#that girl i worked with tonight drove me back to my car…. the entirety of her vehicle smelled like weed

[bulletsgirl]

one thing about me is that i love girls so much

[joviewinchester]

Hey! So this is a Supernatural My Babysitter’s a Vampire crossover requested by @the-fifth-marauder101 The request wasn’t super specific so I kind of just ran with it. Jack’s a bit younger in this for the sake of the story. And I know that the timeline is off and stuff but like don’t @ me about it please. I know it’s off. Also this is a reader insert because, ya know, that’s literally all I write. Lol, but anyways, I hope you like it, and keep those requests coming!

Another school. Another town. Another day. That’s how it always went. Avoid making friends at all costs. Well, she had Jack at least.

“What are we here for again?” Y/N asked sighing.

“Your dad said something about vampires or werewolves. They don’t know what it is yet. Said something’s off with this one.” Jack replied glancing over at a group of whispering teens.

“What do you think their deal is?” Erica asked eyeing both Y/N and Jack.

“They don’t look like siblings, at the very least not biological ones.” Sarah responded.

“I don’t know, but can I just say, the girl is hot. Like hotter than anyone I’ve ever laid eyes on. Like if I had to choose between her and a young Carrie Fisher, I’d choose her.” Benny said.

“No way. You’re joking right?” Ethan asked.

“No. I never joke about a babe.” Benny said seriously.

“I don’t know. Personally I’d love to sink my teeth into either of them.” Erica smirked.

Y/N looked from the group to Jack in confusion. “Is it just me or do we have a literal fanclub?”

“I wouldn’t call them a fanclub. They’re just…unusually interested.” Jack responded.

“Should we introduce ourselves? Don’t get me wrong. I know we probably won’t stay for very long but…I just…it would be nice to make friends for once, you know?” She asked Jack as she looked at them, or more specifically looked at Benny.

“I mean, how could it hurt right?” They approached the group.

��Dude they’re coming over here.” Benny said while slapping Ethan’s arm.

“Yeah. I know. I can see dude.”

“Hi.” Y/N said shyly.

Jack stepped in at that point. “Hello. My name is Jack and this is my friend Y/N.” He introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you guys. I’m Sarah and this is Ethan, Benny, and Erica.” Sarah smiled.

Benny had a dumbstruck look on his face. “Excuse him. He gets nervous around girls he thinks are pretty.” Ethan said.

Benny looked at him with a glare. “Dude.” He whisper shouted at him. They then had a small slap fight.

“Alright you two are embarrassing yourselves. Hi, as Sarah said, I’m Erica, and I would love to take you under my wing, Y/N was it? Please let me give you a makeover tonight. You have so much potential if we removed the flannel and the old leggings.”

“Sorry. She’s straightforward like that. She doesn’t mean in a rude way or anything she just thinks your pretty and wants to do your makeup.” Sarah said.

“I guess I could come over.” Y/N said nervously. Jack have her a look and lowered his voice.

“Y/N, Dean said to come straight home after school, and that we can’t go out. You can’t. If you leave on my watch, Dean and Cas will, what is it that you say? ‘rip me a new one’” He quoted.

“Who’s Dean?” Ethan asked.

“My dad. He’s just a little bit overprotective, and if you don’t want me to go out without you, then just come with me.” Y/N said.

“So, you two like live together?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah. Our dads work together. It’s a whole thing.” Y/N said.

“Anyways, I’ll talk to him if he’s home and if not I’ll text him and let him know it shouldn’t be a big deal.” She said.

“Great. Sarah you’re coming too right?” Erica asked.

“Actually, I have to babysit Ethan and Jane tonight.”

“No problem we’ll just go over there.”

“Sarah’s your babysitter?” Jack asked.

“No! Well, I mean, yes, but it’s only because my mom doesn’t trust me to babysit my little sister. Benny you’re still coming over to play that new zombie game right?”

“Like I would miss that.”

“Think we have room for another player?” Ethan asked.

“Not if you’re talking about Rory.” Benny complained.

“I’m clearly talking about Jack, Benny.”

Sarah and Erica both rolled their eyes at their antics. “Come on, Y/N. We’ll walk you to class. Honestly, I swear you geeks almost scared her off.” Erica said.

Y/N waved goodbye at Benny, Ethan, and Jack, linking her arms with Erica and Sarah.

The bell then rang. “Do you guys know where Mr. G’s class is?” Jack asked.

“Yeah we have him for first period too. Follow us.” Ethan said.

School seemed to go by like a breeze with their new friends by their sides. Before they knew it, they were all heading out the doors.

“Alright. Jack and I need to head out, but we’ll meet you guys at Ethan’s house later. See ya.” Y/N said. There was a series of byes and Jack and Y/N hopped into the Jeep they had jacked from the bunker.

Erica left shortly after that saying something about how she needed to pack some clothes and makeup for later.

“I should give her a love potion.” Benny said.

“Do you remember how that turned out last time? I still have nightmares.” Ethan shuddered.

“Benny, don’t let this get to your head, but I think you might actually have a chance with her. She stared at you throughout the entirety of biology class. You should just ask her to see a movie with you or something.” Sarah advised.

“Yes. I need to be more like Han Solo. God, she’d be such a pretty Princess Leia.” Benny sighed dreamily.

“Okay lover boy. You wanna stand out here all day? We’re practically the only ones still here. Your grandma is gonna get mad if you make her wait any longer.” Sarah said glancing at the SUV Benny’s grandma sat in.

“Right. See you guys later!” Benny called.

“Bye!” They said in sync.

“I’ll see you later?” Ethan asked.

“Duh. If I want to get paid I don’t really have a choice.” Sarah joked. Ethan waved awkwardly and jogged to his mom’s car.

“Dorks.” She muttered to herself a slight smile on her face.

Y/N and Jack entered the place one of their hunter friends had loaned them and saw Sam researching by himself.

“Hey, Sam! Do you know when dad is gonna be back?” Y/N asked.

“Um…not really, but it probably won’t be for a few hours. He and Cas are interviewing at the moment. Why? Do you need something? Maybe I can help.”

“Well, Jack and I were wondering if we could go over to a friend’s house around seven ish? We’re just hanging out, nothing big.”

Sam looked up from his laptop. “You guys made friends?” He asked.

“Yeah. I know. I know. We probably won’t stay here, but it’s hard avoiding people everywhere we go and they’re really nice.” Y/N explained.

“Y/N, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. I think it’s good that you guys are making friends, and I think it’s fine if you go out as long as you’re back by 10:30 or Dean will flip.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You’re the best uncle in the world.”

“Do you need any help with research?” Jack asked.

“No. It’s fine. You probably have homework to do.” Sam replied. Jack then headed to his room with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

“Hey, Sam?” Y/N asked sitting across from him.

“Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you about something?”

“You know that you can tell me anything Y/N.”

“I don’t…I don’t think that I can keep doing this.” She sighed.

“What do you mean?”

“The whole moving towns constantly and the saving people hunting things…I just don’t want to keep moving around. I know that it’s stupid. You’re saving the world. All of you, but I feel like I haven’t even lived. I’ve never really gotten to stop and smell the roses you know?”

“Y/N, it’s not like we can just leave you in a town by yourself. You’re only sixteen, but you’re in luck. We’re going to be here awhile. There are multiple cases in this one town and they all seem different. I don’t know what’s going on here. It’s like a Supernatural beacon.”

“Are you sure you don’t need help with research?” Y/N asked.

“No. You have homework too I’m assuming.”

“I finished all of mine in study hall. I’m available for four hours.”

Sam sighed. “Fine. You can help. I’m just looking through lore right now to try and figure out the first case.”

After about three and a half hours of researching, they both still came up with nothing. Y/N groaned.

“Are you sure there isn’t like more than one type of vampire?” She asked.

“Not according to any hunters I’ve met.” Sam said.

“Well, we didn’t think angels existed at one point and look at Cas. Look at Jack. We got an angel and a nephilim living in our house. Not to mention me. I’m a freak of nature.”

“I don’t know, Y/N. If we haven’t encountered one before, I don’t know why we would now.”

“Whatever. I’m gonna go upstairs and grab a few things, then Jack and I are leaving. I’ll see you later Sammy.”

Sam rolled his eyes at the nickname but told her goodbye nonetheless and went back to his research. Y/N grabbed her small bag that contained hand sanitizer, chapstick, lotion, a first aid kit and a pocket knife and knocked on Jack’s door.

“You ready?” She asked.

“Yeah let’s go before we’re stopped by Dean and Cas getting home.” Jack said.

They drove over to Ethan’s house and everyone else had already arrived. Y/N knocked on the door to see Benny with his mouth full of marshmallows. Y/N gasped in excitement.

“Are you guys seeing who can fit the most marshmallows in their mouth?! I bet I can win! I want in on this!” She exclaimed rushing past Jack and in the door.

“What’s the record I’m trying to beat?” Y/N asked Jane.

“It’s unclear. They argue all the time about which got the highest amount and what the highest amount is. I think it’s 176. You don’t need to waste your time here though. You should come play dress up with me and Sarah. I promise it’ll be much more fun.” Jane ranted grabbing her hand.

“Come on Y/N it’ll be way more fun.” Sarah joked. Y/N shrugged.

“You know what? Why not let’s go. You coming, Erica?”

“Playing ‘dress up’ with you is literally the only reason why I’m here. Of course I’m coming.” Erica replied grabbing her bag. They all rushed upstairs leaving the boys behind.

The marshmallows fell out of Benny’s mouth as he was watching Y/N go upstairs. Ethan fist pumped in victory.

“I win!” He yelled through a mouthful of marshmallows.

“Hey! Dude that is so not fair!”

“It’s completely fair! Just don’t get distracted next time and you might win.” Ethan said back smugly.

“Whatever. You guys wanna watch Star Wars or something?” Benny asked.

“I don’t know. Y/N might get mad if we watch it without her.” Jack half joked. Benny looked at him in exasperation.

“She likes Star Wars too?! What’s next?!”

Meanwhile, upstairs Erica had already began using Y/N as a human doll.

“Those dorks are literally not going to know what to do with themselves when they see you.” Erica praised.

“You look really pretty, Y/N. Dare I say, prettier than Debbie Dazzle.” Jane complimented.

“Is that a compliment? What’s a Debbie Dazzle?” Y/N asked Sarah.

“You mean you never had a Debbie Dazzle doll growing up?” Sarah asked. Y/N shook her head no and thought of her childhood.

“We…well, we’ve always moved around a lot, and I matured earlier than most kids. Never really got into that stuff, besides wouldn’t have anyone to play with it with anyways.”

“What about your dad or your mom?” Erica asked while brushing Y/N’s hair.

“My mom?” She asked mostly to herself. It’s not like she could straight up say that her mom was God’s sister. “My mom left us when I was young. I barely remember her.” She said. When she was born she automatically aged up to thirteen, similarly to Jack.

That was the end of that conversation. They didn’t want to pry into her personal life. Even if it felt like they’d known her for years, the truth of it was that they were practically strangers.

“Okay. All done.” Erica smiled. Y/N looked in the mirror Jane had in her room. She was shocked to say the least to see what was staring back at her. For the first time in her life, she felt normal. She felt like a regular teenage girl, not a demi-god who hunted monsters.

“Wow. I look-“

“Beautiful.” Sarah, Erica, and Jane all said at once.

https://shoplook.io/outfit-preview/2784047

“I was gonna say normal, but yeah.” She laughed.

There were a few seconds of silence then Y/N suddenly jumped out of her seat. “Is that the Star Wars theme song?!” She exclaimed. She started heading downstairs.

“What a cute little nerd.” Erica said.

“Can we go downstairs to get a snack?” Jane asked Sarah.

“Sure but you have to be in bed by 9:00 remember?” “9:30?” “Fine.”

When Y/N got downstairs she plopped on the couch in between Jack and Benny.

Benny glanced at her and did a double take. “Woah. Erica did a really good job…not that you weren’t pretty before. You’re really pretty, either way. I’m so sorry. I’m totally rambling again.”

“Are you done?” She asked jokingly.

“Yeah…well, actually,” she laughed. “So no then?”

“Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to go see a movie sometime…with me. I’ll even suffer through the new Dusk if you want.”

“No way are we watching Dusk. Pick me up Friday. We’re watching the new Avengers movie.”

Benny elbowed Ethan. “Dude. Did you hear that?”

“Yes, Benny, congratulations.” Y/N’s phone abruptly began to ring.

“Shoot. I gotta take this.” She got up and walked into the other room.

“Hello?” She asked. “Y/N? Where the hell are you? I told you and Jack to come home and stay home after school. Sam is not your dad. I am. You could’ve at least called and asked.” Dean grumbled.

“And you would’ve told me no and I would’ve been mad and you would’ve been mad and it would just not be fun at all so…”

“Are there boys there?” Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Does is matter?”

“Yes. It matters a lot.”

“You don’t know. I could be a lesbian.” She stated.

“Cut the crap, kid. You and Jack need to get your sorry asses home or youre grounded. Both of you.”

Y/N ignored that statement. “Well, I’d love to talk more, but I’m gonna hang up now.”

“Y/N Elaine Winchester I swear to Chuck if you hang up…”

“Calm down. We’ll be home in like twenty minutes. Bye.” She hung up before he could say anything else.

“Jack, we have to go. Dean is flipping out.” She said walking back into the living room.

“Did you just refer to your dad by his first name?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah I did. Because I’m mad. It’s a symbol of defiance…even if he can’t hear it. Anyways, we’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Y/N, with annoyance, walked into the kitchen and said goodbye to Erica, Sarah, and Jane as well, before leaving with Jack trailing behind her.

Once they got home, they were greeted by all three hunters still sitting at the table researching.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Dean asked in disgust.

“Clothes. Goodnight. Good riddance. Love you partially and all that jazz. I’m going to bed. I have school.” She said running upstairs not letting anyone else get a word in.

The three men sighed. “Were there boys there?” Dean asked Jack seriously as he had Y/N on the phone.

“Yeah. Just two. Y/N has a date Friday.” Jack responded casually.

“She what?!”

“Anyways goodnight. Good riddance. Love you. And all that jazz as Y/N would say. See you tomorrow.” Jack repeated charging up the stairs.

[babysubinnie]

your grace // choi byungchan

🧚🏻‍♂️ pairing:: choi byungchan x reader 🧚🏻‍♂️ genre:: fluff, angst, pure cuteness tbh 🧚🏻‍♂️ words:: 1.8k  🧚🏻‍♂️ summary:: the duke of jeonju was the most wanted single man that the whole world wanted. the fact that he was paying attention to no one but you, gave the world something to talk about.

a/n: based off bridgerton but more modern because that’s my favorite show besides true beauty,, so here it is,, there is a lot of made up, don’t laugh i tried my best to make it amazing.  —————————————————————————— 

he was the most wanted bachelor that every single girl in the entirety wanted this duke. when he left, he was about 13 so no one knew how he would turn out, no he didn’t even say bye to me before leaving. but when he turned 20, he came back and won everyone’s hearts. all the mothers wanted their girls to be with him. except my mother. 

“come on y/n!” one last pull of my corset as my mother screamed up to me. i held in my breath one more time and i was completely tied into my dress. i looked down at the dress in the mirror to see that this dress was my favorite dress in the whole world. 

as i headed down the stairs i thought about the fact that everyone who was everyone this season was going to be there. i was nervous but excited at the same time. i was the first one in our family to be presented to society, so i was nervous as hell. getting into the car made me more nervous than i was supposed to be. my phone started going off and when i picked up the phone, it was my sister, valeria. 

“hey what’s up?” i smiled making eye contact with my mom because i know she would be pissed off because of how i said hi to val. i laughed then listened to what val was about to say. 

“he’s going to be there. he’s back.” val said super seriously, i’m honestly being serious when i say that she has never been so serious in my 20 years of life. she was three years younger than me but she was always the crazy one out of the two of us. 

choi byungchan. he was the love of my life when we were kids. everything about him was perfect. i mean we promised to get married when we were kids, and now that we’re at the age of marriage, i don’t think that’s going to happen. there were girls chasing after him every single second that he came back. he probably didn’t even remember me. he was a duke now, and apparently he came back for one reason and one reason only, but no one knew why. 

“when the fuck did he get back?” i looked up to see my mom swearing at me with my eyes when i swore. i laughed looking down at my feet thinking about what i’m going to say if he comes to talk to me. 

“a week ago. apparently he’s being a dick. he’s acting like he owns the world, but everyone is saying that he came back for only one reason. to find the love of his life.” she scoffed the second we turned into the mansion we were having the ball at. i laughed rolling my eyes looking up at my mother smiling. 

“he isn’t the duke of jeonju for no reason.” i laughed then quickly told her that i had to go. when we got out of the car, there was a whole ass red carpet, and a whole bunch of photographers. this ball was organized by the duchess of seoul that everyone knew and loved. she was known for her incredible parties, even her teas were amazing. 

“you better behave tonight. no mucking around, got it?” my mother scoffed stepping to the side to let me pass. i smiled at her nodding before walking down the red carpet. as i walked down, there were more reporters than i thought. i smiled at every single one and when i got to the end, my mother was there to walk me in. the entire time i was thinking about byungchan. he was finding the love of his life?

“lee y/n, presented by her mother, from the lee family.” when we walked in, the ballroom was a retro theme, a 1920s theme. i looked around before telling my mother that i was going to take a quick walk around. all the girls at this party were glaring at me as i walked in, but i didn’t care. when i turned to the side to greet one of the marchioness’, i saw him. the duke of jeonju. 

he was wearing a black suit, no tie, just a jacket, and a white shirt underneath. his hair was pushed back, so his forehead was showing. my god did he grow up well. i was going to be honest, but i wanted to go up to him and kiss him. 

as the night went on, i tried to avoid him regardless of anything. near the end of the ball, after thousands of dances with all the suitors, my mother had told me that there were a bunch of suitors that were waiting to ask for my hand.

“you ready to go?” i smiled nodding when my mom put her arm around mine. i smiled bowing at all of the people that we had walked past until we walked towards the door. i was helping my mom hold her dress and as i kept trying to pick up her dress, there were a pair of Christian Louboutin’s. i looked up, and the man that everyone this season was begging to marry, was looking down at me. 

“byu- your grace.” i smiled weakly keeping all my emotions inside me walking around him to the car. as we were walking down the stairs, my mom had let go of my arm at one point to basically run to the car. i stared at her with my mouth open about to chase her when my wrist was pulled back. 

“you’re not even talking to me now?” he scoffed at me standing on a few steps higher than the step i was standing on. he looked into the distance before stepping down the stairs to stand on the same step as i was. 

“i have to go. excuse me your grace.” i curtsied subtly before starting to walk off. yet again, he pulled me back again rolling his eyes gripping onto my wrist with one hand and putting his free hand into his pocket. he continued to stare a hole into my face when i noticed that the viscount’s daughter had come out to stare at me. no, glare at me. she was all over byungchan all night so naturally she would be pissed if he suddenly started paying attention to anyone except himself. 

“stop calling me that. do you know the reason why i came back y/n?” he lifted my chin when i continued to stare down at the ground. i didn’t want to look into his eyes. i looked to the side seeing there were still reporters. 

“i don’t care, choi byungchan.” i shook my head looking into his eyes shrugging in a way that i knew would piss him off. he hated when i gave smart comments. 

“i’m going to tell you regardless.” he leaned into whisper into my ear smiling. when he pulled away, he was inches away from my face, now smirking at me. i rolled my eyes looking away from him. 

“i came back to make you the duchess.” 

“byungchan- i can’t marry you. it doesn’t work like this.” i shook my head looking around frantically to see if there was any way out of this, but there wasn’t. i waited for this moment my entire life and it was actually happening but i rejected him. he pulled away from me staring down at my face biting his lip nervously. the more i looked up at him, the more i realized that i still loved this man. 

“we promised to get married.” his jaw tightened as i looked up at him. we were already standing really close together and it didn’t help that the two of us were being watched.

“that was when we were kids. it’s not the same now is it?” i shook my head pulling away from him before running down the stairs fast knowing that if i stayed longer, i would have made a bad mistake. why didn’t i want it to happen? no wait, i know why, it’s because of the fact that he left without saying anything. without even telling me. without even thinking of me before he left. 

“byungchan, i’ll be the duchess.” i turned around to look at the viscount’s daughter who was now all over him smirking at me. i rolled my eyes laughing getting into the car. my mom smiled nervously at me as i glared at her when i got into the car. i couldn’t even say anything to my mom because i was so pissed off at her. 

“i thought you didn’t want me to get married to byungchan.” i rolled my eyes half way home. i looked to the side to see that she was smiling brightly. the reason that she didn’t want me to get married to byungchan was because she didn’t want him to break my heart because it’s not the first time that he would have broken a heart. 

“i’ve always wanted you two to get married. i just wanted to see if you liked him enough to fight back for the fact that i didn’t want you two to get married.” she laughed while i sat there staring at her in shock. after 20 years, this is how she felt about byungchan?

“where are you going y/n?” val screamed at me when i abruptly stood up grabbing my jacket, a key to one of the cars, and drove as fast i could. the rain made it hard to drive, but i could do it. i couldn’t see a anything, it was completely pouring down cats and dogs, but before i could really freak out, i arrived. 

i ran out of the car and up to the huge wooden door. i rang the doorbell taking deep breaths trying to catch my breath as i stood in front of the door. i was soaking from head to toe now but it was worth it. i hope. after a while no one replied so i pressed the bell again but this time, i knew it was worth it. i looked up to see byungchan’s bright smile, his tall figure standing there with his eyes glued to the floor but looked up when he apologized.

“i’m sorry my staf- y/n holy shit get in here.” byungchan pouted pulling me into the house with both of his hands on my wrists staring at me before calling majority of his staff to where the two of us were standing.

“run her a bath, get an outfit from my closet for her, make hot chocol-” before he could finish, i had to say what i needed to or i would never have the guts to do it again. i had to do it now. 

“byungchan.” i laughed when he was ranting, but he continued to give his orders. i pulled his sleeve giggling to him when he looked down at me. 

“marry me.” i smiled looking up to him batting my eyelashes at him. he chuckled pressing his lips to mine moving his hands from my wrists to my waist.

“i’m supposed to ask that but you don’t have to ask me twice your grace.”

[sweetestlamb]

Jealous, My Ass

Genre- Is raunchy gutter filth a genre? Because that’s what this is. 

Pairing-  Ko-Mun Yeong/ Moon Gang-Tae

Warnings- See the genre. If you are an innocent lamb this is not for you. Also I am 100% a feminist (pussy power af) but I will be using some tropes and such I am only human y’all.  Jealous hottie is hot. I also haven’t written anything in years so you know, be kind. I just couldn’t get them out of my head. 

Summary: Gang-Tae is definitely not jealous. At all. Not even a little bit. 

Bring home food. I’m hungry!

Mun-Yeong delicately presses send on her phone and flips it shut, falling back onto the vibrant red couch with a sigh. She sees the small seen on her phone screen notifying that Gang-Tae has received her message and impatiently waits for his reply. Seconds, turn to minutes and no reply comes and she feels her stomach twist in annoyance. Why isn’t he answering her? How dare he? Could he be busy? Why read her message only to ignore it? 

She picks up her phone intending to ask him all those questions, when the little voice inside her head that always tells her the worst possible answers whispers “He doesn’t want you. You bother him and he only helps you because he feels bad for you. You’re a BURDEN!” She stands up and tries to physically shake off the those gut-wrenching thoughts- mind flashing back to all the times that the prince in question has saved her. 

Riding in on his metal stead in torrential rain. Only to try to dump her back home. 

Twisting the fingers of that politician’s son has he tried to slap her. Then walking away and leaving her on the sidewalk after ripping her to shreds. 

Calling her an empty can. He had apologized for that but just like she told him bad memories had a way of wedging themselves in your heart and not easily coming out. 

Taking that two-faced bitch’s side and telling her that she didn’t own him. Her feelings have changed since she made that claim to Joo-Ri that he was always hers. He was still just a pretty thing then. Now he’s..... more. And his dismissal now hurts more than before. He knows things about her that she has never uttered to anyone. He has seen her in situations that no one else ever has. Not even Sang-In. But she knows that he is also an expert at turning this feelings off. Unlike him, she wears her heart on the tip of her knife. It’s a bloody, messy thing. Locked up for so long that now it just leaks all over him. 

Her phones finally vibrates with his answer and she tries not jump but her stupid body has been betraying her ever since he crashed into her life. 

She picks up her phone and flips it only, eyes scanning when she sees his reply- No. She stares at the phone in disbelief and anger and- “He doesn’t want you. Nobody could love a monster like you!” This time she can’t ignore her mother’s screeching voice in her mind, sledge hammering into her confidence until it shatters under the pressure. That is the entirety of his response and she sits quietly on the couch feeling like an empty husk. Only years of rejections- him being one of the first- stops her tears from falling. Being around him has made her weak, she desperately forces herself to will her armor back up. She knows she has failed when her phone vibrates and her first thought is please be him. 

It isn’t.

A number she doesn’t know pops up on her screen with a message- It was such a pleasure to see you today. I would love to take you out for dinner tonight. Are you free? 

Coffee shop guy. 

She doesn’t think about her answer before replying that’s another thing she started doing since meeting him and look just where that has gotten her. After replying she swipes up the stairs,  dressing down bellowing behind her. She will not be weak. Plus, she’s fucking hungry. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gang- Tae stares down at his phone in shock, genuinely surprised that she hasn’t said anything to retort to his short answer. She hates when he replies with only one word and usually follows those messages up with messages demanding more. She always demands everything he has. And then some. 

He lov--- No. Stop. His heart  burns in not jealousy remembering how she sized up that not handsome punk at the coffee shop. Gazing at him like he was something to be conquered and then shoving his hand on her perfect little waist. He scoffs recalling her admission that she was like Sang-Tae and only he could touch her only to then place a stranger’s hand on hi-her waist. 

It’s not until Cha-Young walks in carefree as if he works in an ice cream parlor and not a psychiatric ward that he realizes that he is standing shirtless, gripping his shirt tightly between his fingers. He had become distracted after receiving her message demanding that he bring food. He wanted to give her the food, give her anything she wanted really. It scared him to hell. It wasn’t until he saw the smug smile and hungry stare in  someone else’s eyes looking at her that he realized that maybe he wasn’t what she wanted anymore. 

The way she had whispered “CEO” reminded him that despite what he had screamed at her idiot manager in the parking lot she was a celebrity.  People wanted her. Men who had way more to offer and were’t terrified of taking what she was offering. She was so beautiful it made his jaw clench in frustration and her haircut only made her more beautiful, it was obscene and unfair. Her hair brushed against her define features and made her already long neck- look like it was never-ending. 

“Gang-Tae. Hey, Gang-Tae! Are you listening? What the hell?” 

Cha-Young’s voice broke him free from his internal suffering. He quickly put on his uniform shirt and turned his head, repressing all this emotions until his face was a blank slate. 

“They need your help carrying a new patient. So stop checking yourself out, you narcissist!” He grabbed what looked like a candy bar before leaving to do whatever he thought constituted as doing work. 

With a sigh he slammed his locker shut and left the room. Emotions warring in his mind but he knew from years of practice that none of them showed on his face.  Today was going to be a long day. 

It was a long day. Stubborn patients, lazy coworkers and he could feel Joo-Ri’s gaze on him whenever she thought he wasn’t looking. It all made him eager to leave, he only spared a smile imagining Mun-Yeong’s anger if she were here to see it happen. He was always mine. She was so possessive of him and he didn’t know yet how he felt about it. 

He drove home, not knowing which Mun-Yeong he would get after refusing her and not getting anymore messages from her prior to that. He sighed in relief knowing that her violent tendencies were spared when it came to him. Unless she was violently teasing him until he felt like his skin might combust from the embarrassment and.....lust. He didn’t know how to react around her she made him feel things that he had told himself years ago, he wasn’t allowed to feel.

While others were sharing secret kisses and going on dates, he was learning how to care for his brother. He couldn't abandon him for such trivial things. Eventually girls realized that he wasn’t playing hard to get, there was no getting. Then they stopped. No more coy looks from under lashes, no more pink cheeks and school girl giggles. They moved onto boys that could give them what they wanted. 

His plan had worked. 

Until Mun-Yeong. She was persistent and his desire for her too made it hard to keep pushing her way. Her full lips called out to him, they both had a habit for grabbing the others wrist and her wrist felt so small and delicate in his hand. One good pull and she would come tumbling into this arms and he could see if her bubble-gum pink lips were as sweet as they looked. 

The sound of the front door opening snapped him out of his reprieve- that seemed to be happening to him a lot today. And like a manifestation of his own thoughts there she was, and fuck she looked hot. Unbelievably hot. 

He had never seen her in jeans before and the denim stretched  down her long legs, hugging her petite curves in all the right wrong ways. A black crop top wrapped around her flat stomach and made her breasts look full, small but a perfect handful. Her shoes were the flashiest part of her outfit, red stiletto heels with a heel that looked like it could kill a man. Her hair was wet and tousled for a perfect messy bedhead look. 

Error 404. Error 404. Error 404. 

Her heels clicked as she started moving down the stairs, why was she moving in slow motion? 

His tongue felt heavy in his mouth has she walked up to him. She stopped a few paces from him, not coming into his personal space like she normally would. When their eyes met the same lighting that always sparked between them, lit up but unlike the other times when she would move into his space like the big bad wolf. Her face was passive and she looked down at the keys in his hands. 

“Give me the car keys” she said in that ridiculously sexy deep voice. He willed himself not to get hard, thinking about the patient that threw up on him to stop the blood from rushing down below. Up close he realized that her makeup was heavier than usual too. Dark smoky eyes with a winged liner as sharp as the knives she loved to collect and blood-red lips. He couldn’t stop thinking about kissing and smearing that lipstick everywhere. 

As he stood there fantasizing about her as she stood there, he took a deep inhale of breath as she finally moved into his bubble but she was gone as quickly as she came. Snatching the keys from his slack hands. 

She stepped around him and made to open the car door he had only just closed and he realized she did not intend to say anything more to him. 

“Where are you going?” he asked his voice coarse with desire, she smelled amazing up close. Like cinnamon and something spicy that was irrefutably her. 

She ignored him and opened the car door. His arm shot out and slammed it shut before his brain registered it planned to do that. It was minute but her small body jolted from the force that he used. He felt guilt for a second, he didn’t mean to scare her. He reached out to soothe her but before his hand could make contact, she backed up moving away from his touch for the first time ever. 

“What’s wrong? Tell me where you’re going dressed like that.” He mentally celebrated when he saw her passive mask drop and righteous anger take its place. 

“Move out of my way, I don’t need to answer your questions.” 

“Mun-Yeong stop acting up.” 

“Don’t give me orders!” He wasn’t ready for the bite behind her words. She was puffing with anger, chest rising quickly and he knew it wasn’t right but his eyes descended down to her chest. His mind provided a quick flash of how perfect her breasts would look bare, her nipples would be so pink and delicious. 

It was so fast he almost missed it but he saw an answering flash of lust run across her face. She squirmed under this heavy gaze. 

Her phone ringing cut through the tension like a knife. She answered it. 

“Hello? Yes, I am on my way now. No. I can drive myself. I will see you soon. Goodbye, Daniel”

Daniel. DANIEL. Who the fuck was Daniel and why was he going to see his Mun-Yeong? He reached out and in a move that was completely out of character he grabbed her phone. She raged immediately reaching around him to get it back. Climbing his back in her quest to get it back. She was hot against his back. 

“Don’t call this number again. She’s not coming” he said with finality before ending the call, before that not handsome punk could answer. She slumped on his back before sliding back onto her heeled feet. He turned around with fire in his eyes. 

“You are going to meet THAT guy? Ko Mun-Yeong, he is a stranger. Are you crazy?!” 

Her only response was to growl at him and wow that would sound amazing in bed as he entered her. 

He didn’t know how to stop these thoughts now that they were out. 

“Stay out of this. You don’t own me” she threw his words back at him. She was always doing that. It made him realize how stupid he was sometimes. The shock of hearing those words made him freeze and she used that time to enter the car and lock the door before he could stop her. 

He spun around putting his hand on the glass and trying to make eye contact with her but she refused to meet his eyes. She pulled out of the make shift driveway like a bat out of hell. 

He stood there feeling like the ground was crumbling beneath his feet. 

“Don’t go.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She drove down the road before pulling over to breath.  What was it about him that got under her skin? She didn’t think he would care about her going out after refusing to bring her food and basically shutting her down every time she claimed they were more. She knew it was because of his brother but she couldn’t carry this on her own. 

He was great at coming to her rescue but once that was over, she was pushed away again and she would never admit this out loud but it hurt. 

It hurts. 

Her phone began to ring and she started the car and drove off. She was still hungry.  She wanted beef. Rare. The blood would sate her anger. 

She didn’t make any attempts to enter the house quietly. Gang-Tae sat on the stairs eyes piercing into her own. She looked back emotionlessly not sure why he was still up. He never sought her out after fights instead waiting for the next disaster he could save her from.  He seemed different today and she wondered why. 

“You’re home late”

“So? she retorted defiantly, smelling the fight brewing in the air and hungry for it. 

“I asked you not to go. Why can’t you ever listen to me?” 

Flashbacks of her mother scolding her forced there way into her mind. You must always listen to me. Be a good girl and always obey Mother. Her heartbeat was loud in her own ears. Her eyes were burning with her effort not to cry. His eyes softened as if her thoughts were visible. He made her feel naked. 

His arms flexed as he used them to propel himself off the stairs and for another first he gently wrapped his arms around her waist. 

“I was jealous. I am jealous”  he grumbled putting his chin on her hair. And for once she was speechless. Why would he tell her that? Wasn’t he scared that she would use that as a weapon against him? He shouldn’t trust her she was a monster. 

“You’re not a monster. “ 

“Then what am I?”

With hesitation he replied, “I wish you were mine.” Her head snapped up so hard that if he hadn’t moved back she would have headbutt him. 

“Kiss me” She didn’t know what she would do if he denied her now. This moment seemed important, defining. 

He surged forward and kissed her, closed mouth but hard as if he was trying to fuse into her. “Did he kiss you? Did you let him kiss you?” he whispered into her mouth seemingly terrified of the answer but needing to know. 

“No.” He pushed her into the wall and she hadn’t realized that he had been cornering her in for a while. She pressed her tongue into his mouth and felt him melt into her, his body a hard line. His muscles pressing her against the wall. He seemed inexperienced with kissing this way but he made up for it with enthusiasm. He chased her tongue and played with her as she teased him. Licking into her like she was dessert and he was ravenous. 

Should I just play with you? 

“Mun-Yeong tell me to stop. Please. I can’t stop.”

She ignored his pleas instead wrapping her arms around his neck and he instinctively scooped her up. Big hands gripping her ass, squeezing and kneading the flesh. Moaning his approval into her mouth. She had never been this turned on. Nothing had ever been this good. They grinded against each other, she could feel his excitement pressing into her. She felt the hunger consume her again and she pushed him back.

He started to apologize even as his dick pointed out, begging for her attention. She fluidly slid to her knees. He gasped and froze in place. His eyes honed into her lips, watching her like she was both the predator and his prey. She licked her lips, never looking away from his eyes more expressive than she had ever seen them. 

Beautiful. 

The sound of his zipper descending was loud in the room. The only other sound was their pants for air. 

“Do you want this?” She finally spoke and he shivered at the sound of her voice. She didn’t make anymore movements, for once patiently waiting for his answer. 

She watched the war play across his face and wondered who would win? She busied herself biting at her own lips. His thumb pulled her lip from the grip of her teeth, tilting her face up towards him. “I want this, I know I shouldn’t but....”

She didn’t care about whatever self repressing reason he had. He wanted her. He had showed her before but now he was saying it. 

She tugged his worn jeans down, too-soft from years of being worn and washed. His boxers did little to hide his erection. “Wow” 

His blushed tinted his face and chest in a pretty red and she smirked up at him. 

“You do it” She calmly commanded him and he looked confused, like she had just spoken to him him in English. “You have been holding back for all these years, I want you to do it. Show me what you want” 

At his perplexed face she boldly took his penis out through the slit in his boxers and aimed it at her mouth but that was it, he hissed in pleasure. Breath speeding up at just her touch on his heated skin. She stopped and simply opened her mouth, eyes gleaming mischievously. The moment he understood what she meant was a beautiful epiphany. 

He made no movement, besides the involuntary one his dick made that caused him to close his eyes in embarrassment. “Stop thinking with your head for once and think with this” She grabbed his dick for emphasis. He thrusted into her hand one, two times but seemed to lose his resolve again. 

“He tried to kiss me. He grabbed me by my waist and told me he wanted to give me the world. He said I’m the sexiest woman he has ever seen.” 

She watched every muscle in Gang-Tae’s body coil. His eyes which were always the window to his soul, said what the fuck did you say? and then he grabbed her hair. 

“He can’t have you. You’re mine. I’m yours. You said it we go hand in hand! 

“Then show me I’m yours. Make me forget about everyone but you. Do it!”

She was barely able to finish her sentence before her mouth was full. His taste exploded on her tongue and he was better than all the goods Sang-In had brought her. Once his dick was in her mouth, he was a man on a mission. She opened her mouth wider and let him have fun. He thrusted fast, then slow, then deep, then leaving only the tip. 

He’s never done this before. He doesn’t know what he likes. 

She let him use her mouth, happy to be the first person to do this with him.

Mine. 

He found a rhythm that he seemed to like, deep and slow. She could feel every vein under the thin, hot skin and his precum leaked onto her tongue before she greedily swallowed it. That made his hips hitch forward suddenly and he momentarily slid down her throat. She pulled off  slowly. Knowing the picture she made, on her knees with her red stained dick-plump lips. He picked her up as if she weighed nothing, she loved how strong he was. 

He devoured her lips. dipping and licking his own taste out of her mouth. She felt them ascending and realized they were going up the stairs. He easily held her weight with one arm and used the other one to push open her bedroom door. 

With four large steps, he dropped her on her bed watching her body bounce. His eyes zigzagged all over, seeming unsure of where he wanted to look. She pulled her shirt over her head and heard his gasp and threw her shirt to the side. His eyes settled on her chest, “You’re beautiful” he whispered with revere tinging every words. 

She felt herself blushing, shocked that he was able to have that affect on her. He climbed onto the bed with her, using just his fingertips to caress her skin. He touched the top of her breast before moving down to her stomach, but eventually making his way back to her breast. She sat up and leaned forward silently giving him permission and he didn’t need anymore encouragement this time. He unhooked her bra, eyes wide as her breast came into view. 

Under his intense gaze, she felt a fleeting desire to cover herself. Before doing the opposite and laying her hands to the side, fully displaying herself to his hungry eyes. He leaned down and kissed her breast, too gently. So she whispered “Harder” and his mouth consumed her nipple and she threw her head back from the blinding pleasure. Behind the buzzing that filled her ears, she could hear him as if he were miles away “so pink, you’re so pink” and she had no idea what he was talking about but she needed him to keep going. 

He palmed her breast that wasn’t in his mouth and she reached down to grab his erection, it felt harder than before it that was possible. She twisted at the top gathering the fluid there and using it to ease her way, up and down his length. He bite down on her nipple as she made a corkscrew motion at the top. He ripped her jeans off her body and she hadn’t noticed when exactly he had even unbuttoned her pants. 

He slid down her body and she groaned in annoyance at losing her grip on his dick, it was her new favorite toy. So perfect and hard, she couldn’t wait to have it inside her. 

“What are you doing?” She panted looking down and seeing him just looking , his jaw was slack and his pupil was wide and she just watched him as he stared at her covered pussy. What seemed like a lifetime later, he pulled her panties down. They were white and lace. She shivered at the puff of hot air that hit her and she felt herself get wetter. He curiously tasted her with a kitten-like lick that made her mind short circuit. He must have liked what he tasted because after the first lick, he spread her open and took a greedy lick the second time. 

His strong arms splayed her open to his mercy and he was a quick learner, he quickly dissected that she liked broad licks and extra attention on her clit. This was the best thing that had ever been done to her body. She almost didn’t hear his quiet question, “Can I...Mun- Yeong can I...fuck you?” 

She couldn’t believe that he had been able to say the words. She almost wanted to stop and applaud. But she saved her teasing because when she finally opened her eyes he was hovering above her, his penis so hard it was flat on his stomach and it had leaked an idecent amount of precum. Glossy in the pale moonlight. If only she had been a painter instead of an author. 

“How do you want me?” She continued to press his comfort level, but she was also genuinely curious. She knew he was a virgin before all this, she wanted anything he wanted. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, before laying down and dragging her on top of him. He blushed up at her but there was a glint of determination in his strong jaw. 

“I want to see you. I want to see your eyes when we do it.”

She didn’t answer verbally, choosing instead to grind herself down on him. Slipping across his groin, dragging her wetness over him. Feeling him slip into her folds and shuddering at the heat. She lifted her hips up before finding his hard erection and holding it, ready. 

“Wait don’t we need a .....condom?” 

She shook her head no. She had been on birth control as soon as it was allowed. 

“I want to feel you”

That answer rendered him without words and he gripped her hips in his huge hands, helping her lift up before the world momentarily went white. She knew she should take it slow but as soon as she felt him inside, the beast burst out of the cage. She placed her hands on his broad chest and slammed down onto him, riding him hard. Snapping her body back to bring him deeper in. 

He was an absolute mess beneath her, shaking his head no, begging her to slow down while he contrarily met her thrust for thrust and fucked her like the world was ending. She fell on his chest and he immediately wrapped her in his arms and continued to rock up into her velvety, wetness. Panting in her ears. 

“You feel so good. So good, please, please” 

She knew that he was close from the pistoning of his hips, the sound of their skins smacking filled the room. 

“Don’t hold back, fuck me harder. Don’t stop!”

He flipped them over, pressing her arms about her head, she made a mental note that she liked that. Really liked it. 

“Say my name, Say I’m yours”

“Gang-Tae, Gang-tae, you’re mine. I’m yours. I...”

No. Not now.  But it was enough to push him over the edge and she was so confused on his pleasure that she forgot about herself until she felt his fingers rub her clit in a circle motion and she too stumbled over the deep end. 

His body tightened and he pressed deeply inside her, her walls clenching around him. 

“Sex feels amazing.” 

His sudden admission sent her into a fit of giggles, and soon he was laughing too and he fell on the bed from his laughter. Their laughter boomed in the room, now eerily quiet without their sex sounds. 

Zzzzzzzzztttttt 

She looked over and saw him looking down at the floor at whatever was vibrating, before leaning over and picking it up. 

Her cellphone. It must have fell out of her pocket when he ripped her pants off. 

He opened her phone without her permission and they needed to have a talk because only she was allowed to do that. 

“It’s that punk. He’s sad you couldn’t make it.” He looked at her with glaring eyes. “I thought you went out with him”

“I lied. I got beef by myself and then came home.”

He looked upset before laughing again. Then he reached over and flicked her on the forehead. 

“Ow what the hell!”

“I’m deleting his number” and she rolled over and pressed her naked body against him, not caring about whatever his name is. 

She felt his penis plump up after a moment of cuddling him naked, “Stop being so horny,  I’m tired now” she whined. 

He stroked her back before his hand trailed down to her butt. 

“This is all your fault” he answered before dragging her into a languid kiss and rolling on top of her.  “You pulled my safety pin, this is the result.” 

He exploded all night. 

[nikki-writes-stuff]

Sweet As Sin - Part One

Summary: After losing your job and having to spend all of your savings, you find yourself completely broke as you desperately search for a job. On a whim, you join a website for sugar babies and sugar daddies can meet, and you’re surprised when you immediately make a connection with Captain America, of all people. But as you grow closer to Steve, you start to realize that there may be a dark side to America’s golden boy. 

Pairing: SugarDaddy!Steve Rogers x Reader, with eventual Dark!Steve Rogers

Read Part Two here!

After reaching a certain point in life, people generally come to the realization that the old adage of “when it rains, it pours” is true. At least, that was what you were thinking as you walked to your car, cheeks still burning with shame from what had just transpired in the grocery store.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but your card was declined. Do you have any other methods of payment?”

The words echoed in your ears as you drove home; of course you didn’t have another method of payment. You hadn’t ever since your job laid you off. You’d been living off of unemployment for a few months now, barely able to afford rent and living off a diet consisting mostly of ramen noodles. What’s more, you’d just had to get your car fixed after someone t-boned you at the intersection across from your house. So now, you didn’t even have any more savings to fall back on. It was even worse than when you’d been in college; back then, there had at least been a goal in mind. Just graduate, you’d told yourself, and then you’ll find a job.

Well, you’d graduated a year ago, and now you were back to where you’d started – broke and desperate.

You slammed the door shut when you entered your apartment, kicking your shoes off before throwing yourself onto the sofa. You lay on your back, looking up at the ceiling as your stomach growled at you.

“Yeah, I’m hungry, too,” you told it. Looks like it was noodles in broth for dinner again, tonight.

Anxiety was constantly clawing at your chest these days, especially now that you were too broke to afford your medication. Later on that evening, you stood over your stove while typing ‘how to make money fast’ into Google. It was a cheap shot, one that you didn’t foresee getting you anywhere, but it was at least something to take your mind off of things while you waited for the water on the stove to heat up.

That was when you saw the add. ‘Finding Arrangements – Where beautiful, successful people find mutually beneficial relationships’ – basically, a website for Sugar Daddies looking for a pretty set of tits to spend money on. You huffed a laugh and scrolled past it, only to return to it a few seconds later.

You chewed on your lip, pondering the link sitting right there on the screen, so engrossed in your thoughts that you jolted when the water started boiling over, sizzling onto the stovetop beneath it. With a curse, you turned down the heat and added the noodles, stirring them in with the seasoning packet as you thought it over. It wouldn’t hurt to check, right? Just a quick glance wouldn’t hurt; if you signed up and didn’t like any of the people you matched with, you could just delete your profile and pretend it never happened.

Your thoughts lingered on the idea as you sat on the couch, still hungry after finishing your meager meal. You’d brought the link up on your laptop, and now you were staring at the site’s homepage. To the right, there was a link to sign up, and to the left, there was a picture of a man in a business suit surrounded by three beautiful women. You gulped, starting to psych yourself out as you stared at the image. But then you closed your eyes and thought about the number in your bank account, and it was enough to motivate you to start typing.

You filled out your personal information and clicked the link the website sent to your email, confirming your new membership. When it came to choose a profile photo, you chose one of yourself from your graduation day. You were standing in your college’s auditorium, wearing a dress made out of gold fabric that was covered with thick black lace; it was your favorite picture of yourself, and you hoped that the dress wasn’t too revealing. It had a high neckline, but it had only come down to about mid-thigh.

You filled out the ‘About Me’ section and then paused when you came to the next question – What are you looking for in a relationship? You thought for a moment, biting your lip and turning over your words before starting to type again.

This is my first time trying out a relationship like this, you wrote. So I would like to find someone who I can trust to guide me through it. In return, I would like to be able to give my (you cringed as you typed the next two words) Sugar Daddy a fulfilling, comfortable relationship in return.

After reviewing your profile, you uploaded it, forcing yourself to sit back from your laptop and breathe. It was out there now; people would see it. Wealthy, presumably powerful people would see it. You closed your computer and hurried to put a movie on, choosing one of your old favorites; it had helped you when you were feeling anxious before.

By the time you finished the movie, you’d mostly calmed down, controlling your nerves until they were just a dull ache in your chest. Before you stood up and went to bed, you checked your phone, eyes bulging when you saw that you already had five replies to your profile.

You opened your notifications, scrolling through the different profiles. Four of them were from men with one of them being from a woman. Your nose wrinkled up when you saw that one of the men were in his 70s, and you quickly deleted his message without even reading it. The next one was in his early 50s, and his profile picture was of him standing in front of a car that looked like it cost more than the entirety of your college tuition. You didn’t delete his message, but you definitely felt dismayed as you skimmed through the rest of them.

You paused, though, when you saw the last one. His profile said that he was 38, making him the youngest of those that had replied to you. His username was Captain_Grant, and his profile only showed his silhouette outlined against a setting sun. The only thing you could see about his features were his defined, slightly-crooked nose and the shadow of a beard against his jawline, but you were more interested in seeing the message he’d sent you.

Good evening, miss. I hope you’re having a nice day. I saw on your profile that you liked to read?

You furrowed your eyebrows, laughing a little. The other ones had pretty much sent you the same thing – “hi”. One of them had had the courtesy of adding a smiley face afterwards, but the fact that this guy had actually taken the time to read your profile made him stand out amongst the rest.

Good evening, you typed back. I do love to read; right now I’m in the middle of a great book.

His reply came only about a minute after you sent your response.

What’s it called?

You typed out the title of the book. After another minute, Captain sent you a picture. You held your breath as you opened the attachment, praying that it wasn’t a dick pic, and you were pleasantly surprised to see a photo of a bookshelf. The book you’d mentioned was resting on it along with a few others by the same author.

I’m a fan of theirs, too, as you can see.

You grinned and got up, taking a quick photo of your own bookshelf and sending it to him. You’d bought it from IKEA years ago, and its thin shelves had started to sag under the weight of all of your books, but you loved it anyways.

You have quite the collection, miss.

You chuckled at how polite he was and sent him a message that he call you by your first name.

‘Miss’ just seems so formal, don’t you think?

I was going more for polite, but I see what you mean. Well, then, you should call me Steve. ‘Captain’ isn’t really formal so much as it’s just weird. …I’ve been told I’m not good at picking out profile names.

You giggled at that; Steve seemed like a dork. But a cute one.

I think your profile name is great, for the record, but I’ll stick with Steve. What made you join this website, Steve?

It took him a few minutes to respond, and you worried for a second that you’d asked something too personal. But as you got ready for bed, you saw that he’d finally responded.

I’m an old fashioned kinda guy, and in the past I’ve been told that I’m a bit too…overbearing in a relationship. But I’ve always believed that a man should take care of the woman he’s with. So a friend of mine suggested this site, and I figured I would try it out. You’re the first girl who I liked enough to send a message to, though.

You smiled at that, feeling warmth bloom in your chest.

What made me different from the rest?

All the other girls on here only talked about what they wanted to get out of a relationship in their profiles. You were the only one who mentioned what she wanted to give.

You felt as if butterflies were flying around your stomach, and your thumbs started typing of their own accord.

Do you think we could meet sometime? Maybe grab a cup of coffee?

I would love to, doll. I’m out of the country right now, but I get back in a week. How about we meet up then? Your profile said you live in Brooklyn; is that right?

It sure is; I’ve lived here ever since I finished college.

You’re a girl after my own heart; I grew up in Brooklyn. There’s a bagel shop that also serves coffee that I highly recommend. We could meet there if you’re up for it.

You didn’t even think before you answered him back.

I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

________

Over the next three days, you and Steve messaged each other as much as possible. He was so easy to talk to; you’d almost forgotten about the financial element of your relationship. During the day, when he was busy with work, you found yourself missing him. Right around the evening, you would start jumping for your phone any time it buzzed, and your heart would sink with disappointment when it wasn’t Steve.

You were on such a high from meeting Steve that you’d forgotten all about the things that were causing you anxiety. That was, until your landlord sent you an email talking about how rent was going to be raised an extra $50 each month. The news had washed over you like a bucket of iced water, sending you into the worst panic attack you’d had since college.

You’d spent the next few hours either pacing across your living room or crying in bed, curled up as that same feeling of helplessness that had haunted you for the past few months settled over you heavily. You hadn’t even realized that your phone was buzzing. At least, not until the fifth or sixth buzz. Wiping away your tears, you pulled your phone out of your pocket and opened it up, seeing several missed messages from Steve.

Hey, doll, just got done with work for the day.

How was your day?

You ok, doll? You’re usually around by now.

Are you ok?

I’m sorry for hovering, I’m just worried about you.

You there?

You felt guilt settle over you as you began to type with trembling fingers.

I’m so sorry, Steve. I just had a really rough day; I didn’t even realize that my phone was going off.

His reply was instantaneous.

God, you scared me, doll. Are you alright? What happened?

My landlord raised the rent by an entire $50. Rent is due by the end of the week, and I have no idea how to come up with the money.

You sniffled and waited for him to reply, and when he did you felt you felt your tears subside for a brief moment.

Is that all? That’s why I’m here, hon. Do you have a PayPal?

Steve… Are you sure? This is so much.

You could almost hear his laughter in his next reply.

Doll, I promise that $50 is NOT a lot to me. Besides, that’s part of this whole thing, isn’t it? Me taking care of you?

But I haven’t done anything for you in return…

He waited a few more minutes before responding.

Well… What if you did something for me tonight? Would that make you feel better?

Your felt your heart start to beat faster at his words, wondering what he would have you do.

What do you have in mind? you replied, trying to keep your words neutral.

Give me your phone number and let me call you?

Your breath puffed out at such a simple response, and you sent him your number without a second thought.

A few seconds later, your phone began to came, and unknown number appearing on your screen. You took a deep breath, feeling your heartrate skyrocket once more; you’d only known him for a few days, and yet a simple phone call from him was enough to make you feel breathless.

You fumbled with your phone, accepting the call and hesitantly raising it up to your ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey, doll. It’s Steve. Although… Well, that was probably obvious, right?”

Your laugh sounded more like a hiccup, and you cringed at the sound, trying to blink away the tears that were still trying to escape.

“Hi, Steve,” was all you could sigh. “It’s…really good to hear your voice.”

And it really was; it was somehow even better than you’d imagined it – not terribly deep, but warm, so warm that you wish you could curl up and get him to read bedtime stories to you.

“Have you been crying?” he asked, a touch of worry working its way into his voice.

“Oh, um… Yeah,” you sighed. “This whole rent thing has really got me anxious.”

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he replied. “Can you give me your email address?”

You gave it to him, hearing the typing of a keyboard in the background.

“Thanks, doll. Just give me a minute, ok? I’m still trying to get better with my typing skills.”

You chuckled, picturing him typing with his two pointer fingers, but you still didn’t understand what he was asking you to give him a minute with.

“What are you doing, Steve?” you asked.

“Just wait; I’m almost done.”

After a few more seconds of typing, you felt your phone buzz, and you pulled it away to see that it was an email from PayPal. Your eyes went wide as you opened it, audibly gasping when you saw the message waiting for you when you opened your account. You have $250 waiting to be accepted.

“Steve!” You heard his laugh from the other line, and for a second you were caught off guard; you immediately loved the sound more than you’d loved any other laugh you’d ever encountered.

“This is too much!” you cried out. “I only needed $50! Steve, I’m no mathematician, but you gave me two hundred more than that!”

Steve only laughed again.

“I won’t apologize for taking care of my girl,” he said, making your cheeks heat up at the term of endearment. “You deserve it; you’ve had a rough day. Go out and get a massage, or buy something nice for yourself. Do something that’ll relieve some stress.”

Your eyes went half-lidded for a second at the thought of a massage; you couldn’t remember the last massage you’d gotten. But no; you needed to be smart with your money.

“Well… Thank you, Steve,” you sighed. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

“Every penny is worth getting to hear your voice,” he murmured. “It’s even prettier than I imagined it.”

“Steve…no…”

“No?”

“You gotta stop saying such nice things. It’s bad enough through text; actually hearing you say them is gonna make me spontaneously combust.”

Steve’s laughed rumbled across the receiver once more.

“Well try your best not to. At least not until we meet face-to-face.”

“Tell me about it. I still don’t know what you look like.”

You could tell by his voice that Steve was smiling when he spoke next.

“What do you imagine I look like?”

You grinned and stretched out in bed, your anxiety from before completely melting away.

“Well… You’re probably tall,” you started. “No… You’re definitely tall. I can tell.”

“Really? What gave it away?”

“You just seem like a tall person.” He chuckled at that, but you kept going on. “I could tell from your profile picture that you have a beard, and I bet you keep it trimmed all nice and neat. And… I’m going to guess that you have brown hair.”

“Well, I’ll be back in three days. There’s only one way for you to find out if you’re right.”

“I know. Still planning on the bagel shop at 9 am sharp, right? On Sunday?”

“Absolutely, doll. It’s a date.”

_______

The next day, you were able to pay your rent early, much to your landlord’s delight. After that, you decided that you would treat yourself to some actual groceries. Having a full shopping cart was a novelty to you; usually, you would load up with a basket containing ramen, maybe some chicken, some eggs, and whatever toiletries you needed. But today, you actually put together a meal plan and a list before going shopping.

Later on that day, you were grinning ear to ear as you put your purchases away in your tiny kitchen. There were green things in your fridge again! And they weren’t mold!

You were cooking a late breakfast for yourself when your phone rang, and you let out an excited squeak when you saw who it was.

“Steve!”

“Wow; someone sounds happy today.”

“I just got back from the grocery store,” you told him. “Thanks to a very wonderful, generous person, I was able to get food! Like, fancy food!”

“Fancy food, huh? What kind of fancy food?”

“Um… Well, I got stuff for salads! And I’m going to make a casserole for dinner. And I have some pasta, some beef, some taco stuff-“

“…Baby, that doesn’t really sound like fancy food. It sounds like regular groceries.”

“Well, it’s fancy compared to what I usually eat,” you pointed out.

“And what is that?”

“…Um…Ramen, mostly. Not that I mind! It’s better than nothing. I’ve got really creative with ramen recipes; it’s a skill I learned in college.”

Steve let out an exasperated sigh.

“That’s gonna have to change,” he asserted. “From now on, I’ll take you grocery shopping once a week, and I want you to get food with actual nutrients in it. Understood?”

You grinned as you flipped the omelet in the pan.

“Only if you let me cook for you sometime,” you bargained. You felt your cheeks heat up when he let out a groan.

“God, I can’t remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal,” he sighed. “I wish I could come back sooner.”

“You can make it for two more days,” you said. “I believe in you.”

“Well, I’m glad someone does.”

The two of you talked until your breakfast was ready, and for the rest of the day you worked on applying for jobs. You kept the news on your tv at a low volume, but later on, while you were cooking your casserole, you heard something about Moscow that made you perk up; Steve had mentioned that he was in Moscow on his business trip.

You hurried to pull the casserole out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack before jogging into the living room and turning up the volume.

“….in Moscow today. It is reported that the small terrorist organization was eliminated by Captain America, Natasha Romanoff, and a group of American agents with them. Luckily, the attempted bombing was stopped before there could be any casualties.”

You watched as the footage cut to Captain America standing in front of a group of reporters, decked out in his uniform with his signature shield strapped to his back. He shifted on his feet, looking out over the room before starting to speak.

“I’m relieved to inform you that the terrorist threat has been eliminated,” he began, and you frowned at how familiar his voice sounded. If you didn’t know any better, then you would think that it was Steve talking to you, your Steve, but you knew the idea was ridiculous. You smiled at the thought; you’d have to ask him later on if anybody else had noticed the similarity.

“The group was small and disorganized, and we believe that they acted independently of any larger organization,” he continued. “Our men and woman, however, are keeping a close eye on any and all other suspicious activity in this and the surrounding countries. For now, we advise you to rest easy, and-“

You muted the tv once more, heading into the kitchen to grab a plate of food. You sat down on your couch and pulled your phone out, dialing Steve’s number. You frowned when you reached his answering machine, but you left a message anyways.

“Hi, Steve! I just saw something on the news about a terrorist group in Moscow… I guess I just wanted to call and make sure you were okay. Just shoot me a text or give me a call when you’re able to. I’ll talk to you soon!”

After that, you ate your food, reveling in having something on your stomach other than the same old noodles. It was while you were wrapping your casserole to put in in the fridge that Steve called you back, and you rushed to answer the phone.

“Hello!”

“Hi, doll,” Steve sighed.

“You sound so tired.”

“Yeah… I guess I am. It was, uh… A rough day at work. But the good news is that I get to come home a day early. Think we could move our date to tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? You can get here all the way from Moscow tonight?”

“Sure can. I’m on the plane right now.”

“Wow. Talk about company benefits…” Steve chuckled, and you smiled fondly as you closed the fridge. “I worried about you when I heard about the terrorists. Is everything ok? No one you knew got hurt, did they?”

“Nah, we’re fine, doll. But you’re sweet to ask.”

“Well, I saw Captain America talking on the news about it and just wanted to make sure. Hey, have you ever noticed that you sound a lot like him?”

“Uh… You think I sound like Captain America?” Steve seemed flustered, and you grinned as you walked back to your couch.

“Yeah; you guys have practically the same voice,” you grinned. “Crazy coincidence, right? You sound like him; you have the same first name… And did you know that he’s grown a beard since-“

“Hey, doll? The plane is experiencing some turbulence. Would it be ok if I let you go?”

“Oh. Yeah! Sure thing, Steve. But we’re still planning on tomorrow morning?”

“You betcha. I’ll see you at 9, and I’ll text you the address.”

“See you soon!”

With that, he hung up, and a few minutes later you received the text with the address. You sent him back a smiley face before getting ready for bed; you would need to get up early to get ready for your date.

It took you a while to fall asleep that night; your mind wouldn’t shut off. Over and over again, it would play possible scenarios of how meeting Steve might go – about what he would look like, what you two would talk about. Eventually, though, you were able to fall into a peaceful slumber, and even your dreams seemed happy that night.

______

You surveyed yourself in the mirror, looking for any imperfections that needed to be sorted out before you left. You’d somehow wrangled your hair into a nice-looking style, although you were pretty sure you’d killed half of the remaining ozone layer with how much hair spray you’d had to use to keep it that way. You were wearing a red set of leggings with an oversized, cream-colored sweater overtop it; despite the fact that the clothes were old, they still looked good, and you hated the fact that you didn’t have better shoes to complete the ensemble. You pulled on your black high-top Converse, deciding that they were the best looking pair of shoes you had, and you checked yourself out in the mirror one more time before walking out the door.

The bagel shop was only fifteen minutes away from where you lived, but the drive seemed to last for fifteen seconds and fifteen eternities all at once. You tried in vain to calm the frantic beating of your heart, but it was still pounding by the time you pulled up in front of the restaurant. You took a short moment to calm yourself, letting out a deep breath before getting out of your car.

You tried to walk with confidence as you walked into the bagel shop, inhaling the scent of baked bread, cinnamon, and coffee that lay heavy in the air. The walls inside were painted a bright, sky blue, and black-and-white sketches were hanging on the walls. The entire wall behind the display case had been turned into a chalkboard, and the various menu items were written across it in neat cursive font. One of your favorite songs from the 60’s was playing over the radio, and you smiled; you already knew that this place would become one of your regular hang outs.

At the moment, though, your eyes were scanning the shop for Steve. All you knew about him was that he had a beard; that is, if he hadn’t shaved it since taking his profile picture. There were only a few people dotted around the room, and most of them were with someone else. In fact, there were only two people there who were sitting alone. One of them was sitting at a nearby table, and he was a man who looked to be in his late 50’s; you hoped to God that he wasn’t Steve.

The only other person there was sitting at a table in the far corner, and he had his back to you. His hair was blonde and slicked back neatly, and his shoulders were incredibly broad. Letting out a sigh, you started walking towards him, wringing your hands as you grew nearer.

“Steve?” you finally asked when you were close, and you saw him straighten up.

When he turned around to face you, though, your eyes grew wide and your lips parted in surprise. There had to be some mistake; this couldn’t be him.

“I… I’m sorry,” you stuttered. “I’m here to meet, um…”

Captain America, or rather, Steve gave you a soft, sheepish smile, and he stood up to face you.

“Hey, doll,” he sighed.

“…I can explain.”

[calm-and-wine]

(I’ll give you) the best years

part V (masterlist, taglist)

hello, hope everyone is well and taking care of themselves! here is part 5 of best years, in case anyone needs a little escape. there will be one more part (more like an epilogue probably), but i’m not sure when it’ll be posted yet, because i do need to (and want to) write my one shot for the quarantine challenge. it will definitely happen though. anyway, hope you enjoy this one and i’d love to hear your thoughts!

PART V

 November 2025

 Life without tennis was weird, that was the conclusion Lucy arrived to after two months since her retirement. It wasn’t necessarily bad, just very different. She didn’t regret her decision, not at all, but it’ll take some to get used to that new situation. She spent a bit over a week in LA while the band was doing promo, then went away for a week, just her and Niall, back in Maui, celebrating their wedding anniversary and whatever the future had in store for them. That was good, quite normal, but coming back and not going back to training was not normal. Not having to wake up early was not normal. Not having to pay attention to her food or being able to drink alcohol as freely as she wanted was not normal. Well, it was her new normal and she should probably start getting used to it.

 It wasn’t like she didn’t have anything else to do. She went to see her parents and stayed with them for a week. She had been making moves on starting the management to help young tennis players, attending meeting after meeting, trying to be as involved as her knowledge allowed her to, all the pieces slowly but steadily falling into place.

 Her life hadn’t necessarily slowed down, it just took a different course. And in the middle of it all, her and Niall also started looking at houses. Their friends said it was crazy, them running around, from meetings and Niall’s rehearsals with the band, hurrying to not be late to meet with their estate agent. Lucy was actually more tired than she was while playing. But she wasn’t complaining. Because no matter how chaotic the days were, in the end, it was always her and Niall, under the same roof, in the same bed, together.

 Even though they were both busy, they were about to be even busier. Well, Niall mostly. With the band’s first album after reunion being released in just over a week and a world tour starting in January, he definitely won’t be complaining about too much free time on his hands.

 They just got home from looking at yet another house (fourth this week), going straight to the kitchen, with Lucy starting to heat up dinner she prepped earlier, while Niall put a kettle on for some tea. Even though they hadn’t spent a ton of time together at home, especially considering how long they had been in a relationship, they had no problem falling into step with each other.

 “So, what did you think?” he asked, stepping behind her and putting a hand on the small of her back while reaching up beside her head to pull out two mugs from the cupboard. Because they drove separate cars, coming from different locations, they hadn’t even had a chance to talk properly.

 “Um… It was alright, I liked the exterior, it’s very well-kept. Big garden, which is nice,” Lucy said, turning slightly to follow Niall’s moves.

 “What about the inside?” he asked.

 She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’d need some renovation.”

 He sighed, passing her a steaming cup, knowing she liked her tea almost scolding hot. She took it with a smile, also noticing he chose her favourite mug. “How come there are no good houses in London?”

 “I know, right? I did not expect it to be that hard to find a nice home.” Because Niall was close enough, she took half a step and rested her forehead on his shoulder, him instantly putting an arm around her to rub her back.

 “Could you see us in any that we’ve seen?” he asked after planting a sweet kiss on her hairline.

 “I like the one we saw yesterday,” she said, raising her head, but staying pressed to his body. “It needs a lot of work, but it has good structure. It was finished terribly, we would have to change the floors probably, maybe take down a wall or two…”

 “That’s probably doable though, right?”

 “Did you like it?” she asked. It obviously needed to be a mutual decision, even if they may not stay in that house forever.

 “Yeah, I did,” he assured. “It has everything we wanted, just needs some work, but at least we wouldn’t have to rebuild it. And I liked the location a lot.”

 “Me too.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, her mouth going into the kiss. “Should we arrange for a contractor to take a look? See if it’d all be possible to do?”

 “Mmm, yeah,” he agreed, planting another kiss on her lips. “I know it’s not perfect, but I’d say we try, I think we’ll feel different once we’re done with it.”

 “I was never a big fan of perfect anyway,” she shrugged.

 “In everything except your husband, obviously,” Niall pointed out.

 Lucy laughed. “Oh, that especially, I settled.”

 He looked at her offended, pinching her waist, which earned a yelp from her, instantly squirming in his hold. But he held her tightly, finding her lips for yet another kiss, both their faces lighting up with grins. They truly did not need a perfect house, because they already found the perfect home in each other.

 ~~

 The album was out. One Direction was officially back and everyone was loving it. The guys were special guests at the morning radio show, then did a few more interviews before arriving at the venue for their special show. It was their first proper show, only performing the singles on tv or radio before. But tonight was a ‘one night only’, when they would play the new album in its entirety, as well as their biggest hits, obviously. 

 Lucy, Maya and Ines met up at the venue, waiting for their guys to arrive. Eleanor was coming later with Freddie, everyone’s families and friends were going to be there as well. It was a big day and the buzz was evident in the air. When the band finally arrived, everyone could tell they were scared about the upcoming show. But there were also huge smiles on their faces and excitement coursing through their veins. They just hadn’t done it all in a while. 

 They all sat down to have dinner together, talking about their day, the amazing reaction the album got and everything in between. It was truly heartwarming to see them back together and happy like that. 

 Soon after, the guys had to go to soundcheck, the girls standing up, ready to join them, all except Lucy.

 “Are you not coming?” Maya asked, looking at her surprised.

 “Nope, this one is banned,” Niall replied before Lucy could utter a word, throwing an arm around her and squeezing her shoulder with a wicked smile on his face.

 “Why?” Harry asked, looking at the couple with intrigue.

 “Well, I’ve actually never seen your show, so he wants me to watch it properly,” she explained.

 “No spoilers,” Niall smiled, proud of himself.

 “You’ve seriously never been to our show?” Liam asked incredulously, to which Lucy shook her head. “Have you been living under a rock?” he snickered, genuinely surprised. Judging from the amount of people who used to come to their shows, they kind of thought most people have seen them perform at some point.

 “Nope, just travelling the world, being one of the top tennis players, you know, the usual,” she replied with a laugh.

 “Well, it might be for the better that you haven’t seen us in our golden years,” started Louis, “at least you’ll be less disappointed tonight.”

 “Oh come off it, you’re gonna be amazing,” Ines chastened him, hitting his arm playfully. 

 “Yeah, yeah.”

 “Okay, lads, we need to go,” said Harry, trying to rush the boys, knowing their team was waiting.

 “I’m actually gonna stay too,” Ines said, when he reached for her hand.

 “Me too,” joined Maya. “It’ll be fun watching the show with a fresh mind.”

 “Well okay then, we’ll be extra sexy during soundcheck, so you’ll be missing a lot,” Harry said playfully, which earned him a few laughs.

 Each couple shared a kiss and hugs, with Louis making whiny noises behind them, because Eleanor wasn’t there yet, before the guys finally left.

 Lucy loved hanging out with the girls. They were all very different, but still got along well, having this amazing thing connecting them. It was the same with the boys, all four of them with very different personalities, but forming a bond as strong as true brotherhood. It was the type of relationship you wouldn’t understand if you weren’t a part of.

 She had fun hanging backstage, she always enjoyed those moments, everyone buzzing with excitement, talking, relaxing before going out there, and sharing it with the band, the atmosphere was even better. It was like a family.

 After sending Niall off with one last kiss and an unneeded ‘good luck’, Lucy went out into the crowd. All the women decided to watch the show from the stands, only choosing side stage for the last few songs, so they could hug their men right after.

 Watching Niall on stage has always been an incredible experience, making Lucy not only smile, but her heart fill with warmth, love and admiration. But seeing Niall on stage with his three brothers was another level. It was so easy to see just how much love those four guys had for each other, for what they were doing together. And the crowd… She had been to many of Niall’s shows, but she’s never seen or heard a crowd like that. That loud, that passionate. It was breathtaking. And knowing not only how hard the guys worked for it, but especially how much it all meant to them, made it even more awestracking. If she felt like that standing on the sidelines, she couldn’t even imagine how it must feel for the four men on stage. 

 Lucy knew Niall loved watching her play. And she felt like she truly understood why. How proud he always felt. Because seeing him up there on stage, she felt exactly the same way. There was nothing better than watching the person you loved doing the thing they loved. 

April 2026

 Niall was finally home. Sure, it’s only been 11 days since Lucy left the band’s tour and flew back home to take care of some businesses, meet with the few players her management was considering signing and oversee the renovation of their house. She spent over two months by Niall’s side, travelling through America and watching him perform night after night. And even after that time, she hadn’t gotten bored with seeing him on stage. She probably never would, just like he’d never get tired of performing.

 Having just over two weeks together at home came at the perfect time. Not only because there were a few things that needed to be done in London, but mostly considering the conversation she had to have with her husband. A conversation that required a certain level of privacy, which was quite hard to find while almost constantly being surrounded by people on tour.

 She occupied her time waiting with cooking dinner, his favourite of course, but her mind and stomach were turning, both with uncertainty of the upcoming conversation and excitement of seeing Niall again. But the sound of their gate opening brought her back to earth, making her instantly turn off the stove and leave the kitchen to properly welcome her husband.

 She got outside just as Niall was grabbing his suitcase, so she ran up to him and threw her arms around his body, which was as familiar to her as her own, if not more. He saw her coming, having managed to close the boot of the car and open his arms just in time to catch her. At that moment she was so carefree, running wild just because she missed him, not caring about what the driver might think or how it might look, just happy to have her love home.

 “Hi,” he said joyfully, moving his hand from her waist to cup her cheek and leaning down for a kiss. 

 “Welcome home,” she said before going in for a second kiss. They were both aware that they were stood in their driveway and not exactly alone, so they refrained from making out like teenagers.

  “Thanks, John, see you soon!” Niall said over his shoulder to his driver, grabbing his suitcase in one hand, the other wrapping around Lucy and leading them into the house.

 As soon as they were inside and the door was closed, his mouth was back on her. 

 “Niall,” she laughed, when after a minute he moved to her neck, “I made dinner.”

 “Not hungry,” he said hurriedly, like he wanted to spend as little time without the contact of her skin as possible.

 “But,” Lucy started, which made Niall pull away slightly, putting his hand on the back of her neck making their eyes meet. It was like that look made her grounded again, all the worries, stress, all the different scenarios she made up in her head, none of that mattered. He always had this amazing gift of making everything else disappear. Like it was just them two, at that very moment, their feelings the only thing that mattered. “I guess the dinner can wait,” she agreed, marking her words with a playful tag at his hair.

 “Missed you, love,” he said with a wicked smile, before raising her up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist to hold tight, and carrying her upstairs to show her just how much he really missed her. 

 ~~

 They were enjoying the peace and quiet after dinner, cuddled on the couch, an old rerun of the show they’ve seen already humming in the background while they chatted a bit, sharing the things that happened the last couple of days, even though they already knew the majority through their phone calls. The company of their spouse always brought a level of comfort, no matter where they were, but when they were together at home, there truly was nothing better. 

 Lucy turned her head slightly to check if Niall hadn’t drifted off to sleep during the lull in their talks and when he looked back at her with the softest smile, the one reserved only for her, she said what’s been on her mind for the past three days. 

 “I might be pregnant.”

 Her statement made Niall sit up, turning his body to face her properly, his hands grabbing hers to make sure her attention is all focused on him.

 “How sure are you?” he asked softly, his voice level, oozing nothing but calmness.

 “Um… Not really, I’m late, but I haven’t taken any tests.”

 He let go of one of her hands to rake a hand through his hair. “Shit, okay, should we go get some now?”

 She bit her lip nervously. “There are three waiting in the bathroom upstairs.”

 He looked at her carefully, trying to decipher how she felt about it all, but he could only see the slightly shake to her hands and a soft smile gracing her lips, which was a bit contradictory, but in a way he felt like he understood her mood perfectly, a balance between very nervous and excited.

 “Shall we go now, then?” he asked carefully. 

 “Yeah,” she said getting up, Niall halting her for a second before she could walk away, their lips meeting in a very reassuring kiss, before leading her upstairs with a hand on the small of her back.

 Lucy had three different tests she bought the day before tucked away in a medicine cabinet, waiting for Niall to get home, because it didn’t feel right to check on her own. She went into the bathroom, her husband walking circles around their bedroom, leaving the door slightly ajar. She picked all three tests up, read the instructions carefully before peeing on the sticks, laying them all on the sink and rejoining Niall in the room to not wait alone.

 “Hey, you’re alright, yeah?” he asked, coming right up to her and grabbing her shoulders, massaging them slightly.

 “Yes,” she said, stepping closer to hug him, needing the safety of his arms. “I didn’t expect it, but whatever happens, it’s okay. I mean we want kids anyway and maybe it isn’t the best time and we didn’t really plan it, but we’re ready, right?”

 He smiled at her, reaching up to tuck a stray of hair behind her ear. “I think so, yes.”

 They took a minute embracing each other, both holding the other tightly, both having this epiphany that their lives might be changed in a matter of minutes. There were some soft kisses shared, loving words of reassurance whispered, before Lucy’s alarm ringed out, Niall squeezing her one more time before wrapping an arm around her waist, their bodies colliding as he led them into the bathroom to see the results.

 “You look,” she said, burying her head into his shoulder, trying to take deep breaths and stay calm. She wasn’t afraid of being pregnant. Sure it would change a lot, a kid would probably turn their lives upside down. But it wasn’t like they never talked about it, they both wanted kids, they wanted kids together. She loved Niall, he was her forever, there was no trace of doubt about that in her mind. But it was still scary.

 “Hey, look at me,” Niall said after a minute, his calloused fingers cupping both her cheeks. When she looked into his eyes, she could see them begin to glisten. “They’re all positive.”

 Before she could say anything, a huge smile broke into her face, Niall’s face instantly mirroring hers. “We’re gonna be parents,” she whispered, as it was some kind of secret only they knew, like she didn’t want to share it with anyone else, it was only for Lucy and Niall.

 “We’re gonna be parents,” he whispered back, resting his forehead against hers, before pulling her impossibly close, his lips finding hers, the kiss soft and urgent at the same time. 

 When he pulled away after quite a few more kisses, he grabbed her by the waist, lifting her and swung her around the bathroom, the biggest smile on his face, a laugh escaping his lips, she was also pretty sure she caught a tear running down his cheek. She had her doubts, she had to admit that, but she was also incredibly happy. Niall felt like her home for the longest time, but now they’d be a proper family. They were growing, they were making even more plans together, it was all evolving, growing, especially the love. She didn’t think it was possible, but it truly felt like the love they shared only grew and grew and all she could hope for was that it would never stop.

 ~~

 As Lucy slowly came into consciousness, the sun trying to seep into the room through the curtains, as soon as her eyes cracked open, she saw Niall. It was the best feeling to wake up and feel his body connected with hers, even if it was just their feet tangled together. But it was a rare sight to wake up and see her husband already awake. But this morning he was just that, lying on his side, an arm curled under his head, watching her.

 “What time is it?” Lucy asked, rubbing her eyes, voice groggy from sleep.

 “Don’t know,” Niall replied shrugging, his eyes not leaving her face.

 “How long have you been awake?” She turned on her side to face him properly, her hand setting on his bare torso.

 “Don’t know.” He reached his hand to push back the hair falling onto her face, before lifting his head to plant a good morning peck on her lips.

 She looked at him with furrowed brows, his behaviour a bit unusual. “Do you know anything? Have you not looked at the clock?” It wasn’t like him to wake up before her but it was even more unlike him to not check his phone right after.

 “Nope.” His face was lit up by a content smile, his hand travelling from her cheek to her waist to pull her closer.

 “Why not?” she asked, eager to get some answers, see what was going on inside his head.

 “Why would I?” He threw the question back at her. “It doesn’t matter, we don’t have anywhere to be today. Why would I waste time looking at the time when I have such a beautiful angel to admire beside me?”

 Even though the room wasn’t entirely bright, the curtains keeping the sun out for the most part, she could easily see the love in his eyes. 

 “What got you all soppy this morning?” she laughed, feeling her cheeks warming up at his words.

 “You get me soppy all the time, it’s your magic ability.” He moved even closer, wrapping his entire body around her, burying his head in the crook of her neck.

 “I missed this,” she admitted, pushing her fingers through his hair. “There’s nothing better than waking up together.”

 He hummed, his hands gently roaming over her body before setting underneath her t-shirt (or rather, his), right on her belly. Her heart skipped a beat. Niall planted a kiss on her neck, before pulling away to press their foreheads together, looking not only into her eyes, but straight into her soul. Lucy could feel her eyes starting to glisten, and who knows, maybe it was the hormones, there were definitely many emotions filling her, the strongest of them all being love.

 “We’re really gonna have a baby soon,” Niall whispered, cupping her cheek, ready to catch any tear that might escape.

 “Yeah,” she managed to say, before he leaped in to kiss her, wanting to show her just how happy he was, how in awe and in love he was, how grateful he was for her. 

 “You’re okay with that, right? Having a kid now?” he asked after a minute, his voice laced with the slightest hint of insecurity. They talked about it last night, but he wanted to check in again, after some of the emotions died down.

 Just looking at him, concerned about her and her feelings, made her heart soar and a smile graced her lips. “Of course I am. It’s unexpected, sure, but I’d say we’re in a pretty good place, maybe it’s not ideal timing, but it’s not terrible either.” She propped her head on her shoulder to get a better look at Niall, making sure he not only heard her, but also knew she meant every word. “I’m happy. We’ve known for a while we wanted children, so we might as well start now, right? We’re having a baby, of course I’m happy. Pretty scared, but happy.”

 “I feel like the happiest man, honestly. You always make me the happiest.” He grinned so much this morning, his cheeks would probably start aching before the clock even hit noon.

 “Do you think we’ll be alright as parents?” she asked, grabbing his hand to play with his fingers.

 “Well, I have no doubt you’re gonna be the best mum. And I’d like to think I’m gonna be an alright dad.”

 “You’ve always been amazing with kids.”

 “Yeah, but it’s a bit different with your own, right?” He shrugged before moving onto his back and looking at the ceiling, like it could hold some answers. “I think you might have to be the strict parent most of the time. I’m too soft for those kinds of things.”

 Lucy chuckled, leaning up and over him. “We’ll figure it out,” she assured. “I need to call my doctor and actually get an appointment first.”

 “You’re still coming with us to Europe, right?” He asked, looking up at her hopefully.

 “Yeah, it should be okay, right? We’ll ask the doctor, but I think so. We need to get the house done though. Especially now.”

 “Don’t worry about it, we’ll make it. Everything will be alright and if not, we’ll figure it out.”

 She went in for another kiss, before settling down onto his chest. “I love you.”

 “And I love you.” He moved his hand around to her belly and looked down. “And you little bean.”

July 2026

 “You can see my belly, can’t you?” Lucy asked, turning every which way in front of the mirror. 

 Niall glanced at her from his place on the bed, looking away from the emails he’s been responding to and taking in his wife. She had a pretty summer dress on, the mixture of elegant and cute, looking as beautiful as ever. But he felt like he was on thin ice, because yes, he could easily make out a small baby bump beneath the material, but he was more than familiar with her body and was pretty sure this was not the response Lucy wanted to hear.

 “Well… Yeah, but that’s just because I know it’s there,” he said, gesticulating to her stomach.

 She huffed irritatedly, clearly not happy with his answer. “I don’t have anything to wear, then.”

 Niall sighed (but not loudly enough for her to hear), closing his laptop and going to stand behind his wife, grabbing her hand to pull her close. “You look beautiful, love. And if someone can spot your bump, so what?” He knew Lucy wasn’t feeling great lately. Her belly started growing and as much as he thought that made her even more sexy, she didn’t feel perfectly comfortable with it yet, so used to the way her body had been pretty much the same for years. The fact that she had been feeling like shit, growing tired way too soon and morning sickness lasting almost all day, did not help.

 “It’ll probably make tens of articles pop up speculating,” she reasoned, wrapping her arms around his neck.

 He shrugged, clearly unbothered. “I say, let them. Fuck it, you know? It’s ours, yeah, but we can’t keep it on the downlow forever, so we should just do whatever we want to. And not care. You are pregnant, so why hide it?”

 She bit her lip, taking a moment to think through his words. “Are you sure I look alright?” she asked again. “There will be a lot of people. And pictures.”

 “You look stunning, Lulu,” he assured, marking his words with a kiss. “Like always, but even more. You’re glowing and I’m loving it.”

 “I do not feel glowing,” she huffed.

 He looked at her with concern. The doctor said it was all normal, some women feeling better, some worse, so technically there was no cause for concern, but he still worried, especially knowing that she was happy with the pregnancy, but couldn’t actually enjoy it, because it was not being easy on her. Having her on tour with him was good and bad at the same time, he was glad he could keep an eye on her, but it was hard seeing her struggle, especially all the travelling taking its toll on her. She assured him she was fine, time and time again, being an absolute champ about it all, which of course she was. But he was a husband, it was his job to worry.

 “Are you sure you’ll be okay today? How’s the sickness?” he asked, holding her steady by the waist and taking a step back to look at her properly, almost like he was trying to assess her state, even though there were no clear symptoms.

 “Not awful, but not the best either,” Lucy admitted, having trouble to even remember when was the last time she actually felt good. She took his hands and wrapped them tight around her waist, stepping closer to him once again. “You’ll be by my side, so I’ll be alright.”

 He sighed, knowing there was no point in discussing it further. He did plan to make her ginger tea in a travel mug, so she could drink it on their way, hopefully calming some of her nausea, because that was pretty much all he could do to help her. “Are you excited?” he asked, changing the subject. They were going to watch the women's final at Wimbledon, with Lucy not only being invited, but also asked to take part in the trophy ceremony. It was a great honour, he understood that, of course he did, but just a little part of him wished she would take it easy. Stay home if she didn’t feel great. Especially because he knew she was stressed out about it. Not only about how she looked, despite all the questions she just asked, that was probably the least of her concern. She didn’t like being in public like that. Maybe she wouldn’t be the centre of attention, but she’d still be under the spotlight. She worried about making a mistake, having thousands of eyes on her, all the comments that might come after. She knew how to play on a tennis court, not hand trophies.

 “Yeah. Really excited,” Lucy said, a smile taking over her face. “A little stressed, especially since I could technically feel the urge to throw up at any minute.” Niall was about to say something, probably along the lines of her canceling, so she pressed her palm against his mouth to shut him up. “But it should be fine. I’m really hoping Naomi will win, she deserves it so much.”

 She didn’t just say it because she had beaten Naomi last year, but as a friend and a fellow player. They already made plans to meet up for lunch on Monday for a little catch up.

 “Oh, I forgot to tell you, they asked us to come in on Wednesday to see the house, they need some decisions regarding the living room, I think.” Lucy said, after Niall finally went into their wardrobe to change. She was just about to hurry him, not wanting to be late and knowing the traffic will probably be awful.

 “Do you have any other plans on Wednesday?” he asked, coming back into the room, dress pants on and starting to button a light blue shirt.

 “There might be a meeting regarding the sporting centre, I’m not sure yet. But if I’m busy you’ll handle it, right?” Lucy asked, not even trying to hide the fact that she was ogling her husband’s naked chest. Damn, she loved his body. And his heart and soul, but his body… It made her crazy, especially now when her hormones were all over the place.

 “Yeah, of course,” he said right away, knowing Lucy was actually the one making sure everything was on track with their house, so he could take some of that load now that he was home for three weeks.

 “And I might not be coming out for that last leg of your tour.” She said, finally turning around and going to put finishing touches on her makeup. 

 “Wait, what? Why?” Niall asked, stopping his movements to look at her.

 “Just…. The house is gonna be a shit show next month, with most of the general work being finished, the furniture and equipment starting to arrive, the other crew coming in… We can’t ask Mia and Nat to keep an eye on it all the time.” She didn’t turn around, didn’t even raise her eyes to look at him through the mirror, because she didn’t want to see his expression. Seeing the disappointment on his face might just make her cry. And she spent way too much time trying to make her eyes look decent with makeup to destroy it now. “Plus there’s been talk of some more meetings, getting the ball really rolling for the centre… And it might be good for me to slow down for a bit. Especially all the travelling. I haven’t decided yet, maybe I’ll come down for Australia.”

 “Oh okay. I mean…” he sighed, his hand going up to his hair and stopping at the very last second when he remembered it was already styled. “Yeah, it might be good for you to chill for a minute. But I’ll hate not seeing you for weeks again. And I don’t like the prospect of leaving you alone with it all.”

 Lucy finished applying her lipstick before finally turning around, his eyes already trained on her, a weak smile on his face. Niall didn’t mean to make her feel bad or guilty, that was never the case, but he also wanted to be honest. And she knew he was coming from a good place, always.

 “I’m a big girl, I’ll be fine,” she said, coming up to him and cupping his cheeks, making a move to plant a kiss on his lips, but pulling away a second before their lips met, not wanting to put lipstick on him, which made him whine and her let out a little laugh. “It’s just a few weeks. And then you’ll be home. And I’ll be here. And we’ll be moving while also preparing for the baby, so that will probably be a shitshow, but hey, at least we’re in this together.”

 He smiled, kissing her cheek. Then the other. And then her neck, making her giggle. “‘Course we are. Always.”

October 2026

 Putting finishing touches and getting ready to move houses while being seven months pregnant was not ideal. Thankfully they were both home now, after Lucy flew to Australia for the last shows of One Direction’s first tour back, they came back two weeks ago, after spending a few days longer, just relaxing, on the other side of the world.

 All of this made Lucy stressed, her pregnancy made her uncomfortable most of the time and the impending arrival of the baby made her feel unprepared, no matter how many books and blog posts she had read. Because of that, it was no surprise to Niall that she wanted a quiet birthday. Lucy was never a fan of huge parties, especially the ones thrown in her honour. He proposed going away to their getaway house in Ireland, but she had insisted there were too many things to be done and overseen here, so he didn’t push, not wanting to make her even more stressed or upset. He did however make sure she hadn’t done anything unnecessary that day. Bringing her waffles and tea to bed in the morning, staying wrapped up in each other until midday, spending the next few hours cocooned on the couch, talking and watching tv, catching up on the lost time while they were apart. 

 However, when it was nearing the evening, he did ask her to get ready, saying he had something special planned. 

 “If you threw me a party, I’ll kill you,” she said while walking down the stairs, ready to go out. She knew it wasn’t dinner, because they had eaten not too long ago, Niall cooking her favourite of his while she admired him at work from the kitchen counter. He just chuckled, refusing to give her any hints.

 But he did throw her a surprise party. Well, maybe not necessarily a party, more like a gathering. He got all of 1D with their better halves, their friends, her parents, Mia and Natalia, his own parents, even few of the people she’s been working closely with at the tennis management. The place wasn’t too crowded, filled with people she knew and appreciated. The music wasn’t too loud, you could easily have a conversation without screaming at each other. There was a bar, but not a proper dancefloor, just a little free space in case anyone wanted to bust a move, which eventually they did. 

 It was special, a perfect night to finish off the perfect day, the gesture making her cry more than once (which was fine, because at least she could blame it on the hormones). She trusted Niall completely and moments like those just proved how he truly knew her, giving her the perfect balance of what she wanted and what he knew she’d enjoy. 

 But now it was nearing 5am and she was lying awake, over half an hour since she woke up. She was uncomfortable. Huffing and throwing away the comforter because she was too hot, then growing cold mere minutes later. Not even her pregnancy pillow brought her any comfort tonight. She was just about to try getting up, when Niall stirred besides her, his eyes cracking open and his hand going to rub at her back as soon as he noticed she wasn’t asleep.

 “Everything alright?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper. 

 “Yeah, I couldn’t settle comfortably and now I’m wide awake,” she explained.

 Niall hummed, looking at her in the darkness, her eyes tired, brows furrowed. He could see she was stressed or anxious, like she had been most of the time lately. It made him worried. He tried his best to take as much burden off her as he could, especially now he was home. 

 “I’ll go make some tea and then give you a message, hmm, how’s that sound?” he asked, bumping her nose cutely.

 “I’ll go with you,” she said, throwing the comforter off her body already. 

 “No, you relax, you’ve been on your feet half the night, you should rest.”

 “I need to stretch, I’m too uncomfortable now,” she reasoned, which made him give up easily, ready to help her up right away.

 They went downstairs holding hands, because that’s just how they usually walked, him not really letting her do anything beside walking around the kitchen to stretch her limbs, before going back to bed, Niall refusing to even let her carry a cup.

 “I know you’re tired because of the house and the pregnancy hasn’t exactly been easy on you, but there’s something else also troubling you, I can tell,” he said, as soon as they were settled into bed, Lucy propped against the headboard, while he sat cross legged in the middle, facing her.

 When he woke up, she didn’t expect him to stay up with her. They went to sleep just a few hours before. Sure, he only had two beers last night, saying he was gonna keep her company in the sober club, even though she insisted she was fine with him having some drinks. So he wasn’t even buzzed anymore, but it was 5 am, he must have been tired. And yet, he was ready to stay up with her, have tea and an actual conversation, just because she couldn’t sleep. That was love, gestures like those only made her appreciate him more and more.

 “It’s just a lot, I don’t know,” she shrugged, not really sure how to even explain her feelings. “I’m anxious about the baby, I wish we were done with the house already and… I just… I don’t know what to do with the training centre.”

 “Well, the house is almost ready and I’m back now, I can handle most of it. Especially the packing, you’ll just sit and give me orders and I’ll get it all done, don’t you worry ‘bout a thing. It’s not good for you nor our little bub,” he marked his words with a gentle hand rubbing her swollen stomach. “And what’s up with the centre? You’ve been having quite a few meetings about it lately, yeah?”

 “Yes and if I was going to pull out, I’d need to do it now.”

 He sat up a bit straighter, looking at her confused. “Wait, why the hell would you pull out? I thought you were excited about it.”

 “I was, yeah, but…” Lucy huffed, playing with a loose thread in the comforter. “Just how will it work? I was hoping to get it done at the end of this year or the start of the new at the latest, but with a kid.. I don't know, I can't do it all.”

 “Hey, it’s alright,” he scooted closer, noticing she was starting to get upset and placing a calming hand on her knee. “You’re not alone in it, love. I’m here,” he assured with a small smile. “And I know I’ve been busy, touring and all, but I’m home now. I’m here for you, we’re in this together, yeah? You’re never alone with anything.”

 “Maybe i should just postpone it. Wait a year or something.” She shrugged again, looking down, her eyes unfocused.

 He licked his lips, thinking of the best response. “You can if you want to. But if not, we can make it work now.”

 Lucy finally raised her head, meeting Niall’s eyes, the look he was giving her nothing but gentle. “I’m just scared that if i put it off now, it’ll never happen,” she admitted. “Because then it’ll probably be another kid, I really doubt we’re gonna be done with one, and just… it’ll fade away.”

 “No, I won't let it, love,” he was quick to assure her, grabbing her hands in his and squeezing. “I know you want it. And if you want it now, we’ll make it happen. Or if you want to wait half a year, or less or more, you’ll do it then. But I’ll make sure it’ll happen for you.”

 Lucy’s lip started wobbling and tears began streaming down her cheeks. Niall reached to wipe them right away, letting go of one of her hands, but still holding the other.

 When she calmed down, he asked, “Tell me how do you see it anyway? I know you want to be involved in it, not just set it up, but do you want to just generally oversee it or train someone or… I don’t know.”

 “Umm… I think oversee mostly,” she said. “Pop in to see how everything’s going. Talk to people, trainers, players… everyone. Conduct training from time to time, but not really regularly. Taking on a player would be too much for me.”

 “Well, couldn’t you do it now?” he asked, giving her a look of confidence. He was always the one who brought her courage when her own ran out. “Like, even soon after our little bug is born, you’d be gone for a couple of hours tops, not everyday,” he explained. “I think it’d be alright. Might even be good for you.”

 “What about the band? Aren’t you planning another album? Another tour?” She asked, not exactly sold on the idea. It was something she’s been turning over in her head, trying to come up with a perfect plan, but she wasn’t sure it existed.

 He shook his head. “There’s gonna be a little version of us both super soon and you expect me to leave for months upon months? No chance.” She chuckles, hitting his arm lightly to make him be serious. “There are plans, yes, we for sure want to continue, but not right away. I mean, we’ll probably pop into the studio from time to time, but no schedule, we just want to relax right now. Put our families first. We’re having a baby. It’s technically a secret, but El’s pregnant as well. Harry is getting engaged…”

 Lucy squeaked in excitement at all those news. “What? El’s having a baby? That’s amazing. And Harry! Finally! Did he get a ring?”

 Niall grinned, finally seeing his wife happy and excited making him feel a bit lighter. “Yeah, showed us like a month ago, fingers crossed he’ll actually man up and pop the question.”

 She giggled. “That’s crazy. Maya has told me that she and Liam had talked about trying for a little one as well. Ahh can you imagine our kids being so close in age?”

 His face matched her grin. “They’d be best friends.”

 “Definitely.”

 “But, to get back on topic, I’ll be staying put for the foreseeable future. Ready to take care of you and our bug and everything. So do your thing, don’t be scared, please. You know we’ll work it out.” He moved to his knees to get close enough to plant a gentle kiss on her lips.

 “Thank you.”

 “You don’t have to thank me, love. I’m your husband, no thank yous needed.” 

 “Yeah, but I still want to thank you,” she marked her words with another kiss. “For being the best husband and the best teammate ever.”

 “You don’t have a lot of experience with teammates though, right?” Niall pointed out with a chuckle. “With tennis being an individual sport and all…”

“Yeah yeah, alright, here’s my trying to be nice and you ruining it. Just like always.”

 He laughed, wrapping his arms around her body and bringing her flush to him. “I love our little team of three.” 

 Lucy went in for yet another kiss, having to agree with him.

taglist: @stylishmuser @verorax @georgiahoranxx @exoticniall @awomanindeniall​ @soullikestyles​ @bopbopstyles​

[taetaespeaches]

“How do we ever make it through your tours?”

hoseok x reader (or oc) genre: smut; fluff word count: 2.9K

a/n: Hi lovelies! Here’s a Hobi “established relationship smut” fic that was requested... Hobi’s lady comes home from vacation and they bang one out. That’s really it haha, so thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! :))

SCOOPING his keys off his dresser, Hoseok exited his bedroom to the sounds of Taehyung and Tae’s friend goofing off in the living room.

“Wait, wait,” Tae’s friend yelled through her laughter, “let me see that again.” Taehyung leaned over her frame to replay some video on his phone that Hoseok was sure was not near as funny as they were making it out to be. Regardless, he smiled as he walked through the dorm, shaking his head at the two.

At the sound of Hoseok lightly tossing his keys up and down in his palm, Taehyung looked up to see Hoseok slipping his shoes on.

“Are you leaving?” Taehyung asked making Hoseok look up in surprise.

“Yeah, I gotta get over to the airport,” Hoseok replied as he put on his other shoe.

“Oh,” Taehyung realized, “you’re going to see your girl.”

“She’s back?” Tae’s friend asked, more excitedly than Taehyung. “Oh my god, yay!” Hoseok giggled as he shot the sweet girl a happy smile.

“Definitely yay,” he grinned, Tae’s friend shooting him a thumbs up in response.

“So you won’t be back tonight?” Tae asked.

“Definitely not,” Hoseok smirked. “You two have fun, I’ll see you later.”

“Be careful, hyung,” Taehyung called out as Hoseok closed the door, exiting the apartment.

He walked quickly through the apartment complex, making his way to his car before speedily pulling out of the parking garage, heading toward the airport.

You had been on vacation with your family for a week and a half and he fucking missed you. However, his need to get to you was not only a matter of the heart, but a matter of lust. You teasingly sent him a risqué photo earlier that day, and that image had stuck with him the entirety of the afternoon and evening.

The images you sent him was burned right inside his corneas as his heart ached to be near you. Every red light felt like it lasted an eternity, taunting him as they glowed brightly in the night sky. As he got closer to the airport, he could see planes clearly as they landed, and his heart pounded at the possibility of you sitting in one of them.

Making his way through the airport traffic, his phone started ringing, your contact information popping up on the screen. He quickly answered the phone, greeting you with a “You land, Petal?”

“Hi sweetheart, yeah I just made my way to baggage claim and they’re already getting the bags out,” your sweet voice soothed through the phone, sending comfort and chills through Hoseok’s body all at once.

“Perfect,” Hoseok smiled as he spoke. “Want me to park and come get you inside or—”

“I think if you just pull up in the pick up area then that will work. I already see my bag,” you told him.

As you walked toward your bag on the carousel, Hobi took the right lane that would take him to the arrivals.

“Ok, I’ll go park outside. I drove the Cadillac,” he informed you, letting you know what vehicle to look for.

“Ooh,” you said with an impressed tone. Lifting your suitcase off the carousel, you said with a huff, “sexy.”

Hoseok laughed through the phone, the sound lifting your mood that was dampened with exhaustion.

“Ok, I got my bag so I’m on my way to you Sunshine.”

“Stay on the phone with me,” he insisted with his eyes glued to the exit door.

“I will,” you assured.

“Did your parents make it back ok?” He asked curiously.

“Yeah, I just got a text when from my mom when I landed. Sounds like they got home about an hour ago,” you told him as you quickly swerved through crowds of people, driven to get to your boyfriend.

“Good, I’m glad. Did you have fun?” His gaze didn’t leave the exit door as he impatiently awaited your arrival.

“It was good,” you said with some apprehension.

“What’s the matter?” He asked, sensing your trepidation.

“No, nothing, it was nice to have everyone together, it’s just,” you paused as you began climbing the stairs to the exit doors. “It’s not everyone if you’re not there, ya know?”

Hoseok nodded before answering. “Yeah, I know.”

“But no, it was good, I just missed you,” you giggled at your admission.

“I missed you too,” he told you sincerely. “What do you think, should I get out of the car and wait for you?”

“You better not,” you warned sternly, Hoseok laughing at your reaction. “I can see the headlines now, ‘BTS’ J-Hope greets unknown woman with a kiss at the airport’,” you laughed.

“What makes you think you’re getting greeted with a kiss?” He teased.

You paused a moment, smirking to yourself before cooing in a sultry voice, “Oh, Hobi,” your boyfriend’s ears perking at the tone of your voice. “I know you didn’t forget about that photo.”

Your boyfriend groaned into the phone as he rested his chin on the steering wheel. “Sometimes I forget that you know exactly how much power you hold over me,” he chuckled. “Fuck.”

You giggled in response as you stepped out into the cool air, your eyes scanning the line of cars for Hoseok’s Cadillac. “Where are you?”

“I see you,” he said happily. “I’m getting out.”

“Don’t you—”

“I’m getting out,” he repeated as he swung his door open, stepping out as he waved at you. You tried to glare at him, but you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face as you watched your boyfriend slam his door shut and quickly make his over, taking long strides to get to you.

“Hi petal,” Hobi smiled widely as he stepped in front of you, not pausing before encompassing your frame in his arms, tugging you against his body.

“I missed you,” you mumbled into the t-shirt that covered his chest, your arms tightly wrapping around his waist. He swayed your bodies back and forth for a moment as you held onto each other before he pulled away just enough to look down at you.

“God, I missed you too,” he whispered before leaning down and catching your lips in a desperate kiss, though neither of you deepened it. He left a few pecks to your mouth before pulling away from you, your hand coming to smack his side gently.

“You don’t even have a mask on, what the hell are you doing?” You nagged him, Hoseok laughing as he pretended to rub his side in pain.

“How am I gonna great you with a kiss with a mask on?” He countered, you shaking your head as you smiled at him.

“Just grab my bag for me before someone recognizes you,” you playfully demanded as you walked ahead of him toward the Cadillac.

Giggling to himself, he called out, “Yes, ma’am,” as he grabbed your suitcase and followed behind you. You hopped into the passenger seat as he tossed your bag into the trunk of the car and hastily made his way to the driver seat. As soon as he shut the door and turned toward you, your hands were on his face as you pushed your mouth against his, immediately deepening the kiss as you ran your tongue along his lower lip. His hand gravitated toward your side, gripping your flesh before running it down your body to land on the top of your thigh. The kiss was needy, tongues massaging one another and moans sounding from the both of you until a car behind you honked. You both quickly separated, looking back at the car that had its blinker on, indicating it wanted your spot.

Hoseok groaned as he waved them off, putting the car into drive as he pulled away. “Put your seatbelt on,” he told you, only for you to reach over his frame, grabbing his seatbelt and in the process, rubbing your chest against his, your breath heavy on his neck. You clicked his seatbelt into place, pressing a kiss to his jaw before retreating back to your seat, putting your own seatbelt on.

“Jesus, how long is the drive back to your place?” He asked you, his voice rough, filled with lust.

“Mm,” you hummed in thought. “About thirty minutes.”

“Fuck.” You chuckled at his disappointment, his need for you making you want to tease him further.

You set your elbow onto the console as you propped your head up on your hand, looking up at your tense boyfriend. “Relax,” you said sweetly, Hoseok cracking a grin as he shook his head. You grinned, asking, “Was that photo ok?”

Your boyfriend scoffed at you as his lips curved upward even more, his leg bouncing up and down in impatience. “Petal,” he warned.

“I wasn’t sure of the angle,” you furthered your teasing. “Maybe it would have looked better if I pushed my tits up more.” Hoseok sucked in a breath as you continued. “What do you think, Sweetheart?”

His eyes flickered down to see your wide innocent eyes mixed with your devil-like smirk and he scoffed. “I think you better watch it,” he told you.

He slowed the car as you approached a red light, you briefly looking at the street before looking back at him. “I don’t think I want to watch it,” you told him, sitting up so you could place a finger to the opposite side of his face, turning it to make him look at you. “Do you really want me to?” You asked before placing a gentle kiss to his lips. He opened his mouth against yours and you let him for a moment before pulling away but not without nipping his bottom lip and dragging your teeth over it, letting go with a plop. “The light is green,” you said as you sat back, looking straight ahead.

Without a word, Hoseok sped down the street, eyes focused on the road as his hands tightly gripped the steering wheel. Driving past a nearly empty parking lot at a super market that was clearly closed for the night, your boyfriend quickly flipped his blinker on and turned into the lot, not caring about the lack of notice to the driver behind him.

“Jesus,” you giggled out, looking over at Hoseok who was still tense as he held back a smile. He parked the car in the corner spot that was least visible in the street lights and was the most secluded and he shut the car off.

“Get over here, Petal,” he demanded, looking over at you before gesturing for you to come to him with a flick of his head.  

“Right now?” You gawked. “Hobi, this is a public parking lot.”

“I know, now come here,” he told you, taking your hand and tugging on it.

“You’re insane,” you smiled, trying to hold out on jumping onto his lap right that second.

“I know that too,” he chuckled. “Now, come.”

The sternness of is voice had you clenching and it didn’t take anymore telling on his part for you to unhook your seatbelt and not so gracefully crawl over the console. With a few squeals and a helping hand from your boyfriend to keep you stabilized, you were uncomfortably straddling your boyfriend’s lap, your backend bumping against the steering wheel.

His hand slipped around you to the back of your neck, pulling you toward him so he could kiss you hungrily. You moaned into his mouth, the sound making Hoseok twitch. In an unspoken understanding, you both knew you couldn’t take much clothing off. Still though, your boyfriend’s hand found their way to the back of your bra, unhooking it, allowing it to loosen up enough so he could slip his hands underneath the material, his palms pushing against the flesh of your breasts as his fingers squeezed.

Pulling away from him a bit, you pulled the bra off your shoulders, through your short-sleeved t-shirt, and threw it in the backseat.

Your boyfriend smirked as he pushed your shirt up toward your chin, his mouth wrapping over one of your nipples, groaning as soon as it touched his tongue. You moaned out, arching your back, effectively pushing your chest further toward his face. His hands ran down your sides as he switched nipples, his fingers slipping underneath the waistband of your leggings.

“How the fuck are you supposed to take these off?” You asked with a wide smile, Hoseok laughing as he rested his forehead against your bare chest.

“Here,” he said as his laughter slowly faded out. “Sit up here,” he patted the console. You managed to un-straddle your boyfriend to sit on the console, your legs positioned over his lap. You tugged the leggings and your panties off your ass before Hoseok took over, pulling them the rest of the way down your legs. He conveniently left them pooled around one ankle as he patted your calf.

You shook your head with a smile as you moved back onto his lap, your hands immediately attaching the waist band of his sweats and briefs. With his hands on your waist, he lifted his hips just enough for you to drag the material down to his thighs. You continued tugging with small grunts, Hoseok chuckling at you as you did so. Your hand then moved to grip him as you moved your wrist up and down a few times slowly, Hoseok breathing out as he laid his head back against the headrest.

“Fuck Petal, condom,” he gestured toward the glovebox with a point of his finger.

“Oh, I have some in my purse too,” you giggled, Hoseok smiling at you as you reached toward the glovebox. As you did so, your boyfriend moved his hand down to massage your clit, you jolting in surprise.

“Goddammit, oh my god,” you bit your bottom lip as you tried to focus on opening up the packet. He kept gently rubbing you with his index finger as you placed the condom over him.

You stabilized yourself against him, your hands on his shoulders as you lifted your body and allowed Hoseok to guide you down onto him. You both moaned out, Hoseok biting his lip as you tossed your head back.

Grinding your hips on top of him, you whimpered as his hands grabbed onto your hips, helping guide your motions. “It’s only been two weeks,” he chuckled, making you looked down at him with a smile.

“How do we ever make it through your tours?” You asked as you continued to rock your hips.

“Ah shit,” he groaned out as you increased your pace. You held eye contact as you rolled your hips atop him, the tension inside you building more and more the longer you stared into his hooded gaze. Wrapping an arm around your lower back, Hoseok quickly sat up with the intention of putting his mouth on your chest, his movement forcing you to sit up straighter. The car that was previously filled with nothing but the sounds of both of your moans, heavy breathing, and your bodies moving against each other’s, was suddenly invaded with the sound of your ass pushing against the car horn in a long and loud beep.

“Fuck,” you shoved him back against the seat, Hoseok looking up at you with wide eyes, only to meet your own startled gaze.

“Oh my god,” you breathed out before both of you fell into giggles. Before you could even steady your heart, Hoseok’s grip around your body tightened as he slammed his hips up. Gasping, your head fell to rest on his shoulder as he continued to snap up into you.

“Oh fuck,” you breathed out harshly, lifting your head enough to place your forehead against his own. Your arms wrapped around the back of his head as he kissed you deeply. Your lips moved across his cheek, trailing quick kisses before reaching his ear. Your breathing pushed him closer to the edge and as you fell into your high, he reached for your face, guiding you back to his lips so he could kiss you through your climax. He followed shortly after you, gasping into your mouth as he came.

Your exhaustion from traveling and your public escapade with your boyfriend hit you all at once as you relaxed against his body, nuzzling your face into his neck. Hoseok’s arms wrapped around your frame as he sighed against you. “My sleepy Petal.” You hummed into his neck before lightly kissing the spot. “Let’s get your pants back on,” he breathily chuckled.

You allowed him to help you sit back up on the console so he could help pull your leggings and panties back up. He then pulled the condom off before tossing it in an empty plastic grocery sack in the back seat as you got situated in the passenger seat.

Pulling his pants back up, he looked over at you and took your hand in his, bringing it to his lips to leave a sweet kiss to the back of it. “I love you,” he reminded you.

“I love you too,” you smiled. “Let’s go home.”

“Ok, sweetheart,” he agreed. “You get some rest and I’ll take us home.” It didn’t take any more convincing for you to curl up in your seat and rest your head against console, shutting your eyes to take a nap. You however reached your hand up, moving it around until your boyfriend got the hint that you wanted to hold his hand.

With your hand in his, resting in his lap, you slept while he drove you to your apartment, sneaking several glances at your sleeping form, feeling extra thankful you were home.

[elysiashelby]

In Another World - T. Shelby Imagine Ch. 3

Paring: (Eventual) Thomas Shelby x Aliena Welsh (OC)

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Word Count: 4,010

WARNINGS: Cursing, Attempted R*pe scene, Deliberate Intoxication of a Character 

Summary: Aliena Welsh has been living in the universe of the show Peaky Blinders for 6 months now. She has proper pay and she thinks she regained some normalcy in another world. However, trouble has struck the Shelby’s and Thomas has plans for her. Will she remain safe as he’s promised her?

MASTERLIST  CHAPTER TWO  CHAPTER 3.2

A/N: So, I forgot to add something very important. I am not from Liverpool. I do not know the proper way scousers talk. I’ve done some research and watched movies, but I will not advocate that it’s perfect. If y’all want it gone, it will be gone. PAY ATTENTION TO THE WARNINGS!!

It's been six months. I'm kind of an official part of the Shelby family. People part the streets for me and greet me. I'm paid two pounds, but John gives me a couple shillings whenever I go home for the day. I have no clue how much I make. I don’t exactly have enough time in me day to count up all me savings right now. I’m being led by the reins like a horse. 

I have a little routine now and what can I say? It gives me peace! Sometimes- I have to admit, there'll be nights where I had cried about not being with me own family. However, it's not like I have the mental capacity to try and change my current situation, so I'm rolling with the punches. 

I was folding clothes in the living room when Thomas bursted through the doors. 

"I'm calling a family meeting for tonight, 8." Thomas said and then pointed at me. "Aliena, be there. Okay? Okay." Then, he walked right back out. From the distant slam of a door, I knew he had gone into his office. 

I looked to Polly who was already staring at me. 

"That fucking boy! Do you know what's goin' on, Ali?"

I shook me head, furiously. 

She just sighed and said. "I guess we're finding out tonight. Finish folding, love, then come help me with dinner."

"Okay, Pol."

As I was folding, all I could focus on was me anticipation. I wanted time to move faster.

I knew the information wasn't about me lies. If he had wanted to confront me about that he would have done it privately or only in the audience of Polly. It wasn't 1919 meaning that season one hasn't begun yet. So, maybe it has something to do about Thomas fixing races? No, that's right! He didn't tell anyone about it! Wonder what it's gonna be then?

Eight rolled around and the family was waiting for Thomas to start. I was over by the doors blocking Finn from geggin' in. 

"Right, I called this family meeting because we got a problem. This problem's name is Harry Chadwick. He's been seen following us and our men around. It would seem that he's a new small time copper looking to make a promotion. Now, some of you are wondering why I invited Aliena to this meeting and I'll get to that in a second. I am going to meet with Chadwick in 3 days time." 

Roars of outrage poured from the family. 

"I am going to meet with him! I told him that I got information on Billy Kimber, and that I'm willing to do a stitch on him in exchange to keep quiet about our doings. I've discovered that Mr. Chadwick frequents Mr. Zhang's brothel whenever he gets tired of spying on the lot of us. Mr. Zhang told me that he preferred his… women on the younger side." Thomas looked at me and I instantly knew his plan. 

I swallowed harshly before looking back down at me feet. A million thoughts went into me head. 

‘Was this a test? Is this me proving me loyalty? What if I go through with it, and he doesn't stop him in time? Why would he do this to me?’

"Like hell, Thomas! She's just a girl!" Polly yelled while gesturing toward me. 

Thomas nodded in response. "Yes, Polly. She's a girl, who'll catch that bastard's attention! Now, if you'd let me finish! I was gonna tell you that I plan on killing 'em. She'll just be a distraction, and I'll let no harm come to her." The look in his eyes was intense. It was almost like he was trying to telepathically reassure me. 

‘This is a test. This is a test about loyalty, I just know it is.’

Polly and Thomas started arguing while I debated over it. 

I sighed. "I'll do it."

They stopped fighting. 

"What?" Polly asked, looking at me with disbelief written in her face. 

"I'll do it." I repeated with a clearer voice and me head held high. Thomas and I stared at each other until he gave me a nod. 

"There you have it, Pol. She made her choice. She's a big girl." 

Polly scoffed and began fighting with him again. I listen to John bud in and then Arthur shortly. I heard them, but it was like white noise. I was breathing quicker. But just as soon as I was consciously aware of the fact, I held me breath for a while and relaxed meself. The way me brain worked would never let meself freak out in me entirety. I've never experienced a complete panic attack. I always had the strength to snap meself out of it. That didn't mean that the effects went away any quicker. In fact, I knew this feeling of dread would follow me until we were actually enacting his plan.  

I let meself out without, being like, allowed to. That night I didn't sleep. I just pondered over the grim possibilities that could occur three nights from now. 

It was finally the day, and I am terrified. I was allowed to sleep in. I woke up around 10 in the morning. I ate breakfast and lunch that wasn't made by me, and then Polly told me that she had prepared a bath. I was to scrub meself spotless and shave. 

As if I was really a prostitute. 

On the flip side, this body of mine didn't have your common body hair. I had no hair on me body except for me private part, me eyebrows, and well- me hair. See I hated having body hair with a passion, so it was nice having smooth legs with no stubble. 

Polly kept talking to me as if I were a child. She kept reassuring me that Thomas would never let anything happen to me. It was nice to see her worrying about me as if I were her daughter. Some days it really felt like that. After the bath, I was dressed in garments that were really rather in its best condition. It seemed like silk. I put it on with no protest. Polly even tried helping me with that. Then she went on to do me hair. It was beautiful, really. She put me hair in a bun with a single braid. Me hair framed me face just how I liked it.

She did me makeup next. I wanted to stop her, but I didn't have the heart to. I looked in the mirror and admired her work. The foundation didn't match me skin tone. It made me appear whiter than I was. But this was how women did it in this era, and I thought I still looked pretty. I smiled at meself even though I wished we were doing this under better circumstances. 

Finally, the dress. It was a dark, maybe, navy blue. It's sleeves reached to me elbows, and it was a rather loose dress. I'm so used to wearing tighter one's than this one, feels like a sleeping gown.

"You look absolutely beautiful. Oh, look at you! Just like a dream." Polly said with her hands together in a prayer against her lips.

She rushed to me and rubbed me arms up and down. "Tommy won't let anything happen to you, Aliena. After this, I'll make sure you'll never be in this side of the business again. You'll just be taking care of the kids and doing the chores again, I promise! No more Peaky Blinder business." 

I nodded. "Okay, Polly." I put on a grin while smoothing out the dress. 

I was only allowed a few moments to meself before Thomas shouted for me. 

"We better get down there then. Quicker we get it down, the sooner you both come home." She said as she pulled the door open and led me down.

As we were doing down the stairs, the three Shelby brothers were talking at the bottom of it. Upon hearing our heels, their gazes snapped on me. I noticed Thomas was wearing his usual suits, nothing out of the ordinary. 

"Ain't she a sight!" Arthur yelled. 

"Ali, you look absolutely beautiful. I think I'm fallin' in love!" John yelled. 

I scoffed and shook me head. "Thank you, Arthur. And John, shut your trap." I was able to slap him across the chest. 

He flinched, quite dramatically, while snickering. But then this hush of silence washed over us, and it was like we were all waiting for what Thomas had to say. 

Thomas cleared his throat and muttered. "Come on, then." He extended his elbow for me and I took it. 

We said our goodbyes then left. It was weird being in the passenger side of a car in the UK. American cars were different. I'm so used to being on the opposite side. As he drove, I took in the views. I loved car rides so much! God, I missed this. 

"I'm sure you already know this, but I know you're lying to us." Thomas said while taking a drag. "You don't have a birth certificate, no record of any sort. I couldn't even find your father's war record. So, even though you are a hard worker, you've lied to us. After this… If you do it well and complete what needs to be done, I'll let your lies slip and accept you into this family."

Me heart was beating in my ears. Me face was hot. "Okay, Thomas." I whispered. After that, it was quiet for a while. 

Then, Thomas broke it. "So, do you, maybe, want to tell me the truth?"

I scoffed, looking out the window. Even though there really wasn’t one. "You wouldn't even believe me." 

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t fully anticipate him investigating me. I just thought it would be normal for a girl to show up with no papers. I was caught in a blag and like a brat, I wanted this conversation to be done with.

"Try me."

I don't know if I could contain my annoyance. 

How the fuck could I explain it to him when I didn't understand this situation much meself! If I did tell him the truth, I figure he'll get me thrown in an asylum. 

I went to massage me eyes, but then remembered that they had makeup on ‘em, so I slapped me hands on me thighs. 

"Well, I'm not from here. At all! I'm from another universe or Earth. To me, you and your family are characters on a TV show called Peaky Blinders. Do you believe me?" I revealed to him while staring out the window. I couldn’t bear to face him.

He didn't answer for a good solid 5 minutes. "Well, it has to be that. Or, you lied about your dad being in the war and your family avoided records with home births. That you're Gypsy kin ‘cause there have been too many times that you have looked like you know something I don't, and being a Gypsy would explain that. So, yeah, I believe you." 

I pursed me lips while leaning my head on me fist as I leaned my arm on the window. 

'He doesn't believe me. A blessing in disguise.'

"Yep, you got me. So why don't you tell me what we're really going to this bloke's house for? I know it's not for the bullshit you spat at the meeting." 

Thomas squinted his eyes at me. "How did you know I lied?"

I rolled me eyes. "Since Billy Kimber came out your mouth. What does Mr. Chadwick have to do with you planning to fix races?"

I turned me head to him and stared. His head was down, eyes on the floor of the car. His eyes darting back and forth rapidly. His Adam's apple bobbed and he said, "He's got something I need to actually fix those races. He's not a cop. But he does want information on Kimber and I'm going to feed him false information. Not like he'll be able to check, though."

While gazing at me fingernails, I hummed. "Thank you for your candor, Thomas."

After that, we didn't talk. When we pulled up to the house, he got out and then walked over to my side. I took his arm like before and we walked to the door. It wasn't a mansion, but it was a nice house. A maid opened the door and told us that we had been expected. We were led to a room that must have been the lounge area. There was a bar at the far right side and a pool table in the middle, but the room was still small. 

"Ah, Mr. Shelby! So, good to see you!" Mr. Chadwick had to be the most stereotypical pedophile I've ever seen. 

Mentally, I was giving meself a prayer and hoping that my discomfort was not showing on me face.  

Thomas greeted him back. They shook hands and that's when creepy decided to lock eyes on me. 

"Why, Mr. Shelby! Who is this enchanting young lady?" I watched as his hand slipped from Thomas' hand and reached for mine. 

I reluctantly gave him me hand to shake when he clasped both of his hands over mine and started to stroke it. I could feel the muscles in me face ache, so I knew I was still smiling. 

"This is Ali. She works for me Aunt." Thomas replied. 

Mr. Chadwick greeted me, but it's like I knew that he was trying to make it sound sensual. I wanted to die! I just gave him one back and he finally dropped me hand. 

"Well, enough with the pleasantries! Let's negotiate." Mr. Chadwick said as he walked over to his desk. 

We all gathered around the desk when Mr. Chadwick offered drinks. Thomas and I both declined and sat down. After that, they dove straight into business talk. As much as it hurts me pride, I couldn't follow what they were saying. So all I did was pretend to be engaged. I smiled whenever his eyes lined up to mine. I tilted me head to the side to, I guess, show off me neck. Other times, I raised me chest and used other cues to get his attention towards my tits. 

"You know what, Mr. Shelby, the agreement was set upon me getting rid of the information I have on your family. But not on yourself. How about you let me have her and we call it a deal?" Mr. Chadwick said while looking me up and down like I was fucking scran!

Thomas cleared his throat saying, "You're goin' to have to be more specific. I can't let you have her forever. She's my Aunt's employee. So, the most I could offer is an hour."

Mr. Chadwick scoffed. "The rest of the night."

"45 minutes." 

"3 hours."

"1 hour."

"Hour and a half." 

"Deal." 

They rose and shook hands. I wanted to show me disgust. I felt absolutely nauseated. I just felt this pit in me stomach grow more and more. 

Thomas placed his hand on me shoulder and I looked up at him. He nodded and said. "I'll be out in the hall."

"You can have my maid entertain you, Mr. Shelby!" 

Thomas had already walked out of the room. I huffed. Me gaze went to the bar. 

"Do you fancy a drink, Ali?" He asked me. 

I got up from me chair. I was shaking. I just knew I had to look like Bambi when he was learning how to walk. "I could go for something. A glass of water would be fine." I said while tucking a strand of me hair behind me ear. 

Mr. Chadwick laughed as he walked over to his bar. "I think you're gonna want something stronger than water, dear. Ever try gin?"

I shook me head. "No. No, I haven't. Water's just fine." I slowly walked closer to him. He was behind the bar as he poured the drinks. But he managed to quickly stride toward me. He handed me me drink and I took a gulp of it. The cold water was refreshing, but I couldn't help but notice he was staring at me while I drank the water. 

I wanted to furrow me eyebrows at him, but instead I gave him a smile. 

"So, how old are you, Ali?"

"16."

"Your accent, you're a scouser, aren’t cha?"

"Yes, sir, born and raised."

He hummed after that. I just awkwardly held the glass in me hand while shifting from one foot to the other. 

"How did you meet, Mr. Shelby?"

"Uh, I was looking for a job and one of his brother's kids were out playing on the street. I managed to keep… him calm enough to get him… home. Apparently…, that was like… a miracle and… I was offered… a job. " I was feeling dizzy and it was getting harder to breathe. 

I held me hand up while I pressed the hand holding de’ water against me chest. The glass was colder than I thought. " 'm… sorry. I… really need… to get some… air!" I went to turn away from ‘em when he grabbed me and pulled me to him. 

I gasped for breath. I whimpered as he placed his forehead on mine. 

He whispered. "God, you're so cute. Look how short you are and those tits. You've been wanting me all night. Don't try to deny it, you little minx. I bet you're all wet and ready for me." He started to nip and kiss me neck which made me flinch. 

'I can't breathe. I can't breathe!' 

Me legs soon gave out and he rushed us to the pool table. The pain the shot through me back as the table dug into me hips made me wince. He lifted me up ‘n sat me down on it, and me body fell limply on the table. The glass of water slipped out of me hand, but it didn’t fall since it didn’t make a sound. 

I limply attempted hitting him, kicking him! They were weak hits. They barely did anything to him. I knew they were annoying him, though. 

I kept trying to scream at the top of me lungs, but all that came out were hoarse whispers. I knew this feeling, familiar with it and I still hated it. 

He stopped fiddling with his belt, grabbed me arms, pinned them down. "Stay fucking still!" 

He kept me hands pinned and me head lopped to the side. Me gaze was on the doors from where Thomas and I entered. Me vision was getting blurrier with me tears. I took a deep loud breath and choked on a sob. I heard his belt fall to the ground. 

"Tommy." I chanted. I kept saying his name. I felt him start to shimmy up me dress 'til I felt all of me legs exposed. Me heart was beating faster than ever. Something just clicked as I screamed, "Tommy!" 

And like a fucking hero, he bursted through the doors and shot the bastard. The guy groaned as he fell to the ground, and a second shot rang throughout the room. 

I stopped crying, but realized I really was paralyzed since I couldn’t pick meself back up. Me adrenaline was going down, and I just wanted to go to sleep. I heard Tommy’s thundering footsteps as he ran to me. I felt as he tugged down me dress, and then picked up me torso by me armpits. He stroked me face. I thought it was a caring touch, but realized he was probably wiping the tears. 

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I was late, Aliena." Thomas whispered. His face was red and his jaw clenched.

I tried to tell him, "Nothing happened yet. So you weren't late." It fell on deaf ears.

He shook his head. "I was late…" He tugged me a little forward and then carried me bridal-style. 

I heard a faint crunch that was familiar to glass. 

'Huh! Maybe it was the glass falling that actually alerteded him and not my supposed shout.'

As we walked out, I saw the maid dead on the floor as well as a butler that was near the front door. He carried me to the passenger seat and laid me down then left. I was really fucking uncomfortable, but I still wanted to go to sleep. I let me eyelids flutter shut. 

"Oi, Aliena! Aliena, wake up! Wake up." Thomas shouted at me while tapping my face. 

I whimpered loudly but opened me eyes nonetheless. 

"Attagirl! Good girl, Aliena. Now, we're going home. Okay?" Tommy wrapped his free arm around me shoulder and me face was tucked into his side. His touch was comforting. His slow strokes on me back reminded me of me ma’. This made me start crying again to the point where I was sobbing uncontrollably. 

"Almost there, Ali. You're alright now. Fuck!" Our bodies jolted as Tommy struck the steering wheel. 

The cold night wind was refreshing. I tried focusing on that. I wanted to just curl up, sleep, and be able to get over it tomorrow. I'll get over it tomorrow. 

I wanted to enjoy this moment as I snuggled up to Thomas Shelby, but I couldn't! 

I always wanted to know what his cologne smells like and now I still wouldn’t know since my nose is stuffy ‘n runny.

Me sobs turned into sniffles and it took sometime before we actually made it back to the house. It was a series of Tommy keeping me awake and me crying about it. 

Tommy carried me out of the car and ran up to the door. He started pounding on it 'til Pol opened the door. 

She gasped and shouted. "What-!"

Tommy didn't let her finish. He rushed past her and sat me down on the couch. Me body was still limp, so me head fell back and me arms slumped to me sides. 

"What the hell, Thomas! You said nothing would happen!"

"There were more people in his house than I thought and got held up. He didn't manage to do anything to her yet, but he drugged her." 

"Fucking christ! Make sure she doesn't fuckin’ fall asleep! She needs to drink water."

Polly's last comment got to me. It reminded me of me ma’ getting me milk when I was too high. I started to chuckle and tried asking them for milk. Tommy leaned his ear close to me mouth and then shouted for milk instead. I was still laughing, but it came out breathily. 

I could hear Polly yell for Arthur and I tried following her voice but that meant turning my head. Which made me close me eyes. Tommy tugged me face where it originally was and ordered me to stay awake. I attempted to stick me tongue out at him. 

Aunt Polly came back. She put a wet cold towel on me head and put the straw in me mouth. I instantly started drinking it. 

"Slowly, love." Polly whispered as she started to wipe me face and neck with the towel. "Slowly, love."

When I was done having a drink, I tried lifting up me arms and it happened very slowly. I slowly pushed the cup away from me. I didn't really realize that it was Tommy holding it. 

"I don't blame you." I tried saying. 

Polly sucked on her teeth. "Her fucking speech is slurred." By the end of her sentence, her voice was shaking. They fretted over me for a while until Polly said that she was going to have me be in warm water. 

Thomas and Arthur helped me up the stairs. In the end, Polly was the only one in my room. She undressed me and helped me into the water. I could honestly say the water woke me up!

When I got most of me motor functions back, Polly got me out, helped me get dressed, tucked me into bed, and I fell asleep.

TAG LIST: @amirahiddleston​ @nemesis729​

[edgeofmyniall]

five part i- dear patience

storypage | taglist | playlist | thoughts

“ Dear Patience, if I pour my heart out, can you keep a promise? (mmhmm) 'cause the situation is like a mountain that's been weighing on my conscience, if I'm being honest.”

Ginger is sitting on her couch when Niall walks through the front door. He holds up the bagged take out and smiles at the sight of the flame-haired girl sitting cross-legged on the couch.

“Jeopardy again?” Niall shakes his head as he hands Ginger her burger and onion rings. She takes a sip of the dark soda before nodding.

“They have a dinosaur category,” Ginger presses play on the remote and the recorded episode; the couple was halfway through dinner before a contestant picked the extinct animal section.

“When was the first fossil discovered?” the white-haired man asks, and before a contestant buzzes in their answer, Ginger nearly screams: “1822!”

Niall looks at Ginger with amazement that she knew the answer. He knew she loved the Jurassic Park movies, but he never knew how deep the obsession went.

“I’m not obsessed; I just like them,” Ginger says, reading Niall’s mind.

“I didn’t say anything,” Niall smiles as he runs his fingers through his hair when lifting his hat off his head. His fingers touch Ginger’s bare shoulder as he stretches out. He’s afraid she’ll move, but she stays still zoned in on Jeporady completely dissociating from Niall.

“Mhmm.”

It was a few minutes before someone chose the dinosaurs again, and this time Ginger answered the question before Alex could finish.

“What dinosaur broke through the cell wall in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom?”

“PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS,” Ginger yells at the television while bouncing. She smiles to herself when she knows she got the answer right.

“You’re such a dork,” Niall laughs, his voice booming over the TV.

“Shut your mouth, Horan. I’m trying to win,” Ginger says, and for a moment she feels grateful that it’s only her and Niall, and that Stella is in New York for work for the week. Niall promised Stella to look after Ginger, even though she was grown and protested, she’s thankful for this moment together. Just two friends hanging out.

At the end of the episode, Ginger counted her total correct answers and gave herself a small high five for getting all of them right. She turned to Niall and beamed with joy. She began to laugh, cupping her mouth to halt the laughter, but she failed.

“What‘s so funny, Gin?” Niall’s arms covered the top part of the couch; his body tense as he looked at Ginger glowing.

“I’m dino-winner!” Ginger let the laugh fill the room as Niall shook his head and rolled his eyes at the horrible pun.

“God, I’m in love with a weirdo,” Niall leans up to rest his arms on his knees. His eyes focus on the coffee table as he realizes the slip.

“What did you say?” Ginger asks, her laughter dead and a much-needed seriousness fell on her voice.

“Nothin’,” Niall shook his head, wanting to be anywhere but on the couch with Ginger.

“Don’t say that. Don’t you dare say that,” Ginger says quietly. She pulls her legs toward her chest and wraps her arms around her knees. She wants to be as far away from Niall as possible. A sudden sound of thunder rumbles outside and Niall looks over at Ginger. “Please don’t say it.” Ginger closes her eyes and begs.

“Say what? That I love you? Why is that so bad?” Niall asks, his baseball cap hiding his eyes. “Why?”

“You don’t get to say that to me,” Ginger swallows and looks anywhere but in Niall’s direction. The patter of heavy rain hits the roof of the house and Niall rolls his lips in as he takes in the truth.

“We can argue like a couple, hang out like we’re together, but saying words like we��re one is crossing the line. Got it. You know, Ginger, I loved you from the moment you walked through my door. You lit up the room. I like being around ya, makin’ ya laugh. Holdin’ you when you're sad.” Niall is shaking and Ginger listens intently, hoping this all ends.

“We kiss, and God, that was...somethin’. I want to hear you laugh and make horrible jokes and watch ya win against yourself at Jeopardy for the rest of my life, but me saying I’m in love with you is unrealistic.”

“I never said that,” Ginger quips.

“Yeah, ya didn’t have to. I want you in my life, Gin.”

“You do. But you’re with Stella, still. And you always will beYou’re never going to break up with her. So why do this? Why fall when I know I’m already dead when I hit the bottom?” Ginger asks.

“For the ride. So I can love you. Properly. Jesus, this is such a foreign concept to you.” Niall leans back into the couch and he shifts his hat. The silence drove Ginger insane.

“Yeah, it is. But it’s not like you’ve had the best track record either. Stella, Hailee…”

“Daniel…” Niall cuts Ginger off. His mention of John Doe cut deep. It was too far and he knew it. But he didn’t care.

“Get out.” Ginger whispers, her tears building. Niall stands and hovers over Ginger as if he was going to kiss her goodbye or apologize, but he straightens himself and walks towards the kitchen.

“I tell ya I love you and you kick me out. This is what I get for openin’ me mouth,” Niall says before closing the front door, walking out of the storm that is Ginger Blake and into the storm that covered the entirety of Los Angeles. Ginger throws the decorative pillow towards Niall’s path and she spends the rest of the night wiping her tears as she sleeps on the couch.

~~~

Ginger hears banging going around her. She opens her eyes to find the morning light creeping through the blinds in the living room. She sits up and rubs her sleep away before blinking the person in her kitchen into clarity.

Niall was pouring two bowls of cereal; his back was to Ginger’s and for a moment, she smiled. Then, the fight last night flooded her mind, confusing her all over again. Niall turned and stopped as he noticed Gingers sitting up wide awake.

“Mornin’,” Niall says as he walks over Ginger’s legs. He sits in his spot from last night and hands Ginger the bowl of colorful cereal. She turns her spoon over and tries to remember everything from last night. Niall, chewing his cereal, rubs Ginger’s wild hair down and huffs. He goes back to his breakfast.

“What are you doing?” Ginger asks, looking up at the man who she just kicked out hours ago. The thought of revoking Niall’s key privileges crosses her mind.

“Eating cereal. Then we’re going to my place.” Niall says between mouthfuls. He’s avoiding eye contact and Ginger knows she hurt his feelings so to keep the moment of peace, she takes a bite of cereal even though she’s not hungry, at least not in that way.

~~~~~

Ginger felt the warm rays of the sun through the glass door as Niall drove out of Los Angeles. Midday, it was already nearing eighty-six degrees. She wanted nothing more than to be inside with the air conditioning blowing on high. She watched as Niall packed her brown leather overnight bag full of mix-matched clothes, bathing suits, and her toiletries. He chuckled at the sight of her monogram on the side of the bag; he called her the epitome of a southern girl. Ginger didn’t know whether to laugh or get angry.

It was like Niall had completely forgotten the night before. The night where he let the three words, that Ginger most desperately wants to hear but fears the four syllables, slip. She wanted to crawl over him and kiss his soft skin, but the fear of the unknown with Niall, the thought of losing her best friend drove her to confusion.

The car ride is dull with the sound of the radio filling the silence. Ginger wants to talk- scream if she needs to, just to let Niall know she doesn’t know what in the cold hell she’s doing. You’re not supposed to fantasize and want someone else’s person. You’re not supposed to long for your friend, most importantly, your cousin’s boyfriend.

Niall sings along to the top hits as the drive lingers on. It’s when they approach a white gate that he stops making a sound. The beeping of the gate keys pulls Ginger into reality- something she’s desperately wanting to escape.

“Had to change the password last week. Some fans hacked it,” Niall scoffs, his voice sounding annoyed. “I love ‘em but sometimes…”

“What is it now?” Ginger asks as Niall shifts the car into park. He rubs his neck, which is turning red, from embarrassment. “Your birthday. I couldn’t think of anything else.” Ginger sits in the car dumbfounded as Niall grabs her bags and proceeds to walk into his white mansion.

~~~~

It was dark when Ginger finally decided that she had ignored Niall long enough. She spent the day lounging about the pool, reading, and catching up on her work. Niall would walk outside for a few moments, checking on Ginger, bringing her water or wine, but Ginger barely spoke to him. She made it known that she would be staying in the guest room and not with Niall.

Niall’s roommate and his girlfriend were on vacation somewhere in the mountains of Austria so it was only the two of them tonight.

Niall was finishing up dinner when Ginger walked into the kitchen wearing black yoga pants and an oversize tye-dye tee. Her hair was in a loose bun atop her head and her sun-kissed skin was glowing.

“Chicken kabobs with rice and brussels. Okay with you?” Niall asks as he pulls the brussels off the stove. Ginger peers over Niall’s shoulder, her chest touching his back and she nods when she sees the bacon inter-meshed with the vegetable.

Her hand cups Niall’s elbow and as she pulls herself down, her touches lingers. Niall turns his head and looks at their embrace before looking Ginger in the eyes.

“I’m sorry for being a bitch.” Ginger’s apology was out in the open and she gave Niall a small smile. His mouth folds into one of his cheeks and his teeth scrape his lip.

“Wouldn’t expect anything’ less,” Niall feels the swat of Ginger. The music changes on the speakers and Niall cups her hand to pull her close to his body. His arm wraps around her waist and he gingerly teases the girl in front of him to loop her freckled arms around the nape of his neck.

“Oh my God, it’s country,” Ginger says disgustedly.

“Most people from the south like country,” Niall laughs. “Trust me, it’s a good one.” The guitar plays as Ginger leans her head against Niall’s chest; she feels his heart beat faster as their embrace lingers on longer than normal. The song itself was one that couples would dance to at their wedding, but the words as the man sang them made Ginger feel as if it was her and Niall facing the world together.

“You make better than I was before,” floated through the speakers as Niall sang the lyrics to her and Ginger understood why Niall would want to dance to this song. They swayed their bodies around in a circle in the kitchen and it was like Niall and Ginger were the only people in the world.

When the song ends, Ginger stops swaying her feet and looks up at Niall. Their lips scrape against each other, the taste of affection driving them insane. The kiss deepens, their lips rolling against each other as their tongues fighting for dominance. Niall gently traces the curves of Ginger’s body absentmindedly as if he is the painter and Ginger was his canvas.

Ginger's heart is banging against its cage as her hand cup Niall’s neck. Niall feels his stomach knot up as he’s been kicked in it, and he has: Ginger is finally opening up. His fingers dig into her skin and pull her closer, making her feel the lump in Niall’s trousers. Ginger pulls away breathless and for once, Ginger is speechless.

“Wow,” Nial says huffing for air. He’s feeling as if he’s run a marathon. “ You okay?” Niall asks, the round of his knuckle pushing a tendril of her red curls out of the way, noticing Ginger’s concerned look on her face. She’s biting the same lip Niall just pulled with his own.

“I, um… I don’t know,” Ginger says before letting go of her own embrace. She looks around the kitchen for an excuse, remembering the food. “I’m not hungry,” Ginger says softly and leaves Niall standing in the kitchen wondering what the hell he did wrong.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

taglist:

@oyesmendes​ @thicksniall​ @kare38 @stayclose-holdsteady​ @halfpinthoran​ @dontgiveupthedayjob @klairelavarias @verorax

[calumance]

LA Devotee - Part XV

Warnings: a hint of phone sex?, cussing, drinking

Word Count: 3.7k

Summary: Emily has a sleepover with Mikayla to keep herself occupied while Calum is on tour.

A/N: I’M SORRY I’M LATE, but since I’m still wake, IT’S STILL SATURDAY. I hope you all enjoy, this is one of my favorite  chapters. 🥰🥰💖💖(Feedback and requests are always welcomed!!! Want to be tagged? Let me know!)

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV

Masterlist

        Trevor dropped Mikayla off at work on Friday morning, an overnight bag in tow. Just as quickly as she walked into the office I walked her out so she could drop her bag into my car. I looked at my keys as we walked together and I thought back to when I had asked Calum if Mikayla could stay the night. When I had asked him, he made it a point to act like I had asked him the most incredibly silly question he had ever heard. “I know how lonely that house can get, I don’t blame you for wanting her to come over,” were his exact words.

        After work, Mikayla followed me out to the parking garage, both pairs of heels clacking on the ground and echoing through the garage. I looked up as I unlocked Calum’s car, I wasn’t sure why, but there was something inside me that made me want to drive his car, maybe it was because it smelled like him. “Is it weird being in his house alone?” Mikayla asked me after we had been silent as I pulled out of the parking garage, and turned onto the main road.

        I shrugged and concentrated on the road in front of me. “Kind of,” My fingers wrapped around the steering wheel as I thought about how much I actually miss him. “It’s weird not waking up next to him, or falling asleep next to him. I guess I got too used to it.” I ran my left hand through my hair as I leaned my elbow against the window. “Plus, Duke is there, so I’m not completely alone.” Duke was good at keeping me company, he always curled up in my lap, or slept in the bend of my knees. However, as much as I loved Duke’s cuddles, they would never compare to the feeling as Calum’s arms wrapped around my waist and his chest pressed to my back.

        Mikayla smiled, “I’ve been trying to convince Trevor of getting a dog since we moved six months ago, but he won’t go for it. I’m excited to meet Duke. He’s so cute from the pictures you’ve shown me.” I smiled and turned the radio up a little louder as I drove towards the house. Mikayla and I danced to the radio, our favorite song playing as I drove up the hill. We hadn’t had a girls night since shortly after I moved here.

My first day in the office she was the first one to say anything to me. “I mean, I sit across from you, so I might as well introduce myself. My name is Mikayla, and you must be Emily. They’ve been talking about you coming here for a while now.” That day she had worn a floral top that was mostly black, and had silky sleeves. She was wearing black leggings, and a pair of tiger print heels. I had been so jealous of her fashion sense, but the jealousy was short lived when she took me shopping and rebuilt my entire wardrobe. Her long brown hair had a slight curl at the end, and her blue eyes were accented by some mascara, her thin lips tinted by her pale pink lipstick. I reached my hand towards her with a smile and told her it was nice to meet her. We hung out for the first time that weekend, and I guess it’s history after that.

I shifted the car into park as I pulled into the driveway. Mikayla reached behind her and grabbed her overnight bag out of the backseat. We walked into the house, Duke greeting us with a wagging tail. Mikayla squealed in joy and picked him up as I set Calum’s car keys in the bowl by the door. Duke slobbered all over Mikayla’s face as I made my way through the kitchen and to the back door to slide it open, allowing Duke to go in and out as he pleased. Mikayla set him back on the ground and he ran outside. “What sounds good for dinner?” I asked as I turned to the fridge, pulling out two drinks.

Mikayla hummed as she took one of the drinks, “Maybe we should order some Chinese food, like old times.” She smiled and twisted her hand around the cap to open the drink. “We can order Chinese food and get all tipsy and just have a good night.” The first night we ever had an adult sleepover was at her house, a couple weeks after we met. Trevor had gone on a business trip and Mikayla wanted someone to keep her company. She invited me over, and we ordered a large amount of Chinese food, and drank a large amount of wine. The main thing I remember from that day was Trevor waking me up on the couch laughing because it took him an hour to wake me up. A smiled stretched across my face, I liked the idea of repeating that night, maybe not exactly, but something close to it. I tilted my bottle forward and clinked with hers before we both washed back our drinks.

After Mikayla hung up the phone, placing the food order, I went through Calum’s bedroom for a speaker. He has to have one somewhere, right? As if he read my mind, my phone started ringing, his picture showing up causing me to smile from ear to ear. “Hey, love.” I sat on the end of the bed and listened for his voice.

“Hey, sunshine. How’s your sleepover going?” There were a couple voices behind him, sounding like he was hanging out with the guys.

I ran my hand through my hair and looked around the bedroom. “Funny you ask that. I’m trying to find a Bluetooth speaker so we can listen to music. I was looking in the bedroom, but I can’t find one.”

“There should be one in my music room. Check on the desk. What are you and Mikayla going to do tonight?” Michael started to yell behind Calum and Calum sighed, “Michael says hi.”

As I exited the bedroom, I let out a chuckle. “Tell him I say hi back.” I crossed the threshold into Calum’s music room and flicked on the light switch. “We ordered some Chinese food. Back when we first became friends, we had this night where we ordered some Chinese food and got all wine drunk, so we’re thinking about having a night like that.” I eyed the desk and found the Bose speaker sitting on his desk. “Oh, I found a Bose speaker, is it okay if I use it for tonight? I’ll put it back tomorrow.”

Calum chuckled, “Yeah, you can use it, sunshine. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but that’s your house too. That’s what happens when you move in with someone.”

I grabbed the speaker off the desk and used my elbow to switch off the light as I made my way back down the hallway. “I know, but it’s still your stuff.” I close my eyes thinking about how my ex would react when I would move his things. Nathan would always get mad for moving things without asking, or using something that he ‘worked so hard for,’ even though we had a shared bank account. Sure, he worked hard for it, but so did I. As I set the speaker on the counter, Mikayla came out of the bathroom, wearing sweatpants, an oversized t-shirt, and her hair bundled on the top of her head in a messy bun. Our normal girl’s night outfit.

“Oh, tell Calum I say hi!” Mikayla bounced up and down, clapping her hands.

Calum sighed, “My stuff is your stuff too, Emily, that’s what happens when you’re in a relationship, and when you move into someone’s home.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” After nodding to Mikayla, I dropped my head and turned away from her. “That’s not how my last relationship was, thank you, Calum.” I turned and looked at Mikayla behind me who was begging for me to tell him hell for her. “Mikayla says hi.” She pulled her elbow back in satisfaction and walked into the living room.

“Tell her hi back.” He chuckled, but then collected himself to appropriately display his seriousness through the phone, “I’m sorry that your last relationship was so terrible, but, that’s not how our relationship is going to be, okay?” He was quiet. My heart raced as I thought about telling him how much I loved him, but the doorbell interrupted that thought. “I’m going to let you go, sunshine. Have a fun sleepover, call me in the morning.”

My heart skipped a beat at his tone. “Did I do something wrong?” I ran my hand across the back of my neck as I walked down the hallway towards the bedroom.

“No, sunshine, I just wish I was there. You have fun with Mikayla, okay?” Calum’s voice was soft, and suddenly, I felt like crying. “Call me in the morning, love.”

“Yeah, I’ll call you in the morning. Have a good night, Cal.” It was quiet for a few seconds before he said his goodbye and hung up. I looked at my phone for another second before sliding it into my pocket and going into the bedroom to put on an outfit that matched Mikayla’s: a pair of sweatpants and one of Calum’s t-shirts that was even big on him.

We sat on the couch, the Chinese food sprawled across the entirety of the coffee table. Music playing softly in the background, for now. We washed back our third drink as another episode of The Office played on the TV. As soon as we finished eating, and the alcohol began to course through our veins, we turned the speaker as loud as we could. Dancing in the living room, using our bottles as fake microphones. My head started spinning from the alcohol and I sat on the couch, placing my hand on my forehead. My breath was labored from the dancing, proving just how unfit I actually am. Mikayla threw herself on the couch next to me with a laugh. I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t think Calum loves me back.” The alcohol had completely dissolved my filter now.

Mikayla looked at me, her chest heaving from the dancing as well. “What makes you think he doesn’t love you back?” Her eyebrows were pulled together.

My head was spinning. I wasn’t even sure why I thought that, there was really no reason to think that. I let out a laugh and Mikayla looked at me more confused than before. “I don’t actually know. It’s like there’s a tiny voice inside my head trying to convince me that he doesn’t love me, let alone like me. As hard as I try to shut the voice out, it won’t shut up.”

Mikayla readjusted her head and she took a deep breath. “It’s called trauma. That voice, I mean. Your last relationship was shitty, we all know that, but you gotta stop letting it come back and take control over everything you do.” She closed her eyes but then reopened them and turned her head towards me. “I know you told me how badly you want to tell him in person, but maybe you should tell him anyway?”

I couldn’t even bring myself to look at her, so just shook my head. “No, I want to wait until we see each other in person. Look, I don’t want to talk about this right now, I don’t know why I brought it up, can we keep dancing and drinking? I want to stop over thinking everything.” Mikayla cracked open another drink for me and turned the music back on. After the tenth drink, I don’t quite remember what else happened.

When I woke up, my head was absolutely pounding, but I felt a cold sensation on my cheek. My eyes opened and I was on the floor of the living room, my cheek pressed firmly against the hard wood floor. After blinking a few times, I pushed myself up so my back was against the couch and Mikayla snored slightly when I accidently nudged her arm which was hanging over the edge of the couch. My hands connected with my face as I fought the headache surging through my brain. My phone sat on the table and I reached forward, it was noon and Calum had called me three times, left me a voice message, and sent me a text. I checked the text message first. “I thought you’d wake up before me, I guess not. We have an interview at 2 and a performance after that, should be available for a Face Time date tonight, though. Miss you. Xx Cal.” Based off the time, he was probably performing right now. Next, I listened to the voicemail. “Hey, sugar. Hope you had a fun night, guess it must’ve been fun if you still haven’t called me. We’re about to step into the interview. Text me when you wake up.” My eyes shut tightly, he didn’t sound super thrilled that I hadn’t called him yet.

I mumbled to myself for being so stupid as I opened my messaging app and typed out my message. “Fuck, Calum. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me last night, I don’t even remember passing out, I hope you’re not mad at me. Call me when your performance is over, good luck, my love!” I dropped my phone to my side and ran my hands down my face. All I could think of doing was jumping into the pool and hoping it would dissolve my hangover. I pushed myself off the ground, grabbing my phone at the same time. When I opened the door, Duke ran off to the grass patch. My phone bounced as I tossed it onto a chair near the pool. I discarded my shirt and sweatpants and jumped into the pool. The cool sensation of water washed over my body, making the headache subside slightly.

I floated at the top of the water for a while until the muffled sound of my phone ringing made its way to my ears. My arms frantically flailed through the water and to the edge so I could push myself out of the pool. I knew it was Calum before I saw him on the screen. The only thing that surprised me was that it wasn’t an audio call, it was a Face Time call. As I answered, I ran the t-shirt I was wearing down my face. Calum came into view, he was wearing sunglasses and, from what I could tell, he was in a car. His face lit up when he saw me. “Good afternoon, sunshine. Did you have fun last night?” He ran a ring clad finger over his lips, suppressing a laugh.

My hand ran backwards through my hair smoothing it down more than it was from the water. “I don’t even remember if I had a good time. I feel like such an idiot, I’m so sorry I didn’t call you this morning. Do you hate me?” I laughed, even though the question was completely serious.

He shook his head, then pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. “I could never hate you. I’m glad you had fun, my love. I, too, swim to get rid of a hangover, it’s actually the best cure. You know, for being completely hungover, you look absolutely gorgeous.” He looked at the camera matter-of-factly.

My cheeks flushed a soft pink and I laughed, covering my face. “Thanks. I slept on the floor last night, in the living room. Like, I woke up on the floor., my face was smooshed against the ground. Mikayla is still passed out on the couch. I don’t even know what happened.” I rubbed my eyes and laughed looking at Calum. I just wanted to reach through the phone and touch him. I missed the feeling of his skin against mine, whether it was because his chest was pressed against mine, or if because my fingertips were gently grazing across his cheek.

He reached up and pushed his sunglasses down, back to his nose. “Can’t even tell you how many mornings I’ve had like that. Are we still on for a Face Time date tonight?” I nodded and sat on the edge of the pool with my feet dangling in the water. “Great. I’ll call you at, like, nine my time.” I counted on my fingers to figure out what time that would be here, then nodded. Just then, the car stopped, a door opened and there was screaming. “I have to go, sunshine.” He kissed his finger, then pressed that finger to the camera, and then hung up. I tossed my phone back on the chair, and then tossed myself back into the pool.

Mikayla finally woke up around two, and showered before Trevor came and picked her up around three. He wasn’t surprised in the least that she was incredibly hungover. Honestly, I don’t think anyone was, except for me. Once Mikayla left I texted Calum, “How should I dress for our Face Time date?” As I waited for Calum to text me back, I downed an entire glass of water. My phone dinged and I read his message, breathing heavily from downing the entire glass of water. “However you’d like, sunshine. I probably won’t be wearing anything, if we’re being honest.” I choked on the air and sat my phone down, holding my hand to my chest. “Oh Jesus, Calum, are you trying to kill me?” I said to myself after gasping for air.

I finished microwaving some of the Chinese food we had left over and plopped myself on the couch, wearing a pair of boy shorts and a tank top. My phone started to ring and my heart skipped a beat. My fingers slowly wrapped around my phone wondering if he actually wasn’t wearing anything. I set my food on the coffee table and answered the call. When he came into view. I could only see from his chest up, but he definitely wasn’t wearing a shirt. I licked my lips at the thought of him actually being nude, but smiled and greeted him. “Hey, handsome.”

He blushed slightly and smiled hard enough that the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes appeared. “Hello, my love. What are you up to?” He leaned back, the lights of the television lighting up his face. His phone must’ve been propped against something, because I could see his entire torso as he leaned back.

“Just microwaved some left over Chinese food, watching The Office, because that’s literally all I ever do, if you didn’t know that. What are you watching?” I propped my phone up on the coffee table and sat back with my container in my hand.

“I don’t even know, to be honest. It was on when I turned on the TV. Mostly turned it on for background noise.” He looked at the phone with a coy smirk. “I wasn’t lying about what I said earlier.” He arms moved back and forth as if he was rubbing his hands along his legs.

I stopped chewing, and looked at the phone, raising an eyebrow. “What are you trying to get at, Hood?”

“You,” He said while laughing. “I’m trying to get at you, Williams.” He mocked me by using my last name, and suddenly my heart started to race.

My legs dropped off the couch and I bent over to pick up my phone. I suddenly felt self-conscious, something that I rarely felt in front of Calum. “I’ve never done anything like that – this. What should I do?”

He picked up his phone as well and ran his hand through his hair. “Find a place that you’re comfortable. Do you feel more comfortable in the living room or in the bedroom?” I bit my bottom lip and looked around the completely empty house. No matter the fact that it was empty, I most definitely felt more comfortable in the bedroom. Without responding, I pushed myself off the couch and walked down the hallway. After I shut the door, I sat on the bed, my back pressed against the headboard. There must’ve been a look on my face, because Calum sighed, but in a forgiving way, “Sunshine, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“No, no, I do. I’ve just never done anything like this. I might just need a little help.” I ran my hand through my hair and bit my bottom lip, feeling my cheeks flush red.

“I can help you, if you want that is.” His pupils dilated, and I nodded, feeling my stomach flutter. He started off slow, his voice was soft, never once making me feel uncomfortable. As the phone call continued on, everything picked up pace. I reveled in his hushed voice, and his face when his eyes closed and his head leaned back and his Adam’s Apple bounced as he swallowed a groan. He was everything I’ve ever wanted; this was everything I’ve ever wanted.

We were silent for a minute until Calum smiled and cleared his throat. “I thought about you all day today.”

I sat up and grabbed his sweatshirt and pulled it over my head. “Did you?” I smirked and grabbed my phone as I headed out the bedroom door, back into the living room. “What did you think about?”

He hummed and laid his head back on the white pillows I was becoming accustomed to. “How beautiful you are, how much I wish I was there, how much I miss you.” His eyes started to close, the exhaustion starting to take over.

I plopped myself onto the couch and smiled at him. “I miss you too, so much. I wish you were here, I think that would’ve been better if you were here.” I raised an eyebrow and he chuckled, his eyes still closed. “Get some sleep, my love. I’ll leave the call going for a little while. I’ll hang up in an hour or so.” He nodded and placed the phone on the empty side of his bed and pulled the comforter up to his chin. Without another word, he was fast asleep.

************

Tag list: @notinthesameguey​ @viiirg0​ @thinkofmehlgh​ @another-lonely-heart​ @limer-encia​ @itsmytimetoodream​

[floatingpetals]

Boys in Blue || Pt. 7

Pairings: cop!Stucky x F!Reader

Warnings: none, maybe language

Word Count: 1800+

Summary: (Cop AU) There was just one crappy thing after enough that happened to her. It possibly couldn’t get any worse, or so she thought until she saw the dreaded flashes of red and blue behind her. Could things get any worse?

A/N: I had totally meant to end this series at this part, but from the feedback, I’ve gotten from you wonderful people I’ve decided to extend it a little bit more. I don’t really have many plans beyond the next part(it’s rough but I have something at least) so the updates might be few and far in between until I can get more ideas. But I know there’s stuff there with this story! This ones a little short, but let me know what ya’ll think! Enjoy! 💕

The gifs are not mine, credit to the owner @aylo22 on weheart.

Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Series Masterlist

“Hey, baby girl.” Bucky purred into the phone. The giggle on the other end made his heart flip in his chest, his lips stretching into a wide grin. Steve snorted beside him in the car, rolling his eyes at the way Bucky practically preened at making Y/N tittered on the other end. “What are you doin’ for dinner?”

“Not sure actually. I just opened my fridge and the left-over chicken from last week just growled at me,” Y/N snorted. “I’ll have to get some safety gloves and tackle that later.”

“So in other words, your free tonight?” Bucky asked hopefully.

For the past two weeks since their little fiasco with Y/N, things picked up for the three of them job wise. Y/N was suddenly slammed by a sudden influx of new clients and reluctantly had to work longer hours to keep up with the sudden demand. Then for Bucky and Steve, they were short a few officers since flu season started to hit and put a good chunk of the officers out of commission for a while. Since neither of them had families and lived together, they didn’t want those on the force who need to spend time with their loved ones to pick up the time of those that were getting sick. It meant that they had less time to see Y/N than they would have liked, but she assured them to do what they needed.

However, just within the last two days, Bucky finally got his results back from the sergeant test he took. He had been a wreck of nerves for the week leading up to it and then a wreck the time it took to get back to him. Now he was officially, Sergeant James B. Barnes. It rolled off the tongue pretty nicely. He had yet had a chance to tell Y/N the good news. Steve told him she’d probably start screaming and tackle him to the ground; that week of the exam was quite taxing on them all with how on edge Bucky was, and she would be thrilled to know their suffering wasn’t in vain. Bucky didn’t want to tell her over text or have her read it over his shoulder like Steve had. He wanted to take his best girl out for a nice, peaceful dinner and tell her there. Today would have been the first time in two weeks he’d get that chance.

“Yeah, I’m on board! Is Steve gonna be with you?”

“Ah, yeah about that.” He shot Steve an apologetic look over the center console of the car. Steve frowned when he heard the question, pouting as he drove back to the precinct. “Steve may or may not have already agreed to work his last late-night shift tonight.”

“What? Again?”

“Yeah again.” Bucky sighed. “I wouldn’t hold it against him though. I don’t think Michael meant to get hit by that druggy earlier and need to get admitted to the hospital.”

“Oh.”

“But on the plus side, we’ve been told by fury that because of all the overtime we’ve been taking we don’t have to work weekends for the next six weeks. Everyone else should be comin’ back from their sick leave and will pick up the slack.”

“Well,” Y/N started slowly, sounding incredibly guilty as she spoke. As if spending alone time with Bucky was bad. “I guess that’s good. Still a bummer I don’t get to have dinner with him tonight.”

Steve turned his head sharply and stuck out his hand. Hands-free driving be damned. He needed to nip that doubt in the ass real quick. Bucky bit his lip to hide his smile at the strange mix of fury and determination on Steve’s face and passed the phone over.

“Y/N.” Steve began. “I can hear you worrying about what I think about you and Bucky. I don’t mind if you want to go out and have dinner with him alone. I really don’t. Yeah, I’ll be upset that I don’t get to see you right away after us having to spend so much time apart, but it’s not because you’re spending time with Bucky and not me. I will never be upset about that. Okay?”

Y/N was silent on the other side of the line, mulling over his words. It was still surprising how observant they both were. She couldn’t hide anything from them if she wanted to. They always seemed to know when something was bothering her, even if there was distance between them. Y/N didn’t want to create a rift between them because of her. In her mind, if she spent time with one, it meant the other was left out in the cold. Maybe they’d see it as her picking favorites, which she never could. But Bucky and Steve both were surprising her at every corner, shoving aside those nagging doubts that taunted her daily. It made her smile and let out a heavy breath.

“Okay. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t miss you.”

“Same, sweetheart,” Steve replied, his tone melting as the adoration seemed in. “I’ll miss you too. But at least now all three of us will have weekends off. We always have tomorrow.”

“That’s true.” Y/N agreed. “Be safe tonight.”

“Always will.” He chuckled softly and said a quick goodbye before passing the phone back to Bucky. The brunette grinned and ran a hand through his hair.

“Anything you have in mind tonight?”

“No way! Are you serious?!”

Bucky nodded vigorously and beamed at Y/N, the corners of his eyes crinkling almost to the point he was squinting as he told Y/N about his exam results. Y/N could barely contain her squeal and debated on whether or not it was socially acceptable to leap across the table and tackle him to the ground. 

“Holy shit that’s amazing! Congratulations Bucky!” Y/N gushed, pride swelling in her chest. For weeks Bucky panicked over this test and now he finally knew that it was worth all the stress. “Does Steve know?”

“Yeah, he saw it over my shoulder when I got the letter.”

“They still send them in letters?” Y/N stopped and quickly waved a hand in the air. “Nope. Not important. Holy shit!”

Bucky laughed and ducked his chin, his cheeks blossoming into a bright pink.

“Yeah, that was Steve’s second reaction too.” He bit his lip at the memory. He had just read over the lines, saw his score and then was suddenly he was swept up in Steve’s arms, who quickly peppered the entirety of his face with giddy albeit sloppy kisses.

“Well, now I really feel bad he’s not here.” Y/N sat back in her chair. “He should be celebrating with us too! After all, he lived with you through hell week.”

“Hey now.” Bucky raised a finger. “I wasn’t that bad.”

“Steve left you in a gas station parking lot because you wouldn’t stop bitching about whether or not you memorized enough for the exam. It was that bad.”

Bucky let his finger fall, his cheeks burning bright once again. Okay yeah, maybe he was that bad.

“Well,” Bucky sighed and toyed the rim of his glass. “I do apologize for being a pain in the ass. But I am grateful you were both there for me to keep me in line. I don’t want to think about how crazy I’d be without you both.”

“You’d be fine. Probably running on less sleep than you’d need, but in the end, you’d pass all the same.” Y/N grinned.

“We’ll call it payback for our first interaction,” Bucky smirked before he took a long sip of beer. Y/N groaned and threw her head back.

“Are you ever going to let me live that one down?”

“Not anytime soon.”

“You’re such a jerk.” Y/N giggled in spite of her annoyance. Bucky laughed, fully aware there was no bite behind her snark and grabbed fry from the basket between them. He chewed thoughtfully, letting his gaze wander over her face for a quiet moment. She couldn’t stop the bashful grin spreading across her lips, biting her lip when she caught sight of the intensity behind his gaze. “What?”

Bucky didn’t respond right away, taking his time to swallow before he let out a content sigh and leaned forward with his arms crossed on the table. Y/N cocked her head to the side, Bucky’s wide grin infectious.

“Seriously,” She chuckled. “What? Do I have something on my face? Do I have ketchup up my nose again?”

Y/N grabbed her napkin and began dabbing at her nose. It wouldn’t have been the first time she made an idiot of herself in front of him, she thought now almost completely unfazed by whatever funny joke life threw her way. Fortunately, her awkward and slightly embarrassing moments didn’t faze the two in the slightest. Bucky shook his head and laughed lightly as he took hold of one of her hands. His thumb brushed along the back of her hand, a simple yet tender touch.

“Nothing, on your face baby girl.” He answered. “Just can’t get over how lucky am I am to have you and Steve.”

Alright, so maybe them telling her how much they cared about her was enough to make her heart skip several beats. Y/N felt her face heat up, a giddy giggle exploding from her lips as she ducked her chin. It caused Bucky to beam, his heart fluttering and pound in his chest at the sound. Yes, he is incredibly lucky. Who wouldn’t be with one insanely handsome boyfriend as well as an equally gorgeous girlfriend? Life couldn’t get any better.

“You’re too sweet, Buck.” Y/N said and squeezed his hand. Bucky rolled his eyes and let her fingers go to sit back in the booth. 

“Nah. Just statin’ facts.”

“Well, then I guess I have to admit I’m so thankful you decided to pull me over that fateful afternoon. Because I keep thinking about how lucky I am to have  you too.” She replied, her adoration seeping into her voice. 

Now it was Bucky’s turn to blush and duck his chin to hide his sappy grin. He let out a hearty laugh and shook his head. 

“You know if Steve was here, he’d call us both saps and to get a room.” 

Y/N snorted and rolled her eyes. “Oh please, if Steve was here, he’d be tearing up and pretending it was his allergies or something.” 

“Oh absolutely.” Bucky agreed immediately. “He was the first one to cry when we watched the Titanic together. Tried to play it off all cool like he wasn’t just sobbing into a tissue, but I saw what I saw.” 

“Oh god,” Y/N could picture it perfectly. Her giggles rose into a peal of hearty laughter as Bucky began telling her more stories of their third. He wasn’t there to defend himself, an opportunity Bucky was more than happy to take. 

Seeing Y/N let loose and not care that she was getting stares from people around them thrilled Bucky. All her attention was on him. He was the one who was making her snort through her laughter. It made his chest buff out with pride as well as back up his earlier thought. Life couldn’t get any better.

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[phobiadeficient]

SpeedingBullet but make scout completely oblivious for way too long

“so we both have buckets of fried chicken, you wanna do it?” ass bitch over here can’t even spell subtlety let alone understand it so good fuckin luck with that crush sniper

-

Scout’s pickup lines generally consisted of walking up to someone attractive, looking around to make sure they were alone enough to not be overheard, and asking them if they either wanted to go out or wanted to have sex depending on his mood.

So Sniper was pretty sure that wooing Scout wasn’t exactly necessary, but Sniper also generally tried to hold himself to a standard regardless of “necessity”. So he decided to go about it the right way anyways.

One day when he was hanging out in the base for once, Scout ducked into the common room and asked if anyone wanted to go with him to get something “real” to eat. Sniper volunteered. That started a weekly routine of them going off-base every Saturday to get tacos together at the nearest place that sold them, half an hour away.

For Scout’s birthday, Sniper got him a present—a record player, so he wouldn’t constantly need to argue with Heavy and Demo about whose turn it was to play music in the common room. One week, Scout got the flu, and Medic basically quarantined him off so he wouldn’t spread it to the rest of the team. Sniper spent an afternoon digging up the recipe for soup that he had from back home, making enough that Scout wouldn’t need to cook anything for himself for the next week or so until he was allowed at team dinners again, bringing the first serving of it to him and hanging out with the kid even though he knew he might get sick, and on Saturday he specifically called in a favor with Pyro and had them cook tacos so he could bring them by. The team went out drinking one weekend, and he and Scout sat together practically the whole night. When most of the team decided to finally head out, Sniper waved them off and offered to drive himself and Scout back later, promising not to drink too much. Scout expressed an interest in getting up and dancing when one of his favorite songs came up on the radio, and somehow Sniper roped himself into dancing with Scout for long enough that the next morning his legs were sore.

Scout didn’t seem to think anything of it. He stepped up his game.

He asked Scout if he wanted to go out and get coffee at some point. Scout told him he didn’t like coffee, it messed with his stomach, and that energy drinks were totally where it’s at. He asked if Scout wanted to get dinner. Scout agreed that wow it really had gotten late, it was dinner time already, they better hurry up before the rest of the team inhaled the meal.

He asked if Scout wanted to go on a date.

Scout said, man, like you wouldn’t believe! But lately whenever he hit on people they didn’t seem to ever catch on. He asked Sniper if he knew what that was like.

Sniper said, yes. He knew that feeling intimately.

He got tired of it. It had been nearly five months of subtle hints, gentle pushes, pointed questions. A whole five months of light flirting, compliments, Sniper paying for their food and Sniper carving out all of his free time and Sniper constantly, constantly setting himself up and never finding any payoff for it. It was the worst kind of edging.

And yes, he very much wanted to just hop into bed with Scout. But he also very much wanted to date Scout, it would seem. Yes he wanted to situate his body between Scout‘s heavily muscled thighs and drive him absolutely insane. But also he wanted to kiss Scout hello in the morning.

He’d gotten sappy. God damn it. Now it would hurt a lot worse if Scout rejected him. But he couldn’t find it in himself to even be scared of that, because he’d been on an almost seven month dry spell by then, not wanting to be so much of an asshole to go for several people at once without their knowledge, so he was mostly just concerned with getting a yes or no answer so he could move forward in one direction or another.

It was Valentine’s Day. It was after work. He showered, unpacked his nice suit that he sometimes used when he had to go out on contract, bought a bouquet, and marched himself directly through the base to Scout’s room and hammered his fist on the door.

Scout opened the door.

“Do you, Scout,” Sniper asked, “want to go out on a date, romantically, with me, Sniper, tonight on this Valentine’s Day? Please?”

Silence for two seconds. “Oh, fuck. That was flirting, wasn’t it?” Scout asked, apparently coming to a series of realizations.

“Yes. It was. For about five months for what it’s worth.”

“Since we started Taco Days?” Scout asked, eyes widening.

“Since a bit before, yes.”

“Oh god. Oh fuck. Shit, I’m so sorry.”

Sniper felt his heart sink, some of the determination seeping out of his shoulders. “Is that a no?” he asked, a bit less firmly now.

“No, yes, I—no it’s not a no, yes I wanna date you,” Scout clarified quickly. “Uh. Fuck. Shit. Where?”

“Anywhere,” Sniper shrugged. “But the taco place is open. They have a special for couples tonight.”

“You wanna be couples?” Scout asked, a little surprised.

“Ideally.”

Scout thought about it for a second. “I mean, yeah, sure! Okay! Or, I dunno, first date and then if it goes well—shit, Taco Day has been a date hasn’t it? Uh. First romantic date—not that it’s not romantic—“

“Look, it’s already almost six and they’re closing at ten,” Sniper cut in.

“Yeah, I’ll get changed,” Scout agreed quickly, moving to shut the door before catching himself and taking the flowers first, clearly shocked by the entirety of the proceedings. “Fuck. I’m real fuckin’ stupid, huh Snipes?”

“You’re lucky it’s cute,” Sniper deadpanned. “Meet me outside in twenty?”

“Thirty, I gotta shower,” Scout replied, dragging a hand up through his hair self-consciously. “But yeah. Yeah, I’ll see you there.”

“Yeah,” Sniper nodded.

-

The date went fine. The drive over was weirdly quiet, and Scout fidgeted with the radio a lot more, drummed his fingers against his own leg, the same way he sometimes did before confessing that something was bothering him—nerves about the new niece he had on the way, or annoyance about some bullshit that one of the team had said to him, or guilt about some prank gone awry that he hadn’t confessed to. But he didn’t speak, just fiddling, drumming.

Then tacos were basically business as usual. Scout made a joke about what dummies they were, eating tacos in suits, how they were for sure gonna end up with sauce on their nice white shirts, and Sniper laughed, and they didn’t.

Halfway through, Scout started asking questions.

“So dudes, huh? That why you’d never say anything when I started goin’ off about some girl?”

“And jealously, but yeah, that too,” Sniper admitted. He was glad he’d elected to keep his shades on. They helped hide the fact that he was bad at eye contact at the best of times.

“I kinda thought it was because you had a girlfriend or a wife off somewhere that you never wanted to talk about, like how Spy’s a prick about that stuff. I mean, you don’t, right? Have a girl somewhere?”

“No. And not a bloke either, for what it’s worth,” Sniper replied.

“Okay. Cool. Good.” Scout fidgeted with a napkin, took a drink of water. “I mean, didn’t think you’re the type for that anyways, but… yeah.”

Sniper took a drink of his own water. Silence for a moment.

“And you kinda wanna just—you wanna do boyfriend stuff? With me?” Scout asked, confused, as if some part of the proceedings didn’t make sense to him.

“Feels a bit like I already do,” Sniper pointed out.

“I mean, not all the boyfriend stuff,” Scout mumbled, eyes back on his napkin. “I dunno. Maybe it’ll be nice though.”

“What sorts of “boyfriend stuff” have I missed so far that you’d like to see more of?” Sniper asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Like, talkin’ about yourself more. You’re like, practically my therapist.”

“The complaining to me, you mean?”

“Yeah. And you barely ever complain back. Unless you’re agreeing with me that Spy’s a prick.” Scout looked up, baby blues trying to meet his eyes through his glasses. “I wanna hear more about you.”

Sniper couldn’t help but smile a little at that. “Alright. I can try. Besides that?”

Scout looked away, face going a bit red as the silence progressed. He glanced around their vicinity for a second, barely managing to meet Sniper’s gaze before he had to break it again. “C’mon man, you’re gonna make me say it?” he said quietly.

“Five months.”

“Fine, sheesh, I…” He ducked his head a little. “Maybe… kissing and all that crap.”

Sniper raised an eyebrow at him. Scout scowled when he glanced up and saw it.

“Look, I ain’t ever done this with a guy before, alright?” he said defensively, and he’d sunk pretty far by then down into his seat. “I dunno what the hell I’m doin’.”

“We can take it slow if you want,” Sniper suggested, feeling a little bad.

“I didn’t say that, I’m just tellin’ you I’m gonna be a total idiot,” Scout muttered.

“Oh? What all would you like to jump right into then?”

“I’m not sayin’ it in public, that’s all I’m gonna tell you,” Scout said stubbornly, and Sniper laughed, and allowed him to change the subject to something else.

Scout paid the tab, saying it was his turn anyways, As usual, Sniper drove them to the taco place and Scout was the one to drive them back. Conversation was limited, both of them relaxed and satisfied.

Scout surprised him by pulling off the route they took back to instead park them at one of those roadside tourist-y areas where people could stop and stretch their legs on road trips and take photos and read a plaque. It was empty, of course it was, and the second Scout had the car in park and the keys out of it, dropped onto the dashboard, he promptly jumped the gearshift and landed himself in Sniper’s lap.

“Okay,” Scout opened with. “So here’s the thing.”

“Right?” Sniper replied hesitantly, hands on Scout’s waist, glancing him up and down.

“So like, me about guys, that’s usually secondary to the girls thing. Because girls are great. Usually it’s only really hot guys who I’d go for. And I guess I kinda more thought about you as a coworker mostly for a long time, right? Because you were. But then, I dunno, at some point I guess it clicked a little, right? That you’re hot.”

Sniper grinned. “Yeah? What is it, which part?” he asked.

“Stubble’s a big one,” Scout admitted. “And you know how to handle your gun crazy well, and can totally fuck a guy up with your knife. It’s real hot. And you’ve got these shoulders, and like… a lot of things basically,” Scout concluded, hands finding the shoulders in question. “And just, man. You look fuckin’ good in a suit. And I just wanna… I don’t even know what. I wanna do somethin’ to you.”

“Kissing’ as good start,” Sniper suggested, and Scout needed no further prompting, leaning in and spending exactly five seconds kissing Sniper like a good Christian boy before he promptly got filthy with it, pulling tricks with his tongue that made Sniper groan.

He broke away again, breathless. “Hate to take this off since you like it so much,” he admitted, tugging at his own tie pointedly.

“Well I fuckin’ know I wanna do that to you,” Scout said, and started working Sniper’s suit jacket off of him.

Scout mostly moved to toss the components of Sniper’s suit into the back seat carelessly, stripping him to his undershirt before he helped Sniper get off his own dress shirt. He managed to get his own pants undone before he apparently got impatient, nipping at Sniper’s freshly exposed collarbones with those rabbitish teeth of his, making Sniper’s hands fumble where he was at work on his own belt.

“Have an idea enough about how this works to know how you’d like to do this?” Sniper asked, a rumble into his ear that made Scout shiver.

“I dunno, just touch my dick, fuck,” Scout said impatiently, and got back to work marking up Sniper’s neck like he was getting paid, starting to grind down into him. Sniper was distantly aware of the fact that the windows were starting to fog.

The fact that he suddenly realized he didn’t actually have any lube or condoms on him, having assumed they’d get back at least to base before they started making out like horny teenagers, meant that their options were limited, but Sniper wasn’t that worried about it. He just got to work trying to worm Scout’s pants down his thighs, working with the rhythm of rolls that he’d established. He got a bit impatient, grabbing around the back of Scout’s thighs with both hands to lift him up enough to work his own pants down past his knees before letting him back down again, a moan startled out of him as Scout promptly grinded against him, making a similar noise.

“Hold on,” Sniper grunted, stopping Scout with a hand on his hip, raising the other to his own face to spit in it once, twice, before lowering it to slick both Scout and himself, and then he was wrapping a hand around them both as best he could and starting to jerk.

Scout’s reaction was immediate, starting to roll his hips into the wet, slick grip, eyelashes fluttering and mouth falling open around gasps, the first silent and every one after that satisfied.

“C’mon,” Sniper prompted, nosing in just below his chin and kissing his throat briefly. “Help me out with this. Get your hand wet—yeah, there you go—now c’mon, right here. Good. God, yeah, like that. There’s a beauty.”

Scout used his free hand to wrap around Sniper’s shoulder to pull him close, mashing their lips together gracelessly but enthusiastically. Sniper’s free hand moved at first to grip at Scout’s ass, satisfied at the fact that he could now do so, then eventually to toy with Scout’s chest, pinching at one nipple and then the other, wringing all sorts of noises from Scout’s mouth and into his own and enjoying every second of it.

He felt Scout getting close quicker than he did, and tried to make up for the distance by starting to also roll his hips up into his fist, a steady roll that made him groan and pinch harder, grip just slightly tighter. He was distantly aware of the fog that clung to the windows, of the sweat on his own forehead and Scout’s chest beneath his hand, of the squeak of the car’s suspension as they rocked it, but mostly he just focused on the mounting pleasure.

Scout keened against his mouth, gasping damply against him as he stalled out, hips jerking and struggling. He opened his eyes, and the flush on his face, the redness of his lips wound wide around further noises of pleasure, the final gasp of “Fuck, Snipes,” that Scout managed to whimper, the feeling of Scout’s hand shifting to simply hold on to him instead of both of them, it had him finishing within a few strokes, his own noise much quieter.

In a few minutes, they’d start laughing at the cliche of fucking in a car, start struggling to clean up and get to their own clothes, start talking about how next time Sniper would show him how real fucking worked, about how they’d flip a coin to pick who’d be on top the first time.

Until then, they kissed, and at least in the afterglow, Sniper figured the five months were worth it. Just barely.

[the-original-hybrid-niklaus]

It was supposed to be a senior prank. No one is supposed to die. Or at least that’s what the students of Seaside High planned in the beginning.

It all started when six seniors from Seaside High decided to play a prank on the tyrant who’s been terrorizing the students with his typical wicked teacher antics, Mr. Jelly. The plan is simple—kidnap Mr. Jelly and bring him to Vivian’s family’s cabin near Fox Forest for a weekend and scare him hard enough so that he would give in to their demands as seniors in high school who wants to experience senior promenade before they graduate high school.

And they did. This plan sounded like a perfect plan to Rex, Andrew, Cassie, and Vivian when Jason and Brenda presented it to them.

“That’s perfect. I’m gonna make sure that the lodge is prepared this weekend.” Vivian said sitting on her boyfriend, Andrew’s lap. The others agreed that they should do this plan, not aware of the millions ways this whole operation can go wrong.

Friday came. Everybody is anxious to execute the plan they all agreed on doing tonight. Every tick of the clock feels like a drum pounding inside of their chests. The world spins so fast it makes them feel nauseous but there’s no turning back now. As it was mentioned before, the plan is simple. Wait for Mr. Jelly to end his work at 9 o’clock in the evening like he always do everyday based in Brenda’s observation and take him to the lodge.

When night casted its dark drapes in the sky, the anxiety tripled. Everybody is trying to calm themselves down and waited patiently for the tyrannous principal to come out of his office. When he finally did, the gang cornered him. Just to be sure that no one will know their identities, the students are wearing hideous bunny masks.

“Well, be on your way and you won’t get punished for coming to me like that.” Mr. Jelly said, looking at the students standing in front of him, making a guess on who are behind those hideous masks. None of them spoke a word. Acting based on the plan, Rex and Andrew knocked the principal off, covering his head with a black bag and tying him up. The rest of them helped in carrying Mr. Jelly’s helpless body to the trunk of Rex’s car and they all drove to the lodge where they will hold him captive for the weekend.

Somehow, relief washed over all of them, having executed the plan perfectly and with so far no problems. After an hour of drive, they reached Fox Forest where Vivian Lake’s family cabin is located. The girls prepared the room where they will imprison Mr. Jelly while the boys are carrying Mr. Jelly inside the property, carefully setting him down on the chair and tying him up.

“And now what?” Andrew asked removing his mask while Rex is removing the cloth covering Mr. Jelly’s head off.

“Put it back on Andrew. You’re messing this up!” Jason said, walking around the room frantically.

“Do you guys realize what we just did?” Jason asked the gang. Conscience seems to be catching up on him. Although he is one of the architects of this plan, he can’t help but feel like something is ultimately wrong with this. Honestly, he didn’t even know why he agreed to help Brenda make a plan that will ruin their lives for them.

“W-we’re criminals! That’s what we are now and our lives are ruined—“ he looked at the tyrannous principal and noticed that something his missing. “Where are his glasses?” He asked Rex and Andrew.

“I don’t know, it must’ve fallen off while we’re taking him here.” Rex answered, bending over and trying to look for the principal’s glasses on the floor. But it wasn’t it the room. Andrew and Vivian went out to look in the trunk of the car where he was placed earlier and it wasn’t there either.

“So those stupid glasses are going to mess things up for us.” Jason said, still frantic. Brenda, Jason’s girlfriend, tried to calm him down.

“Calm down, Jason. We’re not gonna do anything bad to Mr. Jelly. We’re just going to scare him. That’s all.” She assured him and herself. She can’t let this ruin their lives. Things should go as planned.

Their hostage started to regain consciousness. He looked around them but all he can see are the blurry and colorful images.

“Where are my glasses?” Mr. Jelly asked weakly, trying to keep his eyes open. His head is aching badly due to being knocked out by his students earlier. He have a pretty good hunch on who’s behind this ridiculous scheme.

“I know who you all are. I’m surprised that Mr. Andrew Thompson are with you tonight.” The hostage spoke as if he isn’t tied to a chair and there aren’t any masked goons in front of him.

“How did you know it’s us?” Andrew did a stupid thing. He took his mask off and somehow confirmed the theory in Mr. Jelly’s mind.

“Well, I didn’t but you confirmed it for me.”

“What the hell, Andrew?” Cassie Blake also took her mask off, looking at Andrew and started on yelling at him for being stupid and blowing their cover. For minutes, it went on like that. Cassie and the others blaming Andrew for exposing their identities to their helpless hostage. All of them except for Jason who is starting to feel guilty and really wants to let Mr. Jelly go.

“Enough. We all played a part in this. It’s not entirely Andrew’s fault.” said Vivian in defense of her red-haired boyfriend. All of their masks are off their head and before they forget the main agenda of this kidnapping they orchestrated, Brenda began negotiating with the principal.

“We want you to not cancel prom this year and allow all of the students you barred from the prom to come at the event, and your word that you won’t punish us. It’s a magical night for us and we want to be a part of that before graduation,.” Brenda started, looking at the man sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. “Record a video of you giving your statement and we will free you. Or we can do this all weekend.”

“I have an alternative.” Mr. Jelly began weakly, his head still hurting from the blow he received from Rex or Andrew earlier. “Let me go, you will be punish accordingly but I will not tell the police about this shenanigan.”

Everyone fell silent for a moment, considering what their principal just said. But the silence was broken by Cassie’s hearty laugh.

“How about, no. You must know by now that I don’t back down from a fight, Mr. Jelly. Give us what we want and we’ll let you go. It’s a win-win situation.” The red-haired girl stated before going out of the room, followed by Vivian, Brenda, and Rex, leaving Jason and Andrew inside the room.

“Just give us what we want, Mr. Jelly.” Jason pleaded, he’s fighting the urge to cut those zip ties off and let their hostage go but he knows that the other won’t agree with him.

Mr. Jelly ignored Jason’s plea and spoke, “I was wondering what your dad will say about this, Mr. Thompson. I’m sure he won’t be proud to see his son be a criminal. You’re a disgrace to your family.” He was trying to get into Andrew’s head, using his father—who’s now dead—to maybe make Andrew feel ashamed of what he did and let him go. It’s pretty hopeful to just think about that and wish it would work. But instead of cutting the zip ties binding him to the chair, Andrew punched his face repeatedly. His father is still a touchy subject for him and the tyrannous principal even talking about him makes his feel angry although he has a point. Jason desperately tried to get Andrew away from Mr. Jelly but the raven haired boy is weaker than the redheaded one. Fortunately, Rex heard the commotion and he hurriedly came to Mr. Jelly’s rescue.

“Hey! Stop it, man.” Rex immediately grabbed Andrew’s arms and yanked him away from the now bloody principal.

After the event earlier that evening, Vivian is still trying her best to dissuade the feelings of anger Andrew is feeling before he does something he’s gonna regret. Cassie is up for the first shift of keeping an eye on their helpless hostage. Mr. Jelly tried to talk some sense into Cassie and even attempted on negotiating with her on his terms but as usual, Cassie isn’t swayed by Mr. Jelly. She remained unbothered through the entirety of her shift.

The night grew older as the hours go by. It’s time they all went to bed to rest and think about a plan to persuade Mr. Jelly to giving in to their demands. Everyone except for Jason is fine with keeping Mr. Jelly here for the weekend. Tonight, as they all sleep soundly in their beds, he plans to free their hostage out of guilt. After a few more moments, he felt that everyone is already dozing off and so the act of redemption begins. The raven haired boy sneaked from his and Brenda’s room and went to the room where Mr. Jelly is being kept but he heard voices coming from the area. Curiosity took over Jason and he listened to the hushed voices talking in room.

“They all want to let you out after this but I don’t think so.” said the voice which belongs to Rex Reynolds. The next thing he heard is Mr. Jelly’s low chuckle before he spoke weakly.

“Don’t tell me you’re still angry about that incident.”

“What the hell is he talking about?” Jason thought to himself as he continued to listen. Secrets are being spilled right now. A punch landed on Mr. Jelly’s face but it made him laugh some more, seeing that his words are getting to Rex’s head. Rex is nothing but disgusted and angry at this man. He always has been since the night that something dirty happened between them. All because of his love for football but this tyrant won’t allow him to play anymore due to bad grades. He felt dirty and molested. He had been for months now. He’s angry at this man who took advantage of his love for the said sport and angry at himself for letting this vile man defile him in such way.

Before words could spill out of the principal’s lips, Rex took the bag they used earlier to cover his head and used it once again to inhibit the air from coming inside Mr. Jelly’s lungs. He did not stop until he stopped struggling and moving. And there he sat, lifeless.

After the events that happened before his eyes, Jason sneaked back to his and Brenda’s room, tears are falling in his eyes. Regret is taking over him. They shouldn’t have kidnapped their principal. It’s wrong on every angle and now it can never be taken back. The fact that Mr. Jelly is now dead scared him and unsettled him, but the fact that one of his friends are capable of such thing is more frightening. Those thoughts kept Jason up all night. It wasn’t until 7:34 am when everyone was awake due to Cassie’s scream. They all rushed to the room where their hostage is being kept and they found them there, dead, colorless, and cold.

Naturally, the blame falls on Andrew who was in a heated moment of rage with their principal earlier. Only Jason and Rex knows the truth.

“Maybe we should go to the police.” Jason suggested. All of them turned on him with looks of disbelief evident on their faces.

“And tell them what, hobo? It’s going to ruin our lives. I don’t plan on spending the next twenty years behind bars.” Cassie snapped, she shifted her gaze on the lifeless body before them once again.

“We need to bury his body.” Brenda suggested and they all went to work. Jason is still ridden with guilt but he obliged in fear that the body count will increase by one.

Weeks have past and no one has found the body of their victim yet. They began to feel safe, even Jason began to feel safe—although the nightmares about that night still bugged him. Just when they thought it’s officially over, a group of campers found a pair of glasses that might’ve belonged to the tyrannous principal and the anxiety kicked in again.

“I don’t care what you’re all going to say, I’m going to tell the police.” Jason said, taking his bag and marching to the door of the club room where they were meeting, but Andrew and Brenda pulled him back.

“No, Jason. You will do no such thing. You will not ruin our lives, our future. I’m still going to Yale.” Cassie placed her hands on her waist and looked sternly at Jason, trying to intimidate him but it’s not going to work.

“Can we all just think clearly here? No one is going to the police.” Vivian began. “No one’s life will be ruined and no one will be going to jail.”

“We are monsters, Vivian.” Jason answered, he cannot believe that he’s hearing about this and nobody seems to care that Mr. Jelly is dead.

“Yes, and we can be monsters in college or monsters in jail. I prefer the former, Jace.” Brenda tried knocking some sense in her boyfriend.

Their meeting ended and they finally persuaded Jason to calm down and not go to the police. He didn’t tell anyone about the things he witnessed and heard that night. But his actions made Rex feel unsafe. He needed to stop Jason before he says something to anyone and to solve their problem. And so he sneaked off from a class and cut Jason’s brakes.

That day, Brenda decided to hang out with the girls and she didn’t ride with her boyfriend. Jason, unaware of the things before him started the engine and drove back to their house. On the way home, Jason hit a ten-wheeler truck and died on the way to the hospital and their secrets died with him.

[dearlydreadful]

Proud Of You - Part Five - Jung Hoseok

Starring - Jung Hoseok

Genre - fluff / angst

Summary

Hoseok and Y/N grew up together. They lived on the same street for as long as either could remember. Their parents loved each other and it was constantly brought up that the two would marry one day. That was the expectation. Two neighbors that would fall in love as they grew up and get married.

Hoseok grew up with a soft spot for Y/N. He wouldn’t quite call it love, but it could’ve certainly blossomed into it. That is, if it weren’t for every other boy constantly trying to win Y/N’s heart.

Y/N grew up with a sore spot for Hoseok. She was constantly reminded that he was the perfect son-in-law her parents always wanted. She couldn’t stand to be held to the standards of perfect.

Part 5 - You Never Hit Me Back

Hoseok fidgeted with the top button of his shirt. He crossed his legs and then uncrossed them. He leaned forward, elbows on thighs, and placed his head in his hands.

It had been 3 weeks since he'd seen Ara. The first few days were the hardest. He couldn't focus. He kept imaging Ara in a white dress. He'd never really thought about it before. The part that bothered him the most was that in all of his dream like thoughts, he was never the man standing with her.

It only took 3 days for him to swallow his guilt and pride. Then he couldn't stop calling her. He lost count of how many times he reached out that first day. He tried over and over. He called. He left voicemails. He texted. He tried everything.

But she wouldn't answer.

He knew he deserved it. He apologized. He pleaded. There wasn't much he wouldn't do for a 'stop worrying hobi' text back. He tried just about anything he could think of for 3 weeks. There was only one thing left to try.

His hands went through his hair as he straightened up. He was beginning to think she wouldn't come. He didn't know what he'd do if this plan failed too. He was counting on her not turning down a dinner invite from his eomma. He pulled at his collar again.

"If it's so uncomfortable, you should just unbutton the top one."

He froze at her voice. His eyes slowly rose from the carpet to the doorway. She stood there with her arms crossed. His heart leapt at the sight. She wasn't smiling, but she didn't look angry either.

"Ara," her name slipped from his lips as he stood up.

"Hoseok." Her tone was a warning.

He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "How are you?"

"Fine."

Silence fell between them. He was itching to let the questions bubble out of his mouth, but her one quirked eyebrow kept them at bay. His eyes never left hers. The silence drove him crazy. He had to remind himself over and over that this was a baby step. She was at least here.

The quiet air practically choked him all the same. He brought his hand up to his collar again. His attention came to red alert as she moved. She glided through the room and stopped right before him.

Her eyes dropped from his slightly, to his throat. Her hands pushed his out of the way. Her fingers brushed against the base of his neck as she undid the top button. She took a small step back and sighed.

"Now quit fidgeting." She muttered.

"Thank you." He cleared his throat and tried to clear his thoughts.

"You're welcome."

He chewed on his bottom lip. He pushed his brain to find something to say, to find a way in.

"You're really bad at acting."

His eyebrows furrow at her statement. "I'm not acting."

"You should be though. If you look like this through dinner, eomma will never let us leave."

"Maybe that's a good thing."

She rolled her eyes.

"I need to talk to both our eomma's to get this straightened out."

"You don't need to do anything Hoseok."

"Just trust me, Ara."

She chuckled drily. "Don't you think you've meddled enough?"

"I'm so sorry for what's happened. I swear I didn't mean for it be like this. I'm going to fix it."

"I'd rather you just leave me alone."

"I can't do that."

"Of course you can't." She shook her head and started to pace the room. "You always like to boast about how you can take care of me and that you'll always be there for what I need, but those are just empty words, right?"

"Empty?"

"Before you help my parents make all these decisions for me about my life, have you ever thought about what I wanted?"

Hoseok swallowed.

"You have this picture in your head of what I should want, just like eomma, but none of it's what I want."

His heart felt like it sunk to his stomach. He felt nauseous and sweaty.

"I had to quit a job I enjoyed. I have to marry a man I don't love. I'll probably have to quit school soon because all my future husband expects me to be is a trophy."

His lips parted. He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to say the words to make this better. He wanted to deny to her argument. But he had no words.

She stopped pacing and let her hands fall to her sides. Her eyes locked with his and he felt the pain radiate through his chest at her teary eyes.

"Just do me a favor, Hoseok, and act like everything's fine during dinner so I can go home in peace."

He closed his mouth and nodded slowly.

"Thank you." She whispered before turning her back to him. "I'm going to help eomma."

He fell back down onto the sofa once she was gone from the room. Moments ago he had been anxious and nervous, but hopeful. Now, he couldn't begin to put what he was feeling into particular emotions.

How could things have gone so wrong?

He wanted to help, to fix. But here he was again, lost without an idea of how to get back to what was.

Have I really been so selfish this whole time?

He had grown up thinking Ara would end up with him, even though they'd never discussed it. It was just the way things were supposed to be and so he acted like they were. He always kept a close eye on her. He stepped in when he thought she needed help.

Pushing myself on her when she doesn't want me.

He ran his hand through his hair, pulling at the ends. He had come tonight with the determination to set things straight, but now his world was tossed upside down. He didn't know how to move forward.

He felt the need to fix what he'd already broken. Ara's words replayed in his brain. You don't need to do anything.

His mother called for him, telling him dinner was ready. He shuffled to the table, taking his usual spot across the table from Ara and between his parents.

Ara kept up an act throughout the entirety of dinner. She smiled. She laughed. She gossiped with his mother. She talked about her future husband. She looked happy.

He tried to keep up. But he cracked every time she said Hobi. It felt like years since he'd heard her mouth curve around his nickname. It was painful to know she only said it to keep this facade going.

He made it through the dinner convincing his mother that his pained expressions were just from an upset stomach.

After dinner, his eomma insisted he drive Ara home since she had only been dropped off. Ara accepted the invitation warmly and thanked his eomma. He held the car door open for her to get in before waving his eomma back in the house and getting into the driver side.

The silence wasn't as suffocating, but it was still hard for Hoseok to pull through.

"Thank you for seeing me home." Her words were soft.

He nodded.

"It was nice to see eomma and appa too."

"They've missed you."

"That means you need to bring a girl home so they'll stop missing me."

"I don't think that'll happen anytime soon."

"Well, I guess we can only see. Goodnight Hoseok."

"Wait."

Her hand hesitated as it reached for the door.

"Ara, I'm sorry for not thinking of what you wanted."

"Don't bother yourself with guilt, Hoseok. It's done."

"I should've been a better friend. And I do want to make it right. Just tell me what you do want and I swear, I'll do anything to make it so."

"It doesn't work that way."

"What would make you happy, Ara? Honestly, truly happy? Whatever it is, I want to do it for you."

"Hobi," she sighed his nickname. He closed his eyes and braced for her request. "Just let me go."

"But," his words died as she laid her hand on top of his.

"I can take care of myself. Let me do that, Hobi."

Next.

[5hfanfiction]

Wicked Games (Chapter 20)

“That’s what you get when you let your heart win. I drowned out all my sense with the sound of its beating.” - Paramore

Lauren stomped towards us as soon as we stepped out of her room. I could tell just by her facial expression that she was fuming.

“What the hell happened in there?” she shouted at a volume so loud it felt like her voice was bouncing off the walls.

“Um..” was all I could seem to muster in that moment because I had seen Lauren really angry before, but I don’t think I’d ever seen her this mad at me specifically. Was she really this jealous? Although I was upset with her about kissing Matt and kind of scared of the way she was attacking me, my heart leapt in my chest knowing that she was seemingly feeling jealous and possessive of me.

I hadn’t said anything more so Lauren swung her arms in the air impatiently. Luckily, Keana stepped up for me. “We mostly just talked.”

Lauren’s piercing and accusing gaze shifted to her and immediately quipped back, “mostly?”

Suddenly my courage returned to me, trying to come to the defense of the girl who had just been so kind to me. “Don’t you think you’re being a little hypocritical?” I asked spitefully. Why did she think she could kiss Matt and dangle it right in front of me, but still get mad at me for a potential hook up with Keana that hadn’t even been confirmed for her.

Lauren crossed her arms. “At least I didn’t take him to your room and close the door,” she shot back.

Ok, I have to admit that was in bad taste. I looked down knowing I had done wrong, but still muttered under my breath, “seeing it right in front of you isn’t much better..”

If Lauren heard that she didn’t acknowledge it because she turned with a stone cold look in her eye to Keana, pointing her index finger at her, “And I thought you were supposed to be my friend.”

“I am!” Keana exclaimed defensively. “You’re the one who said Camila was single and that I should hit on her.”

This conversation took a sharp left turn that I wasn’t prepared for. I whipped my head to the side to look at Keana, “what?” I squeaked out. Keana automatically looked back at me apologetically, as though she regretted what she revealed.

I let her words sink in for a second and then slowly turned to look back at Lauren. Her face had grown pale, even paler than usual and her eyes were wide. She looked guilty.

Anger surged inside of me. “You pimped me out to your friend?”

“N-no! I mean.. maybe..” Lauren stuttered.

My heart sank. Everything I feared to be true is true. Lauren doesn’t want to be with me and never has wanted to. That is and always has been a pipe dream. She probably thinks I’m an easy fuck and is just spreading the wealth. I should have believed her when she repeatedly told me she was straight.

I really couldn’t decide what was worse, watching Lauren kiss a guy right in front of me, or the frank truth slapping me right in the face that she really doesn’t like me the way I want her to.

Tonight, the night where I finally accepted that I have feelings for Lauren, is the same damn night where my heart got smashed with the realization that Lauren doesn’t have them for me.

I could see Lauren’s mouth moving, but I wasn’t comprehending anything she was saying. My thoughts were buzzing inside of my head and a ringing in my ears was taking over. It didn’t help when Matt made an appearance, trying to regain Lauren’s attention and asking her to come back to the main room with him. I shook my head, overwhelmed with too many feelings all at once. I was sad, hurt, angry, and confused. I couldn’t be here anymore. I pushed past Lauren and Matt, keeping my head down and making a swift exit through the front door.

At first I drove home feeling depressed and near to tears. I drove in silence, not standing to hear any happy songs or any noise whatsoever. I drove slow unable to stop replaying Lauren kissing Matt over and over again in my head. Eventually my sad driving turned into road rage when a car cut me off. I started speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, trying to get home as soon as possible and get away from everyone and everything. I was pissed off and every little thing made it worse. People driving slow, people riding in the left lane, red lights, even an especially excruciating person who was crossing the street at a snail’s speed. Although I was yelling at strangers in other cars I was actually infuriated with myself for putting myself in that situation in the first place. I knew the end result would be this from the beginning and yet I let myself fall for her anyway.

I parked in my street and rushed to my front door. I stormed up the stairs, only stopping to greet Kaeley’s dog and then locked myself in my room.

I pulled my songwriting book out of its hiding spot in my closet and the first thing I scrawled on the first blank page that I found was “FUCK FEELINGS”. The rest was history as I spent the entirety of the night writing a new song, trying to purge the madness going on inside of me.

I woke up the next day with my head laying on my arm and my guitar next to my knees. A substantial amount of drool was on my upper limb and I grimaced with disgust, immediately rubbing it off with my shirt. I wiped my eyes and stretched my arms, to which I subsequently heard a thudding noise next to my bed. I leaned over and realized I had knocked over my songwriting book. It was only then I remembered I had spent the night putting my feelings on paper. I picked up the booklet and looked over some of the lines I had come up with. It wasn’t completely finished with, but it had definitely come together nicely. At least I thought so.

Rereading the lines caused a pang in my chest, reminding me of my horrible night yesterday. I picked up my guitar and started strumming the few chords I had come up with for the song last night. I let myself very quietly start singing the lyrics and quietly start releasing my emotions.

[“Fuck Feelings” - Olivia O'Brien] “I don’t wanna fall for you now..

But it already happened don’t know how

Now I gotta ghost on you cause I can’t get too close to you

And I’m not tryna fall for you now

I know if they left us all alone

I’d be losin all my self control

Now I gotta run away before I say what you won’t say

Cause I can’t handle you and me alone”

I paused for a moment, reading through the chords and lyrics for the chorus. The chorus was the first part of the song I wrote last night when I was feeling most especially pissed off. I didn’t normally write my songs with such explicit language but sometimes curse words are the only way to really express just how emotional you are.

I adjusted my fingers on the fretboard of the guitar and quickly went into the chorus.

“Fuck Feelings

I swear that shit ruins my life

All they ever do is just waste my time

Fuck feelings

Swear that shit ruin my life

No, they never do me right

Fuck feeling how I do when I’m feeling it for you

Fuck feelings, fuck feelings, fuck feelings

Fuck what I’m feeling.”

I stopped playing my guitar and just closed my eyes, going acapella into the next lines, which were my favorite of the song so far.

“I can’t help myself when you’re around

Baby, I’m just tryna figure you out

I don’t wanna watch you turn me down

So I’m just gonna turn back and go now, go now.”

I sang the chorus one more time and felt like the transition from the verse was pretty awkward. I would have to make a bridge at some point, but I did not have the energy for that right now. The song definitely still needed some polishing and the transitions were off, but I could certainly see its potential. It sure as shit was conveying my emotions and that’s all I really wanted to do with songs that I write.

I sighed and sat in silence for a few moments. I woke up with a feeling today that could only be described as expected despair. I was depressed, but not shocked to be feeling that way. It wasn’t an emotional state that I was unfamiliar with so it didn’t affect me completely. It wasn’t debilitating, but I felt heavy.

I picked up my phone off the nightstand and checked it for the first time since waking up. It was 11 AM. I had a message from Keana with an apology. We had exchanged numbers last night while in Lauren’s room. I also had a few messages from Emma, but that made my stomach turn with confliction, so I decided to save them for later when I was more mentally stable. I had no messages from Lauren. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, but I certainly was not surprised.

I messaged Keana back letting her know it was not her I was upset with and then I checked my emails. To my delight, my Neuroanatomy class was cancelled today. It was like my professor knew I had just had the shittiest night. The next email I saw made me freeze.

It was from USC. They have one of the top physical therapy programs in the country, if not the best. Their school was the one I had been most interested in since I started college. I applied to their doctorate program over the summer and have yet to hear anything back.. until today. Apprehensively I opened the email and scanned the first couple of lines.

I jumped up with excitement. They wanted an interview with me! I made it to the interview phase. This was huge. If you made it to the interview, you were pretty much guaranteed a spot as long as you showed up and didn’t say anything crazy.

This was exactly the boost I needed for the day. I called up my mom and excitedly told her the news. Joy went through my whole body as she expressed how proud of me she was and encouraged me to keep working hard.

Suddenly I had loads of energy. Wallowing in sorrow the rest of the morning no longer seemed appealing to me. I had another two hours until basketball practice so I decided I should get there early and put up some extra shots. After all, our last game of the semester before finals week, which also happens to be against our rival school Bearmount College, was in two days so I definitely wanted to be prepared.

My favorite place to be is alone in a gym because it gives me a chance to clear my head, with all my focus on a basketball and a hoop. I could certainly use some head clearing right about now. Although the great news had cheered me up for a moment, the pain of rejection was still heavy in the back of my mind. I knew basketball could be the one thing to distract me.

I quickly put away my guitar and song book and then changed into my practice uniform. I marched into the kitchen next, picking out a piece of bread and slathering peanut butter on top. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, held the peanut butter bread with my mouth and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge before making my way out to my car.

After getting my shoes and a ball from the locker room, I arrived at the gym and sighed with relief when I found it to be completely empty. The smell of wood hit my nose and I instantly relaxed. This was my happy place.

I stretched minimally and then placed my headphones into my ears. I drowned out everything that had happened last night. I entered my own little world where the only thing that matters to me is this basketball in my hand.

I fell into an easy rhythm very quickly and my brain shut off. My muscle memory kicked in and I was completely locked in on this sport.

Maybe twenty minutes went by when I started to get an uneasy feeling like someone was watching me. I turned to find Lauren standing just beyond the sideline watching me. ‘Of course’ I internally griped.

Her hair was up in a bun and she was already in her practice uniform. Not a speck of makeup was on her and she looked the complete opposite of how she looked last night, and yet, she still looked like a goddess to me.

I was dribbling and once I saw her, I cringingly dribbled the ball off my foot. Immediately she started chuckling at me, which automatically infuriated me.

The ball rolled towards her and she picked it up and started tossing it back and forth in her hands. “I hope you don’t do that in the next game,” she joked.

I wasn’t in the mood for jokes today, especially ones at my expense, so I only stared at the floor blankly and shrugged. I ran my hand across my forehead which was glazed with sweat and did my best to avoid looking at her.

She just kept talking and wouldn’t leave. She was acting as though the events that took place last night never happened. I wasn’t having a difficult time tuning her out, but the anger inside of me was bubbling quickly.

Basketball had always been the one thing that was mine. The one thing that could be my safe haven away from the rest of my problems.. but now.. basketball involved her. I could no longer use basketball as a place to escape, because of her. I had no freedom from her. I could not escape her. It all came to a boiling point.

“Can you just leave me alone!” I burst out, my patience reaching empty. Her mouth popped open in shock at my emotional eruption.

“I don’t mean to be mean,” I said quickly. “I just need to clear my head, and the only way I can do that is if I’m alone, with a basketball in my hands and headphones in my ears, with no distractions,” I stated bluntly. My eyes only peeked up at her when I said the word 'distractions’ to emphasize that I meant her.

Unfortunately that got me in trouble because I met her gaze when I did that. I can never look away when that happens. Those frustratingly enticing eyes stared at me for a moment, recognition finally flashing across them before her facial features softened. “I understand,” she said. She bounce-passed the ball back to me, turned, and walked out of the gym without another word.

I shot a two foot jumpshot infront of the basket and sighed as the ball swished through the net, feeling like a genuine asshole. I reached into my pocket and started my music back up. After a couple more minutes of shooting around, doing dribble moves and shots that felt natural, all while imagining in-game situations, my head finally stabilized. In doing so, I quieted the thoughts of her and numbed the feelings that came along with them.

Eventually I decided to take a break and rest up a little before practice started. I went back to the locker room to get a snack out of my bag. Since practice was about to start in twenty minutes, most of the team was in the locker room chatting. I waved at a few of them as I entered. I still had my headphones in so I couldn’t hear anything, but most of my teammates were suspiciously surrounding Lauren and talking very animatedly.

I took a seat at my locker, looking through my bag for my banana chips. I sighed, curious to hear what was going on, and removed my headphones.

“Lo, how did you get him? I’ve been hitting on him all year!” Kyla was the first voice I heard.

“Maybe cause you’re a freshman Kyla,” Lauren swiftly responded with a light laugh.

“That instagram post was so cute!” Ally squealed.

My heart sank. What instagram post? Against my better judgment I pulled out my phone and went to the app, regretting it before I’d even seen it.

Lauren posted a picture with Missy and then one with Matt. His arm was around her waist and they were both grinning from ear to ear. They looked like a perfect couple. It made me sick to my stomach.

The caption, however, made me want to hurdle my phone at the wall. “Happy birthday Missy! It felt like my birthday too with this guy around.”

I could feel the hot tears forming in my eyes. It took one night with him for her to start posting cute pictures with him to broadcast to all of her friends and family. For some reason, this felt like an even harder slap to the face that she does not and never has felt romantic feelings for me than last night did. I thought I was special to her, but I’m not. It is so clear that I am not.

I didn’t know what to do with myself. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to punch the wall. I could do none of those things without causing a scene and freaking my whole team out. I could feel my face getting hot so I knew I needed to get out of there as soon as possible to avoid detection. I wouldn’t dare let Lauren know how much this is impacting me.

I took a deep breath and stormed to the bathroom, where I pathetically and silently cried for a few minutes. She finally did it, she finally got me to cry over her. The combination of her abrupt change in her demeanor after last week, what I witnessed last night, and now her clear public display of affection for someone else, sent me over the edge.

I had been so confused by this girl and it had caused so much turmoil within me, but there was nothing to be confused over anymore. She does not care about me in the way I hoped she would and she never will. I have gotten that confirmation multiple times and chosen to forget it. I will never forget that fact again.

Eventually I calmed down. I wiped my face, making sure to remove any evidence of this emotional breakdown, and then ran out to the gym for practice.

__________________________________________

Wattpad: mothertruckin

[luminescencechatoyant]

Summary Selena knows how to handle herself in the ring, she doesn’t know how to handle herself outside the ring.

Word Count 2914

Its a fic, striker squad isn’t real. new york pro wrestling not real, all made up lovelies x

Selena was not a wrestling rookie, she’d never botched a move, never slipped up when cutting a promo, never. She was born into wrestling, she’d breath it when she spoke, hell, she wouldn’t be surprised if she bled wrestling. Wrestling was, and is, her entire life, it was her families legacy.

“Selena Striker, whats good?” A nameless face raised a hand and Selena slapped it numbly, her mind too distracted to focus.

Her father had originally started the original Striker Squad while Selena had been just a bump in her mothers stomach, it was mid Attitude Era and her fathers stable had owned the WWE. Her uncle, aunt and her father had bowled through the entirety of the roster, won match after match, claimed title after title until they had everything.

Selena had watched their career from the moment she could hold her head up, she watched and watched and watched as her father stood tall after every match. Whether it be with an aching shoulder or blood on his face, he always stood tall with his trademark Striker Snarl on his face.

It wasn’t until Selena was seven that she realized that she wanted to be like her father, she wanted to do what he did. So she did, with her chubby arms waving in the arm, Striker Squad shirt proudly on display, she ran to her mother with her toothy grin on display. Her mother laughed, dropped the basket of laundry and ruffled Selena’s hair with a soft grin, “I never had any doubts love, you’re a Striker at heart and I know you’ll make us proud”

Selena had been eighteen when her mother died, a drunk driver had swerved from his side of the road and hit her side. Her mothers words echoed in her head when they lowered her casket, she held her brothers shaking hand and promised her mother that she would make her proud.

She’d been wrestling at every wrestling comp in her town by that point but she knew that she had to branch out. She drove for miles to different venues, she lived out of her car for a good month until she was signed onto the New York Pro Circuit, it wasn’t the WWE but it was one step closer. Her father had wrestled on the circuit before he’d been drafted, Selena could feel it in her bones that she was getting there.

And she did, after years of wrestling and bruisers, she’d finally gotten the phone call of her dreams and, not two weeks later, had debuted on NXT as Selena Striker.

Two years later, on the anniversary of her fathers debut, Selena’s music blasted through the arena and the crowd went wild to see the heiress to the Striker legacy on the ramp. She marched past the crowd, her eyes locked onto one thing, her ring. She slid through the ropes and a microphone was pressed into her hand, she cut her promo easily, as naturally as it was to breath.

Glare sharp, she raised the mic. “Hello WWE universe, I am the heir to the Striker Squad, but you may call me Selena.”

She paused as the arena filled with chants of Striker Squad and tried her hardest not to choke up. This was what she’d wanted her entire life.

“I’m not here for your cheers,” The crowd booed loudly but Selena flicked her hair and moved on, “I am here to take my fathers place, I am here to show this Divas division what real talent looks like!”

Her words were cut off as the music shakes the arena and Nikki Bella stands at the top of the ramp, title slung over her shoulder with her sister at her shoulder. She croons softly, “Honey, you can’t walk into this building and expect everything to be handed to you. You have to earn it.”

“I’m standing in the ring of one of the biggest company’s on earth, I think I’ve earned it honey.” Nikki raises her mic but Selena cuts her off, “And the only thing thats going to be handed to anyone, is that title when I pin you for it.”

“You want to pin me for it? On your first night here?” Nikki grins crookedly and tightens her grip, “Too bad, honey. But if you want a fight, Brie would be happy to.”

Brie grins, already jumping lightly on her feet. A referee is rushed out and Selena fights her first match on live TV in front of millions and when her arm is raised at the end of the match with Brie sprawled put on the mat beneath, Selena nearly cries.

Its not until her father rings her after her match does she cry, because he is already crying when she answers. He blubbers onto the phone that he is so, so proud and that her mother would be too and Selena cries, she’d only ever wanted to make her mother proud, only ever wanted to be like her father and now she is.

Its not until after she bids her father goodbye that she notices Nikki walking into the canteen, she wipes her eyes and rushes after them only to collide harshly with someone at the doorway.

Water is spilt over the fresh shirt she’d pulled on, the head attached to the chest in front of her swears and she’s hastily handed a towel. He stammers an apology and Selena smiles up at the dark eyes of Seth Rollins.

“It’s okay, really.” She drops the towel on the container next to her, her eyes dart around looking for the vest covered chests of Dean and Roman but cant see them. “It’s just a shirt, it’ll dry.”

Seth blushes in front of her, a hand resting on his hips while the other brushed back his long hair. “I’ll make it up to you anyway.”

She arches an eyebrow and thinks, fuck it, “You could show me the best gyms along the road?”

Seth grins, bright and warm, “Deal, I’ll even introduce you to cross fit. It’ll change your life, promise.”

Selena ignore the skip in her heartbeat and instead smiles, as bright and warm as him, she can tell she and Seth will be great friends.

She holds him while he cries over the Shield split, he holds her when she loses her first title match and they celebrate with each other when he wins the championship. They are there for each other when the other needs them, they travel together, eat together and even share rooms together.

They are inseparable, like family to each other but Selena cannot stop her self from noticing him, how warm his face is when he smiles, how he stops to help a child looking for her mother, how he stops to sign all of his fans merch.

She loves him, she knows, but he is her rock so she wills herself not to notice how his hands linger at her waist when they hug, how his finger fit perfectly around hers, how he stops himself half way through his sentences around her.

She dates, her boyfriends come and they go, never to long to break her heart when they leave but she still feels empty after they’ve left. She tries not to let it hurt anymore

“You’re staring again.” Bayley whispers quietly but Selena still jumps, embarrassed at being caught. Her cheeks flush red and she sips her water to cool herself.

Selena turns her back on Seth and Dean, red belts slung around their waist, “Did anyone else see?”

“Just us two.” Sasha pipes up from Selena’s other side and Selena drops her head on to the table they’re sat around.

Selena picks at her nails as Bayley’s phone chimes in front of her, “It’s getting really bad, isn’t it?”

Sasha nods mutely and drops a hand on Selena’s shoulder, “You should tell him.”

“Tell him?” Selena howls and knocks her water bottle over, “I - I can’t tell him!”

“Cant tell who what?” Dean plops into the chair next to Bayley as strong arms settle onto Selena’s shoulder and the smell of hair gel, and chocolate deodorant linger around Selena, a scent so wholly Seth that she wouldn’t expect anyone else to be wrapped around her.

“Can’t - can’t tell Seth what I’m getting him for his birthday?” Selena answers lamely, the sentence finishes as a question and Selena can see Seth’s suspicion in his eyes.

“My birthday isn’t for months.” His eyebrows are raised, she cant tell hes trying to act curious but she can feel his suspicion coming off him in waves, her lie has been caught out.

“Girls night still on tonight? Sasha asks before Seth can open his mouth and Selena is cheering in her thoughts.

Bayley shoves her phone in her pocket and slams a hand on the table, "Oh shit yes. Its us three, a bottle of wine, pizza and boy talk on for tonight.”

“Boy talk?” Dean wiggles his eyebrow but the table ignores him.

Sasha grins wickedly, “I got the wine. Bayley’s got the pizza and Selena’s dishing the boy talk.”

Seth’s moves his arms off Selena’s shoulders and his voice sounds strange when he talks, “Boy talk?”

Sasha hums and catches Bayley’s eye, “We’ll catch you tonight, Sel.”

Bayley hugs her and then they’re gone, Dean is still in his seat but his feet are kicked up and he’s snoring softly. Seth squeezes her softly and then he’s pulling her up from the table, his thick arms encircle her waist and hes pulling her towards the car.

She switches the radio on as soon as her butt hits the seat and U2 plays softly through the car, Seth smiles softly. They sit quietly as he pulls out of the arena and navigates them through heavy traffic, Selena’s face is pressed against the cold glass of the passenger window.

She ignores the way his fingers are tapping restlessly against the wheel, or how his eyes dart all over the road, and settles awkwardly into the leather seats.

“So uh-” Seth clears his throat over the soft music and Selena wonders if she can get away with ignoring him, pretending she’s asleep. “Boy talk, huh?”

Selena hums and draws shapes on the misty window, she doe not want to have this conversation. Seth continues, “I didn’t know you were back on the scene?”

“I’m no-”

“It doesn’t matter, really. I mean, not - not like its any of my business.” A lock of hair falls from his bun and Selena wants to push it back in but, no, she needs to stop.

“Seth-”

“I just -” He sighs and when he talks again his voice is strained, “We used to tell each other everything and now, it’s like I never just get to talk about something other than work.”

“I’m sorry, Seth.” Selena smiles softly, her hand reaches put to brush against the back of his and he holds it softly.

He ignores her apology and frowns, “And now you’re dating again and you couldn’t even tell me?”

“I don’t have to tell you if I’m dating again, Seth!” She pulls her hand from his, dimly aware that they’d pulled into their hotel, “Its not any of your business.”

“It used to be! We used to tell each other everything and now -” He stutter and switches the engine off, “Now, you’re hardly around, you never share a room with me. This is the first time you’ve been in the car with me for two weeks!”

“Seth, I -” Her throat closes, she can feel her eyes burning but she keeps her hands folded in her lap. She does not have the heart to say anything to Seth because he’s right, she knows he’s right. She’d been so paranoid that he’d realise what she felt for him that she’d pushed him away, she was stupid. She never wanted to lose him, but she could not put herself through the pain of loving someone that did not love her back.

“I cant keep watching you fall for all these arseholes, Sel.” Seth’s forehead is pressed to the steering wheel and his eyes are screwed shut, “I cant keep watching you get hurt.”

She blinks away tears and ignores the burning in her chest, “I don’t want to keep being hurt Seth, but I can’t spend every day pretending that I don’t love you, that I don’t want you.”

Seth is silent in his seat, eyes still closed and head still pressed against the wheel. He hasn’t moved since she spoke, her heart pounds against her chest and she can feel the tear slowly ripping through the middle.

She climbs slowly out of the car, grabs her suitcase from the back seat but before the door swings closed she can hear his hand slap against the wheel and a swear leave his lips.

She wheels her suitcase away faster.

He rings three times a day, texts more often, but Selena can’t bring herself to answer them. Its childish, she knows, but she’s been hurt too much now to let herself be hurt again.

It is, after all, why she avoids him. Though her past relationships hadn’t lasted long, she was still hurt when they ended. She was not known to do anything halfway, she threw herself into her relationships, she was so invested in them that it tore at every part of her when they left.

She had hope that Seth was not like them but she knew better than to hope, hope had gotten her to the WWE but it hadn’t done much with her heart. She was scared, she was terrified to open herself up for someone only for them to leave.

So, she ignored Seth. She roomed with Sasha, avoided him at work and on nights out, and it had worked until the next RAW.

She had been gearing up for her Championship match against Alexa Bliss when Cesaro knocked on the locker room door. He’d told her how Seth moped around the locker room, how he hadn’t gone out with them in a week, how he wasn’t ‘happy.’

It tore at her, he was hurting because of her, she was hurting and she made him hurt because of it. It lingered in her mind when she her music hit and she smiled at the crowd, it lingered as she wrestled, it lingered in her head as her hand was raised and the title was fling over her shoulder.

Her dad rang her after, crying into the phone again and telling her how proud he was, as she was nestled away in the shadows near the cafeteria, the same place she’d hid all those years ago when she debuted. The Womens title was sitting across her lap when she hung up, red gleaming up at her in the dark.

Alexa slunk into the cafeteria and Selena pushed after to thank her for the great match, when arms are locked around her waist and she’s spun her around. Romans rich laugh surrounds her, she laughs along with him as he spins her once, twice, three times.

When her feet are planted firmly on the ground, Roman is smiling at her and she can feel her grin spreading to match his. Her chest is bubbling with happiness as Dean slings his arm over her shoulder and pats his title.

“Now we’ve got matching ones.” He jokes and she fixes her title to match his around his waist, he snorts and yanks on her ponytail.

Roman is still standing next to her, arms crossed over his chest with a grin on his face, when his grin turns a little strained and Selena see a flash of the other half of the tag team champs.

Seth stands in front of her with his hands shoved in his pockets, his eyes are heavy on her and the bags beneath them seem dark as the night. He opens his mouth to talk when she shoves Deans arm off of her and throws herself at him, her arms wind around his neck as she plants her lips over his.

Its not a soft kiss, their teeth knock against each others, her hands are tangled in his hair and his are grabbing at her waist trying to pull her impossibly close. He pauses in between kisses to mutter his apologies under his breath but she shakes her head because its okay.

They pull away because her belt is still around her waist and cutting into her stomach, their nose bump with each breath but they don’t move, they don’t want to move. Seth stares at her with eyes so soft and warm that they bring her to tears. His rough hands come up to her face to softly brush away the tears and Selena laughs awkwardly because this was not what she had in mind after kissing Seth.

He smiles at her laugh and kisses her again, just a brush of his lips against hers but it still makes her toes curl. He whispers under his breath; the words are warm and full of joy, “I love you, so much.”

She laughs and kisses him back, she doesn’t need to say it for him to know how completely and utterly in love with him she is.