#simon's mum was so right love should not be this hard when youre so young

[true-bluesargent]

young royals is a very compelling show and i know everyone loves simon and wille together but i am going to be so honest the only correct way to end this show would be for none of these characters to ever see each other again and them all to leave this fucked up school and be put into intensive therapy x

[daisyblog]

The X Factor Audition

When We Were Young Masterlist Summary: YN auditions for The X Factor and is completely shocked when she is put together in a band, with five other boys.

From a young age, YN was always trying to entertain others. She would make up plays to perform in front of her family, sing along to the radio with her father whilst in the car and once she was able to there was a guitar glued to her hands.

So it was no surprise to her family that when she turned eighteen, she wanted to audition for The X Factor. So on a summer morning in June, along with her parents and younger brother, Alfie, YN travelled to her audition in London from her hometown in Brighton.

Once they arrived at ExCeL London, YN was given a strip of paper with her unique audition on it from a crew member and was instructed to wait in the long line. Despite rehearsing the song for what felt like a million times, YN's hands began to feel sweaty and the butterflies in her tummy were erratic.

"Take a deep breath darling" Rose, YN's Mum encouraged "You're going to blow them away"

"Maybe I should audition with you?" YN's dad, Miles joked.

"You'd empty the arena Miles" Rose teased her husband.

"Even if it doesn't go okay...I'll still be proud of you YN" Alfie sweetly interrupted.

"Aww Alfs...c'mere" YN pulled her brother into a cuddle.

After waiting outside in the queue for what felt like days, they were now backstage in a smaller line waiting for YN's turn.

Once YN had been told it was her turn, her family pulled her in for good luck hugs and words of encouragement, before she followed the crew member to the stage. Standing on the allocated mark, she took a deep breath before she spoke to the four judges in front of her.

"Hi" YN manages to say as she takes a deep breath and holds the black microphone in her hand. This is the moment she's been waiting for.

Hi lovely..what's your name and where are you from?" Cheryl asks.

"Uh..I'm YN and I'm from Brighton" YN nervously answers into the microphone.

"And what do you do YN?" Louis speaks.

"I'm in college, studying music"

"Interesting..what are you going to sing for us today?" Simon asks with a stern look.

"Chasing Pavements" YN answered confidently.

"Adele" Simon stated, "Are you sure?" clearly doubting her already.

"More than sure"

"Good luck" Simon nodded his head for her to start. The track begins to play as YN holds the microphone to her mouth.

I've made up my mind Don't need to think it over If I'm wrong, I am right Don't need to look no further This ain't lust I know this is love, but

YN glances at the judges and see's Cheryl smiling and Louis nodding his head, but Simon's expression was hard to read.

If I tell the world I'll never say enough 'Cause it was not said to you And that's exactly what I need to do If I end up with you

As the music built up for the chorus, YN had this boost of confidence as the crowd cheered and began to move around the stage.

Should I give up? Or should I just keep chasing pavements? Even if it leads nowhere Or would it be a waste? Even If I knew my place, should I leave it there? Should I give up? Or should I just keep chasing pavements? Even if it leads nowhere

YN couldn't help but cover her tears as she watched the three judges clap and the audience roars with claps. After a few moments, the crowd quietens down and the judges talk.

"YN..babe..that was incredible..you should be so proud...It's a hundred yes' from me" Cheryl was the first to speak, earning a big smile from YN and a thank you.

"You young lady as gonna be a popstar" Louis complimented "yes yes yes"

"YN" Simon's intimidating voice began "I..I won't lie..I didn't think you would be able to sing that song...but you've proved me wrong...so guess what....it's a yes from me"

YN couldn't believe it, her dream was one step closer. Immediately she ran off the stage and into her family's arms. A moment they would never forget.

---

Despite feeling over the moon at being at Bootcamp, YN couldn't help but feel like an outsider. Other contestants seemed to have made friends as they stood and sat together. But YN sat in one of the corners, just her and her guitar. She had just finished performing 'If I Were A Boy' for the judges and was waiting for further instructions when she saw two figures sitting beside her. She glanced in their direction, two boys one with curly hair and the other with a beanie sat covering his head.

"Uh hi" YN greeted.

"Hi..M'Harry..what's your name?" the one with curly hair spoke first.

"YN"

"Louis" the other boy introduced himself. "We thought you looked a bit lonely on your own..so we came to join you..if that's okay?"

"Uh..yeah..I don't really fit anywhere" YN laughed nervously.

"Do you play?" Louis nodded his head towards the guitar sitting in YN's lap.

"Yeah..I've been playing since I was seven"

"Sick" Louis complimented.

"Where are you both from?"

"Donny" "Manchester..well Holmes Chapel" the boys spoke together, making YN smile.

"I'm from Brighton"

"Posh girl" Louis teased.

For the rest of boot camp, wherever Harry and Louis were YN could be found too. YN would be strumming on the guitar and Harry would sing along, but Louis was mesmerised by the girl he had just met, even Harry had begun to tease him when YN wasn't looking, making the Yorkshire boy roll his eyes and swat his arm.

Being told they had been eliminated from the boot camp stage was devastating. Harry, Louis and YN were backstage crying into each other's arms. Harry wiped his tears with his black beanie and wrapped his arms around the pair as they huddled together, waiting to go their separate ways.

"I just don't want to go home" YN sniffled and wiped her tears with the sleeve of her jumper.

As the three and the other rejected acts, began to leave a member of the crew began to call them back.

"They're gonna make us cry...make a good bit of TV" Harry mumbled.

The crew member began to call names from the boy's and girl's categories and asked them to return from the stage.

"Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan"

Both the boys left YN's side and followed the others to the stage. YN's name was then called and she walked onto the stage and naturally stood next to the other girls.

"YN..can you go and stand with the group of boys instead please darling" Nicole asked. YN walked over to the boys and Harry and Louis both smiled at her as she stood next to them. "Thank you all for coming back..judging from some of your faces this is really hard..we've thought long and hard about it..and we've thought of each of you as individuals and we feel that you are too talented to look go of..we think it would be a great idea to have two separate groups"

"We've decided to put you both through-" Simon added.

YN and the five boys instantly huddled together and celebrated their second chance. This was just the beginning.

Tag List: (let me know if you would like to be added) @peterholland04

[ballorawan740]

SCP Scenarios: When their kids swear at them (REQUESTED)

Main Masterlist | SCP Scenarios Masterlist | My Works Masterlist | Rules | Request | Socials | My Original Post

Requested by: @Astro_KeySimp

WARNING: Swearing (sorta)

Ok so I kinda made the reader into the child since don't remember if you wanted the reader to be a child or not, so if it wasn't to your liking, then I'm sorry, but I can make a separate version on where the reader isn't the child

It kinda became more of the SCPs and doctors being dads than their reaction to their kids swearing

SCP 073 (Cain)

Cain was walking around with you since you were bored and there wasn't anything to do

Being unaware of what some of the staff were saying, ye went over to grab you some food for later in case you got hungry

Once you both went back, he watched you play with some Legos and was talking as if it was your Lego friends talking to you

Cain looked away for just 10 seconds and heard you shout out "Wow! He said that her baby's such a bi-" which shocked him as he heard it

Cain looked around and made sure that nobody was around the room and was somewhat surprised that you was the one saying this

Being a good dad he is, Cain explained to you carefuly that you shouldn't say that word because it's bad

And being a sweet shy child, you obliged and stopped saying the word

Til this day, Cain had no idea about where and who you've heard the word from and is very much more self-aware

SCP 076-2 (Abel)

Abel is that type of dad who would teach you all the bad words and encourages you to say them

It's the researchers who had to teach you top not to say those words

One time, Dr Glass came in to examine you and had rewarded you as usual since you were so cooperative

You drew a picture of you and Abel talking in a garden with bright coloured flowers

Simon asked if he could see your drawing and saw that the conversation you and your dad had was those of swearing

This surprised Simon since you knew so many at such a young age but wasn't totally shocked since he knew that you were Abel's child

And knowing him, he wouldn't teach you to be nice, so Simon took the job as a mother hen and taught you to not use those words around people

SCP 999 (Tickle Monster)

Ok, so I'll keep this SCP short since I, again, don't know what I should write for this adorable, squicky, neon-orange, bubby blob

Another SCP who doesn't cuss

This adorable squishy boi here was about to have a heart attack when he heard you swear fir the first time

He had to ask you worryingly where you heard that phrase and you just said some guy wearing a white jacket

999 sighed knowing that you'll grow and couldn't do anything to stop it

He did, however, mention that you should try and avoid saying those things to anyone and that they'd most likely have a heart attack since you were his child and you won the genetic lottery for being the cutest and outgoing child in the world

The only other person who knew of this was Dr Glass (sucks to be him ngl, he do be a mother to everyone) and he had to help poor 999 with teaching you better words

SCP 682 (Hard to Destroy Reptile)

YAY! Another SCP who would teach their kid to swear

682 has such a dirty mouth like 076 and would 100% teach you all the words he knows

Similarly to what happened with Abel, you were taken for an interview with Dr Sophia Light since she was assigned to you

She's such a sweet and kind doctor to be around and would teach you anything and everything you would probably need to know all the while keeping an eye on you in case you become overly aggressive like 682

You were just eating some sweets Lights had given you for good behaviour and overheard some researchers swear

Remembering what your dad had taught you, you just repeated those curse words while clapping at your achievement

This had shocked Sophia and that researcher since you were known to be a moderately shy and quiet child who normally wouldn't say those things despite being 682's child

Sophia had to ask if you understood the meaning of those words and shook your head as an indicator for no

She had to carefully find her words and told you to never speak of those words again and took you back to 682's cell

You went and hugged your dad and told him that you learnt from the doctor that those curse words were bad and neither of you should say them

682 had a headache after that

SCP 049 (Plague Doctor)

I have a hard time thinking that 049 would teach his child to cuss and would avoid swearing in front of them at all cost

Like, he barely swears anyways but he wants to stay classy and sassy for his innocent child

Just like the other day, his kiddo, you, was curious about the whole surgery thingy he does on the dead bodies, so you asked him to teach you and so he did (like the good father we nevah had)

So you learnt some new, yet difficult, words (cuz we all have a nonexistent pea-sized brain) and somehow, you managed to fit in a curse word

This did surprise 049 as he had remembered that he didn't teach you those foul words

He had to give you a talk about using such words and you teared up since you thought that people used them to express their affection to others

Unsurprisingly, 049 took his sweet time looking for the guy who 'taught' you this and wanted to use him as a case study for your future lessons

SCP 035 (Possessive Mask)

Another parent with such an amazing influence on children

035 would teach and enable you to use swearing as a form of expression

So you were free to say whatever you want as long as they aren't directed to our mask here, especially if it's in a negative way

Otherwise, you'd be punished (No not like that! He'll just ground you from your favourite TV show/movie)

The researchers were surprised, not about you swearing, but how you use them through expression

Except for this poor guy who was new to the foundation and bumped into you by accident

This rookie found himself listening to you cursing like a sailor (maybe not that much but more or less on the same level as Samuel L Jackson)

Word got out and everybody laughed at the poor rookie and told him more about your background and how you love to swear (apparently swearing will prolong your life, so you'll basically be immortal here)

035 was impressed by the whole ordeal and rewarded you with more shows to watch whenever you're both free

SCP 105 (Iris)

Iris would accidentally swear in front of you and whenever she realises it, she would tell you to not swear at people since it wasn't very nice

So she would use words to replace the swearing like "oh fudging hell not now" and "no sugar honey ice tea"

The foundation felt that it was slightly unnecessary but went with it anyways

They'd even go as far as saying that it's ridiculous, but who are they to judge?

Iris was your mother and she's a single mum too, so she felt the need to be overly beating but would occasionally let you decide on your own since you were only 12

The foundation members did tell her that you will eventually grow and more of these words will be used but she just hesitates

As a teen, you did begin to use foul words more often and Iris would argue about how you're using them, especially towards her, your own mother

Needless to say, you both felt bad and made up

SCP 106 (Old Man)

Now this old man right here doesn't exactly speak, or at least very rarely

And if he does, he'll most likely be talking to you or the foundation staff if he needed some help finding you

He'll most likely be able to understand what the researchers are saying, even if they aren't speaking English

My own personal hc is that 106 understands English, German, Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic and Indonesian and probably many others

Every now and again, somebody would come in and teach you new words and give other lessons like maths and poetry (our favourite)

You came back home to tell him all the things you've learnt as he watched you in awe as he braided your hair

You've even used some new phrases, including swear words while talking and 106 was pretty impressed

I feel that he's quite neutral with swear words since words are words and are used as a form of verbal communication

So I don't think they'll be much change in his behaviour to whether you're swearing or not

SCP 096 (Shy Guy)

Now with 096, all he does is scream

So basically, somebody else would have to teach you some words

It's not to say that 096 is a dumb animalistic creature with no soul and just kills people who look at his face

He isn't stupid since he manages to find anyone who looked at his face from the other side of the globe

And he seems to understand what the researchers are saying, or at least on a more intermediate to moderate level

You'll learn about swear words from the other researchers, whether they'll be teaching it to you intentionally or you've overheard them

The foundation could really care less, but would at least prefer that you chill a bit if you got carried away

096 would act all cheery when you learn more new things as it's not like the foundation would let him out anyway, so he'll be living the outside world life from you (How relatable, but more with babysitting and dating, cuz I'm too pretty for anyone to date XD)

Like with 106, I don't think 096 would have any special reaction towards swearing, but would probably be screaming internally for a bit since he knows that it isn't a nice word

Dr Jack bright

This mf right here is one of those parents who would be kind but firm

Bright would most definitely give in to your curiosity and teach you whatever you want to learn but would warn you of the dangers

Depending on what it is, he would even go as far as giving you your own personal guard who would stay with you and train you

And unfortunately, this guard has such a foul mouth, so you're constantly exposed to such words

Luckily for the both of you, Jack Bright doesn't really care about swearing as long as you're not being extremely inappropriate if you were to work

He would even joke around with you sometimes and would even start the conversation with swearing

For instance, he'd just surprise you with a "Yeet his mf outta my sheithole"

And yes, you did laugh at his antics

Some would even say that you're an exact clone of him but more stable (for now)

Well, Bright is an amazing dad, but I'd say just below Dr Glass

Or maybe even on par with him

Like Bright is a goofy dad that has all the terrible dad jokes and Glass would be the type of dad to look out for his kid

Dr Simon Glass

Dr Glass would most definitely avoid using swear words, especially if you were under 15

Even if you were over 15, he'd still avoid swearing unless he wants to make a joke or 2

So most of the time, you'd learn all the swearing from other people and SCPs

Sometimes you would swear by accident and Glass would just look at you, slightly disappointed

I'd say he doesn't exactly care about you swearing per see, but would rather you avoid it

It's cuz Simon is the best dad a dad could ever dad and nobody could prove me wrong here

He's also one of the top best dads compared to the others on the list

He's basically your best friend so he'd let you vent and its the 1 time he'd let you swear to show your emotions

Simon would 100% know your thoughts and behaviour

He's just that good at reading people, especially you - almost to the point where people would say he's an SCP cuz I swear he's just empathic and telepathic

As mentioned before, Glass would be the type of dad to care for your mental health

It's not that the others don't, it's just that Glass is a top their God of Psychology and would come to you before you even know you have depression

He would even crack a joke sometimes

So every so often, he would shout out "LANGUAGE!!!" from across the room before you could even bat an eye and say anything

Dr Alto Clef

Another top tier dad, but swearing addition

Your godfather would literally be Jack Bright

Then it's Kondraki and Glass

He would let you swear on a daily basis and would join you

Sometimes you be looking at your Oppas/Noonas and be like: "Oh fxxk me!" and Clef, who's in the next room, be like: "Yeah, fxxk me too!" (Yes but no sis! No incest pls!)

Other times, you would be in the same room as Clef and Bright and you'd join them in being chaotic

And poor Kondraki  is just there at the back trying to do his work peacefully

One time, Kondraki had to grab a Simon Glass to help stop the chaotic trio

And OML did it end so well

You were easy to manage tbh, with the exception of you swearing

Clef and Bright would most definitely encourage you to swear more

Especially Clef since he does have a twisted sense of humour

Dr Benjamin Kondraki

Kondraki is totally the type of person who would tell their kid to mind their own language

But he secretly doesn't care and his child knows it

His style of parenting is similar to Simon's

And yes, Simon is your #1 godfather/uncle

You'd go to him for emotional support since Kondraki sucks at that

Sometimes you'd swear at him and he'd get mad though

So yeah, running to Glass is a wonderful idea

And we all know that Kondraki doesn't mean what he said

He's just extremely introverted, but he's rather sensible - Usually...

Anyways, he would ask Simon on tips and advice on how to get you to stop swearing so much and he just gave Benjamin a parenting book (Like fr guys, let Glass have some rest, he's tired of babysitting over 100 dozens of pets in the zoo and all the other babies who work in it)

[super-unpredictable98]

Hard Candy (~Misfits AU~)

Chapter 21: Milking Our Powers

Warning: Strong language, SMUT, alcohol, mention of death

(Hard Candy Masterlist)

The day we all feared finally arrived: Someone went public about having superpowers after the storm. It was some weird-looking kid who was able to manipulate milk and dairy products, he called it "lactokinesis". The entire gang stared at the TV in awe, how could he do this? 

- This has to be the shittiest power ever - Kelly winced.

I shook my head as I went to the locker room to change and get ready to go home. Just as I was getting my backpack, I heard the boys having a conversation next to the toilets:

- I'm immortal - I bit my lip hearing that sentence - I shouldn't be flippin' burgers, I should be... Eating burgers! Giant burgers, the size o'my head! 

- You're not thinking about what I think you're thinking about, right? - I walked over to Nathan.

- Why not? We could have really cool super-hero names... I'd be Captain Invincible - he did a flourish with his hand - Curtis could be Mr. Backwords.

- I sound stupid! - Curtis protested.

- The Invisible Cunt - Nathan snapped his fingers at Simon and I covered my mouth.

- Why do I have to be The Invisible Cunt?

- Cause you just are, man, get over it! You, Lyds... You'd be Lollipop Dome.

- That's the most ridiculous name I've ever heard - I chuckled.

- What would you call yourself then?

- I'd like to be... Miss Fortress.

- What is even the point of having superpowers if we can't use them to make obscene amounts o'money?

- I can't believe you - I scoffed.

- Hey, Lyds, there's someone I'd like you to see - Simon looked at a text he just received and smiled.

- Alright - I shrugged and followed him to the main hall.

Simon told me to wait, he ran outside and came back a few minutes later with the young version of myself. 

- This is my little sister - Si introduced the shy little girl - she's been feeling sad lately and I think you're the best person to give her advice.

- Aren't you clever? - I gave him a dirty look and he smiled apologetically.

- This is my friend... Lolli - Simon kneeled to get to the same height as young me.

- Hey, sweetie - I kneeled too - what's wrong?

She just stared down at the floor, too scared to say anything. I could almost feel what she was feeling, it was very weird.

- You don't have to be shy, Blossom, I trust Lolli with everything - Si rubbed her back gently.

- She doesn't like that name, Simon - I scolded.

- How do you know that? - Her eyes sparkled as she finally looked back at me.

- I was just guessing... 

- Well - she took a deep breath - I don't have many friends. I had a few, but I got in a fight with these girls and they have been gossiping about me in school.

- Hmm, they sound like nasty bitches - I held her hand.

- They are, they said my family was weird.

- You know, Lydia, when people are your age they try too hard to fit in, but after a while, everyone wants to stand out. It's gonna be so much easier for you when the time comes, I used to be just like you.

- But you're so... Cool.

- Thank you, you can be like that too if you like.

- I don't think that would happen...

- You can be whoever you wanna be. In a few years, you'll have friends who love you and boyfriends too.

- You really think so?

- I know so.

- Hey, Lollipop, I was lookin' for ya - Nathan came out of nowhere, wrapped his arms around me, and kissed my neck.

- You - all color drained from young Lydia's face.

- Hey, you're that lassie from the bowlin' alley... Oh wait - he widened his eyes - she's the lassie from the bowlin' alley.

- Yeah, Simon brought his sister to have a little talk with me, cause she's been feeling down lately - I gave Nate a pointed nod.

- Are you alright, Lydia? - Simon turned to her.

- I'm... How...?

- This is Lolli's boyfriend - that's right... Simon doesn't know what happened that night.

- Never got to introduce myself - he placed a kiss on the back of her hand with a smirk - I'm Nathan.

- I think I should go - young Lydia tugged on Simon's sleeve - mum must be waiting.

- Alright, wanna say bye? - He stroked her hair.

- Thank you, Lolli - she hugged me tightly, which I thought was weird, cause I would've never done this at that age.

- It's no problem, if you ever wanna talk, just come by.

- B-bye, Nathan - she turned to him, her breath hitching, her cheeks blushing.

- Bye, firecracker - he grinned - see ya in a few years...

- Shut up - I whispered, elbowing his ribs.

- Come on then, let's go - Simon took her back to the car.

- That was adorable - Nathan laughed.

- What? 

- How flustered she got when she saw me.

- Don't get all cocky... - I narrowed my eyes.

- I bet you still feel like that, you're just better at hidin', I have that effect on ya -  how the fuck did he know that?

- Oh, stop it.

- If only she knew the horrible, dirty things I've done t'you... It'll be worth the wait, huh? - He drawled - Was I responsible for your sexual awakenin'?

- We are not discussing this.

- I was! Oh, I'm honored...

- She won't stop smiling - Simon came back all excited - thank you, Lyds.

- Sometimes you just gotta listen to your heart, it helps if your heart is older and  wiser. But to be fair, I don't think I was entirely responsible for that...

- How did she know you, Nathan? 

- Right, few months ago she was out with some... Friends. I was there too, she was all over me.

- I wasn't! I barely said a word to you!

- Wait, what? - Simon blinked at us without understanding.

- Remember when I got in a fight with Lana and Bethany? - I pressed my lips together

- Yes.

- So, that fight started because I saw Nathan from afar and I thought he was kinda good-looking, nothing special...

- Aham, you couldn't even talk! You got all red and jittery, it was so cute - Nathan snickered.

- Well, they dragged me across the alley to make me talk to him, but I didn't want to.

- Couldn't - Nathan cut me off again - 'cause she was so nervous with how fit I am.

- I ran away to the bathroom, it was pretty traumatic...

- Oh my God - Simon hugged me - I'm so sorry this happened.

- It's fine - I assured him - in a few years I'll get over it and forget.

- Did you know I was her sexual awakenin'? - Nathan waggled his brows.

- Shut, and I can't stress this enough, your mouth! - I shouted.

- Looks like you always had bad taste in men - Simon joked.

——————————————————-

The next day, Simon was a little upset after Jessica told him she wouldn't be seeing him anymore. Alisha was trying to cheer him up as we all grabbed supplies to wash graffiti off the walls.

When Simon opened the door, the entire hallway was taken by the sound of hundreds of voices yelling at the same time and the loud clicking of cameras taking pictures. He quickly shut it and turned to us with his eyes wide.

- They know about us - he mumbled.

- Who? - Nathan asked.

- Everyone!

- What you talkin' about? - Kelly looked confused.

- There are reporters and TV cameras outside, lots of them!

Nathan gaped at me, none of us could believe this was happening.

- Right - Nate dropped his bucket - let me take a little peek.

- Don't open the door! - Simon tried to stop him, but it was useless.

Nathan opened the door and smiled at the cameras with his endless charisma, he waved and did some silly dance moves before closing it again.

- That was really quite a lot o'reporters...

- How did they find out, huh? - I tilted my head - Did you have something to do with this?

- No! I didn't do anythin'! I don't think I did... - He stopped to think - I'm almost certain I didn't.

- You! - I pointed at Shaun who was sneaking out, carrying a box full of his stuff - You told them about us.

- Yeah - He broke down laughing.

- You sit on your ass for 6 weeks doing nothing and then sell us out? - Curtis was appalled.

- Looks like it, doesn't it? I'm sure you'll all be fine...

- Like you give a shit - Alisha sneered.

- That's a good point, now if you'll excuse me, Antigua is waiting for me so... Goodbye, so long, and fuck off - Shaun turned around and left.

- Wanker! - Kelly shouted behind him.

- I'm actually surprised it hasn't happened sooner... - Nathan sighed - We haven't been that careful. Yesterday Lyddie was talkin' to her younger self.

- What is gonna happen to us now? - Alisha looked at Simon for an answer.

- They're gonna treat us like freaks - he was on the verge of tears - they're gonna keep us in a secret military facility and conduct experiments on us.

- No one's experimentin' on me, I'm not a monkey! - Nathan's voice trembled.

- We have to go into hiding - Simon muttered - we assume new identities, we break off all connections to family and friends, we wear disguises and only go out after dark...

- You expect me to never see my mum again? - Nathan was scandalized - Who's gonna do my washin'?

- Don't look at me - I noticed he had started to consider the possibility - you know, if we have to do it, it's not that bad. I've done it... I made peace with the fact that I'll never see my parents again

- Wow, that's dark - Nathan mumbled.

- There is an alternative - a voice made us all turn around.

The voice belonged to a woman wearing a very nice pantsuit, her name was Laura and she was an agent. Apparently, she's the one representing the milk kid from TV and she wanted to offer us the same opportunity, a contract.

- So what are we thinkin'? - Nathan asked as we discussed if we should sign it or not.

- This isn't why we got our powers... - Simon shook his head.

- There's no why, there's only what. What are gonna spend all our money on? 

- Do any of us even know what we're gonna do after we're done here? - Curtis wondered.

- What about the people we killed? - Kelly brought up.

- Shit, there's that... - I started biting my nails.

- I got it - Nathan turned around mysteriously - now, I'm not sayin' we have, but what would happen, hypothetically speaking, if it came to light that we... May have killed one or two people? Probation workers and such, no one important. 

- I would say - Laura thought for a second - that these people you may or may not have killed were evil. You were protecting society as the super-heroes you are, you're not murderers. And if that doesn't work we vanish the bodies and pay off the relatives.

- Good answer - Nathan smiled.

- Sign us up! - Curtis exclaimed.

- You're making a mistake - Simon warned - this will change everything.

- I agree, it doesn't feel right - my stomach was in a knot - I don't wanna be  famous for my power, I want to be famous for my music.

- But baby, we're a super-hero couple - Nathan pleaded - we're like Mr. and Mrs. Incredible or Superman and Supergirl!

- Supergirl is Superman's cousin, Natty.

- Forget about that one, then... 

- You're a musician? - Laura asked.

- Yeah, she is - Kelly replied for me.

- A great one - Nathan added - she can play loads of instruments, she writes her own music, and she sings like a fuckin' nightingale.

- I see - Laura smiled - you know, there could be so many opportunities for you, Lydia. A talented girl with a superpower could go very far in the industry.

- Are you sure? - I chewed on my lip.

- I'm certain.

- Fine, I'll do it.

Simon gave me a disappointed look and left. Laura dealt with the reporters and prepared us to give an interview where she would introduce us as the ASBO Six, even though our community service is nearly over and some of us don't even have ASBOs.

- Teeth, good... Hair, beautiful... Cock in, fly's up... Arm candy lookin' sexy... - Nathan was staring at the mirror - Let's go be famous.

- Who you calling arm candy? - I said with mock anger.

——————————————————-

Something felt off about this whole situation. Laura had gotten us all rooms in The Grand Hotel and we were now spending a few days there, God knows how many...

When we arrived in a limo, a crowd of fans was waiting for us with posters and signs. I always imagined that my future would be like this, but it didn't seem like they were that interested in me... Most of the fans were girls and had the names "Curtis" or "Nathan" on their signs.

- NATHAN! YOU'RE SO HOT! - A voice pierced through the crowd, making me jump and hold his arm tighter.

- Hi, thank you! - He waved with a charming grin.

- Can you sign my shirt? - A short blonde handed him a marker.

- Um... Sure - he wrote his name awkwardly on the girl's cropped top.

- If you ever get tired of Lydia... Call me - yet another short blonde gave Nathan a wink and a piece of paper.

I couldn't fucking believe this was happening, I get famous and all everyone can do is thirst over my boyfriend? What the fuck? As we checked-in, Nathan noticed my uneasiness.

- Here - he handed me the piece of paper which I angrily ripped apart and threw away.

- Bloody slags...

- Someone's jealous... - He took the room key and we made our way to the elevator.

- What if I am? There are dozens of girls out there wanting to steal what's mine! 

- Lollipop, listen to yourself... They wanna steal what's yours - he cupped my face - I'm yours, every last bit, only you get to enjoy the goods.

- Am I even enough? What if you do get tired of me? You'll wanna shag other girls.

- I've never had a girlfriend before, 'cause I thought I'd get bored, but I can't get enough of ya. I don't need anyone else, they can try all they want. Besides, how very convenient that they wanna shag me now that I'm famous and rich... You loved me when I was literally homeless - he brought me closer.

I let my body melt into his kiss as his hand held the back of my neck, those words made at least a bit of my insecurity go away.

The room was posh, there was a huge TV, a giant bed with lots of pillows, a window with a gorgeous view of the garden and all sorts of delicious food and champagne waiting for us. Nathan giggled like a little kid when he walked in. 

- Look at this place! It's perfect! What d'you reckon, Lyds? 

- It's beautiful - I looked around - but it feels odd, you know?

- Odd? Why?

- I miss Simon, it doesn't feel right to be here without him. I think he was right, everything changed and all I wanted was to go back to the start, those days of just being young and dumb, getting to fall in love with you all over again... I just don't want us to change.

Nathan sat down and pulled me into his arms, carefully stroking my hair.

- We're not gonna change, we're still young and dumb, I still love you and so does your brother. You deserve this, Lyddie. You deserve more than that tiny little flat you live in, you deserve t'be in a nice hotel, eat the best food, let me give this to you.

I sighed and fell on my side, regretting ever signing that stupid contract... The world wasn't supposed to know about us, it was our secret, the thing that bonds us together.

- Look, chocolate-covered strawberries... I seem to remember you love these?

I didn't move, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity to eat, but Nathan wasn't gonna give up so easily. He crawled behind me and dangled a single strawberry over my face.

- Stop that - I whined - I'm not hungry.

- Hmmm, so good - he ate one - but okay then... If you don't want me to feed you these strawberries, I'll go outside and give them to the girls waitin' by the door.

- No!

- What was that? 

- Don't, it's mine.

- Me or the strawberries? - Cynical bastard

- Both...

- Y'look adorable when you're jealous... Here - he put one in my mouth - d'you  like it?

I hummed in response, it did taste amazing and I was starving. Nathan kept feeding me until there was nothing left, so I took his hand and slowly sucked his chocolate-covered fingers clean.

- You might wanna stop that if you don't want me to get a massive boner - Nate warned.

- What if I do? - I took his fingers in my mouth once again.

- In that case... 

Nathan turned me around and pressed his lips to mine, I didn't waste any time ripping his shirt off to run my hands over his chest. Soon the kiss grew deeper and his tongue was deliciously connected with mine.

- You taste so good - he murmured, his hand traveling down to my circle my clit under the skirt.

- You too - I moaned - like champagne.

- Want some more?

- Please...

Nathan took his glass from the nightstand and took a sip. When he kissed me again, my mouth was flooded with champagne while he unbuttoned my blouse. I reached for his pants, quickly undoing the zipper.

- Grab the condom in my pocket - he unhooked my bra.

- I want it raw.

- You sure? - He backed off slightly.

- Don't worry, I'm taking those injections, I wanna feel you.

These words brought a boyish smile to his face, he quickly kicked his shoes and jeans away, his chain dangling over me when he pinned me down against the bed. 

Nathan reached between my legs pulling my knickers to the side and pumping two fingers in my cunt while his thumb gently rubbed my clit.

- Feels like you're all ready for me, Lollipop - he groaned against my neck.

- Fuck me - I palmed his erection and gave it a few strokes - now.

Part of me just wanted the rush of pleasure to erase this horrible feeling deep in my stomach, for Nathan to make the entire world disappear for a few minutes. 

His cock teased my entrance briefly before he filled me up in one quick move. I held onto his shoulders, letting my head roll back with a loud moan. His bare skin felt like a dream, I wish I had started taking those damn injections sooner.

- You feel so nice around my cock - Nathan enraptured me in a passionate kiss.

His pace was slow at first, drowning in the feeling of our bodies touching like that, but he couldn't hold back for long. His thrusts were getting faster and harder, his hands holding the bed frame firmly for leverage. 

As his rhythm increased, I had to cover my mouth not to scream. I could feel that ticking time bomb building up inside of me as I approached my climax. 

Nathan had gotten pretty good at picking up the signs that I was about to finish, so one of his hands sought my nipples, looking to stimulate me even more.

I came undone beneath him, squirming as that powerful wave of pleasure took over me. Nathan came almost immediately after, filling me up with his load. After a couple of final pumps, he came out of me and spread my legs to take a look.

- What are you doing? - I laughed.

- Wanna see my spunk drippin' out your twat.

- Nathan... - I rolled my eyes playfully.

When he finally got tired of watching my pussy, I got in the shower and let the bad feeling wash away with the water, which by the way was fantastic, that place was like a proper palace. 

I was hoping for a round two when I came back to bed, but Nathan was already fast asleep and I didn't have the nerve to wake him up. I snuggled him, covered us both with the comforter, and fell asleep as well.

The next morning I was feeling a lot better. It was nice to wake up with a view like that, in a bed that was so comfortable I could spend the rest of my life in. I kissed Nathan's forehead, waking him up too.

- Mornin' - he slurred.

- Did you sleep well?

- Better than ever, you?

- Yeah, me too... 

- Alright, I gotta take a piss - Nathan got up while stretching.

- Don't take too long, I want you - I crawled to his side of the bed to take in his smell.

- I better get ready then - he disappeared into the bathroom - why is there a smaller toilet next to the toilet, Lyds?

- That's a bidet - I snorted.

- What's that for?

- To clean your arse.

- They have a special place to clean my arse? Wow, this... Jesus!

I jumped from the bed and ran to the bathroom when I heard Nathan scream. My worry disappeared, though, when I saw Simon standing next to the bathtub. 

I had no idea how he got there or how long he has been waiting, but it didn't matter, I was just so happy to see him.

- Sorry - Simon mumbled.

- Oh my God - I hugged him - I'm so glad you're here!

- Mom and dad are freaking out over the invisibility thing, I had nowhere else to go, can I stay with you?

- Yes, of course! It's okay, right, Nate?

- Yeah, sure, man - Nathan agreed - d'you mind just hangin' in here for a few  minutes? Lyddie woke up horny, I gotta take care of it.

- Argh! - Simon grimaced and I chuckled.

- What? You wouldn't want me to neglect your sister, right? You told me to treat  her well, give her whatever she wants... Right now what she wants is my cock!

- Fine, just... Let me get my earphones first.

——————————————————-

- Sorry we're late - Nathan said, all cocky, as we arrived for our meeting with Laura - we were busy with couples activities, if you know what I mean...

- I was just saying - Laura glossed over Nathan's inappropriate comment - if there's anything you don't wanna see in the papers, just let me know and I'll handle it.

- Everything about me has already been in the papers - Curtis shrugged.

- My name - I took a deep breath - I go by Lydia, but that's actually my middle name, my first one is... Blossom. No one can find out about it and no one can ever know that I'm related to Simon.

- Why is that? - Laura was taking notes.

- I'm a time traveler - I thought honesty would be the best policy - my parents and my younger self can't know that I'm me.

- Okay, I'll make sure to keep that off the papers then, anyone else?

Nathan raised his hand and I knew this was gonna be good. He told us all the story of how he was hooking up with a girl just before starting community service and ended up "doing the triple", ruining the whole thing.

- I'm not familiar with that term - Laura narrowed her eyes.

- Y'know, triplin'... - Nathan gestured - When you come, puke, and shit yourself at the same time.

Everyone winced and dropped whatever they were eating.

- Anyway, I lied about my name, so she probably doesn't even remember me - he leaned back with his arm around my shoulder.

- I don't think she's ever forgetting you - Alisha mocked.

- That was gross even for me, Natty, and I didn't think that was possible - I stared blankly at the wall.

- Did that finally do it? You have a really high tolerance for Nathan's shit - Curtis scoffed.

- You're never ever eating a kebab before shagging me...

- I think it was just from a weird place, that's all - Nathan kissed my cheek - they  usually just make me gassy.

- Well, that isn't much better, now is it? - I raised my brows.

- I kinda shagged a monkey - Kelly blurted out.

- Technically it was a gorilla - Nathan corrected.

From Laura's face, I gathered she wasn't used to this sort of issue with her other clients... I just hoped that wasn't too much for her to handle.

[sunfloweradoring]

the one with the playlist

Strap yourselves in! This is big one, but I hope you enjoy! K xxx

masterlist

word count: 5k

It was certainly not the first time we’d been parted. Indeed, it was almost more common for one or both of us to be jetting off to some new location than staying in our own flat. However, that fact did not, in any way, alleviate the pain and sorrow the pair of us experienced with each prolonged separation. In the almost four years since we met at that stupid party so much in our lives had changed - yet the biggest constant was the feelings Harry and I shared for one another.

That’s why I found myself tearing up more than usual this Wednesday night.

“I’ll call you every day.” Harry reassured, glancing up from his almost completely packed suitcase to my eyes as I sat on the other side of the bed from the object. I tried my best to give him a convincing smile, nodding softly. “Baby...” His tone seemed to send me over the edge that I’d quite frankly been teetering on for the last three days. He abandoned his packing, pushing the suitcase down to the end of the bed before crawling towards me. Within a second he pulled me against him, his lips pressing kisses to the top of my head as my cheek squished against his chest.

“I’m just gonna miss you, ‘s all.” I muttered into his jumper, my fingers clutching desperately to the material as if I could hold him against me forever instead of letting him go on tour. 

“I know, lovie, I know. And I’m gonna miss you too, so much. But before you know it we’ll be together again!” His voice picked up a little towards the end. “You know, you’re gonna visit me in America, and we get two whole weeks together then, and then it’ll only be a little bit until I’m home again.”

“But then you’ll go again.” 

“You’re pretty shit at taking comfort, have I ever told you that?” I giggled quietly as his fingers playfully prodded at my sides. I squirmed in his grasp in attempts to escape his attack. 

“Just let me be sad!” I laughed, sitting between his legs when he finally released me. His eyes lingered, darting between mine and my lips. The silence that took over was one completely void of awkwardness. “I love you.” I almost whispered the words as I crawled up his body, swinging my right leg over his left, straddling his waist. His hands pushed up my thighs, curving around my waist as he pulled me forward into him again. 

“I love you too, Sunflower.” I could feel his smile against my neck before I let out a little whine of annoyance. 

“You know how much I hate it when you call me that.”

“Yeah, that’s why I do it.” I pulled back, hands on his chest as I inspected the smirk spread across his features. 

“Arsehole.” I laughed, shaking my head.

“Yeah, but you love me.” His hands dropped from my waist, grasping my bum in a squeeze. 

“Don’t know why.” I mumbled teasingly, glancing my eyes up to meet his as he let out a small ‘heeyyyyy’. I released another laugh, leaning forward to steal a quick peck from his lips. “I’m joking, my love. You know I love you because you’re the sexiest, funniest and all round best person in the world.” My lips ghosted over his, allowing me to detect the subtle darkening of his eyes as lust overtook him. 

                                                ---------------------

“Are you sure you’ve got everything?” I asked for what was probably the fifth time in the last thirty minutes.

“Yes, woman, Christ.” Harry replied in fake exasperation. 

“Alright, alright, I just don’t want you calling me, crying, because you didn’t bring enough knickers.” I smirked, stepping out of the apartment. 

“Don’t wear knickers. Imma man.” He grumbled in return, delivering a playful slap to my bum before locking the door. “You don’t have to take me to the airport if you don’t want to, honey.” 

“But I do want to.” I grinned, getting into the car as he loaded up the boot with his numerous bags. As he reached out for the passenger door’s handle, he gasped.

“Wait, hang on one sec, I forgot something.” He said, holding his finger up before jogging back to the door, unlocking it and disappearing inside before I could chastise him for his forgetfulness. Not two minutes had gone by before he reemerged, locking the door once more. To my surprise, though, his hands were just as empty as they had been when he left the car moments before. When he entered the car I shot him a questioning look. “What?”

“What did you forget?” I asked, pulling my seatbelt across my body and fastening it.

“Oh, nothing, realised I actually did have it already.” Harry said, his lips quivering slightly. In the last four years I now knew this to be a tell-tale sign that he was trying his utmost to keep the smirk that was fighting its way onto his face at bay. Of course I wanted to dig deeper, get a truthful answer from him, but I knew we were already running out of time to get to the airport on time for his flight. 

“Okay... you weirdo.” I giggled, starting the car and backing out of the driveway.

                                               ---------------------

The lump in my throat was growing every second I watched the five boys (well all young men now) checking off their things with the tour manager. 

“Alright, I think we’ve got everything. Let’s hit the road, again!” He spoke, quietly chuckling to himself as he put his clipboard away after a final chat with Zayn. 

“It’s actually on the road again.” Louis sarcastically remarked, pulling his rucksack onto his shoulders before hugging his sister Lottie. Harry and I exchanged a look and laugh before he approached me, pulling me into a hug.

“I’ll call you everyday.” He repeated the words from last night into my hair as he squeezed me as hard as he could without hurting me. 

“I love you so, so, so, so, so much!” I spoke, head nestled into his neck. 

“I love you more, angel. I’ll see you soon, yeah? Keep my side of the bed warm for me.” He pulled away, eyes momentarily scanning over my face, noting the well of tears in my eyes I was refusing to release in front of him. His lips pressed to mine, and even though it was but a few seconds, the kiss we shared held so much passion and love I felt my heart race. Pulling away, we looked at each other once more before he dropped his arms from my body and retrieved his bags. “Bye, love.” Despite the wink he shot in my direction, I couldn’t help detecting the slight break in his voice now.

“Bye, baby.” 

Before I knew it, the whole tour party of was gone and out of sight, just leaving us loved ones that had come to wave them goodbye. 

“God, I still can’t believe it, every time they go.” Louis’ mum piped up, receiving a hum of agreement from the rest of us. “So proud of them.”

“Yes, so, so proud.” Liam’s mum replied.

                                               ---------------------

The silence that greeted me as I unlocked the door was no where near as comforting as the silence Harry and I shared the night previously. This silence was almost eerie, confirming that, yes, I was alone once more. I sniffled back the tears that I had finally allowed myself to shed in the car on the way home, wiping my eyes with the back of my sleeve. 

Slowly, I made my way up stairs, pushing open the door to our bedroom. It seemed far less chaotic than it had been for the last couple of weeks now that it was relieved of Harry’s many bags. I missed the mess now; it had told me that he was still here. Without turning on the light, I trudged to the bed, flinging myself onto the duvet, laying like a starfish on the covers as I let out an exaggerated huff slash groan. I glanced up in the direction a small rattling noise came from. On the pillow was an object I couldn’t quite make out in the dim light of the room; it certainly hadn’t been there earlier when I left the room to take Harry to the airport. Maybe this was what he was being so secretive about then. Pulling myself up, I flicked on the lamp beside the bed, discovering a CD with a sticky note attached.

‘For when you miss me and may forget how much I love you, here are all the songs that remind me of you (I’d know, seeing as I wrote them about you ;))

All my love, H xxxxx’

Another wave of tears hit me as I stared at his scrawl across the pink paper. How could I miss him so much already? Shooting up from the bed, I clambered out of the room and into the office where the computer was. I dropped into the chair, fiddling with the CD before slotting it into the machine. My heart seemed to skip with anticipation, my eyes darting all over the screen as I waited for it to load. Finally the songs came onto the screen; I was surprised to see how many of them there were, but I couldn’t help the grin on my face at the first four.

                                              ---------------------

Stole My Heart

Under the lights tonight, you turned around And you stole my heart, with just one look When I saw your face, I fell in love Took a minute girl, to steal my heart tonight With just one look, yeah Been waiting for a girl like you

Harry’s PoV

“So remind me how you know this guy again?” I questioned, leaning forward to push my head between the driver’s and front passenger’s seat. Louis huffed out a breath, shaking his head in annoyance. 

“He’s just a friend, mate. Does it really matter how I know him? It’s free alcohol. You should be bloody grateful seeing as you’re fresh out of the womb.” Niall snorted at Louis’ reply, earning a punch to the leg from me. 

“No need to be snarky.” I muttered, watching as the car pulled up to a large house that already looked like it was breaking at the seams with too many people. 

“He’s just butthurt that he and Caroline broke up. Mate, you were punching. It was gonna end at some point!” Zayn chimed in. The five of us hopped out the car, making our way up the steps and into the house. 

“Best behaviour, everyone, Simon said we could do some good networking here. There might be some people here we could need.” Liam said, the four of us completely ignoring him as we pushed through the crowd. Almost immediately we lost Niall - no doubt already in search of some alcoholic beverage. I decided not to join him, knowing full well that Zayn was right. I’d never tell him that though! I was definitely feeling a little low after the short rendezvous with Caroline Flack came to a somewhat abrupt end, and if I went straight to the drink like Niall, it was probably not going to be pretty. Instead, I followed Zayn who was talking to a group of three that he already seemed to know. 

After nearly half an hour though, the conversation was getting a little boring, and I was certainly struggling to keep up the façade of interest. I cleared my throat, gaining the attention of my peers. “Um, sorry, just gonna excuse myself, gonna get a drink.” I muttered.

“I’ll follow, be right back.” Zayn agreed, quickly following me. “Oh my god, did you hear them? How on earth can someone complain about not having enough rooms in a 7 room house for like twenty minutes?” He questioned, a laugh escaping his lips as we were out of earshot of the trio.

“I mean, if you fill half of them with your weed plantation it’s definitely going to affect the potential of the others, isn’t it?” I joked. “Now where the hell is kitchen?”

“I think,” Zayn spoke half the sentence, nodding his head in the direction in front of us. Together we continued pushing through the crowd of people that somehow seemed to have multiplied even in the short amount of time since our arrival. “Please don’t start growing a weed plantation in your house, Harold.” Zayn teased, finally entering the kitchen. “Ah the others are here.”

“Lads!” I heard Louis shout as we appeared. I didn’t answer Zayn’s joke because, leaning against the fridge was a girl. God Harry, that is not just ‘a girl’. I’d never seen anything that could even come close to her beauty. Just looking at her face I could feel my heart rate increase tenfold. Her brown hair was slightly waved, pushed back over one shoulder, accentuating her high cheekbones. She wasn’t wearing anything that was particularly noteworthy, but she made the simple outfit look like it was being modelled for the runway. Suddenly I noticed that I had yet to speak; that in fact, no one had said anything because Zayn had become a little shy with the presence of this stranger. I tried to adopt the most upbeat, unfazed tone.

“Hi!” As Liam introduced us I felt myself move forward towards her. I stuck out my hand. What the fuck am I doing? Who shakes hands at 17 - especially when they’ve just met the most beautiful woman in the entire universe?! Her hand slowly slid into mine; the softest, most delicate hands I’d ever felt - and that’s including my own mother who it seemed applied Cath Kidston hand moisturiser every waking moment. I thought quickly, moving down and placing a gentle kiss to the back of her hand. “Lovely to meet you, Y/N.” I smiled, making eye contact for the first time. 

Wow.

Never in my life have someone’s eyes felt like they were looking straight into my soul. Her cheeks flushed a pink shade, causing mine to match.

“And you, Harry.” She returned, maintaining the eye contact. 

Shit, Harry, this is deep. You can’t fall in love this quickly, can you?

When I got home that night, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. She clouded every thought, her touch still seeming to cause flames to run over my skin. As I sat on my bed, I grabbed the scrap of paper that was beside the bed from a piece of junk mail I’d opened this morning. Rummaging around I found a half blunt pencil, scribbling less than ten words onto the crumbled paper: 

When I saw your face, I fell in love.

                                              ---------------------

They Don’t Know About Us

They don’t know about the things we do They don’t know about the I love you’s But I bet you if they only knew They would just be jealous of us They don’t know about the up all nights They don’t know I've waited all my life Just to find a love that feels this right Baby they don’t know about, they don’t know about us

It must have been my continuous sniffles that prevented me from hearing that the front door had opened and closed, allowing Harry back into the apartment. My arms encircled my shins, pulling my legs up close to my chest as I sat on the little bench by the window in our bedroom. 

Things had just gotten too much as of late. With three new projects of mine coming out this year, with Harry working what felt like around the clock with the guys in the studio to produce another album, the press seemed to think it was their role to shit over everything. At every opportunity media outlets took it upon themselves to dig their way into our private lives we tried so hard to keep just that: private. 

“Baby, what are you doing up here? I thought you had an interview on the phone at 6? Why are you in the dark?” All of Harry’s questions felt like a tonne of bricks, causing more tears to well up in my eyes, and eventually cascade down my cheeks. “Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong? What are the tears for?” Not a second later he was by my side, kneeling down beside the bench, hands pulling on mine gently.

“I’ve had enough.” I cried, allowing him to pull my body around so he was kneeling now between my legs.

“Enough of what, my love?” His voice was soft, gentle, matching the feel of his caresses over my hands.

“I know we’re not s-s-supposed to r-read about ourselves in the n-news, but-” My hiccups became too much, completely cutting me off.

“Shhh, lovie, take a breath, yeah? Calm down, it’s okay. I’m here now.” The look in his eyes broke my heart; his pupils were swimming with concern and anxiety at finding me in this state.

“They were talking about how you’re really close with all of these women, like Cara and Caroline and all of that... And you know that picture that paps took of me like three weeks ago and I was crying because of something stupid on the phone outside of the set?” Harry nodded in confirmation, not wanting to cut me off in my flow. “Well according to them that was me crying about you cheating on me with all of these girls and how I felt trapped in this relationship and all that. They said I was calling someone to find another place to live for a bit or something. I know it sounds stupid, Harry, trust me, I know; because I know you’d never cheat on me, and I know they’re just you’re friends, but at the same time, this constant bombardment from the press is just so tiring! I just want to go outside and not be followed.” By this point I’d slowly sunk to the floor, tears continuing to flow freely from my eyes; but he was there to hold me. My head rested on his shoulder, nose pressed into his skin whilst his hands ran soothingly up and down my back.

“I know it’s hard, baby.” Harry spoke softly, his breath washing over the side of my face. “But it’s our life, yeah? We’ve just gotta live it the best way that we can and fuck them and what they think. They’ve got no idea what goes on behind closed doors; they have no idea how much we love each other; they’ve not got a clue what stupid stuff we talk about in the middle of the night when we can’t sleep. But trust me, I’ve waited too long for this to let them come between them. You’re the love of my life.” My heart fluttered at the end of his mini rant, a small smile playing on my lips.

“Really?” I croaked, lifting my head enough to catch his gaze. The previous expression that had evoked such sadness within me was now replaced by one that filled me with delight; he looked so in love, his eyes were shining in the darkness of the room, his lips only inches from mine.

“Yeah, of course. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, baby. What we have... just feels... right. You know?” I nodded in agreement, leaning forward to press a kiss to his lips.

“I’m so in love with you, Harry.” I muttered.

“And I’m so in love with you.” He finished his declaration with my name.

The rest of the evening was quiet, peaceful; he sat beside me as I lay in the bath, his fingers intertwined with mine. It didn’t feel weird at all to be lying in front of him completely naked, he knew everything about me; every curve and bump of my body, every thought in my mind; everything.

“Wanna know something funny?” Harry asked gently. I nodded, swirling my free hand in the cooling water. “I was trying to write a song for you... well about you, all day and I was struggling so much,” He chuckled, looking down at our hands. “The boys were starting to take the piss, saying I wasn’t a real songwriter because I literally sat there for hours and didn’t write a single word. But in the fifteen minutes we’ve been here, I think I’ve got something.”

“Can I hear it?” I asked hopefully, sitting up a bit to lean my head on the side of the tub, mirroring the positioning of his. 

“Yeah,” He cleared his throat a little, shaking his head as if he were about to belt it out, but in what must have been the softest I’d ever heard his voice he smoothly sung: 

They don’t know I've waited all my life Just to find a love that feels this right Baby they don’t know about, they don’t know about us

                                              ---------------------

Strong

Think of how much love that's been wasted People always trying to escape it Move on to stop their heart breaking But there's nothing I'm running from You make me strong

“What are you even talking about, Harry?” My voice was hoarse, not from shouting (because that was something I refused to do), but from the hours and hours we’d been going at each other in this fight. “You’re taking this way out of context and trying to put words into my mouth!” Exasperation and frustration were clear in my words as my hands sat on my hips, sending Harry a slight glare as he stood on the other side of the living room.

“I don’t think I am, love,” The pet name in this context seemed a little sarcastic as his voice was definitely louder than usual, but not yet shouting. I think he’d exhausted himself an hour or so ago. “I think I’ve hit the nail bang on the head.”

“All I said was that I would appreciate more time with you; that’s all! What I didn’t say is that I don’t think you should be going out with your friends and reducing the amount of time you spend on tour.”

“That’s not something I can do, Y/N! I’m not in control of that! I can’t just go to management and say ‘oh yeah, my missus has got the hump, can we just cut out some of those dates?’“

“Harry, please!” Now that he was starting to get away with himself, clearly becoming more and more angry by the minute, I needed to clear the air. “That’s not something I’m asking from you.” I repeated, my voice cool, calm and collected. “I’m just asking you to consider spending some more of the time you have in England at home. You’ve been out nearly every night the last two weeks with various people-”

“I’ve always invited you to come too!”

“Harry please don’t interrupt me.” I begged.

“You’re being unreasonable.” It was clear to me now that he was definitely not prepared for an adult conversation, so I decided it was a good time for me to go upstairs and give him time to cool down. 

“I can’t talk to you when you’re like this, I’m gonna leave you.” Before I’d even made it four metres to the stairs, Harry’s hand had grabbed my arm; I was about to say something about man-handling me when I caught his expression. 

He looked broken, eyes filled with fear as his lips were parted. “Please don’t leave me.” His voice had absolutely no hint of anger anymore, just pure terror. 

“Leave you? No, Harry, I meant leave you alone to calm down. I was just... going upstairs.” I trailed off, eyeing him in confusion. His hand let go of me, both palms cradling his temples. 

“Fuck,” He breathed. 

“Why would you think I’d leave you?” I asked, stepping closer to him as he started pacing around the room. When I received no answer I called out his name.

“That’s just how it happened to my parents.” His voice was so quiet I almost missed it. My heart sunk.

“Hey,” I walked over to him, allowing my arms to go around him as I rested my head against his chest. I could hear his heart thumping against his ribcage frantically. “That’s not what’s going on here.” I explained. “It’s just a little fight, yeah? Nothing we can’t come through.” His arms were tightly holding me against him, his cheek against the top of my head. 

“I just thought you’d leave before something happened.” 

“What do you mean?”

“I dunno, just to leave before I broke your heart or something.” He muttered, sounding almost like he was too scared to even say it. 

“No, Harry. No.” I shook my head, tightening my arms around him. “I love you so much, too much almost.” I let out a little laugh. “I wouldn’t do that to either of us.”

“Would be a waste.” 

“Yes, a waste.” I agreed, looking up at him. “I’m not running away from this... from us. I never want to do that.” I reassured. 

Hours had past; apologies had been exchanged, promises made and kisses traded. I walked out of the kitchen, holding two glasses of wine to find him hunched over the journal I’d brought him for Christmas last year. 

“What you writing, superstar?” I teased, sinking into the sofa beside him. Without words, he tilted the pages for me to look at his writing:

But there's nothing I'm running from You make me strong

                                             ---------------------

Night Changes

We're only getting older, baby And I've been thinking about it lately Does it ever drive you crazy Just how fast the night changes? Everything that you've ever dreamed of Disappearing when you wake up But there's nothing to be afraid of Even when the night changes, it will never change me and you

The night had been absolutely beautiful. Harry had arranged to take me out to a fancy restaurant for our fourth anniversary, wining and dining me like he was trying to make a good first impression on an initial date. 

We walked the short distance from the restaurant back to our home, fingers laced together, the warmth in our bodies from the, perhaps too much, alcohol we’d had with dinner. 

“Thank you for tonight, lovie.” I smiled up at him, his features somewhat shadowed by the darkness, but subtly illuminated by the various street lamps. 

“It was my pleasure, baby. Thank you for the best four years of my entire life.” My skin flushed before I leaned up to press a soft kiss to his cheek.

 “How is it that you can still make me blush and feel all gooey inside after all this time?” I wondered aloud. Harry shrugged, a smirk on his lips as he turned into our driveway. 

“Just a god really, aren’t I?” He shot me a wink, letting go of my hand to unlock the door. I laughed, shaking my head at him. 

“I can tell you one thing that’s never changed.” He raised his eyebrows at me in question, holding his arm up to keep the door open. 

“After you,” He muttered, watching as I ducked under his arm and into the house. 

“You’re still a cocky bastard.” 

“I can assure you, madam, my parents were married.” I spun around, looking at him before we both burst into a fit of giggles. 

“Stop it! You’re still 17 I swear!” I chortled, kicking my heels off by the door (a problem for me to sort tomorrow). 

“Yeah, but you love it though, don’t you, sweetheart?” His lips were centimetres from my ear, hand squeezing my bum playfully. 

“You’re such a flirt.” I countered, a wide grin on my face. 

“Just for you.” He winked again, taking off his jacket and hanging it up before mirroring my actions with his own shoes. 

“You know what else is for you?” I asked, attempting to adorn my best sultry tone. 

“Hmm?” He hummed in return, eyes flickering over my body. 

“All of this.” I muttered, gesturing to my body. “These,” I continued, my index finger playfully stroking down my breasts. Suddenly Harry was advancing on me; but I was faster. I let out a small shriek, spinning around and running up the stairs. 

“Hey! Come back, you pest!” Harry shouted after me. I could hear his footsteps chasing after me. “You’re gonna pay for that!”

“Thank you again.” I muttered, lips slowly trailing over his naked torso, the sheets pulled up under my armpits to cover my own bare skin. 

“I’d do anything for you.” He smiled, watching as my lips made their way from his pectorals, up his sternum, to his neck and eventually to his lips. 

“You’re the love of my life.” I replied, laying my head against his skin after our kiss. We lay there in silence for a few minutes, just soaking in each other before I heard him softly humming a tune I’d not heard before.

“What’s that?” I asked curiously, propping myself up on my elbow.

“Just thought of it.” He replied, turning his head to look at me. “I wrote some lyrics the other day, and I think they’d go with that.” I looked at him in a way to encourage him to go on. He playfully rolled his eyes at me before clearing his throat, gently singing the words to the tune he’d just been humming:

But there's nothing to be afraid of Even when the night changes, it will never change me and you

[gloriainalbis]

Strangers

Part 3 - Grand Illusion (S1E1+S1E2)

Nathan Young x Reader Words: 4k Warnings: Swearing, mentions of sex and nudity, drugs  Songs:  Too Much On My Mind - The Kinks I Won’t Hurt You - The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band

“Where are you going, I don't mind I've killed my world and I've killed my time”

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Masterlist | Ao3

--

    You’re just about done changing, closing your locker and stepping away to zip up the front of your jumpsuit and fix your hair. It’s just you, Nathan, Curtis, and Simon remaining when Nathan whistles and motions for everyone to huddle up. “So…” he begins seriously, an emotion one does not typically expect from Nathan. “If anyone asks what happened yesterday, we say nothin’, right? It’s just a completely normal day.” You nod in agreement as he looks at each of you in turn.     Having left the locker room, you are now all standing together to await whatever new probation worker was sent to replace Tony after his mysterious disappearance. You try to look as normal as possible, leaning casually against a pillar and definitely not making any sideways glances at your fellow young offenders. It‘s hard to resist the urge.

    A woman walks up to stand before you all, she looks to be about in her early thirties and is dressed simply but well. Her hair is dark, long, and some of it is pulled away from her face. She’s pretty, but by all accounts, a remarkably normal person. You assume she’s the new probation worker, and you’re right. “Gary and my colleague Tony have both been reported missing. Their families are very worried about them. Have you seen anything unusual? Anything at all?” Nathan raises his eyebrows and holds up a finger to catch her attention. “You saw something?” she asks. You desperately want to stop this. Nathan has just told you, moments ago, that you should act like nothing happened yesterday, and yet here he is. He probably isn’t going to tell her the truth, you can’t imagine him ratting everyone out like that, but you can’t imagine him saying anything that would make the situation better, either. “A few days ago…” Kelly shakes her head slightly, trying to get him to stop, and you try to catch his eye to send him a harrowing gaze, but he just barrels on. “I go into the toilets, Tony and Gary were in there. They’re butt naked.” You breathe a sigh of relief that luckily sounded remarkably close to exasperation, which is probably because it was. “Tony has Gary by his hair, like this, an’ he’s just doin’ him, doggy style!” He starts to thrust and grunt, and you put a hand to your cheek, half over your mouth to suppress your involuntary grin. What he’s doing was disgusting, but oddly entertaining. It’s like watching a trainwreck. “And Tony is like ‘Aaagh! Who’s your daddy? I’m your daddy, I’m Big Daddy!’” It’s vulgar, honestly. Nathan gets really into it, making crude motions and grunts, chanting, “Oh yeah, oh yeah, ooooh yeah!” before calling out “I’m daddy cool!” Tony would have presumably finished then, because Nathan stops thrusting to put his hands on his hips and return to his normal posture. “So I’m guessing they’ve ran away to continue their illicit homosexual affair. And I ask you, in this world of intolerance and prejudice, who are we, who are we to condemn them?” He’s on point with the social justice, but now is decidedly not the right time, place, or circumstances. The probation worker says nothing and just walks away. You reach out and shove Nathan. “What the everloving fuck was that?” He gasps indignantly. “I was just trying to act normal!” “If that’s your idea of normal, then there’s somethin’ seriously wrong in your head,” Kelly scolds. “I thought we already knew that,” Curtis agrees, earning a giggle from Alisha.     You all congregate on the roof, standing together, overlooking the lake and office buildings on its far side. Ah, the charming sights of Wertham, an army of identical fifteen-story grey blocks. Nathan takes a drag from his cigarette before smiling, “Well, I think we got away from it.” “Do you actually believe that, or are you just really dumb?” Curtis asks sarcastically, and you snicker. “I actually believe that!” Nathan insists. You had just laughed at him, but there’s something in Nathan’s earnest voice that makes you want to believe it, too. “I mean I was there, right? I should have one of these bullshit powers.” “You can have mine,’ Kelly gripes. “You want to hear what people are thinkin’ about you?” “Not so much, no. I want something good, you know? Something from the A-list.” “Maybe you can fly,” Simon offers quietly. Nathan’s face lights up. “He’s not going to be able to fly,” Alisha reasons. “Yeah, there’s always someone who can fly, check it out!” His confidence in this proposition seems inordinately inflated. “We don’t need you trying to jump off buildings like superman to test it,” you add, knowing full well that Nathan could and would. “Ah, I won’t!” He walks over to a nearby chair, far away from the roof’s ledge, and climbs up. “This has no chance of working, right?” You lean in to whisper to Kelly. “None,” she agrees. Nathan leaps into the air, raising his arms up hopefully, but he just falls to the ground like a sack of bricks, except with the addition of a nasty smack. “Ow! No, that’s not it,” he groans, picking himself up with a childish expression of annoyance on his face. “So what happens now? Is this it?” Curtis asks, turning to look at everyone. “Are we gonna be like this forever?” “What if we’re meant to be, like, superheroes?” Now, you really do want to include Simon more, he seems like a genuinely nice, if chronically shy, person, but his suggestions today are horribly lacking. “You lot, superheroes?” Nathan asks, sounding more jealous than anything. Kelly looked worryingly contemplative, and you’re bothered by how well the story seems to fit. “No offense, but in what kind of fucked up world would that be allowed to happen?” “This world is pretty fucked up,” you point out. “I did not sign up for that,” Alisha exclaims. “Superheroes!” Nathan continues with the thinly-veiled jealousy. “I love this guy, you prick!” “What if there’s loads of people like us all over town?” Kelly askes, and she has a point. It had been a pretty large storm, you couldn’t be the only people who had seen or experienced it, right? Are there other people going about their normal, daily lives discovering their powers right now? “No,” Nathan scoffs, cigarette smoke billowing from his nose. “That kind of thing only happens in America. This will fade away. I’m telling you, by this time next week, it’ll be back to the same old boring shit.” Needless to say, this would not prove to be at all true.     Your task that day is picking up litter, each of you are given a large plastic bag and trash grabber before being set loose on the city, to collect trash with reckless abandon! In reality, you probably won’t even stray far from the community center. As you follow along the edge of the lake, Nathan continues to complain about his lack of a cool new superhero ability. “And what? Because you’re all special and I’m not? Yeah, well I doubt it. You can think what you like, but I have a ‘superpower’” he uses air quotes and says the word in a comically high-pitched valley-girl voice. “I just need to find out what it is.” “Maybe you’re just super retarded!” Alisha proclaims, and a cursory glance at the rest of the group would tell you she isn’t the only one growing annoyed at him. “Maybe I’ve got a whole Spiderman vibe going on, you know?” he continues unabashed. “Maybe I can climb stuff and do spider shit.” “Yeah, cuz that makes perfect sense,” Curtis cuts in. “Why would you be able to climb stuff?” “I don’t know!” Nathan calls back. “How is it that you can turn back time, apparently? And weird kid can turn invisible?” He pokes Simon in the back of the head with his grabber. “It’s not like this whole situation is backed up by a wank-load of logic.”     Later in the morning, you’ve moved all the way from right outside the community center to a tunnel under a nearby bridge. It’s a disturbingly gross place, but its inordinate abundance of trash has led you there, calling to be picked up and sent away to landfill. Curtis peers curiously at something he’s picked up with his grabbers, some sort of melted hunk of plastic. But as he peers, he notices something tucked into a corner not that far away. Something that looks fleshy and pink and remarkably human. “What is that?” he asks, voice dripping with disgust. You scrunch up your nose and move in to get a closer look. “Oh, god…” you groan. It’s a human man, completely naked, lying face down on the pavement. You are suitably disgusted. “Is he breathin’?” Kelly asks. Alisha strides forward without much hesitation and pokes his bare ass with her grabber. “Hey, nude guy!” she calls. “You’re naked!” Your eyes widen and everyone, yourself included lets out cries of protest as he rolls over to reveal himself, full-frontal. It’s not a pretty sight. Simon snapps a photo, you’re not exactly sure why, but documentation seems to be his response to everything so far. “Good lord!” Curtis protests, turning away. “Oh my god!” Alisha laughs, finding it funny more than anything else. Kelly actually turns around completely to avoid seeing any more of it. Nathan’s jaw, however, drops. Realization spreads over both of their faces and Nathan points an accusatory finger at the naked man before crying out, “You?!” The man stands up as fast as he can and bolts, but Nathan is outraged. “Hey!” He tries running after the man, but it’s too late. “Do you want to tell us who that was?” Curtis questions through a chorus of laughter. “He’s my mum’s– He lives with my mum.” He eyes everyone defensively. Alisha chuckles before proclaiming matter-of-factly, “Your stepdad has got a massive cock.” You snicker, even though you don’t want to have to think about it much. It was quite a disturbing image, even more so now that you know he’s close to Nathan’s mum. But… it was true. “Jesus!” Nathan cries in objection. “And he’s not my stepdad, alright?” You hold up your arms in mock surrender, “I assure you, I’m completely ready to forget about that picture, it should be purged from my mind.” Alisha leans closer to you and Kelly, guffawing. “Did you see that thing? That was like monster big!” She locks eyes with Nathan and hisses as if in pain, lowering her voice suggestively. “Your mum will hurt.” “La, la, la! Shut up!” He closes his eyes and literally sticks his fingers in his ears to block out her nasty comments. “Why’s he naked?” Kelly asks, turning to Nathan for the answers he doesn’t have. He gapes, trying to piece it all together, but Alisha speaks up before he can be given the chance. “Well he’s obviously some kind of pervert. Or he’s gay.” You wince at the presumptive, nay, offensive comment, not exactly fond of how it perpetuates harmful stereotypes. Curtis scoffs at her remark, “That follows.” “Well, he was cruising for rough trade!” she explains indignantly. “They love that shit!” “Oh, a little light homophobia? Go for it!” You have to agree with Curtis’ sarcastic reply here for a multitude of reasons, one of which being because you highly doubt Natha’s stepdad is secretly gay. “Or he could be a rapist,” Kelly muses with far too much nonchalance. “There’s loads of ‘em ‘round here.” “Maybe he’s a werewolf,” Simon posits seriously. Everyone sort of sneers at the idea and Nathan certainly isn’t pleased, exclaiming, “Twat!” “It’s what happens in films,” Simon tries to elaborate, growing visibly more nervous by the second. “You turn into a werewolf, you kill someone, an’ then you wake up somewhere naked… Like a zoo.” “He’s not a werewolf, alright?” Nathan protests hotly, defensiveness creeping into the edges of his voice. With the recent storm and all these odd powers, it’s all too likely that Simon’s right, or at the very least eerily close. “This guy is such a pussy, he needs my mum to open jars for him. I’m sure if he was a werewolf, he’d be able to open a jar of peanut butter for himself!” “What happens if the storm messed him up?” Kelly interjects. “Yeah,” you add, agreeing with her not only because it does make some sense, but also because you really want to bother Nathan, “he’s probably only been a werewolf for two days.” “What do you mean probably?” Nathan proclaims. His growing look of disbelief is incredibly amusing. “Well, Alisha had a point…” You look away and raise your eyebrows to insinuate what you mean. “Oh, fuckin’ hell, y/n! You, of all people?” he gapes, and you try not to laugh at his expression. This is far more fun for you than it should be. “Thank you!” Alisha cries, feeling vindicated by your agreement. It isn’t fun to say, but she wasn’t wrong. “That’s bollocks, the storm didn’t do nothin’ to him,” Nathan insists, but it’s starting to sound more like he’s trying to convince himself than you. “What are the chances?” The question hangs uncomfortably in the air. No one answers, and Nathan ends up just rolling his eyes and scoffing before stalking off and getting back to work, picking up trash.     You take a quick shower at the community center before heading home, feeling pretty grimy from searching for and collecting trash all day. Toweling off and gathering your things, you wonder if Nathan’s still around. He walked home with you the past few days and you really did enjoy his company. You decide to take a cursory look around, running into Sally in the process. “Oh, y/n, why’re you still here?” She’d looked to be pretty nice, so you’re surprised by the scrutinizing and cold tone you can hear creeping up behind her words. “I decided to shower before heading home,” you explain, trying to keep your voice as level as possible to allay suspicion. “Have you seen Nathan around?” “Yeah, he was by some vending machines a few minutes ago,” she tells you. “Okay, thanks! Have a good one.” You give her a small wave as you turn down a nearby hall, wondering why her smile doesn’t feel genuine. After about five minutes of searching, you enter a large common area with a raised loft in one corner. It’s there you find Nathan, sitting on the floor with arms resting on the railing and legs dangling over the edge. He’s surprised to see you, suddenly sitting up straighter and adopting the expression of someone caught in a nefarious act. “Oh, Nathan! There you are.” You approach him on the ground below, looking up with a smile. “Y/n!” He looks pleased, but notably apprehensive. “I was just wonderin’ if you wanted to walk home with me?” you ask, growing increasingly suspicious. “Uuuuh, well, I don’t know...” It’s then that you notice the duffel bag and mattress behind him. “Wait, why do you have a mattress? And a bag?” You start to piece together a few pieces of this puzzle. “I’ve only known you for three days, I don’t think we really need to know the intimate details of each other’s personal lives,” he stalls, leaning back to push the bag out of your view. But you aren’t about to give up that easy. “Screw that, what about being bonded by our shared traumatic experience?” You thought you were becoming friends with Nathan and don’t want to give that up so soon. And besides, you feel like you’ve known everyone in your service group for far longer than three days. It’s probably the superpowers and experience of burying your probation worker and fellow young offender together, but you want it to be more than that. Nathan gives in, “Alright, fine, come on up.” He patts the space beside him and you grin, turning to walk up the stairs and join him. Once up there, you have a better view of things. Not only is there a mattress, but also a pillow and blanket, and his half-unzipped bag, which appears to be full of clothes. You sit down next to him, dangling your legs over the edge beside his own. You don’t speak, allowing him to open up when he wants to. A few tense moments pass. “My mum kicked me out after our first day of community service,” he finally admits in a small, defeated voice. “I’m sorry, that sucks,” you murmur in response. While you’ve never actually been kicked out, you always felt that it was just about to happen, and you’ve used up all your chances with your dad and stepmum, once you move out, you know you’ll never be able to live with them again. He nods, “It does. I’ve been sleeping here.” “That’s why you were sneaking out of here yesterday morning,” you realize. “Yeah,” he chuckles, remembering how you caught him climbing out of a window. Then you recall what Nathan said when Tony was taking everyone’s phones. “Is that also why you were expecting a call from your mum?” He nods wordlessly. “Well, did she?” “No,” he shakes his head bitterly. “She’s cut me out.” “That’s bullshit,” you counter. Nathan turns to look at you, perplexed. “She doesn’t know what she’s missing out on.” His face lights up in a worrying surge of confidence. “Yeah! I mean look at me,” he holds his arms up in a strongman pose and grunts while trying to flex. You cannot for the life of you tell if he’s being serious, but he looks absolutely ridiculous, so you burst out laughing. “I don’t know what you’re laughing at,” he continues, unphased. “It’s pathetic!” you wheeze between laughs. He almost snickers, half a chortle making it through his poker-faced veneer. “This’s one’s smasher,” he nods to his left bicep and you snort. “This one’s basher,” he nods to his right bicep. It’s redundant to say that you devolve into a fit of hysterical laughter. “And this one…” he points to his crotch and you shake your head, already wheezing, “is The Destroyer!” That absolutely does it in for you, and Nathan can’t hold it in any longer either, he breaks down laughing with you. After a while, the laughter dies down and you’re simply sitting beside one another in amiable silence. Nathan jumps to his feet and holds out a hand to help you up. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.” “But what about…” you motion to all his stuff, but take his hand anyways and stand up. “I’ll walk back later. Now that you’ve become acquainted with where I live, I’d like to see your humble abode.” He grins and begins to walk down the stairs to the room’s main level. “Alright, but beware, my stepmum’s a bitch,” you warn, following after him. “Well, have you ever found her butt naked in a dark alleyway and come to the sudden and disturbing realization that she has gorgeous tits?” You cringe at the thought, “Can’t say that I have.” Nathan is curiously silent for a few moments. “Does she, though? I’m curious,” he muses with a cheeky grin. “Nathan!” you gasp, punching him in the shoulder. “Ow! Point taken! Why do you keep punching me?” he curses, glaring at you with playful indignance. You smile to yourself, pleased. “Because you deserve it and someone has to.”     Together you walk to your house, entirely unsure and uneasy about what will happen next. You grow increasingly anxious as you approach your house. There isn’t really a nice side of Wertham, but your stepmom likes to think you live there anyways. She is wrong, suburban Wertham is just as grungy and seamy as the city itself, it just looks marginally more pleasant. Once you’re at the front door, you stop and turn to Nathan. “Okay, here’s the plan. We go in, we try to get upstairs as quickly as possible. If we see my stepmum, we stay civil and try to get away without offending her. Sound good?” You exhale a deep breath, unsure of whether you should be amping up or calming down. “Yeah, but why do we need a plan?” Nathan asks innocently. “You’ll see,” you explain, opening the door. You aren’t really sure what to expect, to be perfectly honest. Your stepmum barely even wants you there, so you never really push it by bringing home anyone else. In secondary school, the only people you had over were friends you’d made before she married your dad, and thus people she had no real control over your relationship with. But once she was in the picture, you suddenly preferred going over to other people’s houses rather than having them come to yours. Hopefully, things would be different now, with you being an at least semi-autonomous adult. But probably not. You lead Nathan inside the front hall, so far so good, and turn to go up the stairs when things go south. “Ah, ah, ah! Who’s this, y/n?” your stepmum stops you, rushing out from wherever she’d been to literally stand between you and the stairs. “Hullo!” Nathan perks up, smiling broadly and sticking out a hand. “I’m Nathan.” Ah, so when you said ‘civil,’ he’d heard ‘unnervingly polite.’ “He’s from community service,” you explain. She glances down at his hand with mild disgust, and so he drops it. “Well, I would appreciate it if you didn’t bring those people to his home,” she sneers with a fake smile. “I’m those people,” you point out. Talking back hadn’t been in the plan, but the plan was never going to work anyways. She casts a derisive glance between you and Nathan, “Evidently.” Your dad walks in, then, from the kitchen, holding a casserole between oven-mitted hands. “Oh, y/n! Are you gonna have dinner with the family?” his tone is cheerful, but the insinuation behind his words stings you. “No, I’m clearly not a part of this family,” you murmur, hoping someone will contradict you, but your dad just squirms and looks sort of uncomfortable. No one says anything, even Nathan remains gloriously silent. “Wow! Okay, so we’re going. Bye.” You grab Nathan’s hand and he lets you drag him away. Once outside, though, you drop it and stalk down the street, just trying to get away from your house. Tears prick at your eyes as you allow yourself to break down. It hurts. It hurts to not be included, even if you expected it. That woman had taken so much from you, had pushed you to become what you were and live the life you’d lived just because she expected it. There are people around you, of course, saying that you’re more than that, but when she looks at you like you’re nothing, you feel like nothing. Nathan follows after you, “Hey, y/n, where are we goin’?” “Away!” You call after him. He catches up to you soon after that, when you’re about a block away from your house, grabbing your arm to get you to stop. Neither of you say anything, but he sits down on the curb and motions for you to join him. You do. He puts his arm around your shoulder and you lean into him. He smells like cigarettes, bandaids, and sharpies, and you wonder why, but it distracts you, and so you revel in it. This is the closest you’ve ever been, and even though you’ve only known each other for three days now, you seem to fit perfectly there. Nathan leans his head in closer to you, “You know, if it makes you feel any better, she had really wack tits.” You laugh despite yourself, “It does, actually.” You smile and close your eyes, allowing yourself to become lost in the feeling of his arm around you and the smell of his clothes, which remind you of the community center and of him. You sit there for a few moments, in comfortable silence. “What’re you gonna do now?” he asks. “I’ll just sneak in through my window, the lock’s broken,” you murmur in a quiet voice. He nods but doesn’t move. Eventually, you say your goodbyes and sneak back into your respective living spaces, but for now, you remain in his arms. For now, you’re together.

[mindofharry]

could u write something about harry and y/n growing up together and then they maybe fall in love👉🏻👈🏻:)

!! 🥺 there is many spelling errors etc in this - it took me three days to write so pls send feedback in!!! enjoy :)

5 years old:

“harry! that’s mine” y/n pouted as her best friend stole her hair tie. it was favourite one, her brother had gotten for her when he went to spain on his school trip and she loved her brother, so it was her favourite thing ever — even if was just a hair tie. “no. sharing is caring y/n” harry said putting the hair tie on his wrist like a bracelet and continued to draw. y/n was going to cry. she could feel it. so she grabbed her painting and decided to head home — which was next door. harry eyes widened when he saw y/n was leaving ( and not even saying good bye either!) “where are you going?” he asked with a slight pout turning around in his chair. y/n glared his way before ripping up her painting “i’m going home” she stated strutting down his hall.

harry immediately followed, nearly tripping himself up in the process. “i’ll come too” he persisted and y/n shook her head. “no you’re not allowed in my home anymore” she stated opening his front door. harry didn’t realise what was happening. anne watched the two bicker laughing to herself, hiding her smile behind her mug — y/n always got her way and had harry wrapped around her little finger. “why am i not allowed?” harry asked holding onto her hand “because you won’t give me back my hair tie you idiot” y/n nearly yelled with tears in eyes. she ran out the door leaving harry there in shock. he wiped his tears on his school uniform.

anne came over to the boy placing a hand on his shoulder before rubbing away his tears “why don’t we make a card for y/n, yeah?” anne asked and harry grinned nodding.

he spent all afternoon on it with anne’s help of course. gemma shook her head when she realised the both of you guys were fighting — again. the both of you were stubborn, but the most caring. both very much little narcissists too, which make both of your parents laugh. “mummy, does the car look good?” harry asked already knowing his card was amazing. anne gasped nodding “amazing baby! now let’s go knock for y/n” anne said practically pushing him out the door.

y/n and her brother were already out the front, her brother andrew trying to distract her from harry — andrew and her parents were used to this by now, y/n was a little...... she was a.... bitch. she could be very demanding and a little bit of a queen bee, but she was beyond kind. but it made people laugh, because she was so blunt especially with harry. harry was really the only one that could handle her in their year. the rest of the kids were a bit scared of her.

anne and andrew waved at eachother waiting for the show to begin. “y/n, i think you have a visitor” andrew whispered turning her around. y/n sighed pouting looking at harry who had a card in his hand and he looked like a little puppy. “i have a card for you” he said shyly giving her the card. it said “i am sorry for stealing your hair tie. love you your best friend harry”

y/n giggled and wrapped her little arms around his neck “come on! let’s go play!”

13 years old:

“are you sure you want to do this?” y/n asked harry as they sat on the grass in their local park. harry nodded eagerly “for sure! we’re best friends. we should be each other’s first kiss” harry said quickly and y/n shrugged agreeing. “i suppose” she replied quietly. “ok let’s do it” y/n said smiling as harry blushed.

harry leaned in and quickly pecked her lips. y/n giggled as harry yelled “that was disgusting!” he yelled running away. y/n laughed so hard she fell back onto the grass. harry could listen to her laugh for hours, but he was too busy pretending their kiss was disgusting.

“you’re such a boy!” y/n laughed as he lay beside her. he shook his head “what’s that supposed to mean?” he asked slightly offended. “i thought the kiss was romantic, harry! it was... nice” she smiled poking his cheek “well now that i’ve got the first kiss out of the way! i’m going to kiss all the boys and girls ever!” y/n squealed gushing at the thought.

“girls?” harry asked confused and y/n nodded “yes. girls too harry” she said and he shrugged “i don’t really care either” he said and y/n smiled “i know” she said bringing him into a hug.

“katie invited me to come over and play sims with her tomorrow” y/n said gagging slightly making harry laugh into her neck. “why do you hate her so much?” he asked playing with her long hair “she’s just annoying. like you” she said getting up to run away. he grabbed her quickly “not so fast”

“harry! i have boobs now” she squealed and he rolled his eyes “just because you wear a bra now, doesn’t mean you can use it as an excuse” harry mumbled letting her climb onto his back, he began walking home once she was comfortable. “i’m proud of them. not every thirteen year old has these babies” she whined and harry rolled his eyes again. “are you coming to mine?” harry asked hoping she’d say yes. “i can’t. andrew has his girlfriend coming over for the first time. you wanna stay for it?” y/n asked playing with his hair. “sure, i’ll ask mum”

with permission from anne, they both went to y/n’s house quite giddy, ready to meet andrews girlfriend.

they figured nobody was here yet so they made their way into the sitting room — only to be greeted by two horny young adults. “andrew, you weren’t lying!” y/n squealed and andrew and his practically jumped out of their skin. his girlfriend quite flustered and andrew pissed off.

“of course i wasn’t lying, you git” he said and his girlfriend smacked his arm before standing up to skake y/n and harry’s hand “i’m lydia. it’s nice to meet you both!” she said and y/n hugged her instead suprising her. “i’m y/n, andrews brother and this is my best friend and now officially my first kiss harry!” she blurted out excited and harry hit her arm “why’d you tell her that?” he asked blushing “because it was romantic, you worm!” she mumbled and he rolled his eyes “we pecked each other on the lips and then i ran away” he mumbled back.

“you’ll get used to it” andrew said to lydia.

16 years old:

“haz, you’ll be fine” y/n said holding onto his hand as they waited inline for the xfactor. she was trying to calm down a very nervous harry. she wasn’t very nervous herself, she knew he’d get through. “i’m so nervous, y/n” he mumbled messing about with her hair. “i know you” she paused “but you’re going to get through, ok? you’ve practiced and you deserve to be here” she said holding onto his hand. he let out a breathe and smiled “yeah. yeah” he said holding her hand.

after talking to dermot (the whole family being sort of star struck) they quickly made their way back stage.

harry and y/n were together secretly being filmed for harry’s scene. there was bits of them just talking and laughing. really acting like a couple. soon enough it was harry’s turn to perform. and now y/n was safe to say, she was shitting herself. she wasn’t even going on stage, but she really was nervous for him. once everyone had kissed and hugged him y/n grabbed him and gave him a kiss on the temple “you can do this, hazza” she said patting him on the back before letting him go.

she smiled with gemma and they cuddled close together watching the tv from back stage. her heart was pounding so fast and so loudly, she’s sure everyone could hear it. it was safe to say that the ladies loved harry, the cheers were deafening — it did make y/n a little jealous. after simon asked him a few questions he was set to sing.

y/n rested her head on gemmas shoulder listening to the stevie wonders song play and harry’s voice fill up the stadium. y/n could feel her eyes fill up with tears (she wasn’t quite sure why) maybe it was being nervous or she was just very, very proud. something along the lines of the two.

once he finished the whole stadium filled up with claps and y/n was the first (with anne of course) to clap and cheer still holding on to gemma. it made y/n smile when nicole complimented harry’s voice, because all of it was true. but when louis started talking, y/n immediately booed, gemma having to cover her mouth with her hand. it made y/n beyond upset, because harry was so sure of himself. of course he was super confident, but he had to have some to come on the show. y/n was just holding on that simon would disagree, and boy did he.

harry fucking got through.

once he got out, y/n practically threw herself at him not catching him by surprise at all. she sobbed into his arms placing both her hands on his cheeks “you’re amazing” she squealed kissing both his cheeks and then of course, let his family congratulate him. y/n was beyond proud, she knew he could do this. and she knew he was going to make it big.

she just didn’t realise she would be there with him.

17 years old:

y/n held her phone to her ear while she was studying for her exams. harry was tapping away about something and although y/n loved talking to harry — she just couldn’t concentrate.

“hello? y/n? you there” he teased and y/n sighed rubbing her eyes “yeah, i am. just stressed” she yawned putting down her pen. “i don’t think i can finish a year early haz” she whined into the phone. y/n was always going to finish school early — it was something she decided when she went to secondary school. but now, without harry by her side, and her brother living his own life — she was stressed, sad and very unmotivated.

“y/n. you’ve wanted to do this for so long. you can get through this, you’re the smartest bloody person i know! and i know a lot of people!” harry said sternly and y/n giggled nodding her head “yeah, you’re right. ok, i’m going to go annoy your sister for a bit” y/n said and harry sighed “you’re like best friends with her now aren’t you?” harry teased and y/n smiled “shes like an angel” y/n replied.

soon they both hung up and gemma helped y/n with some study — y/n was now pretty confident about her exams. they both decided to have a sleepover since it was the weekend — and they both had nothing else to do.

“do you miss harry?” gemma asked messing around with her bowl of ice cream. y/n nodded quickly “yeah. definitely” she replied putting her bowl on the coffee table. “and he doesn’t call as much. and when he does i can barely get a word in” she scoffed “and hes always telling me about all these women and such” she rolled her eyes and gemma smiled “you like him don’t you?” she asked and y/n shook her head “no. i love him” she replied casually leaving gemma in shock “i have since the day he stole my pink hair tie. and when we had out first kiss and he called it disgusting i cried all night” she giggled “sometimes i think he likes me back. but then he told me about him losing his virginity to someone else” she paused sniffling “and um. i was gonna confess that day. and tell him how ive been waiting” she finished drying under her eyes “i don’t know, its stupid” she waved it off.

gemma sighed pulling y/n into a hug “harry loves you. i know he does. just give it time, love”

soon enough harry and y/n were able to meet up. and y/n was going to make her feelings clear to him. and if he didn’t feel the same way, then she would move on. it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

she just needed to know.

they were sat in the park they both shared their first kiss in, y/n was laying on the ground harry doing the same leaning on his side to face y/n. “had my first proper break up” he mumbled and y/n looked up biting her lip. “are you ok?” she asked holding his hand. he nodded “i was upset. cried a bit” he paused “but caroline was nice to me. but i think it was right to break up” he finished smiling softly. y/n nodded placing her head on his chest.

“that’s a good way to think” she said as he placed his hand in her hair. “you haven’t been telling me about any of your sexual adventures” he teased and y/n scoffed “because there is none.” she replied rolling her eyes.

“what are you waiting for!” he asked and y/n looked up to him. “i have to tell you something” she said.

“i um. harry just please listen and don’t freak out. please. and it doesn’t matter if you don’t like me back, but i like you a lot. no, i love you. more than a friend. i have since we were kids. i want to be with you. so bad” she finished feeling tears form in her eyes.

harry let out a shaky breath and stood up. he looked up to the sky and y/n cried. “please say something” she asked standing up beside harry. “y/n. i just got out of breakup and i don’t no. we’re best friends” he said and y/n let out a sob nodding her head. “yeah! yeah totally. you’re right” she replied wiping her tears. “we’re best friends. and you don’t love me” she paused “ thats ok” she said and placed a hand on his cheek “i’m going to go home” she said and started to walk away and harry cursed to himself. “fuck” he mumbled beginning to walk home himself.

19 years old:

after being heartbroken for a year, y/n tried to move on. eventually she lost her virginity to a boy she liked. he was gently and soft and took care of her. then she definitely started to abuse sex. she was upset that the person she loved didn’t love her back.

college was not easy for her. she slacked off her work, she drank, she did a bit of drugs. she slept around. she lost her friends, and most importantly she lost herself.

“honey, i’m worried about you” her mum expressed sitting besid y/n on her bed. “well you shouldn’t be. i’m fine” she said laying down. her mum shook her head and stood up. “i don’t know what’s going on with you. you don’t talk to anyone. to me, your dad, andrew! you don’t even talk to harry” she paused “what’s going on?” her mum asked again sitting down pulling her daughter into a hug.

“he doesn’t love me back, mum” y/n sobbed out “harry doesn’t love me. and i tried to get over it. i tried, i did. i tried to make peace with it. but i can’t, because it just hurts so much” she cried and her mum sighed kissing her forehead. “you shouldn’t have to forget about it. or make peace with it. you should be angry, and sad. you aren’t allowing yourself to be annoyed, love” her mum said and y/n nodded “i am angry. but not at harry. just sad that i’m not allowed to love him” she replied drying her eyes.

after getting that off her chest, she felt better. much better. she met up with a few of her college friends, that she lost along the way. and she had a great time. she started to concentrate a bit more on school, changing her major to fashion. something she was more passionate about. she did some therapy, her mum said it was completely normal to do so. she had a tough two years, but shes back and better than ever.

her therapist told her, that making peace with it now, is ok. that she should talk to harry. see how he is. y/n was reluctant, but with a little push, she ended up texting him.

y/n :):

are you in the area? wanna meet up? x y/n

after waiting for around 15 minutes she heard a ding coming from her phone, god she didn’t want to come off as desperate (because she really was) she was going to be calm, and try and get her best friend back.

harry ✨:

i’m in the area! love to meet up with you, meet at the park in 5? x h

y/n respond with a simple ok! and squealed. god she was desperate. she quickly got changed and brushed her teeth before kissing her mum goodbye. she practically ran to the park. bad idea, because she was very out of breathe now.

“y/n! hey” harry called out smiling. y/n could cry, he looked even better than before. this was the man she fell in love with. y/n inniated the hug — and she felt harry stiffen, maybe he was surprised? with the way she was treating him, it was like he never said he didn’t love her back. she was so careful, so gentle too. “harry, you look good” y/n replied letting go of the hug and sitting down on the grass (in their usual spot) harry smiled, before sitting down beside her. “i’ve been working out” he laughed and y/n giggled “america’s changed you” she teased earning a scoff “oh shut up”

“so how have you been?” harry asked. she wanted to lie and say she’s been fine. that she handled the situation well, but the anti depressants in her bottom drawer say something else. “um, ive been ok” she lied smiling at him. he nodded “yeah, same! travelling the world is such a dream, but when you get to perform too. it’s amazing” he ranted and y/n giggled “i’ll say” she paused “i’m really proud of you, harry” she finished looking up at him. when he finally got a good look at her, he noticed the changed. the way her eyes didn’t light up, or her cheeks weren’t as flushed. she had tattoos and a nose piercing. her hair was no longer brown, it was blonde. she had changed so much in the span of 2 years. and he knew exactly why.

“how have you been really, y/n?” he asked again more sternly. she sighed placing her arms around her knees. “i’ve been. i’ve been good right now. seeing a therapist and all” she nodded looking at him. he just looked, didnt smile laugh or tease. he just stayed silent. “i wasn’t well. drank and did a load of shit that wasn’t good for me. but i’m ok now” she smiled “spending more time with my parents, don’t have a lot of friends” she nodded and harry raised his eyebrows “really? you used to have so many friends in secondary school” he replied and she laughed “well. i am an ex drug addict harry” she laughed at it like it was a joke. but harry didn’t think it was funny. “please. don’t hurt yourself again.” he asked keeping the tears in “don’t think i could lose you” he replied as she put her head on his shoulder.

“eh. i’ll always be around, one way or another”

21 years old:

“baby, have you seen my tie?” harry called out from their shared bedroom.

“here” y/n said smiling brightly. she was beautiful. her dress was black and skin tight, her beautiful blonde hair, she had kept dying was curled. and god don’t him started on her lips.

“you’re an angel” he grinned pecking her lips twice. “hmm. i know” she hummed fixing his hair, which he recently just cut. he got a role in a movie (which y/n still can’t believe) and he had to cut his beautiful long hair — somehow he looks even sexier.

when the two reconnected three years ago, they agreed to just let things happen. they wouldn’t force anything. and one thing led to another and here they are, happy, in a 2 year relationship and living together. anne was so happy when they told their families. somehow everyone knew they would end up together — even if harry took a little longer. they were soulmates, as friends and lovers. they were meant for eachother in every possible way.

“what are you thinking about, princess?” harry asked pulling her into him once he finished putting on his tie. “just how much i love you” she smiled and he giggled kissing her head “you make me giggle, you know that” he said bringing her head up. “i love it when you giggle” she teased and he scoffed bringing her in for another kiss.

“let’s go”

once they were at the event — to see dunkirk. harry had lots of photos to do, small interviews to have etc. so she stayed with his manager for the most part, getting in pictures with anne and harry when they were going inside. y/n didn’t mind the cameras, she wasn’t particularly keen on everyone knowing every detail of their relationship, but she didn’t was to be completely private. there was pictures of her on his instagram, well when he used it. and now it was like her account was a fan page for him. at the start she didn’t post about him at all — but she wanted to show him off. he was incredibly sexy.

after the movie was finished anne and y/n were a mess. not because it was sad or really terrible, they were just incredibly proud of their boy. he had just gotten out of the band, he was working on music etc. and now he acts in Christopher nolan movies, how cool is that, y/n thought.

“hey! hey! bubba, why are you crying?” harry asked grabbing her face kissing her lips softly. “i’m just so proud of you haz” y/n replied laughing “it’s good. it’s a good cry” she said and he kept looking at her. so she stood on her tippy toes and placed another kiss on his lips.

“promise”

2020: 26 years old

“bubba, you can have one or none” y/n said softly and their boy giggled “mama i want all” he huffed and looked to his dad, harry just laughed and shrugged “how are we meant to discipline this child, if you keep shrugging at everything” y/n pouted and harry sighed sitting down next to her.

he kissed her head softly “this kid is 3, and he’s the most well behaved child in the world. it doesn’t to let him have a few more chocolate bars” harry said shrugging. y/n looked over at the baby infront of her who was looking at her with puppy dog eyes “ please mama, i be good for all day” he said excitedly and y/n gasped “all day?” she asked and he nodded “you promise?” she asked again and he nodded climbing over the table to sit on her lap “i promise mama”

“ok! harry you get to deal with the sugar rush though”

“ok- wait what?”

[damn-behzinga]

Happy Hours

summary - Ethan talks about you and your son on the Happy Hour Podcast.

warnings - talk of drugs, alcohol, teenage pregnancy, illness and death, swearing, my terrible writing

Part two of After Meeting A Little Early

masterlist  -  request here

Ethan talking on the happy hour podcast

"So I wanted to talk about your wife and son if you don't mind?" Jack asked.

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"So when did you have your son and how old is he? How did you meet your wife? What's the story?" Jack questioned

"So, my wife and I met in secondary school and then we went to the same college. We became a thing in year eleven, and we didn't plan to go to the same college but the college did our courses. I studied games development and web design and she studied criminology with psychology and forensics." Ethan explained.

"Woah!" Jack exclaimed. "You were so young!"

"Yeah and we had both turned seventeen and we found out that she was pregnant." Ethan swallowed, he always got nervous talking about his son and his teenage pregnancy, people reacted massively and changed their opinions in seconds.

"Wow, so you were literally teenagers when you had him?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, so Ben - my son - was born October 2012." Ethan nodded. "He's eight this year and I don't really show him on camera. There are those odd few moments where I do take a video with him but I did decide that whether he wants to be in videos is his decision. Kids are fucking brutal nowadays and I don't want him getting wrapped up in shit like that." Ethan explained.

"That has to of been very difficult for you. How did each of your parents take it?" Jack asked.

"So, y/n's parents kicked her out and haven't spoken to her since. She talked to her grandparents and siblings still but not her parents." Ethan explained.

"Holy shit!" Stevie exclaimed.

"My mum let her move in with us which I don't think I'll ever be able to thank her enough for it. My mum was nervous but when I said we chose to keep him, my mum wasn't necessarily happy, but she was accepting and questioned me to make sure we were ready." Ethan said.

"That's a smart move though. I rate that!" Jack said. "She's protecting you!"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah, yeah."

"So, you were doing YouTube at this time as well right?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah. I was doing three videos a day and full time at college." Ethan explained. "I was getting about an hour of sleep plus a nap every night and it fucked me up. I had met Josh, Tobi, Simon, and JJ at this point and I decided to not to tell them about Ben until a month before we met in real life."

"Why is that?" Jack asked.

"To be honest, I was scared," Ethan stated. "I was scared people weren't gonna be accepting of my early parenthood, you know?"

The other men let out noises of the agreement as Ethan nodded.

"So, how did they react?" Jack pondered, watching Ethan carefully.

"They all accepted it but they didn't meet him until he was three and it was a big situation because this is my son and my best friends and I wanted them to be comfortable around one and other." Ethan coughed slightly. "Yeah, now Ben refers to them as Uncle. It's amazing."

"That's well sweet!" Stevie chuckled.

"Oh my God, who's his favourite?" Jack exclaimed quickly.

"Um, he loves JJ and Vik." Ethan laughed. "He and JJ have a handshake but when Ben is in a room with anyone, the first person he goes to is Vik. He always gets Vik to play with his toys."

The other men awed.

"I will say," Ethan said. "The boys are lifesavers. A few weeks before Ben's seventh birthday, it was the hardest month of mine and y/n's life. Y/n lost her Nan, her granddad got ill and because of y/n's parents we weren't allowed to go to the funeral so we never got to say goodbye." Ethan swallowed. "Even more, y/n lost her job and everything was just hitting us. The boys set up an entire birthday party for Ben and paid for everything and got him presents. Honestly, me and y/n cried of happiness that night when Ben got to bed."

"That's bullshit. No offence but that's still y/n's family, they could at least have let her go!" Jack argued, and Ethan just nodded not saying a word. 

"God, I couldn't imagine that all happening especially in the same month." Stevie shook his head in disbelief. 

Ethan nodded and swallowed. "We got married that same year. We had been planning it that year and we were fortunate for y/n's granddad to come along because he was really ill at the time. We got married in the beautiful garden and I had the men as my groomsmen. Y/n had Freya, Talia, Katie, her sister, her two friends from college, and Sarah. Ben was stood next to us whilst it happened and he was a ring boy."

"Thank you for inviting us by the way." Jordan smiled.

"It's alright, mate." Ethan grinned. "We were gonna have family and the bridesmaids and groomsmen and that was it. We decided that we wanted everyone to come because everyone has had some role in our lives. Thankfully everyone committed to the no filming rule, we did get it filmed but we only released a few clips from it."

"Beautiful ceremony by the way. Where did you go on your honeymoon?"

"We went to Bora Bora which is gorgeous by the way."

"Lovely!" Stevie nodded.

"Honestly, I found out you were a dad before I actually met you and, I'm not gonna lie, I was worried about the fact you were a dad and whether you were gonna be a good one but I met you and realised, you are a good dad and you'd do anything for your son," Jack explained.

"Many people believe that!" Ethan chuckled. 

Jack nodded and continued. "You and y/n are the best parents I've ever met and, when I came down just to see everyone, it was nice because everyone was out for dinner and you bought Ben out with you. I am not exaggerating when I say he is the most polite and smart boy I have ever met. He started talking about animal facts and asking if I knew that Baloo from the fucking Jungle Book - or whatever it's called- was a sloth bear!"

Ethan laughed. "He gets all his brains from his mum honestly. Not me at all! I got fucking suspended from school a few times."

The men all laughed as Ethan took a sip of his water.

"Honestly, you should be proud of your son and y/n. You are some of the best people and parents I know!" 

Ethan blushed and smiled softly. "Thank you, that means so much more then you can imagine."

---

"So you said you were going through a hard time in 2015. What was y/n's reaction to that?" Jack asked.

Ethan took a deep breath and said. "So, Ben was turning three that year but it was a few months before his birthday. I was stupid, doing drugs and drinking way too much. It was a dark period in my life and y/n had come up to me and basically said, 'get your shit together, Ben and I are staying at my sister's and will stay there if you don't quit by the end of the month'."

"Fucking hell, y/n don't take shit!" Jack laughed.

"Yeah, but fair enough. I was putting my needs before our own son's which is fucked and I wasn't thinking right." Ethan explained. "About three weeks into her being gone I had got rid out of all alcohol out of my apartment and weed and whatever. I took a train up to y/n's sister's house and I told her that I got rid of all the shit and she came back that day. We went out to dinner and that was the moment where I realised how much y/n benefited my life."

The other men awed and Ethan chuckled.

He was grateful for everything you had bought into his life. There was never a dull moment with you and Ben by his side.

[lovemalecforever]

Chapter 13

Not bonded by blood, but united by love.

Before Izzy could say, her phone buzzed and her expressions went from excited to soft.

"What?" Alec asked.

"Mom and Luke are here, you're ready, Alec?"

Alec sighed. "Let's get this over with!"

"With what? What's going on?" Jace asked, having a light frown on his forehead.

"Please be patient, Jace," Alec said calmly. "I'll be talking to you and Clary at last about it, just know that it's important and you both are part of it."

Jace exchanged a look with Clary, but feeling his Parabatai's nervousness, he let it go and nodded reassuringly.

"Thank you. For now, I need to talk to Mom and Luke. Iz, where are they?"

"They're in my office," Izzy said, holding Alec's hand, and giving it a gentle squeeze. Alec smiled then left the room.

_____________________________

Maryse was leaning against the desk, a deep frown on her forehead while Luke was pacing in front, waiting for Izzy to arrive.

"I'm really worried Luke, what are they gonna think?" Maryse spoke. "Are you sure we've made the right decision? I know it's what we both want, but I'm scared. Plus, we have no idea what Izzy wants to talk about." Worry was laced in her voice as she bit her nails.

Luke sighed, walked towards her, and cupped her face. "Calm down Maryse, don't freak out like this. Let's hear what Izzy had to say first, our news can wait, okay? There's no rush for it."

"But Lucian-"

"Hey," he gently tucked the strands behind her ears then leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Just calm down."

Maryse nodded and let out a deep sigh. Gently, she put her hands around Luke's waist and looked deeply into his eyes. Slowly, Luke started leaning in and locked their lips in a slow and gentle kiss as his fingers trailed towards the thick strap of her dress and pulled it down, exposing her bare shoulders then broke their kiss and started trailing soft kisses from her neck to the shoulder and down towards her chest.

Alec was walking towards the office, his hands were sweaty, and he was able to hear his heartbeats as the distance became shorter and shorter. As soon as he reached the office, he halted, scrunched his eyes shut, and put his hand over it as warmness cascaded all over his face. Biting his lower lip, he cleared the throat.

Startled, Maryse and Luke pulled away from each other and glanced at the doorway when they heard the clearing of the throat and their eyes widened when they noticed Alec standing there.

"Alec..." Maryse breathed out, voice filled with shock.

"Are you people... decent?" Alec stuttered out.

Maryse quickly fixed her dress, exchanged a look with Luke and then turned towards Alec after clearing her throat. "Yeah, come in."

Alec peeked through his fingers to make sure they were decent and when he was sure, he sighed and slowly walked towards them and hugged both his parents.

"Hey mum, Sorry to cut your vacation short."

"Alec, it's nice to see you after a long time. What are you doing in New York? Izzy didn't tell us."

"I was actually going to surprise you both, but..." he trailed off.

"You saw nothing!" Luke exclaimed, and Alec put up his hand in surrender. "Anyway, where's Magnus?"

"In Idris, it's just me. I wanted to talk to you peop... what's that?" He frowned when a bright light reflected on his face. Reaching out, he held Maryse's hand when he noticed that was the source, but his eyes widened when he saw a beautiful Graymark ring on her ring finger. "M... Mum? Luke?"

Maryse exchanged a look with Luke, worry visible in her eyes. "Alec, we can-"

"By the Angel! You guys are engaged. Oh, Angel! I'm so happy for you, Mum." without wasting a second, he hugged her tightly and Maryse's shoulder relaxed.

"You're not against it, son?"

"Why would I be? You deserve this happiness, Mom."

"Thank you, Alec." Maryse had tears pooling at the edge of her eyes when they broke the hug.

"It's beautiful!" Alec said while examining the ring. "When did you two... you know?"

"Luke proposed to me a few days ago, we were going to come here after the end of the vacations, to talk to you people about it. But Izzy called us, so we reached here as soon as we could." Maryse explained.

Alec smiled, walked towards Luke, and gave him a bone-crushing hug. "I'm happy for you both. Take care of her Luke, she's all yours now." He whispered in his ears.

"I will boy, don't worry," Luke reassured. "Alec, since you're here, I'm happy that you took it positively, but I wanted to say something." He looked at Maryse then at Alec who nodded, so he continued.

"You're well aware that Jocelyn had a special place in my heart, the way I loved her, no one can take her place, but that doesn't mean Maryse means any less to me. I love her, that's why I decided to marry her. In all these years, I've seen her in a completely different way, the way she was before all the chaos of The Circle began. She has completed me, and I want to spend the rest of my remaining life with her. I just hope that Clary will also take it positively." He was in tears by the end of his speech.

Alec put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Don't worry Luke, I'm sure Clary will be happy to hear about it."

"Umm, Alec, where's your sister? She told us to wait here, it's been long now. She said she wanted to talk." Maryse asked with a worried tone, looking between both men.

"It's... it's not Izzy, it's me. I wanted to talk to you all, it's more like permission."

Maryse frowned. "Is everything okay, sweetheart?"

"No, it's not." Alec took a deep breath before speaking again. "It's... related to what happened a month ago!" Alec looked at them, then started explaining to them about Magnus' emotional health, his nightmares, everything that happened over the course of one month. His constant fear of losing him in a battle, to death, his emotional condition because of it, then his own research and wish to become immortal, not just for Magnus, but for himself too. His findings, to the procedure of becoming immortal. Everything. When he was done he looked at them, ready to argue if needed, but to his surprise, they had a look of understanding, neither shock nor anger.

"Are... are you both okay with it? Me becoming immortal? Mom? Luke?" He asked with a shaky breath.

Maryse walked towards her son and hugged him, having a constant smile on her face.

"If that's what you want, if that'll make you happy, then I have no problem with it. Seeing you with Magnus, seeing your love for each other, I couldn't be any prouder, Alec. Do what makes you happy." She said and kissed him on the cheeks.

"I agree, Alec. If you're happy, we don't have any problem with it."

Alec's eyes were pooling with tears. "Thank you, thank you so much. It means a lot to have your support."

"Does anyone else know?" Maryse inquired.

"Izzy and Simon do. Now you both too. I'm still worried though. Dad, I wanted to talk to him in person but... "

"I'm sure he'll be happy too, Alec. He was more supportive of you and Magnus than me." She said to reassure him.

"Yeah, I hope so. Max will be here in the evening, it's gonna be really difficult to explain to him all this. I hope he understands." He sighed nervously.

"Don't worry, honey, everyone loves you, they'll respect your decision."

"I just hope everything goes well."

"Everything will, Alec." She reassured him and kissed her son's cheek.

"What about you both, when are you telling everyone about your engagement?"

Luke and Maryse exchanged a look. "We're not sure about that, Alec," Luke said. "If something goes wrong, we're just..."

"Luke, Mom, relax. I'm sure everyone is going to be really happy. Announce it at dinner tonight, everyone's going to be there. That's what you people have planned anyway, right?"

"You're right, boy. Maryse, we should tell everyone tonight itself, let's think this through." Luke said, to which Maryse nodded.

"I'll get back to Izzy and Clary to prepare a surprise for Magnus. You guys have a good day."

They all hugged each other once again, then Alec left to talk to Izzy while the newly engaged couple went to Maryse's bookshop to discuss how they are going to tell everyone.

_______________________________

Izzy was pacing in her room, her six-inch sharp heels creating a deep straight line partition on her fluffy silver carpet. Her worries about her brother were getting the best of her, if Alec wouldn't have walked-in in her room at the time, she would have broken her heels because of her constant pacing.

"Alec! What happened? Did they take it well!?" She asked worriedly.

"It went better than I thought Izzy!" He said with a bright smile on his face.

Izzy relaxed instantly, but she knew her brother well. "But...?"

Alec sighed and shook his head. "But I'm still worried about others, especially Max and Jace."

"Don't worry big brother, they'll understand."

Alec sighed and nodded. "Let's talk about what you both girls have in mind for my dinner surprise."

___________________________

The next hurdle for Alec was his dad whom he decided to talk to on a video chat. Even if they have grown distant, his opinion still mattered to him. To his surprise, their talk went well. Robert was surprised by his decision, but he respected his choice, and supported him with it, giving him and Magnus his blessings for a happy life and future.

Alec was already exhausted and frustrated by repeating the same conversation with everyone repeatedly, but he knew it was necessary and by the end of it, only three people were remaining.

.....

Max reached earlier than he was supposed to, excited to meet his siblings after a long time, oblivious that Alec and his mom are there too because Izzy being Izzy hadn't told him anything in order to see the look of pure happiness on his younger brothers face.

Max had grown up to be a strong and brave shadowhunter. He's in his teenage years and very enthusiastic, just like his siblings. He ran towards the ops center eager to meet his siblings when he bumped into someone and hit both of them hard.

"Ow! Hey, careful there, young boy!" Jace said with a chuckle.

"Jace!" Max said excitedly and hugged him. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Maxie!"

"Hey, don't call me that!"

"Someone's here early!" Izzy said as she walked toward her brothers.

"Izzy! I've missed you!" He ran towards her and hugged her, to which Izzy gave a wholehearted smile.

"I missed you too, big boy. You know what, your surprise is waiting for you."

"But what is it? You didn't say anything!" He pouted.

"Your surprise is here, Max," Alec said while walking towards his siblings.

Max's eyes went wide seeing his eldest brother after a really long time. "ALEC!" He exclaimed and ran towards his brother making them both stumble and almost losing the balance.

"Woah, hey there! Easy, bud." Alec said with a chuckle.

"Alec, I've missed you so much!" Max said and hugged him tightly.

"Looks like we're not that important to him, Izzy!" Jace said with a mocking tone.

"Hey, don't tease our brother Jace," Alec said defensively.

"Is Mumbai Institute treating you that bad, big boy?" Izzy asked her brother.

"No, it's not bad, but it's boring there. I don't have many friends, and it's way too hot, unlike New York. I want to come back here." He said with a sad voice.

"Then ask Robert, Maxie! He's the one who sent you there!" Jace said.

Max glared at his brother for using the name 'Maxie' again and again but sighed knowing Jace would never back away. "I already did, but he says I have to be there until the Clave wants me there to be!"

"You know you've been sent there because of your brilliant work at California Institute, besides you're the one who wanted to travel all around, and that's the place you grew up learning right, what happened now?" Alec interfered.

"Nothing... it's just... I miss you all." Max confessed.

"Aww... our little brother is homesick!" Izzy said while shuffling her fingers in his hair.

"Hey! Izzyyy! I hate you, and don't touch my hair." He pouted, leaving others smiling at his adorable side.

"Okay, enough. Come on Max, let's get out of here, we have a lot to talk about." Alec said to Max to which he agreed happily. He then looked at Izzy who smiled and nodded at him.

As it turned out, Max do was a little difficult to talk to, but he was understanding compared to kids of his age, as their previous talk about 'Magnus' years ago, he was 'cool with it' about Alec becoming immortal. Alec couldn't be happier at this. The rest of their time was spent talking about their lives or more precisely Max's complaints about Mumbai Institute. When they came back it was dinner time, so they reached the dinner hall directly.

Max's eyes went wide seeing Maryse and Luke there. "Mom!" He shouted and ran towards her, hugging her as tightly as possible.

"Hey, big boy!" She kissed her youngest son on top of his head.

Alec walked in and stood beside Izzy, she raised an eyebrow at him questioningly to which he smiled widely and nodded, making her smile reach her both eyes.

Everyone was present in the hall, making it look like a grand get-together. Maryse and Luke exchanged a nervous look then Maryse stepped forward gathering her courage to speak.

"Kids, there's something me and Luke wanted to tell you all."

Everyone looked at them with curiosity.

"Mom, is everything okay?" Izzy asked.

"Yeah, it's umm..." She looked at Luke who seemed as scared as her.

"Mom, Luke, relax," Alec said gently and gave her a reassuring nod. Everyone looked between them with deep frowns.

Maryse took a deep breath before speaking. "Luke and I... we are engaged!" there was a moment of silence that was finally broken by Izzy's loud squeal.

"By the angel! Mom, I'm so happy." She hugged her tightly then examined the ring. "It's gorgeous!" Maryse looked at her daughter with tear-filled eyes and a wide smile on her face.

"Congratulations, both of you, I'm so happy for you both! You both deserve to be happy." Jace said and hugged them both, and so did Simon.

"So you both are going to be married now?" max asked. "Like dad and you were?"

"Yes, max." Maryse bit her lip. "Are you okay with it?"

"On one condition."

Maryse gulped, glanced at everyone, and then back at Max. "And that is?"

"Can I be your suggenes?"

"Oh, Max..." Maryse bent down and hugged her son tightly, as tears kept falling on her face. "Yes, you can son. Yes, you can."

"Kiddo?" Luke asked, still scared for her reaction.

Clary stood silently, without saying anything she hugged Luke tightly, before letting him go and speaking.

"I couldn't be more happy for you, Luke. You deserve to be happy, Mom would be happy for you too. You are the best father I could have asked for." She had a pool of tears in her eyes.

"Thank you, kiddo." He said and kissed her forehead.

Izzy squealed again, louder this time. "So, we have a wedding to plan now." Everyone laughed at her excitement level.

When everyone got busy talking with the newly engaged couple, Izzy cornered her brother for a private talk.

"What is it, Izzy?" Alec asked.

"When are you gonna talk to Jace and Clary?"

Alec sighed. "After dinner."

Izzy squeezed his arms gently, then they went back to have dinner with their family.

[oookaline]

A response to this tweet:

https://twitter.com/LETMEVOL6/status/1318301718610923520?s=19

"ok. i’m bout to ask a question to the larries. yalls whole argument is that simon and modest are homophobic right? please explain to me how Harry got away with being such a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community while being in One Direction? Why was harry the only one dropping hints on his sexuality. if they were so dead set on pushing this heterosexual narrative onto the boys then how did Harry get away with the things that he did? harry was dropping hints at his attraction to males. no, not with over analyzed song lyrics. i mean dead ass saying it. I genuinely want to know because Harry‘s been out of the closet for years now .y’all claim that Louis is closete. Harry managed to get out of the “evil clutches of Simon Cowell“ what stopping Louis and doing the same? unless this whole Larry theory was a lie and y’all were bored like, can someone please tell me why that happened? if Harry is allowed to be so open about his sexuality what stopping louis? if Harry got away from Simon would stopping in Louis they all have the same opportunity Harry may be the richest member but Louis can’t be that far back so tell me how did Harry manage to get away and be so open about his attraction of males and louis didn’t? i genuinely don’t get that."

Harry has been refering to his partner as gender neutral since forever, its not something he dropped hints on.

Not only that you have to also consider the narratives management pushed upon each of them aswell: Ima try to do a brief summary on H and Lou only, as this is reffered to Larries.

Louis: Perfect Boyfriend, a stable girlfriend throughout the years, influencer pretty girlfriend, no background on her so no backlash, constant papwalks on them and the occasional 'theyre toguether' tweets. Literally what it would be normalized as a happy relationship.

Harry: Fuck Boy, dated a lot of people, womaniser, headlines every week linking him to a new person, kendall, Taylor, Caroline etc, all big names yet all stunts, papwalks, 18 months of dating or interaction then never talked about again, the boy to wisk you away to a magical night then leave you the next morning.

Now taking these both you can see they are very different narratives, thus enabling them for two very distinctive ways to hinting at their sexuality with us.

Louis due to stunt reasons had to make his love songs (or his songs overall) seem like they hint at a specific girl, eleanor. Building up on the narrative they've had over the years. So while he can't directly call out his 'perfect woman' in gender neutral pronouns like Harry does, he CAN on the other hand choose what he specifies her as: a good chef, long brown hair paired with a british accent.

Very specific things that very obviously link to Harry while making press and hets think its towards Eleanor.

That one interview which didn't air where Louis said he had a boyfriend...

But this is just verbal. Lyric whise Louis has been more open and smart then anyone I've ever listened to-

The lyrics directly paralleling gay relationship, the struggles, the fear of not being able to be with them... Everything that a Heterosexual reletionship would NEVER experience. A few examples:

→Alive - One Direction (Louis) MM

"My mama told me I should go and get some therapy"

"I asked the doctor, "can you find out what is wrong with me? I don't know why I wanna be with every girl I meet"

"I can't control it"

"She said, "hey, it's alright Does it make you feel alive?"

"We got to live before we get older. Do what we like, we got nothing to lose. Shake off the weight of the world from your shoulders. Oh, we got nothing to prove"

"Went to a party just after the doctor talked to me, I met a girl, I took her in up to the balcony, I whispered something in her ear that I just can't repeat, She said, "okay" but she was worried what her friends will think"

This whole song is about questioning you sexuality and realizing you like the same sex.

Read over the lyrics and change:

girl - boy

she/her - he/him

and you'll see what I mean

→End Of The Day (Louis and Liam) MITAM

"Love can be frightening for sure"

"All I know at the end of the day is you want what you want and you say what you say, And you'll follow your heart even though it'll break, Sometimes"

"All I know at the end of the day is love who you love, There ain't no other way, If there's something I've learnt from a million mistakes, You're the one that I want at the end of the day"

"The priest thinks it's the devil, My mum thinks it's the flu, But girl it's only you"

"When the sun goes I know that you and me and everything will be alright, And when the city's sleeping, you and I can stay awake and keep on dreaming"

this whole song (apart from that one "girl") is just a huge gay awakening. If you keep the girl its a wlw anthem then.

some more exaples from scattered songs:

"There's a moment when you finally realize, There's no way you can change the rolling tide" -Ready To Run

"There will always be the kind that criticize, But I know, yes I know we'll be alright" -Ready To Run

"Told myself I kind of liked her, But there was something missing in her eyes" -Home

"I was stumbling, looking in the dark , With an empty heart, But you say you feel the same"-Home

"Still high with a little feeling, I see the smile as it starts to creep in, It was there, I saw it in your eyes" -Home

"But I know you're only hiding, And I just wanna see you" -Through The Dark

"And I can see your head is held in shame, But I just wanna see you smile again" -Through The Dark

"And I will hold you closer, Hope your heart is strong enough" -Through the dark

"People say we shouldn't be together, We're too young to know about forever" -TDKAU

"They don't know about the things we do, They don't know about the "I love yous"-TDKAU

these are just some out of the many Louis wrote. You can see where I'm going with it now.

and im not even going to touch i to all the shading Louis did with his clothes, tattoos, actions etc...

Now, Harry 'got away' with those actions because of various reasons, but I wouldn't say that he got away, I'd call it more of a "You stop me from doing this we will get backlash for possible homophobia and then y'all lose money so suck it up fuckers we're going on a rainbow ride" which is true; Yes, Harry did always refer to his ideal partner in gender neutral forms, but during the rainbow direction project was when he really amped it up so he could always go with the casual "I'm just supporting my fans, there's no harm in that" when confronted about it, which includes him waving the flags around and all the other stuff.

But it also seems you all are forgetting about how along with all the Queer!Harry we got, we also got more and more headlines of Wom!Harry, more stunts and etc: 5 different official relationships (not counting Kendal twice, which would make 6) between late 2014-early 2016 ALSO NOT COUNTING RUMOURED GIRLFRIENDS which then would make the list go so much higher, Harry couldn't before and still can't hang out with WOMEN or else there will be rumours of them dating.

And this doesn't happen with Men :/ He can hang put with multiple men, and there probably will be barelly one and a half articles written about it -only by small outlets- which in comparison to when he is seen hanging our with a 'mysterious woman' we'll get hundreds of articles about it in a span of an hour.

So what I'm trying to say is that sadly he can still call his ideal partner a he and be seen kissing a guy that the media probably will focus on the chick on the background and write an article like "Harry Styles seen out with friends in LA and he seemed extra cozy with mysterious blonde".

But again, the same with Louis, he hints at us about his sexuality so much, be it us the only one who properly listens to him.

With his songs and the flags and the pins and everything.

Here's some of his lyrics from the Oned era:

"We were meant to be but a twist of fate, Made it so you had to walk away" -Happily

"I don't care what people say when we're together"-Happily

"I can't even think straight but I can tell, You were just with her"-JABOYL

"And nothing's ever easy, That's what they say"-JABOYL

"Pay attention, I hope that you listen 'cause I let my guard down, Right now I'm completely defenseless"-If I Could Fly

"I've got scars even though they can't always be seen, And pain gets hard, but now you're here and I don't feel a thing"-If I Could Fly

"One day you'll come into my world and say it all, You say we'll be together even when you're lost"-Something Great

"I want you here with me, Like how I pictured it, So I don't have to keep imagining"-Something Great

"The script was written and I could not change a thing, I want to rip it all to shreds and start again"-Something Great

"You're all I want, So much it's hurting"-Something Great

So yeah, its sad that you just alienated that one thing without having context nor looking at the bigger picture. If I missed anything please tell me. :]

sorry for the long post

(copied from my answer on twitter)

[snow-pitch-grimm]

A Perfect Match

Summary: In a world where those with magic are matched by fate, Baz and Simon are two idiots that can't see what's right in front of them.

Oh, and there's a group of mages that's not too happy about Natasha Pitch's new leniency toward magical 'infected' creatures. 

Creatures like Baz and Simon. (Someone help these poor boys)

Chapter 1: A Bright Light

BAZ

There was a knock on the door, and my father pocked his head inside.

"It's almost time, Baz. Your mothers are waiting for you as is everyone else,"

"Yes Father," I say

I take another look in the mirror. Black tux, purple shirt, shiny shoes and hair slicked back. Perfect.

My father holds the door open for me as I step outside. As we walk side by side, he pulls out a package and hands it to me.

"Happy Birthday, Basilton," he says as I take the package and gives me a gentle hug.

I smile, "Thank you father,"

He gives me a soft smile, and I expect him to start walking. Instead, he pulls me close again, and this time, the hug in much tighter.

"I know I don't say it a lot, but I'm proud of you, you know,"

A lump forms in my throat and I bury my face in his shoulder. Neither my father nor am I prone to emotional moments, but the occasional softness on special days is very nice.

And today is a very special day indeed.

It's my twenty-first birthday, which means, starting today, I can finally begin to find my perfect match, just like every other Mage and magical creature in England. There would have been a time where being a vampire would have barred me from being a part of the matching. However, when my mother had realized what I had become, she had fought hard to change the rules.

At first, I had believed it was only because I was her son. Daphne had shut that thought down fast. She is good at that. The whole comforting thing

"Oh, Baz, no. She is doing this because you are her son, but that is not the only reason. You made her realize that mages turned magical creatures are no different from the rest of us. They do not suddenly change after being infected, well they change but not at the core. You were Tyrannus Basilton before turning, and you are still our Tyrannus Basilton. So yes, you were the catalyst that made your mother realize that things needed to change, but never believe that we love you despite your vampirism. We love all of you, including your vampirism,"

"Why don't you open the present, son?"

I shake myself out of my thoughts and smile at my father again. I open the package to reveal an old wooden carved box. Inside there is an old leather cuff with the Grimm crest on it.

"I know you are planning to give your grandfather Pitch's ring to your match. Understandable since you are your mother's heir. However, I thought maybe you could give this too. You are part Grimm too after all,"

His eyes are alight with hope and I find myself vigorously nodding, "I would love to father,"

My father smiles and claps a hand on my back, "Good man. And don't worry. You will get a proper birthday present later,"

"Oh, no," I say, "You didn't have to-"

"None sense, Basilton," says Father, "Just because you're a proper adult now doesn't mean we can't buy you birthday presents. Come along now. We should get to the ballroom before Natasha sends a search party,"

Slipping the cuff on my right wrist, I leave the box with one of the brownies of the house who eagerly takes it titters off.

The ballroom is full of music and laughter. My mother is the first to spot me. She comes over and gives me a huge hug, Daphne right behind her.

"You finally made it, Tyrannus. Happy birthday!" she gushes, pulling me into a hug. She and my father have always called me by their favourite name for me. Well, mum calls me by her favourite name. Father just hates Tyrannus. They pull out the Tyrannus Basilton when they're mad at me.

Daphne always just calls me Baz. I like that one the best.

She pulls me into a hug once my mum lets go.

"Happy Birthday, Baz," she whispers against my ear, "You look very lovely,"

"Thank you, Mother," I say, making her beam at me.

I call Daphne Mother instead of Mum. I used to wonder if that hurt her but now I can tell that she's pleased I consider her a parent too.

"Everyone, your attention please!" my mum calls out, clinking a glass with her spoon, "There are waiters coming around with glasses of champagne and temperance drinks. Please join us in toasting my son,"

I blush as all eyes turn toward me and my father discreetly hands me a champagne glass.

"I'll keep this short," said my mother, "Twenty-One years ago I brought my son into the world. Like any parent, I had expectations and goals and dreams for him. I am so proud to say that he had has exceeded any and all expectations we had for him. My son has been the greatest joy of my life and after today I hope he will take his first step toward finding his own eternal happiness,"

There are murmurs of agreement and wishes of luck from around the room.

"To Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch,"

The guests echo the toast and a few minutes later I'm being pulled around by relatives and friends, being congratulated and wished more luck. My aunt Fiona gets her hands on me at one point and I'm pulled into a long-winded dance that leaves me laughing and breathless.

I also make sure to say Hello to my younger sister who is running around with the other children, causing a ruckus for her sitters. The younger three have already been put to bed.

Eventually, I end up standing with my friends in a corner and laughing about our childhood exploits.

"Oh and remember when you accidentally set the curtains on fire," said Dec, laughing, "Aunt Natasha was so mad,"

Niall also joins him in his laughter and I roll my eyes at them.

"Haha funny,"

"Seriously though, how are you feeling about tonight. Ready to start looking for your perfect match?" asked Niall, "I for one can't wait for my birthday,"

Niall was a few months younger and wouldn't be getting his orb until his birthday. The orb was basically a small ball that gave you clues as to where your soulmate was, depending on how much you asked and how much you could take.

Dev had gotten his two months ago and it had glowed blue instead of white, indicating that his perfect match had also had their twenty-first birthday already. Since then he had been having dreams and visions of classrooms and exam papers. That, with a few other clues he hadn't told us about, it had become obvious that his soulmate was also a young uni student. However, neither of them was ready to meet the other yet so, for now, all he got was small glimpses of their everyday life.

"I'm feeling pretty excited," I said, answering Niall's question " If my orb has a coloured glow, I think I'd like to find them as soon as I can. Granted they're on the same page,"

My friends nod and Dev raises his glass again, "Well cheers to that. Here's to you finding your perfect match,"

"Hear. Hear."

XXX

"Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch," Calls out my great-great-aunt Viola, an old wrinkled lady with a hunched back but eyes still filled with life.

A Pitch through and through. The oldest Pitch to be exact.

I make my way up and spot my parents, all three of them, smiling at me proudly. Standing together now I can see that their clothes are complementing each other. My mother is wearing a deep forest green strapless dress with a slit on the right. Her accessories are a glittering black colour. My father is wearing a black tux with a deep green shirt. Daphne is wearing a back dress with a green flowery pattern.

My mother blows me a kiss with her left hand as I take the mini-stage at the front of the ballroom. Her right arm is linked with my father's left from where he's angled a step behind her. His right arm is wound tightly around Daphne's waist and she's also giving me a thumbs up with both hands.

I can't remember a time when they weren't like that. Happy, Solid, and together.

As a lovesick teenager, I had daydreamed of having that with- No no thinking of him tonight. I’m twenty-one now, it’s time to start looking for my perfect match.

Viola smiles (the Pitch version) at me and hands me an orb. It's a heavy and solid weight in my hands.

Next, she takes out her wand and casts the spell.

"The Red String of Fate,"

A soft golden light, like the morning sun, emits from the orb, nearly blinding in its glory. As the people in the room ooh and aah I am reminded of bright blue eyes shadowed by bronze curls and smile that could-

No! Not thinking about that.

As soon as the light fades, I'm being swarmed. First by my parents and then everybody else in the room. There are congratulation and hugs and kisses. By the time I make it to my room, I'm ready to go to sleep despite the excitement making my stomach churn.

After changing and washing up, I put the orb on my nightstand and try to decide on the wish.

Should I start with something simple? Or just dive right in? Would that be a little too invasive of my soulmate for the first time? But then again, the orb won't show me anything they haven't agreed to already since they obviously got their orb before me.

Making up my mind, I lean forward and whisper, "Show me where I'm meant to be,"

xxx

In another room, in another bed, laid another young man.

Unbeknown to the sleeping figure, the white orb on his nightstand lit up a bright yellow, almost like the sun.

[basketcase1880]

What’s this, a second chapter in one day? Alas, this is the final chapter of this installment. I will be returning to this ‘verse at some point, but I am currently writing for another fandom at the minute.

CHAPTER 16

Previous 

Claire woke first on the morning of the Hogmanay celebrations, she loved the feeling of waking up in Jamie’s arms and didn’t know how she would cope when she had to go back to Glasgow in a couple of days. The feeling of Jamie stirring behind her, made Claire smile, so she turned around in his arms to burrow her head further into his chest. There were lots still to be done this morning, but she wanted to hide away from the outside world for just that little bit longer.

 “Mornin’ Sassenach,” Jamie murmured as he pressed his lips to Claire’s. “I’m surprised there is still only the two of us in bed.”

 “Hush,” Claire jokingly scolded. “I can hear footsteps outside the door, so I think Fergus is just a late riser this morning. He has been working quite hard the past few days, and the high he got off of donating his toys was almost unbearable last night.”

“Did ye get somethin’ nice tae wear tonight?” Jamie asked, suddenly remembering the ladies’ shopping trip yesterday. “Do I get a sneak preview?”

 “No, you do not, James Fraser,” Claire scolded, just as the bedroom door opened and Fergus found his way onto the bed to snuggle between Claire and Jamie. “I had Jenny as my stylist, so you can trust I have a suitable outfit to match you, and Fergus, in your kilts.”

 “Fergus has a kilt?” Jamie asked as he began to stroke Fergus’ curls. “Another gift from Janet?”

 “No, M’lady,” Fergus corrected around his thumb, which was currently located in his mouth, and Jamie’s eyes snapped to Claire’s.

 “Sorcha?” Jamie questioned. “You bought him a kilt?”

 “I noticed while we were sorting through his clothes, he needed a kilt,” Claire explained as if it was common knowledge. “So, while we were out, I had Jenny help me get him one. He looks so handsome in it and will match his daddy perfectly.”

 “Well, I can’t wait for tonight,” Jamie smiled. “But as much as I would like to stay here until tonight, I’m needed to help out with the horses. Ian has asked da’ if he can take Janet tae Loch nam Bonnach this morning.”

 “Ooh,” Claire taunted as she pushed at Jamie’s shoulder. “Getting yourself another brother soon, are you? Off you go, I’m going to hang off and let this rascal sleep a bit more as he appears to have dozed off again.”

 “Alrigh’, Sassenach,” Jamie smiled, and he pressed soft kisses to Fergus’ forehead and Claire’s lips. “I’ll set an alarm for 9 for the two of ye, get some more sleep. I’ll let mam know.”

 Claire just gave Jamie a soft smile at his gesture and snuggled back in with the little boy who she was sure occupied about half of her heart by now. And she was pretty sure his dad occupied the rest of her heart.

 ** 

When the alarm went off at 9, Claire woke, but Fergus did not. So, she decided to go and run him a bath while he was still sleeping and nip downstairs to get herself some coffee.

 “Ah, mornin’, Claire,” Ellen said as she mixed some wonderfully smelling ingredients together. “Did ye’ sleep weel?”

 “Morning Ellen,” Claire returned as she located the coffee pot that Ellen had placed on the stove top to keep warm. “Yes, thank you. To be honest, I think I’m going to struggle when I go back to Glasgow. Not sleeping in Jamie’s arms.”

 “Weel, ye’ have weekends an’ when yer classes resume yer always welcome tae visit on long weekends,” Ellen reassured Claire. “But I dinnae think yer goin’ tae be the only one struggling. I can see Jamie an’ Fergus spending a lot of nights in the same bed when ye go back tae school.”

 “Thank you, Ellen,” Claire said as she hugged her new mother figure, careful not to get the baking mix on her clothes. “Now, I’ve run Fergus’ bath, I just need to go and get him up and ready for the day.”

 “Mind just put him in jeans an’ a jumper,” Ellen said as Claire passed through the kitchen door. “Ye can change him intae his kilt around 4. If Fergus is anything like Jamie at that age, ye’ willnae want him in his kilt too early.”

 “I was just going to put him in another pair of pyjamas,” Claire smiled. “We’re just going to have a lazy day, maybe watching DVDs or painting, so he wasn’t getting under anyone’s feet.”

 “Beauty and brains,” Ellen smiled. “Jamie has really picked a goodun wi’ ye. Now go an’ get the lad up before the bath water goes cold.”

 It was easier to get Fergus up and, in the bath, than Claire thought it would be. She sat and sang to him while he played with his toys for a little while. She then decided to wash him before the water cooled too much.

 “Right, young man,” Claire said when she was sure all the soap was out his hair. “Let’s get you dried and into some fresh pyjamas. It’s too early to get into your kilt. We can play with your toys or we can watch some films.”

 “Can you read me a story, please?” Fergus asked as Claire wrapped him up in his towel. “I like when you read to me.”

 “Of course,” Claire smiled, which gave her an idea. She would use her phone to record her reading the stories and then pass them onto Jamie for when she was back in Glasgow. “But we’ll go downstairs first and see what we can get for breakfast.”

*** 

 After breakfast, Claire and Fergus retreated to Jamie’s room and Fergus gathered some of his favourite stories before curling up in Claire’s lap. Claire just smiled at Fergus as she went about readying her phone to record some of the Mr Men books for the little boy.

 Ellen popped up with some lunch for them, which Claire was grateful for, as her throat was becoming dry with all her reading. Ellen noticed the pile of books when she sat the tray of sandwiches and shortbread down.

 “Ye’ been reading some books this mornin’ then?” Ellen asked.

 “Yeah,” Claire smiled. “I asked Fergus to pick a selection of books, then I decided that I’d record myself reading them. I’ll pass them on to Jamie for the nights when all Fergus wants is my voice.”

 “Ye’ve really fallen for my boys, haven’t ye’?” Ellen asked as she took Claire’s hand in hers.

 “I used to feel so lonely,” Claire whispered, not wanting Fergus to hear this part of the conversation and become upset. “Then I met Jenny, and I didn’t feel as alone, but there was still some loneliness. When she invited me for Christmas, I didn’t know what to expect, but I went out and bought some little gifts that somehow I knew would be just right. But nothing really made sense. Then I met everyone…”

 “Ye’ were made tae be a part o’ this family,” Ellen smiled. “Ye were made tae meet Jamie an’ bring father and son and grandson together. So, as part of this family, ye’ll never feel alone…”

 Before Ellen could continue, the door downstairs slammed open and Jenny’s excited yells for anyone could be heard, which automatically brought a smile to both Ellen and Claire’s faces. They knew what Ian’s intentions were when he took Jenny out today, so, they were excited to see the ring.

 “We’re up in Jamie’s room,” Ellen called in response to her daughter.

 “Mam, mam, I’m getting’ marrit,” Jenny almost yelled as she came into the room. “Ian’s asked me to marry him, an’ I said aye.”

 “Ye’d be daft no’ tae,” Ellen jokingly replied as she took her daughter’s hand to admire the engagement ring. “That man is gaga for ye’, an’ has been fer years. Congratulations, my girl.”

 “Thanks, mam,” Jenny said as she threw her arms around her mum in joy. “Look Claire.”

 “Oh, it’s gorgeous, Jenny,” Claire said as she held Jenny’s hand to steady it, ensuring she got a good view of the ring. “You are one lucky girl.”

 “I’m going to go down and check on my clootie dumplin’,” Ellen said. “Just give me a shout if ye want me tae look efter Fergus fer ye’, Claire.”

 “Thank you for lunch, Ellen,” Claire said, tearing her eyes away from the ring for a second. “We should be good with Fergus. We’re just about to put a film on, so everything should be fine.”

 “An’ give us a shout if ye need a hand wi’ anythin’ mam,” Jenny returned. “Just because Claire an’ I are goin’ tae talk about my ring, doesnae mean ye cannae shout on us.”

 Ellen nodded her head and took the tray downstairs, leaving the plates for Claire and Fergus, Ellen went back down to continue with her baking, leaving Claire and Jenny to gush about the morning’s events.

 “First thing’s first,” Jenny said once Claire had put Toy Story on for Fergus to watch. “As my only sister, will ye’ be my maid of honour?”

 “Of course,” Claire gushed immediately. “I’d love to be your maid of honour…”

*** 

 The afternoon wore on, and soon it was time to start getting ready. Ellen had volunteered to get Fergus dressed since Claire and Jenny had lost track of time talking and were running short on time to get themselves ready. Claire’s outfit was reasonably simple, but she needed the time to try and focus on her hair. Jenny and Louise managed to fashion Claire’s hair into an acceptable messy bun, while Claire applied some light, natural makeup.

 “Jamie is going to love you in this,” Jenny smiled as she arranged Claire’s tartan sash correctly, then her own. “A little black dress is always a good idea for a Ceilidh, but the way yers clings in all the right places and paired with our Tartan, I don’ know if Jamie will be able tae keep his hands tae himself.”

 “Oiu,” Louise agreed. “I have seen how he is with you at the best of times. But we will have to make sure we get a photo of the three of you tonight.”

 “Aye,” Jenny agreed. “Yer first Hogmanay as a wee family. An’ Fergus is going to be so adorable in his wee kilt.”

 Before Claire could answer them, there was a knock on Jenny’s door. “Will ye three witches hurry up, we’ll be late, an’ we cannae hae that, da’s lighting the bonfire.”

 “William Simon Murtagh MacKenzie Fraser, ye little…” Jenny yelled as she chased her brother away from her door, followed by Claire and Louise’s laughter.

 Claire and Louise grabbed their bags, and Claire also grabbed Jenny’s before heading downstairs. Claire was knocked breathless when she saw Jamie and Fergus standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting on her. They were in matching black Jacobite shirts (as Jenny had explained when Claire bought it) and their own Fraser tartan kilts. The three of them truly were matching, like a little family tonight.

 Suddenly, Jamie’s eyes were drawn to Claire on the stairs, almost as if he had a sixth sense that was attuned to only her, and his jaw dropped open. “Claire,” he whispered almost reverently, and moved to the bottom of the stairs and held his hand out to her. “Ye’ are truly a beauty to behold, Sassenach.”

 “Thank you, Jamie,” Claire replied as she ducked her head to try and hide the blush adorning her cheeks. “And you and Fergus are truly perfect gentlemen, waiting on your lady at the bottom of the stairs to escort her to the party.”

 “You look pretty, M’lady,” Fergus said with an awestruck look on his face.

 “Thank you, Fergus,” Claire said as she scooped him into her arms. “And you look so grown up in your kilt.”

 “Right everyone,” Brian’s voice called out. “Let’s get going.”

“Let me get a picture of Jamie, Claire an’ wee Fergus first,” Ellen said as she came bustling into the hallway with her camera. Brian just shook his head and watched as his wife fussed about their son and his apparent new family, getting them into position and making sure she was taking the perfect photo.

 Once the photo was taken, everyone piled out to the cars and headed off to the town hall to begin the festivities to bring in the new year.

 ***

 The party was going well, the weather had stayed dry, so the bonfire was a success, and soon the band made the announcement that it was ten minutes to midnight. Claire and Jamie had been dancing away on the dancefloor while Fergus had been napping under the watchful eyes of Ellen and Brian.

 “’M goin’ to get Fergus,” Jamie said as the 10-minute warning was given. “I want tae ring in the Bells wi’ ye’ an’ Fergus in my arms.”

 “Okay,” Claire said with an encouraging smile, letting Jamie know that was exactly what she wanted too.

 Jamie soon returned with a groggy little boy in his arms, but as soon as they reached Claire, Fergus appeared to be more awake. Almost as if Claire’s presence was a tonic to his sleepiness.

 “It’s almost time to shout happy new year,” Claire said to Fergus, and Fergus reached out to Claire. Jamie handed him over to her and wrapped both of them in his large arms and began to sway back and forth with them while they waited on the countdown to begin.

 “10…” the band leader began, and everyone joined in. “9...8...7...6…5...4...3...2...1... HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

 “Happy new year,” Jamie said as he pressed his lips to Claire’s and pulled her and Fergus in closer to him. “Happy new year, Fergus.

 “Happy new year, Jamie,” Claire said as she pulled away from Jamie’s kiss. “Happy new year, Fergus.”

  “Happy new year, da’,” Fergus said as a wide smile split his face in two, turning from Jamie to Claire. “Happy new year, mam!”

Master List

[redrikki]

Miscellaneous Fandom Fic Masterlist

The 100

Born to Float - Octavia became a criminal with her first breath. Some people are just born to float. (Octavia Blake, Bellamy Blake, Aurora Blake)

Post-Apocalyptic Ethics 101 - Collection of dribbles & short stories. (Bellamy Blake, Clarke Griffin, Marcus Kane, Jasper Jordan)

Coin Operated Boy - The things John Murphy does to survive. Tag to 3.10. Trigger Warning: RAPE. (John Murphy/Emori, Murphy/Ontari)

Battlestar Galactica 

Persephone on New Caprica - It’s winter on New Caprica and they’re all Persephone here. A collection of short stories. (Gaius Baltar/Caprica Six, Felix Gaeta/Eight, Kara Tharce/Leoben Conroy)

Four Loves (The Canoodling on New Caprica Remix) - Three loves which died on New Caprica and one which flourished. Remix of Canoodling & Conspiracies Oh My! by raktajino. (Maya & Isis, Diana Seelix & Jammer, Boomer & God, Laura Roslin/William Adama)

The Broken Earth series Seismic Shift - Schaffa tells himself he will stop if Eitz says no. This one will be allowed to say no. The boy says nothing at all. (Schaffa, Eitz) WARNING: Child Sexual Abuse

Dark Angel

Tricks & Treats - Joshua and Alec go to a party. Joshua eats little hot dogs and is diverting. (Joshua, Alec, Rita)

Another Day at the Office - Insert zombie apocalypse. (Alec, Original Cindy, Normal)

Pooka Boo - Maybe Ben’s hallucinations started out random and fluffy too. (Alec, Max, Logan, Original Cindy, Pooka)

Dollhouse

Ms. Lonelyhearts -  Adelle knew Victor was a lover at heart. (Adelle Dewitt/Victor, Sierra/Victor)

Downton Abbey

The Hedgehog’s Dilemma - “Mind my spikes.” Five warnings, four relationships and one revelation. Daemons AU. (Thomas Barrow/Duke, Thomas & Sara O'Brien, Thomas/Edward Courtney, Thomas/Jimmy Kent)

Bluestocking Girl - Four books which didn’t change Edith’s life and one letter to the editor which did. (Edith Crawley, Crawley family)

Snakes & Lions - In Thomas, Jimmy finds that courage isn’t exclusive to Gryffindors. Now if only he could find some himself. Harry Potter fusion. Part one of Houses Alike In Dignity (Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent)

The House Elf and the Lioness - “Honestly Sybil, he’s practically a house elf,” Mary exclaimed when she caught them kissing in the stacks. Harry Potter fusion. Part two of Houses Alike In Dignity (Sybil Crawley/Tom Branson, Mary Crawley)

The Owl & the Son-of-a-Squib - Matthew Crawley is quite shocked when an owl swoops down and drops off a letter which changes his life. Harry Potter fusion. Part three of Houses Alike In Dignity (Matthew Crawley, Isobel Crawley, Violet Crawley)

The Dragon Prince

Dragon Scales - Collection of short tumblr prompts. (Rayla, Callum, Ezran, Amaya, Soren) You Fight Like You Practice - Callum’s never been good with a sword, but the right teacher can make all the difference. Two lessons, two teachers, and one real fight. (Callum, Soren, Rayla) The Talk - Rayla and Callum finally talk about what happened the night of the assassination. (Rayla, Callum, Ezran)

Firefly

Firefly, In Brief - Collection of short stories and dribbles. (Firefly crew)

Will to Be Well (The Psychosomatic Remix) - Studies on the efficacy of acupuncture are inconclusive but, if River believes hard enough, learning the art might make her better. Remix of If I Could Will You Whole by Spiralleds (River, Inara, Jayne)

Harry Potter

Have to Start Somewhere (The Words to Rebuild Remix) - This diary belongs to Ginevra Molly Weasley and no one else. Remix of Words to Build by Elennare. (Ginny Weasley)

Interstellar

Eureka Moment - The night she solved the equation, Murph had unprotected sex for the first time in her life. (Murph/Getty)

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Requiescat in pace - In which Jonathan Strange discovers that returning the dead to their natural state is more difficult than he would imagine. (Jonathan Strange, dead Neapolitans)

Miraculous Ladybug

Intrepid Reporter - Alya won’t let a little thing like danger stop her from reporting the truth. (Alya, Marinette, Nino) Better Than Ice Cream - Orange, mint, and raspberry could be a tasty combination. The solution to every love triangle should be polyamory, but sometimes it’s just not that simple. (Marinette, Adrien) St. Athanase Day - Adrien and Marinette’s beret the second time around. She forgets the card but still signs her work. (Adrien, Plagg) No Sleep Til Hawkmoth - An overly-caffeinated revelation helps narrow Alya’s search for Hawkmoth (Alya, Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Chloé)

Misfits

Good Housekeeping - It’s been months since his mum kicked him out, but at least Nathan hasn’t sunk to sleeping under the flyover. He’s got a good thing going at the community center and means to keep it. (Nathan Young)

The (Non)Haunting of Nathan Young -And to think he’d scoffed when Simon had tried to warn him. Everyone you love will die. What a laugh, right? Christ, he’s been such an idiot. (Nathan Young/Kelly Bailey)

Pushing Daisies

Li'l Gumshoe - Young Penny Cod was nine years, two hours, and forty-three minutes old when she found the book which changed her life. Like hundreds of other little black girls who would encounter Li’l Gumshoe, she felt as though it had been written just for her. The difference was, Penny Cod was right. (Penny Cod, Emerson Cod, Lila Robinson, Pie Hole gang)

Orphan Black

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl - There’s something magical about Uncle Felix’s flat. Maybe it’s all the art. (Kira, Felix, Cosima)

Devil’s Trap - Helena and Grace have a lot in common. (Helena, Grace)

Despite All My Rage - Rachel is still just a rat in a cage. So much for self-directed evolution. (Rachel, Aldous Leekie, Ethan Duncan)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Shadow Over Mystacor - After Shadow Weaver’s attack on Mystacor, Adora just wants to relax, but that’s hard to do when it’s all her fault. (Adora, Glimmer, Bow)

Parting Strands - Looking out for each other had been their thing, but Adora’s starting to suspect that’s over. Her thoughts during that scene in “Promise.” (Adora, Catra)

The Good Soldier On the sliding scale between perfect soldier Adora and useless malcontent Catra, Lonnie was closer to the Adora end of the spectrum. How the hell had Catra made Force Captain before her? Catra was just going crash and burn and Lonnie? Lonnie would let her. (Lonnie, Catra, Team Horde)

She-Ra (Modesty) Shorts - Adora/Catra shorts written for the 3 Sentence Ficathon. (Adora/Catra)

A Song of Ice and Fire

The Return - Robb sends Theon home to Pyke. If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention. (Asha Greyjoy, Greyjoy family)

Stranger Things

Smurfete Principle - There can be more than one girl in the party. El and Max work things out at the Snow Ball. (Max, El)

Stranger Side of the Force - While watching Star Wars, El notices she and Vader have a lot in common. (El, Mike, Max, Lucas, Dustin, Will)

It Lingers - The Mind Flayer is gone, but El can still feel it clawing underneath her skin. (El, Joyce, Will, Jonathan) Date Night - Everyone and her mother seems to think they’re together and Robin’s getting pretty sick of it. (Robin, Steve, The Party)

Temeraire

Epistolary - Dear Lady Allendale….yours, etc., Emily Roland (Emily Roland)

Umbrella Academy

Heroes for Ghosts - Eudora waits for Diego and things at the hotel go very differently. (Klaus, Diego, Ben, Eudora, Hazel, Cha-Cha, Ghosts)

Peanut Butter and Marshmallows - Stuck in the apocalypse, Five reads about Vanya leaving him sandwiches. (Five, Delores)

Iconic - When Vanya learns Klaus is gay from an article in a teen magazine, she’s upset for more than a few reasons. (Vanya, Klaus) Feed Your Head - Three shitty things young Klaus did for drugs and one thing they did for him. (Klaus, Reginald, Grace) When Evil Rains - Umbrella Academy shorts (Klaus, Diego)

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Players Only Love You When They’re Playing - Coran kept staring at Romelle like she was walking miracle, but Allura couldn’t look at her without thinking of Lotor and his betrayal.

White Collar

Eyes on the Target (The Solid Ground Remix) - Peter asked her to keep an eye on Neal for him while he’s stuck in jail. It could be going better. Remix of Keep Your Feet on Solid Ground by frith_in_thorns. (Dianna Berrigan, Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke)

[09yards]

7 - Houston, I have so many problems (days gone by - nct)

Days Gone By masterlist | main masterlist - ao3 link

warning: excessive use of italics in this chapter because apparently I felt like it and I've only worked on this during night hours and honestly it probably doesn't make sense because it isn't edited properly okay love you bye now, enjoy the chapter (:

Mark drowns his sorrows in T Swift, Grey's Anatomy and Ben and Jerrys and we talk about Johnny a whole lot and the pressures of school and life decisions.

I’ve got a hundred speeches thrown-out speeches I almost said to you

&

Yeah, after all this time, I’m still into you

      Johnny was a good brother, just not exactly role model material. He was protective, but still let you do all the dumb stuff you thought of - like jumping fully clothed in the lake during winter or staying out past curfew because ‘mum will never know, not unless you tell her anyway’ - he was the one there to laugh with you, cry with you, encourage you to do stupid things because you have to live your life. Mark never really understood when Johnny would go on some philosophical rant about how you only get one life, if you aren’t enjoying it then you’re not doing it right.

     He wasn’t constantly thinking about what to do next, how if he did this or that then this would happen. Mark was confused by it in all honestly, he couldn’t comprehend that Johnny studied for fun, wanted to do well not because he felt he had to but because he wanted to. Mark never felt like he made choices purely for himself, he did it for other people or because that’s what he was supposed to do. It wasn’t just academics, Mark was nice to everyone, he it his tongue when he really wanted to correct someone on their opinions (everyone is entitled to their own opinions but the guy was just plain wrong, zero factual basis for his arguments). Mark liked being in control of his own thoughts and feelings, he liked dictating his own life, for once. He just didn’t know how to regain control. He wanted to stop doing things for others, he wanted to be a little selfish – wanted to make himself happy first. He didn’t realise there was absolutely nothing selfish about that at all.

      And then, as stupid as it may sound, Mark started binging Grey’s Anatomy. The medical drama was a major turning point for the sixteen-year-old (at the time), taught him about how he wanted to help people, how he wanted to make a difference to people’s lives. He remembers sitting down and talking to Johnny about it, about how he felt like he’d found his calling. Sure, if anyone asked him now, he’d tell people that he fell in love with medicine as a young child, always playing doctors with his teddy bears and seeing his mum go to work every day, not that Sandra Oh being the magnificent actress she is, made him want to learn more and more about the field, thus he pulled an all-nighter googling different medical pathways and finding what was right for him – and how.

      Johnny was there for all the big decisions in his life. Johnny was there when Mark didn’t realise you were supposed to ‘come out’ if you were anything but straight (frankly, he strongly believed in the idea that no ones sexuality should be pre-determined and that no one should feel the need to define who they are - like that clip in ‘Love, Simon’ which prompted Jisung, Hyuck, Renjun and Jaemin all telling him to shut up when he went on a rant about how assuming someone’s sexuality is wrong and how coming out shouldn’t just be for the non-heterosexual) and in the midst of his first full-on breakdown over his burgeoning crush on Daniel from year 10 maths, Mark had said ‘he’ around thirty-two times, give or take a few (yes, Johnny had counted just to be sure), and only then had it truly dawned on Johny that this was it, this is the closest Johnny was getting to an ‘I-am-gay-and-this-is-me-coming-out-to-you’ moment. Honestly, it’d made Johnny quite proud - his mother was an avid supporter of the community and they’d grown up completely aware that any and all love was love, nothing wrong with any of it and those who believed otherwise didn’t deserve a lollipop (sue him, he was only eight and that was their mum’s way of describing people who were arseholes without calling them bad names). Johnny was there when Mark, sweating nervously and disgustingly clammy-handed, told them how he wanted to follow in their mothers (actually Meredith Grey’s, not that he was going to tell his mum that) footsteps and become a doctor too. Why he was so nervous, he’ll never really know nor understand.

      Especially not when Johnny picked him up and twirled him around in a hug shouting about how his little brother is going to be a doctor, Johnny always was one for theatrics, their mum on the other hand gave her usual warm-hearted smile, said she’d support him no matter what and wrapped him up in one of her bear-hugs. She always gave the best hugs, they simply felt like home, like no matter what you’d be safe.

      Jisung smiled, too young to really care and didn’t understand why Mark had made some big deal about it – “it’s just a degree, you could buy one online for like a hundred pounds instead”. Yes, Jisung spent too much time on the internet, Mark really didn’t want to know what the majority of his time on there was spent doing. Honestly, Mark had him pegged as some sort of edgy Tumblr teen running an insanely successful blog for a book-turned-tv-or-movie series so the majority of his time was probably devoted to reading (that Mark knew) and watching and then reviewing the episodes. It was somewhat worrying the amount Mark had thought about this, was he a multi-fandom blogger or did he just stick to one? What was he watching? Shadowhunter’s? Harry Potter? Sherlock? So, many, questions. But hey, it wasn’t Marks business to know. If he’d just asked Jisung he’d be aware of the youngers multiple blogs, one dedicated to his love of kpop and idols with dimples, the other dedicated to reviewing and just general chatting and fan theories about his favourite book series turned movie/TV shows, Mark wasn’t as far off as he’d like to believe.

      With everything that was happening with Hyuck, or rather lack thereof, Mark was desperate to feel at least somewhat in control of his life. Desperate to feel like he was doing something that mattered, like he was working toward something. One thing Mark could always rely on is that all of his friends and family, among other things, would describe him as a workaholic. As much as Mark loved to attempt to dispute this, he couldn’t. It was the truth and being the emotionally constipated teenager that he is – what better way to deal with your emotions that not doing so and instead throwing yourself into schoolwork? Mark was a broken human in many ways, in many ways he was just normal. Just like any other teenager feeling like they didn’t have their lives under control, feeling like they had to make life altering and affirming decisions at the age of sixteen or seventeen. It wasn’t fair. It didn’t feel fair at least. It didn’t feel fair that he couldn’t have some cute teenage love story like in the movies, didn’t feel fair that he had to submit his university applications by mid-October when everyone else got to wait until December, didn’t feel fair that everyone else had their soulmates or were finding them left and right but he was stuck.

      It was stupid and selfish but he wanted to feel upset. He wanted to feel like he’d lost something rather than just admitting the plain truth that Donghyuck just didn’t like him back. Not every love story was straight (oh the irony) out of Wattpad and not everyone got their happy ending, at least not yet. So, a very stressed Mark was free to wander mindlessly around his home, mind too occupied with some parallel universe where there’s no such thing as soulmates and everyone possess the ability to fall in love with whomever they wish. Not that that would change much in Mark’s case, but let the guy dream okay? Okay.

      Johnny was a good brother. But Johnny was still his brother at the end of the day.

      A brother who comes home for the weekend unexpectedly and so his seventeen year old brother believes he’s able to be singing his heart out to wildest dreams by Taylor swift, I break from crying over Mcdreamy’s death, with a pot of Ben and Jerrys fish food (yeah he was in full blown sad mode) in hand and the most over-sized hoodie he could get his hands on, actually wearing his glasses for once and well… Mark was a mess, in peace, but Johnny took the initiative of filming Marks current endeavours before making his presence known by snorting obnoxiously and crumpling into a ball (well as close as Johnny could get to folding his over six foot body into something remotely small) on the floor of their kitchen unable to breathe normally for at least ten minutes and unable to look Mark in the eye for the next two hours while keeping a straight face, as every time it resulted in him wheezing again and managing to get out a “Y-you, you listen,” another wheeze, “to Taylor, the Taylor Swift,” another, stupid, wheeze, “like queen of break up songs when you’re sad? Oh, Mark, where did I go wrong with raising you.” Yeah, not the most pleasant of experiences for Mark, his bright red ears clearly displaying his emotions.

       He should be allowed to drown his sorrow in peace, listening to Taylor Swift (and Adele but Johnny didn’t hear his rendition of ‘hello’ so #MarkFirstWin) eating his ice cream and dancing around the kitchen. We’ve all been there and anyone who says they haven’t done some sort of version of this is a down right liar, or just really, really, lucky and hasn’t experienced any form of heartbreak ever.

      Nevertheless, this is the same Johnny who then slaps you so hard on the back that it winds you, and then tells you with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face, “Hey! You know what would be perfect to distract you?” No Johnny, he was taking the Taylor Swift route. Mark just shook his head, his ears tinting red at the memory of Johnny catching him again (yes it was three hours again) and how he would definitely be relaying the message to others. “Well, your uni applications are in, nothing you can do right now to change that. So, I wasn’t going to invite you because I knew you’d say no but now I’m leaving you no choice. As it’s Winwin and Yuta’s birthdays, they’re having a party tonight and you are coming with me.”

       “But-“

      “Yeah, no buts. You’re coming. Yes, everyone will be there – it’s a family affair. Even Jisung is coming for a bit but I’ve already bought him chocolate milk and put it in the fridge at Yuta’s place.”

      “And you’re really going to let me drown my sorrows in alcohol after my birthday party?”

      “Sure, after all, what’s the worst that could happen?”

      Like Mark said, Johnny let you do the dumb shit. He’d help you pick up the pieces later.

   Hyuck. Alcohol. Jungwoo. Alcohol. Yuta. Alcohol. Winwin. Alcohol. Jaehyun. Alcohol. Soulmates. Black-out drunk.

[bazypitchandsimonsnow]

The Black Swan

Chapter 1

Rating: T

Genre: Fluff/Angst

Word count: 3731

Chapter: 1/17 (All chapters)

Summary: Prince Simon of Watford hates being a prince. He would rather be with his friends than try to learn tax policy. While adventuring in the scary woods with Penelope, Simon finds a strange boy who somehow transforms from a swan into a human when he sits on a lake. Simon immediately becomes fascinated with the boy and his mysterious existence. And as he learns more, Simon's feelings start to deepen. But when the stakes get higher, can those feelings triumph over their struggles?

Read on AO3

AN: Hello everyone, and welcome to my big bang! It's super long, I spent hours trying to fix stuff that I'm still not 100% on, and I'm very happy I actually did it. And I really do like it, I'm just way too critical of myself. I wrote this because A) I love fantasy AUs, B) I love the Swan Lake ballet, and C) I love the webcomic based on Swan Lake “The Prince and The Swan” by April Pierce which I recommend you all read it's awesome. So this an AU based off both the ballet and the comic. I'm posting the first two chapters today cause I feel like them together is a good start to the story. I'll be posting every monday and every other Thursday. 

Shoutout to my artist @bookerella who made amazing art for this fic. I’ll be linking her piece for this chapter at the end. And another shoutout as always to @carryonmylovelies because she has been my rock for the past five months through writing this fic and along with a lot of other struggles. She's the best and I love her with all my heart. And after all that, please enjoy the first two chapters of The Black Swan. Hope y'all like it :)

———————————————

Burning, everything was burning

The whole world was engulfed in flames and reeked of smoke. Simon didn’t know where he was. Only that this body wasn’t his. The arms were small, pudgy, that of a young boy. But he felt the muscles move and the skin heat up with the flames.  They licked at him but didn’t touch, bending away before contact.

“Darling, where are you?!” a woman’s voice yelled, followed by an ear piercing scream.

Simon started running immediately. He didn’t know why, just that he had to go. He ran past the creaking wood, the scorched stone, looking for where the voice was coming from. Consciously, he didn’t know who it was, but he knew he had to get to her. A burning beam nearly crushed his head, but he kept going. He needed to get to her.

“Mum!” His voice shouted. It wasn’t his though, yet it came from his mouth. Rather, it was a child’s voice, desperate and afraid. Simon could feel tears streaming down the boy’s face, created from smoke and fear.

“Where is she?” Simon asked himself from the boy’s mouth.

Another scream rang out. Simon started running again. He couldn’t see. There was too much debris and smoke and fire to find anything. But he reached her room eventually, using all his short might to force the doors open. The boy’s mum was standing right in the centre of a ring of fire. Her grey gown was in charred shreds, hair obscuring most of her soot covered face. A thick arm was wound around her neck. She was struggling to breath, from smoke and the person choking her.

“Mum!” he shouted with voice that wasn’t his again. “Stop hurting her!”

“Run,” she rasped out. The person with the thick arm looked at him. His eyes were piercing blue, filled with a killer’s rage. The boy backed up slowly. “Run!”

And so he ran. He was running as far as his little legs could carry him, ducking and weaving through the burning debris. She told him to run. So he would, he would do whatever she said. Run, run, run-

“Not so fast, brat.” The man grabbed his small fancy collar so hard he choked. His voice was smooth, confident, completely sure of his own power. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ve got other plans for you.

He tried to scream, but the man’s grip was too tight for speech. The burning world slowly turned black.

———————————————

“Simon. Simon. Simon!”

Simon jolted awake so hard his head smacked against his wooden chair. He whined as he rubbed the sore spot. King David stood over him from the other side of the desk. He had his hands on his hips, glaring at his adopted son with extreme disapprovement.

“Yes?” Simon grumbled.

“Were you sleeping when you were supposed to be studying battle techniques?” David asked in a way that meant he knew the answer.

“N-No,” the prince lied with a shaky voice. David kept glaring, and Simon sighed. “I’m just tired from studying, Father, sorry.”

David shook his head, crown shifting on his brown curls. “I’m disappointed, Simon. You’ve been the crown prince full time for a year now, you should know how to cope. I brought you here to be my heir. The least you can do is try.”

Simon picked at his nails, a nervous habit he still hadn’t broken over the years. Another thing David was disappointed in. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Words are meaningless, Simon. Do better. Now come along, we have a council meeting.”

Simon had to suppress a groan. He hated council meetings. They were always so boring. They made him really want to find the executioner so he could be put out of his misery.

He did up his embroidered tunic properly and put the gold circlet back on his head anyway. He wanted all these damn things off so bad. The circlet always got too hot and made his forehead sweat. And the formal attire was so damn itchy. Simon was never comfortable when he dressed like a prince. Even years later, he still wondered if David made a mistake, picking him to be his heir.

David pushed open the council room doors with flourish, green cloak flapping behind him. He always did it so much with flourish, always making a grand scene when he greeted the council. Penny would roll her eyes.

“All rise,” Sir Premal announced, “for his majesty, King David Owens of Watford. And for his royal highness, Crown Prince Simon Owens of Watford.”

The lords stood, hands clasped in front of them respectfully. They all look bored, as usual. Nobility weren’t allowed to enjoy themselves. Simon was pretty sure it was written in the Constitution of Watford Kingdom. Though some of their eyes flicked to Simon and narrowed. He could feel the contempt and snobbery radiating off them. He knew what some of them thought of him deep down; just a lowly orphan painted up to impersonate a prince. Simon couldn’t disagree. A lot of the time, he felt like that too.

David stood at the head with Simon right beside him on a smaller chair. Everyone’s chairs had to be smaller than David’s.

“Be seated,” the king said. All the hardwood scraped on the stone simultaneously. Simon desperately wanted to slump further, but he knew David would yell at him later. It wasn’t worth the ear ache.

The King opened his large leather bound ledger. He kept meticulous finance records. Many would say he was obsessive. And many would be correct. “Now, the tax increases have been fully implemented. Have you all of you have been collecting well?”

His tone made it incredibly clear that this was a question with specific answers. David’s questions always came with specific answers. The lords shifted minutely, the closest they’d ever come to protest, and replied with a monotone “yes” as they handed their bags of collected gold pieces. Not Lord Grimm though. He merely pushed down his burlap sack while staring straight ahead. He rarely spoke during these meetings. Simon assumed it was because David took his late wife’s throne, the same throne that was originally meant to be passed down to his late son but was now going to Simon. Simon couldn’t blame him. He wouldn’t like being constantly reminded of his family’s demise either. Maybe not talking made it easier.

“Good,” David said as he checked off every province. “Any disturbances from the people?”

“No,” the speaking lords replied.

“Wonderful.” David snapped his ledger closed. “Now, there’s the matter of the old Hampshire property. It’s fallen into complete disrepair over the past few years, what with Lady Fiona moving and no one else living there. I suggest we demolish it for building materials. The new castle extension needs stone. Any protests?”

No one spoke up, because David’s cold expression told them not to. Not even Lord Grimm said anything, which Simon found surprising. Hampshire was the oldest Pitch family property. They owned it before becoming the royal family. But he said nothing. Just stared ahead with a bored expression. Simon still instinctively shied away though. Lord Malcolm Grimm always looked like a white haired pit viper, calm most of the time but definitely could kill you in an instant. But today was a good day, because Malcolm simply looked at King David, and nodded.

David nodded back. “Good. Lord Grimm, please alert Lady Pitch of this. Are there any other matters we need to discuss?” All the lords stayed silent in response. ”Very well. You’re all dimissised. Farewell, your lordships.”

“Farewell, your majesty,” the speaking lords said.

What was the point of this? Simon thought. Less than five minutes so the King could take money from the rich people and announce he was destroying a historic building. Penelope said most of these meetings were just so David could flex his power. Simon liked to believe there was something more, but he had to admit she had a point. She was usually right.

As he and Simon were exiting, Malcolm put a hand on David’s shoulder. Simon stiffened. It wasn’t appropriate to touch a king. He remembered the day David first brought him to the castle. His new father had slapped him away when he tugged on his royal sleeve. “You ask permission to touch a king, Simon. Remember that,” he’d said. Simon had always kept to that rule, along with everyone else. Yet David didn’t look upset at Lord Grimm’s discretion. His eyes justs slid over to the side.

“Excuse my boldness,” Lord Grimm said smoothly, “but I have something to discuss with you, your majesty.” His cold brown eyes shifted to Simon. Simon tried not to gulp. “In private.”

Simon looked to his father. David nodded. “Go, Simon. I give you leave for the day.”

The prince grinned ear to ear. “Really?”

“Did I not just say so? Return by supper.”

“Yes, yes, Father, I will.” Simon was already going towards the exit as he spoke.

“Close the door on your way out.” David didn’t say please, because, “kings are above politeness, Simon.”

Simon nodded. “Yes, Father.”

As he was closing the door, Simon heard snippets of their extremely hushed conversation. Malcolm looked serious, David looked unamused.

“Insult...too long...,” Malcolm muttered.

“Very well...remember...know your place,” David replied.

Simon was too excited to leave to care for stupid royal dealings. He shut the door and immediately raced down the carpeted hallway. Past the dirty high ceilings and confining stone walls. Even though this castle was only a little over a decade years old, it had the fashions of somewhere old. David wanted it to look ancient, to make it look like his royal line was just as old as the Pitches were. Penny told Simon it was about ego or power or something. Simon didn’t care. He just wanted to leave it right now.

The second he reached his room, Simon stripped off his tunic, making his circlet hit the stone with a tink. He hopped around trying to get his pants off and nearly fell face first on the floor. That would be rich, Simon thought, a crown prince with a broken nose caused by his own inability to get out of his trousers. What a great future king I am, huh David?

Simon put on his loose white shirt and filthy riding pants. He wrapped an old scarf around his head, attempting to hide his distinctive bronze curls under the grey fabric. It wouldn’t stop everyone from noticing him of course, but it would stop enough. Enough that he could get to one particular place.

As the reluctant crown prince and graduated student of The Mage School, which sat just to the north of the castle, Simon had enough practice getting from royal property to the town quickly. He used the hidden passageways, weaving through the corridors with ease, greeting every servant by name as he passed by. He ended up in the kitchen, where Cook Pritchard was already preparing for supper.

“Hello, Mrs. Pritchard,” he said, hanging over her counter. “How’s the kitchen?”

“Oh, same old, same old,” she replied. “How’s castle business?”

“Boring, of course. Say, is that a spare scone?”

The cook gave Simon an amused look. “I believe so.”

Simon grinned brightly. Ebb told him he had a smile that could persuade armies to surrender. She was always so nice. “May I please have it?”

Mrs. Pritchard sighed overdramatically as she handed the pastry over. “Only because you asked so nicely, your highness.”

“I told you, call me Simon, please. Your highness is too long.”

“I would, but his majesty insists on formal titles. He’s quite...demanding.”

“Don’t I know it,” Simon grumbled, taking an aggressive bite of the scone. “Thank you, Mrs. Pritchard. Need anything from town?”

“No, no, I’m fine. Those carrots you found last week were lovely, thank you.”

“No problem! Thanks for the scone!”

Cook Pritchard waved as Simon dashed off. “You’re welcome, your highness, have fun!”

He absolutely would. He always had fun on days like this. Simon ran out the wooden doors, over the rawbridge, and across the great lawn. Ebb was standing there with her goat herd, magically trying to rein them in. She waved with her entire arm.

“Good morrow, Simon!” she yelled. Ebb didn’t care for formalities at all.

Simon waved back. “Good morrow, Ebb! Need anything from town?”

“Oh no, I’m alright. Just say hello to Penelope for me!”

“Will do!”

Simon ran over the grass and down the dirt road. The thick brush of the Wavering Wood separated the castle from Watford Town. Most used magic to reveal a path. But Simon didn’t trust his magic, so he knew the forest like the back of his hand instead. He made it through with ease, jumping over fallen branches and across the mossy ground, emerging into the sunlight on the other side. He immediately took a deep breath, exhaling with a long sigh. Outside the stone walls and merwolf moat, he could finally breathe.

Watford Town was the biggest collection of people in the Watford Kingdom. (Both were called Watford, which made geography lessons far too confusing in Simon’s opinion.) Large, tall houses lined busy dirt streets. Stalls were filled with people shouting out prices of their wares. Everyone was bustling and talking and laughing. Soldiers stood on street corners, watching everyone move. Simon strolled past all of them with hands in his pockets. A few of them went wide eyed seeing him, but most people didn’t even notice he was there. He sighed. This town was his real home. And he missed it all the time.

Simon walked through the downtown to the slight outskirts. He knocked on a familiar red door. A few footstep sounds later, it swung open, and Simon was looking Penelope Bunce right in the eye.

“Hey Pen,” he chirped. “Ebb says hi.”

Penny smirked. “Did you have to sword fight Davy to get him let you out during the day?”

Simon grinned even more. “Nope. He just let me go.”

“Wow. Is our good ol’ King going soft in his old age?”

“I’m not sure that’s possible,” he scoffed. “Can I come in? Or has your Mum finally officially banned me?”

Penny barked a laugh and steps to the side. “Like she could stop me. Get in here, you royal bastard.”

Simon whipped off his scarf off and stepped into the Bunce house. It was big, but not as big as the castle, and it felt much smaller with two adults and four children all together. Simon didn’t mind. He preferred the cozy family feeling here to his large, empty supposed palace.

“How’s the castle been?” Penny asked. Simon groaned and flopped on one of the chairs. “That good, huh?”

Simon grunted. “Bloody nightmare. I thought David was demanding while we were in school, but now he’s got me reading even more books. I think I’m going to slice my throat on a policy manual page one of these days.”

“Oh the horror of reading. Want tea?”

“Yes please. And I’m fine with reading interesting books. But these ones have too many complicated words and not enough pictures.”

Penny sighed heavily as she boiled the kettle with her wand. “I sometimes wonder why we’re friends.”

Simon twisted his head around towards the kitchen with his sunshine smile. “Because I’m nice and charming and you love me.”

“True, untrue, and yes, I do, despite my better judgement.” Penny turned to him. She was smiling a bit, but her eyes were sad. “It’s sort of weird, y’know, not seeing you everyday at school. It’s been almost a year, and it’s still weird.”

Simon sighed. He got up from the chair and strolled over to her. He draped himself over Penny like an affectionate ragdoll, chin on her head and arms around her neck. “I miss you too, Pen.”

Penelope sighed and sunk into his arms for a second. But then struggled out of his grip as the kettle whistled. “Yeah, yeah, I miss you, you big softy. Now get off me and let me make the tea.”

“Of course, will do.” He planted a big wet kiss on her cheek before flopping back to the chair. Penny soon brought over two cups with steaming tea. She took the seat opposite him, and sighed after a long drink. Her whole body relaxed. And it looked like she needed it.

“So,” Simon said, “how’s the new job?”

Penny groaned. “Horrible. You’d think there’d be better work here for a mage, but there seems to be little good use for us outside court or in the North where Micah is. Which means I’m stuck trying to sell cooking ware to people on the street.”

“I wish I could help, Pen,” Simon sighed. “If I become king, I’ll make you and Micah court mages. And you’ll be my head advisor and court mage, promise.”

She gave Simon a strange look over her cup. “You mean ‘when you’re king’, Simon, right?”

Simon sunk into his chair. He shrugged his shoulders high and slumped down. Penny slowly put her tea down and leaned forward. “Simon, you’re the crown prince. You were specifically chosen by King David to be his heir.”

“I know,” he grumbled.

“You can’t pretend you’re not anymore.”

“I know.”

“You have to accept the responsibility of-”

“I know!”

The whole house shook slightly. The side table fell over and a crack appeared in the nearby wall. Simon was horrified, his gut twisting with guilt. He put down his cup and rubbed his face up and down. Stupid magic,he thought, never listens.

“Sorry,” he groaned. “Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have lost my temper and this is your house and I’m damaging it. Sorry-”

“Hey, Simon,” Penny stepped out of her chair and stood in front of her friend. She put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright. I shouldn’t have pushed you. I just, I hoped you would have accepted this by now.”

Simon sighed, slumping forward. “Yeah, me too. Guess not.” He ran a nervous hand through his tangled hair. “I just don’t know how I’m supposed to be a king. I barely passed my civics classes, I hate policy, I’m terrible at speaking, I can barely use this supposedly amazing magic I have. I’m never going to be like David.”

“Dear Lord, I hope not.” Simon gave Penny a weird look. “Simon, King Davy has made some good changes, but he does it with an iron fist. He just barrels through no matter what the lords or the people say. That’s not a good ruler, that’s a tyrant.”

“Don’t call him that. He’s not all bad. He took me in.”

Penelope sighed, patting him kindly. “I know. Just, don’t try to be like David, Si. Be like you.”

Simon reached up and squeezed her hand. “Okay. And you’ll be my top advisor. Or bodyguard, like Premal.”

She groaned, immediately pulling away from her friend. “Please never compare me to my brother ever again. The boy has a stick jammed so far up his arse you could mistake him for a statue.”

“Too true. He’s so still and slomen that I sometimes I run into him.”

“Please keep doing that. It might make him loosen up.”

Simon sunk further into his chair. “Hm, I’ll try.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead. It still felt weird from his crown. It always did. “I don’t want to go back to the castle tonight. David’s going to make me read the geography book again.”

“Well,” Penny said playfully, “I’m not working tonight. We could go exploring the Wavering Wood, like our school days.”

“But we’ve explored all The Wavering Wood,” Simon whined. But quickly, like a lightning flash, an idea came into his wild head. He grinned mischievously. Penny instinctively leaned back.

“I don’t like that look, Simon.” She raised a cautious hand raised.

He stood up, hands on his hips in triumph. “We can explore the Forbidden Lands!”

Penny groaned. She shook her hanging head and walked towards the kitchen. As well as away from her insane friend. “I knew you would say that and I still can’t believe it,” she muttered.

“C’mon, Pen, it could be fun! We’ve been through the Wood enough. We’re old pros. This would be a new adventure!” He followed after her, practically vibrating behind her as she put away the tea blocks.

“Si, the Wavering Wood may be dense, but the Forbidden Lands are different. They’re actually treacherous. Lots of steep slopes and dangerous animals. We could get seriously hurt.”

Simon waved dismissively. “You’ve got good magic, I’ve got a sword, we’ll be fine.”

Penny gave him an unamused look over her glasses. But when Simon put on his pathetic pout, her resolve buckled. He hugged her from the behind. “Please Pen? We don’t even have to go that far in. I just want to go explore somewhere new, have some fun. Like the old days.”

She still looked unamused, but Simon pouted more, rubbing up against her hair like the affectionate puppy he sometimes was. “Please?”

Penelope stayed stoic for only a few more seconds. But soon enough she sighed, posture falling along with her resolve. “Fine,” she groaned, “we’ll go exploring.”

That made Simon, crown prince of all of Watford and most powerful mage in the land, squeal like an excited school boy. He jumped up and down while saying, “thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“I hope you know that if you die, it’ll be my head on a pike. So stay alive.”

“Of course! And I’ll pay you back. Get you some fancy herbs from the court mage’s cabinet.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Si.”

He hugged her tight again. “I wouldn’t expect anything else from you.”

Penny leaned against him. Simon put his cheek on her hair. He really did miss this. Mage’s School was tough, what with his lack of magical raising and previous poor schooling, but he met Penelope and Agatha. And for the first time in his life, he had real friends. He never thought he needed one until them. Now, he missed seeing them everyday so damn much.

Simon wanted an adventure. Like the great magical prince he thought he would be the day David took him in. Just one. That was all he needed.

———————————————

AN: If you're enjoying it so far, go to chapter 2 right here.

[catalinda04]

Carried Away Chapter 30: Christmas Eve Morning

Masterlist

NSFW

Christmas Eve morning Henry awoke curled around Lucy, his arm wrapped around her waist, and her bottom nestled into his groin. Lucy awoke to Henry’s hands gliding over her body, and his lips caressing her neck. She sighed warmly as his hands explored her curves. Lucy turned her head to kiss his sleep warm lips.

Her hands reached behind her to grasp his hair, as his fingers plundered between her legs. As her body responded to his caresses, Lucy’s hands slid south, to return his intimate attentions.

When at last he lifted her leg to wrap around his hip and entered her with one long smooth stroke, Lucy let out a groan of approval, her body welcoming him. Their bodies rocked together, drowsily greeting day with their shared moans of pleasure.

As Lucy rested her head on Henry’s chest, listening to his heartbeat, he spoke their first words of the day. “Do you know what my favorite thing is?” He asked, absentmindedly running his hand up and down her spine.

“Morning sex?” She replied cheekily.

His laugh reverberated against her ear “No, though that’s pretty high on the list. It’s waking up with you; waking up and knowing when I open my eyes, you will be the first thing that I see.”

After a moment, Lucy spoke, her voice wavered slightly, “That’s my favorite thing too.” She agreed.

Much later, as they considered getting out of bed to start the day, Lucy asked, “What’s on the agenda for today?”

Henry couldn’t stop his smile, planning was in this woman’s DNA. “Sometime after breakfast, we’ll all go to mum and dad’s. My brothers will go shooting this morning, before returning for lunch. Mass is at 4:00 before we return home for dinner. Tomorrow everyone will meet for breakfast to watch the little ones open presents from Father Christmas, before our big Christmas lunch.

“If your brothers are going shooting, what are you doing? Are you not going with them?”

“I thought I’d stay with you.” Henry replied kissing her forehead.

“If your brothers are going, and if this is something you do every year, you should go. I’ll be fine back with the other women. I’m sure your sisters-in-law will be nice to me. Your mom already likes me.” She reminded him.

Lucy and Henry were the last to arrive at the house that morning. After some good natured ribbing about having a hard time getting out of bed that morning. Henry and the boys left to shoot skeet, leaving Lucy with his mother, and 4 sisters-in-law.

The women chatted about their lives, and their husbands. They asked Lucy questions about her life and her relationship with Henry. They were all friendly, but there was an icy distance about them. Lucy got the feeling she was being very stealthily interrogated.

About an hour before lunch, Henry’s sister-in-law Eva stood-up when a baby cried from the next room. She returned with a chubby baby in a hunter green sleeper.

“Oh, my goodness. Who is this sweet little one?” Lucy asked, her eyes bright.

“This is Benjamin. Would you like to hold him?”

“Oh, my goodness.” Lucy whispered, gathering the little boy close.

“How old is he?” Lucy inquired, bouncing the little boy in her arms.

“8 months.” Eva replied.

“He must be the christening that Henry mentioned this summer.” Lucy said, putting the pieces together.”

“Yes, Henry is his godfather.” Eva confirmed.

The ladies continued to talk while Lucy played with the little boy, occasionally adding her own input.

“You’re a natural there, Lucy. I don’t think he’s giggled that much with anyone else.” Eva commented.

“I have a niece and nephew of my own. I just love babies.” she explained.

“Any plans for any of your own?” Sienna, Nik’s wife, asked.

“Oh, well,” Lucy stammered, “in the future, yeah. I’d love to have kids, but right now, well it’s a little complicated. Henry and I don’t even live in the same time zone, and it’s only been 6 months. Though I’d love to have a baby with Henry,” She gestured to the kids playing on the floor, “The Cavill men obviously make very pretty babies. But I’m just old fashioned enough to need to be married before I get pregnant.” Lucy didn’t mention that she and Henry had already discussed babies, and how they might fit into their lives. She’d leave that for maybe her second visit.

The men arrived home just in time for lunch. Henry walked into the living room to find Lucy. She was there with his brothers’ wives, and she was holding his nephew Ben. Her smile practically lit-up the room. She looked up when he entered. And though it seemed impossible, her smile grew even wider.

“Hi babe.” She greeted him. He walked over to give her a kiss, before seating himself on the arm of her chair.

“Hank, not in front of my kid would you.” Simon called from the doorway. At hearing his father’s voice, Ben’s head turned. He smiled and lifted his arms to his daddy. Simon crossed the room to take his son in his arms before claiming a spot next to his wife.

Lunch was a very informal affair with sandwiches and “crisps” as Lucy was corrected, when she called them chips. After lunch was eaten and cleared, Henry announced he was going to take Lucy for a walk to show her around.

“Just be sure not to take her too far, there Hank” Charlie said suggestively, ever the little brother.

Henry opened his mouth to respond, but Lucy beat him to it. “What would be the fun in that?” She winked at him as Henry took her by the hand and led her out the door. She wrapped her arm around his waist, and he draped his arm across her shoulders as they walked along the road.

“I can’t believe how beautiful it is here. And warm.” She commented lifting her face to the sun.

“This is actually quite a chilly day for the island. Ordinarily I would have said cold, but given the temperatures when we left Minnesota, this seems practically tropical. London will be cooler, and probably rainy.” He said leading Lucy down a track that crossed the road.

“Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see. This was my favorite spot when I was a boy. It’s where I came to do all of my big thinking, or get some peace from my brothers.”

“Do they like me?” Lucy asked self-consciously.

“I’ve heard good things. That comment before we left, will no doubt raise you in their esteem.” He chuckled.

“I don’t think your sisters-in-law like me.”

“Why do you say that?” He puzzled.

“They weren’t rude or mean, but it was a bit frosty in the room this morning.”

“I’m sure it’s all in your head. They’re all amazing women. We Cavill men have spectacular taste in women.” he said pulling her closer to kiss her temple.

They arrived at a waist high stone wall, in the shape of a U, obviously the remnants of some long forgotten building, with what appeared to be a seat built of some of the fallen stones. “Here it is. My fort.”

“Your fort. How cute.” Lucy, covered her mouth, picturing a young Henry, tromping out to this place to be away from his brothers for a bit.

“It’s not cute, it’s rugged and adventurous.” He defended.

“Of course it is.” Lucy replied sitting on the wall. “So what kind of things would you think about when you came here?”

“Mostly girls.” He laughed sitting on the wall beside her.

“And how many girls have you brought here?”

“Including you? One.”

“Now, that sounds like a line.” She laughed.

“It’s true.” He defended. “This has always been my place. I haven’t had anyone else I wanted to share it with.” He confessed, sliding his arm around Lucy, pulling her close for a kiss. He kept his arm around her, as she laid her head against his chest.

“If I asked you to marry me right now, what would you say?” Henry asked quietly.

Chapter 29

Chapter 31