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#sorry this will be my last big big drawing for a while because of uni resuming
pxgeturner · 1 year
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keep you safe. keep you mine.
ghostface!miguel o'hara x reader. prologue.
you're a junior in college and you have a totally awesome boyfriend in the master's program. a girl from your school is murdered and your boyfriend is there to make sure you feel safe (college/uni!au as if its not obvious)
an. I've had this idea in my head for like a month. executive dysfunction is a little bitch so i've onlyy been able to sit down n write this today. I wrote part of it a work but most of it within the last hour. (it’s currently a bit past midnight on the first of october) which if u have been here for a while, know that’s v surprising for me. i really wanted this to be posted on the first of the month but what can u do. i’m just gonna queue it atp. this isn't very action packed bcz it's just a prologue. but im soooo excited. also, r is latina coded but can be read from any ethnic standpoint. also this has not been proofread.
warnings: r has a panic attack, mentions of death (slightly graphic description of a dead body)
wc. 1.2k
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you can’t change the channel. you don’t know why. but you can’t. a girl from your university was killed just about an hour ago. you were going to turn on the run of practical magic that started about half an hour ago. you just keep watching the news-lady rehash the same information over and over again. the killer all but turned the poor girl inside out. she’s in your finance class. you worked on a group assignment with her. she’s one of those girls who tries to maintain the hierarchy of high school in college. which is total bullshit, you’re third years for crying out loud! she’s passive aggressive, sure, but she should’ve had so much more time to grow. so you’re sitting there. bundled in blankets, not able to press the button on the remote. 
PING! 
something hits the sliding glass door to the back porch. you don’t want to become chopped liver. so you stay in your seat. a few minutes pass, you think, and no more noise, so you turn back to the tv. 
thud thud. you ignore it, keeping my eyes on the screen. 
then my cell starts to ring. you jump in your seat, and search for it, lost in the blankets. It’s miguel. you pick up the call. 
“hey mickey, you scared me.”
“sorry, baby. mind opening the door? It’s a little fresh out here?”
“the slide door?”
“yeah,”
you untangle myself from the blankets and approach the glass. you turn on the outside light, and it’s him. you unlock the door and let him in. he kisses your cheek as he comes in. “hey, angel,”
“hey yourself,”
“where are your parents?” you shut the door
“concert, pop surprised mama with tickets to a merengue singer. gloria something.”
he nods and comes in to hug you. “how’s your night been angel? The news is on? why’s it still playing?” he strokes your hair “you know if you keep watching this fear mongering shit it’s gonna just make you anxious, baby.”
“yeah…” you melt into him, feeling safe with your big strong boyfriend here. “can you stay the night?”
“’course baby. anything for my sweet girl.” he leads you back to the couch, “what do you want to watch?”
“practical magic, but it’s already running.”
“don’t you have the dvd?”
“OMG YES” you jump out of your seat and dash over to the tv stand, opening the dvd stash drawer. “HERE IT IS” you wave it around in triumph before inserting it into the player. 
once you’re back on the couch your boyfriend goes “if you have it on dvd why would you watch it on cable?”
you pout at him “it felt special. like they were playing it just for me. it was the perfect time.”
he shakes his head and chuckles, “you’re just too cute, baby.”
… 
“she talked shit about you, y’know.” gwen says after she tossed a penny into the fountain. 
“what?” the two of you start walking to the dining hall
“that girl, ava whatever? she was in my drawing class after your finance class with her. she like, thought you were obsessed with her.”
you stop in your tracks. “wait. what the fuck?”
she steps back and turns to face you. “yeah. i didn’t tell you because i figured if she never said anything to your face it wouldn’t be a big issue.”
“ok…” this is confusing “a: what did she say and b: why are you telling me this?”
“she said you’d stare at her. and that you look like you look like a… what did she say?… ‘a brainless mutt’ and other shit. she only said shit like that a couple times. and i ripped her a new one both times.” she gestures for you to keep walking. you realize today they probably have pizza and she wants to get there before they run out. “i’m telling you this so you don’t feel too bad. she wasn’t some innocent soul, she was a bitch. you’re so nice. but i don’t want you wasting your emotions on her.”
you think about all this information as you two walk. you never really liked ava. she totally thought of herself as a queen bee, and that’s so icky. the class you had together is tiered with semi-circular layout. you sat at one end, and she did at the other. when you space out, you guess it might seem like staring, but, like. what the hell?
and then you see miguel. he’s in a booth with peter, mj, and miles. you and gwen go up to the table.
“hey, angel”
“hi mickey,”
“they have soup, got some for you. cranberry juice too.” your favorite food and your favorite juice? he’s heaven.
you smile so big it almost hurts.
“did you get me food?” gwen asks miles
“i- uh, didn’t know what you wanted,” gwen glares at him– it’s a joke but when you’re on the other end it doesn’t feel like it. “-but there’s plenty of pizza left! i haven’t gotten food yet. i wanted to wait for you.” gwen smiles and offers him her hand. the two of them leave and you slide into the booth, next to miguel. 
“how was break?” peter asks. 
“it was good! love being with my family as usual.”
“and miguel, i’m sure,” mj winks playfully. 
“i was at my parents house!”
“and miguel went over every time you offered.” peter says before taking a sip of his coffee. 
“he’s so in love with you. it’s an obsession.” mj jokes. 
miguel drapes his arm round your shoulder exaggeratedly. “gotta keep my girl safe, there’s some freaks who’d want to hurt her.” you elbow him lightly to tell him to stop joking like that. 
somewhere along the line after gwen and miles get back, the subject changes to them trying to convince you and gwen to go to graduate school. 
“you’re so smart! You could study classical literature! or ethical studies! or ethnic studies! genders studies.”
“oh my god parker please stop throwing studies in my face. i’m so happy y’all are having a good time in the master’s program. and i’m so glad that miles is planning to go do that kind of path too,” you lean back, head supported by miguel’s arm. “i just have no desire to be a career academic. by the time i graduate i’ll have spent seventeen years of my life on education. After i get that diploma i just want to write.”
“and that’s exactly what you’re gonna do, doll.” 
a few days later, and the weekend has arrived. you’re in miguel’s room, a tim burton film playing as you two cuddle. 
the movie gets drowned out by the sound of an alarm, coming from your phones. it’s an emergency alert from the police. someone else has been found dead. someone from your school. your breath turns shallow and a lump forms in your throat. you’re crying. you can’t breathe. everything is blurry. your chest feels heavy. miguel holds you, whispering in your ear reassurances. he’d never let anyone touch you. you’re safe. nothing bad is ever going to happen to you. he’s here to protect you. 
thank god you have miguel to protect you from everything evil outside.
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push-tet · 6 months
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@hellodahliah special for you 🥰 and for ppl who want to understand the lore of my Verona
kind of an addendum to the last post
bruh im sorry that this post came out so long!!
The Counts origin: The Counts, like the Сapps, were once an aristocracy. But after losing the election to Macbeth's ancestor, the Counts' ancestors ceased to consider themselves aristocrats. Leaving the path of palitics the Counts chose the path of jurisprudence. The Counts were able to maintain their power and influence over Veronaville by pulling the strings of law and justice
Escalus-Prince - Knowledge\Pisces- 5\3\9\1\7
Yeah, he's got a double name but everyone just calls him Escalus or Escal
He's too empathic for a job in the judiciary
He met his ex-wife at uni, he thought it was the real love but in fact she was using him to improve her position at uni so that she would not be expelled (he did all her academic work for her). When the truth came out, he didn't make a scene and just asked her to leave
After the death of Ledia Macbeth (the mayor at the time), he continues her work trying to reconcile the old generation of feuding clans
Escalus couldn't spend much time with his son. That's why they have a strained relationship with him
Escalus realizes he's spoiled Paris. While he has time, he tries to carefully correct this mistake so that he knows Paris will be a worthy successor to the family business
Gregorio - Romance\Taurus - 4\7\3\8\3
He is the first adopted son of the Summerdreams. When he grew up, he changed his last name
He was in love with a servant girl at the Сapp House (at the time of the game, the deceased Angelica Nurse)
He's a master of bad flirting
Before he became the Counts' butler, he tried his hand at stand-up
Gregorio still doesn't know how to react to Paris' words - You're like a big brother to me
After the fire at the old Count manor, he developed hydrophobia
Paris - Family\Leo - 5\8\3\4\5
Paris was born and spent half his childhood in Champs Les Sims. But his parents were going on a long expedition, so they returned to Veronaville and left their son in the care of Escalus. They promised to send him a card or letter once a month, but he hadn't received one in over three years (they're alive)
Paris was chubby in chilhood
Paris got interested in drawing after watching - Little Miss Wendalyn (fun fact - it's also Romeo's fav cartoon) At the moment, the biggest fan of his doodles is Merc
Paris is a little self-centered and makes himself a pretty good-looking guy. But even so, he always says - There's beauty in everyone. Someone just didn't think to wash their face today
Paris has been friends with Julliette since childhood but her liaison with Romeo annoys him. Paris just can't turn a blind eye to Romeo's shameful reputation. Not because he's jealous nonono
Paris and Romeo don't openly show their dislike for each other and pretend they are good bros. Paris calls him Gnomeo
The Zhung origin:
The fairies of the Zhung Clan are famous tea masters and their outdated views on life. The men of the clan are outstanding healers and the women of the clan are supposed to be creative but devote themselves to looking after the family. But no member of the family is allowed to leave the homeland without special permission from the elders. Failure to follow the rules is punishable by condemnation and condemnation within the family
Yingtai - Virgo\Family 8\3\5\3\6
After her daughter left the family, Yingtai devoted herself to a career in music. She is fluent in playing all musical instruments and has often performed at the opera
As a young girl, Yangtai disobeyed her family and went to university abroad dressed as a man
Yingtai's husband openly despised her family. He despised them so much that he refused to use his wife's surname after marriage
Yingtai hasn't spoken another language for a long time, so when she arrives in Veronaville she starts to communicate with everyone in her native language as a habit
Yingtai remains devoted to her husband even after his death
Yintai knows all types and kinds of teas by heart. So she's literally like: Fuck your zodiac signs. What's your favorite tea?; Her favorite - Longjing tea
please someone ask me about Yingtai and her husband's relationship they are my Roman Empire
Madam - Aries\Pleasure 5\6\6\4\4
i found an old post about her bruh
Madam change her name and took her second husband's surname so she and her daughter wouldn't be part of the Zhung
Madam hates everything to do with her father. Unlike her mother, Madame is convinced that he is not dead but simply ran away
Madame works as a fashion photographer but also successfully designs her own custom-made clothes. Some of her clients include - Marissa Cleveland, Armand DeBateau, Mercutio Monty, Klara Vonderstein, Goneril and Kent Capp, Bella Goth, Cordial sisters
Madame doesn't hate men, she just doesn't like it when men try to control women
After the "death" of her father, Yingtai fell into a deep depression and stopped paying attention to her daughter, because of this Madame became unmanageable and often deliberately got into trouble
After leaving home, Madame still has a habit of asking after the welcome - "Would you like some tea?" Her favorite - Pu Erh with basil-cherry
Helana - Scorpio\Fortune 7\4\7\4\3
When Helena was studying martial arts in Shang Simla. (btw the homeland of Madam and Yingati) She overworked herself so much that she now has to dye her hair blond to cover up a bunch of gray hairs
Helena the union of an ordinary sim and a fairy. A half-breed. She does not have access to such fnctions as - long life and magic. But in she excels in physical activities of ordinary sims
Fact: Helena was able to reeducate Paris to do his job properly
For Helna, Hermia is dead. So when she's asked to stop ignoring Hermia's existence, she says - I'm not crazy enough to talk to a ghost
Helena seems to be a cold person, but if you talk to her for a while, you will find out that in addition to white arts, she bakes cookies/buns to drink tea with (if Paris doesn't eat all the sweets in one go); Her favorite - green tea with peach
The Snout also have a dog named Peek
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He was a present for Madam from father-in-law. i don't know how to describe him, i'll just show it
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he's also supposed to be a Spitz
fact: the only three characters here are not Shakespearean references
hmmm, should i put Madam-Helena and Escalus-Paris templates for download?
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mission-light-if · 3 months
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Mission Light - Update 29.06.2024/Marcos Soto - Portrait
Hello, guys :)
It's me, I am back. I am a little stressed because of uni right now, but oh well. (I got one point on my exam; I need four to pass. Fortunately, I have another chance at the end of the semester.)
I also wrote about 15,000 words since the last update, which includes a bigger scene in the middle of the chapter with a lot of different choices. And I corrected everything that I wanted in the prologue.
I actually wrote more than I expected, so I hope I can update soon and publish the corrections of the prologue and the first part of the lawyer path. :) Part two will have to wait until after August 8th because I have my last exam for this semester on that day.
I also did a drawing of Marcos, because he, or she (if you choose Maria instead of Marcos), has a big role in the lawyer path. I hope you like it, it somehow got a bit dark, so maybe I will play around with the lighting should I ever use it for the itch.io site in the future. :) I am also currently answering the remaining three questions I got here on Tumblr a while ago. (Sorry it takes me so long :))
Take care :) - Cassian
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otrtbs · 8 months
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Hiii ! I had already asked that question, but I will ask it again because you didn't respond to it last time but at the same time it's harmless (I think), and if you don't respond again then I guess it isn't harmless 😭
I was wondering how you got into art ? Have you ever made art yourself like painting, drawing, and sculpture and decided to study that, or do you really just love art history and never had touched a pen to draw in your life? And how did your family react ?
And another question was were you in school, or work when you were writing AHB (I mean in general when you are writing actually) and if so, how did you find time to write and read? Because as a writer I feel like an important part is to read but when I do write I don't read, and I know that a big part of that is just school and I don't have time, but maybe you got a magic trick or smth?
hi! yeah it is harmless i am just SEVERELY behind on answering asks these days but i am not intentionally ignoring you/anyone. i am just behind on asks, sorry! also i get rambly under the cut so this is a warning!
as far as how i got into art, i used to volunteer at my local art museum when i was in high school!! and during that time i got to talk to a bunch of curators and educators and i was like,,,,, 'yeah. i wanna do this'
i am NOT artistic at all,,, i can't draw or paint to save my life el oh el. i had to take a fine arts course as an undergrad in uni which was fairly rudimentary ,,, just exploring different art mediums,,, color theory,, etc. and i was SO BAD at it,, so. bad. we had to bring in our art projects for critique and i still have nightmares about that...oof.
as far as my family support,,,, also el oh el. uhm,, no one was very thrilled with my life decisions to say the least...but i do not care! it's my life to live! then when my sister went to uni and said she wanted to be a biomedical engineer major n maybe go to med school,, well they put all their attention on her so we move!
also yes!! i was in school while i was writing ahb! i was in my final year of undergrad, i worked full time as a resident assistant at my university and i worked part time at a call center (<- WORST JOB OF MY FUCKING LIFE) and sometimes i would pick up extra shifts at my university's campus store because i was paying my own way through undergrad and so honestly.... the truth is i hardly slept. which is not healthy and i do not recommend that you do that at all. by any means. thankfully, because it was my final year i had some easy "blow off" classes in addition to upper division art history courses so the workload was lighter than previous semesters.
but my RA job would put me "on call" which meant i was the one an entire building of 500+ college girls would call if there was emergency of any kind (could be something serious like a fire or a strange man in the girls dorms or someone needing serious medical attention to something miniscule someone's fire alarm running out of batteries). and we would be on call for 24 hours on the weekends or 5pm to 8 am on weekdays. and if you missed a call because you were asleep you would be fired immediately no questions asked. and bc i got my housing and a lot of my income from that job,,,, i would get so paranoid and stressed abt missing a phone call that i wouldn't sleep at all when i was on call. so i did a lot of my writing for ahb! during those times at like 5am while i was on call. i was also required to work 10-15 hours a week at the front at my university through my RA position and it was a 24 hour desk and i got the night shift where literally nobody would come in. i'd work 10pm-2am on tuesdays and thursdays and then a few hours on saturday (But those were normally busy). and i would write my fanfic then!!! (should've been doing school work ,,, but alas) <- so for the "sHE CoULd'vE aT lEasT EdiTed iT" crowd who have beef with ahb!,,, i was too busy trying to graduate uni and working 3 jobs to do anything but post. so eat dirt.
additionally, i didn't read fanfic when i was writing ahb! for the most part. i was reading a ton before i started writing and then i think i was only able to keep up with the choices updates and picked up heavy fanfic reading again once ahb! was finished.
so no magic tricks from me unfortunately :(( i think it was only feasible bc i was operating on like zero sleep and my course load was light the final semester, and i got lucky with my job hours !! otherwise,, i didn't really do anything else. like i stopped reading, stopped watching shows,, etc,, if i had free time i would be on the google doc hahaha
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electromignion · 1 year
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Bridgewater doodles done at uni compilation part 2! (From last week 🫶)
I’m a bit late posting them but still fkfkfkf and I was very proud of the one done in pencil so here’s the big drawing (I did have more than 5 minutes to do it so I had a bit of fun) so here’s casual!Jeremy on a day off work at home! Sorry not many other characters doodled last week (there’s one Vip jdjdjdd, I will have a few more for this week’s compilation 👉👈)
After the read more there are a few close ups of the others!
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I want to believe that Vipin made him wear that on Valentine’s Day and he did so to bring a bit of joy, and let’s be real if a professor arrived like this at their lecture I would be so happy 😭
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This one might be one of my faves of this week 😭 it’s just Jeremy with his lil pins and his corduroy jacket loml
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Here’s the caption I wrote for Twitter which explains it all to be honest ksksks (it was 9:45 am as I started at 8:15am):
“Doodled tired Jeremy Bradshaw because mood (I just had 1h30 of class) So here’s him without glasses holding a cup of tea (yeah he even forgot his mug and didn’t have time to make himself tea) and an opened up shirt (he didn’t have the energy to dress as his usual self)”
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I really LOVE this Jeremy like so so much 😭
I like to think that it’s him on a day off, maybe just enjoying the outdoors so here’s the more relaxed outfit with his glasses hanging on his t-shirt! And I really think that gold is a good colour on him (thanks one of my besties to have gifted me a golden pen a while ago <3)
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This is Jeremy going to class after the rain 😭 (this is a follow up of a headcanon which came with one of my besties, yup we have a Bridgewater brainrot irl together because of me and that’s beautiful <3)
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And here’s a Vipin!!! Second brainrot headcanon with my irl bestie: Olivia embroidered his hoodie for him bc he likes flowers! (I will do better arts on that matter and I decided something else about the flowers species now)
Here y’all go for last week and thank you so much for your support as always; it means the utter world to me 🥺🫶
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lavenderspence · 2 days
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You asked for controversy opinions? Well I have some 👀 (Also obv no offense taken if you don’t agree with them)
Spencer and Elle were younger brother and older sister, don‘t see the romantic aspect at all (Feel like if Elle stayed their relationship would‘ve evolved into what Spencer and Emily later on have, literally younger brother and older sister)
The writers tried to make Spencer appeal more to fangirls, especially PostPrison!Spencer, and got rid of his autistic traits more and more or at least tried to conceal them
Speaking of PostPrison!Spencer, people make him out to be such a dom, when he got traumatized and more masking than usual, saying he‘s a mean!dom especially after prison is so fanon and as is said maybe a bit writers fault for making him more appealing to allistic fangirls
Aaron Hotchner would not date someone 20 years younger than him.
Spencer maybe should’ve realized that his true love is Luke (Bi!Spencer for life)
Sooo that’s it for now 👀
cutieee, i love this😭 I'm sorry it took me so long to answer, but I wanted to take my time and I've been so tired because of uni this week🥺😭
okayyyy, sooo.
I actually agree fully, but I can also see where the spancelle love comes from. like come on, you can't tell me watching spencer lay his hand on her knee in "derailed" and elle helping him up the small hill in "the popular kids" wasn't cute😭 like he got comfortable with her so freaking fast, I do think he really saw her as a bit of a big sister (but also, I'm inclined to think he might have crushed on her a bit, because who wouldn't, it's elle🤭)
I'm going to be very honest with you, I'm not very good at noticing autism, so I can't be really opinionated on the matter. while I do think they changed his character, I do think a bit of it had to do with him having to adapt to prison life and basically hide a lot of what made him...well, him. along with that, I do think trauma played a big factor in his development in the last few seasons.
on the dom!spencer, particularly mean!dom spencer, I myself think he's more of a soft!dom type of guy. I think post prison spencer would be more open to exploring certain sexual dynamics, maybe even where he gets to be a bit mean, but not overly so. I think he'd be more open to understanding how that brings enjoyment to his partner. trauma can sometimes bring forth the desire to try certain things we otherwise may not understand or like, and I think that's kind of how I'd look at it when I write him like that.
but this also opens the conversation about writing, because at the end of the day, it's all up to interpretation sometimes. writers are allowed to write the character however they want, as long as they enjoy it. (I'm not saying you're implying they can't, like you said, no offence💕). I think we can write a character the way they are portrayed, and in other dynamics, just as long as we're having fun with it. that's what I think writing should be about.
okay, now, look. that was a low blow on your part, okay? personally, I imagine hotch to be in his early 40s, (about 42) in anything I write, and regardless of what season I imagine him as. if I were to write a fem!reader with specified age, I'd make her 29 at the youngest (and that's still older than me). I think about 10 to 13 year age gap in my writing is where I'd draw the line. but I do think hotch wouldn't date anyone more than 10 years younger than him anyway. (except me of course, we all know he's going to date me)
okay, now...I will disagree here. I just don't see it, not luke & spencer and on another subject, definitely not jj & emily. I just really don't. I do think as friends both duos work out beautifully, but not as much more. (I also don't ship anyone within the team, or the show as a whole (outside of canon couples). CM is the first show/movie where I actually don't see any dynamic between characters that's going to make me be a shipper. I'm sorry😭)
babe you absolutely brought the greatest discussion ever, and I hope to see you in my inbox again. I hope you didn't get discouraged by my slow ass answer 🥺😭💕
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OMG hiiii dw abt it at all! your answer is long enough and im so sorry :( i hope you feel better now/soon!!
thank youu omg well im in my first year so we do a bit of everything! some coding like coding websites and stuff and some written computer problems as well! (i would explain but it's kinda hard to and i suck at explaining so asdhkjasdhjh) its a bit of everything! programming (practical) and theory!
ahsdjkahsdkj owning two trousers is so real lmao i think i only own one pair ajskldsjad and they are flared so not fit for all weathers ajksdhkjsah they sound sooo cute! if you wouldnt mind sharing them, i'd love to see them! but thats totally up to you! i dont want to make you uncomfortable at all so the choice is yours! im just a lil nosy hehe
omg same when i was a kid i once ate like an entire chocolate egg in a day! the time after that was hell i was sooo sick but its worthh itttttt and yes exactly!! like whenever i was young i had school assemblies and they were all like 'i dont play to draw i play to win' and like yeah so real! as long as no ones too mean and harsh while being competitive then go nuts! i love a little competition!! stardew valley is more of like a relaxing game for me! also animal crossing but like i get so frustrated when i cant catch a fish asjkdhaskj fishing is HELLLLLL in animal crossing alksdjlksj
awww thank youu! your hair sounds beautiful the compliments are most definitely soo valid! my hair never reached that point when i was young tho bc its like SOOOO frizzy and fluffy it almost grows outwards rather than down askjdhkasjh so it was always kinda short and super fluffy ajsdskjh
i think stuff abt the modern day world i really hate is that almost everyones so pretentious nowadays like you see someone and youre like oh theyre nice speaking out abt this and turns out that its all hypocritical and shit but also that feels like its not exactly modern? so ill give another answer and that is INFLATION! everything nowadays is soooo expensive oh my god! and yes governments is so reall
hmm, smth in the next five years... this is sooo not related at all and im totally twisting the meaning of your question but my online friends ajsdhkajsdh okay but serious answer? i wish to see less labour! like yk sites that use fast fashion and stuff that force labour onto people and children and i want that to be addressed and reduced bc like. no. labour is bad how is it acceptable for people to pay such horrible wages to their workers who make them so much money!! that feels so cruel! what about you?
and my question for you: what is something in/from a person that makes them absolutely unacceptable in your eyes? (i dont think that makes sense lmao) basically if you were friends w someone, whats one thing they could do to make you immediately see them as a red flag or like not like them/block them immediately (apart from them saying the r word!)
byee have an awesome day!
-swiftie spring exchange anon!
Hello again! I am doing better atm - I've basically had like, one long bug for three weeks, and like...I'd start feeling better. Go to work. Get worse from the exertion. Have to miss work. Get better slightly, so go to work...yeah XD I do seem to be on the mend now, I've just got a bit of residual pain and cough, and some of my underlying issues are being a bit unpleasant. But I'm taking it XD I had to take almost a week off work last week but I think the prolonged rest helped.
And hey that sounds really cool though!! So guessing you're in uni then? How's that going? Where I am it's starting to come up to exam season, so the people that I know are in uni at the moment are all quite stressed, bless them.
I don't mind showing you them like, privately, but due to my style being quite...unique (by courtsey of making a lot of it) I try to keep it off public tumblr to some extent, just because anyone who knows me would know immediately this was me. Tbh it's not a big deal if they did, but since I work with kids I feel the need to be more careful with social media these days.
And ok but see, I have very straight hair, and I've always wanted frizzy/fluffy hair!! Sometimes I fear we just want what we don't have XD
I think the hypocrisy is related to the modern world however! Social media kinda encourages a very black and white thinking of things, and most things are not so black and white (I mean like, obviously if someone's like. "Haha, I want to murder babies"...that's not a black and white issue. But you get me XD) So you end up with people being like "x is always bad". Then they'll later be like..."this thing that's basically x is fine"?
Inflation is SHIT. Look when I moved into my current place my phone bill was exactly 10 quid a month. It's not like 13 something!! It's not the biggest hike, my energy bill has freaking doubled, but by nature of it starting at a solid 10 I can see the inflation so much easier. It's a 30% increase!!
And see I am very lucky, I have seen a few online friends! My gf and I met through tumblr, and I've got two close friends that by thankful virtue of being in the same country I've been able to meet quite a few times...I met one who I've since lost contact with sadly, but I'm hoping to meet a couple more! OH and one is in a ldr with one of my close friends so I'll see her when she comes here (well I should do) but idk when that would be yet.
And look I have SO many fast fashion complaints. A big reason why I do so much thrifting and sewing is because I just hate fast fashion. I know it's sorta popular in some circles to talk about the shit quality, but it's shit because companies are paying people like a penny a piece for it -.- I refuse to use places like shein and temu...
I think in the next five years...generally I'm wanting to see a shift in climate change. I have a lot of climate anxiety, and I'm hoping that we start getting actual change in how politicians and companies approach the issues?? I want more eco changes. More bikes, cheaper plant based food, less fossil fuels, etc...I also want my government to stop making life harder for no reason. They recently decided people who have visas to work in the care industry over here can't have their kids come from overseas too?? Like there are people who now have their kids in other countries cause of this shit??? If they're working here, they deserve their kids to be here. How is that not the default idea!!
Less generally, I'm hoping to see improvements in my personal life XD I want to see a couple doctors to get some shit sorted out, and I want to improve my art further, and sort out where exactly I'm going with my career.
And nah that makes perfect sense! Honestly I'm a bit of a pushover, I'll take a lot from people. I think mainly the things that will really make me go. Hm. I mean, if you're outright a really terrible person (like if you told me you murder babies for fun, to use my "terrible person" example from above XD) I'm not gonna be interested in talking to you, but that's kinda obvious. But I think the things that make me go "red flag" are usually more personal things based on past experience. For example, I knew someone once who would move my mobility aids away from me, and I'd be like...right well I can't. Move now. Please give them back. And they're one of the few people I've cut contact with. But tbh I feel like I probably need more boundaries, I just get like...what if I'm being too harsh on this person XD
What about you tho??
See you again soon, hope your day has been well when you see this!!
EDIT: I forgot to ask a question back!! D: If you could make one trivial change to the world what would it be? Has to be something small, like...renaming strawberries to be fluffleberries, or making bananas rainbow XD
0 notes
dracowars · 3 years
Note
LOVED YOUR TOM RIDDLE. Can I please request a arranged marriage au where yn is in love with him but he hates her so when she decides to let him go or someone else wants to marry her, Tom finally realises he’s in love with her. happ ending :))))
my heart belongs to you | tom riddle
pairing: tom x black!reader
word count: 3,3k
summary: where tom and y/n are in an arranged marriage
a/n: i'm so sorry for being so inactive recently, uni is taking its toll on me.. i had to do a bit of research for this one and also tom is a pureblood here!
warnings: toxic relationship, violence
universe: harry potter
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“Get out of my sight, will you?”, he angrily snaps at you out of nowhere, for the third time already on this still very early day. Furiously, he stomps past you, pushing you to the side harshly, the filled glasses on your tray swaying dangerously. Knowing that you should just leave him alone, you stand there completely frozen at the door, still feeling the breeze on your skin after he stormed past you.
The glasses clink on the serving tray as you try to keep your trembling hands under control, but you terribly fail while tears shoot into your eyes. A lump forms in your throat and you gasp in desperation, losing your composure after hearing the front door slam shut.
Slowly, you slump down and therefore with a loud rattle let happen what could have been foreseen already: a thousand shattered pieces of glass scattered across the floor around you while you cower against the wall, your elegant dress pulled over your knees, your forehead leaning against it. Heavy sobs rock through your body and tears find their way down your cheeks, dripping from your chin onto the expensive fabric of your dress.
You just wanted to spend some time with him. Together, in the house of your parents, who went on a daily trip with their close friends early in the morning, all part of the most notorious popular pureblood families in the wizarding world – the Nott’s, the Macmillan’s, the Malfoy’s, the Lestrange’s. And if his parents were still alive, probably with the Riddle’s as well.
This is primarily the reason why you even are in this position right now; crying and huddled in the living room because your fiancé hates you profoundly.
After graduating from Hogwarts last year, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, you, descendant of the pureblood Black family, got engaged to Tom Marvolo Riddle, the last living heir of the Riddle’s. He would offer you a good future, they said, and you would never have to worry about anything again.
But nobody knows that in reality, your own beloved fiancé really does not want to have anything to do with you. He does not even want to stay in the same room as you.
You can’t explain why he acts like this towards you. You do not know why he harbors such an abysmal hatred for you and any clear-headed, rational person would have done something about it long ago. Unfortunately for you, you feel the exact opposite for him.
Your heart belongs to him and only to him.
You have liked him since you first met him at Hogwarts, back in 1938, when the two of you were sorted into the Slytherin house. This initial friendly liking has quickly evolved into something more than that over the years and lead you to where you are now, at a point where you would have never seen yourself back then.
You have already tried everything to convince him that you are not as bad as he seems to think. Every morning you bring him his breakfast, you give him everything he needs. Even when you were still at Hogwarts, you always looked after him, finished his homework for him when he was too busy to do it by himself, and helped him pass all of his exams.
And not once did you hear a thank you. Not then and not now either.
Slowly gathering your thoughts together again, you rub the long sleeves of your velvet dress over your damp face, wiping away all of your tears before you get up on shaky legs and begin to clean up the mess that you have created. After you went back to the kitchen with the broken pieces and some injuries on your hands, your gaze longingly slides out the window.
Outside, the sun stands high over the magnificent garden of the mansion, making the clear water in the fountain shimmer in its bright light. A gentle breeze blows through the air and rustles through the perfectly cut trees that line a small path through the garden.
The loud, excited voices that suddenly roar through the house snap you out of your daydream and you quickly wipe the blood from your fingers before you step into the huge marble entrance hall. You arrive at the front door just in time to open it for your parents, who, to your surprise, did not come back alone. You are amazed to find not too familiar faces in front of you as they climb up the stairs to the door where you are still standing.
“And that has to be Y/N. Oh, how you have grown!”, an older man smiles friendly at you and you return his smile with a certain uncertainty in your face.
“Darling, we brought guests over for dinner today. You surely remember the Lestranges?”, your father announces happily and only now do the faces that you have seen at numerous balls and celebrations seem familiar again. Especially one.
“Reinhard?”, you ask in amazement when you spot him standing behind his parents, a big smile on his face when he sees you.
“Y/N, how nice to see you again”, he grins, carefully pushing his way past your parents in order to slightly bow venerably to you, taking your hand in his to place a kiss on the back of it. “It has been some time.”
“I am sure you have a lot to tell each other”, your mother mentions in a sweet voice, but before she can continue, she watches how your facial expression changes from one second to the other as you look past them, out into the yard.
Next to the carriage with which they have returned, Tom is standing now, petting one of the splendid noble white horses before he joins all of you.
“Tom! There you are, I was already wondering where you went”, your father says, visibly pleased when he too spotted his future son-in-law, drawing everyone’s attention to him.
“Reinhard?”
“Tom?”
Within a few seconds, the two former best friends lay in each other’s arms, obviously happy to finally see the other again.
“Let us go inside. We want to show you our newest masterpiece of art in our wonderful collection, come on”, your mother announces happily and leads the Lestranges inside, but not without turning around to you once more. “The children can catch up on what they have missed.”
“I can’t believe it! You are really here, Tom. Man, you look even better than at Hogwarts”, Reinhard laughs, playfully pushing Tom to the side while you watch them in silence. “What are you doing here with the Blacks?”
“They kindly took me in”, Tom lies to him and for a moment you think he threw you a glance out of the corner of his eyes after uttering these words. His statement makes Reinhard realize that you were still there with them, who had apparently completely forgotten that you were even there.
“I am so happy to see you again, Y/N!”, he grins and takes a step closer to you, probably to be able to take a closer look at you. “Still just as beautiful as I imagined. And just as smart, I guess?”
Reinhard’s sudden compliments make you blush and your cheeks glow, which is why you nervously avert your gaze from him, directly falling on Tom, who looks at the scene in front of him with incredible resentment.
Unlike Tom, Reinhard was always there for you. You spent a lot of time together in your school days and if your parents had known about your close friendship, you are sure that he would have been your fiancé by now. Which, to be honest, does not sound bad anymore right now.
And yet your heart still belongs to Tom.
When you all sit together at dinner later in the evening, where your parents are talking about irrelevant things like Ministry of Magic, you keep making eye contact with Reinhard, who seems to be staring at you.
“Is there something on my face?”, you ask uncertainly and put your glass back on the table when you can no longer bear his piercing gaze.
“No, no, not at all. I was just wondering how a beautiful witch like you could have become so much more stunning”, Reinhard winks at you, causing you to swallow hard. You are not used to getting compliments, especially not from a handsome young man like him. Before you can answer to him, however, there is a loud clink and you startle, your eyes immediately fixed on the cause of the noise.
The glass, which you have certainly placed far away from the edge, is now lying in your lap, the little liquid that was still inside now spread over your elegant evening gown. You move your chair back in shock when, in the corner of your eye, you see how Tom puts away his wand. And not only did you notice Tom just now, but the rest of them follow your gaze.
“Tom, darling, how about you tell our guests how you and our daughter got to know each other”, your mother suddenly prompts him, not even realizing that he has just deliberately spilled your drink on you. But why did he in the first place?
„I would love to“, Tom puts on a really believable smile that no one but you questions and starts telling them how you met and fell in love with each other. He tells one lie after another, explaining the web of lies that you have spun around you over time to make your relationship as credible as possible, at least in front of other people. And suddenly nobody cares about you or your still soaking wet dress anymore.
“What a wonderful story”, Mrs. Lestrange applauds and everyone else seems to be completely enthusiastic about Tom’s fairytale. To top it off, he then reaches across the table to take your hand in his, just like a real affectionate couple would do.
You lower your gaze as he gently strokes the back of your hand with his thumb, trying your best to not show how uncomfortable you are. Oh, how much you wish that this were real, that Tom would actually treat you like this when you are alone, the same way as he does in front of your parents.
But he does not and deep down you know that he will never do.
“So, you are engaged?”, Reinhard scrutinizes the statement of his former best friend, his eyes focused on you suspiciously, as if he is expecting an answer from you and not from Tom. A slight pressure on your hand makes you flinch and look up.
“Y-Yes”, you force a smile onto your lips, whereupon Tom seems satisfied with your answer, letting go of your hand again with a - what seemed to you like a – disgusted expression on his face.
An uncomfortable silence spreads between the three of you, which is drowned out by the loud conversation of the adults on the other side of the table. Finally, making up your mind, you clear your throat loudly and get up from your chair, gaining everyone’s attention in a matter of seconds.
“Excuse me, I have to go freshen up for a moment”, you explain with a slight polite bow before turning away to leave the dining room.
“Reinhard, would you be so kind and help Y/N”, Mr. Lestrange asks his son, who stands up with furrowed brows, apparently just as surprised about this sudden request as you, but then follows you out into the hallway with no further objection.
“I really do not need any help, thank you”, you try to get rid of him as you walk up the large staircase leading to the first floor together, only wanting to be alone.
“Dinner like these are totally boring anyway”, he chuckles softly and shows no intentions of leaving your side any time soon, which is why you do not even try to search for further arguments. He follows you to your room where you are able to tear yourself away from him to put on a new dress while he waits outside in front of the door.
With an equally elegant burgundy red dress you step out of your room after a few minutes, Reinhard’s eyes greeting you with a sparkle.
“Wow”, he breathes out barely audible and takes you hand without asking to swirl you around, causing your dress to fly around gorgeously. Unintentionally, warmth rises in your face again and your hearts makes a barely noticeable jump inside your chest when he looks deep into your eyes after catching you back in his arms.
The loud clearing of a throat behind you makes you turn around in shock, only to see that Tom himself is now standing at the end of the corridor, not seeming very enthusiastic.
“We did not see you there, Tom”, Reinhard disguises his obvious nervousness with a laugh, acting like Tom had just caught you in doing something he should not have seen. Tom, however, does not even react to his words, but looks past Reinhard at you, his eyebrows raised meaningfully.
But when you do not move under his piercing gaze, his facial expression changes and he quickly approaches you, Reinhard instinctively pushing you behind him so that you can only see Tom approaching further over his shoulder. Before neither you nor Reinhard can say or do anything, Tom has already pulled out his wand and aims it directly at Reinhard, who flies back through the air only a few seconds later, hitting the hard marble floor at the end of the corridor with a thud.
“What the-?!”
“Come with me”, Tom orders, now standing directly in front of you. When you stubbornly refuse, he suddenly grabs your wrist to pull you away from there. No matter how much you fight against his firm grip, you cannot tear yourself away from him as he pulls you into the closest room, which turns out to be the library.
Once there, you can finally free yourself from his tight grip, but before you can reach for the doorknob to leave immediately, he locks the door with a spell. Angrily, you turn to him, despair written all over your stunning face.
“What is this supposed to be, Tom? Let me out of here, now!”, you command him in a loud voice, not caring if anybody can hear.
“What did he want from you?”, he asks you urgently and steps closer to you. Since the door is in your back, every possible escape route is blocked, and you are caught.
“We just talked to each other, you know. Like normal people do”, you answer irritably and cross your arms in front of your chest, not in the mood to justify yourself, especially not in front of someone who does not care about you at all and not after what he has done.
“But that did not look like it.”
“Tom, stop it.”
“You belong to me and nobody else!”
These words coming out of his mouth echo loudly through the dark library, his face wrapped in an eerie candlelight. Before you can even control yourself and fully process what he said, you severely slap him.
Frightened by your own horrible deed, you immediately pull your hand away, your gaze filled with fear, but the anger that keeps building up inside of you winning the upper hand after all.
“How dare you call me your property?!”, you scream in rage and tears form in your eyes because of your uncontrollable anger. However, Tom needs a moment to collect his thoughts after your heavy smack before he can answer you.
“You are my fiancé”, he spits out coldly, a touch of shock in his voice, apparently not expecting you to react like this.
“And that does not make me nowhere near your property! You never treat me like your fiancé anyway, so why now all of a sudden?!”, you bicker at him, your voice loud and constant, even though you would like to flee from this situation right away if you were able to.
But Tom does not have an answer.
“Fine, okay. If you have nothing to say to me, like you never have, then I will go back now and ask my parents to end this damn failed engagement and engage me with someone else who truly cares for me!”
Suddenly, without letting you time to catch your breath after your outburst, he presses you with your back against the door completely, his hands tightly grabbing your wrists, a little too tight for your personal liking.
“You mustn’t do that”, he softly whispers, his head lowered as if he does not dare to look you in the eyes.
“What is stopping me?”, you hiss, still full of anger and – probably for the very first time – hatred towards him.
But when you feel his lips on yours all of a sudden, all of these emotions evaporate and all that remains is your racing heartbeat, which is being repaired at this very moment. You never would have thought that at some point in your life the moment would come when Tom Marvolo Riddle, who absolutely loathes his fiancé, kisses you.
After kissing you, he looks straight into your eyes, and the Tom you met in 1938 is standing in front of you again. The Tom you fell so deeply in love with.
“I can’t explain it to you”, he finally breaks the silence, his gaze directed to the floor as he moves away from you, giving you enough space to breathe regularly again. You, however, do not say anything but just stare at him.
“I was not aware that I am capable of feeling such feelings for someone. I am unfamiliar with this feeling and I did not know how to deal with it, Y/N. I treated you badly because I did not want it to be true, I did not want to accept it. I could not imagine having feelings for the little nuisance that has always been running after me”, Tom explains, choosing each and every single word very carefully, trying to put his emotions into words which does not really work the way he would like it to. But that is how you know him. You know that this confession must be extremely difficult for him, but you can’t help but feel a sense of relief inside of you.
“When?”, you ask and manage, with this tiny little word, to make him look up at you. “When did you know?”
“Since I have been here. You served me every day and took care of me, even though I wanted to push you away from me with all of my might. You have already helped me so many times in the past without me even asking, you have always accepted me for who I am”, he desperately tries to but his feelings into words, asking himself what he is even doing right now.
“Tom..”
“No, I have to sincerely apologize to you. I had no right to treat you the way I did. And also today.. when I saw you with him and how well you got along, it finally became clear to me. Reinhard has felt something for you since our school days, I know that even though I could never understand, but now I do. I understand why he fell in love with you”, Tom continues without breathing, pouring out all of his feelings that he has hidden for so long.
“I understand if you want to dissolve this engagement and I will not stop you if that is what you want”, he quickly adds, looking at you with desperation in his eyes. He already prepares himself for the worst when you are the one getting closer to him this time.
“Idiot”, you smile slightly and place a gentle kiss on his lips while he looks at you puzzled. “I love you, I thought you knew that.”
“I know, but-“
“But nothing”, you interrupt him and take his hand to lead it to your fast pounding heart. “It always belonged to you.”
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dysfunctionalcrab · 4 years
Text
babysitter
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pairing: georgenotfound x reader
pronouns: gender neutral
description: george is left to babysit your niece
warnings: mentions of a future family? just in case that makes you uncomfortable.
[y/n/n] - your nieces name
[y/s/n] - your siblings name (gender neutral too)
note: i’m not too sure about this imagine, please a like or reply if you actually enjoyed! - niss
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you woke up to the sound of your alarm blasting your ear off, if you hadn’t turned it off right there you probably would have gone deaf.
george was sleeping like a baby beside you, you could hear his quiet snores. you were surprised he didn’t wake up to the sound of your ear-piercing alarm.
turning on your phone, you glanced at the time that read 12:30. you sighed in annoyance as you registered that you only had half an hour before you had to be on your way to university. so you got up and began your normal morning routine, brush your teeth, shower, have breakfast and finally get dressed. however, as you were packing your bag, almost ready to go, you received a notification from your [sibling]
[y/s/n]: we’re 5 minutes away!!!
[y/s/n]: thank you so much for agreeing to do this :)
fuck.
it completely slipped your mind. you had promised to take care of [y/n/n] for today, your 7 year old niece, while your [sibling] was at their job interview. regardless, you texted them a quick ‘no problem’ before rushing upstairs to wake up george.
he was still sleeping, but now he was completely hiding under the covers with one arm sticking out. you hated to interrupt his beauty sleep but this was more important. you began to shake him awake.
“babe,” you shook him
“wake up,”
“george,” you removed the covers off his face
“wake the fuck up!” you started poking his sides. usually, you would be a little less... harsh, but you were panicking.
finally the boy rose from his slumber, groaning and stretching all his limbs. he blinked a couple times before meeting your eyes
“good morning,” he said softly, as if he completely just disregarded your tone of desperation and worry.
you pulled him by his arm and he sat upright,
“you need to get up right now,” you told him
“what’s going on?” he questioned, clearly confused as you weren’t giving him any context
“you need to take care of [y/n/n] for today, i have classes today, and i need to leave in 5 minutes and [y/s/n] has a job interview and there’s nobody else to take care of her,” you rushed out all in once sentence.
“are you serious?” he narrowed his eyes at you. “you know how bad i am with kids, especially [y/n/n] , she hates me,”
that was partly true. unfortunately, your niece wasn’t exactly fond of george. ever since you even started dating,m, [y/n/n] acted cold towards your boyfriend, it only got worse when you moved in with him. she always refused to play a game if george was going to participate, or never accepted any high fives or hellos from him. you felt sympathy for george. this child despised him and now you were asking him to look after her.
“please, i’m begging you,” you looked at him with pleading eyes. his eyes softened up after recognising the urgency of the situation.
“fine,” he agreed. you sighed out of satisfaction that you didn’t have to stress out [y/s/n] over finding a new baby sitter.
“thank you so much,” you pressed a small kiss to his lips appreciatively.
right at that moment, you two heard the doorbell ring. you urged george to get ready as fast as he could while you went down stairs and greeted your [sibling] and your niece.
“auntie/uncle [y/n]!” [y/n/n] yelled as you opened the door, immediately rushing into your arms. she looked a lot taller than the last time you saw her
“how’s my favourite girl?” you picked her up and swung her, before placing a little kiss on her head
you gave your [sibling] a quick hug. they handed you a bag full of toys, teddies and colouring pens, along with a spare set of clothing just in case [y/n/n] got a little messy throughout the day. and some quick reminders about her favourite foods or how to get her stop crying. you’d looked after her before, so all of it was pretty familiar to you
“again, thank you so, so much, you have no idea how much you’re helping me.” they told you. your [sibling] gave [y/n/n] a kiss on the cheek and told her to be a ‘good and kind little girl’ before finally exiting the household.
george, at last, made his way down. wearing a decent pair of jeans and a hoodie, giving an awkward wave to [y/n/n]
you checked the time and knew you had to get going. you had to explain to her that uncle george was going to be the one looking after her today. and after one whole tantrum, you managed to convince her to be a good girl by promising to give her a big reward afterward.
finally, you kissed [y/n/n] and george a goodbye , then shut the front door behind you.
george and [y/n/n] stood opposite each other. there was an uncomfortable silence in the air. george felt so...he didn’t even know. what do you say to a child who hates you? [y/n/n] tightly clutched her bag of toys.
“so, [y/n/n],” george cleared his throat, he bent down to her level. “i hear you like toy story?”
[y/n/n] pouted “i don’t like you” she said, and stomped away.
george sighed. this was going to be a long day.
and it was.
-
it started off with [y/n/n] innocently using her colouring pens and drawing random things, you know, as children do. but when she ran out of paper, she made her way to your office, where all your uni work was. she grabbed the closest piece of paper that was sitting on your desk, deciding it was going to be the next canvas for her art. this paper just happened to be a very important assignment.
when george caught her in the act, he had to physically tear her away from your office, in defiance of all her kicking and screaming.
-
then, when george accidently left the door to your shared bedroom open. [y/n/n] waddled in without him noticing, she started playing with all of his devices. his computer, his microphone, and somehow she got a hold of his headphones, and took out the battery. george didn’t realise until he noticed the cover missing. he tried to ask her nicely where she threw the battery. but she insisted that she wasn’t going to give it back unless he stopped being ‘mean’
-
when lunch time rolled around, george put a pizza in the oven, he remembered clearly that [y/n/n] loved pizza, specifically pepperoni. nothing could go wrong here.
but when he called her to the kitchen so she could receive her lunch. she just stared blankly at the pizza, and then at him. she crossed her arms
“[y/n] usually makes a smiley face with the pepperoni”
george just felt all his will to live just disappear
-
coloured pens and toys were spread out all across the living room floor, [y/n/n] was sitting in front of the tv, george put on one of her favourite shows which thankfully distracted her for a bit, allowing him to relax. he pulled out his phone and texted you
to [y/n] <3 : help me please
to [y/n] <3: i cant take this anymore, i’m literally dying rn
to [y/n] <3: come home quick
he exhaled heavily, throwing his phone to the side. he was so exhausted.
[y/n/n] was roleplaying with her toys, making them move around and doing squeaky little voices. george smiled at the innocence
“purple bear doesn’t play with us anymore. princess giraffe, mr. george took her away from us,” she spoke in a high pitched voice
george’s ears perked up. how funny that she had a teddy named ‘mr. george’. curiously, he watched the little girl.
“koala george, is a meanie, he stole purple bear and now they don’t want to hang out with us!”
it didn’t take a genius to find out what [y/n/n] was displaying through her role playing teddies.
that was why she didn’t like george. before they got together, [y/n] mentioned they almost spent every weekend with [y/n/n], playing with her and having fun with her.
she felt abandoned by [y/n] and felt as if george had taken them away from her .
george felt at fault as he noticed the girls eyes started to water.
“does purple bear love us any more?” she continued to play.
george decided it was enough and he switched off the television. he joined [y/n/n] on the floor and grabbed the teddy that was supposedly ‘koala george’
“[y/n/n]” he spoke softly. the little girl looked up at him expectantly. he held up the teddy.
“is this supposed to be me?” he questioned her.
“that’s a koala bear,” she answered
“no-, [y/n/n],” he said. he thought about how to ask her, and just chose it was best to be flat out with the child,”
“did i steal auntie/uncle [y/n] away from you?”
the question took her by surprise. she gazed at him with big wide eyes. she thought about her answer and grabbed the purple bear, which was supposed to be you.
“they don’t play with me as much anymore, they’re always with you, because of you, they don’t love me anymore,” she pulled a face, it wasn’t angry, it wasn’t annoyed.
it was a genuinely sad face.
george was sure he physically felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. he never even comprehended the fact that a child could feel so rejected.
“listen... [y/n/n],” he said gently. he thought about his words. comforting someone wasn’t exactly his strongest point, particularly not a child who detested him “[y/n] will never stop loving you, okay? they love you very much, and i’m sorry you feel like i stole them ”
[y/n/n] continued to listen.
“but don’t forget that [y/n] has so much love to go around! look, they love you, and they love me, they love grandma and grandpa too! they will always love one another even if they can’t see each other often,”
[y/n/n] stayed silent. she fiddled with the purple teddy, folding its ears and patting its head. she loved that bear. it was actually gifted to her by you, when she was first born. she brought it to her chest and hugged it. george tried a different approach.
“listen, how about- this weekend, we can all go to the park together, and have a picnic. you, me, [y/n], and your parents too,”
she continued to just stay silent. george didn’t know what to expect, she was unpredictable, was she going to throw another hissy fit? or start to cry? he wasn’t sure
“can we also get ice cream?” she asked
george smiled and felt himself relax. thank god. “all the ice cream you want,” he told her
[y/n/n] stood up and giggled. like her whole entire mood did a whole fucking 180. “okay! let’s go play dress up now!”
———
7:45 pm. you finally arrived home. you were tired out of your mind. [y/s/n]’s interview was delayed by two hours and was currently half way back home, meaning you had enough time to spend with [y/n/n]
you unlocked the door, expecting to see a giant tsunami of toys and colouring pencils and pens, but what you saw was the most heart warming thing ever.
george was sleeping on the couch, his head resting on the armrest. he had a couple pink bows in his hair, his lips were painted a hot pink, he was wearing a couple sparky bracelets and a purple floral necklace.
in his lap, [y/n/n] rested her head, she was wearing a fairy costume with matching pink bows and sparkly bracelets.
you quickly snapped a photo of this wholesome moment. because, who wouldn’t? you spent a few minutes just watching the two sleep, they were probably just as tired as you.
moments like these made you really appreciate the people you had in your life. the people you love so dearly much.
you didn’t want to disrupt the ambience but you felt it was better for your [sibling] to collect your niece when she wasn’t covered in glitter and an overload of pink accessories.
you quietly woke george up,
“baby, wake up.” you shook him awake, gently. in a very different way than you did this morning. he opened his eyes. and immediately smiled upon seeing your face. you ran your thumb across his cheek
“it looks like you two had a lot of fun,” you teased.
he quietly chuckled. “she’s okay,” he told you. looking down at the little girl sleeping in his lap.
you slowly and carefully picked her up, removing any accessories you thought may seem uncomfortable to sleep in. she was a heavy sleeper.
you carried her upstairs, tucking her into you and george’s bed and placing a kiss upon her forehead. you turned back to george and rushed in for a bear hug
“thank you so much for doing that,” you said. “i love you so much, i know it probably wasn’t easy, she can be quite the handful,”
george chuckled. “handful is an understatement,”
“you’d better be willing to dress up like that with our own kids one day.” you stated, hugging him tighter.
his face broke out into a small smile, having thought of an image of you two playing with you future kids. he kissed top of your head and then your nose
“maybe one day”
———
masterlist
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penguintransporter · 3 years
Text
Walker (John Stones imagine) Part II
Part II, and guess what, there will be Part III as well. I got carried away with this one. I was afraid to write about John because I never did before, but I enjoyed this idea and the prompt. Anyway, thank you for the lovely comments and reblogs, especially from @bluemoonstonesy and @footballerimaginess​ whose work I admire. You know already: read, enjoy, heart, reblog, write me what you think (anon or not), but if you don’t want to, that’s okay too. I still love you 🥰
Part I
It had been almost a week since the little incident with the stranger that left Rosie wondering about him more than she dared to admit. No matter how much she tried to shake it off, she couldn't because there was something about him, aside from the familiarity of his face, that made her giddy by just thinking about their encounter.
Pulling at the Walker’s leash and twisting it tighter around her palm, she entered the main gate of the park just as the dusk was about to settle – a silent invitation for the evening. The rain that kept on drizzling the entire morning had stopped sometime mid-day, leaving a certain kind of musty smell in the air, but she didn’t mind it.
Just like everyone else, Rosie had no desire to be outside, but Walker did, and there was nothing she could do to coax the dog into staying indoors with a cuppa and something stupid on TV. So, she put on her brother’s raincoat that was way too big for her, and grabbed a few tote-bags, deciding to do some food shopping while giving Walker the much needed hour of activity.
“No, I am not letting you run now,” she mumbled softly as an answer to Walker’s whines, “sorry, boy, I know you want, but it’s too late, and you’ll get all dirty. Can’t stay up cleaning the carpet,” she continued, feeling extremely comfortable by herself in the park.
Walker shook his head vigorously as if annoyed with her, but kept on walking, passing the small, and with rain bloated rose-garden, several old and chipped benches before turning the corner where the large fountain was.
The same fountain where she met the stranger with the softest smile and blue eyes that didn’t want to let go of her mind.
The stranger.
He’s got a name, Rosie.
John. His name is John. John Something.
“Rosie!!” a male voice called out suddenly, making her slow down. Both her and Walker turned their heads towards the sound, and the dog let out a happy bark at the person on the other side of the park.
This time, he wasn’t shirtless, but wearing a dark tracksuit set with a light blue snood around his neck, pulled all the way up to cover his ears. Rosie’s heartbeat accelerated when she realised that he started jogging across the small path and towards her, and before she was able to do or say something, he was in front of her, with the smile she couldn’t stop thinking about, plastered across his face.
“Hi,” she mumbled, giving him a small wave, softly pulling at Walker’s leash to bring him closer to her feet.
“Fancy seeing you again,” he was still smiling, and Rosie felt her body fill with warmth, despite the chilly breeze. “Still dog-sitting?”
Rosie nodded. “Brother’s coming home tonight. That’s if he hasn’t vomited himself to death somewhere in Ibiza. He hasn’t responded to any of my texts since Wednesday,” she added with a smirk.
John smirked back, folding his snood inwards before crouching down to greet Walker. “To be fair, some of the best parties I’ve attended were on that magical island,” he admitted, squinting up at her.
“With your less-good looking mate Walker, I assume?” she inquired with a small raise of her eyebrow, earning a cheeky grin from John in response.
“You remembered,” he commented, almost inaudibly, scratching Walker’s head, and Rosie felt her cheeks redden.
She was maybe bad at doing maths and running, but remembering things was her forte.
“Well, yeah…” she mumbled back, feeling like a silly teenager in front of her crush.
John got back to his feet, and Rosie looked down at her own, nervously adjusting the heavy grocery bag that was digging into her bra-strap. She could feel his eyes on her, and it was making her slightly light-headed. Rosie was usually confident when it came to guys she fancied, but John had a different effect on her, and it scared her.
She didn’t even know him.
“Oh, let me help you with that,” John suddenly offered, and Rosie looked up, giving him a confusing look.
“Why?” she asked – her brows knitting together, making John chuckle.
“Why not?” he answered with a wink, taking the bag that she was holding in her hand without a warning – their fingertips brushing for a fraction of a second.
Rosie smiled as Walker started strolling in front of them as they made their way towards the park exit, and Rosie breathed out softly.
“Went to the store,” she started, needing to fill the silence that settled between the two of them like the dusk over the city, “I keep telling him that he’s an arse, but I couldn’t let him come back home to a tub of expired yogurt and something that resembled two bangers and a mash in a takeaway box, and—,” Rosie stopped abruptly, looking up at John with a sheepish smile. “Sorry ‘bout that. I tend to ramble sometimes.”
John gave her a smile, letting her know that it was okay. “Caring is not a bad trait to have, Rosie,” he murmured, opening the gate for her before letting her walk out first – the wrought iron squeaking when he closed it shut. Without hesitation, Rosie motioned with her free hand towards the street where her brother’s flat was. “You said you are actually from Manchester, right?”
She didn’t know why, but she felt she could trust him.
Famous last words.
“Yeah, I moved there about five years ago for uni, and stayed afterwards. Why?”
“Not only good at remembering things and caring for others, but also with a tendency to ask the same questions,” John teased, and Rosie felt her cheeks redden slightly. “I am just curious. I live in Manchester too. Well, Cheshire, but you know, it’s close.”
Rosie smirked up at him as they neared her brother’s flat, and purposely, she slowed down to buy herself more time in his company. “Isn’t that where all the rich and famous live?”
“Who says I’m not rich and famous?” he laughed, throwing his head back, and Rosie stopped at the entryway to her brother’s flat.
“Well…” she trailed off, reaching out her hand to take the grocery bag from him, “this is it. Thank you for the help. I thought that chivalry is dead, but I guess it’s not.”
A brief moment of silence washed over them, and Rosie looked up at him – the hood of her jacket sliding from her head. John smiled softly, and for what seemed like an eternity, they kept looking at one another. Rosie wanted to speak; say something, but she didn’t. Instead, she kept looking at him – eyes focusing on his own rather than his full lips.
“I’ll be straightforward, Rosie,” he started leaning in closer, “once we’re both back in Manchester, I’d like to see you again.”
Rosie felt her cheeks starting to heat up even more, and Walker, as if sensing the moment that was happening, stopped moving around and looked up, quietly observing what was happening.
“I thought you said you live in Cheshire?”
“I do, but I also own a car,” John responded gently, and Rosie wondered if he sensed the nervousness that filled her body.
Without a word, she reached her hand in the pocket of her brother’s jacket, taking out a pen and the shopping list, where she had quickly listed the things she wanted to buy earlier that day. “I don’t have my phone with me,” she whispered, “but here…” Rosie trailed off, using the doorway as a surface while she scribbled her phone number, drawing a small dog’s head at bottom. “Just text me.”
**
Thanks for reading. 
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Text
I have a thing for Car wash
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Genre: NonIdol!AU, SummerJob!AU
Pairing: OT7 x Reader
Summary: You do car wash as a summer job each year. But this year , 7 new employees are added to the mix.
Word Count: 2k
Warnings: none
A/N: Thoses Butter's concept photoshoot are gonna be the death of me ...
______
Summer’s Job never been dreamy or appealing you always preferred to stay home and play games or hangout with your friends.
You were doing the same summer job from your high school’s years throughout your UNI years, this year was the last year where you could work at the same gas station you usually spent your summer’s at. You were quite happy about this news because your work there wasn’t really enjoyable to say the least.
You were working as car washer.
The staff was limited to you and Gladys. Gladys was an Australian grandma’ with an heavy accent and a loud voice.
You used to complain about the underpaid job and understaff issue to her each year , but even if she tried her best to pay you more each year, the problem of understaff was remaining.
Plus you had the marvelous advantage , note the irony, to be a woman. So of course you had some guy every now and then asking you for some porn kink including cars and water to you.
And of course as soon as you dared to say to them that it was not respectful of them to ask for such favors , well their ego feeling insecure will make them insult you ‘til Gladys will come out and try to dissolve any trouble. And if they didn’t leave… well then Tallulah will come help you out. Were Gladys was a true perfect cottage core granny , Tallulah her spouse, was a weightlifting Olympics coach. So she was , massive and looked very frightening.
But since she was often occupied most of the time Gladys would have to do the trick , and if too much persistent she would call her little brother Jeff a policeman always coming in and out of the shop to check on things.
It was nice, for a summer or two, but seeing as it’s been years since you were first introduce to this summer’s job to say it became painfully annoying was an understatement.
And this year would be the same…
Or so you though.
Gladys finally took your complains about the car wash job being understaffed and recruited a few people to help out .
When she said a few, you though she was talking about 2 to 3 people.
But no, no non no no no. Gladys took in 7 people !
She promised you your check wouldn’t take any damage by the presence of those new employees , but you sincerely doubt that.
And of course you’ll have to show them around and proceed to show them how to wash a car because of course it’s not like anybody could know how to do it by themselves.
You were moody when that tons of information’s felled down on your head, but now finding yourself in front of the 7 new employees changed everything.
Apparently Gladys misspelled car wash job for model’s photoshoot coz’ those 7 boys were for sure way too beautiful to need a car wash job.
It had to be a prank, right?
So being more self aware in what you’ve been for years you showed carefully those men of to do the job. And no it wasn’t cute or sexy, far from it.
You were dressed in your yellow hoodie and black jogging with flip-flop.
For once you wished you had were those fucking shorts looking like panties more than anything, and a crop top or something similar, like all those freaks watching too much porn often asked you to.
But no , and those guys were dressed in matching outfits in jeans and whites tee.
Even if they were very dreamy swoon over , you had more pressing issues to think about.
Like why one of them started a water fight with another one, and putting a stop to it before one of them put soap into their eyes.
“Okay guys!!! Please stop …? I don’t want to have to report you to Gladys on your first day okay? So keep that behavior for when you’re on your own okay?”
“Sorry , we didn’t meant to …” Said one.
“Huh sorry to interrupt , but none of us seems to have catch your name earlier ?” Said the guy with blue hair.
You liked his hair, it was nice, like blue waves , more darker on the edges and lighter on the center of his scalp. He had such beautiful eyes too, so sharp an-
Oh god , wait did you really lost yourself by admiring him?!
“Huh miss???”
“Y-Yeah !!! Haha my name’s Y/N !” You extended your hand , losing your mind for talking in a higher voice to him , good job at not being suspect Y/N….
And you hated yourself even more for being awkward by presenting your hand to him. But he, on the other hand sensed your discomfort and made your move seem completely normal shaking your hand lightly and giving you a cute smile showing off his dimples.
“Namjoon,…. And those two are Jungkook and Taehyung, and I hate to be the one breaking it to you but we’re probably gonna have a hard time keeping them calm.”
“Oh… Okay” You just ended , looking to the two guys involved in the previous water fight, and looking back to Namjoon’s face. He was calm and put you at ease. Hargh you were staring , good job on not being a freak Y/N .
The one all covered in jean from head to toe approached you, and ever so silently spoke to you.
“Hate to be a bother Y/N, but can I have a bucket to wring out my sponge, please?”
“Huh Yeah of course huh-hu….”
“Yoongi’s the name…”
“Oh huh well yeah let me get that from Gladys to you okay I’ll be back in just a sec Yoongi.”
He nodded very calm much to your dismay as you were starting to feel anxious about advising Gladys for more employees, maybe you should have just shut it.
You entered the store who basked in a sunny light as the morning was starting to begin for most of other people’s in the city.
At the register was one of the new employees, he wore a plaid skirt and converse’s with a white thee and jean shirt. You couldn’t believe how gracious his lips draw themselves on his face. They looked pillowy and as dreamy as the six other’s man out there waiting for you.
“Huh hello ? You might remember me from earlier ? Y/N the foremost employee?”
“Of course I do you’re the sweet mango! “
“I’m sorry what ?”
“The sweet mango ! The color of your sweatshirt look alike a mango!”
“I-I Yeah it does…”
“Would you like another nickname maybe? I’m sorry if this one doesn’t fit your style haha. What about little mouse ?”
“Do I look like a little mouse ?”
“No ,you look like a fucking rat”
Said another voice coming from behind you.
“I beg you pardon?”
You turn over to the masculine voice behind you to find yourself facing a chest. Your eyes flew up to the face of the stranger, ready to take down any bratty client. And you were surprised to face a smiling shit eating brunette man glancing down at you . He was snickering and looking at you like he was mentally undressing you with his eyes.
“Yah ! Jin ! Don’t be rude to our new friend!”
You look down to the content in his arms, some sandwiches squeezed between bottles of water.
“Wait your on job duty ! Why aren’t you with the others ?” You started to take over yourself and focus on your task, keeping everything organized.
“Some of us forgot to bring our lunch to work this morning , so I volunteered to go for it , but you’ve been blocking the line too preoccupied to talk to mister big flirt over there.”
He gestured at the cashier.
“We weren’t flirt-“
“You totally were!” Gladys interrupted you coming out from the back of the shop with several boxes of energy bars .
“Gladys I would ne-“
“Don’t lie to me girl ! Okay Jimin go fill up the shelves with those and Jin , you’re lucky you have a nice face, it’s on the house for today so go back to work will you now?”
“Sure thing Gladys! Thank you so much !” He offered her a wink before smirking down at you , going back to his devices.
“AND SHE DOESN’T LOOK LIKE A RAT! BUT YOU SURE TALK LIKE A BRATT!!!” Shouted Gladys at Jin, while a girl was approaching him to take care of her car and asking for his number. He was a blushing mess and Tae had to intervene to talk an eligible sentence to, the poor lost girl, after that.
“Now, Y/N what do you need sweetheart? I mean other than Jimin’s number of course?” She had said it loud enough for Jimin to hear it and bringing a cute smile on his face content of his accomplishments.
“Gladys please stop. “ You warned her with a tired face. She maybe looked old but she was fearless for sure .
“I need extra buckets for the boys, please.”
She leaved the register for what felt only two seconds before bringing over 5 extra buckets for you , to share.
“Thank you , you’re a life savior!”
“I know , should have started a sect when it was trendy.”
You left laughing to her dumb joke , but not before quickly glancing to Jimin. After that event you formed three distinct groups between all of you to get their heads in the game.
But with Jimin busy with helping out Gladys around the store, one of them was standing by himself.
“Okay since your alone I’ll help out for today.”
“Really? Thank you so much I was worried I’ll found myself alone when everyone’s having fun in groups.”
You looked around to indeed found them more busy playing around then actively work in silence .
“Yeah well normally having so much fun isn’t part of the job but I don’t want to kill the mood.”
“I’m Hoseok by the way but you can call me Hobi ! “ He said with a heart shaped smile.
“Y/N. Haha did you had to see Jimin assigning you a nickname too?”
“No this one’s for my crushes .” He said glancing up at you with stars shining eyes behind the comfort of his sunglasses.
“Yah! Hobi Does it mean I’m one of your freaking crushes?!” Yelled a not-so-speechless Jin , across the parking lot.
“Why don’t you come found out ?!” Yelled back a way too enthusiast Hoseok.
The day went by pretty quietly apart from those 7 agents of chaos you were stuck with from now.
Lunch came around pretty quickly and you all went to the back of the shop to have your break there , enjoying the nice breeze of the fan, while chatting.
“So , how come you’re all working here this summer?” You asked between bites of your meal.
“My aunt knows Gladys and told me she was recruiting , and since I was in need of a job I took it.” Said Jimin looking at you oh so charmingly.
“I have a thing for car wash.” Said Jin like it was completely normal.
“Your such a weirdo something hyung I swear… I was in need of a summer job saw the flyers by the campus and thought why not ? Here I am.”
Replied Jungkook slowly slurping down his noodles.
“We wanted to prove some sexist asshole that , no it wasn’t , a job only reserved to women.” Said a disgusted Namjoon swallowing quickly his part of the sandwich.
“I want to be a social entrepreneur.”
Said Taehyung leaving you with wide eyes.
“How is that related to bein-“
“If I succeed to make this place a rentable place from just the car wash then I could do anything.”
“And how would you do that ?” asked Jin dismissing his lunch to look over at Taehuyng.
“What about a photoshoot?”
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jungshookz · 4 years
Text
teeny tidbits: it’s valentine’s day and everyone’s in love 💕💫
i couldn’t let valentine’s day go by without showing you what some of your favourite couples are up to on this romantic day so i hope you enjoy these six teeny tidbits!! 
unfortunately i couldn’t do one for everY single character because i would literally die at my keyboard but i hope these ones still manage to give you all the fuzzy feelings :-) 
happy valentine’s day! 
                                       »»————- 💖 ————-««
➳ lveb!namjoon (feat. lveb!yoongi): it’s valentine’s day and namjoon & y/n won’t let yoongi forget it 
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“if these come out ugly, can i just eat them?” yoongi asks, his hands starting to tremble as he continues to squeeze the frosting out of the piping bag
he’s been doing this for the last half an hour and his hands are starting to go numb
you shut the oven door before tossing the kitchen towel over your shoulder and turning around to look at how much progress yoongi’s made
hm
maybe you should put him on cleanup duty instead
luckily he’s only frosted four and a half so there’s no major loss here
you reach over to pluck the piping bag from yoongi’s hands and he immediately frowns
you don’t need to say anything for him to know what that means 
you never appreciate his hard work!! you’re breaking his heart here!!
“you know, the messiness just makes them more unique.” he points out, gesturing to his beautiful tray of heart-shaped cookies, “it gives your cookies character!”  
“mhm…” you roll your eyes playfully as you turn to grab a tupperware box from the cabinet so yoongi can pack up his cookies to bring home
“all i’m saying is that you never appreciate my artistic abilities.” yoongi murmurs, swiping a glob of frosting off the table and promptly sticking his finger into his mouth to suck it off
“abilities is a reach.”
yoongi gawks, about to respond with a retort about how he doesn’t have to help you but he chooses to because he’s a good friend but he doesn’t get the chance to before he gets distracted by the sound of the kitchen door creaking open
he swivels around on the stool, about to greet namjoon enthusiastically and to tell him all about how you’re refusing to sell his beautiful cookies because apparently they’re ‘ugly’ and ‘look like a two year old decorated it and then sat on it’
namjoon brings a finger up to his lips to tell yoongi to be quiet, yoongi opening his mouth to say something before closing it again
“did you ever return that round container?” you ask, yoongi looking back over at you to see you sorting through the cabinets
“the round container?” yoongi asks dumbly, watching as namjoon crouches down with a devious smile on his face, “uh, yeah! i’m pretty sure i did.”
“really? because i can’t find it anywhere-” you move to turn around, yoongi’s eyes widening as he suddenly gets up from his stool and points to the cabinet so that you don’t notice namjoon creeping up behind you
“there! i see it right there!”
“whe- oh!” you jump in surprise when suddenly an arm slinks around you from behind, a kiss being planted on your cheek a moment later, “you scared me!”
“mm, sorry, baby-” namjoon hums, pulling you closer and squishing another kiss to your face, “i was hoping i’d be back before you got up!”
namjoon left before you woke up but you didn’t have much time to think about it because you had to get straight to baking
for you, valentine’s day is one of the busiest days of the year which means you’re basically in the kitchen all day
you appreciate the business but you’re always so exhausted that you basically pass out covered in flour by the end of the day
yoongi came over to help because he usually helps out anyway (and also because you usually have extras that he likes to take home) but he said that he couldn’t stay for long because he had to prepare for his ‘plans’ tonight
(you know he’s going out on a date with that receptionist girl with the hershey kisses but you haven’t hounded him on the topic because the last thing you want is to freak him out and get him all sweaty before his night of romance)
“where’d you go?” you ask, turning your head and reaching up to turn namjoon’s face towards you so you can give him a proper kiss, a giggle bubbling from your lips when he leans in for another one after you pull away from the first one 
“to get you these-!” namjoon suddenly pulls a lush bouquet of forget-me-nots from behind his back and holds it in front of you, the sweet surprise automatically drawing a gasp of delight from you, “happy first valentine’s day!”
oh :’)
how romantic :’)
“i love them!” you take the bouquet from his hands with wide eyes before turning around so you can face namjoon, “you’re so sweet…”
namjoon purses his lips for another kiss and you immediately hear yoongi let out a groan
“all this kissing is going to make me hurl- also, are there no flowers for me, darling?” yoongi asks sarcastically, clasping his hands together before making obnoxious kissy noises at namjoon while fluttering his lashes, “and why didn’t you get roses instead? that way, i could’ve taken one.” he huffs, frowning in disappointment, “can’t give her stupid forget-me-nots…”
“her?” namjoon perks up, tilting his head in curiosity before looking back at you with a raised brow
he grins when you lean up to give him a sneaky little smooch while yoongi’s distracted
“yoongi has plans tonight.” you hint as you pull away from namjoon, slipping past him so you can grab a vase for the flowers
namjoon’s eyes widen for a second before he looks back over at yoongi with a knowing grin, “ah… plans! sounds fun.”
“uh, yeah, i guess you could call them plans. it’s just, like- we’re just having dinner at my place but honestly i’m probably going to order pizza or something.”
“you know, some places are making their pizzas heart-shaped since it’s valentine’s day. you should consider doing that!” namjoon points out, nodding enthusiastically, “ooh, or maybe you can ask them if they’d be willing to cut the pepperonis into little hearts-”
“that seems like it’s a little much for something casual-”
“casual-” you snort quietly to yourself as you fill the vase up with water, “we all know it’s not casual-”
“it is!” yoongi argues, straightening up a little, “it just so happens that today is valentine’s day, alright? whatever!”
“i still think you should consider the heart-shaped pizza. do you want me to order it for you? ah, what if i take care of dinner for you??” namjoon clasps his hands together, “i love planning romantic dinners-”
“i-it’s not a romantic dinner-!”
“it’s not romantic, but…” you trail off, carefully pulling a couple stems out of your bouquet before pulling one of the satin ribbons that are typically used for wrapping up the boxes off the table, “give this to her! just to be courteous.” you hum, carefully wrapping the ribbon around the stems before handing the mini bouquet to yoongi
yoongi blinks at the mini bouquet before taking it cautiously from your fingers, “courteous?”
“mhm. it is valentine’s day today, after all.” you nod, smiling lightly when you notice yoongi’s cheeks starting to get a little pink, “and if you’re feeling extra courteous, you can even do this-”
yoongi’s eyes pop open when you suddenly lean over and plant a big kiss on his cheek, his face instantly going bright red, “y/n!”
                                      »»————- 💖 ————-««
➳ ceo!yoongi; it’s valentine’s day and yoongi & y/n are still very much in love with each other 
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“i have to admit that this flavour isn’t actually half bad.” yoongi hums, scooping up a little spoon of ice cream before bringing it up to his mouth, “but the vanilla frozen yogurt is still the best choice here.”
“low-fat, low-fun, old man.” you remind him, reaching up to wipe the chocolate syrup off the corner of your mouth, “but i’m glad you mustered up enough courage to try something new this time!”
yoongi branched out and decided to try the strawberry-chocolate flavoured frozen yogurt because this is his version of spicing things up
in his eyes, he’s an unhinged man tonight!
“you’re just being a hater- you and your ridiculous red-velvet-cake and chocolate syrup nightmare-”
you watch fondly as yoongi continues to rattle off about your questionable choice in ice cream while he scrapes at the side of his cup
the man you love and whose child you birthed hates ice cream and somehow you’re still very much in love with him
“so what else do you have planned for tonight?” you ask, yoongi looking up at you from his cup
you don’t know if maybe it’s because you’re getting old and you like to go to sleep early now but you wouldn’t mind calling it a night after dessert
you had fish tacos for dinner - because of course you did - and now you’re having ice cream for dessert at your favourite parlour in the same booth where yoongi kissed you for the first time - because of course you are
everything about tonight has been perfect and now all you want to do is go home 
yoongi pauses, his eyes narrowing slightly
“well, i was thinking that maybe we could…” he drops the little plastic spoon into his cup before pushing it aside, folding his hands on the table and leaning forward
“we could…?” you ask innocently as you fold your arms up on the table and lean in as well, taking your bottom lip in between your teeth
“you know…” yoongi tilts his head, eyes flickering down to your lips for a brief moment before he looks back up at you “…buy a couple extra-large pints of ice cream to bring home?” he smiles knowingly, “they’re having a valentine’s day discount!”
“min yoongi... that is…” you reach across the table to squeeze yoongi’s wrist, “hands-down the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
                                     »»————- 💖 ————-««
➳ uni!yoongi: it’s valentine’s day and y/n knows the way to yoongi’s heart 
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“in my opinion, valentine’s day is silly. it’s an overly commercialized holiday where large corporations take advantage of lovey-dovey couples who are willing to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on each other just to show each other how much they care, you know?” yoongi sighs, watching as you continue to rummage through your backpack, “like, i don’t need one day out of the year to show you how much i care about you when i care about you literally everyda- OOH, a present!” his eyes immediately light up when you pull out a box with his name written on the tag and you can’t help but snort at how quickly he’s changed his tune
“i just want you to know that if you don’t like these, i can totally go back and return them…” you clear your throat, watching as yoongi enthusiastically tugs at the ribbon before tossing it over his shoulder like a madman, “okay, you know you have to pick that up later-”
you’re pretty sure he stopped listening to you like three seconds ago but whatever
“y/n, you could give me a chunk of dirt and i’d still like-” yoongi takes the lid off, a wide grin suddenly stretching over his face, “no way! this is way cooler than a chunk of dirt!”
!!!
they’re a new set of wheels!
for his skateboard!!!!
they’re see-through with little red hearts sprinkled throughout the resin which isn’t usually the style he goes for but nonetheless these are going to look so sick!!!
“they’re new wheels for your skateboard!” you smile, watching as yoongi brushes the shreds of tissue paper off of them, “i know that little red hearts aren’t your thing, but they’re my thing and i thought it’d be nice because you could match with my scrunchie…” you trail off shyly, reaching up to rub the back of your neck, “but, yeah… if you don’t like them, i can return them for something cooler! they had ones with flames painted on them-!”
you don’t get a chance to say anything else before yoongi’s reaching over to grab the leg of your chair so he can yank you towards him for a kiss
“i love them-” yoongi beams, nudging his nose against yours before pulling away, “plus, i needed a new set of wheels so this is great.”
he takes another second or two to admire his new wheels before suddenly looking up at you, “now i feel like my present is super lame compared to yours…”
“oh, don’t be like that.” you frown playfully before bouncing up and down a little in your chair, “what’d you get me??”
“do you remember that polaroid picture we took over christmas?” yoongi asks, twisting in his seat so he can grab his bag, “the one of us sitting by the christmas tree in your apartment?” he pulls a brown paper bag out and hands it to you and you take it with greedy little raccoon hands 
you’ve been looking forward to this all week
obviously you loved his present last year but you have a feeling you’re going to love this year’s present even more!
“mhm. i love that photo! i stuck it on the fridge, remember?” you ask, carefully peeling the tape off and folding the strip in half before setting it on the table
“well, i sent it to this person on etsy…” yoongi trails off, waiting for you to pull his gift out before making his announcment, “…and they turned it into a little keychain!”
!
omg
you can’t help but coo at the miniature polaroid, smoothing your finger over the surface
“oh, yoongi…” you giggle softly, pinching at the little red heart charm attached to the chain before looking up at him, “i love it! this is such a thoughtful present…”
“ah, it’s nothing…” yoongi murmurs, averting his gaze before shrugging, “i just thought it’d look nice on your keys, that’s all.”
“it’s going to look very nice on my keys. thank you, yoongi.” you lean forward to give him a peck, yoongi humming happily as you do so 
“also, before i forget-” he perks up, “i found these and had to get them-” he turns and starts digging into his bag again before pulling out a pair of fuzzy handcuffs (it’s white with red hearts because that seems to be a recurring theme here), “you know, i’ve just been going through an etsy phase. there’s so much cool stuff on there!”
you zip your backpack up before turning back to face yoongi 
“yeah, there’s a lot of stuff you can find on et- yoongi-!” your eyes nearly roll out of your skull at the sight of him twirling a pair of handcuffs around his finger, “oh my god, put those away!“ you hiss, looking around frantically before reaching over to try to grab them from him only for yoongi to raise his arm up  
“what? you keep slipping out of the scrunches so i figured it was time to upgrade to something more secure.” the corner of yoongi’s mouth twitches in a smirk, “and the best part about these was the free shipping-”
“put them away-!”
                                    »»————- 💖 ————-««
➳ mechanic!yoongi: it’s valentine’s day and yoongi won’t pay attention to y/n
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“yoongi…” you sigh, placing your hands on your hips as you gently kick at yoongi’s feet, “c’mon, pay attention to me!”
you have a surprise for him and he was supposed to take a break like an hour ago!
“gimme one second, doll…” yoongi trails off, his voice muffled from where he is under the car, “i just have to do this-”
“you could be doing something else right now-” you grumble, reaching down to pick at a piece of lint off the jumpsuit you’re wearing
you bought a very pretty lingerie set a month ago in preparation for valentine’s day and you would really appreciate it if yoongi would spare you one second to notice that you’re wearing one of his jumpsuits (which already should’ve raised a red flag for him, but for some reason it didn’t) and underneath this grubby jumpsuit is a very pretty bra and an even prettier pair of panties!
it’s navy blue to match the jumpsuit and it even has little ribbons sewn onto the thigh garters which you know for sure he’s going to be a big fan of
“you said one second like ten minutes ago…” you whine quietly, hoping that yoongi can hear the pout in your voice so he’ll finally wheel out from under this damn car, “don’t you wanna know what your surprise is?”
“i do, baby, but i’m almost done…” yoongi’s hand shoots out from under the car to blindly reach for a wrench and you nudge it towards him with your foot, “thank you, pretty girl…”
“you can’t call me that if you’re not even looking at me.”
you know he’s beefing up the nicknames right now because he knows you love it when he calls you all sorts of terms of endearment and you’re trying noT to let that butter you up but there’s something about the way he says baby that just makes your tummy tingle
...
what were you doing again? 
you shake yourself out of your trance before crossing your arms stubbornly, “you know what? maybe i’ll go and show namjoon what’s under this jumpsuit since you’re obviously a little too busy for me right now- NAMJOON, i need you! can you come out here for a second?”
“mm, you can show namjoon first and then i swear i’ll be done after- wait, under the jumpsuit-?!”
you hear a thud and a low ‘ow, fuck-’ before yoongi suddenly rolls himself out from underneath the car, scrambling up from the ground frantically, “did you say under the jumpsuit?” he asks, reaching up to wipe his face with the back of his hand only to smear more grease across his cheek
“i did.” you nod, placing your hands on your hips again before taking a step back, “and i would let you find out what’s under it for yourself, but your hands are very dirty so you’re not coming anywhere near me- anyways, if you weren’t so busy doing whatever it is you’re doing to that car-” yoongi’s eyelids flutter rapidly when you yank the jumpsuit open in one swift move, his mouth immediately going dry at the sight of… holy shit- “you could’ve been busy doing me.”
“i could’ve-” yoongi chokes, his eyes unable to look away from your chest, “i could’ve been do- we could- yeah, i can definitely do something else right now-”
oh, wow
it matches the jumpsuit and everything 
...he wants to rip it off of you using his teeth.
“y/n! did you call for me?”
“joon! yeah, i was wondering what you thought about this-” you’re about to turn around to see if namjoon will appreciate your present more than your own boyfriend, yoongi lunging forward immediately to keep you from literally flashing namjoon, “yoongi-!” it’s only a second later that you feel yourself being lifted up and practically thrown over yoongi’s shoulder, your head spinning for a second at the sudden movement
“namjoon, there you are!” yoongi clears his throat before gesturing back to the car, “also, could you check on the- uh, the thing for me? the thing i was doing? to make sure it’s working?”
“yoongi, put me down, you lunatic-!”
“what? i don’t-” namjoon blinks owlishly when yoongi slaps a wrench down onto his palm, “i don’t know what you were doing, i’ve been in the office this whole ti-”
“great, thanks!” yoongi gives him a hearty slap on the shoulder before brushing past him, namjoon turning to look as he trots off towards the office with you still hanging over his shoulder
“do not get any grease on me, you brute-!”
why would he-
oh
oh.
“yoongi-” namjoon clears his throat, “remember to hang a bandana on the doorknob this time!”
                                    »»————- 💖 ————-««
➳ balletteacher!jimin: it’s valentine’s day and jimin & y/n have to be more careful next year
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“okay, i know you told me not to get you anything for valentine’s day, but i couldn’t help myself.”
“jimin…” you turn to glance at him over your shoulder as you continue blindly rummaging through your duffle bag, “i told you i didn’t need anything!”
“but it’s valentine’s day!” jimin argues, shutting the closet door before spinning around on his heels with a cheeky grin, “and they’re just flowers!”
“yeah, but knowing you, they were probably really expensive flowers-” you tease, getting up from the ground before dusting your knees off, “and you didn’t have to get me a whole bouquet, i would’ve been perfectly fine with a single rose like last year-”
“i’m allowed to spend however much money i want on you-” the two of you walk towards each other until you’re standing in the centre of the room, jimin reaching into the bouquet to adjust the little note tucked into the centre of it, “now, i was going to go with roses, but i saw these red gardenias and thought they’d be the better option because i got you roses last year. plus, roses are a little cliché this time of year, don’t you think?”
to: y/n - there’s not enough space on this card to write a lot so happy vday i hope u know how much i care about u
“aw, jimin…” you giggle, unable to fight the grin off of your face after you read the endearing handwritten note, “happy valentine’s day to you too.”
jimin’s eyes widen in surprise when you suddenly pull a little heart-shaped box out from behind your back with a small giggle
“what? i thought you said you didn’t get anything for me?” jimin gasps, tilting his head before taking the box from you, “sneaky!”
“i know. i lied.” you crinkle your nose as you shake the box gently, “i customised it too and chose all your favourite flavours!”
“that’s very thoughtful of you, darling-” jimin smiles softly, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you towards him, “i can’t wait to-”
“mr. park, i think i left my-” you immediately spring away from jimin when the door suddenly swings open and smacks against the wall, “oh-!”
“seulgi!” jimin clears his throat, his grip tightening on the bouquet, “hello!”
“what’s… going on…?” seulgi trails off, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the bouquet of gardenias that both you and jimin are still holding onto, “are those flowers?”
“uh…” you look back over at jimin and the two of you exchange brief glances of pure panic, “yes! these flowers…” you trail off, your brain working overtime to come up with a believable reason as to why you and jimin look like you’re exchanging very romantic gifts, “are for everyone!” you chirp, grabbing the bouquet from jimin’s hands before spinning around to face seulgi with a smile, “mr. park wanted to give them out earlier but it slipped his mind so he asked me if i could hand them out to you guys!“
“oh my gosh, really?” seulgi gasps, bringing her fingers up to cover her mouth, “you know, i love gardenias-” she takes her bottom lip in between her teeth as she leans against the door frame, eyeing jimin dreamily,  “that’s so sweet of you, mr. park. we didn’t know you were planning on surprising us again! you really didn’t have to do this!”
“yes, i… really didn’t…” jimin forces a smile on his face, “but i did… because i just… care so much about all of you ladies on this special day…”
“what about the chocolates?” seulgi leans over a little, her eyes flickering down to the box in jimin’s hand
you twist around to look down at it
you knEW you should’ve saved it for later tonight!
now you don’t have flowers and jimin’s about to lose his chocolates!!
jimin pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he stares down at his precious box of chocolates given to him by his very lovely girlfriend that he was planning on sharing with his very lovely girlfriend later tonight
…god damnit.
“…the chocolates are also for you guys.” jimin looks back up at seulgi, trying his best not to look like he wants to strangle her for interrupting what would’ve been a sweet moment, “why don’t you call everyone back?”
“okay!” seulgi practically squeals, disappearing from the doorway in less than a second
a couple seconds of silence pass by before you slowly turn around to face jimin with a sheepish smile, jimin letting out a chuckle before shrugging at you 
“…happy valentine’s day?”
“happy valentine’s day.”
                                    »»————- 💖 ————-««
➳ roommate!taehyung: it’s valentine’s day and taehyung can be romantic if he wants to be 
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“dark chocolate… oh my god, is this lemon? ew!” taehyung frowns, swallowing the bite before shuddering and placing the other half of the chocolate back into the box, “who in their right mind wants to eat lemon gunk inside a piece of dark chocolate?”
“i got peanut butter chocolate, so i’m happy with my selection.” you hum, dusting your fingers off before peering into the box for another piece
“what?? i wanted peanut butter chocolate!” taehyung whines, picking up the pamphlet to look at the different flavours again, “damnit. there’s only one peanut butter chocolate!”
“hey, you ate the milk chocolate caramel and you know i like that one!”
“everyone likes milk chocolate caramel, y/n. you’re not special!”
“i know you’re just lashing out because you’ve been getting all the gross flavours, so i’m going to forgive you for saying that.”
“like, ten of these pieces look the same…” taehyung scowls and continues to flip through the pamphlet, “i want milk chocolate and almond but it looks exactly like this one that’s milk chocolate with some kind of whipped orange filling inside of it…”
long story short, the two of you have been sitting here for the last half an hour snacking on a big box of chocolates that you decided to splurge on instead of using up all of your money on an overly-expensive dinner
valentine’s day is nice and all but you and tae both agreed that you wouldn’t make a big deal of it
you had a discussion about valentine’s day and the conclusion of that conversation was that you’d go all out on your anniversary but just take it easy on valentine’s day
but then again… a lot of your friends who are also in relationships have been posting cute pictures all day long of them and their significant others
and you know that you literally said valentine’s day wasn’t a big deal but... but the giant teddy bears… and the beautiful bouquets of flowers… the shiny, twinkling jewellery… the fancy dinners at fancy restaurants… it all looks so nice! 
it’s not like you feel like you’re missing out on anything because the only thing that matters is that you and taehyung love each other blah blah blah anD you definitely don’t want to make it seem like you only care about materialistic things but it really makes you wonder if you and taehyung are just... bad at being a couple?
“are we bad at being romantic?” you ask out loud, turning to look at taehyung, “because we basically have no plans for the rest of the day besides gorging on chocolate and… well, gorging on more chocolate.”
“i don’t think we’re bad at being romantic. this is just… our version of romance!” taehyung shrugs, setting the pamphlet down before turning to face you as well, “everyone can celebrate today however they want to celebrate it, and we just so happen to be celebrating it like this!” he gestures to the two of you and the box of the chocolates
you’re wearing a grubby, stained sweatshirt and your fingers are sticky with chocolate and taehyung’s currently trying to fish a chunk of almond out from his molars 
you’re not sure what kind of romance this is but it’s definitely something
“yeah, i guess you’re right…” you trail off, picking at one of the empty paper wrappers in the box
“why do you ask?”
“ah, no reason. you’re right. i mean, i’m the one who said that valentine’s day was-” you clear your throat before dismissing him with a flick of your wrist, “yeah, nothing.”
taehyung’s shoulders droop slightly as he watches you pick at the chocolates with a slight frown on your face 
it’s not like he didn’t have anything planned for valentine’s day - as a matter of fact, he was going to get you one of those fancy buckets of roses that he sees all over instagram AND he was going to place a custom order for a whole bag of candy hearts with your guys’ initials on them - but then you mentioned one night that valentine’s day was kind of a goofy holiday and he immediately changed his mind 
“...okay, c’mon.” taehyung dusts his hands off before getting up off the couch, a couple paper wrappers fluttering onto the floor, “go and get changed.”
“what are you talking about?”
“you want romance? i can do romance! one time i folded a girl’s clothes the morning after, and if that doesn’t scream romance, i don’t know what-” taehyung pauses when he realises he probably shouldn’t be talking about his past girls in front of his current girl (also you’re giving him that look that screams i dare you to continue talking), “i… am going to change the subject now because i feel myself wandering into dangerous territory- the point is: why don’t you change into something a little less comfortable?”
“what- why?” you frown, taehyung reaching down to wrap his hand around your elbow and pull you up off the couch
“we’re going on an impromptu date night, that’s why!”
“all the restaurants in the city are probably fully booked already, though-” you shake your head, reaching down to pick your phone up, “i don’t know…”
“aw, c’mon. looking for a restaurant on one of the busiest nights of the year is all part of our valentine’s day fun!!” taehyung chirps, reaching up to pinch your cheek, “plus, if all else fails, we’ll come home and order takeout like we were originally going to - which will still be super fun and romantic, because everything we do is super fun and romantic. okay?”
a wide grin spreads on taehyung’s face when he notices the excited smile starting to twitch at the corner of your mouth
“…okay!” you giggle, taking tae’s hand as you bounce up and down on the balls of your feet, “okay, let’s go change-” you turn around, pulling tae along behind you, “i bought a new pair of boots and i’ve been dying to wear them out-”
“yay! also, i’m just letting you know now that after we come home i’m going to bone you so romantically that you won’t even know what hit you-”
“tae-”
“what?! you said you wanted romance!”
✨why don’t you explore the rest of the library while you’re here?
💫or perhaps you want something shorter to read?
🌟or something even shorter?
350 notes · View notes
heshoes · 3 years
Text
Uni Daze
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She was his best friend and they shared everything together already anyway. What difference would it make if it were a hat, shampoo, or the same bed sometimes? So what? That's what the Uni Daze were about, having fun, traditions, getting serious, new relationships, friendships, heart ache, break-ups, make ups, secrets, the occasional/casual bajingo here and there, and possibly, just maybe, finding the love of your life and hoping that it all works out.
Warnings: Slow burn, smut, angst, mentions of abortion, mentions of verbal abuse
Pairing: Harry Styles x OFC ( face claim Zendaya)
Uni Daze Masterlist
Chapter 4 (word count 11.2k)
Harry
Usually a busy day keeps me grounded and out of any possible trouble that Michelle could help get me into, but today was different. It seems like whenever there was something toolook forward to, the day seems to drag and the minute and second hands on the clock move at a non existent pace. Any other day I would almost dread going to work the front desk in the first year halls though I know it had to be done. Today, however, I looked at it as four hours that I could use to talk to Rion.
There was a two hour gap in my time frame today due to a professor sending out a bullshit email telling us the reasons as to why his class was cancelled. He was one of the youngest professors at the university with a track record of hanging out with his student's. But what he did behind the closed doors with Lumen, the girl who lived down the hall from Michelle and I was none of my business.
After I'd taken the spare time to shower, change clothes, and read a chapter and a half ahead in my anatomy text I found myself antsy and ready to go to work, much to Michelle's amusement.
"Just sit down. You have twenty minutes left yet. Did you not have some kind of I'm an important person meeting that you could have went to? Or any equations that you could crack in hopes to surpass both Galileo and Einstein combined? Over achiever."
"Michelle, your grade mark average has been higher than mine since birth and I'm older than you."
“True. But I just don't put as much effort into it as you do."
"That's what makes it all the more annoying. No, I don't have any meetings lined up for senior class. You could be a part of it you know. All you have to do is come to a meeting."
"I'll pass on that. Thanks."
"It looks good on job applications."
"And so does First Class Honors at an Ivy League Uni." Michelle spoke, paying little attention to me as she smiled down at her phone. Ten minutes had passed before I stood from the couch, drawing Michelle's attention again. She smirked at me while shaking her head.
"I'm gonna walk. It's a nice night out, plus if I work a little earlier I get paid more and that doesn't hurt."
"No, I'm sure it doesn't. Especially if you're not really in it for the money in the first place, Hershey. Ask her out today, yeah?"
"I just enjoy talking to her. I don't want to ask her out. It's too soon. It's cliche."
"Says the man who was turned down once and then gave up completely. You don't have to date her Harrow, but stop lying to yourself. It gets you nowhere fast. Ask her to the party."
****
The walk to the first year halls was quicker than I expected. I wasn't sure if it was due to the distraction of the scenery change or my pace, but a fifteen minute stroll was cut down to one that only took ten. When I walked into the double doors I saw her again, seated at the front desk with her eyes focused on the pages of her book taking in each word with a lazy grin on her face.
“Hi Rion. How are you?" I asked somewhat loud, causing her to jump. "Sorry didn't mean to scare you."
“No, it’s fine. I didn't see you walking up. I should pay better attention sitting here. Sometimes I just get so engrossed in the words that I forget what's going on around me. How are you this evening?"
I grinned at her before running a hand through my hair and taking the hair tie that I'd stolen from Michelle off of my wrist before pulling it halfway up.
"I'm alright, but I think I asked you a question first.” Rion looked down at her half way finished novel that she had barely scratched the surface of on Monday and then smiled up at me as I made my way around the desk, taking the seat next to hers.
"I'm doing quite well actually. I have no real complaints." Her face dropped.
"That face that you're making is telling me that the last thing that you said was a lie. Clearly."
"Well..."
"Go on. Say it." I grinned while pushing my chair back and resting my feet on the shelf of the desk in front of us.
"My flatmate."
"Yeah?"
"She had company last night.” Rion's voice lowered to a whisper and her cheeks twinged the lightest shade of pink.
"And?"
"And they were very...loud. I didn't get much sleep and every time I had time between classes and I went back to my dorm to take a nap I would always oversleep. I could swear I was late to almost every class today, but my professors were kind of understanding. They all cut me a break because I'm new." Rion rested her head in her hands before she began to shake it back and forth. "I mean I don't want to be that girl who switches dorm flats because their flatmate makes them uncomfortable. She's a really nice girl you know?"
"Uh-huh." I chuckled. I didn't mean to laugh at her misfortune and bad day, but she looked so distressed while explaining it all. No wonder she was rushing about today.
"But I can't risk being late to class, or miss classes because her and her girlfriend insist on having loud goes at each other. My parents had to pay so much for tuition here and I'm working at least three jobs to pay the loans I've taken out myself."
"Yeah that's-Wait what did you say?"
"I said I'm working three jobs to pay off loans and my parents for school and-"
"Wait, no. Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off, but what did you say before that?"
"My flatmate and her girlfriend have loud goes at each other."
"Your flatmate is a girl?"
"Yes." Rion tilted her head, looking at me as if I'd lost it. When you live on campus, the dorms are usually co-ed, but the actual rooms aren't.
"And you said she had a girlfriend?" It wouldn't be her. It can't be.
"Yes she's a les-"
"Lesbian."
"Yeah. And it's not that, that makes me uncomfortable. I believe love is love no matter who you find it with. It's just that they were so loud and I think sex is a very private and sacred thing… And I mean it was so disrespectful because Alison knows that I have to be up so early for my first class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but she was— they were both...and then there was this buzzing sound. I think toys were involved."
I laughed out loud. I couldn't help it. The mix of the story, the situation, and the toys made it too good to be true. Rion pouted, but I could still see a trace of a smile on her lips.
“Sorry. It's not funny. You were just making a funny face. Did you say your flatmate's name was Alison?"
"Yeah. Do you know her?"
"No." It's really not a lie. I don't know her.
"Oh. She's a really sweet girl, but I need sleep."
"You do. Three jobs is a lot to juggle. It makes me feel like I'm not doing enough."
"You do though. You work, you have more classes than I do, and you're president of senior class. We both are tackling a lot…But, I can't help but feel like something is missing from the equation for the both of us. I just can't quite put my finger on it."
“Yeah, me either. Do you know Alison's girlfriend. Have you seen her?" I don't know why I'm hoping that there's a chance that this Alison is playing the same game that Michelle is or that it's a completely different girl.
"No. I'm sure that she said it at some point last night, but I put my earphones in to try and muffle the sound as much as possible." Rion sighed as she turned around to face the desk again, looking back down at her book.
"It kind of sounds like you need an escape." I say, hoping that she would turn back around to face me.
“It's only the start of the year. Usually I'd be fine, but I'm already tired. Cambridge comes with a price, but I'm more than willing to pay it. A get away sounds good."
"Well, there's this party on Saturday that practically the whole school contributes in. I've even seen some professors there, the younger ones at least."
"Really? At a school like this?"
"Rion, Cambridge may seem mysterious, with all of its prestige, low acceptance rates, and student's who attend with big brains, but it’s a university first. Parties exist here and because we're not supposed to be considered a school known for parties, they exist a little bit more than your regular university. We just keep it a secret. You should come."
"I'm not really that much of a partier. The last one I went to was after I finished all of my GCSE. I was talking to this boy that I liked and I'd never really drank that much, but I was with my friends and peer pressure and all... It just didn't end well."
"Let me guess. You threw up on him?"
"No... I— I can't! I can't tell you it was so embarrassing!" Rion laughed covering her mouth before she stood up to help a first year out. I swear its only Wednesday and more than a fourth of the first years who live in this building have already lost their keys. I'm sure that after the party on Saturday and the excessive drinking that's going to take place there's going to be a line outside the door for key replacements.
Chelle: I'm so bored so I'm gonna clean the apartment. Starting in the living space, then your room, then mine. Anything that might stick to my fingers if I touch it this time? 😜😷
To Chelle: Don't clean my room! It's already clean! And please don't tell me you touched anything in my bin?😨😳
Chelle: I haven't, but I assume the worst. And I may or may not have changed your name in my phone to Mr. Tissue. I will never let you live that down.
To Chelle: Call one of your bitches and leave my shit alone, pimp daddy. I'm buying a lock for my door.🔒
Chelle: 😼Bitches? What good will a lock do when I'll have the spare? 🔐👀
To Chelle: We'll discuss this when I get home. I’m Busy.  🗣DO NOT TOUCH MY SHIT!
"You alright?" Rion asked pulling me out of my text war with Mitchell.
"Oh, yeah. Just texting my flat mate."
"Mitch, right?"
"Yeah," I snickered, shaking my head while thinking about the well being of my things, "So are you going to tell me what happened when you were at this party years and years ago talking to the boy you liked?"
"Ugh, no I can't. I absolutely can't embarrass myself that much again. It would be like reliving it."
"I'll tell you one of mine. My most embarrassing, but you've got to tell me yours first.” Rion hid her head in her hands peeking out at me between her fingers and laughing.
"Fine. But please don't judge me. It was my first time being drunk. Promise?"
"I promise that I might not be able to not laugh and I won't judge you but tease you for it later."Rion squinted her eyes at me processing what I said before she turned around facing away from me in her swivel chair. I heard her take a deep breath before she started.
"I'd never been drunk before and we were at this party because everyone finished their GCSE. We weren't really old enough to drink-"
"No shit?"
"Don't interrupt," she laughed dragging out the words, "All of the toilets were taken in the house so I was waiting outside of this one when Flynn came up to talk to me-"
I laughed out loud for the third time today and the story wasn't even over. "His name was Flynn?"
"Yes. He was very cute! Let me finish!"
"Okay, soz."
"So we were talking and I was really drunk and I really had to go and....I peed! Don't laugh! You said you wouldn't judge me!” Laughing was an understatement. My stomach hurt and my eyes started to water.
"You pissed yourself?!"
"I didn't talk to anyone for a week, even my best friend for letting me get that drunk."
"Why didn't you go wee outside?"
"Well it's so easy for boys to do that isn't it? You can just whip it out, shake it off, and put it away. Girls have layers that they have to get through, and I'm a lady."
"A lady who wet herself."
"And what's your story?"
"And it appears that we're out of time."
"Oh no you don't!" She laughed wiping the corner of her eye and pouting, "You promised!"
"Alright I guess. I was out with one of my friends and his parents had just gotten divorced so he was living with his mum at the time. We'd went to a bar and I'd gotten so drunk that I forgot where I was-"
"That's it?"
"No, I wish it was but no. We went back to his place because my mum doesn't like me drinking and I didn't want to hear her nag. But when I got back to his place, I started stripping off."
"You didn't!"
"I did. I took off everything.... Everything. My friends mum was at work at the time but when she came home the next morning I was ass naked in her hallway sleeping on the floor...on my back...and it was morning...My friend had went in his room and closed the door. But, now every time I come home to visit him and his mum is there she winks at me and pinches my bum."
Rion was in tears the same way that I was a few minutes ago and I didn't even care that the story was embarrassing, because her laugh was as cute as she was. I looked at my phone to check the time and our shift would be over in five minutes. Any other day time would have dragged on, but it always seems when I'm here with her it goes by a little faster.
"I can't believe that." Rion spoke while wiping her eyes again.
"Well believe it, because it happens every time. Makes for a good story though." We both started to gather our things to leave but before we left the building, Rion tore a sheet of paper from her notebook and began to write on it.
"Here. Um, that's my number. I don't know about the party just yet because I have to check my work schedules and everything else, but I don't know. Just text me sometime before then?"
"Sure. I mean yeah of course I will.”
Rion grinned at me while biting her bottom lip before walking away and the walk home that usually took fifteen minutes now felt as if it only took five.
****
I closed the door behind me with an exhaled  breath and  a smile on my face before  inhaling the scent of pine and citrus. Michelle poked her head out into the hallway that led to the door where I stood before she stepped out of the kitchen fully wearing pink rubber gloves, a pair of my favorite Green Bay sweats, and a t-shirt that also happened to be mine.
“Honey, I'm home."
"Bitches?"
"Excuse me?" I looked at my best mate confused as she crossed her arms across her chest after removing the gloves from her hands,  tilting her head to the side as she spoke again.
"You said I have bitches, Styles. Apparently there's more to discuss."
I walked away from the door removing my work shirt and tossing it at Michelle. She tried to move out of the way and dodge the laundry that I'd threw at her but it still landed on her shoulder. She shrugged it off, causing it to land on the floor before shouting at me.
"I've just cleaned this entire apartment and you come in here making a mess! Pick it up and take it to you're room you quadruple nippled fuck."
"Girls don't mind my bonus nipples. It even sometimes becomes interesting foreplay, when I was having sex that is."
"Gross!"
I laugh and duck when she launches the shirt back to me causing it to land in in a pile on the kitchen floor. We both look at it and step over it before I grab two beers out of the refrigerator, one for myself and one for Chelle.When I try to hand her the beverage, she frowns at the twist off cap and then pouts at me causing me to scowl before I open it for her.
"You're so useless sometimes, Chelle."
"Says the man who doesn't clean, yet looks around at a spotless household that smells of cinnamon. I wonder who did that? Ah, it must have been the useless one. Now," Michelle spoke before clicking the neck of her beer with mine and then taking a sip, "What's this about my bitches?"
I chuckled as I took a gulp of my drink and headed for the living-room with Michelle close behind. We sat on the couch on on opposite ends of each other, relaxing after a long day as we usually do.
"Maybe not bitches in the plural sense. Maybe there's just one?"
Michelle stretched out on the couch putting her mitch-matched sock clad feet on my lap, drawing a displeased look from me but ignoring it entirely as she dramatically massaged her temples with her free hand.
"I can't deal with your game of clue today. The chemicals from the cleaning made my brain go fuzzy and I don't think the beer is helping. Just tell me what you think you know so I can tell you that you're wrong as usual."
I smiled at her, placing my half finished beer bottle on the table in front of us and then began massaging her calves causing her to close her eyes and hum in appreciation before taking another swig of her drink.
"Alison."
Michelle opened one of her eyes before quickly closing it again.
"What about her?"
"Was she a part of your plans B and C last night? Because something or someone tells me that she may have been." Michelle's eyes snapped open and she looked at me in shock. "It's okay if you like her. You can't help who you like."
"I don't like anyone," Michelle looked down briefly at her lap as she shrugged off my discovery. If I've learned anything about her from being her friend its that when she fails to make eye contact, she's lying. "Gianna stood me up last night and Alison was my backup plan. It's simple. I got what I wanted and left in the morning before she even woke up."
"Okay," I smirked at her before picking up my beer again, finishing what was left of it.
"I'm serious. I don't like anyone. I don't feel anything for anyone anymore. Senior year, up the ante, remember? I barely like you."
"Alright," I chuckled before pushing her legs off of me, returning to the kitchen to grab another drink.
"Harry!"
"I believe you, I believe you. You you're an emotionless drone," I spoke as I opened the refrigerator, "We need to go to the grocery store. This is getting ridiculous. We don't have anything in here besides beer, fizzy drinks, and water."
"There are plenty of noodle cups in the cabinet. We'll just tell people we're on an all liquid diet if we ever get visitors. We're not done talking about the other thing. Stop changing the subject. How did you even know I was at Alison's last night?"
I closed the door to the refrigerator with a smirk on my face walking past Michelle to go back into the living room. She followed behind me while lighting a candle that smells like oranges to keep the citrus scent going.
"Well? Come on Har. I don't want to have to chase you around the apartment all day for answers."
"Make me a noodle cup and bring me a bottle of water and I'll tell you."
"You were just in the kitchen!" Michelle speaks as she throws her lighter at me but does what I ask.
When she gets back, she hands me a fork and places the bottle of water on the table in front of me. I smile at her as a thank you before I speak.
"Rion."
"What?"
"Small world right? Or, small campus? Rion, is Alison's flatmate and she kind of, she heard you two last night. I mean, unless that wasn't you and there's another girl named Alison on campus? She said you guys kept her up because you both were too loud."
"There very well could be another Alison, Harry. It's not like there are only four lesbians that exist on earth. But Rion? The girl that you work with? The one that you have the hots in the pants for, Rion?"
"Yes and I don't just like her that way."
"Hm. Of course you do, you've only known her for three days..."
"What, hm? What do you have to say about her?"
"Oh, nothing except Alison calls her prudence. She says she's a real goody good and she's annoying."
"Thats sad," I say as I finish all that I was going to of my noodles leaving the rest for Michelle to eat. She takes the cup from my hands and takes a bite while looking at me to finish what I was going to say, "Rion says Alison's really nice and sweet."
“Well, I don't know. Rion may very well be Princess Peach. You know I don't do girly gossip. It gets on my last nerve. Alison just feels the need to talk to me when I'm there and its like shut the fuck up, girl. I didn't come over here to hear you talk, now get between my legs and-"
"Woah! Okay, and Mitchel is back. How are ya bro? I haven't really seen you in a few days."
"Fuck off Harry." Michelle laughs. "I hear the sordid details of you and the lads sexcapades all the time...well not you so much now, but you know what I was getting at."
"Yeah but, it's kind of different..."
"How?" Chelle quirked an eyebrow and turned her head looking to me for an answer that I'm not sure that I wanted to give her.
"Well, because... I um... and it's just that sometimes-"
"Wait! Harry you pervert! You get turned on by it don't you? It gives you a stiffy?"
"No!"
"Yes! Yes it does! You're turning all red!"
“No it doesn’t, Michelle!"
"Then what's your valid reason?"
I couldn't think of a lie fast enough and Michelle started to laugh, nasty snort and all. I took a pillow from the couch and threw it at her, making her fall backwards on the floor and stay there, using the pillow to her advantage as she lied down on the throw rug that covered the majority of the hardwood flooring in the living room. Our apartment was pretty nice considering that it was still school property, then again we did luck out putting in our bid in order to get into the newer buildings.
"Okay Hersh, I'll keep my dirty details to a minimum for the sake of your tight trousers. I can only imagine that, that gets uncomfortable. Anyway, did you ask prudence- sorry, Rion, to the party this weekend?"
"I did." I smile as I think about the neatly folded piece of paper in my pocket with her number written across it.
"What did she say?" Michelle looks up at me from her place on the floor.
"She said that she's not really that much of a party person." I smiled again a bit harder than I had before.
"So she's not going and she turned you down again? Maybe she is a prude. Don't worry about it Harry, there are plenty of other girls out here on campus just as smart, if not smarter than she is, prettier, and who will appreciate you for- What are you smiling about? Why are you so giddy from being turned down twice?"
I chuckled to myself while shaking my head and standing from my place on the couch, stretching before going towards my room.
"I didn't necessarily get turned down."
I could hear Michelle's footsteps close behind me as I walked into my room. She'd been in here. I can tell not only because of the clothes that she wore to clean that were mine, but because I could still faintly smell her perfume. Nothing was on the floor anymore and she even made my bed. I looked around the room and then back at her before I sat, grabbing one of the neatly placed pillows to put under my head, then lied back on it with my legs hanging over the edge of the mattress.
"Before you say anything, you'll be able to find your things. I just put everything where it’s supposed to normally go."
"I wasn't going to say anything besides thank you. I'm still buying a lock for my door, but thank you."
Michelle rolled her eyes. Something she calls a brainless trait. When she catches herself she covers her face in embarrassment before she continues to bother me, taking a seat  next to me on the bed. "So how is Rion's telling you that she's not a party girl, not necessarily turning you down?"
"She gave me her number. You know, for someone who doesn't like to hang out with girls you surely do a lot of girly gossip. You're so nosey, Jesus."
"Oh please, Harrow. You wanted to tell me just as bad if not worse than I wanted to know. Are you going to call her tonight?"
“No. That's too forward and desperate. I'll text her tomorrow or something."
"You're such a teenaged girl. You think about things too much instead of just doing them. Sometimes I wonder if you have a bajingo where your penis should be. If she gave you her number its because she wants a call.”
"Go fuck off somewhere else Mitchel! And by the way, those joggers and that shirt are mine. Thief."
Michelle stood from the bed with a smirk on her face before she took off my shirt and my sweats, folding them precisely before she put them in my washing basket. I kept my eyes on her face when she looked back at me and I swear that I tried to keep my eyes on her face the entire time, but I would be lying if I said that my eyes didn't roam over her  smooth skin when she wasn't looking at me. I closed my eyes quickly and turned my head away. Hearing her laugh was the only evidence that I had to let me know that she was still standing in my room.
"I didn't say take off my clothes right now. God, Chelle don't be so literal. Go dress yourself!"
"I have on underwear! And you took off your shirt when you came through the door. AND I've seen you walk around in your boxers plenty. Is there some sort of double standard because I'm a woman?”
"That's not the point! And yes there is! Please go put on trousers and a shirt?"
“Whatever, Harry. I'm going to bed. Clearly I'll have to sleep this way because it's hot as hell fire in my room. It's a shame that this is a new building but they still didn't bother to make sure that the ventilation was right before they stuck people in it. Good night and all that."
"Night." I looked towards Chelle and then looked away again as she began to walk out of my room, her nicely rounded bum bounced as she closed the door behind her.
****
Saturday came quickly. Too quickly for my liking, and I hadn't text Rion or called her at all. I didn't want to seem desperate, but perhaps waiting three days made it seem like I wasn't interested? I hadn't seen her at work for the past two days because she has two other jobs to juggle. I'd hoped that she could get off for today, however, even though I haven't said a word to her.
"Just call her. Stop being a chicken shit. The party is tonight, and I'm rooting for you, Styles." Michelle spoke as we walked down the aisles of Sainsbury Supermarket. We'd been here for nearly half an hour and had nothing in our cart except beer, noodle cups, frozen pizza's and a bottle of Goldschläger for tonight. Broke college students can afford alcohol when they can't afford anything else.
"Are we going to buy any real food, or is this about as good as it gets?" I asked, ignoring Michelle's comment.
"What? We've got plenty. Plus I think there are chicken nuggets in there and that's a delicacy for us. Don't avoid what I've said to you."
"I haven't avoided anything, and we would be able to get more than chicken nuggets and noodles if you would just call your parents."
Michelle hesitated before she looked back at me and then back down at her list. She doesn't call her parents much to ask for money if she can avoid it. Her mum isn't doing so well health wise and to the best of my knowledge she hasn't been for some years now. The doctors thought that she had leukemia, but apparently they've only just discovered that's not the case. I think it's what drives Michelle's dream to become a doctor. She's eager to find out what's going on with her mum so that she can be the one to cure it.
She glanced at her phone having an internal battle with herself on whether she should ring home or not. I felt bad for asking her and I normally wouldn't, but I'm running low on funds myself. I usually get a stipend every other week from my mum and paid every other Friday from my shitty job, but unfortunately I'm between pay checks and for some reason my mum is late.
Michelle decided against my idea putting her phone back in her pocket.
"We're in our last year of uni. What would it look like if we resorted to calling our parents to wire us food money? You call yours if you're so hungry."
"It would look like we're both working shit jobs barely making wage and paying to rent out the apartment that we have so that we can finish out this last year with a roof over our heads. I wouldn't ask you to usually, but is an emergency. I asked my parents last time. It's your turn."
“Well, we can just get rid of something then if we don't have enough." Michelle stopped the cart and began to sift through the contents inside it, moving over ten cups of noodles out of the way and the one bag of chicken nuggets that we had. When her hand landed on the alcohol, we both looked at each other and shook our heads no. "Fuck," Michelle groaned under her breath, "Fine I'll ask my parents tomorrow. Let’s just get this for now and get out of here."
When we left the grocery store, after loading all four of our bags into my car, Michelle got quiet while looking out the window. I still hadn't told her that Louis is planning on meeting up with me and the lads to drink before we go just to prove that he's not one of those people and usually, now days anyway, wherever Louis is Michelle is far away and vice versa. I figure that there's no better time to tell her rather than now while she's quiet, but at the same time I don't want to hurt her feelings. She seemed lost in thought, but there's still a smile on her face.
I cleared my throat causing her to look at me quizzically with an eyebrow raised.
"Um, so.."
"Yes?"
"About the party tonigh-"
"No you don't!" Michelle cut in not allowing me to finish what I was going to say as we pulled up to our apartment. "You're not cutting out of this. Gosh, Harry, I know that you want to be more serious and that this year and I'm sorry for not using the Ultimate Alarm the other day when you were in an alcoholic hibernation, but it's a Saturday. Can you not have fun on Saturdays?" Michelle frowned pouting a bit.
"I'm going to the party, if that's what that speech was pertaining to at all? I wasn't going to say that I'm not going."
"Oh. Well then by all means continue." She smiled this time, happy with herself because she didn't have to argue her case any further.
"Yeah, I um, I'm going to the party, but Louis wanted me and the lads to meet up with him before we go. Pre-gaming and all that." I spoke quickly hoping that she didn't mind or hear what I said for that matter. Her eyes stayed straight forward, looking outside the windshield before she replied.
"All of you?"
"Yeah. He kind of asked about it earlier this week when I saw him...But you know we'll hang out at the party and stuff."
She nodded her head. It was the only response she'd given as her eyes stayed on the boot of the car in front of us.
"Are you alright with it? I can always-"
"Don't worry about it, Harrow. You were his friends first after all, and we live with each other. I'm tired of seeing your ugly mug anyway." Michelle laughed while patting my cheek and I shoved her hand off of me. "Plus, we all know I have bitches that I need to tend to so it's fine."
She covers up how she truly feels with a joke and all of a sudden I feel guilty.
"You're sure?"
"Yeah it's fine. You're very much a pleaser, Harrow. Did you know that?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked as I parked the car and grabbed the groceries out of the back seat to go upstairs.
"You can't please everyone. In the end someone is going to have to be let down or hurt. That's the way of life. It's okay to be selfish sometimes, Harry. That's what I mean."
Michelle sighed as she walked ahead of me, using her keys to unlock the door to our flat. I put the groceries and my things down in the kitchen before I went for a wee, all the while trying to figure out where the hell that last bit of our conversation was coming from, but when I came out of the bathroom she was back to acting like her normal self.
"Since you're leaving me to fend for myself tonight," Michelle spoke holding up two double shot glasses filled to the brim with alcohol, "We didn't buy this for nothing." She spoke in reference to the Goldschläger that ate up the majority of our money and bit her bottom lip while smiling at me.
I winced, already feeling the burn of the liquid going down my throat, before looking at my watch.
"It's only five. No one is going to start drinking until at least nine. You're trying to kill me. I said sorry for agreeing to go with Louis and the lads. Why are you making me do this?"
"Harry, when we were first years we drank early all the time."
"And my liver paid for it."
"Oop, Harry what's that?"
I looked over my shoulder confused before I looked back over to Michelle.
"What's what?"
"Is that a bajingo between your legs where you penis should be?" Michelle started to laugh while pointing in that general area.
"Piss off Chelle!" I spoke before walking up to the table and grabbing the shot that she'd placed there for me. I held it up to eye level inspecting it first. There was something floating in the glass.
"It's actually gold," Michelle said seeing the confusion written clean across my face, "hence the name Goldschläger."
"So we can afford to drink gold flecks in alcohol, but we can't afford real food?"
"I'm going to call my parents tomorrow I said, Mr. Sensable. Now shut up and down it!"
I looked at Michelle shaking my head as we clinked glasses and turned the shot up to our lips. The burn of it made my eyes water and when I looked at Michelle, hers were doing the same. I picked up the bottle on the table and read it before Michelle took it from my hands, pouring us both another shot.
"This is forty-five percent alcohol."
"Yes. It's strong. So, so strong." She nodded as if she already knew.
"We'll be trashed if we keep drinking this. We probably wouldn't even make it to the party." I spoke before I walked over to the refrigerator to grab us beers, hoping that she would switch substances.
"No we won't. I won't let us miss it. But legend has it that this is supposed to get you drunk quickly. The gold flecks supposedly make microscopic cuts in your esophagus so the alcohol can get into your bloodstream faster. Cheers." Michelle handed me the shot glass again as if after hearing that I would want to drink it again.
"Michelle that's horrible. I don't want to-"
"Just take one more shot of it and then we'll just sip beer until you leave to go meet up with Louis and the rest of the lads."
Her eyes were pleading and I couldn't tell her no. We both flipped our heads back as he downed the shots and with in a peer pressured hour, ten shots and two beers later, there was a sloppy grin on my face and I my vision was doubled. Michelle however seemed fine.
"Your alcohol tolerance has lowered dramatically. It’s almost seven. What time were you going to go to Louis'?"
"In an hour."
"I'll drive you." She spoke as she sat against the couch taking out her phone and laughing at my facial expression.
"You had just as much to drink as I have. You can't drive."
"I can. I've got a buzz but that's all. You're trashed. I only had three shots. The other seven you took alone." I looked at her in shock. How could she have tricked me that way? I swear she was drinking too. Michelle laughed and I could already tell that she was recording me. "I'm putting this on instagram."
"Don't! I really hate you." I slurred while pointing at her, only causing her to laugh more.
"You need to loosen up, especially for your hot date tonight. There's no point in you being so uptight at the start of the quarter. I'll let you go back to your boring self when Monday comes around again." She pulled her phone away from me as I tried to take it from her. "You might want to check your phone by the way. It seems you have a message."
I looked down at the notification that showed on the screen, squinting my eyes to try and focus on what was there. When my eyes adjusted, I almost felt sober.
Rion: I was starting to think that maybe you'd forgotten about me. I checked my schedule and I'm actually free tonight. I don't know how long I'll stay, but I'll meet you there. Alison is going so I'll just be with her.
My eyes widened before I scrolled up to see what I supposedly said.
To Rion: Hiiiii, It's Harry. Sorry for being such a stupid arsehole and not texting you sooner, but would you still want to go to that party tonight?
"You texted Rion?"
"Yup."
"But I-I'm not...Fuck!"
"What? You like her right? I've done you a favor."
"Yeah, but—“
"No but's. You either like her or you don't and if you do and if she likes you, which she does, obviously, then you have the go ahead to call. She wanted you to call. She clearly likes you. She's excited and so are you. You're just nervous. You haven't been on a date in six months or maybe more? But, this should be like riding a bike, if you will. I've removed your kickstand, now all you have to do is pedal."
I looked at Michelle and shook my head before I went in my room to find something to wear for tonight, deciding on the usual skinny jeans and oversized shirt, leaving a few of the buttons in the front undone as I stumbled into the living room to wait for Michelle. She reappeared from her room shortly after I did wearing black leather looking tight pants and some sort of red cut off shirt along with her fake glasses and red lips. She looked beautiful and I could only think that she was doing so for Alison.
As much as Chelle would doubt it, I think the player may have taken an interest in one that's supposed to be a pawn in her dating game. All I can hope for is that Alison treats her right. She deserves someone who would.
"What's the point of wearing a shirt if it’s barely buttoned, Styles? And it's see through. I mean I guess kudos for buttoning the three buttons you did bother with correctly." It could be because I'm drunk, but I could have sworn that I saw her look me up and down...not necessarily in a friendship manner. I ignored her while grinning and standing from the couch before she grabbed the Goldschläger again pouring us both another shot. "One for the road?"
"I'll take it if you take it first you lying Judas. I'm already drunk enough as it is."
Michelle cringed before she threw her head back downing the shot, eyes watering again by how strong of a burn the cinnamon schnapps left behind. I did the same and then took another for the hell of it since I wouldn't be driving tonight. Michelle eyed me as I walked down the stairs and to her car as if I would fall.
"Stop watching me and walk yourself."
"Someone has to watch out for you. You're clumsy enough as it is, bambi. Adding alcohol to the mix is a disaster waiting to strike."
"Says the absolute asshole who got me drunk in the first place."
"Oh yeah...That's right." Michelle smiled victoriously before she spoke again, clearing her throat before hand, "Uh, so, since I'm taking you to Louis' place where does he stay? I know he must have moved from where we lived before..." Her face dropped slightly.
"With his bird about five blocks over... Sorr-"
"It's fine." Michelle started her car, looking through the windscreen straight ahead like she did earlier as she drove and listened to the directions I gave her, telling he where to turn.
When we pulled up in front of the house, Niall was outside on the porch with a beer in his hand, smoking a cigarette. No doubt because Hollie put him out of the house, not wanting anything to smell like stale smoke.
"Harry! Hi Mitch!" He waved to us as he stumbled over to the car clearly drunk himself and louder than usual. "You're staying too, Michelle?" She shook her head no while smiling half way at Niall as I got out of the car. "You should stay. This thing, whatever it is, between you and Lou is ridiculous. You guys were so close and it can get there again. Just get out of the car and-"
"I can't Ni, I have somewhere to be, myself." Michelle's eyes begged Niall to be more quiet but he didn't get the hint. He was going to speak again, but was cut off by Lou as he walked out onto his porch with Hollie close behind. He didn't notice that Michelle was with us until I moved to walk towards the house.
"Lads!"
I looked from Michelle to Louis then back to Michelle again and as I did I saw her eyes widen right before she cursed under her breath. Louis paused in his steps, and his eyebrows drew together slightly before he spoke.
"Michelle." He nodded at her as a greeting gesture making everything more awkward.
"Louis."
"Mitch can stay right?" In that moment everyone looked at Niall as he took another drunken, oblivious drag off of his cigarette and it appeared that everyone wanted to punch him in the face, including me.
"No actually I was just leaving. Enjoy your night boys. Be safe, Harrow. I'll see you later yeah?"
I nodded my head before she spoke a simple "good," and sped off as quickly as her car could take her. Louis took a deep breath, shaking his head before smiling at us and inviting us in for more booze. I honestly didn't think that I would drink anymore tonight, but after that I felt the need to.
Niall dropped his cigarette and stepped on it while shrugging his shoulders at me as we followed behind Louis into the house where everyone else sat.
“Read the room next time, yeah?” I spoke under my breath hoping that only Niall would hear me.
“What room? It’s stupid that they don’t talk anymore. For fucks sake he was going t’ marry—”
“I know, Niall. I know.” I interrupted Niall mid sentence and could not help but notice the hitch in my jaw, that became more sore than it had been in a while.
 We all spoke as we walked in the house and I put the topic behind me in order to proceed on with the rest of the night and  for the first time in a while I was happy that the liquor continued to flow. It  seemed to put me and everyone else around in the right mindset for one of the biggest parties of the year, but Louis still seemed somewhat flustered about seeing Michelle for the first time since they called things off. I know Michelle probably didn't feel the best either and I tried to text her to see if she was alright, but I got no response.
Chelle: Are you okay, Chelle? I'm so sorry about that. Didn't know that he would come outside.
Though I got no response to my text, I expected to see Michelle as soon as we got to The Barn. The title of the bar was fitting as it was out closer towards farmland and covered in red paint as it actually was previously a stable. It was crowded with everyone from students to professors indulging in what the night had to offer, but as I skimmed the crowd I began to get more anxious. We had been here for an hour. I was sure that by now that I would have run into her. Taking out my phone, I’d opted to give her a ring, but before I could unlock my screen my phone began to buzz in my hand.
"Hello?" I slurred on the line while closing my opposite ear with my finger so that I could hear whoever it was I was talking to.
"Harry?" The deafening music and noise in the background made it almost impossible to hear.
"No, this is Harry." hiccup “Who is this?"
"Harry, it's Rion can you hear me?"
I walked away from Niall, Darragh, and the rest of the lads as they prepared to make Niall do a keg stand; swaying as I went.
"Who is this?" I repeated trying to hear better, hoping that it was Michelle calling me back in response to the text I’d sent.
"Harry, it's Rion. Can you hear me now?"
"Rion?"
"Yes."
"Hi." I smiled as if she were in front of me, when in all actuality I was in the middle of the crowded street surrounded by a sea of strangers. A car honked at me just as I was about to cross back towards the party, causing me to step back so that I didn't get hit.
"Where are you?" She laughed into the phone causing me to smile again.
“Outside enjoying the weather. Are you here? At the party I mean."
"I am," when she spoke I could hear the smile in her voice, over the excessive chattering and music in the background. "Can you come to the doors near the front of the pub and meet me there?"
"Sure. Stay on the phone with me? You know, just until I find you." I slurred into the phone but Rion laughed again nonetheless.
"Of course...Is that you in the middle of the street? Please be careful if it is."
I looked around, confused as to how she could see me but I couldn't see her. I walked towards the pub again forcing my bleary eyes to focus until I spotted her, standing on a large rock that was just outside the door. When I reached her, I held out my hand to help her down. She took it and called me a gentleman before I said anything else.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" I asked as I looked down at her in her jean jacket and simple black dress that clung to her chest then flowed down to her feet.
"I guess. It's not that bad. Ten times better than the last party I went to already."
I laughed.
"You haven't drunk anything?"
"One mixed drink, but I didn't really finish it. Are you enjoying yourself?" She asked me as we began to walk to nowhere in particular.
"I am. A little bit more now, actually.” A slight blush came to Rion's cheeks before she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and I cleared my throat to continue. "Where's your flatmate?"
"Alison? I'm not sure. She said she was going to meet up with a friend of hers. The same girl that she was with the last time no doubt."
My mind went to Michelle as I checked my phone again and still I had no messages from her.
"So, she left you here?"
"I haven't seen her in the last hour... She could have. But if she did, I have no real way home now. She was my ride. I knew I should have just driven on my own."
I didn't say anything more, but I had the feeling that Alison bailed. I might have an idea as to who with and where to as well.
"Well, are you ready to go?" We ended up closer to the street facing in the direction of the campus. "The night is oddly nice for the end of August and the sky isn't as cloudy as it could be. We might miss getting rained on if we leave now."
"Do you have your car?" She asked looking towards me as if it were a deal breaker.
“No, but I would walk back with you. The parties aren't really my thing anymore. I just came to catch up with some friends. It was nice to get out. We're only about a 15 minute walk away from campus."
Rion looked towards the pub and then back at me again before she smiled and answered me sweetly.
"I'd love to get out of here with you."
Rion and I began walking, but as soon as we got a little bit past the corner where the party was being held at she stopped, causing me to stop as well and look back at her with an eyebrow raised.
"Are you going to tell any of your friends that you're leaving?" She asks while holding her dress up just past her ankles so it doesn't touch the ground.
I grin at her, absolutely ecstatic that she's giving me the chance to walk her back to her dorm room. If those tossers want to know where I went they know how to call. I guess Mitch really did do me a favor and I might owe her one after this.
"Oh, um...No. They're having a good time. I'm sure they won't even notice that I left. It's okay. Besides, I'm getting kind of tired anyway. I could always just shoot them a message."
Rion nods her head in agreement before we begin to walk again. Bunching the material of her dress in one hand in hopes not to step on it, I couldn't help but chuckle as I looked at her.
"Its so long. I love this dress but it's a bit of a hassle to wear." Rion comments, already knowing the reason for my amusement. I gently grab her hand to stop her once more and this time she looks at me with as soft smile forming on her lips.
"Here, let me..." I trailed off, gently taking her hand that had the fabric of her dress, causing her to let it go. Our eyes met as I slowly went down on my knees in front of her. If I would have gone too fast I'm sure I would have lost my balance or worse. It's almost a wonder that I can form a coherent sentence. All that I can hope is that I don't completely reek of alcohol.
I take the hem of the dress and tie a knot in it that's hopefully loose enough to undo when she gets home if she wants, and high enough so that she doesn't have to worry about stepping on it or have it sweep on the ground to get torn or dirty; just above her ankles. I'm not going to lie, when I was down there I looked at her feet and what I could see of her legs. I won't say I have a foot fetish or anything weird like that, but if a girls toes looks like they can pick up an orange with ease and whip it at the back of your head, it's kind of a turn off for me.
Her feet were beautiful aside from a few cuts here and there on her the tops of them. She even had a plaster or two on one of them, but somehow she even made that okay because they matched the purple coloring of her nail polish.
I stood after I was finished, and by the look on her face I must have been down there for a reasonable amount of time to make a knot, at least I hope I was. When I was looking at her feet, I had to make it not so noticeable that that's what I was doing. I don't want her to think I'm some kind of a freak.
"Thank you," she exclaimed while smiling, "I don't know why I didn't think of that."
"Yeah I saw some other girl do it and thought it made sense."
Rion smiled at me again and as we walked next to each other, her hand grazed mine; once, twice, three times before I grabbed it in my own. I saw her look over at me through her peripheral vision. It was a quick glance but I saw it nonetheless. I also saw her bite her bottom lip to try to prevent her smile from getting any bigger than it already was.
I didn't want to bust her out and embarrass her, but I did want to tease her a little. I gently squeezed her hand while biting my bottom lip to stop my smile from spreading much like she did, causing her to laugh before I changed the subject.
"The sky is really clear tonight. I can see Orion's Belt. It really might not rain after all."
"My namesake." Rion smirked.
"Sorry, what?" I spoke noticing that the party sounds were fading farther and farther into the distance.
"My mum is really into Greek mythology and constellations, so my name and its spelling came from Orion himself." She pointed towards the sky and the huge constellation before she looked back at me, slipping her hand back into mine purposefully.
"Cool story. And I'm not being a sarcastic asshole or anything by the way. That makes your name original." hiccup "And I like it a lot. I think my mum named me Harold because it was the only male name that begins with H and that comes after G that she could think of. Her creativity stopped after she realized that she wanted to put her kids names in alphabetical order." Rion laughed and nudged my arm.
"Don't talk about your mum. I think she might have chosen the name because Harry fits you. I've always liked that name."
"Have you now?" I asked with a smirk on my face and an eyebrow raised.
"I have."
"It's because of Prince Harry isn't it? Be honest."
"No it's-"
"Tell the truth."
"He's just so cute. He's the dreamiest ginger I've ever seen besides Ed Sheeran. All due respect to his royalness." Rion spoke causing me to laugh and shake my head before she continued. "Then again, all of the Harry's I've had the pleasure of meeting were pretty fit." She said looking over at me and then back up at the velvety black night sky speckled with beautiful stars.
"How many of us have you met?"
"Well...Just one so far."
I looked over at her as we finally reached a street that had lamp posts and she let out a small chuckle that sounded as if she were clearing her throat. Her eyes caught the light that lined the streets making her irises seem to brighten even though her eye color was dark brown.
We'd finally reached campus just as the clouds started to roll in at two in the morning and from there, I followed Rion's lead back to her dorm. In my three full years at Cambridge, I'd never been to this one in particular, but apparently, Michelle has. I saw her car in the parking lot. Something told me that she would be here, seeking comfort for the blow she received earlier. The sooner that she realizes that fucking doesn’t fix what hurts her, the better off she'll be. Part of me wants to bang on the door as soon as we get to the room, but I decide against it. All I cab hope that she’ll talk to someone eventually. If that someone happens to be Alison, then I'll be happy for her, I guess.
"Thank you, Harry. For getting me home safe and asking me to come out. I had fun for the amount of time I was there for." Rion leaned against her door, smiling while looking up at me.
"It was no problem. Thank, you for, you know, coming." I could hear myself wanting to ramble before I closed my mouth.
“Good night, then." Rion spoke, still smiling and then pausing.
"Goodnight."
Rion turned to unlock her door and when she got it open I turned to leave, but before I could go I could feel her pull my hand. When I turned she had a pout on her face.
"You know, you're really horrible at picking up on signals."
Huh?
"I-"
"I waited so patiently as well."
"I'm-"
"Three days. You didn't text me or say anything for three days. I didn't know what to think. I still don't."
"You're-"
"Oh shut up, Harry."
Rion crossed her arms over her chest and out of shock I closed my mouth, not really sure what to say or do. Rion squinted her eyes at me before shaking her head and turning to go into her little dorm before I stopped her, pulling her to me before I kissed her deeply, pushing her against the wall a bit to show her how it should be done.After it was over Rion sighed in content with her eyes still closed before reopening them slowly. I grinned against her lips before speaking knowing that I’d won her over.
"I didn't know what to think either to be honest. It's been a while."
Rion grabbed me by the front of my shirt, bringing my lips back down to hers.She pulled away, kissing the corner of my mouth making a trail to my ear and then kissing me right beneath my earlobe. There was no tongue involved at all but it still had been the most action than I'd gotten in months and it was still enough to leave us both breathless at the end of her antics. 
"Do you know what to think now?” She pushed her door open, speaking before she closed the door behind herself with a cheeky smile.
I’m not sure how long I stood there with a goofy grin on my face after it was all said and done, but when I got to the stairs my drunken mind allowed my legs to work properly and carry me down while still having the memory replay in my head.
I'd only gotten through the doors of the exit of her dormitory before my brain went to my pants, thinking that I might be able to get a good wank before I fell asleep with Rion's lips pressed against my jaw as the mental muse. Just when I thought about flushing any possible tissues instead of putting them in my bin, my phone rang.
"Harry?" Rion whispered into the phone, sounding on the agitated side.
"Rion? What's wrong?"
"She's at it again." Rion exhaled into the phone before I heard the creaking of a door, sounding as if it were being shut.
"Who's at what?"
"Alison and her, friend."
I started to chuckle, thinking of all of the ways that I would tease Michelle tomorrow when I saw her. I know that she's been active, but damn. She's got to be insatiable. I pictured her and Alison, terribly sweaty, gasping for air-
"Harry?"
"Sorry, what did you say?" Rion's voice snapped me out of getting too carried away in inappropriate thought again. Thoughts that I shouldn't venture into about my best pal.
"I really want to be able to sleep without being disrupted. Do you mind if I come to yours? I'll sleep on the couch, the floor, a chair. Anything you wouldn't mind sparing really."
“No, of course I don't mind."
Oh god.
"Are you sure? Should you ask your flatmate first? I wouldn't want to intrude on you or him."
My mind was swimming with a thousand things. Minor details that had the potential to be major. Is my room clean? When is the last time that I had a girl in my room that wasn’t Michelle? Do we have water bottles that I can offer Rion when we get into my flat if she's thirsty? Why does Rion think that Mitch is a guy?
“No… I uh, I'm alone for the night, actually. My flatmate is staying somewhere else I think." In your roommates' room, disrupting you currently.
"Thank you so much." Rion breathed out, sounding somewhat relieved.
"Yeah no problem. I'll turn around now."
"Oh shit, did you get far? I'm so sorry."
"No it's fine. I just got down the street a bit." I spoke as I neared her building again.
I saw her walking out in the same clothes she was wearing before. When she got to me, she thanked me again before we took the surprisingly short walk towards my flat.
"You live in the new buildings? Fancy."
"Yeah, it's alright. For it being new, the ventilation sucks in Mitch's room, but that's the only complaint we have."
I unlocked the door and turned the knob saying a silent prayer as we walked in, but I'd forgotten that Michelle cleaned the whole place, including my room despite my protest for her not to.  It was the first time that I’d been happy that she didn’t listen to me.
"It's really nice, Harry. You were being modest." Rion spoke as she tiptoed through the apartment, stopping in the living-room and taking a seat for herself before removing her sandals. "Really clean for two lads."
"Oh, actually-"
"Sorry, Harry. I don't want to interrupt, but do you think I could use the restroom first? I'm bursting to go."
I laughed while running my hand through my hair. "Sure. It's just down the hall. We wouldn't want a repeat of your last party."
Rion turned red, covering her mouth in a laugh and speaking to me as she walked down the hall.
"I really still can't believe I told you that."
While she was gone, I grabbed extra blankets from the linen closet and laid out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts of mine for her to wear on my bed. I also grabbed a bottle of water and put it on my desk for her in case she was thirsty, thankful that I made Michelle put some of those noodle cups back in exchange for it. Before I made my bed on the couch, I went into Michelle's room to steal one of her pillows but I’d gotten distracted easily. On her bedside table was a picture of the both of us taken last year. We were both pretty out of it and you can clearly tell in the photo, but in the midst of all the insanity Michelle was still alert and smiling at me while I was laughing and pulling her shirtsleeve with my teeth.
When I heard Rion leaving the bathroom I quickly left from Michelle's room, placing the photograph back down where I got it from and closing her bedroom door behind me.
"You'll be in my room. I've laid you out some things to make you more comfortable."
"Awe, Harry. I can take the couch really. I don't want to kick you out of your bed."
"No you won't. Now, go to bed. Good night, but for real this time."
Rion eyed me as she nodded her head in agreement, a slight grin on her lips. 
“Yes for real this time.” She spoke before her bottom lip was drawn into her mouth. The liquor I consumed tonight made me do the same as I looked her up and down shamelessly, grinning as I did so.
I started to take a step backwards only to notice that Rion advanced forwards causing me to stop in my tracks. Our lips connected again more fervently than they had before, before I started to walk again leading Rion back into my bedroom.
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hufflepuffhollander · 4 years
Text
off limits: tom holland one-shot
a/n | this is my submission for @chloecreatesfictions’ 1k writing challenge! i’ve never done the “brother’s best friend” trope and i def got a little too excited and carried away! real talk, this might be the cutest thing i’ve ever written
summary | as harrison osterfield’s younger sister, you’d always just seen his best friend tom as an annoying older brother. until, one day, you didn’t.
cw | tom x osterfield!reader. contains language, alcohol, recreational use of weeeed, teenage angst, sexual tension, fluff n’ stuff. 5k words.
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For as long as you could remember, Tom Holland had been a stitch in your side that you could never get rid of.
Growing up as your older brother’s best friend, he was always at your house when you were children— and his favorite pastime when Harrison was boring him was to break into your room and mess with you, stealing your toys or running his hands across the piano keys when you were trying to practice in peace. No matter how many locks you put on your door just to keep Tom out, he was always able to pick them.
As you all got older, he grew to annoy you in a different way, blasting loud, grungy music through Harrison’s bedroom walls late at night or eating things out of the fridge that clearly had your name on them. Once he’d started to garner some attention as an actor, his ego skyrocketed, and somehow he became an even bigger nuisance. He dragged Harrison away from you and took him all over the world while you had to sit idly by and love your brother from a distance.
When Tom would come over now, he would talk of nothing but hollywood parties and getting drunk with the biggest a-listers when he knew you were listening. He would ignore you when he breezed past you in the hallway, and even had the audacity to go into your bedroom when you were out and smoke a blunt on your bed so your whole room smelled like a music festival when you got home; and worst of all, it was your weed.
It was sufficient to say you were Tom Holland’s least enthusiastic fan. And it was rather unfortunate, because you were a big stan of the MCU—and secretly loved getting high and watching and re-watching the spider-man movies the most. Okay, don’t make that face. They have a good storyline.
It was a regular Friday night, you were aimlessly scrolling through your phone while Harrison and Tom were getting ready to go pub hopping. Harrison always invited you, but you never took him up on his offer because you knew how flirty you got with alcohol in your system and wouldn’t dare feel that way around Tom. He was notorious for taking anything nice you said about him and rubbing it in your face for at least a week after. 
“You know you secretly love me, babe.”
You hated when he called you babe, and he knew it. But since you’d both grown up, time had done you both a favor, and there was always an air of something you couldn’t quite place your finger on whenever you interacted...the pet name just made it more interesting.
“Hey, y/n, are you sure you don’t want to come out with us?” Harrison yelled from outside your bedroom door, and you peeked your head out to respond.
“Nah, it’s fine, Haz, go have fun. I have enough uni work to keep me busy.”
“It’s a Friday night, nerd.”
You stuck your tongue out at him and smiled. “Sorry I’m not a budding alcoholic like you, big bro.”
He laughed, blew you a kiss, and he and Tom were off.
Only about an hour later, you decided to take a break from studying and light up a joint, turning on your go-to movie for background noise- but were snapped out of your vibey trance when you heard the front door swing open, and your brother’s loud, drunk voice.
“W-why are we h-home, you div,” he slurred, as his heavy footsteps start to climb the stairs. After a long moment, you heard him collapse on his bed through your thin walls, still stammering out his words. “Thomas, I promise you, I am fineeee...”
“Mate, you’re sloshed. Go to bed.”
You decided to leave them be. This was a typical occurrence- one of the boys went too hard too early, and the other had to babysit until they made it home to pass out cold, usually on the bed, or the couch, or on a good day, the floor.
A few minutes passed while you hotboxed your room, feeling amazingly relaxed, until you saw your doorknob wriggling out of the corner of your eye. Your door was locked, so you ignored it. But the knob kept twisting and falling back in place, making the whole frame shake. After a long while of witnessing a ghost try to make its way into your room, you watched your lock turn slowly and click out of place, the door creaking opened to reveal Tom, swatting at the air when a cloud of smoke greeted him.
You snapped your laptop closed before he could hear his own voice flowing out of your speakers. “Tom, for the last time, stop picking my fucking lock!” You beamed your nearest pillow at him—which he caught before it struck him—and he threw it back, hitting you square in the face. Of course.
He flashed a cocky smile. “Why? It’s so easy.”
You rolled your eyes. “I’m serious! I could’ve been naked or something!”
He just stood in the doorframe, giving you a once-over in your thin cotton t-shirt and yoga pants, and kept that smug expression locked on his face. 
“Ew, Tom, you’re disgusting. Get out.”
He decidedly did not get out, instead closing the door behind him and hopping up next to you on your bed, the divot in your mattress leaving your bodies pressed much too close together. You were met with a strong whiff of his cologne and the gin he must’ve been drinking earlier. “I’ll take that,” he muttered as he lifted your joint out of your fingers and took a puff, sucking his breath in as his lungs filled. 
Your stomach filled with a dull fire and you narrowed your eyes. “Do you mind?”
He turned to face you and blew a big puff of smoke directly into your face, the notorious smirk making its reappearance. “Not at all, thanks for asking though.”
You groaned aloud. “What are you doing in here?” he took another draw and handed you back what was rightfully yours, smoke dissipating from his mouth as he spoke.
“Haz is pissed and I’m bored.”
You relit the bud and inhaled for a long while, figuring you’d need to be pretty intoxicated to not smack him in the face if he tried to talk again. “Well, go be bored somewhere else. I was busy.”
He cocked an eyebrow at you and reached across your lap for your computer. “Doing what?” 
Oh shit. “Dude, can you not-?!” you yelped, but he had swiped it too quickly out of your grasp, and opened it up to find himself paused on your screen. You laid back on your bed so he couldn’t see your cheeks now flushed with embarrassment and grabbed your lighter from your nightstand. It was going to be a long evening.
He leaned himself over to catch your eye and had the stupidest, most prideful look plastered across his face. “Gotcha.”
You punched him in the arm as he erupted into laughter—but the anger inside you had been dulled by the weed and replaced with a childlike silliness—and you started to giggle, too. You looked up into his eyes, pupils now wildly dilated and tinted red around the edges.
“Shut up, Tom, you’re high,” you said in between chuckles.
“Yeah? Well so are you!”
You poked fun at each other for a while, suddenly in a mutually fantastic mood. You knew in the back of your mind that none of this would be happening if you hadn’t gotten stoned together, but you enjoyed the warm company anyway. 
“Well, you gotta finish it, don’t you?” he said, settling back down and fixating the computer on his lap so you could both see it.
“You really want to watch your own movie?”
“Doll, it’s my favorite thing to do.” he smiled at you.
“God, you’re the worst.” you felt some butterflies make an entrance in your chest that had never been there before.
He pressed play and cozied up on your bed, lying back against the wall with his arm lazily draped behind you. You pulled a blanket up onto your lap and had really no choice but to lean on him for support, neither of you admitting out loud that you were full on cuddling and not angry about it.
“Hey, aren’t you gonna share?” he whined, pulling at the corner of your blanket.
“Get your own,” you responded, internally high-fiving yourself for finally getting the chance to sass him back. Sure, you had your head comfortably resting on his shoulder, but that didn’t mean you were suddenly friends.
You let the movie play, the two of you blowing through the joint until it was a dwindling nub. The scene where Peter has his big kiss with MJ started, and you stifled a snigger as their lips met on the screen.
Tom had clear offense laced through his words. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” you shrugged.
He sat up to look at you, eyebrows knit together in an angry pout. “Tell me.”
“I just...feel bad for Zendaya, that’s all.” you covered your mouth to keep from laughing, and his eyes rolled so far back into his head you were sure they’d be stuck that way forever.
“You’re such a brat,” he started, his ego finding its old place back in his voice. “I’m an amazing kisser. She told me herself.”
You looked away from him, taking a heavy exhale. “Yeah, whatever, dude.”
He sat even more upright and paused the movie, taking hold of your shoulder to make you turn to him. “What, you don’t believe me?”
You realized then how physically close you had gotten, as you could feel the syllables of his words in his breath hitting your face. He was doing that thing boys do, when they’re thinking about kissing you but don’t- their stares going back and forth between your lips and your eyes in a not so subtle way. It freaked you out to see him that close and personal, and you whispered back exactly what you knew would irk him the most.
“Nope.”
He moved his face impossibly closer to yours, and you felt his soft lips lightly brush over your own. You weren’t sure if this was real, or just a high hallucination, but you didn’t move away. This was entirely uncharted territory.
“Tooommmm!” you heard Harrison yell out from the other side of the wall. “Where are yooouuu?! I’m so thirsty!” Tom immediately jerked his head away from you and shook himself out of the moment. You brought your hand up to your cheek and shuddered at how hot it had become- your own body was betraying you.
“God, he’s gonna be the death of me,” Tom said, shoving himself off the bed and walking out of your room, glancing back at you for a moment and then closing the door behind him. Just like that, he was gone, and you were left trapped in your own psyche wondering what the hell had just happened.
Over the course of the next week, things has become exponentially weirder between you and Tom. He seemed to be spending much more time at your house than he normally did, even sleeping a few nights there instead of driving the five minutes back to be in his own bed. One unsuspecting morning, you knocked on your bathroom door, annoyed that it had been shut for such a long time. 
“Haz, if you use up all the hot water again, I’m gonna kill you,” you said in between knocks. You were taken by surprise when it swung open, steam billowing out into the cool air.
“Whoops,” you heard a voice say, immediately realizing it wasn’t your brother. You took a step backward to see Tom emerge, wearing nothing but a towel loosely wrapped around his waist. His hair was damp and clinging to his forehead, and he looked like some glowing magazine model. 
“Uh, sorry,” you stammered, accidentally inhaling the yummy smell of his soap and shampoo emanating off of his skin.
He noticed you eyeing him and a sly grin appeared as he rolled his bottom lip under his teeth. “Shower’s all yours, babe,” he said, bumping your shoulder with his own as he walked away. You were stuck in place and didn’t see him glancing back at you as he wandered down the hallway. 
Another day after that, Tom and Harrison were looking for a certain record to play, but it was nowhere to be found. “It might be in y/n’s room,” Harrison said, sitting back in his lounge chair. “Wanna go grab it?”
Tom coughed. “Why do I have to get it?”
“Because I’m comfortable.”
Tom felt a mix of annoyance and nerves in his chest as he walked the short distance down the hallway to your room where the door was already cracked open. He invited himself in—excitement faltering a little when he saw you weren’t in your usual spot on your bed—and started to sift through your bookshelves.
You had been in the bathroom getting dressed after your shower, but realized you left your shirt in your closet- and seeing that Harrison’s bedroom door was still shut, you figured it was safe to run across the landing into your room without anyone seeing you. In just a bra and spandex shorts that left little to the imagination, you swiftly made your way across the hall and walked through your door that was still open a crack to see Tom kneeled down as he shuffled through your record collection.
He heard your small gasp when you entered to find him, and swiveled around to you standing only a few feet away from him in the least amount of clothing he’d ever seen on you. He abruptly stood up but didn’t move, eyes sparkling as they rolled down your body.
“What the fuck! Why are you always in my room?!” You were too shocked to think about finding something to cover yourself with, and put your hands over your face, trying not to die of embarrassment. Tom remained glued to his place on your carpet, clearly at a loss for words.
“Tom, can you leave please-”
“Right, yeah, okay, uh, bye-” he hurried out of your room, swinging the door almost shut but leaving just a crack so he could speak into it.
“...I like your shorts.”
“TOM!”
He chuckled and closed the door, and you slumped against the wall, still holding your head in your hands. What was this sudden hold he had over you? And why did you love the way that he was staring at you?
That night, you had a big paper to complete, and you were perched in your bed typing away as it got dark. In between two songs on your playlist, you heard the familiar jiggle of a doorknob. Looking up over your screen, you watched as the metal turned in its socket, and heard a soft “crushed it” as the lock undid itself. Your door opened steadily and slowly, a familiar face peeking in at you.
“Hi.”
“Oh sweet jesus,” you mumbled.
“You busy?”
“Clearly.”
“Cool.” Tom let himself into your room, shutting the door behind him and sauntering over to your bed, sitting down next to you, bouncing like a little kid and singing his words. “Whatcha doooin’?”
“Homework,” you said, continuing to type and trying your best to ignore the way the sound of his voice was waking up something electric inside of you. He leaned into your body to peer at your computer screen, pretending to be interested in whatever you were writing about. His elbow got in the way of your hands, and you had to stop typing.
“Thomas, is there something I can help you with?”
“Haz is asleep,” he said, resting his head on your shoulder like it hadn’t been a week since your almost-kiss and you hadn’t been actively avoiding bringing it up.
You felt jittery. “And?”
He gently pushed your hands away from the keyboard and closed your laptop shut, giving you a sheepish smile. “Wanna get high?”
Honestly, you did.
You turned on your lamp and turned off the overhead light, put on that record he finally found, lighting a candle and then another hand-rolled blunt. This time, Tom sat upright with you perpendicular to him, your legs swung over his lap. When he made a joke, he’d give your leg a little squeeze- and whether it was purposeful or not, you were filled with schoolgirl nerves every time it happened.
All the angsty barriers built up over years of a sibling-like rivalry had come down between the two of you as you smoked together; you suddenly found all of his bad jokes funny, and he couldn’t peel his eyes away from the cute way you scrunched your nose when you laughed. Every time you exchanged the blunt, you couldn’t help but think about how his lips had just been on it a moment before yours. The night came and went, and you ended up falling asleep wrapped in his arms as he dozed off with his chin pressed to your forehead.
You both woke up at the same time in the dead of night, unsure of how late it had gotten. Still nestled into each other, you exchanged sleepy glances and no words, taking a moment to realize the position you had put yourselves in. 
Tom grazed your jawline with the back of his hand and lifted up your chin with his thumb. You let your eyes flutter shut and he kissed you in the dark for one long, everlasting moment. He pulled back from you hesitantly, leaving you breathless. Did that really just happen?
“We...we can’t,” he whispered, his words tinged with sadness.
Your heart broke for him just hearing his voice. “Why not?”
“You’re my best friend’s little sister, y/n.”
“And you’re my brother’s best friend. So what?” you were almost upset with yourself for being so vulnerable; so visibly pining after him.
“So, you’re off limits,” he said, resting his forehead against yours. 
“Says who?” 
That prompted Tom to meet your gaze again, and this time you took initiative, moving your face to his and taking his bottom lip in between yours. He took a sharp inhale as you kissed him and seemed to let all inhibition go as he put his arms around your back and pressed you into him hard, all of his pent up feelings for you suddenly flowing out of him. He kissed you in a needy, desperate kind of way, and you loved every second of it. You ran your fingers through his hair, traced his jawline, using your hands to feel every bit of him that you couldn’t before. The strangest part of it all was how natural it felt- like you had been practicing for this very moment all your lives. 
Your record had stopped spinning a while ago, the room now filled with just the breathy noises of your kisses, your contented hums and his tiny mews when you bit his lips. You were both still barely lucid, and after countless minutes of nothing but innocent kisses, you were on the brink of falling asleep again, serotonin whisking you away into dreams. Tom sighed into you, and clasped his hand around yours.
“I have to go.”
“What? Why?” you felt your heart preeminently sink in your chest; like you should’ve known this was too good to last.
“I don’t want him to wake up and find us here,” he trailed off, staring down at your intertwined fingers fiddling together.
“So that’s it?” you tried to swallow back the sudden upwell of feelings inside you.
“No, no...” his eyes filled with some type of emotional strain you’d never seen. “I- I don’t want this to be it. But I don’t want things to get...messy.”
Unfortunately, you couldn’t blame him, because you understood.
“Can you come back tomorrow night?” you whispered, very not ready to let his spot next to you grow cold.
“I don’t know...”
You looked up at him doe-eyed, cooing. “Please?”
He nodded, looking away from you before he completely caved and stayed there forever. “I’ll come back.”
He pressed one last kiss onto your lips and slowly got up, reluctantly letting go of your hand as he left your room. “Goodnight, babe.”
Hearing him call you babe, finally free of demeaning sarcasm, made your heart soar. 
“Goodnight, Tom.”
The door shut and you were left alone, the stillness of your room sticking out in sharp contrast with how quickly your heart was racing.
For the next few nights, Tom spent the evenings at your house with Harrison, waiting until he fell asleep to make his way next door to you. You’d smoke together, watch his movies—and in heated moments got a little handsy—but you never went past kissing, though you both desperately wanted to. It was too risky having your brother right next door; and you knew all too well how paper thin your walls were. But in those secretive hours after solar midnight, just being able to exist next to Tom and letting him hold you, you were the happiest you could ever remember being. The second night he left your room to let you sleep, he placed a light kiss on your forehead after he stood up that made the whole thing feel a little too...real.
The next day, you walked into the kitchen and found Harrison at the fridge. You were in a great mood for obvious reasons but couldn’t let it show. “Hey, got any fun plans today?”
He turned around after shoving a handful of grapes in his mouth. “Nope, got some admin stuff to do and gonna turn in early.”
“Oh, Tom isn’t coming over?”
“No, I told him to take a night off. He’s been smothering me, y’know?” he laughed and ate a few more grapes, but then turned to you, confused. “Since when do you care if he’s coming over?”
You swallowed, unsure of what to say. “Just want to know if I need to stay out of the way,” you faked a laugh and blinked hard, hoping he wasn’t paying too much attention to your facial expressions.
“Uh, alright then. You two are always so fuckin’ weird around each other.” He seemed to feel that was a good way to end your exchange and walked out of the kitchen, throwing a grape at you.
You rolled your eyes at your brother, but then felt the sadness bubble up upon registering that you weren’t going to see Tom tonight. But really, how long did you think you could keep this up? The feelings you were developing for him scared you, you didn’t know what to make of them; all you knew was that your days suddenly seemed much grayer without him.
Nighttime came around, and you couldn’t sleep, so you did the unthinkable and sent Tom a text. Your thumb shook as you hit send, knowing that there was now tangible evidence of the connection you’d developed, that it wasn’t just some invention of your mind.
hey, are you awake?
T: yeah, can’t sleep. you?
obviously, i just texted you.
T: shut it.
A minute passed...
T: got room for one more over there?
You smiled like an idiot at your phone.
maybe.
Less than 10 minutes later, you heard the familiar wriggle of your doorknob. You don’t know why you even bothered locking it anymore.
“Hey you,” he whispered, carefully shutting the door behind him.
“Tom, you know you could’ve just knocked and I would’ve let you in- you don’t have to keep picking the lock.”
“Old habits die hard.”
You chuckled and stood up to greet him at your door as he unexpectedly wrapped you in an amazingly tight hug. He rested his chin on top of your head and started to sway your bodies back and forth. You laid your head on his chest and said hello to his heartbeat.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it was almost hard to fall asleep without you,” he murmured, placing another one of those domestic kisses on your scalp.
“Well, now you don’t have to.” you smiled. He waddled you backwards to your bed and you sat down as your legs hit the bedframe, prompting Tom to fall onto you as you giggled into his body that was now covering your face.
“Okay, goodniiight,” he said, refusing to move. You poked at his sides making him jump, and he grabbed your waist and rolled you on top of him. You instinctively leaned down so your lips could clash together in the way you were so used to, trying hard to not confess that you’d completely fallen in love with him when you finally had the breath to speak. He pushed your hair to cascade to one side of his face, and nuzzled your nose with his own, closing his eyes and humming with a smile. “Mmm.”
“Hmm?”
“Just happy.”
You rested your sleepy head on his warm chest, and fell into a deep sleep, letting the steady drumming in his chest be a metronome to breathe to.
~
“Oh, shit. Shit shit shit.”
You woke up abruptly, the bright light of day blinding you as you tried to open your eyes to the string of expletives you’d just heard come from a familiar voice. Once you’d opened them, though, you wish you had kept them shut so you hadn’t seen who had spoken.
“Harrison?!”
He was standing in your room, peering at you with hands half covering his eyes when you realized that there was a sleeping Tom underneath you.
Your brother paced in a circle and exhaled loudly. “Tell me I’m not seeing what I’m seeing.”
You nudged Tom awake with your elbow and immediately rolled off of him, trying to hide the very obvious fact that you had slept together all night. You never let him stay the full night for this exact reason, but he had been so ridiculously happy holding you in his arms that he forgot to set an alarm to wake him at the crack of dawn and leave. You sat up straight in your bed, twisting your hair in your hands, bracing yourself for the inevitable tirade.
Tom picked his head up to see Harrison standing there with his arms crossed, and flopped his head back on the pillow. “Fuck. Hey, mate.” He tried to play it off like this was the most normal thing that could happen on a Thursday morning.
“Is this why you’re always such bumbling fools around one another? You’ve been, what, fucking each other when I’m not around?” Harrison looked like he wanted to throw up at the thought.
“Haz, no, it’s not like that,” you said, but he didn’t seem convinced. “It’s just been smoking together and cuddling, really, that’s it,” you were torn between wanting to console your brother and admitting to both him and Tom that this was more to you than that. But Tom already knew that, because it was for him, too.
Tom looked like a deer in headlights. “I’m so sorry, dude-”
Harrison walked out of the room, and the two of you were left sitting in your bed, worry filling your eyes. Only a moment later, your brother reappeared in the doorway.
“Look, you idiots, I don’t care that you’re snuggling off the clock—you’re my two favorite people in the world, and to see you together, honestly, it’s about damn time,” he started, making both your and Tom’s jaws fall slightly agape. You exchanged a knowing look. Wait, is he not mad? Wait, about damn time??
“But I wish you would’ve told me so we could all hang out together. I don’t appreciate the sneaking around.” 
You cocked your head at him, sending him a loving gaze for always just wanting what’s best for you. 
“I’m just mad you aren’t including me in your hotbox sessions, really.” He laughed and ran his hands through his hair, pulling his face back to make a wild expression.
All three of you started to chuckle out of sheer awkwardness and relief.
“Come here.” Harrison held his hands out and you both gave a mutual aww as you ran into your brother’s arms, squeezing him tight.
“I love you, big bro.”
“I know. Now I’m gonna get out of here before you start kissing in front of me, or worse,” he moaned, swiftly exiting your room. “This is gonna be the grossest thing I’ve ever seen...” you heard him say to himself as he left.
You turned to Tom, still shocked at how well that had gone considering what he was assuming would happen. You swallowed the butterflies that you’d welcomed as friends and stepped back to him still sitting on the bed, putting your arms around his neck.
“And you,” you started, swinging your legs over his lap to straddle him. “I have to confess something.”
Tom placed his hands back on your hips where they rightfully belonged and smiled at you. “I’m listening.”
“I don’t mind you calling me babe anymore.” you grinned at his face drop, obviously assuming that you were going to say something else.
“Oh, and why’s that?” he prodded.
You looked up and off to the side as you squeezed his shoulders. “Maybe because I’m just a tad bit in love with you,” you trailed off, stiff as a board at what he could possibly say next.
“Well, babe,” he put emphasis on the pet name, “That’s a relief, because I was worried I might be the only one falling here.”
You grabbed his face and kissed him, kneading his soft cheeks under your thumbs, whispering exactly what you knew would get him the most.
“Nope.”
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anapologethicc · 3 years
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hello gorgeous i was listening to my playlist scrolling through your blog and this came up and it made me so happy and warm inside and also the timing!! because it's so much a song made especially to serenade you so i thought i'd let you know :*
https://open.spotify.com/track/2uwZSBvQer73esf6tV1wQG?si=3lGBw1S_REeqWxQRxqsOuw&utm_source=copy-link
also how are you
ADHEERA IM- i’m just crying. i haven’t cried this much in a while. ok deep breath.
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my love. i keep saying we have a love-hate relationship. and i really do hate how loved you’ve made me feel. the dear zindagi album is very close to my heart for many reasons.(most due to crying reasons) 
BUT THIS SONG. HAISH!! the lyrics?!?!!??! really?? you really think I, ME, I deserve to be serenaded by this song. THIS SOFT SONG ABOUT SABKE KE DILO MEIN BASNE WALI AND HOSH UDAANE WALI?!?!?!?! 
खामोश दिल न जोर से धड़कना
दिखा ना जाए हाय
उसे तेरा तड़पना
<- SOMEONE THINKS THAT ABT ME!! okyesplsidie but I’M STILL CRYING. i can’t stop. i’m still listening to it on repeat. i have ever since i started writing the answer to this. thank you my love for making me feel so so loved. so so special and just i’m feeling all fluttery and lovely right now. YOU. you’ve made me so so happy. you’ve given me a wonderful gift. one that i’m going to cherish for a very very long time. i take anything dedicated to me very very seriously <3
i can’t even answer how i am. before this. i was dying under the pressure of schoolwork and now. i’m floating on air. i’m OVERWHELMED WITH LOVE BABE. i feel like i’m on the clouds wrapped in a warm blanket of love!!! i love love love you!!! so so much. (sorry i’m gonna hijack this ask with my sentiments underneath:) it's very long i hope it’s okayy) 
okay i need to control my crying first. but. ohmygod. would you believe me if i said nobody has ever dedicated a song to me like this? in fact for years. i was THAT friend you know. i would send my friends songs and write long paragraphs telling them exactly why they deserved to have every single line in the song written about them. i would write cards whenever i could. i was the friend who would make scrapbooks for my friends, i would buy empty drawing books and fill them with pictures and words, so many words and give them as birthday gifts. it was my favourite thing to do and their reactions were everything to me. i would make all the pinterest "diy gifts for your bff". if there's one on there, i've made every single one. from 52 cards on why i love you to those big letters they build filled with pictures. i was that friend who would go out shopping with my mom and end up buying something a friend once mentioned. i once did an entire birthday video diary for my best friend, you know the ones where you get everyone to say a few words about the person yeah. 
it annoyed my mother to no extent that i was so giving, she kept telling me that i was the only one who did these things. but like any other rebellious child, i never listened. and i did it all. my last present to my best friend was a charm bracelet. you know the ones they have in pandora. well. i didn't have the money. so i went to the diy markets here. i bought all the material. i bought the bracelet. i got the charms, the rings. i put everything together, wrote about what every single charm meant to me. i asked her about it a few weeks after her birthday and she said it was too heavy and broke. she never even wore it. she was my best friend. i'd known her since kindergarten. 15 years of friendship. gone. in a few months. she went to uni and made a entirely new group of friends. and eventually everyone else also drifted away from me. and here i was with so many memories and so many leftover souvenirs that i'd kept from over the years, pictures and notes and cards and little trinkets. i kept everything and it just hurt more looking at all these things around my room.
and i've always felt so so strongly about friendships. and it hurt so much when my closest friends of so many years. most of them i'd known for more than 6 years. they'd all just discarded me. so easily. i spent most of 2020-2021 hating myself. trying to figure out why i wasn't enough, why i was so easy to leave. i found it immensely hard to trust anyone after all that. i just. it filled me with so much anxiety that i could share parts of myself with someone and they could just decide to up and leave and just not want me anymore. they'd just leave with parts of me, i spent so many years so carefully building. i completely isolated myself. i was starting uni and i HATED the idea of people or even making new friends, of meeting new people. i came onto tumblr because i needed something different to focus on for once in my life. i didn't plan on making friends honestly. i just. i think i just craved company of some kind. 
up until a few months ago i was a complete fucking cynic about everything. i'd given up on people. i'd just stuck with the idea that everyone was selfish. i was stuck on the idea that i would never be enough for anyone. if even after doing so much, everyone left. then there must've been something wrong with me. i would look at people with their friends and scoff. i was a sad and bitter person. 
and then i came here. and i don't think i've ever made friends this fast in my entire life. people just accepted me. not only that. i don't think i'd felt that loved in a long fucking time. like a really long time. and i’d ask someone how they were and they would respond with an “i love you”. i don’t think i’ve ever had that phrase said to me that many times in my whole life as much as i’ve had it said to me on here. and the most heart warming part is that they mean it, they don’t have any reason to lie to me. i always thought online friends were something other people had. and right now. i’m overwhelmed with the love i have for everyone i consider a friend on here. overwhelmed to the point where i can’t stop crying right now. because i honestly was terrified to the core that i would never find friends ever again. that i wasn’t worthy or deserving of that in my life anymore because i’d fucked it all up once already. that the universe had decided to punish me for not being good enough and decided that i was gonna be alone. and i’m so so so fucking grateful and thankful for everyone here. oh god i can’t stop crying. 
but this is just a thanks to @stylinsuns @thosefookinavacados @blehhsin @littlegenderbean @quickpauseinconversations <3 i haven’t always been this bad with words ahahah. i feel like i’m all over the place. and honestly. i was much much better with them. but thank you for making me feel so loved. you guys will never fully understand what it has done for me. i can’t even put it into words. i mean i tried at new years’ but i’ve always believed that you can never thank anyone or tell anyone you love them enough. thank you for making me fall in love with friendship. thank you for making me fall in love with handmade cards again hehe. thank you for making me believe in humanity again. thank you for taking care of me. thank you for checking up on me. thank you for loving me for the past couple of months. thank you for listening. thank you for trusting me. thank you for being there. thank you for being my friend. and most importantly. thank you for helping me believe that “i am enough” especially on days when i don’t feel like it. thank you for loving me because of it all and not in spite. thank you for everything <3
ever since i’ve met you all, i wake up everyday feeling a little less lonely, my cracked heart a little more filled with love. i don’t feel scared about sharing parts of myself because i know you all take wonderful care of all the little parts of me, just as i do for you. i know that everyone is not completely alright, somedays it hurts a little too much still. but everyday, every little conversation, every virtual hug, every kiss, everything adds up to make the little pieces of thread sewing my broken heart back up. i’m healing, day by day, and i’m very very thankful and immensely happy to have you all by my side as i do so. i love you <333
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saphirered · 3 years
Text
The Wizard and the Warrior
Boy it’s been busy. Double shifts whenever I’ve been free and uni starting again have really been a hassle but I managed to get in some writing so I hope you enjoy this final instalment of the Eldritch Knight series! Was going to split this one in two parts but didn’t work out so sorry for that. Hope you like it! 😘
You didn’t know what to expect when you were pulled through the world away from the homey Xhorhaus but you definitely didn’t expect the sound of waves in the distance and seagulls, the subtile smell of salt water and sand and an ocean breeze to hit you when you reappeared. Upon your vision taking in the new surroundings you find yourself standing under one of the opal archways looking out over a covered market selling all sorts of goods from street foods and drinks to knickknacks and jewellery, merchants calling for the attention of the people strolling about, negotiating prices or shouting their latest discount to pull in new customers. You’re in Nicodranas. 
Essek knew he made the right decision when he sees the joy and excitement on your face. His feet tap the ground and he walks instead of floating, not wanting to draw any more attention that necessary and instead just enjoy these moments with you without the possibility of people finding out who you really are. Today you’d just be normal people without the weight of the world balanced on your shoulders. Today you got to be ordinary tourists exploring a city you otherwise never could. Nobody knows you’d be here. 
You stroll about the market arm in arm moving from shop to shop and stand to stand inspecting wares, admiring them and listening to the stories the merchants tried to sell you. Both of you knew better and were able to easily distinguish truth from lies but that didn’t mean you didn’t like playing along every so often. 
When you reached near the end of the market square the canopies started leaving gaps and eventually disappeared. Essek did his best to hide his winces whenever the sunlight was particularly bright. The sun was setting but it would still be another hour or so until it was fully set and he might have underestimated the brightness of the light. He didn’t let it bother him and pulled through. The slight discomfort is one-hundred percent worth looking upon your face as you bartered with another merchant. 
Essek was partially blinded from where he stood while you browsed the wares of a man selling all sorts of curiosities but he couldn’t really move elsewhere without leaving your side or stepping into the path of walking people so he stuck and stayed relying on his hearing instead. You were bartering with the man as he put prices to the things you showed interest in and you tried to get a better price because you were fully aware you could get something similar if not the same for much cheaper. Essek couldn’t do anything but admire your skill and careful navigation of this encounter showing you had not left your wits with your armour back in Rosohna.
Once you got a good deal you bought your findings; a wide sheer shawl more like a thin blanket to wrap around your shoulders as you knew upon nightfall the breeze could bring a chill, a decorated silver bracelet with an inset purple gem that showed silver specks like stars whenever it caught the light just right and something else… Once done you pulled Essek aside into the full cover of one of the canopies and Essek was thankful for the break.
You’d expected Essek to have broken or admitted to his discomfort before when you noticed him wince every time the canopy lifted upon the wind and allowed the sun to bleed through right where he stood. You knew drow senses are attuned to darker spaces and in turn therefor experience a sensitivity to daylight. 
“Will you stop being stubborn and just admit when something bothers you?” You say sternly as Essek rubs his eyes to get rid of the dark spots clouding his vision. When he sees the look you give him he bites his lip in shame. Apparently he hadn’t done such a good job of hiding it after all. 
“I may not be able to do anything about the sunlight but I can do this.” You take out a parasol of a dark grey almost black colour with ornate lace designs added to it. It does enough to shield those under from the light and should prevent Essek from experiencing downsides of his drow heritage. Before he can protest you link your arm with his again holding the parasol above the two of you and shield yourselves from the light. 
“Don’t worry. You can thank me by providing your company over a meal with me until the sun sets and we can go outside again without you burning off your retinas. I know just the place.” You smile as you begin leading Essek away to a different part of the city. You may not be the most familiar with Nicodranas but you know how to get to most places you’ve been before. You know your way from this market square to the Lavish Chateau so you begin leading Essek in that direction. 
“There’s a great fish and chips shop on the way near Tidepeak I don’t think that kind of street food is really your style.” You say as the Tidepeak comes into view. 
—————
Meanwhile the Nein and Verin stumble out into the teleportation circle room at the Tidepeak. They cracked the code and figured it out based on the list of places Verin had found among Essek’s notes. They knew exactly where Essek was going so it wouldn’t be much effort to find you two right? What harm has a little spying ever done to anyone? Maybe don’t answer that question. They had come for their own reasons be that to watch an epic romance unravel, dig up some dirt to tease or blackmail either of you with, or simply to keep the others in check. 
“Shit. Should we have send a message?” Jester panics looking around for the goblin that usually helps them on their way and informs Yussa of their arrival. 
“Not again.” Beau exclaims in exasperation. Yes again. And again they explain to Wensforth this is a matter of the utmost importance and expediency and they couldn’t have sent a message beforehand or lost too much time. Wensforth luckily for them didn’t have it within him to question their strange reasonings as he escorted them out of the tower and left the to their business.
—————
Within the Lavish Chateau you found out Essek had made a reservation and the guards and servers seemed to be extremely welcoming and attentive to the both of you for some reason you raised an eyebrow when a top shelf bottle of wine was brought out and left at your table once your glasses were poured and you awaited your food. 
“Do I want to ask how you did all this?” You swirl your finger around gesturing to your surroundings. “Because last I was here, not even the daughter of the Ruby of the Sea and her friends get this kind of attendance.” 
“Then perhaps it’s best you don’t ask.” Essek smiles proudly. 
“How many of the Nicodranian nobility have cleared their debt with the Dynasty or reminded of their indiscretions then?” You ask giving him a look over your glass as you take a sip of delicious wine. Top shelf really is worth it. 
“I thought you weren’t going to ask.” You hook your ankle around his from under the table and pull your leg back, Essek briefly loses balance but not enough to throw him off and fall from his seat. He gives you a disapproving and teasing look as you laugh. Food is served and just like everything, it’s perfect. Essek really put in the work to make this all happen and if the sunlight hadn’t thrown you off his schedule you can’t even fantom what else he had planed for your date. Though, he didn’t seem to mind the change of plans a single bit. 
Pleasant conversation about everything and nothing all the same, asking questions so trivial you didn’t think Essek would ever even have been capable of being so relaxed and free of responsibility. When it falls silent for a second and Essek catches you staring at him in thought he studies you closer.
“What?” Essek asks as you hum. 
“Just thinking?” 
“A copper for your thoughts then?” Essek puts his glass down. He doesn’t want to pry or ask out of turn but he is curious as of what got that dreamy expression on your face when you retreated within your own mind for that moment. 
“All of them?” You grin.
“If you are willing to reveal them.” Essek returns to your surprise, fully aware of the meaning behind your words and yet he still plays along. These kind of moments are rare with Essek unless you are completely alone so you’ll revel in the fact that he lets go like he does right now and hope you’d be able to see this side more often.
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you to get all flustered upon my voicing certain thoughts.” You tease, mischievous look in his eyes as he leans in on his elbows on the table and tilts his head amused. 
“Then perhaps keep it limited to your most recent ones? For now at least.” You snort and almost choke on the sip of wine you took bur recover quickly. You definitely didn’t see that one coming.
“Oh so he does play the game in public without shame. You are full of surprises today, aren’t you?” You drop the teasing and turn to your observation. “I was just thinking I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so carefree. I’d love to see this side of you more often if you’ll let me.” The teasing drops from Essek’s face and his expression turns into one of genuine affection. 
“I’d love nothing more.” Your glasses are refilled as the crowd begins gathering for the performance of the Ruby of the Sea.
—————
The Mighty Nein and Verin follow Jester leading them from place to place on the list but no matter how much they search they can’t find you. Last they heard you were seen buying some stuff from a merchant and then nothing so they had resorted to going down the list until they’d found you but still nothing. Over an hour had passed and the sun long since set, lanterns lit to lead the ways.
They search high and low following the list Verin had found but don’t find you and Essek anywhere. Nicordanas is a big city and turns out finding a buff pretty person and a hot boi drow are a lot harder to find than they initially thought. So, having given up the search they instead turn to a place to drink and wallow in self pity for not spying on the date. Jester knows just the place… No better place than the Lavish Chateau. Maybe her mom will even perform tonight! 
When they reach the Lavish Chateau the crowd’s already gathering but with sheer determination and the threatening of some they make it through and find a table, their drinks served as Jester goes off to say hi to her mom before the performance. Then of course Verin and Beau ask about a couple, describing you and Essek having come through here. Instead they’re pointed to a private table out of the direct sight of the entrance but in full view of what is to be the Ruby’s performance space, and if Beau knows anything, a really really expensive bottle of wine shared between the two of you as you sit around laughing and engaging in happy conversation.
As they watch, Essek and you suddenly being the most interesting thing in the entire room they notice a blush creeping up your face as you twirl one of the flowers in your hair returning an equally daring comment of your own, your fingers dancing over the back of Essek’s hand outstretched towards you until he closes his hand and grasps them. You gasp and giggle as he intwines your fingers with his and you making a comment that sends a deep purple crawling up the wizard’s cheeks. The Nein watch, some swooning at the cuteness, the others in surprise and a hint of disgust akin to that of watching your sibling be sugary sweet romantic with their partner you do not want to witness, and the rest like encouraging friends glad their friends have found happiness within each other. 
The performance is about to begin and you spot a blue tiefling running down the stairs as quick as she can darting to one of the tables. You already had the feeling you were being watched for the past fifteen minutes but thought nothing of it as since no action was taken yet and the crowd grew, if it were assassins or the likes again, they’d have come for you before as to not make a scene. Getting confirmation your friends had tracked you to Nicodranas and found you here. You’re not surprised but rather impressed and the addition of what clearly looks like a drow soldier of some repute with features similar to Essek lead you to believe this must be his infamous brother he’d been complaining about plenty of times. You move your chair as if to get a better view of the performance to come and sit right next to Essek. You weren’t the only one who noticed them.
“Do you think they know we know they’re here.” Essek leans into your shoulder as he speaks.
“No. Not this time but if you weren’t so caught up in admiring me you’d have noticed them first.” You lean in closer, whispering into his ear as you speak. 
“You are quite distracting.” Essek defends with a laugh. 
“I’ve seen Beau and your brother gag and complain twice now. Is this the point where we return the favour and give them a show to remember?” You suggest with a glint of mischief within your eyes. 
“How could I refuse?” Essek’s word are enough for you to further provoke the Nein and take it up a notch, or several. 
“Tell me if something makes you uncomfortable and I’ll stop.” You halt your teasing and allow your tone to turn more serious. Essek does the same when you do. 
“Only if you promise to do the same.” Essek doesn’t know if it’s the wine or your shared desire to make them suffer for interrupting your date like they did. Probably the latter. Most definitely the latter. Let them squirm. 
The Ruby comes down the stairs singing and everyone hangs onto her every word, her entire being like she’s a siren from the depths ready to lure in hopeless sailors. As her performance continues you move yourself closer to Essek until your sides are pressed together. Essek’s arm wraps around you pulling you close into his side and to your surprise, onto his lap. You lean your head against his shoulder and whisper sweet nothings, as you play with the fingers of his free hand lovingly. You pay attention to the performance, little attention needed for this display of affection as it comes surprisingly natural and unrestrained to the both of you. 
You lift your head and lean towards Essek, but an inch away from his lips, making eye contact as you whisper something to him but the Nein can’t hear over the singing and you’re too far away to lip read for anyone. It’s so frustrating but holy hells, they never knew Essek had a romantic bone in his body, let alone the guts to drop his composed and emotionally constipated side completely around you. They definitely didn’t see this coming and even Beau could relate to Jester’s possible ideas of turning this into some kind of smutty romance novel because that’s what it looked like. 
When you leaned back, always teasing and never close enough to actually kiss, you watched the performance more. Both you and Essek admired the show the Ruby was putting on. Her song as beautiful as she is but you might have connected with her a little more than anyone else in the room because when she passed your table and saw you and Essek she gave you a knowing smile. A knowing smile that showed she knew exactly when a performance was being put on, the courtesan’s ability to read people shining through once more when she winked at you before she turned around and found her way to the table of the Nein, distracting them from you and pulling the attention to herself. 
Essek was surprised and didn’t really know what to make of what just happened but next he knows he’s being pulled away from his seat by you and dragged to a side exit, abandoning the table mid performance. Out in the street you take off running and then it hits him; a moment of privacy. You played everyone, even him in the end when you appeared to have your attention fully on the Ruby of the Sea but instead you had a nonverbal agreement with the woman. Regardless of his thoughts you kept running towards the eastern edge of the city, through the gates and to the beach. Freedom. 
The moon and stars and city lights within the walls as your light source you pulled Essek along to the shoreline, laughing your asses off. You’ll have to remember to give Marion a big thanks next time you see her. Once safely away from the city sure you’re far enough away from the city you slow your pace and walk side by side along the beach.
“As clever as ever.” Essek compliments as you bump your shoulder into his with a grin. You offer Essek a hand as you climb over some rocks blocking your path. Essek takes it but instead of climbing he just hoovers over without any difficulty. 
“While, I’d gladly take credit I think you deserve at least half. Did you see the looks on their faces?” Your laughter rings like chimes in reminisce of your friends. It’s music to Essek’s ears. 
“I could never forget.” You stop and lower yourself onto the sand, gently pulling Essek’s arm inviting him to join. He does and sits down next to you as stare at him.
“Today was a good day. We should do this more often.” You sigh in content. There’s just something about the drow and the starry night sky behind him that makes him look so ethereal, you could look at him for ages and never get bored. 
“Being run out of a city by our friends for a moment of privacy?” Essek deadpans and you playfully shove him.
“While it was certainly eventful I think I could do without uninvited company next time.” In comfortable silence you both watch the view. Moon reflecting on the ocean, sound of gentle push and pull of the water against the shore and the thousands of stars scattered throughout the sky giving the both of you a sense of warmth and comfort. 
“You certainly found your courage tonight. I never thought you capable of such intimate displays of affection.” You comment and Essek turns his gaze to you. Despite the low light you notice the slight darkening of his cheeks a he takes in a breath. 
“I partially blame the determination to push my brother’s buttons.” You snort.
“And the other part?” Essek decides to humour you with and answer even though you hadn’t expected one. 
“You, as my partner in crime as some might say, made it easy to put on such a display. Though, I will admit to not being so open and frivolous in my affection with an audience, I did enjoy them nonetheless.” 
“Well then, I’m glad my frivolous affection brings you joy.” You say and Essek is about to correct himself for his words but stops when he notices you holding back your smile. You know exactly what he meant and when Essek notices it’s his turn to gently shove you. You gasp even though you’re physically unmoved. 
“Aren’y you all courage tonight? Careful now or I’ll toss you into the ocean.” You jest. 
“It seems both of us have not been lacking any courage this night.” Essek comments and he’s right. With the antics of the day, and your grand escape, you might never have had it been any other situation. You really did enjoy it and wouldn’t change a single thing. Well, maybe add something but there’s no time like the present so maybe you’ll just ask. 
“Then, in a bout of courage, I will ask you this. May I kiss you?” Essek does a double take in case he heard your words wrong but the expression written all over you confirms he has in fact heard you loud and clear. Still he doesn’t miss a beat in his answer. He’s already made up his min. 
“You certainly may.” With that you close your eyes and lean in placing your lips onto Essek’s in a gentle kiss. No pretend, no faked lust or intimacy but honest, clear and unrestrained emotion. When you pull away you’re both smiling like fools. 
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” You whisper as Essek leans in carefully to kiss you this time, lips moving together in a slightly deeper kiss. His hand finds your cheek holding your face lightly caressing a thumb over your cheekbone. 
“I could say the same.” Essek speaks when you pull apart for a moment, foreheads leaning against each other. Many more kisses follow, varying from gentle and sweet to passionate and deep, whatever suits your needs. You have no intention of getting off this beach near Nicodranas any time soon nor do you have anywhere to be so here you’ll stay enjoying each other’s company until the sun rises. 
From behind the rocks not too far away, eight people watch the wizard and the warrior finally do what some of them had hoped they would in the months they’ve gotten closer. Others are turning away while maybe peaking through at times, solely to see their friends happy with each other despite the chaos of the world but not without going right back to quieting their gagging noises of ‘not wanting to see the people who they consider their family making out’. 
“Oh my god! This is going to be so good, you guys. They’re so cute!” Jester whispers already taking notes and working out the story in her head. It’s going to be an epic love tale of two star-crossed lovers for sure. Maybe she can question you on the more spicier details later, get this book to sell at the Chastity's Nook some day? 
“Ugh. Let’s go. I can’t watch this any longer. Drinks?” Verin doesn’t resist and follows Beau, Yasha and Fjord back to Nicodranas. Caduceus has a bit more difficult of a time to drag the cleric and rogue away as the latter enabling her actions instead of giving you some much deserved privacy. He succeeds eventually leaving you and Essek behind to enjoy the rest of your night with a smile. Nothing better than people finding their own happiness. 
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