#since you guys were such rockstars and we tied HERE

[tangledinink]

Is there a usagi in Gemini Au?

If there is, is leo and usagi together?

the gemini.

[ next ]

[xanticore]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐘

Part two

Genre: angst

Setting: early 2000s ,, L.A.

Warnings: mentions of alcohol and drug addiction. Sex addiction. lots and lots of cursing. he cheats. (the horror) slight mentions of suicide. slight grammar errors im writing this at 3 am.

Summary: Jungkook was always one to have his anger get the best of him...that was only because of the amount of drugs and alcohol he abuses in his daily life. When you first met him, you knew he had personal problems but he never discussed those things with you. One night after a show, you wanted to talk about his habits and something snapped in him. You don't know if you're able to even look at him again.

Rockstar!Jungkook - he sings and plays guitar.

Jungkook had some problems...mentally. And you knew it, and so did his band mates. You were the type to try and ignore it and see the good in him for the most part. Certain times, Jungkook was definitely a good boyfriend to you. He would buy you expensive bouquets, new clothes, and even jewlery; but that was all during a time where he was sober. You don't know what happened to make him relapsed and you honestly tried to retrace your steps.

It gotten so hard on you, to the point Jaehyun, his bandmate that plays drums, had to remind you countless times that none of this wasn't your fault. You couldn't help but still have it on your mind though.

Kook distanced himself from you and he rarely ever calls you. You tried to call him but you would always hear that he was either unavailable or worse, just a dead line- no one would even pick up. Overthinking with such a guy like him was inevitable. You didn't know what he was doing because you couldn't even get a hold of him. You tried your best to let him be an adult and let him just comeback on his own; but that never worked out in the end.

So you decided to take matters into your own hands. Jaehyun contacted you that they would be during their last show of their tour in downtown L.A. at the metal club. You we're excited but very disappointed in how Jungkook didn't tell you but someone else did. You shrugged it off and made your way towards the club.

The show went on as planned and they performed- in a sense good. The other members were flawless with their instruments but you noticed that Kook wasn't doing so well. It was unusual for him to even slip up a riff. You sighed already could tell he had some alcohol in his system. It was even obvious in his singing. You looked over at the bassist and the other guitar player-Yugyeom and Eunwoo. The two seemed to take notice of Jungkooks performance and how it can affect the rest of the members and song all together.

Luckily, the show went on and managed to have the crowd cheering and screaming. You went backstage and waited for them to come out. Each member greeted you with a warm smile and Jaehyun stopped for a moment.

"You noticed?"

"Yeah...he's drunk. He was already in a shit mood ever since this morning. When he sees you, hopefully that sour attitude changes."

Jaehyun said before shaking his head. "If he does anything to you..let me know. Ok?" You nodded at his request and that nearly had your hair on your arms sticking up. At last Jungkook came off stage already having a beer bottle in his hand. He saw you and just rolled his eyes which you was taken aback by that action of his. "What are you doing here (name)?" He said nonchalantly, as if he didn't wanted you there in the first place.

"Jaehyun was nice enough to tell me you were doing your last tour stop here. Ughh Kook, you fucking reek of alcohol-"

Jungkook just chuckled and took a swig of his beer. "And this? can we talk about how you just relapsed out of nowhere and how you never return my calls? You've been so distant with me lately." You snapped at him as you watched him, carelessly drink his drink. "I've been busy-"

"Drinking and doing coke isn't being 'busy' you need serious help Jungkook and your band mates is slowly getting sick and tired of your behavior and so am I!"

"I don't fucking care what they think. I'm living my best fucking life as much as possible trying to keep myself fucking happy in this world!"

"So doing this is your solution?!"

"Yeah. Drugs, beer, a good fuck with a girl who isn't bugging me 24/7 trying to get in contact with me"

That was it. You froze for a moment and all the color on your face has drained as your heart sunk. Jungkook still didn't realize what he said. You watched him throw away the bottle, taking out a cigarette and lighting it with his lighter afterwards. You didn't have the energy to even comment on it but you were more worried about his wellbeing.

"Why? just....just why are you trying to kill yourself like this?" You said trying to not choke up on your words.

"Im tired. I kinda do wanna sleep." Kook replied, exhaling the nicotine. "also I wanna get away from you. i'm sick of you..."

im sick of you

im sick of you

You couldn't help but repeat those harsh words over and over. You couldn't tell if the alcohol or drugs were talking or Jungkook himself. He still had no reaction to what he said but you was already too weak to even argue with him. You felt tears roll down your cheeks and heard a sigh coming from him. "Look, I gotta go. I can't be here while you're crying like this-"

He walked passed you so carefree. He didn't even bother to look back as he walked down the hallway. After that, you knew it'll be the last time you talked with him. You felt like he didn't need you so why should you continue to care.

You left the club alone without your boyfriend that you once cherished and cared about.

Extra: 6 months later. Jungkook was in rehab in a therapy session. Told in Kooks pov.

I was in my therapy session and I told my therapist about my problems I had with the things I do. I've been told things that I regret saying to my girlfriend. I was just too upset with everyone and high off my fucking mind to the point she stopped all contact.

I wanted to go back to my habits again but that would only cause me more unwanted trauma. I was still in denial after what Jaehyun told me. I seriously don't remember anything from that night...and it pisses me off.

After receiving the news I've gotten from my brother, my whole world crashed and I wanted a way to get out of here. I couldn't bare just being here I was mentally and physically exhausted with my life. Nothing was making me happy and touring definitely didn't help. I grew an unhealthy addiction with sex. I had sex with many woman not caring in the slightest I was taken. Not caring I had someone worried about me back at home.

I really loved (name)...I really did. In the beginning; I tried my absolute hardest to stay away from the dark. She was my light.

"It seems you wasn't ready..."

"I wasn't. I wish I could go back in time and changed everything."

a/n : Yay or nah? Lowkey was in my feelings but i wanted to write angst.

dividers: cr to owners

[urfavoritegirlkisser]

"Midnight Rain" II - Rockstar!Ellie Williams x Popstar!Reader

an - wow i did not expect you guys to like this idea so much, if you haven't read part one i would go ahead and read it first before reading this part!! Enjoy!

I don't consent to anyone sharing my work anywhere else, I only post my writing on this tumblr account, do not steal my work

Tags: Fem!popstar!reader, rockstar!Ellie, we're burning slow here my loves, fake dating trope, no outbreak au, angst, slight anxious!reader, Ellie is a little bit of a player and kind of an asshole sorry pookies, lightly proof read, listen to "lucky" by britney spears it literally inspired this entire idea

So apparently you lied to yourself and no one forgot it happened

Two months. It had been two months since you had seen that article and left Ellie’s hotel room, and people couldn’t seem to let it go.

Edits of the two of you filled your for you page, fans brought signs to your shows asking about you and Ellie, and honestly, you were sick of it.

It didn’t help that your management thought it was a great idea because it gained traction for both you and Ellie’s fan bases.

So now you sit in a meeting with Ellie and your managers as they discuss another appearance from the two of you together.

This was your least favorite part of being a pop star, the fame, and your fans were amazing, but most of your choices weren’t your own; they were for the “brand” your management wanted to maintain.

“Sounds good to me” Ellie speaks up, breaking you from your thoughts as you look at her like she has two heads and scoff

“I’m sorry but weren’t you the one telling me that you had your precious reputation to uphold and couldn’t be tied down with anyone?”, you could feel your anger at the situation growing but knew you should keep yourself from completely losing it

“We both benefit from the attention, that’s more important to me than some silly reputation sweetheart,” she says with that infuriating smirk that lets you think for a moment that her words are truthful

“Fine,” you say, “But this is only going to be a thing for a few months, after my tour is over we are over, got it?” 

Your managers go over the agreements and discuss appearances before the both of you sign, basically binding yourselves to each other for the next six months.

The first appearance was simply Ellie coming to one of your shows

She hangs out with her bandmates Dina and Jesse in the VIP box where they are visible to the fans attending but are secure enough so they don’t get mobbed and can enjoy the show comfortably.

You make sure to direct most lyrics in the more romantic songs on your set list toward Ellie and can tell that your fans are eating it up.

After the show, your manager escorts you backstage where Ellie is waiting, noticing that it’s visible by some fans lingering in the upper levels.

Your manager pushes you toward Ellie and you plaster on a fake smile, running up to her and hugging her tightly.

Ellie kisses your cheek lovingly and it sends a jolt of sadness through you as you look into her eyes, wishing the look of care on her face was real.

“Smile, people are watching” she whispers into your ear while letting her hand slip to your waist and letting the other cup your jaw to tilt your face to hers.

You shake off the creeping feeling of anxiety at so many cameras on the two of you and smile softly, letting Ellie lead you into a quick kiss before parting and being led back to your dressing room by your manager.

You get back to your hotel that night and scroll mindlessly through your feed of constant videos from tonight, some of you performing, some of Ellie in the VIP box, and plenty of when the two of you met after the show.

You scroll through the comments of fans raving about how happy the two of you look with tears in your eyes

If only they knew

an - I listened to my sad girl hours playlist for this, I hope you enjoyed it!! Now go drink water you girl kissers xoxo

[porchlightfairy]

Shoot for the Moon part 1

part 1 | part 2

rockstar!eddie x reader

summary: Eddie returns home under particular circumstances.

warnings: major character death. cancer mention

wc: 1.4k+

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

You and Eddie were high school sweethearts. The true definition of forever. Everyone thought you two were soulmates. You supported Eddie through his music and he was so happy to start a family with you. You guys had gotten married young and you were ready to settle down and start a family.

But at the same time Eddie’s music career was moving rather quickly. You had discussed that if anything major were to happen you would stick together through it all. But that changed once Eddie was given the chance to perform to music producers. It seemed like everything you built in your lives came crumbling down. It had been several weeks since you and Eddie had seen each other. It was like you were playing chase on the telephone not being able to get ahold of one another long enough.

Eddie sat at the payphone in the venue praying that you would pick up. He was in California while you were probably in bed in Indiana. After the second to last ring, he hears the line pick up, “Hello?” You mumble.

“Hey baby! I know it’s late but I let the week slip by and I forgot to call you earlier. There’s just been a lot going on—”

“Eddie, it’s 2 in the morning. You thought now was a good time to call?” You sigh

“I know, I know, I’m really sorry. A lot has been going on, I’m sorry.”

“It seems like you can’t answer the phone when you tell me when to call but now is a good time for you. Whatever it is, I am sure it can wait.” You grumble, “Eddie, I’m tired and I don’t want to deal with this, I’ve got errands to run in the morning. Call me at a reasonable hour?” 

“Wait, baby, let me just tell you—” The line goes dead. Eddie hangs up the phone. He wouldn’t be able to call you back. You never seemed to be around to answer his calls. And his uncle claimed to not see you around either. You had drifted too far apart for him to even talk to you.

Years had passed and Eddie was on the up and up with his band Corroded Coffin. They were on the cover of Rolling Stones, reached the top 100 of Billboard, and accumulated millions through album sales and concert ticket sales. 

Being the frontman of the group came with its perks as well. He was everyone’s favorite and had a tendency to be abrasive. Chicks on his arm every night, signing boobs, and just being all around vulgar. And even as the group got older they were still the same. However, as things start to slow down for their music careers, Eddie is going to get some terrible news.

He wakes up in a plush bed tangled in sheets and limbs, he slips out of bed and heads downstairs for some breakfast. When he reaches the bottom step he sees his manager and the rest of the band sitting in his living room with sullen faces. “Jesus, who crapped in your guys’ captain crunch.”

“Eddie,” His manager, Bobby, sighs.

He laughs at his own joke not hearing his manager speak before heading into the kitchen to get something to eat. “Well, since you guys are here, we should talk about the next album, sounds good?”

“Eddie.” He says again.

“Look, I know what you’re going to say. We should be keeping up appearances for right now but I was kinda hoping for a rebrand of some sort, like a new paint job or—”

“Eddie!” Bobby shouts. Eddie stops in his tracks, “Just stop for a minute okay. We need to talk.”

“About what?” He scoffs, “Why do you all look like someone died?”

“Because,” Bobby sighs again, “Your ex-wife, Eddie, she passed away.”

Eddie’s heart sinks into his stomach and his ears begin to burn red hot. He couldn’t be hearing that right. You were dead. Gone. No longer living, existing anymore? He swallows hard and blinks a few times, “What… uh… what happened? What happened to her?”

“Cervical cancer.” Bobby looks to the floor. “It was unexpected, her lawyer contacted me and it appeared unexpectedly….”

He can’t hear anymore. He recalls the last time he saw you, in the courthouse for your divorce. You both sat in silence as you negotiated with each other the circumstances, alimony and the like. You didn’t want any of his new money, you just wanted the marriage to be nullified.

He sits on a stool and lets out a shaky breath. “Eddie? Eddie? Did you hear me?”

“Huh?” His face had gone pale, “What… what’d you say?”

“You should take some time, go back home, and go to the burial.” Bobby says. “I know your head is probably swimming right now so we’re going to go but please Eddie, don’t stay here in darkness, okay?”

Each of his bandmates give him a pat on the shoulder and a hug for comfort before taking their leave. Eddie throws out the people in his bed and he slowly begins to pack. With a shaky hand he dials his uncle’s number. He holds his breath as he waits for an answer. He felt ashamed that this was the only time that he had actively sought out for his uncle. Now that you are dead.

“Hello?” He hears the familiar grovel of Wayne’s voice on the line.

“Hey, Wayne. It’s been, it’s been a long time huh?” Eddie hears the quiver in his own voice.

There’s silence on the other end, “So you heard.”

“Y-yeah,” He clears his throat, “I’m packing now to come home. I know, its fucked up of me but I just I need to.”

“I understand, son. I’ll be waiting for ya.” He says.

And with that, the call ends and Eddie sits in silence as he prepares himself to go back home. The musician gets a red eye flight to Indianapolis where he would take a greyhound all the way to his uncle’s house.

Eddie felt his heart sink as he got closer and closer to his destination. He hadn’t visited home since leaving it all behind. The divorce was the last time he set foot in Hawkins. Packing his stuff in a moving van and never seeing you again. His heart twangs as he thinks about it.

Soon he arrives at his uncle’s hand and sees the man waiting outside for him. “Eddie,” He stands up as Eddie approaches. They hug in a familiar embrace, then Wayne packs her back. “You look good.”

Eddie lets out a soft chuckle, “Heh, not like you don’t see me on the tv all the time.”

“Mmh, good to see you in person.” He holds the younger man’s face in his hands. His eyes were saddened. “Eddie, I’ve got to tell you something important.” He holds Eddie’s shoulder as he walks they walk into the house.

Instantly, Eddie is hit with a sudden warmth from the house. It felt lived in. He walks further into the house when he notices several frames in the living room. “Eddie, listen, a lot has happened since you’ve been gone. And she really didn’t want to say anything about it because…” Wayne watches as Eddie steps closer to the frames. He has trouble forming the words as Eddie looks at the pictures on the wall.

Eddie stares intensely at the images. There was you smiling with a black and white ultrasound photo in your hand. Next to that was a picture of you and Wayne, he had his hand on your stomach and you had little pink booties in yours. It’s a girl was spelled on a banner above your heads. 

Eddie’s ears grew hot as he continued to look at the photos. There was a picture of you in the hospital holding a baby in your arms, tears in your eyes. Then a first birthday, then a second, third and so on. This little girl is at the center of them all. She had a beautiful smile like her mom and large brown eyes. Eyes that stared back at him everytime he looked in the mirror.

“She didn’t want to tell you any of this. She thought it was for the best that you didn’t know her.”

Eddie’s lip quivers, his mouth is dry as he stares in disbelief. Just as he is about to speak he hears footsteps traveling down the stairs, “Grandpa have you seen mom’s…” Eddie turns around and sees a young girl standing on the steps. A spitting image of her mother except those eyes, the pools of primordial darkness that stared back at him.

“Are you… Are you my dad?”

[moranasgrave]

Thinking about Moving in with Rockstar!Connie

warnings : NSFW, a lot of kinky shit idk, cursing, not proofread i’ll come back later n do it lmao i’m tired gang 🤣 (this will probably be a fic soon too i have a lot of ideas for rockstar connie 😏)

You’ve finally made the big step of moving in with your boyfriend connie springer.

He’s the lead singer and electric guitar player in his band ‘DOOM’ named by him of course. He was tired of getting apartments with his friends and he wanted to finally have some peace and quiet with his girl.

You guys met at one of his concerts a few months back. You absolutely entranced him. The smudged black eyeliner you had on, your short black skirt with the lace underneath, the bone clips and your ripped up black tights, tied together with the large tshirt with the bands name on the front.

You nearly made him mess up one of his riffs because he was staring so hard.

You also thought he was so fucking hot. easily the hottest one out of all 4 memebers, Eren, Armin, and Jean being the other 3. They were cute but Connie just had that way about him and that bright smile with all those sexy tattoos. Always wearing his black eyeliner smudged around his eyes and sometimes his lips as a clown look. He sung so beautifully and heartfelt you felt like he was speaking directly to you. His voice was your favorite sound in the world.

He brought you backstage after the show to get to know you. You guys clicked instantly, ever since then he’s been so obsessed with having you around. He would even bring you on stage with him at concerts after you guys got serious, of course bitches we’re jealous, but that’s the price of dating a celebrity. Connie didn’t care though, watching you dance so passionately eyes not moving from him once, made him fall so hard for you.

Connie got you guys a nice small little house in the town were the paparazzi and fans won’t find him. He made the basement a studio so his band could still practice there from time to time. He made sure you had a separate room to yourself for your hobbies too of course. His princess had everything she wanted in this small castle of theirs.

Your chilling in the studio with just the 3xl version of the band tee you have and some panties, playing with some random tracks like you always do.

Connie barges in the room with nothing on but some socks and a tight pair of boxers. “Ah there’s my princess, what you doing in here”, he says smiling as he makes his way over to you sliding in the rolling chair beside you.

His body was your weakness, riddled with so many tattoos on almost every part of his body. His abs weren’t rock hard but his skin was always so soft and smooth you preferred it. His fat bulge always prominent even on soft. Just looking at him made you horny. “Nothin im jus playing around with the sound board, so wassup with today”.

Connie could barely contain himself right now. Seeing you in his shirt knowing you had only had panties on right now was making him feel like a caveman. Sure he’s seen quite of few girls in bed, but they could never compare with you. Everytime he looked at you all he could think about was how he wanted to fuck you next. You were his weakness, sexually and emotionally everything about you was so sexy.

“The boys are coming over to practice in a couple hours so i figured we could break the house in before they come”, he scoot closer and pulls you into his lap. You feel his large bulge already growing as you turn around to straddle him. He pulls you in for a slow sensual kiss bringing his hand under your shirt feeling up your breast.

He moans as you start grinding on him slowly, tucking your arms under his. He takes his hand off your beast breaking the kiss to slide his boxers off. You slide your panties off too and start grinding on him again harder this time. He takes your nipple in his mouth looking up at you with his eyes half lidded. You moan loudly when he suddenly slides inside of you. “The studio is done, let’s go to the next”, he rasps between his moans.

He stands up with you straddling him still, him getting deeper inside of you as he stands up. He walks you guys into the bathroom putting you up against the wall and slamming into you. You dig your nails down his back causing him to groan pushing deeper into you. “You feel so fucking good, i can’t stand it”, he says going in to start marking up your neck.

“Fuck this, you’re gonna make me cum and i need the bed”, he grabs you off the wall practically bolting to the bedroom. He tosses you in the middle of the bed crawling on top of you and spreading your legs apart. “Look at how wet you already are, god your so fucking sexy y/n”, He waste no time diving his tongue into your folds, licking and sucking at your clit like he’s hungry.

You clutch your legs around his head feeling overwhelmed by all the moving. He forcibly spreads them apart again licking slower and looking you in the eyes. “Fuck connie..i’m gonna cum”, you moan as you buck your hips further into his tongue. “Cum with me baby”, He says as he trails his way back up to your lips, slowly sliding himself back into you. You squeeze your eyes shut already feeling that knot in your stomach untangle. Connie breaks the kiss sitting up again pounding harder and slower into you.

You feel his dick twitch inside you, “Oh my fucking god i’m gonna cum princess, cum with me”, he says throwing his head back in pure bliss, eyes rolling to the back of his head. Seconds later your feel your knot snap finally releasing yourself on him, his cum filling you simultaneously.

He bends back down kissing you slowly, “Next time we’ll hit every room, your too sexy right now i lost my cool”, he says rolling to the side of you. You laugh and peck him on the nose “I’ll hold you to that rockstar”.

[ifhymona]

٭* Not Too Late *٭

Chapter 7 | chino moreno x reader

chapter 6 ~ chapter 8 | AO3

912 words

i can’t sleep. the gig is tomorrow and my mind was racing. not about the gig, but about chino. well a little about the gig too. but for the most part, i couldn’t help but think about all the things abe told me.

this isn’t supposed to be happening. chino’s my best friend. why does he have to make my heart race all the time?

i started thinking back about my feelings for him back in high school. i felt like i was my teenage self again. dumb and naive about love. i haven’t felt like this in years.

i thought i was over chino. you’d think that i was given enough time to get over him. but apparently not. ever since chino has been back in my life, i always feel an intense wave of emotions wash over me around him. he’s just so effortless. it’s fun having a crush but i had a bad feeling about this. chino is a rockstar, someone worthy for the entire world to see. me on the other hand, what do i have to offer? i sighed to myself. i need to get some sleep.

~

the long awaited gig is now here. they haven’t toured or done any shows in a awhile since they’ve been working on around the fur so much. so this is pretty big. plus more coverage.

chino was supposed to pick me up first so it was time to start getting ready. i put a little black eyeshadow on and put eyeliner on my waterline with some mascara. i combed my hair and grabbed the clothes i was gonna wear. i put on a black tank top with my black shorts and fishnets. to accessorize, i wore a studded belt. i put on my green sweater and tied the laces to my green converse.

i heard a honk from outside. chino’s here. we still had around five hours before the show so we can prepare the venue.

i walked out looking down at my feet nervously. i hope chino doesn’t think i look bad.

i opened the car door and closed it as i sat down. as i was putting my seat belt on, i felt a certain pair of eyes on me. i turned my head to chino. he had frosted tips and heavy eyeliner around his eyes. he was wearing a grey shirt with some black cargo pants and had spiky bracelets on both of his wrists.

he looked me up and down. i started growing nervous. i spoke before he could. “copycat. why’d you have to steal my makeup look?” i smirked while pushing his chest back.

he put his hand over his chest. “cmon baby, don’t do me like that.” he smiled while leaning in towards me. my heart started beating out of my chest. i impulsively turned my face away. oh god i’m such an idiot! why did i turn my face?

“maybe next time.” he smirked and drove away.

~

after our little moment, we picked up the rest of the band and moved all of the instruments over to the venue. i spent most of those hours bringing in boxes full of their merchandise, setting up the merch stand and making sure everything was in place. i was able to hire some people to work the merch stand so i can watch the show.

we were all backstage. everybody else were making sure their instruments were perfect since there were around ten minutes left before the show starts.

“are you nervous?” i asked chino. he was peaking out the curtain, looking at the vast crowd. it was loud from everybody waiting for the show to start. chino turned around to me.

“yeah a little. even if i’ve done this dozens of times, i think i’ll always be nervous before a show.” he looked down at his shoes scratching the back of his neck. i stared at him. when he looked back at me, i didn’t look away this time. we held eye contact.

he looked me up and down. “you look amazing.” he said breathlessly.

i couldn’t help but look down making my hair cover my face. a growing feeling in my chest made it hard stand straight. leave it to chino to make my knees weak even when i try not to.

“thanks.” i softly laughed.

“no seriously y/n, you look good.” i felt his eyes piercing through me. has he been staring at me this whole time?

before i got to say anything, i got cutoff by the sound guy. “five minutes guys!”

i changed the topic. i never really liked being talked about, good or bad. “i’m excited to see you guys perform! this will be a first!” i grinned.

“i’m excited for you to see us. i hope you enjoy seeing us on stage.”

“of course i will!” i look out the curtain to really see the crowd for myself. “wow, that’s a lot of people.” my jaw slightly drops looking out into the crowd. i didn’t truly realize how big of a following the band has created until now.

“yeah well, good thing i’m only trying to impress one person.” he teased.

i turn to him, curious on who he’s trying to impress. i don’t ask. “i hope you dazzle them with your wits.” i teased back. we were staring at each other again.

“sorry if i suck tonight.” he chuckled.

“i’m sure you won’t.” i smiled.

a/n: i hope everyone enjoyed today’s chapter ! new chapters will be posted every friday but i will be taking a break soon to catch up on my writing so i hope you guys understand. lots of love <3

[diamaker-moon]

Moving Forward — Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Revealed... (pt. 2)

—————

"Enchanttréx, I am Hawkmoth. You've been betrayed by the person your loved one, I'm giving you the power to expose any secrets that were chosen to be hidden away from the world. In return, you will bring me ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, Hawkmoth."

The purple substance covered the woman in a wedding dress, and when it was gone it left a woman, who has an intricate gold flower-themed headpiece, long black hair that reaches up to her mid-back, a flowy white to black gradient dress, gold strapped heels, white laced gloves that reach up to her forearm and a veil in front of her face.

"It's time to let yourself free from your secrets!" Enchanttréx exclaimed making the nearby Parisians run away in fear and alerting the heroes.

— previous chapter... —

It took quite a while for Ladybug to get to the scene. People were shocked to see Ladybug with a new suit design. Instead of her previous red skintight jumpsuit with black spots. It was changed to a much more detailed suit.

She still wears a skintight jumpsuit but now she had two-inched heeled thigh-high black boots, solid black colour on her waist with inverted red spots instead of black, solid black gloves and her top looks armoured, her collar turns to swan-necked design still black in colour with red lining. Her hair is now tied in a ponytail that reaches up to her mid-back with two red and black ribbons sticking out of the ponytail acting as the antennas, her mask stayed the same.

Ladybug was worried about how to defeat her since she's alone and has no one to trust with the cat miraculous.

Meanwhile, inside the Agreste Mansion, Adrien was frantically searching around his room for his kwami, he kept looking back to his TV watching Ladybug fight the Akuma alone.

"Plagg! Where are you?!"

He didn't notice Ladybug capturing the villain with her yo-yo and snatching her headpiece with the veil attached and breaking it, freeing the Akuma. She captured it then cleansed it and used her miraculous cure to fix everything, reverting the villain to her civilian self in her wedding dress outfit.

She spent a good twenty minutes defeating the villain alone.

The reporters were pushing each other towards Ladybug to get an interview.

"Ladybug! What's with the new outfit? And where is Chat Noir?" Nadja Chamack asked.

Ladybug was about to swing her yo-yo to leave but was bombarded with that question. She sighed and took notice that she only had three minutes before she detransformed.

"The suit is just an outfit change, no need to worry about it. About Chat Noir... He has been relinquished of his miraculous, I have found out about his misdeeds in his civilian life and how he acted during the battles, I had no choice but to take his miraculous for he became unworthy of wielding it anymore. I need to go, I'm about to detransform." She said before waving and finally swinging away.

Adrien was staring at the TV before looking at his hand with the silver ring. He lost his miraculous. He can no longer be Chat Noir.

—————

"Hey, that's a good record!" She said after she had swung to her balcony then detransformed once she stepped inside her bedroom. The kwamis are patiently waiting for her while they eat food.

"He probably heard the news by now..." Marinette mumbled.

"Do you regret it? Taking the miraculous back?" Wayzz asked.

Marinette was in a daze for a moment thinking back to the good memories of them. The day they became heroes, how he supported her, protecting her from harm, their playful banter, everything. But even if she returns the miraculous to him, she can't trust him again. Not now, at the very least.

"No... I have a duty to Paris as Ladybug, but it is also my duty as Guardian to make sure that no miraculous will be used for evil."

Wayzz was pleased. When he first found out that his previous Master was planning to pass to a teenager the Guardianship of the Chinese Miracle Box, he was worried. It will be a huge responsibility for a teenager especially someone who has quite a future to reach, but Marinette has proved him wrong.

Marinette was busy sewing Clara Nightingale's commission not noticing that it was nearing dinner time. Allegra kept glancing at their dormmate's closed door, wondering if Marinette didn't like them, but it was easily dismissed since they have spent quite a while together, thinking that maybe the girl was just busy.

"Hey, Al. Is Marinette still in her room? Dinner's almost ready." Allan said.

He was mostly the cook since it became his habit to always cook with his mother. He had cooked them a lot of meals and sometimes experiments with recipes, but it always turns out good. Claude was preparing the dinner table and Félix was busy reading a book while sitting on a one-seater couch in the living room. 

"She's been in there for quite a while, she might have the soundproof on," Allegra said.

"She might have a commission she's doing." Félix interrupted. Feeling all eyes turn on him.

"How do you know that?" Claude asked in a teasing voice.

"I looked her up to see if she has any social media accounts, I found out she's an aspiring designer with quite the accomplishments." 

The trio was shocked. Allegra was immediately on her phone and searching her dormmate's name on the internet. She was shocked to see her name attached to a famous singer, rockstar, and even a fashion critique!

"Well, try and call her again, Dinner's ready," Allan announced.

Allegra was about to go when Félix beat her to it. She was shocked once again that their resident snob roommate is showing quite the attention to Marinette but she just shrugged it off. Félix stood in front of her door for a minute or two before he knocked.

"Marinette?" Felix called.

Inside, the girl didn't hear the call, but the kwamis did. They flew towards her to inform her that someone is calling her from outside her room. That was when she noticed the time. But it was too late...

The moment she placed down the dress she's embroidering neither her nor the kwamis that was near her, heard her unlocked door open.

When Marinette, whirled around she then froze, staring with wide eyes towards the blonde who was staring at her as well with his hand on her door's doorknob.

The Kwamis were staring at the two and in shame. Plagg was in the middle of swallowing a Camembert wedge then stopped and stared at the guy on the door, Tikki was nibbling her cookie but then paused.

"Uhm... I can explain...? They're... dolls...?" Marinette nervously said.

Félix blinked at her twice before answering, "Dolls? Dolls that are floating and... apparently can eat on their own..."

Marinette bit her bottom lip before breathing in hard. She grabbed Félix's hand then closed the door and made sure it is locked.

"Don't tell me..." Felix started.

Marinette avoided his gaze, "Then... I won't tell you." She said before giving him a sheepish smile.

Félix can only stare at her in bewilderment. His new dormmate, not only an aspiring designer who was done a lot of commissions for famous people, but is also someone important based on the number of the 'dolls' near her.

"Please, Félix... you can't tell anyone!" Marinette pleaded.

"What exactly are they? And how come there are so many of them?" Félix asked.

"... They're kwamis. They are the ones who give powers to Paris' superheroes..." Marietta hesitantly answered.

"And they are so many because... They are under my protection now..." She added.

He stared at her before looking at the dolls— kwamis that are still staring at them. And then looked back at her pleading face, he then also remembered the news of Ladybug relinquishing Chat Noir's miraculous, meaning that she's alone in the battlefield, she's alone against Hawkmoth.

"You're Ladybug... Paris' remaining hero." He said in conclusion only to have it confirmed by her when she looked away to try and avoid his gaze.

"Marinette... what you need is a team. A support team, base on your announcement earlier, you are alone against Hawkmoth. For now... think about it, if you need help, we're here to help. Let's go, dinner's ready." He said before opening her door and gestured for her to go with him to the dining area.

Marinette stared for a second before following him outside of the room, leaving the kwamis inside her bedroom.

"Oopsie...?" Trixx said nervously.

Plagg continued to eat his cheese before saying anything, "Well, the cat's out of the bag."

Some of the kwamis laughed at Plagg's statement, while Tikki looked at him with a deadpanned expression. "This is worrisome! Her secret's exposed!" She said.

"Tikki, calm down. This could be helpful to the Guardian. She could gain a new set of temporary heroes." Wayzz said.

—————

Meanwhile, a seething brunette is pacing back and forth in her room. She cursed Ladybug in Italian for almost ruining her then cursed her in french!

Earlier in the day, Lila, Rose, Juleka and Alix were together getting ice cream from André, when Enchanttréx came across them and hits her with the Akuma's powers. Lila started spewing out the truths while the rest of the girls are gaping at her.

She couldn't stop talking. She spewed out how she threatened Marinette in the bathroom, how she got 'injured' after being 'pushed' by Marinette, her thoughts about the class like how stupid they were, and many more. From her peripheral vision, she saw Ladybug stopped for a moment and glanced at them before swinging away.

Rose was mortified by what she heard.

Juleka was mumbling a lot and glaring at Lila. They didn't even notice her opening her phone and started recording the conversation, not even Lila noticed her.

Alix's angry expression was evident, she openly glared at the Italian brunette.

After a few minutes, the cure was cast, and Lila was trying to fix the situation but the other girls backed away from her and started walking away. Lila stood there for a while before running to their apartment and here she was now.

"That damn bug!" Lila shouted.

Rose and Juleka are currently on the Couffaine Houseboat— The Liberty. Juleka was comforting Rose whose crying a river on her shoulder while keeping an eye for any Akuma coming near. She tried to calm down the blonde, but Rose won't listen. Due to Lila's confession, it was clear that their previous findings were... real.

"Please, Rose... Calm down for a moment..." Juleka pleaded.

She then noticed her brother leaning on the doorway of his and her cabin. Luka Couffaine was starting at the scene in front of him. Deep inside, he was disappointed by his baby sister's choices. Instead of letting her other friends know, she hid it. He doesn't know why Juleka did it, he wanted to trust the girl's decisions, but Luka didn't know if it was the right thing to do.

"... What happened?" He asked, even though he might already have the answer.

Juleka stared at his brother's eyes before answering.

"We made a mistake..." She mumbled.

"She was right... That Lila was a liar, an Akuma happebed earlier, and Lila startes spewing a bunch of things... But..." Juleka added.

"No," Luka refuted.

"You said it yourself, Jules. You became aware of the situation, that someone in your friend group is a liar. Marinette only did what she was supposed to do, she tried to warn you all but only to be dismissed. You can't blame anyone else, Jules. You were warned by a friend, but you chose to go with everyone else and dismissed her claims. Then soon you knew about it, but didn't tell the others. You can't blame Lila here, you were the ones who believe her without any proof. You messed up. That's what happened. And I don't even know if you can still fix your mess..." He added.

Juleka could only drop her head lower due to shame. Rose who was listening to the conversation of the siblings, couldn't stop the aching part in her heart. Both of them know. They were at fault. Not Marinette, not Lila, but for them. They messed up, and by the time they realized their mistake, things might have been too late already.

Alix was back at her house, starting at a rolled-up banner in the corner of her room. A banner made by Marinette. She couldn't believe herself, if not because of that day's Akuma who knows when will they find out.

She pulled out the pocket watch given to her. In her head, she wished that she could turn back time, back to when Marinette was their friend and was warning them about Lila. She wished that she had the Rabbit Miraculous in her hands but she also knows that is a selfish thing to do.

Alix made a mistake. She doesn't know how to solve it. She didn't even know if she could even apologize for her mistake. For once, she desperately wishes that Bunnyx will appear and tell her about the future.

All three girls know that next school morning will be different from what they're used to... And it may not be the same ever again.

—————

The next morning came, Alix, Juleka and Rose were quite surprised that Lila hasn't arrived earlier than them. Alix immediately went to Kim and Max and explained what happened. Everyone could see that the trio that has two troublemakers is in a serious conversation, they could see Max typing furiously on his phone.

Juleka and Rose, however, went to a small group of their classmates. That group consists of Ivan, Mylene, Nathaniel, and surprisingly Sabrina.

But they were more surprised. Sabrina was telling the other three that Lila Rossi is a liar, but due to her reputation that is tied mostly to Chloé Bourgeois, people find it hard to believe. But when Juleka and Rose confirmed it, they were shocked, to say the least. Finding out that a classmate of yours enjoys toying with you to make themselves look popular can put a negative taste in your mouth. They didn't know that Nino arrived, they only noticed when Ivan saw Nino and his left hand raised, looks like to wave to someone, but frozen in his spot.

"... Nino...?" Mylene cautiously asked.

Instead of answering, he pulled out his phone and continued typing. They thought he'll text his girlfriend, but they saw him searching on the internet. Adrian saw his best friend and immediately went up to him, but was surprised at what he was doing.

"What's going on?" He asks.

"Finding out that one of our classmates is a pathological liar..." Rose answered.

Adrian only tilted his head. Juleka who was now being more observant saw his reaction. He wasn't surprised nor agitated that they were being fooled. As if he knows already.

"... Adrien?" Juleka called.

They all looked at her even though he only called the blonde boy. He answered why and looked at her curiously.

"... You knew... Didn't you?" Juleka boldly asked.

Adrian stilled. He started at the goth girl and avoided her eyes. The others saw it and slowly backed away from him.

Adrian looked at Nino, his eyes were pleading him to stay, but Nino shooked his head.

"You knew... Why didn't you say anything?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Nino whispered harshly instead of screaming to avoid making a scene.

Nino looked back to every interaction they had especially when Lila is the topic and when they are blaming Marinette for bullying the new student. Now he understands why Adrien was so quiet, why he was looking at the ravenette then soon avoided the girl's gaze. He looked at the blonde boy in front of him and thought to himself that he doesn't know this person in front of him anymore.

"Marinette knew. She knew that you knew... That's why she was looking at you every time! I thought she's just trying to plead that she's innocent but actually, she's pleading to you to say the truth!" Nino mumbled.

The others stared at Adrien for a moment before looking away, either in shame when they heard Marinette's name or in anger and don't want to do anything stupid. They all slowly left leaving a stunned Adrien and a silent Sabrina. She looked at him and stared. Soon she left as well, while she was walking she was texting Chloé of what happened and about Adrien's knowledge of the situation long ago. Chloé was furious, she thought at least the boy will have the decency to tell a friend or her but he kept it a secret and it led up to this.

Adrien's phone pinged, he pulled it out and was shocked to see what message was sent to him.

Chloé:  I don't know you anymore, Adrien. You knew but said nothing to anyone, not even to me. What kind of friend even are you?

Adrien heard the bell, and reluctantly dragged himself towards his classroom, he saw Nino seating next to his desk, but when he sat down the DJ didn't acknowledge his presence like before. Adrien looked to his right and saw Chloé frowning and ignoring him as well. He thought back to Chloé's last sentence in her message.

She was right. He knew from the very beginning, but he didn't side with the victim, instead, he sided with the bully. What kind of friend even was he? He didn't know either.

Chapter 6 — Moving Forward: Masterlist — Chapter 8

[sunjaesol]

my sweet romantic teenage nights

juke | high school + diner au | title: scenes from an italian restaurant // billy joel

Magenta’s Palace was an artefact from the glorious American Dream; a fluorescent gem wrapped in that 60s architecture and old-fashioned uniforms. It was also the hang-out spot of most LF Arts students, right in the heart of Los Feliz and on most kids’ path.  

Luke used to roll his eyes at the place, thinking it was corny and certainly not the place a punk-rocker like him would go… until he tasted their gnarly waffles. And burgers. And milkshakes. His love for good food trumped his desire for street cred and ended up like the rest of his peers: a regular at MP.

Alex and Reggie never had qualms with it. The former was rather happy Luke got over himself and Reggie was simply pleased to spend more time with his friends. It became tradition to eat there every Friday after school. Sometimes they stayed until the early hours of the night talking, sometimes it was to fuel up before a gig.

Settling in their booth (theirs - Luke has made sure to carve the underside of the table with their names), Luke sighed contently. “Boys, this gig is gonna be fire.”

“I still don’t know how you convinced the guys at Raven’s Nest,” Alex mused, glancing around for a waitress in a candycane-coloured uniform.

Reggie nodded gravely. “Yeah, they’re scary.”

“Used my charm,” he smirked. “Dialled it up like I always do.”

The blonde snorted. “Sure.”

Luke’s face crashed. “Fine. I used our fake’s when he didn’t believe we were eighteen.”

His friends grinned, Alex snapping his fingers. “There it is.”

The chipper Nora glided towards them, slaloming between tables with her notebook. Alex’ remark didn’t bother him, crossing his arms with a shrug. “Does it matter? I got us in. They’re gonna love us. Nay! They’re gonna eat this set up!”

“You better be right - hi, Nora - cause it’s a bar for bikers. Real ass bikers,” Alex replied, shooting Nora a smile.

“Hello, boys,” she greeted, her signature red hair tied in a messy bun. Reg used to have a crush on her when they first visited, until they realised she was twenty-three and in a committed relationship with a guy from USC studying medicine. Yeah, he had no shot. Luke had to console him by buying five chocolate shakes and blasting Elvis Presley in the car.

Despite this, Reggie still had a soft spot for her, smiling kindly at the waitress. “Our usual, please.”

The notebook got tucked in her apron with a bright nod. “Coming right up!”

As Nora swiftly returned behind the glossy bartop, parlaying the order to the kitchen, the entrance opened. The bell above chimed, three girls appearing beneath it.

Oh, shit.

When Luke enrolled into LF Arts as a green fourteen year old, he had planned to only focus on music and nothing else. He’d blaze through his classes and become the best in music and then, with his obsessive nature at a peak, would launch the band into the next stratosphere. That was the plan. Music, music, music. (And food from Magenta’s.)

Fourteen year old Luke wasn’t aware girls like Julie Molina existed though. That changed on the first day. She came to the front of the class, blew everyone away with a Taylor Swift cover and shot a toothy smile when she finished - like it was nothing. Like she didn’t have the voice of the century. (Like she wouldn’t mess with Luke’s plans of becoming the best, damn it!) Though his initial reaction was envy, he quickly realised it was rather a disgruntled crush than actual dismay.

She was cute. Still cute. After every summer break, he expected her to be less pretty so that his nerves could calm down for once. Nope. Julie Molina was pretty as hell.

He has never seen her here on Friday’s. Why now? Why now when they were mentally preparing themselves for a gig that could get them their asses kicked if they didn’t perform well? Luke needed to focus! Not think about where she’d sit and what she’d talk about and what she was going to eat.

His eyes tracked as Julie, Flynn and Kayla were in busy conversation, barely aware of their surroundings. Her head rolled back in a laugh at something Flynn said, eyes shut in glee. Luke flushed red, averting his gaze to the scratched up table. His friends were snickering, Alex muttering a ‘Jesus…’ under his breath.

Luke snapped his arm. “Stop being a dick.”

“Why don’t you just ask her out?”, Reggie pondered, absentmindedly making origami with the thin napkins.

“I think he needs to talk to her first to do that,” Alex teased before Luke could respond, earning another glare.

It wasn’t like he and Julie never spoke. They were seniors, they had multiple classes together and spent many hours cooped in the same music classroom. He was even part of her group project in junior year! They’ve talked! But it never lead to anything, his lingering stares falling for her oblivious profile, her never once looking back at him.

The connection Luke always craved hasn’t been there, though he always felt like they could have that. Musical spirits were alike, right? At least his crush wasn’t as hopeless as Reggie’s on Nora.

The girls chose a booth right next to theirs, Julie in his direct line of sight. Alex was buzzing in his seat from stifled laughter, visibly trying to not turn his head and address them. The guitarist felt like dying, not even the steaming plates of burgers set in front of them enough to lift his mood.

Luke leaned forward, voice a hiss. “I can talk to her. I just… haven’t felt the need to.”

Reggie patted his shoulder sympathetically. “It’s okay, buddy. You don’t have to lie to us.”

Frustration began simmering his skin, the scowl deepening. He wasn’t lying! Maybe a little! He’s been waiting for the right time to approach her, say and do the right thing to sweep her off her feet like the fucking rockstar he was. Had he been preparing his lines since he was fourteen? Also maybe. They were being revised.

Alex often told him he shouldn’t put Julie on a pedestal. That she was just a girl. It made him wonder if he was the only one that first day of high school that felt it. That awestruck whooping in his chest from seeing her curls dance around her almond eyes and hear how each lyric was laced with a passionate smile. Even at fourteen was he aware of how special that was. Julie wasn’t just a girl. She was the coolest girl he’s ever met and he didn’t even know her that well. He couldn’t imagine actually becoming friends with her, uncovering all facets of her personality and not get overwhelmed by her Julie-ness.

Huh. His crush went deeper than he thought. Yikes.

At the end of the day, Luke could admit that he was simply a teenage boy nervous to talk to a girl. ‘Nervous’ was like a curse word to him though, that admission a secret he’d take with him to the grave.

“Eh,” Alex quipped, egging him on. “Luke’s a terrible liar. He doesn’t have to tell us for us to know it’s true.”    

His hands slammed down on the table, words spouting from his lips. “Girls! Can we get your napkin dispenser?!”

Fucking fantastic, Luke.

All three perked up in surprise, Flynn twisting in her booth to curl her nose and tilt her head. “Why?”

“It’s empty,” he bluffed.

Kayla craned her neck and instantly caught Reggie’s handiwork scattered across the table. “No, it’s not.”

Julie sat next to her, blinking in confusion. “Why do you need our napkins?”

Her smooth voice directed right at him caused a thrill up his spine, a grin involuntarily tugging on his lips. “Cause Reggie needs them for his crafts.” Playing along, the bassist lifted a janky frog with a wink. “I’m very dedicated.”

She matched Luke’s smile, amused. It was the most interaction he has had with her in months, the utter euphoria of it all bursting at the seams. Propelled by her smile, he slid out the booth and into Alex’ side, throwing his arms over the seat right next to Flynn’s head. The girl remained deeply unimpressed by him, gaze flicking past his physique. Damn. If he ever wanted to get anywhere with Julie, he had to get in Flynn’s good grazes. Kayla seemed chill though.

“What’s with the frown, Felicity?”, he joked.

Kayla giggled at the mention of Flynn’s actual name, the girl in question rolling her eyes. “All I’m wondering is why you have to bother us about napkins, Lukas.”

“Flynn,” Julie shook her head with an exasperated grin, “maybe wait for your strawberry shake? I think you’re being hangry.”

Her friend loosened up, sinking back in her seat with a playful pout and mumbling a resigned ‘fine.’

Luke took that as his sign to continue. His gaze fell back on Julie, hoping he wouldn’t sound too eager. “You guys come here a lot? I haven’t seen you here on Friday’s.”

“Who’re you asking?”, Julie asked, looking between her and Kayla. Oh, man. Small talk really wasn’t his forte. He couldn’t charm himself out of this one with music jargon or fake IDs.

His smile turned stressed, flailing his hand around. “Uh, all of you.”

“Sure,” Flynn snorted.

Alex slapped a hand on his mouth at her retort, almost in pain of not laughing his ass off. The prize of ‘Worst Friends Ever’ went to Luke’s - for fuck’s sake, couldn’t the drummer at least try and help him out?!

“Just wanted to celebrate Kayla’s good mark on her new song,” Julie continued, wilfully ignoring the other’s behaviour. Slinging an arm around her friend, she shot her a bright smile. “Her bridge was amazing, right?”  

All three boys nodded fervently as Kayla ducked her head bashfully, murmuring a ‘thank you’ and then relieved from all the attention when Nora walked up to them. Luke’s body didn’t twist to sit normally again, too invested in finally speaking to them, finally having that contact, that he didn’t even care if he seemed like a weirdo. Julie and him! Conversing!

“Speaking of music,” he casually uttered when Nora was off again. His signature smirk crawled on his lips. “We’re playing a gig tonight.”

This peaked Flynn’s interest. Perhaps the prospect of food made her more amicable. “Where?”

“Raven’s Nest,” Reggie proudly proclaimed.

Kayla frowned, worried. “Isn’t that the bar with all the bikes outside?”

“Thank you!”, Alex exclaimed with a sigh. “It’s insane!”

“It’s not,” Luke bit back. If Sunset Curve wanted to make it big, they had to play big! Gigs like these would get them on the stages they dreamed of. Soon, it was goodbye, Raven’s Nest and hello, The Orpheum! “Real Californians go there to hear real fucking music.”

To his surprise, Julie hummed in agreement. “My dad says it used to be where the subculture kids hung out before MP got cool.”

“Yes!” His grin was huge now, overflowing with joy. This was enough adrenaline to get him through three gigs at once! His finger pressed into the cracked leather. “Exactly! And we’re gonna slay it. You should come watch!”

The latter blurted out without wanting to, his eyes growing wide in panic as Reggie and Alex stilled in their seats and Flynn peered up at him with laser-focus. Shit. Was he telling on himself? Did she pierce through the charisma that this was just a poor attempt at flirting? God, he really should’ve prepared his speech for impulsive moments like these.

Luke still needed to endure some growing pains before he got good at flirting.

Julie chuckled, a hint of red appearing on her cheekbones. It enthralled him. Was she embarrassed or flattered? “Uh,” she bit her lip, “I don’t know if I can get in. Don’t you have to be eighteen?”

He raised his brow. “C’mon, you don’t have a fake?” At those words, Alex dropped his head on the table with a thud. Luke had enough of his own shit too. ‘Mortified’ didn’t even come close to how he felt about his blabbering mouth.  

Levelling his challenged look, however, he realised he wasn’t lost quite yet. Julie’s eyes glittered with mischief. “I do, actually.”

Breath caught in his throat. Yup. Coolest fucking girl in the universe. Julie Molina had a killer voice and a fake ID and probably did a whole lot of other dope stuff he hadn’t found out yet.

“Julie,” Flynn but in. “It’s a biker bar.”

“Where our classmates are playing,” she argued. “I can always try.”

“You’ll die.”

“I think I’ll be fine. Like Luke said-” No. She could not say his name and expect him to keep his cool. His fingers gripped the conjoined couch tighter. “-everyone’s there for the music.”

A careful smile slowly grew on Kayla. “We can tell your dad you’re with us.”

Flynn gaped at her. “We-?! I- okay.” Lifting her hands in surrender, she added: “Fine, we’ll tell Ray you’re at the movies with us.”

Wait, was Julie turning down a movie night with her friends to see him play? Did that mean something? Has he been so focused on trying to find or create a ‘vibe’ that he forgot to actually look for signs of her own? Damn. Now he really couldn’t screw this set up. Sunset Curve was gonna play until their hands bled, hopefully impressing her just a little bit.

It was settled then. After both groups had eaten, Julie separated from hers and joined them on their trek to Raven’s Nest. She was mostly talking to Reggie behind Alex and Luke, animatedly recounting a story about Carlos nearly crashing his drone in her keyboard. Jitters began to tingle his skin, that building excitement right before a gig mixing with Julie’s presence. It felt like one of his dreams materialised out of thin air.

How many times has he dreamt about catching her eye in the crowd as he crooned love songs he never dared to write? Granted, those dreams were centered in a hazier setting, Raven’s Nest quite unromantic opposed to that, but he would take what he got.

(And after, they’d worm their way through the masses of people, meeting halfway, and she’d sling her arms around his neck and he’d pull her into a kiss and it’d be electric. She’d kiss like she sang. It was a recurring dream that left him in a good mood for hours.)

Without much hesitance, the bouncer let Julie in. Luke, unable to keep his giddiness at bay, squeezed her shoulder as a dazzling beam was glued to his cheeks. Julie got in! Julie was going to see him play!

Raven’s Nest was expectedly filled with bearded, burly men. It reeked of beer and strong liquor, raucous chatter spilling from ever corner. They all probably looked like babies in comparison to these dudes, but he supposed his unfaltering confidence made up for it. Luke would get his boys (and Julie) through this. The stage was already prepared for them, amps and mics set up, Alex’ drums waiting in Reggie’s van behind the establishment.

“I’ve seen you play before, you know,” Julie mumbled beside him.

His heart soared without trying, its rate going a mile a minute as his jaw fell slack. All his nerves intensified till a blush crept on his cheeks. “You- you have?”

Her curious eyes flitted from the people to him, sheepish. “Yeah. At Ecliptica. You guys were good.”

A clammy hand raked the ends of his hair. Holy fucking shit. “You sounded like you never heard us before.”

“I didn’t want to seem like a fangirl, or something.” A secretive smile formed on her lips as she leaned into his side. “You know how school is. Everyone trying to be the best, but then act super casual about it?” Her eyes sparked in the yellow lighting, too close for him to think straight. “I didn’t want it to inflate you guys’ egos.”

Luke sputtered out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re doing it right now, Julie.”

“Then you better kill it,” she teased, nodding at Alex and Reggie hauling the drums onstage from the back door. “I think that’s your cue.”

There were two things he thought of right as he ascended the stage.

One, Julie was fat better at this whole back and forth than he was.

Two, he had to direct at least one song to her from their thirty minute set. Just one. Just so that his feelings might come across. Where words ended, music bled from his soul instead.

And so, the band exploded into what they knew best: burning the fucking house down.

So we’re taking the long way home 'Cause I don’t wanna be wasting my time alone I wanna get lost and drive forever with you Talking 'bout nothing, yeah, whatever, baby So we’re taking the long way home tonight We're taking the long way home

The giggly teenagers ended back in the diner after the incredible gig, shouting from the adrenaline and jostling arms to get points across. Even Julie joined in, much to his delight, tucked between him and the wall as she had a heated debate with an excited Reggie - harmonies versus basslines. Lemonades filled in condensed glasses gave them sticky fingers, hers once pushing his chin away when he told a particularly dumb joke and leaving an imprint. Luke was on fucking cloud nine.    

Taking the upper hand in the debate, Julie sang a bit of one of their songs (“Let's seize the day, let's run away, don't let the colours fade to grey!”) with all the tricks in the book, silencing Reggie just like that. Alex high fived Julie, the bassist admitting she won this time. Deeply relishing the sound of her singing voice, Luke barely caught what she was saying after.

“This time?”, she laughed. “There’s another time?”

“Why not?” Reggie wiggled his brows, unsubtle as hell when he shot Luke a wink. “Diner Friendship Memories Still To Be Made!”

Alex blinked. “What?”

Her eyes tracked past the boys, the smile turning more timid. It settled on Luke, the boy unable and unwilling to look away. He wanted this night to never end. Clasping her lemonade, she nodded firmly, as if signing Reggie’s silly Friendship Contract.

“Yeah… why not.”

Magenta’s Palace became Luke favourite place in the entire world. Every Friday, Julie joined the boys at their booth, sometimes Kayla and Flynn too. Huddled in those red leather seats with mountains of fries, they shared the first slivers of newfound friendship. Luke has always been very cautious about who he let in his circle (Sunset Curve against The World), but six people in a booth felt cosy rather than suffocating. Like it was always to be like this.

Reggie found an equally enthusiastic jazz lover in Kayla. Alex confided with Flynn that he followed her playlists on Spotify and was obsessed with her DJ skills.  

Luke and Julie created their own bubble without trying to.

It was weird. Maybe Alex was right and Luke did put her on a pedestal for so long. Julie was genuinely chill and easy to talk to, probably turned off by him before cause he had been acting like a blubbering idiot. Simply being himself was, surprisingly, more than enough for her. It lit a fire inside of him. Snarky banter about music that challenged him to keep up, overt flirting from him that kept her blushing, sudden ideas about lyrics that threw either for a loop. He wouldn’t admit it at first, but she made him a better songwriter.

Who knew his best songs would be found on stained paper napkins?  

One Friday night, long past midnight, the group stood outside as they bid each other a good weekend. Bathed in the pink glow of the LED lights, Luke felt it in his gut. He had to tell her. These past weeks his feelings had only grown tenfold, this incessant buzz rippling every atom of his body whenever she was close. Whenever she smiled, talked, sang. Stealing his beanie, eating his fries, sharing AirPods. Luke loved it all.  

It was a lot more than a simple crush.  

After Julie hugged Alex, Luke grabbed her into a tight hug. She instantly responded, wrapping her arms around his waist and burrowing herself in his red hoodie. His infatuated smile was hidden by her curls, so fucking happy he’d been impulsive enough to ask for a dispenser that day.

“Hey, Julie,” he whispered.

She looked up, eyes alight with an emotion that left his shivering. “Yeah?”

“Uh…” A smile trembled on his lips, unsure whether he wanted to drown in the pretty brown of her irises or continue talking. Now or never. “You wanna get breakfast tomorrow? With me?”

He didn’t have to live in the fear for long, a smile stretching across her cheeks as she shyly nodded. It was the first time he’d ever seen her this flustered, their hold on each other securing with quiet glee. Had he not been so mesmerised, the awestruck Luke would run a mile from the adrenaline rush.  

“Yeah,” she grinned, nose scrunched. “Sounds fun.”

They found themselves in the same spot the next day, the taste of syrupy pancakes melting with his as he kissed her on the parking lot of Magenta’s Palace. Julie’s lips curled into a smile and Luke figured there was no better feeling in the world then that.

(Yeah, he could get used to this.)

Saturday’s mornings had never been sweeter.  

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

@blush-and-books @willexx @bluefirewrites @unsaid-emily @ourstarscollided

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

ayup, clanny! have you seen the AGOTI mod yet? if yes, can you do some headcanons or a scenario where the newly imprisoned AGOTI meets the unwilling warden of the void who’s been trying to escape for a few years (i think time moves faster in the void), so they team up to get out. When Cherry and Keith show up, Cherry actually recognizes the warden as the crazy talented old producer for her and Tabi before they mysteriously disappeared, and they all end up escaping and the warden becomes AGOTI’s new producer. -🎋🦊

Ooooh nice idea! I love the mod so yes ......

"Ugh..stupid-ass demon scumbags!" Agoti stormed around the Void in anger, jumping from one floating rock to the next. "They couldn't handle me taking the spotlight?! What kinda bullshit is that?!!"

"Hey buddy, you might wanna chill out-"

"SHUT UP, ASSHOLE!!" Spinning around, the tendrils of his hair lashed out at the other person who spoke.

But he was surprised when you dodged the attack. With little effort you grabbed his hair and flipped him over, sending him crashing to the ground. He groaned in pain and opened his eyes, shocked to see the electrified prong aimed at his chest.

Though he also saw you were covered in armor, sporting a symbol of some kind on your chestplate. "I'm giving you one more chance to calm down." You warned. "I really don't like hurting people."

"Yeah? Well you really kicked the shit outta me just now.." Agoti hissed, but ultimately decided to give in. "Fine. I'm cool. Can ya point that thing somewhere else?"

You nodded and held your spear back to your side, while he got up and dusted himself off. "Who are you anyway?"

"The Warden of the Void. I assume you're that hotheaded "A Guy On The In-""

"Just call me Agoti. It's less of a mouthful." He put his hands on his hips, looking around at the white sky. "So you're the warden of this place? This goddamn prison that I shouldn't even be in.."

"I heard a lot of folks say that but..I'm inclined to agree with you."

He did a double-take. "Wait, really?"

"According to this log.." Waving your hand, you brought up a hologram that displayed his profile. "You're here for...outshining every singer in your town and threatening the careers of two famous rockstars?"

"...what the fuck..so they weren't bullshitting?"

"No. To be sent here because of that is an unusual punishment."

"So you can't enter a plea deal or whatever? Make those jerks come in here instead?"

"Unfortunately I can't." You made the hologram disappear. "In a way I was wrongfully imprisoned, too."

Agoti seemed baffled, so you explained how you were sent here ages ago. You've forgotten what you previously did, but one day you were just randomly given the duties of the Void's warden. Anything you needed to subdue and process prisoners was granted to you--but you could never leave even if your sentence was finished.

You've sought out ways of escaping for years...without much success. But you didn't wanna get caught, and until Agoti came here, you had no actual incentive to leave.

Once you finished your story, the screen demon hummed in thought. "So..you want out, I want out. I bet we can make something happen." With a toothy grin, he offered his hand to you. "How 'bout you show me the ropes and I'll help you find an escape? Deal?"

"It could take us a long time to figure that out." You hesitated. "You should be aware that time moves exceptionally fast in this dimension. Minutes out there are like hours in here-"

"So what? Better to start finding a way out now than later. C'mon.." Agoti was growing impatient, but fortunately he managed to get through to you, as you shook his hand.

"Alright, Agoti. It's a deal." You smiled.

...........

Neither you or Agoti knew how long it's been since you made that deal to help each other escape.

But finally, you figured it out. The solution was right there in front of you all along:

A singing battle

Singing was the key to escaping this place. With the combined soundwaves of two singers, a portal to the real world could be produced.

Now the only problem was...you were never really a singer, and Agoti was. So it wouldn't be a fair match that can create a strong-enough portal.

"You're tellin' me there ain't another goddamn singer here?!!" He fumed one day as you regrettably told him no other prisoner was proficient in music. "Great..juuuuuust GREAT!! We spent all this time and got nothing out of-!"

"Wait, what's that?"

Agoti looked to where you were pointing, seeing a portal opening up in the sky, before two figures fell out of it: a boy with blue hair and a girl in a red dress.

They crash landed onto the platform you and Agoti were on, miraculously suffering no injuries of any kind.

"Huh..this is new.." He remarked as he approached the couple.

The blue-haired boy made a beeping noise, standing up and rubbing his head. You noticed the microphone in his hands, but more notably..you recognized the girl who was with him.

"My apologies but..have we met?"

"Hm?" The brunette looked up at you, surprised, though you could see her eyes flash with recognition. "Are you...[y/n]?"

"[Y/n]? You two know each other?" Agoti quirked an eyebrow, bewildered. He hadn't known your actual name until now.

"Yeah, a long time ago I was her music producer. But last time I saw her she was with someone else." You mused, trying to remember who her last boyfriend was. "It was.....Tabi wasn't it, Charlotte?"

"Woah woah...Tabi dated her?!! No way. He never told me about that!"

"Yeah um..we were together for a while," Charlotte awkwardly chuckled. "But....I-I'd rather not talk about it. I just have a new boyfriend now. He's Keith." She gestured to the blue-haired guy.

"Yeah! And..uh...skee deh beh doo bop!" Keith pointed at Agoti, who looked offended by whatever he said.

But he went back to snarling at the pair, manifesting a microphone out of thin air as he stepped closer. "Another singer, huh? Well I hope you have better insults than that! Because we're all gonna be here a while....a very long one."

Knowing what was about to happen, you decided to stand by them and make sure nobody else interrupted, while Charlotte hopped onto a nearby floating rock.

And so you watched Agoti and Keith have a rap battle, in which your friend kept losing again and again. You did try to warn him not to lose his temper, as this could be the only chance of you two escaping this prison.

But his frustration and impatience got the better of him, as by the third round he turned the platform into a giant speaker and sent it flying into the air. Poor Charlotte was clinging onto the rock for dear life, but you caught her and tried to keep steady as the platform swayed.

"Well..so much for "staying calm"." You sighed as Agoti shouted at his rival, berating him for "insulting him", before the two had one final showdown.

Although he lost yet again, their combined efforts managed to breach a portal into the dimension, and you all escaped through it.

Finally..you and Agoti were free from this hell.

~Epilogue~

In the weeks following the events in the Void, you've decided to become Agoti's new music producer once his career started back up. Thanks to your talent, the fans returned in no time at all.

The main issue was him previously making a competition out of singing, so he decided to perform his music locally and lose the ego...just a little bit of it.

Meanwhile Solazar, his friend and manager, was concerned about Charlotte and her ties to the family that trapped you to begin with.

Though the two of you just brushed that aside for the time being, wanting a chance to experience the real world again.

It was good to be back.

[blush-and-books]

she lives in daydreams with me

3+1 in which julie’s daydreaming spreads to luke, too. title and inspiration from she by harry styles. 

a gift for my fellow fantoms on this beautiful clowngate.

a/n: this isn’t meant to be tied to/inspired by blissful reveries by noblealice on ao3, but it’s a great fic that i love and it’s a julie daydream fic so i may as well link it because you should check it out!!! 

Luke noticed that sometimes, Julie would completely zone out. 

It wasn’t often that she did it around him, but while she would try and study her pencil would be moving on the paper but her eyes would not be focused. Or when she would be washing the dishes, a faint humming could be heard under her breath as her hands mindlessly rinsed the plates and placed them into the dishwasher. 

“They’re daydreams,” she whispers into the nearly pitch-black garage one night when they stay up, despite their exhaustion, just to be with each other. “I had them a little when I was a kid. It was how I got inspiration for a lot of songs.”

Julie’s voice raises to a higher pitch at the end of her sentence. It’s a familiar sound to Luke, now -- most of her little vocal cues are -- so he turns on the floor to face where she’s lying on the couch, and brings his hand up to her bare ankle.

“They’re musical?”

“They were, and then… They weren’t. I daydreamed a lot after my mom, but it was mostly her walking through the front door like she never left.”

He doesn’t have to say anything. He just needs to be there.”

“And then,” Julie continues, “after I met you, the music came back.”

His heart skips a beat. He knows she meant “you” as in him and Reggie and Alex, them as a collective unit; but it’s a fun little dream of his own for her to just be thinking of him. 

Lightly, his thumb skates across her skin. “I’m glad. If anyone should have music in their life, it’s you, Julie.”

“Do you ever daydream?” Her voice is quiet. She’s probably falling asleep.

There’s no reply. So it’s just the two of them, in the dark, with his hand attached to her because now that he can feel her like this he doesn’t want to stop until he has to. His hand is just barely on her ankle, but with every trace of his fingers back and forth along the curve he marvels at his ability to do it in the first place. 

A smile pops at the corners of Luke’s lips. “Not really,” he tells her. “If I did… They probably wouldn’t be musical, like yours.”

“Then what would you do?”

He stares, fixed, at his hand on her leg. 

“The stuff I want to do, but can’t.”

nine in the morning, a man drops his kids off at school; and he’s thinking of you (like all of us do)

It’s a few days later when Luke realizes that something is off. 

A simple Wednesday morning, when Julie darts into the garage before school with her backpack bouncing on her back as she runs up to each of them for a hug. Luke is the final recipient. 

He enthusiastically throws his arms around her just as tightly as he does every morning, because in his heart, he wishes she could just stay. It’s ridiculous, and selfish, but he longs for the ability to lay on the torn old couch with Julie at his side and never have to leave. 

“Writing when I come back?” 

Her eyes are gazing up at him, round and wide and hopeful as her arms stay latched around his neck. Safely, he keeps his hands at her hips and doesn’t allow himself to consider letting them go anywhere else. 

“Won’t you have homework?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes, but I also have a song I want to work on and I won’t be able to focus until we finish it.”

Ironically, it sounds like one of the excuses he would give his parents long ago. Once the music was out of his head, he would tell them, then he could focus on homework. 

(He didn’t.)

“You’re turning into me,” he jokes at her; to which she laughs with a bright and beautiful smile right in front of his face. His eyes can’t help but slip their focus to it. “Music before school? What happened to your dad saying ‘school first?’”

“I’ll tell him I’m going to the garage for peace and quiet.”

God, she’s making this harder and harder. For months, she was the one scolding him about her need to focus on school; and so he trained himself to come across as (marginally) less eager. But now that she’s bouncing on her tiptoes and her head is lifting right in front of his face as she teases fibbing to her dad to write with him, he doesn’t think he has much restraint left. 

“How about…” He begins, trying to find something neutral to say. “How about you see how much homework you get and then decide what you want to do first?”

“Since when did you-”

The sound of Ray honking for Julie to come out ends their back-and-forth. It Luke looks close enough -- which he is, because why would he have anything better to do right now than look at Julie -- he can see her disappointment. “Go on, Boss. Your ride’s waiting. I’ll see you after school.”

Carefully, she slips from his arms and wishes them a final goodbye before hustling out of the garage. 

And Luke collapses onto the couch the second she’s gone. 

“You okay, man?”

“He’s fine, Reg. Just an idiot.”

Luke’s arm, that was covering his face, slides up so that he can glare at Alex. “Hey! Rude. Why am I an idiot?”

“Because all you do is agonize over Julie instead of talking to her.”

His forearm comes back down, blacking out his vision. “No point.”

Moments of quiet pass between the three boys, and eventually, the telltale sound of his bandmates poofing out of the room is faintly heard. Luke is left alone, on the couch. 

He doesn’t know how much time passes where he sits in his self-made darkness before the garage door is opening again, and Julie is standing in the doorway, looking adrenaline-rushed and practically glowing. Luke, being Luke, jumps up from the couch in surprise.

“Julie! Hey, uh… What are you doing here? Didn’t you leave for school?”

Her grin is almost fake, it’s so blinding. “I forgot something.”

Unprompted and unexpectedly, Julie is confidently making her way towards him before softly resting her hands on his jaw and pulling his lips down to hers.

Even through his all-encompassing shock, his hands somehow find their way to her waist, and then her back, and then her hair. She’s pulling him down to her, so he’s kind of uncomfortably arched over her but he doesn’t care one bit. Just the same as this morning, she is pressed against him from head to toe but this feels so much better. 

He’s trying to keep it slow and soft so that he can savor every moment of this random, welcomed action; but Julie’s asking for a quicker tempo. Her hands are skating across his shoulders and running up to his hair, pulling him down even farther, and he finds himself grasping at her thighs to lift her up and make things more comfortable but she’s pulling away before he can. 

Once they part, she shyly takes her bottom lip between her teeth and Luke almost steals her away and begs for more. “That was it,”  she mumbles, and then the car horn is echoing out front again, and-

Luke shakes awake.

--

he takes a boat out, imagines just sailing away (and not telling his mates)

He knows it’s a daydream almost immediately -- a long period of staring at a blank journal can do that to a guy -- when Julie suddenly appears and dangles car keys in front of him. 

She’s only just got her permit. She can’t actually drive independently yet. 

But he’s spent time on more than one occasion considering what they can go do together when she can.

“You ready for a break, Rockstar?” She asks with a coy smile, and it’s just more confirmation that it’s a fantasy. Julie has only ever called him “Rockstar” once. 

But he already likes where his imagination is taking him, so he puts the journal on the coffee table and poofs over to her. “Born ready.” 

Her hand tangles itself in his, and she enthusiastically tugs him from the studio into the sunny daylight where her dad’s car sits in the driveway. “Carlos and Dad and Tia are at a baseball game,” she grins, almost proudly, “so you and I get to have an adventure.”

God, this really is a dream. Julie isn’t as impulsive as he can be, but he occasionally finds himself wanting at the idea of going MIA for a day. Just a day. Less than 24 hours, even, with Julie by his side and nobody around who knows them or their situation. Julie and Luke against the world, against life and death, and whatever comes next. 

“Lead the way, Boss.”

Nearly within the blink of an eye, they’re on the PCH, speeding down the asphalt with loud music blaring from the speakers. With the windows rolled down and the humid but fresh air billowing around them in the car, it was all too easy for Luke to imagine that he was…

Alive.

This should have been them in 1995 -- him and Julie, him and the boys, all of them together and feeling the rush of being a group of stupid teenagers who love each other. 

He knows his hair is getting ruffled as he tilts his head back against the leather headrest, closing his eyes to directly face the air blowing into him. Maybe, through this dream, just for a moment, he can be human. 

“This is so fun!” Julie screams next to him, and his face just breaks into a grin because it is so fun. She sounds so full of joy. It’s his favorite sound.

While a part of him wants to hold the daydream in this moment, with the sun hitting his legs and Julie’s hair chaotically whirling around her head; he decides to let things keep going. A moment later, they are pulling into a nearly empty parking lot on the beach. 

Their seatbelts click and slide from their chests. Julie’s hand firmly latches around his wrist and proceeds to sprint with him laughing hysterically as he trails behind her, the ocean shimmering in the distance. The moment that their feet splash in the saltwater, Luke takes the chance to pull Julie into his arms by her waist and lift her up; droplets popping up from the water in a cyclone of laughter.

There’s already sweat layering both of their foreheads, but Luke feels honored that he’s standing close enough to her to be able to see it.

Hours -- or, what he assumes are hours -- pass by with water lapping their legs and Luke licking the salt from her shoulder in a move that started as a joke but was really just another ridiculous fantasy fulfilled. After he tries to splash her particularly roughly, she squeals and turns away; turning back to reveal a dripping wet face behind a curtain of hair.

Even though there’s a glare in her eyes, it’s playful. And she doesn’t fight him when he walks up to her, lifts the hem of his loose-fitting tank, and swipes across her cheeks to catch most of it.

The blush on her cheeks could be blamed on excessive sun, or the affectionate gesture, or-

“Luke?”

It takes less than a second for Luke to be back in the studio, back in front of the blank page, back in his reality. 

And Julie is in the doorway. 

Her cheeks aren’t  pink, her legs aren’t bare, her skin isn’t sweat and seawater sticky. It was just a regular school day for her. 

She still glows.

“Luke?” He hears her say again, and it’s the final nail in his coffin. 

“Yeah, sorry. I was zoning out there for a sec.”

Her curious smile relaxes, and she takes the unspoken invitation to enter the garage  and throw her backpack down next to the couch. Her eyes quickly find the journal, “write anything good?”

“Not a word. Didn’t have my partner.”

The line earns him a friendly shoulder-nudge. It’s not much compared to what he just had, but it’s something. 

Only, his impulsive brain tells him he needs more. 

“Can we go to the beach one day?”

Refocusing her gaze from the open notebook to his face, she amusingly furrows her eyebrows. “I mean… When I have my license, totally. Whatever you guys want.”

“I…” Shut up. Stop here. “I was thinking you and I, actually. Just us.”

“Oh.” He knows that “oh.” It’s the same one she gave him when she was flustered in the school hallway. He can’t tell if it’s a good or a bad sign. Her fingers are twitching against her legs and her eyes avoid his, but a part of him sees his daydream bleed into reality when a pink hue dusts her cheeks. “Just us.”

“Yeah, if you’re-”

“I’d love to.”

Her mouth zips shut like she didn’t mean to say it. But he’s already smiling at her, and probably sporting a blush of his own, and he knows he doesn’t even have a funny remark  to say in response. 

All he can do is count the days until Julie gets her license.

--

and she sleeps in his bed (while he plays pretend)

Sometimes, when Julie is gone, he’ll just… Go to her room. 

It’s not weird. 

He doesn’t snoop -- well, he tries not to -- but everything that’s out in the open is there for his eyes to take in. This way, he gets the little intricate details of what makes Julie Julie that would otherwise take years to learn about a person. 

Today, when he poofs in, the bed is unmade. Normally she makes it before leaving for school, but on the rare occasion that she is running late, it will remain in disarray until her return. 

Unless, he…

No, no, boundaries. 

But it’s just a little favor. And it’s not like she can kill him or anything right?

Once again, his impulsivity dominates the argument. And he’s suddenly wrapping her sheet in his fists and tugging it up and over her pillows, followed by the comforter. 

With each puff of air that brushes his face from the falling sheets, he catches a bit of her peach perfume. 

The action of making a bed feels so distant to him, but he remembers having to do it himself like it was yesterday. He was too careless to tuck anything in or smooth anything out -- it was just a simple tugging of his sheets to cover the mattress. If he had Julie around back then, pulling him back from the precipice of his relationship with his parents and making music that Bobby wouldn’t steal, then she probably would have shown him how to make his bed more presentable for when she came over.

In front of him, the bed he's making doesn’t look like Julie’s anymore. 

It looks like his. His old twin bed at Mitch and Emily Patterson’s house, his old bedroom tucked in at the end of the hallway. Every shade of blue and gray and yellow feels so familiar but only a little off; like his brain is vaguely reconstructing his home with blurred edges and familiar memories.

“Your bathroom is surprisingly clean,” a familiarly warm voice says from behind him. Julie stands in his doorway, adorning an ethereal flower-patterned dress and clunky black combat boots. 

The strength of the daydream takes over when she approaches him with a smile and his hands, on instinct, find her hips. “I don’t know why you’re shocked. I’m not a slob.”

“Well…” They both chuckle at her tone. “I thought that with your parents out of town, everything here would be falling apart.”

“Well, you’re here, so that could never happen.”

Her smile is the one thing that he knows he got exactly right in this reconstructed environment. He will always know Julie.

The smile that he leans down to lightly kiss is the same smile he sees when they know they have a catchy chorus on their hands, or when she gets an A on a test, or sometimes just when she comes come to say hi to them. It’s pure Julie joy.

“Now that you’ve made your bed since I was in the bathroom,” she murmurs as they pull away, “can we take that nap we were talking about? School was exhausting.”

Tiredly, her head falls to his chest. It’s such a small, warm gesture; but it sends his heart soaring painfully into the wall of his ribs. “Of course, Boss.”

With a gentle touch, he pulls back the covers of his bed and gestures for Julie to crawl in first. She waves him off, trying to tug at the laces of her boots so that she doesn’t sleep in her shoes, but Luke is quick to prop himself on the edge of the bed and lift her foot to her knee. 

“Such a gentleman,” she mocks him, but there’s no venom to her voice. In fact, she’s looking down at him like she loves him. 

He slowly helps her slip her foot from the boot with a soft grip on her ankle. “For you, anything.”

Charged, quiet beats pass between them as he finishes work on the other shoe and instantly scoots over to make room on the bed for her to lay next to him. He can make out a small, pleased smile as she does so; rolling over to cuddle into his chest and tangle their legs the moment that she is able to do so. 

He feels her take a deep breath against his collarbone as he pulls the sheets up to cover them both. “It all smells like you,” she sighs as she exhales.

“Is that a good thing?”

No verbal response -- just a nod, and the sight of her fingers curling into the edge of the sheet and pulling it up right under her nose. “You cozy, Boss?”

Her melodic hum vibrates against his sternum. Parents out of town, cuddling with his girlfriend, playing music -- this was the dream. 

Truly, because it fades around him the moment the recognizable sound of a car rolling up the driveway hits his ears. 

And he’s poofing down to greet Julie, acting as if he doesn’t have all of these wants and needs in his head that all go back to her.

--

It’s a late night, it’s after a gig, and adrenaline is still running fast through Luke’s nonexistent veins. The elevation is still carrying him across the walkway as he recalls the way he shredded his solo and the audience leapt to their feet in roaring applause. 

Sometimes, just to spend a few more minutes with her, Luke will walk Julie to her front door after a gig. She’ll send her dad inside and tell him she was going to “call” the guys, when really they would be partaking in a celebratory band hug before they all cleaned up and retired for the night. 

Tonight was one of those nights, and the cobblestones felt like clouds under Luke’s shoes. 

“Jules, you don’t understand, that high note? I didn’t think it could get better, but something about the lights and the crowds and-”

“It was your guitar solo that kept the audience hyped, though!”

“I think after you swung your wrecking ball voice at them, they would have listened to anything afterwards. You don’t get how magnetic you are, Jules.”

The two of them step up her porch, lingering on the top step. Even though he’s been looking at her all night, post-concert Julie has messy makeup and wild hair and he still sees the flashing lights of the stage reflected in her eyes. She carries the energy of performing with her everywhere she goes.

They’re closer than he realized. He can see the exact dark clouds under her eyes where her mascara has rubbed off, and the strands of hair dotting her hairline, and-

“Luke…”

He doesn’t know what she wants to say, but he doesn’t care. “You’re magnetic, Julie, really. It’s like magic. Nobody can resist you.”

The energy crackles against his fingertips, because he can feel himself twitching to touch her. 

It’s true -- she’s magnetic. He’s leaning in closer and closer with every passing second. 

But she’s the one who makes the first move.

It’s expected and it isn’t when her hands dart from her sides to his neck to his hair and guide him to her as if he would need any help finding her. His hands waist no time in pressing up against her back, bringing her body against his in a way he only feels in hugs-

Only this time, their lips are colliding, and he almost convinces himself this isn’t real.

It’s a sudden and beautiful situation that he’s sure he could only conjure in his daydreams that he has her to blame for in the first place. He’s probably laying on the couch in the studio replaying the look on her face when she hit the high note in question at the gig, and how the gasp she let out at the end propelled him into his solo like he’s never played it before. 

There’s no way he’s making out with Julie right now. 

And he doesn’t mean to vocalize his hesitation, but as her mouth breaks from his with deep breaths that are muted versions of the gasp from the gig, the words tumble from his mouth. 

“Is this a dream?”

With a confused mirth in her eyes, she scrapes the back of his neck with her fingernails and it’s almost tantalizing enough for his head to lull back. 

Please let this be a dream so that he doesn’t wake up tomorrow realizing he did all of this on the Molina’s front porch. 

“I don’t think so,” Julie whispers through her grin. Her fingers apply pressure on the back of his neck, wanting him to come back to her lips probably as much as he wants to come back, and she leans farther into him with their faces barely an inch apart. “But even if it is -- isn’t it a wonderful dream?”

As her mouth parts underneath his and he coaxes another gasp out of her, he agrees -- it is a wonderful dream. 

Tags: @willexx @bluefirewrites @pink-flame @lydias--stiles @constantly-singing @fighttoshinetogether @babydagger28

[afairytalestray]

Tuggoffelees 1 and Black&White Family 2

I can’t believe I’ve gotten to Part 3 of this series and I’m only now mentioning my favourite ship of all time! Tuggoffelees, my OTP, my beloved. As always, all hcs in this series will be pre-canon, if we accept the musical as the present day canon. Here’s my take on how Misto’s relationship with Tugger and with his half siblings develops :) (consistent tense usage? I don’t know her) (masterpost here!)

Tugger was totally enamoured by Mistoffelees from day one. They didn’t meet until after Munkustrap and Demeter’s ball (the one after Bomba/Demeter/Misto’s arrival in the Junkyard, which Misto skipped due to still fearing the other Cats), when Tugger happens across Misto dancing and practising his magic in a quiet corner by himself. For the first time in his life, the Rum Tum Tugger is rendered speechless, and just sits and watches in silent awe for like half an hour until Misto realises he’s there. Misto is initially very wary of Tugger, having heard about his flirty and flighty nature, but Tugger is so warm and genuine in his admiration of Misto’s abilities that he struggles to see what the stories were on about. The two immediately bond. They both have very great fears of violence and abandonment by family members/Macavity, which allow them to feel comfortable with one another and understand each other on a deep level better than anyone else in very little time. 

Misto, despite his own massive crush, is extremely oblivious to Tugger’s true feelings for him for a long time; after all, in what universe would the most popular and attractive Cat in the tribe see weird, skittish little him as anything more than a friend? But Tugger thinks he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, and despite his fickle tendencies, is doggedly determined when he decides on something. He can’t put his finger on what exactly Misto makes him feel right away, but he knows that it’s good. He at first only recognises it as a weird and confusing desire to spend all his time only with him, and only after someone else points out that he’s not been up to his usual flirty shenanigans in a while. He struggles to explain it; since he’s one of the only ones Misto is able to talk to at that point, he’s one of the only ones who sees him for the fun, warm, and high-key sassy tom he is behind the shyness. It took a very long (and naturally embarrassing) talk with his father to help him work out what exactly he was feeling, and at Old Deuteronomy’s advice he resolved to pursue a serious relationship with Misto. It takes a while, partially because Misto seems to be immune to all Tugger’s best moves (read: oblivious to their real intention and therefore assumes he’s joking), and also because Tugger gets all heart-eyed and tongue-tied whenever Misto smiles at him - the usually suave rockstar Cat becomes a pile of goo.  After all his moves fail, Tugger is at a loss of what to do. In the end, he manages it completely by accident.

Misto is a perfectionist and extremely prone to over-working. Tugger’s insistence on being close by/helping him practise is the only reason he doesn’t wipe out basically all the time. Tugger finds him one evening when he’s pushed himself too far, exhausted and aching and barely able to walk. Tugger’s den is closer, so he picks him up and carries him back there - Misto is asleep long before Tugger lays him down on the blankets. He’s kinda mad - half at Misto for ignoring his own limits, half at himself for not being there to help him - but struggles to stay angry with him when he’s very clearly in pain. He confronts him the next day, which confuses Misto, who’s not really used to having people care about him the way Tugger does. Misto questions why it’s bothering Tugger so much, which prompts him to angrily blurt out that it sucks so much to see someone you love hurt themself like that and not seem to care. He doesn’t realise what he’s saying until he’s said it. It hangs in the air awkwardly for a few moments before Tugger throws caution to the wind and launches into a full confession of his feelings for him. He gets on a roll and doesn’t stop until Misto kisses him (in so learning that that is the best and only guaranteed way to shut Tugger up). From there things develop very quickly. To exactly no one’s surprise they become the youngest mated pair in Jellicle memory at the next ball. Old D bawls like a kitten he’s so happy. 

Tugger and Mistoffelees grew very close very quickly, which did wonders for Misto’s confidence and both of their self-esteem. It did, however, also strain Alonzo and Tugger’s already rocky relationship to near breaking point. Alonzo, having learned of Misto’s story and his mother’s death, feels incredibly guilty for turning away from him. He becomes jealous of how quickly Tugger was able to get close to Misto while he still struggles to even get him to talk to him, and thinks Tugger is an obnoxious bad influence and warns Misto against him. Tugger is normally fairly easygoing and happy to let rumours roll off him like water off a duck’s back, he even sometimes enjoys them and encourages them if he thinks they’re amusing. However, this he takes personally, and very seriously (as he will with any disparagement of his relationship with Misto, or suggestion that he doesn’t take it seriously). Tugger feels very protective of Misto, knowing very well the pain of being on the receiving end of his eldest brother’s rage, and of their blossoming relationship; he asserts that Alonzo should have gone after Misto when his mother attacked him, and that it’s Alonzo’s own damn fault he doesn’t have a relationship with Misto and it’s got nothing to do with Tugger. It becomes a very sore point of contention between the two of them.

Once Misto is more comfortable in himself and who he is, he begins to slowly build a bond with his half siblings. He becomes more comfortable with Victoria quickly, they both enjoy hanging out without really communicating, just enjoying each other’s company in peace. Victoria is deaf. She can lip-read, but Misto is very determined to learn sign language, and when he gets reasonably competent at that it becomes their main method of communication.

Alonzo is a lot trickier, the poor guy still feels so guilty. Misto holds no resentment towards him at all, he’s really happy Alonzo doesn’t hate him and totally understands why he couldn’t see him back then when everything was still fresh and painful for him - he doesn’t blame him at all. But he can’t seem to get that into Alonzo’s head. Every time it comes up all Alonzo can think about is that if he had just been more mature/compassionate/accepting back then Misto wouldn’t have gone through everything he did. 

Alonzo now desperately wants a relationship with his little brother, but his guilt makes it so he struggles horribly at communicating with him and is awkward around him, which in turn makes Misto nervous and uncomfortable (even more than he generally was at that time), which makes it even worse for poor Lonz. He becomes very protective of Misto as he feels like it’s the only thing he can now do for him (if he didn’t do it before then he’ll sure as hell make up for it now). This, unfortunately, tends to result in him getting into fights. He and Tugger have been and always will be chalk and cheese, but he also argued with his mother and now refuses to speak to her. When Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer arrived in the Junkyard, freshly escaped from Macavity and seeking refuge, it really freaked Misto out, and Alonzo immediately took a very hard stance against them and wouldn’t give them a chance. He got into a physical fight with Bombalurina that had to be broken up by Munkustrap when she wouldn’t let him close to her den (where Misto and Demeter had holed up). He has now begrudgingly accepted the twins, but keeps his guard up around them. 

As his and Misto’s relationship improved, the awkwardness ended up dissipating completely and the two became quite close. The protectiveness, however, never did go away. It toned down a lot, but at any given moment Alonzo is always ready and willing to throw hands for his little brother and sister.

[frienderbender]

hey frienderbender is it ok to ask for some lore/information on your magpickles 🥺 I’m very invested in those goods ( off the topic but can I just say I am in LOVE with the way you draw Skwisgaar my heart is just fluttering to fast when I see him 🥺💞 Anyways muah you’re wonderful artist thank you have a lovely day/evening )

oh sure! first off thank you so much for the sweet message! that made my night :'] i love drawing skwisgaar and im glad you like how he looks in my style haha

anyways im assuming youre talking about my general lore for them in the canon timeline, so ill talk about that under the cut

i think they first met some time in the late 80s while pickles was still with snb. they met after a show specifically. magnus introduced himself as a fan, and that was true! but (quick tangent for some general mag thoughts) it brings up something that ive always thought about when i look at mag. magnus definitely gives off the vibe of being the guy who was always just Around in the music scene, especially in the rock and metal scene of this era. like, hes a mysterious dude but he has connections. he will play with random bands sometimes. he knows so many fucking people in this industry (not saying hes friends with all of them though); what im trying to say is. Everyone Has A Magnus Hammersmith Story. hes the type of guy that gets talked about in podcasts decades down the line. ok all that to say he was able to get backstage because he just Knows People. and he introduces himself as a fan blah blah pickles and magnus drink and do some drugs and honestly i wouldnt be surprised if they at the very least made out with each other the first night they met.

so pickles is like, pretty into him right off the bat. magnus was too, but i think on his end INITIALLY he was more just interested in hooking up but they exchange info and keep in touch and all that. so. this is RIGHT before snb implodes. and theyre still meeting up fairly regularly and becoming closer and doing a lot of drugs and drinking a bunch. typical rockstar stuff.

but pickles had been on a steady downward spiral at this point (he was already like this before he met magnus), and in one night snb is no more. having burned all those bridges in his band (for now), pickles turns to his only friend left: magnus. and i think its at this point, when pickles comes to him, wrecked by the dissolution of his band, that magnus kinda starts to realize he might actually feel something for him too? seeing him like this, seeing pickles from fucking snakes n barrels, so raw and real and not at all like the fiery redhead he met that night after their show...it just feels different somehow. like yeah he was attracted to pickles from snakes n barrels, but he realized he had grown to care about pickles from tomahawk wisconsin. he liked that one better, there was no bullshit. no hiding beneath layers of glam makeup and hairspray.

so its the two of them against the world. its the early 90s at this point. on a whim, pickles decides they should leave LA and just drive. wherever. just away from the city because LA fucking sucks. he takes all his money and he and magnus get in his car and just start driving. they end up in florida eventually, because its the other side of the country. or something. they get an apartment, and for a couple of months they live together and its. kinda nice. its different, for sure. but not bad. magnus and pickles both always kinda skirted around the topic of their relationship. they never called the other their boyfriend. but i feel strongly that they did tell each other that they loved the other, once. and they meant it.

so heres where things get tricky for me. how did dethklok form? what was the order? who met who first? i dont know!! i wish i knew! its something i have a million scenarios for and i wish we got a canon order of the members joining at the very least so i can model my headcanons around it haha

with that in mind though, i do think magnus and pickles were a bit of a package deal. like, whoever joined first was able to get the other in. so. yeah. they joined dethklok some time in the early to mid 90s now.

they have a pretty decent few years. theyre still.......something....even in their new band. like they arent open about it and hook up when the other guys arent around and all that.

its around this time though that i think magnus is really starting to go through it. combination of feeling frustrated because of the bands status at this point, general untreated mental health, etc. anyways i think the stabbing incident occurred some time in the mid 90s, probably like '95 or '96 or something. so.....he gets kicked out. obviously. and those are the terms they end on for awhile.........

but uh. you see. pickles never completely cut ties with the dude because. well. what do you do when this happens to someone you care so deeply about. and i think probably a month or so later, magnus actually contacts him for the first time since the stabbing incident. and maybe i have a comic script and thumbnails about this encounter what about it. magnus tells him he wants to see him, so pickles slips out that night to meet up at an old bar they used to go to a lot. may or may not be the depths of humanity uhhh anyway. theyre talking for awhile but it just kinda devolves into honestly more one-sided arguing on pickles end. hes frustrated and sad and confused because fuck! magnus! why would you do that? why, when the bands just starting to take off? it becomes this whole like. you arent the same guy i knew. and in that moment it quietly hits them both that like. we arent who we were, and we dont know what to do about that. magnus asks if pickles would want to join him and leave the band, and pickles tells him to go fuck himself. and thats the last thing he ever said to him.

and thats where the magpickles lore/relationship timeline ends. i realize it really did kinda turn into a timeline but also i did write a timeline during a slow day at work once like two months ago but. anyways. this is basically that.

but uh. yes. i love them. they make me sad but in a good way yknow. its like. its one of those situations where i feel like under different circumstances, they probably couldve made it work in their own weird way. they have such a specific dynamic, whether in their background together in the canon timeline or just me fucking around with AUs and being like hmm what if i actually gave them a scenario where they could have the time to develop AS an actual couple. im rambling but i just love these two so much. this is so long.

i feel strongly they wouldnt get back together in any sort of canon capacity, but i do think they still have feelings for each other in that way you do when you remember people you loved in the past. old friendships that dissolved with no resolution. the person you still have things you want to tell them, even though you know you will never get the chance.

[wholesomemendes]

Father’s Day

Dad Shawn Au

Summary: Shawn’s away on tour for the first time on Father’s Day, so you plan a little surprise for him to show him how much you and your son love him.

Author’s Note: This is just a little cute blurb for Father’s Day. So much fluff, literally all fluff because when is it not. Happy Father’s Day to everyone that is celebrating today and please tell me what you think!

“He shouldn’t be up for another two hours or so and then we typically all meet up in my room to talk about the day. It’s number 924 just down the hall so when you’re all finished you can meet us in there.” You listened as Andrew talked you through the rest of the plan, holding your sleeping 3 year old son in his arms. This was Shawn’s first time touring since Raul was born and with Father’s Day landing the day before one of his concerts, you knew that you had to pull a few strings to make sure he didn’t miss it.

“Thank you, Andrew. It means the world that you helped me coordinate this.”

“No worries, it was the least I could do. The poor boy has been missing the two of you like crazy since the moment he left.” You smiled to yourself at the thought of your husband thinking about the two of you just as much as you had of him and you waved goodbye to Andrew for the time being before moving to use the key card he had given you for Shawn’s room. Opening the door carefully, you peaked around the corner to check that you could see a lump of blankets on the bed, signalling that he was still fast asleep. You propped open the hotel door, lifting up all of the boxes of decorations off the floor of the hallway to bring them into the small table in what one would call the living room. The boxes were full of balloons, confetti, streamers, some drawings and cards you and Raul had made together, along with a container of his favorite cookies that you had made before you had flown out and you made quick work to decorate the room to your liking. You made sure you were quiet enough not to wake him, allowing yourself to sneak glances at the outline of his body under the blankets from behind the wall that separated the two areas to make sure he hadn’t moved. Once you felt you had made the room as decorative as you possibly could, you let yourself move past the wall to take a full glance at your husband in person for the first time in almost three months. The two of you had gone much longer apart from one other, but having him to yourself for almost four years besides some small appearances here and there made you forget just how hard it was to be away from him. His hair was a mess over his face, his curls that were identical to Raul’s so fluffy on top of his head that you wished that you could just run your fingers through them. His cheeks were a light pink as they always were when he was asleep and the comforter was slung loosely across his hips, allowing you to admire the strong muscles that were visible on his bare back. Against your better judgement you walked to his side of the bed, letting your fingers trace ever so softly over his cheek and jawline. He let out a little content sigh, but made no move to wake up and you took the opportunity to press the lightest of kisses to his forehead. Your lips lingered for a moment, wanting to take in the moment of being able to just be able to touch your husband again before you reluctantly moved away.

“Baby?” Shawn breathed out in his sleep, causing you to back away quickly from the bed and out of view, “I miss you.” Your heart was racing, worried that your carelessness had ruined the surprise, but all he did was squeeze his pillow tighter and drift further into a deep sleep. You let out a breath of relief, taking one last glance at the man you love as you made your way out of his room and went back to see your son. 

______________

That morning Shawn woke up as he always did, rolling off the covers and immediately checking his phone in hopes of seeing a message or two from you. With a three year old toddler running around the house, you almost always were up before him which meant you usually texted him first right when you woke up. He couldn’t lie and say his heart didn’t break a little when his phone screen turned up bare of any messages from you, but he knew that it wasn’t easy taking care of your son on your own and simply tried to push the feeling aside, trying to convince himself that you were just extra busy this morning. What hurt him the most was that he had just woken up from what one could only call the most amazing dream: he had woken up back home with his little family to celebrate Father’s Day just spending time with the two most important people in his life. It all felt so real, he swore he could smell your famous homemade waffles and it was almost as though he could feel your touch on his cheek. Waking up to none of that on one of his favorite days of the year stung to say the least and he wanted nothing more than to leave tour for just one day to take the next flight out to Toronto. Shawn sighed, dragging himself out of bed towards his luggage in hopes of curing the hunger that was slowly taking over his stomach.

Just as he went to grab a clean pair of black skinny jeans, a hint of blue caught his eye causing him to turn his full attention to the living space of his hotel room. “What the-” he smiled, eyes raking over all of the decorations spaced out perfectly on the table. Tears started prickling in his eyes as he picked up a picture of his little family that was obviously hand drawn by his beloved son with the words “Happy Father’s Day” scrawled out at the top and a messily signed Raul in the corner. His eyes lit up when he saw the box of home baked goods that you had left him and he wondered if he should just skip breakfast with his team in favor of eating the delicious cookies you had blessed him with. Even though he had no idea how any of this had gotten there, he knew his beautiful wife had something to do with it, wishing that he could be home to give you and Raul a million thank you kisses. A tear ran down his cheek as he read the card you left him, but he quickly wiped it away in favor of snapping a picture of the incredible array of decorations to send to you.

To Love of My Life:

Attached: 1 Image

I don’t know how you did it, but I know it was you somehow. Thank you for making me a father, baby. I love you so much and I can’t wait to hold the two of you in my arms again. Can we try to FaceTime later?

To Rockstar:

I’m glad you liked it! I love you too, bubs. We both miss you so much! Things are a little hectic today, but I promise you’ll be able to see our faces.

Shawn smiled to himself, sending you another I love you text before changing into some fresh clothes and heading towards Andrew’s room with a little more pep in his step than before. ______________

“Shawn just texted me,” you announced to the room, “Do you think he’s headed over soon?”

“If he’s awake, he’ll be over here in a few minutes no doubt about it. That boy always wants to eat the second he gets up,” Brian joked from where he was playing cars with Raul on the floor.

Andrew moved the giant cardboard box into the middle of the room right where Shawn would see it the moment he walked in, “Why don’t you and Raul just stand inside the box and when Shawn knocks we can just quickly close you in?”

“Perfect,” you agreed, grabbing your little boy off the floor to hold him in your arms. Minutes after the two of you were safely inside, there was a series of knocks on the door, followed by Shawn’s unmistakable voice. You squatted down inside of the box quickly, holding Raul to your chest as Connor and Brian helped to secure the top. Raul looked at you a little confused even though you had already told him what was happening just moments ago and you placed a finger to your lips to keep him quiet, which he immediately nodded his head to with a big smile on his face. The sound of the door opening made you snap your attention to the top of the box, waiting for the moment it would open and you could see your handsome husband again.

“Hey man, happy father’s day!” you heard Andrew say, which resulted in a thankful chuckle from Shawn.

“Thank you, did you guys set up that stuff in my room?”

“Yeah, Y/n sent us everything and told us how she wanted it set up, so it was really all her doing.”

“Well, thank you anyways, it means a-” his voice stopped when he noticed the large box sitting on the ground in front of him, tied up with a huge blue bow, “What’s this?”

“Oh, this is another present Y/n sent us, but it’s so big we didn’t know how to get it in your room without you noticing,” Connor explained, trying hard to keep the smile off his face, “Why don’t you pull the bow string and open it?”

“Ok…” Shawn lightly pulled the end of the bow, letting it unravel as the box sprung open, revealing you and Raul with the biggest smiles on your faces.

“Happy Father’s Day, Shawn!”

“Happy Father’s Day, Daddy!”

Shawn’s mouth opened wide in shock, his eyebrows almost hitting his forehead as he stood in his place, unable to comprehend what was happening. Raul immediately began to reach for his dad, mumbling his name over and over again as Shawn took him in his arms, holding him tight to his chest. “How are you- What? How are you here?”

You laughed as you struggled lightly to get out of the box, but once you did you quickly made your way over to your husband so that he could wrap his arm around you as well, “You didn’t really think I was going to let you miss Father’s Day, did you?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t think you’d be able to fly out.”

“Don’t worry, baby, I’ll always make sure that we can see you, no matter what it is.”

“I love you both so much,” he whispered as he kissed Raul’s head and pulled you tighter into him, causing Raul to let out a content giggle and push his little fingers into his father’s hair.

“We love you too,” you sighed into his mouth when he finally connected his lips to yours, Raul wanting to join in and pressing a slobbery kiss to Shawn’s cheek, “Happy Father’s Day.”

[harryhoney-bee]

I thought parents didn’t have favorites.

anonymous asked: hi! could i request a dad!harry imagine where he favors one child over the other and causes some angst in the family? thanks!

Hope you liked it!

Words count: 2.2k

Angst to Fluff/ Dad!Harry

It was 6 pm, and Y/N was at the kitchen preparing Creamy mushroom pasta for dinner, her children’s favorites, Harry also liked, but not as much as the kids.

“Mom, is dad going to be home soon? I am so excited to show him my drawing!” Maya said while sitting on the couch looking proudly at her colored paper “Do you think he will like it?”

Y/N looked at her with soft eyes “Of course he will honey, is such a beautiful picture.” She goes near her daughter and puts her arm around Maya “My favorite part is the sunflowers in the back, I think it’s gonna be your dad’s favorite part too”.

“Well, I hope so!” Maya says looking happily at her mom.

she was such a beautiful girl, she was kind, smart. Different from her dad, she did not like to be the center of attention, in fact, Y/N and Harry found out she was a little artist just two years ago because she didn’t like others to see her sketches, the poor girl was too insecure about it, but Harry was trying to teach her how to be more confident. She had a lot of talent for twelve-year-old.

Y/N came back to reality when she hears a loud noise coming from downstairs, the basement, where Harry decided to make a little studio for himself, but the one person who was always there wasn’t Harry, but their son, Charlie.

Different from Maya, her brother loved being in the spotlight, he was outgoing and friends with everybody. He was the copy of Harry, from personality to talent. Charlie loves to sing, write songs, and play his guitar, but sometimes he would just go too far at the last thing, like right now.

Y/N makes her way downstairs, watching her son giving a real rock concert, she smiles at herself, he was so much like Harry…

“Hey little Rockstar, can you keep down, please?”

“But mom, a rock show without a loud guitar’s solo is not a rock show” The boy whines.

“Good thing we are at home, and not at a Rockshow, right?”

“I guess…” Charlie says “Mom when dad will be home? I want to show him my new guitar’s moves.”

“You and your sister just want to know about your father, huh?” She says pulling her hand to her chest, pretending to be hurt. “I am pretty cool too, just so you know”

Charlie laughs and gives his mom a hug.

“Mom, you are pretty cool, but dad is cooler”

“Such a kind boy I raised” She laughs, kissing him on the head.

She makes her way back to the kitchen, to finish the dinner, when she gets there, she notices Maya wasn’t in the living room anymore, assuming she went to her room, Y/N keeps doing her business.

Around 7 pm, Y/N heard the door open, and Harry shows up by the kitchen.

“Hi darling, how was your day,” Harry says kissing his wife.

“Really good, me and the kids just chilled all day long, what about yours?”

“It was really productive, just find a different way to do the melody of track 6 of the album, I can’t wait to show it to Charlie, he will love it so much!”

Y/N wasn’t surprised by his declaration, Charlie and Harry always had this special bond between them, Charlie’s love for music just made it all stronger. Sometimes she worried about Maya getting jealous of their relationship, but she never showed any type of different behavior. But Y/N would be lying if she said she didn’t wish Harry and Maya were closer.

As Harry would cross the door of the kitchen, Maya showed up, with the brightest smile on her face. “Hi dad,” she says hugging him, he did the same. “Look the drawing that I made!”

She shows him, but Harry didn’t even take the drawing to look closer, actually, his eyes lays on the picture for a few seconds.

“Hi! it’s cute, honey” He pats her head and goes to the basement, to find Charlie.

Y/N sees the worst sight a mom could see, her daughter’s face falling because of sadness, the little tears starting to pour from Maya’s eyes.

Before Mays can say anything, Y/N is there to hug her.

“Shh baby, mommy is here” She doesn’t hear anything but her sobs.

“Mom, why da-dad always wants to be with Charlie?” She tights her arms around her mother “Dad never want to spend ti-time with me-me, or give me at-attention, I thought that parents didn’t have favorites, but dad ob-obviously does! Mays cries even harder.

“Baby, come on, let’s talk in your room, ok?”

Both goes to Maya’s room, Y/N puts her on her lap, like she used to do when Maya was a toddler.

“Maya, I want you to listen to me, ok?” She grabs her daughter’s chin, she was now looking at her teary green eyes “Your dad loves you so much baby, you are his whole world! When he found out we were having a baby girl he cried for a whole week, you know?”

“He did mom?”

“Yes! You are his little girl”

“I wish I was a little girl forever, maybe then dad would like me as much as he likes Charlie”

The sadness in her voice makes Y/N want to cry “Maya, your dad loves you both the same, the only difference is that your dad can get really worked up about his music, and turns out that Charlie has the same excitement and passion as your dad. Charlie isn’t his favorite or the one he loves the most, he is just the one that shares more common interests.

“I love you mom” She says, “But can I sleep now? I don’t wanna go down there, not right now.”

“Yes baby, but tomorrow you have to eat a lot on breakfast, ok, since you don’t want to have dinner.”

“Ok mom” Y/N gives Maya a kiss on the forehead, and before she lives the room she hears her voice “Mom, I heard you and Charlie earlier, and I think you are the coolest”

Y/N laughs “Thank baby, good dreams”

Her smile leaves her face as soon as she left the room, Y/N has never been more pissed at Harry than she is right now, she goes to find him in the little studio downstairs. As she approaches, she hears both laughing, her heart softens a little.

“Hi guys”

“Hi Mom”

“Hi baby’

Y/N sits on the little puff next to Harry “Hey Charlie, could you let mom and dad talk a little in private? Please?”

Charlie looks at Harry, that looks at you with confusion on his face.

“Ok mom” He hangs the guitar on the wall, but before he left the room, his mother says “If you want to eat dinner you can, it’s ready, just be quiet because your sister is sleeping”

“Alright,” The boy answers, leaving the room completely.

“Why is Maya sleeping already? Is she ok?” Harry askes with worry in his voice.

“No Harry, she is not ok!” You left the puff and stand in front of his sit “she was crying because her father doesn’t give the attention she deserves”

“Wait, what? I made her cry?” He stands in front of her “And what do you mean I don’t give attention to her? I always do” He says, feeling hurt hearing such nonsense.

“No Harry, you don’t, when it comes to your free time you always favorites Charlie over Maya, don’t get me wrong baby, I love the bond you have with him, but it is hurting Maya that you don’t have a special solo time with her.” She looks at her husband, there was concern on his face, he opened his mouth, but closed right away.

“She was so excited to show you her drawing Harry, you had to see the smile on her face, she was counting the seconds for you to come home so she could show you, but you didn’t even look, baby.” She stares at his green eyes, the same as Maya, and sees tears rolling down his cheeks.

“I am such a bad dad” He breaks in front of Y/N, both adults hug each other.

“No Bub, none of that, you are an amazing dad, the best of all” The girl says, feeling her heart crumbling, in one hour she saw 2 of the 3 most important people in her life crying.

“Good dads don’t make their daughters cry, Y/N” Both of you sit on the floor, you are still hugging him, “And I didn’t notice I was favoriting Charlie over Maya when it comes to attention, you know?” He looks at you, his face washed with tears and sadness.

You passed the thumb in his face, taking away the tears.

“Is just easy for me to talk to Charlie, he likes the same things as me. I am aware Maya is my kid, but sometimes she intimidates me” He says laughing between is cry “She is so smart and knows so much about art and everything in general, last week we went to the market together, and she started to talk about European Vanguards, and I just couldn’t keep up with the conversation, ‘cus I know nothing about it” He laughs even harder, this time you follows him.

“Damn, I feel like crap,” Harry says, getting serious again “I was just so excited to share the new melody with baby number 2 that I forgot about baby number 1,” He says

“First, they are not babies anymore, are they?” She smiles sweetly at him “Second, parents are still people, baby, they make mistakes. Remember the time Charlie broke his feet playing in the tree?“ Harry nods his head yes “Remember how I go extremely protect over him because I didn’t want him to be hurt again? You showed me I was wrong about it, and we talked, and I cried, I felt like the worst mom in the world, but then you told me it was alright”

“So, now I am the one telling you it’s alright” She pecks him on the lips.

“Thanks, wifey, I love you” Both of them get up off the floor. “Hey, would mind if tomorrow me and Maya spent the day together? It’s not gonna fix everything, but at least I can apologize to her”

“No baby, not at all, Charlie and I could also use some alone time too.”

“Ok, tomorrow I will be taking her to have breakfast and spend the whole day together”

“Ok, so now let’s go sleep, tomorrow you gonna have a busy day”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

It was not a surprise Harry found Maya in the kitchen so early in the morning, both are early birdies, what did surprise Harry was the lack of conversation between them, when his little girl did not wish him good morning, he realized how much he screwed up.

As she was about to take her cereal in her bowl he sits by her side.

“Hey baby, I just want to say that I am so sorry about yesterday or on any other occasion I didn’t give you the attention you deserve.” She looks at him for the first time since the incident, unlike Charlie, who looked so much like him, Maya was the perfect mix, her little green eyes and her mouth were exactly like Harry’s, but her hair and nose were all her mom’s.

“Daddy loves you so much Maya, you have no Idea-‘’Before he can continue, Maya hugs him, he felt tears in the corner of his eyes.

“It’s ok dad, mom explained to me last night, you and Charlie have the same passions so it’s easier for you to spend time together.”

“No baby, it’s not ok, I wasn’t being a good dad, I love you, to the moon and back, and I love spending time with you, I am genuinely sorry.”

“I forgive you dad, and I love you too, you are the best dad!”

He kisses her head softly “What about both of us have a day just for us?”

“Really dad?” The girl questions smiling brightly “I would love to! What are we going to do?”

“Well, I was thinking of getting breakfast at the doughnut shop and then we can go to a daddy/daughter art class, what do you think?”

“Only if I can order the doughnut with extra chocolate,” The girl says smiling.

“Whatever my baby wants, now let’s got, go change your clothes and please, bring your drawing for dad, ok? I need to admire the masterpiece my little artist did” He pats her head.

“Ok dad!”

He sees her leaving to her room, the amount of love he has for this daughter is incalculable, and he won’t bear to the reason for her tears again, because she is just too angelic to feel sad, and she looked just like her mother when crying.

[xxisxxisxxis]

Gateway Drug | Part Ninety-Three [PT. 1]

Words: 3k

Warning(s): explicit language, drug abuse

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NIKKI

1987

I throw another drink back not long after yelling obscurities at Viv as she stomped out of VIP to leave and go home, between more lines of blow, a trip to the bathroom to get a fix and some drinks, we decide to take the party to Steven's new place. 

"You guys just can't be too loud, though, got it?" He says as sternly as he can as we get inside and he fumbles for his key. 

"Alright, alright, alright," I mumble, stepping inside, grabbing his bottle of Jack off the counter before getting comfortable on the floor by the window. 

We all talk--as best we can--for a little while, Steven and the boys making some calls to get some dealers here, and the only thing on my mind is getting a potent fix, until I hear something...very faint, very familiar...very, very, familiar...I furrow my brows to focus more, ignoring the guys' laughter and voices, my eyes training on the wall opposite of me. 

My subconscious puts it together before my conscious does, like smelling a blanket from a childhood home and immediately being taken back before your brain can quite grasp the feeling. 

Multiple memories shrouding that sound of Vivian that only she can really pull off. 

It doesn't take rocket science equation solving skills to put together why I'm currently hearing her soft, pretty moans carry on next door. 

I'm pretty sure more members of Guns, aside from Steven, are staying here right now. 

Apparently Stevie hears it not long after and slips into the next suite, where the sound is coming from, that's connected to his suite. 

I don't hear it anymore after he gets back in here. 

"Dealer's coming or what?" I ask Steven, my high starting to get blowed from the fact that my wife is next door on her back for someone who isn't me. 

I'd be jealous if I weren't numb to it by now.

"They're all tied up, man." Steven tells me and I groan, thinking for a second. 

An idea comes to mind that makes me want to bang my head against the wall, but I'm desperate and left with no option at this point. 

"I know a guy," I mumble, dragging myself up to the phone in the little kitchen area, reluctantly dialing a number I never wanted to dial again. 

It rings once...twice...three times… 

"Hello?" He answers and I roll my eyes. 

"'Sup man, it's Nikki." I reply, trying to put on my best "friendly" voice, even though it's making my blood boil that the bastard I could see myself killing is ultimately the one that's gonna be able to save the day. 

"Hey, dude." He replies. 

"Me and a few buddies of mine are out here at the Franklin Plaza Suites and need a few things." I rub the back of my neck. 

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah." 

It's quiet, and he reluctantly breathes out. 

"I'll see what I can do." I can hear the satisfaction in his voice that I'm having to call him. 

Within the next forty minutes there's more people here than I'm comfortable with, groupies, and hangerson, and other drug adoring morons, and then my saving grace comes through the door once Steven lets him in. 

Slash is already slipping into a Jack induced stupor. Sally came in a few minutes ago screaming at all of us guys for leaving her at the Cat House. 

We didn't even realize we'd forgotten her. 

She's in the bathroom, probably keeping herself in there to keep from starting an argument with Slash in front of everyone. 

Robbin's on the phone with Laurie.

Apparently it's just in men's nature to get fucked up, call our wives, and profess our undying love for them despite the fact we cheat on them nearly every time we hangout with our friends. 

I wonder what would happen if I went in there on her and Duff right now. 

What would she say? 

Probably nothing. 

She'd just look at the floor and try not to cry, probably. 

What would I do? 

I know that I know what's going on between them, but if I actually walked in and saw them together, caught in the act…

I'd either be a pussy and cry over it, or kill them both--him first and make her watch, and then just slowly torture her or something. God, I'm fucked up. Even though I'm pretty sure being married to me is torture enough to her. 

I know it's torture to me, too. 

"Here dude," Sparkie hands me a syringe and a spoon, and I look at him, too out of focus to concentrate on getting it right. 

"Fix me." I say to him and he scoffs. 

"Okay, dude." He starts getting it ready and I look at that wall again. Staring at it, taking a sip of my drink. 

Fucking Vivian. 

Of course. Her. Of all the women I've hooked up with and dated in my life, she--the most harmless, at least in my dumbfuck mind when I first met her--is the one to screw me over like this. 

And I've let her. 

If I did what Vince does to Sharise and have that whole, "no hanging out with your boy friends without me" rule, this wouldn't even be an issue. 

That's the problem. Somewhere along the way I loosened her leash a little too much and now she's chewed her way through it entirely. 

"You look like you're in hell, you know," Sparkie tells me, fixing the tourniquet around my arm… "But that's okay, you're about to be in heaven in just a few seconds." He assures me. 

I know he's right. I just need to hang on to that. 

In just a few seconds, I'll be--

I hear Vivian, again, and I reach around my neck and grab onto her cross I've been wearing for weeks, now, squeezing it at the sting of the needle going into my skin. 

I feel him shoot me up, my mind waiting to chase and catch the high that I just know is about to come. 

My fingers slip from the crucifix, and I feel myself fall back before a weightless feeling washes over me.

Present

I keep rereading the damn paper, repeatedly, trying my hardest not to throw a fit...

Nikki Sixx and his wife, Vivian, recently confirmed that she is indeed pregnant issuing a simple and straightforward,"Yes, it's true," statement earlier this week through Nikki's manager, and--as speculated--her pregnancy is not with Nikki. Many fans and some friends of the couple are blown out of the water by this sudden turn of events, others who are familiar with the rockstar and his band but never really paid much attention to his personal relationships, are now curious as to who exactly Vivian Sixx is. Well, in an open letter, rumored to be intended for print in Rolling Stone, a few anonymous former roadies of Mötley Crüe--who partook on their Girls, Girls, Girls, tour in 1987--are here to introduce who they saw behind the scenes of flashing cameras and public sweet moments with husband Nikki. 

"This is a letter to Mötley Crüe fans, we're a mere handful of people out of the many who witnessed monstrosities behind the scenes while on tour with the Crüe since Summer of 1987, none of which were caused by the band or any members, themselves, but one woman in particular. We had no reason to really bring any of this up, but in light of recent news, we are disheartened and angered of the betrayal against one of the four men who gave us an opportunity to live several months in our lives that will forever impact us in the best way known, and provide heartwarming memories by the dozen. This is not an attack on Nikki Sixx, especially given his past struggles with opioid addiction, alcoholism, as well as his abusive wife. The first time we met Vivian, she was polite and friendly, but very assertive. It was obvious it would be her way or no way,  and often times she and Nikki would go back and forth with who was running things. It was obvious Nikki was unwell at times, whether it'd be hungover, sick from withdrawal or simply tired from a show the night before. Vivian would choose these times when he was at his most exhausted to pick fights with him. He'd tell her to go away or 'f**k off,' and she'd continue to verbally and mentally beat him down more than he clearly already was. When Rolling Stone came to interview the band shortly after the wild rumor Vanity started publicly, we were told Vivian had tried to physically attack the reporter working on the story, simply because he made the comment that Pepsi wasn't good for her. Small things like that would often set her off, leaving security, managers, and band members to try to dodge fists while pulling her off of her unsuspecting victim, who was typically Nikki. Many times we'd hear them arguing in the hotel rooms, dressing rooms, bathrooms, tour bus, etc., usually followed by sounds of what we can only describe as 'pitchy, hungry, pornstar moans' on her part--clearly using her body to get back in his good graces after wearing him down. After their fights, Nikki would always have a bottle of alcohol on hand, some kind of drug, and would keep to himself. Our comradery with him soon began to dwindle with each month because it was obvious she was beginning to suck the life out of him. He was more introverted overtime, and higher more often than he was at the beginning of the tour. It really got bad when Guns N' Roses came on tour for a month, because Vivian's attacks on him and the other members of Mötley Crüe, began to pop off as randomly and explosively as fireworks. We'd witness some foul exchange (brought on by Vivian)  between her and Nikki backstage, either verbal or physical, nearly every night. People can talk down on the Crüe for being bad boys, but they've shown everybody that's helped them on tour, gratitude. All the wives and girlfriends that would come on that we'd offer food and drinks to would always express gratitude with a smile and a warm heart, but Vivian would always stay silent and cold towards us. She's a trashy, bitchy, whiney, hateful, spiteful, conniving, plotting python that now has her cold-blooded grasp around not only Nikki's neck, but also Duff's. Her game is to find the most well rounded guys while maintaining under her guise that she's a kind, Christianly woman, and see how far she can push them until they work themselves to death, literally, with trying to please her. We aren't surprised that she's pregnant, she probably video taped herself conceiving the damn thing and sent it to Nikki. We hope she did so it can be practice  for her inevitable low-budget porn career when she runs out of rockstars to f**k and kill, as we've mentioned, she already sounds like one in the throws of passion. Anyway, Nikki, we're hoping you decide to kick her aside and start fresh. Duff, get a paternity test, dude. Crüe fans, don't let that red-headed bitch fool you."

"Who the hell is Page Six to give these bastards a platform in the first place, Doc?!" I snap.

"Nikki, I am handling it, I'm on it--"

"--You tell the L.A. Times and Rolling fucking Stone if they take this shit and run with it, too, I'm personally coming to their offices and fucking them up. Not the publications themselves, but the people trying to put this out there in print, individually." I hiss.

"Nikki, just--" 

"--And who the hell--what roadies did this?!" 

"I don't know, Nikki, but I'm trying my hardest to get it cleaned up." He assures me. 

"'She's a trashy, bitchy, whiney, hateful, spiteful, conniving, plotting python that now has her cold-blooded grasp around not only Nikki's neck, but also Duff's. Her game is to find the most well rounded guys while maintaining under her guise that she's a kind, Christianly woman, and see how far she can push them until they work themselves to death, literally, with trying to please her'?!" I read that snippet, just so he can be reminded how fucked this is, trying my hardest not to start pitching a fucking fit. 

"Fucking AJaxx isn't even cleaning this up! Press mongrels are gonna be humping these bastards legs for giving them sales for the next nine months!" I outburst. 

"Sixx, don't worry about it, alright? It won't go past this shitty Page Six story, okay?" 

"It's fucking horse shit." I ignore him, trying to keep my cool. "Fuck." I kick at the leg of the table, running a hand through my hair.

"I guess one decently positive thing is that Viv doesn't know about this," he says next and I shake my head a little, feeling a migraine starting to come on, strong. 

I was tempted then to check myself out of rehab and 'handle' it myself, but decided it wouldn't be worth it. I hoped it would go away and it would all blow over eventually.

"Vivian, don't listen to any of it, alright? Me and you and everyone on that tour know damn well it wasn't just you being a bitch and us being the innocent victims." I say through the phone as Viv tries to calm down, her breathing shaky and ragged from crying so much. 

"I know that but the fans and other people don't know that." She says to me, her voice quiet and tired. "I'm so embarrassed, Nikki." She adds. "I'm already embarrassed that everybody knows I cheated on you but now this whole thing…" she trails off and I feel guilt tug at my heart. 

I don't know what the fuck to say. 

I'm used to criticism from the press, but none of them have tore into me or any of the guys--except Vince after the Razzle accident--so personally and extensively as they're tearing at her. 

Calling me a devil worshipper and saying my music is shitty gets annoying and frustrating and even infuriating at times, but attacking my wife and calling her a low budget porn star and telling me to kick her aside? 

Fuck that. 

"I'm sorry, Viv. I really am." I assure her, honestly, closing my eyes when I hear her stifle a little sob out. "Where are you at right now?" I ask. 

"Duff wanted me to meet his family." She tells me. "I'll be back Saturday." 

I'm relieved she actually has a reason for not being here, but I'm also hurt that she didn't give me a heads up. But I don't want to talk about it right now. I think she's been punished enough today. 

"Okay...you didn't show yesterday and I was just worried." I admit. 

"I know, it was just a spur of the moment thing. He asked me last week and I didn't think it'd be an issue." 

"Oh." 

I glance around and let out a breath. 

"I, um, I'm gonna go. I got a group thing with the guys at 3:00." I tell her. 

"Okay." 

"Are you gonna be okay or do I need to break out and kick someone's ass?" I ask her, half-joking, and she laughs, making me smile. 

"I'll be okay." She tells me. 

"I'll see you next week, Sixx." 

I can practically hear the smile in her voice when she says, "see you next week." 

We hang up and I rub my lips together, taking a few deep breaths before heading to where me and the guys meet with Amber three times a week now. 

Tommy and Vince are waiting for me, and I plop down beside them, leaning forward, elbows on my knees, hands running over my face…

"Psst," Tommy nudges me and I look at him as Vince gets up to grab a cup of coffee. 

"What?" I ask him, and he puts his finger over his mouth. 

"You seen the shit they're on Vivian for?" He whispers and I furrow my brows, looking around. 

"The room is empty except us, dude, why are you--"

"--Shh," he says. 

"Why are you whispering?" I finish my sentence. 

"Because they probably have this motherfucker bugged out the ass." He replies, glancing around again. "I'm thinking of breaking outta here, man." He whispers very, very quietly. 

"You do know we're not being held here by legal obligation, right? They won't chase us down and have the cops on us if we just check ourselves out." I point out and he furrows his brows a little. 

"Oh." 

"Why do you wanna 'break out'?" I ask. 

"I miss Heather and my dogs and I wanna be able to be there Viv, dude. She fucking needs us right now and we're, like, over an hour away--disconnected from shit. I mean we wouldn't even know what the fuck was going on in the world if Doc wasn't keeping us in the loop, ya know?" 

I think about it for a second. 

"We're over a month into our three month stay, dude." I state. "We can't just throw in the towel, now." 

"I don't mean ditch it and stay gone. I just mean check out for a few days, go back home, see what all is going on and come back." He shrugs. 

It seems oddly appealing. 

Way too appealing, actually. 

"I don't know, Tommy…" I rub the back of my neck.

"I already talked to Vince about it and he's down."

"Of course he is." 

"And we wouldn't be doing it tomorrow or anything. I'm thinking next week." 

"Does Doc know?" I ask. 

"Fuck Doc." He scoffs. 

"Agreed." I nod, chuckling. 

"So, you in or not, man?" 

"Just for a few days?" 

"Just for a few days." 

"Then we're all coming back in?" 

"Like we never left to begin with." 

"No drugs, no parties, not even alcohol." 

"Just spending time with our families and then back to the grindstone." He states. 

"...I'm in."

 ...You know when you're on a shitty diet, eating boring, tasteless, "healthy" food, and then decide you've been stuck to your diet long enough that you can have one slice of cake because you're disciplined enough to control yourself? And now, two years later, you're still telling yourself you'll get back on your diet because after that slice of cake you just said, "fuck it," and never thought about forcing yourself to eat lettuce again? Let's just say leaving rehab prematurely works the same damn way.

[sleekervae]

The Neighbour [0.9]

Masterlist

It was probably around one in the morning when everybody had dispersed and gone home. Only, Remington hadn't gone home, not that Emerson or Shy cared much. They stood at the door and watched as he walked Eva back to her apartment, but they smiled knowingly at each other when he didn't come back after a few minutes.

Remington didn't remember the conversation they had before he laid down in her bed, embraced in her sweet smell and his eyes were heavy. It probably just happened by accident. But the morning sunrise casted a warm glow through the open space of the apartment, it was Friday today. And he had a number one album out.

He woke curled into her embrace, his arms around her, the sheets loosely covering them, strands of her hair caught in his own lashes and for a moment, all that he knew was her and her soft breaths, her floral perfume, the way she made him feel and then the memories and promises of the night before came flashing back to him, hitting him full in the chest like a softball knocking the wind out of him.

The hangover that made itself known in the next moment was sudden and blinding. Remington instantly squeezed his eyes shut as soon as he'd opened them, the light too bright, the room far too stuffy, his head throbbing and he moved closer to the warmth of her, let her ease him into the shock of day.

Despite the less than romantic way their first kiss had ended, all the kisses and touches that came after it was well worth the embarrassment. He wouldn't have traded the way they'd stayed up until they'd felt light and dizzy for the world, could relive that night a thousand times and never tire of it, would thrive on her sleepy giggles, the way her heart rate steadied with every kiss, the slow blinks she gave when they were fighting for consciousness, the way she shifted closer to him in her sleep.

Remington studied her face for a while, her button nose inches from the tip of his. Her deep pink lips were parted, snoring softly against the sheets and with his arm resting on the small of her back, he couldn't help but draw small shapes through the fabric of her dress, stroked his fingertips at the base of her spine in mesmerisation.

Eva stirred slightly, groaning as soon as the haze of sleep lifted from her mind and she shifted herself closer to Remington without thinking, craved more of his touch, welcomed the slow strokes against her back and the heat of his palm. At the sound of his soft chuckle, she opened her eyes to search for his and Remington smiled instantly, creases of delight pulling into his features, his lip twitching. Looking into his soft eyes made being suddenly awake worthwhile.

"G'mornin'..." he mumbled.

"Morning," she hummed. She lifted her hand to smooth back the blonde hairs that had fallen to his temple, circling around his ear with her thumb then rested her hand on his neck, tracing the prominent vein. She smiled at the smudged makeup beneath his eyes.

"You're really beautiful in the morning," he commented, voice raspy with sleep, "I mean, you're beautiful always, but --"

"There's something about that special light that shines through in the early morning," she finished, hitting his point perfectly.

Remington turned over and glanced at her bedside clock, "... It's nearly ten, Eva," he chuckled.

Eva rolled her eyes but made no attempt to leave the bed, "Well, you look just as pretty mid morning, too,"

He rolled back over and gently looped his arm over her waist, flooding her nose with the faint hint of his sharp cologne and his lips were soft and warm as they pressed against her forehead. He was too comfortable in this moment,  the calm, the quiet, the peace and the delicate nature of her in the morning. Her lightly freckled skin was begging to be caressed, adored and appreciated. He wanted to feel her soft moans against his lips, but couldn't find the strength to lean forward and initiate it, knew he would never stop kissing her.

"Congrats on your number one album, rockstar," she smiled sleepily.

Remington gave a scratchy giggle and with his eyes he counted the small freckles that dotted her chest, reaching out to stroke the soft skin over her collarbones, and he lived for the way she shivered and exhaled under his touch.

"Thanks for coming out to witness," he replied, "And for so much more,"

"The pleasure was all mine," Eva leaned up and kissed him softly. She swore she had died and gone to heaven; hearing his soft moan, the fingers tracing shapes and shivers across her back. She didn't want to leave the bubble of bliss and stillness they were wrapped in, but she grew annoyed when they heard a low grumble from the bedroom floor. 

Pluto needed to go out.

"Fucking cat," she groaned, sitting up slowly and rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Remington stayed still but watched the muscles of her back ripple as she stretched in the little plaid dress. She looked down at him quizzically.

"You gonna' get up?" she asked quietly, slightly envying that he didn't have any pet responsibilities.

He simply shook his head, "I'm good here," he smiled back, all the happier when she glowered down at him with dismay.

"Alright Pluto, c'mon. I'll let you out," she swung her legs over the side and stood, following Pluto out of her room, popping her tongue out at Remington once more before disappearing around the corner.

Remington turned onto his back and threw his hands on his stomach, looking around at the black and white stock photographs she had on the walls and books she had piled up in a corner. Her room was small, but it was cozy, secluded. He could hide with her in this little room and not have to be bothered by responsibility and upsets; he could just have Eva all to himself. No one would be around to disturb them.

Well, except for the cat, of course.

He eventually found the strength to pull himself out of bed, his fingers twisting in the soft material of her sheets a moment longer before he pushed himself to his feet. Shuffling into the open space, he blinked briefly as he adjusted to the infiltrating filter of sunshine. There was a half full bottle of wine still sitting on the counter and two empty glasses in the sink; their late night exchanges slowly coming back to him.

Eva smiled at him from the sliding door, turning to watch as Pluto sniffed around in the courtyard below. Just to entice him to come back up, she had his favorite bag of treats at the ready.

"I can make coffee in a minute," she told him, a little more awake now then moments ago.

"Sure," Remington came to stand at the opposing side of the door frame. His own house was already flushed in sunlight, but he knew Emerson would probably still be snoring away well after when he'd come home.

Eva's gaze locked on the obsidian and gold bracelet he wore on his wrist, just the fact that he'd been wearing it since his birthday made Eva even more overjoyed. It had been nearly three weeks since his birthday, six since the day they met. She could remember all too well the mortification that had her squirming on her feet when Pluto bombarded that barbecue, she was even more tongue tied with Remington being without a shirt and despite her drawbacks he had been so nice to her. Kind, patient, empathetic; all the good qualities that Eva had trouble finding in a majority of people.

It had only been six weeks.

"... Or, I can take you out for breakfast, if you'd like," Remington said.

"We can do that, too," Eva nodded, tittering when he moved to close the space between them. Their embrace felt so natural; his hand fitting around her waist perfectly and his chapped lips familiar and gentle against hers. A shiver ran down his spine when her eyelashes fluttered against the skin of his cheek, sighing against her lips when her fingers scratched at the back of his neck. Kissing Eva was like a new and irresistible addiction, and despite how good he felt kissing her Remington knew they wouldn't get anywhere if one of them didn't get proactive.

But was that really so much of a bad thing?

Remington drew away from her with obvious reluctance but never let go of her waist, keeping the small brunette effectively trapped between him and the door frame. Not that Eva minded, though she couldn't help but feel a little exposed, standing here with him on her balcony mid morning.

"I think we might be putting on a show for everybody," she warned. Remington shrugged without much care, his neighbours were the least of his priorities right now.

"Fuck 'em. Let 'em look. We're not doing anything wrong," he said, "How about I come back in about thirty minutes and we get refreshed and go find a nice place to have breakfast?"

Eva was locked the intensity of his gaze, thriving on that mischievous smile that was a staple to his addictive personality, "I'd like that very much, Remington,"

Even the way she spoke his name was different; adoring and enrapturing. He hated to leave her but promised to be back quick, giving her one last kiss before he jogged back to his own house. Eva watched him from the doorway to her balcony, even his huffy jog she found adorable. She quickly grabbed the bag of cat treats off the table and gave them a shake, enticing Pluto to come climbing back in. Sliding the glass door shut, she turned to her phone vibrating on the counter top. The ID read 'Blocked'.

She denied the call.

Shy looked up immediately from her phone when she heard the front door swing open, smiling coyly as Remington came jogging in. She didn't expect him to be home before ten, but just as well he looked -- perhaps 'refreshed' was the right word? Energized? Either way, there was a small skip in his step.

"Good morning," she greeted.

"Hey," he grinned at her, "Emerson awake?"

She scoffed, "That guy could sleep through the hydrogen bomb," she replied, unable to get the smile off her own lips, "... How's Eva?"

A tinge of pink flushed through his chest, but Remington couldn't deny that she was "Fantastic. We're going out, so I'll be back in a little bit. Don't wait up!" and the next thing Shy knew, he darted up the stairs faster then the bullet train. But he poked his head back over the stair railing, "And incase Sleepy Dwarf asks, nothing unholy happened,"

Shy took another satisfied sip of her coffee, "Duly noted,"