playing tricks on you as you were sure that you knew this man.

“Fuck it, I’m going in,” you said as you pushed the door open, the intense smell of flowers and pollen attacking your nostrils. It smelt really nice and welcoming, but your allergies said otherwise. 

You sneezed once, twice, and one last time before you could properly greet the man in front of you. He looked as curious as you were, he must have seen you since you weren’t the best at hiding.

“Welcome to the Butterfly flower shop, how can I help you?” the voice of the man sending a nice wave of chill down your spine, feeling yourself smile at who seemed to be the owner of the shop. “Hello, I’m just going to look around for a while,” you said while gesturing to all the flowers around you, sniffling to try and hold a sneeze in, but it didn’t help at all. It actually did the exact opposite that you had wished.

Hyunjae empathically smiled as you kept on sneezing, trying his best not to vocal how cute you were when the pollen seized your entire nostrils. You apologised profusely, mentally cursing yourself for being so curious. Maybe, just maybe, you should have stayed outside and admire him from afar, you wouldn’t be embarrassing yourself just like you were doing right now. But it was so tempting, you had to take a look. He was nice enough to hand you a pack of tissues, which you gladly took with a nod.

“I’ll be in the back office for a minute, don’t hesitate to ask me if you need any help,” he said with a warm smile and you nodded, holding a tissue to your face. “I appreciate it, thank you,” you answered as you started looking around the shop. All the flowers were beautiful, it was really tempting to just buy one of each without even caring about the prices. Since this was impossible, your eyes landed on some daisies, whose petals looked really nice and healthy. You felt bad to have made your choice just a few seconds after the man left for the back office, so you decided to wait for a bit.

Yet, another bad idea. Your nose felt ticklish, no matter how hard you rubbed your finger under it, it only became worse.

“Hum excuse me?” you politely said, and the man reappeared almost instantly, close to scaring you. His whole face lit up just with a smile, and you felt your heart skip a beat at the sight. Staring at him for a few seconds, mouth slightly agape as you detailed his face, his smile and manners hitting you like a truck.

This man was none other than Hyunjae, the young boy you had a crush on during the late years of middle school, right before you left for France. He grew up so much, yet his facial features had barely changed, they only matured. His smile was the thing that made you fall for him, his personality and physical features not helping the hopeless romantic that you were. You barely talked to him when you were younger, only when you were assigned in groups with him since he always hung out with the athletes and dancers, a group that you were dying to join but never did. Hyunjae was an incredible dancer, always performing for the school team and even outside.

“Ma’am? Are you okay?” you heard his voice bringing you back to reality, feeling embarrassment invading your body as you’ve probably been staring at him for long, way too long to not be weird. “I’m-I’m sorry. Can I have a bouquet of those daisies over there, please?” you asked, and he nodded. “Sure thing,” walking around the counter, you followed him to the said daisies, the man gathering a good portion of his stock. Your eyes widened a bit but didn’t dare to say anything, only to follow him back to the counter.

“Are you from here? My usual customers are my acquaintances or the people living in the neighbourhood,” his voice trailed as he arranged the flowers, briefly looking at you with a smile before busying his hands in the plants again. “I was actually born and raised here, but I had to follow my father abroad for his job,” you said while delicately touching the petals of a peony right next to your head. Hyunjae’s hands stopped, and he looked up, eyes going wide. “You are from here? Where in the neighbourhood?” “I grew up in the house right at the corner of the street, the beige one with the burgundy wooden shutters and the garden.” “Hold on. Y/N?” his voice sounded so light-hearted as his eyebrows raised in shock. It was his turn to look at you with a surprised look on his face, his mouth stretching in a wide smile.

You offered him a smile and you fell in a comfortable silence. Thousands of questions were trotting in your head, dying to ask the other, but you were both trying to find a topic that didn’t sound too curious and invading. And it was hard because you both became suddenly very shy, your attention focusing on the flowers. It was normal for you, but Hyunjae wasn’t the type of guy to get intimidated this easily.

“So-” you both said at the same time and chuckled together, the florist gesturing you to go first. “No, no, go ahead.” “So you decided to finally come back? I understand if you missed this town, I would too,” he said and you smiled, approving his words. “I was too tired from France, plus I missed my family that stayed here. I just wanted to pay them a visit and maybe stay over until I find another place to stay on my own,” you explained while observing your former crush wrapping the flowers you had chosen. 

He secured them in the same crafted paper he did for the previous bouquet, placing it on the counter closer to you. Handing him your credit card, you stayed with your hand hanging in the void, Hyunjae typing something on the cash register. He religiously ignored your card and handed you the bouquet, giving you the brightest smile he could.

“Take this as a gift to welcome you back in town,” he said and your eyes widened, hand slowly moving away. “I can’t accept this,” you said, suddenly feeling nervous. Hyunjae encouraged you to take the flowers by placing them right under your nose with a smirk, tickling your nose. “Please do. Welcome back in town, Y/N,” he said as he noticed some fallen petals stuck on his dark green apron, wiping them away before offering you a smile. 

You took the flowers away from your face and sheepishly smiled, thanking him for his generosity.

“Thank you, really,” you said with a shy voice, struggling to look at him in the eyes. He shook his head, indicating you that it was nothing, and he cleared the counter. “Have a lovely day, Hyunjae. It was good to meet you again,” you said as you walked to the door, hand on the knob. “Wait Y/N- would you like to get some coffee sometimes? I’d love to hear about your time in France and… get to know you a bit better and make up for lost time?” His offer wasn’t something you had expected, but who were you to refuse getting closer to your former crush. 

This random encounter with him had your heart fluttering like it did when you watched him perform in front of the entire school a few years ago, when you were still a young teenager hopelessly in love. It was hammering in your chest, warmth travelling in your entire body as a radiant smile appeared on your face.

“I’d love to.” You said with a smile as you walked back to the counter, only to take the business card he was handing you. Your eyes landed on the black ink scratching the phone numbers, only to find another one messily written at the top of the small card. You thanked him and walked through the front door, waving at him with a smile as you walked away, clutching the piece of paper tightly in your palm, excited of what this reunion was going to offer you.

__

╰☆☆ Les retrouvailles nous font rappeler de vieilles histoires, mais elles consentent également à en créer de nouvelles. ☆☆╮

[dear-evanrosier]

read the original angst post here !

As requested by @raybirdee , I have made fluff based on the world of my last Jegulus oneshot. 

August 12, 2019

A loud pounding on the door woke Lee, followed by “Happy birthday, Pebbles!!” 

 “Hold on! It’s like, eight in the fucking morning, Harry!” 

“Language!” 

“Sorry, Dad!” 

They huffed and got dressed quickly, and was assaulted with a hug the moment the door opened. 

“Harry!” Lee tapped Harry’s back repeatedly, trying to get free. “I can’t breathe!” 

He let them go and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, kid.” 

Lee gave Harry a dirty look, which he responded with a lopsided grin.

“I’m a year younger than you, dude. And also, sixteen.” 

“Yes, but would you rather me call you my en-beeeee sibling?”  Harry responded, throwing his arm over Lee’s shoulders and grinning widely. 

“Yes.” 

Harry threw his head back and laughed before dragging Lee towards the staircase. 

“Come on, Papa made pancakes.” 

Lee stopped them right above the top step, and Harry almost fell. 

“Which recipe? His or Uncle Moony’s? Because I love him, but his pancakes suck.” 

Harry opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a “I heard that!” which made him laugh again. 

“Moony’s pancakes. And I agree.” 

“I can still hear you!” 

Both  laughed again and continued down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Lee was given three more hugs and ‘Happy Birthdays’. 

“Happy birthday, Pebbles.” 

Neville had them in a hug the moment they moment their foot hit the bottom step, and Harry huffed and moved to sit at the kitchen bar. “I think my boyfriend loves you more than me, Pebbles.” 

Neville rolled his eyes, letting go of Lee to sit next to Harry and kiss his cheek. “You know that’s not true, love. I love your dads more.” 

James and Regulus laughed while both Harry and Pebbles huffed. Harry set his hand over his heart and one on his forehead, feigning hurt. 

“You wound me, Neville.” 

Neville rolled his eyes again and kissed Harry, effectively shutting the boy up. Lee rolled their eyes and grabbed some pancakes from the stove after being smothered by their fathers. 

Regulus grabbed their plate, smirking when they made a noise of surprise. 

“I heard your comments. No birthday pancakes for you.”  Pebbles huffed and stuck out their tongue, and turned toward their brother and Neville, after Regulus returned the plate with a smile, who were sitting side by side at the bar, Harry giving Neville a bite of his pancakes. 

“When did you get here, Nev?” They asked, and smirked at the panicked look they shared. “Early this morning.” Harry responded, and took another bite of his pancake. James raised and eyebrow but didn’t say anything. “Lee, I’ll tell them who’s coming later if you don’t shut up.” 

Lee stuck their tongue out and dug into their pancakes, enjoying the perfect amount of chocolate chips that their uncle had found. 

Regulus washed their plate after they ate and sat everyone down at the couches. Harry got them a pack of their favorite chocolate, as well as two tickets to their favorite band (For you and who’s coming later tonight.) Neville gave them more chocolate and sweets, mostly butterscotch.

Regulus exchanged a look with James before passing a long, grey bag to Lee. They raised an eyebrow taking it, knowing exactly what it was. 

“I said you didn’t have to. You guys...” 

It was a suit, white to compliment their dark blue hair and green eyes. With a silver tissue for the breast pocket. 

"That's not all, Lee." 

James handed her a thin stack of papers with official writing at the top and a notary signature at the bottom. 

"Oh my god." 

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

It was a nice, expensive restaurant, and James chose it, because it was Lee’s favorite. Just a small gathering of their family (Neville was with them, of course, he’s their family) and someone Lee had invited. Remus and Sirius were stuck out of the country after a large storm hit the country they visited. 

“Who, exactly, is coming? You didn’t tell us.” James whispered across the table, and Lee shook their head softly. “You’ll see, dad. Don’t worry.” Their phone dinged at that moment, and it was them. “She’s here. I’m gonna go meet her out front, I’ll be back in a minute.” And they got up and left, leaving a confused James and Regulus and a smirking Harry.

“Harry, do you know who they brought?” Regulus asked, and Harry nodded. 

“Great, who is it?” 

Harry shook his head and Neville laughed. “Fine.” Regulus huffed and sat back in the booth, pretending to be upset while trying to peer into the front. James pushed him back by his shoulder, and Regulus scrunched his nose in protest. Lee’s voice returned before they did, along with a higher voice, almost like it was in a trance. 

“No, love, I know. Be nice to your brother and dads. I like Harry, don’t worry. And he’s with... Neville, right? Yeah, that’s it. He’s nice. Though I once found them in a compromising position. Harry won’t look me in the eye anymore.” 

Lee’s quiet laugh followed, and Harry hid his face in his hands while Neville turned a bright shade of pink and James and Regulus laughed a little. Lee came around the corner a moment, holding the hand of a girl with long, waist length hair that had a few silver-blue streaks through her hair. She wore earrings that looked like paint palettes, and a knee length, cream colored dress that looked like flowers were on the inside. She was smiling widely, and her smile reached her soft blue eyes.  

"Hello. I'm Luna." She smiled and held out her free hand. 

"Dad, Papa, this is my girlfriend. Luna Lovegood." 

Regulus stood up first and smiled, shaking her hand before James did too. She sat down between Harry and Lee, the latter unable to look at her for more than a few seconds at a time. 

With James and Regulus deciding to share multiple stories of them as kids, and Neville inputting random occurrences of Harry and Lee being idiots, it was a nice night full of laughter and embarrassment. It wasn't until they were in the car later that night that it calmed down. 

 Lee leaned over, putting their head on Luna's shoulder. "Hey, Lunes." 

"Yes, love?" 

"They changed my name. I'm officially Pebbles Potter-Black." 

"That's amazing, sweetheart. I'm happy for you." 

"Thank you, love. I'm happy too."

[bopbopstyles]

Temptation (pt. 3)

RATING: M/smut (cw: prior sexual harrassment mentioned)

WORD COUNT: 14.6k jesUs

CATEGORIES: fratboy!harry

He paid the price in Nora not being his. He couldn’t say anything when he saw guys looking at her from across the room, he couldn’t hold her hand when they walked down the sidewalk on campus, he couldn’t touch her whenever he wanted in public. There was a barrier they maintained during daylight hours—no contact in public. At night when everyone else was drunk they broke that rule and could barely keep their hands off each other, lasting on the dance floor of the parties for a mere thirty minutes before going up to Harry’s. But he couldn’t show her off the world, couldn’t sing her praises, couldn’t call her his. At least, not in the way that mattered. He called her his during sex, but that wasn’t the same, he couldn’t distinguish the fervor of sex from the reality of his feelings. And it pained him more than he had expected.

Because he was Nora’s.

She just wasn’t his.

or

Nora can’t figure out what she wants and Harry gets hurt in the process.  (part three of this / fratboy!harry)

PART ONE | PART TWO 

Harry woke to the sound of his door opening and an empty bed. Nora was standing at the end of his bed tugging on her pants, hair a beautiful mess.

“Oi, what’re you doing?”

Nora looked up and saw that Harry was awake, sitting up on his elbows and staring at her in confusion. She didn’t want to run out, but she had to. She had a fucking UTI and she was going to have to pee every five seconds, she needed cranberry juice, and she wanted to deal with all of those things not at a fraternity house. “I gotta run,” she said simply.

“Where?” Harry looked over to his alarm clock. “It’s eight AM on a Sunday. Where’re you going?”

“The store,” she replied. “Gotta pick up some things.” She buttoned her jeans and reached for her shirt, long forgotten on the ground.

Harry sat up fully, confused. Who would go to the store at eight in the morning on a Sunday when they could stay in bed? Especially with him? He didn’t want her to leave. “And get what?”

“Jesus Christ, you’re so nosy.” Nora pulled her shirt over her head, exasperated. “I’ve got to get some cranberry juice, okay? And then I have to go home and spend all day by my toilet.”

“What? Why?”

This boy was clueless. But then again, he was also a boy, so what was she to expect. “I’ve got a fucking UTI, H.”

Realization dawned on his face immediately. “Oh.” And then suddenly, he was out of bed, grabbing a fresh pair of boxers, a shirt, and a pair of jeans from his drawers. Nora watched him and tried not to ogle at his muscles as he lifted hisi arms to get his shirt on, or the way his hair flopped into his face ever so slightly when he pulled on his jeans.

“What are you doing?”

Harry stood up and grabbed his keys from his dresser. “Going to the store for you. Now get back in bed, put on some of my clothes that are comfortable, and tell me what exactly you need.”

“What—Harry—“

He pulled her into his body and pressed the most soft and delicate kiss to her cheek. “I’ve got an older sister. Know how much these things suck and I seriously doubt you want to move much farther than to and from the toilet. So get back into my bed and let me take care of you, okay?”

Looking back, that was the moment that Nora fell for him. Right there, Harry holding her close and telling her to let him take care of her. “Okay,” she said, because how was she going to deny him? Plus, his bed was more comfortable than hers, and he was right, the idea of getting in an Uber and going to the store and then home sounded horrific because she already had to pee again.

“Now, what do you need?”

“Pure cranberry juice,” she told him. “No sugars, no sweetener, no mixed with anything else—pure, unfiltered, cranberry juice, and two bottles of sparkling water.”

Harry nodded, memorizing her words. “That it?”

Nora bit the inside of her cheek. “Some Monostadt if you’re feeling courageous.”

“What’s that?”

“Medicine of sorts. Probably will be in with the tampons and stuff.”

Harry’s cheeks reddened—he couldn’t help it—but he just nodded. “Text me if you think of anything else, okay? I’ll be back in a jiffy. And ignore anyone if they tell you to hurry up in the bathroom.” He kisses her forehead with such kindness that Nora possibly melts right there on the floor, and then he’s out the door.

~

Harry finds Nora curled up in his bed in his Fleetwood Mac shirt, hair pulled up in a messy bun, and reading his copy of Americanah that he was reading for a Literature class. Looking back, this was the moment Harry fell for her. His heart stops a bit at her in his clothes, in his bed, waiting for him, but he pushes the thought from his brain.

“Got a few different kinds,” he says, rousing her attention from the book. “Wanted to make sure it was right.”

Nora sits up and watches him pull three cartons of cranberry juice out of the bag, two bottles of sparkling water, a pack of Monostadt, two bars of chocolate, and some chips. She hadn’t asked for the snacks, but he thought she would want them and that warmed her heart, and the fact that he braved the tampon aisle for her gave her immediately more respect for him. She surveyed the options and saw he had gotten two that would work. “Those two are good,” she said.

“Perfect,” he said. He grabbed a cup from his desk and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Supposed to mix the cranberry juice and sparkling, I assume?” She nodded. “And the juice is pretty strong?” She nodded again. “Ok. Let me mix something and you tell me if it needs more of one or the other.”

“Ok, Mr. Bartender,” she said and Harry chuckled. He poured the two together, focusing on making sure it wouldn’t be too strong for her to sip on. He handed her the cup and she took a sip—perfect. “S’good,” she said. “Thank you.”

He smiled at her, proud of his ability to make the perfect thing for her. “Course. Now shove over so I can get in with you.”

Nora blushed, scooted over, and watched him get undressed. He stripped down to just his boxers, and then crawled into bed next to her. “Thank you for doing this,” she said softly, carefully edging closer to him so her head was on his shoulder. “It’s a bit awkward, you know. We just...” Had sex, she almost said.

“Hey,” he said softly. He pushed a strand of hair that had fallen out of her bun behind her ear, fingertips trailing down her cheek. “I wanted to do it. Don’t care if it’s awkward.” He pressed another chaste kiss to her forehead, and then grabbed a remote from his bedside table. “Now, want to watch a David Attenborough nature documentary with me?”

“I’ve been meaning to watch Our Planet,” she said, settling in next to him.

Harry decided that she couldn’t get more perfect.

They laid in bed for most of the day watching nature documentaries and ended up cuddling without even thinking about it. Harry discovered that he loves Nora’s head on his shoulder, their legs tangled at the end of the bed, a thin blanket tugged over them to keep them warm in the late January cold that the heat can’t keep out. Sometimes her fingers found his skin and drew outlines over his tattoos, which never ceased to pull a sharp inhale from him and a plea that she didn’t pull away. But she always did. Nora was better at keeping her boundaries up—she didn’t hold his hand, she didn’t snuggle into him too much—there was almost a reticence to the way she relaxed into him. She wouldn’t stop fidgeting and even when she relaxed, he knew she wasn’t letting her full bodyweight lean into him.

She was up and down constantly to go pee and he kept pouring her more glasses of cranberry juice and sparkling water, but her UTI didn’t go away. He asked about it hesitantly, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, and she just blushed before shaking her head. After another trip to the toilet, she reached for the Monostadt from where it’s been sitting on his dresser.

“You okay, Cherry?” The nickname popped out and he immediately remembered saying it the night before, balls deep inside of her and the image made him harden immediately. He tried to disguise it with the blanket, but Nora saw it without him knowing. The image made her smile inside, the reality of what she did to Harry making her quite happy.

“S’not getting better,” she said. “Gonna take this and hope it helps.”

“Need anything?” He asked and she shook her head before heading back to the toilet. He leaned back against the pillows and sighed, keeping the documentary paused so she didn’t miss anything in her absence. His phone buzzed with a text and he grabbed it, swiping it open. It was Nash.

Who’s the girl who is going in and out of the bathroom and your room?

Nash lived upstairs, but he must’ve been cleaning the house and noticed Nora. Her name’s Nora. She’s not feeling too great.

Aren’t you a gentlemen

Harry chuckled before placing the phone back on the nightstand, the sound of Nora re-entering the bedroom making him want to forget everything else. She was on the phone, he realized when she stepped inside, but she was speaking in another language.

“Je vais bien, maman,” she said. It was French, he realized. He didn’t know she spoke French and the sound of it falling from her lips turned him on more than he wanted to admit. “Mon ami prend soin de moi.” She leaned against the door as she spoke to her mother, Harry understanding that much. “Non, un garçon. Non, on ne sort pas ensemble. Maman, arrête.” She sighed, her eyes catching with Harry’s, and she rolled her eyes. Sorry, she mouthed and Harry shook his head, as if to say No matter. “Maman, je dois y aller, d'accord? Je t'appellerai plus tard. Je t’aime. Salut.”

“You speak French?” He asked, amazed.

She nodded. “My mom’s French.”

“That’s so cool that you know French and German.”

Nora tried ignore the way the fact that he remembered that she spoke German made her heart warm. Without a word she laid down next to him, pulling the blanket up around her shoulders. “You can start it,” she said, and Harry followed her directions.  

They laid in his bed until almost five o’clock, at which point Harry suggested they order food. They decided on sushi and they picked out a bunch of rolls and dumplings to try, and Harry grabbed the food when it arrives, making a spread on his bed for them. He didn’t tell her that he usually doesn’t let people eat on his bed because he made an exception for her, not being able to bear the idea of making her go downstairs and eat when she looked so cuddled up and warm in his blanket. They finished another documentary and it was seven o’clock when Nora declared it was time for her to go home. She was feeling better, she reassured a worried Harry, and Maddy was at home to take care of her. He insisted on driving her and Nora wore his Fleetwood Mac shirt with her jeans out of the frat house, since Harry wouldn’t let her give it back to him. He made sure she didn’t have to talk to any of his brothers downstairs, coming to grab her when he knew the coast was clear, and she appreciated it—she didn’t want to get whistled at or questioned, just to go home.

His car was a Prius, which Nora smiled at. He was so unlike any other fraternity brother she had ever met and he intrigued her more than she wanted to admit. When he turned on the car, Elton John blasted from the speakers and when Harry went to turn it down, Nora grabbed his hand and shook her head, telling him to keep it. He drove her home and they sang Elton John at the top of their lungs, both grinning from ear to ear, catching each other’s eyes sometimes. Harry loved seeing her in his car, loved having her around all day. When he dropped her off, she hopped out of his car without a kiss and he tried to ignore how it made his heart sink. He hated watching her walk away from him and inside her building.

It’s just sex, he thought to himself. It was what he had told himself time and time again and what he kept having to remind himself of.

The thing was, though, he was starting to have doubts.

In class, Harry checked in with Nora about how she was feeling and when she told him she was all better he smiiles warmly at her. They went and studied together after class, but Nora picked up her books around three and told him she was heading out, barely a look over her shoulder at him as she walked out.

She was creating distance. She needed it—after she’d spent all day with him she needed to remember that it was just sex, nothing more. When he dropped her off, she had gone into her apartment breathless purely from being around him and that whole night all she could think about was him. She needed space to figure out what was going on, to get her feelings in check. Nora had a life that she needed to focus on, grades to keep up, friends to see, an internship to search for. She filled her nights with homework and the job search instead of texting Harry, her mother reminding her that she needed to turn in applications soon if she wanted her dream internship position in London with the archival research department at the Museum of London. (She’d gone the past summer with her parents and fallen in love with the history of the city and decided she had to work there.) It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be around Harry, it was that she couldn’t. Everytime she was around him she felt this itch to fucking touch him and she couldn’t handle it anymore. She couldn’t handle how much she wanted to kiss him and curl her fingers in his hair and feel him between her legs. Nora needed air, she needed to re-calibrate, she needed to remember that she didn’t want to date and especially not a fraternity boy.

Harry’s texts went unanswered for the most part, other than the occasional quick response to something related to their classwork. He tried not to wonder if he’d done something wrong, but it was hard when he went from caring for her and her UTI to feeling iced out. Nora acted normal in class, small talk and shared laughter when their professor did something funny. But it wasn’t the same as usual and Harry was confused. When he asked Nash about it, he looked at Harry and said, “you’re just hooking up, right?” That made Harry self-concious—was he having feelings for her? And if so, did she not feel the same pull that he did between them? Being around Nora this week made him realize how much he just enjoyed her company, whether they were talking or studying or just sitting next to each other in class. He simply missed her, despite how much he tried to convince himself he didn’t.

He invited her to a party that weekend, hoping the weekend would mean he would be able to see her, but she responded a few hours later with a simple Sorry, I can’t :(. He spent the party sulking in the corner, sipping on whiskey and watching people have fun before going upstairs and calling it a night earlier than normal. Nash noticed and when he asked, Harry just replied, “She’s not here.”

The next week was just like before. They chatted in class, but beyond that it was radio silence. She responded to his texts even less and Harry was a confused mess. He threw himself into his school work, getting ahead on readings that he didn’t need to do for two weeks. All he wanted was an explanation, but he was too scared to even ask why she was doing it. Did she wants to stop hooking up? Had she been freaked out by his kindness? Maybe it was the nature documentaries. Did she want him to be more like Nash? More aloof? Did she want him not to care? Because he didn’t know if he could.

That weekend DSig had another party, but this time Harry told Niall, who was seeing Nora’s friend Maddy, he discovered, to invite them. Niall did as Harry had asked, but he didn’t know if they would come. And when Friday rolled around, Harry was stood in the kitchen, alone, drinking whiskey. Again.

Maddy and her friends had arrived, but Nora wasn’t with them. When Harry had asked her about Nora, Maddy had shook her head and said that Nora “wasn’t feeling it”.

“Harry!” It was Nash and he was properly drunk. “My man! Why aren’t you drunk, bro?”

Harry raised at his cup. “I’m drinking still.”

Nash looked in the cup and grimaced. “We’re doing shots,” he declared, looking around the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of tequila, two limes, and handed a shot glass to Harry. The shots were doubles and Harry wasn’t looking forward to it, but he did it anyways, because if Nora wasn’t going to be there then he at least wanted to have fun. He was entitled to have his fun—after all, he was Harry Styles, as Nash kept reminding him. He was hot and people were into him right and left, guys and girls alike.

So Harry decided to have fun. He did four shots, his mind whirring by the end, and followed Nash to the sweaty dance floor. The music overtook him and he let go, blissfully and fully. He danced with girls who he could tell were interested, but everytime he looked at them all he could think about was how they weren’t Nora. Sure, they were pretty, but they didn’t look at him like she did. He danced with them anyways, but when they leaned in to kiss him he stepped away and found his friends again, not wanting someone else to touch his lips because Nora had touched them last.

It was after midnight when he stopped dancing. He was hot, trashed, and wanted Nora. He just wanted her, not some other girl to fill the Nora-shaped hole in his night. It wasn’t until this moment that Harry, drunk off his ass, realized just how deep he was. Something was different with her and he didn’t know why or what it was, but he needed it more than he needed to be at this party. So he pulled out his phone and called himself an Uber, not even telling Nora he was coming because he didn’t want her to turn him away.

The knock on the door had Nora looking at her clock and sighing. It was almost one and she was exhausted—she was winding down for bed and watching a documentary on deforestation, finishing a glass of wine, skin fresh from a face mask. Maddy was out with Taylor and Lauren, but Nora had stayed in. She wasn’t sure why, but when they’d asked her to come to the party with them, she had said no. The idea of seeing Harry made her nervous—the last time she’d been at his party they had hooked up, and she didn’t know if she was in a place where she could do that and not have questions after. So she avoided the situation entirely.

But when she opened the door to find Harry standing in front of her, she was just as lost. “H?”

Harry smiled at the nickname, it settling the part of him that was nervous to see her. “Cherry. Hi.”

“What’re you doing here?”

“Seeing you.”

“I noticed,” she replied. “Why?”

“Wanted to see you.”

She took another look at him and realized he was drunk. Quite drunk, in fact. “How’d you get here?”

“Uber.”

That was a relief at least—he hadn’t drive himself. “Come on inside. You’ll freeze out there.” He’d not brought a jacket and Nora could see the raised goosebumps on his exmposed arms, the tattoos littering his body open for the world to see.

He kicked his shoes off in the entryway and watched as Nora poured him a glass of water. She rummaged through the cabinets before pulling out an Advil, which she handed to him. He took both, murmuring a thanks under his breath. She leans back against the counter and watched him, his presence in her apartment all consuming and more comforting than she had expected. He smelled of sweat and alcohol, but underneath it she could taste his cologne, the memories of it rushing back to her like a freight train. Him, close to her as he fucked her deep and fast, begging for her to finish. She pressed her legs together at the memory.

“Why are you here?” She asked him again, breaking the silence stretching between them.

Harry leaned on the kitchen island, his elbows digging into the granite countertops. “You didn’t come tonight.”

“Didn’t feel like going out,” she explained. She hadn’t expected him to be so disappointed, but she could read it on his face.

“You’ve been dodging my texts and not spending time with me.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Bullshit,” he replied, his voice hard in the quiet of the room. She wasn’t answering him and he was about done with it. She was standing there, staring him down, and completely ignoring the meaning behind his questions. He wanted answers, goddamn it—he wanted to understand her. “We’re all busy. It’s more than that and I don’t get it. Did I miss something? Did I do something?”

The way his voice trailed off at the end, emotion radiating through his words, had Nora’s heart aching. She hadn’t meant to hurt him—she had been selfish, needing the time away from him and ignoring how it would affect him, or that it would affect him at all. “I needed space,” she said, trying to find the words.

Harry’s eyes met hers and the way they bore into her soul made her stop fidgeting for once and concentrate on him. “But why, Nora?”

The way he said her name made her realize she had to be honest with him. “We’re just hooking up,” she said, the words sandpaper on her tongue. “And I needed space to make sure it stayed that way. I’m not in the position for anything more and I didn’t want you to be confused.”

Harry didn’t reply. He just looked at her. Maybe it was the alcohol or the hour, but Nora thought she saw disappoint and defeat in his eyes. And if she did, she had nothing to offer him. She didn’t have the psace in her life for someone else right now, only herself. People were complicated, especially relationships, and Nora didn’t want that. She wanted simplicity and hooking up with Harry would only stay simple if she kept it that way.

“I know we’re just hooking up,” he reponded finally. The lie was bitter on Harry’s tongue, because she did need to. The minute her words met Harry’s ears he knew that he was craving more. He had fallen with her, one way or another, somewhere in the week he had known her. His crush was full-fledged and suffocating, because when he looked at her he could barely look away. In her oversized sweatshirt and tiny shorts, her hair loose and messy, face clean of makeup and eyes weary with exhaustion. So when he looked away from her, it took every bone in his body, but he knew if he continued to look at her she would know he was lying. And he wasn’t ready to lose her yet. “You didn’t need to avoid me to make that clear, you know.”

His answer brought comfort to her—he felt the same way, that it was just sex. He didn’t need more, he wouldn’t complicate her life. He would let her be her and not ask for more. “I’m sorry,” she told him. “Shouldn’t have done it.”

He watched as she rounded the corner of the kitchen island and came up to him, her body mere inches away from him. Harry could smell her coconut shampoo and see the wrinkles between her brows from when she frowned. The desire to touch her was almost too much for him. “I survived.”

Nora wanted to touch him with every bone in her body. She wanted to feel his skin under fingers and watch him inhale as she scratched down his back. Since they were on the same page, she realized she had no reason to stop herself anymore.

Watching closely, he exhaled sharply as she touched him for the first time. It was soft, reticent, a reminder and a memory of before. A simple brush of her forefinger down the length of his bicep that had his heart beating faster in his chest. “Cherry,” he said, his voice gravely with desire.

When their eyes met, a simple understanding passed between them in seconds. And then Harry was pulling her up, her legs were around his waist, and he was walking her into her room, their lips melded together as if no time had passed. They hadn’t forgotten how to kiss one another, it was like muscle memory, the need for one another feeding through their skin as they kissed, a shared desire for more and more.

Nora dropped to her bed and she wasted no time with shedding her clothing, her shirt and pants coming off before Harry could even tug off his shirt. He wasn’t drunk anymore—their conversation had sobered him—but when he looked at her skin, he thought he might be intoxicated again because he couldn’t get enough. Sheets curled in her fingers as he pressed his lips to her body, murmurs of how beautiful she was and how much he wanted her flowing from him freely. Gasping, she reached for his chin and pulled him up to her, needing him to kiss her properly again. Which he did. He ground into her, desperate for her to feel him, and Nora moaned at the feeling. How had she managed to go two weeks without him between her thighs?

“Need you,” she said, breathless.

He looked up from where he was attached to her nipple. “Where do you want me, princess?”

“You know where.”

Once he might’ve made her spell it out, but he was too spellbound. He lowered himself flat on his stomach and tugged her panties aside without another word, pressing his tongue to her hot skin.

Things passed like that for a few weeks. They texted each other when they needed one another, Nora went to Harry’s parties just for Harry, and they flirted all through their class. Nora was comfortable with where they’d left things—clear and precise on the fact that they were nothing more than friends who were fucking. No relationship and no future of one.

Harry, on the other hand, couldn’t shake the disappointment he felt that night when she told him they were just hooking up. It poured through every fiber of his being and the more time he spent around her the more he knew that he had messed up. Royally. He had missed the opportunity to tell her how he felt, he had missed the opportunity to steer their relationship in a different direction and he was going to pay the price.

He paid the price in Nora not being his. He couldn’t say anything when he saw guys looking at her from across the room, he couldn’t hold her hand when they walked down the sidewalk on campus, he couldn’t touch her whenever he wanted in public. There was a barrier they maintained during daylight hours—no contact in public. At night when everyone else was drunk they broke that rule and could barely keep their hands off each other, lasting on the dance floor of the parties for a mere thirty minutes before going up to Harry’s. But he couldn’t show her off the world, couldn’t sing her praises, couldn’t call her his. At least, not in the way that mattered. He called her his during sex, but that wasn’t the same, he couldn’t distinguish the fervor of sex from the reality of his feelings. And it pained him more than he had expected.

Because he was Nora’s.

She just wasn’t his.

It was a Friday night and Nora wasn’t at DSig—a rarity. Maddy, Taylor, and Lauren had convinced her to go to the bars with them, telling her they needed a girls night. That she had been spending all of her time with Harry (a lie) and they missed her. So she dressed up, looking hot as fuck if she said so herself, and got drunk with her girls. They played drinking games in her and Maddy’s living room until they were all perfectly wasted, before taking an Uber to Slots.

At first, it was just the girls. The music flowing, dancing at the table they get in the corner, dragging each other onto the tiny and cramped dance floor. It was sweaty and drunk and so much fucking fun.

But then, some boys who Taylor knows came over, and one of them had eyes only for Nora. He was tall, but not as tall as Harry, with dark brown hair, but not as curly and gorgeous as Harry’s, and blue eyes, but they didn’t pierce her heart the way Harry’s do. His name was Leo and he stuck to Nora all night. She let him too, basking in the attention, loving when he bought her drinks and asked her about her classes and her life. She asked him about his and the more they talked the more Nora thought he was cute. Not in the way that Harry was—Harry was hot—but Leo was cute in his own way. A bit unsure, fumbled for words, searching for the way to say something in a way that Nora would like. She loved the power that surged through her veins at knowing that she was desired by someone other than Harry.

Leo was a Economics major and planned on working on Wall Street after college. He was from a few towns over from their college and had planned to go here most of his life. He wasn’t in a fraternity, but he was in a couple of clubs and they discovered quickly that they had some mutual friends. He was kind and made horrible jokes that Nora laughed at anyways because she saw that he wanted her to laugh. No—he needed her to laugh. He listened intently when she told him about her major, about her interest in German history, about her time abroad. He asked her questions and listened, diving deeper and asking her more and more. She felt like he wanted to know her in a way she wasn’t used to and she was surprised, but also flattered. Harry didn’t ask her these things, they just came up in conversation. But Leo sought them out, desperate for more information about her.

So when he asked for her number at the end of the night, she didn’t hesitate to give it to him. She didn’t know what to expect, but it couldn’t be anything big.

But when he texted her in the morning asking if she wanted to get coffee that afternoon, she was thrown off guard. She had told herself she wasn’t going to date anyone. But it was almost March and she had been seeing Harry and a part of her was intrigued by Leo. She wanted to get to know him, see what he was about. If all else failed, she could always tell him it wasn’t going to work out, she decided. So she said yes.

Harry was working Saturday afternoon shift, aka his least favorite shift. He usually spent the afternoons in the library or his room working on readings or writing papers. He had to work on his paper for the Urban Studies class he had with Nora, actually, he realized as he flipped the switch on the espresso machine. Would she want to help him outline maybe? It would be an excuse to hang out with her in a purely PG environment, something he was increasingly trying to find excuses for. He wanted more from his relationship with Nora and had decided he was going to try and ease into the idea—take it slow. Maybe they’d just…end up dating?

Somehow he sensed her presence the second she stepped in the door of the coffeeshop. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, a simple white tshirt and jeans that showed off her body in the ways he loved seeing. He watched her eyes lift from the floor and then they met his, a look of shock running across her face. Somehow they’d yet to have the discussion about which coffee shop he worked at, but here she was when he was working behind the bar making espressos and fancy coffees. Then, her eyesight shifted without even a smile in his direction, and he watched helplessly as she made her way over to a boy who had come in 15 minutes earlier—he was seated in the corner. He’d ordered some flavored latte, and Harry decided that was reason enough to hate him. He had never seen the kid before, but that wasn’t impossible at their school, especially if he wasn’t in a frat or in his classes.

“Harry.” He turned and Lauren, the other barista was looking at him in confusion. “You okay?”

He glanced back at Nora, her eyes bright and a smile dancing across her face. “Fine.” He grabbed the coffee cup Lauran handed him and turned back to the espresso machine, placing the cup under the drip and staring daggers at the back of this kid’s head.

Not too long after, Nora rose, her wallet in hand, and made her way to the bar. This guy wasn’t even going to buy her coffee? Maybe it wasn’t a date, he thought to himself. Any guy who didn’t take Nora out was an idiot, but that was a thought for another time. He heard Nora order her coffee, the same drop coffee and skim milk that he remembered, and tried to avoid making eye contact with her until she was standing right in front of his station and said his name.

“H,” she said, words soft. The nickname she used jolted through his body and he hated it. How dare she use while she was on a date with another guy? But then again, she wasn’t his, was she?

“What?” Harry knew his voice was gruff, but he didn’t care. She should know that he was pissed, even if he had no right to be.

She sighed as he filled her cup. “Why are you acting like this?”

Harry grabbed the milk and filled the cup the amount he knew she liked, and then looked up at her again. He rested his hands on the corner of the counter and leaned towards her—he wondered if she could feel the tension radiating between them. “You on a date?”

“I—“ she looked over to the guy who waved at her, and then back at him. “I don’t know.”

Fuck that. It was obviously a date. “Did he ask you to coffee, no studying or other excuse?” He handed her the coffee, but she didn’t move.

“Yes.”

“Then it’s a fucking date, Nora.”

Her fingers slid up and down the cup, moving the sleeve with them. “Are you mad?”

The laugh that left his lips was dry, mocking almost, and Harry didn’t have it in him to care. “No, I’m perfectly fine, Nora. We aren’t doing any more than fucking, right?” He ignored the way the hurt look on her face stabbed his heart and turned away, desperate for literally anything else to do. A beat later, her heard her footsteps as she moved away from the counter, and Harry tried to blink the tears from his eyes.

Nora knew she had fucked up, but how did she fix it?

She was lying on her bed, staring up at her ceiling and running through every moment she had shared with Harry in the past few months. The sly gazes in class, the conversations as they cuddled in his bed, the sex—the sex. And him. He was unlike anyone she’d known, he was unlike Jonas in all the ways that mattered and the ones she didn’t know were important. Harry was someone she never saw coming and the feeling she had for him she’d been trying and trying to push down since she’d met him, because if she let herself feel them then she would be ripped open for him to see. All of her demons out of the closet laid bare for him to investigate, to judge, to tell her how handle. And she didn’t think she wanted that.

And Leo was simple. He might want to date her, but she didn’t feel the need to share everything about her life with him. He was…easy. They could date for a while, just enough to get her mind off of Harry, and then she could break up with him. She didn’t want something serious and Leo didn’t scream serious at her—he screamed pure, kind, caring. The kind of guy who wouldn’t push her when she didn’t want to talk, wouldn’t bed to know everything about her. And that was exactly what she needed.

And the exact opposite of Harry. Harry desperately wanted to know her—she could see it in the way he looked at her, and it scared the shit out of her. He knew all the surface things and was begging to see the depths of her in a way that wanted her to lock a door and never reopen it. But she had hoped to at least stay friends with him, she enjoyed spending time with him. After the way he’d acted today, though, she didn’t know if that was possible, though. He seemed royally pissed off, despite the fact that he didn’t technically have the right to be, she told herself. She wasn’t his, not in any real way. Despite the way he had said the words, they were true—they were just fucking.

Her phone buzzed next to her and she rolled over to see who it was—Leo.

I had fun today. Study tomorrow?

Nora considered her thoughts, the things she knew and the ones she didn’t. Leo was something to be explored, she decided. See you at noon, she replied, pushing the sinking feeling in her stomach aside.

When Harry saw her on the dance floor, his heart lept in his chest. She’d come to another DSig party, despite the date on Saturday he’d seen. Despite the fact that they’d barely spoken this week, no funny texts during the evenings or study sessions or picking up coffee before class. Just words shared about the lecture and reasons given for goodbye. He could see her messy waves bouncing as she jumped and he smiled, he’d always loved how she danced. Carefree, not giving a fuck what anyone thought of her.

He wanted to go to her, touch her, make her his. But then the face of that other guy flashed through his brain, and he couldn’t rationalize it. She was seeing someone else unless she said otherwise. Off-limits, at least for right now.

“That Nora?” Nash leaned against the doorjamb next to him, handing him a beer. “What’s she doing here?”

“Fuck if I know,” Harry replied. He’d told Nash about what had happened in a rare moment of honesty over one too many beers on Saturday night, but now he was thankful to have someone who got it. “Think I misread the situation?”

Nash shrugged. “Dunno man. She’s coming over here, though, I think.”

Harry whipped his head towards her and saw Nash was right—she was weaving her way through the crowd alone and heading straight for him. Nash left his side so he could be alone, and Harry was thankful for it. Nash was one of the rare good ones.

“H,” she said, voice barely audible over the thud of the bass. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He wanted to talk to her with every fiber of his person, but his brain was screaming at him to walk away, leave her alone, let her figure out her shit and come back to him after. Her fingers ghosted over his chest and Harry sucked in a breath. He looked at her eyes and realized she was pretty drunk—drunker than he was, at least. Is that what it took for her to touch him—alcohol? “Nora,” he said, covering her hands with his, “what are you doing?”

“Touching you.”

“Why?”

She shrugged, her tumbling down her back, “want you.”

Harry gulped. Did he have the self-control? “What about that guy?”

“He’s not here.”

“Are you dating him?”

“No.”

Harry considered her words, the look in her eye that was begging him to fuck her. And for some reason, he decided to do it. “I’ll only do this if you’re sure you want to.”

She nodded, curling her fingers into his black t-shirt, slightly damp from the sweat of being in a room this crowded. “Positive.”

And with that, he decided to shove all of his thoughts telling him that she was just using him to the side and kissed her. Her arms wrappd around his neck immediately and he grasped her waist, pulling her flush to his body. Fuck, he’d missed how she felt against him, like she was made for him. Nora’s fingers curled in his hair and tugged slightly, a moan falling from his lips that he couldn’t stop. “Upstairs,” he said, voice rough with desire and hurt and disappointment.

She followed him up the stairs, hand grasped in his, and pulled off her clothes the minute she was inside his room. He raked his eyes over her, knowing it might be the last time, and decided to fuck her like it was. Slow, deep—make her remember that she wanted him. Make her know how much he wanted her, that he regretted not telling her when he’d had a chance.

And so he did. He left hickies all over her body, telling whatever boy she was talking to other than him that she was his, fucked her so deep she moaned his name like a prayer, held her so close that their skin felt like one, and didn’t let her go after. When she rolled over and crawled down his body, he let her, wanting to have her go down on him one last time, to feel her mouth and watch her grip his hips as she bobbed up and down. And he fucked her again, this time a little faster, a little rougher, but just as deep. And he licked into her after, drawing another orgasm from her, trying to memorize her taste on her tongue, how his name sounded off of her tongue, the way it felt for her fingers to curl in his hair and pull. After, when she was curled up in his arms, eyes shut and asleep on his chest, he prayed that she wouldn’t regret it in the morning. That maybe she’d tell him it meant something, that she wanted him and not the other guy, that she was his and only his.

But when he woke up, the only trace of her was her perfume on his pillowcase.

Weeks passed without more than a few words in class and it pained Nora, but she understood. When she’d woken up in his arms, him holding her close so her faced was smushed in the crook of his neck, she knew it was going to be a bad idea to let herself do this again. He’d barely returned his texts or replied to her in class, the smiles she adored were forgotten. She avoiding the coffee shop where he worked and told Maddy she wasn’t going back to DSig. He didn’t want to be her fuck on the side anymore and she would respect that. She spent time with Leo in small doses, trying not to give too much to him, and when they had sex, she tried not to think of Harry. But it wasn’t as good, it wasn’t the same.

Leo introduced her to his friends and she struggled to stay interested in the conversation, her thoughts anywhere and elsewhere. When they studied together, she found herself on her phone stalking Harry’s Instagram, wondering who the girls in the photo he’d just posted were. It came time to work on the second paper for the class she shared with Harry and she missed his insights into her outlines. Leo couldn’t provide the same help and got frustrated when she didn’t take his suggestions (which weren’t good).

The trees changed colors and as she laid out on the lawns with a book, Nora wondered if Harry liked the Spring as much as she did. Maddy laid next to her with an iced coffee and her computer, working on an assignment for her GIS class, eyes flittering over to Nora every once and a while.

Finally, Nora heard her voice break the silence. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing,” Nora lied. She was thinking about Harry.

“Bullshit.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“So you’re thinking about Harry,” Maddy said. She closed her computer and laid her head on her forearms. “Spill.”

Nora shut her book and sighed. She’d avoided talking about Harry with Maddy or any of her friends, never really telling them why it fizzled out. Just that it did and it was fine. Maddy had seen straight through her lies, but didn’t push. “I miss him,” she said simply.

“Then talk to him.”

“He doesn’t want me to.”

“Valid,” Maddy replied.

Nora whipped her head to her friend. “You’re supposed to say he’s stupid.”

“Well, he’s not,” Maddy said. “He’s got every reason to not want to talk to you—you started seeing another guy and then fucked him a week later.”

“But…”

Maddy sighed. “If you tell me you were just fucking, I’ll literally kill you.”

“We were, though!”

“Nora, you’re not stupid, so why are you acting like you are?” Nora narrowed her eyes at her best friend. How dare she?

“You’re supposed to always be on my side, you know.” “I am. You just aren’t thinking straight.”

Nora rolled over and shoved her face into the blanket they’d brought with them. “What am I supposed to do then?”

After a beat, she heard Maddy’s voice. “Do you like Leo?”

“He’s fine.”

“Fine.” Maddy parroted Nora’s word back to her and Nora grimed at how it souned. Bored, uninterested, which was exactly what she was most of the time. The interest she’d had in Leo had fizzled after the first two weeks, their conversations stalling, the desire dissolving.

Lifting her head nad making eye contact again, Nora said, “He’s boring.”

“And Harry?”

Harry. What was there to say and what wasn’t there to say? He consumed her thoughts and her dreams and she hated it. She’d had a sex dream about him last week while she was in Leo’s bed which was quite possibly the worst thing of all time. Sitting next to him in class was hell because she had to be close to his body, smell his cologne, just be around him, but she couldn’t switch spots because the other students would throw a fit. She missed the way he kissed her and touched her and said her name and laughed with her.

“He’s…Harry,” she said simply, becuase that’s all there was to say.

“Nor, I love you,” Maddy said, giving her a small smile, “but you fucked up.”

And Nora knew it the minute Maddy said the words. She’d hurt Harry and she just hoped there was some way she could fix it, because if she didn’t she didn’t know if she could forgive herself.

Leo was her first task. She texted him to see if he was at his dorm and when he said “yes!” she walked over, backpack thrown over her shoulder, a pit of dread in her stomach. Leo was perfectly nice, just not nice for her. He needed someone simple, easy, and most importantly, not completely infatuated with someone else, all things that she was not. Leo lived on the other side of campus in one of the nicer dorms, known for not having too many parties and only upperclassmen and thankfully for her, lived alone. If she had had to go in there and deal with a roommate after she broke up with him, nora didn’t think she could do it.

He answered his door immediately, a wide smile on his face, a pair of sweats and a loose t-shirt for their college adorning his body. “This is a nice surprise,” he said, kissing her cheek sweetly.

Nora nodded, making her way inside. “Are you busy?”

He sat down at his desk chair and gestured to the notes spread out in front of him. “Studying. Or trying to, at least.”

She sat down on his bed, the plaid bedspread reminding her of the nights she had spent cuddled up next to him in his Twin-XL, much too small for her tastes. Harry’s double bed in the frat hour was far superior. “I wanted to talk to you about something,” she said, the words rough on her tongue.

Leo cocked his head to the side but said nothing, shutting his laptop and giving her his full attention. Somehow, this was worse, having him stae directly at her. She almost wished he didn’t have the courage to look at her because she sure didn’t.

“I want to break up.” The words were blunt in the quiet of the room, the only sounds the soft echo of a door shutting in the hall. Leo blinked at her and Nora’s eyes shifted down to her lap, winding and unwinding her fingers. She knew she didn’t care deeply about Leo—not in the way she suspected he did—but she didn’t expect the words to come as easily as they did.

“Why?” Leo asked, his voice broken at the end of the word. Nora expected if she looked at him he would be tearing up; he was always more open with his emotions than she was. Vulnerable, something she did not excel at.

“I—I just…” Could she tell him? Be completely honest with him? Her eyes met his, trying to gauge what she should say.

But he beat her to it. “Is it Harry?”

“What?” She hadn’t even told him about Harry. Nora had kept those two parts of her life as far apart as possible, other than when Harry saw her first date with Leo. Otherwise, she made an effort to never mention Harry to Leo. She didn’t know if it was because she couldn’t bare it or if she said his name it would be harder to be around Leo. Either way, he wouldn’t have gotten Harry’s name from her.

“I saw his name on your phone one time. Asked around. Someone said that you and him were a bit of a thing before we started seeing each other.”

Thankfully this person seemed to have left out that Nora and Harry had last hooked up once she’d started seeing Leo. That was a truth that Leo didn’t need to hear. “It’s Harry,” she agreed, “but it’s also me. I’m…I’m just not right for you, Leo. I’m sorry it took me this long to figure that out, but it’s—this—just isn’t right.” That was about as honest as she could be with him without hurting him. And she didn’t want to do that, as much as she didn’t really care about him, she still cared about his feelings.

Leo studied her, his straight brown hair not falling into his face like Harry’s curls did. She loved Harry’s hair and somehow Leo’s always reminded her of Harry’s. Maybe that was the problem with Leo—he was a constant reminder of Harry, particularly of his not being Harry. “Why aren’t you right for me?” He asked, eyes darting around her face. “Like, how can you make that decision for me?”

God, so many things were wrong with them. “I’m not trying to make that decision for you,” she said, trying to backpedal, find her thoughts. “I—it’s...”

“So what you’re trying to say is that I’m not right for you.”

He was right. “Yes,” she said, voice soft. “But, fuck, it’s not like there’s something wrong with you. It’s just that I need someone and something else.”

Leo bit his lip, blue eyes hard as they looked at her. “And that someone is Harry?”

“Yes.”

It was silent in his room, Nora’s eyes falling to her hands still clasped in her lap. She didn’t have a plan for how to leave the room, but now she felt like she needed one. “Leo, I’m sorry—“

“Jesus, Nor, don’t fucking apologize.” She hadn’t heard Leo curse before, not even during sex, so the word was jarring. “If that’s how you feel then that’s how you feel, I can’t argue with you about it. I mean, I wish you’d been more upfront with me about how you felt, but I’m not going to sit here and say I thought we were completely fine. I just thought you needed more time or something…I just liked you so much, I thought you’d get there.” He swiped at a tear that fell from his eye and Nora softened. Just because she didn’t care for him in the way he did didn’t mean she was completely immune to his pain.

“I was hoping I did too,” she admitted. “You’re a really good guy, Leo. I hope you find someone who loves you in all the ways I couldn’t.”

Leo exhales and wipes his palms on his sweats before looking up at her. “Can…can you go now?”

“Fuck, yeah, ok,” she said, eager to get out of there if he wanted her out. She scrambled to grab her backpack and her shoes, tugging them on at the door. “I’ll see you around, I guess?”

Leo stood behind her in the doorway and just nodded. “Bye, Nora,” he said, and then shut the door in her face.

Which she guessed she deserved.

Harry didn’t know who—or what to expect when he heard a knock on his door at 12:30 at night. There was a party still going downstairs, it being a Friday night and all. Harry didn’t feel like attending tonight though, and had decided to spent the evening curled up in bed with a pint of ice cream watching re-runs of That 70’s Show on Netflix. He’d get up early and go for a run, he decided, and forcing pledges to clean up the mess downstairs. He’d probably end up helping them, though, because that’s just who he was as a person, no matter how many times Nash told him the pledges were supposed to do it.

So when he opened his door in just his boxers and a shirt, his glasses on the tip of his nose, the last person he expected to see was Nora. She stood probably a foot away in leggings and a big sweatshirt, her hair in a messy bun, and Harry wondered what looks she had gotten downstairs when she’d tried to get in. Although basically all the guys knew her by now, since she’d spent so much time in the house when they were…fucking.

Harry leaned against the door, waiting for her to say something. He decided after the last time that he wouldn’t hook up with Nora again, not unless she was properly his. So unless it was to tell him that, he decided he would kick her out, tell her to go home. Have one of the guys call her an Uber though, since it was late and all.

“I broke it off with Leo,” she said finally, brown eyes staring at him with such hope in his eyes he didn’t know what to do with it.

“Good for you,” was all he could come up with to say. What was he supposed to say? Thank god, I’m kind of obsessed with you still?

She looked at him and then into his room. “Could we talk…please?”

Harry stepped back and let her into his room, shutting the door softly behind her. She stood in the space as if she was meant to be there, a piece of art that had been on loan but was finally back home. Harry couldn’t shake the fact that he had been waiting for her to come and see him for so long and now that she was here he had no idea what to say to her. So instead he was quiet, waiting for her to speak, and went and sat down on his bed.

“Are you going to say something?”

“What do you want me to say?” That I can’t decide if I’m happy you’re here or mad it took you this long? That you look gorgeous? That I want you, but all of you not just the bits you give me? He didn’t have the words for what he wanted to say, which was everything.

“Just…fuck. I guess I’ll talk first?” She said, her words rambling—he could tell she was nervous. “I fucked up, okay? I pushed you away and I don’t even know why—well actually I do. But it wasn’t a valid reason. I should’ve talked to you, told you what I was thinking, not just started seeing someone else without any explanation.”

“Why did you push me away?” He asked, the rest of it blending into the background, zeroing in on those few words.

“I—can I sit?” She asked, gesturing to his bed.

He nodded, shifting over to give them space and so he could face her while she talked. Harry had this feeling that this was when he might finally know Nora after being on the outskirts of her emotions for so long. And he so desperately wanted to know. It felt like the only way to know her before this was through sex, through seeing her when no one else was looking and her emotions and her pleasure took over and she was just…her. But if she could give him words and context for the rest of who she was, that would be even better. Then he might, finally, know all of her.

“When I was in high school I dated this guy—Charlie—and we dated for a year, almost a year and a half. And he knew everything about me. All of my secrets, all of my past, all of the things about me that I was scared of people knowing. But he was a year older than me and so when he was going to graduate I wanted to break up because I didn’t want to be that high school girlfriend left behind, you know? I didn’t want to be worrying if he was going to cheat on me with some college girl, and I thought if it was meant to be we’d find each other again. But then, when we did break up, he spread this video of me going down on him around the school and it destroyed me.”

Harry’s heart stopped. Of all the things he thought Nora would share with him, this didn’t even make the list of things he expected. He wanted to hold her but she was sitting bent over, her eyes not even meeting his, and he knew that she had to do this on her own.

“And he didn’t even care? Or get it? Like he didn’t understand why I was so hurt--or he pretended not to, because if he didn’t think it would effect me then why did he even share them in the first place, you know? And then he graduated and he could just leave, but I had a whole nother year there in that place. And it was hell. My friends stuck by me, thankfully, but everyone else treated me like I was trash. And I couldn’t bring myself to file a police report or something because rehashing it all to some police officer felt even more horrible than just dealing with it on my own. But anyways,” she said, running her hand through her hair, “ever since then I’ve had trust issues with relationships. Especially when I have feelings for someone and trust them. And so with you, it was like I had this trust in you from the beginning and you were so good but also wanted me so much and it just…it was too much for me. But Leo I could hold at a length, you know? Like I could keep him away from my heart, but you, you wormed your way in without me even realizing it.” Her eyes met his then, and they just looked at each other for a bit, Harry struggling to find the right words. If there even were such a thing as the right words. Which there probably weren’t.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Harry said, picking his words carefully. “For him to have done that to you…it’s horrific. And I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

She gave him a small smile, her hand flickering up to wipe a tear from her eye. “Thank you.”

“When you said I…I wormed my way into your heart,” he said, breathless, “did you mean that?”

She nodded, hair falling into her face.

Harry scooted closer to her, so close that their knees were touching. They both sat criss-cross-applesauce on his bed and somehow it felt so intimate, more intimate than anything they had done before because they were just looking at each other. “You wormed your way into mine, too,” he told her, a light chuckle leaving his lungs. “And you haven’t left. Did I?”

He ran his fingers over her knee and he could hear Nora’s inhale of breath. “No,” she said softly. “I just refused to believe it.”

“Well,” he said, taking her hands in his, finding joy in the feeling of her skin under his again after so long. “Do you believe it now?”

Her fingers interwined with his and when her eyes met his, Harry knew that she did. “Yes,” she whispered, and Harry didn’t pause before taking her face in his hands and kissing her the way he had been craving ever since he woke up in an empty bed.

Nora’s reaction was immediate, lips melding with his, body falling into him in the way he had missed. Her fingers scrambled up his back, pulling at the fabric with a desperation that Harry felt in his bones. After weeks apart, he wanted to see her—all of her—and feel her against him.

“Will you take this damn thing off?” Nora mumbled against his lips, pulling at the neck of his shirt. Harry smiled at her frustration and pulled it off, groaning from the way Nora traced his tattoos. Her mouth attached to her favorite spot—the place right above his swallow where she’d sucked a lovebite into the skin so long ago—and it felt like coming home. The pain of her teeth nipping the skin sent goosebumps up his spine and he couldn’t stop the helpless hum that left him, loving the feeling of her so close to him. He could smell her shampoo in her hair when he leaned his head down to rest on top of hers, and when he tugged her head up and traced a line from her earlobe to her neck, wrenching aside her sweatshirt that he wish was his instead, the scent of her laundry detergent filled his senses.

“Your turn,” he said, nudging up her sweatshirt so he could grab onto the bare skin above her leggings. “Wanna see you.”

Nora leaned back and smiled at him, one of the smiles she gave when she was perfectly at ease. The same one he earned when he brought her ice cream to the couch or tucked the blankets in around her in bed or wiped at a bit of toothpaste at the corner of her mouth. The fact that she was at ease with him again meant the world to him—he was safe for her. After so many men who weren’t, she trusted him, and Harry was never going to give her reason to think it was misplaced. She pulled off her sweatshirt and he helped her get it over her head when it got stuck, muffled curses leaving her mouth before their lips could reconnect.

But Harry missed her skin. So he gently laid her back and set about recreating one of their first moments together, kissing a line from the top to the bottom of her body. Trembling mewls fell from her lips as he went about his work, sucking on her nipples like it was his God-given duty. “I, missed, you,” he said against her skin, each word with a suck of his lips, earning him a wanton hiss that left his aching for her. “All of you.” He licked a stripe from her rib cage to her belly button, softly nipping at the skin of her belly. He loved digging his fingers into her skin and adored the fact that she let him suck marks onto her. Most girls hated them, but Nora didn’t mind in one bit, and Harry was an arrogant son of a bitch and loved the idea of her looking in the mirror and seeing proof of how much he cared for her.

When he made it to her leggings, Nora wasted no time in lifting her hips so he could peel them down her legs. Harry pressed his forefinger to the fabric right over her center and gasped, looking up to catch her eyes. “You’re dripping, love.”

The blush that colored her cheeks felt so out of place in the moment, but Harry loved it all the same. “Your lips are…” She paused, searching for the right word before settling on, “good.”

“Good?” He hooked his fingers in the hem and pulled them down. “You need to work on your vocabulary, baby.” He loved using that pet name on her and he loved even more when it made her smile.

“It’s not my fault I’m not a—fuck—literature major,” she replied, cursing when his tongue licked a circle on her folds. “H, please, Jesus.”

Harry peeked up at her and sucked harshly on her clit, a sharp squeal reverberating in his ears. “Not Jesus,” he teased, rubbing circles on her clit as he nosed at her skin, “just me.”

Nora snorted, but when Harry dipped his finger inside of her, it quickly changed to a gutteral cry that only rose as he found an even rhythm of his finger sliding in and out of her, his tongue licking cirlces on her clit at an even beat. It was like music to him, the most perfect symphony of sound. Her fingers wound into his curls and when he curled his finger inside of her she tugged on his locks, a groan leaving his lips and falling on her skin, drawing a gasp from her. It was give and take and give and take and it was Harry’s favorite game.

“H,” she said, tugging at his head, “need you.” She groaned as he sucked on her clit again, Harry ignoring her words. He had missed the taste of her on his tongue and he wasn’t about to give it up. “Please,” she cried, “I’m too sensitive, I want you.”

“What do you want?” He asked, adding another finger just to torture her for a little bit longer. He lived for her little whines and moans, he decided, the way her eyes fluttered shut and then open, desperately trying to keep him in view. “Use your words, princess.”

“Your dick,” she said, not even wasting a second. “Deep. Please. Please, H.”

“Fuck,” he breathed, drawing his fingers from her, storing the groan that left her deep inside of him to remember for later. Harry wasted no time in pulling at his boxers, tugging them off and dropping them to the floor. She bent at the waist, sitting up and pulling his glasses from his face—he wasn’t sure how they had survived his assault on her skin—and tugging open the drawer in his bedside table, searching around for a condom.

“You’re out,” she said, turning to look at him with a surprised look on her face.

Harry let out a string of curses and clambored over to the table to look inside. She was right though—the brothers must have stolen them in the weeks since he’d last seen her. He’d been low before then, but he hadn’t had any reason to restock. “I—I didn’t need to restock,” he said, looking at her, trying to gauge her reaction.

Nora wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him back down against her, his body resting on top of hers, his dick pressed against her skin. “You haven’t been with anyone else?”

He shook his head. “You…and him?”

She nodded slowly and Harry tried to ignore the part of him that hurt. She was with him now. In his bed, with him, no intention of leaving. “It wasn’t as good,” she whispered, runing her fingers across his jaw. “He didn’t know me like you do.”

That sure as hell made him feel better.

“And we always used a condom,” she continued. “So I’m clean.”

His eyes widened at her meaning. Bare? With her?

Harry thought he might cum from the thought itself. “Me too.”

Her voice was small when she asked him, “Is that okay with you?”

Harry took her face in his hands and kissed her nose, begging her to see how much he cared for her, wanted her in every which way. “Baby, that sounds like fucking heaven.”

She smiled, her lips crinkling at the edges, and Harry kissed a line across the freckles that danced on her cheeks. “I want to know what you feel like,” she said, testing the words, “bare. Inside me.”

The deep growl that left Harry was one he’d never heard before, but it perfectly encapsulated how he felt at hearing her speak like that. “You…are magnificent,” he told her and then he leaned his body up, just enough so that he could reach down. Her fingers drew circles on his arms as he pumped his dick once, twice, a hiss between his teeth filling the silence around them. When he brushed his tip against her folds, they both moaned and Harry recaptured her lips, wanting to feel her moan against his mouth. He wanted to not miss one single sound that left her when he pressed into her.

And when he did it was like remembering how to speak.

Nora’s hands grabbed at the skin at his shoulderblades, begging for purchase—something to grip as he pulled back and then in again. The feeling of being bare inside of her, of feeling the velvet of her walls and the way she gripped him when she clenched without meaning to, Harry decided this was better than any high. “Faster,” she mumbled against his chin, but Harry shook his head. He wanted her slow, he wanted to feel her.

“Want this to last,” he whispered, words threatening to expose his deepest fears.

But she knew immediately, her hands cupped his chin as he thrusted deep inside of her and she said, “I’ll be here in the morning. And every day after. Okay?” She kissed his nose, then his eyelids when his eyes shuttered closed at the grip she had on his heart. “We have all the time in the world.”

Harry gathered her in his arms, wanting to be as close to her as humanly possible, and drove himself as deep as he could. Her legs hooked around his waist, begging him deeper, the neverending stream of moans spurring him on. But he tried to hold back, wanting to enjoy every second of this. Because she—she was heaven and Harry didn’t want to leave.

“I know you want slow,” she said, digging her fingers into his skin, “but I need slightly faster. Please, H. Please.”

That was all he needed. He would have slower later. He wanted to please her, he wanted to give her everything she asked for and more. So he leaned her down on her back and lifted her foot to rest on his shoulder, earning him a deeper angle and drawing a gutteral moan from her chest as he slammed into her. Their hips met over and over again, the only sounds the sound of skin on skin and the moans and breaths that left them both. Harry drove deeper and deeper, wanting to find every inch of her and when he hit a spongy spot she keened, back arching up into him, her breasts bouncing up and down in a way that begged to be touched.

So he did, never wanting to let her be without his touch. “You’re perfection,” he mumbled against her skin as he licked patterns on her skin, kneading into the other breast as he drove his dick deeper inside of her, hitting the spot repeatedly. “Utter perfection. Goin’ to tell you all the time, yeah? Never want you to forget it. How perfect you are. Nora. Nora, fuck, you feel so good,” he said, words a mess in his brain. He didn’t even know what he was saying but from the way she gasped and clenched around him, he knew she liked it so she kept going. He told her that she was all he thought of, of how he’d tugged himself off in the shower to the thought of her, how he could barely stand to sit next to her in class knowing he couldn’t have her. How she ruled his every thought and dream.

“I’m about to come,” she said, arms hooking around his shoulder so he could press closer to her, “you?”

He nodded, hair sweaty against her shoulder where his face rested. Her legs had fallen back to the bed and they were impossibly close. Harry didn’t know two people could be this close, but with Nora it didn’t feel like enough. He wanted to be inside of her skin somehow. To see every nook and cranny of her. He dug his knees into the bed and kept up the pace, hands kneading every inch of her skin, words whispered in her ear for only her to hear, and she did the same. She told him how much she cared for him, how she missed him every moment of the day, how being with him was a new kind of solace. Her fingers drew lines down his back that he decided he would treasure for the rest of time.

Suddenly, her walls fluttered around him and then clamped down and Harry knew she was coming. Her back arched her hands scrabbled for purchase on his skin, his name leaving her mouth in an echo, a prayer, a desperate desire for salvation. Harry could feel himself falling after her and he slammed into her once, twice, and again, and then he fell, holding her still against him as he came, her name whispered in her hair.

She held him against her, arms a cage around him and Harry didn’t want to move. He didn’t have muscles left, he didn’t think.

“H,” she said, kissing his shoulder, “I should pee so we can sleep.”

“But I want to hold you.”

He could feel her smile against his skin. “After. Promise.”

“Fine.” He rolled to the side and she kissed his nose once before pulling on her sweatshirt and his boxers, padding over the door to go pee. Harry’s eyes fell to the sheets which they had claimed as their own and he smiled. He had missed her—everything about her, but this was how they had started in so many ways. This was where they learned each other, memorized one another.

The door opened and she was back, a smile on her face, a flush on her cheeks. It was quiet downstairs—the party must have ended while she’d been here, he realized. “C’mere,” he said, arms outstretched.

She answered by stripping off her clothes and falling back into him. Her chest pressed against his, legs intertwined, and they lay there. “Missed you,” she said softly. “A lot.”

“Me too.”

There was a pregnant pause before she asked him, “H?”

“Mhmm?”

“Can you…” She trailed off and Harry swiped at her hair, pushing it back so he could kiss her neck.

“What is it?”

“S’awkward,” she said and Harry chuckled.

“We just had sex, baby, you can’t say anything that’ll be awkward.”

She ducked her head so her chin rested on his arm which was wrapped around her. “Can you put it back inside me? Miss the feeling.”

He stilled. Fuck, he thought, where did she come from? “Course, love.” He lifted her leg slightly so he could fit there, and then tugged at his cock a few times before pushing gently inside of her. “Still wet,” he choked out. “How?”

“Always want you,” is what she replied and Harry keened.

He pressed kisses to the back of her head and tugged her closer into his body. “Sleep now, huh?”

“Love you,” she breathed out and Harry’s blood stopped in his veins. It was so sudden, but at the same time, so right. The words were what he needed to hear always, he realized. The ones he had been missing.

“Love you,” he answered and closed his eyes against her hair, thankful that she’d be there in the morning so he could say it again.

Waking up next to Harry, shirtless and holding her close, was a dream in of itself.

Nora blinked her eyes sleepily, adjusting to the sun streaming in his windows. He had these soft grey curtains that didn’t do much except hold off the harshest parts of the sun, so whenever she slept over she usually woke up fairly early. Not that she minded too much—it meant she got to watch Harry as he slept, which he hated her doing when he was awake. He always got twitchy under her gaze and ended up distracting her, usually with his lips.

She rolled slowly in his arms so that she could look at his face. His brown curls were smashed against the pillow, long eyelashes framing his cheeks with an impossibly sharp cut to themm. His nose—Nora had always loved his nose—and his perfectly soft lips. Nora reached out a hand and brushed her fingers across his jaw and Harry’s eyes fluttered, but didn’t open. Nora decided that was a good sign, and continued to trace the outlines of his features. She’d missed looking at him studying him, just being with him. She didn’t realize it until she was gone, how much she ached to be with him. And now that she was here, she wasn’t going anywhere. She pressed her lips to the column of his neck, right above his adam’s apple, before gently pulling his arms away from her waist. He was pliant under her touch, adapting quickly to her absence, which she tried not to think about too deeply.

A collection of paper had caught her eye. It sat in the opposite corner of his room, shoved up next to his guitar. It was the one he still had on loan from the guitar shop downtown. He’d taken Nora there once, wanting her to see guitars and understand them like he did. She tried to, but her favorite part was watching him appreciate them—that was enough for her. She slipped on his tshirt that was closest to her and her underwear and made her way over to the stack. Maybe it was snooping, but the truth was that Harry didn’t share this side of him with her all that often. She’d tried to get him to sing for her, but he had refused time and time again. Nora tucked her legs in and sat down on the floor, grabbing the stack to investigate further. The first couple papers were scribblings—words and letters—chords, she realized, Harry had shown them to her. Some chord diagrams too. But when she got fifth page, it was different. Full lines. Chords matched up with it, his handwriting crossing out things and changing them. It was lyrics, she realized. A song.

She looked up at Harry, still curled up in bed, the sunlight hitting his face perfectly, and wondered if this was too much of an intrusion. But when she glanced down at the pages, she couldn’t resist. She wanted to know his brain, that was all. She wanted to know what he thought about and how. And so she read.

Don't you call him "baby" / We're not talking lately / Don't you call him what you used to call me

I, I confess / I can tell that you are at your best / I’m selfish so I'm hating it

I notice that / There's a piece of you in how I dress / Take it as a compliment

Don't you call him "baby" / We're not talking lately / Don't you call him what you used to call me

I, I just miss / I just miss your accent and your friends / Did you know I still talk to them?

Does he take you walking 'round his parents' gallery?

Don't you call him "baby" / We're not talking lately / Don't you call him what you used to call me

She couldn’t help the tears that fell from her eyes because the lyrics were about her. About them. About when she ended things and started seeing Leo. About her calling him “baby” over the phone when he was being annoying, about him seeing her with Leo and the pained look on the face, about the graphic t-shirts that he’d bought that resembled her own. About her accent when she spoke in French that he always loved, how Maddy told her that Harry still would stop and talk to her in the quad. Leo’s parents owned a gallery a few towns over and he’d taken her there on a date, and she’d mentioned it in class one day. “Don't you call him what you used to call me” hit her the hardest, because she never could. The nicknames that she gave Harry, baby especially, they were all just for him. Leo would give her pet names and she could never do the same. The words came easily with Harry, but for Leo, they would’ve been forced and even she couldn’t do that.

When she left Harry it had caused him so much pain—pain she didn’t even stop to consider. It was a snap decision, Leo, and when she thought about him she thought only of herself. How it would be easier for her to leave Harry, to stop what they were doing, to shove her feelings to the side, ignore them. But she had forgotten that she wasn’t the only person in whatever relationship they had. And she had hurt him, despite that being the utter last thing she wanted to do. She had wanted to save him from the trainwreck that she was, from her inability to care for people in the deep way that Harry did for her. But she had surprised herself, because what she had said to Harry last night after they’d had sex, right before they went to sleep, it was true. She did love him. She loved him with every bone in her body, every hesitant, dubious part of her soul.

She was his, even though it scared her.

“Cherry?”

She looked up at the nickname, one he hadn’t called her in a while. He was sitting upright in bed, looking at her on the ground with his papers in her hand. “I was curious, I read them. I’m sorry if they were private, I just—I wanted to understand.”

Harry shook his head at her, giving her a warm smile that immediately put her at ease. “It’s fine, love. What do you think?”

Nora looked back at the paper she was holding and then up at him. “Is this one about me?”

Harry’s eyes widen and she can see the panic on his face. He must not have known this one was in the pile or that she’d read it. “Fuck. Um, yeah—I’m sorry, I just…I needed to process, you know? And then I wrote it, I’m so sorry, it’s so personal, I—“

“H, stop.” She got up, feet padding on the rugs on his floor over to his bed. She laid the paper on the duvet and crawled over to him, throwing her legs over his so she could sit comfortably at his waist. “Don’t apologize, yeah? It’s okay. You have every right to write all about me, about how I make you feel, about your pain. It’s not mine just because I cause it, it’s yours because you feel it.”

Harry’s eyes searched hers, trying to discern if the words were honest. But he would find no hint of a lie, because Nora wasn’t mad. She was angry at herself for being so blind to how her actions had made him feel. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, curling a finger in his hair. “I’m sorry for hurting you,” she said, and shushed him when he tried to speak. “I didn’t think about how I was going to hurt you, I was thinking about how to protect myself. I tricked mmyself into thinking that somehow by distancing myself from you I was protecting me and you, and in the end I just hurt us both. So I’m the one who gets to be sorry here, ‘kay?”

He brushed circles on her thighs, chin dipped to think about her words. “It was so hard,” he said softly, words quiet in the silent house. No one else was up yet, it was just them, wrapped in their own world. “Seeing you with him. Knowing what you were doing with him and not with me. Having to see you all the time—it was like my own specialized torture.”

“Never again,” she said, pressing a kiss to his browbone. “I promise. I’ll tell you what I’m feeling, what I’m thinking. No secrets.”

Harry wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her body in close, and rested his head right between her breasts. It felt so intimate in a completely different way than anything they’d done before. This felt vulnerable in that way where your heart is completely bared open, ready and willing to be taken from you. “Love you,” he said, words muffled in his t-shirt that she still wore. “No secrets.”

Nora kissed the top of his head and rested her cheek against his soft curls. “I love you too, H.”

They sat there on his bed, their body curled up against one another like two commas, perfectly aligned. Meant to be, as long as there were no letters separating them. And for now, it was just them, the two commas, in a sentence all of their own.

——————————————————————————————-

YEEEE SHE’S DONE!!!!! this took so long to get my shit together to write--I had like half written and just couldn’t figure out how to finish. there were supposed to be four parts, but I ended up just rolling it all together in this one. I’m planning to do an extra (#italy!harry anyone!?!?!?!!) and lmk if you have any requests for Nora + Harry. love u all to pieces!

ask me about fratboy!harry here | masterlist here | fratboy!harry tag

PART ONE | PART TWO

[jimmys-zeppelin]

ghostin'

chapter nine

(table of contents)

(chapter eight)

march 26, 1976

you take my breath away

The next morning Ellie woke up to a tightness in her chest. She couldn't figure out exactly why until she opened her eyes; seeing Jimmy fast asleep on top of her with his head beside hers. With a small smile to herself, Ellie kissed his bare shoulder, the sound of her lips touching his skin being enough to make him stir.

Lifting his head from where it rested in the crook of her neck, Jimmy looked pleased to see Ellie, memories of the previous night flooding into his mind, "Hi." he said.

She felt as if she could look at him forever. The disheveled hair and tired, morning face made him look so pure. Reaching up, Ellie lightly dipped her fingers into his hair, smoothing it away from his face. It was as plush as a cloud and all she wanted was to keep going as she combed her fingers through it.

Ellie just maintained eye contact with him, not saying much of anything. "Do we have to get up?" she asked after a few minutes.

"Unfortunately the day must begin." Jimmy replied.

"I just wanna look at you all day." Ellie said softly, brushing her thumb against his cheek.

"I guess we can do that." he said simply, leaning down and kissing her sweetly.

It was scary how quickly she got lost in him. So much as one glance could send her tumbling to her knees, and one kiss and she would melt into him like chocolate on a hot summer day.

Ellie was content. She figured if she could spend the rest of her life with Jimmy in his bed, there would be nothing more she'd want in life. The love they shared was a special kind of dynamic. Months could go by where they only spoke over the phone, and when they got to see each other again, it was as if no time had passed. 

And, of course, the sex was amazing. How couldn't it be? Jimmy knew his way around the female body quite well. It helped that they'd both grown so much more intimate with each other in the time they'd been together. He helped Ellie discover her body and know what she was comfortable with. In the past, she'd hooked up with guys, but after Jimmy came along, it was like they were two pieces of a puzzle. They just fit together. Seamlessly, they were perfect.

Oftentimes Ellie imagined a future with Jimmy. Possibly get married, or just continue dating—she figured it was really up to him. But she would love to wear a ring symbolizing that she was his and he was hers someday. The novelty of it made her stomach flutter with butterflies. And as she looked into his eyes, all she could see was her future right in front of her. If she couldn't be with anyone else, it would be fine by her if it meant she'd be with him for many years to come.

And they would be happy. Until they weren't. This thought scared her. Having always thought on her side of things, Ellie never considered his opinion. Would he want to get married? Would he even want to be with her for much longer? He was her everything, but was she what he loved most too? He had a daughter and a family that loved and cared for him just as much as she did. Ellie? Not so much. Having left home at 17 to pursue a music career, she didn't think her parents wanted to see much more of her again after departing on the bitter note they did.

They wanted her to become a boring receptionist at an equally boring company in a quiet town somewhere in upstate New York. They wanted her to marry a boring rich guy, have a few kids and slowly grow old; having done nothing exciting in life. Had she gone to college, she figured she'd get to do some exciting things like go to parties and concerts. But, in reality, she wanted to party like a professional. Like the rock stars she grew to admire.

And as the admiration for the stars grew and the Sunset Strip called her name, Ellie knew she wouldn't have the same visceral response from her parents. After a battle of words between the three, she packed her bags, took some money, and left in the middle of the night; never looking back.

Now, as she looked back at Jimmy, she wondered if he, or anyone, would love her the same way he did. Because, frankly, she didn't have much more in the ways of family. And friends could only be there for so long.

Jimmy shifted his body off of hers and he found solace in laying just behind her. Her back flush with his front and he started placing light kisses on her shoulder. Letting the late March sun warm them, she could hear his breath in her ear. She figured he was going to say something after the silence had gone on for too long. He always hated too long of a pause.

"What were you writing about the other day? It sounded good." he asked softly, tracing absent lines up and down her arm. 

Ellie took a beat to respond, not wanting to fully tell him the lyrics that were locked away inside of her songbook, "I had some lyrics in my head. I put a bit of a melody to it. But I couldn't get much done. Writer's block has been a bitch."

"I could help you finish, if you'd like."

"That's okay, Jimmy. This is one I need to get done on my own." she said, looking back at him with a small smile.

"Will you tell me what it is when you're finished?"

"Probably..." she trailed off, knowing she'd have to come up with a good explanation for the song she'd just written about him.

☆

That next week, it was Ellie's birthday—and subsequently the last day she was in England—so Jimmy took her out to lots of places, and after they'd had dinner at one of the fanciest restaurants in the area, Ellie suggested they go out for ice cream after seeing a kiosk while on their walk through the city. However, they tried to be lowkey so as not to be recognized by anyone.

Jimmy put out his cigarette before approaching the ice cream stand and looking at the options, shoving his hands into his pockets. "What do you think?" he asked.

"Chocolate?" Ellie asked absently as she also scanned the options written neatly on a plaque on the side of the kiosk.

"Nah..."

"Oooh, they have banana." She said, looking at him for a quick second.

"Banana split, too." he remarked, suggesting the other option.

"Wanna share?"

"Sure." Jimmy replied, "split a split."

"Shut up," Ellie chuckled, lightly punching him in the arm.

"Why did you have to take the first flight out?" Jimmy whined teasingly as they continued on their way down the street with the ice cream in hand.

"I told Carolyn I'd be back as soon as possible. April 1st was her deadline. Plus, I'll be going back in time so by the time I get back in the states..." she trailed off, realizing she didn't know the exact calculations of time, "I don't know, it'll be earlier in the day, I guess." she dismissed with a laugh.

"My little time traveller..." he replied, taking a spoonful of ice cream. "You seemed a bit distracted today, is everything alright? It's not anything I did, is it?"

Ellie's heart sank slightly in her chest at his inquiry. Swallowing the rest of the ice cream she'd been playing around with in her mouth, she responded, "No, you've gone above and beyond for me today, Jimmy. Thank you. It was just something a little off that happened this morning when I was getting ready, but it shouldn't be too big of a problem."

"What happened?"

"I thought my period was gonna come today, but it didn't. And it's usually not late, but maybe it's the time difference or something. Once I get back to California, I'll sort everything out and see what's going on."

Jimmy looked at her cautiously, not wanting to say the words that were on his mind, "you're not..."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know. I don't wanna think about it." she replied awkwardly, shoving some more ice cream into her mouth.

Jimmy counted back the days in his head, calculating just when something might've happened, "Scarlet's birthday." he said softly, the twinge of panic in his voice was nearly unnoticeable.

"You think?" Ellie asked.

"Has to be." he answered.

Ellie didn't say anything for a long while, her thoughts brewed in her mind before a single word left her mouth.

"Fuck."

--

masterlist | playlist

Taglist: @diaryofafan17 @tophats-n-lespauls @witchesdust @jonesyjonesyjonesy @paginate54 @hejustsatisfiess @salixfragilis @princesspagey @reincarnated70sbaby @rebel-without-a-zeppelin @kyunisixx if you want to be added to the list lmk!

1-31-21

6-28-21

[nbrook29]

11 goofy kiss pls<33

4, 7 for Sobbe omg👀💫👀💫 your talent kgnfjfnlfkf ...

Can you do 15 or 20? Or both for sobbe

Sooo this isn't really on the list of prompts but maybe you could write something about Robbe being totally obsessed with Sander's pouty bottom lip - whenever he sees it he has to pounce on it and kisses/bites/touches/pulls on it. Sander is either turned into a wreck or he teasingly indulges Robbe's obsession 

Hi! :)

based on But do you REALLY want the K?

Goofy kiss + Eyelid kiss + Distract kiss + Shut up kiss + Asker’s Choice

In hindsight, Robbe should have seen it coming.

When his school announced that they had received funding to organize free 6-month workshops for their students and local college students after hours, it got his interest right away. Especially when it turned out that the offered courses focused on more niche subjects.

Robbe has always felt some inexplicable fascination with Scandi culture, Norwegian in particular. In fact, ever since he discovered the multiverse theory he’s been half-convinced there must be a Norwegian version of him existing somewhere out there, which would explain this unusual interest of his. 

So when he was scanning the list of available courses and his eyes caught Norwegian 101, his heart beat a little faster and he giddily signed up right away.

And then Sander signed up too, claiming that a) if there’s a Norwegian version of Robbe there must be a Norwegian version of Sander too, thank you very much, so it is his duty to learn a little bit of his alter ego’s language, and b) it’s going to be a perfect opportunity for them to make up for the fact that they didn’t experience being in high school together. He’s always all pouty when he talks about it, mourning all those lost opportunities of them making out against a window sill in biology classroom or having secret meetings in the bathroom during class and demands compensation in the form of extra long makeout sessions in Robbe’s bed. 

Robbe doesn’t exactly mind, neither the joint classes nor kissing the pout away, which always effectively shuts him up. Quite the contrary actually. Ever since Sander texted him a screenshot of the participants list with DRIESEN SANDER under D, he’s been all hyped up at the prospect of the two of them studying together. 

His friends don’t exactly understand why he’s willing to spend his free time in their school building but at least Yasmina shows interest in the workshops as well, signing up for a few, Norwegian included.

He and Sander are the first ones to arrive to the Monday session, and when Sander notices that the classroom is still empty he wiggles his eyebrows grinning at Robbe cheekily, spins him around in a swift move and pins him to the window sill, his hands going around his thighs to make him sit down on it. 

“Is this everything you dreamed about and more?” Robbe chuckles at the delighted look on Sander’s face, legs snaking around his waist to hold him tighter.

“Yes, I got you right where I want you,” he replies smugly and doesn’t wait another second before pressing a tiny kiss to his lips, then another one, and another, until Robbe makes a soft noise of protest making Sander finally give in and kiss him properly, dipping his tongue past his lips in no time. Robbe lets one of his hands slip down, making his path down his back over the black denim jacket, stopping barely above Sander’s belt, and then without second-guessing himself goes down even lower to give his butt a firm squeeze, because it’s just so... deliciously squeezable.

They only break apart when they hear someone clearing their throat and when Robbe catches the sight of Yasmina regarding them with amusement, he quickly disentangles himself from Sander, wiping at his mouth with poorly hidden embarrassment. Sander is unfazed, as always, turning around with a swagger and shooting Yasmina one of his most charming smiles. She’s not a sucker for it though, contrary to Robbe, so she just fondly rolls her eyes shaking her head at their antics.

The classroom starts to fill in quickly after and before they realize the only empty seats left are placed in the back. Only Yasmina manages to snatch herself one closer to the front. Sander graciously allows Robbe to take the only unoccupied spot in the sixth row and he himself marches over to row eight.

The first hour and a half flies by and Robbe is having more fun than he anticipated. The teacher, Vilde, is young, she’s quirky in that positive way and her approach to the subject differs from what Robbe is used to during his regular classes. 

He takes notes diligently and tries to participate as much as possible but he struggles with pronunciation when asked for reading a few words out loud. When Vilde asks Sander to read them, he does it with flying colors, the jerk, and the girl is so impressed that she calls him a natural, praising his perfect pronunciation of “engelsk” and “kjole” while smiling a bit too much and too wide at him. In Robbe’s humble opinion. 

Once she goes back to writing on the board, he turns around to see Sander giving him a shit-eating grin so he does the only right thing in this situation and sticks his tongue out at him.

They are two hours in when Robbe gets hit in the ear with a small paper ball which then lands perfectly in the middle of his notebook. He throws a glance at the obvious suspect but Sander seems to be deep into copying the grammar rules from the board to his MacBook. 

His elegant handwriting gives him away though.

Du er digg 🖤

Vilde mentioned that last word just five minutes ago, more as a fun fact than anything else but of course Sander caught and remembered it.

He’s fighting against the beaming smile that threatens to take over his face because he doesn’t want to look like a lunatic to everybody around. Sander isn’t bothered by things like that though so when Robbe looks at him again he’s resting his chin on his hand, staring at him unabashedly with a grin of his own as he notices the flush on Robbe’s cheeks.  

He tells him as quietly as he can to quit distracting him to which Sander raises his arms in surrender and with a feigned-serious expression busies himself with the given exercise. If Robbe then tucks the note into the back of his notebook no one needs to know.

Not even a full five minutes pass when another paper ball lands on his desk. Robbe heaves a long-suffering sigh and raises his eyes to the heavens because yes, now he has to deal with a rebel of a boyfriend.

When he straightens out the note, he snorts.

Do you like me? 

Circle YES or NO

🖤

Seems like Sander is having lots of fun acting out this high school romance fantasy. 

He decides to indulge him and reaches for a red ink pen to circle YES. Then, he adds a bunch of crooked hearts (because he’s not the artist in this relationship) on a whim. Once he makes sure Vilde isn’t looking in their direction, he throws the note back to Sander, but not without catching the disapproving look from Yasmina who rolls her eyes so hard Robbe is surprised they aren’t stuck. He just shrugs at her without remorse. 

Sander opens the paper ball as delighted as a child opening their Christmas gift and when he sees the answer he pretends to swoon in his chair, blowing him a long kiss from above his notes.

“Sander, I think you should be paying attention.” Vilde’s reproach pulls Robbe from gazing at his boyfriend like a love-struck puppy and he immediately shoots him a cheeky grin because it’s just really satisfying to watch him being scolded by a teacher.  

“Yes, yes, you’re right,” Sander clears his throat as he straightens on his chair before he glances at his laptop and adds with a smirk, “Or, rather, Du har rett, Vilde.”

Then he winks at her and his confident demeanor clearly succeeds to appease her because she starts to wax lyrical about his oh so amazing pronunciation again.

Ugh. What a show off.

Though, Robbe has to admit that it sounds kinda hot when he speaks Norwegian but it’s not like he’s going to go and tell him that. Instead, he reaches for his phone to shoot him a quick text.

R: You’re such a teacher’s pet oh my god

R: Also stop flirting with her, she’s seconds away from swooning 

S: Are we jealous?

R: Yes, very, I’m worried you’re gonna run away to norway with her and have viking children together 🤭

S: 😘

There is no bell signaling the end of the class but at 17:15 Vilde thanks them for today’s lesson and everybody starts to pack and gradually leave. Robbe is shoving his stuff into his backpack when he feels fingers in his hair pulling his head back without real force to angle it better. Then, Sander places a big loud smooch on his lips making him giggle and swipe at him lightly.

“You’re such a dork.”

He reaches to put the strands hanging over his forehead back in their place, scratching at his scalp a little and when Sander leans into the touch, closing his eyes with a pleased purr, he stands on his tiptoes and presses a tiny kiss to his left eyelid, which earns him one of Sander’s sweetest smiles. 

Once his bag is packed, they leave the classroom with their index fingers entwined, swaying their hands a little as they walk. “So, did you like that class?” 

Sander nods. “Yeah, it was cool. You?”

“You know, I thought those three hours are gonna be a bitch but it was actually pretty fucking nice.”

Sander pushes his tongue in his cheek, wiggling his eyebrows at him. “And did you like my notes?”

Robbe pretends to scrunch up his face, trying not to laugh at Sander’s offended huff. “Hey! Well, okay then, if you’re like that I’m not gonna send you any next time.”

He juts out his bottom lip and honestly, it’s Robbe’s kryptonite, and he’s long made peace with a fact that he’s weirdly obsessed with it; it’s just so plush and enticing and he has spent hours upon hours kissing and biting it, the fact that it made Sander go weak in the knees for him an additional bonus.

So Robbe uses it against him to distract him from pouting, and this time it’s him who pushes Sander against the wall close to the school exit. He pulls their bodies together, delighted at the surprised hitch in Sander’s breath when he sticks out his tongue to drag it along his bottom lip, pulling it with his teeth to nip it a little, to then soothe the sting with his tongue again. He can feel his ministrations are starting to work and with each second Sander is turning into a pile of goo in his arms. 

A voice in the back of his head tells him the school corridor is probably not the best place for this so he eventually pulls back and drags him away from the wall to the school yard. Sander follows him but not without half-hearted protests that stop only when Robbe kisses him hard to shut him up in the middle of the school yard.

“Come on, there’s a bed in my room with our names on it and my mom works until 20 tonight.”

“Is there a shower with our names on it too?”

“If you’re good,” Robbe pretends to think about it, “then I guess that can be arranged.”

[carelessannie]

maybe it goes like this: tony courts peter (part 7)

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Epilogue

Read on A03

Read the Stuckony backstory

Word count: 5.7K

Pack focus. This means Clint x Peter x Annie (OFC), Clint x Steve, Steve x Peter, Bucky x OFC, and Steve x Tony x Bucky x Clint x Annie x Peter (wow)

It all goes to hell, because, of course it does. But it’s exciting to fix it, because everyone is falling in love.

Major warnings: D/S Au, A/B/O Au, subdrop, almost a fight bc Clint is aggressive

---

maybe it goes like this:

“So… have you heard from him yet?”

Annie sighs, rolling her eyes, and refrains from shaking the precious Omega standing behind her,

“Not in the past three minutes, Peter.”

“Sorry, I just—”

“I know, you’re nervous,” she tries to drop the tone, squinting in the bathroom mirror to finish her eyeliner, “why don’t you just call him? Or your boyfriend?”

In the reflection, Peter pouts, crossing his arms, “I tried, but both went to voicemail. He should have been done by now.”

Annie takes care to sweep perfectly symmetrical wings across each upper lid, before exchanging her eyeliner for a brighter tube of mascara. It’s taking a lot of effort to ignore Peter as he stresses over their evening, but no one has ever called her a quitter.

Peter continues his spiral in her silence, “What if they got into a fight? Could he be dead— is there a chance Steve killed him? Or what if he dropped again, and there’s no one there to help him? What if they’re in the hospital—”

Enough.

“Peter, stop it,” Annie finally turns away from the mirror and grabs Peter by his shoulders, “if any of those things happened, one of their packmates would have called by now. I know we have to leave soon, but there’s really nothing we can do, okay?”

Peter’s eyes tear up a bit and he sniffles, looking down at his outfit, which currently is one of Clint’s shirts and a pair of leggings, “Annie, I’m not— I’m not even dressed yet.”

“Let me help you, okay Pete?” she steers him out of the bathroom and towards their wardrobe, picking up her phone to try calling again as they sort through possible outfit choices for Peter.

The phone rings— once, twice, three times— before,

“Yello.”

“Clint Barton! Do you know how many times we’ve tried calling—”

“Annie! Holy shit, Annie— is Peter there? Do you have me on speaker?”

She shakes her head in disbelief while pressing the speaker button, making sure Peter can hear too.

“Is that Clint?” Peter asks, pointing at the phone. Annie nods, and Peter gasps, “You asshole! I tried to call you so many times, where on earth have you been?”

“I’m so sorry, Omega, honestly— the conversation with Steve went longer than I expected and I’m driving back now. But please, I have to tell you— I’m compatible with him!”

Both Omegas exchange a look, clearly confused and doubtful of their Beta.

“What does that mean, Clint?”

“It means I’ve got a chance. I thought I’d hate him, or be forced to put up with him for your sake. But, honestly… he’s pretty amazing. I can tell he cares a whole freaking lot about his pack and I think he’s in this for real.”

Peter reaches out to grab her hand, and Annie can’t help but smile back.

“Did you tell him your history?” Annie prompts, pulling Peter next to her so that they can sit close together on the floor.

She can almost hear Clint waving his hands around, animated in his response. “Yeah, I shared most of it with him and it made him cry, honest to god. I also told him he could catch his mates up to speed—”

“— oh my god, did you see Tony?” Peter cuts in, eyes lighting up as he wrings his tiny hands together nervously.

“Yes, needy Omega, I saw Tony. I gave him the flowers, and we had a little heart to heart, too. Real sexy, you know—”

“Shut up, Clint!” Peter squeals as Annie breaks down into helpless giggles at seeing his face light up pink, “does that mean you talked to all three of them, then?”

A small pause, “... no, actually that was kind of awkward. They said that… it seemed like… they had just finished a scene together when I showed up.”

“Oh, shit.” Annie breaths.

“Yeah, Tony definitely didn’t know I was coming,”

Peter covers his mouth, eyes going wide, “Oh god, I’m so sorry, I literally can’t believe I forgot to tell him. That sounds so horrible, C!”

There��s a chuckle on the other end, “Don’t worry, Petey, no harm done. I’ll be home soon, and we can head back out there, okay?”

Annie gives Peter a small kiss on the cheek before standing, grabbing her phone, saying, “sounds good, see ya Clint,” and hanging up without another word.

She spins, taking in Peter’s lost expression and the clothing scattered around their closet.

Okay. Motivation.

Peter yelps as Annie hauls him up by his armpits, “Time to get ready, Peter. C’mon— you are gonna look absolutely stunning tonight.”

Finally Peter’s expression melts and a genuine smile breaks out over his face. He pulls Annie closer, leaning in for a quick peck on the lips— careful to avoid messing up her lip gloss.

“I adore you, Annie,” he whispers, “— these boys are not gonna know what hit ‘em.”

She reaches up to twist one of his curls playfully before returning a smirk,

“You’re damn right.”

---

“I don’t see why I have to be in the backseat. I clearly called shotgun.”

Clint has been whining ever since they left their apartment, insisting that he was severely wronged by his insolent Omegas. Both of those Omegas are having fun ignoring him— turning up their music and talking louder to drown out his voice.

It took a half hour for Clint to get home after his call, and by some miracle, all three of them were dressed and ready to go with time to spare. Annie had spent time curling Peter’s hair into perfect ringlets before finishing his makeup with sparkly-pink eyeshadow and gloss. Both of them were ready and dressed before Clint got home, and had pushed and prodded the bewildered Beta into a nicer button up with dark jeans and combat boots.

Annie is proud of her and Peter’s outfits, of course. Not many Omegas can pull off pink like they can, and her powdered pink coat goes flawlessly with Peter’s pink polka dot button up. But even more than their outfits, she is proud of how put together their chaotic Beta looks.

After catching Peter glancing back in the rearview mirror for the third time, she decides to say something.

She turns down the music, “You look like a snack, Clint.”

Peter snickers as Clint looks down at himself in bewilderment, “I swear, I’ve never seen these clothes before in my entire life. But, thanks. I guess.”

Since Peter insisted on driving, he can only glance quickly to try and gauge Clint’s expression.

“Those boots are yours,” Peter says.

“Yeah, but when did you guys even have time to buy me clothes?” Clint’s back to complaining, and grumbles sneaky Omegas under his breath.

Annie turns, lightly slapping the inside of Clint’s thigh where he’s sprawled across the backseat, “Hush and take a compliment, Beta. I think I speak for both of us when I say we want to climb you like a tree.”

Peter gasps, swatting at her with one hand, as Clint’s eyes go wide.

She continues, “I mean, it has been awhile since we’ve had a scene, and the mention of Tony’s pack has me—”

Clint leans forward, posture straightening as he grabs her chin to silence her, “— you feeling horny, Omega?” he purrs, a feral grin taking over his face.

“M— maybe.”

“Have I not been taking care of you, Annie?” he moves closer, and forces Annie to turn almost completely in her seat.

“... Clint.”

He grips harder, “Try again.”

“Fuck, Beta. Please.”

“— guys, can this wait—” Peter tries to interrupt, but is quickly shut down by Clint growling, low.

“Sweet Omegas, is that why you dressed me up? Feeling all needy and shit?” he releases his hold on Annie’s chin and moves back to his seat, relaxing again before letting out a sigh, “but you’re right, Pete. This can wait.”

The silence is charged. Both Omegas wiggling in their seats in response to Clint’s dominant display, and Annie whimpers— a small sound that causes Peter’s breath to catch in his throat.

“Aw, Annie. No— come here,” Clint leans forward again, and as she turns he catches her lips in a lingering kiss, licking into her mouth quickly and coaxing a grin out of her.

“Don’t want you to drop, gorgeous. You know I’ll take care of you both, right? Love you so much.”

She pecks him on the lips, satisfied to see some of her pink lip gloss stain his mouth, “Love you, Clint. And you do look amazing tonight.”

“Thanks, pretty Omega,” even though it’s dark in the car, she can tell he’s blushing by the way he ducks his head bashfully.

Annie turns back to face front and catches the slight pout on Peter’s face. She crosses the center console to kiss behind his ear, and enjoys the surprised squawk from the younger Omega.

“Annie! I’m driving!”

Clint laughs, and reaches forward to rub Peter’s shoulder, “We love you too, Petey-pie.”

“Shut up.”

Both of them crack up as Peter shakes himself free. Annie intertwines their fingers and Clint settles back into his seat, quietly staring out the window at the oncoming traffic. She feels a small squeeze and looks up, exchanging a reassuring smile with Peter.

The rest of their drive passes in relative silence, and soon they are pulling up a long, winding driveway into what Annie would swear is a rainforest jungle.

As Peter navigates around the property, he explains, “Tony said that he bought this land right after Steve and Bucky courted him. A lot of it is a nature preserve, and it backs right to the Jamaica Bay. I know all of them wanted to stay in Brooklyn, but Tony absolutely refused to live near anyone, so they built this house together with the hope of living here with their future pack.”

Both Annie and Clint are glued to the window. They watch as the looming trees suddenly part, revealing a modern, sharply-angled, and breathtakingly enormous house. There are at least three stories, and the whole structure seems to be built into the surrounding forest, with a noticeable extension out into the bay.

“Peter,” Annie breathes out, still stunned speechless.

“I know, that’s how I felt earlier.” Clint replies, still looking out at the quickly approaching home.

Peter hums quietly, but Annie can see him shaking slightly. As they pull up and he parks the car, she gives his knuckles a kiss, “Peter?”

He turns and she catches a NervousDistress scent radiating off of him.

That’s not good.

With a quick look to Clint, they both jump out of the car, rounding the side to Peter’s door, and pull the startled Omega out of the driver’s seat.

“What are you— hey!”

“Come here, nervous Omega, and let us hug you,” Clint pulls Peter in, wrapping him in his arms, as Annie turns the car off. She joins the group hug and lets Clint wrap his arms around both of them.

After a few moments, Clint pulls back, gently scenting both of them for any lingering distress. Instead, he groans, “Damn, you two smell like fuckin’ ice cream. So sweet.”

Peter giggles and Annie leans up for a kiss— earning one from Clint first, then Peter.

“Feel better, Peter?” Annie asks, pulling away to look at his face.

He shrugs, “Yes, I just need to trust Tony to do his part, and… I think I’m just really excited to see him again,” he ducks his head, and Clint places another kiss on top.

“Let’s go get ‘em, tiger.”

“Ew, Clint, stop.” Both Omegas complain as Clint tows them towards the entrance, knocking firmly on the door.

They are still arguing about the merits of cheesy nicknames, when the door swings open.

“Tony!” Peter shrieks, throwing himself forward and into the larger man’s arms.

“Hi, baby,” Tony coos, picking his Omega up and spinning them around, “you look so pretty, Pete. You all do, honestly. Such a pretty pack.”

“Thanks Beta,” Peter stretches up to give him a peck on the cheek, and then freezes.

“Peter? What—” Tony puts him down, and Annie watches as two figures approach them in the hallway.

She hears Clint growl behind her, and immediately her eyes turn to Peter. She can only see the side of his face, but his eyes are wide, pupils dilated, and he sucks in a quick breath.

“A— alpha,” he moans, swaying on his feet.

The larger man— Steve, probably— steps out of the shadow and pushes Tony to the side, looming over Peter and reaching to grab his neck.

There’s an echo of growls, one behind and one ahead, before Peter collapses to his knees.

“Fuck no!”

Clint reacts suddenly, pushing Annie behind him. He jumps forward and aims a blow towards Steve, who’s still looking down at Peter, eyes glowing red. Before the hit can land, both Tony and Bucky step forward, blocking the attack on their Alpha and tearing Clint away.

Tony grabs Peter, pulling him to his feet, and pushes him into Annie’s arms.

“Down the hall, to the right. Settle him in the living room and we’ll handle this, okay?”

He doesn’t wait for an answer before grabbing Clint and dragging him back outside, hopefully to calm down. Annie struggles to carry the larger Omega down the hall, and thankfully neither Steve nor Bucky are anywhere to be found.

When they finally reach the living room, she drops Peter in a large nesting chair towards the corner and searches for blankets. After finding a few, she wraps him in them and climbs into the nest, throwing the others over top of them to enclose the space.

“Petey?”

No response. Shit.

She moves them so he’s facing her fully, and tries to shake him awake. It seems like whatever happened actually knocked him out, and she checks his eyes, his breathing, before holding him close.

“Petey, you have to wake up for me.”

It’s hard not lacing her words with a dominant tone, but the direct order seems to reach him and Peter’s breath picks up.

“Open your eyes, sweetheart, c’mon.”

His eyes blink open wide and he looks around frantically.

“— Alpha?” he whimpers.

“No, Peter. It’s me. Tell me what you need, Pete.”

He focuses on her then, lips opening and closing before he’s able to speak, “Need’ta come up, Omega. Please.”

Annie strokes over his brow, “Okay, Pete. I’ve got you.”

She uses one hand to block his eyes and the other to peel back the blankets, looking around for someone to help, and sees Bucky in the kitchen.

“Bucky, help,” she whispers, hoping the other Omega can hear her across the room.

His head shoots up as he takes in the situation, and he swiftly walks over. He looks into her eyes, sees her hold on Peter, and drops to his knees next to the nest,

“What do you need, Omega?”

She has to stop herself from reaching out to touch him, and instead keeps her eyes on Peter, “Please tell me you have apples, bananas and carrots? Or crackers?”

“I do— do you want them sliced, Omega?”

“Yes, thank you,” she agrees, turning back to Peter as Bucky hurries back into the kitchen. She cradles his head, keeping one hand over his eyes to block them from the light, and lets him curl in closer to her as he floats.

“Sweet Omega,” she whispers, pulling him closer, “so good for me. So good, Peter.”

“Here,” Bucky says gently, and offers her a plate with slices of each food. He also hands her a bottle of water.

“Thanks, Bucky. Can you dim the lights? Maybe light candles if you have them?”

“Of course.”

He walks away to lower the lights, and Annie finally takes her hand off of Peter’s eyes. He blinks up at her, adorably confused, and gives her a small smile.

“Apple, Peter,” she says, pressing the apple slice up against his lips. He takes a small bite and she watches as he chews and swallows before offering another.

Once the apple is gone, she holds up the next fruit, “Banana.”

He takes the softer fruit in one bite, and Annie notices his eyes clearing up and he tightens his grip on her arm.

“Last one, Peter. Can you tell me what it is?”

“Carrot, Annie,” he says, smooth and steady, chewing the carrot slice while maintaining eye contact.

After he swallows, she hands him the bottle of water. He drinks it slowly, taking in the room and turns his gaze back to her.

“What— what happened?”

Bucky comes back over to them and looks to Annie for direction. She motions for him to join them in the nest, and they both move over as Bucky climbs in, pulling the other Omegas to nestle into his side.

“What do you remember, Peter?” Annie asks, reaching over to hold his hand on top of Bucky’s chest.

“I… I’m not sure. I remember being in Tony’s arms, and then— did I meet Steve? And someone attacked him? I don’t know Annie, I just remember floating and then coming back up.”

Bucky makes a pained noise, “Stevie reacted to Clint’s challenge, an’ his display caused you’ta drop.”

“Display, what—”

Annie sighs, “Basically, Clint saw you react to the new Alpha. His hindbrain registered that as a threat, and he growled— challenging Steve. I think Steve must have released some type of Alpha pheromones, because my mind went hazy too. After that, both of them were growling and you kneeled for him.”

“For— Steve?”

“Yeah, Pete. He pushed Tony away to get to you and Clint attacked him. That’s when Bucky and Tony took control and split everyone up. Nothing happened to you— to anyone, okay?”

Peter still looks devastated and pulls his hand away, sitting up in the nest, “I can’t believe. I just— submitted like that. I didn’t even do that with Tony, but with a random Alpha—”

“Peter, hey,” Bucky grabs his hand, trying to calm him down, “it’s instincts, darlin’. Steve is really dominant, and in this setting— with everyone on edge and feelin’ horny and stuff— honestly… I’m a little pissed we didn’t plan better. Especially after Clint came by earlier.”

Annie sits up then, drawing Peter closer to her to sit across Bucky’s lap, “He’s right, Pete, none of us have ever dealt with a Dominant Alpha meeting a Submissive Omega before. There’s no way we could have anticipated how Clint was gonna react.”

They sit for a few more minutes before Bucky stands up, “I’m gonna check on Tony and Clint— I think I have a plan for tonight.”

It’s a few more minutes that the two Omegas can sit in silence, eventually moving from the nesting chair over to the couch and preening each others’ hair and makeup. There’s a sound from down the main hallway, and a figure comes barreling towards them.

Annie throws her arm over Peter and yells, “Hey!” to get the person— Clint, it’s freaking Clint— to stop. He falls to his knees, only a foot or two away from them, and crawls the rest of the distance.

“Petey, I’m so sorry. Sweet Omega, I had no idea— I didn’t mean— I’m so so sorry, oh my god, I completely freaked out and ruined your night, please—”

“Beta, come here,” Peter opens up his arms, and Clint falls into them, clawing at Peter’s back and scenting him thoroughly, “it’s okay, C, I understand. I forgive you.”

Annie looks up to find Bucky and Tony standing, bewildered, in the entrance for the living room. She gestures towards the couch next to them, a clear invitation to take a seat, and Tony quickly moves to sit next to Peter and pull him into a hug after Clint releases him.

“So— Annie, Peter,” Bucky starts, shifting on his feet, “I have an idea, and our Betas have agreed to it.”

“What is it, Bucky?” Peter asks, surrounded now by both Tony and Clint, and looking beyond satisfied.

Bucky looks off, down the hallway behind the kitchen, “I think we should go to my nest. The— the three of us. Omegas, I mean. And meet Stevie there.”

“But… why?”

“It’s neutral,” Tony chimes in, “and Peter needs to meet Steve somewhere safe. Bucky’s the only one who can really bring the dumb Alpha out of his head— so the nest seems like the best idea. And a balance of chaperones that are all Omega should help ground everyone present. It’s a good idea.”

Annie stands up, crossing her arms, and looks at the two Betas, “You’re serious? You’re both completely okay with this, and anything that could happen in that room?”

Tony nods, but it’s really Clint’s reaction that she’s waiting for. The Beta also agrees, nodding slowly, “I told you I would try.”

Peter gets to his feet, wiping off his pants, and offers his hand to Annie. He then walks towards Bucky and offers a second hand, “Lead the way, Omega,” he says, grinning at them both.

Bucky gives a tug, and pulls them down the hallway. They pass the kitchen, a few other rooms that are all closed, and turn a corner. On the right side is a set of french doors with curtains— bedroom?— and the left—

“Holy shit.”

“Oh my god.”

Bucky steps away from them to gesture to his nest, the large fixture taking up the majority of the space in a room that could have otherwise been a large library. Or a sunroom.

Two of the walls are windows— they stretch from floor to ceiling and meet at the arched apex of the ceiling where a large, twinkling chandelier cascades down, filling the room with warm light and extending over the white canopy that dominates the center of the space. Twinkle lights surround and flow around the nest— dropping over and under the structure— and a few smaller lamps sit strategically both outside and inside.

The nest itself seems to be slightly elevated— giving the illusion of floating in the center of the room on a simple wooden palette. There are vines and ferns sprinkled around the base, and Annie can see the legs of at least one table that reach underneath the canopy. It’s a cloud. It’s a dream.

There’s definitely someone inside.

“Bucky, this is… amazing.” Annie is still frozen with Peter in a similar state beside her.

“C’mon,” Bucky finally reaches back and snaps his fingers, breaking them out of their trance. He grabs Peter first, kneeling up on the entrance to push back the curtain and let Peter in. Annie ducks down, following Peter through the opening.

Okay, the meeting in the hallway earlier did nothing to prepare her for the giant, hulking Alpha in Bucky’s nest. Even with his head down and neck exposed, Steve is a sight to behold, and by far the most dominant Alpha that Annie has been around in her entire life.

Strong hands grab her from behind, and Bucky settles both of them near the entrance to watch.

Steve has his eyes down still, throat exposed, as Peter inches forward. They all freeze as his scent changes to CuriousInnocentDistressedOmega, and finally Steve looks up.

The sound that comes from Peter is not quite a whimper. He turns his head to the side and makes it again.

An invitation.

Steve moves immediately and folds Peter into his arms. He makes a low reassuring noise, and Peter just melts, a high pitch chirp leaving his lips before his body goes limp. Steve has a tight hold on him, and turns their bodies to settle the tiny Omega underneath him. Almost in sync, they bare their throats and scent each other.

Annie scoots closer to Bucky, letting him wind his arms around her as she rests between his legs, against his chest. He stretches his legs out, and she turns slightly to add her legs to the tangle.

There’s a small sniffling noise, and both Omegas look up. Steve is still holding Peter close— but now they’re eye to eye, and Peter is crying. Annie immediately sits up to separate them, but Bucky holds her back, whispering for her to wait.

They watch as the Alpha and Omega cry together, sharing comfort and tears, as they continue to scent-mark each other.

“Is it uncomfortable to watch your Alpha connect with another Omega like this?” Annie whispers.

Bucky, still behind her, just draws aimless circles on her arm as he responds, “We talked ‘bout it. Doesn’t feel weird— just feels right, ya know?”

She nods, “It definitely looks right.”

And it does. Annie thinks about her mom and dad— how many times she’s envied their bond and the love that they share. Even then, they are a VersAlpha and VersOmega couple and they’ve never been able to build the pack that they want, even though their relationship has been full of love and their pack is strong.

With Steve and Peter… it feels like watching a King and his Queen. It feels like the ocean meeting the shore, like stars in the sky, like pen on paper. The perfect balance, opposites fated by biology, Alpha and Omega.

It feels right.

Annie is crying now, and notices it when Bucky reaches up to wipe one of her tears away. She leans into him, moving her hair and exposing her neck for him to scent. He intertwines their fingers around her waist and she can feel his nose, his mouth, pressed against her sensitive bonding glands.

In an uncharacteristically dominant move, Bucky lifts one of his own wrists for her to scent. She pulls it closer and sniffles at his pulse point, enjoying his warm Milk Chocolate and sweet Orange scent.

“Oranges and Strawberries,” he breathes, tickling her neck.

“Chocolate and Caramel,” she takes one more inhale before turning in his arms, letting the other Omega stare into her eyes.

She licks her lips, “I’ve missed your scent. I can’t believe how compatible… I mean, you know— how good—”

Bucky chuckles, playing with a piece of her hair, “I can’t believe how compatible we are either, darlin’.”

Damn, he’s sweet. Annie can feel her face heat up, but she’s helpless to look into his eyes, steel-blue and darkening by the second. He’s holding her so close, and he’s so warm. She closes her eyes, letting a quiet purr build from deep in her chest.

There’s a soft press on her lips, and she gasps, fluttering her eyes open to see Bucky pulling away from her face with a shy smile.

“Sorry, sorry, I thought—”

“— why’d you stop?” Annie asks, returning his smile.

This time she sits up, pushing into his space, and locks their lips together. His hands clutch tighter around her waist as he tilts her head back, deepening the kiss. His lips move slowly, sweetly, and she keens into the feeling, opening her mouth a little more, inviting him to take.

Instead, he slows the kisses down further, releasing her waist and brushing his fingers over her eyelids, her cheek, and she rests her hands on his chest. He pulls back after one last kiss, lips red and bruised, and a smile lights up his face. She hums her approval, sure her face looks similar, and moves one hand to brush back the hair off his forehead.

“Wow.”

The voice breaks the spell— Peter and Steve are staring at them, mouths agape. Annie pushes Bucky away and he laughs, trying to catch her around the waist before she can escape. Peter giggles, still so cute and tiny in Steve’s monster arms, and Steve can’t help but laugh along.

Okay, so maybe making out in the nest wasn’t a great idea.

She looks back at Bucky— head thrown back in laughter and eyes bright with joy— and honestly she doesn’t care. She feels her heart soften, almost literally, and pulls him in for one more kiss— ignoring the protests coming from the back of the nest. Bucky’s lips taste like heaven.

Once they break apart, Peter crawls over, nudging her to change places with him.

“Real quick, Annie. You haven’t even met him yet.”

“Okay, okay— pushy Omega.”

Peter immediately snuggles into Bucky’s arms, and the two turn to watch as Annie shuffles over to where Steve is still seated.

He gives her a hesitant smile, and offers his hand, “Hi Annie, I’m Steve.”

She looks down at the professional handshake he’s trying to give her and back up to him in disbelief. Boys are idiots. Shaking her head, she crawls the last few inches and sits squarely in his lap, offering her neck, “Hi Steve, I’m Annie,” and she guides his hand back around her waist and his nose into her throat.

There’s a moment where she can tell he takes over, and she lets herself relax in his strong grip. He nuzzles into her neck, scenting her deeply, and she slowly leans down to do the same.

Oh. Oh no.

“Oh, oh my god, Steve—” she mewls— yeah, fucking mewls— into his skin, and is horrified to feel his pulse under her tongue.

Annie, you are fucking licking this man. Get yourself together.

No. He tastes delicious.

And it’s true— Steve tastes like actual Summer Storms and strong, Espresso Lattes, and she cannot keep her mouth off of him.

The other two Omegas are chuckling from the other side of the nest, and she huffs in irritation, trying her absolute hardest to pull away from this Alpha’s body.

“S— sorry, fuck. I can’t believe. You’re just... you’re just so—” get it together, Annie.

“Hey,” Steve thrums, and she looks up into his deep, blue eyes, “I’m flattered— no harm done. For the record... I think you smell delicious, too,” and he winks at her, making a point to squeeze her tighter before they separate.

“Peeeete,” she whines, falling back to look at her packmate, “we’re marrying them, right?”

Peter giggles, “Seems like we might be.”

ProudSatisfiedContentAlpha absolutely saturates the nest, and all three Omegas turn to look, suddenly thirsty for Steve’s Coffee.

Bucky moves first, putting the smaller Omegas behind him and moving quickly to his Alpha. Annie watches as they share a quiet moment, before both men turn towards them with similar fond expressions.

“Sorry, uh— let's go see our Betas, okay?” Steve asks, ushering them back towards the entrance.

Annie and Peter stumble out of the nest, waiting to be led back to the living room. Bucky is careful to turn the lights out and straighten the nest, displaying the care and importance he obviously places in his home. Steve loops his arm around Bucky’s shoulders, pulling him in for a quick kiss, before giving him a playful shove to get them moving down the hallway.

It’s clear the Betas are laughing and enjoying each other’s company as they arrive, and Annie heads quickly to Clint’s side, ruffling his hair and accepting a kiss on the cheek. Steve sits in an unoccupied loveseat, but Bucky doesn’t go to join him. Instead, he and Peter exchange a few words and Bucky sits next to Tony, ducking under his arm.

The room is quiet— only a few whispers between Tony and Bucky— and Peter turns to settle onto Clint’s lap. Annie lets him go, watching as Peter scents— no, scent-marks— him thoroughly, rubbing the combined scent of Alpha and Omegas into his skin. Clint’s breathing picks up and he looks at Peter, confused.

“Omega, what—”

“Hush,” Peter grabs his face, whispering intensely, “you are going to ask that Alpha to scent you, and you’re gonna go sit on his lap. Don’t you dare come back to us until you smell like him, do you hear me?”

Clint looks properly chastised as Peter hops up off his lap, grabs Annie’s hand, and pulls them to sit with Bucky and Tony on the couch.

They watch Clint’s internal crisis as he walks over to Steve’s seat, obviously uncomfortable but oh so stubborn and determined.

He stops in front of Steve, who looks up in question, “Steve.”

“Clint.”

“I need… Can I— can I formally scent you?”

Steve actually looks shocked, “I… yeah, of course, Clint. Whatever you’d like.”

Clint looks back at them— Bucky flashing him two thumbs up— and steels himself, grabbing Steve’s shoulders before climbing onto his lap. Steve raises his hands, obviously not expecting the submissive posture, and looks to their couch for some direction.

Both Bucky and Tony give him a shrug. Helpful.

When Clint settles in, wiggling a few times, Steve bares his throat and lowers his eyes in submission. Every person in the room gasps, and Bucky might even let out a small, hysterical laugh.

Clint doesn’t say a thing. He leans in and gently presses his nose to Steve’s pulse point, audibly inhaling. His body visibly relaxes, and he pulls Steve in to scent him in return.

Annie settles back against Peter, letting the three men fold her into their embrace. The room feels light and heavy at the same time. All six packmates are relaxed— breathing in each others’ scents and eyes closed to the warmth of close bodies. The joy of shared kisses.

Behind her, there are soft sounds of kisses and whispered promises being exchanged. In front of her, her best friend and future Alpha are wrapped in an intimate embrace, crying and clutching at each others’ faces.

There’s a hand on her shoulder, and she turns to face Peter’s half-lidded, giddy expression,

“I love you so much, Annie.”

He leans down— kissing her head, her eyelids, and her nose— and holds her close as he presses a tender kiss onto her lips. Both of their eyes close, and they smile into each others’ mouths. Peter gives a small nip to her bottom lip as both of them break apart laughing.

They look up and see Steve and Clint, finally standing and making their way to the couch. Annie opens up her arms to catch Clint as he dives forward, and all of them groan as he gets comfortable in their arms.

Annie glances up, watching Steve. The Alpha looks so proud and happy— and even as Bucky and Tony start to whine about being hungry, it seems as though the only thing Steve wants is to make his pack happy.

And that’s something Annie can get on board with.

[sadaboutniall]

Without Fear

masterlist | tag | wattpad

sorry I suck at updating. happy valentine’s day, here’s a new chapter!! 💕💕 have a lovely valentine’s 

Chapter Eight. May.

When all of this is over, I; Love me like there ain’t another day, lead with the heart, ain’t that the only way? Keep thinking ‘bout how much I changed today.

It’s surprisingly easy, then, for Niall and Lu to figure things out. It’s easy to fall into the routine of two people who can’t get enough of each other—for Niall to swing by the cafe every day after work, and for Lu to clear her weekends to watch Niall coach. They have dinner together more often than not, Ruairí sleeping at Niall’s feet while he sits at Luna’s kitchen table. They kiss on the couch and fuck on a wool blanket in front of the fireplace, Niall’s lips at Luna’s neck, Luna’s fingers clawing down his bare back. Afterwards, she likes to lie with him and trace the scratches with her own fingers, caressing the patterns that mark him as her own. 

Niall tells her that if they don’t keep it on the downlow news of their relationship will travel the island fast, and Luna will never escape questions about it—it makes her think back, so far back, to that night on the roof, when he mentioned how much Inis Mór loves its gossip. She remembers watching him that night, freezing cold on the roof of her unfamiliar flat, wondering what it would be like to truly know Niall. All she’d wanted to do then was reach out and touch his hand, feel his skin against hers—now, she does it nearly every night, without thinking twice. 

It’s one of those nights, in early May, when things change forever. 

She’s lying all over him in her bed, the way they both like to after sex, his hand tangled up in the curly mess of her hair, her fingers tracing patterns against his bare chest, the smattering of chest hair starting to bloom out across his freckled skin. Luna has the windows open and the smell of spring is delicious through the windows, even this late in the night. As a gentle breeze billows her curtains, Niall slides one hand up Luna’s bare back, from where he’d been resting it at the curve of her ass, coming to a gentle stop between her shoulder blades. She glances up at him, feeling his chest rise as he takes a deep breath, ready to speak. 

“Do you remember my mate Conor? From the Paddy’s Day party?” 

As if Luna could forget the way Conor’s brother had cornered her in the kitchen. She nods, and Niall exhales quickly. 

“Well he works at this pub down  in Dublin, helps manage it actually, and he rang me this morning while I was at work to ask if I wanted to come down and do a bit of a gig at the weekend.” His eyes are trained on the ceiling, his chest still as he holds his breath, waiting for Luna’s reaction. 

“Niall,” Luna sits up in bed, and, finally, Niall looks at her. She can’t quite figure out why he looks so nervous. “This is fucking amazing.” 

Niall breathes out a giggle, hands coming up to cover his eyes for a second. When he moves them and looks at Luna again, they’re sparkling wet. “I know it’s nothing big, just a mate doing a favor but I—my first gig in Dublin, Lunes.” 

“It is something big,” Luna doesn’t even try to temper the excitement in her voice—Niall never makes her feel embarrassed about how she reacts to things, not the way Ida, the way her old job, used to. “It’s something massive, actually, Niall. I’m so proud of you.” 

Underneath Luna, Niall flushes beautifully, his pale skin warming up with pride, love, a little embarrassment. Luna feels an impossible swell in her chest, a balloon of pride that she can’t keep from flying away, that makes it impossible to act like the chill, unbothered, cool girl she’d tried so hard to be in New York. Instead, she cups Niall’s cheek with her hand, feeling the way his skin burns up under her fingertips, and leans in for a kiss. 

-- 

And so, Luna takes her very first trip to Dublin. 

Niall can’t wrap his head around it, the fact that Luna’s been living on Inis Mór all this time and has never been off the island—not even to Galway, the closest mainland city—and Luna can’t quite figure out how to explain to him that nothing off the island is of interest to her when the island has him. Instead, she tells him it’s all for the best, anyway, that he’ll be the best tour guide or her first foray into the rest of Ireland. He smiles, and  wraps his arms around her middle on the ferry over to Galway, his body sheltering her from the violent wind and the bitter cold. Spring is tantalizing in the air, Luna can smell it in her every breath, but winter clings on nonetheless, biting and threatening. 

On the train ride from Galway to Dublin, Luna and Niall sit across from each other, Niall’s guitar at pride of place in the seat next to him. Niall takes the seat travelling backwards,  so Luna can get a proper view to  watch out the window as the Irish countryside blows past her, a blur of impossible green and infinite horizon. He falls asleep somewhere near Mullingar, in the middle of the country, and Luna finds herself watching him more than the passing landscape—the way his eyelashes cast shadows on his cheeks, the tangle of freckles on his neck, the gentle parting of his lips, the constant, comforting rise and fall of his chest as he dreams. 

They arrive in Dublin late that night, the city illuminated by golden street lights and car headlights in a way the island never is, and as they board the Luas on their way to Conor’s flat Luna finds that she’s not taking in the sights around her, but staring instead at the sky above, squinting, strangely desperate to catch a glimpse of any of the stars that make the Inis Mór nights so bright. 

All she can see are lights from planes, taking their passengers far away.

— 

In the morning, Luna wakes up to the sound of Niall’s laughter. She’s on the air mattress in Conor’s living room, where she and Niall had fallen asleep the night before, and she can tell from the sound of his laugh that Niall’s only in the kitchen, a room away, chatting with Conor. But for some reason, it feels like a million miles. 

She stretches out in bed, the air mattress creaking and deflating underneath her, and lets the sounds of the city wake her up, too, so that if she closes her eyes she can pretend this is New York—can feel like she’s back in Williamsburg, Ida next to her, the city bustling below them. As much as she denies it, as much as she loves her life on Inis Mór, Luna can’t shake the fact that there’s a part of her, small it may be, that misses living in a city. But then she hears Niall again, his giggle from the kitchen, and the feeling slips away without a second thought. 

Niall is where she wants to be. 

She pads into the kitchen, the sleeves of Niall’s sweatshirt pulled down over her fingers, and stills in the doorway for a second, the morning’s first smile working its way across her face as she watches Niall and Conor laugh over some video on Conor’s phone, their heads close together so they can both look at the screen. It hits Luna like a pang in the stomach, the fact that Niall is so far away from his friends all the time—the fact that, by staying where he is, he’s losing out on all of this. 

She thinks about herself, too, her early days in New York, before things got so bad. The late nights out with her friends and Ida, crashing at whoever’s apartment was closest to the bar they’d ended the night at, waking up in the afternoon in a pile on the couch, heads throbbing with hangovers and someone, the least hungover usually, standing with her phone out, writing down everyone’s order for the bagel place. Looking at it now, a million miles away, a whole ocean between it all, Luna knows that those moments were the most precious: those exhausted mornings, giggling over Snapchat stories from the night before, splitting bagels so everyone could get at least one bite of every flavor. There was no better feeling than that—nothing more intimate than the morning after the night before. 

Standing in the doorway of Conor’s flat, Luna realizes that Niall hasn’t had the chance to have any of those mornings. 

He hasn’t let himself. 

“Hey, petal. You’re up!”

Luna shakes herself out of her thoughts, eyes focusing on Niall, who’s looking at her with a smile on his face that makes her heart flip the same way it did back in January, when he walked into the cafe for the first time, wind blown and nervous. “We made a fry up, I put yours in the oven to keep it warm.”

“Thank you,” she tells him, her voice coming out a little croaky from lack of use. “That’s nice of you.”

“Wasn’t gonna leave you starving,” Niall smiles, standing up and making his way over to the coffee pot. “Sit down, lover, I’ll get your coffee ready too.” 

— 

Despite Luna’s dreams of spending the afternoon wandering around the city hand in hand with Niall, she finds that they hardly have any time to sightsee before they find themselves packed into the pub, Niall sitting next to her on a barstool, jiggling his leg up and down anxiously. It feels to Luna like there are more people in this pub alone than on the entire island of Inis Mór. She puts her hand on Niall’s knee, and feels him calm down, just a notch. 

She’s only on her second Guinness (and Niall’s barely managed to get halfway through his first), but it’s been a long time since Luna’s been drunk in a bar, and she can feel the effects of it—the alcohol coursing through her in a way it only does when you’re surrounded by other drunk people, the heady smell of the bar adding to her intoxication. She’s overwhelmed, like she knew she would be, but it’s not as bad as she anticipated—not scary and claustrophobic, but fun, something new and different and familiar, all at the same time. She drops her head onto Niall’s shoulder and closes her eyes, safe and sure here, with him by her side. 

— 

Niall gives, without a doubt, the best performance Luna has ever borne witness to. 

He starts playing to a loud, rowdy, packed pub, his voice barely carrying over the sounds of friends chatting to one another, their laughter flitting across the room—but by the time he’s three songs in he’s got the whole place captivated, all eyes on him, smiles on faces and pints raised in the air. By song five people are shouting out requests and Niall’s taking them, slinging a few jokes in between songs, and Luna could swear her heart has never felt so swollen, her stomach never so full with butterflies.  

It’s midway through his set, when Niall makes the ground fall out underneath Luna’s feet. 

“I wasn’t planning on doing this tonight,” he says into the microphone, “because I wasn’t sure anyone would be interested, but you lot seem like a kind enough audience. I wrote this tune myself, if you don’t mind me playing it? It’s called This Town.” 

— 

This Town is about Cormac. Luna can tell from the first lyric. It plays in her head on repeat for the rest of the night—through the rest of Niall’s set, through the heart-stopping smile on his face when he sits back down next to her afterward, through the unfathomable hour of strangers coming up to them and offering to buy Niall a pint for his performance, clapping him on the back and letting him know how much they enjoyed listening. It plays on repeat while Luna tells Niall how proud she is of him, leaning in for a kiss and tasting the Guinness on his lips, the lyrics on his tongue. It plays on repeat through the end of the night, too, Niall helping Conor put away some of the glasses after they lock up, Luna feeling like she’s watching herself through someone else’s eyes, spilling beer everywhere when she tries to help. 

Niall cleans up her mess without a single complaint, but Luna can’t stop feeling sick to her stomach. 

This Town still plays in her mind late that night, when Niall goes down on her in Conor’s living room, the air mattress rocking below them, and it plays in her mind the next morning, when they finally do walk hand in hand through Dublin, Niall stopping for selfies every time they pass a tourist spot. It plays on her mind when they board a train to Galway in the early afternoon, and, still, on the ferry back to Inis Mór late, late that night. Niall drives her home and they make out in the car for ages, his hands up under her sweater, windows open to let the spring air in. It smells like Niall and newness—the coming warmth, the longer days, the hope and life and breath that spring brings to everything. 

It smells, to Luna, like everything thawing away. 

— 

Luna’s grateful for work on Monday, the constant orders and customers a distraction from the feelings that she knows are out of line. Niall adores her, she tells herself as she brings Mr. O’Keefe his usual coffee, a song is just a song, and nothing more. 

But it’s hard to shake, Niall’s voice, “over and over, the only truth, everything comes back to you.” For so long, Luna realizes, Niall’s voice has been something special for her—something she hears in her cafe, in her bedroom, in her bathroom when the shower is on. Niall’s voice is the soundtrack to her washing dishes, to her curled up on the sofa reading while he plays guitar across the room. It’s the soundtrack to long car rides in the middle of the night, the moon and stars illuminating the cliffs ahead just for them. It’s the soundtrack to them, to Niall and Luna, and it hurts her more than she thought it would—more than it should—to realize that she has to share that with the rest of the world. 

When Niall bustles into the cafe that evening, Luna can’t hide her excitement. It feels like a million years, a million miles, since last night, when he pulled her in for one more kiss before driving home to his mom’s house. His cheeks are redder than usual when he comes up to the counter, despite the warm spring day outside. 

“Hiya,” Luna leans over the counter for a kiss, her anxieties melting a little when Niall’s lips meet hers. “You alright?”

“Lu,” Niall’s breathless, handing his phone to Luna across the counter. “Look at this.” 

She glances down at his phone, open to the YouTube app, and her hands start to shake before Niall speaks. She knows exactly what’s happening—it used to be her job, to help make things like this happen. 

“Someone recorded my gig down in Dublin,” he’s telling her, his voice so distant that it sounds muffled, distorted, in Luna’s ears. “It has a million views on YouTube, Lu. It’s—I’m going viral. People are asking if it’s on Spotify, I even had to take my Instagram page off private. Conor says I should come back down for another gig, people have been asking after me. I—Lu. I think we made it.”

####

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